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On Wednesday Lord John visited a number of the principal manufacturing establishments in Manchester and the neighbourhood . The corporations of Manchester and Salford adopted addresses at meetings held for that purpose on Wednesday . On Thursday the Salford address was presented to him by the Mayor , attended by the principal members of the Council , in the large room of the Salford Public Library . Lord John immediately afterwards proceeded to the Town-hall xn Kingstreet , where the address of the Manchester Town Council was presented to him by the Mayor and Aldermen of the borough . In consequence of the public announcement of the intended vi-it of Lord John to Manchester , a joint meeting of the two central committees of Lancashire and Yorkshire was held at Manchester on Monday , ¦ when an address to his lordship was nnanimouely adopted , and a joint letter from the secretaries of the two committees was immediately dispatched , requesting to know if his lordship would receive the address by deputation , or otherwise . On Thursday morning his lordship wrote to say , that it was not his intention to receive any addresses except from the corporations of Manchester and Salford .
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THE LANCASHIRE EDUCATION MOVEMENT . GREAT MEETING IN MANCHESTER . One of the most remarkable meetings held in Manchester for many years took place on Monday , in the Townhall . Its object was to consider the propriety of a petition to Parliament in favoui : of establishing a general system of secular education , to be supported by local rates , and managed by local authorities , specially elected by the rate-payers . The meeting was called by Mr . John Potter , mayor of Manchester , in consequence of a requisition to that effect signed by 500 of the most respectable merchants , manufacturers , and other inhabitants . So great was the anxiety to be present at this meeting , that a crrtwd of people almost sufficient to fill the hall had taken up a position in front of : he entrance as early as nine o'clock . The doors were open at half-past ten , and the rush was tremendous ; in less than ten minutes the hall was crowded to sntfocatiun . Keports were current that the Church party , acting with the Reverend Hugh Stowell , had formed an arrangement with some of the Irish lodges of Orangemen in the borough to puck the room , which is said to have been borne out by the fact that amongst the people first crowding into the hall , and who commenced shouting and creating j > reat uproar , were a number of rough , uneducated Irishmen , whose feelings and tastes , uninfluenced , were not likely to lead them to such a meeting . The Mayor presided , and amongst the gentlemen occupying seats on the platform were Sir Klkariah Armitajio , lute mayor , and a large number of the Established clergy and Dissenting ministers , and also of the aldermen and councillors of the borough . Some thousands of people , who could not gain admission when the hall was full , remained in the open air , and were addressed in favour of the scheme by Dr . Watts and other persons . In moving the first resolution , the lleverend J . F . Tuck . Kit >» ave a clear and vigorous outline of the arguments in favour of such a system of national education as the one they were met to consider . The mode in which ho and his friends proposed to provide for the effectual education of the people was the one best suited to our British independence . "It retains the municipal element of our constitution , and instead of entrusting the support and management of schools to the whim of the Ministry of the day , or to committees of Privy Council , it entrusts the support and management to the people themselves . " Another leading feature was the fairness of the principle on which the system was based : — "Under this system nothing will be taught in the schools but what all men must acknowledge to he true . There will be no danger of one man teaching one doctrine in ono school , and of another man teaching an opposite doctrine in another . ( Cheers . ) There will bo no d » ngcr of ono schoolmaster enforcing thf creed of Mr . Gorham , and another the creed of the Bishop of Kxcter . ( Loud cheers ) I ask those who take the trouble to lie . tr me whether this is no advantage . I '' or my own part , [ ln « l > l it . as a great principle that no part ot the funds to which all contribute should go to tho support of opinions from which ' any conscientiously dis- : sent .. Undtr ( his system there will he committed no < injustice such ; s tins . All that would he taught in ! these schools would he Mich a . s we should all agree . upon . " I Tin 1 ) ' woe met , with the objection that thorn Ni'hunn was irreligious , but this was easily dispos * ( 1 of . Those who contended that the more intimately ; a man becomes aeijuainted with the works of God , j ho will lose his reverence for the- word of Uud , threw j discredit on religion bv their bigotry : —
" Is it likely that the man who merelv looks nt . the surface ot crejifion must , needs ho a more devout , nmn than he who penetrates and dives beneath ? Is it liKcly that the workman will deteriorate in icliyious feeling just as he increases in intelligence to trace the wonderful fifliuify and eolwsion that , are observable in the material reation ? J * 'or mvself I should be afraid to utter a
sentiment such as that . Once convince me that the more a man obtains of knowledge , the less he is likely to preserve his piety ; once embue me with the sentiment that ignorance is the mother of devotion , and then , whether I chose to retain my ignorance or no , I should certainly give up my devotion altogether . " Shortly before his death , Dr . Chalmers put forth the opinion , that , in consideration of all the difficulties of this much-vexed question , the best way would be to go to Government for a secular scheme of education , and leave it to the religious denominations to supplement religion . Mr . Tucker concluded by moving that the fallowing petition be signed , on behalf of the meeting , by the mayor as chairman : — " This petition humbly showeth , — " That the large amount of intemperance , vice , and crime , which exists in England and Wales , is , to a great extent , owing to prevalent ignorance , and to the main cause of that ignorance , namely , an insufficient and defective provision for popular education . " That , as her Majesty ' s subjects have long enjoyed the benefits of a large share of self-government , their rights and their liberties alike require that parents should have a direct influence in the origination , the maintenance , and the direction of public schools . " That inasmuch as various forms of opinion in regard to religion prevail in the country , and large numbers of persons stand aloof from existing religious communities , freedom from sectarian and denominational peculiarities ought to characterize any new educational enactments . " Your petitioners , in view of these facts and convictions , earnestly entreat your honourable House to establish by latfr a system of education which , excluding all theological doctrines and sectarian influences , supported by local rates asse&sed on the basis of the poor ' s rate , and managed by the local authorities specially elected for that purpose by the rate-payers , may afford to all , especially to the untaught and neglected , opportunities free of charge for a thorough training in useful knowledge , good principles , and virtuous habits . " And your petitioners , &c . "
They had been told to look to America , to New England , where a similar system of education was in operation . But so long as their model state held fa 3 t to the accursed slave system Here Mr . Stowell was met with cries of ' * No , no ! " and began to see that he had made a blunder . " I retract the expression then , " said he ; «* but I object to the model , because New England is a small state with a small population . " It was a gross mistake that they would conciliate popular favour by leaving religion out of their scheme : — " I have no hesitation in saying that if you were to poll the inhabitants of Manchester you will find that , of the Protestant population of this city , there are not onetenth of the whole who would say they would not send their children to school because the Bible is read there .
The Reverend J . J . Taylor , D . D ., seconded theresolution . Although not a member of the Lancashire Public School Association , he was warmly in favour of the objects which they were aiming at . He was not , however , as much afraid of the meddling of Government as some of them were . He did not fear the power of the state . He thought our danger came from another quarter , " from a power which puts aside authority at every point , and would fain put itself at the head of the stale . " The Reverend Hugh Stowrll , M . A ., rose amidst very great confusion , and was a long time before he could obtain a hearing . He proposed an amendment in the following terms : —
" My Christian friends , the practical touchstone is to be seen in Scotland . It is to be seen at this moment in semi-infidel France . ( A Voice— ' They have a religious system of education . ) I say in infidel France , where the bitter fruits of that system are sucli a fearful amount of Socialism and Communism . There it is clearly proved that such a system , in the upshot , will lead to a fearful recoil upon despotism ; for such despotic measures are now being adopted in France to maintain public tranquillity and protect life and property as I pray God may never be demanded in our own free land . ( Loud cheers . )
I believe I am not making an unwarrantable assumption when I trace the disorder and disorganization that affect that unhappy country to the system of education that has been upheld by the Government in that land ; and I appeal upon this subject to a late article in the London Times . ( ' Oh ! oh ! ' ) I appeal also to the incendiary principles and democratic revolutionary doctrines of the secular schoolmasters of that country . It has been proved that they are the normal teachers , and that their schools are the normal seminaries of Communism , Socialism , anarchy , and ruin . "
It is a libel upon the working men of Lancashire and of England to say that the Bible is a bugbear in the schools . Why , the working men of Lancashire would not send their children to a school where the Bible is shut out ; but to a school where the word of God is upheld as the rule and standard . They say they don ' t wish to exclude the religious , but the sectarian element . Then , let their plan include the whole Bible , and 1 will not oppose them any longer . ( Loud cheers , and cries of' What version ? ' ) I would consider that the proper one which I conscientiously believe to be the best ; but I would not withhold grants from schools where other versions were
taught , if the whole Bible were introduced . I ask the gentlemen who have spoken , Do they brand the Bible as sectarian ? ' If you say that , you exclude sectarian instruction , and that next you exclude the word of God in its integrity , is it not a legitimate inference that you brand the Bible as sectarian ? ( ' No , no ! ' ' ' and uproar . ) I will never cc-aso to hold up my hand against any system which . excludes the Bible upon any grounds whatever . ( Cheers and hisses . ) It may be said , ' Give secular education without the Bible to those who seek it . ' Then I say , Let them suppoit it themselves ; ' and not take money out of my pocket to support a system of which I cannot approve . "
" That , instead of the petition which has been submitted , the following be the petition addressed to both Houses of Parliament , to be signed by the mayor on behalf of this meeting : —" Thatj'our petitioners are deeply persuaded that , in order that education may be of much avail to a country , it mu * t be Christian education . ( Cheers and hisses . ) That it is the duty of the state to provide such education and no other for the children of the poor in this Christian land : and that they regard
The Reverend Cijaki / tcs IIaydon , who called himself the representative of the Wesleyans , seconded the amendment . If they called for uniformity , he said , let them have it ; but he called this scheme uniform only in one thing—and that was in irreligion . If they meant to ostracise the Bible , and to give encouragement to the infidel , this system would do it . The Reverend William M'Iverhow advfinced , amidst loud cheeis , to support the motion . He complained that the opponents of the resolution did not state the grounds of their opposition very clearly . A great deal had been said about the value and importance , and he perfectly agreed with what had been said on that head ; but that was not the subject they had met to discuss . They had met to consider what were the best means to secure a better nnd more extensive system of education than that which
with strong disapproval a bill now before Parliament for providing secular instruction for the people , without at the « ame time securing that it should also be Christian in its character . ( ' Oh ! oh / ' ) Your petitioners therefore pray your honourable House to reject that bill , and to sanction no measure for the furtherance of national education which does not make provision for the moral and religious , as well as the intellectual , culture of the children of the poorer classes . "
lie commenced his speech by claiming credit for having always been the poor man ' s friend , and he thought he was bound , in that capacity , to lend his aid in protecting the poor man ' s family from the dissociation of secular and religious instruction : — " I oppose the system of the Lancashire Public School Association , because I conceive that it is an utterly inadequate system , as applied to man . For man is not simply a being formed for time , but capacitated for eternity ; he is not merely a being who has an intellect to expand , but a heart to cultivate and moral affections to be trained , for God and for his kind . ( Renewed confusion . ) Are you afraid of truth ? ( 'JVo . ' ) If you dare not listen you are afraid of your cause , and arc
now exists . " It is a lamentable fact that , although we have had a church established by law , which has had at its command about ten millions of money—( Loud cheers )—yet , nutwithstanding all the religious and secular appliances which that church can command , and which that church ought to have employrd , we have one-third of our people unable to read , nearly one-half unable to write . It * is unquestionably true that there are at the present time 7- )( . ) , () 00 children between the ages of 5 and 12 j years that are receiving no instruction whatever , neither secular nor religious , and it is equally true that every 10 years we cast out upon society somewhere about 1 }
cowards . lam not afraid to listen loall your arguments ; will you not listen to mine in return ? ( h ' o / iewcd uproar . ) We consider this schema to bo objectionable , because , while it secures intellectual culture , it makes no certain provision whatever for spiritual , moral , and religious cultivation . ( Interruption . ) It provides that the one sli . ill be given , it foibiiis ihar . the other shall be given . I have examined the scheme in vain to find that reli ^ ims instruction is part ami parcel cf it . It reverses the proper rule of our conduct in regard to the things of time , for we are taught ' to . seel ; first the kingdom of ( jo d and his j ' ¦ gh ( eou « . n <\ s . s . ' iiut the La : ic : is ! iirc 1 ' ulilic Si'hool Association appeals to me . to invert the order , and to s ;< y , Seek first the secular , and afterwards seek the spiritual and tie eternal . ' "
million of souls that have received no education , no secular instruction , no relinious and moral training . I ask , then , is such a state of society 1 o exist ? Look at the facts of the case . We now pay £ 8 , 000 , 000 for poorrates . Although our population h ' as not doubled sinci ? the commencement of the present century , yet crime has incrcaM'd live-fold . We pay £ 2 , 000 , 000 fur the prosecution of criminals , and we lose by public theft somewhere about £ M , 000 , 000 . Now , then , it is perfectly evident that
the educational agencies hitherto at work arc not P (! e ( ju : ite to the circumstances of the country . " We . have been told of what voluntaryism has been doing of late ; and , by the gentleman who ' last spoke , that , under the system of the minutes of council—with which , forsooth , ue ought lobe content—education has been woiking wc . il and rapidly . Now , I protect against those minutes of ciuincil , because they are contrary to the rights of conscience . They introduce religious principles they pension and endow all sects and parties—and it is to m > a marvel that men professing to be interested in
par-In rep ' y to tho . * o who s . iy that the st .-ite has nothing to do with religion , he contended that , if the state was bound to educate , the people nt all , it was bound to educate- them in the very best manner . " If a srat . e makes no provision lor the Christian and tho moral , that state is unfaithful t .. » herself , and to the best interests of the community . " He pointed to Scotland and Franee aft exhibiting the practical result of the two kinds of education : —
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26 ®!> £ ILttibtV * [ Saturday ,
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Leader (1850-1860), April 6, 1850, page 26, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1839/page/2/
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