Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-05-03
OUR CRY Schools Al
THE SCHOOL QUESTION DISCUSSION,
!" Father Finnegan's Reply"

!" Father Finnegan's Reply"
MEssRs. EDITORS Allow me to thank
Father Finnegan for so promptly putung
School fuhd. NV Httls article has contrary
to expectation, proved almost as magl-
cal as IthuriePs. spear, though courtesy
restraints me from even suggesting the an
alogy in its full extent.
1t is netyery easy selreduce theleose, IL
logical sayings of the Father to deflnite
propositions for reply, but | will try to
catch sotne Of them and testithslrSysiee'
1. THE ISSUE.
That is now made distinct, clear, with
out equivocation. The priest demands the
parti tom of the schools fund, AID asserts
his right to it. No one can fail to see
his object. He wants, and will do all in
his p9@ertolge Icoatrol q sun t "I,5ra tic
the support of a sectarian school, Z. c., he
seeks this money, most Of iwhleh Ita Tataea
hostile to theirs, and thus to establish a
principle destructive of the common school,
the specific and declared object of the tax
The city and county each voted tax for
common schools. Father FinneSan makes
a demand that would simply nullify the
vote. If the managers of the school fund
should tamely sanction this claim, it would
be upset in the Courts. 1t could not stand
for an hour.
2. THE CLAIM OF sECTARIAN RIGHT.
The al5sirditySon thisApretenseTs 50
plain@t that It Is hard to zee howsit could
have been made. Pushed to its sim
pie and logical result it means just
this-that Ithe State Or city has no
Object at iii, that every co3siderabie sect
or class has a right to a portion of the tax
to establish its own institutions of every
kind. The notion cuts upzthesvery prin-
ciple of civil government by the roots. IT.
is a settled axiom of political economy in
free countries, that the rights of individu-
ais and classes, are subject to the laws that
secure the geiieiaD good. ! IF any class is
so peculiar in its principles as to clash
with the laws that express the general SEN
timents, it must pay the forfeit by at least
submitting to those laws.
8. FTHECATHoIdcIeoNsc
The Father urges the point that those
for whom he speaks have consciences.
for conscience But Il kflosvl that some
mems consciences are adjusted in very
accommodating wayto. theiE own private or
clique interests, and, how the conscience
of the Priest impels him-not to suffer for
sake-but to demand the de-
struction of our school system, by parti-
ton of its funds, is, to say the least, little
queer In this cehA eetion' heJ tells rus
his people "have sought refuge on
these free shores from the tyranny of
a hostile Government" But why did
they seek refuge in this land, where
liberty accordipg stp Protestant ideas pre-
walls? There hwas Italy, kSftiiii, France,
where the Roman church had prevailed
for hoary centuries with absolute sway,
where it had moulded life, given tone 10
character and shaped all institutions.
Why did not tlfoseWho flied FROM tyran-
nyn 60 to those countries. There Roman
lists were 'free," after sort, and Protest
ants were underth ban of universal pro-
scription. Why did they not go there for
freedom Away with this talk about
rights and lfreedom from fhb agentLbf a
church that has stained every page of his
tory with arbitrary prescription.
4. CATHOLIC EDUCATION.
!. The, Priest is quite earpests onfthe SUBJ
ject, and insinuates that it is quite needful
for the morals of people. that they should
have such Education as ehis church can,
and will give them. Now facts are stub
born things, and to faetsI appeal lin this
matter. The Priest claims, and in the main,
the claim is no doubt just, that they, the
Roman Catholics, teach their own people,
whether they get the common school fund
for the purpose or not. Well, the result in
our great cities is, thatnine-tenths77the pro-
portion is probably even larger Astill-of
the arrests and punishments for crime, are
from among Roman ,Catholicsi If the
Priest should have the hardihood to deny
this, will in few days have statistics
and prove it.
There lies before me a number of tables
taken from the actual government statistics
of the various Eufopeaf States. They
were taken several years ago, and may be
relied ON as accurate-rhs accurate as statisi
tics possibly can be. / transcribe single
one of these tables in this article, holding
the rest in reserve for another occasion, If
it should come. 1t is that which gives
the relative proportion q of murders, in
Protestant and Roman Catholic countries.
Here it is: ss.
Murders to the 10000 0 of Op'n.
Ro' n Cath-Ireland... 10 .
r.s7--Bslgiam.Is' 1896 - arsitss"
France ...... 81
4" Austria $3.50. So g
" Bavaria. 6S