in the common schools such elementary religious instruction as might, it was hoped, prove acceptable to catholics and protestants alike. It fell accordingly to Whately to compile, in conjunction with his catholic colleague, Daniel Murray [q. v.], a course of ‘Scripture Extracts,’ in which certain deviations from the authorised version could not but be admitted. This embroiled him with the more extreme protestants, who were still further offended by his support of the Maynooth grant in 1845 (see his charge, entitled Reflections on a Grant to a Roman Catholic Seminary, London, 1845, 8vo; and cf. Hansard, Parl. Debates, 3rd ser. lxxx. 1, 338).
Much heartburning was also caused among catholics by the ‘Introductory Lessons on Christian Evidence’ (London, 1838; 7th edit. 1846, 16mo), which Whately wrote for use in the schools, and which received the sanction of the board. An abridgment of this manual was, however, expressly approved by Dr. Murray, who so long as he lived continued cordially to co-operate with Whately. When Murray died (1852) the excitement occasioned by the so-called ‘papal aggression’ had not yet subsided, and the policy of the Vatican had ceased to be conciliatory. The new primate, Paul Cullen [q. v.], censured both the ‘Scripture Extracts’ and the ‘Lessons.’ The majority of the board declined to insist on their retention in the curriculum, and Whately thereupon resigned (26 July 1853). His retirement tended to reassure the protestant party, and, though he never became exactly popular, justice was at length done to the courage, conscientiousness, and zeal with which, in the face of unremitting obstruction and misconstruction, he had laboured for more than twenty years to make the best of an experiment foredoomed to failure. His services to elementary education were by no means confined to his work on the board. He possessed the rare gift of expounding matters not usually taught in primary schools in a manner intelligible to the young; and truly admirable in their way are his ‘Easy Lessons on Money Matters’ (London, 1837; 9th edit. 1845, 16mo), ‘Easy Lessons on Reasoning’ (London, 1843; 5th edit. 1848, 12mo), ‘Introductory Lessons on the British Constitution’ (London, 1854, 18mo), ‘Introductory Lessons on Morals’ (London, 1855, 18mo), and ‘Introductory Lessons on Mind’ (London, 1859, 8vo).
In politics Whately was an independent liberal. While the Reform Bill was under discussion he predicted that it would fail of finality, and avowed his preference for manhood suffrage, provided property were protected by a system of plural voting and the voter secured against canvassing and intimidation. Purely political questions, however, interested him less than the weightier matters which partisans usually ignore. In the spirit of a philosopher he studied our penal system, which he proposed to reform by the abolition of all punishments but such as were strictly and merely deterrent. His principles were too abstract to gain general acceptance, and were indeed never given to the world in their entirety; but his public utterances in regard to transportation did much to awaken the public mind to a sense of its futility and mischievous results (see his Thoughts on Secondary Punishments, in a Letter to Earl Grey, London, 1832, 8vo; Report from the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Transportation, together with a Letter from the Archbishop of Dublin on the same Subject, London, 1838, 8vo; and cf. his Introductory Lectures on Political Economy, App. E-G, containing (1) ‘Article on Transportation from the “London Review,”’ 1829, (2) ‘Remarks on Transportation, in a Letter to Earl Grey,’ 1834, and (3) ‘Substance of a Speech on Transportation in the House of Lords, 19 May 1840’). He had boundless faith in political economy, and, having early formed a strong opinion against outdoor relief, steadfastly opposed its extension to Ireland; nor did he shrink from adhering to his principles during the potato famine (ib. App. D, ‘Substance of a Speech in the House of Lords, 26 March 1847, on the Motion for a Committee on Irish Poor Laws,’ and subjoined ‘Protest’). He was, however, a munificent contributor to the voluntary relief fund, and organised a special committee in aid of the poor clergy. He had no panacea for Ireland's woes, but thought it would tend to reduce disaffection if the viceroyalty were abolished and the visits of the sovereign were frequent and prolonged. He was one of the pioneers of social science, being an original member of the Statistical Society of Dublin (founded in 1847) and of its auxiliary (founded in 1850), the Society for promoting Scientific Inquiries into Social Questions, of which he was vice-president. He presided over the statistical department of the British Association at Belfast in 1852 and at Dublin in 1857.
Though not opposed to religious tests, Whately had an intense aversion to oaths sworn on secular occasions, and petitioned the queen (1837) for relief from the duty of swearing in the knights of St. Patrick. He supported the claim of the Jews to exemption from the parliamentary oath, and
