Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-05-10
Letter from every Many"
NUMBER III.

lnnepan : last communication ! beg TO
submit a few remarks;
l. He complains that zone of Very
Many does not write under his personal
signature. The reason he does not is a very
simple one. He does not wish to have the
general interest of this momentous ques-
ton lost in personal controversy. Let two
individuals get into contest under their
own names, and the attention of the pub
lie would soon fix on them, and the ques-
ton at issue would become secondary
matter.
When so great a man as John Bap-
tlst came preaching and calling the people
TO repentance, he turned aside the ques-
ton: SCho art thou ?u with the answer,
am the Uoice of one crying" He had a
SUBJECT, message of supreme importance,
to press upon the people, and was content
to hide himself behind the Uoice. Zone
of Very Many only claims to be very
humble individual, and much more desires
to call attention to the subject, not to him
self. His proper name, however, is left
at the office of the CHRONICLE, and if Fa-
Their Finnegan feels asrieved at anything
he writes he will find the Editors of that
paper preparedto give it. Whenit comes to
question of moral courage indeed,
" One of Very Many" will be on hand.
Z. Now for the question. Let us see
how it stands. In the first place whis-
pers began to float around that efforts
were being made to secure a divi-
sion of the school fund in order that
the Roman Catholic Priest might establish
or support church orsectarian school with
part of this public fund. zone of Very
Many" wrote a short article of inquiry on
the subject, which was offered to the Press
and Herald, for the reason that he desired
to avoid mere political issues. 1t was re-
fused by that paper, and only accepted by
the CHRONICLE. Father Finnegan replies to
fnS, iirxy AL ~ a11 h.
charge that he was seeking for his church
a portion of the fund. He contended
that he had right to a portion pro rata,
and sought to white off the point of this
assumption by extending the claim of right
TO embrace all other denominations. To
this, Zone of Very Many replied by
showing that the claim was destructive of
schools; since the fund divided up among
the denominations would ioso .fdcto, go
out OF the common control, pass beyond
the juris diction of the civil authorities.
This brings us down to the article of
Father Finnegan, of this morning. In |
that article the "demdhd' THAT is the |
world for portion of the fund is again |
made. Yet he declares, of this money |
that he ''denadtclsn from the city and |
county tax, that it is mot to be controlled |
by myself, nor to support a Sectdridil |
school, nor yet to establish a principle |
destructive of the common school!n And |
yet, for this statement he offers not word
Of proof. That his demand is destruc-
tive of the common school / hold
to be established with the strength of de-
For, when the fund has
been divided pro rata among the religious
denominations, where is any remaining
for common school? In New York,
where the Roman Catholic Priests, con-
rolling vast foreign population of their
own faith, have position and power, they
openly decry the principle of common
schools. L have seen, again and again, the
strongest possible language of opposition
o the system. Here it suits their agent to
present different aspect to the people, to
ssert the principle and make the 'de-
r1dnd" that is really destructive of the
chool system of the country, while he
lenies the legitimate application of the
principle, and talks to the people of Knox
lille about their fairness and H6erdtty!
Let the people of this State and city be-
ware. This movement is but as the open
ng wedge. Give Father Finnegan this
precedent and vantage ground, and we
hall in due time have a repetition of the
experience of New York, where all the
Roman Catholic institutions are in a large
measure supported by grants from the pub
ic fund. One by one, all that is peculiar
o American christianity and American
liberty will be over-ridden and destroyed.
The liability to this aggression con-
lists in the fact that the Roman
Catholics hold the balance of pow
IT, which they are ready to throw
nto the scale Of any political party that
will advance their all embracing and
grasping aims. L do not intend in this any
personal insinuation against Father Finne-
gan. / know nothing against him per-
Ionally. But 1 speak of him simply as the
devoted agent of church whose structure
IS superstitious and despotic, and whose |
history in this land has been one continued |
scene of cunning, persistent aggression up |
on the institutions of American libertyiand |
1t is the wish of zone OF Very Many |
that the attention of the people Of Knox |
vile should not be diverted from the real |
issue. Father Finnegan says 1--WE teach |
in our schools the true principles Of Chris
tianity as they have been handed down |
from the beginning" an assertion the !
truth OF which deny. 1.-THE true princi- |
Piles of Christianity are contained in the
New Testament. That contains the
only true principles of Christianity that
have been handed down to US, and in that
Blessed Volume there is not word about
makingan collation." TO Mary, offering her
the heart which lean never be secure
but inn her hands Nor is there any,
thing in that Holy Volume that is peculiar
to the teaching of the Church of Rome
PrOtestants wish TO teach their children.
not what they regard as the idolatry and
superstition OF the Church of Rome, but
the simple, 'true principles of Christian
ity ~