laws with unfunded mandates), he insisted that justice would eventually triumph over such immoral laws. Together with Herman Schaepman (1844–1903), leader of the Catholic party, he organized a national petition to the king in 1878, which, in simple but powerful language, pled their case for the right and ability to educate their children in the way their conscience required. It was carefully monitored and signed by 469,869 parents, far surpassing the number of actual voters in the Netherlands, which