THE 'OTAGO TIMES'—A NEW ZEALAND CATHOLIC PARTY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 29, 15 November 1873, Page 10

THE 'OTAGO TIMES'— A NEW ZEALAND CATHOLIC PARTY.

In the article on " The Roman Catholic Church in. England," published by tho London ' Daily Telegraph,' and part of which is given in a late number of your paper. *here is one passage which I should like your contemporary, the • Otago Daily Times,' to consider. The writer says that the disestablishment of the Protestant Church, in Ireland may be attributed to two causes : first, to the just and generous repudiation by the non-Catholic portion of the people of the religious injustice and oppression of past centuries; and second, to the moral power of the Catholic people of Ireland. Now, I would ask how the moral power of the people, or of any class of the people under a constitutional Government, is to be brought out and effectually wielded, except by party organisation and agitation ? Was it not mainly the moral power, or the political power of the Catholic party in Ireland, which drove or induced the just portion of the noa-Catholic people of the United Kingdom to co-operate in disestablishing the Irish Protestant Church ? What the established Church was to the Catholics of Ireland tha established schools in this Colony ara to the Catholics of , New Zealand. We cannot hope to gefc these schools disestablished or ' placed on a fair footing unless we exert a moral force against them. For that purpose we must have a Catholic party. We shall never want Protestant allies to aid us whenever our cause is a just one. This is only one instance in illustration of the necessity of a Catholic party. When the education question is settled, some othor question deeply affecting Catholic interests will, some day or other, come to the front. In religious matters, Catholics cannot amalgamate -with other classes ; but we have civil and pecuniary interests, and you cannot set these afc nought without doing society at large an injury. If a tyrant majority oppress us to-day, it will be some one else to-raorrow who is to suffer.' To take our money for the purpose of supporting schools to which we cannot in conscience send our children is aa injustice of the most gross kind — an injustice which, unless I mistake, the ' Otago Times' and its' friends or party glory in perpetrating because they have at present the power to perpetrate it, and it is their interest, or they fancy it is their interest, to do so. The Catholics in the United Kingdom are busy forming " unions." The London ' Times ' and ' Pall Mall Ghizette ' are highly indignant at their presumption in doing so. The ' Otago Times ' follows suit as' regards New Zealand Catholics. He thinks we would injure ouraelve* by doing so. There is an old saying that God helps those who help themselves. The ' Otago Times ' would dissuade us from making any attempt to protect ourselves. He would rather we put ourselves at the mercy of his friends, and set the wolf to protect the lamb. J. Wood. Pitt steeet, Auckland.