Roman Catholics and Mr. Butler
There is an undertone of ultimatum in the assertion "we shall never surrender our schools " with which the Roman Catholic Bishops close the statement which they issued on Wednesday regard- ing the Government's Education Bill. The case of the Catholics is admittedly difficult. It happens that most of their schools are in poor districts, and the cost of bringing them up to a proper standard of efficiency, even with the generous financial assistance offered under the new Bill, would strain their resources considerably. They are, of course, no worse off in this respect than other denominations. The Church of England has faced and accepted the necessity of handing over to public control many schools which the Church can- not afford to maintain at the required level of structural efficiency. But while the Church of England authorities are rightly content to accept an " agreed syllabus " of religious instruction, the Roman Catholics, of course, are not. But it is not to be contemplated either that the Roman Catholic schools should be permitted to continue on a lower level of educational efficiency, or that specially favourable financial treatment should be accorded to them. Many denomina- tional schools will bt continued at the required standard at the cost of the denomination. On that basis the Roman Catholics can avoid any question of the surrender of their schools. There is no kind of discrimination against them.
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