BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1650, 17 January 1913, Page 6

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

THE NELSON -SYSTEM.; :

Sir—ln 'an article last week-.on-"the Ec r ; fercndiim:mid the Bible-in-Schools question you.'stato'that .tho"-third "proposal of the/Defence, League is" ;td give, .the churches opportunity /'•'to', teach/the childrefi the v fai.th- of'their:■ fathers : iiv their; respective' denomihatioris,",nnd you-add, "this : is-jiri.- principle what,-.is.- known as the. Nelson "system." May ;L lie: allowed to correct this, latter statement. /The/Nel-' son-system, from its,'inception .15;.' years ago, has never countenanced:in any-form, the separation of the children into their different denominations., The '.pupils; are taught in their.respective..standards and class-rooms', just as .they'.arc taught by the State teacher .and all'deiiominationalism is'excluded. ;V:Neyer ohce has there been' any comphintr>'6r'; suggestion that any onelof our 1G 'Bible teachers in Nelson used tho' ,opportunity '• .to {each tho special tenets ofi.nis own church.. What you 'say'is,the.Nelson system,is,,in truth, an unhappy-feature'/of the.: Australian methods. /'/ "•' ~.;''

May Indd that I have no.liking for the Church confessing failure to do' her', duty by calling upon the. .State to .teach religion, but I. have as jlittle liking for. tho. State taking all the. time, as Dr! Truby King would say, that the children: should be receiving instruction and so shutting out tho Church from doing her share. The other day at the annual gathering in' Oamaril in connection. with: the- classes there under the Nelson system..'Mr.'Mitchell, chairman of the Otago Board, expressed- his sympathy with- th'e'st'atemcnt that "if tho Nelson/system'were udonted generally throughout' thc : Dominion; thero would be no need'for agitation further." "116, believed that they Had;the very best method of bringing Scripture, to the State scha'Al children that could bS devised." ' ', If the. Education Boards of. Auckland, Wellington, and. North^Canterbury l had fallen into line with Nelson, Hawke's Bay, South Canterbury; p.ta'go',: and Southland, and been willing to allow; committees to reduce the 25 hours weekly" teubhin; to 24J, the Nelson method'would, years ago have met the religious need. Only d; short time back the Hon. Sir C. C. Bowenj-who had charge of. tho-Education' Bill in-1877, stated, in: answer to a.-question! on' the subject that the time of four hours'teaching par day was made tho. of.the Bill in. order that there!might bedroom for something like the Nelson system;- -. Some of lis may. voto.'for. tno N.S.W. order of things, not because"we llko.it, but, because-wo dislike it less, thfth we dislike'the attitude; and notion of certain anti-religious teaching boards.—T. am, etc., JAMES H. MACKENZIE.

TBy. an .oversight letter has been delayed in publication.! • ;, ~" '■•