local option to Bible teaching, as to whisky selling. If the majority of the people in a country town—we will say Balclutha, for instance,—wished to have the Bible taught in their schools, why should the veto of Dunedin prevent it, and vice versâ? Of course, to obviate individual hardships, any child might have exemption from attendance on the Bible classes under a conscience clause."
"But suppose the Catholics and Anglicans did set up separate schools, would they not demand a share of the proceeds of the education cess, as a result of your proposed modifications?"
"Well, and they might have it! I would allow," said my reverend old friend, "I would allow a capitation grant from the general revenue, conditional on the child passing the secular standard established by the Government educational department. In Canada there is an education rate, and Catholics are there allowed to pay over their rates to their own schools, whether high or elementary. All are, of course, inspected and examined by the Government officials, only the Government does not examine in religious teaching. This has worked admirably there, and is the best and fairest compromise that could be made between the advocates of purely secular teaching on the one hand, and denominationalism on the other."
I give this conversation as being the boldly-expressed opinions of a representative man. I found they were shared by the majority of the intelligent colonists I spoke to on the subject. There was evidently in Otago and Canterbury a
