The by-election in North-West Manchester has monopolised public attention at
home during the week. On Monday night Mr. Winston Churchill made two important pronouncements. The first related to the prospects of a concordat on the education question on which he had dwelt in his address. They must, of course, stand by principles—control where public funds were employed and freedom from tests in the case of State. supportedteachers—but if a settlement were reached, "it would be an indispensable part of any settlement that special provision should be made in the case of the Roman Catholics, and equally in the case of the Jews and others whose religious faith diverged so largely from the faith of the majority of the people of these islands that a speoial Bill was necessary." In regard to Home-rule, the question was, What were the Government going to do at the next Election ? "I say in reply," said Mr. Churchill, "it is a long way off. I hope it will be possible to conduct the Government for another three years at least. Any opinion as to what will be the issue of the next Election must necessarily be of a speculative character. But when this Parliament has reached its close I am strongly of opinion—and I say this with the full concurrence of the Prime Minister—that the Liberal Party should claim full authority and a free hand to deal with the problem of Irish self-government without being restricted to mere measures of devolution of the character of the Irish Council Bill."
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