OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE BIBLE.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 24, 6 September 1882, Page 2

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE BIBLE.

The Rev H. M. Murray gave a lecture on Sunday evening last upon this subject. A large number attended, and were, from the logical manner in which the subject was handled, enabled to carry away a strong impression that the exponents of Bible reading in schools were not so formidable as some people suppose. He prefaced the reasons and objections by a sketch of national education, and what led up to it, showing how far behind every civilised country in tho world England appeared to be in this alUimportant question, and how apathetic her statesmen and philanthropists were about it. How Scotland was shown by Feilding & Smollett, and other popular writers, to be a thoroughly educ ted people, while England was yet depending upon charity schools for her popular education. It was asserted that a large majority of the people of N.Z. would vote for the reading of the Bible in schools, which he contended, would in no way interfere with denominational distinctions, which,.afuHall, were almost wholly differences of Church Government. No one of them ignored the Bible. Why then exclude it when it would, from its moral influence, so assist the teacher? The Americans, all honor to them, read the Bible in all their public schools, leaving it optional with parents whether their children remain in school during the short period after hours which may be devoted to this object. The Rev gentleman exhorted the people to study the politics of the country, and asserted that Representative Government was only so in name when the people were ignorant of all matters affecting their interest. This ignorance was really the cause of the Bible being excluded from the schools, when the majority of the people were against its exclusion. We have not space at our command to do justice to the lecture, which was altogether a most interesting and cleverly handled one. These Sunday evening lectures promise to become very popular, and will prove a source of mental education to our people.