Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 11 September 1913, Page 21

Current Topics

Ananias Again : :; Under date June 25 the following message, supplied per medium of the independent cable service, appeared in many of our New Zealand dailies: ' Some lively scenes have lately been witnessed in Limerick. For the last two Sundays members of the Confraternity of the Holy Family have taken possession of the streets of the city. Altars have been erected and decorated, 4 and thousands have marched in procession reciting prayers, and holding services. An extraordinary incident was one that occurred at the house of a poor Protestant woman. One of her lodgers, a Catholic mechanic, ordered her to remove a text that was hanging in the kitchen, but as she refused the fellow took the text down himself. The woman subsequently hung the text up again. Later in the day a crowd of some hundreds . attacked the woman's house, and wrecked all the crockery and furniture. The hapless woman herself was seized by the hair and dragged into the street, where she was thrown down and kicked.' *■■-•' '-*"' The story was wildly improbable on the face of it; and we duly filed the message and confidently awaited our Home files. We have gone carefully through all our Irish and English exchanges of June and July; and while they contain full accounts of the impressive Confraternity celebrations in Limerick and many detailed references to interesting incidents in connection with the jubilee processions, we have been unable to find anywhere so much as a syllable about this alleged 'extraordinary incident,' or about any occurrence even distantly resembling it. Our contemporary, the Adelaide Southern Cross, has conducted a similar careful investigation of its Home files with the same result. The cablegram in this instance is not, as is often the case, a distortion or exaggeration is apparently sheer invention, and a very ridiculous invention at that. : The- late Marquis of Salisbury, in a passage-at-arms with the newspapers, on one occasion described leading articles as ' insipid productions written by office boys for office boys." Similarly, and with much greater truth, cable messages of the kind under notice may be described as idiotic productions written by imbeciles for imbeciles. Mr Caughley at Dunedin On Wednesday of last week Mr. J. Caughley, M.A., head master of the West Christchurch District High? School, speaking expressly on behalf and under the direct auspices of the Otago Educational Institute (of teachers), addressed a public meeting in Dunedin on the Bible in State Schools League's proposals; and from every- point of view the gathering was an unqualified success. The meeting had been very insufficiently advertised ; but the announcement that Dean Fitchett had accepted the Institute's invitation to be present and 'to reply to the evidence to be produced by the lecturer in demonstration of the failure of the League's system in Australia proved an adequate draw, and the Early Settlers' Hall, capable of accommodating a large audience, was well filled. Mr. Caughley spoke quietly, almost conversationally, and made not the slightest effort at platform or oratorical effect; but he was so thoroughly informed on his subject, his authorities were so carefully gathered and so weighty, and his facts and statements were so incontestably , established, that his points practically made themselves, and the intelligent and representative audience was /safely left to draw its own conclusions. * The main purpose of the meeting was to enable Mr. Caughley to give, publicly and officially, the Otago teachers' reply to the challenge issued by Dean Fitchett at his meeting in the Garrison Hall, Dunedin, some few weeks ago. Dean Fitchett had said : ' I offer them (the teachers) a challenge. They distrust the Australian evidence. . Then let them select two of their most

trusted teachers as a commission of inquiry to proceed to Australia and investigate the facts on the spot. If they will abide the result, the League will pay. the expenses. . '. . Let them accept this ; challenge, or let them hold their peace;'' Mr. Caughley pointed out, first, the utter one-sidedness of this challenge. It was a case of ' heads I win, tails you lose,' inasmuch as the teachers were asked to bind themselves to abide by the result, but the League on their, part would not so bind themselves in, the event of the decision of . the commission being adverse to, the League's system.' In the next place, the challenge, in the form in which it had been issued, was quite - impracticable, as it would be impossible for any two leading teachers to get leave of absence for the- necessary four or five months, and the expenses of such a commission—including salary,, hotel and travelling disbursements, and payment for clerical assistance. required—would reach a total that would rather surprise the League if it really meant to foot the bill. Finally, inasmuch as there was sufficient official, authoritative, and unimpeachable evidence already available as to the working of the Australian system, the spirit and essence of the. challenge could be met without an actual visit to New South Wales. In the sense indicated he accepted the challenge, and would submit his evidence and allow the audience to judge. The evidence givenon indisputable authority, and accompanied always with chapter and verse — have come as an eye-opener to the majority of the audience after the way in .which it has been dinned into the ear of the public that the system is giving ■ complete satisfaction, that it is an .unqualified success, and that in the countries in which it has been tried it is accepted as a happy and adequate solution of the education problem with practically no dissentient .< voice. The evidence included quotations from the Education Acts of New South Wales, Tasmania, and Queensland, from inspectors' reports, from Government Year-books, from reports of Royal Commissions, from League pamphlets and utterances, and from official statistics. * The effect of the whole body of evidence was to show that the much-vaunted system was a very serious failure. The system, the speaker explained, worked ' without friction ' in much the same way that a wheelbarrow standing in the street worked without friction—for the simple reason that it did not go at all. The scheme was largely a dead letter. One of the most experienced inspectors in New South Wales was quoted as reporting that in only about 50 per cent, of the schools were the Bible lessons given in a way that was of any benefit to the children. Even the Churches in Australia showed very little faith in the system; and their specific part in the work under the right of entry was steadily neglected. The Commonwealth Year-book showed that only rather more than 10 per cent, of the opportunities offered had been availed of. ■ The New South Wales Year-book said the same. ■ Speaking generally,' said the Year-book, ' the religious instruction of New South Wales was largely confined to that given by the teachers.' Eight visits per school per year was the average paid by Anglican ministers, who had daily opportunities. The Methodists averaged 2-f visits, the Presbyterians 2A, and all other denominations If ! In Queensland all denominations put together paid 11 visits per school per year. And no one child could receive those 11 visits. Each child could only receive the visits paid by the minister of his particular denomination. Hardly any child would get four visits per year. The Standing Committee of the Anglican Synod in Sydney this year reported that unless a more lively interest were taken in the work by members of the Synod the work must languish, and eventually be abandoned. It had even been necessary in 1904 for the department to send out a notice informing the ministers of New South Wales Churches that they had the privilege of entry. Yet- the system had been at work for 40 years. , . ■ ■ ' • *-"•"■■-" Examining, so far as can be done by figures and statistics, the actual results of the system, Mr. Caughley

showed that-New- South Wales", which; relied on the State to do the work of religious instruction, has a much, less creditable record than Victoria, where the "Churches and the parents themselves shouldered their ' proper responsibilities in the matter. First, : as to positive results. Victoria has a much higher standard of church attendance, of Sunday school attendance, and of Sabbath observance, and has about double the missionary activity of New South Wales. Victoria, with a population of about 200,000 less than that of New South Wales, has 430 more Sunday schools, 6500 more Sunday school teachers, and 63,000 more Sunday scholars than has New South Wales. Then, as to criminal records. New South Wales shows 50 per cent, more summary convictions in Magistrates' Courts than does Victoria; drunkenness, 230 per cent, more than Victoria; Supreme Court convictions, 60 per cent, more than Victoria; divorces, under same conditions, .90 per cent, more; illegitimacy, 21 per cent, more; persons in gaol per year, 45 per cent, more than Victoria. In one year there were 2458 cases before the New South Wales juvenile courts. All these figures as to the criminal records are from ; the latest "Year-books of the Commonwealth, averages being taken over a period ' of ten years. In the light of all these facts, Mr. Caughley was amply justified in asking: * Is it the teachers who need to go to Australia and study the system, or the Dean V * In addition, a fnumbe/ of incidental points were admirably brought. out by Mr. Caughley, to which the limits of space make it possible to make only the briefest reference. From first to last the speaker made it emphatically clear that the teachers did not object to the Bible or to religious instruction as such, but to the particular unjust system advocated by the League. The real enemies of the Bible, it was pointed out, were those parents who were signing the League cards by the hundred asking that the teachers should be compelled to teach the Bible and who were at the same time neglecting to have the Bible read and taught in their own homes. The absurd pretence that the teacher is not to be compelled to teach religion but only literature, or history or morals, was demolished by copious quotations from the Australian Education Acts and from the various Scripture Lesson Books in use. In this connection the speaker aptly declared that, if the contention of its advocates was correct, the League's proper title should be The Literary, Moral, and "Historical Instruction League.' , The Bible, it was pointed out, was not merely . a collection of printed words but the written revelation of God, and if it was administered as anything but that it was not the Bible that was being taught at all. The grave injustice inflicted on dissenting denominations by the proposed system was explained and emphasised; and the selfishness and lack of principle of the four League denominations in being ready to ride rough-shod over other religious- bodies who cannot accept their scheme merely because they, are, as they think, in the majority, were caustically dealt with.- The unfairness of the proposal for a referendum on such a subject as religious instruction was graphically illustrated by a humorous and telling parable, which we reproduce elsewhere in this issue. Mr Caughley also made indirect but significant reference to the effect which the adoption of the League's system would have on the position of the Catholic claims Quoting Dean Fitchett's statement that if the Nelson system were made legal the claims of the Catholics would be irresistible because the State would have taken a side, Mr. Caughley pointed out that that was exactly what the State did under the Australian system. It took a side. A lady had publicly stated, in trying to persuade the women of the W.C.T.U., that the right of entry could not be separated from the League's platform, otherwise the Catholics would have just cause to complain.' So the right of entry was thrown in as a sop to appease the Catholics. But it was a Protestant system, and could not be accepted by the Catholics. A Presbyterian minister of Christchurch, who frequently lectured in the interests of the League, had, he said, admitted to him that if the 'League's scheme were adopted something would have to be done for the Cath-

olics. Mr. Caughley's reply was: -'Why don't you say so and fortify your • claim ?' The minister repliede that is impossible, because the others are saying this is going to make it impossible for the Catholics to get a grant, m aid.'- -'. ', : & . : '•:''■' ' * ■-■•. ■ - jf*'/ ■ .'■ "i* Mr. Caughley excelled himself at question time and won golden opinions from his Dunedin audience tor the readiness and straightforwardness of his replies There was no stipulation—such as is' commonly insisted on at League public meetings—that ; all questions must be in writing. All and sundry were allowed to interrogate; and the utmost latitude was permitted both as to the manner and the matter of their questioning Not a question was shirked, or parried, or evaded; and the speaker s terse, clear, concise, and absolutely cogent answers elicited continual applause and warm expressions of approval. Altogether, the meeting was a great' success, and; Mr. Caughley's address a valuable and notable contribution to the controversv on this muchdebated question. Dean Fitchett's Reply Dean Fitchett was allowed half an hour in which to rebut the evidence and conclusions advanced by Mr Caughley as to the working of the League's system in New South Wales; and though he occupied the full thirty minutes it is the simple truth to say that he never once came to grips with the issues which he was called upon to face. Dean Fitchett, though remarkably hale and vigorous, is well over the allotted three score years and ten; and though there was no lack of courage and spirit m his effort there was wanting" the full and detailed knowledge of the question required to successfully meet an antagonist so well-equipped as the Christchurch teacher. The Dean never got properly into his stride; and his warmest friends would probably admit that in this interesting and always courteous bout the honors were all with Mr. Caughley. After the deadly evidence adduced by that gentleman, Dean Fitchett had perforce to drop his favorite appeal to the alleged testimony of New South Wales; and was constrained I? 11 ,l Ck U r n the fact fcllat Queensland had followed the Mother State's example in adopting the system advocated by the League—a fact which ceases to be in the least impressive when it is remembered, as we have often pointed out, that the referendum was actually carried m Queensland by 26.8 per cent, of the total possible voters on the question. The only other point advanced - m the Dean's 'reply' was the fact that 112 000 signatures had been obtained by the League to the petition requesting a referendum in New Zealand I hat is as Dr. Cleary has well described it, the argument .of the big stick-that is, *f is no argument at all. The result of this interchange between two able representatives of the opposing camps has been well expressed and indicated in the editorial comments of the Dunedm Evening Star. 'We believe,' says our contemporary, <it was this journal that first suggested the desirability of a debate between a representative of the Bible-m-Schools League and Mr. Caughley That suggestion was not accepted in its entirety, but the meeting in the Early Settlers' Hall last evening afforded at least an illustration and an indication of the probable outcome of such a debate had it been