Page:The Conscience Clause in 1866.djvu/27

23 which might be discovered in the prayers, which might be discovered in the discipline, which might be discovered by a vexatious parent in a hundred ways besides the special Scripture lesson."

"1868 &*hellip; The Conscience Clause, which I myself should gladly accept, and which I believe almost four-fifths of the clergy would accept, would be a Conscience Clause to this effect: that any parent requiring it in writing, might have his child exempted from attendance at Church, or at the Sunday School, or from the Catechism lesson. That, I conceive, would be practical; I mean that it would raise issues which a court of law could deal with."

The compromise suggested in the reply to question 1868, seems to me somewhat inconsistent with the opinions expressed just before and just after.

The Catechism lesson contains no doctrine that may not be taught through another medium, and the clergyman who surrenders the Catechism at the parents' bidding, either practises a deception on the parent, or surrenders a portion of his own ministerial charge.

The Rev., a school inspector, is in favour of the general adoption of a Conscience Clause. (2187.) But what that clause should be, does not appear.

Mr. (3502) "thinks it would be a great pity to abandon the building grants. He thinks the building grant is exceedingly valuable. (3505.) He looks upon the Conscience Clause chiefly as a means of extending the building grants, (3510,) which are even more important for the purpose of keeping school promoters in the right path in the matter of building than for the aid they render them."

Mr. Lingen admits (3475) that "the unsettled state of the Conscience Clause acts prejudicially upon the spread of education in the rural districts." 3544. "If Parliament said once for all that there should be no Conscience Clause, I might regret that very much, but still I think that would be better than a merely unsettled state. I would rather have it decided in the negative than that it should remain merely unsettled."

Once more I must refer to the Report of 1866. Mr. Bruce is questioning Mr. Lingen.