BISHOP NELIGAN'S LECTURE ON ENGLISH EDUCATION QUESTION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 164, 11 July 1906, Page 8

BISHOP NELIGAN'S LECTURE ON ENGLISH EDUCATION QUESTION.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—As Bishop Neligan, in his recent lecture,' made a great point of the "Church" voluntary school "sacred"' trusts, perhaps the words given below of a prominent member of the Anglican Church may be interesting to his reverence, and also many others greatly interested in this difficult problem:— At Bristol on April 27, IDOG, Mr James Inskip, a staunch Churchman and recognised leader of the Conservative party in Bristol, having been their candidate at a Parliamentary election, delivered an important address bearing upon the attitude of the Protestant parly in relation to the Education Bill. After speaking at some length in favour of the Bible, and the Bible alone, forming the subject of religious teaching in public elementary schools, and objecting as a Protestant to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Roman Catholic hierarchy and Roman Catholic priests in defence of denominational teachinsr, Mr Inskip remarked "that a great deal had been said about the alteration of trust deeds, and a strong appeal was being made upon the subject. They ought to be candid in dealing with those matters. In the very last Parliament Mr Balfour introduced and carried through Parliament a Bill for altering the endowments of the Free Church of Scotland. That was not an ancient church, and many of them remembered its formation.' The decision of the House of Lords was given as to the direction of the trust deeds, and when tbat decision was found adverse to the views of a majority, Mr Balfour intervened, appointed a commission, introduced a Bill, and carried legislation for the purpose of modifying the trusts. Therefore it was not right for them when they stood upon a poliiieal platform to impute bad faith anc wickedness to their neighbours which could just as easily be imputed to their own party. He was a Conservative and therefore he could say that. They might go a step further upon that question of trust deeds; they might, remind their Bishops and clergy that in the ancient parishes there were many endowments given for purposes which tho country afterwards declared to be superstitious and were rendered unlawful. There were plenty of endowments given for the saying of masses, and those were endowments now held and enjoyed by members of the reformed Church of England. They must. remember this, that persous who gave endowments in one generation could not possibly claim a right to fetter persons who lived in succeeding generations. Mon passed away and were not present to iudse or give their verdict upon the question of trust deeds. During the last 40 years he had served upon various committees for the building national schools, and he was able to assert thai it. was not right to say that" those were built entirely with Church of England money. Nonconformist employers of labour in parishes with which ho bad been associated freely gave money towards providing those schools. Their money was accepted, and they had no right now to turn round and allege that the funds were contributed solely by Church people." As one who has also had experience of this educational problem in the Old Country, I trust our secular education in this fair land, may never be augmented with* religious and sectarian bigotry of any denomination.—l am, etc., W.H.A.