Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-05-17
OUR CITY SCHOOLS.

MEssRs. EDITORS: The article from
"The Other Side,n in your last number,
shows more conclusively that the purpose
of this movement of the Roman Catholic
Priest and his sympathizers, is to obtain a
part of the money raised by the civil au-
thority, to carry on a Roman Catholic
school. Not only so. The article confirms
me in the opinion that the movement pro-
ceeds upon the assumption that the civil
authority has no right to give even an ele-
mentary English education to the children
of the city and the State, unless it will also
provide for their receiving positive re-
igious sectarian instruction and that if
such instruction cannot be made to go
along with the importation of secular
| learning, the common schools should be
! abandoned. These Romish gentlemen
cannot throw off their leading idea of a
union, in some form or other, between
| Church and State, and of making the State
serve the Church (that is, sooner or later,
the Roman Catholic,) in education, public
charities, &c. Now, in The United States,
| the civil government docs not kpoO any
religious denomination, ClistiRctipey. But
the Roman Catholic Church cannot bear
to be ignored in that way by the State, and
along with the Baptists, Methodists, Pres
! byterians, Episcopalians, and other there
| tfcsu 1t steps forward by its authorities
and boldly confronts the civil authority
with its demands 1t says in SO many
words, "You (the State) must recognize me
whatever you do toward other Churches
Do YOU see! Here l stand. Give me
part of the money in your treasury, with
which / may run my schools, and built
and maintain my asylums and hospitals
Will YOU do it or not? Take heed!
have votes Mt my command and i car
turn them like a trained band, and as
will, to the support of my political friends
What care | for your statesmen or parties
What careI who are your rulers and legis
, lators, so they minister to my will ant
promote nv ends?u At first, and in sucl
. places as Knoxville it will probably asl
only for ''its portion of the public money,
for particular object, and suggest and en-
courage other religious denominations 4
do the same. Listen to Father Finne
gan:
% We are not pleading for privileges or ey
empton but for the common freedom of all
We willingly accord the same rights 10 ever
! other class of citizens. We claim 1t for ever
= sect and division of Presbyterians. We clair
it for Baptists We claim it for Episcopalian
| We claim it for Jews. u
Listen to him of "The Other Siden;
"The Romanists g 9 demand that the
share of the taxes raised for common school pu1
= poses shall be placed in their hands, subject
r appropriation for the purpose of education,
= be used as they sec proper. They do not rs
q more than q pro rata of taxes, nor do they el
I pect or desire that the Protestants shall eXclud
! religious instruction according to their ow
: creed from those schools supported by Prote
4 tant funds"
No! OF course he does not expect {
; desire, at least for the present, that til
; Protestants shall not have their part of III
u public money to conduct schools, in whic
q shall be given positive religious instru
i tom after "their own creed" BY L
means. He calculates upon their dividin
i out the fund among themselves, just
Father Finnegan suggests, a part to Il
IL Methodists, a part TO the Presbyterian
o &c. for "The Other SideN affirms it as n
y opinion that the Protestants are mot ab
to agree upon a common basis of (religiou
. instruction among themselves, " and, ther
fore, "his expectation aud desire that the
l. shall not exclude religious instruction aft
II their own creed' from the schools whiC
he wants them to run with the commC
le school money, are an expectation and desi
er that they shall conduct denomination
~ schools. Suppose the demand of Faith
re Finnegan and his associates in this matt
u be granted, and Protestants and others a
;, cept their suggestions and follow their e
ample. Then the Roman Catholic Chur
u here has obtained its coveted recogniti'
by the civil authority. 1t has made
hole in the body polite and wedged its
in, and there it will make it pointnot on
to stay, but to continually enlarge its loo
ed ing place. What if the various Prote
ant denominations have also obtain
as their several recognitions from the Sta
e. and places in the body polite ? The II
Id mish Church, we'll knows itself to be
mt expert in making the secular power
lis servant. The genius of Professionalism