SUNDAY-SCHOOLS AND THEIR WORK.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 147, 22 June 1904, Page 2

SUNDAY-SCHOOLS AND THEIR WORK.

TO THE EDITOK. Sir, — In your issue of the 18lh inst. a corresponuent, "H.A.H.," in writing on tue JJible-iu-Schook', goes out ox bib way to attack Sunday-schools and Sun-day-school teachers, iie says it is admitted that hall oi our children do noi attend Suiway-school. ISo one with, any knowledge of our colony and our children would ever admit ihis. "ii.A.11." should have tuken a week's holiday, and tried to find out how many Protestant boys and girls had never attended Sui.duyschool, and lie would not have panned ] such a statement. In case Iv has nob time I to. investigate the matter, perhaps the ; figures ol tho last census will heip him. Cluidven attending Government primary schools in 1901 weie 132,911, childien attending Sunday-schoola were 10/,113. The total number of childien between the uges of 5 and 15 was 1i 0,961, the proportion of childien actually uttendiug buiiuay- ! schools to those of schoul ago was 69.26. Of the 30 per cent, who were not attending nuinb-.rs would have been schplars and lelt bolore the age of iiftoeen, while^ many others >vould bu in isolated places where no «chouls were established. "11. A. II." would not have been far out tlmty-three years ago, when the number of Sunday-school scholars was only 52 per cent, of children aged sto 15 ; but the; number has iucrea.ej every census period from then till now. Your correspondent makes unother unwairanted statement when he says the schools only give half an hour a week of ineflicicnt'tea-chin^. I know of no school which last&only half an hour; mo t last from 2.30 to 4, which is an hour and a half. Surely "H.A.H." will not say that the opening and closing exercises and the. address are not helping the children to understand and worship God. His accusation of ineiliciency is as untrue as it is unkind. Many of our teacheis nro Citpab.e men and women who have devoted twenty or thirty years to the work, i and surely iv that time they have learned I how to instruct their pupils in the vital truths which they themselves know so well. Ho says the teuchera are mostly young women and girls (a few yuung men). Tho long and wide experience which ho mentions must have been in other matters besides Sunday-schools, or he would know that in New Zealand tnore are hundieds of our sanest and most successful business and professional men who have worked all their lives ir Sunday- | schools. As to the "few young men," i the census shows 3902 male Sunday-school I teachers and 7397 females while there I are 3943 'females in day-schools c and 2083 males. Our work is to be judged by what our pupils arc, not what they ! know, and our schools aro now turning out the future men and women of \cw Zealand with, a knowledge of the principles of tho Christian religion which they I could have gained nowhere else. The 60 schools oi our local Sunday-school Union show 466 scholars as members of the church, and this number is iucreasing every year. "H.A.H." says the teachers are very often pressed into tho service without any regard to their capabilities. Now, sir, is it reasonable to suppose that- a capable, earnest Superintendent who devoets many hours every week to liis school, is going to risk a good class being spoiled by putting a useless teacher there? "H.A.n." makes this statement, because ho has never hear of any one being ye- , ! fused on the ground of incapability. Had 'he cm t uiied as to the mode of selecting i I teachers he would have found that they I are nearly always taken from the ranks of tho older scholars, and have most likely been in tho school ten or twelve years. ! Teachers do not usually oiler for Iho work, so there is no need for Superintendents to refuse on any grounds at all. 1 an1 ' ct °- H. J. THOMPSON. [ Wellington, 19th June, 1904.