ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VIII, Issue 2225, 15 December 1875, Page 3

ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL.

would enjoy themselves'during : the vacation, and;come back to'school at its reopening determined- to, make, still-greater, improvement', during, next year than they had last year.. ...... . , The examination of the higher or select Convent: School will be.held to-day, when those entrußted-:with their management : will be no doubt pleased to see : as many parents' and friends present : as can con-■ veniently attend.. ■ •"••• - -

An examination .of • the" ohildren of St. Joseph's Catholic School, Willoughbystreet, which is taught by. the Sisters of Mercy, took place yesterday afternoon; Besides the children, of which there were upwards of 160 girls and boys, all neatly dressed and looking by .no means intimidated by. the ordeal .which they had to undergo, there was quite a large attendance of ladies and gentlemen. Tie, Rev Father Ghastaghon presided, and amongst others present were Messrs John ' Gibbons, W; Sims, H. Mcllhone, W, Foughy, E. Twohill, G-. Bain, and Dod ; Mesdames iVfacdonald,Ehrenfried, Gillies, Avery, Partridge, Misses Gillies, Phillips,; and a large number of the parents and,' friends of the children. V The;proceedings• were commenced by Miss Annie Mcllhone reading an address thanking the visitors for their kindness in- attending, - and ■ the interest which was evinced; by them in their advancement and welfare.

The examination .was condaoted by the : Sisters of Mercy.'.' The. children* displayed a most., commendable order, and were evidently in' stricifc discipline. The :Intant -?chool waß first taken, one of ithe;;children.' reciting:; the ;" Magpie," 'after which ' they ( were... examined 'reading and • spelling,, andas-.'quitted-themselves ' very "A.' ! little boy ..about seven .years of age, Francis Murphy, recited' " The College Gown " ju' an admirablo manner. His pronunciation.was distinefc aud good, his' ■emphasis correct,!-and bis action by no means deficient; at : least, an excellent attempt was made to the action fo the word, and "the word to the action." His performance'; w'as : highly applauded. v The song of'" The' Minstrel Boy,"'by, the scholars, Miss Ginn leading on the barrendered. ;Tlie.second class .was "then examined jn: 'catechism, .and, showed' a 'thiojrougb'nci-' the; first class •displayed equal proficiency in the leading incidents of Scripture. The third class, underwent.a rigid .examination in arithmetic, /goo'graphyi'and .general subjects, including the namesV and "properties of

ninerals, .vegetables, &c,,. whoro they vere obtained* and their uses, and in this ospecfc they exhibited a" remarkablf mount of readiness. The song of tb ' Old House and the Old Tree," by al he children, was tastefully stibg, in gooi ime. The second class, in its esamina ion on the geography ,of JNew Zealand howed a knowledge of the leading fea ures of this country, the positions of tli jrovinceg, principal towns, &c.,'whicl airly, surprised the.listeners, many o phom would have been extremely-puzzl.ei f asked the questions to which these littli hildron gave such ready answers. The; eere also examined in grammar, an! übscquently recited " Innisfall." Th irst class examination was not. onb 'aried but searching, and a noticeabli eature was the proficiency which som< if the pupils, who were apparently de ective on some: particular, subject, dis )layed on others. For instance,' somi vho were rather nervous on geography vere quite at home on English history Che forte of others appeared to lie in cor ■ect parsing, and many of tho more ad ranced children displayed a readiness ii nental arithmetic which was, to say tin east, remarkable. This brought th< regular examination to a close, and, ti ihe credit of the ladies who conduct tbi ichopl, we must admit that it wai iminently satisfactory to the visitor; irestnt, and proved beyond question tii< :are and attention which they had be itowcd on the children attending tliii ichool. The song, " Home again," by thi ihildren was followed, by a number, o .•epilations, and concluded with a.dialogui iom " William Tell," the great shootinj scene, in which; Master Murphy, in th :ole of the hero, and Masters Dodd Twohill, and Smith, in othe: characters, fairly brought down the house [t was no recitation—it,was a stage repre sentation, the characters being dressei Tastefully, and the requisite. properties ncluding bow and arrows, apples, chain Sic., being, provided and used correctly 1 large,number of prizes were then dis iributed by the president much to. th latisfaction ■of the . recipients and thi jhildren generally. . V; . . TheEev. Chaibman said that those whi ivere present at the examination woulc aave noticed, from the answers of thi jhildren,-that they were well, grounded ii ihe rudiments of their, religion, and ii useful secular science they had not beei aeglected, as they would all agree tha the children had answored well on almos jvery subject—grammar, arithmetic listory, geography, and others'- so tha ;his proved that; religion did not clasl Jfith secular education; that the childr'ei mn receive a' good religious and'se 3ular educstion. In fact both ough to; go hand in hand, for the reasor thkt if. the religious' education of th< poung was neglected in a young colon] ike this religion would be lost. It wai 2ohsoling tosee at. the Thames that st many people were; religiously' inclined ind to see so many ohurch-going people What, he asked, was the reason of this! Because vthey. ha'd (been brought uf religiously pno way or another, anc ience they how continued' going to 3hurch on Sundays, but if tliey neglectec :o instil doctrine into the;, minds of .ohiliron they; would not.ljri ; religipusj/anc they would find' that' the :r churches woulc be deserted by the:'young' generation Ho.' would .say that ,the' present Ediv nation Aot/was' tyranny ind an oppression fofy "the .poor. The rich could ohoose the schools to whicl they would send theirah'ildron, but th< poor : are obliged to £$-4lieeducatior tax, and'are therefore' 'maoner com polled :to send their -'''Children« 1o th< Government schools, because '.Ihey could aot afford, after paying: thai' far, to paj for the. education of their 'children al jther schools. -The question of education was one of very greatf importance, and nc ioubt.the new Parliament would, give ii great conside'ratiori/ for otf the principles )f :educ.ation mainly depended the. welfare Df; the youth of tho colony. He woulc be; sorry to see any sect or denomination injured : .or tyrannised over, and he, as 8 Datholic Priest,-would raise his voici jgainsl it if it was to bo unjust to anj lehomination.' .But let the Wovernmenl say to each' denomination,. " You "builo ichools> ■ and - furhish; them with-propei teachers be under 11 the control of the 3pvern'ment : Inspector, ' and -let the Government Inspector have 'access to the schools to condiiiit'- on secular subjects', and with power : to' dissharge the teacher if ,he is not efficient.' That would.be only right, for if they die lot have efficient; teachers they would anly be misleading the public, and by the Government thus acting a considerable expenditure wiuld be saved in the erection jf 1 school. buildings - and other requisites, Why : should not'the Government- paj for their schools if the examinations were iatisfaotoi'y, and; why should not the Government pay for religious education r They paid for religious .'instruction'in the gaols/ where .they, found it did good to many, and helped to their reformationi But .the. Government say that it. was aever intended that" they should pay foi religious education.} . but why, if. thej provided as good a secular education .as Dthera, should they not [be supported f Eiet their schools be - examined by the johool examiner oh secular subjects, and if they were not up to the mark let. the Government say that the. teachers were aot efficient, and'lel- them then refuse to support them. On behalf of himself, and those present, he begged to thank the Sisters of Mercy; These good sisters bad-worked hard, - and were only sorry they could do no more. They do not look for earthly compensation, "but it must be a consolation!to them to have if acknowledged that 1 , they -had done bc muoh good. ' "He -hoped the children