Colonel Rochfordpresented a Petition from the Protestant inhabitants of Street, in the county of Westmeath, complaining that in the new system of education proposed by the Government, Protestant children were deprived of the use of Bibles in their schools. The petitioners prayed, that Protestants might be allowed the free use of the Bible in their schools; for, in their opinions, when education was not founded upon the Word of God, it became a curse rather than a blessing, to those who received it. This, he was sure, would be found to be the general opinion of the Protestant people of Ireland, who neither could nor would tolerate spurious attempts at conciliation, at the expense of religion.
Mr. Chapmanhad no doubt that the opinions expressed by the petitioners were those of a numerous party in Ireland, consisting of all those who were opposed to the adoption of plans to ameliorate the condition of that country, as well as those who endeavoured to throw difficulties in the way of all the efforts making by Government to effect conciliatory measures; but he 894 believed a still larger party was in favour of the measures proposed by Government, and, therefore, he exhorted them to persevere.
Mr. O'Connellsaid, that he also would support the prayer of the petition, if the allegations of the petitioners were true. If it could be shown that the Government regulations had the effect of taking the Bible from the Protestant children, he, for one, would agree that they ought to be altered. But, as he understood, the only effect of the regulation would be, that the acceptance of the Bible as a school-book, was not to be enforced on Catholics.
Sir Robert Batesonsaid, the Scriptures were given to the Protestant children in a mutilated state. The result was, that, in reality they were denied the use of the Scriptures. The Protestants, of every sect and creed, were consequently opposed to the plan, and had joined heart and hand in reprobating the new system altogether.
§ Mr. Cramptonsaid, the most effectual mode of giving education in Ireland, was to educate Protestants and Catholics together. That this mode was desired by many of the clergy, both Catholic and Protestant, he could state, for applications to that effect had been made to him by Protestant clergymen, as well as by Catholic priests. Now, as it was desirable that both parties should be educated together, he thought that the most effectual way would be, to give the children in common such portions of the Scripture as both parties were agreed upon, to the exclusion of those parts on which they differed. The children would be educated together four days in the week; but there were two days, in which the Protestants had to receive religious instruction according to their own form, besides the advantage in the instruction given in the Protestant Sunday-schools. There was, therefore, in his opinion, no reasonable ground of complaint,
§ Mr. Ruthvensaid, it was lamentable, that instead of the contending parties adopting the conciliatory tone, which they ought to have done to meet the views of Government, to allay agitation, and reconcile conflicting opinions, they had carried on a petty vexatious warfare, from which no good could possibly result. The assertion that the Protestants of all sects were generally averse from the measures relating to education proposed by the Government, were not justified by their opinions on the part of the country with which he was conversant. He knew many members of the Church of 895 England, and Presbyterians, who wished to extinguish party spirit by allowing Government a control over education.
§ Petition to be printed.