THE DECALOGUE IN SCHOOLS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LIX, Issue 9214, 5 November 1908, Page 5

THE DECALOGUE IN SCHOOLS.

A COMMON-SENSE VIEW OF THE

MATTER

(By Telegraph —Press Association.)

INVEROARGILL, Last Night

At a meeting of the Southland Presbytery, to-day, a discussiou arose on the following motion :—"That this Presbytery deplores tho actiou of tlie majority of the Education Board in discouraging the hauging of the Ten Commandments on the walls of the public schools within their jurisdiction, aud trusts that they will reconsider their decision, aud thus give all the children attending our public schools a chauce of obtaiuiug a kuosvledge of the fouudation of all our laws."

Rev. J. Cummins, while entirely in favour of Scriptural instructiou iv schools, urged that the whole tone of morality was so much higher that the terms of the Mosaic Law were perhaps not so appropriate as they had beeu. It was questionable whether hauging charts of the Ten Commaudmeuts on school walls would do auy good. There were many things wh'eh in its natural curiosity a child would waut to kuow, and would perhaps bo better not to kuow. He did uot want to bo misunderstood in bis attitude towards this question, but the ques tion was that there were mauy who did not see that auy useful end would be served by waruiug children about graven images aud the sin of coveting a neighbour's wife. He moved as au ameudmeut that the matter be laid on the table for further consideration at the ordinary meeting. The amendment was carried unanimously.