The New Zealand TABLET THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1915. THE CATHOLIC READER QUESTION

New Zealand Tablet, 11 March 1915, Page 33

The New Zealand TABLET THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1915. THE CATHOLIC READER QUESTION

HE question at present under debate in our correspondence columns on the subject of a Catholic reader for our primary schools is one of greater interest and of greater practical importance than might at first sight appear. It is no mere literary or academic question, involving only the selection, on purely scholastic grounds, of a particular text-book out of a number of competing and almost equally suitable volumes. On the contrary, in the circumstances in which the suggestion is now being made, the proposal for a special reader for our New Zealand Catholic schools involves a question of wide and far-reaching principle. Exclusive of the religious instruction provided for in all Catholic schools, of all the general secular subjects in the curriculum the reading lesson is the most interesting, has the most directly formative influence, and is the most widely useful; and, with the exception just noted, is the most important educational instrument placed at the teacher’s command. The primary object of the instruction in reading is to impart to the pupils the power of fluent and expressive reading; but incidentally it is the means- of laying a foundation of literary, historical, and general knowledge which will remain with them all their days, and which will powerfully influence their mind, tastes, and character. The question raised by the proposal for a New Zealand Catholic reader is briefly this: Are the children in our Catholic schools in these early, plastic, and formative years, to be allowed to grow up without any introduction to the great literary classics of the Catholic world, without any real acquaintance with the fascinating history of the country in which they live, and without any adequate knowledge of the glorious story of the rise and progress of the Church in these southern lands ? * The proposal for a new series of special readers for our schools naturally falls to be considered under two aspects. (1) Are such readers ideally desirable ? And (2), Is their introduction feasiblefinancially, and in other ways? Regarding the first point, there will, we take it, be no dissentient opinion, and we may safely record the answer as a hearty and unanimous affirmative. ‘ There is nothing,’ says a thoughtful American writer, ’'that solidifies and strengthens a nation like reading of the nation’s history.’ And as the patriotism of a people may be enlivened by the perusal of the secular annals, so may the faith of the young generation be developed and strengthened by the reading of the records of the /

good and great that bore the cross aloft in their day and have gone to their rest, with 1 ; rk V . ■ ■ : . • • . * Life’s race well run, ; •. Life’s work well done, ; t , Life’s victory won.’ The proposed Catholic reader would contain suitable material under both of these heads. The suggestion that a certain American publicationhowever transcendent its merits— serve* the purpose of our New Zealand schools, must, in our humble judgment, be ruled out. We see no reason why we should be carried away by the voluminous and elaborate panegyric with which we have been favored by one of our. correspondents. To begin with, the proposal now under discussion has to do, purely and simply, with a suggested literary reader for our primary schools. In the lengthy dissertation which we publish elsewhere, Father O’Brien still leaves us in complete doubt on the essential point as to whether the publication referred to is really a literary reader, in the ordinary and accepted sense of the term, or merely a book of religious instruction, which may, incidentally and on occasion, be advantageously used as a reader. On the whole, we rather incline to the conclusion that the publication is of the latter character. Boiled down, Father O’Brien’s glowing eulogy amounts to this: that the Washington series has been carefully compiled to suit the growing development of the child, and that, of its kind, it is an altogether excellent publication. Whatever is good in it, either as to matter or method, could be taken advantage of in our New Zealand publication. But we have our own history, religious and secular, to give to our children; and for this no outside publication will serve. * The work of preparing a New Zealand series of readers presents absolutely no difficulty whatever. Should our authorities deem the matter worthy of serious consideration, a small committee of experts might be charged with the duty, first, of obtaining an estimate as to probable cost, and, if that should prove satisfactory, of proceeding with the compilation. Suggestions would naturally be received from the heads of staff of the Catholic schools; and a prospectus of the provisional list of contents might be again submitted to Catholic principals for final consideration. Apart from the ordinary literary classics by Irish, English, and American authors, there is an almost boundless wealth of material, of especial interest to New Zealand children, available to the compilers. The story of Thomas Boynton, the first Catholic settler in the land of the moa—of his efforts to have a priest sent to New Zealand ; of his brave and pious Wexford wife, who took her first two children on a journey of over two thousand weary miles of ocean to be baptised at Sydney ; and of the scene in Boynton’s house when Gaulish Celt and Irish Celt inaugurated the labors which soon made this remote corner of the earth blossom into a land of promise for the faith once delivered to the saints. The rise of the Church in Australia—from that historic Mass on May 15, 1803, when the chalice was of tin, the work of a convict : when the vestments were, like Joseph’s coat, of many colors, being made of parti-hued old damask curtains, sacrificed for the occasion ; and when the whole surroundings bespoke the poverty of Bethlehem and the desolation of Calvary— the landing of our Apostolic Delegate, escorted by a flotilla of steamers, and accompanied by the blowing of whistles, the music of bands, and every sign of triumph and rejoicing. Then our missions to the Maoris, with the heroism and hairbreadth escapes of the early missionaries, culminating in the picturesque and romantic scenes described in recent visitations by Bishop Cleary. The Maori Christian of to-day, as eloquently pourtrayed by Bishop Cleary and as charmingly depicted in an article by a New Zealand Catholic young lady which appeared in a recent issue of the Catholic World , might well form the subject of further lessons. , Then we have our missions in the Pacific, as simply and admirably described by Bishop Grimes in his Australian Catholic Truth

Society’s pamphlet. ' Then there is .the -' story of our schools ’ and r collegesthose C . noble monuments of Catholic educational zeal. . , The history of the Church in these new . lands is in every way ; a glorious one, exemplifying, as it does, >■ a blessing of fruitfulness unparalleled since the early ages •of the Apostles— our Catholic children are growing up in almost total ignorance of. the story. It is t to our discredit and our shame that -they are deprivedas they have been—of their share in this rich heritage. * Of the financial aspect of the proposal, it is not necessary at this stage to speak in any detail. We can only offer an opinion, not altogether without some knowledge of the facts; and we are convinced that in time not only would the initial cost be defrayed but the publications would afford a steady and substantial source of profit. We have only to add that in writing as we have done we have had no thought of checking discussion on the subject, or of interposing any sort of decision of the point at issue between our correspondents. We have not written in any official or representative capacity ; all that we have said has been merely the expression of a purely personal and individual opinion. But that opinion, for whatever it is worth, is strong and emphatic ; and we earnestly hope that the deputation which is to wait upon the authorities will proceed and prosper with its project.