THE DEMAND FOR A REFERENDUM.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1990, 21 February 1914, Page 4

THE DEMAND FOR A REFERENDUM.

The branches of the liblc-iii-Schools League in .various parts of the Dominion are evidently deter* mined to keep their demand for a referendum steadily before the Government and the public. ■_ Tho supporters of the movement jn & ntin> be'r of electorate are again passing resolutions asking that the referendum be granted as soon as possible, in order that they may not be eottpelled to force the question to the irotit, and so add another to the political isßiies at, the next geiieral election, The- systenj .{avowed by the League is practically the same as that which has been ia operation in New South Wales .for nsany .years, and it certainly seems to have given general satisfaction to'the .p'eopio oi that State. . Tory .strong testimony to this effect was given at A.«ekla.nil a few days ago by the Hos. W. A. HoiiXiAN, who stated that fclio New South Wales educntjo-ii system "has been ovei-liauletj Mine and again, but, j)j all these- remodelling processes, the Biblo iij-stnictioij system-has fetoocl UT-itouched. If there is one tiling that, everyone takes £pr granted' in Hew South Wales, it is fte B|bie4a-State-schools system." -Such a statement cotnimg fro-jii no less an ity- than tho St-.itc Premict , is entitled to ,grca.t weight. The New South Wales system has been quite recently adopted in Queensland, , and it is at pi'RSeiit Mceiving tawfa. attention 'in' England, whore it lias been jntfc forward as tte fairest sofctlcßieflt of the long-standirhg di-ifietilty garding religious instruction in the, National sohools.. Aceonliag to. .1 cablegram which appeared ■ in 'The :I)&MiSJOjf a few days- ago, Urn Guardian annotiiused tlmt a considerable propottioa of th<i National llnion of Teachers ffivmirs a solution of the probltm oft linos similar to the Nexv' South Wales methofl, Some-idea of tfro iinpoi'tai.icc of this assertion may be palhored horn the faet that the Union vefoWod to is tj«. -representative' body of the Knglish teachers, having a membership'of over and fnUci'- inforHiation . a« to its attitude will be awaited with interest. The whole question of religions educatioft in schools is now being carefully reconsidered JQ England, in view of the legislation which the Government has promised to introduce during tho present year, Loud Buyce fsfcj'red to the subject in a Motabfc speech at; a feccht eonferoncc- of educational ■ associations., in the course of whtch he said:

"May I express an earije&t hope lhafc whatever jtdh do in this (Jottntfy h settle the controversies, iHiidi \m\g disIructesi it, ypa. will not leave'reUgiq-iis iiw Struction ojid the Bib.ls out dI Mfe'telraois? Into pdiiical ismm 1 jmist .not filter, but txpfcrieiifce has shown .that in sireh a popiuatiesi as ours we cannot rely either upon patents tu , upon Siimlfty ScwO'sls to secufa that children , slwil grM , up with 'a rooi'al traintiiß lms?d on reliptfeus jjrjiiciples. It is with ftveat regtei tVitit one fitkWTfcs Hint a bnowljilßß of the Bi-W» sf-enis to 1» tVeelinijijr ii.t all classes of the caWmiiKit.y. I hove observed tb? snnio thing in the United States. Loqliiuji At it even Eron) the eilncntiottal ~ tho loss to growing cfiriWfen of a kjiowtettje of th.e JJiWe would be an incalculaiie toss to tiie life of this conntr.v, ftnxt it would lie a ifi'ent misfortune if t.li« gpiici'-utifln tjf f/hiklreu gttjwMift uj) (H<l irot kuw tlwir BM«." ' '■ ' '

This impressive utterance h well worthy of the sympathetic attention of those who ai - e entrusted with the responsible task .of training the minds and characters of eur Iroys and girls in New Zealand. A change of suqh ißipqrfcanep* ag that advocated by the .Biblc-i.u-iSehool.H League shouM not be made without consitlting • tlve > people who have to pay for the building, equivalent, and maintenance of,th.o fiehoola. Tlw demand for a seferendurH, supported as It is by so-large a, seeUon of the electors, cannot be'brushed aside, foiit is the only satisfactory and decisive way of aficertainiiig the will of th.o people regarding, the proposal to find a- place for Bible witching in out- education system.