The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria

Prestatyn Free Church Council. THE EDUCATION BILL. Speeches by Dr. Townsend and the Rev. C. F. Aked. -r [BY OUR OWN REPORTER.] ON Friday evening, the inaugural meeting of the Prestatyn branch of the National Free Church Council was held in the Town Hall. The Rev W. J. Townsend, D.D., president of the National Free Church Council, presided, and he, together with the Rev C. F. Aked, a well-known Liverpool divine,were the principal speakers. Among those on the platform wera the Revs David Oliver, Holywell; Ezra Jones and J. Thomas, Prestatyn; Messrs Thomas Jones, Thomas Williams, etc. There was a fair audience. Dr TOWNSEND, after the meeting; opened with prayer by the Rev J. Thomas, addressed the audience at some length. He first alluded to the objects of the Free Church Council, and drew an encouraging picture of the effects of unity. The churches were united, first of all, for spiritual purposes; that was the chief ob- ject. They were deeply interested in the great social problems that perplexed the nation, and which could only be righted mainly by the action of the Free Ohurdhesi. If the Free Churches of this country did not take up the drink ques- tion and other evils such as gambling and over- crowding, he was much afraid that both Eng- land and Wales would be troubled with social wrongs and immoralities for a lonjg, time to come. But if the Free Churchmen, who repre- sented half the religious side of the nation, set their faces determinedly and with a united effort against all social wrongs, he believed they would be able to exercise, such influence within the near future as would lift the nation into a higher conception, both of civilisation and reli- gion. At the present moment, however, nearly every question was overshadowed by one great wrong, which bad been deliberately perpetra- ted by the clerical party in this country. The speaker then referred to the Education Bill, and in scathing terms, denounced Mr Balfour's use of the guillotine and closure to get the Bill through the House of Commons. It was a great mistake on Mr Gladstone's part to ever have introduced the closure, although there were mitigating circumst,ances. when he used it to pass his Home Rule Bill. But in the light of subsequent events, he now doubted the wisdom of such a proceeding. The Church and Con- vocation were consulted as to the clauses of the Bill, but the great masses of the people and the eight million adherents of the Free Churches that made up so much of the back- bone and strength of the nation, were entirely ignored. The Bishops at Fulham denied that they had been consulted; but, as many of the resolutions passed in Convocation and by the Diocesan Society meetings were embodied in the Bill, they could only arrive at one conclu- sion, viz., that the Government had adopted those' resolutions. (Hear, hear.) That after- noon, in the House of Commons,the Bill would probably pas's its third reading. They had arrived at a strange crisis in national history. There was nothing left for them but resistance -(cheers)-resistance to the very last. Taking Lord Rosebery's advice, they would fight it to the death. In a flood of eloquence, Dr Town- send dealt with the proposal to destroy the school boards because they had been so suc- cessfuil. He pointed out that since school boards had been in existence, the number of prisons had decreased. They had doubled the schools and halved the prisons—(cheers)—and yet a man like Dean Gregory had the audacity to say that board schools were responsible for a considerable portion of the increase of crime in this country. (Shame.) He suggested that, if the country could pay 25 millions for a cruel war, surely they could afford to put down 26 millions for the voluntary school buildings, and let them be national schools in reality, and not in name alone. (Cheers.) The "Spectator" said the buildings were worth '120 millions. 120 million fiddlesticks'! (Laughter.) Greatest Danger in the Bill. The greatest danger in the Bill was the likeli- hood of them having to fight the battle of the Reformation over again. In many of the Church of England schools the confessional was practised, and of all the hideous machin- ery that Protestantism ever devised for the, de- struction of the people, he regarded that as' the worst. Let Popery be taught if it was wanted, but they were not going to pay for it. Thou- sands of Free churchmen would never consent to pay the Church rate. Sir Michael Hicks- Beach told them they were preparing a rod for their own backs, as Parliament and the Courts of Law would deal effectively with any recu- sants who refused to pay the rate. The Bishop of Chester said such talk was "all foam and froth." Lord Hugh Cecil had sneered at their threats, and said they would go to prison if they did not obey the. law. That would be nothing new to Free Churchmen in this country. They had been trained and brought up in persecution. Lvery inch of the ground they stood upon to-day had been fought for, and won in the face of the civil magistrates. Some of the noblest names in their history had suffered shameful indignities and tortures. William Prynne, Lilburn, Burton, and John Bastwick were set in the pillory, their ears were cut off, their noses slit, and their cheeks bran- ded; others were burnt at the stake for their principles, and some had been executed on the scaffold. John Bunyan lay in Bedford Gaol for twelve years, and declared that he would remain there until the green moss grew over his eyebrows, rat/her than allow his conscience to foe shamed. The Mansion House in London was built out of the fines of Nonconformists who refused to obey an .unjust law. Theirs was a sorrowful tale of suffering and oppression, and yet in Free Church Councils of to-day, there were 'multitudes of men having strong convictions and with the courage to give effect to them. From 1660 to 1684, over 60,000 Non- conformists were thrown into prison for con. science sake, and 5,000 of them died there. He wondered if history wouild repeal itself? From the passing of the Act the war would com- mence. It may be a war -that would not be settled in his lifetime, but perhaps in the life. time of the younger people. However long or short, they woutld fight it through. (Cheers.) Nonconformity never sought a battle, but it had never shirked one. Neither had it lost one, and they could go into this war in the name of right and in the name of God; and, God helping them, they would fight u through bravely and honourably until the victory was won on the side of justice and on the side of a broad and glorious system of national educa- tion. (Cheers.) A Graceful Eulogy. The Rev C. F. AKED (Liverpool) was re- ceived with applause. He prefaced his speech with a Vraceful eulogy of the invaluable ser- vices rendered by their respected president as head of the National Council. Those of them who had the joy of serving; under mm could testify that, wherever he was, a clear light was shining, and! the flag was bravely borne aloft. Those who worked with him on the Council knew full well how much they were indebted to him. for his genial tact, his lofty spirit, his wise statesmanship, and for the. valorous lead he gave them every day. (Applause.) The rev. gentleman proceeded to expound the; objects of the Free Churches. They were not seeking to unite the churches in one organisation—a tear held by some people-b,u;t one without any grounds'; nor were they endeavouring to pro- selytise or abolish ecclesiastical polity, or fix one doctrine amongst the Free Churches. They were not trying to convert Methodists into Pres- byterians nor were they seeking to abolish denominational distinctions. They were not trying to introduce any system of government which would interfere either with the independ- ence of the Independent Church, or the self- government of a self-gsoverning connection or denomination; neither did they look for vtru- formity of belief, of practice, or of ceremony. What they did seek was to get to know one another better, to understand one another more clearly, and to cultivate a growing appreciation of one another's goodness. They had recog- nised from, the first that there was not one great historical denomination in existence at the pre- sent day which did not hold some separate form of truth. One denomination could not grasp all the truth. All the truth had not been given to one denomination. Each one, had a different way of looking at things, and laid different em- phasis upon one or other essential. But they all stood for one principle, the deathless prin- ciple of human liberty. (Cheers.) Apart from church, ceremony, or creed, they stood, up for the right of the individual to go direct for par- don and peace to a crucified and risen Christ. They stood for the freedom of the ministry of the whole Church of God. They were not going cap in hand knocking at the door of the Vatican to ask the Pope to validate the orders of their ministry. They stood for free men and free nations. But now their liberty was threat- ened. For years past, there had been a steady reaction against human progress and liberty, which had culminated in. the Bill before them. w I I An Emphatic Protest. He had been asked to move the following resolution thereon: "That this meeting empha- tically condemns the Edutcation Bill because it proposes the destruction of school boards, and transfer of their powers to bodies, not directly elected by the people, and because it provides for the maintenance of sectarian schools out of public funds, inns violating the cherished prin- ciple of the British people that there: shall be no expenditure of pubi-c money witho'ut public control, and inflicts a grievous wrong upon Free Churcnmen who were to be obliged to pay for the propagation of doctrines which they be- lieve to be unhealthy, untrue, and hurtful to the best life of the nation." He submitted the resolution with no pleasure. Whoever else could approach the discussion of these grave issues with a light heart, he could not. He spoke to them with a sense of sadness. As Nonconformists and Free Churchmen they were faced by the gravest crisis in their history since the Act of Uniformity of 1662. As citizens of a free. country they were called upon to repel the most profligate attack upon their constitutional liberties since 1688, the year of the glorious revolution. The school boards were to be destroyed. Dr Townsend said they had done their work too well. Evidently, education was not good for people like themselves unless it had been distilled through an atmosphere charged with Popery. A near neighbour of his —the Vicar of Wavertree—for whom he had great respect, said that for 600 years the Church h:ad been in charge of the education of the people of this country. A pretty mess they had made of n. (Laughter.) The first grant of puiblic money from, i'ariiament towards educa- tion was made in 1833. In 1820 one-half of the women married and one-third of the men could not sign their names in the marriage register. In the manufacturing districts it was worse, the percentage being 65. He began marrying people 20 years ago. Theireforei, he had a great deal to answer for—(laughter)—and there was no priest that could give him absolution. (Loud laug, -.er.) In Nottinghamshire, Derbysnire, and Lancashire he had laboured amongst col- liers and all manner of workmen, and during his ministry he had never married a man or woman who could not sign the marriage regis- ter. (Applause.) That was the work of the school board.s and of the schools outside their control. (Cheers.) They had transformed and transfigured the life of the community. He did not rest his argument for their retention upon the best work they had done; but on the worst work any one of them had accomplished. Clever Parsons. He would take the most inefficient school board in existence, and he would say it was better than a lot of clever parsons. (Laughter.) The school board had been called into exist- ence by the people, and it was managed by the people. It could also be improved by the people; but they could not improve the parsons. at all. They were told the school boards were not perfect. Some people even suggested that the House of Commons- was not all it should be, and others 'had dared to whisper that even the Hotel Cecil, Limited, was' not perfect. (Laughter.) Well, there were many things not as perfect as they should be in this country but they claimed that the school boards, had done their duty, and that their great record en- titled them, not to extinction, but to increased powers and scope. He had not long been back from his. fifth trip across the Atlantic from a free land where zeal for education was earnest and unfettered. During his last trip he visited the great lakes, sunny Kentucky, and went as far west as the Rocky Mountains, and wherever he went the same question was asked,, "What was the meaning of this educational struggle in the old country?" He found that every- where they were the objects of either pity or contempt, and wonder was expressed that, in the 20th .odntury, their statesmen should be found facing the future with the rusty mediae- val weapons of the dark ages in their hands. The working men could not afford to have the educational system, of the country tampered with. Their industrial position as a commer- cial people was in jeopardy, for the country that was in any degree outclassed in the race of nations would be left behind, and if they valued their place it was a larger education, and not a smaller one, that must satisfy them. Professor Huxley once dreamt of an educational ladder, with its lowest rung in the elementary schools and its topmost rung in the university. He had also dreamt of an educational ladder, but one with its feet not merely in the elementary school, but in the gutter as well. He claimed for the poor children,, the outcasts of respect- able society1, the children of the thief and the fallen woman,, who were born in the prison and the workhouse, that tney should have attention. It was not their fault t'hat they were born there, and he claimed for mean the same rigin fo live and breathe the air of liberty that they claimed for their own. (Prolonged cheering.) Unhealthy Doctrines. Referring to the intolerable injustice in- flicted upon Free Churchmen by being com- pelled to pay for something they did not want, and had never asked for, the rev. gentleman said the resolution asked them: to protest against havingj to pay for the propagation of doctrines, which they believed to be unhealthy, unscriptural, unsound, untrue, unmanly, and dangerous to the best life of the nation. Why shoulld they pay to have their children taught that the religion of their parents was false and bad? (Applause.) Why should they pay to be insulted? So long as there was a State Church and a territorial aristrocracy in existence they co.uld have all the insults they wanted without paying for them. (Laughter.) Their volun- tary schools were meant for propaganda, and the National Society came into existence for that purpose,. In the closing days of the 18th century, Joseph Lancaster introduced a system of popular schools to the poor people. In the beginning] of the igttii century the State Church became alarmed. They looked askance upon the movement, and cried, "What will become of us?" (Laughter.) He (Dr. Aked) had a copy of the circular that was, issued in 1811. It pointed out that the education of the people should be controlled by the Established Church:, and argued that if this was not the case, that if the Lancastrian system were allowed to extend, the people would be educated without the principles of Establishment, the result of which,, in the course of a generation or two, would be dangerous to the Establishment itself. In 1812, they started a society of their own, and opened "National" Schools to safeguard the State Church, and keep its dogmas alive. The House of Lords and the Established Church had systematicaillly and steadily opposed the setting-up of State Schools' managed, and financed by the people, and then, having secured control over schools, assisted by the State, they had tried to starve the education of S t. the people. The clergy knew that a t'horough- ly-educated people would be the ruin of their Establishment. A squirearchy would be im- possible with a thoroughly-educated people,and so they fought their point, and were fignting for it to-day. Their schools existed for the propaganda, of their own sectarian tenets. Let them, if they wished, teach the Catholic re- ligion in Catholic schools to Catholic children, and they 'would fight them in their own way, by showing themselves better Christians than they were, but as to paying for it, in the name of God, they would not. (Cheers.) The speaker related an anecdote where two commercial travellers in an hotel were dis- cussing, whether a tomato should be eaten as a (fruit or a vegetable1!. Eventually, they re- ferred the question to the waiter. That worthy, after scratching his head, looked at the menu, and said "I don't know exactly, but it's an extra,, and has to be paid for separ- ate. (Laughter.) These, dogmas were extra. They were no part of the national system of education, and they would have to be paid for. separately. The analogy was received with loud cheer.s(. The Church party, continued the speaker, were going in for a school with two doors in it, one leading from the, street into the school, and another through which the children would pass into the church. And they were to pay for it. It was the funni- est thing; in human experience that they were not ashamed of the proposal. He Curse of Priesiism. It was attempt on the part of the priesthood to gain ascendency. They were to pay to have the priest back again. The rule of the priest had been a curse, and a blight wherever it had held sway. They were to pay to help to bring back the ghost of that dead superstition from the grave in which Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other great men buried it, and this ghost, grinning and grimacing, was to be sprinkled with holy water and blessleld by Bishops, and they were to pay the whole COSit of it. In the name of the Protestant religion they rebelled against it. (Cheers.) It was because the rule of the priest, whilst it die- graded the intellect of man, dethorned the eternal Christ, that they protested. It was out of loyalty to the Crowji rights of King Jesus that they declined to have the yoke of the priest placed on their necks again. (Cheers.) Dr. Fairbairni, who acted as the spokesman of the great Nonconformist deputation, told Mr Balfour that if legislation tended to create an ecclesiastical monopoly in the schools of the people, they would never submit. Mr Balfour said: "Then, you will be rebels, gentlemen." Shocking, wasn't it? (Laughter.) There were two men who approved of rebellion in this country. One was the, Duke' of Devonshire. He approved of rebellion when he was not asleep. (Laughter.) King Edward also ap- proved of it. If they did not, one would have to resign his Dukedom, and the King would have to lay down his crown. The Duke's an- cestor.9 took part in a rebellion that was suc- cessful, and because it was successful, .King Edward was sitting on the throne. (Applause.) Therefore, nobody could frighten them about. a rebellion. Many of them were born rebels. The great martyrs .of the past—Latimer, Rid- ley, Bunyan, and others-called to them to re- consecrate themselves to the maintenance of the civil and religious liberties of this country. And, by God's help, they would do so. (Loud cheers.) The Rev David Oliver seconded the resolu- tion, which was carried unanimously. Brief addresses were afterwards delivered by the Rev Ezra Jones and Mr Robert Jones. Votes of thanks to the speakers terminated the proceedings.

—— Forty-two years after winning it Robert Gascoigne, an octogenarian, resident off Idle, Yorkshire, has been informed by the War Office that he will shortly receive his medal for the China War of 1859-60. China War of 1859-60.

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