RELIGION V. MORALITY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 888, 6 August 1910, Page 10

RELIGION V. MORALITY.

Sir,—Amongst tlio correspondence iu this morning's paper 1 noticed a rare specimen under tno name of "Theist." lie is certainly a curiosity. Iu a word, he is suffering (and a rather bad form, too) from a severe attack of "statistical delirium tremens." Hu should never have been allojved to commit to paper the dreamy figure-visions that passed dimly in : the twilight through the .'avenues of, his mind. Josh Billings advises. some writers to turn to saiviiig ;wood; others he counsels to "write often and publish, seldom," and others "to write seldom and publish seldomer." The blend of ludicrous, assertion and droll statistics in "Theist's" letter is clear evidence that tlie man is tlio victim of statistical. hallucinations. The ingredients (that is, the figures) of his statistical, plum pudding are all wrong. The pudding-cloth (that -is, the right logical treatment of the figures) is wrong, and the final result.is sufficient .to justify the sarcastic degrees of comparison in falsehood: ordinary, lies, d——d lic-s, and statistics!

Sleep-writing t is as dangerous a practice as sleep-walking. Statistics, lake razors, need careful handling. Children and other incautious persons should beware how they use them. "Theist" gives us his two maxims (unloaded), which, when analysed, meaii (a) where there is 110 religion there.is 110 crime; (b) morality .is not religion, eh? Of course, the man is rambling. He is to lie pitted. On one aud the same breath life praises Sir Robert Stout for, being an agnostic, (not very complimentary,is he?),, arid then tells us that we must have-moral teaching under the; rule .61 <jml! ' What nit earth does hejnean? .Then',,,tool' iirthe same paragraph ho says! that "his; Honour Sir Robert Stout lias as ■ miich ; rigiit to his 'religious opinions,' etc." I-.feel proud that' a'kindly gentleman tilling the' high office of Chief ' Justice with the courage'to say he'is" ail "agnostic." - „ • - - - -

I know that' Sir 'Robort Stout takes oft his hat to: the Universe. 1 What does this last statement mean? Is it a mild form of cat .or cucumber worship?- '; la it any part:.of-morality? Does it mean star-gazing or 'simply that Sir Robert has joined the hatless brigade? "Theist" next takes ia .trip to 1 London, and discovers five naughty boys. His' argument is about as unstable as would bo the calculations of a meteorologist who should estimate the rainfall of the whole conntry by the gauge of a single night taken in a special locality. In conclusion, I would .give--"Theist" .the. advico_.offercd. above: "Givo up letter-writing and take to sawing wood."—l am, etc., AMUSED. Wellington, July 30. .- Sir,—Can ''Theist" explain., where God i& to be found apart from tho Bible, which being forbidden in. our secular system 'of education precludes the "moral teaching under the rule of God" referred to in his letter? To mention the Chief Justice, Mr. Gammell, Professor M'Kenzie, and Mr. R. Hogg, for example, does not help his case. I am 'endeavouring (but with little success) to impress on the Education Department that there exists a great difference between "religious- instruction" and the simple demand for "Bible in schools." About the -desirability of same there should be no dispute—l aui, etc., H. J. PEIOR. "Wellington., . ~ Sir,—l have read, with great interest, the several- letters which have -appeared in your paper, and tho public—at least that large portion of it which is .deeply concerneu in the future state of our. young, nation—must feel much indebted to you for the consideration you have shown to tho various correspondents.

' My interest has been riveted oil "Veritas" and "Theist,-" and I must admit that the former correspondent needs no assistance from my pen, as ho, evidently, is widely read 011 the subject. "Theist" is in good company, and will, no doubt, bo well looked after, but, as "Veritas" did not deal with tho actual position of Italy 'and Spain,- I would draw "Theist's". attention to the fact that Italy has had secular education in vogue for very many years, and he Has sadly erred in the imaginative speculation that the Italian, system was denominational. The ■ "ordinary schools" in Italy are secular. If he will take a little time ana exuinino closely as to the composition of the atrocious "Black Hand" Society, he will discover that, in the main, tho members are of the most vicious and uneducated type. The "Black Hand" Society does not represent Italy as a nation. I am sure if he refers this ■part of the.issue to some of our most excellent Italian citizens' he will obtain corroboration of my statements. Now, sir, may I turn to Spain? "Theist" exhibits . a scanty knowledge of that country. Possibly he has done his journeys there as Mark Twaiii did his mouiilaiiiclimbing in Switzerland—by proxy. "Theist" gives as his authority for his muider statistics a French journal. He might have quoted the name of it, so .that the statistics might be weighed and sifted. Well, considering that Spain is essentially an'agricultural'country, with only a small urban population, (even now only two cities have a population, of over 500,000),- she stands very high, indeed, in refinement, culture, and morals. The "Statesman's Year Book" for 1908 gives ns tho following interesting comparison with England:—"ln 1901 the elementary schools in Spain were: 25,310 public schools, with 1,017,314 pupils, and 6181 private schools, with 3-14,330 pupils, giving a total of 31,521 schools, with 1,961,691 pupils. The total population of Spain at that time was 18,018,036. Now as to England! The population for England for the same year was 32,500,000, or nearly twico that of Spain, yet England, instead of having twice the number of schools, had only 20,235, as against Spam with 31,521. Then as to the number of students at higher educational institutions, which is a good test of a nation's culture. I will quote that great statistician Mulhall, who says "the number of university students is much greater in Spain and Belgium than in other European countries." Spain, with a population of than 19,000,000, lias ten nni- 1 versifies, with about 17,000 students, vet England, with a population of 32,500,000 has (according to the '"Daily Mail' Y«nr Book for 1009") only 15,355 students "in its nine universities. As to tho moral standing of Spain I could fill many columns with excellent samples of outsiders' high opinion of that country which is so little known to your corral pondent "Theist," but perhaps one given by Sir Hiram Maxim, the noted inventor to the Now York "Sun," will suffice. Ho has a factory among the Basquos in Spain, and another at Crayford, in England. He says: "I have never seen so high a grade of morality among any people as tho Basques-at Placeiila. There if> absolutely no dishonesty or immorality in. tho" town.-•. . . Tho factory which wo' purchased wan open—so that injuno wlio liked might enter—for vears'before we boueht it. and not a scran of brass -

or steel was stolen. Had this factory been at Crayfortl or Eritli, it would have been completely gutted the iirst uight it was left unlocked."

The people of Spain will stand no non- I sense, and, notwithstanding the latelydeparted JX'Cabe's championing of Ferrer and his secular schools, some of our secularists, who were enamoured of tliu lecturer's first meeting'at the Town Hall, will bo interested in this proof of the confidence in the present educational systom. The new Liberal Government, in Spain allowed some of the suppressed "Ferrer" schools to bo reopened. One of them had been opened in a small town near Saragossa, and on June i of this year the local fwling against it led'to an outbreak of disorder. The people declared the teaohers were propagandists of anarchism, and expressed an intention of wrecking the buildings and lynching the staff. The mob was held at-bay by revolver fire from the school,. pistols being, apparently, a part of its equipment. Presently the Civil Guard came on the scene and drove off the assailants. But for the revolver-armed school staff of "F.errerites," it was a case of "out of tho frying-pan into the fire," for the Civil Guard, proceeding to an . inspection of the buildings with a view to drawing up their report, discovered, not only, a store of Anarchist literature, but also a quantity of explosives and what are described as "models of infernal machines." Needless to say, the "school" was closed. The authority for this startling exposition of tho "modern school" and' its "enlightened" staff is Renter's Agency. X do not doubt that "Theist" and many others are deeply concerned in the rising generation of this new and as yet pureminded country, Zealand, and I do hope that they. will give this most important matter' serious but open-minded consideration, and steer clear of tho system which now holds sway in Franco, and the dire effects thereof where .the morals are fashioned by the State, e.g., "the lessons' on civic morality."—l am, etc.,