TUAPEKA SCHOOLMASTERS' ASSOCIATION.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 379, 5 August 1874, Page 2

TUAPEKA SCHOOLMASTERS' ASSOCIATION.

The monthly meeting of the above Association was held in the Lawrence Grammar School on Saturday last. Mr. Clarke, President, occupied the chair.

Mr. M'Lelland read the following paper on " Bible Reading in Public Schools." He said : —

Under other circumstances, and with any ither subject, an apology might be due from ne ; but on the. all-important question, : Should, the Bible be excluded from our > üblic Schools ? " I give a bumble but emphatic no. It is, moreover, a subject upon rhich (with all due respect to our rulers) he public school teachers of this province are iompetent to give an opinion. There are not i few who would place the schoolmaster vitbin very narrow limits, and who desire to iso him as a machine —either to go fast or slow iccording to the whim or caprice of those vho are placed over him. As citizens, schoolnasters have a right to be heard upon this rital question, and it is a proper subject to je taken up by Schoolmasters' Associations. We aro acquainted with the parents of the children, and we feel convinced that nineteen >ut of every twenty would be for abiding by ihe Ordinance made and provided for Bible reading in our schools-^an Ordinance, carried Dut uj>on bonafide terms, which offers every guarantee that strict faith is kept with the peculiar notions of those who oppose Bible reading in our schools, But the greatest consideration is this: That ifc is God's word, given to man as man for his right conduct in bhis life, for obedience to God's law, for loyalty to the throne, subjection to those in authority, a respect for the laws of our country, filial affection, brotherly kindness, rectitude in business, fidelity as servants, merciful as employers- -in short, to be honest and truthful in every respect, as man with man — all this teaching we get from its pages. There is no sectarian teaching in the Bible — no special ritual to be found. Every degree and section of the community aro dealt with in tbe Bible — as man in every station, needing the wisdom of God to guide him in all his ways and interests ; and here he finds the only antidote for the harrassing cares and troubles of every-day life. It is the only infallible rule and guide to be relied upon. Every beacon is lighted with heavenly light ; every moral sand-bank laid down with infinite precision ; and every line drawn with the finger of God, as if graven on eternal brass. With this blessed book, and reading it carefully and prayerfully, man cannot go astray ; without it he is as a vessel without a rudder, drifting he knows not whether, until he becomes a wreck upon the sands of time. Nations who have taken their code of laws from its pages rise in the scale of religion and grandeur; and nations and people who despise God's righteous law sufl'er both morally and religiously — we can mark their downward course until they have no place of being. The greatest achievements in science, commerce, and agriculture, have been made by those nations who hare cherished the Bible, and the greatest victories have been achieved by the noble warriors bearing upon their escutcheons the spirit of God's word, " And who have not been ashamed of the gospel of Christ, knowing it to be the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile." Here then is a book which we have been in undisturbed possession of for nearly 300 yeai - s, and which was given to man that he might teach ifc, yea commanded to teach its wholesome laws and statutes to his children, "as they sit in the house, and as they walk by the way ; " the perusal of which has brought relief to the burdened, joy to the oppressed, and lias given out streams of living water to the thirsty, and heavenly food rqr pilgrims to eternif y, that perishing eoula may eat and live for ever. Aud this book has been by not a few proscribed, and in the very place of all others where its presence should be seen and felt, that is the schools. It is found in this the nineteenth century of the Christian era to be an unsuitable book for our public schools. Why these objections? Ist. Because it is averred that the schoolmaster is not able to teach its truths, and the teaching of it is beyond his proper sphere of duty. To the first reason we answer, that in very many cases the public schoolmasters of Otago are engaged in teaching its truths to a large number of our children and youths on the Lord's day, with much acceptance. These laborers, and they are many, are the best helps to the ministry, and the strength of our churches. No objection is offered by the clergy that we are not fit to open the book or expound its principles ; nay, many of the ministry have admitted, and will admit, that the zealous Sabbath school teacher is actuated by the highest motives and endowed with the noblest principles, iv endeavoring to the best of his ability to direct the pure and tender mind to the Lamb of Ged. How, then, does it appear that these same Christian gentlemen should in the space of twenty- four hours become incapacitated ? Does the spirit take its flight until the next Sabbath ? The second objection is that Bible teaching is beyond the schoolmaster's proper sphere. On this second objection we hold that the Bible should be read and acknowledged as the foundation on which all education should be based, and it should be read in Buch a manner as to convey this idea to the minds of the pupils. A long passage need not be read ; perhaps a single paragraph is enough ; and it should be read by the master, and if in the passage there is any particular point of instruction applicable to present circumstances, let the application be brief ; let it' be felt that the teacher holds in his hand a chart of the great, voyage of life, which it is necessary to consult every day, and to press this matter upon the scholars as the only infallible guide to direct them to the port of Peace. It is urged by our opponents that the air of our public schools is so pregnant with Presbyterianism that no other denomination can breathe freely within their precincts. It is needless to assert that this is a dangerous fabrication of the enemy. Upon the strictest scrutiny it would be found that neither Presbyterianism, nor any other ism, if taught or insisted upon in our public schools. Considering that this province was first colonised by Trashy terians, auch a thing, in a denominational point of vi»w might have been expected ; but with a liberty unknown to the opponents of our school system, our rulers have determined that every child in the province shall have the means of instruction placed within his reach, whether he be black or white, and irrespective of the section of the Christian Church to which his parents or guardians may belong, and that provision has been made and carried out in a spirit that all may reasonably give their support to and have confidence in. Until recently we considered our school system as perfect an institution^ human wisdom and foresight could make it ; and with all deference to those who differ from us, the great majority of the enlightened population of this province think so still, and we further believe that they consider it best to " let well alone." If we consider that it would be fraught with evil consequences to give up Bible reading in our schools, man is ever prone to leave the good old trodden path, and the youths in our schools would be»in to doubt the divine origin of the Scriptures were the united wisdom of our rulers to issue an order for their expulsion. It would be dangerous to make such a concession to the enemies of our British Bible ; for by all the concessians we can possibly make (and there is a line beyond which we cannot go), vre shall never give satisfaction, or reconcile all the "isms" with our system. The thing is impossible. At no time, and upon no occasion on this side of the Millennium, will our opponents cry quits. Our opinions may not be worth much ; but, as they are, let the members of the Schoplm,aßterß,' Association of Tuapeka.

declare, as one man, for the continuance of Bible reading in ow public schools, as proTided by the Education Ordinance of this Province. With tlie Bible in our hands, and its truths and principles in our hearts, we may predict a glorious future for this our adopted land, and the blessing of God -will descend upon our children. But, if we narrow the sphere by excluding it from our public schools, we may write—" The glory ib departed."