CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 184, 6 August 1877, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

EDUCATION BILL. To THB EDITOR. 07 THB ' EVENING MAIL.' V Sw— For tbe quieting of the unquiSt spirit who lean the jCatholica are going to" accept 7#ie new Education Bill, I forward an extract from the last number of the New Zealand Tablet, the only Catholic newspaper in r lias ,colonjr. -"" ' . - _'*. Education!— A Naw Penal Law.-4T_.. .Hon. Mr.Bowcn introduced a Eill toregi^ate Education, into the House of Reg rese Esa#yjfs/ on last Tuesday. It would be wasting the time of our readers es give a resumS of this, wretched Bill. It wi'l suffice to say, that it proposes to establish a system of free^conxpulsory, aud religious, education, at /the special expense of parents , and; guardians, and the public generally,. .This New Zealand Minister is the first who has proposed a compulsory system ,pf . I|_Qtesta,nt. education, The present teachers, 1 therefore, may congratulate themselves .on a monopoly of the Education loaves and fishes, and on a perpetuation of an odious and unjust ascendancy; and Catho .cs oh'thc compliment paid' then, in denying them a fair field of competition. Under the circumstances, we shall not have much more to say as to this worthless Bill, but we shall carefully record the names of its supporters in Parliament, in order that these shall be consigned to that estimation to which they are entitled, and th_t our friends may not allow them to drop out of their memories before the conclusion ofthe next general election. The men who support this measure will earn for themselves the undying opposition of all lovers of- justice and fair play, and theppJitical execration of CaJwUcs in, particular." I may add that Catholics might possibly have seen their way to accept a rigidly secular system, such as is carried out in St. Mary s schools here, but they can nev_r accept such a mongrel affair as Jhe proposed I have read many scores of Catholic 1 rayer Books, and I have heard the Lord's Prayer recited very t often in Catholic Churches, but neither in, one or the other ua £_? d °? ***** - of supersubstantiitl preaa. ihe words are the same precisely as m the Book of Common Prayer, and ia the Protestant version of the Scriptures. ' Tam,&<_} ~~ R, C ,u P ' S '~^ In tha Doua y B[bl * ia St. Matthew the word "supersubstautial" is i_ed,_a&>-n ot. Luke the word " daily." -..'.-_■

To THE EDITOR 07 THE 'EVENING MaIL.» Sib— Will you kindly allow me a° small space in your paper to say a few words upon reading Mr Curtis' amendment in the Education Bill. I see clearly his object is to exclude the daily reading of the Bible. Allow me to state, Sir, I defy any man to prove that by force of arms any heathen nation has been civilised without the Bible. Take the Bible out of the Education Bill,'the"Billis good for noth ing. If Mr Curtis' amendment is agreed npon, it will give the power to any Board of Education to exclude the Bible reading daily. That that day : will never come is the wish of one who was taught to read the Bible in his school | Seventy Years Ago.