Three Plays by Granville-Barker: The Marrying of Ann Leete; The Voysey Inheritance; WasteGranville-Barker, Harley
General
Three Plays by Granville-Barker: The Marrying of Ann Leete; The Voysey Inheritance; Waste
Granville-Barker, Harley
English drama
TREBELL. Yes. That chair's comfortable.
CANTELUPE _takes another_.
CANTELUPE. Horsham forwarded to me your memorandum upon the conditions
you held necessary and I incline to think I may accept them in principle
on behalf of those who honour me with their confidences.
_He fishes some papers from his pocket._ TREBELL _sits squarely at his
table to grapple with the matter_.
TREBELL. Horsham told me you did accept them . . it's on that I'm
joining.
CANTELUPE. Yes . . in principle.
TREBELL. Well . . we couldn't carry a bill you disapproved of, could we?
CANTELUPE. [_With finesse._] I hope not.
TREBELL. [_A little dangerously._] And I have no intention of being made
the scapegoat of a wrecked Tory compromise with the Nonconformists.
CANTELUPE. [_Calmly ignoring the suggestion._] So far as I am concerned
I meet the Nonconformists on their own ground . . that Religion had
better be free from all compromise with the State.
TREBELL. Quite so . . if you're set free you'll look after yourselves.
My discovery must be what to do with the men who think more of the state
than their Church . . the majority of parsons, don't you think? . . if
the question's really put and they can be made to understand it.
CANTELUPE. [_With sincere disdain._] There are more profitable
professions.
TREBELL. And less. Will you allow me that it is statecraft to make a
profession profitable?
CANTELUPE _picks up his papers, avoiding theoretical discussion_.
CANTELUPE. Well now . . will you explain to me this project for endowing
Education with your surplus?
TREBELL. Putting Appropriation, the Buildings and the Representation
question on one side for the moment?
CANTELUPE. Candidly, I have yet to master your figures . . .
TREBELL. The roughest figures so far.
CANTELUPE. Still I have yet to master them on the first two points.
TREBELL. [_Firmly premising._] We agree that this is not diverting
church money to actually secular uses.
CANTELUPE. [_As he peeps from under his eyelids._] I can conceive that
it might not be. You know that we hold Education to be a Church
function. But . . .
TREBELL. Can you accept thoroughly now the secular solution for all
Primary Schools?
CANTELUPE. Haven't we always preferred it to the undenominational? Are
there to be facilities for any of the teachers giving dogmatic
instruction?
TREBELL. I note your emphasis on any. I think we can put the burden of
that decision on local authorities. Let us come to the question of
Training Colleges for your teachers. It's on that I want to make my
bargain.
CANTELUPE. [_Alert and cautious._] You want to endow colleges?
TREBELL. Heavily.
CANTELUPE. Under public control?
TREBELL. Church colleges under Church control.
CANTELUPE. There'd be others?
TREBELL. To preserve the necessary balance in the schools.
CANTELUPE. Not founded with church money?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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