receive any such training contrary to a parent's wishes, we feel bound to state that a parent's conscientious feeling may be equally injured, and should equally be respected and provided for, in the case where he is compelled by law to send his child for all his school-time to a school where he can receive no religious teaching. . . . . While careful and, we believe, ample securities are taken by law to provide for the case of a parent who objects to religious teaching for his child, no parent is able to claim for his child that instruction in the Bible which is the basis of the Christianity of the nation. This grievance, we are of opinion, must be met." *

As a strong argument in favour of religious instruction being given to all children whose parents desire it, the Report says:

"In questions of this character, it is impossible to have negative provisions which have not also a positive side. Thus, for childen to attend day schools in which no religious teaching was given, would, in the opinion of those who think that the daily lessons should be accompanied with religious teaching, be practically leading them to undervalue the importance of religion. They would hold that the impression left upon the children's minds would be that religion was a matter of inferior moment, at all events, to that secular teaching which they were acquiring day by day."

Moreover, it has to be remembered that the advocates of systematic religious teaching regard religion as a matter of intellectual conviction more than of emotional feeling or sentimental apprehension; that the persistent instruction insisted upon by the prophet -" line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, precept upon precept; here a little and there a little"-is as necessary for planting the truths of Christianity in children's minds, as it was for impressing upon the people of Israel the commands of God before the coming of our blessed Lord. The majority, therefore, insist upon the duty of placing sound religious teaching in schools by the teachers who are charged with the moral training of the scholars within reach of all who desire it; and they show that in numberless cases no religious instruction would be given if it were not thus provided. They also consider it to be very desirable that such instruction should be secured by being inspected. And, it need scarcely be added, they regard the continued existence of volun tary schools as essential for making permanent that religious teaching to which they attach the greatest value.

The minority very partially share these views. They say:—

"In reference to the recommendations of our colleagues as to religious and moral training, we repeat our strong opinion that in the education of the young the formation of the character is of the highest importance. But, having regard to the great diversities of opinion among our countrymen on religious subjects, and having serious doubts whether moral training can be satisfactorily tested by inspection or examination, we do not believe that the recommendations contained in this part of the report of our colleagues would promote the object which we desire. We recognize that, for the great mass of the people of this country, religious and moral teaching are most intimately connected, and that, in their judgment, the value and effectiveness of the latter depend to a very great extent upon religious sanctions."+

*Final Report, p. 123. † Isaiah xxviii, 13.

Final Report, p. 244.

After this general recognition of the value of moral and religious instruction, coupled with a protest against its efficiency being inquired into, we turn to the more detailed examination of the subject by the extreme section of the minority. There we find lengthened quotations from various witnesses to show that

"Those who believe that the inculcation of religious truth on some definite doctrinal form should constitute a portion of the daily teaching of every child attending school have no occasion to regard the results of the legislation of 1870 with dissatisfaction."

Then there are the objections of Nonconformist witnesses to such teaching, and statements to prove the success and efficiency of Sunday schools, which they thus sum up :

"Whatever differences may exist with regard to the religious power of the religious instruction given in day schools, there is none concerning the great service which has been rendered by the religious instruction given in Sunday schools to the moral and religious life of the nation "*

the intention of all that is written obviously being to prove that the friends of definite religious teaching had no grounds for complaining, and that they ought to be satisfied with things a they are, clearly showing that the minority had quite failed to grasp the position of their opponents. The minority, evidently supposing that respectful tolerance is all to which those who do not approve of board schools are entitled, whereas the friends of voluntary schools assert that as their schools are as much a portion of the national provision for education as are board schools, and are accepted as such by Government, they have a right to claim an equal amount of consideration, and that as much respect shall be shown towards those who desire definite religious teaching for their children as is shown towards those who desire little or no teaching of the kind.

After thus summarizing the essential points of difference between the majority and the minority of the Commission, which I feel could only be fairly done by stating them as much as possible in their own words, the question arises, Is it possible to arrive at a compromise by which both sides may be satisfied ? I must say candidly I do not think it is, until the minority are able to take an equitable view of the situation. The majority contend that the minority shall extend to those who think with them the principles for which they have long contended for themselves, and that the liberty of conscience which their opponents claim for themselves and those who agree with them shall be secured to those who differ from them. No opponents of Church rates could feel more strongly the burden of having to contribute towards the sustenance of services of which they disapproved than do those who think as I do the burden of having to pay for the erection. and maintenance of schools whose religious teaching we strongly condemn. And in our case the hardship is greatly increased by the

*Final Report, p. 293.

nation having pronounced strongly in favour of the principle of "religious liberty," and of having applied it to the destruction of an ancient rate levied for purposes of which we approve, and then after that of imposing a new rate for the support of institutions of a necessarily religious character of which we disapprove, and compelling us to pay it. To secure peace, and a permanent settlement of the education question, it is essential that the existence of the two parties should be fully and fairly recognized. There are those who think that the religious character of the nation, which they look upon as allimportant, can only be preserved by definite religious teaching being given in elementary schools. There are those who take an entirely opposite view of the question, and would allow no definite distinctive religious teaching to be given in elementary State-assisted schools. It is not an equitable adjustment to inflict burdens upon the one class of persons from which the other is wholly exempt. I have no wish to see our Church and other voluntary schools supported without assistance from ourselves: it is our duty, and ought to be our pleasure, to make some sacrifice for the education of our poor co-religionists; but then the burden thrown upon us should be one that we are able to bear, and this is being made continually more difficult, for every year sees increased demands made upon us for heavier rates and for school improvements, and these threaten the existence of schools which we value and the establishment, partly at our cost, of others which we dislike. Perfect equity in the application of principles which the nation professes to have accepted would seek some plan by which the rates of all might be applied to schools of which all could approve, and, in some form, a choice given to the ratepayers as to the schools to which their money should be applied. If this were thought impracticable, then each body of ratepayers should have accorded to it perfect liberty of giving such religious instruction as the majority prefer, the liberty of the minority being safeguarded by a conscience clause. This also is denied to the friends of definite religious instruction by Act of Parliament. And the cry is raised for a complete system of national education from which all definite religious teaching shall be excluded. There is no immediate fear of such a cry being successful. It suggests the principle contended for when the Church and the monarchy were overthrown, and which was speedily followed by a violent reaction. I have no doubt that a similar result would follow the success of the present cry for what is called a national system of education. I am most anxious that we should have neither revolution nor reaction, but that such an equitable arrangement should be arrived at as will secure justice for both sides, so that the friends of education might heartily work, each in his own way, so as to produce the largest amount of permanent good to the people of this great country.

ROBERT GREGORY.

KRAKATOA.

N these modern days, when most of the notable events which take place all over the world to-day are duly laid before us in the newspapers to-morrow, it may seem like bringing up a piece of ancient history to discuss now an occurrence that took place on August 26-27, 1883.

But an event of the majestic proportions of the great eruption of Krakatoa can only be studied properly when placed in suitable perspective, and five years have been required before sufficient data could be collected to enable us to take an adequate view of the several incidents of the explosion. The eruption of Krakatoa was not only a mighty and appalling event in the neighbourhood of the Straits of Sunda. It was there no doubt that the fatal aspects of the disaster were exclusively developed. It was along the shores of Sumatra and Java that the inundations took place in which 36,380 lives are said to have perished. But the phenomena of Krakatoa, which give it a peculiar interest, are of an innocuous type, and have had a far wider range than those of a tragical character. The shock given to our globe was such that the influence of the explosion has extended in some degree to almost every part. To appreciate all that Krakatoa implies it is therefore not sufficient merely to gather the information which can be procured at the seat of the volcano itself, we must extend our inquiries much farther afield, we have to learn what observers within many hundred of miles around can tell us. Ships' logs have to be examined. The records of barometers and of magnetic instruments all over the globe, even to the very antipodes of Krakatoa, have to be brought together. The descriptions of extraordinary optical phenomena, such as wonderful ruddy glows at sunset and sunrise, or strange hues in which the sun and the moon were

occasionally decked, have to be collected and scrutinized from numerous places scattered over both hemispheres. Need it be said that such a task as this must be a protracted one, but it has at length been accomplished, and now those interested in the matter have the opportunity of studying a unique chapter in the history of the earth.

It is to the Royal Society that we are indebted for the inception and the carrying out of this laborious undertaking. A few months after the eruption took place the Royal Society appointed a Krakatoa committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. G. J. Symons. So multitudinous were the phenomena to be investigated that the committee was divided into sections. To examine into the eruption itself and the volcanic phenomena generally, a geological section was necessary. To study the air-waves and the sounds, as well as the distribution of dust and pumice by wind and water, required the aid of meteorologists. On the border territory, between the sciences of meteorology and of astronomy, must be placed the investigation of the twilight effects and the strange coronas and weird colours of the sun and moon. The great sea-waves must clearly be studied by hydrographers, and there were also some groups of facts connected with terrestrial magnetism and electricity. Immense numbers of letters and reports had to be brought to a focus from all parts of the globe, and the extensive printed literature relating to Krakatoa had to be ransacked. At length, however, by the spring of 1887, the manuscript was completed, and now, in the autumn of 1888, a superb quarto volume of nearly 500 pages, copiously illustrated both by artistic drawings and by charts and maps, has been issued.

Midway between Sumatra and Java lies a group of small islands, which, prior to 1883, were beautified by the dense forests and glorious vegetation of the tropics. Of these islands, Krakatoa was the chief, though even of it but little was known. Its appearance from the sea must, indeed, have been familiar to the crews of the many vessels that navigate the Straits of Sunda, but it was not regularly inhabited. Glowing with tropical verdure, such an island seemed an unlikely theatre for the display of an unparalleled effect of vulcanicity, but yet there were certain circumstances which may tend to lessen our surprise at the outbreak. In the first place, as Professor Judd has so clearly pointed out, not only is Krakatoa situated in a region famous, or perhaps infamous, for volcanoes and earthquakes, but it actually happens to lie at the intersection of two main lines, along which volcanic phenomena are, in some degree, perennial. In the second place, history records that there have been previous eruptions at Krakatoa. The last of these appears to have occurred in May 1680, but unfortunately only imperfect accounts of it have been preserved. It seems, however, to have annihilated the forests on the island, and to have ejected vast quantities of pumice, which cumbered the seas around. Krakatoa then remained active for a year and a