1871-72 ULTRAMONTANES AND EDUCATION 41 



opponents might have in giving way to him." Was 

 this, it was asked, the way to get Roman Catholic 

 children to the Board schools ? Was it not an 

 abandonment of the ideal of compulsory education ? 



It is hardly necessary to point out that the question 

 was not between the compulsory inclusion or exclusion 

 of poor children, but between their admission at the 

 cost of the Board to schools under the Board's own 

 control or outside it. In any case the children of 

 B/oman Catholics were not likely to get their own 

 doctrines taught in Board Schools, and without this 

 they declared they would rather go without education 

 at all. 



Early in 1872 Huxley retired. For a year he had 

 continued at this task ; then his health broke down, 

 and feeling that he had done his part, from no 

 personal motives of ambition, but rather at some cost 

 to himself, for what he held to be national ends, he 

 determined not to resume the work after the rest 

 which was to restore him to health, and made his 

 resignation definite. 



Dr. Gladstone writes : 



On February 7 a letter of resignation was received 

 from him, stating that lie was " reluctantly compelled, 

 both on account of his healtli and his private affairs, to 

 insist on giving up his seat at the Board." The Rev. Dr. 

 lligg, Canon Miller, Mr. Charles Reed, and Lord Lawrence 

 expressed tlieir deep regret. In the words of Dr. Rigg, 

 " they were losing one of the most valuable members of 

 the Board, not only because of his intellect and trained 

 acuteness, but because of his knowledge of every subject 



