MR MUNDELLA ON THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2831, 19 October 1883, Page 3

MR MUNDELLA ON THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD.

Mr Mundella's addrees at the School Board /cte held at the Crystal Palace the other day will surprise many people who have been m tho habit of deploring the entire absence of religious teaching from the Board schools. After distributing the Scriptural knowledge prizes to the successful competitors, Mr Mundella said that there were only two or three points to which he wished to refer. In the first place, he wanted to impress upon those who did not realise what School Boards were the fact that since 1870 they had been doing work m regard to religious teaching which would scarcely be conceived, and which the religious bodies themselves scarcely understood. They were constantly having Buch questions as this put to them : " Is the Christianity of the country worth preserving?" and the conclusion to be drawn from writings on the subject was that the Christianity of England was prejudiced by the teaching of the School Boards, whilst others had urged that we were a Christian nation until the passing of the Act of 1870. Now he wished to point out that it was enacted that the Bible should be read m all schools provided by the London Board, and that there should also be given such explanations and instruction as were to be drawn from such reading, provided no attempt was made to draw the children to any particular denomination. In proof that the London School Board had adhered to that, he could say that m the three years during which he had administered the Education Act he had only heard of one complaint, and that was m a case m which the father and mother of the child differed as to the teaching of religion. In 1870 the number of children on the rolls of all the public schools m the Kingdom was nnder 2,000,000, whereas the number now was 4,700,000, and the proportion of that number not receiving Scripture teaching was infinitesimal. Practically the whole of that number were receiving religious teaohing. It might be said that the religious teaohing given m the Board Schools waa not that which was desired ; but he might say to those who advocated denominationalism that they had now more than double the religious teaching m these schools. Religious teaching before the Act of 1870 was, m a great number of cases, religious teaching only m name, but since that time the Church of England had made the religious teaching from one end of the country to the other a solemn fact. She began by thorough organisation and diocesan inspections, the result of which had been that the teaching had improved enormously, and the work m the day schools wbb better done than m any previous period. The same remark applied to schools of every other denomination. Cardinal Manning, m a recent article m the Nineteenth Century, had warned them against falling into the system which prevailed m France, and m reference to that he could only say that he was surprised that so thoroughgoing an Englishman as Cardinal Manning should have arrived at bo mistaken a conclusion. He (Mr Mundella) had, through the Sunday School Union, inquired into- the Snnday school working m England and Wales, and he had found that there were 4,000,000 children on the register. In the Metropolis itself there were 270,000 m the Church Sunday-schools, m addition to which there were 150,000 m the Roman Catholic and Wesleyan schools, making 420,000 m all. Those children were taught by over 30,000 teachers. He asked, was Christianity m danger bo long as this sort of thing was going on ? He congratulated the London School Board upon the increasing number of child renjeoming to the schools every year ; but at the same time he warned the teachers against being too ambitious, remarking that they could not expect children of the Fourth or Fifth Standard to pass an examination which might prove troublesome to gentlemen going up for ordination. Don't Die m the Hoose.— " Rough on Rats " clears out rats, mico, beetles, roaohes, bed-bugs, flies, ants, insects, moles, jaokrabbits, gophers. Moses, Moss and Co., Sydnoy, general agents. — [Advt.] Skinny Men. — "Wells' Healtk ßenewer " restores health and vigor, cures Dyspepsia, Impotonoo, Debility. Moses, Moss and Co., Sydnoy, general, agents. — [Advt.] Wells' " Rough on Corns " — ABk for Wells' " Rough on Corns." Quick relief, oomplete permanent cure. Corns, warts, bunions. Moses, Moss and Co., Sydney, general agents. — lAdvtT (1) The Bad and Worthless are never imitated or counterfeited. This is especially true of a family medicine, and it is positive proof that the remedy imitated is of the highest value. As soon as it had been tested and proved by the wholo world that Hop Bitters was the purest, best, and most valuable family modioine on earth, many imitations sprung up and began to steal tho notices whioh the Press and tho people of tho country had expressed tho merits of H. 8., and m overy way trying to induco suffering invalids to use their staff instead, oxpeoting to make money on the credit and good name of H. B. Many others started nostrums put up m similar style to H. 8., with variously devised names, m which tho word " Hop " or " Hops " were used m a way to induce people to believe they were the same as Hop Bitters. All snoh pretended remedies or enres, no matter what their style or name is, and especially those with the word " Hop or " Hops " m their name, or m anjr way oonnocted with them or their name, are imitations or counterfeits. Bowaro of thorn. Touch none of them. Utto nothing but genuine American Hop Bitters, with a bunch or olnstei of green Hops on a) white label, and Dr, Sonfo'a name blown m the glass. Trnsi nothing olso. Druggists and Chemists arc warned against dealing m imitations or ooun terfeits.— ' L Advt.] (1)