DENOMINATIONALISM

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 238, 13 February 1911, Page 8

DENOMINATIONALISM

"ITS DAXGEROI'S BYPATHS." Auckland, February !). An important .speech'was delivered this afternoon by the Hon. George Fowlds, Minister for Education, which took the form of a reply to recent public criticisms. The occasion for the Minister's remarks was the opening of a new school at Grey Lynn. Mr. Fowlds, after complimenting the district on the acquisition of such a fine seliool, went on to say that it was now nearly live years since he accepted the position of Minister for Education. At that'time the whole education system was up for criticism, and he quite recognised that the holding of the office was attended with considerable risk. 11l tiic intervening years considerable improvements had been efl'ected in the system, the status and salaries of the teachers had been much improved, and this had resulted in a more contented and enthusiastic spirit permeating the whole profession. The four training colleges had got into full swing, and were annually turning out a larger number of more efficiently trained teachers than had ever before been done in the history of the Dominion. Great progress had also been made in the organisation of technical education, including agricultural education, during those years, while the free-place system had brought the benefits of secondary education within the reach of many children who would otherwise have been excluded. The Minister then went on to say that he had always avoided anything in the nature of political partisanship in the administration of the Department. Many of his political opponents had publicly testified to this fact. He was equally glad to acknowledge that in passing legislation for the improvement of the system he had received generous assistance from members of the Opposition; in fact, he could say that ever since the passing of the Education Act in 187.7 all parties in Parliament, and the great bulk of the people of this country had into the dangerous and unsatisfactory been united in support of our national system of free, secular and compulsory education. It was true that there had been agitations in favor of a chancre in the direction of introducing Bib\e""lessons, but when the great mass of the people, had the opportunity of speaking at election time, the verdict had been unmistakably in favor of maintaining the existing system, which had served the country so well. , "The present Government, like all Governments that have gone Before it since 1877, stands by the present system," continued the Minister, "and so far as I am personally concerned, I have on every occasion, when offering my services to Parliament, declared unequivocally for the maintenance of the existing system, and rather than be a party to any fundamental change I should prefer to be excluded altogether from the public life of the Dominion. The will of the people must prevail in education, as in everything else, in a democratic country, but I am certain the democracy of this country will look critically at any proposal which would tend to lead u.s back into the dangerous and unsatisfactory by-paths of denoniinationalism, from which we escaped after much tribulation in 1877." (Applause).