OUR COMMON INTEREST IN THE DENOMINATIONAL SYSTEM.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XX, Issue 1168, 10 December 1863, Page 4

OUR COMMON INTEREST IN THE DENOMINATIONAL SYSTEM.

XO THE EDITOR OF THE LVTTELTON TIMES. Sir—lll my last letter, for your courteous notice of which I thank you, I tried to give some reasons why the clergy are deeply interested in the maintenance of the denominational system. As they are there put they are not sufficient to claim for it the unconditional support of a layman. But tliey are sufficient to give it a right to a ceeteris paribus preference, and something more. If without prejudice to the cause of primary education the one system offered us will materially aid the work of the clergy, and the other will not, common sense bids us choose the former. But let that pass. For nearly ten years I have given this subject its full share of patient, and at times of painful and atixious thought, and after many fluctuations of opinion am fully satisfied that the denominational system can well hold its own, at least as againgt its present rival. Many of the trains of thought which have helped to bring me to my present standpoint could not be fairly represented within the limits to which a newspaper correspondence is of necessity confined. I hope, however, to be able to adduce enough to persuade my fellow citizens to consider the subject seriously as Christians, and not as I fear has been the case hitherto with many even of the best of them, from a somewhat low and worldly point of view. One or two of my reasons, as will be seen, have been alread) dealt with by the Commissioners, but, as it appears to me, imperfectly apprehended by them, and certainly not disposed of. The rest are not new. In such subject matter what is new is seldom true. The work of the controversialist is to hunt for the old truths, and so order them that the mind may be able to see their full force, and set a right value upon them. My first and fundamental reason I shrink from stating. We are so used to fix our eyes on second causes and argue from them, that we involuntarily tremble when we are called into the presence of the Great First Cause, and bidden to see how our matters look in the light of eternity. But at such a crisis the whole truth must be stated. Most of my other arguments would lose much of their force if the un-der-current of my mind was not known. And by virtue of my office, as in a private family so in a public print, I may perhaps open my lips where the usages of society would impose silence on a layman. , We all of us admit that the success of our undertakings depends upon the blessing of the Almighty; and though our actions too often seem to give the

lie to our words, we most of us mean what we say. But to secure that blessing it is not enough that our ends are right and praiseworthy; our means must be such as God appoves ; and if He has prescribed our way we must take no other. The sacrifice of Cain and that of Saul, and the fate of Nadab and Abiliu the sons of Aaron, teach this lesson with terrible distinctness. And with reason; for what fearful conceit it is for man to think that he can plan more wisely than his Maker. Let us beware lest we become justly chargeable with it. We wish to put the education of the province on a satisfactory footing. In this we are clearly right. For this purpose a certain system has been devised for us by Commissioners of our own choice. Shall we adopt My answer is, No. We have already a system which I am prepared to show has worked as well as any system whatever could have been expected to work; a system which lias peculiar and great collateral advantages; a system which (and this is our present point) has the direct appointment of the Almighty. Hitherto we have entrusted the work of education to the Church. (By the Church I mean the aggregate of those religious societies which though more or less alienated from each other, wc still are fain to believe are in living union with God in Christ.) That Church was instituted for this very purpose; and though I am not prepared to maintain that its commission is exclusive, it matters little here whether it is so or not; as in the first place she must in this particular instance either exclude or be excluded; and in the second place her precedence is unquestionable if her true character is once seen. For centuries she has had the education of all classes in her hands, as even her enemies admit. It is not long since one of them taunted her bitterly with having had it so long, and now letting it slip through her fingers. The education of the people has been her especial care for three thousand years. Before the coming of the Lord, many of the nations, of antiquity were alive to the importance of education to the gentleman, but looked upon the commonalty as hopelessly given over to ignorance. Among the Hebrews alone do we find it made the duty of the master of each household to see that its members were duly acquainted with the law of their God, and the history of their race. While to make this possible, a whole tribe was set apart and endowed for the purposes partly of public worship, but mostly of education. So in Christian times, in the middle ages, we are met by a whole army of men, raised by the exertions of the church from the lowest station to the places of the highest dignity ; men who mindful as became their profession, whence they sprung, held society together, and by patient efforts long continued, abolished serfdom in the greatest part of Europe. To the church, I might almost say, to the clergy, we owe those colleges and endowments which are the glory of our Universities; and in almost every case the founders expressly devoted them to the use of " poor scholars." The extent to which the education of the masses was carried in those days, would startle many of us if the proofs were all looked up and laid before us. The schisms at and after the Reformation doubtless impaired her powers for this branch of her work, and weakened the connection of religion and education in the minds of men. A period of deadness followed in England (and apparently also in Prussia); but with the revival of religious life, education also revived. The freethinking party boldly claim the credit of the latter fact; they might as well claim the credit of the labours of the Evangelicals, or later of the Oxford movement. Would that some sound churchman and ciear-headed thinker could be found to sketch and analyse the history of education in England, France, and Prussia during the last century. But we must not stop to gaze on the tempting prospect. It is time to draw these remarks to a head, and ask if such a prescription is not of itself sufficient to make the claims of the church sacred. Is it mere sentiment and enthusiasm to ask, whether we may not justly fear the consequences; if we reject a machinery appointed by God himself, and hallowed by centuries of labor, in favor of a novelty of our own devising whatever show of reason it may bring with it ? And here let me not be mistaken. I believe that the system hitherto adopted in Canterbury needs very little alteration. Give us a lay board to manage the finances, an efficient system of inspection, time and money, and I believe only the constitutional grumblers will have cause to complain. But suppose that lam prejudiced, and partial; and that the practical arguments are in favor of a sweeping change. Let us make it. If the Church of England for instance has proved unable or unworthy to take her share of the work, let her stand aside, and give place to the Wesleyan or Presbyterian, or Romanist, as the case may require; but let us be very 'caufious before we declare that the whole church in all its branches has proved unequal to so important a part of its work. If it has, and a work so clearly religious cannot be effected by the means divinely instituted for the purpose, how can we hope that a secular machinery will be more successful. Let us moreover remember this, that no care which we may take in the selection of the men who are to work a system will atone for vice in the system itself, though it may put off the day of retribution. A board composed of the Bishop, Mr. Buller, Mr. Fraser, and Father Chataignier, in their capacity as citizens could not expect that blessing on their woi'k which belongs to the church. A board of laymen representing the church may as confidently look for This then is my first argument:—That as God has given to the church the work of education, we cannot look for His blessing on any educational system which is not a church system. Again I must remind the reader that I use the word church in its widest sense. For me this settles the question. But I do not pretend to expect that it will meet at first with general acceptance. I remember enough of my own feelings and opinions in my republican and freethinking years, and I see enough of the workings of men's minds in this colony, to be sure that many even of those whom I hope to find convinced by it at last, will for the present evade, reject, or even resent it. . . , 11. I have, therefore, (as the beginning of my letter indicates) prepared several considerations which to me are simply corollaries to that above given; but which even in the judgment of those who do not think with me are of sufficient importance to entitle them to the rank of independent arguments. Each of them properly requires some words of explanation, and some of them ought to be dwelt upon at length. But my letter is so long, that I must content myself now with stating them nakedly, and hope for an opportunity of expatiating upon them some other time. It seems to me then that we may say of a church (that is in her present divided state a denominational) system that it has among others these special recommendations. 1. It guarantees that the religious nature of education will not be lost sight of. 2. It furnishes us with a machinery well suited to the work yet existing independently of it. 3. It guarantees the kind and quality of the dogmatic teaching in our schools. 4. It guarantees the appointment of proper nitistsrs 5. It induces men of higher qualifications than ordinary to undertake the work, and furnishes the best means of raising the character of the whole body of schoolmasters. 6. It secures for our schools the regular supervision and active help of one of our most highly educated classes. 7. It evokes private liberality to an astonishing extent, and thereby eases the public purse. 8. By its very appeal to their pockets it interests men in the work, and secures their co-operation in many other ways. Commending this list to the thoughtful (may I add, and prayerful) consideration of your readers. I remain, yours faithfully, CHARLES ALABASTER. Christchurch, December 8,1863.