New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-03-19
TIE SCHOOL QUESTION.

The trouble in one of the Boston Pablic Schools,
growing out of q practice introduced into it of
recting, as part of the school exercises, the Ten
to the Protestant version, though large part Of
the pupils are Catholics is very instructive case
No doubt it appeared to the Boston School Com
mttee aud to the teachers Of the Elliot School q
great piece of absurdity, if not Of mischief on the
part of the Rev. Father Wiget of st. Marys
Church to stir up the religious prejudices of their
pupils sganst this part Of the school exercises and
TO exert his pastoral authority in forbidding them
to Join in these recitations. 1t is no p,rt of our
business to defend Father Wiget; but if the BOs-
ton School Committee consider him q frebrsnd
what shall be said Of their wisdom or common
sense in gor to work to arrange matters as if on
purpose to furnish him an opportunity to kindle
fret And what is to be said Of the Judgment, to
leave the humanity out of account, of the teacher
who, by dint Of corporal punishment and repeated
chastisement with rattan, makes religious mar
tyr of one of his pupils and attempts to force him,
on question Of religion to obey the schoOlmaster
rather than the priest
Very possibly the Catholic parents OF these chill
dren may show more good sense than either priest,
School Committee or teachers. We hope they
may. Rather than have their children obliged to
leave the school, they may choose to submit to the
regulations of the Committee. But why establish,
and, still more, why continue, after ts danger is
proved, practice capable of being made the occa-
sion Of rebellion on the part Of the children and
gross oppression on the part Of the teachers!
1t hes been alleged that a portion Of the Catho-
Lie clergy are hostile to our whole system of public
schools. 1t is said that they prefer that the Cath
ole children should have no education at all, eI-
cept they receive it at Catholic hands, duly mixed
up with the peculiar tenets of that faith. II such
be the case certainly everything ought to be avoid
ed which is calculated to inhame that feeling, or to
give it an opportunity for practical effect 1t is
fhcult TO see why the Lords Prayer, or the Ten
Commandments, however proper in Sunday
School, of which the object is to teach religion,
need be introduced into our public schools of which
the primary object is to teach the children to read
write, and cipher. The Rev. Father Wiget of
st. Marys probably considers these chants, for it
seems the Commandments and the Lords Prayer
were chanted, not recited-as an intrusion into his
particular duty of experimenting the religious In
struction and directing the religious devotions of
the Catholic children of his parish. The Catho-
lies Who in all our cities furnish 80 large part Of
the pupils at our pubc schools though very anxious
to have their children instructed in the ordinary
branches of secular knowledge, and ready to avail
themselves of our public schools for that purpose,
are extremely unwilling to expose them to the
chance of misnstructiOn on the subject of religion.
The matter Of religious instruction they prefer to
leave to their priests Is il not enough that Catho
lie zeslots should have a chance, as they must and
will, at the best, TO denounce our public schools
as goddess Why give them the opportunity to
substitute for this the still more damaging charge
of heretical instruction and hereticd practices
Why turn the Lords Prayer aud the Ten Com
mardments from source of ediication into an oc-
carton for religious wrsDgles, rebellion, protes.
and msrtyrdom on the part of the children, pas
sion and retaining on the part Of the teachers
Were il ever 30 desirable TO combine in our
schools religious with secular instruction, the di.
vision of religious sentiment which prevails among
us, makes that very difficult, if not iuprscticable;
and with 30 many other sources of religious instruc-
tion OPEN why employ our public schools for that
purpose at the manifest risk Of driving away
considerable part of those whom it il most desirs-
bic to retain, as the public school affords almost
their only chance of obtaining the rudiments Of
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