A NEW DEVICE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 45, 7 March 1884, Page 15

A NEW DEVICE.

UK contemporary the Otago Daily Times concludes its leader of yesterday with the following words ; " If the people are really desirous that the next generation of the people of Otago should be Christian they will not refuse to contribute the small sum necessary to provide the teachers required. As regards the Roman Catholics, could they not establish a similar system for the education of such of their children as attend the public schools." These words have been written apropos of a scheme proposed by the Rev. Mr. Connor for imparting religious instruction in public schools.

What is the scheme ? To prevent misunderstanding wo give it in the words of the Daily Times. " His proposal is that all denominations— though we do not well see how he can include the Roman Catholics — should combine for the purpose of supporting one or more duly qualified religious iastructors, who thoroughly know how to interest and control masses of children. In addition to oral instruction he would provide for written examinations once a week, and as a guard against proselytising, the questions put at these examinations are to be recorded in a book open to the inspection of ministers of all denominations, so that the character of the instruction might be seen to be unsectarian and in no way interfering with denominational peculiarities." Such is the new scheme that recommends itself so much to our contemporary. Will the patrons of godless schools never know their own mind? Some months ago the public were told that the religious difficulty in regard to these schools had at last found its solution, and the system then recommended bo strongly by all our contemporaries was inaugurated amidst a flourish of literary trumpets. But, alas for human invention, this grand solution of a great difficulty has, in reality, turned out, as we anticipated it would, a complete failure. At the time of its inception, however, its friends did not bargain for its collapse, at least so soon; and school committees that hesitated to grant at once the religious half-hour, to the religious secularists, were roundly rated for their hesitancy. But only a few months have since elapsed, and all has well nigh ended in smoke. Hence it has become necessary to devise a ne^r scheme, and, consequently, we find Mr. Connor come to the rescue, and fcehold ! the Arch Secularist, the Otago Daily Times, seriously perorating thus : " If the people are really desirous that the next generation of the people of Otago should be Christian, they will not refuse to contribute the small sum necessary to provide the teachers required." Indeed, and is it so easy and comparatively inexpensive to make the next generation Christian ? And yet we venture to predict that this small sum will not be forthcoming, and why should it ? The public have now, we fancy, lost all faith in the various schemes propounded for counteracting the godlessnesa of our public schools, and will, we should say, come to the conclusion that this new device is no more likely to succeed than the religious half-hour. And, indeed, it requires no great wisdom to perceive that if it has been found nearly impossible to secure the attendance of children at oral instruction, it will be still more difficult to persuade them to patronise a system much more laborious. The experience of the past and the well-known 1 disinclination of children to writs in the vray ■uggested

afford grounds for this opinion. Mr. Connor's scheme is Utopian, and if tried, will, we think, prove a greater failure than the religious half-hour. And this we say without entering into other cogent reasons which make it clear to our mind that the scheme is impracticable. The Roman Catholics cannot but be much obliged to the Daily Times for its attention to us and the interest it takes in the religious education of such Catholic children as unfortunately attend Government schools. But whilst we cannot but be most grateful to our contemporary for its solicitude for the children who are exposed to all the dangers of godless schools, which he nevertheless compels us to pay for, though as a body we do not use them, he seems to ignore our claim to our own money for the support of our ow n schools in which the religious education of our children is most carefully attended to. One would expect that one so solicitous for the Christianity of the rising generation would recognise the claims of Catholics, who are taking so much trouble and contributing bo largely to preserve the faith and strengthen the morality of their own children, and thus help to the maintenance of social order. It would seem, however, that neither the claim of justice nor Christianity can be recognised when Catholic schools are concerned, and that the only thing the Daily Times cares for in this connection is the Christianity of such as the Government system of education is doing its level best to paganise ! It is strange, indeed, and we are amazed that one who seems so zealous for the Christianity of the next generation should fail to perceive that the only way in which this can be saved is to give each denomination for the support of its own schools the money its members contribute for school purposes. Were this done, such godless schools as might exist, could not do the same amount of mischief they are now doing, and their evil effects would to a considerable extent be neutralized by the influence of the many Christian schools that would then be established throughout the Colony.