The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-05-06

In she wordsof DIR. film, 70 educate ne
ys,s1,GI sy;thasiE PURIFYING the heart u but ~
::nlaee 4 STARR sword I'm the hand OF naati.
man. Onr Hast proposition Of these pre-;
,nfses Is that practically the BLDG y ,t I,s
source and rule OF snoral Obligation IN tnis
land. By this. NE do not mean 70 usS.as
Tint even an Atheist, not TO say uisDeiists..
In inspiration, might not be still opligeul.o;,n
his principles to recognize the lllpsi;npslhre ne
force OF conscience in his own reason - a az
would phiipsophize correctly. BuC p:ase,
cally few do recognize and OBEY co ,,sbnr;tv
~ the R;hIe. This book is, in point OF fact,
the source from which the American peg
ME draw their sense OF obligation, anu Oh lts
mefes and bounds, SO far as they nave any.
Tbia is especially true OF children. 6rahC
the inspiration of the Bible, and we nave
lasis OF moral appeal SO simple anu s.loris
Ihot practically ali other bases are compare
fiveIy worthless, especially for the !ou1S.
Its moral histories have an, lncompAiaonie
Admiration to the popular and the juvenile
mind. The Bible alone applies 10 Inc nealI
n.,d oonoc;ence with any distinct certainty
tbe great forces of future rewards ana pun
;sl,SSor,ts and the powers OF the World 10
nnme And above all, it alone provides the,
nmrifyinc influences Of redemption.
There can be, therefore, no true: educa-
+;on without moral culture, and no True
moral culture without Christianity. Inc
worry mower of the teacher IN the scIooi-
room is either moral or 1t is degradlng,
brnte force. But he can show the chllu ilo
other moral basis for Mt than the bioie'
Hence my argument IS as perfect rs eie .,l
The teacher must be Chrlstlah. but JUG
anaer;can commonwealth has promised to
haze no religious character. Then 1t cannot
ha teocber. If it undertakes to be, it must
be consistent, and 90 on and unite Churcn
and State, Are you ready to follow your
| oninions to this consistent end9
Since religious education is SO essential n
mort Il is Obvious that a wise Providence
mist have allotted the right and duty OF
giving it to some other of the independent
snheres between which he has distributed
the social interests OF man. This dutyreStS
qrifh the parent. Such is the Protestant
doctrine-the Bible doctrine. Neither State
nor Church are to usurp it; but both are to
cnlichten, encourage, and assist the parent
| in his inalienable task.
A feeble attempt has been made to escape
this fatal objection by saying: Let the state
schools teach secular knowledge, ana let
| the parents, in other places and times, sup
plement this with such religious knowledge
"a they please and by the help OF sucn
Church as may please them. The fatal an
| swers are: 1st. The secular teacher de-
ponds for the very authority to teach upon
| the Bible. I'd. The exclusion OF the Bible
would put stigma on it in the child's mind
which the parent cannot afterwards remove.
Sd. How can one teach history, ethics,
psychology, cosmogony, without implying
some religious opinions? Attn, and chiefly
The parents who are too poor, Ignorant,
and DELINQUENT to secure their children secu-
lar schooling will, by the stronger reason,
be sure to neglect their religious education.
But these are the parents whose deficiencies
give the sole prcteXt for the states inter-
ference, so that the one-sided training which
the State leaves merely secular will remain
so in all these cases. But these cases give
to the State common school its sole rdtSon
GEtre.
r conclude. therefore, that in a country
| like America, at least, your faVorlte system
is inapplicable, and will work only MISCHIEF.
Our old Virginia system, besides It's econ
omy, has these great logical advantages
that it leaves to parents, without usurpa-
ton, their proper function as creators or
electors OF their children's schools, and that
it thus wholly eyades the religious question,
which is, to YOU, insoluble. Government
is not the. creator but the creature OF human
society. The Government has no mission
from God to make the community; on the
contrary, the community should make the
.Goyernment. What the community shall
be is determined by Providence, where it is
happily determined by far other causes than
the medding OF governments historical
causes in the distant past-by vital ideas
propagated by great individual minds
especially by the Church and its doctrines.
The only communities which have had their
characters manufactured for them by their
governments have had villainously bad
character-like the Chinese and the Yam
KEGS. Noble:races make their governments ;
ignoble ones are made by them.
remain your very obcdient servant,
| II. L. DABNEY.