804 PKOCEKDmGS OF SECTION J. 



several years. Then politicians began to speak of the Department 

 as unwieldy, and claimed that it should be administered by a Minister 

 ot" the Crown. The cry of "Secular, compulsoiy, and free" education 

 was also vigorously raised in connection with a proposal to withdraw 

 State aid from the Denominational schools. After a well fought 

 political battle '' The Public instruction Act of 1880" was passed. 

 It provided that the Department should be placed under the control 

 of a Cabinet Minister, and that State aid to Denominational schools 

 should cease in 1882. But instead of making the education system 

 secular, it "made definite provision for the imparting of both general 

 and special religious instruction in the Public schools. 



Clause 7 of the Act provided that: "In all schools under this 

 Act the teaching shall be strictly non-sectarian, but the words 

 "Secular Instruction' shall be held to include general religious 

 teaching as distinguished from dogmatical or polemical theology." 



Clause 17, provided that: — 



'■ In ever}^ Public school four hours during each school day shall 

 be devoted to secular instruction exclusively, and a poi'tion of each 

 day, not more than one hour, shall be set apart when the children 

 of any one religious persuasion may be instructed by the clergjmaan 

 or other religious teacher of such persuasion ; but, in all cases, the 

 pupils receiving such religious instruction shall be separated from 

 the other pupils of the school. And the hour during which such 

 religious instruction may be given shall be fixed by mutual agree- 

 ment between the Public School Board, hi consultation Avith the 

 teacher of such school and the clergyman of the district, or such other 

 person as may be duly authorised to act in his stead, and any class- 

 room of any Public school may be used for such i-eligious instruction 

 by like agreement: provided that if two or more clergymen of 

 different persuasions desire to give religious instruction at any school 

 the children of each such different persuasion shall be so instiiicted 

 on dift'erent days. Provided also that the religious instruction to be 

 so given shall in every case be the religious instruction authorised 

 by the church to Avhich the clergyman or other religious teacher may 

 belong." 



Clause 18 provided that:- — 



....'■' No pupil in a Public school shall be required to receive 

 any general or special religious instruction if the parents or guardians 

 of such pupil object to such religious instruction being given." 



No actual change in the character or method of imparting 

 religious instruction in the schools took place in connexion with the 

 administrative changes that occurred. The old National School 

 Reading Books, and the " General Lesson" disappeared from the 

 schools, but the Scripture Lesson Books were retained. The existing 

 school readers contain many lessons on Scriptural subjects, including 

 historical narratives from the Old and New Testaments, and extracts 

 such as the " Sermon on. the Mount" and the " 23rd Psalm." 



It has always been recognised by both the Department and 

 teachers that the General and Special Religious teaching in the 

 Public schools is as much a part of the school ciu'riculum as reading, 

 writing, and arithmetic. For convenience sake in large schools 

 A\here there are several classi-ooms all the special religious instruction 



