THE PRESS ON MORAN'S CANDIDATURE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume X, Issue 510, 19 January 1883, Page 2

THE PRESS ON MORAN'S CANDIDATURE.

O. ; v T gjj manly press. l ' : We may regret that' the Roman Catholics should find it necessary to import ft religious question into politics, but, holding their views, we .do.npt se,e wh%t other course, is open to them. The subordination of every other political, question to one of religion would undoubtedly be most mischievous to the country, even if it were CuKfor a short time, but that is no reasoVlwhy we should blame the Roman Catholics for conscientiously advocating it ; nor are we of any opinion that because a man is in orders he is ipso facto to be excluded from a participation in civil duties. It has always - been the aim of priest* hoods to establish themselves as a body apart from the rest of the community, and the more we can secularise them the better. So much on the ground of political expediency ; but, apart from this, a man is surely no less a citizen because he is in orders. To deprive him of civil rights is unjust as well as inexpedient. It may easily be conceived that the presence in our Legislature of men whose profession makes them advocates of, and to a certain extent examples of morality and good order, would have a beneficial influence on the tone of our legislators and our legislation." — Christchurch Telegraph.

The news telegraphed to us yesterday, concerning the vacant seat for the Peninsula may be regarded as startling, and as just one of those " unexpected " things which the late Lord Beaconsfield used to declare, were always sure to happen. A Roman Catholic prelate enters the political arena Those' who are acquainted with the Bishop's character and career will do justice to the manliness and courage and single-mindedness which dictated his present action. He is simply one of the most enthusiastic champions of a church which has ever been prolific in champions. We are strongly in favour of "free, secular and compulsory" education, but whether we differ from the Bishop's sentiments or endorse them would make no difference in our appreciation of the strenuous and united efforts of our Catholic fellow-colonists in the matter of education, or in our veneration for the courage and fidelity displayed by this new candidate for Parliamentary place Were Dr. Moran to divest himself of his mitre, while Keeping the faith, and step into the arena — we should welcome him as an eloquent speaker, a close reasoner, absolutely fearless and incorruptible, and we feel sure there would be lively scenes in the House before he had been long thore. We should like to see some politicians we wot of, pitted against Patrick Moran. On one point it .is satisfactory to find the new candidate has come to the point, and that he holds a strong opinion on the subject, viz., land v. property tax. He is in favour of a land tax, and we should like to see the elector who is not a squatter, or a parasite of squatterdom, who will not heartily support that view. Indeed, it is worth considering whether Dr. Moran would not prove the most effective champion the land tax ever had in the colony. As he is sound on one article, at least of our own political faith, we wish him success. — 8. Canterbury Times.

In the ca?e of Bishop Moran, so far from there being any objection to his candidature, our only wonder is that he has not come forward before. He stands expressly as the champion of a large section of the community who are adverse to the existing education laws, and he is tolerably certain to have large support on that ground alone. But apart from this, Bishop Moran deservedly holds a very prominent place in public esteem on the score of his brilliant abilities profound scholarship, and high personal character. No exception, therefore, can reasonably be taken to his candidature on the score of personal fitness. The religious question we do not admit into consideration at all in reference to a candidate's suitableness, and the law takes no cognizance of his episcopal or sacerdotal standing. Consequently, we regard Bishop Moran in precisely the same light as any other competitor in a field which is open to all. If his political views prove satisfactory to the constituency whose sufferages he is wooing, there is no earthly reason why he should not be returned, and we shall not be at all surprised if he is elected. — Wellington Xkenmg Post.

The actual result of the law as it stands is that the Catholics, poor as they are as a community, have not only to pay their share of the cost of educating the children of people better off than themselves, but have in addition, to bear unaided the whole cost of educating their own children. This, Bishop Moran maintains, is cruelly unjust, and radically opposed to the spirit of the laws and institutions of a free country. As to what he seeks to obtain by way of a remedy for this injustice, he says he is perfectly willing" to bow to the will of the majority of the people. If they choose to retain the present system, he is content, provided only that Catholic schools are treated financially as national schools. If, on the other hand, the people prefer the denominational system, he is quite content to accept that system. He does not wish to force any particular system on anybody. All that he asks is that, whatever system may be adopted, the Catholics may not be placed in such a position as to I have to pay for advantages which they do not and cannot enjoy. — ~* Timaru Herald.