BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 283, 22 April 1913, Page 6

BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

ADDRESSPPrA r CAN OX GARLAND. SUPPORTED IJY Tlll-: CHURCHES. There was a very good attendance in the Good Templar Hall last night, when Canon Garland, Dominion Organising Secretary to the Bible in Stale Schools League for Now Zealand, gave an address on that subject. Mr. G. W. JJrowne (Mayor) presided, and there were also on the platform Mr. X. K. MacDiarmid and Rev. T. .11. liosevcaro. President and Vice-President respectively of the New Plymouth branch of the League. Apologies wore received for the absence of Archdeacon Evans, Revs. A. H. Colvile and Peat, and Ensign Gibbs. After the usual devotional exercises and the singing of a hymn, the Chairman stated that the question of Bible reading in schools appealed personally to him. He had five children, and was very much interested, as he recognised that they must commence to train the morals of the children at a very early age. To get the Bible introduced into the schools was a step in the right direction. If the children received moral training it -.aeant that when they came to take the duties of citizenship we would have no hestitation in entrusting the duties upon them. He would say that he was unhesitatingly in favor of the Bible in Schools movement.

The Rev. Mr. Roseveare, in introducing Canon Garland, first read a lesson from the text book which is used in giving Scripture lessons in the Queensland schools. He then welcomed Canon Garland to our beautiful and picturesque town, and had much pleasure in doing so. because he was anxious that the moral tone of the community should be as beautiful and clean as the natural surroundings they were so proud of. He believed that if the morals of the people were to be uplifted, the best way was to have a solid basis or foundation, and that basis was the word of God. Knowledge of the Bible was one of the surest guides to the morals of the coming generation. Canon Garland, he pointed out, was there to tell his audience a feasible and satisfactory way, not one that he had conceived himself, but one that he had seen in practical working. In conclusion, he stated that he (the speaker) represented the Presbyterian Church, which without hesitation declared itself hi favor of Bible reading in schools. A TRIBUTE TO NEW PLYMOUTH. Canon Garland, who was well received, his remarks being frequently punctuated with applause, first expressed his pleasure at visiting what he would call here and elsewhere, "New Plymouth, the Garden of New Zealand." It certainly was the prettiest town he had visited, and he paid a high tribute to beautiful Pukekura Park, remarking that he had travelled a good deal, and that it was one of the prettiest parks he had seen anywhere. A VERY IMPORTANT MATTER. He had, he stated, come to advocate a very important matter, far moire important than matters of politics, or of property, or of social problems. If they gave the children of this country the same education that the children of the Empire and the nation had in the past to build up the Empire of to-day, they would enable them to take their right iplace in public life, and deal with property and social problems from the best point of view—that which was laid down in the Holy Bible. The Presbyterian Assembly, by an absolute unanimous decision, there not being one dissentinet, upheld the Bible in the schools. The Methodist Church,

. not quite unanimous, agreed with their platform. There was, then the absolute unanimity of the Presbyterian Church, the almost unanimous decision of the Methodist Church, the same with the Church of England and the Salvation Army, all agreeing on one platform. Each of these churches set up a committee of enquiry and asked, independently, each of the other, to ascertain how the movement worked in Australia. The replies from the Methodist and Presbyterian churches were to the effect that they were to do all they possibly could to support the proposal. Each church arrived at the same conclusion, that the only solution of the problem was to have religious teaching in the national schools. PLATFORM OF THE LEAGUE. The result was that a league was formed to further the movement, and the system in Australia was adopted as their platform. This platform could not now be altered, as the three churches he had mentioned had bound themselves to see it through exactly as it stood. To bring forward any other proposal would be to hinder the present one. The system was one which had been in force in New South Wales since lfiflfi, Tnsmnnia sii>ce 1868, Western Australia since 1893, Queensland since 1910, anil iSoriolk Jsland since 1906; and in each of those places, had been thoroughly tested. For instance, in New South YVales and Tasmania the system had been working for half a century, and could it be imagined that it would have been allowed to continue if it hail not been a success? They were told that if the movement were introduced in >'",- Zealand it would cause friction, that it would introduce denominationalism in its worst form. But if it had hii any bad results, did they think it would have lasted half a cen-

tury in Australia? If it had failed, the people would have got it altered, hecause they had the control of it in their own hands. No member of Parliament or political party had ever spoken one word against the system, because they knew if they attempted to interfere their political life would not last. Was that not sufficient proof that the system was giving satisfaction? He read testimonies from reports presented to the Public Departments in Queensland and elsewhere, and from teachers, which showed that the system had not upset the schools, and, as one lady teacher put it, the system had come into the schools on well-oiled wheels. SUCCESS IN T QUEENSLAND. Tn Queensland a report presented to Parliament stated that the number of children attending the ministers' classes had increased by 10,000 in twelre months. If the Bible could be introduced into the

educational system in Quensland and elsewhere, why not in New Zealand? He claimed that by the introduction of the Bible into the schools their national system of education would be improved and made strong, and the platform adopted by the churches would prevent denominationalism from coming in. A agreed with Mr. Sellar that, a child's child's mind being plastic, hildhood was the time to make a good impression, and that the time to give it a knowledge of the Scriptures was while it was at schbol. Though not giving the children a knowledge of the Bible, they were not doing the fair thing to them. THE BTBLE IX TITE COURTS. He pointed out that the Bible was in the courts, and supposing a boy had to go there to give evidence he was giveii the Bible, and the Magistrate, who represented the State, had to tell the lad what the Book was about and that it taught him not to tell a lie. Later on the same boy might perhaps unfortunately become a criminal, and as soon as he got into [raol the first thing that was giveii to him was a Bible of his own church, and the next thing would be that his minister would see him. The >Statc did not allow him an, opportunity to learn his

Bible while lie was a good boy, but as soon ns lie lias broken the law, thou it gives him that which was denied him at school. Was that fair? lie did not think so. The State made provision for the recognition of God and the Bible in their national life in every direction except where it would do most good, and th:it wiis with their children in the schools. TilK H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND. They were hearing a good deal about the Dreadnought just now—and he was proud of New Zealand—but he would like to point out that, in large iron letters in a conspicuous place on the battleship, were the words "Fear God." Did not they think if this was good for the defence'of the country, it would be a good thing for the children to learn something about fearing God when thev were at school, instead of when they were grown up and went on the ship to fight against'their enemies? In _ every possible respect their national life recognised the Bible and God. except in their schools. This extraordinary anomaly in their national life had nade them untrue to the Empire of which they were a complement part, and untrue to their tradition and constitution. All through their constitution was written the Christian religion; and take that away from British history, and there would be no-

thing left. Under their system every child had the inalienable right to be taught THE FAITH OF ITS FATHERS, and anyone endeavoring to teach otherwise would 1 have the whole weight of the law brought against him; even if the father were dead. Under the Australian system the child was taught the faith of its fathers during school hours. There were perhaps some objections to the Bible in the schools, and he had heard that one of them was that they could not trust the teachers. But during the whole time he had had to do with this movement in Western Australia and in Queensland he had heard toothing of the sort, and of the 3500 teachers who had been handling these lessons to thousands of children, there had never been one case on record of a teacher giving a lesson improperly. That was a remarkable thing. If the teachers in Australia ould be trusted surely those in New Zealand could be trusted and he believbd the teachers in the Dominion were not inferior to those on the other side. The Roman Catholic teachers in the "-chools in Australia had given their lessons as honorably and as faithfully as any other teachers in the profession But supposing that there was a teacher who was misusing the lesson, the children had only to inform their parents w"ho, when all was said and done, had control of the matter, and a note from the parents next day would mean that those children would have no need to go to any more lessons. He would like to emphasise this point and to say that one of the reasons why the three churches and the Salvation Army so strongly supported the propwal, was because it put complete control in the hands of the people; and in Australia not more than two per cent, of the children were withdrawn from the Scriptural lessons. The system, therefore, must work well, fo r it had the tacit approval of all the parents except two per cent. He contended, with much force, that no hardship would be put on anyone by introducing the Bible in schools under th* League's platform, nor on those who objected, because while the others were reading the Scriptures, the children who were withdrawn would be having other lessons. THE TEACHERS' CONFERENCE. In New Plymouth at the Teacher*' Conference recently, by 42 votes to 6, the Conference declared against the League's platform, and particularly denied the right to settle the matter by the referendum. Was it, he asked, a logical position to take, up that 42 persons should arrogate to themselves the right to decide this matter to half a million people of the same right, the half million, moreover, being the people who owned the schools, who maintained them and who paid for them? One of the reasons put forward at the Conference was an allegation that the introduction of religious instruction would be followed by the civil disabilities of the teachers. In proof of this a regulation from New South Wales was quoted and interpreted in such a drastic fashion, according to the Conference, as to exclude teachers from the ordinary opportunities of church work. The. fact was that the quoted regulation is obsolete, and that even when in existence, it had never been administered or interpreted in the tense in which it was construed by the speakers at the Conference, who had no personal experience of it. The claim, that this alleged regulation was in corfsequence of religious instruction, was shown to be without foundation, by the fact that the same had existed in Queensland during thirty years, when there was no religious instruction in schools. He claimed that if it was on such mistaken information that the Conference had decided that the people of New Zealand were not competent to vote on a matter affecting the people's children, the decision was not worthy of attention.

A STRONG APPEAL. In conclusion, he pointed out that the movement was far and away more important than any Dolitical question; they were not concerned with politics or party, but only with the object of teaching the children principles which they could apply when they had to deal with political and social problems. Canon Garland then made a strong appeal to the people to assist in the movement so no, to give a knowledge of the Scriplures to the little ones. At the conclusion of the address a collection was taken up to defray expenses, and on the motion of Messrs. N. K. MacDiarmid and S. W. Sliaw, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the Mayor for presiding.