The Daily Dispatch

A POLITICAL REVOLUTION.

It is stated that a great political, if not social, revolution has just taken place in Manchester, England. The election of members of the school board for the city created great excitement on account of a sharp contest between the "Secularists," who desired to exclude all religious education from the public schools, and the "Non-Secularists," who opposed it. The struggle was also enlivened by the entrance of two Roman Catholics and a woman into the lists. The Roman Catholics are not only elected, but head the poll, while Miss Lydia Becker, who occupies very much the same position there as Mrs. Stanton does here, received 15,249 votes out of 26,518, and was of course elected. The "Secularists" received the smallest number of votes of any of the successful candidates, and only three of them were elected. Six of the successful candidates belong to the Church of England. Manchester thus tolerates religious liberty, grants equal political rights to women, and insists upon religious education in the public schools. It does not appear exactly in what that religious education consists. This election is the more important as it reflects the views of many if not most of the large English manufacturing cities.