ABSURDITY THAT IS WICKED.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 34, 21 December 1883, Page 15

ABSURDITY THAT IS WICKED.

3T content with liberating parents from their obligations to undergo the expense of the education of their children, and compelling the community at large to contribute to provide luxuries in the way ot schools for children of well-to-do people, whilst excluding the most deserving from all share in the expenditure of public money on education, the zealous patrons of the present education system are busily employed in the additional amiable work of tcachiug pride and engendering envy. To the other absurdities of our education system we now find superadded an official glorification of an association of Duces, or, if you will, Duxs, of the Girls' High School, Dunedin. What will the other girls say to this ? The merits of a dux of a class are not necessarily so trauscendant as to deserve to be commemorated for all time, and held up in contrast to that of another girl who perhaps came second, and only lost the place of dux by the merest accident. Indeed, the experience of the world shows that success in school and college does not always, or even very often, prove the superior merits of school and college heroes and heroines. Some of the greatest names on the rolls of literary fame were anything but duces in school and college, for example, Goldsmith and Swift ; and many more whose names are

immortal were failures in their youth, whilst many of the most successful in their early days, not only sank into oblivion but became positively pests of society. An association of successful pupils, to the exclusion of all who were not successful in their school days is not only a ludicrous absurdity, but as it must minister to vulgar and inane pride, is wicked, mischievous, and clearly establishes what experts knew already, that in the administration of our education system, whilst there is a great deal of gush and fuss, there is little wisdom, and much that is mischievous. We notice that the examinations for a large number of valuable scholarships, so valuable, indeed, that a real scholar would not disdain to compete for such were they to be obtained where genuine learning is to be found, are going on this week in Dunedin and elsewhere. But here as in other respects the exclusiveness, one-sidedness, and selfistiness of our education system are apparent. These scholarships, provided at the expense of the general public, are appropriated exclusively to successful candidates from the public schools. The pupils of Catholic schools, although Catholics are compelled to contribute towards providing these scholarships, are excluded. This is a monstrous and tyrannical injustice, against which we energetically protest, although, for the present, at least, we know that our protest is in vain. We are met by the answer that the public schools are open to all. But our reply is, so are the Protestant Churches, and the High School, Dunedin, where alone those who win these scholarships must be educated, is as distinctly a Protestant school as, for example, the Christian Brothers' schools are Catholic. In the High School everything is Protestant — the Board of Governors, whose chairman is a Protestant clergyman, the Rector, Lady Principal, Professors, the books. To emphasise its characteristically Protestant spirit the business of class is daily commenced with prayer said by a Protestant in the Protestant form. And yet this exclusively Protestant establishment was entirely erected, and is supported in great part, by public funds.