"'TIS A CONSUMMATION DEVOUTLY TO BE WISHED."

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 60, 8 November 1892, Page 2

"'TIS A CONSUMMATION DEVOUTLY TO BE WISHED."

TO TBE EDITOR OF THE STAR. Sir, — When reading an article in your issue of November 3, entitled " Moral (?) Melbourne," and the reference to the statistics of births, in or out of wedlock, certain words dropped by our Primate at the last General Synod held in Wellington occurred to me. Speaking on the necessity of religious teaching in our day schools, he said that moral teaching without any religious foundation will never develop moral character. I think, sir, that as the generation which is growing into manhood is the first one that has passed along the stage of this world with secular teaching only in its State schools, we should be able to form some idea as to whether the words of the Primate are true or not. I presume we may rely on the statements you print as regarding the immorality of Melbourne. I have also before me the statistics compiled by the Begis-trar-General of Births in the countries of Europe. They show most conclusively that the immorality of nations increases in proportion to the decrease of the influence and teaching of the clergy. The tendency now-a-days is to weaken that influence, and put religious teaching in the background, reserving it for one or two hours of a Sunday. In the Greek Church and Roman Catholic countries the parish priest is the man most looked up to. In the good old England of our childhood the clergyman of the parish was first in name as in place. Is the morality of the world any better for throwing overboard the traditional respect our fathers had for their clergy and national church and its teachings '? " Moral (?) Melbourne " and the statistics of the Registrar-General show to the contrary. Personal chastity and the practice of the precepts of virtue are the best tests of a nations morality — not freedom from those crimes only which the law can touch. The upholders of secular education in New Zealand and elsewhere say there is no increase of crime. Your article of November 3rd says " That hardly a man in five hundred pretends to decency of life, &c." Well, the law does not touch that, yet it discloses a terrible state of society and, if true, should lead us to think again of our Primate's words that " moral teaching without any religious foundation will never develop moral character." What remedy is in our hands ? Religious teaching day by day is one. Our Roman Catholic brothers have seen this to be the only remedy and, all honor to them, are educating their children throughout the colony (without State aid) in their own schools that they may have daily religious training. Look for one moment at this inequality. Under our present system we teach publicly five days in the week for temporal affairs, while those for eternity are left to an hour or so on a Sunday. The child is naturally inclined to think that as so much time is devoted to the one, its importance far outweighs the other. And then we are told " the child is father to the man." The members of the English church numbered at last census 265,000 out of a population of 626,000. The Roman Catholics are 85,000 in the colony. What a power would those two bodies exercise at an election if religious teaching or denominational grant was made a test question. Our bishops recognise the grayeness of the situation, and that it is high time to act, but the laity must do their duty and strengthen the hands of their pastors. I am, etc., F. W. Whibley.