The Liberals of Birmingham appear to think that even the
most undenominational religions teaching ought not to be given in Board schools. At a meeting of the Liberal Two Thousand, held last week (on Friday), a petition in favour of opening school with the Lord's Prayer and the reading of the Bible, accom- pauied by grammatical, historical, and geograpical explanations, which had received 22,000 signatures, was discussed and rejected by a very large majority, Dr. Dale himself speaking and voting against it. Dr. Dale, in resisting the prayer of the memorial, said that his whole life had been devoted to the service of reli- gion, but that he could not think that the Christian faith could be promoted by injustice. Of course not ; but where is the injustice of saying the Lord's Prayer and reading the Bible, with simple and not dogmatic explanations, in a class from which any child whose parents disapprove may be excused P Many of the modern ideas of justice appear to us to be so extremely sensitive that if they are to spread, it will soon become impos. sible to take any step in life without violating the new canons of justice. Mr. Spencer's old notion that there ought to be at least some region of no-law, into which consciences disapproving of all law should be allowed to retire, will surely receive a great number of adherents before long.
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