The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-12 00:00:00

ROMAN CATHOLIC PUPIL TEACHERS

Mr. Satchell rose to propose, according to notice, a
motion to the effect that " the board having considered
the circumstances of the late resolution to appoint three
additional pupil teachers, Roman Catholics, were of
opinion that the present condition of the schools did not
justify such an appointment, and therefore rescinded
that resolution." In the most amazingly, oratorical
style, and with startling accompaniments of tone and
gesture, Mr. Satchell delivered the following harangue :
The very great importance of the subject which I have
undertaken to bring before you this morning will require
that I trespass upon your time for a few minutes longer
than I usually do : and I have to ask you to bear with
me while I go a little into the details of this question.
It will also be necessary that I touch the religious chord ;
and here again I have to ask your attention, for I find
that it is not possible to make this a purely secular ques-
tion, and the more I trace its motive, and the more I
consider its origin, the more do I become convinced that
the secular is only the phantom, and the religious is the
substance we have to grapple with. I desire to approach
the subject with fairness and with firmness ; I offer no
gratuitous insult to any one ; I deal not with aim, I
deal with systems, and I recoil from the idea of sacri-
ficing one iota of my own principles to gratify any party.
My views are well known to you, and in the elucidation
of this matter, I will make my wishes as transparent as
possible. The discussion that will arise out of this
motion will divide itself into two heads. Ist. The
Secular, and next the Religious. At the last meeting of
the board you had a picture drawn of the secular; it
was taken from life, but its distortion was great, and its
colouring was excessive. I have this day to present
before you a picture also taken from life, and I am pre-
pared to prove its correctness at every point—every line
shall be truth, and every lint without exaggeration.
Having paid an official visit to the schools, I have ascer-
tained the following facts, and submit them to your
consideration ; and in order that there may be no mis-
understanding by any gentleman at the board, it may,
perhaps, be well to state that the Roman Catholic and
Protestant children receive precisely the same amount of
secular instruction, they are mingled together in
classes, and are taught by the respective masters without
any reference to creed. (Hear, hear.) They all alike
receive the best instruction it is in the power
of the masters to give ; there is, in fact, no distinction
made : so that on this head there really is no ground
for complaint. I now come to a point important fur
you to notice, and that is, the arrangement made at the
times cf devotion. At seven o'clock in the morning the
Protestant children are assembled for prayer, which is
conducted by the chaplain. At this time the Roman
Catholic girls leave, and are conducted to one of the

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class rooms, under the care of hiartha 111`Ardle, a s'ipen-
diary probationary servant. She is a Roman Catholic,
and a person who, I am told, has very great influence
over the children. The Roman Catholic boys are con-