AN OLD CRY.

Evening Star, Issue 6775, 15 December 1884, Page 4

AN OLD CRY.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— You will see that we are not the only people that are charged with prosolytism, as the enslosed cutting will show. Is is from the ‘Sydney Mail* of the 29th of November, and no doubt will be quite refreshing to the Committee of our Benevolent Institution after the diatribes they have had to put up with on the same subject. That the charge is only used as a bugbear no one will duubt, There is an old saying that the “ Devil finds work for idb hands to do,” and I suppose the scarecrow “ Proaelytism ” does for the idle hands.— l am, etc., S. Barker, Dunedin, December 15. A sub-committee of the Sydney Hospital has made inquiries into the charge of prosclytism made in connection with the Ophthalmic Hospital at Moorcliff, and has found the charge to be utterly groundless. It will bo remembered that about three weeks ago Archbishop Moran said that Outholio teachers never proselytised, whereas he had heard a thousand times of the efforts of Protestants to destroy the faith of Catholic children. After reading the report of the speech in which this statement was made the Minister of Education wrote to the Arch >i-hop and asked lor the names and instances of any cases of proaelytism. The Archbishop rep led to the effect that he knew of no cases in connection with the public schools, hut some few complaints had reached him in regard to the Ophthalmic Hospital. The sub-committee of the Sydney Hospital have made inquiries into this matter, and have discovered that the lady in charge of this institution Is a Roman Catholic, so that what was said of I’rotcstanFtcachers could not apply to her. It is not insinuated that anybody else lias been trying to prbscl.vtiso at Moorcliff, and the idea of a Roman Catholic lady setting herself to Protestantise Roman Catholic children is a ludicrous one indeed. On two occasion, it teems Roman Catholic children have b« n compelled to attend Protestant services, but In one case the matron knew nothing about the religion of the patient, and in the other attendance was enforced because the patient had expressed a determination not to attend areligions service of any kind In regard to this ciso alone could a complaint of any kind be made, and in connection with this the idea of proselytism could not arise. The sub-committee has done well to post a notice to the effect that in future Roman Catholic children of tender age will not be allowed to attend the readings and services except with the express permission of their parents or guardians, but it cannot be said that there was anything to call for such a step. Nothing could bo more paltry than the complaints the Archbishop has made, and in this as we 1 as in other instances they are not only paltry but groundless. It is to be hoped that in future the Archbishop will find something better to do.