BIBLE-INschools.

Press, Volume L, Issue 15023, 18 July 1914, Page 16

BIBLE-IN-schools.

, » PETITIONS , AGAINST THE BILL (SPECIAL TO. "THE riMSS. :, J WELLINGTON, July 17. Petitions against tho Biblo-in-Schools ' Referendum Bill were presented to-day as follows: —Mr IMckeon 3877 signatures, Mr "Ferries 737. Mr Millar 753, ■ Mr Mander 141, Mr Hunter 17G, iur Lang 120, Mr McKenzie 507, Mr Buxton 30; total, o&Mi. THE MEMBER FOR BULLER. (PKttS ASSOCIATION , TEZiEGfiAH.) WESTPORT, Jnly 17. At a largely-attended meeting of Orangemen of tho Westporj, district, held to-night, it was unanimously resolved to telegraph to Mr Colvin, M.t'. for Buller, informing him that'ho j≤ expected to support the Bible-reading-in-Schoolfl Referendum Bill. WOMEN'S LEAGUE RESOLUTION. The . following motion, proposed by Mrs Julius and seconded by Miss L. j Hevwood, was carried at a. meeting of j the Women's Bible-in-Schools League: "That this meeting of the Women's League for tho Canterbury-Westland centre, with a membership of over 22,000, strongly protests apainst the ontirely unworthy and unwarranted attack made by Mr John Barr, in tho 'Press' of tho JOth inst., «P°P the •women of New Zealand supporting the Bible-in-State-Schools League, • through their respected leader, Canon Garland, and deplores the uso of such methods by the League's opponents. Further, this Leaguo expresses utmost conlidenco and trust in Canon Garland as its leader." . j '• TO-MORROW'S MEETING. An open-air meeting will bo held in Victoria Square to-morrow afternoon, to protest against the proposed Referendum Bill. The speaker? will include the Hon. J. Barr (representing tho Labour Party). Rev T£ • WUhame (Dominion organiser), ami *«.<•• Caughley (local pres.dent of the Naford street. j TO THE EDITOR OS "TOE PEESS." I =;ir —I>r' Cnilton, in a loiter in your to respect a law when <; It w pretty poor stuff, and was probably written in connexion with Home Rule or something of the kind. l>ut that is of no' consequence to the opponent of Bible-in-Schools. lhe jse of it admirably illustrates the Eort of arsument to which we are getting accustomed. Take any soun-.ng phrase containing words like iorce, Bight, Liberty*' Minority, etc., etc.; tako it out of its contest, and apply it to something wholly ditterent. People as a ruledon.it think much, and y.ill not notice what you are doing.. As long as you suggest the idea t«at somebody s rights are being abolished by ioree. ; that will serre. In the present caso . the argument appears to be as toi- j lows:—<a) To abolish nglite and libor-; tiee of minorities by an act of mere j force is the most P ro P<»>- ' tion ever put forward in a state. W The Bible-in-Schools Jjeasue would •abolish by an act of- mere force, etc., etc Therefore (c) the programme of the League is the most dangerous proposition ever put forward in a st: " c - Q.E.D. This is tho argument of tho Professor reduced to form. If not it has no meaning at all. Hβ only communicates it by -way of suggestion. It is an illustration of the fallacy called "Begging the question. , * . A visitor from Mars, reading it would soppose some arbitrary and violent power was going, to rob poor people of their right*. He would be surprised to learn that the portentous application of "mere force"' was as follows: —That the people of tho country should be allowed to cay whether they desire that passages of Scripture should bo iucluaed in school lessons, and tiat re-

5 ligious teachers should oi> allowed to hold classes in the schools, for children whoso parents desiro it, with full liberty for thoso who desiro neither of theso opportunities to go without. This, the Professor implies, is a.caso of "abolishing by an act of niero force a legal right or liberty possessed by tho majority." Such a description might be pressed to describe the act of legislation which by 'mere force" abolished tho right or liberty of parents to have religion in schools. The suggestion that it applies to tho present proposal, by which that hbertv is to bo restored, without any compulsion on- thoso who do not defiiro it, is »o grotesque that we charitably vsupposo tho Professor to havo tern- , porarily lost his sens© of humour; lor vro cannot suppose a person of his trainme to bo in the habit of arguing like that, nor that he would wilfully moan to mislead. —Yours, etc.. • ' ■ C; W. CAIIRIXGTOiV. The Deanery, Christchurch. TO TirE EDITOR OF "TUB MIES?.*' s ' r > — Ma J f- through your columns., niako a suggestion to tho Mothers' ' Union f The ■ BU,le-in-»e!iooIs is un- ' certain, and distant, 'bnt Why, should not tho Mothers' Union form ituolf into a Bible-in-the-Home League? If every member would pledgo herself I*, 6p «nd at-leas* ton nnnutes in daily Bibio-read-m R and prayer with her children, the I result would soon be seen and felt. Only the B.ble in our homos, can we expect I the Government of New Zealand to be\T r th - e of our appeal for tho Biblo-3n-Schook-.~y ours , etc A MCXiiIEK. TO-THE EDITOR OP "THE PRESS " your ,s«ue of this date, sigS W L H l,^ ,1 - 1 ' V s about th « absurd He begins by saying in a doprocotorv manner that 'a vast amount of Z jtual recrimination has been published" and then calmly proceeds to add to it. Hβ letter reads as if ho were suffering from an overdose of Goo. Borrow Once give up the Bible to the tender mercies of its traditional enemies and we shall soon be sunk as low in national degradation and ignorance aa !i D-i i - In, and othor nations where tho Bible is not permitted to bo road " Jt would bo hard to find a paragraph elsewhere, containing in such a short epaco, so many statements contrary to fact. The old bogey of traditional euemies Is out of date now. Such an enlightened gentleman as Mr Chrystall knows that had it not been for the monks, who spent their lives copvinu the Scriptures in tho old days 'ho would .not have had any Biblo "at all. If ho, really believes that tho Bible is not pormitted to bo read in Italy or Spain, ho is .strangely ignorant of the subject, and should read it up a little before rushing; into print. As to the national degradation of Italy and Spain, surely theso countries aro not unknown in tho realms of music, sculpture, painting, architecture, etc. Surely the old explorers and discoverers were not all Englishmen. Columbus, Vespucci, and hosts of others belonced to ''the ignorant and derpradod ; countries." I Whether "the Bible is tho true secret of England's greatness." ag ] ie say,?,- or not. Mr Chrystall will havo considerable difficulty iv proving that tho economic condition of the bulk of tlio peopio of England is any better than the condition of tho bulk of tho people in the- "dopraded and ignorant countries": ho will have more difficulty stfll in proving what effect, if any, their condition has on tho ouostion under discussion. Tlio remainder of his letter only takes a lot of space to cay what has been .said in a few words, and that is, ''Thank God, I am not ac other men.'" Mr Chrystall knows who said that and whether he went down to his house justified.— ; Yours, etc.. J C. E. ARMSTRONG.

J TO inE EDITOn OP "THE PnBS." ] Sir.—Mr "W". 1,. Chrystali's lettor of the 17th, on the above subject, certainly voices the opinion of the jrreater part of the men and women of Christchurch. To thoso who are opposing the Bible-in-Schools, I would like to put this plain question: If thoy are allowed to rob the children of the Bible, and the beautiful truths it contains, can they give us or our children any other book in return that trill teach sinful man right from wrong as the Word of Qod does? I remember, 35 years back, my father tcachiss rcy sister and mc from the Word of God 7 . I, now a mother, am striving to teach my ovrn little ones the way to live and th© way to Heaven by the same means, the Bible. To all right-thinking men and women, fts seems an iniquity and grave responsibilty to supoose that > any child ran become a good man or 1 woman in this world or be ready for • the nesx, if not started in life with

foundation truths and daily instruction from the grand old Book—the Bible.—Your*, etc.. MOTHER FOR BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS. TO THE EDITOR OI" "THE FUfcsS."' Sir, —May 1 ask your correspondent, Chas. Chilton. to 'bo good enough to tell the readers of "Tho Press , ' in what wav ho considers tbo Bible-in-Schools Referendum Bill, if passed, will enable a majority of the electors to abolish by a more a-Qt of force any i legal right or any liberty possessed by tho minority? I have always understood that t.bo adoption of the system for provkW religious instruction in schools, advocated by the Bible-in-Schools League, would restore to the majority a liberty ! taken away from them by foreo by the i Parliament of 1877. which had received \no authority from anybody to do v,h:u it did. And the League's system will restore this liberty to the majority , without depriving tho minority of their liberty.—Yoursjsaeto.. J V R. HEWLAXD. Lytteliou, Jnlv 17th. TO TTIF. EDITOn OF "THE PRK^S.' , Sir, —"With reference to tho letter appearing under tho beading of Ci ßible R-eading" in your correspondence column in to-dny's issue (1 think by -•Perplexed"), the writer must Iv.vo ... .\ stopped to listen to the open-air services in the Square a very litilo while, as. for instunce, tho Salvation Army make it a practice of rewdinc the Bible at every open-air meeting the- hold. I am a regular attendant at open-air services in tho Souar© and elsewhere, and speak from experience, having reed trom tho Bible there myself. I "Pernlexed" -will eland, «ay, of a Sunday afternoon or evening and listen, when ho will bo able to verify what 1 havo sta?cd._Yours, July 16th.