Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, MAY 7, lfcBo. SIR H. ROBINSON'S SPEECH. ~~

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 368, 7 May 1880, Page 13

Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, MAY 7, lfcßo. SIR H. ROBINSON'S SPEECH. ~~

fIR HERCULES ROBINSON, the Governor of New Zealand, made a speech lately at the opening of the Normal School, "Wellington, which deserves more than a passing notice. The full text of this speech has not yet arrived in Dunedin ; that is, it has not arrived at the time at which we write ; and, consequently, we are somewhat at a disadvantage in commenting on it. Prom the telegraphic summary, however, twojpoints seem to

have recommended themselves to £ir Hercules as clearly established ; Ist. That the system of education established in this colony, is too ambitious and too expensive ; 2nd. That it is too secular. There are not many in New Zealand who would be disposed to controvert either of these propositions. In fact, if we are to judge from the indications of public opinion, afforded by the usual means of ascertaining it, the Governor's ideas on these points seem to be shared in by the public generally. These, however, are not the most important considerations. The great question is, What are the remedies that ought to be applied? Sir Hercules Robinson recommends the imposition of moderate school fees, and a compromise on the religious question, similar to that adopted in England, and in New South Wales. It is to be feared that His Excellency has not well weighed this recommendation. One reading his words, as telegraphed to Dunedin, would naturally come to the conclusion that the same principle of compromise as to religious teaching, had been adopted in England and in New South Wales. But such is not the case. In England, the denominational system prevails ; secular schools are only intended to supply the absence of denominational schools, not to supplant or subvert them. English legislation recognises that denominational education should prevail ; New South Wales, that secular should prevail. There is no analogy between the two systems ; they have been established on diametrically opposing principles. In England, legislat.on wishes the schools to be denominational, and consequently aids all denominational schools, and only permits merely secular schools where there are no denominational schools, or an insufficient number of such to overtake the educational wants of the population. In New South Wales exactly the opposite prevails. Recent legislation there has destroyed, so far as legislation can destroy, all denominational schools, and established a purely secular system. If, therefore, the words of Sir Hercules have been correctly telegraphed to this city, the only conclusion at which we can arrive is, that His Excellency is labouring under a great misapprehension as to the nature of the English system of education.

This system, though it is by no means perfect, we should be glad to see established here, for it recognises the principle that a Christian people ought to be educated as Christians, and not as mere rational animals. Whereas the New South Wales system puts its foot on Christianity, or relegates it to a subordinate and humiliating position ; and places Atheism in the ascendant. This is precisely the system which in France led to such evils, that even the Liberal Minister, M. Thibrs, in the debates of 1849, eloquently deplored them. And as the Month says, " The consequences were plain and palpable when a generation had grown up under the sinister influence of more than forty-thousand school-masters who were not required before accepting their charge to show that they possessed either faith or good works, and who were in too many cases insufferable little pedants, making boastful profession of Atheism." If Sir Hercules Robinson can find " no other substitute for our present godless system of education than what he calls the New South Wales compromise, he may spare himself the labour of the change. There is no meaning, in such a matter as this, in substituting one species of godlessness for another. But let the English system be established here, and something of real value will have been done.

As to the expense of our system and the source from which that expense is met, no language of denunciation can be too strong. Any one who goes through our streets and carefully observes what he sees about him, cannot fail to be struck by the number of poor little children who ought to be at school ; and are, nevertheless, running idly about. These are the little ones who ought to be in the free-schools of the Government, instead of the children of well-to-do parents. But under our system the poor and unfortunate are neglected, and the well-to-do are enabled to save money and do better still. It will be said, to be sure, that there are compulsory clauses, and that a proclamation has been made in several places that these are in force. But as we anticipated from the first, it is all a sham ; and so long as well-to-do people's children attend free Government schools, it must be a sham. The children to whom we allude as running idly about the streets, are dirty ill-clad children, and in their present state would not be admitted into any of the public schools ; or, if admitted, would soon be sent away for being ragged and dirty. Yet these are just the children for whom the Government ought to provide free and suitable education, and really

do not. The theory of our public school system is that all shall be educated free, but the practical result is that the very poor are not educated at all, whilst the well-to-do reap all the advantages of an expenditure that is enormous, crushing, and iniquitous ; inasmuch as it compels the poor to pay for the education of the rich, and the conscientious to suppoit a system of godlessness to please secularists and atheists, whilst not a shilling of the taxes paid by them is given towards the support of their own Christian schools.

Sir Hercules Robinson has had no recommendation to make as to a remedy for such an abominable and palpable injustice as this. His suggestion as to fees would relieve the Treasury, but contribute nothing towards lightening the intolerable burdens of denominationalists, who are to continue under the obligation of paying for the free and godless education of other people's children, whilst paying the entire expense of the Christian education of their own. Our Governor, it seems, has no compassion for denominationalists, no rebuke for the injustice done them, no suggestion calculated to lead to a lightening of their undue burdens.

We know not whether His Excellency approves of the project proposed by the Bible in schools people, who wish to have this Holy Book read to children by one who is to make no comments, but he is evidently in favour of religious instruction to be inculcated after the manner now possible in New South Wales ; that is, Christianity may be taught after school hours, to fatigued children, in a sort of condemned cell. No doubt an effort will be made next Session to introduce Bible-reading into public schools. But what good can be expected to come from such a practice ? Mere Bible reading has failed to do any good in America, and anywhere else it has been tried ; and from the nature of the case it could not have been otherwise ; for, as Dr. Johnson said, " The New Testament is the most difficult book in the world, for which the study of a life is required." If one of the greatest minds, and one of the most learned men England ever produced, found the New Testament so difficult to be understood, what is to be said of the folly of thinking that any good can come of reading such a book, without explanation, to little children. No, it is not by such a practice children are to be taught their duties to God, their neighbour, and themselves. There is only one way of succeeding in rearing up a moral people, and that is to have them well trained in their own denominational schools. Secular systems of education can only lead to loss of faith, and the consequent loss of moral principle ; for as faith is the foundation and sanction of morality, and its only real foundation and adequate sanction, so a people without faith is a people without morality.