AN APPEAL TO NONCONFORMIST LAYMEN.
[To THE EDITOR OF T E “Sruore.rou.1 SIR,—Your readers may be interested to hear that I have received letters approving of the idea of a manifesto upon the lines I ventured to suggest in my previous letters from the following gentlemen :- Allen, J. Feuwick. Hodgkin, Thomas. Piddick, Charles W.
Chambers, Fred W. Kenny, Courtney. Smith, W. H. Forbes, W. H. Leonard, George Hare. Southall, Henry J.
Harris, C. H. Leonard, Robert Cecil. Weightman, W. Arthur. Housden, J. A. J. Learner, John. Winser. Albert.
As the supporters of the scheme are widely scattered, it seems =possible for them to meet to decide upon any general plan of action ; but might I suggest that the following manifesto, without going into controversial details, would, if numerously signed, show the Government that there is a large body of Nonconformists who are anxious to meet moderate Church- men half-way in a final settlement of this question ? When completed I propose sending it to the Prime Minister and Mr. Birrell. I shall be happy to receive the names of any other Nonconformists who would like to associate themselves with
this movement.—I am, Sir, &c., A. R. FORDHAM. Melbourn Bury, Royston.
"Manifesto.
We, the undersigned Nonconformists, while in thorough sympathy with the principles underlying the Education Bill brought in by his Majesty's Government, venture respectfully to hope that the Government may see their way carefully to consider and, as far as practicable, adopt such amendments as may cause the measure to be more acceptable to those members of the Church of England who are prepared to accept the principle of the Bill, thus making it the basis of a lasting settle- ment of the education question :—a settlement which to be permanent must be founded in a spirit of mutual forbearance and concession."
[The manifesto seems to us to be an excellent piece of work, and well calculated to produce the results desired by its authors. We trust it may be very widely signed by Noncon- formist laymen. Those who are tempted not to help the movement because of the harsh things said by excitable Churchmen in the course of the present agitation must remember that unless some one will begin to adopt a more Christian spirit in the controversy a national settlement will prove impossible.—ED. !Spectator.]
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