2

1.—13b.

L H. W. OLEARY.

can aocept biblical matter selected at will by the Government, forced upon the nation by the Government, and taughi by the Government. To the many who cannot, in conscience, accept a Bible edited (perhaps gravely mutilated) by the Government, the Government is asked to say, in effect, " You shall be pin outside the pale; you shall pay for the sort of Bible scraps we edit and teach ; but you .shall get no benefit from them unless you and your conscience conform to the State religion. .'5. The League demands, and the Hill provides, a revolutionary change in our Education Act. and in the relation of the various religious denominations towards the Government and towards each other. Catholics go even further than the League in their views as to the essential union of religion and true education. Catholics alone have proved the utter sincerity of their convictions herein by long-sustained and ever-increasing sacrifices of money, personal effort, and numberless devoted human lives. They would joyfully aid their Protestant fellow-citizens to secure biblical and religious instruction tor their children in tin 1 public schools so long as the equal rights of conscience of other interested parties before the law are not thereby violated. They would wish to see the education system made truly national—suited for all the people of the nation: secular for those desiring it secular, and religious (on fair conditions all round) for those desiring it religious. But they can never accept such an attempt at a solution of the difficulty as that now demanded by the League anil embodied in the Bill: a scheme that violates rights of conscience which God gave, and which no League, Government, or majority can in justice take away. 11. Arguments for the Bill. The arguments already advanced, and likely to be advanced, in support of the present Bill are (summarily stated) based upon the following chief grounds, as set forth by the League in its official literature, or by League exponents on the platform and in the Press. 1. There is a serious decline in domestic religion, much "paganism," "barbarism," "atheism,' , &C The secular svslein is a foCUS thereof. The League Churches can set' no other way out of the difficult) unless by 'he State teaching of State-compiled biblical extracts, and the right of entry for the clergy into the public schools during working-hours. 2. A large body of electors have signed a petition (not yet presented) that this matter of "religious instruction " ami conscience be decided, not by Parliament, but by a plebiscite (misnamed a " referendum ") over the head of Parliament. •'!. The proposed scheme "works smoothly." "absolutely without friction," and without any " sectarian difficulty " in certain parts of Australia. 4. The proposed scheme affords "equal rights," "equal treatment," and "equal opportunities (o all." and " special privileges to none." ."). If Parliament and the people will not adopt the League's scheme, the League will work "detriment " to —or even "wreck" —tin "national system," by establishing a rival system of denominational schools. 111. A GONFESSION UK I'Ai 1,1 in:. 1. The League's orj of denominational failure represents a vast falling-ofl in spirit, hope, and energy from pre-agit at ion days, when the League cleig\ proudly pointed to the achievements of their denominations in moulding the national character in Greal Britain as to make it (they said) tirst among the nations of the earth. 2. Out of the numerous lamentations about the decline in personal and domestic religion, let the following suffice: A right reverend member of the League executive (Bishop Averill) tells us thai religion is now running risks of becoming a "vague sentiment," a "refined form of agnosticism " (New Zealand Herald, 25th May. 1!)1 I;. Ai Gisborne, two League orators pleaded the small extent of Bible-reading in the homes as a reason for the Government introducing it into the schools (Poverty Bay Herald, 22nd April, 1014). liev. C. 11. Laws and Bishop Averill lament the spread of "heathenism" and "appalling ignorance" of religion among followers of their respective faiths (Auckland Shir. 23rd May, 1914, and Hawke's /!</;/ Herald, 10th June. 1913). No account is here taken of the League pulpit sermons on that well-worn subject, "Why don't men go to church 1" The Secular System. .'i. According to statements and arguments put forward by the League or by its exponents in favour of this Hill, there is a measure of connection between those conditions and the secular system. One official League publication declare- thai under thai system "your scholar comes out of your hand a barbarian." An editorial article in the chief League organ (the Outlook) stales that children in our secular schools are "educated on pagan principles." Prominent League officials (such as Canon Garland, Rev. Isaac Jolly, liev. John Macken/.u—all members of the League executive) and others describe the secular system as a system of "white heathenism," •'dogmatic secularism," " Godless,'' "a relic of barbarism." ''the desolating blight of secularism," and a system that " degrades morals." (Fuller details and references to these and other denunciations will be found on pages 2 and •'! of the Catholic Federation series of publications, No. 4, copies of which are herewith presented to your Committee.) 4. By their strenuous personal efforts and sacrifices of nearly forty years, Catholics have proved the sincerity of their conviction as to the evil of divorcing religion from the school period of a child's training. At the same time we recognize that social phenomena are. as a ride, very complex, and that it is at times hard to trace the play of cause and effect. By all means let us attribute to the secular system the evils which, in its nature, and in the circumstances of its operation in this country, it is calculated to produce. But the League clergy have been laying to its charge a serious measure of bad results which are fairly traceable to (heir own act or default,