FATHER CARDEN'S LETTER.

Southland Times, Issue 1593, 18 June 1872, Page 3

FATHER CARDEN'S LETTER.

Sie, — On the 7th inst. your paper contained an epistle from Father Carden, inserted under the heading " Protestant Calumnies." Don't you think this slightly inappropriate, and that "Who'll tread on me coat tails " as text, would have more correctly indicated to your readers the nature of the closely— printed abuse of Protestantism that followed ? When 1 reached that part of the rev. Father's epistle where your contemporary is introduced as a " stab-in-the-iarkist " of an " awfully Protestant — or, properly, Presbyterian" type, clothed in a garb of " disclosures," " terrible scenes," " heresy," " lies," " infidels," " filth," &c, I felt that I must have missed the perusal of a recent number of that journal, and wondered what it was all about. But on further inspection, found the issue in question to be one which I did read. Was puzzled. Became thoughtful. Result — Hazy recollection of a paragraph from extremely foreign source, of that kind with which editors are wont to fill up odd corners. Exclamation — Pooh ! Mow stupid of that man to treat with so much importance what everybody has forgotten ! The rev. Father invites your readers to '" wituessEngland !" I accept the invitation, and behold in Great Britain a nation that has, under G-odj given to the world civil and religious liberty ! As a punnist, your reverend correspondent does not excite my admiration. * " The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the Bible," which is recognised by the British constitution and Protestant Christians generally, as the Word of God ; and, as officially represented in Otago, interprets profane history in an arbitrary manner, therefore argument with her is impossible, except on that very narrow and undesirable platform, which may be defined by the expression, " you're another." Allow me to state for the benefit of whomsoever it may concern, that clergymen are expected to conduct themselves with a certain amount of refinement and dignity, and that in proportion as they do so will they be respected.— l am, &c, Layman.