The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-12-01

day. The TRADES OF the clergy at the North are driving
the negro population Of the South bloody massacres and
Instructions
Lecture ON Catholic Education.
Mr. John Mullay, the editor OF the Metropolitan Record,
popular weekly religious Journal and the official organ
Of the Catholics this section Of the country, delivered
ectu the above subject Tuesday night, in the large
hall of the Cooper Institute
The audience numbered about fifteen hundred persons
equally divided between ladies' and gentlemen. On the
speakers platform about fifty sixty gentlemen, princ
pay Catholic priests and those interested educational
matters, were assembled.
The speaker commenced his lecture by saying that the
question Of education could not be thoroughly discussed
in brief lecture Of an hour hour and half In du
ration is in which involved the most vital int
Of society and which engaged the earnest aen
ton of the ablest minds Of this and other countries Ia
this day, when the facilities for learning have been in
creased by the great inventions and material progress OF
the has assumed proportions Of the greatest magn
ude and has become one of the great leading questions
Of public discussion. Volumes upon volumes have been
written upon this prolific theme, reports nnumerable
been published and the missionaries Of school and
other societies have been sent tours Europe -
collect statistics in regard to the progress Of education in
the various continental countries. At tines the public
mind of England and Of this country has been than
usually excited on the subject and although the excite
ment has passed away has lost Of its Importance,
and its interest for Catholics is certainly the less
VITAL The fact that public systems OF education both in
this country and in England have been and still made
the instruments in the hands Of proselyzng agents.
nsidous efforts directed against the religious
faith of Catholic chidren-ahongh the Catholic cit
zens of the and the Catholic subjects Of the
| other have contributed their quota Of the com
mon school fundthis fact he said has led within the
last few pears movement which, later,
result in securing Catholics those rights which they
have been heretofore denied He then spoke deliberately of
the importance OF having Catholic children educated in the
principles of their religion; for TO those educated
without religion or educated without proseiytsm as
nseparabe adjunct must always be Objectionable and
be tolerated The Objectionable feature in the
present system that by theory and practice the youth
trained up In schools insensby brought TO the
conclusion that religion of small importance compared
with knowledge The consequence of this is
| to generate utter indifference for every form
! Of Christianity although this result cannot pos.
sibly be universal for is defeated by the influences
Of domestic training apd example But so far as it Is con-
nected with the system 1t can have no other legitimate or
logical result but Indifference for Christianity To this
will be objected that Christianity Is different from seca
ransm but the contrary is the fact In this country
of secarianism. His point that true education
should not interfere with the rights Of the parents in the
State under pretence of excluding sectarianism, has
! no right e interpose any obstacle between the
II the practice Of citizens 10 boast of the
liberal provision have made for education and to refer
to the magnificent public ed6ces which have been erected
for school purposes and If beraty of expenditure alone
matter for Boosting, they certainly have every right
indulge in that species Of self audaon But let them
look into the facts of the case having obtained sats
tics for their consideration from the report of the
Board Of Education for the year 1853 From this docu
ment il appeared that the whole amount of money ex
pended during the past to December 49, for the main
tenance and support OF the ward schools was 81 1858
&c. which includes the salaries OF teachers, the
incurred by the erection OF sch0ohouscs, the pur
chase of books and everything else that is required for
the proper and successful working of the system On
the page opposite TO that on which he found these
facts there is a statement Of the average at
tendance Of children during the period referred TO- The
number put down at So 2lS, that from fair calcu-
la,on, il appears that it costs something over S22
per year for the education Of each pupil 1t is that
did not cost so much to educate the pupils of the ward
schools years ago. for according to the report of
1854 the yearly expense OF educating pupil about
dollars and half, and the total expense Of educa.
ton for the year about Ss3l 00O much less than
half the present cost He mentioned these facts
show tina. the cost Of education in New York. under
present school sysem Is increasing out Of all proportion
TO the yearly increase of scholars IT, therefore, they
were to judge from the enormous expenditure Of the
past year compared with 1854 what he asked is the
prospect for the future This question that interests
every taxpayer of the city Of New York. Presbyerians
] Episcopaians and other denominations as we'll as
| Catholics From figures that he had prepared thew
had the means Of comparing the relative expense of the
takes twenty dollars the hands of the Board Of
Education in New York educate pupil, the same
under the system established by the Christian Brothers
In view of these facts would really appear to be the
best thing for the people of New York to transfer the task
OF educating their children TO these gentlemen on the
ground of public economy, il on no other Perhaps the
day Will come when they will fnd alone Ia the bur.
things Of serious character justification of tho
course the Catholic community have pursued, ami
dence IN system 0 which won 'eas conf
have been devised for the purposes Of prose!ytsu
Every system Of education which does not ncucae the
foundation Of moral princple-that say religonis
essentially Detective and In the end will prove dangerous
to its authors and TO society is gratifying to learn that
the necessity of religious training, part of the edu-
cation Of the young, fully admitted by the Supern-
endent of Schools in his last report He says {; Re
gious culture must be supeadded the crown and com
pement ola complete education So the speaker said and
in that respect there is difference between them But
what kind Of religious bep Shall il be Pro-
estant Cathoc9 and Protestant shall those OF our
Catholic YOUTH for whom we have not yet been able to
sbs 0e ov INTO Compliance with the e
SwseS 70 to-. bursting because Sc e Wall Of
gion, their consciences and their parents forbid?
Having shown the difference in the expense Of
the Public School system as compared with that under
three facts for their consideration in regard to tho
higher schools The cost of education for each scholar In
port s' about s while IL the 5es ist College rH
Sixteenth street the yearly cost Of education is but
thousand dollars that the cy has to pay y 1es s S
the education Of 6e7 pupils In the Free Academy the
Jesuit Fathers would educate over fifteen hundred His
tory says that fine Of ten pounds month imposed
for employing Catholic schoomaster in private family
and two pounds day on the schoomasser employed
This was what was done after the Reformation and here
in New York it would seem as If endcavorng 10
re enact some OF it's worst provisions If they do fine
for sS we to ns ssn n az b. y and
their salary for refusing TO read the Bible
for literally exercising the very rights that are euarau.
teed 10 them by the constitution Of the country This Ia
the form that penal laws have taken in our day The
Catholic church elevated teaching she regarded as one
Of the spiritual works Of mercy and the practice has
been in beautiful accordance with her precepts history
Of her teaching ORDERS lay and clerical from the Bene.
dictnes to the Christian Brothers, all influenced by the
same motives, and only differing organization to accom-
MEDIATE themselves to the wants OF times would prove
this, and II s work which Catholic ought to give
to the world. Nothing would efectuaIly silence
the caiumnies that ignorant intentioned writer's cir
cuate on this point and nothing would do more dispel
ancient prejudces Probably no Order in the Catholic
church has been the recipient Of much vuperaton
as the Jesuts yet as teachers, they have extortcd
praise from such men Southey and Macauley
Bgory and intolerance may blind the vision OF their
miles, but they must the great movement that Is now
going on around them they must acknowledge that the
Catholics of the whole country making the most rapid
strides In this great work. that their schools and their
academies are sprngng up on every sde and that the