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372 THE LEADER, [No- 421, Atril 1^1858.
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NOTICES TO CO-RESPONDENTS. Several artic...
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— v ' SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 1858.
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There is nothing so revolutionary . beca...
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EMANCIPATION OF THE LIBERAL PARTY IN PAR...
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Duty Of The Liberal Party In Hkfbius...
Protestant element , 119 Protestant exclusively , and 918 schools almost wholly Roman Catholic , in which the admixture did not exceed 5 per cent ., making a total of 59 per cent . But at all events it may be argued these modifications were made to suit the condition of the country , and if a good secular education can be enforced in these sectarian offshoots , let the Commissioners not be harshly judged for this change in their system , the result of causes beyond their control . They will at least have the 29 per cent , of schools vested in themselves wherein throughout Ireland they can foster a model form of education , uniting all sects in friendly intercourse , ? nd imnarting in common with secular knowledge
those unsectarian truths of religion and morality which are common to every form of Christianity . Not so . The party which has grasped , and successfully , at the control of education in France ( in spite of the passionate eloquence of a Victor Hugo in the Assemble Kationale , in 1850 ) , in Austria through the Concordat , which raises at this very moment the war cry of sect in Sardinia , at the possibility of losing the control of its national education—the ' parti pretre' in fine—induced the Commissioners , in 1840 , so far to reverse their order , that the moral and religions element , as contained in the ' Scripture extracts , ' was not in future to be considered a necessary part of the regular instruction , and was to be
omitted altogether , if any parent or guardian objected to its use . In 1842 any one child could effect the total exclusion of this element from any vested national school . In 1853 the ' Scripture extracts' were excluded from the authorised list of books , and the other two courses of lessons were to be used only before or after the regular school hours upon the requisition -of any one child in the school . After this Dr . Wh ately and the Right Honourable Mr . Blackburne resigned their seats at the Board , and the National system has become split as it were into three sections , embracing Presbyterian , Roman Catholic , and secular schools , in which Roman Catholic influence preponderates .
The mixed system , as recommended by the Board , and as sanctioned by the Privy Council Committee of Education , scarcely exists . Why , then , should the Liberal party be called on to reject the claims of any school or system of schools in Ireland to the benefit of Government aid , upon the plea of interference with a successful (?) National scheme . Why should the Liberal party be induced to fight the battle of the Irish ultramontane priest against the diffusion of Scriptural schools , to which statistics prove the Irish Roman Catholic people have no bigoted enmity ? The ' Kildare- place Society '
support a number of schools throughout Ireland , in which between 80 , 000 and 90 , 000 children are at at the present moment being educated , with the Scriptures constantly read ; and of this number upwards of 15 , 000 are Roman Catholics . Is there any reason why these schools should be left to voluntary support—schools in which mixed education , tcith the consent of the parents , is , at least , better carried out than in the non-vested national schools ? Is there any plea capable of weighing with the Liberal party why these children should be deprived of the benefit of Government inspection , of Government trained teachers , and school apparatus ?
Is the Liberal party of England interested in withholding the Scriptures from the Irish people as a dangerous book , opposed to the spirit of progress , of independence , of good citizenship ? Were the Christians of India the revolters ? Are the million and a half Protestants of Ireland the supporters of Ribbonism , and the admirers of the Sepoys ? But let me not be mistaken ; deeply as I have learned to modify my opinion of Roman Catholicism since my residence here , I would less than ever advocate a departure from even-handed justice . Let the national system be continued and extended , where practicable , in the ' vested'form , but let all schools in which , say not
less than thirty pupils attend , be admitted to all the advantages of connexion with the National Board , provided the teachers and the taught are submitted to a searching periodical examination in secular knowledge by competent and impartial inspectors . Under this modification , the Church of England schools on tho one hnnd would receive their fair ehare of support , the Presbyterians would extend their system in Ulster , and the ( Roman Catholic ) Christian Brothers schools , so well spoken of in the south of Ireland , would also be encouraged and 'multiplied , while the State , through the healthy competition , would be more secure of having its children , whether Protestant or Roman Catholic , imbued
• The sources of tho above statistical information are the ' Evidence taken before the Select Committee of tho House of Lords , 1854 , ' tho reports of tho ' Kildareplace Society , ' and ' National Education of Ireland , ' n pamphlet , by Dr . Dwyor Ferguson , lato AasisUnt-OomntlMloner of tho Endowed Schools Commission , 1858 .
with / found secular knowledge . * - ™~ " — > - ~~ I am , Sir , your obedient servant , An Englishman njosimsNT in Irkland . Dublin , April 5 , 1858 .
372 The Leader, [No- 421, Atril 1^1858.
372 THE LEADER , [ No- 421 , Atril 1 ^ 1858 .
Notices To Co-Respondents. Several Artic...
NOTICES TO CO-RESPONDENTS . Several articles are unavoidably postponed this week . No notice can be taken of anonymous correspondence "Whateveris intended for insertion must beauthenticated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of his good faith . It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we receive . Their insertion is often delayed , owing to a press of matter ; and when omitted , it is frequently from reasons quiteindependeut of themeritsof the communication .
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— V ' Saturday, April 17, 1858.
— v ' SATURDAY , APRIL 17 , 1858 .
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There Is Nothing So Revolutionary . Beca...
There is nothing so revolutionary . because there sx nothing so unnatural and convulsive , as the strain to keepthings fixed when allthe world is by the very law of its creationin . eternal progress . —De . Aenolp * —
Emancipation Of The Liberal Party In Par...
EMANCIPATION OF THE LIBERAL PARTY IN PARLIAMENT The patience of the country is being tried , and its temper more than a little rubbed by the present state of things in Parliament . A Government holding office from day to day , in obedience merely to the tactics , or to the temporary necessities , of an overwhelming Opposition , is not a gratifying sio-ht to the country at the present moment , when the most natural of its desires must be the possession of a powerful and unequivocally Liberal Government . It returned a large Liberal majority , —almost for a special
purpose , it is true ; but the inherent virtue whieh was in it impelled it to devote itself to larger uses than those for which it was originally intended ; and that majority belongs still to the country , which looks to it for representation , in spite of the malversation of the leader for whose support it was brought together . Lord Pai-mebston neglected the cause with which he was specially entrusted , but his followers refused to become parties to his default . True to their trust , they remain on the field , but leaderless . But not only are they leaderless , they are apparently averse to making choice of a leader .
In Mr . Hobsman ' s opinion , this is a position not altogether objectionable , and it is certainly one that may afford it serviceable experiences ; but it is anomalous . The work which lias to be done ia done by incompetent hands , and results have in consequence to be accepted that are the reverse of satisfactory . Prom the hour of Lord Debby ' s accession to office to the
present time he has not made one step forward on the way towards firmer ground , but he has been obliged to accept conditions and to offer compromises humiliating to his opponents no less than to himself ; the crowning humiliation to his government—at least so far—being the puerile eagerness displayed by Mr . Disraeli on Monday night to get rid of the responsibility of the Indian Bill ,
by adopting the suggestions of Lord John KussEiifc to bring the principles of tho bill before the House in , the form of resolutions , leaving-the-nltimate-form- 'of—the- 'measure ^ to bo determined in committee . Well might the House laugh when . Mr . DisuAEiii said it would be more agreeablo to him if Lord John Hussein -would himself propose the resolutions .
But to what end is the powerless Ministry of Lord Dekby kept in office ? Until it is convenient to the Liberal party to decide between the claims of Lord Palmerston
and Lord John Rfsseli to the nremW ship ? The duty of the Liberal party at the present hour is of too pressing a kind to wait for conveniences of time or circumstance Nothing has occurred to mend the position of Lord PaIiMekstok since his removal from power , and but for the impossibility of uniting the independent members with the tenacious ex-officials , there could be no difficulty in at once placing the party under the leadership of Lord John Rtjsseli , , who is the
natural leader of the Liberal party , and who upon the whole , possesses the confidence of the country . But what is to be done to secure the harmony and working efficacy of the divided party ? The answer to this inquiry is perfectly clear . Do not let us forget the real position of the country and of the principal questions under the force of prejudices against Lord Paimeeston . "What have been his antecedents ? Let us remember that he has
never been the leader of the Liberal party during an } ' active career on the subjects of domestic policy . We do not believe that he is a ' traitor ' to his country—that he betrays us to Russia , or intends to bring about the downfal of England . Wo admit a certain degree of verisimilitude in the great Ubqttiiaet epic , but some years back we accounted for it on principles which are quite sufficient ; and it is against all logic to advance larger reasons than those which suffice . Lord
Palmeeston ia not a statesman trained in the school of English government , but in the school of diplomacy ; he belongs more to the diplomatic circle than to the circle of thoroughly Euglish statesmen . His manner , as a political artist , has been shaped by the school in which he has been bred , and to which he has adhered throughout his life . It is a great art in that school to keep different powers or influences in such a state that they balance each other ; and Lord Palmerston ' s ' spirited policy , '
accompanied by great astuteness and prudence , has always tended to make the power of England felt without committing the country to positive courses . If he did so in the case of the Russian war , it was because the state of affairs at home offered a splendid opportunity for signalizing himself ; and a positive course happened to be peculiarly safe , as we have seen by the result ; while we have also seen that lie returned to a passive position as soon as possible . The time has passed by when a Minister of this kind is appropriate to the
head of the Government . It has been for want of political guidance , and for too great reliance in diplomatic guidance , that he has deviated into those inconsistencies on other questions which have broken up the Liberal party . The Liberals went with him ; he did not go with them ; and as they were sent up by tho country to follow his guidance on a question then paramount , they have too ninny of them somewhat slavishly construed their duty to follow him wheresoever he might go ; countenancing him even while he applied diplomatic shifts to our oreioic
home politics . Tho Liberal party , tii , has been betrayed into a fulso position . J » e Liberal conviction and purpose of the country are , in point of fact , unrepresented at tiie present moment . Nobody expects thai , u Lord T > fauiy wore to full iuto difficulties , " <> -would ^ peBorb ^ to ^ a ^ BSolwtig ^ Jjoc ^ uBo a ^^ solution would most likely result in a eon - ing up of a larger balance of Liberal mombers , impatient to put their opinion into action . On many accounts , a dissolution w a turmoil that sliould . be avoided just jo > but the course for the statesmen to whom i » lead of tho Liberal party is lapsing is ** ™»\ as if they wore to ' appeal to tho oounm . They must , in fact , appeal to tho county »)
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 17, 1858, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17041858/page/12/
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