ARE WE BECOMING PAGANS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13724, 14 April 1908, Page 3

ARE WE BECOMING PAGANS.

TO TffF, KDITOR. pf Sir, —As one brought up 30 years aai> tiiide# . t tin? purely secular system, then recently in* troduced into New Zealand (jovefUKUMifc schools, and as one who ha* since had a largo teaching experience in schools worked "■- on another scheme, allow inc. sir, very J ||lf earnestly to urge the claims of the \Wfr Australian educational system upon the consideration of all who'' wish to see th» purely secular system in our schools abolished.**The educational law in West Australia allows the religious teachers of every denomination to teach their own children for not more than half am hour per day. during - school hours. The Act reads: "In every Government school a portion of each day, not exceeding half an hour, may bo apart when the children of any one religious per- §P suasion may be instructed by clergyman or:"s| other religious teachers of Hitch p«rsjjaiioji. M 1 (57, Vic., No. XVI.) This system work* admirably in practice. . In the larger schools 1 provision is made for the ministers of different denominations to givo religious in- - ' struct ion to the children of their denomination in different class-rooms on the same day at, the same hour. In small country schools of only one class-room the instruction is ' given by the different denominational teachers on different days. J i' As a clergyman in West Australia I have worked under this system for upward of JO years. During that time I have regularly visited, for the purpose, of paving religious instruction, all the 'schools in th» three parishes of which, at different time:', I bod ' _ charge—about 20 schools in many hundreds of children have thus passed through * my hands, and have received the rudiment* of a religious education, according to 'tho authorised teaching' of the Church of Eng- fel land. Every other Anglican clergyman m West Australia has done, and is doing, the same. Very many ministers of ilia ofc.h»r 'i denominations also avail themselves of tho privilege of regularly instructing their club . dren. In scattered country districts, naturally it is not possible to bo in six or eight schools that, may be in one parish or duti'iOl every day, then visits are made less fre- fig quently, once a week, once a fortnight, in some cases I have known, only once ft month. Some will, no doubt, think that no value attaches to such a system as this, but there " must surely also be many New Zealand parents, of whatever denomination, who would wish to see their little ones and their big boys and girls brought into closer and constant, touch with their ministers, *.)>] receive regular, systematic, and _ thorough grounding in the principles of their faith.->'* 7'? After an absence of many years, 1 bttva but recently returned' to New Zealand, and, though of course I knew the secular system - still prevailed here, I confess it is do small shock to me to find that, I am not even ad- - - mitted after or before school hours to give religioun instruction to the Anglican chil- '■:£ dren. The West Australian system is al»o- (■ iutely fair to all denominations, it; is. it proved system, having stood the ti.it of ■ many years in New South Wales and West - Australia, and it is also in vogue in Tawmania. It seems the best, solution of the re-;;'/'-J ligious education problem yet adopter- - '.js Is not this the cause of the children, ob« on which all religious men of every denomi- - nation could unite? Might we nor, find in it an antidote to the prevalent secularism of / our colonial youth and the paganism ol the back blocks? . That such a system could not now be ob- - - tained here without effort goes without saying, but having had experience of lx>tli systems, 1 am persuaded it, would be effort put forth in a cause rich in potentialities of good for our children and our children's children- (jKO. L'iGßt WiLSO!t» The Yieantge, To Puke. ; '

Sir,—lt seems to roe that many of your correspondents .are guilty of exaggeration. The use of the term "pagan" i* mot only inapt, but is only calculated So mislead, I am always a bit suspicious of the stories Of children that know nothing of God. It if? quite dear that many of the, writers are only yri eager to have a slap at our present system of education, which they would make responsible for »1) the ills our flesh is iie> to. ft is refreshing to have the candid ad- •* mission of the Rev. TV. Beatty that " the agitation for the introduction of the BibU into the schools in largely insincere and artificial and has little solid, earnest conviction behind it." This is what some of us hats though!, all along. As to the present facilities for religious teaching in State schools, I ' can speak from nine years' experience of th* " use of such facilities. The inference from this experience is that clans*** may be successful, and may fail, and. if they fail, one of two reasons, or both, obtain, either, that th» jvf head teacher is hostile, or that the teacher it incompetent. The average rniawter i.i not necessarily an efficient teacher, able to main- • tain discipline and interest. That such classes can be most successful is borne proves. There, in one or two school.*, practically all the scholars are on the class roll, while tint others have 90 per cent, and over on th» claw roll. The offer of the City Com mi to* > to provide a teacher to keep order was most generous, and should have been eagerly accepted. You quote tho Rev. Beatty as Haying: "The religions difficulty whiofc originally called into existence, and still % maintains, the system of secular education is mainly due to the want of confidence be- :i tween the ministers of the various Christian bodies, and the wan* of confidence on the part of the public in ministers generally." .May I point out that there trt other said deeper reasons for the present system of educationreasons which are rooted is righteous principles. Let me state soma r»| them—(l) The State ha* neither moral «jrn Christian right to interfere in jaatters of .> ligion. (2} Wo have no right to' give , relijjpous instruction by enforced taxation, (J) Religious instruction—wit!) the Bible a* our guide—can bo given only by f-ompeteirt teachers. (Competency here implies p*rat>a&] attachment to Jams Christ.) (<) Wo save »♦ right to compel anyone to rocesvs rtlifwwi'j-'i?! instruction. A definite and practical i svtamlion was made by the Rev* A; : North Last week to meet the so-called "pagan'' n«M»d sn the country districts, but so far Urn Jia» § elicited no response. litre, rarely, is tW?l§ opportunity for those who so loudly b<wr;u"L our paganism: Let them tell c* what t bethink of that CJiristianly pir-pc«&l, grid - shall begin to believe in their e-s.mesinejs, - J§ T. A. Wiluams, Baptist Minister. ' ;ai