THE GOVERNMENT AND THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 4, 26 May 1893, Page 27

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS.

Cabdinal Looub, on Friday, Match 24, visited the Christian schools, Dundalk, and in reply to an address from the community and the pupils, delivered a speech dealing with the position of the Christian Brothers in relation to State aid.

His Eminence in tbe course of his remarks said :— You boys and your predecessors have received a magnificent training here and you owe nothing to anyone in tbe whole world for that except to the charity and zeal for your welftre of the Catholics of Dnndalk, and to tbe devotion of the Brothers, whose lives are wasted, as it were, for your benefit, and who are working without much reward in this world, and without even tbe reward which the State gives to those who take charge of the youth of tbe country. This is denied to them. It is unjustly denied (cries of " Hear, hear," and applause). It is denied to them simply because they will not sacrifioe principle, simply becauß3 they will not consent to turn their schools into mere colourless schools ; to turn their schools into establishments in which religion, if not banned, is to be very much in the background. The Christian Brothers have refused from the beginning to do that. They have borne with all the privations, with all the inconveniences which arise from tbe fact of their depending for their subsistence and tbe means of conducting education in their schools merely on the charity of tbe people. They have borne all that for the sake of principle, and I am perfectly sure that if it be necessary, as I trust it will not be, the Brothers are prepared to bear it still longer (loud applause). As I said a few days ago in another Christian school, it was that spirit of devotion on the part cf the Christian Brothers, that spirit of devotion to the youth of Ireland that preserved the education of the country from lapsing into an education that was little better than that given to the pagao youths of old. The Christian Brothers kept before the people a method of Christian training and education ; they showed them the advantage of having their children brought up i under this system ; and 1 trust that no matter what temptation may be pot in their way— temptation* of temporal advantage and otherwise — that the good Christian Brothers will sack to their principles to the end (applause). I have no doubt that if they do Btick to their principles those principles will triumph, b3cauße injustice is sure to linger for a short time, but it cannot live, because justice is sure to have its way in the en'i. I say it is a crying ic justice to see the Christian Brothers, who are doing such a splendid work for tbe education of the youth ot Ireland, deprived of any assistance whatever from the public funds of tbe State. It is a crying injustice, which can be justified by no principle. Of course you will be told that if you would submit to the conditions imposed by the State you would be allowed to participate in these funds that are given for education, but those conditions imposed by the State are not always in accordance with the conscience of a Catholic people. There may be nothing precisely anti-Catholic in them, but they are colour* less, and if the Christian Brothers submit, or had submitted to them from the beginning, it is very likely that our schools throughout tbe country would be now in a very much worse condition than they are. They stuck to their priociplos and showed by that an example to ths clergy and the teachers throughout the country, and hence it is that by this public spirit and this spirit of selt-sacrifice we are able to bricg our schools into some kind of form that is not inconsistent with the work of Christian education. The only danger lies in the future. They will be asking the Brothers to make sacrifices, and will tempt them with the bait of temporal prosperity, which is a dangerous temptation, and it would require even the virtats of a Christian Brother to withstand, to waive some of their rights and some of the provisions made for the spiritual training of the children, made, and so wisely made, for the interweaving of religion with the secular education in which the Brothers excel. They will try, among other things that they have in contemplation, to ask the Brothers if admitted under the State system to make a sacrifice of their books. Now, of course, it is not my province \o advise the Brothers on this question ; it is a matter not for one bishop, but for all the bishops of Ireland to speak on an important question of this kind ; but so far as my individual opinion is concerned, and so far m I can venture

to give advice, I would tell the Brothers to stick to their booki (applause). From what I know of them — perhaps it is unfair to speak positively, because I have not looked over them lately— but from what I know of the books used in the National schools in the past, I do not think that you could get a greater amount of trash in the same space put into the hands of any children in Christendom —colourless books, leaving the children without any knowledge of the history of the country, or of the religion of the country, without anything that would make them feel that they were Irishmen (applause), compiled on the principle of excluding from the schools anything that would distinguish the children of Ireland from the children of any other country in the world. I was struck by tbat consideration once, when I visited one of the schools in Scotland, in consequent of a ccmpiaiut made by ore of the teachers. They examined some classes ie geography, and they were perfectly made up in the geography of Scotland, and well made up in the history of Scotland also. That complaint was, that they were bothered with the history and geography of Scotland, for those who bad the direction of education were so much attached to their country that they always kept them at the history and geography of Scotland, and taus the children were brought up as they ought to be, real lovers of their country. I am sure the geography of Ireland is ptetty well taught in the National schools, but the boys are not kept to it altogether, and as for the history of Ireland I am afraid there iB very slight knowledge of it among those who have graduate! in the National schools, either of the history of their country, or the history of the struggles of the Church in the cause of the people. Any system of education which excludes the growing youth of the country from a knowledge of the history of their land, and not only from a knowledge of the truths of history, but of the struggles of tl eir religion is a very defective form of education. For it is one of the brauches of knowledge which possesses, and should possess, the most interest for every man. Now, I remember once looking over a geography of the Christian Brothers, and I find that not only were the children taught in the geography of tbe physical conformity of the globe and of the various divisions of tbe countries, but ibey got a knowledge of the people of the countries, and a knowledge of statistics, ana among other things when learning the geography of a country like Spain or Italy, they were told whether ii was a Catholic or non-Catholic country. They got the religious statistics of the country ; and I doubt very much whether, with tbe best will ia the world for giving information to the children, those employed to compile the books for the National schools would venture to introduce such subjects into the book?, They would leave the children ia complete ignorance of them. I mention this as only one instance out of a number of instances in which we tee that the books compiled by the Christian Brothers for instruction of children are far and away beyond tbe books used in those common schools in the country, which are compiled on tbe principle of excluding all special subjects, especially o( a leligious character, from the books and from the knowledge of the children ; and I say that if the Christian Brothers were asked to make no other sacrifice than that sacrifice to obtain assistance from the State, it would be too great a sacrifice to make (applause). I would not wish to be misunderstood oa this matter. I say if boy« of any other religious denomination or sect happened to come for their education to tbeir schools, I do not think it would be fair, and 1 do not think any of us would wish, to force our books, drawn up for Catholics, upon them. We only want fair play, we want (quality — we do not wish to impose upon others what we will not have imposed upon ourselves (loud applause). 1 think, however, tt.at in tbe present state of the schools of the country, »nd considering tbe fact that, no matter what the system may be in theory, in reality it is a denominational system, we are not likely to have many boys of other religious denominations straying into tbe Christian schools. Rut if they happen to come in there should be a conscience cause to protect them, tbe same as the Brothers have in thfir intei mediate school hard by here, and I shou d be sorry to force our books having a Catholic complexion upon them. Hence, if the occasion arose that there was a mixed Christian Brothers' school, some special arrangement aould be made for that, but in tbe present that is all in tbe clouds, and there is no human probability that the Christian Brothers, if they came under the State, would have to deal w-.th any bat Catholic children. I hold that for the purpose of deiling, and dealing effectually, with Catholic children and promoting tbeir knowlodge, there are no school books we know of in the country more

perfect thin their own (loud applaase). 1 mention this now because I am very much afraid that they may be induced (o change their books (do, no) ; they may be called on to make that sacrifice. I think it is a sacrifice that should not be made. I thick if they are to receive any public funds it should be given them not as a colourless school (hear, hear). The Christian Brothers' is a distinctly Catholic, a denominational school. If the Christian Brothers do not receive these terms, it would be my exhortation to them, as they have relied oa the generosity of Irish Catholics in the past, that tbey shonld rely upon it for a little while longer (applause). Whatever be the case, I think I can speak for the Catholic* of Dundalk, and say In their name that if the Brothers who have done such magnificent work for the educa'ion of their children, that if they rely on their generoaftj still, they will not rely in vain (applause). I hope that justice will be done the Christian Brothers, and justice will involve no racrifice that will interfere with the efficiency of their teaching or interfere with the subjects they teach or with their efforts for the religious training of the children. If the Brothers find that it will interfere, I am sure that as they held out in the past they will hold out in the future, and I am sure that as long a* it is necessary for them to bold out tbey can fall back on the generosity of the people. On that subject I have little more to say. I conld say far more were | to enter into a lengthened argument to prove the rights the Christian schools have to their Bbare of the advantages of State-aided education. That is a subject, however, that has already been thrashed out, and even those who bad little sympathy with the Christian Brothers and their work are beginning to acknowledge that they have claims that should be attended to (hear, bear). I think, then, that when their claims are satisfied they will be Ba'ufied without any sacrifice of principle on the part of the Brothers or any sacrifice which would impair their efficiency fur the education of the youth of the country (hear, bear). Tbey can point to tbeir record with pride, and challenge any other educational institution iv the country — no matter to what section it belongs — to show work better done, aye, or as well done, as their work (applause). Surely now, when we live in this age in which payment by res -Its holds now a leading place, if the Christian Brothers are to be rewarded by the results of their work, theirs should be a very rich reward indeed (applause).