On Monday the House of Commons discussed Clause VI. of
the Education Bill, the clause which applies compulsory attendance at school to secular instruction only. The main battle took place on an amendment moved by Mr. Walters, the practical result of which was to make religious instruction part of the regular curriculum, subject, of course, to a Con- science Clause. The Government left the matter open to their followers, and we are glad to say that when the vote was taken the majority against the amendment was only 16 (283 to 267). In view of such a vote, we may feel confident that the House of Commons will not insist on retaining the clause if the House of Lords strikes it out. The result is eminently satisfactory. It is, in our view, essential that the State should give religious instruction in the fundamentals of Christianity to all children whose parents do not definitely express the wish that their children shall have a purely secular education. To place on record in the law that the State does not consider it its duty to make religious instruc- tion obligatory, even when that can be done without in any way violating the conscientious objections of the parents, would, in our opinion, be nothing less than a national misfortune. We note that not less than eighty-five Liberals voted in the minority, and that they included three members of the Cabinet, Mr. Bryce, Mr. Buxton, and Sir Henry Fowler, and two other members of the Government, Mr. Herbert Samuel and Sir John Walton. The fact that Sir Henry Fowler is a member of the Wesleyan Church shows that the Nonconformists are by no means unanimous in favour of Clause VI.
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