THE BIBLE QUESTION. 117 address, the colonial secretary intimated that the documents sent to him appeared to Her Majesty's government to afford a sufficient guaranty for the due payment of the interest, and for the formation of a sinking-fund for the payment of the principal of the loan ; and that they were prepared to authorise a loan of one hundred thousand pounds, sterling, to be appropriated, on certain specified conditions, to the purchase of the rights of landed proprietors in the island. It will be afterwards seen that good faith was not kept with the people of the island in this matter. The question as to whether the Bible ought to be made a text-book in the public schools of the island had been freely discussed since the opening of the Normal School, in October, 1856, when the discussion arose in consequence of remarks made by Mr. Stark , the inspector of schools. Petitions praying for the introduction of the Bible into the and the Normal School were presented at the commencement of the session of 1858, and the ques¬ tion came before the house on the nineteenth of March, when Mr. McGill , as chairman of the committee on certain petitions relating to the subject, reported that the committee adopted a resolution to the effect that it was inexpedient to comply with the prayer of the several petitions before the house asking for an act of the legislature to compel the use of the protestant Bible as a class-book in mixed schools like the and Normal School, which were sup¬ ported by protcstants and catholics alike,—the house feeling assured that so unjust and so unnecessary a measure was neither desired by a majority of the inhabitants of the colony, nor essential to the encouragement of education and religion. The Honorable Mr. Palmer moved an amend¬ ment, to the effect that it was necessary to provide by law that the holy Scriptures might be read and nsed by any