Mr. Courtney is certainly one of the most uncomfortable of
candid friends. He writes te yesterday's Times to suggest
that the Government should withdraw their Education Bill for this year, and in place of it propose to Parliament to sanction temporary aid to the voluntary schools, deferring for another year any kind of legislation, thereby gaining time to reconsider materially their plan of decentralisation. We may be sure that this advice will not be accepted, but of course it will be used, and used with effect, to damage the Education Bill in the opinion of the House of Commons. Mr. Courtneyis evidently at heart very anxious to sustain the undenominational schools, and, so far as possible without in- justice, to throw cold water on the voluntary schools, though he admits the necessity of giving them aid. If the Govern- ment took his advice they would not, we think, survive it very long. But perhaps that would not quite break Mr. Courtney's political heart.
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