D. C. BATES.';

87

1.—13b.

proved this method to be wrong and futile— e.g., the persecution of heretics, Acts of Uniformity, Test Acts, &c. It is quite evident thai the Bible in Schools League is the result of a compromise. Many if not all Anglicans dislike the idea of undenominational Bible-teaching, as witness the utterances of ISishop Julius, Bishop Sadlier, and many members of our own synod in the past, as I verified by consulting back numbers of the Chronicle. Of course, this is only consistent with our Article XX, which expressly declares that ' the Church ' — not any bare majority —'hath power tii decree rites or ceremonies and authqrity in controversies of faith,' and is 'a witness and a keeper of Holy Writ.' On the other hand, it is equally obvious that the other members of the 'combine' are opposed to the right of entry, the very reason why the Baptists, Congregationalists, &c, will not join the League. Now, for us to join any League which admits the power of the people by mete counting of heads to dictate in religious matters is to my mind an altogether unwarrantable abrogation of the Church's teaching function and for the Church to help various sects to get what we believe to I*' wrong — i.e., undenominational Bible-teaching and for those sects to help us to gel what they believe to be wrong in the hope of each side getting something which they think to be right seems to m< 1 to be an altogether immoral proceeding, a lowering of the standard of truth on both sides, a doing of evil in the hope that good may come. All honour, I .say. to Professor Hewitson, Erwin, Cameron, Chisholm, ifcc, who stood against it in the Dunedin Presbyterian Assembly, As I pointed out too, undenominational teaching is impossible in practice. If a child asks a single intelligent question —''..'/., 'Did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead.'' the teacher either must answer sincerely, which is at once dogmatic instruction one way or the other; or insincerely, which is wicked and immoral; or not at all, which is tyranny, had education, and a tacit worship of the Hible as a fetish, a mysterious thing above all reason and inquiry. " It is argued that no education is complete without religious education of some sort, but it is not the State's business to give a complete education. It provides an elementary education and says to the parent, ' Complete it as you like, but at your own expense. You have no right to make other people pay for the instruction of your children in your own particular views on theological or transcendental questions.' Otherwise a Mormon would have an absolute right to demand that his children lie taught at the State's expense the virtues of polygamy, or the Peculiar People the sinfulness of calling in a doctor in case of illness. Put the ease round the other way : Are Protestants content to let a Roman Catholic majority teach their religion in peace in any country where Roman Catholics are in the majority? Certainly not. They send missioners, Bible-teachers, cV-c, to Italy, Spain and Portugal, and Ireland to wean the people from their popish ways! Take, again, the cast- of the cablegram sent recently by religious leaders of Wellington sympathizing with the Carsonites in Ulster, presumably not because they were mere rebels, but were a religious minority fighting against the tyranny of a religious majority. Why then are religious minorities not entitled to similar sympathy here? If only the question could really be set before the people fairly and Rquarely so that they could see it apart from mere sentimental attachment to the Bible there would be no doubt of the issue at all. 13ut from the very beginning of the struggle all discussion among us has been burked in a spirit worthy of the Inquisition, as shown the other day in the attempt made beforehand to prevent any discussion in synod and make it appear that it was a layman's movement by practically forbidding olergy to speak, and again in the frequent efforts in synod itself to prevent me from finishing my speech, the gross unfairness of allowing Garland to speak for well over an hour on anything he liked quite irrelevant to the motion, and the very unfair treatment meted out to yourself because you, using Garland's own figures, wanted to show synod how they bore out your contention of the uselessness of the system in New South Wales; and. above all, the disgraceful malicious personal attack on you in your absence afterwards in open synod before strangers. 'Hie days of persecution, it would seem, are not yet over, but I do no! believe that General Synod has any power to muzzle us from expressing an opinion on matter of such very serious import — the Bishop admitted this in his synod address last year. If tin' Bible in Schools League's cause were sound at heart they ought to welcome the very fullest discussion of it. l?ut 1 think that not only synod but thi' whole nation hag a right to know that there is not a united body of Anglicans in favour of the League's proposal. Did Miv know thai I myself was asked quite unexpectedly to present a petition from Anglican, in the diocese to synod against the proposal? As the proposed petition was only thought of on the Saturday before synod. 1 had to inform those that asked me that there was really no time to get it properly in order, with signatures, &c, otherwise I should have been very glad to present it for them. But, still, I quite fail to see why my remarks were irrelevant and ruled out of order, anil others present, judging from the newspaper reports, I know hold the same view as I do. However, ' magna eel veritas el praevalebit.' " Yours wiy sincerely, " J!. IT. Hobday." I regard the introduction of the Bible and Clergy in State Schools League's programme as unnecessary and inexpedient for this country, as well as inadvisable for the clergy themselves, wlio are, as a rule, very poorly paid and have already plentj of scope for their energies. They will get no extra remuneration for even the out-of-pocket expenses involved in the work of Stateschool teaching, and from what I know the work itself will, as a rule, prove highly unsatisfactory, and show little if any benefit to compensate for dangers which may be easily recognized. In confirmation of this the Sydney Synod Report of 1011, page 128, says, " It is quite impossible to expect the clergy to ilo more than they are doing. Each rector has more than he can cope with in his parochial work." And again, with regard to the school religious teaching of the Church in general, and the state of religion in New South Wales, the report continues, " Whilst the Public Instruction Act makes liberal provision for the Churches to give religious instruction, the Churches for the more part are unable to avail themselves of it; and this, coupled with the