The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-02-19
n ,rning Star and Catholic Messenger.
xPIsrLE FROM 81. JAMES.

Your st. James correspondent feels that he
has neglected you too long. By omission
3puoasS herein find some facts retributive-an
opistle on sundrles.
saGpRIMIs-THE CONDITION OF THE PARISH.
1t has become 90 much the custom all over
tho country to harp on Anglo-Saxon progress"
ahat even some of our people up here are
tempted to forget their Celtic origin! This,
Misfortune which brings in its train innumer-
able others; for it is easily demOnstrable that
not o few of the unnumbered woes that atfiict
our country arc traceable to this il!usive faith
in O progress which eliminates Gas John Mitch
81 has i) in . successful vending OF threads,
tapes, buttons, and hooks-and eyes.
blowly, but too surely the stranger propa-
gandists that have found their way up here
tax-gathering and dispensing ii 1stice" o.
aro insinuating this progress" falIacy of both
Old and New England into the minds and
hearts of the unstable OF onr population; and
but for the conservative influence of the ever
present, ever-watchfui, teaching Church, the
oeven years experiment-just censummated-
Of NeR. England progress" would, doubtless,
passed by the horrors of Massachusetts mani
&old lsMs.
In spite of the frenzed efforts to New>Eng-
1sndi.e this Southern region, It's refreshing to
Of those social absurdities which, despite New
England's material achievements, and notwith-
standing her selfsufhciency, make her the
laughing stock of civilized nations.
It is cOnsoling, too, to find our people uni
versally hopeful under an unparalleled weight
0f misery, born-to no small eXtent-from
thoir noble determination to ignore and reject
social and political code which people
claiming a Christian civilization New England
ors excepted) ever did or ever could dream of
clarifying themselves for! And, of surety,
nothing can better evince our Celtic extraction
than the elasticity with which VIC bear up
against the accumulation of ignorance per-
versity and robbery now rioting in Mechanics
Institute and dignfed by the name of Gov
of
the incurable body there located are, unfortu-
nately, illustrated in the representation from
st. James; and, doubtless, other districts are
similarly represented. Yet patient
Our longanimity is apparently illimitable!
Heavens! how future generations will laugh at
the farcical legislation of this much boosted
nineteenth century antmarvel at the forbear-
ance that could accept laws from iguoramuses!
SO it is. This is in brief, the condition of
our people-represented by ignorance, imbe-
cility; charlatanism and knavery; yet quiet,
law abiding and industrious-suffering,h hoping,
waiting!
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL.
We have public school here-unmired. In
this establishment, in that at Mechanics
Institute the late field hands are masters of
the situation. Here, exclusively SO; tor our
white population, having, long since, learned
to value the public schools ut their true worth,
wouldn't use them if they could; and now
with the darkies i'll possession-con1dn't if they
would.
We are sometimes amused by reading in the
incapabIes of Mechanics Institute. to maintain
the efficiency of the public schools, which the |
said Journals innOcently alleSe have hitherto |
sc given universal satisfactMfh'(N Strange that |
editors, who supposed fto understand the |
of public questions, should yield to |
fallacies manifest The public schools, from
which religion and morals have been (and !
from the nature of the case must have been)
excluded, could not but be sin |
gularly satisfactory to those parents who con-
coive instruction without moral training to be |
I, 4.
Dently enhanced their satisfaction to find |
forced to contribute to the support |
Of schools which they could not conscientious
~ use!
But if the public schools had even been, till
iunocuous (Which, in sooth, they
never were) we could regard the appeal to Me-
chanics' Hall to maintain OF improve their
worth, only as n stroke of broad POPULARITY or
invincible innocence. Many of our present
poor fellows, scarcely knowing
their right hand from their left and some Of
shed when it rains without natural intelii-
gence, without education without culture of
any kind-what know they about school stems
or school
"white FOLKS" moved by Puritan intolerance,
made jews, Catholics and others, pay (nolens
.'otess) where there was no value received, it is
neither surprising nor illogical that they
should, now, in their temporary elevation to u
power of whose responsibilities they have no
comprehension, deem themselves patriotically
1ation of other days. We greatly wonder
whether our white cousins of Puritan proclivi-
ties, have their eyes yet sufficiently opened, to
perceive in this turn of affairs any proyiden-
tisl retribution for their remorseless infiiction
of q goddess school system people to whom,
mot less on account OF their Catholic antece-
dents and traditions, than of their Catholic
moral sense, it was never suited. Any way,
tho retribution is evident enough to demon
strate, not alone the injustice, bnt likewise
the impolicy, of thrusting our own peculiar
~rtAy r1nxr ft,n