OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2636, 29 July 1871, Page 2

OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

MEETING OF CATHOLICS AT ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH. We continue our report, which has necessarily been much condensed, of the meeting at St. Joseph’s. Mr C. E. Hauohton, M.H.R., in moving a vote of thanks to the right rev. chairman Cor presiding, expressed Ids gratification at seeing such a larg j attendance, which comprised Catholics from nearly every part of the Province. He had heard the argn nent .often repeated in Dunedin that this movement; had originated solely with Bishop Moran, of whom he might remark in passing, that it was a matter for congratulation to the Church that he had come to preside over them.—(Applause.) As a resident in the Province for the last eight or nine years, a id as oue who knew something of public a'fairs, he emphatically denied that the Catholic body had been satisfied with the present system of education. They had merely accepted it in lieu of a better ; they had s nt their children to the Government schools because they had no other schools to send them to. As the representative of 250 Catholics in the district he represented in the Assembly, he declared they were never satisfied with the educational system. He went on t > show that the Catholics were entitled to t he expenditure of the L3OOO contributed by themselves towards education. The present system might be a good one, but they did not know it was ; and so long as the schools were examined hy their own masters, the public who “paid the piper ” could never know whether they were conducted properly or not. He had been master in a public school himself, and knew something about it. In England the schools were examined by persons outside, and then there was some chance of knowing what was learnt at them. Notwithstanding that we were paying L'lo,ooo a yt-ar, wc were not in a position to know whether or not our children were receiving a good education. Then they had established a University in Otago, with a great flourish of trumpets ; he had his own .opinions about the University. The first thing that had been done was for the pe iple to rush down to the wharf to meet the professors, somewhat after the manner they did when Chang arrived —(Laughter.) Then it was advertised in the papers that by paying certain fees any oue could attend the University. So high was the standard of education in Ota. o, that matriculation examination had to be dispensed with. If the 1 educational system was the perfect system it was represented to be, there could surely have been found enough young men to have passed a matriculation examination. The Province might have contributed from amongst its own youth the thirty-one students now intending the University, which number included ullages fivm GO downwards (laughter) —and he was mb sure but that some were above 60 (renewed laughter). So much for the argument that a high class education was being given in Otago ; and he thought that the other argument, that there had been no feeling of disatisfaction with the system on the part of Catholics, until the arrival of their Bishop had been pretty well disposed of. It had bepn sqid that; [fie system was so perfect, that, they must not run the risk of upsetting it. Suoh an argument would not hold water for a moment. Supposing it was the perfect system it was represented to be, it would be no argument as regirded the position of Catholics. When he first took his seat in the Provincial Council some eight years ago, the whole cost of education in the Province amounted to somewhere about L 6,000; and in 1867, when the system was altered and the educational rate abolished, the expense was somewhere about LS.OOO per annum. The amount voted this year, notwithstanding the state of the Province, was somewhere about L 25,000 or L 29,000. This money was voted out of the ordinary revenue, and to it was to be added the interest on school buildings, which was a large amount. Besides all this, there was an enormous estate set aside for educational endowments. He did not know whether the public was aware of the amount of land that wad so set aside. " He was not alluding to the land so set apart when the Province was originally settled, when it was exclusively a Free Kirk settlement, and when it was not considered desirable to enco n age immigration of persons not be ouging to that denomination. This land set apart for religions and to educational purposes, belonged exclusively to the First Church. w When he entered the Coua-

oil lie tried to get the matter altered ; so far • as to divert the revenues devoted to e locational purposes to the general education fund of the Province, hut ho met with as much success as might have been expected from the constitution of the Council. 'I he other educational reserves amounted to a very large number of ac es, exclusive of the University endowments. He strongly impressed upon the meeting, the necessity for united and strong action, if they wished to obtain b’st’ce. Ho could only tell them there were very <weat difficulties in the way, as they shouhl recollect that they were in the minority ; and that they had to fight in the face of public opinion. Pubii op n ion "was carefully fostered 'by those interested, and they would observe that anything which could be got bold of to damage their cause or reflect in any possible way upon the Roman Catholic religion, was carefully printed in the papers of Dunedin. They found the papers which were said to represent the opinions of_ the people of Dunedin—people who were said to be religious people—scarcely noticing the atrocities of the Communists or the death of the Archbishop of Paris. The fata of that prelate, who might almost be said to have suffered martyrdom, was not commented upon ; while some alleged convent scandalfished out of a loW class English paper was printed again and again in the telegraphic columns—(l oud applause.) Now he would say something which they would not applaud. He would tell them that a great deal of their present position was their own fault: it was due to their own carelessness, and from not acting together, He knew the Colony.and the Province well ; and he could toll them that if they only acted together as one man, as he hoped they would, in the direction pointed out by their Bishop, they would be sure to get justice done them. Theyshonld recollect they were not an obscure sect! and that they were not to take the position as one of those novel denominations of which there were said to be 101 in Dunedin—some of them indeed, having originated here within the last few years. They had a glorious heritage to maintain ; it was lire duty of each one rf them to prove that they acknowledged the blessings ■ which the Church had conferred upon them (Applause.) He was peifictly certain that none of them saw the difficulties 'that stood in the way. At the ensuing session of the Assembly, the General Government would bring in a Bill, fixing a certain system of education for the whole Colony. He bad not seen the Bill; but he feared it would b > one Catholics could not accept. He felt confident of that from the circumstancethat the General Government had sent for our Secretary for Education to advise with them on the subject. In the Colonial Government were six or seven highly educated men—some of them held high degrees at his (Mr Haughton’s) own university ; and he must say be was surprised that they should have found it necessary to send for Mr Hialop to advice with them. No doubt, with Mr Hi si op’s assistance, they would bring in a bill which would be especially gratifying to the public of Otago, but which Catholics would never be able to accept. So far as he was concerned, if it were such a bill as might be expected from that quarter, he would use most strenous endeavors to prevent it becoming l aw _(Applause ) At the same time it was necessary there should be united action on the part of Catholics. Petitions should he sent throughout the country, and he signed as [numerously as possible. He believed similar petitions were being circulated in other parts of the Colony. Let every Catholic sign them; ht every one become, as it were, a preach* rin the matter. Let them preach a crusade up and down the country ; let them wake up the slumbering mind of the people. They would find that although they were only 7000 of them that they could make a sound which would be heard, and which would have to be attended to—(Ap- | plause.) He did mtt think it wise to talk largely on the subject, unless they were pie. pared to suggest something in the place of the existing State of things. So far as he understood, they did not desire to interfere with the system that was so dear to the people of Otago ; if they were perfectly satisfied withitke would not break the delusion. After carrying on the system for 20 years, they established a University for which they 1 were not able to have a matriculation examination, because .no one could -pass it. Children .were, in many casco, sent to school to keep them out of mischief, to prevent them falling into washing tubs, &c. JVI asters had charge of seventy or more pupils, so that it was impo-Bible they could be taught. At the most, as a matter of discipline, they misdit stick the children on forms and knock . P. , , . : n._ rru.-i.

their heads together occasionally, J hat was about the sum total of education in many of the schools. The system, he supposed, would last so long as the Province could afford to pay for it ; but ultimately it must corn; >o an end. Mr jlaughtou went on to say that tiere ought to be no objection to granting the petition of.'the .Catholics, seeing that they were the only objectors ; and, from their silence, it might be inferred that other denominations were satisfied with the present state of things. At the same time he believed, if the Church of England spoke its mind, it would desire to be dealt with in the way Catholics now asked to be dealt with. Put tj>ey w:e v e afraid • they could np.t sgy their s6uls were their rtwii. The respectability and wealth which was massed behind what he might call the d uninaut denomination perfectly onwed them. He could not say much bolter of the Catholics. He absolutely knew that there were Catholics in Dunedin who were afraid to acknowledge their faith, or even go to church. As it had V een already pointed out, it was impossible for Catholics to avail themselves of a system which permitted the teaching of the Bible from the authorised version and the use of the Shorter Catechism in the schools. Again, referring to the necessity for prompt and united action, he asked the Catholics of Otago not to he afraid of their faith. Let them shako off their apathy and act together as one man, in demanding what was simply their right—a share pro portionate to their numbers in the money exported from the public funds upon education. Dr O’Donugiiuj:, in speaking to the resolution he moved, said that the liflmjm Catholic, inhabitants of Port Chalmers were never satisfied with the educational system, and on behalf of the residents of the Port he had to state that they entirely endorsed the action. of their Bishop. The Bishop, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, defended himself from the charge of having' voluntarily placed himself in his present position. He was only asking for justice, and,ha was compelled to ask for it, amt lie would continue to ask for it until he got 11—(Loud applause.)