Lord Broughamsaid, that, at the present late period of the Session, there was but one course for him to pursue with reference to his Education Bill—namely, to postpone it. Many causes had prevented him from not pressing the measure forward. The first reason was, the unusual pressure of business during the greater part of the Session. There was the Canada business; then came the Slavery Question; then other points that arose out of it; and again, the discussion of matters connected with the government of Canada. This pressure of business rendered it wholly impossible for him to pay that attention to the measure which he had introduced that he would otherwise have done. Another reason was, that he could not hope to carry a bill on the subject of education without its being, in the first place, thoroughly considered throughout the country. He believed, that up to a certain point, all were agreed on this subject, and that the general feeling was, that education ought to be made general, as the best safeguard against the commission of crime. From the correspondence which he had held on the subject, and the opinions expressed by the deputations which he had received, some of them consisting of fifty or sixty individuals, persons of all sects, and belonging to various classes of the community, he found that there was a general agreement—that there was no difference of opinion as to the great principle of the measure. There was one point, however, on which considerable disagreement prevailed; and when their 1175 Lordships heard what that was, they would see the necessity which existed for not pressing the measure forward. That point related to religious instruction. His feeling was, that every plan of national education should embrace religious instruction, and that as a part of the system the reading of the authorised version of the Scriptures should be introduced. On that point, he found some scruples were entertained by conscientious Roman Catholics. Their objection, however, could be met by the insertion of a clause, declaring that Roman Catholics and Jews should not be compelled to be present when the Scriptures were read. With such a clause as that, he entertained hardly a fear that the bill would be approved of, for he had witnessed much liberality of feeling amongst the English Roman Catholics and the Jews. Another point of objection rested on the same principle. It related to teaching the church catechism, and the thirty-nine articles. Now, he meant that, to meet this objection, it should be distinctly provided, that Jews and Roman Catholics should not be compelled to be present when the catechism and the thirty-nine articles were expounded. He wished, throughout his measure, and those with whom he had had communication participated in the sentiment, strictly to adhere to the wise and benevolent maxim—in essentialibus, unitas; in non-essentialibus, libertas; et in omnibus, caritas.
§ Bill postponed.