The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-12-14
E y r o p E.
Secular Education in England and How
Children Mature in London.
French Politics and the Newspaper
Power Of the Paris s'Reds."
ENGLAND.


dren" OF London-How They Advance 10
Maturity and What They Do-Aristocracy,
General Society and Party Politics--What
May he the Result.
LONDON, Dec. l, 1869.
In this my last letter on the subject OF the Ecu
monical Council, propose TO treat OF the subject
which, II the preates OF the Roman Catholic Church
really take action upon IT, WILL far more than any
other or than all the other topics combined serve
TO complicate political parties In England, and more
or less complicate the relations OF the Church ana
49, sivll government both in America and In Eu.
rope. allude 10 the question OF secular education
difficulty" which Is looming up in the future
and which, ere the next session or Parliament is
over will as verify believe. cause the break up
OF the present Ministry under MIR. Gladstone.
II Is needless to inform any American who has
seen our large towns in England, how fearfuiiy we
are behind you In the matter OF education for the
poor. II any American correspondent OF an Amer
can paper, or any American writer resident in Eng
land, was TO walk down. or through, q single ais
trict OF score that could point out In London and
was to give his fellow counrymen supple but faith
ful account OF what he saw Engshmen would put
down his words as being .'untrue,p 'exaggerated,n
''sensational,n .unfair'' and the like. And yet |
would defy him. or any one who was merely word
painter and who never colored his pictures not to
astonlsn his readers with the drawing he set before
Them provided only 1t was true TO the life. When
tell you that we have here in London upwards Of
$4,000 gutter children" children who live in the
streets who never near the name OF their Maker but
In . blasphemous oath. and who have no occupation
bur what they make for themselves no teaching
but that which educates them for the prison.
the reformatory, the thieves Kitchen and
for ultimate penal servtude; when tell you this as
simple statistical fact you Will hardly wonder II /
say that education Tor the million is somewhat
needed in this land. But when add also as a sta.
tistlca fact that TO these IS 900 wanderers there
An addition OF 5000 women OF bad character under
nfteen years OF age and 900 professed thieves OF
same tender years you win wonder how, with the
immense wealth OF London God does not visit us
for our sins and that this huge, overgrown Babylon
OF bricks Is not destroyed by Him as were the cities
OF the plains. Has no effort been made TO redeem
these children Has no one, no set OF men or women
ever put on foot an undertaking to educate hem In
some measure, to teach them something or honesty
and OF their relative duties TO God and to mann
forces, we VIII not act together and the evil goes
on and Is every year increasing. The established
Episcopal Church has many schools and might nave
the funds at lts disposal 10 have many more. Inc
Baptsts the Wesleyans and the Roman Catholics
have also their schools; the latter the most ener.
getic ana. for the limited number Of their commu-
nifty, the most eineient Of all. But with
the great mass OF the well to do classes
upon that all important subject. our strength il d.
vided; there Is NO law by wncl parents obliged
10 send their offspring to school. and from the
thieves, roughs ano fallen women one can only ex-
pect that they should they do greatly prefer that
the children PICK up here little and there little
by odd Jobs, by selling Matches by thevlng and by
Worse-whicn adds something, no matter how little,
to the general funds OF the household.
The radical party in England propose, as o remedy
for this, that act OF Parliament should be brought
forward by which rates should be levied from all
householders Tor the payment OF common schools;
no m a A I'M
perative for ali persons who are too poor TO educate
their children to send botn boys and girls OF their
families; and that at these schools no religious
teaching be either enforced or even allowed, SO that
upon the score oil different creeds objection
OF religious denominations. The Angllcans, the
Weseyans and the Catholics say alike that
education without religion Is worse tnan educa-
ton ct al. What they demand Is that the scheme,
now practlsed on comparatively small scale, and
called the degomlnatlonai system, should be greatly
enlarged, and that TO each religious persuasion q
grant OF government money should, under certain
restrictions, be gwen, with which to build schools,
pay teachers and general work out under govern
ment Inspection, system OF education upon large
scale.
The Roman Catholic Church in this country mas.
up to the present time, shown more energy more
activity and has been more successful in It's schools
than any oLner denomination. And the clergy as well
"a the ay OF that Church are more taau any Others
determined 10 oppose anything like system OF
secular education. They say, Increase the funds
you allow us: where you have one Catholic school
enjoying government assistance we Will establish
nve or ak, II you viii only extend the help you
give us. Then, II you like, make 1t compulsory
upon all the children OF our faith TO attend these
schools, and punish the parents VINO don't obey
your order.''
The liberal press object to this. They say that they
Will not pay any sect more than another. They don't
want and will mol have religious teaching mixed up
with secular education and as 10 forcing children
10 be laugh Popery that would 30 against the rights
oil Englishmen.
very wol,' say the Catholics, "at the next cleo.
ticn, and even during the next Parliament We viii
help the tory slde on this question and II you per-
In Oil and IL IL mdte a government
measure We will turn the political tide W yotlng
with tne toresu
Mr.. Gladstone Is fully alive to the gravity of
the position. Personally he objects very much
indeed 10 education OF The poor without religion,
and would be inclined, most decidedly to take part
with the Anghcans, Wesleyans and Catholics by
bringing In measure which would allow each
denomination 10 educate their own poor, and aug
menting greatly the government grants for
that purpose. But the Premier IN a
great measure helpless. He Is surrounded by
ministers who are already pledged to the proposed
measure, and who Will hear or nothing but their
iavorite scheme But now another element has been
brought to play. There Is no doubt but that the
Ecumenical Council Will take ACTION on the question
ana that both In England aud In Ireland the 'thun-
ders OF the Cnurcnn will be evoked against all pa
rents who send their children to schools at which
religion forms no part OF the teaching At large
meeting Of Roman Catholics, held last week at Biz
mlngham, the Earl OF Denbigh. leading man among
the CATHOLICS OF TINS country, declared that he would
rather SEQ children sent TO schools where Protestant
ism was taught than TO schools where religion
ali was Inculcated; and the meeting, OF which the
Roman Catholic bishop OF the place was chairman
cneered him heartily when ho made tins remark.
Here, then, as think you VIII agree with me, the
Ecumenical Council Is more than likely bringing the
dispute between the two systems to a crisis. The
Roman Catholics OF this country are certainly wise
IN their generation II they wish TO preserve their
poor their own faith. To send their children 10
schools presided over by half taught men, who
would take pleasure, az they would deem II 10 be
their "mlssion,v to decry the Roman faith, and
either TO preach a modified inBdeity or an aggres-
siye Professionalism, wonld not be what we might
expect from those who delight TO call themselves tue
followers OF the old faith. am told that the system
OF secu ar education works wei on your side OF tie
Atlantic and that the Catholic clergy In your c0un-
Try are not antag0nstic TO the schools founded on
That principles; but II must be remembered That In
the United States nave learned Ito agree to diff
fer.n You never read In your paper or one denomi-
NATION Iecturng another nor OF one OF your papers
running muck at those VINO possess another creed
Here II is another affair. The London Tunes never
passes week without treating It's readers TO some
Two or three leading articles more or less denounclnR
the Pope, the cardinals the bsnops ana all that be-
longs TO the Catholic Church. The EIu NAL gazette IL
very much toe same. Hardly a day passes without
kIdt journal giving utLcrauce