:^^4 OXFORD DIOCESAN CONFERENCE, 1879. JUSTICE FOE VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS. PAPER READ BY THE RT. HON. J. G. HUBBARD, M.P. LONDON : VACHER & SONS, PRINTERS, 29, PARLIAMENT STREET, AND 62, MILLBANK STREET, WESTMINSTER. 1879. * OXFORD DIOCESAN CONFERENCE, 2nd October, 1879. JUSTICE FOR YOLUNTAHY SCHOOLS. RESOLUTION MOVED BY J. G. HUBBARD. " That grave injustice and infraction of reli- " gious liberty are involved in the " operation of the Education Act, when " a rate levied upon a school district " comprising Voluntary and School " Board Schools is unshared by Volun- " tary Schools, which, discharging the " primary duty of definite religious " training, have also proved their effici- " ency as Public Elementary Schools by " the Parliamentary Grant which they '' have carried. The Resolution which I ask leave to move is, I venture to say, incontestable; but desiring that this conference should not only affirm its truth, but feel that its affirmation is expedient, I invite their attention to the events which, within a quarter A 2 of a century, have led to the present state of education. Twenty-five years since a great movement was in progress. Rapidly outstripping the educa- tional powers of the older religious endowments, the expanding labouring population required for its instruction, not only individual and voluntary efforts, but the substantial assistance of the State. Responsively to this requirement Parliamentary Grants were largely supplied to the furtherance of voluntary efforts originating in a spirit of religious philanthropy, which laboured for its beneficent purpose with ungrudging liberality. Educational means under the voluntary system were provided under the conviction that " Education was a religious work^'' and thus while the State stimulated and suggested voluntary efforts, it left the work of education to the various religious agencies, to be carried on by each in accordance with its conscientious persuasion, but requiring as the lowest qualification in every assisted School that in addition to secular instruction the Scriptures be daily read in the authorized version. Religious instruction was in fact an indispu- table element in " Education'' But the year 1859 was signalized by the appointment as Vice-President of the Education Department of the Rt. Hon. Robert Lowe. Mr. Lowe disapproved of all denominational school teaching, and he conceived it to be his duty as ^1 Vice-President of the Educational Department not to expend the monies voted by Parliament a& grants in aid upon their intended object, but to obstruct by every possible discouragement the provision of Voluntary Schools. Supposing that from a certain town concurrent applications were made for a National School and a British School, it became the rule to refuse both, and to say to Churchmen and Dissenters " Drop your differences " and provide instead of two, a single school, which '^ will be not only more economical but more " efficient." Economy is a virtue, and religious differences are regrettable, but those differences do exist, or we should not see in our towns Chapels in which gather for worship those who in the exercise of their rightful hberty separate them- selves from the communion of the Church. In the exercise of that same liberty Dissenters are entitled to educate their youth in accordance with their own convictions, and it was insulting and injurious alike to Churchmen and Dissenters to punish tliem for trying to discharge what they thought was a religious work, each according to their sense of duty. Excellent as is economy in itself, it cannot be allowed to outweigh religious liberty or conscience, yet, to the Education Depart- ment, ruled by Mr. Lowe, these considerations, doubtless, seemed pure superstition. At all events, under him economy reigned supreme, and the build- ing grants which in 1859 were £137,000 were gradually reduced to £19,000. When discouragement and insult have done their worst, and the progress of educational work had been brought to a stand-still, a new school of educationists arose, who, declaring the Voluntary School system to be a failure, organized an agitation for the construction of a new system, which should be " universal, rate supported and compulsory." When the Government introduced the Education Act this party succeeded in materially changing the character of the measure, and to its interven- tion is mainly due the more objectionable features of the Act. Previous to the passing of the Act, the Elemen- tary Schools throughout the country were, for the most part, connected with either the National Society (representing the Church) or the British and Foreign School Society (representing the Dis- senters), and wherever any large Dissenting con- gregations existed Schools of both kinds were also found. The Education Act divided all England into School Districts, and each district was warned that it must provide any School accommodation which might be deficient, failing in which a School Board would be formed, with powers to build and conduct Schools, and to provide funds for their expenditure by rates levied over the whole district. In obe- dience to the law. Churchmen made great exertions and provided very generally the additional accom- modation which should exclude a deficiency and avert the calamity of a School Board. In 1869, the places provided in Church Schools were 1,300,000, in 1878 they were 2,252,794, showing an increasel of 70 per cent, in eight years. The increased accommodation in Church Schools would have been still more striking but for the surrender by their managers of 525 Church Schools to the School Board of their district. These sur- renders — few I thankfully observe in comparison with the entire number — exemplify the process which in its complete and successful course is prophetically hailed by the secularists as the " pain- less extinction " which would leave the Birmingham system in possession of the whole country. If greater progress has not been made towards the confiscation of Voluntary Schools it is not from the want of formidable means of aggression. To some extent School Boards are under the control of the Education Department; but they have and they exercise powers inconsistent with the rights of the community at large. School Boards may at their discretion — 1. Hire and furnish School Buildings. 2. Tempt teachers from other Schools by pro- fuse salaries. 3. Draw children not only from the streets and fields, but from other Schools by minimising fees or by remitting fees alto- gether. 4. Rate the district for the amount of their arbitrary expenditure, however large. 8 Where a district contains no other than School Board Schools, the existence of these unlimited powers must be a source of danger; but where, as usually occurs, the School Board School is but one of many, the others being Voluntary Schools, the exercise of these powers becomes a flagrant injustice . and a crushing oppression. Crushing, I say, emphati- cally, because it is impossible for a Voluntary School to exist when rates levied without limitation on its own supporters are applied to bribe away both teachers and pupils. Is this collapse of Voluntary Schools a con- summation to be wished for? Secularists would say yes; this Conference, I feel certain would say no, and I shall offer some reasons why this verdict should be echoed through the country. 1. The School Board system is very much more costly. The instructional expenditure per child is in School Board Schools £2 Is, lOd., and in Voluntary Schools only £1 145. lid, 2. This extravagant expenditure of School Boards accomplishes no proportionate results, for the efficiency of instruction as tested by the grant earned by the scholar proves to be 155. 2d, in the Voluntary Schools, and 155. Id. in the far more costly and expensive Board Schools. 3. The School Board system is inimical to the religious character which ought to pervade every educational establishment. I do not say that a School Board School may not (if the Managers 9 so will) convey practically the fullest doctrinal teaching that could be desired; but the occasions are few on which this can hajipen, for the mode of electing the School Board gives every facility for the introduction of discordant elements, so that even in the face of a decided majority the hostile exception has the power of cavilling, teasing, oppos- ing and thwarting the action of the majority until for peace and quietness the struggle ends by eliminating any even the most essential truths of Christianity, if objected to, from the course of School instruction. Where, indeed, the Secularist principle is, as at Birmingham, in the ascendant, we are pained by the spectacle of all religious teaching by the School teacher being strictly prohibited. But here again we have been met by the allega- tion that " religious instruction " may be had by those who care for it on Sundays and from professed religious teachers — but that Public Elementary Schools must be '' undenominational " and secular as they could not otherwise be " compulsory." This we are told is the character of the Public Schools of the Continent and of Northern America, and if we desire to keep abreast of the rest of the World we must educate our people as the World does. As Englishmen — my Lord, we are ready to learn, but are not prepared without scrutiny to surrender our laws and customs for no other reason 10 than that they are at variance with those of other countries. I find nothing in the experience of other coun- tries to attest the superiority of the undenomina- tional or secular system in public elementary in- struction. In North America it is notorious that the common school system, whether in the United States or in Canada, has. so deteriorated the morals of the young that the more earnest religionists, whatever their denomination, have been compelled at great sacrifice to establish special schools for the children of their own communion. How is the state education of France affecting its* moral, social and political future? A letter from Paris, in the Pall Mall of 26th August last (under the title Educated Adventurers), depicts in striking language the dangers flowing from a system which rears an enormous class of men over- instructed for their own position and swelling the ranks already over-crowded of men struggling for wealth, and unrestrained by conscience. " When " (says the writer) one reflects that the thousands " of young men who covet the position of petit " rentier are joined annually by 20,000 young " recruits fresh from the schools and with all " their talents whetted according to the newest " systems for the social fray, one cannot wonder at ^' the large number of well educated young men " who find their way into gaols. The last Annual 11 " Report of the Ministry of Justice dwells upon the " increasing number of well educated persons who " are imprisoned for offences against property ; and '• one may add that for offences against life as well " as in swindling, the highly trained young men " who have been through the best ' lycees ' are " quite equal to the uncultured rough." The letter concludes thus, " the present system of education " in France leads to the creation of an annually " increasing body of citizens whose profession will " be to war on society and who, politically speaking, " will be ready for anything." That is a frightful picture ; but look at Germany ; look at Belgium. The same results of Godless education will be observed wherever the conflict between Secularism and the earnest Religionists striving for the liberty of religious teaching, terminates in the ascendancy of an educational system compelling the attendance of differing denominations and conducting their instruction with tranquillity, because religion which should be its life is altogether wanting. In our own country, happily, the feeling of the people revolts from this lifeless uniformity pur- chased by the denial of God's truths to the immor- tal souls of children, and in the majority of School Boards attempts have been made to escape the reproaches of godless teaching by teaching what is called undogmatic religion. As " dogma " is the affirmation of religious truth, this attempt if it could succeed would reduce religious instruction to 12 a mere name, a hollow and unmeaning pretence. It is the conflicting views inseparable from the election of its members which impels School Boards either to refuse all religious instruction or so to hamper the teacher with prohibitions and restraints that he can never impart religious lessons with the earnestness which alone commands success. That to confine the work of education to secular instruction is a mistake seems to be ad- mitted now even where the admission would be least expected. The Birmingham School Board by the voice of Mr. Dixon have expressed dissatis- faction with the results of their own contrivance, and have actually suggested that " morality " should be inculcated in their schools, though with strict avoidance of an appeal to the authority of that God from whom alone all morality and all good works proceed. Mr. Lowe, also in the course of the last Session of Parliament, admitted the failure of undenomina- tional education. Whether the failure was to be lamented as a political disaster or as a discredit to Secular Philosophy does not appear, but these avowals coming from conspicuous champions of Secularism encourage one more hopefully to wage with unshrinking resolution the good fight for education as a religious work. It is curious to remark how signally the econo- mical longings of Mr. Lowe have been thwarted by the success of his own subtlety ; he paralysed the 13 progress of Voluntary School provision, and pre- pared for the Education Act of 1870, and with what pecuniary results? The Public Expenditure in Education Grants which he had succeeded in J^ screwinij '^^ti^