New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-11-30
THE BIBLE IN TIE SCHOOLS.

rup CATHOLIC CATECHIsM IN SAN FRANCIsCo-
THE BIBLE QUESTION IN PRUSslA-hol'I
OPINIONS OF THE AMERICAN PRESS
The Public School question" in San Fran
cisco assumes very different form from that whcht mas
assumed In Cincinnati. in any Eastern State Ihero
the question is not whether the Protestant Bible sha w
read but whether the Catholic Catechsm shall be ta"9
In the schools The San Francisco Chronicle has In re-
ISSUE the following account OF violent
by the Board Of Education upon the subject:
Last night the muchvexed question IN Teg9 h Tenth
teaching the Roman Catholic catechlsh III to n,eet
school, brought up at %f fbe disens
ing OF the Board OF Education 10 say er enc would
sion which ensued was an excited or stormy one ba
be TO dignity it undy IL mlgnt Ge Director stman
IN a calm dignied, and gentlemanly manuel ;rStrnc
the objections under Schools even after school hours
Some statements and explanations w 81 tSe Tentbst
school, ard others from o %nfn reTn
that instruction In Inc caITcn,s fter me school
was dismissed, and had been gwen In some III
stances IN he op " who reared against the bgotry Of
the members who objected against the course pursued IN
the Tenths school But this offensive exhibition was
not the worst in store for the audience Inc fresue "a
the became excited and outrageous than
son prejudice, and In the chair he TOOK the
floor and made an unseemy and mcoherent haTangue
accusations Of miserable bigOtry and telling the doc
tor that he had "sOftening Of the BRAIN mat ne
needed tapping" and making vehement ana NOISY
nuisance Of himself generally He thumped tne desk
and pounded his breast like an Infatuated gorilla MI
dreaTy and Jesutcai one after which Director Meagher
snd eSoneDc anu bd Impressed the entire audi
ence. Mr.. Meagher avOwed himself kOman Catholc,
though bgOed one; but he was convinced that no
good resulted To Church TO the community from
the manner which this attempt to teach the caeehls
in the Tenthst school had been pressed he indirectly
administered calm but scahlng reDuke to the two tur
buent aud ofcons members who had thrust themselves
champions Of the Catholic Church. and declared that ne
thought It better the caechism should be taught in the
church or at home than in the building leased Tor pubic
whole subject indefinitely postponed" and the mo-
tiOn was carried by vote of toA
The Cincinnati Commercial suggests an inquiry as to
how the Bible question is met in Prussia, where the
public school system is admirably managed, and
where there be many Catholic and Protestant
children together partial answer to this inquiry is
found says able report made thirty years ago to
the Legislature Ohio by Rev. Calvin Stowe, d.
d. Professor in Lane Theological Seminary Prof
Stowe visited Germany with view TO inyestgat t
the systems Of elementary public instruction
there prevailing, and personally inspected may
tSe @eoGs of RELIGIOUS Instruction employed are yaT
Ous according TO the creed OF the neighOOrh0od the
style instruction Of the teacher &c. Sometimes the
teacher calls the class around hun and relates ia ms own
language the simple narratives OF the BDle sometimes
use among the people The higher classes receive iu-
structon IN the Whole Bible history finishing with
chism which is the one employed by the church to
which the parents of the scholars belong Religious IN
structon OF some kind like all the other instruction OF
the schools, not optional, but compulsory The teach
however scrupuouslY abstain from sectaran pecu
hartes, from casting Odium upon the tenets OF any
denomination of Christians.
In Horace ManD's late report to the Massachusetts
Board of Education, some additional explanations OF
"Yotbpg he saws receives more attention in Pusssn schools
than the Bible 1t is taken and studied Systematically
and which would form IDEAS
respecting the character Of some OF TIE IehgoGs ~ % %
taught; and in all the Roman Catholic schools the ehim
ersy with separate gou instructions and here all the doctrines
ME- KSy p his valuable work on the Social Condition
Education of the People III Europe bears the follow
Dpntes about separate or unhesrd Of Prussia
saa Romsa Catholic councillors Of The
Berlin assured that they never eIpseoesd any daea on TINS POINT
think religious distraction be promoted better in separate than ~
than bsv ali; aud when cannot have separate
Of mixed one decided BY the paroeba
COMMITTEES the teacher elected by the most numerous OF the Two seSi
required elected b. sect and the other
b this case each eondues the religious education
children those parents differ from him in religious belief are Ps
on parents for their religious instruction
In an elaborate article by Sir William Hamilton, in
The Edinburgh Rere0, the Prussian school system he
every complete elementary school necessarily embraces
nine branches of which the first is rehgion-moralty
In the late Professor Bache's report education in
Europe he says OF the Burgher schools Of Halle IN Sax
ris lse aud religious u.tueiisa principally given
nut oo such form the book itself late day
cones slo %. i h S PS opposed to bat Which employs i as the
beginners handbook and from Which, feel bound to say have never
seen any good result"
Journals in all parts of the United States still dis
eussing this important question. We give below the
opinions Of various papers, addition to that we have
already given: n....-r.,
The question whether the increasing and encroaching
adhereus Of Rome shall dictate the character OF educa
ton n this country fairly before the people thereof
in consequence Of the triumph IN Cincinnati OF those per
object to the reading OF the old English version
of Holy Scriptures in the public schools SO great
victory will not be left unimproved by men who have
labOred to bring that version INTO dsrepue ana VINO,
not mprObaby in it the first OF series Of successes
such could not fail to Work moral aud religious revo
luton in the most rapidy-gowlng OF nations
For many years the Catholics have lab0red 10 bring
about the Punishment Of the Protestant Bible from the
very country which its birth and growth and
spring,time in the very years when the authorized
version" OF the Scriptures was made:
we accede their demand should we not admit the JUS
uee OF their condemnation of that book and also that
our entire system OF religion for more than two centuries
and half has been founded false version OK the
Word OF Godt The dispute does not relate merely 10 the
propriey the improperly OF making schoolbook OF
namely whether it ia right to have the Bible IN the hands
OF all persons who desire to read It, and whether the
the Scriptures which the foundation Of the
Christian religion. II we admit the soundness OF
their demand. and Danish the Bible from the schools
81 were criminal concern, we shall thereby make
fatal admissions First that is improper 10 place
the Scriptures before the aity Secondly that private
Judgment, the very backbone OF Professionalism Is
sham. and ought not TO be tolerated Ihrdiy. tnst
is the giant child has no better basis in religion than
version Of the scripturesand II the basis OF the
edce is rotten be the state Of the edice IL
self Are English and American Protesants prepared
to admit that their religion is founded ON false
hood. and the worst possible form That
fasehoOd can assume-a forgery Of dylnely -nspired
works, which are meant TO be manhnds guides
10 salvation they ready 10 make the cowardy con-
fesson that thus far they have upheld system that
grew out of fasehood and that until now they have de
berately contended against the truth pronounced
from Rome they further prepared to say that this
country conceived In sin aud born In inquity be-
cause it is the work OF who fond the rules OF their
public aud private lives, their lives patriots and their
lives Christians, in the English Bible Can they