THE EDUCATION BILL.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SID.,—The lead which Mr. H. Lee-Warner desires to see given (Spectator, May 10th) has already been given by a large part of the members of the Church of England in the York Province. The "Manchester Scheme," prepared by a Com- mittee of the Manchester Diocesan Conference under the presidency of the Bishop of Manchester, contains the follow-
ing among other clauses :—
" That in each such school" (each denominational school made use of by the Local Educational Authority of the district) " the Religious Instruction of the children of the School Denomination shall be given in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Deed of the said School, and that due provision shall be made for the religious instruction, in accordance with the Cowper- Temple Clause, by duly qualified Teachers, of all children not of the School Denomination, except those in whose case religious instruction is expressly objected to."
"That the appointment and dismissal of all Teachers shall rest with the Local Committee of Managers subject to confirmation by the Local Educational Authority; but that the Head Teacher, and all other Teachers to whom the denominational religious instruction shall be entrusted, shall be of the Denomination to which the school-house or premises belong." Under the second clause, if one teacher were able to give all the religions instruction needed by the children of the school denomination, all the other teachers might be members of other denominations. The " scheme " was passed nem. con.
at a largely attended meeting of the Manchester Diocesan Conference. Two years ago I sent to all my fellow-members
of the York House of Laymen and to the members of the Canterbury House these two questions :—
"Do you think that Managers of Church Day Schools ought to be enabled by the National Society to make, and ought to make, arrangements which will enable Nonconformist parents who send their children to the Schools to feel sure that their children receive religious instruction free from all doctrines to which the parents object ?"
"Do you think that, provided that the control of the religious instruction of children of members of the Church of England be retained by Managers who are members of that Church, the ulti- mate control of the Secular Instruction in our Church Schools ought to be given to Local Educational Authorities who have also the control of Secondary and Technical Schools in the same district ? "
Of thirty-nine members who sent me answers, twenty-seven said " Yes " to both questions. The Lower House of York Convocation has lately by a large majority passed resolutions in favour of the opening of pupil-teacherships in denomi- national schools to children of denominations other than those of the schools, and of giving in denominational schools religious instruction, subject to the Cowper-Temple Clause, to children whose parents desire that they shall receive such instruction. If the Government continue to believe that " we ought to see, as much as we can, that every parent gets the kind of religious training for his child that he desires," they can, I think, rely on having the approval of the majority of the supporters of denominational schools in aceepting the amendments to the Bill which are necessary to enable them to fulfil the duty which they feel to be incum- bent on them.—I am, Sir, &c., T. C. HORSFALL. Swanscoe Park, near _Macclesfield.
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