LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1026, 16 January 1911, Page 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

"THE MARTYRED FRANCESCO FERRER," Sir,—l regret exceedingly that your correspondent "A Wellington Catholic" should have headed his letter: "The Anarchist Ferrer." Poor, martyred .Ferrer took every pains ho could (alter his discharge from custody "without a shred of evidence against him" lor the Madrid outrage ill which King Alfonso nearly lost his life) to show that he was no anarchist. . lie was absolutely convinced that anarchism, alid revolution could do nothing for Spain, as the people were too deeply steeped iu ignorance. His idea was to regenerate Spain by founding open secular ■ modern schools, (no now widelyknown Escuclti Modenia, in which all tho teaching was most lofty and humanitarian. The extracts 1 possess from Ferrer's works and life are absolutely at variance with those given by your correspondent. Moreover, the whole power of tho Church has been devoted Id bolster up its caso against Ferrer, and it has lamentably failed. So important is this matter, and so littlo do- tho people of New Zealand know what has really happened, that I would stake rav own life upon a complete acquittal of Ferrer, before any independent New Zealand commission, should ono ho set up as it may be yet, to investigate this lamentable matter. For the Church claims hero tho same right to tako charge of education which Ferrer lost his life-in disputing. I confidently ask my fellow Roman Catholic satl'lcrs, free-born Now Zealonders, none of whom, that I know, would tolerate murder and injustice, to carefully inquire into'this trial of Ferrer (who was a Roman Catholic and a wealthy man) as what I am contending for is not the condemnation of any church, but' that Christianity itself is, and - has alwaj-s been, a barbarous and savage cult, utterly opposed to education and. progress, and that tho women of New Zealand should no longer bo guided by it. That is the point, viz., to frc-o the minds ot our women from ft wrong religious cult. . In M'Clure's magazine for December Mr William Archer concludes his examination of the "Trial and Death of Ferrer." Any 0110 is open to read that article. By it your correspondent is totally out of Court. Ferrer was accused, tried, and put: to death as. the author and chief of tho Barcelona rising. Ihero was not enough evidence to warrant even holding Ferrer as a witness in it. But that didn't matter, 'fys actual crime was founding , and paying -for, out of his own money, ninety exactly similar • secular schools to those wo have in New Zealand. The Church missed its prey after tho Madrid outrage; although the then Government held Ferrer in prison for a year. But it resolved that there should ho no escape for him after the Barcelona rising to'which Ferrer, was absolutely opposed. Mr. Archer closes his final articlo on the case by comparing, it with the Drevfus affair in Frauce. tln each case," he says, "we see militarism inspired by clcricalism, riding rough-shod over tho plainest principles of justice. The victim in each caso is a personage hated by tho Church." . . Ths .is what we have now to fear in New Zealand bv our new defence scheme. Tho Church will indirectly command our army, and tho army officers will carry out it's behests, as the Spanish Military Court-Martial did against Ferrer, and as the French Army officials did against Dreyfus.. They, did so 'to pleaso the Church. , ~ . . , But what was the result in Spain or Ferrer's trial and death? Tho Church made uso of the/Spanish Government to put Ferrer to death, and consequently elected to stand by that Government. But- the Maura Government fell 'within eight days after tho .- military murder, so great "was the . horror . the news entailed. And at the present moment lung Alfonso holds his throne at jthe nod of Siguor Canelejas. . Tho vindication of tho twentieth j century martyr' is full and complete. ,- Spain is not going- to overlook Ferrer's death. Shall we 111' New Zealand? What wo liavo._to .do is to deducoi n useful lesponj froni iti viz., not to havo a standing army and not to hand our education system over to any church. In New York lately, 011 tho parade ground, whole regiments sank npon their knees, as a High Church official blessed them. The peoplo of New. Zealand forget that tho Church, for a thousand years, has always made use of the military to subjugate tho ■ peoplo of Europe to its wishes. Take Ferrer's trial! Not a single word vour correspondent has written is justified. Amongst his tissue of nns-state-ments aro the following:—"'The, - trial lasted nearly a month. Oyer.6o witnesses wero examined. Tho trial was public. Tho police . found . damning evidence amongst his papers. Every • latitude of, cro.ss-examinationi .was allowed tlio accused and his counsel," and so 011. But .whatvare the facts? The trial lasted 28 days in .private. It is truo the Military Tribunal sat iu public from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Octobcr 9, 1909, but that was the only public part of tho proceedings, and it (lid not include tho examination of one solitary witness.' There were 60.witnesses called it is true, but Ferrer' was only confronted with four of them (lir private), and 110 denied what they said. lie was denied tho assistance of any lawyer, and could not even cross-examine the four witnesses he met. The Military Tribunal heard, tho 56 witnesses, quite apart from Ferrer at all. . (What should we think of such - a proecduro ill Now Zealand ? Yet that is what \ve shall come to. if militarism and clericalism grows as it is growing.) As to the "damning evidence tho police found: Ferrer rightly urged that tho papers were twenty years old, when lie had been a revolutionary-against church dominance, and they ought not to be brought against him in the Barcelona matter, seeing that ho had abandoned his revolutionary ideas in favour of secular teaching and the true enlightenment of the people.! Surely your correspondent himself would not bring against, a man charged for "a .crime 111 something ho may have said m ibaJ. Wo must, as civilised beiDRS stand up for justice and humanity. Not . that tho churches do so,I freely admit, as Calvin nut Serretus to death, as foul a murder as' that of Ferrer. I warn /Wellington Roman Catholics ,to check the growth of militarism in order not to put a rod in pickle for their own backs. Jesus Christ said Ho came to bring a swwd. and the Chnrcli has always used it. That is whv I say far too much has been made "of .Tcsus Christ. Who is a. bad teacher, and w'o want to get rid of Hnn and His teaching from Now Zealand. I cannot understand, therefore, your correspondent, if he is a freedom New Zealander, approving this military and clerical murder of Ferrer. I cannot tell him. to go to Spain and inquire more carefully into the matter, as at any moment every priest and mm in Spain may bo exnelled —as Portugal has just done—a sufficient proof of what tho Spanish people think ol' this one martyr's death—l am, etc., COLEMAN PHILLIPS. Carterton, January 12, 1911. I>,S—Ferrer was not allowed legal assistance. He was "forced" to choose a defender from a list of military officers, after tho 5G witnesses had'been examined in'secret, whom neither Ferrer nor his . "defender" never saw. Their evidence was read over to him, and ho and his "defender" wero given 24 hours to reply to it What a travesty of justico? rwo liavo left our correspondent s long letter untouched. His opponent must be brief if ho desires to reply, and the correspondence must then cease, so'far as Ferrer is concerned.] •