RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1283, 18 September 1880, Page 2

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

, „ - — ry A meeting of clorjrymou and others, convened by circul.iv, was held on Wednesday afternoon at 1 o'c'nek i,i the hall of the Young Min'n Christian Association, Wel-lcbley-street, to take into consideration the desirability of momdr'ialising 1 the Legislature, 60 Kiis to obtain some concession in the Matter of religious teaching 1 in the co'iimon s-chooß His Lordship the Bishop of Auckland (tho-llight Rev. Dr. (Jowio) presided. ' There Avore present— Archdeacons M'tunnell ,' and Pitt, Revs. E. N. Bree, (A SI. NHson, W. Tebbs, R. 1\ Outllov, OJ-. ttmales, and' Messis. Y. Larking T?. (! Ewinirtou, T. Buddie, It. ilomu^, J. Brame, >S. Rout, aud Dr. Hawcy. The (Jhairrmn expressed his regret that th" ministeriil rcpiescnta'ives of other vhwrcb' i » woie not prqsent, possibly Archdeacon Mdiuisell would furnish &om~o explanation ojl the .subject. Archdeacon Maun -.'oil .striked thnt ho had is«,uod ninety ciiouLus, and in addition had npolcbh to several other gentlemen about the meeting. He received mn indexations of {sympathy with the movcmcntiirom. clergy of .other dpnomin.itioiih. H^ read letters of apology from Roys \Y. Moiley, U. Bond, A. CJxrik, S. J'idgov, and Thos. Huddle, who sympathised with thu movement, but the" latter ht.itc 1 in hi>i letter he liopod there would be no ro'iini to dcnoiunation.ali.sm. Also from llev A. \Vebb, Mho had left for Duuedin, piving in his adhesion to tho ■proposals to bo .submitted. Mr Lavkhib said hu Im d a few remarks to make by way of preface to the resolution ltc would submit to. the meeting . What was dc.siicd heic in connection with religious teaching 1 in the ,'common schools was tho adoption of the New South Wales; system. . That would give satisfaction, and was the only feasible |)lan. Thq community was divided into four classes— the f^rst regarded religion as a nuisvince ' in' connection with the public pchool ; the second believed in religious teaching, but held that the public school was< not the place, nor" the Government school 1 teacher ■ the fitted' person, to impart it ; the third was of opinion that) siich , teaching could be efficiently given under our national syetem; wji^ ajjQU.r^h nnd^maller oj^s^jjuld not h.tvg r^llgiol' feither in or out of the* school. Tlie secular system of education was popul.i r with the bulk pi the colonists, and there was no u&e in shirking the fact. Many <jfoofl>insn »ap^(srtedtt, #nd would dread the introduction of anything imperilling . its stability. Bible reading could not be introduced as part of thu school instruction. The Assembly would '.reject any proposal of the fcin<Jj and the populace would not have it., Still popular education without religion was i\ terrible misfortune, especially for the poorer classes, who had to many temptations to evil surrounding them. It was a great misfortune in ai^y case. He had that d.vy heard a well-dressed lad 'giving vent to I language which he (the ppeX^er) would not vcntuioitorej)eai, anil; for* whom it could not be pleaded that ho wab a city Arab. A change in public opinion might arise on tbs education questiojn, when advantage migtyt be taken to get their views realised as to religious teaching ; but at present the only possible compromise which could be obtained was that adopted in the New South ' Wale's Act. Ho begged to move the following rebolutiott'i-7>-"" l TJ^g.<r the Government bo memorialised to permit one half-hour during school hours 'each day to be given, to such religious teachers! as 'may be appointed by the ,bpdiea ,to wb|ch they belong; that tue'said teacher^ be allowed to give religions teaching in the public

attend uuder" thl t &tii6tid«Lof parents and guardians." ' ''Tug IteMO. M. se^Qn^d the i 'motion: ' 'He'belieae^^w'plai suggested wWthe* oi/fy ! tooai^l* aie*TiiTOer'iho circumstances! ' It Were Obaiiter /TO |Wait a f little *6r ''tlie' i(iinnn^iB^Mi*thaa to iutrqduce any othpr< _, Jt lef, t eeeidar education to its owji sptiere and in the hands of its constituted guardians, While it satisfied the scruplftTHlEcAaXQib'lliHred religious teaching to be introduofd into the schools. •* -Mi EWingtonfaaidrfctie outcome of the proposal t, would 'be to promote denorainationalkm^tbuUliedid not: see hoW that could be avoided. • The clergy could not ' attend' the^ -schools, .to limpavt religious teaching, asi'tady had! hot thy time, nbr •iWß»'!it desirable that they^houM do so; but itHeiplitn piopb*d- ( by '■ Mr Larkins •wdtdd open* ■vpiawide'fie'ld of labour and .TOdfolntßS to-laysworkeraj • ' ' "j t ' iMn S. .Rout approved dfrthe motion, but to • some' of th©> details: Ooidd <• the> ehaihnani f urnisH • to the meeting' the /pjreeifee terms of < the - <f ♦ religious teaching clausosK.ia'th© New South Wates'Act V t ) fflhfeChainnfth said' ho had a copy ol the Act at home to wbiah-he would' refer* but he,eomd noti-'give the.apeeifio information , depured#i . ! \ -I n>w •<< i The Key. Mr. Tebbs narrated his home . Bxperienqo3iitt(fi|lbting the battle of religious education against the 1 Secularists. At '.i^Wngham^ yh.iph/had been their great strongnold, the latter had nrst tried a sy stem o,f n^g^o^j/thejijuvsu^ated a moral tone', -out ultimately were o*bliged Wf^backjufon thagtoe, anjl^njiro- ' (luce it' int<s ,!he sAWli^Hej. fetched out fhe'plah 6f relifljroii? Jiaahing adopted -lritn'^Midlan'a'dis^l^mth whiih he ■tat*" 'llchuaihtea,wi^«®}i«fB ' • fteWcting 'Bible 1 "lessons' the teachers r were obliged to imp'aTtxo'the' chiltlre'n. Scrip-ture-readififeMSEß-it&tttlAiE^ any other sub,ieQhian3,ifith6 f teache.r,didnot care to gjye suc}v Jessons- another teacher was gp,t,who..wpulja, , 9e;wa^ not sufficiently w|th cojoni*! matters to pro"pounfie an opmioiv \#\p he thought public .oniniqn y^-jas <cominff.ro, wl favour of, re'l^moi^,teachipg,in,the,B^ioolB. „ , n ,,^hef Ch^ijrman such aeheme as .%$ (ieplp^edi^yi Mr^^ebbs. oould not be br9ug)»^ip<ppeva*iWihere,- and it , would learf to &«fl^^5 I lflf# ii M l^S tlllcafcion being shelveii. many gooti me'n — -and good churchmen too-t^ 'dpbosed Bible-reading • iH fchtf pirblW schoMs ty ,the scl;69lm,as4ier. . FtirtUer, theVe weremitny Schoolmasters 1 who -'were' • Utterly indifferent on the -ihrttter.^ '• ■'"'Mr.'BrUnie wai desirous of knowing ! what suo'doSS Kad attended 1 the" introduction of'Bibleir&ding iri'th'e Birmingham *"' U •/'•'' " '■' ' ; • ''l^'Teb^srenlledj'th^^eliaxl bft just ErtrjtWe chknge' w'is'bem^etfeqted', and ( he ! co^itn6tgiveaiiy i ;re,liab^e data,, on the ail Djecf. "• - > ! " ' " ' Dr. Harvey said that not ..one of the members o^flliPixmaoH'Sfeno'ol Board was oppoqfed t» Bibl^reading ia the schools. There was no difficulty in the matter 'in that great city, and even the Roman datljolie .(pr!ies"ta weVeilquiescent. In .^OnjlQuonljiouiripdrsons had protested against Bible-reading, one of whom was ,the paid I ' agent iQfifhd iSe'cnlarists. It yiQxiifi jbfl.fouAd that all) the opposition waamacieby theat) agents, and a few noipy. people., Jleiw-as supiistd tb find on arrival here that the Bible was not read in the schools, and that there was so much difficulty and dissension arising out of the matter. „, ~ i •" ' ' ' ' Mi-. Larkins wajs of opinion that my proposed 'tampering' with the secular. System, trod' giving it a religious character, wo«ld : be at on'c'o ; rejected by the Legislature. If. they wanted to defeat the object they had in -view they could not do,battpr than petition ,f or the in- the schools. Times migh,t,change, , and- then would be their opportunity, • ]/ Sfev. wished to know to what' 'ext'eiit the ' '"'religious t tea ( chin<? clauses" of the New South Wales Act had been'takeii/ad^ahtage of by the people of ijipuih yValeiki. m . > < ■ ' ' Archdeacon Maunsell replied that *6hey were not largely availed of, only a 100 out of. 400 schools f beiug visited by the clergy. The proposal of/Mi*^ Larkins wonjri give ha^f, a loaf, iindL'wfiStt^pnblic cibiin'oirv^el-ed'they dould^be advantage of it to 1 gfet the whole lo^ >They- were only\ofao»lia|f' l feround present; JLt wbuld- be' 'deMrjftile 1 to send petitions to Parliament, of a similar-character to those sentj<tymp[isttw}J!p's #AJ»>r r '' '• "'» The Itev% Bree thought two-thirds 'A? "the people were in favour of religious teaching, r The, ques^on,; would , really have 'tb^be/iecidpjjby the parents of .the cliiW'ren.jV^^regavded the resolutiqn as ah einiiicnwy'pi-ac^ical one. • •'"Mr I . "Thomas was in fiivour pf the resqlntior^. 'As nq^ing could be adVa^ce'd against itj ii }^as. unneqessary for hiih tp'nia^e a iv jts favour. ' "The^motipfl was th,en fl^t to the meeting and 1 carried. „ ■ , On the motion of Archdeacon Maun^ell, it Was resblveS to form ah Association to carry ohtihte! object indicated by 1 the motion, and the following- gentlemen were elected as committee of/'fiianagerncnt ; — HfcrEiora«hip"tl* Buhtto of Aticklandd (/Hl^iht' Her/ Dr.- (fcwie), Archdeacon Maun«oll,'Re\'s. 1 Vf. lEebbs, A. Carrick, (A.- QVL MdCßltami-^F} jVlorley, A. W. fWebb.lßATaylbr.'knd J. Robertsun. On the suggestion of Archdeaion Pritt, it was made a lecomtnehdatiori to the committee to appoint od the 1 general committee'the miriistets of 1 tne various Christian chvrches and twb'lay representatives ,fjcom #acn-corijrr%atiori to co-operate in carrying out the views of the Association, -A*t the ol©B© df the proceeding's thencwly(electcKleammittee'lield a meeting for deciding 1 on the future plan ' of operations, and|of influencing 1 pufolicrf eelingiti favour xrf.thje oibjeots ofitheAesociatibnl