The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-22
TEACHERS RENTBY POLITICAL STRIFE The Mansfield Case Almost
 Caused Strike TO BE INVESTIGATION Irish Educational Progress Hampered by System of Denominational Schools Where First Test for
 Teacher Is Religion
 
By F. x. CULLEN

Dublin, December 21,-CSpeciaI) )-should teachers be allowed to take part in pol tiles? This question, is at the bottom of a quarrel which has been agitating all Ire land for nearly year and which cannot have failed to impair the efficiency of the Irish schools, for since it began the teachers have been paying more attention to what has become of the Mansfield Case' than to their legitimate work On the face Of the quarrel the cause seems to be very simple one, but it is only symptom of the grave weakness of the Irish educational system.
 About year ago the teachers of the Clonmel inspection circuit forwarded a memorial to the national education board protesting against the methods of the se- nior inspector of that district. and de- claring that he demanded far too high a standard. They alleged that as their in- creases of salary depended on the in- speetor's reports, they were seriously in Jured by the position of affairs. The charges We're investigated by the resident commissioner and the chief inspector and the board came to the conclusion that the inspectors standard was not unrea- sonably high and that he had not dealt unfairly by any of the teachers.
 HIS uld not satisfy the teachers and they continued their agitation. Their spokesman was the principal teacher of .ne Cuiieh school County Tipperary. Itstlneu Maisheld, and vice president of the Teachers organization. He wrote :. number of letters to the board and when .shese failed to secure the desired result which seemed to be the dismissal of the offendiHg inspector Mansfield organized series of public meetings in which he attacked the board and the inspector b,. slaf1e or course. the only course onen ta .ne board was Mansfield, dismissal and dismissed he was. Inme1iateIv tba teachers all over Ireland rallied to his de renee and for time it looked as if zya were to have a teachers strike huf eventually the Irish party took m tl4 matter m parliament and now we are promised by Augustine Birreu. the chiee secretary for Ireland that an ino,1iry into the whole case Of the teachers vii be held. "''
 Due to Politics
 go taf there does not seem to be r1uei, pohtics Tn the matter. but it is allegel on behalf of the ClonmeI teachers tbat the whole trouble is due to the faet tha+ , most Of them are ardent politicians and that thelr politics have not been pleasin v 10 the authorities at Dublin castle Tho oHehding Inspector they declare. was only tool in the hands of the castle al,- thorities to punish them.
 Whether his be true or not no one cnn deny that the whole system of organiza ton of the national schools in Ireland is vicious. and it's. chief vice is that it is based on the religious. which means pran- ucally the same thing as the poiitioal divisions of the people. Under this pecr- lar system the first test for a teachers s appointment to particular school is nat ms competence, but his religious profess sion, and under such circumstances # is hard to see how Irish teachers can helr. being politicians when one bears in mid the political division of Ireland on re ligious lines. Almost as bad as this re ligfous test for teachers is the multipli- cation of small and inefficient schools
 Religious School Law
 Under the Irish education law when there is large enough population oe a particular religious faith in a district. that population is entitled to a natiohal school of it's own, with teachers ofJits own faith. Thus, ir many a town of 4OO0 or 5o00 inhabitants we find a Roman Catholic. an Anglican, Presbyterian qud a Methodist school, all supported out If the public education funds, each with q