Page:The Conscience Clause (Oakley, 1866).djvu/10

 the Church of England so as to enable us to bring in a measure which would be perfectly satisfactory with respect to the Conscience Clause. On this question of religious differences I think it is absolutely incumbent upon members of the Government not to bring them needlessly forward so as to cause irritation, unless they can see their way very clearly to a settlement of them."

1934.—"May we understand the substance of your Lordship's answers to be that you have abstained from submitting that important question to Parliament, partly from a feeling of conciliation towards the Church of England, and partly from the opinion (which is, I think, a sound opinion) that Parliament might say, 'If you adopt this clause you must carry it out to the full extent of the principle which it involves.'"—"I am not at all satisfied that the present way of dealing with the Conscience Clause is in such a shape as would meet with the concurrence of Parliament -, and with regard to introducing that arrangement which I should like to see introduced, it has not been done, partly out of a feeling of conciliation to the Church of England, but it is also in a great hope of being able to conduct some negotiations to a satisfactory point that I have delayed asking my colleagues to assent to such a measure."

In face of this I am at a loss to understand how the non-reference of the question to Parliament can be considered a grievance, or how an unfriendly animus against the Church of England or the National Society can be imputed to the Committee of Council on Education.

I have prefixed two mottoes to my pamphlet, which hit off exactly what I wish to be regarded as its two main points. The former of them expresses perfectly that combination of cautious but intelligent conservatism with determined, because necessary, progress, which, as I