The Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant La Verite. MONDAY. JUNE 25, 1883. SECDLAR EDUCATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 171, 25 June 1883, Page 2

Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant La Verite. MONDAY. JUNE 25, 1883. SECDLAR EDUCATION.

The Southern Press is kgitating for the amendment of the Edacatioa Ace, to permit the re-introduction of religious or moral education m some form into our State schools. V^e quite agree with the Rangiora Standard, that the education of the youth of the colony is one of i the most important matters which the Legislature has to do with, and the question of whether or not the Bible shall b [leroiitted to becoaje one of the j textbooks of the "present Education syßtem is of the most vital importance, and one that cannot be held to be settled as it now stands. Our contemporary proceeds to Bh6w that- the purely.. ■ secular educational system has now had * reasonable trial , and steps 'are about to be taken by Mr fcTEWARD to bring, the matter at issue before the House of Representatives. With some of the denominations of the colony the matter seems to have beea taken ap by them ae> ii v was oi little mument, whilst othets have shown great anxiety, to place the inspired . book once more m tha hands of' their children. It was argued" that secularists would be soon satisfied with the change when the present Act came into force. But such arguments bave proved to have been very fallacious, as those who claim to be secularists wM not admit that any evil. can arise from the prohibition. And v j. we believe, that it there ia to be a change m the Act now, it will only take place aft/r. a hard-fought battle has been fought before the matter will be settled.; Indeed, the C3nteßt will be all the more serere and terribje .now that the secularist party have been allowed to : .'obtain- t SQ\la,rge a control; while the ▼arioils- religious bodies, through' a paltry fear of one another, have almost entirely lost their hold on the education of the country, the npn-jfcligious section of the community exalt m the belief tblatj once having/ .obtained control they are not likely again to loose it. We are one with a contemporary who says that they care little indeed for- the various minor distinctions that exist between the several Protestant denominat;ons,s > far as relates to the teaching m our day schools.. To the winds with them all we s»y, if they are to.be made a' pretext for closing the Bible and declaring to our children that it may be good enough for them and be of authority on Sundays, but must not presume to open its mouth to speak of the God of Heaven daring the week, when the more potent God of Ancient Greece and Rome, or of the Hindoos, are holdiuj? forth. All credit to the Roman Catholic body m this particular, that, holding to the necessity of the inculcation ot religious truth if we would secure the highest education, they, at {ha oogt of very

considerable inconvenience . arid selfdenial, refrain from countenancing and increasingly-" protest against the eon— tinua? cc of t l »e present state o{ things. W-i need not say that, while speakiug thu? highly of their conduct, we are n t at all at one with our Catholic friends m this matter. We have no desire to Ree a return to the denominational .system, a system which failed, and necessarily and increasingly failed, m overtaking the education of the youth of the colony. Our wish is, not that the tenets of this or that particular body should be insisted on, nor even, as we have said that each, particular body should be allowed, to invade the school* room daring .'p/dinary school hours. for the sake of obtaining youthful adherents ; but what we claim should be as the very corner-stone of our educa- j tional system isy that that Book which ig at every foundation and- base of our English civilization should once again be enthroned as the ; Book of booksin the schools of the land.