THE "REFERENDUM" AND THE CRISIS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 138, 8 December 1914, Page 3

THE " REFERENDUM " AND THE CRISIS.

WHAT EVERY ELECTOR SHOULD KNOW. MANIFESTO BY THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS. The Empire is now passing through the gravest crisis in all its long history. This is the time, above all times, for unity of heart and effort" among all creeds and classes. BY NOTHINO IS THAT HEART UNION SO DEEPLY WOUNDED AS BY RELIGIOUS STRIFE. For a TIME we had hoped that our country would now be spared this bitter wound. That was when, at the outbreak of this great war, an ecclesiastical League or combination, IN THE DECLARED INTERESTS OF UNITY OF HEARTS, requested the withdrawal of their "Referendum" Bill, which has given rise to such deep and widespread religious discord. That brief hope was soon shattered. And now, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND, an effort is being made to conduct a General Election on religious issues involving serious violations of religious liberty and rights of conscience, and promoting 'intense and bitter divisions among the people. And this in the Empire's hour ot supreme trial ! ! All this we deeply deplore. We deplore it as lovers of our country. We deplore it as the spiritual leaders, of a religious body in this Dominion, in whose most sacred official liturgy prayers are offered, day by day, for harmony and for Heaven's protection for our Empire. 1. A demand is made, NOT FOR "THE BIBLE" IN THE STATE SCHOOL CURRICULUM, but for Stateselected, State-taught scraps and fragments FKOM A SECTARIAN VERSION OF THE BIBLE. This was described by two League leaders as a "mutilated" and "emasculated caricature" of the Bible. -IN PRACTICAL EFFECT, THE DEMAND IS FOR A SECTARIAN, STATE-TAUGHT STATE RELIGION— TO SUIT ONLY ONE LEAGUE OR SECTION OF THE PEOPLE, Al THE COST OF ALL SECTIONS OF THE PEOPLE. This is the anti-democratic principle of taxation without benefit 2. An overwhelming majority (perhaps some 90 per cent.) of the certificated teachers ol this Dominion conscientiously object to teach the proposed sectarian Government Biblical fragments. THE LEAGUE WANTS TO FORCE THESE TEACHERS BY LAW, EITHER TO VIOLATE THEIR COiN SCIENCES OR TO BE DRIVEN OUT OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE. THIS INVOLVES A NEW RELIGIOUS TEST AND A NEW AND TERRIBLE CIVIL PENALTY FOR A NEW RELIGIOUS OFFENCE, IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE. And this in trine of wart 3- Tho League wants a law TO FORCE ALL CHILDREN OF OBJECTORS TO ATTEND THE GOVERNMENT'S BIBLICAL FRAGMENT LESSONS—unless their parents go to the trouble of making WRITTEN protests against this FORM OF STATE PROSELI'TISM. And this is in the midst of war I 4. The League wants MAJORITY RULE OF CONSCIENCE, it wants to force 'its Government Biblical fragments upon the pockets and the consciences of objecting taxpayers and teachers. In other .words, THE LEAGUE WANTS TO IMPORT INTO THE DOMAIN of religion and of private personal conscience, THE GERMAN MILITARIST PRINCIPLE THAT MIGHT IS RIGHT. And this while the Empire is in the throes of war! 9 5. Tho League stands for its miscalled "Referendum" Bill. THAT BILL CONTAINED SIX SEPARATE, AMBIGU-OUSLY-WORDED, AND HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES. HARDLY TWO LEAGUE LEADERS UNDERSTAND THEM ALL IN THE SAME SENSE. NOT TWO ELECTORS IN A HUNRDED COULD UNDERSTAND THEM ALL IN THE SAME SENSE, yet tho League wants bewildered electors to decide all these six. confused and tangled issues with a single "Yes" or a single "No"! THF LEAGUE WANTS NEW ZEALAND TO ADOPT BLINDLY 4N UNJUST, BITTERLY CONTROVERSIAL, AND PARTLY UNINTELLIGIBLE SCHEME— in the middle of the Empire's greatest war. With deep sorrow we now see forced upon us, and upon • our fellow-country-men of all other faiths, the necessity of defending some of the elementary citizen rights of religion and conscience, And this in the midst of a General Election, and in the most terrible crisis through which tho Empire has ever passed. But we should fail in our duty to our faith, to our fellow-citizfens of every creed, and to tho Empire, if, either in ■war or peace, >our attitude on. these lamentable proposals were other than one of uncompromising resistance. We, for our part, have ever heartily supported Biblical religious teaching in our public schoolF Over and over again, by ourselves or by our representatives, we have expressed our willingness to meet other interested parties in conference hereon. Over and over again we have publicly_ expressed our willingness to co-operate in any (even a partial) solution of the religious difficulty in education — with only one proviso : THE RECOGNITION OF EQUAL RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE OF ALL BEFORE THF. LAW. Given good- will, some arrangement could be thus speedily arrived at. Unhappily, our suggestions and representations hereon have been steadily ignored. The great sums of money expended ifr fostering- sectarian strife a,t the polls in this great hour of trial might be moro becomingly devoted to war relief or to the religious instruction of in the public schools. THE RED MIST OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST WAR SEEMS HARDLY A SUITABLE TIME FOR GROUPS OF CLERGY TO TRY TO ABDICATE, IN PART, ONE OF THE MOST SACRED DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, AND TO FORCE IT UPON CONSCIENTIOUSLY OBJECTING STATE OFFICIALS. For nearly forty years the vast majority of the League clergy have, in practice,' accepted a purely secular scheme of public instruction. In view of this fact the public can easily estimate, at its proper value, the threat to damage or "week" what they call "the national system," by establishing rival denominational schools, UNLESS THE ELECTORS OF THIS DOMINION DO THE LEAGUE'S BIDDING AT THE POLLS. May God preserve this favoured land from the spirit of religious discord and strife which has so long embittered social and political life in the Australian State where the League's scheme has been longest in operation ! We now confidently leave the menaced cause of national harmony, of religious peace, of religious liberty, and of rights of conscience, to every lover of justice, to every lover of his country, to every elector (irrespective of party)" who holds (as the League once held) that the Dominion should stand, united in heart, by the Empire in its supreme hour of need. We remain always, Affectionately yours in Christ, + THOS. O'SHEA. S.M., Archbishop of Gortyna and Coadjutor of Wellington. +J. J. GRIMES,. S.M., Bishop of Christchurch. + MICHAEL VERDON, Bishop of Dunedin. t HENRY WM. CLEARY Bishop of Auckland. [Inserted by Arrangement.]