THE SITUATION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 34, 18 December 1885, Page 15

THE SITUATION.

§UDGING from the letter of the Hon. the Treasurer to the people of Lawrence and the speech of the Premier at Balclutha, we think the Government is disposed to inaugurate a spirited policy calculated to lead on to a new era of prosperity. And there can be little doubt that Sir Juliub Vogbl would, if public opinion permitted him, soon develope a scheme which would lay the foundation of another period of progress. He is an able politician, and a statesman of immense intellectual resources, financially, politically, and socially. A great deal, to ba sure, has been said of late about the indebtedness of the Colony. But everyone who is dispassionate, and capable of forming a sound juigment on the question, knows that the present depression does not arise from indebtedness, but from the low prices of produce, and the impossibility of finding a good market for our wheat, oats, wool and meat. And were it not for the policy recommended by Sir Jcliub Vogel, in 1870, the depression of which everyone is now complaining would be deeper and more harassing. In fact, if this policy had not been adopted, our position would now be a poor one indeed. But it is objected that, to carry out JSir Julius' policy as shadowed forth in his letter to the Lawrence people, additional taxation will be necessary. This is a gratuitous assertion. No additional taxation is necessary. At the present moment, notwithstanding the depression, multitudes of people are making money. 1 he deposits in our various banks prove thif

Is it fair to the community that these people's children should be receiving their education, at the public expense ? It is right, indeed, that children whose parents have no work, or no present means of paying school fees should have free education. But the State is not called upon to provide free schools for the children of well-to-do people. If, then, well-to-do people would onlj pay as they should, for the education of their children, at least one half of the money now annually spent on education could be saved to the State, and thus £250,000 per annum could be set free for the realization of Sir Jctlius Vogel'b policy. In this event six millions sterling could be borrowed for public works without the imposition of a single shilling of additional taxation. And would not this do much for the welfare and progress of the Colony. The only answer that can be given to this is that education would suffer ; this, however, is not a valid answer. For if well-to-do people will not discharge their duty to their children, they should be compelled to do it, and taught that they must not any longer look to their fellow citizens, many of whom are in a worse position than themselves, to pay largely towards the free education of their children. Throughout the English-speaking world, Catholics, the poorest portion of the community, provide excellent schools for their own children, and notwithstanding the persistent assertions to the contrary, their schools are more efficient than the schools supported and even pampered by the Government. The results of competitive examinations everywhere prove this. In Ireland, for example, boys and girls from the unendowed Catholic schools and colleges carry off sixty per cent, of all prizes, and this shows the absurdity of the system which expends the entire education resources of the Government on its own pampered schools. Again, the other day in New South Wales, schools of all sorts and denominations sent up children to be examined for the civil service ; of these only eight passed, and of these eight, six were the pupils of St. Mary's schools, Sydney, conducted by the Sisters of Charity. Here purely denominational schools, not only unaided by Government, but actually discouraged by Government, have beaten in open competition, all the schools endowed and subsidised by Government. .What, then, is the meaning of squandering such vast sums of public money to no purpose on schools for the children of well-to-do people, and at the same time allowing people to perish for want of employment? — employment which this wasted money could so easily provide. We sincerely hope that our fellow citizens will cast away the veil of prejudice, and open their eyes to a common-sense view of the situation.