Wednesday, 15th May.

Southland Times, Issue 1581, 21 May 1872, Page 3

Wednesday, 15th May.

| In reply to a motion made by Mr Macassey a few days ago, Mr Reid read the following memorandum from the Superintendent : — Referring to the Address No. 25 from the Provincial Council respecting the appointment of C. D. K, Ward, Eeq., as District Court Judge, will the Provincial Secretary be good enough to intimate to the Council that there are no memoranda or official correspondence relating to tho appointment of Mr Ward in the hands of the Provincial G-overnment? I may mention that the District Court expenses are now charged to the Province aa formerly, and that the appointment rests entirely with the General Government. Formerly Mr Wilson Gray waa competent to overtake the whole business of the Court throughout the Province. Prior to the appointment of Mr Ward, however, I believe it was found that, chiefly in consequence of the increased number of leaal practitioners serving in the Goldfield towns, Mr Gray's time was fully occupied there. Upon this ground therefore, it was determined to extend the duties of tho District Judge from Timaru to Oamaru and Invercargill, and the intervening Coast District. The Hospitals Ordinances (Southland) Repeal Bill was read a third time and passed. The debate was resumed by the Hon. Mr Bell on Mr Macassey's motion, and Mr Mervyn's amendment on tbe education question. Mr Bell said that had permission been giveu by the Speaker for the separation of the first and second parts of the resolution, he should have contented himself with supporting the first, and opposing the latter portion, because he should have felt that there would have been no necessity for troubling the Council in respect to the general question. He should also have refrained from addressing the Council, on the ground that he hardly thought the Provincial Council was the place where the main discussions on the Education question would really take place. He thought the Provincial Council was very much like the person referred to in a sensational story, who was secured in a room which waa insensibly but surely contracting around him. They found year by year the subjects which were formerly dealt with by the Council, gradually undertaken by the Colonial Legislature, and the sphere of action of the Provincial Government year by year narrowed and limited. He referred to the construction of public works, immigration, and other matters, and said that the next step would probably be to take from the Provincial authorities the administration of the Waste Lands ; and he confessed that if they were going to pass resolutions to set aside reserves to the extent of hundreds of thousands of acres, as was done on the previous day, there would be still a greater chance than before of the administration of the Waste Lands being taken out of their hands. He referred to the provision which was made by the Colonial Government last year for the relief of Roman Catholics in the aided schools clauses, and said that if the hon. member opposite desired to invite the Council to adopt a system of purely denominational education, he should oppose it, for he could conceive no error more fatal than that which would land them in a condition of State aid to purely denominational schools. He quite agreed that some relief was required to be extended to Roman Catholics. He expressed the opinion thatthere never would be in any English country a purely secular system of education so long as the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England held the opinions they did hold, and therefore if they meant to educate their children they must endeavor to compromise difficulties. It was remarkable that in the proposals of last year, made in the Assembly, the State aid proposed to be given to schools established by the religious denominations was not a State assistance for the propagation of religious tenets, but for the support of secular education, to be given under the inspection of the officers of the State ; and what safeguards were required more than was provided by the Act of last session, that the schools should be open to the inspection of any officer at any time of the day, and without notice ? He was surprised to hear the argument that if they gave aid to Roman Catholics they would have to give it to 99 other sects. The argument waß fallacious ; practically they had only two bodies to consider —the Church of England aud the Roman Catholics, there not being any substantial sectarian division between the Church of England and the other denominations that would prevent them taking part in a national system of education ; and it was to unite those two great bodies, aud to enable their children to take part in any national system, that he entreated the Council not hastily to reject the first proposal, but rather to give it their support, if they could conscientiously do so, in order that when they came to discuss the question hereafter they might enable the Assembly to say that Otago was united. Mr Cutteu also spoke at great length on the subject. He pointed out that tbe denominational system would tend to produce a number of inferior schools, and that uuder it they could not have High Schools and similar institutions. He disagreed with the remarks of Mr Macassey that tbe movement was sympathised in by the general body of Roman Catholics.

Mr Macassey, in replying, said several honorable members appeared to labor under the idea that all religious sects in the proviaco stood upon a footing of religious equal itv, and some persons seemed to think "that such a thing as stato aid to religion, or aid to denominational schools, did not exist, but if honorable members referred to tho Church Lands Ordinance, and then passed on to the Presbyterian Church Lands Act,ISGG, they would find that a handsome endowment had been conferred upoa the Presbyterian Church of the province, divisible as follows —two-thirds of the rent to form an Ecclesiastical Fund, and one-third an Educational Fund. After a large number of amendments had been proposed, and, after discussion, negatived, Mr Tolmie remarked that he thought hon. members had got into a considerable fog with regard to the quastion, and he would move the adjournment of the debate to the next day. His motion was carried. Mr Daniel moved, " That, in the opinion of this Council, it is desirable that there should be a complete assimilation of the laws in force throughout the Province, with which view it is expedient that the whole of the Ordinances of the late province of Southland be repealed." The motion was characterised as being too sweeping, and the Provincial Secretary stated that what it asked for was being done as quickly as practicable. Motion lost. i ! ! , ; ! !