NO OPPOSITION
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION MR. FRASER'S ASSURANCE (By Telegraph—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, June 22. A denial that the Government was in any way opposed to full religious liberty for the people or that it was antagonistic to religious instructions in school, was given by the Minister of Education (the Hon. P. Fraser), speaking in the Town Hall tonight. Mr. Fraser said he intended to call a conference as soon as possible to see whether the question of religious instruction in schools could not be satisfactorily settled once and for all. "Mr. Hamilton said in February, 1937, that at the last election the I Labour Party wormed its way into the support of many good church people, and attempts have been made to show that the Labour Government is in some way antagonistic to the people's rights of worship. Nothing could be more stupid," Mr. Fraser said. "It was not the Labour Party worming .its way into the support of the church people that made them vote in their hundreds of thousands for Labour. It was because they believed that the condition of the country and the suffering to which thousands were subjected was not a Christian condition for the country to be in." Efforts had been made to capitalise the fact that he, as Minister of Education, had to deal with the compulsory and secular education system of the country, Mr. Fraser added. Provision was made in the Education Bill to recognise for the first time the Nelson system, and he had indicated that ftie whole thing would have to be placed before Parliament. Because it was elected to do so, Parliament would have to decide those matters. That had been construed as an attack on religious instruction in , schools. "I have discussed .this with the leaders of the churches all over the country," the Minister added, "and I propose as soon as possible to have a Conference of all organisations interested to see if it is possible for this matter to be settled in a satisfactory and friendly way and, I hope, for all time."
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 146, 23 June 1938, Page 7
Word Count
345NO OPPOSITION Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 146, 23 June 1938, Page 7
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