CORRESPONDENCE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19721, 11 December 1926, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE

BIBLE-READING IN STATE SCHOOLS (To the Editor.) Sir, —I have noticed a correspond- ■ once on the above subject going on in both the Auckland and Wanganui papers. Ono of the latest letters to be published asserts that the supporters of the present system of secular education are afraid to have a referendum laken; also that the present system was forced upon the people by Act of Par* : liament Dy a_ minority. Now let us exi amine tacts as they appear to us to- [ day. In the first place let ine say that, having been a scholar of the State [Schools and a native born boy of Wat gUnui, I can remember ’lie old Grammar School, which stood in the section at the corner of the Avenue a«nd Guyion Street, where McGruer’s shop is now. the headmaster being Mr William West (afterwards the Rev. Wm. West, of Southbridge, Canterbury). This was a Government school end religious instruction was given there >as part of the school course. In the year 1877. I [think, the present system was brought. ; into being, and in reference to Catholic •wishes v/as made secular, the idea being to have all children instructed by : the State. But iafter the Act was tpassed the Catholic community decided ho continue their own schools as [hitherto, and 1 say here, and say it un- [ reservedly, that the present system of secular education wqs brought into being solely with the view of enabling the children of Catholic parents to attend. | This system has continued to the prej sent day, but of late years many teachi ers and parents have begun to feel 'that something more is needed and this i found expression in a Bill that was placed before Parliament during last [session. This Bill made provision for ithe Bible to be read as a lesson duri ing school hours. The Bill was de- , feated, but by such a narrow inajoritv [that it will be again brought forward. I The Bill will provide for a referendum to be submitted to the vote of the people. Nothing could be fairer, except that the word “parents” should be substituted for the word “people,” for it is the parents alone who should vole. Now. at this stage it has occurred to me that a few statistics culled from the Government Year Book would not be out of place, and will I think enable* your readers to form a well balai cod judgment concerning the whole matter. I The total population of the whole Dominion is given as 1.325.037. being in • the. North Island 814,351 and in the South Island 510,686. The figures given of children attending school are 247.227 scholars made up as follows: —

• These figures, which are cold facts, show' that very few scholars of Roman Catholic parentage are being educated : at our State schools under -our free, secular and compulsory system of education. It must be remembereVl that ■ there are Roman Catholic schools in i most communities of less than 1000 people. There rtinnot be more than ’ 5000 children of Roman Catholic par- ' entage in attendance at the State [schools in the Dominion, and as this re- [ presents something like 25 per cent, on the number attending Roman Catholic ’schools it will be seen that my estimate must be cut down to nt least one j half, or 2500. My object in giving : these figures is to show bow futile is the hope that our secular system is go- ' ing to satisfy the Roman Catholic por-

' lion of our community. Restore the i Bible to the State schools. 1 say, and 'give the Roman Catholic schools their | fair proportion of the capitation, viz., ;£3 15s per schokir on the average attendance. This would total somewhere in the neighbourhood of £70,000, and, ■seeing that the Catholic authorities have built their own schools, would only be fair and reasonable. There is a little point. Mr Editor, that I think has been quite overlooked in the discussion, and that is that the demand for religious instruction in our State schools is coming from parents who as 1 former scholars had their education under the secular system. In my , humble opinion this shows an awaken[ing to the fact that secular instruction alone is not sufficient to build up h [sturdy nation. —I am, etc., STATISTICS. HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE ■ ——- (To the Editor.) I Sir, —I have just relad a reply by !Sergt.-Major E. Bezar of Wellington to' |my leteer published in your issue of i the 11th ult. The Sergeant-Major, j ' who is still recollected by many of the [ older generation in Wanganui, must now be well advanced in years and we I must make allowance ror the inroads of jtime upon his memory. The Sergeant- [ Major appears to be under the impression that I disputed his statement of I how Maxwelltown received its name. This I did not do. neither did I dispute , the fact that Trooper W. Lingard received the New Zealand Cross, but T did, and do challenge his version of what Trooper Lingard did for which he received the Cross, which I again say is at variance with actual facts. He states, and does not seem willing to withdraw his statement, that Lingard received the Cross for recovering the body of the late Sergeant George Max[well. I say that Trooper Lingard had nothing to do with this courageous act, which was performed by Trooper George Small assisted by Trooper A. Campbell, and they were, as tar as my information goes, both recommended for the New Zealand Cross by their ’commanding officer, Captain but never received it owing to some irregularity in the recommendation

(caused by jealousy between the commanding officers.) The Sergeant-Major bears me out in this when he says, “I was well acquainted at the time with the. amount of jealousy displayed, and indeed for many years after.” He refers, 1 presume, to the friction be- [ tween Captain Finnemore, captain of the troop to which Troopers Small and Campbell belonged, and the officer com- [ manding the district. The Sergeant-Major refers to my | statement that the Hon. Mr Ballance, | who was formerly cornet of the same troop, had had the matter looked into ! and had decided to recommend Cabinet [ to award the Cross to Trooper Small [ (Trooper Campbell having passed away), but before he could do so had passed laway himself, as raking up old . sores. I do not know what the Ser-geant-Major is alluding to, but. if he sees fit to term my correction of what, to put it mildly, is a misstatement of, actual fact is “raking up an old sore,” then it seems that he was quite aware of those actual facts when he gave Lingard the credit, of rescuing Max- [ well. Both Troopers Small and Camp- | bell have now passed away, land not bei ing here to give their version, it is our ' dutv to do what we can in honour of i their memories, to see that their deeds . like their rewards are not filched from i them. i ! T am sorry that the | saw fit to jibe at those who were ; awarded their decorations long after ' the recommendations were made, for . ! amongst them was Captain H. W. i Northcroft. A more gallant officer it i would have been hard to find. He [ • afterwards was S.M. at Wanganui for; many ydars. Captain Northcroft was [ only awarded his Cross forty years I after the war had ceased. It was no j fault of the recipient, whose command- 1 ing officer, Colonel Thos. McDonald. | wrote bitterly of thp neglect of the Defence Department in not heeding his ‘ recomniendiations for the Cross. It was i these cases as well as that of Trooper ; Small that Mr Ballance had in mind 1 when he started his investigations, but. unfortunately for all concprned detath claimed him and he died before he could put his recommendations before his Cabinet, and there the matter , rests. —I am, etc.. ONLY JUSTICE.