The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-12-08

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sos the following letter, yes Us 10 III likely "a
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NO reproduce the letter Itself. Us o bid
for the presidency 4
N0n-Secsarsna SchcOEs.
LETTER FReM Hx srgAKER BLAINE.
& The following letter was written ijy MIR.
Blaine to prominent Ohio gentleman Just
after the late election In that State. & IT Is
printed now with ut ieast the implied con,
sent OF The writer: n 81
AueusrA, Me-, October 90. : NJ Dear
81, The publlc.schoot agitation Ia your
Faase campaign Is liable to break out else
where, and, Occurring frat 10 one State and
then IN anothers may keep the whole seonn.
try In q fernent for years TO come. This
|inevitably arouses ,sectsrian feeling, and
leads to, that bittereat and most deplorable
OF all strifeS the strife between religious
denominations. 1t seems 10 me that this
question ought to be settled In some definite
and comprehensive way and the only set.
tlement that caH be finaf Is the complete
victory for Hon.sectarfan schools. I an
surg this will be demanded by the American
people nc all zards and az any cost. 1i..
The dread Of sec!ariaR legislation IN this
country has been felt many times Id the past.
II began very early. The first amendment
of the Constitution, the Joint product
sof Jefferson and Madison, proposed
In 1889, declared that Congress shall
make no law respecting an estab.
7shment OF religion, nor prohibiting
the exercise thereof" At that time, when
The powers Of the Federal Government were
untried and undeyeloped, the fear was that
Congress might be the source Of danger. to
perfect religious liberty, and hence ali power
was taken from It. AT the same time the
States were left free to do as they pleased 10
regard to g an Establishment of religion, for
the tenth amendment, proposed by that
eminent jurist Theophilus Parsons, and
adopted contemporaneously with the first,
declared that all powers not delegated to
the United States By the Constitution, nor
prohibited By It to the States, are preserved
to the States respectively or to the people,"
? a majority of the people In any State in
this Union can, therefore, If they desire It,
have On established church, under which the
minority may be taxed for the erection of
church edifces which they never enter, and
for the support Of creeds which they do not
believe. This power was actually exercised
in some of the States long after the adoption
Of the Federal Constitution, and although
there may be no positive danger Of its revi-
val in the future, the possibility of it should
not be permitted. The suspicious time TO
guard against an evil is when all will unite
in preventing if.
And in curing this constitutional defect,
all possibility Of hurtful agitation on the
school question should be ended also. Just
let the old Jefferson Madison amendment be
applied to the States BY adding the following
to the inhibitory clauses in section 10, arti.
Gle of the Federal Constitution-viz:
"No State shall make any law respecting an
establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof, and DO money raised by
taxation in any State for the support of pub.
lie schools, or derived from any public fund
therefor, shall ever be under the control of
any religious sect; nor shall, any money so
raised ever be divided between religious
sects or denominations" : ~f>'o@
This, you will observe, does not interfere
with any State having just such school sys.
tenn as its citizens may prefer, subject to the
single and simple restriction that the schools
shall not be made the arena for sectarian con.
troversy or theological disputation. This adj
justment, it seems to me, would be compre-
hensive and conclusive, and would be fair
alike to Protestant and Catholic, TO Jew and
GENTLE, leaving the religious faith and the
conscience of every man free and uDmolested.
Very sincerely yours JIG. BLAINE.