WHAT NEW SOUTH WALES HAS DONE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1676, 17 February 1913, Page 8

WHAT NEW SOUTH WALES HAS DONE.

AN INTERVIEW. Since the' question of tho Biblo 'in schools looms so very largo upon tho New Zealand horizon, it may be of some in-, toresfc to readers to learn what Mrs. Attwater, an Australian lady at present touring New Zealand, has to say concerning its operation in Australia. ' Mrs. Attwater has been a teacher-in New South Wales for fifteen or sixteen years, and was for some, timo upon- the staff of the Model School in Port Street, Sydney, 60 that it is out of her own personal experience and'knowledge that she speaks. ■The time that the Bible was not brought into the schools is a time that she cannot remember hearing of, as it seems to have been there from the early days of the colony's history, and there is no State school 'in which it is not read. Tho Model School, of which she speaks particularly, is a very largo State school, and is attended by about two thousand scholars. It is divided into three departments—primary, for the young children; secondary, for those more advanced; and the High School, attended by students studying for bursaries, university degrees, and so forth.

All religious denominations are represented by tho children attending tho school, and religious instinction. is given' twice a week,' ono hour for the priinaiy school on ono day, and an hour for tho more advanced departments on' another day. This instruction is.given, by ccknowledged religious instructors, representing the different denominations, and if the parents of the children do not wish them to attend these 1 (issons they aro stnt into anothor room and tako some other branch of their curriculum. They aro never compelled to attend thorn. If it can possibly bo arranged, all tho different religious instructors come upon the samo day, and at the saino timo, giving their lessons in different rooms, but if that cannot bo done by one or other, it is fitted in to another time. There fras never any friction nor trouble experienced in fitting it in. Mrs. Attwater said that tho only ones who did not attend the classes were tho children belonging to Eoman Catholics. Many of tho children bclongoJ to that faith. In addition to these two hours a week, a portion of tho Irish national text book is read by tho teachers to tho children every morning, with oxplaiiations by the formor. "It is, in fact," said Mra. Attwater, "a Scriptural history lesson, nor is thero any objection mado to it either on tho part of tho teacbors (no matter what tl.oir own religion n.ay be, or lack of it), nor on the part of tho children' 6 parents." Another thing is that tho children appear to bo thoroughly interested in thefr religious lessons, . Asked as to whether any unruly behaviour resulted from having an outside instructor for theso lessons, sometimes ono whoso life-work does not lio in teaching children, Mrs. Attwater replied to the contrary. In all her experience she had only known of one case, and that was in a school in a rough district. Nor was there any loss of discipline or noise, or wnsto of time, when childrcu who did .not wish to attend the Scriptural lesiona.

were leaving tho room to attend another lesson. Mrs. Attwater gave an emphatic denial to a question as to whether the matter of religion played any part in the matter of appointments in schools. Tho Department mado no distinct ; on whatever, and did not know tho religious convictions of its teachers, or their lack of them. If by any chance they did know, it was not allowed to mfluonce tho heads, and they made their appointments upon merits alone.

. Mrs. Garland,' who was present at the interview, in speaking of Queensland, said that though there was strenuous objec--01},nu„?, 10 'i me of the introduction of the Bible in schools in the northern State, it had quite. died • down, and many of those wno had been loudest in their objections were now full of praiso for the results. No religious scruples were displayed.on the part of either the teachers or the parents-of tho children, and in. one largo school, tho head of it (a Roman Catholic lady), said ■ that 6he would not on any account be without it, as its result upon tho morale of tho children was _ distinctly observable. The text-book which wa9 used was oompiled with, the help, among others, of two prominent Roman Catholics—Mr. M'Dermot, who held an important position in tho State, and Inspector Kenny. Thcfe, again, every denomination was free to send its own instructors to tho school. If there were Jewish children among the scholars, they would often bo present if the lessons were taken from tho Old Testament, but if from tho New, they would, as they were at liberty to, leave tho room. . ■ In tho very small schools, sometimes consisting of one room only, religious instruction by tho visiting teacher would bo given at one end of it, and, at tho other, tho children who did not wish to attend (they wore supposed to bring notes from their parents when that was the case, unless it was an understood matter), would bo going on with other work, under the supervision of their teacher. At the. last election, said Mrs. Garland, somo the Labour candidates lost-.bo-, cause they had announced that they would do away with the Heligioiis Act. Even I/abour turned against its own candidates for that.