THE EDUCATION QUESTION.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2792, 29 January 1872, Page 2

THE EDUCATION QUESTION.

Our leading article 'on Saturday evening afforded Dr Moran and his Yic.ir General an opportunity yesterday of having another “ fling” at the Education question. The rev. Father Coleman, in his sermon in the morning, based his observations wholly upon our remarks, doing us the honor of calling the writer “The Infallible Pope of Dunedin,” and the “man of peculiar ideas.” Bishop Moran was less personal, and dealt with the question is a general way. That portion of his discourse which had refereuce to Education may be regarded as a justification of his own action in relation thereto. He premised by saying: “No such deadly attack had yet been .made on the Church as was being made upon it at the present hour. Every species of persecution had heed tried ; but tried in vain. The Church bad not yet succumbed; it had lived these 1800 years through every species of persecution. The enemies of the church and of truth, seeing that the old modes of persecution were in vain;—that to make use of them at the present hour would only have the effect of strengthening the Church ; that they cannot make martyrs of anyboly—attempted to destroy the Church by the most unlawful mode of persecution that could be adopted—viz., through its children. The instruction of youth was the battle ground of the present hour; the battle which the Church had to light was not to be fought in the political arena—in the Legislature—but in the schoolroom. This was why the Holy See had given the word—why the instruction had gone forth calling upon the teachers in the Church to look above all things to the instruction of youth. In what he was doing, therefore, his flock would not imagine for a moment that he had directed, or had had the power to direct the initiation of such a great contest as this. He was simply acting in obedience; was carrying out the instructions of the Church ; he was doing nothing of himself; he would not dare to do anything. Going over much the same ground that has already been gone over, his Lordship argued that it was not the duty of the State to educate; that the Church was opposed to mixed op secular education ; and such being the case, Catholics were entitled to State aid in establishing schools of their own, and then proceeded to refer to the newspaper attacks made upon him. Men, he said, had dared to say they were paid advocates; that they were mercenaries. He would ask what the clergy got for their talents and learning ? What did they receive in exchange for leaving Home and coming to this country ? What money or remuneration did they receive ? They never received a penny but what was spent on the people themselves. Yet men called them mercenaries. He flung the taunt back in the' teeth of its utterers ; he and his clergy were ashamed of no man, neither did they come here to advocate this question for the first time. They did nothing for money or position ; they came here solely to advocate the Christian religion. Let them take up the papers printed in th s city, and read them as carefully as he had done. Why, he never read them, but he found insults thrown upon the Christian faith—insults were not only thrown upon him, and upon his clergy ; but on the clergy of other denominations. The papers here had no respect fqr th§ clergy as men of education ; they refused to ireat them with the respect and deference which were due to them from the position they held in society. Would they as Christian people tolerate this in their midst. He called upon them all— Pr sbyterianand Church of England people as well—to resent the calumny which washeaped on the clergy. The papers said of him and his clergy that they were mercenary and selfish; that they were advocating merely for money’s sake what they did not really believe in. He repeated was this to be tolera-

ted by Christian people ? The papers said of him “ Your relationship with the State and the people must be reviewed.” Did they mean to say they were going to gag him ? if they did they would fye greatly deceived. If they thought that by'writing these things they were going to prevent him from advocating the cause of education for his people, they were making a great mistake. Again it was said they should not interfere with politics. What do they call politics ? He did not intend to i iterfere with politics such as they were here ; they were absolutely beneath notice. The papers said education was politics; he held it was a matter of religion. These men in endeavoring toi have the children educated in opposition to the Church of their faith, were exercising tyranny, and were initiating a species of persecution worse than anything yet attempted; and this attempt mu t be met hand to hand, and foot to foot. To oppose anything calculated to cause the loss of faith on the part of his flock, came clearly within his duty; and so long as God gave him a tongue to speak and pen to write, he would oppose it. He repeated he did not interfere with politics ; he wanted nothing to do with them; but in confidence he would tell his audience one thing. It was in reference to immigration. Special instructions had been given that no Catholics should come to tb|s epuntry, They

knew, of course, that agents had not only been sent to England, Scotland, Norway, and Sweden, but even to Germany, for immigrants ; but no one had been sent to Ireland. Why ? because Ireland was a Catholic country. It was the old story of “No Irish need apply.” Yet the very men who did this cried out against him. He would again assert their politics were paltry and unworthy ; it was simply a scramble for office. Where among {these piliticians were there any noble, generous, or far seeing? For a third time, and in conclusion his lorship repeated that he carried out the object he had in view without attempting to interfere in politics.