By-and-By – Never

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 43, 24 October 1907, Page 9

By-and-By - Never

The Rigffb Rev. „ Dr. Neligan, Anglican Bishop of Auckland, is reported to have spoken as follows in the course of an address to his synod last week :— . " * 'If the Government puts not the Bible into the curriculum of the State schools, the national scherre of State schools will be upset in _ New Zealand, because it is contrary to -the yery fundamentals of democracy that religious education for their children should be reserved only as the privilege of those who can afford to send their children to a school where payment has to be made. The absence of Bible lessons from State schools continued long enough will force the people who' care for education in its only true sense to start and maintain denominational elementary schools, as have the members of the. Church of Rome in this Dominion. In my own mind I have not a doubt that the issue must work out' thus : Logic cannot stop it. It may take 25 years or more before it happens, but happen it must. Regarding ei-ther result as an evil, as perhaps politicians may, it is for them to choose whichever they may deem in their wisdom to be the lesser evil.' We take leave to remark : (1) Catholics in New Zealand stand almost alone in -the practical advocacy of the thorough education of youth in body, mind, heart, soul. At the same time they stand by the democratic principle of fairness all round—to Protestant, Catholic, Jew, secularist, etc.—claiming nothing for themselves but what they are prepared to concede to others. (2) It has been abundantly shown that any and every scheme for the proposed introduction of the (Protestant version of the) Bible into the curriculum of the public schools without equal provision for conscientious dissent, would practically mean the establishment of a State school creed on Protestant lines, would violate the principles of democracy, and would leave the last state of education in New Zealand worse than the first. (3) The Bible-in-schools movement in the Dominion had its death-knell tolled long ago. It now lies where the lilies blow, and its influence on New Zealand public and social life is apparently not appreciably greater than is that of the ' dead corpse ' of Ginx's Baby. The rattling of the dead bones of a dead movement is not likely to scare politicians—even lapdog politicians—into a course" thai does not commend itself to their principles any), their interests, or their fears. There may be sundry stuffed la}r-figure poli'ticilans in ,tihe House ; but there are no dead bones on the electoral rolls. And 'Us the votes that count. * (4)The New- Zealand public would be more irrpressed by the starting and maintenance of a few ' denominational primary schools ' by our separated brethren, than by all the Ossas of resolutions that synods, assemblies, and conferences have piled upon Pelions of talk about 4 education in its only true sense ' for a whole generation past. It has taken them a weary time to make up their minds to act 'as have the members of the Churcii of Rome in this Dominion '. If they would only take fieart of grace and follow the lead of people who are poor in the: world's goods but rich in faith and the^ spirit of sacrifice, I/he education question would soon settle Itself. But—' it may take another 25 years before it happens '. In the meantime, religion will be, not an intimate rule of lile, but a mere casual incident in the . school careers of tens of thousands of children. "And the results, who shall forsee ? To Catholics, this .toying and paltering with a desperate situation is ' All a problem, . Prob-prob-problerr, A dark and mighty problem '