BISHOP HADFIELD ON EDUCATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1678, 3 October 1887, Page 2

BISHOP HADFIELD ON EDUCATION.

Referring to the education question, the B shop of Wellington, ln opening his Diocesan Synod, said : — " A. system of State education for ohildren whioh excluded all teaching of religion, all acknowledgment of God, to whom all are responsible, seems to be something altogether unprecedented. Every civilised nation, of whatever period of the world'a history, of whioh we know anything, taught the young to reverence a divine superintending power. The absolute exclusion la State sohools of any distinct teaching of men's duty to the Supreme Ruler, to say nothing of the absence of Obristian dootrlnea, haa apparently been left for tbe Legislature of New Zealand. In tbia it has certainly gained for itself an unenviable notoriety. Tbe enormous expense of the system was leading men to look more oloeely into the subject, and the general feeling, he thought, waa that the results were hardly worth the expenditure of something like £500.000 annnally. It would doubtless be very difficult to estimate these results ; but after suoh an expensive system had been tried for eight ot nine years, it ought to be possible to point to some very defio'te results which had been obtained by it. But was this possible. It was, he believed, an open question whether there waß even a higher percentage now of those who could read and write then there was before the system came into operation. But wbat ought to be the true test was : Are those who have grown up under the present system m any respect superior to those who were before them 1 A strong opinion existed that they wore not. In conclusion, he ventured to express an opinion tbat there already exists throughout the world a widespread oonvlctlon, daily gaining ground, that no system of education oan be satisfactory that does not supply definitj. religious teaching, and that suoh definite teaching can only be given m a oountry governed as this is by leaving eaoh so-oalled religious denomination full liberty to teaph Up owo ohlldreo,"