STATE EDUCATION

Hokitika Guardian, 24 October 1929, Page 7

STATE EDUCATION

ATTITUDE OF CATHOLICS. CONTRIBUTION TO COST. “£502,559 IN ONE YEAR.” The contributions which the Romai Catholic community of the Doniinio are making indirectly towards th upkeep of the State education systci in addition to maintaining their ow independent education system, wer pointed out by the Hon. C. J. Cai ring ton when he was speaking on th Education Amendment Bill in tin Legislative Council last week.

He also denied the Roman C'atholi attitude to the introduction of rel gious exercises in schools. “I say tha the Catholics of this Dominion have : vested interest in our State school; and no- inconsiderable one,” said M Carrington. “I claim that as tax payers they contribute a large sur to the upkeep of our State system c education, and they are necessaril. interested in what they find the mone for; but I will .go further, and say tha. the Catholics of New Zealand ar< doubly interested in the educatioi of tne children of New Zealand. Be sides the amount contributed by Cath olic taxpayers to the State system they again put their hands in thei pockets, and as the result of thei conscientious desire to give their .chile ren a thorough Christian education they save the State the complete co.' of the education of 21 397 children i: their private, registered primar; schools,”

“STATE SAVED £250,0f0” Air Carr’ngton quoted figures 1 show that the cost of educating eat I child on the roll of the Sta J # primar schools works out at £ll 14s 2d per ar num v The number of children attend ing the 200 registered Catholic primalschools was 21,397, and on the sam cost basis, the State would be requii ed to find £250,523 if the number 0 children attending Catholic schools wa taught in State schools in other words it represented what Catholics wer saving the Government through pro viding their own system, of Christia’ education.

Estimating the Catholic populatioat 181,922, according to the last cen sus, and taking the cost per head 0 the total population per annum fo State primary education as £1 lGs 4c! the amount which Catholics contribut ed through taxation to the Sate syster was £333.483. If tne cost per heat of population for State education i all branches (£2 15s 3d) was takeinto consideration, Catholics wer contributing the enormous sum o £502,599 to the State educational sys tem.

“ENORMOUS CONTRIBUTION.” “It is apparent from these figures,’ said Mr Carrington, “that if 'the Gov ernment handed back to the Cathol ies an amount equal to £ll 14s 2d pe. head of children educated in Cathol l< private primary schools, in compensa tion for secular instruction thereii imparted, it would retain out of tin total contribution by Catholic taxpayers £252,030 for the general purpose o educating the children of their am. other faiths now in the State school of this dominion, To sum up the posi tion, the Catholics contributed durim last year towards the State system o education the sum of £502,5,jj. The; also educated young New Zealanders o their own faith to the State primary school standard at a further cost o' £250,52-3, The total amount contributed by 181,822 Catholics in one yeai towards the education of youth was the enormous sum of £753,082, : truly astonishing, total indeed. Car mv honourable friend, Mr Isitt, oi anyone else, in the face of those figures, say the Catholics in this Dominion are not interested in "our Stat* educational system ? ' I have given thfigures, and yet the honourable M> Isitt and his colleagues of the Bible in Schools League* continue to ignore the Catholic body in this country, numbering 181,922 persons, in any discussion by his hand-picked Christian churches and their representatives.” RELIGIOUS- EXERCISES. Briefly summarising the Catholic position in regard to the introduction of religious exercises into schools, he said the Catholics were in agreement with Mr Isitt and his trends to the extent that they could not support tin principal of secular education, “We hold, and I think rightly,” he . said, “that religion is the first essential* pan of true education, and it must retain its rightful place or be restored to its rightful place in any real system 0 f education, in order fully- to prepare children for their duties and responsibilities in life. For 52 years Catholic men and women of tile laity have made great sacrifices for their schools, a telling example of their sincere and practical belief in the place that knowledge of God should take in the education of the future citizens of our land. TEACH THE WHOLE FAITH.

“Next, Catholics believe in tbprincipal of teaching children the whole faith of their fathers. They cannot therefore, subscribe to any system ol education which appears to he an evening out, or a levelling down, or a whittling away to definite Christian beliefs in order to create what has been described as ‘a skeletonised form ol (. hristianitYj’ to be created by State offi: i.tls, to ho subsidised by taxpayers in general (no matter how much-very many of them may conscientiously ob■et to i 1), and thus to become a definite religion according to the standard laid down by the State, in the form of an alleged undenominational religion. What el«e can this be termed except “State religion’ ?”