BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2203, 16 July 1914, Page 8

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

CONTROVERSY IN DUNEDIN. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MANIFESTO. (By Talcgrapli.—bpeoial Correspondent.! Dunedin,' July 14. The manifesto of tho Roman Catholic Bishops is keenly criticised by a correspondent in tho "Otago Daily Times" to-day. He points out that it is on the lines of Bisliop Cleary's address given here a year ago, and calls attention to the following features of it: — 1. It is a plea to preserve tho secular features of our system which they have condemned for thirty years. Dr. Cleary is quoted as saying that our system seeks to protect children from religion' as though it were a declared leper or bubonic rat. 2. It is a reversal of their former judgments that the Bible-in-Schools was preferablo to a secular systom. The "New Zealand Tablet" is quoted as having said: "But to us, Godless schools are less acceptable' than sectarian schools, and wo object less to tho reading of King James's Bible "oven in tlio schools than wo do to the exclusion of all religious instruction. American Protostanism of the orthodox stamp is far less evil than Gorman infidelity." Tho criticism closes thus: "Dr. Cleary .and his fellow Bishops are simply pursuing a dog-in-the-manger policy' Their action reminds one- of a curious story told in 'Punch' not long ago. ' A Scotchman dashed into a railway station in-Edinburgh ,as the express for London-was moving and tried ■to hoard the train. Tho" guard pushed him back and said that the train was moving. The angry Scot gripped the guard and said 'If I canna, you sanna' ("if I cannot go you shallnot go"), and the train went- off leaving the perplexed guard in the hands' of the angry Scot. Tho Bishop's plea amounts' to this: Seeing that we, 40 per cent of the cannot succeed in smashing up the national system and getting de" nominational,grnnt, wo will move earth and another place- to prevent at least 75- per cent, of the population getting the Bible and religion in to our schools and making them national/British, and Christian." APPRECIATION. VARIOUS RESOLUTIONS. . Resolutions 'expressing 'appreciation of the action of the Government in bringing in the Referendum Bill desired by the Bible-ih-Schools League and strongly urging the M.P.'s for the districts' to support the Bill in the House have been passed by the Motukaraka Branch of the Bible-in-Schools League, the Auckland East and tlie Paparoa Methodist Circuits,' the- Thames Methodist Church, the Vestry of St, Cclumbas Anglican Church, Auckland and the Vestry of the'Paparoa Anglican Church, the congregations of St. Andrews, Coromandel and Whangapoua, Presbyterian Churches and the Coromandel Branch of the Women's League. The quarterly.meetings of the Trinity Methodist Churches at Auckland fast, Dunedin, and ' Wbangarei ave unanimously earned resolutions appreciative of the action of the Governmentv and urging on Parliament the passing:of tho Bill as introduced..- The congregation of the Presbyterian Church, Ellerslie, Auckland, and the vestry -df Paparoa Church of England, have passed similar resolutions. Branches of the Bible-in-State Schools League at Hornby (Canterbury), Hiuds (Canterbury), Motukaraa, 1 Te Kopuru, .St. Luke's Church of England Men's Society, Christchurch; and the Church of 'Ehg'lana",Meii , s' , ';Sb'cietyi'' ; ''Phillipstown, have passed resolutions. At Dovonport a public and representative meeting of citizens, in the course, of a resolution, pressed the urgency' of' the , ' matter, and . resolved:—'"'We have every reason, to believe that'a vast majority of the electors of this Dominion will be greatly disappointed if. the obvious democratic right of a referendum on 'the question of the Bible in schools.is not conceded by this Parliament, and, furthermore, We believo that this is the only' way to prevent the question from becoming a party or political one." The resolution was ordered to bo forwarded to Mr. A Harris, M.P, , Tho Ladies' Orango Lodge, of Petone, on Tuesday .evening passed a resolution in favour of the Referendum Bill. PETITIONS FROM OPPONENTS. Tho Hon. J. ,Barr presented to the Legislative Council yesterday petitions from the Roman Catholic Archbishop and the Catholic Federated Societies of New Zealand, protesting against tho Religious Instruction in Schools Referendum Bill, and containing 7495 (signatures from Auckland, 6844 from Otago, 6587 from Canterbury and Westland, 11,947 from Wellington, Nelson, Hawke's Bay, and Taranaki Provinces; in all, a total of 33,173 signatures. A number of potit'ons were presented in the House of Representatives today praying that the Referendum Bill benot passed, by Messrs.'J. M'Combs, 15. P. Lee, J. A. Young, J. G. Coates, 'A. H. Atmore, W. Nosworthy, J. Bol,lard, R. Scott, G M., Thomson, G. J. Anderson, A. Harris, J. B. Hine, T. W. Rhodes, 6. Forbes, D. Buddo (per Mr. G. Forbes), J. C. Thomson, R. M'Callum, V.'H. Reed, C. A. Wilkinson, C. E. Statham, R. F. Bollard, T. K. Sidey, and Di\ A. K. Newman. The total_ number of signatures on these petitious was 9463, bringing the total number of signatures on all petitions that have been presented to Parliament this session against the Bill up to 38,082.