Daily American organ., 1856-08-29
"A Dark wing in the Air.u

"A Dark wing IN the A1r.v ....
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Toronto has re-
Gently Issued a circular to his flock decl,ring that
the "Cathoc electors in this country (Canada)
who do not use their electoral power in behalf of
separate schools, are guilty of mortal sim" This
is no very strange doctrine TO those acquainted
with the policy Of that hierarchy which refuses to
administer the rites of marriage to any but Roman
| Catholics.
The separate appropriation of pubic money for
the support of schools where children are perpet-
ually bowling before the cross, or some other cary
ing of mans hands, one of the most important
objects Of Jesuit ambition, and hence the falmina-
tons Of the Canada Bishop. ..
The following is a sketch of the labors of Arch
bishop Hughes in this republic, concerning the
same and similar matters. 1t is from a speech by
Hon. Hiram Ketchum, of N. York, at New Haven:
The next description Of persons are like our,
selves, Christians in name But their Christianity
is not our form of Chrstianty-it is Christianity
which acknowledges oath man who is called
| by them the vicegerent Of God aud who claims to
| be infallble-who claims a right to control the
| conscience OF every member of his church. That
man Is at the head Of the civil European power,
and that church would close up from the inspection
of the people the Holy Bible. And now ask
you think that any people on earth arc capable Of
governing themselvesp Look through Europe
there is not country where the Sabbath is desecra-
ted and the Bible closed, that has anything like
republican constitutional liberty. There can be no
such thing. If it were not for the services Of the
Sabbath, the instruction of the people receive on
that day, and the devotions of that day, VIC should
cease to be Christians. Without the Sabbath and
without the Bible in the hands of the people, there
can be no such thing as republican government.
Now, my friends, this great fact has been dis
covered by the American people, not by the states
| men, not by the philosophers and but dimly by
the divines. But the instincts of the American
common people have discovered that their liberty,
that liberty which Is their chief and only inher-
itance, is in danger. Have you ever seen the
| tenants of the poultry-yard when the dark wing
of the hawk was in the airp Have you seen them
shudder and run together for common defenceS
So the American people, the aboring people, have
seen dark wing in the air, and they shuddered
| and were afraid that their liberties were to be
pounced upon. They were afraid that they were
going to be conquered, not by the sword, not by
the artillery Of an enemy, but by the ballot-box;
that they were to be destroyed by the instruments
of their own creation. E
80 the struck eagle stretched upon the plain
No more mid rolling clouds to soar again,
Views his own feather in the fatal dart
And wing the shaft that quivers in his heart"
"The American people, say-not by any pro-
of reasoning, but by the instincts of American
liberty-have seen this, and they have come to-
gether, and have organized according to their own
notions of the exigencies of the case. remem-
Der, few months ago, was passing down from
my residence to my office, through Broadway, in
the morning. / met long procession of men,
and l observed from their appearance they were
Americans. They were preceded by band of
music. There was Washington, displayed at full
length upon one Of their banners, and patriotic
inscriptions were inscribed on Others. At length
met with something entirely new. 10 was not a
consecrated wafer, borne aloft--a thing In my
Judgment, of mans device, and for which have
no respect. What was it? 1t was open Bible
confess that the tear came to my eye, my hand
went involuntarily to my hat, and could have
fallen down on my knees in that street. before that
open Bible. If those men had secrets--and am
no friend to secrecy-they had an open Bible,
which, above Washington, above the constitution,
contains the charters Of the liberties Of all man
kind.
"But, gentlemen, here we are met by the argu-
ment, would YOU persecute man for his religion?
Would you deprive a man OF his civil rights on
account Of his religious principlesg Now it so
happens, my friends, that can speak as a witness
to this point. In the city of New York we had
schools that were called Public Schools, contain
ing great many thousands Of poor children, who
were exceedingly well educated. / was one Of the
trustees of those schools. Well, our mode OF
conducting the schools was, when we came In, in
the morning. the children were called to order and
a short extract of some eight or ten verses was
read from the Holy Scriptures. That was all the
religious exercise there was in the school. Well,
then our books were the usual school books written
by Murray and others In these schools, thous-
snds of children of Roman Catholics, Presbyteri-
ans, Episcopaians, Bsptsts, Aethodists, and those
who professed no religion, were educated. They
manner. good principles were nculcated in their
minds, and the religious exercise Of whica have
spoken-if u can properly be called such--was all
that was observed Well, Bishop Hughes called
his people together, and he persuaded them that
so far as their children we're concerned, this
violation Of their consciences and that they ought
not to send their children to these schools. And
what do you think he did