POINTS FOR THE PEOPLE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2214, 29 July 1914, Page 9

POINTS FOR THE PEOPLE

» THE BOYCOTT OF THE BIBLE ' ANOTHER PHASE OF TEE TEACHER'S CONSCIENCE. * (Published by Arrangement.) The opponents of the Biblc-in-schools novement haveznadc- a somewhat extensive lis of tho namo of Sir W. 1 R. Nicoll, editor of tho "British Weekly," by quoting him as saying that tho . "secular solution was tho only solution of tho ( educational problem." Sir W. R. Nicoll in his earlier daya may have said something like this, but in his wiser and more matured years, ho has said tho very opposite, a Regard to which should induce Sir Robert Stout and others not to misrepresent this prominent English religious journalist. Sir Robert. Stout, the other month, in tho "Even-, ing Star," Dunodin, affirmed that Sir AV. R, * Nicoll was a secularist as regards nations.' education in 1909, an i affirmation which is distinctly erroneous, as the following evidence will 6how. In 1908, Sir W. It. NicblL became ono- of a committee—a thousand or more strong of men and women in prominent posi-' tions—whose object was to promote and maintain religious teaching as an/ "integral part of tho national 6ystom of , education." Ho also became a member of tho Executive Committee, and ' took his share in forming scheme of ■ religious teaching in -the national schools of England, which placed the ' Bible in the school curriculum, and in, special cjreumstances opened tho door for' religious teachers to enter the 'Echools in school hours, and give religious instruction. These facts, which .Sir-Robert. Stout and'Profosso? Mackenzie may well consider, aro 6et forth in a pamphlet entitled "Toward Educational Peace,'' published by Longmans, Green, and Co., 1910.

THE BOYCOTT'ON THE BIBLE, There; is one- outstanding fact that 'ought to be grasped by every citizen' at this crisis in the ■ history of: education in New Zealand, andthat is .that there is only one solution of the religious difficulty, before the -.country,,' and before Parliament; and that is the gahe ■-:■ ; proposal .of tho ! League. The.Roman Catholio'.prelates' '■have no' contribution further than rivet-. ting,more firmly the.chain of secularism ■. round the nock of bur public. school .'.system.'. Tho r so-called National Schools' Defence League .has: no solution, and it .only, plays the; .part, of a,, satellite to ■■':■'■ the Roman Catholic opposition. One of ..the. mostincredible -utterances,- ever, made by .educated citizens was made in April ; last in Wellirigtonj -when: it was : solemnly agreed at'the meeting, of the l opposition-league by.Messrs.: \ MaoKenzie,. Hunter^. Oaughleyi -and'.: others: •■' League in the.Dominion is;;irrecpncil; ably :makin'g 'BiblMeading or .. 'of the State schools' curriculum."■' The' ■ Bible, is. thus put;,on .an; index prohibi-' torumby this .'extfabrdinary'league as regardsitsmse in thejpubiic'echooilife of the nation. ' jWby the Bible should be • ■ treated,... to use the. somewhat - coarse but; vory expressive language of Dr. deary,: as: we would treat : , "a declared .; leper- or a bubonic rat,?' .raises a ques- . tion for which an answer should be \ givenby these men-who thus, ban the Bible. -The National Schools- Defence League singles out ixj other.book in the whole world of literature for attack save' the Bible. An. issue of-The Dominion. /newspaper .would not be; large enough; to contain - the testimonies' given by statesmen,, scientists, .;educationists, r- philanthropists,, and religious l teachers :m favour of the; Bible in tho schools of :' onr nation. The antagonism of Profes- >. sors MacKonzie,'Hunter,'and others tothe Bible in ■■ the sohools. simply fills with, amazement visitors, to.' New'Zea, land. ■ Their statement' would sound - : utterly incredible' to-.'• prominent Con., gregatiohal 'divines such 'as- Dr. J. D Jones, who has let the' New Zealand ; public know that .99 per'cent, of the . people of England would be opposed to : putting the Bible cut of the school.

HAS THE CONSCIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER NO . RIGHTS? ■ .There is another side.to this question of the conscience of the teacher.': What about the conscience of the Christian teacher? Has the Christian teacher not any rights'in this connection ? : The de cision of a meeting of an Educational Institute in ho way indicates the real mind of thousands of teachers probably.' At one meeting of. tho'.Teachers' Institute held not long ago 'thetotal/a'ttendanco was 40—a Targe majority carried a motion: against the ' Bible-m-Schools movement: _ While there were-40 members'of the institute present, 'there were probably about 300 absent, for the country schools were carrying ( ori their, work, and the teachers could not'be present, and the vote of that institute simply represented the mind of 30 opponents who were present, and in-no way represented the,3oo that; were absent. -The absence of the Bible as a standard of morals from our schools, has distressed andtroubled not s. few of our teachers in the past. \Here is tho experience that one Christian teacher passed through —a respected officer-bearer in a Christian Church.: An outbreak of moral badness in, the form of bbsceno writing scattered about the 6chbol and playground manifested itself.. The teacher laid his haridori the guilty scholar and sent that scholar home. ; The father of the scholar in question was a man who Was dwarfed to, some extent mentally and morally, although shrewd enough in the world of business. He went to the school and'threatened the schoolmaster with physical violence if be did not take his child back. The schoolmaster refused, and tho committee supported the schoolmaster, in refusing to allow: tho scholar in question' to attend school.' The man withdrew his other children, engaged a governess to teach them, and six months afterwards brought an action in. the Magistrate's, Court against'the schoolmaster for the salary of the' governess. The_ magistrate, of course, nonsuited the plaintiff, and flung the case out of the court, but for long weary months the schoolmaster passed through a crucifixion in a country district through this distressing case, and .all through ho deplored tho fact that he was muzzled and gagged as a teacher, so that ho- could not sot: forth- effectively morarteaching that.ought to bulk so large, in any education, worthy of the name. There are probably thousands, of teachers who deplore tho inadequacy of our educational system from the moral and religious standpoint, and probably the Premier is profoundly cognisant of this when he says without committing himself in any way to the League's' platform; that lie stands up for tho Bible every time. The moral need 3 "of-our- school cry aloud for the'entranoe of the Eibloj -■