The Daily Telegraph. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1883.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3679, 30 April 1883, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1883.

We arc very glad that some one has at last taken up the cudgels on behalf of our much maligned Education Act. Tho gentleman who° has come forth as a champion of truth is Mr J. Snyder Browne, of Gisborne. •Mr Browne was for many years connected with journalism, and his contributions to the press under the signature of Snyder have had numerous admirers. Straightforward and honest, and in the full possession of the courage of his convictions, Mr Browne has never hesitated to expose humbug and toil the truth. He has now taken up his pen to feliow the error of the assertion that the educational „ystem of the State schools is irreligious. "I h_y,o so long heard and road," says Mr Browne in a letter to the Poverty Buy Herald, " from clergy and laity of almost all sectaries that tho "teachings in our public schools arc Godless ; that our children are growing up to be heathens, knowing nothing because they arc taught nothing of their Heavenly Maker.' All these charges I am sure arc' made under such an entire misapprehension as to amount—l say it without intending to offer oiicncc—as to amount almost to a vulgar error," Mr Browne thou refers to thc° first two little hooks which' children from five to seven years of ■*£? are taught iv tbe Gisborne school, and as these form a part of the school standards are, of course, used in .ill other public schools of the colony. The first is known as "Step by Step," intended to convey simple lessons iv one syllable of' four or Aye letters. The other is the " Royal Reader, No-. I," containing lessons of not more than two or three syllables. Here is what tho children are taught in " Step by Step," No. 2, page 79 : GOD.—" God see's us, but we do not sec God. God is good to all. God is good to us. He gives iis all that we have. God sees me. He sees all that I do. He sees me when I do not see him. God keeps us from harm. God ' gives us food. God gives food to all.- Let us pray to God to •rivo us all that we need, and to keep us from harm. All good men pray to God. All "ood men love God. Let us pray to God°that he may make us lave him and that he may keep us from sm. Commenting upon tltcse quotations MiBrowne says:—"Hero is the teaching of religion, as" I humbly take it, pure and undcfilod, in language'framed to tho understanding of youthful intelligence. I do not think ministers of religion are likely to improvoonit. A child duly . impressed with this very beautiful lesson is not likely to grow up Godless, nor -become an Atheist when grown to man's or woman's estate." He next quotes from the Royal Readers, which arc the text books of the schools, and shows by the moral lessons they contain that nothing can be wider of the mark llum to characterise tho teaching as Godless. "At page 60 there are two prayers, beautifully supplicatory to the Heavenly I other; one for evening and one foi-morimig pmyei. There is also a short " Grace be oie meat - which with other prayers eh n the schools have to learn by heart All through this little Primer prayers, holy reflections,

and divine teachings are interspersed. Instead of our j.ublie schools being Godless I take them to be much more Godly than were the public or private schools half a century back, when ministers of religion had very much more their own way than they have now, or, as I think, ever will have again." It seems strange that it should have devolved upon one totally unconnected with a school to place before the public the true character of school teaching. In the face of the animated debate at the recent sitting of the Anglican Genend Synod, it might have been thought that some one would have enlightened the clerical gentlemen who were evidently so lamentably ignorant of the fact that moral and religious teaching are imparted to the children of the public schools. Some of the clergymen, however, professed to have been constant teachers of religion at these schools, and yet they could speak of them as though they were but nurseries for the growth of infidelity and larrikinism. Surely those gentlemen could never have taken up the school books, or they would not have desired any purer religious teaching than is to be found iv the series of Royal Reader. Let us hope that we shall never hear anything more about Godless schools.