The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1919. S.O.S.

New Zealand Tablet, 2 October 1919, Page 25

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1919. S.O.S.

#F some power did give us, in accordance with v , r ~. the prayer of Burns, the gift of seeing *Ha ourselves as others see us, there would no doubt be considerable improvement in Hn_JP*t various spheres of activity and, more par<&L(i&L ticularly, of inactivity ; but we should lose \?\rp* ( a lot of fun. For one thing, the officials * who depend on the present State schools for a living would probably have intelligence enough to realise that there must be something ridiculous in their constant clamoring for the Government to step in and save them from the penalised private schools by penalising the latter still more. And among them there might even be some who could see that their dog-in-the-manger attitude is certainly no recommendation for persons who should be examples of manliness and chivalry to their pupils. Head masters would then-no more congregate in order to organise a boycott of a Brothers' School which had beaten them in athletics and football until even they were ashamed of themselves; and we should have no more whining about being found out in such tricks from men who are incapable of feeling ashamed of doing what they object to being found out in. Executives, boards, and retainers in general would cease to call to the Minister of Education, annually or biennially, "Lord, save us, we perish!" and it is conceivable that instead of doing so they .would devote themselves to the task of competing honorably with the schools to which they bear in spite of themselves such splendid testimony. Did it ever strike them yet that the. inspectors, who are impartial judges, never raise their voices to : swell the raucous cry, "The private schools must be destroyed : ;M':;-•—;. ■'- : : .: - '»■*■?•:> *6i- . ■■■■■;} : 'i~ ■'.■-.'. '■" .. ; .'.._•'.' ■'.'.; '■'"*•?'* : .' ' "'"• • ; '" ■"-*'* ■'■'■' y --- : :~ <'■-■)". \- On September 25 at Wellington another conference was held by the -Education Boards;, and once-more the S.O.S. signal was sent out. " The following motion-was passed unanimously:.— ~., .. . \ V.Z'^.^t'^A*"* 1 ' 1 ' I a "That, while protesting against the establishment, of private schools, yet if private : schools are to be allowed, the authorities' connected with a ; proposed school

should notify, the Education .Board of the district of their intention to establish the school, and submit to the board information regarding(l) the building in which -it is proposed to hold the school and the accommodation provided^thereby;; (2) the syllabus of instruction proposed ,to be followed (3) the qualifications of each; member of the .staff, (4) and that salaries shall be paid .on the scale provided in the Education Act (with the exception of schools conducted by members of .religious Orders). Now, let us say that we take this extract from the Otago Daily Times of September 26, and that it came through the United Press Association. Consequently, we may assume that this unparalleled piece of impertinence is genuine, and that there is "sufficient lack of humor among the boards to perpetrate such an enormity. It all comes. to a cry of “5.0.5.! S.O.S. ! S.O.S. !”—“Save our schools from the private schools by delivering the latter into our gentle and humane hands, to be treated as our chivalrous instincts may dictate!” If we demanded that no teacher should be appointed to a State school without the approbation of the local clergyman, we should, in the light of certain facts that have come to our knowledge, be justified; but what a howl of wrath would come forth from the boards if we made such a suggestion. They would tell us to mind our own business, and we would retort that it is our business to see that Catholic pupils are not insulted by a bigot who goes out of his way to attack the Church, and that it is our business to prevent the circulation of books and pamphlets hostile to Catholic belief. We could find ample grounds for such interference on our part; but for the impertinence of the boards and the insult their attitude conveys even to the inspectors we can find no sort of justification. Managers of private schools are quite well able to look after their schools without'calling in the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick-maker, who have perhaps been elected on a P.P.A. ticket, to safeguard the interests of the rising generation of the Dominion. And if the managers fail, -the inspectors, who know their duty and are gentlemen, are there to set them right, which they can do without impertinence or insult.

If the inspectors could be induced to give public expression to their opinions, we have little doubt what they would say. Last year, when the local State schools which were beaten shamefully in athletics by the Brothers’ boys, tried to organise a boycott against our schools, the Dunedin Star told the masters that it would be far better and more creditable for them to train their boys as the Brothers trained theirs, and that their action was not calculated to attract the admiration of any parent who loved sport and stood for a fair contest and the rigor of the game. We have reason to believe that if the inspectors did deign to take any notice of the S.O.S. signals they, confining themselves to school work, would re-echo what the Star said concerning athletics. The plain fact is that there is a growing conviction among all Christians that the failure of the secular school has become too notorious to be tolerated much longer. From the Outlook we take the following extract from the Rev. R. A. Thompson’s book on the Education Problem:—“But secularise the school as in New Zealand, and let the home become increasingly secularised, as has been the case here, then what hope can the pulpit have of.directing religion in the land . . . In New Zealand we are placing the emphasis on our religious effort 15 to 20 years too late. We are made to appear as builders, who, toiling laboriously to put on the roof, have neglected to lay the foundation and erect the walls, a position as unsound in ethics and religion as it is in mechanics.” - In these words we have expressed clearly the common view of thoughtful men and women to whom the truths of Christianity, are dear ; and out of such views there is rapidly , arising the conviction that a population,' almost wholly Christian, is bound to compel a Government which represents the country to save ? the ‘ youth 1 : and to safeguard the future by providing for adequate religious and moral training in the schools. The correct : attitude is to be

found in the words of Mr, Gutten, 'which' we quoted recently; the State schools, being secular, do not give a well-balanced education; and 1 as; long as th% Government favors them it is guilty of.!an injustice to the children and to the parents of the Dominion. •: It is not enough to ask, as justice ; compels, that r the taxes we pay for education be spent •on schools • such ■as we 'can conscientiously support; > charity moves ; us v ' to demand also that to all children there be accorded such advantages as are only to be found in the private denominational schools. Let us press home this demand incessantly. The more S.O.S. signals are sent out, the better proof we shall have that we are winning.