Now when Liberals and Labour were united in
denouncing the Government, when Nonconformists who had deserted
Liberalism on the Home Rule issue were returning in thousands to their
old party, the Fabians, alone amongst progressives (except of course the
Irish, who were keen to save the Roman Catholic schools), supported the
Government in what was popularly regarded as a reactionary policy. Time
has vindicated our judgment. The theological squabbles which occupied so
much of the energies of the School Boards are now forgotten because the
rival sects are no longer represented on the Education Authorities, that
is, the town and county councils. Education has been secularised in the
sense that it is no longer governed by clerics, and though some Liberals
now desire to carry Mr. Balfour's policy still further, the Liberal
Party in its ten years of office has never been able to affect any
further change.
The Act of 1902 did not apply to London, and in the great province ruled
by its County Council the case for maintaining the separate existence of
the School Board was stronger than anywhere else. The London County
Council itself was unwilling to undertake elementary education, and the
School Board, like all other bodies in such circumstances, vehemently
objected to its own dissolution. The Board was efficient; its schools
were excellent; there was no evidence that the already overburdened
County Council could properly carry on the work.
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