BISHOP CLEARY AND THE LEAGUE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2215, 30 July 1914, Page 4

BISHOP CLEARY AND THE LEAGUE.

Sir, —At Monday' 6 demonstration one . of the speakers is reported to havo said that "their; Roman Catholic opponents" want to "unite secular and spiritual things" in education, but that thev; add; "Wo must have l it, but you shall not, if wo can prevent it." These "added"- words are a grievous, mierepre-. sentation. They emanate from a league source, not from Oatholios. Hundreds : of times over, we have intimated our willingness to aid in securing Biblical instruction in public schools, on conditions fair to the consciences of other users and supporters of our State edu- ? cation system. Hundreds of times we havo publicly declared our readiness to' give fair and friendly consideration to any sclicmo whatsoever of Biblical or roligious instruction in the public schools, with only one proviso: thu recognition; of the'proper equal rights of all inter-' ested parties before the law. Hundreds of times we have declared our willingness to meet-other interested parties iii\ conference, on tho same condition. All ' this has been before the country anu. the league for nearly two years past. It was declared once more, last Friday, before - tho Parliamentary Education Committee, in the presence and hearing of Canon Garland. • Yot he and the leaguo executive still permit this oftexploded misrepresentation to go uncorrected. We favour the Bible and Biblical principles in the schools, and * havo made immense sacrifices therefor, i We object to tho league's particular scheme of Biblical extracts in ' tho schools as involving the violation of' tho religious liberties and rights of conscience of large bodies of taxpayers, teachers, parents, and pupils—liberties'" and rights which God gave, which wo cannot surrender, and whicli no league, Parliament, or majority can in justice take away.—l am, etc., HENRY W. CLEARY, Bishop of Auckland. ' July 28.