The Government wishes to divorce education from religion. Religious badlies hold that if the required system is the best for securing mote general knowledge of the nature of the soil or other natural forces (auch as in the study of chemistry fand physics) it may alco be the best method within certain limits of course, of securing a more general Knowledge of a yet more important subject, the moral and religious experience of the human race. Certainly there is no more. significant. fact for education than to consider the moral and religious ind experiences and ideals of the human race. Even required attendance at religious services is. no more compulsory than required attendance military drill, because the individual who attends the school in question wat never compelled to come. His wholly voluntary act. were then, three basic First, those who contribute their support to x private institution have right to their motives and to state certain conditions.
Second, the Government of any country has a right to accept oF "o refuse these conditions, except that tse moral right would depend upon we reasonableness of the requirements.
Third, the contributing bodies cither local or existing abroad, have the right to withdraw their support as a moral protest if they see fit. By so doing, China's sovereignty is recognized and frankly admitted.
Not Defiance of China believe that with the above iples most of the educational leaders in China are in sympathy. But there is a difference in policy Most of the colleges in China have agreed to the dictation of the Government in their religious policy, even though "they regard this dictation as an infringement upon group rights.. The trustees of Hangchow College have decided to close, not in defiance of China's sovereignty, but with an admission of this sovereignty, and also as a moral protest to the unnecessarily harrow restrictions involved in the present regulations of the Nationalist Ministry of Education.
The Field Board of Directors, th: faculty, both Chinese and foreign. and myself, have concurred in holding an opinion contrary to that of the Trustees in one respect. Regardless of the relative merits of the required and" voluntary system of religious instruction, we have fel that since missionary effort i China was for the time being so closely associated with the unequal treaties, it would be better to yield to the demands of the Central
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.