DENOMINATIONAL EDUCATION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 36, 8 February 1876, Page 2

DENOMINATIONAL EDUCATION.

To the Editor op the ' Evening Mail.' Sm—Viewed from the standpoint of conscientious religious scruoles, clergymen in advocating denominationalism are doubtless . deserving.; of s^rqpifhy to the extent that"" pugejn.otji.'.s afctuat^i jrpir rmeasures, buti^ is to be feared that many of its most zealous ' advocates think more of the oggrandizehient .of the churcji.to.. which .they be oiig than, the _. cause of Chris ian truthor the advanceriien.of the ljept methods of literary.education. It , is o'ri rid other suppositiori' that one can acY. count for the bitter rivalry existing between so-cinlled Christian Churches,-who iii"many-;-cases are not divided by a hair's-breadtb. in theology;. -Hence the.Tesui _cal stratagems— not* necessarily confined 5 -_o the Socie'y founded by Ignatius Loyola —the jalous watching, th. struggling by. dogmatic-. teaeb>| -ing arid otherwise" to- erilarge" the- denbriiina-. tional border! I have already alluded to the fact of how keenly __iVe some churches are to the lmp.itance of instructing the young in their own peculiar dpgiVri -and^. k|l, ; ppine.. it may; be_r broadly stated that the religious bent give'n^ to children in most cases may be regarded as' the foundation upon which .the- religioufm n wi Ibe built as regards the sects. It is also possibly owing to the fact of the Romish and Episcopal Churches being bo deeply imbued ; wiUi this. conviction thatjroay betrnced the prominent place each occupies" in' practical den.__in»ti6nali»n_. My endeavor to call to mind any marked success achieved by de-nominational-schools in higher pr any gl»b.b--.diication is riot very'vauccessful as compared , with publi. systems, particularly Vhere basedUpon secular principles, and it m»y very .airly be inferred where the object is mainly education in a literary sense, as dis inct from ■ drgroai.ic teaching, it. has been, more popular^; more liberal, arid more gurie rally puccessful. The pubic schools where. they are .riot'pK rtady so ahould become institutions for train- v ing.te»ch urs up in the pupil teacher plan: In . denominational schoo'B the teacher i' usually a protege of the lootl patron, and not exclu- . Bi->_ly: with regard to. moral conduct arid ability as a professed arid' trained t; richer. Ag.n the evil of denominational schools . wiih its accompaniment .pat bridge,. Ib the : absence of that independence on" the p**rt of the teacher, ariiing from the sense of competence public emulation imparts, and the prosr pict hold out to laudable Ambition of one day fllli g a high post ia tbis branch of the Civil Service. Ou the one hand it is a study to u-idcrs'and the idiosyncrasy of the iridi-" * vidual w»th a .-view , to- pleasing .amateur notions anl proclivities oo tbe otiier the study of a system with .the object au i aim of proficiency, which under ■ & 'cbrapeti-ive syß'cm means success. The chef fault of denomination il .choo'.li. that literary attain-, ment. thus _ bee una seconiary to .•svctariinrreligious instruction, ■ This it will be oon- , tended is not the case. ,If there ii re»Hy. any fouhdatiju in such an, objection,; and aB ' experience proves" - that ■ public B-_iilsr education; -'- is; ;_he mo-e auccessfu', whyeodfavor* to' get 'upidrnorriinofional schools? F»r my p.trt I'i-il to see that the clergy are railed upon to inter-fere-in or usurp the, province of th. p-ofee-* ni<>nal teacher, nor do I st«nd alone in such a view of the Bubject. While very many of tho advocates of secular education are not op nosed to cptn'ined secular.and separate religious in-_ Bt'uclioii they do not wish to see ericrdawhed.. upon the duties.of .the S|iritualr:guide. Itwould be will if the clergy would give more atte tion to their peculiar ca ling and high privileges, and by Iook;ng well after the facilities"** Horded for instructing the, children . of their various congregations in the Sunday 8-hool, nud by attention to pastoral pbliga. tions {carry, their per. onal influence .0 the bonus of members of their- churches, and thus winning parental co. op> ration' th;y' « would not need to fall back'Ufdri the rot'en plank of denominationalism 1 I am, &<\, . Zkthau [My li tters on tbis question were written and sent to the editor of. the Evening Mail p ior to the delivery of the interesting address . to parents at Embley House by Bishop Suter o r the recent nomination, at the Bi.hop's School. I state this to -spare your c>rre.pendents any further charitable suggestions.]