Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-04-30

Inc School Board Ol New Ork CIty have
before them proposition made by the re-
presentatives Of the Catholic parochial
schools Of that city, to admit the parochial
schools to the cOmmOn-schoOl system on GER
tain terms indicated These are substan-
italy that the parochial school buildings
shall be leased to the Board Of Education for
school purposes, subject to the rules of the
school system and to the supervision of the
Board of Education that the Catholic
teachers now employed in the parochial
schools shall be retained when found quail
fed ami that the Catholics be conceded the
privilege to teach their children from the cate
chism, in the school room, either before or
after the regular school hours. In the mat
ter Of Bible reading IN schools an intro
ductory exercise. they are Indifferent, and
do not make any request for the substitu-
ton OF the Catholic for the Protestant YER
sion.
\ similar proposition was recently made to
the Common Council of Buffalo. and was de-
elined, the Council adopting by II vote Of
twenty to four, a report which took the
ground ' that the parochial free schools Of
the Catholics, established in part, at least,
for denominational and religious purposes.
are not common schools and do not come
within the terms or intent OF the school law e.
The report refers to the fact that under the
law the City of Bulfilo,as well as every other
city and village in the State, is expressly
forbidden to raise money by taxation for the
support of any schools other than its own
public schools, and it concludes that it is
clearly beyond the power OF the Council to
grant the prayer of the lnemorialists,' and
that neither the school law Of the State nor
the charter Of the city contemplates or
authorizes religious instruction in the dis
trict schools or in any school supported by
taxation
On the other hand such an arrangement
as that proposed has been adopted in Pough-
keepse; and is reported to be working
without elashing or friction. The n. L.
Journal Of Education regards the Pough-
keepsie experiment as showing that there
Is no necessary barrier between Roman Cath
olics and Protestants in the public school
system, and that both, tuhen SIMPLY left TO
themselves, have more faith in the religious
education of their children in the home and
the church than in that Of the public
school,
In this conclusion. however, all do not
agree. We see it stated that two Catholic
schools which have been taken into the
Poughkeepsie school system, are still to all
intends and purposes sectarian schools-the
only difference being that they use the same
text books as the other public schools and
are supported on the public money. IL it is
not 50, we are pretty sure the Catholics will
not be suited with it. We can say, how
ever, with the Christian Union - If this
Poughleepsie arrangement shall be found
to offer a solution Of the troubles between
Protestants and Catholics in regard to the
schools, we shall rejoice. We are not among
those who complain of the Catholics on &C.
count OF their anxiety for the religious educa
ton uf their children As Protestants, we
cherish similar anxiety for the right moral
4 i. r. IL
and On this subject, rs on every other, we
would do as We would be done By" We
should be glad If Protestant and Catholic
children could mingle together in the same
schools, the teachers being appointed for
their literary and moral qualifications solely,
without regard to their church relations, q
in Boston. But il will never do to include
in the public school system, either Catholic
or Protestant sectarian schools. For that
would be the death of the systsm.