Page 3 Advertisements Column 2

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 20085, 20 May 1914, Page 3

16,000, that is to say, 9 per* cent, as receiving instruction,-after some 20

; years' trial. Whereas in Queensland, two years' working of the system I advocated by the League for New Zealand resulted in 30,596 children j receiving ministers' visits, equal to 39 per cent., of the daily average at- } tendance, according to a statement made by the Queensland Minister of i Education, October, 1913. Moreover, while the 9 per cent, represented | -all the children receiving any religious instruction in New Zealand State Schools, every child in Queensland had the opportunity of having Bible lessons (in addition to ministers' visits) given by the State- school teacher; so that the League's system places the Bible within the reach of every child in the schools, and, moreover, does it without penalising him. ' Is the Neson System Bible in Schools or Bible out of Schools?

, The Nelson system is clearly Bible out of schools, inasmuch as it is outside the official school hours reported to the Education Board. The Secretary of the Nelson Education Board wrote (Ist May, 1913: "The Board has .not at any time given permission for religious inetruction to be given IN schools." And (30th May, 1913) : — "Section 143 (b) of the Education Act provides that the instruction must be entirely of a-secular character." No one would say that arithmetic was taught IN the school if if were said that the Board had not at any time given permission for arithmetical instruction to be given in the schools, even if some well-meaning people | visited the school outside official school hours once a week and taught ; the children the multiplication table. I , Further, the League stands-for the principle that the Bible as such i. must have a recognised place in the schools' curriculum, and not be treated as an extra. The Nelso-n system impresses upon the children that the Bible is an extra, is not to be part of their official school life, and therefore is of Ices importance than reading or writing. < How Far is the Nelson Syst2m Practicable? After all the years and the strong advocacy it has received, it proves practicable only in towns, as a rule. Consequently the, children who most need religious instruction —those living in country parts where churches, Sunday schools, and ministers are few—do not receive any benefit. In. the home of the Nelson system, out of 121 schools under the Nelson Education Board, only 11 of them are reached by the Nelson system, and of these only five are in the country. In Western Australia, a huge territory nine times the size of New Zealand, with about one-third its population, out of 536 schools, 314 were visited by ministers in school hours. Out of an average attendance' of 32,959 children, 19,823 received ministers' visits, under the League's system. And in addition, every child in the West Australian schools had the opportunity of direct lessons from the Bible given by the teachers. Would the Nelson System Favour State Aid? ■ Yes, most distinctly, because "it would preclude many—certainly Roman Catholics —from taking a share. Roman Catholic children are not allowed by their Church to attend the classes of religious instruction held by ministers of other Churches. As no instance has been found under the Nelscn system of Roman Catholic clergymen taking a share with other ministers in addressing children of other Churches, there* is no doubt they would continue to refuse to do so. Consequently the exclusion of the Roman Catholic Church from any share in the working of a religious instruction system set up by law would give the Church ground for State aid. Whereas, in the League's, proposal of the Australian system, they could take their own children and teach them their faith as any other church can do. Thus, having equal opportunities with all, and of which that Church has availed itself elsewhere, it "would have, under the League's proposal, no claim for exceptional favours, monetary or otherwise. Does the Nelson System Recognise the Teachers? So far from doing; this, those now advocating the Nelson system as a permanent solution of the problem of religious instruction claim that teachers shall be excluded from any part of it. This is nothing short of an insult to the teaching profession of New Zealand, inasmuch as, except, in New Zealand and two other States, every English-jspeaking part of the Empire regards the teachers as sufficiently honourable to be trusted with I Bible lessons for the children. The League is prepared equally with Australia and other parts of the Empire to trust 'the teachers in New ... Zealand*-;- The Nelsoasssistem, if made -law, would tjxoclaim to the-;world, that the- people of New Zealand would not trust "their 'own teachers. Why has the Nelson System Not Proved Practicable? Because it is inconvenient both to children and ministers In being outside school hours. Both Education Boards and also committees have repeatedly refused to give facilities for such meagre opportunities as the Nelson system has hitherto afforded. Amongst other Boards refusing arc Auckland and Wellington. These two Boards alone control the education of 62,426 children. An example occurred in the case of Newtown ■'. School Committee;(March, 1914). The Ministers' Asociation of Welling- ■ -.. tonv£[ojutb_ desired, permiasi'D&tp'give religoius (instruction, because they"-*"' believed that by demonstrating the feasibility of the scheme other schools would adopt it. "The Committee not only'refused to grant the' *■ permission, but the Chairman of the School Committee publicly stated that he questioned if the ministers were in earnest.. Boes the Nelson System Provide a Permanent Settlemen|? * Very far from it, because not only has the permission of the Uoard to be obtained, but the permission of each separate committee in addition —permission which, being only temporary, may- be revoked at any . moment. Farther, the election of a fresh school committee raises the question anew each time, and compels those who favour the Nelson system and those who are opposed to any religious teaching in the schools to make the election decide the question, thereby creating a continual feeling of unrest. The League proposes to submit the question once and for all to the whole people of the Dominion; and let them settle it, instead of having it as a perennial disturbing factor in school affairs. Is the Nelson System Fair to, the Child? •■■; The choice for a child under the Nelson system is-^-play outside or lesson within—a method which would not be regarded as adequate for teaching any other subject. Under the League's system, if the child docs not have the Bible lesson from his teacher or have a minister's visit, th© chi|d simply goes on with some other lesson —probably another reading lesson. Is the Nelson System Approved in its Home? Inasumch as the majority of those giving the lessons are members of the Bible in State Schols League, they, can be counted as finding the Nelson system inadequate. The Church of England Synod, Nelson, and the Methodist Synod of Nelson passed resolutions expressing their sense of the inadequacy of the Nelson system, and urging support of , the League's platform as "a meah3 calculated to remedy the present serious defect in the education system." No more striking testimony could be produced .as to the failure of the Nelson system, than the evidence'of these who actually work it in its hpfee and 'who are fully familiar with Us delails.

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