A PUZZLE, AND FUNNY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 26, 17 October 1884, Page 17

A PUZZLE, AND FUNNY.

te - jSpS^Sv HE people of New Zealand are supposed to live < £»|j||\^ under a representative form of government, and j3uMs& to possess a right to a hearing in Parliament for jS^llflK^ their claims. There is, no doubt, a popular 3JRjg|j£ prejudice to this effect ; but it is quite certain that such a right is not recognised so far as •W*^ Catholics are concerned. For many years Catholics have petitioned Parliament for common justice on the education question, but in vain. Their petitions have been systematically derided, in fact ignored ; and their claims ignominiously rejected. In reality they have, as it were, been huddled out of tho House of Bepresentatives with evident signs of impatience and even anger, not that many advocates of justice are not there ; but the majority is adverse, prejudiced, unjust, and tyrannical, and Parliament takes its character from the mnjority. Last session a joint committee j of both Houses sat, but when it seemed likely that this committee would report favourably on Catholic claims an addition was made to ifc of men known to be adverse, for the purpose of preventing a favourable report. In fact, to use a phrase only too well known to Catholics, the committee was so manipulated as to become a packed committee, for the pmpose of perpetuating a monstrous injustice. This session has been still more remarkable. A greater number of petitions, having a greater number of signatures, was presented to both Houses on the part of Catholics, and what is the result ? Nothing, not even a report, for or against, by the Petitions Committee. This Committee, with a striking cowardice, merely say in their report to the House of Representatives that Catholics have presented petitions in reference to education and that they have no recommendation to make, and the House takes no notice. And thus the injustice of which they complain so frequently and so bitterly continues ; and Catholics are still compelled to pay for the free and godless education of other people's children. This is an old penal law under a new form. Formerly Catholics were compelled to pay for the maintenance of the Protestant religion, and, in addition, to pay large fines for absenting themselves from a worship they abhorred. Here and now Catholics are compelled to pay for a system of education they detest, and in addition are liable to be fined for not sending their children to be educated under this system. It is the old tyranny, the old injustice, the old penal law only modified as to the change of education for worship. But this change is for the woise, — The effortß of

the tyrants and bigots of former days was to break the spirit and coerce the wills of grown men and women, the efforts . now is to darken the minds and pervert the wills of poor little children so that they may either not know, or knowing the claims of the Catholic religion^ they may contemn them. The primary object of godless education is to destroy the Catholic religion, and the Parliament and Government of this country compels Catholics to pay money to sustain a system that has been established to destroy the faith of their children.

; This is Thursday, and in this mprning's Times we see it stated that a Mr. GK P. Bell, in a lecture recently delivered at Ravensbourae, told his audience that it would be a grievous injustice to the community to do otherwise than compel Catholics to pay for the godless education of other people's children. We do not know who Mr. G. P. Bell is ; but we suppose U. P. stands for Great Pundit; and so we shall designate him in order to leave out of this article the name Bell, as there are many of ,tbat name in this city. Well, then, the Great Pundit holds ,jty .would be an injustice to grant Catholic claims. What are 'Qatholic claims ? Simply that they should have their own , nkoney for their own schools. The Great Pundit thinks this is an unjust claim. He must have a vocabulary for his own special use. How it can be an injustice to give a man his own is beyond our comprehension. Again, Catholics demand that they shall not be compelled to. pay for the free and godless education of other people's children. The Great Pundit hol-is that to permit Catholics to be exempt from a forced contribution to provide free and godless education for other people's children, would be a monstrous injustice to the godless. Well, all we can say is that there is no end to the aberrations and follies of the human intellect. But Parliament, as is evident, seems to agree with the Great Pundit, for it persistently refu3ts Catholics all redress, and perseveres in com^ pelling them to pay for the free and godless education of other people's children. We are to have no redress, it appears, and shall have to continue to contribute money to maintain a system of education expressly intended by its original promoters to first weaken the Catholic religion, and ultimately destroy it. The times, therefore, in which we live are not so far removed from the spirit and legislation of the "bad penal days as some people would have us believe.