New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4561, 2 November 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2.

The New Zealand Tablet has not escaped charges of ambiguity when arguing with some who are opposed to its principles. As it is, however, the custom of most reasoners to consider the arguments against which they contend ambiguous, we are not about to predicate of the Tablet that its custom in argument is to be ambiguous. We can go further than this, however, and congratulate our contemporary on the very unambiguous terms in which it from time to time commands its flock (for to a class and not to general society it appeals) how they are to act in matters political. An instance of this refreshing candor of expression has been quite recently given us. The Tablet, addressing those electors of New Zealand who hold the Catholic faith, says that in voting at the forthcoming elections they are to regard the fate and the good of the colony as so inevitably interwoven with the education question, that this question is to f orm the crucial test by which they are to judge such candidates as may seek their suffrages. The absolute directions given to the Catholics, so a telegram in a contemporary states, are these : —" They are told that to them the education question is infinitely more important than provincialism, centralism, separation, or any merely political measure, wherefore no Catholic, unless indeed he is a degraded or lost man, will vote for any candidate, no matter what his qualifications may be, who is in favor of merely secular education, and against giving aid to Catholic schools. When the choice lies between two secularist candidates they will abstain from voting." To some this might seem a purely selfish view of the abolition or any other question, but we are certain that to any who urged such an objection, the answer of the Tablet would be : " We are working for that welfare of mankind to which temporal welfare is merely subsidiary, a welfare, indeed, which as a necessity carries with it good in this life and that to come, and therefore in demanding that education should be denominational we simply make a demand in the name of the human race, and of the State, whose safety must be perilled by godless and secular education." It will be seen that we are ready to give the Tablet credit for the extremest and truest catholicity in its utterances, and therefore we meet its dictates to its readers, not on the ground that those dictates are in the interests of one form of religious faith, regardless of other creeds, but that they are given in a regard for the interests of humanity founded on completely erroneous impressions. Should the Tablet desire us to put a less favorable construction on its words, it will remain for that journal to compel us to do so ; for the present, we are content to give our contemporary all the credit due to our interpretation of its utterances. That being so, we would point out to the Tablet, with all due respect, that the teachings of the present and the past are alike against its theory as to the evil results of secular education supported by the State, that they are against the good results of all teaching being placed in the hands of a bigoted priesthood, and that they are against the good results of priestly interference in the affairs of the commonwealth. So soon as our contemporary can blot out history and silence the voices that now cry from many an unhappy country where anarchy and disorder reign, and where the teachings of priests have been paramount for child and man, for citizen and statesman, we may feel inclined to allow the stability of its dictum—we do not dispute that dictum being made in good faith. In the meantime we would point out to the electors, that at present the education question is not that before the constituencies ; but that when the time comes, as it shortly will, in which a general scheme of education must be devised for the colony, it will be their duty to follow the example of all great and progressive countries, and decide that the State has no right to subsidise or support any but secular education.

We are not aware whether the authorities (as they are called) have taken cognizance of this very possible, nay, almost probable, introduction of a highly infectious disease into the colony from Victoria. By our recent Melbourne exchanges we notice that scarlatina of a very malignant type is prevalent in portions of Melbourne, and has made its appearance in more than one up-country town. Of course, the usual half-dozen causes are assigned for the appearance of the disease, but these may be taken as narrowed down to bad drainage, and a total disregard of sanitary regulations. The result is that scarlet fever has attacked a great many families, and that numerous deaths of children and adults have ensued. Now, it does seem to us that scarlatina being a disease which experience has proved to be highly infectious, it is quite possible that it may be introduced here at any time from Melbourne. It is a disease which does not make itself immediately apparent, and it can also be communicated by means of clothes and wearing apparel, so that there is no reason why at any time a passenger may not most innocently step on board a vessel or steamer at Melbourne without being conscious that he has already caught scarlet fever, and owing to the shortness of the passage between Victoria and New Zealand, it would be quite possible for him to land in a state of illness, certainly, but without knowing the particular form of illness from which he was suffering. And it must be remembered that too many of our New Zealand towns are neither more nor less than favorable hotbeds, into which disease once introduced is bound to spread. There is in all our townships an utter disregard of sanitary precautions, a total want of an organised system of proper drainage, and altogether a complete want of those provisions which prevent infectious diseases from spreading. It is just as well under these circumstances that we are so strict in our quarantine regulations with regard to immigrant Bhips; but it does seem strange that we should totally ignore the existence of infectious disease in a colony with which we have almost daily communication. Of course we do not advise that measures of unnecessary strictness Bhould be at once adopted, and that all incoming vessels from Victoria should be subjected to instantaneous quarantine, but we do point out that whilst there is the apparent danger of receiving from that colony such infection as now exists there, some precautionary measures should be adopted. At least it is worth inquiry whether this should bo done or not. We have not intentionally exaggerated the causes of alarm—anyone who takes the trouble to look over late Melbourne papers will find that we have rather understated than overstated the case, but it might be worth the while of people who are unnecessarily officious very frequently to ascertain whether on the present occasion they might be officious with a good and wholesome result.