RELIGION, AND POLITICS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 251, 23 October 1893, Page 5

RELIGION, AND POLITICS.

PRONOUNCEMENT BY BISHOP LUCK.

At the various Catholic iShurches yesterday, the following leaflet was circulated :—"The Coming Election. To Catholic Electors. Pronouncements made by their Lordships the Bishops of Auckland and Dunedin. Bishop Luck's 'pronouncement.' In view of the importance of the coming general elections, nob only on accounb of the great issues aft atake, bub also by reason of the extended franchise, I deem it my duty to offer you a few words of earnesb advice. Ido nob pose as a politicals leader. I have no aptitude for such a task, and I regret Ihig all the more because, owing to the actual low level of political morality amongab many of the representatives of the people, and the debased ambition that is rampant amongsbeo many unprincipled aspirants for place and power, a political leader worthy of the respect and confidence of the Catholic body is greatly needed. Ib seems to me thab the Catholics of New Zealand, especially in the provincial district of Auckland, have nob hitherto exercised the power and influence they undoubtedly command. We form a seventh parb of the entire popula- '), and we certainly could make our in-

- dtice felt; but because we do nob as a body figure in the mercantile community, there are many who underrate oar capabilities, and aa a matter of fact, we are most unjustly dealt with especially in the matter ofeuuc&tion. Itishigh time weshouldprove thabour strength id anelementtobe reckoned wifch by those who aspire to repreaent the people in the Legislature. Hitherto, no member of the House of Representatives returned by any northern constituency has tr.ken the Catholic vote into serious account, and it goes without saying that our rights and interests, so far at least as the vital question of Education is concerned, have always been opposed, or at least ignored. Let not this be so in the future. Let every Catholic man and woman register, and give their vote to those only who distinctly pledge themselves to recognise and uphold our just claim that the Education Act be amended bo tie to relieve us from the injustice of the Act as it is now in force We have the sympathy and the good will' of many of our fellow colonists ; let us be true to ourselves and remember that ' united we stand, divided we fall.' Let me caution you against the ovil influence of a bigoted and unfair press. Editors are but men—and sometimes men of very fallacious views or crooked ends. The daily papers are, of course, political organs that grind the tune to which they are set. Take no heed of their occasional commendations of Catholic men and claims, and treat with manly scorn their too frequent abuse or sneers. Especially at this period of election campaign, let us bear in mind that those utterances are valueleac, because their articles are not the result of conscientious principle or even of intellectual conviction, but emanate from other sources too vile or ignoble to be followed up. In this matter, I cannot do better than refer you to the recent utterances of the veteran champion of the Catholic cause in this colony, the Right Rev. Dr. Moran, Bishop of Dunedin, in whose outspoken and manly advice I entirely concur. I allude to the interview in the ' New Zealand Tablet' of October 13th, a copy of which is subjoined: * Catholic electors should vote for those candidates exclusively who pledge themselves if returned to vote for equitable aid for Catholic schools. I would further advise that if in any electorate there be no candidate thus pledged the Catholic voters of such electorate should stay at home aad abstain from voting for anyone, except, indeed, there should be a candidate specially odious to them, againstwhotn, of course, they will vote." Asked as to what ho thought Catholics are to expect from the labour party as far as the general good of the colony and justice to Catholic schools are concerned, Bishop'Moran replied: — "As to the labour party in New Zealand, I am convinced that the labour party in this colony is its own greatest enemy, and I am certain it is our greatest enemy. The labour party in thU colony has not been led by its best and wisest members. Its policy has killed enterprise here, and is mainly responsible for the present dearth of employment. Money i? abundant in New Zealand—so abundant that it> is constantly being sent to Australia, and even to America, instead of being employed here in the development of the country. And this is to be attributed mainly to the labour party. Therefore, I say, it is its own worat enemy. There is another point of view in which it is its own worst enemy also. 16 advocates free godless education from bottom to top—from the primary school to the university—not having brains and intelligence enough to Bee that by this advocacy it is injuring' itself and providing rich endowments for the well-to-do class. In the second placa, it is our greatest enemy. Whilst loudly demanding even more than justice for itself, ib pledges itself to continue to plunder Catholics and to trample on their consciences and their principles. My advice, therefore, to all Catholics is to have nothing whatever to do with the labour party in New Zealand. It is the uncompromising advocate of the plundering godless system of education in this country which inflicts upon ua such terrible injustice. I advise such Catholice as may be found in its ranks to come forth from thorn at once, and to be no longer responsible for the mischief ib is doing the colony, and the wrong it is doing themselves." The leafleo concludes as follows r—•• Catholics of Auckland, remenber the following advice of the Bishops of New Zealand given at Dunedin, July, 1892, namely, 1. Catholic voters should avoid pledging themselves to anycanditate, in order to maintain their freedom of action at the election. 2. Catholics should fulfil their conscientious obligation by voting for those candidates only, who pledge themselves to support Catholic claims."