THE REFERENDUM

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2213, 28 July 1914, Page 6

THE REFERENDUM

QUESTION OF THE DAY. A BIG DEMONSTRATION THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE " SOME COMMON-SENSE FACTS "

A remarkable demonstration in support of tho Referendum Bill was held in tho Town Hall last night, under the auspices of the Bible-in-State-Schools League. Asioarly as 7.30 p.m. tho large hall was well filled, and at that hour the audience and a special choir of 300 voices, conducted by Mr. Kerry, opened tho proceedings vv.ith.the hymn "O God, Our Help." Tho Salvation Army Band was in attendance, and rendered 'several selections. Other hymns were sung till 8 p.m. . In his opening remarks the Hon. J. G. W. Aitken, who presided, said he. believed a large.number of people of the Dominion were determined that the Bible should no longer be kept out of the State schools. (Applause.)

Difficulties Only Imagined. Mrs. Harrison Lee-Cowie, world's missionary of the W.C.T.U., was the first speaker called upon by. the Hon. Mr. Aitken. Mrs. Cowio explained that she was there by the courtesy of the W.C.T.U., who had let her modify her temperance programme to address a meeting in support of-such an important proposal as Bible-reading in Stato schools. She had closely studied the question in New South Wales, and was able to cay that all the difficulties imagined wore not'realised when the experiment was tried. (Loud applause.) She was .told there might be dif•ficulties in New Zealand that they had not had 'in Australia. They wore the same people, and she could not see how there could be more difficulties here than in Australia. She had compiled a. list'of the objections raised to the Bible in schools. One was the fear of the treatment of the Bible in the hands of an unconverted teacher. tJhq said it was not the one that was holding the Book they w-ere looking to, but to tho Book itself. (Applause.) Some objected that there 'would be no personal treatment 'of .the: children, and others that' thereVwas .110 conscience clause. For over forty years Roman Catholic teachers had been applying to teach in the State schools of Australia. They knew they would be called upon to read the Bible,, yet none of their consciences seemed troubled. (Applause.) They were also told that the Bible would be mutilated. The same argument applied to tho Sunday schools, for she ventured to say thai no minister lead the whole Bible in the Sunday schools every Sunday. Others said: Teach the Bible in the Sunday schools. Sho had visited Pukikolie in the north. Some two hundred, children attended the State school, bufr iiot "oner-half attended the Sunday schbote. By all means teach theijt at home, and in the Sunday schools,- but they also wanted the' Bible in the State schools, wliero hII the children could be taught. (Applause.) She came, to plead for tho little ones away in the back-blocks, as well as in the cities. Givo them the Bread of Life, and lay tho foundation of godliness and character in the early years of child life. (Loud applause.)" Common Sense Facts. The Rev. J. Paterson, M.A., of St. Paul's,. Christchurch, and lately from .New South' Wales,,.. was -the next epeaker. Ho spoko with experience of the :facts in New South Wales. He came as a common-sense person, he said, to tell the facts of Bible-reading in the State ■ schools of New South Wales. Would any _ education district eay that tho training of the moral character was no part of the educaUion system? Was it not right that the children should bo taught what was pure and good? The educationist took the best text-book for overy subject, and the Bible was the standard toxtbook on tha't subject. The supremo, source from which men must be taught moral duties was the Scriptures of tho Old and New Testaments. It -was necessary that tho child must bo taught moral judgment, and must not be given, the idea that tho study of tho Biblo was of no importance. He epoko as an educationist, and ho said that to mako a complete education tWy musb read the Bible in the State schools. (Applause.) , He bciliored that <cui character' depended the State, and it was.in the early stages of life that the first impression was made. In New Zealand they - were giving tho children tie'idea that the Bible did not matter. As Christian peoplo they had no right to submit their -children-':'to such an education. (Applause.) There wero all sorts of ' imaginary difficulties. Ho wanted-to deal with some and givo facts'. . ' ■ • Conscientious Objector a Curiosity. Hβ wanted to state that he had never met a State school teacher in Australia whoso conscience would not let him read the-Bible to the : children. (Applause.) If one-was sent over from New Zealand he would be.put in a glass case as a curiosity. (Laughter.). He had received • Bible-reading under two Roman. Catholic teachers, aiid received no harm from it. Thcro were hundreds of Roman Catholic teachers in the State schools iu Australia, and there was no complaint from them. Why, ,tho Cardinal was always.saying there was' not enough religion in the schools. "And over here they are trying to stop you having any." Tho teacher in New South AVales gavo general instruction in the Bible, and the Minister could como in and add little bits. He had never heard/of sectarian strife amongst khs children, , " ■ • •

As a New , South , "Welshman- , he wanted to say a few words' : for his country. There wero Certain self-righteous people going about' , in Now Zealand ■ decrying the condition? in New South Wales, and calling it "a sink of : iniquity." They, were saying tho' same sort of thing would happen in New Zealand if they had Bible-reading in the schools. He wanted them to remember that Sydney was a ; huge city. The foundation of settlement was altogether different .'the.ro. Ho wanted to ask those opponents of the league: Did they mean to suggest that the study of_ tho Biblo i raised criminals? Were their children to read overy dirty bit ot trash that any fool could publish, and be refused the supremo Book that lay at the back of all literature and morals, and tho character of the British nation? (Loud applause.) Conscience of the Teacher. : Mr. L. F. de Berr.v, M.A., rector of the District High School,-Hokitika;, and a member.of the Teachers' Institute, followed. Ho stood before the audience, he said, as one having a conscience. He cwie from ? district where they were always hearing about "conscience." . They had the conscientious objector to military training, and he often woiulcred was that "conscience of the teahcer" which Was being paraded before them a conscience of that kind. Speaking from the educational point of view, he remarkodj that every educationist had said that "character" was tho dominating feature of everything. The State had yet to learn that the child had a soul. ' '

Answering some criticisms from a teacher's point of view, ho said' bo objected to tho.title taken by the opponents of Bible-reading in State schools. He' had a distinct quarrel with them over their title, ,the National Schoole

Defence League. Their schools would be cemented and bound together by the inclusion of Bible reading. As to the conscience clauso and sectarian strife, in the Education Act the parents and teachers wero given a conscience clause with regard to history, but the teachers were not. There was a greater chance of raising sectarian strife in the teaching of history than in the teaching of the Bible. The opponents of the proposal said thai the teacher could not conduct Bible readings and "get the thought" of the passages, without teaching religion. He. answered that by saying they could not get "the thought" out of the Pacific Header, as used in the schools, without teaching the Bible. They could not delve into any literature without getting into the Bible.

Confidence of the People. The Rev. Canon Garland was the' last speaker. He was received with a great demonstration, of cheering. "That almost made me think I was in my. own couutry," he said. "I thank you very. much. As long ae I have the confidence of the great body of people and those, churches who have put .their honour' into my keeping as regards this matter, I will not care a snap of the .finger for the opponents of an open Bible."' (Applause.) Referring to sectarianism, Canon Garland said that it did not exist in the schools in Now South Wales. It was always outside that sectarian strife existed. Hβ dealt shortly with the question of criminal statistics, and declared that the _ people who quote -criminal statistics in support of their opposition to the League, did not understand the .science of statistics. He gavo instances to ehow how the convictions for drunkenness were more in New South Wales than in Victoria. In the former country 99 per cent, of those arrested for drunkenness were convicted, but in Victoria only 58 per cent., for many were let off without a conviction. "The man Vho deals with criminal statistics and conceals facts, I will not say he is dishonest, but he is so obsessed with the desire to, at all costs, keep the Bible out of the schools, that he allows himself to be blinded to the whole facts as'they exist." ■ Question of the Day. : The question of the day, said Canon Garland, involved the very bedrock of their Government. Was Parliament an autocrat? Were members of Parliament to impose their mil on an unwilling people, whose views they were afraid to face ? The people Jiad the right under the British Constitution of saying the last and final Members of Parliament were there, not to impose their will, but to give expressions of the will of their masters, who employed them—the people.'. (Applause.) Some' people and some members of Parliament were claiming that last word, and it was too absurd. (Applause.) The people were better able to deal with the question than any member of Parliament. He repudiated any idea that there was oppression of the minority, for those misled people' who did not want their children taught the Bible need not have them taught it. Instead of talk of oppression of the minority there' should bo something said of op* pression of the , majority. . In conclusion ho wanted to ask the opponents of the proposal why they had not brought anybody on tho Bublio platform to. testify, to the big bogies raised? Why had they, not brought someone to answer the many advocates brought from Australia by the Bible-in-State-Schools 1 League? . : A voico: "They can't!" (Applause.} The Breeze of the Elections. Canon Garland regretted that every member of Parliament was not present that night: they would realise that the fight would never cease till there was religious liberty. There might be dust' thrown in iho eyes of membors of Parliament, but. ho was waiting for the gentle breeze of the general elections, and he thoaght that would clear the eyes of some of those honourable gentlemen—(Applause;)—even if tho breeze did not develop into such a gale that it , would, sweep out those who wero afraid to trust tho people, and sought to dictate to their masters, and replace them with men more in accord with British ideas of self-government. (Applause.) Thoy were face to face with a question: Were they prepared to make a sacrifice? a sacrifice for the sake of the good old Book; for tho love of their beautiful children; and so that they could at last say that they were in line with the rest, of tho British Empire. Hβ believed that spirit was growing in New Zealand. '(Applause.) They would be prepared to say that no mere matter of transient politics, no mere question of - a'.politician's, interest,* should stand in tho way to the right of selfgovernment- by independent people. And by the exercise of thoso rights they would find the way to the opening of N that Book which had made their history; that Book which had built up tho English character; built up the Empire, into what it was to-day; and, God helping'them, it would be restored to the children in their schools. (Loud applause.)