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Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 545, 28 June 1909, Page 6

Relation of Poverty to Grlmo Statistics. .. Opponents of religions instruction in schools would, Father. Venning said,, havp.to prove .that there was a proper record as to:religions belief-of every Criminal in Now Zealand. He wished to'point out that only , the religion of those who were sent to gaol was :taken >a 'note. of. Now. it so happened that only a fraction of those who were coimcted went to gaol: Out of 27,561 persons convicted in New Zealand in 1906, only 2439 received peremptory imprisonment.' It was interesting to note also that 3476 had the. option of a fine: Thoso who r could afford to .pay a fine: Bavad themselves .from .going 'to P°': K was well-known' that drunkenness, for . was pnnishedby fine inore. titan by imprisonment. Now,' the.Roman Catholics undoubtedly formed the poorer part of ! the people of New Zealand.' Those who wore able to.pay.a fine were just as bad : as.those whb' could-not, by . that means, esoape jjaoly ' It l was a fair presumption fhat a majority of ri i— o B?'— ® nos "W not. Roman. CattMUcs. 'To condemn religions training in we face of the real facts was shallow reasoning—it .was not even logic. ' • W■• Prisoners! Falso. Declarations as to Religion. V Father Venning - went' on 'fe -. say that another, point which those to whom he was referring TOuld have to establish was that a 1 those who were entered on the gaol records as Roman Catholics were really members, of that Church. ■ He could' prove that a majority of such prisonous did riot belong to their denomination/' Roman Catholics' would never , have to hang their heads in Bbame at true statistics. , Many of those who were on the gaol books , as Roman Catholics were frauds—they bad never'been members of tbo Church. He gave instances of prisoners m JlKMocai gaor who had wrongly declared tfcrt they were • Roman Catholics; . One of them, he said, had asserted .that he did not believe m .the existence of, God. Another, who had at one • time been paid to 'blow the organ .at one of the ohurchea, dew* l as a Roman JMio&c ■ "because ho liked their, music." There was also a bigamist who had . admitted that -ho really was not a .Roman .Catholic, bnt his wife (ho had throo of them) belonged to their Chnrch. Two Tosts at ttio Torraco Gaol. ■ It would also have to bo shown, Father Venning, continued, that: those prisonera who ckwmed_to be Roman Catholics wore th«, products of their Church and their schools. He oould prove that 75 per cent, of those who declared that , they were Roman Catholics ivere not the products of their schools. During the last eighteen months he had made two tests at the Terrace Gaol. On the first occasion ho-found that only 6 out of 36 had ever been inside a Roman Catholic school. /Out of thirtyreight so-called Roman' Catholic prisoners, on the second occasion, only eight -had been trained in their Eohools. In-order to show the kind of Roman' Catholics - at the Terrace Gaol, and Point: Halswell, ho might say that ont of:fiftyj-five.prisoners who claimed to halting to thcirChurch only four went' to Easter, communion..- ■He !■ would like to ask whether those' men wore there as a result of Roman Catholic teaching, or of the neglect of " it.' -Prisoners had absolutely no sorupks'about bearing :false ' witness .aa to their raligion if they. .thought there. was any prospect of any advantage. As to why there were so many Roman Catholics among the prisoners, it, was not for him to say. In conclusion , ' Father Venning - said ' that no figures could be obtained to prove the'allegation whioh the Chief Justice had made. According to the Year-Boole, 169,281 children .attended school in : New Zealand in 1906. If the Roman Catholics were to be orodited with one-soventh of the' criminals, they_ should be credited' with the'samo proportion of children attending: school. Bnt what did they find P Instead of having 22,7.54 scholars', , they had only U;948. The statistics; in the Year Book wore right as far as- they went, but they proved .nothing. Those who made odious comparisons against the .Roman Catholic Church , should clothe •themselves in armour like the modem American footballer:' Such people had gof 'it into their heads that the .-Roman Catholios wero -.bad, ,and- they twisted and mangled figures to try and prove their case. Thoso prisoners who wrongly claimed to be , Roman Catholics went to Mass when in gaol because, if they did not go, it would be considered'a breach of discipline. If. those "who did not belong to their Church attended the service, no objection was. taken. "We cannot remain Bilent," Father' Venning added. "As Catholic people, wo, feel that we must speak out, and our case is a sound one."