The Education Grievance

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9, 4 March 1909, Page 342

The Education Grievance

The Austral Light complains with much reason that in Victoria, as elsewhere in Australasia, ' we have to pay the State for an education that we do not get, and pay again for the education we do get.' Thirty-five years ago (adds our clever contemporary) ' the bigots coalesced with the secularists, and declared against paying for Catholic religious education. Now, when they are endeavoring to persuade the State into paying for Protestant religious teaching, they are challenging all and sundry to show that it would cost the State anything more than it is now paying for education. We reply to the challengers by asking them to show that it would have cost the State anything extra for Catholic religious teaching if. it had paid for the secular education imparted in our schools, as it was in justice bound, after having received from us in taxes the money wherewith to pay for such education. That new point raised by the Scripture Lesson advocates is not going to extricate them from any difficulties.'