THE EDUCATION QUESTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5364, 25 January 1879, Page 5

THE EDUCATION QUESTION.

THE CATHOLIC rOSITION. We have received two long ietters on the altore subject, bat we canuo; afford room to print them entire. From one of them, signed " Dion Snip," wo give the following exXow, ill the fnsfc place, I must disabuse the mind of your correspondent " 11." of the presumption that Roman Catholics ask any State aid f' r the teaching of their religion. Nothing of the kind. Jlomau Catholics generally would be the lirst t- reject auy such aid, even were it proffered They know well the dangers to which their religion ■would be exposed if it received Government assist! nee, and that their Church exhibits a stronger vitality and vigour where it has t" depend solely on tlie spontaneous support of its adherents. We do not want any .State Church lure, no more than other sec tionn of our fellow-colonists, and would strenuously rosist any encroachmju. by the State on the domain of religion The State has a ri.;ht to r> quire that all itn subjects shall receive a certain amount of secular instruction ; but, believing that the secular is only one element of education, and not the most important, "we cannot permit the State to monopolise the whole education of our children, and c 'mpel us to seud them to schools in which only a portion of th-ir faculties will be developed. Wo therefore say, we will perform what the State has a right to require ours- Ives, —we will fullil the task which the State wishes to undertake. Hut our children require more than (hat. Xofc only do they want a sufficient amount of secular knowledge to make thern capable of being • flioi nt bat thoy want the higher faeulti-a of their nature propirly disciplined, and their minds cast in a religions mould, in order that their aspiration may soar above mere aninal existence to their legitimate centre and fulfilment, Gol. We only ask that if we achieve certain educa tional results in our schools, if wo prove to the satisfaction of Government inspectors and examiners that our children, whom we educate in our own way, possess a certain amount of secular knowledge, then that a reasonable proportion of the mon«y devoted to educational purposes shall be given io ue. In England, we see that the spirit of voluntaryism is encouraged and supported by the Government of the country, and with the most salutary results. Were the British Government to monopolise education as our Government here is seeking to do, they would have to pay to educate the same number of children now attending the schools there, over £3 230.G5S per milium beyond their present educational expenditure, not to talk of the cost of school buildings. I have based my calculation upon certain figures given in the speech of Lord G. llau,ilt)U, on the education estimates, delivered in the House of Commons on August Bth last. It is well-known that lioman Catholics cannot avail themselves of the present Education Act; it would be a violation of their principles to do so. Their Church has repeatedly and unequivocally condemned secularism, as being destructive to faith aud morality, and therefore they are compelled {.o make the greatest sacrifices to provide separate schools for their children. And I ask, is it according to the imperi-liable principles of right and justice that they should not only be denied all asdstance from the State in their great and heroic work, but that they should be further compelled to pay for the support of a hostilo syntem of education, —a syntem which they abhor, and which they believe is calculated to sap the foundations of this fair and promising land ? What we are concerned with is the fact that secular education is onpoaed by 00,000 of the inhabitants of New Zealand on the highest ground,—that of religious principle, and the question for solution is, cannot some concession be made which, while retaining the supremacy of the Government over the educational system, will satisfy the scruples and allay the agitation of so powerful a minority. On the grounds of justice, liberty, I peace,and economy this question imperatively demands the immediate and dispassionate consideration of our statesmen.