The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-07-23
The Bible In the Public Schools or New
YosG-Llsls<sttv. nn Prospect.


The Bible In the Public Schools OF New
| YOsE-Li,essttos an Prospect.
On another page we publish the minority re-
port recently made to the Board OF Educailoa
upon the question Of making the reading of the
Bihle compulsory in all the common schools OF
this city. 1t appears that the majority OF the
| Bosrd suddenly sprung mine upoa the minority,
| and would not give them time to present u re-
port in opposition to the action which I was evl-
| dent the majority had determined to take The
minority, however, drew up theiv report, aad We
now publish it that our readers may See bo.h
sidee, AID judge for themselves.
This document is valuable as furnishing a
history of the agitation and legislation oa tue
subject for many years, and for a clear exposi.
ton of the law as it now stands dedaug the
respective powers Of the Board OF Education,
and of the local school trustees aud committees.
Ii is coptepded in this report that the. majority
of the Board, by their late action, have yio.as.d
the law, and have not the legal rigas to do what
they have resolved to DO They have ordered
that 'all the public schools Of this city under the
Jurisdiction of the Board of Education be opened
by the residing OF portion f the Holy Scrip
lures, without note or comment" under the
penalty Of forfeiture Of the situations of
the teachers who fail to comply. Il
is hard to say what this bungling laa
guage really means. 1t does not say
''the schools shall be opened daily" aud a.
the rule is to take effect after the VACATION il
might mean that the schools should be on that
particular occasion opened by the reading of the
Bible. Nor does it say that the teacher is to
read The Bible. But we suppose the Board
meant that the teachers should read the Bible at
the opening Of the schools every morning.
This resolution ungeDerously places the teach
ers in very unfair position. If tney refuse to
obey the Board their salaries will not be paid
if they do obey the Board, in those wards where
the trustees refuse to allow the Bible to he read
the teachers will be dismissed for the trustees
have the unsoubted right to appoint and to re
move. The action of tie Board Of Education is
likely, therefore, to lead to great and expensive
litigation. 1t is probable that the teachers vii
not obey the Board, their safest course being to
obey the trustees, and that they will sue the
Board by mandamus to compel the payment OF
their salaries.
The law as it stands, while it prohibits the
Board of Education from excluding the Bible
from the schools, does not give them permission
to force ii into the schools. The words of the
act are:-"But nothing herein contained shall
authorize the Board Of Education to exclude the
Holy Scriptures, without note or comment, or
any selections therefrom, from any of the schools
provided for by this act; but it shall not be CON-
petent for the Board of Education to decide
what version, if any, Of the Holy Scriptures,
without note or comment, shall be used in
any Of the schools" From this it is
evident they have no power to compel the read
ing Of the Bible, and no power to exclude it. The
only power they have is as to the supervision
other books, which they may exclude if secta
rian, or rather may refuse the payment of the
school moneys. 1t is clear, therefore, that it
rests with the local school trustees to order the
reading Of the Bible or to exclude it. The re
cent resolution of the Board renders it compul
sorry, but this is undoubtedly Illegal.
The system under the law as it stands has
been found to work well for the last fourteen
years. Why disturb it now by any despotic by
law? If the Board were not satisfied with the
law, they ought to have gone to the Legislature
and had it changed, but they had no right to
take the law into their own hands by an arbi.
uary proceeding. They are expressly forbidden
TO NEEDLE with the Bible in any shape or form.
The Bible was before read in all the schools
except those Of the Fourth, Sixth, and a portion
Tf fha Tn late -
never was read as a regular exercise, and the
absuIdity of the Board forcing it now even if
they had the power, is evident, for the local
trustees might direct that one of the chapters
about genealogy should be read or that the
French, Italian or Spanish versions be read.
which would completely defeat the object of the
Board.
Our common schools have prospered in despite
Of the anathemas Of Archbishop Hughes, who
opposes the public school system here, as the
Catholic Archbishop McHale, backed by Protest
ant bigots, does in Ireland, though the other
Catholic bishops and clergy, as well as the ma.
ority of the Protestants there are in favor of it,
They have prospered here in despite Of the op-
position of Protestant bigots, who would force
the sacred volume into every school against the
wishes Of the trustees and the parents of the
children. There are many who have too pro-
found reverence for the Bible to approve of
its use as school book. l. they should happen
to be the majority in any ward, surely their feel
iDgs ought to be respected. The Board ought to
have let well enough alone, and not provoked an
agitation which may do great deal of mischief
1t may break up our common school system.
But We hope it viii rather break up and rout
the fanatics, like the Sabbatarians, who are
insisting on Puritanical observance of Sunday,
but will coon find their whole intolerant code
swept away from the statute book The Biblicals
may find that the result of their present attempt
viii be to exclude the sacred volume entirely
from the schools