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December, 1889. ^% PRIMARY EDUCATION. 1 have thought it might be well to publish in a separate form the remarks I made to tiie Synod on the subject of Primary Education. In addressing the Sjmod I did not think it desirable to discuss the probabh' change in the method of administration. I confined myself to the question of religious teaching. But identified as 1 have been from the beoinning with the past administration of oui- Provincial system of eutting the matter. There is mueli in the present system, that is objectionable, that could be removed. Under proper restiictions I see a measure of justice and no injnstict^ in se|;arate schools, and I do not think that it will be easy to do away with them. However the Roman Catholic authorities ma}'^ approve of the subjects of religious teaching that Protestants would agree upon, they will accept no teachers but their own. The great majority of Ro- man Catholic children will, therefore, be sent to their own private schools, however inferior, rather than to State schools not under Roman Catholic instructors, whether there be religious teav^.hing in them or not. If 'there is no religious teat iiing there will be but the stronger expression of dislike. The day will come when one, if not both political parties, will discover that it is undesirable foi* the State to have this infer- ior secular instruction, and unju.st to the Roman Catholic .section of the community, that while getting no State al ^. for its private schools it should have to contribute to the support of the State schools. And the separate schools will reappear — possibly in an objectionable form. If Protestants allow the threat- ened secularization v)f the public schools, they luay expect to see in a few years these two classes of State schools — Roman Catholic and .secular. Will that be satisfactory :" It is .sometimes said that the religious teaching at present in the Prote.stant schools does not amount to much. It is still far from sufficient, but there has been a gradual improvement. The Protestant Board of Education has, however, never l)een chosen to represent l-he opinions of the churches. I have been all along aware that several of tiie memb(n-s did not share my views — at one time certainly I would have been in a small minority. But I have always regard- ed an attitude unfriendly to religious teaching in the schools for our children as so unnatui-al for religious men that I have hoped for the gradual overcoming of prejudices so that a more satisfactory system might be introduced. As long as the school law ])laced no obstacle in the way of the adoption of a fuller .system of religious instruction I felt able to work on thi> Board, and look forward to this. 1 am, indeed, per- fectly .satisfied with the religious subjects now pre- scribed for the Protestant section. I wish for nothing more — tmly I desire them not only read or learned by heart but taught. And till this is the ca.se, I nmst con- .sider the religious teaching of our schools insufficient. THE KXTRACT KUOM Ar)DRp:.SS TO THE .SYNOD. But higher education is not everything, and to-day there are circumstances that oblige me to i-efer to ))rinuiry education. Though we have not now any Primary Schools, it is not liecause, in view of the Church such schools are of small injportance. The day was when we had a Church primai'V .school, wlier- ever we had a clergyman. That was our i^ositioii, when this Province was tran.sferred to Canada and it seems probable that the Dominion intended to recog- nizee such efforts in thc^ past and to protect the school interests, that then existed. But our Church saw such advantages in a national svstem of schools, and such reason to have confidence in the administration of it, that it went heartily into it, trusting that the sch(Jol,s wiaild be worthy of a Christian people and give an education in which the first, namely the reliijious, interests of the children would not he lost sight of". And I ma}' say that the only reason wluch has led me for so many years to give up time that I could ill spare, to be a member of the Board of Education, has been the hope that by conciliatcny action I might help in securing a measure of religious instruction reason- ably satisfactory at once to ourselves and the other religious bodies. The Roman Catholic Church alone continued to liave separate schools. I may be mistaken, but I am of opinion that this privilege lias been so worked as to Ji'ive it an undue denominational advantage. I mean that in being enabled to supply the primary education of its membeis, it has been helped to give cheaply a higher education, that has drawn to it Protestant children, more particularly girls. If separate schools are aided by the State, I think the State should have the same securities for a sound secular education as in its other schools. Although there are separate schools in England there is only one Council of Education ; there are common (qualifications for all teachers ; there is one system of inspection and one body of inspectors — there is one cours(.' of education. Further, in England sepaiate schools ordy receive the share of the Goverinnent grant. Thev get nothing from rates. This part of theii- support has iu be supplied by voluntary contributions. If this pio- vision be not adopted here, at any rate it should be seen that tli^ue is no opening for such an abuse as I have suggestecl. However desii'able one system of national education may be, 1 think that the system of se|)arate schools, as it exists in England, assures to the State the education it should re(|uire, and is at the same time eminently just, and one that should be open to any religious body. The notice given to the Protestant Superintendent of Education has prepared us for some modification of tlie method of administration. But on this I do not care, as Bishop, to address you. I would simply say that I coiisider that the best way for the adminis- tration of our scljools would be to adopt the English plan. In that case one of the ministers would occupy the ])osition, which I have had the honor to fill for so many years and preside over the Board of Education. He could thus represent and carry out the policy of the Government without any great call on his time while a permanent official, a competent scholar, well acquainted with educational questions and methods, as Deputy Minister oi- Superintendent of Education, could be the real administrator, and a small board of independent gentlemen, conversant with education, could still be responsible for the decisions come to. But a more serious question is that of the education to be given in our common schools. It is certainly most desirable that the people of this country should be thoroughly amalgamated. I, therefore, greatly prefer that the young people of our communion should be educated with the other young })eople, with whom they will afterwards work. But we must ask what is the education to bo gi\'en ? Is it to be an education, that will keep out of view those Divine sanctions, which are the real foundation of morality, an educa- tion that is to take no notice of that, to which we owe our modern civilization and from which we re- ceive the hope of our life — our Christian faith. I V)elieve that such an education will in the end be a poor one both for the individual and the nation. The Bible reiterates, "The fear of the Lord is the be- ginning of knowledge," and again, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." The noble question that opens the Westminster Shorter Catechism — oni' of the standards of the Presbyterian churches, is "what is the chief end of man?" And the answt>r is " To glorify Cod and to enjoy Him for ever." It seems a miserable education for the future of the man that could ignore the very end of his being. Education should be a training for the future help and guidance of the iiian in all his interests. In the ))resent day it is too much the notion that education is the fiUiny; of the mind with information on all 6 possible subjects that may come in usefully, and every science and branch of knowledge puts in its claim, but after all the true education is not so much a lay- ing in of facts as the training of the the mind for its future exercise and can that be called a wise and true training, that loses sight of the most important princi- ples for the guidance of the man ? Those who most value education, who most recognize and appreciate its tremendous power, cannot but be constrained by their sense of the danger of any defect in this. I would call attention to an important passage in the report of the late Royal Commission on Primary Education appointed in England in 1866. This Com- mission contained leading men of all the chief re- ligious bodies and included prominent advocates of secular schools. But though they differed on many questions and especially on the wisest way of impart- ing religious knowledge, they agreed in one most re- markable conclusion. "That whilst we desire to secure fur the children in the public elementary schools the best and most thorough instruction in secular subjects, suitable to their years, and in har- mony with the recjuirements of their future life, we are also unanimously of opinion that their religious and moral training is a matter of still higher import- ance alike to the children, the parents and the nation." If this be admitted the first practical question .seems to be how can this religious and moral training be best secured in the interest of the nation. And the conclusion of the minority, who favored more or less a secular system, seems sti'ange — that the State is bound to })romote the best secular knowledge, but that it is no concern of the State to s 'e after the other — no concern to see after that which is admitted by them to be of the first importance for children, parents, and the nation. Various classes of objections have been raised to religious worship and teaching in primary schools, but only one seems to me a serious one, and that is, that it is not feasible on account of our divided Christianity. Other oltjections seem to me without force in view of the greatness of. the desired end. ThoHe alleging want of reality and the encourage- ment of hypocrisy would, I fear, equally apply to family worship and divine service. Those pointing to a lessening of the regard for the Bible are mainly imaginary. I attended a school where there was daily Bible instruction; I also attended a Sunday school, and 1 am perfectly unconscious of any differ- ence with regard to the Bible in the two cases of any lessening of reverence or regard for the Bible from there being lessons from it in daily school, on the part of myself or any one having those lessons. Objections setting forth want of qualification on the i)art of the teachers simply point to another remedy, where this is felt to be the case. I have full ccmhdence in the body of teachers in this province ; and we may expect still greater reason for confidence when the country passes out of its pioneer stage. The minority of the English commission admit as regards England " it is with exceptional pleasure that we recall the deep im- pression which has been made upon us by the high moral (juality of most of the teachers, whom we have examined." It will be the fault of the country if this is not the testimon3^ that we have a right to expect. I am sure that ordinarily we should all be only too glad of the help of the present teachers in our Sun- day schools. As the eminent Principal of Queen's (Tniversity, Dr. Grant, lately said : " If the teacher is an unwoi'thy ii.acitv, and inclination." In how nmny a home would one or more or these necessary conditions be wanting (' Alas ! Tn the.se busy days in how few homes would they be com- bined !' The instruction in Sunday schools is of course of great value, but that value is immeasurably increased where there is careful instruction in the day school. But at best it would be very partial in its extent and often, as we have reason to regret, not very efficient. As regards England, the Commis- sioners report " that the evidence does not wai'rant the conclusion that religious and moi'al training can be amply ))rovide(l otherwise than through the medium of elementary schools. That in the case of a considei'able number of childi-en, if thev do not re- ceive religious instruction and training from the teachers in the public elementary schools, they will receive none, and that this wouM be a matter of gravest concern to the State." It is true that in this country the full effect of a secular .system of education will not be inmiediately felt. We have a tine body of settlers. Then^ pro- bably is no town in which the peopl(> attend church better than in VViimipeg. I presume that in our present towns most of the children attend Sunday School, and though in the countrj' districts they can only to a limited extent do this owing to the distance of children from Sunday Schools, yet the feeling would be in favor of attendance. But this country will not always be in this happy condition. We must look forward to larger populations and careless classes, as seen not only in the old countries of 11 Europe, but in the United States. And then tlie re- sult will be deplorable. We see in France seculai- education in its full development. " Not only is no word of reliofion taught, but tl'e very name of God is in strictness forbidden to be uttered." Ts it strange that unbeliexer.s themselves almost tremble for the future of that country. The master of one of the schools in Paris, hiiuself a professed materialist, when (questioned .said that he believed that in 10 years few of the boys in his school would even know the name of Christ otherwise than as a matter of lii.story, and that he himself even viewed with apprehension the conse(|uences of .such a chano-e, for although a materialist, he felt by no n)eans eei'tain that material- isiu would be capable of sup|)lying the wants of a nation. But it may be thought that thare is no danger in a British colony of going on to this extreme. It is, dear brethren, only the legitimate en." But it is given in a nnitilated form. The tonchin«!' .•-tanza of the child in its distress has l)een cut out : " Then the maiden clasped hei hands and prayed that .'^aved she might be. And sjic thonglit of Christ, who stilled thr wave on the Lake of Calilee." it is said by an Australian c(mtributoi' to the Lon- don Spectator that all similar references to (Jhrist and (/hristianity have been removed, and that Messrs, 1 1 12 Nelson (fc Sons, the publishers, have hatl to publish special editions of their school series for this colony, carefully purged of all taint of Christian fact and sentiment. Thus that blessed name, which is aliove every name, is practically treated like an improper passage in a heathen Latin writei*. Surely a Christian may well say that an enemy hath rlone this. It was not by such faint-hearted Christianity, that our religion spread in its first days and our fathers got the faith. In face of such a fact we may well ask, are we, the Chi'i.stians of to-day, at ail awiikc to the preciousness of what has been committed to i.s ? Do we understanroper to withhold the information which is absolutely necessary fur the intelligent reading of all our literature ! Fancy a reader of Milton ignorant of the facts o\' the Bible : I have left myself little space to spuak of that, which is the leally formidable objection that it is not feasible with oui- divided Christianity to form- ulate a scheme of ndigiou.s teaching, which will be acceptable to all the religious 1 todies. With re- gard to this I simply say tliat I think there shouki be no ditiieulty in drawing uj) a scheme, givin<'- a very considerable— to my mind n very ade(|uate — amount of religious teaching, which should not be inconsistent with the teaching of any of the chief Ixidies. In the first place, 1 give n'ly entire adhe- sion to the ftillowing resolution, which 1 unther nend Holy b for n of