Correspondence.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 342, 29 January 1861, Page 2

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Colonist. ( Sir—The Editor of the Nelson Examiner having declined to publish the herein inclosed letter, I shall feel very, much obliged if you will insert it in your columns. I am, &c-, A. M. GARIN; P.P. Nelson, Jan. 24. To the Editor of the Nelson .Examiner. Sir—ln your extract from the Times on the military policy of Garibaldi, as published in your issue of Saturday last, I notice the following passage:— i_ , . ■:.. . ... .... >r . ( . f -._ >; r° r Hiß (Fancis II) recent behaviour almost tenipte ua to conjecture what he might have been if he had not been a Bourbon swathed in the'slavish superstitions of the Ultramontane sect of the Roman Catholic Church, educated to believe in that old perfidious dogma. current ia some royal houses, that kings can- • mot bo bound,by any promises to subjects;; «tnd if he had not been kept in mental subjection, while on the throne, to priests and Jesuits, in whose minds>reli<ri O n meant nothing more: than the absolute supremacy of their own order, and who thought that kingly power is only rightly used when it starvesthe people to sur- ; feit the ecclesiastics. ; , . ,; I beg to ask?the limes if by superstition he means a practice which has not the virtue of producing the effect which may be expected from it, and which was instituted neither by God nor his church, and which is not in the order of' nature ? If so, he is wrong to attribute to the Roman Catholic church such practices; for she always condemned them as superstitious; Such practices may be found amongst the ignorant Catholicf,vas they are so frequently even amongst higher classes of" Protestants, who, for instance,' will not sail on a Friday for a long voyage, or who call the wind by whistling: and such practices are evidently Buperstitious, because they cannot produce the effect which is expected; they were instituted Neither by God norby his church, and are not in the order of nature.. Such ie the ; elucidation given by divines. v, ; ' ,-. . ~.. .'-;. . ./, . v ; ;; . , ,<i Now, liow will the Times prove that the practices of the Roman Catholic Church are ,«f that description ? Does the Times belong to that body of Theologians whose decisions have been sanctioned by the authority of the church of ■ God'?r Is. the* editor a competent judge in such matters ? Has he received any special mission to explain the Christian doctrine ? If the Times be an &atsgonkt cf the Roman Catholic Church and a supporter of the Protestant, he will be fair enough, I, hope, not to refuse one of the greatest authorities amongst' Protestants, viz., the Bpok of Comnwn: Prayer. I Now this book, referring to what St. Paul said— '■'■: 'Let all things be done among you in a seemly and due order, adds the following principle— * the appointment of which order pertaineth not. to private.men; therefore no man ought to take in hand nor presume to appoint or alter any public or common order in Christ's church, except he be lawfully called and authorised thireunto.' Now, if the Book of Common Prayer, which in othsr passages so highly extols private judgment, does not allow private members to exercise their judgement by' appointing or altering public or, com* mon order in Christ s church, except he be lawfully called,' hsw shall we justify the editor who, exercises his judginelSt'upon such matters? And as the 'same book in the said subject declares that in these *their doings they condemn no other nations, nor prescribe anything but to their own peoptaonly; for they think it convenient that, every country, should use such ceremonies as they shall'think best to the setting forth of God's honour and glory" —whyahonld the Times therefore interfere with' the ceremonies or practices of a church different from his own, and call them slavish superstitions? . Moreover the Times shows his little acquaintance with theological matter, for he calls the Ultramontane 'a sect of the Roman Catholic Church: if the Ultramontane were a sect; they no more belong to the Roman Catholic Church, for the word sect being derived from the Latin secta secare (to cut off), if would follow that if they were a sect they would be cvt 4 off, consequently no longer ot the Roman Catholic Church. The Times also speaks of a perfidious dogma. Now, condemning a dogma presupposes that the person passing suuh a sentence of condemnation must be a competent judge, a theologian, which is beyond an editor's pretensions; and what was gratis asserted by him may be also gratis denied by the. At tast the Times speaks of a kingly power consisting in 'starving the people to,surfeit the ecclesiastics.' I beg to remind the limes that when England professed the Catholic religion every one enjoyed peace and plenty: there were tlien no levies tor the poor, no taking overseers before the magistrates, no workhouses, no bankrupts, and no national debt. But no sooner had the Protestant religion began than things took a change. By the returns of the poor-rates in England and Wales, it appears that tor law expenses only, in the year 1819, more money was paid than the whole expenditure for the king, his court, ministers, ambassadors,- the princes, and all the state pensioners added together. The whole expenses of the poor amount to a sum equal to the revenue of the Emperor of Russia, who maintains an army of a million of soldiers; and to more than twice the expenses of the United States (Birmingham and Lichfield Chronicle, .Feb. 7,1822,),. And if you want to find ecclesiastics surfeited by starving the people, look to Ireland, where poor starved Irish of the Roman Catholic Church are compelled by. law to pay tithes not to the ministers of their own church, but to those of the Protestant church, in addition to the exhorbitant sums which Government grants them. I am, &c, A Member of the Roman Catholic Chprch. Nelson, Jan. 21.

To the Editor of the Colonist, Sia^-Per favor of your columns permit me to pake a few observations on the professions made by Mr. Curtis on the' hustings at Ajfotueka oa the <lay of nomination.

Mr. Curtis was opposed to c» vote by ballot," because it was iiii-ISnglisli,-rhe is right if it be unEnglish to permit every man to give an uninfluenced vote as his conscience and judgment approve. If " vote hy ballot" should be adopted, employer* could no longer dictate tp their employed how.they should vote, landlords could not coerce; ttyeir tenants, the wealthy land-owners could no'longer take their poor dependants like gl)eep tp |% slaughter to vote for their pet, and perhaps profligate nominee. 4ye» out BaVB Mr. jCuvtis, it is un-English, and should not be., Why, Mr. Editor, it is currently believed that if there had been "vote by ballot" that fellow Robinson would have been returned, which would have been, in, tfr. £u,rti*<i e^timaUQn, most w-Ej^Uaiu

Mr. (Sii'tis, if elected, would by no means fei-1 ' ' himself,found'to vote in accordance with the views ■ of the majority of the electors, however great thnt • majority might be; no, he would vote for every measure according to its merits, us his conscience . and judgment. dictated without reference to the opinions of those by whom lie was elected, but for his party (Stafford and Co.?) he would vote black was white, white was green, anything, everything to any extent tor party or'ibr party purposes^ What a'conscience! Mr. Curtis, in reply to a question in respect to the plurality.of votes, whether hi: approved of the principle that one mau who might happen to possess property in a dozen different districts should be entitled to a dozen different votes, i.e. one for each respective district—replied that he did: property paid the taxes, and should have its privileges. < Mr.'Curtis must have fancied himself the candidate for the City of London, and in his owu per- . son smarting under the infliction of a doubled Income tax to have made so reckless an assertion. Property taxed! Mr. Curtis! when ? how ? •where ? save and except an insignificant road tax, for which more than vallie received is obtained — well might Mr. Parker exclaim that the most heavily taxed was, he of many wants, the man least able to pay with many mouths to feed, and many backs to clothe, who himself, wife and children were taxed from head to foot grievously 1 and heavily; and that in hundreds of instances men of small means were taxed tenfold in excess of the rich and wealthy merchant, capitalist, or sheepowners, with incomes of thousands a year. The working man's spade, axe, and saw, his hat, coat, shirt, and boots were all taxM; but the rich man's wealth, flocks or herds, wertj-left untouched, vn- • taxed, and yet Mr. Curtis would give to these men of nntaxed property a dozen votes to the • poor man's one. Noljle consistency, generous and patriotic sentiments, down in the dust ye men of straw, give w«y for the men of property which pays the taxes; smoke your taxed tobacco, and be content to order yourselves lowly and reverently to all your betters, and vote as you are bidden by the educated men of the upper classes. Of Mr. . Curtis, however, better things may be expected, and it may be hoped that he may be permitted for a time to retire into private life, and that reflection may induce him to adopt more liberal views. Mr. Parker, if elected, will leave his home with very great reluctance, and consents to do so only . at the urgent request of a large number of electors, that in him they may be truly represented, and Mr. Curtis may rest assured that at the next opportunity if he will but present himself to the electors of Motueka as an advocate of free trade, and the appeal of all customs duties, of " vote by ballot," and direct taxation, every man in proportion to his means, Mr. Parker will be too happy to give way, and the electors of Motueka will retuin him by a most.triumphant majority. I am, &c, '. " ' , '.'... .';', . ■ .: .■•■ A.B.C.

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