EDUCATION IN AMERICA.

Press, Volume V, Issue 558, 13 August 1864, Page 2

EDUCATION IN AMERICA.

" Subscriber " is anxious that we should publish Ifa Trollope's remarks on religion in America, and send them to us in the following letter. They do not be» rery much on the question, for tho rowdy character which Mr. Trollope remarks, extends riot onlj to reli «ion but to all tho social life of the Americans If religion only suffered, it might be argued that ite exclusion from tho schools was tke cause • but a*. according to his own account, wjKgion merely shares the general tone of the country', tfc cannot be argued » that if it were taught authoritatively in the schools ite character would be changed. It is rather a fooluh remark of Mr. Trollope's—that respecting "the absence" of a national religion." If he means to regret thai all the inhabitants of the country do not happen to"" hare a common faith, —that, of course, we all regret •* nay more, —that all the world has not a common faith. But if he means to regret that, the people not having a common faith, one sect is not made into a national Church,—that seems to us a rather foofiak regret. For, whatever benefit might arise from I national Church under euch oircumstaaces, the evili would be ten times as great. Indeed the thaw is an impossibility, and therefore need not be discussed. A national Church may be handed down as the Church of England has been, from dan when it was one with the State, and it may be to entwined with State laws and usages that the separation may be delayed for long after the theory of an equality of all religious bodies in the eyes of the law has been admitted. But to create a State Church I in a free democracy, is not possible. We are also asked to publish the " Instructions of the Irish Board of Education." We do so. The Irish system is, in our opinion, entirely undenominiZ tional. The Board there took the only step by which religion could be successfully introduced into tile schools as the work of the State. The Board, which!-, was composed of members of the Roman Catholic, * Church of Ireland, and dissenting congregation*, prepared and printed their own books. Trmfcmd of quarrelling about a theory on what should be taught at -eligion in schools, they said " Wβ all agree in this • book" —and they formed a whole library of school' books in this way. But it should be added thai such a scheme could only succeed where the men, to work it were more than commonly liberal in their views, and Christian in spirit. Such men were Arch* "" bishop Whately of the Church of Ireland, and Arch- » bishop Murray, the Koman Catholic Archbishop, of ; Dublin, than whom a more venerable and/r excellent prelate never lived. And it should be farther told, that the Irish system has not succeeded as 'tia~ fnunera desired, for it has worked itself, to a gratf extent, into a denominational system, some sehoohv falling into the hands of the priests, and others of the Presbyterians ; a fact which would seem to lead to the conclusion that there is really no retting. pVmr between the entirely denominational and the ennrejji secular system. . - The proposal of the Synod here ie to cling rigidly to the denominational system, but the mode of ascertaining which denomination shall hare ntito whole control of the schools, is one which certainly lays open the Church to the charge-made against it by Mr. Tancred in the Synod—that of attempting to get all the schools of the province into its handi. There can be no doubt that if the scheme of the Synod be carried, all the new schools in the province mil fell into the hands of the Church—and in time ~ all the schools. The Church has a numerical majority s of inhabitant?, and that we are told is to decidethe question. How then can it be otherwise? It is most singular that those who propose plan cannot see that its injustice is exposed by Iheif own arguments. The Bishop says, "A school in which no religion is taught is not enough for us, nor one in which religion is taught in any but the dogmatic form in which' it has been handed down to us. Let of therefore appoint our teacher and manage the schoolwe hive the majority." If it be urged that that wiU'r not be fair by other religious bodies, the answer "we do not want to teach their children religion; thqc can attend theschool,and be taught no religion atalL"; But suppose they turn round and say, "that is exactly what you said you would not submit to yourself es.AII you have to propose for us is that we shall subnet , to what you reject. You are to have your religion 1 taught in the schools; we are to have our children taught their religion as we can." The situation is Ottt which cannot be maintained. The Irish, systexn ».. better than this : under it the State teaches the BKB& religion out of the same books to all. But the bookshave been already settled ; in short, a new Jbodj-of doctrine has been compiled, and made a State religion for the nonce. The Government has not yet announced what m intends to do. Mr. Tancred will, it seems, bring 91» Bill, and we may assume it will be one to cany out the policy of the Board. We shall only express-a hope that it may be no half measure; because, unless the clergy and the earnest denominationalists>«re utterly driven out of all hope of getting religiontaught in the schools, they will never make those exertions, and, as we believe, those sucoeeefal fflW» tions, to spread abroad religious knowledge - the young, which they would do were the qoestwii • i absolutely settled. A G-YHNASnm. —Wβ see by an advertisement , ,u\ our columns that a scheme for the formation ef "• Gymnasium ia being set on foot in rhat a meeting will be held for thepurpose *>(«% cussing the question atßonnington's Hall on Monday. We are very glad to see that the project has been ea; tertained, and wish it all success, for there M Bβ doubt that ifc will be productive of benefits ie J| high degree. The affinity that exists between Wf body and mind, and the effect that en -c*B"-~ healthy weak condition of the one has on thehfleugf tone and action of the other, is well known, anOW in too many cases the means for keeping the wflw.**»*~ corpore sano are entirely neglected. It often thought a waste of valuable time.to a*TO» hours to the exercise of the body which might.oeefc pended on the direct cultivation of the mind,, wheeiJs were the physical condition, of the human euqeet more attended to, the mind would in most cases »• rendered far more capable of receiving " sustaining all kinds of exertion. This fact b M ?«sj5J! much better understood in England, where «?J7!£- ------! tions of the kind we are advocating: have lately«***£ very common, and a similar establishment in- V" church, though formed on a different footing* FP*F f be of value to the young portion of our.popuWwftlp - addition (to the means of rational amusement Wβ* would be afforded them. Pkisckss' Theatbu.—King Richard the was performed last -night to a thin ™**L fear is likely to be the case as long as the J* weather lasts. Of Mr. »w tun's performance m W»*

pig* we hare spoken before, and in terms which a {briber acquaintance does not lead us to alter. It if a pity th at att ector * n respects frhows lumsetf possessed of considerable talent, should so poastently adopt a radically vicious style. Mr. Newton seems to think that in a tragedy no one l honld ever be allowed to speak or more like jny ordinary being The Richard of Shakespeare jj s cool, scheming, bold villain, who is resolutely bent on making bia way to the Crown, and cats off each successive obstacle that opposes die consummation of his wishes with as ]j»t]e compunction as a chess player removes from the board a piece that interferes with his intended. checkmate; yet Mr. Newton makes him rant and jgn Eke the most outrageous of Dryden's or Lee's joroe*. Of all the plays of Shakespeare that we bre seen represented at our theatre, this has been tbfleut gatiefactory. The afterpiece was Whitebait at Greenwich, a very amusing farce, which was as BKceetTul last night as it has been when previously performed. To-night we are to have Richelieu, and YffiWiM and his Dinah, a very rapid step from the piMime to the ridiculous, which between the lovers of both must surely find plenty of supporters.