One important meeting has been held at Birmingham, on 'Thursday,
on primary education, the platform adopted being somewhat different from that of the Manchester Union ; but without, as it seems to us, any sufficient guarantee for what we think the essential point in any education system,—its covering the whole area of the country and providing schools for all, not only where there are voluntary subscribers to found the schools, but where there are none. Without carrying out this condition 'strictly, we conceive that the attack of the League for "National and Unsectarian Education" on the defects of the present de- nominational system will be justified, and that the objection is fatal. With this qualification the views expressed by the Bir- mingham Union seem to us very sound. Its supporters deprecate the exclusion of religions education from primary schools ; depre- cate the needless waste of money involved in the proposal to give up the children's pence and found " free " schools all over the kingdom, dependent solely on the rates ; and further deprecate the waste of extinguishing at one blow the enormous amount of educational energy now at work, as it must be extinguished by the foundation of free and rate-paid schools. Mr. Cowper, Lord Lyttel- ton, Dr. Barry of King's College, and other distinguished public men gave their hearty support to the Birmingham Union.
Previous page
