EDUCATIONAL PETITION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XV, Issue 25, 14 October 1887, Page 13

EDUCATIONAL PETITION.

The following petition from the Catholics of Wellington is about to be presented to both Houses of Parliament :—

" That Catholics are required by their faith to hold and do reasonably and conscientiously hold that their children should be taught in school religion and morality along with secular knowledge ;

' That, consequently, the piesent purely secular system of education, as established under the Education Act of 1877, is utterly repugnant to their conscientious convictions ; " That, nevertheless, they are constrained to pay taxes for the Bupport of a system of which they cannot avail themselves, except when and where the establishment and maintenance of a Catholic school are a sheer impossibility ; '' That, while they are compelled to contribute to maintain a system of State Education from which they derive no adequate advantage, they receive no State aid for the highly-organised and most efficient schools which they approve, and which they have erected and maintain throughout the Colony at great cost and sacrifice, affording thereby a sound educatiou with careful moral training to thousands of children, and thus practically saving annually for the State many thousands of pounds ; "That, accordingly, they feel naturally and reasonably aggrieved at such unfair treatment, not to say galling injustice ; " That they are of opinion that this grievance would be effectually redressed, and the finances of the Colony greatly relieved, by State grants in aid to denominational schools ior secular knowledge only, up to the requm-d standard under Government inspection : " Your petitioners therefore respectfully pray Your Honourable House to take the premises into consideration with the view of affordng such relief as in your wisdom may seem fit."