Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1889. GUNPOWDER DAY.

Manawatu Herald, 5 November 1889, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1889. GUNPOWDER DAY.

To-rlay makes ttie t»vo hundredth and eighty-fourth anniver^u y oi tho Bucceasfui frustratiou of tho attempt of Guy Fawke» to blow up the Houses of Parliament at Westnii .- ster. Tho day is only worth referring to now, "to point a moral, and i adorn a tale " of the more aatisiac tory mauner adopted to bring oomplaiuts before the authorities, and j the mor Christian view taken of the difference of opinion as to how men may worship God. A good many of our public men are re*dy to aver, that hist ry is an unimportant branch for the study of eh Idren, yet if properly explained there aro plenty of subjects from which, much could be taught. Guy Fawkea dny, gunpowder, treasou aud |> ot, as tun • ittle boys used to yell iv the street* of London whilst curvy in g very uncomplimentary effigies of that soldier of fortune, r call us to that miserable portion of history, wheu our ancestors used to slaughter ono another to secure tho nscendoucy of oik particular religious sect. It Jittlu mattered who, for the time being. wa»

jJpdrmc.B 1 :, tiie r treatment of their ppoiienw w ore h iftcieutly oru?l and tJ ograding to make oue feel now ■ sbamod to have boeu ooun eted t( nth. them. To briery ve^p;*;; ar,p ° he 6rigin of the plot, it is < illy ne- R essary to mention that James J. sue 5 eedsd (jueen Elizabeth, and fol- h awed in her footsteps in the support *' >f the Protestant religion, and o\vins % o the way each arty in power v ed j a o secure their supremacy by wony- a air tlii? ojJpWie ii*ct, the Eom n v ?at'iohcs w ere driven to adopt ineai s v 0 create a readjustment of r pi*«leutation. The means they adopted- • sannot bo approved of, and forfcu ( lately did not succeed, Guy , "Fawkes \ md his companions havi ng beeii be- 1 rayed and secured just previous to ( iho assembling of Parliament, Every . ?ne must l>o glad siicli a wb.olosale slaughter did not take p ac ', and tho fate the conspirators met with, was not far beyond their deserts Because Guy Fawkes was a heartless and reck ess character, his action had nothing to do with the glorification that was ait mpted to be placed on tho Xi g, and the Church Ser vice appointed to be used " for the happy deliverance of King Janus I and the three erstates of England, from the recent treacherous and | b oody intended massacre by gun- 1 powder " became a i rce when read two-hundred years after the event had occurred. "When wo were a boy thi* service was still solemnised, but for some years now its u*e has been discontinued. It may appear that in 1 his colony a more pressing reference i o such an ancient crime is j of litv-leupe, but when we look around ai'.d find this colony inhabited by nearly every chri-tian sect, and that too in ]>eace and happiness, throws a pleasing contrast on the wretched past. Though we are able, like the Pharisee of old, to lift up our hands and thank God we are not as these mon wore, yet in some of our actions j we sail vt-ry near to them. Are we not now, under the plea of having a free and undenomiuation .1 system of education, using that as an argument to try and ieruse assistance to those whos belief cads them to think it necessary that their children should receive a Christian education, and by our action, imitate, fortu • tely in a milder manner, the tactics of the Parliament in the days of James I ! We are not prepare to burn, bang, draw and quarter those who thi k differently from us, but we an starve them, and fine them, under the guise of fair treatment. ICinj? James T, who originated this trouble is described as havin r no enlargement of mind, and though a go d natured and easy t mper d man, he was a <>ad politician and an indifferent Xinff Such words n«ay be used to describe the politicians of the day who fail to reco.'nise the right that every parent has of educating his 1 child in the- faith he desire?, aud the present system of education now in force is the on gross act of tyranny that the thought! ss have inflicted on the minority. We do not now wish to enter further upon the fiifficulties that may arise in giving mean ♦ to >ecure this wish, but nothing can be said in favour of a cop ataut refusal by Parliament to entertain the suggestion and appoint a j committee to enquire how it best can Ibe given effect to. Our Rom :n j Catholic friends are the most earnes lin heir endeavours to obtain this ) com; ssion, probubly the oth r de : nominations also feel as strong, though they do not ag tate o persistently, and we have not yet been able to see why their wishos could n t be given effect to, in the centi^ of population, without in any wa\ harming the country State schoo's in fact, on the other hand we believ it would greatly aid them If this itbrought more pi'ominently before our re ide s by a glance at the gun powder plot, Guy Fawkes wil hay. been of more use in our day, than ht evor was in his own.