New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1874. THE 'EVENING STAR'S' CHALLENGE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 37, 10 January 1874, Page 5

New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1874. THE 'EVENING STAR'S' CHALLENGE.

In our last issue ue promised to return to the consideration of a leader in the 'Evening Star' of the 30th ult. The editor of this paper deserves scant courtesy from us ; he chaiges us untruly with "distorting iacts, assorting falsehoods, and substituting abuse for argument." Convinced that people capable of forming a correct judgment on the Mibject will acquit us of these grave misdemeanours, we shall abstain from ary further comment on this part of liis leader, and proceed at once to meet the challenge contained in the following sentences :—": — " In th-at article we referred to history to bhovv that, judged by what they have done, neither of those churches has the slightest claim to be entrusted with the education of children." — "Had this assertion been ialse it would Lave been easy to have refuted it by citing the means piopobed by thobe churches for the advancement of p jpular eUiKuUon."

Quod 'jratta ashcritur gratis negatur. An assertion, without proof may be denied without proof, is a principle of common fc-jjso as well as of dialectics. We have no recollection oJ any proof whatever being given by the 'Evening •Star' oi its, broad assertions. In a general way history wns invoked \<j oui contemporary, but there never was any .specific rt.i.'ieuce to an author, or age, or country. The writer iv ihe 'fctar' stated that such and such wt\.s the teaching o. history, and there the matter was left. Under sich circa: .sluices is it fair, is it juat, is it reasonable of the ' Kveni 1!^1 !^ » L.a 1 ' to demand of us a categorical enumeration of the moi'i.fc, ..'looted by the Catholic Church for the promotion of popi.V. education. Had this writer endeavoured to support hii .. i i>'»g charge with even the semblance of proof,

we should and would have adduced arguments in detail to refute him ; but as he did nothing of the kind, we contented ourselves with giving his assertion, gratuitous as it was, an unqualified denial. The onus of proof lay on him, as he made a charge which was prima. Jade against fact. For whatever popular education there is in the world is for the most part due to the Church ; and that popular education ia and has been widely spread no real student of history would dream of denying. When, therefore, the writer had the hardihood to make the sweeping assertions contained in the ' Star,' it was clearly incumbent on him to state his reasons j but having neglected to do this ; having abstained from even the remotest attempt to advance an argument ; having dealt in mere assertions, is not this writer carrying presumption too far to say that bepause we have not brought forward positive proofs of the untruthfulness of his unsupported assertion, we have not acted in a " straightforward way ?'

An excuse, however, may probably be made in mitigation of the severe sentence which all real schobira must pass on the conduct and statements of the ' Evening Star.' It may be presumed that its conductors have never re.\d any authorities on history, except tho^e romances in the English language, which have usurped that name. Genuine historians, therefbie, may be disposed to show them mercy, for they know not what they do.

But though the editor ot the ' Evening Star ' has not qualified himself logically to call on us to cite *' the means proposed" by the Catholic Church for .the promotion of popular education, we shall do so nevertheless, ex abundantia. We bhall begin with the Roman States, where, up to a comparatively recent period, the Church has been free to educate the people. In the city of Home there were in 1841, 27 institutions, and 387 schools for the instruction of the children of the poorer portion of the public. Of these, 180 were for infants of both sexes ; 94 were exclusively devoted to males, and 113 to females. At that time 14,157 children attended the Elementary Schools; of these 7579 wore' educated gratuitously, the others paid ;i very small pension. Of these 387 schools 49 only belonged to religious communities, fie rest were conducted by seculars. In addition, 2213 children received the rudiments of education in special conservatories and hospitals. It appears then that in the year 1841 there were 16,373 children out of a total population in Home of 160,000, receiving an elementary education. To these must be added the students in the uinveisities and higher colleges of the city. " Including these with the classes already mentioned," Macguire states that, " the student population of Rome as compared with the total population of the city was in the year 1h42, as one in eight."

But since then, up to the time of the usurpation of Victor Emmanuel, both schools and scholars had increased. And the Pope did everything in his power both by pecuniary aid, and impressing on the clergy the duty of urging parents to send thrir children to school, to promote the education of the people. "If then,'" concludes Macguire, "the educational standard were one in eight when JMorichini wrote, it must have approximated to one in six in 1858." In Rome alone, he continues, 23,000 pupils or students of .ill agos and conditions, received public instruction in the year 1858; and with the exception of some trifling feas, the whole of the education, from that of the lloinan Universit}' to that of the school for the ragged poor, was then gratuitous" To this we shall add the testimony of Mr. Ksiy, the travelling bachelor of Cambridge, who writing about this t'rne, — 184 L — tells us there is a school in every street in Home ; and that Home with a j opulation of less than 200,000, hxd twice as many elementary schools as Berlin with -100,000 ; so that Home, considering her population, had four times the numhsr of elementary schools in Berlin, tiio model Protestant city in educational matters.

Before the Sardinian invasion, there were in the Pope's dominions seven universities. In each was taught a course of theology, jurisprudence, plnl medicine, and surgery, besides other branches. The universities of Home and Bologna were of the first-class, and in these was taught, in addition, a complete course- of mathematics. All these universities were supp.ied with museums of a comprehensive character, illustrating the various sciences ; and also large and well selected libraries, in which were to be found works of great antiquity nni rare value. Four of these universities possessed each a chair of agriculture and a model f.wm. With respect to elementary c lucation throughout the provinces, the amplest provision was made for it. In alHowjrs.

containing from 2000 to 5000 inhabitants, there was a gymnasium. In the gymnasium were taught, besides other matters, reading, writing, arithmetic, elementary philosophy, and the principles of jurisprudence. Where the gymnasium did not exist, there were communal schools for boys, and similar schools for girls. These were to be found in every town, and even small villages, throughout the entire country. Into all these school-:, gymnasiums, and universities, htudents were admitted without any charge whatever. Now let us see how many students were attending the great Universities and principal seminaries. Attending the llomau University the number was 103 L; Bologna, 1050Macerata, 1313; Perugia, 1137; Pesara and Urbino, 5178; Ferrara, 370 G. Then Auconia Lad 2515 scholars of the higher grade, and Ascoli 2253 ; and so on till the gross number amounted to 28,899. And let it be borne in mind that the entire population of the Pipal States did not amount to 3,000,000. Here we may ask, did all the principal seminaries and universities of Great Britain, with a population eight times as great as that of the Roman States, contain as many pupils of the higher grade ? Again, compare the number ot students attending the seven universities of the Papal States, before the Sardinian invasion, with the number attending the nine universities of Prussia in 1872. Prussia has nine universities for 24,000,000 of inhabitants, and these were attended by 7093 students in 1872. The Pap.il States had, thirty years Ago, seven universities, attended by 13 425 students, for 2,900,000 inhabitants. But, it may be asked, what was the character of the education given in these various Papal institutions ? Some idea may be formed of this when it is known that even in many of the elementary schools even Latin was taught, in addition to the usual branches of primary education. In the colleges the curriculum was most extensive, and in the Roman university— the Sapienza— the most complete of any in the the world. For example, in the Sapienza there were five colleges, besides the schools of the academy of St. Luke, and the school of engineering ; forty-nine professors, who gave lectures during the academical year, to all of which admission was gratuitous, in Latin, Greek. Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and Chaldaic; in botany, chemistry, natural history, anatomy' physiology, pathology, pharmacy, and Hirj-ery ; "in algebra, geometry, physics, mechanics, hydraulics, optics, astronomy, mineralogy, archaeology ; m sacred eloquence, dogmatic theology, and sacred scripture; in the Jaw of nature, the law of nations, canon, civil and criminal law ; in painting, sculpture, architecture, histoiy, mythology, &c. ; in veterinary fcurgory, etc. Further, in the Gregorian University, known a» the Roman College, twenty-eight professors gave" lectures, to which admission was gratuitous, in grammar, logic, metaphysics, ethics, philosophy of religion, natural philosophy, theology, eanor law, histoiy, Hebrew liturgy, Arc. The museums oi all the universities in the Papal .States were ot a "comprehensive rharacter, illustrating" says Mncguire, ''the various sciences, such as zoology, mineralogy, 0 anatomy, chemistiy, mechanics, etc. ; and the museums of the ii ratclass unn ursine* availed these of any European capital m variety and vah.e of their collections. Thus, for instance, the museum ot mineralogy in the Roman UmverMty, as well as its collection of birds, excelled in their completeness and extent tlr so oi any otln-r Italian city. '1 he same may be, said of the museum of the university of Bologna, some idea of the m.. t '.niL,i 'c and value of which nny be afforded from the I'acl that .t, anatomical collection contains 00,000 preparations.''

The 'Kveninn Star ' lms challenged us to cite the " means propose!" by the Catholic Church for the juhanceiuent of popular oducutij.l , well, we h-ivu taken up the challenge, and by tin, facts stati-J in this article proved the canton character of the groii:inu> , di.,rge winch our uontcmpurarv in n. moment of apparent nutation hut, made agiiinbt the Catholic Clunrh vjz., that jusig-d by what, she hnd done, .she has not the slightest cLiiii u» be entru.ted with the education of children. "Who h; s do;u; :<s iuii.li, who has ever attempted to do as much for popular ouuaitinn ? And only let ihe Church be free, and <ai!ly weighted in the race, and she \\Ji do even more than si- ho. 1 - ahcady clone.

Pi uo i>orlui.* tins ' livening .Star ' would like some further citations, oi the " moans proposed" by the Catholic Church for tho jui\aucmcnt v popuLir education. The editor has only to lot us know that sujlj is his wish, and we «hall Uc most hi.l 4)) tv comply \\Hh Jiib request. Might we not, huwfcAer, be pciu.lUoi to :t 3 k the 'Veiling Star' Lo be good

enough to state some of the facts which in his judgment go to prove that history, as he has asserted, shows that, judged by what she lias done, the Catholic Church has not the slightest claim to be entrusted with the education of children. W e have gone to some trouble to gratify the ' Star,' and given our contemporary some very valuable information, which we have no doubt his candor will permit to enlighten his want of knowledge; and surely it is not too much to ask iv return information so necessary for us, and which, of course, it can be no trouble to him to give; inasmuch as he must have had it all on his fingers-ends when he wrote the strong words quoted above, as to the Catholic Church nut having the slightest claim to be entrusted with the education of children. The writer of these words is, uo doubt, an able, learned, and conscientious man ; knows what he says, and why he say 3 it, and the grounds on which his statements arc based. It cannot give him much trouble, therefore, to write a few sentences, giving us the information we ask.

But we take the liberty of raying, in order to prevent misunderstanding hereafter, that we cannot rest satisfied with general assertions without facts and references, because without these it would be impossible to verify the assertions.