THE SUBSTANCE OF TWO LECTURES DELIVERED BY REV. FATHER HURLEY. RANGIORA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIV, Issue 45, 4 March 1887, Page 7

THE SUBSTANCE OF TWO LECTURES DELIVERED BY REV. FATHER HURLEY. RANGIORA.

(Continued .) Freethinkers and the moral revolutionists of this age will, notwithstanding all thf'ir boa-tins; of liberty aud progress, condemn Mormonism, Hindooism, and any other ism. the practice of which they cannot see their way to permit. They will tell you they do so because it is a violation of criminal law. Granted. But either that criminal law is just, or it is not If it is not, then why does it exist 1 Why do not Freethinkers wipe it from the statute books and blot its memory from earth as snon as they can ? If it is just, then it is evident there can exist a just law, which strikes at the conscience of individuals and forbids them the piactice of what, on their own declaration, lea^on assorts to be their inalienable right. We will, perhaps, be. told that to maintain society on its present basis it is necessary that criminal law should exist. And so it i=, but then why boast of grantine perfect freedom of worship and of conscience to man, when he may not dare to clash with State-authority ? And why, in the face of this do the philanthropists f modern times, who are in many respects only dreamers of fanciful thcoi ics, reproach the Catholic Church because, when expediency dictated, she a-ked the State to protect heiself and her laws from biro's and fanatics, who would if they could, destroy heiself from earth and tear them from the hearts of her children ? The Encyclical of 186 1, states, °ay Freethinkers, that "tde State is to support the Church And so it does state it, but in what sense ? It explains itself when it tells us that the State should permit the Catholic Church to use her own laws, and that no one should be permitted by Government to wrest away her liberty with impunity, And is not this a fair demand of the Church and a just explanation of her position ? But they seem to wish her to have no such liberty, and hence they are annoyed at her honest claims. Her claims, however, will remain and always bj listened to by honourable and upright statesmen. Freethinkers try to hold up the Catholic Church and her principles as an object for the contempt of mankind because they say she would assail the conscience and that liberty which is each man's personal right. And what do they do ? Fake again that heartrending subject of Catholic education, to which we have so often adverted before. Catholics say they cannot in conscience and on the principles of their faith allow their children to avail themselves of the advantages of the secular system. They have protected, and shall continue lo protest with all the earnestness of their souls, against it. Is their conscience much respected by those who boist

themselves the liberators of mankind ? Far from it ; they are compelled, against every protest, against every belief, to pay dearly for what they can never approve nor even hope to enjoy. But they will t^ll you, and they have told you, that secular and religious education can be separated, and, therefore, they are doing no injustice to one portion of the community when they lock all religions outside the school. They want to bring up all the children to know and love each other, and to be citizens striving together for a common cause. It is a plausible argument, but it will not stand the test of severe criticism. Education, to be what society needs and what the Church understands by it, must necessarily be Christian. Religion must shed its light, and beautify and soften every phase and stage of it. Education is intended to soften the heart, smooth the asperities of nature, and polish manners, as well a 9 sharpen the intellect. These eSects are accomplished under the benign influence of religion. But in the secular system God and the truths of redemption are ignored. Its main tendency, therefore, is to foster intellectual pride. By giving too much head and no heart it helps very much to make man a demon. But how can secular and religious education be separated f Will a few half-hours in the week be thought sufficient for a knowledge of God and the truths of eternity, and shall six or eight hours a day be considered too little to devote to a knowledge of this world, and to what men now-a-days style modern progress ? School opens for secular work at 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning. Most children in country districts have to come long distances. The bustle of school life and the strain of intellectual attention kept up, almost constantly, for six or eigUt hours, is a weary, jading work. It is especially so on youth. School hours over they have no desire except for relaxation from intellectual labour. They cannot be expected to sit down to listen to religious instructions with that freshness and vigour of mind with which their souls open in the morning to drink: in secular knowledge. The secular master and the religious instructor are placed here at very unequal advantages. God and the world are receiving very different treatment. Children will not learn well when they have no desire to learn. They will perceive little beauty in religion when their minds are languid and their im« aginations dulled. Nor will they manifest any relish for studying a subject which is learned under such painful circumstances. What value can taey be expected to attach to that which the Government of the country relegates to those hours of life, when nature herself clamours for rest ? The perception of a child is quick, beyond what most people are ready to believe. It will very well perceive if religion is considered cf secondry importance. And what other conclusion can it come to 1 Religion is ignored during school hours ; the names of Christ and His apostles, their lives, and sufferings, and death, are not in the school lessons, The heroes of antiquity and their deeds, the revolutionize! s of modern society; the wars, and pestilences, and famines, that have devastated the world ; the advances in commerce, and the changes m political arenas — all these are paraded, dressed in their most attractive garb, before the mind's eye of the young boy and young £itl, but Christianity and its influence on society, and the lives of Chnst aud His saints, and the heioic fortitude of the maityrs, a 11 those are locked in the lumber room of oblivion. No t religion mubt be the alpha and omega in Christian education. The superstructure of secular knowledge must be lai 1 on the foundation of an unshaken faith. Men were not borr to be mere citizens of an earthly kingdom ; we have no lasting title here. Heaven is our goal, and whatever tends to draw us away from that, will prove a curse, not a blessing. And what guarantee have we that the morals of our children will not be tainted with the infidelity of atheistic masters ? The young saplings cannot be raised and cultivated, and brought to full maturity beneath the shade of a decaying oak, without inhaling some of the noxious odours that are given out day by day. And who will say that many ot the masters presiding in the Mate schools are not men of very decided irreligious ideas. If so is it not clearly in their power when commenting on a fact in history, or explaining a difficulty in chronology, or solving a problem in mathematics, in discussing a question in science, almost in a word, in explaining anything at all, to throw out a cant at religion that shall for ever remain fixed in the tenacious memory of the child 1 Can Catholics maintain a calm conscience while they voluntarily place their childien in jeopardy of this nature? Can the Church, whoso duty it is to point to Heaven as the primary end of education remain silent, while she sees the education and training of the little ones committed to her care by the Supreme Legislator, wrested entirely from her authority ? But we know the ultimate end statesmen have in view in the establishment of this system. By introducing compulsory clauses they want to dispute with parents the right to educate their own children : this end accomplished they will see their way more clearly to deny this same right to the Church : again, this effect brought about, the SUte would exercise complete control in that department, where the destruction of Christianity appears most inevitable. We know what has been the result in countries where they have banished mote of the religious Orders, closed all schools but their own, and compelled all denominations to attend them. 'Ihe tide of infidelity has flown high, and morality has everywhere sunk beneath the advance of the iniquitous scheme. To make men love each other and be better citizens is a noble aim. No one more cordially approves it than the Chutch ; that is part of her mission on earth. But how can this be accomplished without religion ? God is love, and the essence of religion is also love. Our duties to man .md the State are b,tsed upon our duties to God. To love Him is to love everything good, to hate all that is bad. Make men faithful to Him ami >ou make them upholders of the State m everything great and honourable ; make them traitors to God aud you will never make them loyal to each other. 1 ( Concluded in our next.)

Sister Mathilda of St. Francis' Hospital, La Crosse, was among those who took part in the recent examination of the State board of pharmacy, held in that city recently. She maintained a general average of 95 per cent., the highest that has ever been maintained by a candidate since the board began to hold examinations.