churchman who is kept rightly informed about the work that is being carried on in Church schools will prove unwilling to make some sacrifice for their maintenance. What are our present difficulties compared with the first difficulties encountered by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and the National Society?

They started the work of elementary education with nothing to rely upon save the soundness of the great religious principle upon which they based their enterprise. We, on the contrary, find a complete system ready to hand, so that we are compelled to acknowledge with respect to our elementary schools, "Other men have laboured: we have only entered into their labours." Shame upon us, then, if we do not continue to carry on this work with vigour !

It remains for us to consider one or two practical suggestions which only need to be followed to ensure the strengthening of the religious side of elementary education. The first and foremost is, Let the clergy everywhere, and the lay managers as well, show a more lively interest in the religious instruction in our Church schools. The teachers thirst for this interest, and will at once respond to it, and the effects upon the children will soon become manifest. Where the managers, and more especially the clergy, are negligent in this respect, they little know what valuable opportunities they miss of promoting their Master's glory and of improving themselves. What minds are more receptive of Divine truth than the minds of children? And how can we, the clergy, better discover the best methods of bringing home the teaching of the Scriptures to our congregations than through our efforts to make it plain to children? And let me add, from whom may we expect more intelligent sympathy and co-operation in our Church work generally than from our head-teachers, the majority of whom, from the very nature of their occupation and training, possess singularly enlightened, well-disciplined, and zealous dispositions?

Where this first suggestion is complied with, any further suggestions will probably be superfluous, for if the managers of a school take a lively interest in the religious instruction, no pains will be spared to make this branch of the work as efficient as possible. In such cases we are hardly likely to hear of the diocesan inspector being kept at arm's-length, or of indefiniteness in the teaching, or of neglect of the pupil teachers. But perhaps an additional suggestion on the subject of punctuality may not be without its value to us.

Church managers should do more than they do at present to encourage and even enforce punctuality-unpunctuality, if not a moral defect, is a bad habit which produces so many serious consequences that it is distinctly a part of our duty, as far as possible, to correct it in the children under our care. Moreover, unpunctuality at school means the loss of religious instruction. If, therefore, we desire to strengthen the religious side of elementary education, we must insist upon more punctual attendance upon the part of our scholars generally.

This is to be done in various ways. First of all by keeping the importance of punctuality constantly before the minds of the children, then by making them feel the difference between punctuality and unpunctuality, by marking the punctual scholars in red and the unpunctual in black in the registers, and by making the rewards at the end of the school year largely dependent upon punctuality. And let me recommend another

device which has been found to work well in many schools, and of which I cannot speak too highly myself, and that is presenting each scholar who has made ten punctual attendances with a token or card at the close of the week, which shall entitle it to a remission of one penny from the school fee for the week following. Some choose to speak of this device as nothing less than a bribe. It might more gracefully be termed a diminutive scholarship, whereby parents are admitted to a share of the pecuniary benefit which a school derives from every regular and punctual scholar. I can only say that if it is a bribe, it is a bribe which is returned fourfold to the managers in an increased average attendance, and, consequently, in an increased Government grant.

With punctual scholars, and definite teaching heartily given by clergy and teachers, it becomes possible so to elevate the tone of a school that the good effect of the religious instruction will be known and read of all

men.

And if we thus commend the advantages of a religious education to the people, we shall hear no inquiries for purely secular schools, but we shall more and more oblige our School Boards to make their religious instruction as full and as efficient as they can.

And if we desire still further to influence the action of School Boards, let churchmen continue to show themselves willing to take their share in School Board work. Let them with all meekness and patience press upon their respective boards the importance of the religious side of elementary education. Let them use their influence to obtain the admission of the diocesan inspector into Board schools. In this diocese of Carlisle they have so far succeeded in this respect that no less than twenty-three Board schools welcome the inspector's visits. Let them offer special opportunities of religious instruction to Board school pupil teachers, such as are now being offered in the dioceses of London and Rochester, and in every other way that is possible let them manifest their practical sympathy with the religious side of elementary education in schools other than their own.

Once more let me repeat that upon churchmen mainly rests the privilege and the responsibility of upholding the importance of the religious side of elementary education. The past history and the present position of the educational machinery of the Church bear incontestable witness to the vitality of the religious principle. If churchmen everywhere will only use the machinery to the best advantage, they cannot fail to produce good results in their own schools and to provoke such healthy emulation in other educational agencies as shall secure to every child in the realm some acquaintance with the deeper mysteries of its being.

It is no less true now than it was heretofore, that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." It is, perhaps, more necessary than ever, in the face of the increasing snares and temptations offered by an advancing civilisation, to "train up a child in the way he should go." Let us then return to our first love in this matter of religious education, and make the religious side our chief concern. And although work in our schools may not make much outward show, and may even pass unacknowledged by the world, we shall nevertheless be enabled to exert such direct religious influence through our Church scnools, and such

indirect influence through our Board schools, that the Church of England will fulfil her mission as a leavening power at the very source of the nation's life. She will quietly but surely promote the best interests of the empire in the training up of a God-fearing generation, who will carry on the great traditions of the English people along the tried paths of law and order in the direction of all Christian progress.

DISCUSSION.

J. G. TALBOT, ESQ., M.P.

I AM glad of the opportunity of emphasising what seem to me two lessons which this discussion has left with us. The first is the encouragement which we may derive from the success with which Church schools are still maintained in the face of all the competition of Board schools, and the second is the stimulus to renewed exertion which the present condition of things supplies. 1.-It is surely no small matter for thankful satisfaction that, in the all-important matter of the religious education of the people, the Church has been able not only to maintain so much of the ground already gained, but also to occupy new ground. And this has been done, and is done, notwithstanding that the School Board system has the enormous advantage (in a temporal point of view) of a practically unlimited control of the public purse. This shows what the Church can do when her vast (though often latent) energies are called forth. But secondly what I chiefly desire to impress upon the members of this Congress is, the great necessity which the present condition of things lays upon us. If we consider the influence which the working classes exert-and, so far as we can tell, will more and more exert-upon the destinies of this empire, what can be of greater moment than the question in what manner their children, the men and women of the next generation, are being educated? Or again, if we look abroad and see the state of things which prevails amongst the nations of the Continent, it is not too much to say that this question is already, and is likely to become increasingly, the battle-ground on which a great conflict is to be lost or won. In France conspicuously, and probably in other countries, there is a large and influential party which aims, not only (as here) at the removal of all State assistance to religious education, but at its actual suppression. We may well be thankful that we have not yet to deal with such a condition of things; but who shall say that, if we are apathetic, it may not arise here in the near future? At any rate, our duty surely is clear; and may I say a few concluding words as to how it is to be done? To the clergy I would say that this should be looked upon as a primary part of the work of every parish. I would go so far as to say that (ideally) no day should pass without one of the clergy of the parish being seen in the schools, taking part in the religious instruction; and, though this may be in some parishes an ideal difficult of attainment, may not the same be said of all ideals? At any rate, I would earnestly urge upon the clergy to set this before them as their aim. For I am very sure that the religious education of the people depends very largely upon the personal interest which the clergy take in it. And to the laity I would say, make the maintenance of Church schools where they exist, and their foundation or enlargement where they are deficient, a paramount object of interest. I believe that, as I have said, no Church work can in these days be more important. Whatever the laity of the Church of England really determine to do, can be done: there is probably no more wealthy body in the world. I do not deny that they have many claims upon them, but the resources upon which they have to draw are great. If we wish to know what can be done by the laity of the Church, we have only to look at the vast sums which have been spent upon the restoration of our churches and cathedrals in the lifetime of the present generation. Much has been also done for the building of schools, but perhaps the maintenance of Church schools is the duty least recognised by churchmen. I do not deny that the competition of School Boards is great and alarming; but I will not admit the possibility of English churchmen being frightened out of any duty of which they are really convinced. Let the clergy impress this duty vigorously, and let the laity discharge it, as Englishmen can.

The Rev. HENRY ROE, Rector of Poyntington, Diocesan Inspector for West Somerset.

I MAINTAIN that as a Church we have a strong position. The Church of England began the work of education long before the existence of School Boards, and long before Government grants were thought of. The Church of England, in the matter of education, has a history-a history which gives it strength. The Church of England, as I have said already, holds a strong position. In its schools more than half of the children receiving elementary education are taught, and more than twothirds of the teachers are trained in Church of England Training Colleges. By the Education Act of 1870, those who have the management of Church schools have an hour given to them which they can occupy as they think best; and why should they not make the best they can of the opportunity. The Church, I say again, has a strong position, and why should that position be given up? Is the Church holding that strong position? We who belong to the Church have seen that the withdrawals from religious education in Church schools are very few. I have it, however, on the best authority, that while the withdrawals are few, there is a good deal of time wasted, which might be devoted to religious instruction, owing to the unpunctual attendance of scholars. Children should be at school at nine o'clock; but if they drop in every five minutes or so, the whole tone of the lesson given at the time is destroyed. Unpunctuality in the attendance of children at school is an evil which managers of schools must fight against. The question naturally arises, how is it to be done? A previous speaker deprecated the locking of the school door. From that view I entirely differ; I advocate the locking of the school door after nine o'clock. The best way to make children punctual in their attendance at school is to lock the door at a given time and allow none to come in afterwards. The religious instruction is generally given during the first hour; and if the doors of the school are closed shortly after nine, and the whole of the scholars are in attendance, there is an opportunity of giving downright earnest Church teaching without interruption. I go further. There are many schools in which merely the Creed and the Ten Commandments are taught. Whose fault is that? I say it is the fault of school managers-clergymen as well as laymen. Why should not the rest of the Church Catechism be taught? There is no doubt that the question of the grant is a matter of consideration, and that the amount of it depends to some extent on the number of attendances each scholar makes. Let us, however, take a higher view of our duties than that; and whether we earn the money or not, shut the doors of the school at a certain time. If we did that, everybody would know that we were straightforward and honest, and people would soon begin to find out that their children would be well taught. A matter which ought to be carefully attended to is the proper regulation of the time-table. If teachers properly distributed the teaching throughout the whole year, there need not be any encroaching upon the time that belongs to the secular portion of the work of the school. We hear a good deal now-a-days about over-pressure. I believe there is a little of it, and that it is due to the bad distribution of the work. With regard to Board schools, I think we must not ignore them. They exist. It is fourteen years since the Education Act was passed, and we must accept it as it stands. Whether that Act will be changed I do not know, but I should like to see it altered in one or two particulars. The members of a great many School Boards have just as much anxiety as we have, that the children attending school should be brought up Christianly. I went a short time ago into a School Board school in Manchester, and was present at the opening service, and I can honestly say that I never witnessed a more reverent or touching service. The service began with a hymn, then followed a short Psalm, succeeded by a kind of Litany, and afterwards the Lord's Prayer was sung as an anthem, most sweetly and reverently. Let me, in conclusion, say that although we may not approve of the Education Act of 1870, let us endeavour, as long as it is in force, to make the best we can of a bad bargain.

The Rev. REGINALD HEBER STARR, Toronto, Canada.

I HAVE Some hesitation in addressing the Congress, as it is my privilege to be a member of the Canadian Church Congress Committee of 1884. Last year we held our first Congress; and, although I have no authority for taking this step, I may venture

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to tender to the Mother Congress the respect and gratitude of that which is now in session. I have felt prompted to overcome my hesitancy in addressing this meeting, inasmuch as I have a story to tell regarding religious and elementary education on the other side of the Atlantic. Some thirty-five years ago, the legislature of Upper Canada established a system of State elementary education; religious instruction was recommended by the Government, but the question was left an open one to the various Boards. What has been the result of that? Gradually and surely, all religious instruction has been eliminated both in the schools and in the reading books. This system had such a strong hold upon the affections of the Canadian people, that it required no small amount of heroism for a man to stand up and say no to the elementary State education system of Upper Canada. The Church had the heroism to say "no," and did so over and over again, but all her utterances passed unheeded. At the time when secularism spread over the country some twenty years ago, the Church founded a Christian University of her own, and built and enlarged public schools for boys and girls. With uplifted voice she spoke against the secularism of the day, but she found that she stood alone in doing so-no other religious organisation stood by her and seconded her efforts. What do we find to-day? We find, after the lapse of thirty-five years, that a strong revulsion of feeling has set in in favour of religious education in elementary schools. The President of the Wesleyan University admitted last spring in Toronto, that the time had come when we must begin to teach morality in elementary schools. I said to the President of the Wesleyan University, that it must be admitted that the foundation of morality is religion, and I told him that we must begin to teach religion in the schools. "Certainly," he said, "I agree with you in that statement. We have thus found our position very materially strengthened. Why has this almost revolutionary change come about in the public sentiment of the Province? I say it is because we have learned a lesson from the United States. A gentleman writing on the subject says, that the system of elementary education in the United States is a failure; and he shows by carefully prepared statistics, that crime, pauperism, and insanity exist in larger ratio in those States which enjoyed the elementary school system than in those which did not. It was owing to this fact having been circulated amongst our own people, and to attention having been drawn to the dangers of our own system, that a reaction has set in. We found that in the social and religious life of our own people, that the danger had become so great that large numbers were growing up without any distinctive ideas of Christianity; and it was owing to this state of things becoming generally known, that such a wide-spread change has taken place in the Christian sentiments of the Province. We have succeeded in getting joint action on the part of the different religious bodies in the Province, in conjunction with the Church; and having put our case before the Government, a sort of pledge has been given that the elementary education system of the Province will speedily be amended in the direction of religious instruction. You may say, "This is not a great deal to accomplish;" but if you knew all the difficulties we have had to contend with for upwards of thirty years, and understood the extent of that tide of secular opinion to which I have referred, you would, I think, come to the conclusion that the step which has been taken is of the first importance, and is decidedly in the right direction. I have mentioned these facts to show what a revulsion of feeling has set in on the other side of the Atlantic, amongst intelligent thinking people in favour of distinctive religious instruction of some kind being given in the elementary schools of the Province.

H. BYRON REED, Esq., Darlington.

I THINK I may be permitted to say a few words on this subject, as a member of a School Board in a north country town. My advice to Church people is, where you have no Board take care that one is not formed, but where you are troubled with one, take care to get a Church majority upon it. That majority should see to it that the voluntary schools have fair play. This may be looked after in several ways-first, by keeping up the Board school fees to at least the level of the other schools; second, by checking the construction of costly and unnecessary Board schools; third, by seeing that Board teachers are not paid extravagant salaries, higher than those that the voluntary school teachers can command. Many other matters will require careful watching, and must be watched if we do not wish to see our Church schools extinguished by and