THE BIBLE LEAGUE AND THE TEACHERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1615, 5 December 1912, Page 6

THE BIBLE LEAGUE AND THE TEACHERS.

. ; _—:—o—■ —— (To the Editor.) Sir —I do not as a role enter into news- ' 1 paper controversy, but a statement re- . ported in your issue of. November 30, needs correction. . . . - At the Education Institute Mr. C. Wat- ' son, the , chairman, purported to .quote a ' paragraph from one of our pamphlets. ' He read: "The league regrets that state- , ments are .being made to the effect that tho teachers of New Zealand cannot be ' trusted to give these lessons, and that so ' many of the teachers are unbelievers that children reading under .thea supervision ' will become atheist and also that there are so many teachers of uncertain char-- : acter that the whole, profession is not ; worthy of being trusted with the ScripMr 'Foster who followed the chairman " also "referred to the attitade which he ' alleged the Bible-in-State-Schools League : hns taken up against the school teachers ■ I cannot understand how- such statements can be made, because had Mr. Watson finished the paragraph-he would have reSa; "The- league officially and without a shadow of reservation or hesitation, repudiates this charge made by its oppon--5 mts, and states at all. its meetings and • in every possible direction, that it is pre- ! pared absolutely and unreservedly to trust tho teachers of New Zealand. . ■ 1 lt : is incomprehensible to me, iu view 5 of this emphatic statement, how the • chairman and Mr. Foster could' have uttered a'charge against the league or maler ine strictures upon the teachers. Mr. Foster'further states: "The htera- ■ ' ture which the league had disseminated, was in some instances an insult"to the . ■ teachers." I challenge . him to produce > the literature, because no sncli statement I has been made in nny of the documenw 1 issued by our executive. On the contrary. ■ we have found that one of the most serL ions obstacles neainst. the movement is ■ the charge made by our opponents against > the teachers, and this we lose no oppor- . tunity of contradicting, stating over and. • over'again we have* every confidence in., the teaching profession of New. Zealand. I enclose for verification by yourself the pamphlet from which Mr. Watson read nart of the paragraph, though he omitted the vital part., viz., our repudiation of the charges made by our opponents. I make no.comment pending an opportun- ; ity to Messrs. Watson and Foster to take '. the course which as-members of an hon- , ourable profession will bo obvious to them.—l am, etc., ■ '■' ; ■ DAVID J, GARLAND. Organisting Secretary. [The oircular enclosed bears out" Canon Garland's protest]