Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/332

318 I tremble when I think that a certain divine, who is suspected of being hardly a Christian, is in a fair way of being a bishop, and may one day give licences to those who should be intrusted with the education of youth."



Robinson, bishop of London, declared that the church was in danger from schismatics and dissenters, who drew away the children of churchmen to their schools and academies,—thus paying the dissenters an undesigned compliment for their superior talents or industry in teaching. But the greatest curiosity was displayed regarding the part which Oxford would take, as it was known that in the council he had endeavoured to soften the rigorous clauses; but in the house he followed his usual shuffling habit, declaring that he had not yet considered the question; and, having induced the opposition to let the second reading pass without a division, he absented himself from the final voting, and thus disgusted both parties and hastened his own full. In committee the opposition endeavoured to introduce some modifying clause. They proposed that the dissenters should have schools for their own persuasion; and, had the real object of the bill been to prevent them endangering the church by educating the children of churchmen, this would have amply served the purpose. But this was not the real object; the motive of the bill was the old tyrannic spirit of the church, and this most reasonable clause was rejected. They allowed, however, dames or schoolmistresses to teach the children to read; and they removed the conviction of offenders from the justices of peace to the courts of law, and