The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-11-12 00:00:00

ourselves much personal inconvenience, or causing any sen-

,ationin the public mind. But the moment you undertake
:o remodel the system of education in the corporation

schools, and to rid the children of the poor from the cor-
rupting influence of the one now in operation, your religious
principles and moral courage will necessarily be put to the
test, and every step you take will involve you in a degree of
responsability truly fearful and overwhelming. Nevertheless,
inasmuch as you are, in your capacity of the powers that be
" ordained of God," you have a solemn duty to discharge in
reference to those schools, from which I trust you will not
shrink. You must discharge it in all faithfulness to God, as
well as in all fairness to your fellow townsmen.
2. Consider the character of the system at present in
force. The children of Roman Catholic parents are regu-
larly taught by the authorised masters and monitors, in the
absence of the priests, the Romish catechism, which con-
tains the most oblectionable doctrines of tee Romish creed :
such as " the infallibility of the church in matters of faith "
—" that the souls of the righteous must, after death, dis.
charge the debt of some mortal sins in the lire of purga-
tory "—" that doing the penance imposed by the priest is
satisfaction for sins committed after baptism f'—" that some
sins are venial and do not kill The soul ."—"A prayer to the
Virgin Mary."—" That it is lawful to honour relics, cruci-
fixes and holy pictures as memorials of Christ and his
saints."—" That by fasting men may satisfy God for their
sins."—" That the holy eucharist is the true body and blood
of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine." " That
the mass is the unbloody sacrifice of the body and blood of

Christ''-ar7:l-otI:e;-blasi:11emies equally false and contra-
dictory to the word of God. lam confident yon would

shrink with horror from the inculcation of these corrupt

doctrines on your own children : as consistent and honest
men, you cannot do otherwise, as regards any children in-
structed under your immediate patronage, and by your paid

masters.
It may be replied, that you ought to consult the wishes of
the parents, and to forego your own predilections in favour
of theirs in this niattei. If it were possible for you to trans-
fer from yourselves the responsibility at the same time, and
make the parents alone answerable to God for the conse-
quences, it might be done ; but as God will hold you respon-
sible for your own acts, and will not allow the parents of the
children instructed to be regarded as the keepers of your
consciences, you have no alternative left but to adopt and
enforce a system of education which you believe to be in
strict harmony with the will of God, and calculated to be
highly beneficial to the children themselves. If, in the adop-
tion of such a system, you appear to give offence to certain
parties in the town, you will still have the satisfaction of
knowing that the fault will then lie, not in yourselves, or
your plan, but in the objectors; for there are parties whose
temporal interest it is to withhold from the poor the bless-
ings of a scriptural education. They will not openly say so,
but will labour to hide their real sentiments by starting such
objections as will appear plausible to the public, and vexa-
tious to yourselves. To yield to such would be an act of

moral madness.
If you are prevented from giving to the children of the
poor Roman Catholics such scriptural instruction and moral
training as you deem essential for your own offspring, you
must wash your hands from the business altogether; for no
man in his right mind would patronise and sanction a system,
in the public charity schools, which he might not any day
introduce and enfo:ce in his own family. You mnst " love
your neighbours as yourselves," and not have one description
of education at home, and another of a diametrically opposite
character in the Corporation Schools. And when you treat
the children of the poor as you do your own, you leave the
objectors no fair ground of opposition.
Proceeding on this principle, your first duty will be to banish
from the schools the Popish catechism, the Popish extracts,
and all such books as contain the corrupt doctrines of the
apostate church of Rome. -You are bound in faithfulness to
God, and in fairness to the children themselves to do it. If
it be objected that such a step will drive the Roman Catholic
children from the schools. Be it so. Your answer will be
ready, that you cannot sell your conscience to please the
papists, or sanction the teaching of such false doctrines and
superstitious practices to the inoffensive children of the poor
as will endanger the salvation of their souls. Or if it be ob-
jected, that as all parties contribute to the funds, it is but fair
that all should be equally educated ; we admit the justice of
the objection, and fully concur in it, by saying that the
schools will be open to ALL, without any distinction of creed,
language, or colour. The best kind of instruction will be
offered to all alike, and the children of the Romanists will be
admitted to the full enjoyment of all the advantages and
privileges conferred on the children of the Protestants. What
can be fairer ?
But, if it be attempted to force this last objection a
step further, by saying, that as all religious denominations
contribute to the corporation funds, out of which the schools
are supported, it is but fair that all should be educated in their
own way. To this we demur, and we think we can assign a
substantial reason for so doing. The payment of rates im-
posed upon the inhabitants of the town by the competent
authorities becomes a duty which every one liable is bound
to discharge as a matter of conscience. For it is written,
" Render to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due ;
custom to whom custom ; fear to whom fear ; honour to
whom honour."—Rom. xiii. But when payment is made
the ratepayers have done with the matter—they have dis-
charged their duty, and their conscience is not further
affected. The responsibility has passed with the money
from them into your hands, and with you it entirely remains.
And when you come to apply a portion of those rates in edu-
cating the children of the poor, you have the same infallible
law to guide you in the disposal as the inhabitants had to
direct them in the payment of such rates. The simple
command—" Train up a child in the way he should yo,"
is an epitome of that law, and is, at the same time, so clear
and simple as to leave no room for mistake. Nothing must
be taught the children within the precincts of your schools,
which will not stand the test of Holy Scriptures, or which
will require to be untaught at some subsequent period, in
order to secure their eternal happiness.
If it be still argued that you might, in fairness, yield to
them in this point, and let them have their own way, I re-
join, that it is just as fair that they should yield to you, and
let you have your own way. And as the responsibility rests
with you, it is .more than fair—it is right, and only right—
that you should be allowed, without annoyance, to pursue
such a plan as will enable you to answer for it without re-
morse at the last day.
Gentlemen, your constituencies will expect you to do your
duty, and will await your determination with intense inte-
rest—fiat justitia ruat ccetunt. I remain, sirs, your most
obedient servant, DAVID JAMES.
Kirkdale, Nov. 11, 1841.