Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1872.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1287, 2 April 1872, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1872.

Much stress is laid bv a section of the

pomiriunity upon a sentence in a recent pastoral of the Pope of Rom,e, condemning secular education, and many highly intelligent and leading members of Protestant denominations so I'a.v join with him as, to assert the necessity pf combining instruction in religion with secular education. it may be fib once admitted, in argument, with such, that a merely secular education is, so far imperfect, and that religious instuiction is even more important than secular. The flaw in their argument is that the imparting of the one implies the neglect of the other. Such, however, is not the case. The two branches pf education are as distinct as soul and body, or as time and eternity—in a word, as distinct as Church and State; and while it is the manifest duty of the Church to instruct in religion, it is equally the duty of the State to provide for all its members proper secular instruction. As a matter of £ict, the two systems of education are jsept practically distinct, as is witnessed by t ne status of the education, given to the common people in purely Roman Catholic countries, where the Church and State is one, and where we should consequently seek for the full effect pf the combined system. Every one Jfnpws that the Romish Church has never favored th,e education, of the people really and truly. For upwards of J3QQ years Spain, has been the most ppmplete example of a, Roman Catholic gauntry, both in Church and State. It }}gg b,ge& completely in, the hi\nds of {\\q

priesthood, and we have only to amine the state of popular education there to find convincing proof of our position. Not. one in fyur of the population of Spain has been taught to lead. No doubt they have been brought up in accordance with the principles of their religion, and are none the worse in the eyes of their Church for their ignorance. It is not, however, an education of that kind simply that is required for the Colony. We want the intellect educated in the first place, and the machinery for this work to be provided by the State. This being done, a field is provided for culture by the religious teacher, and he may prosecute his work as an addition: —and a most necessary addition—to the work done by the civil school-master. It will follow from what we have written that we would not make the Word of God a class book in our secular schools, It is altogether out of place there, and, as might reasonably be expected, soon fails to command reverence or respect. If it be made a class book, it is regarded as nothing else, and, as will be admitby everyone who has had his attention directed to the subject, is treated with as little veneration as the ordinary books of the school. We would place the Bible in the hands of every member of the community, but that is the work of the Church, and, so far as the Protestant portion of the community is concerned, it may be safely left in its hands. If the Romanists object from a religious principle to the popular use of the Scripture, the State has no right to torce it upon them.