Truth SECTARIAN SCANDALMONGERS

NZ Truth, Issue 818, 16 July 1921, Page 4

Truth

SECTARIAN SCANDALMONGERS

NEW ZEALAND HEAD OFFICE:

. . j. LUKE'S LiANB, WELLINGTON.

BRANCH OFFICES — AUCKLAND: s Custom-street , East. CHRISTCHURCH: 102 Gloucester-street. DUNEDIN: No. G Roberta' 3 Building, Stuart-street

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 1921

PEREGRINATING PARSON'S PUTRID PROPAGANDA

Nover a week passes without "Truth" receiving one or more letters from various parts of the Dominion, seeking tonflrmation or denial of some statement made by the Rev. Howard Elliott. These statements are varied. Some refer to the famous nun case; others to the treatment oC young girls m Roman Catholic homes, to the horsewhipping of the zealous Elliott at Auckland, or as to certain articles appearing m "Truth" having been written by a Roman Catholic priest. Of late "Truth" has felt so "fed up" with these sectarian queries that it has ceased to answer them. Like the conundrum concerning the cove looking at a certain photo, they are perennial. We have given, up assuring (correspondents' that the man m questiqn is looking at the photo of his son, and we have also given up trying to satisfy either one side or the other on matters sectarian. The fact is that the, religious ' bigot' — no matter 'what patented or unpatented creed he subscribes to — cannot be convinced. After you have fired off all your arsenal of facts and hit him every time, your shafts fail to find a vulnerable part m his armour. Even when he makes an 'unwilling assent to what is placed before him as a fair deduction from the facts, he is not m the least convinced because He- who complies against his will Is of his own opinion still. And the sectarian bigot is "It" every time. There is one consolation, however, he is seldom tff sufficient importance to bother one's arm about. Last week, "Truth" had quite a "spate" of the sort of questions indicated fired at its devoted head. Some of these were accompanied by r \ enclosures cut from provincial papers giving reports of speeches by the peregrinating spouter of the P.P.A., and others of like kidney. It is not our purpose to reply to all these queries or to traverse and contradict all the mischievous and lying statements attributed rightly or -wrongly to the Rev. Howard Elliott. One or two, however, we cannot pass over m silence, because they are so mendacious, and disgracefully untrue and unfair that even m the face of the printed word we hesitate to believe that any speaker of standing would dare to utter them at a public meeting. Certainly no honorable man would have made the statements referred to without first having taken evei'y means at his disposal to vei'ify the same before giving them further currency. Experience has shown us that we can scarcely place Howard Elliott m that category, nevertheless, we will give him the benefit of the doubt, and trust that when he is properly seized of "Truth's" attitude on these matters he will do — well, what any honorable person would do under the. circumstances. "Truth" is asked whether the case of . the alleged ill-treatment ! of a girl m a Roman Catholic institution m Christchurch was proven to be true, and whether "Truth's" defence of the institution was shown to be "utterly false and unfounded?" This case is 0$ such recent date and the ' Rev. Howard Elliott and his "maiden m distress" were so completely blown out, that one can scarcely credit that it is still doing duty as 1 a means of slandering a body of noble women who have consecrated their lives to the service of others and those others, the weak and the erring of their own sex. If ever allegations were disproved they were m the case referred to. Instead of having reason to complain it was clearly demonsti'ated to a committee of Protestant ladies and gentlemen that the girl had every reason to be grateful to the Mother Superior and the Sisters of the Home m question. At the close of the inquiry the girl's lies and evil intentions had recoiled on her own head and not one who went into the inquiry with an open mind but was

convinced that the allegations were nothing but cruel, callous lies. Yet the statement is still doing duty and the story is clinched with the remark: "It must be true, for the girl made a sworn statement before a magistrate." Now, "Truth" frankly admits that the matter was altogether too serious to allow it to end as it did. Something more ought to have been done. Had the Mother Superior's rebuttal of the girl's allegations been accepted m good faith by the. other side and the amende honorable made by making that rebuttal as public as they had made the charges — had this been done by the Rev, Howard Elliott from" the public p'.atform, "Truth" would have hailed him as a worthy follower of Him whom he professes to serve, however, faultily — but m that case he wouldn't have been Howard Elliott. !3ut everyone knew that this would not be done. The sectarian bigot (and he is of all shades and colors) is incapable of judging 'fairly; and so we may expect to hear this misguided girl's charges repeated and enlarged upon for many a long day to come. "Truth" is quite willing to believe that the girl was herself honestly convinced that she was m some measure being ill -done by. There are types, both male and female, who, no matter how' fairly treated while inmates of institutions, consider that they are being "put upon" and that certain persons m charge have "a down on them." There is not an institution of a like kind' in New Zealand,, or any other country for that matter, Anglican, Presbyterian, Salvation Army, Roman Catn*blic, unseetarian or State ol- which such persons, though , immured for their own good and kindly and considerately treated, do not make similar complaints and allegations. The type of persons referred to chafe at restraint of any kind, and rebel against discipline. They object. to do work' of a routine nature, and when given instructions, buck at being "ordered" as to what they shall do and as to what they shall not do. Men and women of ordinary intelligence are aware of these facts and, when they receive complaints from persons of this type concerning such institutions, they reserve judgment until they have sifted the evidence and tested the alleged facts. Not so the sectarian scandalmonger. He or she is not concerned with discovering the truth and righting a wrong, on whichever side the wrong may be. His, or her, only concern is how soon and how far the allegations can be spread publicly to the hurt of those the charges are levelled against. It matters not that time and time again such accusations of cruelty have been completely "blown out," as • m the instance under review, the statements continue to be bruited abroad doing their evil work until another dissatisfied inmate of the same, or some similar, institution comes along and out of spite or natural perversity (which is a form of insanity) spins another such yarn and the old "heigh howe"»of allegation and denial is all to go over again. Is there no way to put a stop to such an unsatisfactory state of affairs? "Truth" is not objecting to the expo-sure-of abuses. Our readers know that quite a number of serious abuses have first been exposed and denounced m the columns of the People's Paper. It matters not whether abuses occur m Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or other x'eligious or State institutions, it .is but right that they should' be exposed, the guilty punished, and the cause of complaint removed. There is no body or government, no matter what the creed of the former or the politics of the latter, that can vouch for everyone of its servants m their treatment of those m- their charge "doing as they would be done by." Wherever abuses are found, let them be exposed. To do so is to act ■ m the best interests of the institutions

scandalised by their occurrence . and dishonored by their continuance. But what "Truth" does object to is the manner m which certain sectarian bigots continually use the stories of alleged abuses p particular institutions, to stir up bad blood between the various sections of the people. From the rabid zeal with which their exposure of the abuse is promulgated it is obvious to all that the bigots have for their object, not so much the reform of an abuse as the damaging of their religious opponents. As we have said exposures emanating from such a biassed ;source are usually exaggerated, and m the great majority of cases are proved to be absolutely unfounded, but the allegations are made public through the press, and much harm is done and unnecessary suffering .caused before the accused party has time to reply, explain or expose the libellers. This last, is much more difficult when the story is backed by a signed declaration made before a magistrate, and the lie through this means is given, credence m quarters where, without this "evidence of good faith," it would be scouted' as the untruth it' usually is. \ It seems to "Truth" that what is needed is an amendment to the Justice • of the Peace Act, so framed as to preclude a magistrate from witnessing any declaration containing a criminal, libellous or slanderous charge unless such charge be first submitted to the Police Department for investigation. In this way unfounded criminal and libellous charges would be "nipped m the bud," and much unnecessary personal and public agitation avoided. Where the charges are discovered to be true and well-founded then the Crown would be m a position to take actipn and bring the wrongs doers to book and have the evils complained of removed. This would lift every such complaint out of the sphere of party or sectarian strife, to be judged upon I its merits or demerits, ns it ought to be find the decision reached calmly and without bias, of which last Ore sectarian brand is the most vicious.