VEXED QUESTION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 25 November 1927, Page 8

VEXED QUESTION

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS MEMBERS' PLEDGES. MR HOLLAND WOULD LIKE TO SEE BILL GO THROUGH. (Special to “Tribune.”) Pant. Buildings. Nov. 25. Speaking on the Education Committee’s report on the Education Amendment Bill yesterday the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. H. E. Holland. said it seemed to him that if the Bill as amended by the committee wag passed bv the House it would settle the vexed question of religious instruction in the schools. Mr. J. S, Dickson (Parnell): No. it won’t. Mr. Holland said that at the last election every member went to the country pledged to support and uphold the present system of free, secular, and compulsory education but at the same time a number of members had pledged themselves the other way as well. He did not think that any member should pledge himself to anything but w’hat was contained in his party's programme. When they did that they were bound to put themselves in an awkward dilemma. When members made no other nledges than to their own party they had a clear-cut issue to act ns the foundation of discussion. THE NELSON SYSTEM Bv a majority vote, said Mr. Holland, the House had made a dec'aration in favour of the Nelson system. Personally, he would have preferred to leave the matter as it was at present, but the decision ol Sie House had been made. That decision did not involve the surrender of the existing system of education. He did not think that people who wanted religious teaching in the schools could ask for anything more than the Nelson system. He had had every respect for those people who wanted Bible reading in the schools but he did think that if those people lived their lives in their homes in strict accordance with the tenents vi Christianity there would be no need for them to come to the State and ask it to step in. For the reason that it contained provision for the Nelson system lie would like to «ee the Bill go through and Imped that it would not be one of the nuucents that would be slaughtered before the session came to an end.