MEASURES OF GREAT URGENCY

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 10, 6 July 1894, Page 17

MEASURES OF GREAT URGENCY

§ MEASURES "of great urgency" were introf duced by Government simultaneously in both £ Houses of Parlinment on Friday night. -> Tfipse Hills, by which the Colony becomes £ guarantor of the Bank of >cw Zealand to the extent of two millions, wore hurriedly paseod through the various stages and actually committed before early riseis were about on Saturday morning. The good sense of MomW<? hastened their progress. They are now law, and the Colony has bsen saved from financial disaster. Congratulatory telegrams from the provinces and from abroad are pouring in upon Treasurer Ward, and even the most bitter Opposition papers abandon party warfare, and praise the wise and prompt action of the Seddox Ministry. A panic and much consequent misery has been averted, and we all breathe more freely. Depositors need fear no longer when retiring to rest that their savings may be locked up on the morrow because of reconstruction. The credit of New Zealand for some time past, owiug to a selfreliant policy, has been good in London. The satisfaction with which Home financiers regard the decided action of the New Zealand Government betokens increase 1 confidence and an advancing wave of real prosperity. Financial disaster has certainly been averted, but moral disaster is staring us in the face. The results of the pernicious system of godless schools are everywhere apparent. Our youth ,infor med by the sheer paganism of nitre secularism — knowing little and caring less about higher interests — are almost wholly bent on the acquisition of material prosperity. We can apply to the youthhood of the Colony generally the words spoken by Mr T. G. Talbot, M.P. for the University of Oxford, of a certain parish from which religious teaching had been excluded : " The deterioration of the morality of the rising generation is very manifest." There is gross ignorance in spiritual matters, a growing waywardness of conduct, disobedience to parents, a want of truthfulness, of respect to superiors, of reverence towards God and things holy and such intolerance of correction or reproof among young servants as to become in itself almost intolerable." a very short time ago Uisliop Moorhouse, of Manchester, speaking of Victoria, said : " eecular education is universal. It was predicted that it would diminish crime. It has been totally powerless to do so, and there is this sad and most important statement to be made — that the nwsf •serious oiiuis are comm,ltid by the b^st-edm aieil a mui/als." Bearing m mind the lUliciscd portion of the la*t quotation, «nd considering that the s ( irit of anarchy so nfu m Europe is travelling fast to the Antipodes, our thoughtful rcadi-is will be forced to the conclusion that, owing to the pn valent neglect of religious teach ng in our public schools, a Bill of "great urgency" is needed to ward off impending moral disaster. A Christian btate, which bsn.shcs Christ and all effective sanction for Christian morality from the schools of the nation, and refuses to reconstruct its defective system of public instruction, will soon see in the mor«l ruin of its children cause for bitter regret anJ unavailing remorse. The continued robbery of the lurd earnings of Catholics to keep up a soul-destroying school system which they abhor, will jet bring the punishment which always follows injustice.