By Jouy Although the Ministry of Educa tion has denied the petition of the Churches for the repeal of the restrictions against religious educa~ tion and worship in Church schools and has affirmed that its decision is final, may I be allowed to remind the Ministry that no question is er settled until it is settled right, I desire to associate myself unreservedly with the petition which requested that certain portions of Chapter I Article of the Regulations for the control of private schools should be amended so as not to forbid voluntary religious exercises and instruction in higher schools nor any' religious exercises in primary schools. I would go further than the petition. and would suggest the withdrawal of the whole article so as to allow private schools to establish their own rules religious instruction and religions exercises. I do not wish to enter into a controversy with the Ministry of Education whose chief is a friend of many years' standig, but I am convinced that its decision has been taken without duc consideration and consultation with interested parties, In spite of the seriatim reply to the points raised in the petition, there seems to me no good reason why private schools should not be allowed to require religious instruction and attendance upon religious exercises. 'The state should not establish' nor contribute to the support of such schools, but if private individuals to'maintain them 1 know of no valid reason based upon public policy which can be adduced against this ae No parent or guardian is obliged to send a child to such a school but ihe chooses to do so he should be allowed to act in accordance with the dictates of his conscience.
There are Christian families in China who desire to have their children taught the precepts of the Christian religion in school and who also want regular religious exercises conducted such as. their children are accustomed to attend when living at home. These ci should not be forbidden to establish the kind of schools most agreeable to their wishes, This is even more important for families of the Roman Catholic than of Protestant faith. The Christian precepts taught in such schools contain nothing derogatory to later duties as citizens of the fate and the siate is not justified in prohibiting the teaching of them. This statement applies also to the large number of Mohammedan schools scattered throughout the gauntry and to the new school being started by revivified Buddhist congregations, Tam not attempting to say that these schools are ideal. My own preference is for the American Public school system where religion is taught. But public schools supported by general taxation are one thing and private schools established by private contributions are another. The teaching of religion in private schools should be as untrammelled as the troduction of new teaching methods. like the Montessorian, Fublic schools should make no requirements which are not applicable to all classes of society but in private schools specialized instruction should be not only allowed but also encouraged.
Much of the progress of present generations in teaching methods has been due to experiments cams private schools supported by private individuals who have contributed special funds for the purpose in addition to paying their shure of taxation for ordinary public schools. Allow me to repeat that no one is obliged to send his child to any private school, but if chooses to do so in full knowledge of the requirements of the school, the state should not inter-fore with the liberty of the school by requiring it to exclude specialized instruction such as that in religious subjects." The apparent purpose of the Regulation is to forbid religious Hropagands in Private Schools but would point out that the Regulation itself is a species of propaganda disagreeable to a certain section of the citizenry to which religious liberty has been guaranteed.
If this kind of governmental interference in the control of private schools could be justified, the state might carry the principle one step further and forbid preaching or worship in churches establish-and supported by private contributions. Such an attempt would not. be tolerated by the general public, is equally true that the provisions of the Regulation which I am discussing do not commend themselves to the good judgment of the average man." This could be readily proved by a canvas of the naimes of the students for the last ten years in St. John's, Shanghai Nanking or Hangchow Colleges, even when religious instruction was a required subject in their curricula, Here would be found sons of many of the best-known families in China. Such a canvas of any of the Ministries would also show, that a good proportion of its members received their education in Church schools.
The international aspect of this question must not be overlooked. Funds for the establishment of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.