Lord Broughamsaid that he had had forwarded to him for presentation a number of petitions from Tring, in Hertfordshire, Birmingham and other places, on the subject of education. He believed that as the bill to which these petitions referred was not yet before their Lordships, it was not competent to him to present these petitions, but he would avail himself of the opportunity to say that he regarded with unfeigned and deep sorrow, almost with despair, the aspect which the religious mind of the community of Churchmen, Wesleyan Methodists and Dissenters, appeared lately to have assumed on the great subject of popular education. He really was beginning to despair of the Legislature ever being able to extend materially the inestimable blessings of instruction to the people, because he found that the friends of education in the Church, among the Wesleyan Methodists, and among the Dissenters, though all of them respectively very warm indeed in support of the principle of popular education,—though very anxious to extend to all persons sound instruction, as well religious as civil,—though all respectively great friends of popular education, yet, the baneful truth was but too manifest, that they suffered all their various efforts to be neutralised, because each and all of these various classes preferred to the extension of popular education one other object, and that one other object was a victory over each other. The Church was anxious to educate the people, but the Church was still more anxious to get the better of the sects; the sects were anxious to have popular education, but the sects were still more anxious than this to overturn the Church. Now it was quite clear to him, that until all the various parties chose to give up respectively somewhat of their various prejudices, and passions, and arrived at the improved state of mind which should teach them that it was a far higher object that the people should be 1248 educated, than that sectarian prejudices and passions should be exasperated, or that sectarian triumphs should be aimed at, it would be quite impossible for education to make that progress which it must make, ere it became generally beneficial, and which progress it might easily and surely make, and maintain when made, but for these unhappy religious dissensions.
§ Subject at an end.