Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-05-06
EAnI nussELL,s NEW nooK.

tan Religion in the West Of Europe in
this age OF the world. But Lord John in
hsrited good constitution from his fore
fathers and mothers, and has bad the good
sense not to squander his vital estate, The
national education of Ireland, and the law
relating to marriage in which Catholic and
Protestant IDEAS are not in harmony, ap-
pear to have been the inspiration of the
book, Earl Russell being opposed to the
Roman Catholic view of the subject. He
says:
"In the oath prescribed in the Roman
Catholic Relief bill, introduced by Mr.. Peel,
there are contained, besides the sdiSavoWal
of many obsolete or imaginary tenets, the
following words: sAnd l do declare that
do not believe that the Pope of Rome, or
any other foreign prince, prelate, person,
state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have,
any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power,
superiority, or pre- eminence, directly or IN
directly, within this realm
"The question hereupon arises, what is
temporal or civil jurisdiction, and what sub
jects proper. y be.oDg to spiritual jurisdic-
ton? The laws relating to marriage and
education are asserted by the Pope TO be
subjects pertaining to spiritual jurisdiction.
In France and Italy the laws relating to
marriage and education are declared by the
laws of those countries to belong to the
civil law. In FRANCE aud Italy the civil mar
riage is the only form OF marriage binding
upon those nations. In EDgland the
form of marriage enacted by the canon
law of Rome is, with certain Conditions of
registration, allowed to be valid. But on
the question of education contest is evil
IDENTIFY impending. VIII England assume
for herself, as she has hitherto done, the
power OF laying down by her own Psrlia-
mentsry authority the conditions according
to which the education Of the young must
be carried on, or will Pope Plus TX. be al
lowed to assume, by himself and his le-
gates, by Cardinal Cullen and The Irish Ro-
man Catholic bishops, The supreme direc-
ton Of education? This question is one of
those which our French neighbors, by sn
expressive phrase, call burning In 1880
or 1881 the late Lord Derby, the then Lord
Stanley, Archbishop Whately, and Earl
Grey es ablished new system Of national
education for Ireland, and on the faith of
the equity and efficiency of that system the
Government for many years proposed and
carried the grant of large sums Of money
by the House of Commons. l have often
had to defend that system in company with
Ma Chichester Fortescue.
"The principle of that system of national
education was that secular instruction
should be in common, but that religious in
struction should be separate. Acc Jrdingly,
placard is exhibited in the schools, with
the words, secular instruction, or religious
instruction, printed in large letters, accord
ing to the hours of local regulation. This
Is no theoretical distinction. The Roman
Church has declared in effect that faith and
morals will be endangered if a Roman Cath
Ole child is found learning the multiplic2-
ton table side by side with Protestant boy,
or if the two are found playing at trap.ball
together in the playground. Father o.
Keefe, Roman Catholic priest, has been
caught in one Of the many snares which
the Jesuites of Rome have prepared,
and he has lost upwards Of f800 year by
being deprived of the management of the
schools of Callan. No doubt upon each of
the coins which be has lost the image and
superscripCion of V.ctoria-that is, the i'm
age and superscrip ion of Cesar--were in
scribed. Every Englishman and every
Scotchman, by submitting to the decree of
the National Board of Education in Ire
land, has virtually consented TO the su-
premacy of Pope Plus TX, and has there
by departed from the precedent set long
before the Reformation, when Stephen
Langton, the Popish Archbishop of Can
terbury, boldly asserted the independence
of England on the plain Of Runnymede."
Human improvement is pos poned indefn-
itely by the religious feuds between Catho-
lies and anti-Cstholics in Western Europe.
The children of both classes are educated
to hate, or at least dstrust all who do not
subscribe to the creed of their parents.
Those raised TO be Professionals, continue
jealous ike Early Russell, and write books
when on the down hill side ofeighty, depre-
eating the supremacy Of the Pope; while
children raised under Catholic instruction
believe in The dogmas of infalibility and
transubstantiation, and whatever else may
be taught them. Russell often aludes to
the Protestants of America as source of
strength. After enumeratiDg many mis-
deeds claimed to have been done by the
Catholic government, our author remarks:
"These appear to me sufficient grounds
for not bowling to the claims of infAlliDility
put forth by tbs last Council of the Vatican,
for not yielding to the control of the Ro-
man Church over the relations of marriage
and education asserted by the Pope and
assented to by Roman Catholic Bishops of
Germany and Ireland as the proper domain
of spiritual and ecclesiastical power. Con-
WINGED, as l am, that the Professionals Of
Europe and America will never bend their
necks beneath a yoke which could only be
imposed upon mankind by risking the loss
of all progress, of all advance in freedom,
and of all national independence, l put
aside this claim to one that can never be
admitted.
"Let US first say that neither Luther nor
Calvin, the one a monk and the other
priest, contending three centuries ago, in
the midst Of the most violent conflicts be-
tween old institutions and new speculstions,
can be looked 10 as having arrived at con-
illusions upon which mankind, or even the
educated part of Christendon, can be con-
te ted to rest. Men of the highest educs-
ton in HFrance and Italy are protested
members Of the Roman Catholic Church;
but if any one inquiries as TO the prevailing
opinions, he will fad that the greal er part
of them are what is called VOltairia s, who,
while they worship God as Roman CathO-
lies, are Deists, and not really Christians"
Like the pendulum Of clock, human
reason is apt to vibrate from one extreme
to the opposite; and in Italy may possibly
be seen at no distant day some of the ex-
cesses witnessed in France in the latter part
of the last century. For an old man, no
bleman, hereditary law-maker, under
hereditary monarch, 20 write SO earnestly
against 'risking the loss of all progress, of
all advance in freedom, and Of all national
seems SO extrao rdinary, that
one almost recognizes the ideas OF Thomas
Jefferson as growing on British SOL, and IN
the brains Of its aristOcracy.
GEN. SHERIDAN, "Piegan Phil' express
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