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New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 289, 15 November 1878, Page 13

The New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1878. AN EXAMPLE.

tN" tlic recent German elections four parties, well defined, and well organised, were engaged in conflict — these were the centre or Catholic party, the National Liberals, the Conservatives, and the Socialists. With the three last named we have nothing to do at present, but the policy of the German Catholics interests us very deeply. In ardor to understand this it is necessary to bear in. mind that <ie Conservatives are the supporters of Bismarck, and that he National Liberals were and are the allies of this Minister n all his anti-Catholic policy, and legislation. During the .ast four years these two parties made up the majority which carried the Falk laws, and sustained the Eussian Government in its persecution of the Catholic Church. On the other hand some at least, if not all of the Socialists members of the German Parliament, joined the Catholics in their opposition to the Falk laws. Ar.d notably during the late contest the leaders of the Socialists declared their detestation of and opposition to these laws.

In view of this state of things the Catholics decided on pursuing the following policy, which, however, can not be fully understood -without a knowledge of the mode of election followed in Germany. In Germany a majority of votes does not always secure a man's election. In all cases where there are more candidates than two, there can be no election unless one of the candidates has a majority of all the votes given. It is not enough that one should have a greater number of votes than each of the others ; it is required in order to be successful that one of the candidates should have more votes than all the others put together. . And if at the first scrutiny this should not be the case, then there must be a second election in order to decide which of the two having the greatest number of votes at the first election shall poll the greater number at the second. The Catholic electors of the German Empire determined

to vote for Catholic candidates only, at the first scrutiny ; and theycame to this resolution lest should they do otherwise, the public should be left in error as to their real sentiments in reference to the persecution to which they have been subjected. For in this Empire the number of votes cast for the various parties, are counted and .published for the purpose of affording information as to the position of the various parties in public estimation. So that after securing the election of tho greatest . number of candidates of his own party, the most important thing in the opinion of a German elector is tomalco certain that his countrymen shall lenow the strength of his party in the electorate. And the importance of this is obvious. Consequently the Catholics came to the conclusion not to lose a vote by bestowing it on any non-Catholic candidate in the first elections. This was their first care, and their second was in tho second election, when there was no Catholic candidate to vote for the one that was least obnoxious to them. In the second elections, therefore, they voted, when there was an opportunity, against all the upholders of the Falk legislation, and for the opponents of this legislation, even though theso should happen to be Socialists. The consequence was tho rejection of many Conservatives and National Liberals, and the return in their stead of Socialists. On account of this action on the part of Catholics there was weeping and gnashing of teeth ; and these two parties, or at least their partisans in the Press, designated this Catholic policy as infamous. That is, the very men who had forged fetters for Catholics, banished their priests and religious, imprisoned their Bishops, confiscated their property, and forbidden them under severe penalties to hold any communication with the head of their Church, expected them to vote for their enemies, that is, themselves, and against such Socialists as were in favour of justice and the rights of conscience. It will be seen from the above that our policy of the block vote is substantially in accord with that of our brethren of the German empire, and also that the men here avlio make no scruple of outraging us in every way in reference to the subject of education, expect us to abstain from the only policy which can enable us to make ourselves felt at election time ; and, as was lately done by the Deal// Times, at least equivalently, charge us with infamy for not helping to put our enemies into positions to injure us still more. These gentry must have a great deal of presumption and conceit, and must think Catholics craven and debased, else they would not dare to complain of our refusing to set the seal on our own enslavement. For what is it but slavery to be compelled to pay fora system of education which we abhor, to which we are most unwilling to subject our children, and which we are convinced, both from theory and experience can only result in the greatest injury to the well-being of the community at large.