BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 31, 6 February 1913, Page 3

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS

THE METHODIST ATTITUDE. In his address to the Methodist Conference last evening the retiring president' (Rev. W. Ready), who was frequently applauded during his remarks, referred to the Bible-in-Schools movement and the attitude of Methodism towards it. Since tho arrival of Canon Garland in New Zealand, said Mr. Ready, tho Bible-ih-Schools movement had manifested much more activity. It had stirred up against it the forces of opposition, which were Roman Catholics, eecularibts, many teachers in the day schools, sundry members, and friends of the Protestant Churches, and tho last to show its hand was tlio liquor ring. "It is a strange conglomeration and combination, the President continued. "We do not fear a straight-out fight, for anything tion," the President continued. "We do fight intelligently, forcibly, but in that kind of spirit that agrees to differ. We want all our opponents as well as our friends to know what we are aiming at. We desire the matter to be approached with a free and open mind, without prejudice and passion, and if this is done I feel assured the good sense of the people of this Dominion will see that the Bible-in-Schools League has the best of the argument, and that there is more reason why the Bible should *be placed in our schools than why. it should be excluded. We ate willing to trust the people in this matter. "We do not want this struggle to degenerate into a fight between Roman Catholics and Protestants. We are desirous that the same powers and privileges be given to the Roman Catholics as to ourselves ; but we are determined to oppose any interference with our national system of education, or State aid to any particular denomination. "Ac a Church we have committed ourselves to the work of trying to get the Bible reinstated in our schools. In Queensland our Methodist Church was in the front rank of the battle,, and Dr. Youngman, our general president, was one of the founders of the movement. Let us take our stand boldly, earnestly, and prayerfully in the front ot tho battle, and try and get the Book of Books with it« best literature, biography, ethics, and morals placed in the hands of our young people. Victory will bo ours if we work hard and manifest a wholehearted sympathy with the movement."