On Monday in the House of Lords the Bishop of
St. Asaph asked leave to introduce his much-talked-of Education Bill. The Bill is an extension of the principle of the Act of 1902, and as the former Act made the provision of new schools largely dependent upon the wishes of the parents, so the new measure proposes to give to the parents the right to decide what religious instruction shall be given. In transferring a school to the local educational authority, it will be possible to arrange for undenominational religious teaching during school hours, and for facilities for denominational religious instruction during school hours at the expense of the various denominations concerned. The Bishop of St. Asaph explained that he was wholly responsible for the provisions, and declared that the measure was a result of his experience in attempting to form a concordat last year, since he was convinced that no arrangement would be permanent which had not legal sanction and security. A somewhat aimless discussion followed, in which the Government avoided committing themselves. Lord Spencer, we regret to note, announced that the proposal to allow denominational teaching within school hours would meet with his strong opposition.
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