BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1672, 12 February 1913, Page 9

BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS.

BIG MEETING 0F : SUPPORTERS.'

TOWN HALL CROWDED;

ENTHUSIASTIC DEMONSTRAyr-::;-': TION. ]■/■:■: ; v some Vigorous speeches; ■ f;..-'.- The ;ToTO ;'Hall : was crowded ini every .'.feartVlast-night 'when the Bible-in-Sohools League held a demonstration in favpur of•'■,'their, causo. There' were 'about 3500 people present;, and over these l{r. J,' Q. . W. Aitken presided.- The meeting was yory ; v enthusiastic,.' and ' applauded the ; speakers ;' with ..great warmth.-. Among , those on .tho platform was tho Anglican Bishop of .Wellington (Dr. Sprott) and the principal speaker was Dr. Youngman, the '•■■ president of.'the Methodist. Church of Aus- .."'.; tralasia. ' The chairman,stated that - Dr. :'. Yonngmanwns tho solo surviving founder, of the Queensland Bible-in'-Schools League , and that tho visitor had had 25 years' experience of the'movement; in Queensland.. ■A'.'collection, was'tateh. ,up, l : £il being received. •'.'■.;.' ..■:.:'■':-}. ,\.'.'-..' ! '■>.'■ ■"-.'"■'■■.■ :

,::''; '■: Chairman's' Speech.: \: : .Mr. Aitken stated 'that he was.in: entire sympathy:!with. the.'movement, and "■ the Church;;.' ,to" : he • belonged—the, Presbyterian •, : . Church—was, : . exceedingly anxious that, the Bible, or certain portions of it.'shoujd -he placed in .the hands of tho'-children; in the,; State.. sohools. < On trusted'that- this '.gathering ;would,:secd the movement forward with a.great and' iri.ighty:on-flow; 1 \.; ; Y;:;';;;':'.:. . : v; :

, , : Dr. Youngman'j Address, The Eev. B. Toungman, D.D., ■ Baid that ho wished to be present as a witness giving testimony. He had been connected with tho Bible-in-schools movement since the seventies of tho last century. He outlined tho history of tho movement in eonio, of tho Australian States. Ho rc- - marked that in the early days the opposition was led by an extremely able Roman Catholic 'Archbishop— Archbishop Vaughan—who attacked tho Stato schools of New South Wales by saying that tho schools .■Wales • by saying that tho schools were "seed piola of immorality." Tho State, added Dr.' Youngninn, Vith emphasis, roso against that. Ho said that it was important to know that in hew South Wales "school instruction" within , the meaning, of tho Act "shall W held to include general religious instructisn, as distinguished from dogmatic or polemic ;■■! theology.'^//;K;v.yasl ; recognised,that it, -,-; was possible -to ! ;get' ; ;^ener'al;vieligiou3 V ~: eaching without entering' the domainof , Iheology.' at a 11.,; It ;was, worth all ! the ■ : in the'iiuive.. 7; pent for the result of bringing the. pre, tes-> .•; tant x ohurches : so-close; together'.; He: did ■ ■';: .Hot 'know any mpyement'.yhich had (done ,' half'as'mu'ohfto.make^hochu'rdhbVfriend-' .ly-in, their'.reiationsMp's. ;'!ThoK(.inau'•'; ; 7 Catholics!'?;he continued.'.' *''TeSj t; |a know '.-' i *H-'■ a*»tit /themj >.Doj'youl'New l "Zealand'. , ; P.wple,'want a..State-'school system?' : 'Do ' ■".;: yoii -.'want ;.a : , national ..'system ?;/' l)o i: - y on-wantasystem-wbicli'ill can jbin ; inf ,If y«u' i do/;it ; wbri't;be';with"'the r helpV ! o'f'ti :/Roman/Catholics.',' :'•■'■ (Hear,''hear!)'.'■''He ;■; would .like'; to see..' whoro ' / : ' - 0 ? : w onK" : .heJp\?s'aah i -'/a^sysfemt» ,^'ey' s '. •, said'/iilways.: j^We' mustr'haW 'put '-'own'. ''. .'■' cost* Mia jHy/yiheant '^h'af,fhV : ■..' , Eomaflv'Catholics;'.wefe' ! ,underminirig' tie . iinational jeystem..'' (Apjlausei) '.And they : : ...-,addedi;i.'<Wo:,woil't , '"let.;yo'U do'vith the ~- sohobU wo leave;"'People; must riot'think /;; that;the 'Eoman' Catholics Wro• the (inly ■.;.:' ones ;who wanted ■■ some religion; in-' their '; ;/: education.; , : It--.>vas.;'for' ; ;g ; oo"d'' ; citizenship that the Bible-teaching.in,tho schools was • '■' needed.; *,'Do'you put tho Bible into vour, prions?";he,asked.; doj (When wo .V X VM; tt man into_ prison we,say:/'You ;bet- ••: "• ■ ter'have a-16ok ; at 'this book.-,lt'may-help /^ y ?? ;to^^ 0 : ,3 ? lC £•' iWe/say^topi/that/if; .-.that man' had .had Jho,book'put' into his hands, 'earlier., ho might:not; have, gone • wrong. :Yon';uio'the Biblo It courtwhen v: ;Witaesse3/takA : ; the /oath Weil; : a' "man' -..; ought.'to'/'know, what.;is in/thei book ho/■ '/ swears' on." /The 'same argument' was' applied' to'tiie'fact that the Bible figured ;,;. in the/bi'ening of ''Parliament ' ■.li'jiclii'd- '•' ,/ing,' Pr/.-ioungman-said: "Tho'latoMr.'' '■: Seddon'nsea' ; td.cajUthis "7)Q6d's :■■ cwh' : /"couritry/'/Tes, Godm'ado tholfbuntry,,tut Ho is looking to men to inaieit gcdly." V ,(Applause.>'7.;.:,.^ a ;;'/' ■ ,-j! ';••.'.- ; v ;;. {■ . ';':-'■ '•-•'.■• ■'.'.'■•,■■/''/ : .'."VjI- '. ''V.V-' '■/' The Organising Socr|ilary. ' ; , .; .Canon Garland"(brganisindysecretary, of ,tho. league).said that*tbeir EJlpe was that, all; would unite for the common good of the "children of; 'tho whole; 1 Dominion. hoped ; the. movement/would' help .to bring;the-'ohurches closer ■ together here', • '~■ as in-Ausf ralia. ■ • 'The president -of China' had declared that tho Bibld: and education' were the ways to justii laws 'and civilisation..- Tho; Bible-in-sbhools niovement/was .not.rfor ■'the destruction ; bf the , : national; system.-'.lt :was fox.better to / have.' a/national '/system.' provided there' was a^: sufficiency :of religioun instruction than' a denominational "system;'/The dtfnominational system had failfd, espe'oial-. /'. ly.'in tbe : caso of those living'jinthabackblocks.,'/ Tho national system. would hot throw teachers out of employment; if, a* denominational srstenv wcro permitted, tho. teaching.would bodouo by religious '■ "orders.: Where the,- system for which,ho was contending wns-. once . introduced it, had never, been wkto eath- ' . 'ered/tltero .that evening to. voice their ''•■.- conviction of "their- duty "to'the', children ;— a mbro:imperative duty than property or party pplltics-ftha application of 1 liglous education to the children of the' ■' ; , Dominion. Those' present differed in '//many:things, .but, had sunk all. differ-' ./■. ences-in'tho.intorests of the'eommon good '•'•;' of the oh'ildren of Sthe country.' The plat- , form showed 'that ; Anglican, Presbyterian ■ Methodist, and Salvation Army were.ofli- '"-: cially committed.' Ho welcomed mem- /'■■ bers- of the- Baptist Church, and', the Church, of Christ oh the platform. He went: back - to' the earliest of the British.institution, and after a.reference to tho days of Alfred remarked that it was no wonder, that Blackstono, the great-constitutional commentator,6niu that Christianity was a part of; tho law of , England;/The Bible had to find' its "■' place' vnth tho Kirig.nt his Coronation. '■'. Continuing, Canon Garland aald:" "I .comment on this,,but you will understand; it.' ..'.. ; .. It was no less a f person than Sir Eobsrt Stout, whose duly t was, on that occasion, to see that the' English -Bible was in its proper placein the hands; of Lord Livernool, when he ■ was sworn in as Governor 6! this Domin- | ion, (loud laughter.) Vou will nndcrBtand."'<ln the prisons tho new regulations provided that the State should furnish every person with a Bible/of his denomination and give him religious ministrations. That day's cablegrams deposed that, the Labour party in New South Wn!e» in drawing up its platform, made no proposal to alter, the religious' instruction : fiystem, though that, party favoured national education, becans-e if it did the party would lose moro votes than it would gaim'-.IIc apprnled'through tho meeting, ■•• not to anv section, or church, not to any party in Parliament, nor any profession, however estimable, but to the people of .the Dominion to restoro to the national schools that unalienable right of Biitish children to the Bible, and the faith of their fathers, .by that system which, he. claimed, would givo equal opportunities 7 to all and special, privileges, to -none. (Applause.)

Other Speakers. ! <, • Mr. Gilbert Carson, ' of Wnnganul, a member of the Baptist Church, commenced, his'address by saying that the prayer at: ths opening of Parliament cohtnined a request to God for tho maintenance.of the true religion. How, he asked, aro they going to maintain truo religion if they

deny the children access to the Bible?, "How comes it," he asked also, "there is no bar to the Bible in the high schools? How. is it the power people ore denied it, and it can go into tho schools of the ■well-to-do?" , :.'■':■■. i ' Commissioner Richards (Salvation Army) said' that the Army was on the' side of an uninutilnted Bible. Mr. W. D. Little, a member of the Church of Christ, said that he hoped that it would bo recognised that tho rulers had spoken, and that their servants must obey.