THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS AND THE COMING ELECTION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 447, 4 November 1881, Page 21

THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS AND THE COMING ELECTION.

TO THE EDITOB OF THE N. Z. TABLET. Jasper was poor, and vice and want Had made his heart like stone ; And Jasper looked with envious eyes On riches not his own.

— SOUTHKT. Sib, — I learn that a number of the able gentlemen who firmly believe they would not disgrace the stainless name of the New Zealand Parliament, if they were to be elected to it by any of our progressive electorates, mean to become standard-bearers of the glorious flag of Bible in schools in the forthcoming political campaign, and sincerely hope that the forces that are between the calfskin walls will be strong enough to drive all enemies off the battlefield and to bring a laurel crown to the victorious general who will be able to defeat the combined armies of secularism and Roman Catholicism by training the virtuous volunteers who fancy that serving under leaders who fight for the "Word of God" will gain for them the thanks of the ten next generations, and cause the powers that rule the sea and clouds to receive them into His beauteous kingdom without inspection. No doubt the Bible flag will be followed by thousands of our richest and most godly ratepayers, who believe the Scriptural knowledge which is inoculated into the brain pan of the good children of Zealandia in •' our well-conducted" Sabbath schools is not sufficient to enable the rising generation to walk along the life pathway which runs along the edge of the precipice which keeps the waters of darkness from overwhelming us, in as steady a manner as their progenitors did. These gentlemen never take the difficulty of finding teachers who would be able to expound the disputed passages of Scripture into consideration, nor do they pretend to know that the explanation of a disputed verse which a teachei would give would, very likely, offend the parents of all the children attending his or her school, except those who adored the Creator of all magnificent things in the same manner as he or she did. As our educational institutions are supported by people of every religion, our lovers of the Divine Book ought to know that it would be unjust to introduce "a series of lessons into them that would offend a great number of their supporters, and perhaps cause a few of the children to become 5 renegades to the faith of their ancestors. Ido not for a moment wish it to be understood that I deem the Holy Bible a " shoddy book," it is the manner in which our able teachers, who represent nearly every religion that has been introduced into this fertile land in their august persons, would explain such passages as, " Verily ,l say unto tbee, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing " (Matt, v., 26) ; and, " Their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom, and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified" (Revelations, xi., 8) I object to. In some districts, I daresay, the teachers (if Bible-reading is made law) will have to explain the Scriptures in a manner that will please the majority of tbe school committeemen ; but as a rule, although they may do their best te please Mr. Religious Tiger, they will give an explanation of the religious riddle that would lead a stranger from Jupiter to believe they were expounding the Scriptures to children, all of whom believed in the doctrine promulgated by one branch of the Christian Church.

I also learn that a number of gentlemen who hope to get into the stronghold of lawmakers by using Bible in schools as a password are greatly opposed to doing justice to the Roman Catholic schools of the colony, and still aTe audacious enough to say they will do all that lies in their power to get the Bible introduced into our public schools. If the advocates of Bible in schools are lovers of education, why do they not start independent schools (as their Roman Catholic fellowcolonists have done) and teach what they like in them ? I answer it is because they believe their children's religious education is a thing which no man or woman ought to neglect if he or she could force Freethinkers, Jews, Roman Catholics, &c, to pay for it ; but when they find out that they cannot force people, who would gain nothing by it, to put their children on the nearest road that leads into the land of peace, the " goodly dreamers " immediately discover that their pretty lasses and good boys can do " very well " without getting religious instruction during school hours. I sincerely hope that gentlemen who will remodel the Education Act in such a manner that all first-class private schools could be brought under it, and still leave the public schools purely secular, will be elected from two-thirds of our electorates. — I am, &c, FITZOEBALD BABBT.

Another young American woman has married a title. Miss Ainta G. Corsini, a pretty New York lady, of Italian descent, was espoused last week by Prince Kano, late of Zululand, but at present the guest of Bunnell's Museum. Like most foreign noblemen, Prince Ka o is m this country in search of Republican dollars, being on exhibition at the Museum as one of the living curiosities of the institution. — Pilot.

London, Sept. 3.—The Welsh have been holding their national Elsteddofd at Merthyr during the week. The Druid performances are reported by the English papers to be rather flat. Mr. Charles H. James, member for Merthyr Tydfil, replies caustically that he thinks Welshmen ought to feel proud that they could come together on occasions ljke this instead of looking at some poor cockfight or something of tne sort, and at people who kicked each other to death as hey did in the North of England.