The Star. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1896.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5505, 4 March 1896, Page 2

The Star. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1896.

The speakers at the meeting which last night affirmed the desirableness of introducing the Irish Scripture Text-book into the State schools deem to have ignored or overlooked the principal objection to their proposal, i.e., that it is wrong to use money taken from the pockets of the whole community to teach dogma which is acceptable only to a part of it. The meeting does not, however, call for much comment. It was not, strictly speaking, a public meeting; it was rather a gathering of the friends of the Irish Scripture Textrbook for the purpose of talking about the merits of that publication and the advantages which they think willresultfrom using it in the public schools. Mr Baldwin; who, ••■nußle'icl by tteadye^Seienttytn; which .the. promoters 6i tie g^tli^ririg 'lad called.: it & pubiic, meeting— -atteriipted to propose': an ; amendment to a motion" in 1 favour of the use .of scripture lesson books in .the State schools, was quickly undeceived. He was denied a privilege which, j acccrdiTig to goneral practice, is accorded to I any T-'a-vl;ioii>.*rii in a real public meeting. i The one-sid.>d character of the gathering having haoTi thus demonstrated, the resoluticrs agwad to can have no force as the oxprf^sion of opinion of* the public of j Chris:tihurch ; they are merely the utter- | atice of n number of people who met in f senn-privalo conclave, and would hear ■.■lothiiv; opposed to their own particular TIfJTTS. ■ ' .