This is, of course, no more than the bare truth.
Let any reasonable man consider for a moment what is the hold that the Nonconformists have on our system of elementary educa- tion now. Next let him think what is the hold Noncon- formists will have when the Bill has passed. The Noncon- formists will then have an infinitely stronger voice in the conduct of our elementary education than they ever had before. This advantage will be both positive and negative. They will have far more direct influence, and also far more protection from any unfair treatment by the Church. Yet their political spokesmen insist on ignoring this because the Church will not be deprived of all the power it now enjoys, but only of some portion of it, though that portion is a very large one. They ignore completely what the Bill takes from the Church, though they grow furious over what is left behind,—which is nothing, in reality, that can be injurious either to the educational needs of the country or to civil and religious liberty. Assuredly no gift-horse has ever had its mouth more assiduously looked into than the con- cessions to the Nonconformists made by this Bill.
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