£531,973.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 29, 16 November 1883, Page 15

£531,973.

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IE amount spent by Government on I education during the financial year 1882-83 was no less than £531,973. How many ..pupils, w^ie. taught for this sum ? We have purposely abstained from using the word educated — for, although we have what is officially called education, not even one pupil has been really educated under our system of public education. A second interesting enquiry would be, what are the conditions under which children can share in; this enormous expenditure M public money. In all schools— primary, secondary, and lollegiate ; native and European ; ordinary, industrial, and Kefonnatory there were in the c6«rse- I pfla.st, year 93,300 pupils. A paternal Government Jiaß';tberefore, spent nearly., six pounds sterling per head in, giving, instruction to children whose parents find themselves able in ' conscience- to avail themselves of an intensely sectarian system pf eduction aJKtne public expense. For it must < be . borne~;ih .^nindL that, over and above these 93,000 pupils-there were 10,002 pupils whose parents refused to send them to public schools, and whose education was provided for at the sole.expeijse of their parents and friends without the least aid from public funds Now, how comes it such a large number is compelled to forego the pecuniary advantages afforded by public schools ; and, after having contributed its share to the public burdens, feels itself under the necessity of undertaking the additional burden n of private schools. This arises from the conditions under which public education is carried on. All sections of the community are compelled to pay the expense of public education, or rather instruction, whereas the system of instruction provided is intended and arranged to meet the requirements of one, sect alone — the secular sect, and to exclude all others. It is true indeed that some others besides secularists avail themselves jof, it; and this accounts for the large numbers to be found in public schools. But large numbers of persons do this unwillingly , and. under protest. These, no doubt, tnink that , although they suffer a hardship, they may, tinder the circumstances, permit their children to frequent public schools without any very serious violation of conscience. , There are others, hpwever, amongst whom the overwhelming majority of the parents of these 10,000 children, who are to be found in private schools, are to, be .numbered, whose consciences compel them to make very great sacrifices to provide schools in which such an education is provided as meets^ their 'views. ■ ' - - / Considering these points, what is the inevitable conclusion? First, every idispassionate man "will concede that it is manifestly unjust and tyrannical 4o compel people, who, at their. own sole expense, provide an,. excellent education 'for their own children, to pay for the free and godless education of .the children of the secular sect and others who avail themselves of it,. It is plain, in thesecond place, that the secular sect has, through a combination bf circumstances, been enabled to trample, on the community and levy bluck-mail on their fellow-citizens. In the midst of a community, then, which boasts of its freedom, we fiud a veritable tyranny and a despotic and most, odious exercise of power on the part of a chance majority. ' ' There is another consideration which must also strike every man who seriously reflects on this state of things. It appears that there' are in the Colony-about 6'OjOOO families likely to have children (see : Hansav'd p. 606, JS 70.7 0. 2G; 1883), and it follows that to educate the children' of 120^000 men and women of the country,' all the other men and women arc heavily taxed. Now no one will deny that the education of children and the expense of it belong to their parents. Parents are the persons who are obliged to see that their children are properly educated and they are also the persons who should^bear the expense of such education. It is only in cases of inability to do so that the community at large can be justly called- upon to contribute towards . the maintenance of schools. If, tlien, the overwhelming majority of parents in this country are able to pay for 1 the entire education of their children, it is both unjust and impolitic for the Legislature co compel all to provide a free education for the children of well-to-do- people. It is impossible to gainsay this position. Nothing but ruin can come of perseverance in this insane attempt to

educate the -whole people at the public expense. A large number will never accept free and godless education for their children, and will most naturally bitterly resent "the tyranny and injustice that compels them to pay for such education of other people's children. -~ There is yet another view of the question. Something about between one-fifth and one-sixth of our ordinary revenue is annually spent on the free and godless education of the children of sixty thousand families. Contract this with what obtains in England. There, about onetwentieth of the revenue is devoted to school purposes,- and free education is provided only for such as are unable to, pay. But were England to establish a 1 system similar to purs, her entire revenue would not suffice to meet the expense. Notiiing can show more clearly how unwise our Legislature has been, and continues to be. Here, everything is sacrificed to a theory which cannot stand the test of reason and experience, and which • has succeeded m plundering and. tyrannising over a large section of the people. In England, rates and private effort come to supplement the public revenue— -or. rather, indeed, grants from public funds come to the aid of the rates and private efforts. There parents and denominations are expected to do what they can to educate the people, and there the Government cheers and encourages them by liberal grants to aid in the promotion of the public good. Here it is altogether the other way, and not only that, but everything is done to discourage private and denominational effort. The Government repudiates and apparently abhors all such effort, 'and, in order to do so the more efficaciously, imposes very heavy taxes upon the schools, etc., of all who have the courage and conscience to endeavour to save their children's faith and morals from the contamination of godless schools. Indeed, we are tempted to say that the devil, having escaped from the pit, has taken up his abode in the midst of popular school systems, where he is flattered, feted, and endowed by many of the Governments of the day. In England, scholarships and other premiums are open to all. Here only pupils of godless schools- can hold exhibitions provided by the public at large. There is something of wisdom in the ways of our colonial managers. They fear competition ; they desire that the number of those who would seek these rewards should be confined to one class. Perhaps they have taken warning by the news that annually comes to these shores from the old land, and of which the following, from the London Evening Mail, of September 14 of this year, is a specimen :—: — The results of the in termed iate examinations held in June last, which have been anxiously awaited by the canlidates and their friends, wei-2 published to-day. They show in a remarkable manner the extent to which the Act has been taken advaota^e of in the country, and the great impetus which it has given to high-class education. The competition for the valuable medals, exhibitions, and other prizes, which have offered an incentive to study, have been very keen, and the answering has been very high, and in some instances indicated distinguished ability and assiduous application on the part of the students. The number of bays examined was— of the prescribed age, 1383 ; over age, 154. The number that passed was— of the presciibed age, 2,766 ; over age, 85. The number of girls who competed was—of the prescribed age, 1,100 ; over age, 25 ; the number who passed— of the prescribed age, 878 ; over age. 15. The prescribed ages, whether for boys or girls were — in the junior grade, under 16 ; in the middle grade, 17 ; and in the senior grade, 18. The largest number of the higher distinctions were attained by stndents of the Koman Catholic schools. The first place, with a gold medal and a prize value £ 10, was won by Mr. Henry C. M'Weeny son of the chief of the reporting staff of the Freeman's Journal. '

It would never do to have their precious pets compelled to compete xvith the pupils of Catholic schools. 'J heir chances of success would be thereby considerably lessened. No, the object and end of our present system of education is not so much the education of the people as the exclusion of Catholics from the benefits of education — for Government schools and Government aid can only be availed of by them on the condition of their disloyalty to their consciences and endangering their faith.

In concluding this, there is one more reflection we may make. These Catholic colleges which have prepared this great majority of the highest prize men, though absolutely unaided by Government in any way, have had to compete with richly endowed schools and colleges which, nevertheless, they have well thrashed. Might not a suggestive and important lesson be derived from this ? Docs it not go to prove that the efficiency of a school and college, after all, does not very much depend upon large endowments. Here in Ireland we find, on the one hand, schools and colleges only recently

estabhshearowing to the terrible penal lawj wliich^made" the education of Catholics a crime of high treason, to be punished by hanging, quartering, and drawing, and totally unaided by pubhc funds. of any kind j and on, the other, schools and colleges of old foundation, and lavishly endowed : and after a keen contest and competitive examination, tlje result is the Catholic colleges and schools have, gained the greater number of the highest prizes. !sut here the. Catholics are denied all chance. Our children are forbidden by the conditions laid down by our education authorities to compete with the pupils of godless schools for any priae... Any thing more selfish, unjust and tyrannical than the New Zealand system of education cannot be imagined unless, indeed j a return, be made to the bad old penal laws. , ."