[Inclosure in No. 591.]
Mr. Lascelles to
Lord Granville.
Sofia, June 20,
1883.
No. 49.]
My Lord: In a conversation which I have
recently had with General Kaulbars, the president of the council of
regency, his excellency alluded to the religious propaganda which was
being carried on by the American Protestant schools in Bulgaria. He had
recently had occasion to witness the discontent which prevailed at
Samakov with regard to the religious teaching of the American school
established there. The teachers were avowedly missionaries, and made no
secret of their wish to inculcate their religious opinions upon their
pupils, and he could assure me as a matter of fact that, the pupils were
all compelled to attend the Protestant services, although the majority
of them belonged to the orthodox religion. The consequence was that on
leaving school the pupils had become Protestants, and this gave rise to
discord in their families, which created a danger for the state.
Bulgaria was still in the days of her in fancy, and it was necessary to
encourage a sentiment of patriotism. This was only possible by a system
of uniformity in religious education.
I observed that, although I understood that the American missionaries
left liberty to their pupils with regard to their religious observance,
I had no doubt that they would gladly impart to any who were willing to
receive them the religious beliefs of the truth of which they were
themselves convinced. It appeared to me, however, that any interference
with the schools on account of their religious instruction would be a
violation of religious liberty, and that the remedy would be to persuade
the parents to discontinue sending their children to American
schools.
His excellency replied that religious liberty should not be employed for
the purpose of stirring up discord in the family and the state. It was
impossible for the authorities to exercise any pressure upon the
parents, who were naturally anxious to secure the best possible
education for their children, and there was no doubt that the Bulgarian
schools would not be able for a long time to compete in this respect
with the American schools. It was, however, intolerable that the
children of orthodox parents should be prevented from receiving
instruction in the religion of their fathers, and he could assure me as
a fact that at Samakov such children had been compelled against their
will to attend the Protestant church for three or four hours. It was,
moreover, not a question of religious liberty. Any Bnlgariau was at
liberty to profess any religion he pleased, but it was only reasonable
to insist that the schools established in the principality should be
required to give instruction in the orthodox faith, which was the
religion of the state. His excellency reminded me that the popular
discontent against the American missionaries at Sistova had reached such
a point that it was with difficulty that a popular rising was
prevented.
To this I replied that it would be impossible for Protestant missionaries
to consent to religious instruction in any faith except their own being
given in their schools. With regard to the closing of the American
schools at Sistova, I had done my best to arrive at an amicable
settlement of the question, but my endeavors had failed, and the matter
had now been submitted to the United States minister at Constantinople,
who, I understood, intended to bring it to the notice of the great
powers.
General Kaulbars having expressed the wish that I should communicate to
your lordship the observations he had made to me, I said that I should
consider it my duty to do so, but that I should not conceal from him
that I did not think it probable that his opinion would be shared by Her
Majesty’s Government.
I have, &c.,
