The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-10-03


Investigation of its merits, while q popular
sserse of justice and feeling of good fell
slowship will ally themselves to the standard
of right.
"a. M" classes the principal arguments
flor public edHcation under two heads first,
i the necessity of popular intelligence in q
4 sRePublic, and second, its effect it represaing
vice. He says:
\ Tie first argument is that our government,
resting upon the popular will aud controlled
4 by the people at large, can neither be wisely
administered nor continue to exist unless the
Spsop'e are educated and intelligent.
Bnt the argument principally relied in
Justification Of education at the pu blic e1pense
: IS that the educated are more virtuous or less
4disposed to crime than the unedGcated, aud, ss
: she ackno wledged duty OF government is to
Yprotect person and property by repressing
crime, this end is more efectaally accom-.
Splish ed by preventing cri me through the aseDcy
4 OF education than by Furnishing the criminal
4 after the perpetration nf the ofense.
! Without denying the public utility of pop
uiar intelligence under certain conditions,
IA. M" shows the fallacy of supposing
THAT it has any conservative character in
itself Intelligence, per Sc, is common to
devils and angels. lts only effect is to en-
3hance the power of both, for evil and good
respectively. He says that intelligence
4 gives the means of discriminating between
good ard evil in matters Of government,
] nut the choice between the two depends
lnpon something else altogether; it depends
upon the moral sympatbies of the citizen
whether they incline him 10 the one or the
other. Was it ignorance, for instance, that
1 plunged Senators AID Presidents into the
Pacific Mail steal or the Credit Mobilief
:swindle1 Or, as ga. NJ" asks: Are our
fin this age of Public Schools than in the
IhomespuH days OF our fathecsi
Asto tie eecond argument, that ignorance
Us a source of crime, "a. ~" challenge;
proof OF it by statistics. Ignorance is mis-
sfortun , noJafault, and cannot in the mercy
Of I'd be pnnished by being made an occa
sion of sin. That would be a fearful doc
lrine; and most incon nvenient one withal
for if mental intelligence could afford pro
lection against sin, every man would b.
obliged to learn every thing known to
l-cieDce. Ii education prevents crime, lei
Ius all become philosophers, being careful !
however, not to taper off with a cup of
poison, as did the prince of philosophers,
Socrates.
But supposlng ignorance to be sourceI
of crime, "A. NJ" says that poverty is a farI
more prolific one; and shall the StateI
therefore support comfortably every poolI
manf This would be Communion. Hi
words are
The stimulus to labor and the hopeo &C
quir;og property would be destroyed, and in the
destruction of property society would be dis \
solved, and civilization with all its attendant
This is Communism. and public education is e.
lgi gantic step Gar least in principle) in that
direction.
Having disposed of these considerations
urged in favor of the Public School system,
"a. NJ" advances a few positive objections
against il a. low conducted. In this conpec.
ton he refers to the conscientious scruples of;
Catholics ard others whereby they are de
prived of the educational facilities so much
Saunted, and asks if it is JAS" " or sex
pedient" to wrest taxes from them for sucbI
purposes.
We close with one citation which, as re-
CARDS the purely political aspect of the
case, strikes the nail exactly on the head
'Et gives the real clue to the whole problem ]
In regard to public schools, the people
must remember that is is now a universally
Recognized principle of government, that it'll
must ie: the people alone, and never to do for
them what they can do for themselves or in
other words, that government is best whicbI
governs least"
As regards the B"Iletin's article, We may
pay it ouT compliments hereafter.
horenos Message.