A very important declaration has been issued by the Dissenters
who do not agree with the Birmingham League in wishing to ex- clude religious teaching from the public elementary schools. It. runs thus :—" As strenuous efforts are being made to exclude the Bible by law from public elementary schools, we, the undersigned (not connected with any Established Church), believing that such- exclusion would be a great national evil, feel it to be our duty publicly to record our disapproval thereof ;" and it is subscribed already by more than five hundred names, some of them names- of great influence among Dissenters. Dr. James, the President of the Wesleyan Conference ; Mr. Thain Davidson, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in England ; Mr. Newman Hall, Mr. Spurgeon, Dr. Rigg, Mr. McArthur, M.P., and Mr. Alexander- McArthur, Mr. C. E. Mudie, Dr. Donald Fraser, of Marylebone, Mr. Backhouse, M.P. for Darlington, Mr. Howard, M.P. for Bedford, Dr. Moffat, Mr. J. C. Marshman, Dr. Guthrie, Mr.. Peter Bayne, and a number of other names of wide repute are- amongst the signatures. The declaration will do much to show how serious is that split amongst the Dissenters in relation to- religious education by the State, a split of the very existence of which some of our own correspondents have tried to persuade themselves and us,—the former successfully, the latter unsuccess- fully,—that there are reasonable doubts.
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