Palmerston North

New Zealand Tablet, 14 August 1913, Page 27

Palmerston North

Back Row: Messrs. B. Ellis (Treasurer), J. J. L. Burke, R. P. Flanagan, M. O'Kane, A. H. Casey. Feont Row: Messrs. T. J. McCosker, Geo. Girling-Butcher (Chairman), P. D. Hoskins (Secretary). Absent : Mr. J. W. Callaghan. ,

(From our own correspondent.) At the last meeting of the Winter Show Committee of the A. and P. Association the following letter'from the secretary of our Catholic Federation was read: — 'The members of the Palmerston North branch of the Catholic Federation protest emphatically against the unfair treatment meted out to the children attending Catholic schools in this district in connection with the recent Winter Show. It was stated in public by a member of the committee that the children attending primary schools within a radius of 50 miles of Palmerston North would be admitted to the Show free of charge. Wfiy, then, were the children attending Cath-

olic schools compelled' to pay,for admittance? ; ? If ;it were the intention of the committee;- to exclude ? . the ;! children f. attending Catholic schools from the privilege of free entry, then the statement of the member should have been" qualified accordingly.; If, on the other hand, 1 the privilege of free entry : was \ intended to: apply to all primary schools, then ion principle we \ ask that vthe money paid by children attending Catholic schools be refunded and an explanation offered.' The chairman (Major Dunk) stated the first he : had heard of this matter was two days ago,f and he had had no knowledge that the Catholic school children ]were debarred from the privilege. He considered that the Catholic school Was as much a primary .school;as any of the ..-other schools, -and he was indeed sorry that, the matter occurred. Mr. T. R. Haddon' (the retiring president

of the Association) stated the school had evidently been overlooked, and moved that the secretary write the Federation and express the regret of the committee, and explain the position. This course was agreed to by the committee.