548
"LIFE OF COBDEN. [omar
1850. since 1 wrote to you to excuse my apparent apathy. I wanb
Xr, 46. standing-ground for the House of Commons. Af present
the Liberal party, the soul of which is Dissent, are t0T2 to
pieces by the question, and it is not easy to heal a religions
fend. The Tories, whatever they may say to the contratSs
are at heart opposed to the enlightenment of the people:
They are naturally so from an instinct of self-preservatio
They will therefore seek every pretence for opposing as: If
I could say I represented the Radical party or any other
party upon the question, I should have some standing”
ground in the House. But the greatest of all causes has no
locus standi in Parliament, I thought I had given time to
Mr. Baines and his dissenting friends to get cool upon the
subject. But they appear to be as hot as ever. Howeve™
I shall now go straight at the mark, and shall neither give
nor take quarter. I have made up my mind to go for ho
Massachusetts system as nearly as we can get it.’ You
would be puzzled at my objecting to the word ¢ secular.’ I
I had seen, before I spoke npon the subject, that the word
occurred again in the body of the resolution, I ghould pot
have taken the objection ; for, after all, the words of Shak
speare, * What's in a name?’ apply very much to this case
We all mean the same thing, to teach the people something
necessary for their well-being, which the ministers of religio™
do mot teach them. I perceive a difficulty in arguing $e
case if we profess to exclude the Bible from all gchools. I
would rather take the Massachusetts ground, and say tha ae
book shall be admitted into the schools which favours the
doctrines of any particular religious sect; but ibis in &
Protestant country could hardly be said to include the Bible-3
That is to say education provided from local rates, fres, compuls®Y?
and secular in fhe sense of exoluding books that teach the dootrine of ay
particular sect. The plan which Cobden favoured was after twenty yoor®
of lost time practically accepted, with the important exception that elomo™
tary ingtroction is not yet gratuitous.
