The Star. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1910. SPAIN AND THE CHURCH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9916, 3 August 1910, Page 2

The Star. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1910. SPAIN AND THE CHURCH.

The correspondent whose letter we jpublish to-day has rather anissed the -jpoin-t of our comments on the present (position in Spain. The fact that Roimaii .Catholioiam is the established religion of the country may Ibe regarded iby some critics as in itself a sufficient reason for condemning Spain and all •its works without further inquiry, but we need hardly say that no prejudice of the kind enters into our view of the position. The -agitation against the religious -orders has doubtless been based on hostility to the Church in the past, hut it does not appear that the attitude of the present Government is in any sense inspired by religious—or irreligious—motives. The bare statement of the facts nvill showwhy it is considered that there, is pressing need for reform. The population of Spain is estimated to-day to be 20,000,000. The census of 1897 showed that there were then 40,000 persons in Holy Orders. The "Statesman's Year Book" gives the number of religious ciders as 3253, of which 507 are for men and 2656 for women. There are 10,000 monks and 40,000 nuns. We suppose it would be difficult to find another country in which so many of the inhabitants elect to lead the religious life, for in addition to the monks

living in the registered establishments, there are 30,000 priests to be taken into tiie account. From the theological point of view, with, which we hare nothing to do, this large proportion of spiritual teachers may be an excellent thing. From the economic point of view there is certainly less to' be said for it. Its . apologists justify it by urging that more than half the monastic orders are engaged in 'the work of education and that others are undertaking useful industries. The reply of the advocates of reduction and regulation is that better educational results would be obtained by independent schools, aud that the industrial orders compete with secular enterprises and have the advantage from their own point of view, aud the disadvantage from that of the Government, that they pay no taxation on their profits. The fact that the State contributes £1,500.000 or £2,000,000 annually t-o----wards the upkeep of the churches has been quoted as an additional argument for a revision of the position, but that charge would be defensible enough if it were not for tho fact that the Church and the religious establishments tax tho people to an even greater extent directly. As for the condition of education in Spain, the available publications leave no room for doubt that it is unsatisfactory. The census of 1897, the latest for which the figures are available, it appears, did not gather information concerning the education of tho people, but it is estimated that fully 60 per cent of the people could neither read nor write. In 1889 tho figure was 68 per cent. To-day the percentage is still over 50. Theoretically, Spain has an excellent system of education, and our correspondent is doubtless riyht in praising tho But it is not to tho universities that one looks for an indication of the educational condition of tho people. Spain is, we believe, in advance of Italy—at least it was fifteen or twenty years ago—but it is behind almost every other country of Western Europe. The position of tho Church in regard to the State is only one of the problems that are pressing for solution and revision in Spain. Tho number and power of the religious orders and the overwhelming influence of the Church have been such that for years past the Government has been able to undertake no scheme of reform that had not tho support of the Church leaders, and the state of politics generally has by no means encouraged the belief that the influence has always been exorcised in the interests of progress. There is ono other point to which attention should be directed. Our correspondent seems to have a very poor idea of Ferrer as an educationist. Ferrer may or may not have 1 been guilty of inspiring the troubles <ut Barcelona last year. There is no evidence in our possession or, we suppose, in that of our correspondent, on which the question could be definitely decided. But thero can be no doubt that Ferrer's most important work was the foundation of schools and tho publication of school books, and whether we agree with his views or not wo have to admit that he was an educationist, and an eminent educationist, who stood high in the estimation of critics in Europe capablo of forming a judgment •-.'-• •:•:-> hk work.

lIAPOUR BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING,

The Lyjktelton Harbour Board met ithjs morning; present—Messrs H, 'Friedlawder (chairman), J. Lambie, J. Richardson, 'F. Horrell, J. Woli'o, T. D. Boag, J. A. Frostick, J. L. Scott, M. J. Miller, J. Hay, R. Moore and \V. Dunlop. TJie chairman reported as follows: — "The statement of receipts and -expenditure for the half-year ended June 80, 1910. shows that our cash receipts amounted to £30,121 9s sd. -which includes the sum of £738 15s interest on investments transferred from the SpeciaS Renewa;! Fund, as compared with .£30,8,7:0 Qs 5d for the .corresponding period last year. The cash receipts, c-f their fluctuating nature, do not altogether convey to members the actual revenue of the Board for -comparative purposes. I have therefore had a further return prepared, showing the actual ear nines, for the half-year to be £30,429 7s, or a decrease of £2250 3s lid on the same period of last .year. Included in last year's .-earnings, however, was an ex-ceptional-item of £2355 for docking; the s.s. Ulimuroa, and if we deduct "this sum it leaves our ordinary revenue for the half-year substantially the same as ■that of the -previous year. Our expenditure for the same period was £32,470 19s ;sd, as against £29.444 18s lid for the .corresponding, period of last year. The expenditure for the half-year is made up as follows:—-Ordinary expenditure,, £14.075 8s lid • dredging -exj/enditure, £6176 lis 3d; harbour works, £3:2;218, 19s 3d,; a total of £32,47-0 10s :sd. Included in our harbour works expenditure is the sum of £6123 8s for puQgr,ess payments on -account of the purchase of the new dredge Tews.kti. which is expected to arrive in Lyttelton this month. The -wharfage on goods passing over the wharves'for the"past -.six mouths amounted to £12,043 3s sd, <iu increase of £530 18s as compared with that of last year, and the tonnage <?n which wharfage has been levied has increased by 9657 tons. The value of -our imports for the six months ended June 3Q, 1910, amounted to £1,209,955, mi increase of £99,746 over last yea.r, while our exports were £2,269,823, an increase of £589,255 during the same period of last year./ The exports at Lyttelton for the half-year exceeded our imports in value by £1,059,868. During the past six months 1083 vessels were cleared outwards at Lyttelton, with an aggregate gross tonnage of 1,080,220 ■ tons,"as compared with 930 vessels, aggregating 1,157,523_ tons, for the same period of the previous year. Our pilotage and port charges collected during the same period amounted to £10,751 9s 2d, representing a slight decease of £593 Gs <xl, as compared with the corresponding period of last year. •We closed the half-year ended June 30, 1910, with a credit balance of £46.024 7s'3d, made up as follows: —Special Renewal Fund, £30,500; fixed deposits—general account. £9000; fixed deposits ••-Employees' Accident Insurance Fund, £1763 16s 9d; current 'account, £5360 lis,- total £46,624 7s 9d. Since last meeting the following sums have been paid into the harbour fund account : Wharfage, £2747; pilotage and port charges, £IOBS 5s 3d; towage, storage, ■■etc., £BO2 17s sd; total, £4635 2«s 8d; as compared with £3491 Is 3d for the corresponding period of last year. The bank book shows our current account to be in credit £5871 2s lOd."

The report was adopted. The assistant-engineer reported tor the period between, July 2 and July 29 that the dredge Manchester resumed work in tho turning basin on July 9, after her half-yearly docking. Between July 15 and 19, she was employed cleaning out the berths between Nos. 4 and 5 jetties, and between Nos. 6 and 7 jetties. ' On July 20 she resumed work in the turning basin. The month's dredgings amounted to 41,642 tons or 30,175 cubic yards, the,whole of which had been deposited in Little Port Cooper. Reclamation works had boon satisfactorily carried on during the month, despite the bad weather. The reclamation bank had suffered no.damage, and the tip-head had steadily advanced.

The report was adopted. The Harbour Improvement Committee reported that it had considered Sir Robert Stout's declaratory judgment, and reported that the effect of this judgment was to give Harbour Boards the widest discretion in levying berthage charges in respect of ferry traffic, and distinguishing between suburban and other wharves, ki reference to the former question, he said:—"lt is incorrect to say that a vessel trading between Wellington and Lyttelton is a 'ferry boat.' ' It is a misuse of the word 'ferry' to speak of a 'boat going to sea, and trading 180 miles, as crossing a ferry." The committee had also considered the judgment of Mr Justice Cooper in an appeal case arising out of an action for the recovery of the value of goods lost while in the custody and under the control of the Motueka Harbour Board. This judgment reversed tlio Magistrates' decision given against the Harbour Board, on the grounds that the action was not commenced within thro- 4 months after the act was committed, under Section 219 of The Harbours Act, 190 S. The committee reported that Mr George Harper's opinion regarding the question of fixing maximum harbour charges, which was referred.to the Harbours Association, had been distributed to all the Harbour Boards throughout New Zealand. The committee having appointed a sub-com-mittee consisting of Messrs Friedlander, Laurenson and Mi'ler, to take evidence on tho advisability of installing bell buoys off, Adderley Head, asked for an extension of time to enable them to report on the question. The report was adopted. The Special Committee set up in cou.nection with the local Bill introduced by the Christchurch City Council to alter the constitution of the Lyttelton Harbour Board reported that it would recommend that a committee consisting of Messrs H. Friedlander, It. Moore, J. Richardson. Colin Cook, M. J. Miller and J. A. Frostick should bo appointed to consider tho local Bill to be introduced by the Christchurch City Council, and to report thereon to the Board as a matter of emergency. That in view of tho fact that the Government had already introduced its Harbour Amendment Bill, and that it had passed its second reading, the committee was of the opinion that tho Bill drafted by the Christchurch City Council should bo abandoned, and under the circumstances recommended the Board to support the Government Bill, without being committed to all tho details of that Bill. The committee had asked the chairman to interview the Hon J. A. Millar and point out the omission to include the counties of Tawora, Waspara and Wairowa in the Lyirtoltun Harbour Board's representation area. and also that part of the AshburUm County south of the Ashburton River and tho borough of Kaiapoi. The report was adopted, and on the chairman's motion tho committee was asked to continue to. watch the Board's' interests in the matter. The Finance Committee's roj>ort, recommending the paymen b of accounts amounting to £3538 3s -Id. was adopted. The Shipwreck Relief Society of Now Zealand wrote, asking for a donatio]]. and it was decided to reply, as was done last that the Board regretted thai it had no fund out of which it could letrally contribute to so deserving mi object. The action of the chairman in bavin."' repairs to the value of £.12 carried out at Bell's Baths, Sumner, was approved. The sum of £SO was granted to the Sailors' Home. The Board adjourned until September 7 at 11 a.m.