CATHOLIC BCHOOLS WINNING HONOURS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVIII, Issue 2, 9 May 1890, Page 19

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WINNING HONOURS.

(The Irish World, March 29.)

Borne time ago the Irish World noted the fact that in a competition for a West Point cadetship, open to pupils of tho public and Catholic schools, the successful competitor was a student from the Da La Salle Institute on Fifty-ninth s'reet, New York City, while the half-a-dozen wbo attained tho highest percentage in the examination were also members of Catholic schools. The circumstance attracted some attention at the tima, as indicating that the system of teaching and tbe proficiency attained under the training of the Christian Brothers are able to not only compare but to compete with those of the public Bchools. A few weeks ago there was another illustration of this, equally as significant as the other. A public examination was held in the district of Congressman John H. McCarthy, of New York City, of competitors for a cadetship in the Naval Academy of Annapolis, Maryland. There were twenty applicants from the public and parochial schools. The six highest percentages were attained by itudents from St. James's and St. Mary's parochial schools, In the district of Congressman Amos J. Cummings a similar examination, held in Public School, No. 19, on Ea^t Fourteenth street, resulted in a similar victory for students of De La Salle Institute, the Immaculate Conception, and St. Brigid's parochial schools. In another examination Edward D. Dowhng and John J. Kearney, of Bt. Peter's parochial school, headed the list of those examined. The studies upon which the examinations were had were those taught in the regular grammar schools, and the uniform splendid showing made by the scholars taught in the parochial schools under the skilful training of the Christian Brothers is in itself a vindication of the Christian schools against the misrepresentations of their bigotted opponents, and shows that the attention given to the moral training of the children in those schools does not prevent them from attaining the highest standard of excellence in the subjects covered by the public schools. The right of the parents to take advantage of the school where the moral training of their children is properly attended to cannot be seriously contested, especially so long as in public examinations on secular studies the students of those schools will persist in carrying off the honours. The New York Times is right in saying that the worst enemies of the public schools are those Protestant zealots who are continually endeavouring to make them instruments of proselytism and antiCatholic teaching.