PRIVATE SCHOOLS BILL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIX, Issue 42, 24 July 1891, Page 17

PRIVATE SCHOOLS BILL.

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HIS Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives by Mr G. Hutchison last week, and its second reading was rejected by a majority of fifteen. This is discreditable to Parliament anr* i impolitic in the extreme. But it is not discouraging to us Catholics. The Private Schools

Bill practically concerns us principally because the Catholic is the only denomination in the country which is making or has iuade an effort to provide Christian schools. The lejection of this Bill iray be considered a great L low to our hopes, and, indeed, one of the evening newspapers seems to regard it as a great triumph fogodless education. We, however, do not so regard it. On the contrary, when all things are taken into account we consider that the voting on the occasion of its rejection and the attitude of Members towards the Bill prove that our cause has made considerable progress in public estimation. Of the Members who voted in the majority, two in taeir previous speeches stated they would vote for the Bill if the Government had brought it in. On the division itself it was found that there were no less than seven Members who neither voted nor paired. The case, then, stands thus, counting pairs : twenty-five Members actually votea for the Bill, forty agamst it ; of these forty, two would have voted for it had it been a Government measure, having the actual and substantial majority against — thirteen. Then seven Members abstained from voting or pairing. From this it is evident that the real raajo ity of Members who 13. -un the impenitent and rampant enemies of justice and fair-play is not cons'derable, and that the enmity to Christian education is gradually growing less year by year in the House of .Representatives. This is a hopeful sign and encourages us to persevere in our mgitation foi redress. The question now arises, What is the policy to be pursued by Catholics in the future? First of all we should determine to work with renewed energy to increase the efficiency of our schools already established ; in the second, to leave nothing undone to provide additional Catholic schools for our children ; and in the

third place to take care that all Catholics qualified to vote at elections of Members of the House of Representatives are registered. These done, all Catholics should punctually attend on the polling day and recoid their votes for sue** candidates as pledge themselves to vote for a just and equitable Private Schools Bill, and against all opponents of such a Bill, no matter who or what they are or may be. Catholics should never allow themselves to be swayed by what candidates say in a corner or in a whisper, — should never pc-mit themselves to be cajoled by button-holers, but should insist on all for whom they are asked to vote publicly and above-board proclaiming themselves the advocates of justice and fair-play to their schools and school children. On no account should a Catholic voter vote for an enemy or a coward on this question. If Catholics, like brave men and true Christians, pursue this policy, their united and uncompromising attitude will soon tell. But if division prevail amongst tb em, their cause will be lost, and they will only have themselves to blame. In order not to be cajoled again, Catholics should determine to bear in mind the names of the Members who constituted the majority last week, and in particular the Members who privately promised to vote for them, but who have practically voted against them, and still more particularly in the most inexcusable manner endeavoured to make Parliament believe they had never in any way promised to support Catholic claims. In order to help the memory of Catholics in reference to theae points, we shall, on the receipt of the Hansard containing the official report of the division, publish an accurate list of our friends and enemies, which, we suggest, should be posted up in a conspicuous place in each household, so that when the time comes for another election there may be no doubt as to how the Catholics ought to vote. There is one striking circumstance in reference to this matter which we should not neglect to notice to-day, and that is the conduct of what are called, facetiously we suppose, the Labour Members — so called, we fancy, on the principle of lucus a non. The majority of these gentlemen voted against the Bill, thus showing that they can do a stroke of tyranny and injustice and bigotry as well as the so-called bloated capitalists and aristocrats.