DENOMINATIONAL EDUCATION

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7156, 22 July 1901, Page 4

DENOMINATIONAL EDUCATION

CANON HARPER AT THE CATHEDRAL. At the Cathedral yesterday morning, the Rsv Canon Harper preached from Ecclesiastes xii, 1, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." After detailing the "circumstances under which the Book of Ecclesiastes had been written, and referring to the fact that the writer evidently showed a clear knowledge of human nature, the preacher went on to say that in youth was the time when, the mind was most impressionable and most open to influences, .either for good or for evil, as they never could be to the same degree later in life. This was recognised by many who had had the care of the young, as well as by many wh,<j looked back on their own lives. He quoted t]ie saying of an astute Jesuit, "Give ine ...the; care and education of a child till seven, eight years of age, and I will undertake.,. to make him a strong adherent of 4-he Church," and said that many knew they were what they were owing to early influences, and it was in the days of childhood that religious teaching should be inculcated. Although they, as parents, must hold, the words of the text as. most appropriate, what weca they doing collectively as a nation to see that the instructions given them were baing carried oat. Their education system was secular in primary and secondary schools, acd also in the colonial University Colleges. Here and there there were Voluntary efforts to give, religious instruction, and those who made these efforts were worthy of all praise ; but the instruction thus giveu by well-disposed and earnest teachers was no tegular part of the course of education as given in schools or colleges established by the State. The State, as.Euch, did not recognise religion, nor, it would seem, the ne«d or desirableness of giving religious instruction, and ■ anything done in this direction was dona { voluntarily and out of school hours. It was I as well to face the fact that we in this col-' I ony were doing nothing to hs'lp the chilI dren to remember their Creator in 1C days of their youth. Could they look with, satisfaction on such a state of things? Surely they could not, if they calmly considered what- was, and must be, the result of such a system of education. Some of the results were already apparent, to a few of which he would briefly allude. It was said, and, he had reason to believe on good authority, that there' was a greater amount of crime in New Zealand in proportion to the population than there was m England. If that was the case it was «. terrible fact to consider — for 'in a new country like 1 this where they had not the difficulty arising from .a congested population in the towns ; where extreme poverty and destitution Aver© almost unknown ; where work was easily obtained, and the means of gaining a livelihood far greater than in older and crowded countries ; where th« conditions of life were easier and more healthful — crime ought .to be less in amount than in a country like England. But statistics revealed the f«ofc (so it was said) pf a larger aimiouii't of crime, and ihe might not ba wrong in drawing the inference that /this was due in. great measure to the absence of religious and moral training of the- young in the present system of secular education. Apart trom the actual amcrawt of crime they- could not fail to notice a great indifference to religion and religious observances, an absence of ideals and of aspirations after better things, among those born and educated in the colonies. Not to speak of a very Ipjx moral tone amic-ng young people — more especially in regard to the relations between the sexes. It was painful to refer to such things, but it was well to bring themselves face to faoe with suoh facts as these. And' in view of such facts they might Avell ask whether the present system cf no::-r«ligious education, was r.ob largely responsible for -the state of things, aad whether ib was not their duty to do (

what they could to create a public opinion which will insist on giving the youth of the colony a real opportunity of venerating their Creator. His reason for alluding to the subject was that the matter had been referred to by one o<f the candidates at the election which took place the previous week, who had clearly advocated grants in aid to denominational scfiools, and appeared to have genuinely desired religious education. To expect a return to denomd-n---atioitalisin in the present state of public opinion was. hopeless and impracticable, and involved\the whole subject in mamy difficulties. But to introduce -the London School Board system into the colonies did not appear to the preaoher to be impracticable. In 'his judgment they should; aim at securing the reading of tie Bible in the schools, and io open the daily work of the school with some simple prayer, as for example, the Lord's Prayer — a practice that no sect of Christians eouldl reasonably object to. If that could be achieved something would be done •!» the direction . of bringing the subject of'Peligion before the minds of our children. ■To then*' would be an opportunity, at least, of remembering their Creator in the days of their youth.