THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF VICTORIA.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 385, 26 August 1874, Page 3

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF VICTORIA.

On the occasion of the formal opening recently of the the New State School at Williamstown, built at at a cost of £4500, to accommodate 800 children, a luncheon was held, at which both Mr, Mackay and . Mr. Justice Stephen spoke. As reported in the "Argus" :— Dr. Figg proposed " The Educational System of Victoria, coupled with the names of the Minister of Eductaion, and his Honour Mr. Justice Stephen," stating that he did not know of any measure which would tend more to advance the public interests than that which was proposed to the Legislature by Mr Stephen. (Applause.) Although his sentiments did not altogether agree with Mr. Stephen's in regard to the absence of the religious element, he said that where there was a mixed population, consisting of Roman Catholics and Protestants, it was perfectly impossible to introduce religious education, even to the extent of imparting the elements of natural theology, without its being prevented on one side or the other. (Hear, hear) He then referred to the failure of the Hon. E. G. Stanely's (the late Earl of Derby) measure for the education of the people of Ireland, in consequence of the sectarian teaching which it induced ; and said he was satisfied that denominational teaching would follow in any country from the introduction of the religious element at all. (Applause). Mr. Mackay said it gave him great pleasure to attend on that occasion. He looked upon the carrying out of the Education. Act as one of the greatest and noblest acts which any country could perform and he had special interest in carrying out that Act. for since the time he was a teacher himself, now many years ago, in a neighbouring colony, and saw the evils of the system of education which existed there, in consequence of parents forgetting their first diity to their offspring, he had cherished the resolve that in whatever station he might be placed, he would endeavor to get for the country in which he lived a .system of education which should do away with' all sectarian difficulties, and compel parents to fulfill their duties to their offspring. The differences which the proposer of the toast had referred to as having taken place in Ireland had also grown up in New Sonth Wales, where the system of education had'been used for the promotion of denominational objects rather than for the promotion of the main object of any system of public instruction. Therefore i«,_li™i-4.— .. *.-_ r i. +n our neighbors, and he would go even fartu*,,., aud say the present' educational system of this colony was not only worthy of being copied by them, but by every country in the world, not even excepting the country from which we sprang, which unfortunately was rather behind hand in educaiioual matters. (Applause.) As he was Minister of Public Instruction, it was, of course, his duty to carry out the act to the fullest extent, in accordance with, the wishes of the Legislature, and with the work which was so nobly begun by his friend, Mr. Stephen, who entered upon the performance of his work with so much enthusiam. (Applause). That work, which might be the highest ambition for auy man to have committed to his charge, he would simply promise he would carry out to the best of his ability. Mr Justice Stephen said that whenever he thought of the general operation of the Educa+ion A.ct, and of what was meant by its success, he could not help thinking of the indirect effects which it had upon the parents of the children. He saw that it was said the other day by a member of the Roman Catholic denomination that he had on some occasion likened the Roman Catholic body to a fungus which must be destroyed by cutting off, but what he did say was, that denominationalism was of the nature of a cancer which was feeding upon and destroying the body politic in this country. What was the state of things before this Act was passed 7 The population was divided into a number of denominations who competed together for the aid of the State, and by the establishment of separate schools the children were 'educated in the view that though they lived in one country, in the matter of religion — and as a natural consequence, he should say, in the ordinary affairs of life — they were not to work together, but must be separate. There was a thorough waut of harmony, and a thorough disintegrating process was working in the midst of the country, He did not think the present yestem a great advance upon its predecessor as regarded the standard of education, but he believed by the free and secular system which had been adopted a complete turn had been given to the habits and thoughts of the population, and he thought this was in a great measure illustrated by the circumstance that at the last elections, unlike previous occasions, the fact of whether a man beloi ged to this or that body had very little to do with his return. It was said that this system was antagonistic to the teaching of religion. He begged al-" together *to protest against that. Actual religions teaching 'must be imparted at different times to that which was devoted the ordinary business of life. No habit was more conductive to success in life than that of doing certain things at certain hours ; and as the time which men devoted to their ordinary business did not interfere with their religious education, which was supposed to go on all through life, why should the hours which children devoted to theii* education interfere with their instruction in religious matters 1 The religions education given at schools before this act was passed was nothing at all. One third of the Church of England schools, his own denomination, did not pretend to give any religious education at all, because they found it militated against the attendance of children of other denominations, and in the other two-thirds the religious teaching was confined to the creed and the ten commandments. The work was thrust upon the teacher which was that of the clergy and religious members of the com.munity, and the few hours that the children now devoted to secular education were no excuse for those who thought religion of importance to shrink the duty which fell upon them of teaching their children. (Applause.) Deeply as he regretted in some respects that his connexion with the Education department was severed, he was satisfied that it was in good hands, and even had he continued in the Government he thought there would have been a change in that respect. He thanked them for the manner in which they had received the toasfc. (Great j?applause.)