On this page
-
Text (3)
-
Sept, 20, 1851.J . csi ftgafrgr. 889
-
PAPAL AGGRESSION. The "Lord Bishop of Sh...
-
DR. CULLEN ON EDUCATION. Roman Catholic ...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Advent Of Bloomkltismbut A Few Weeks Ago...
"We certainly did not anticipate that the Bloomer idea of female costume would bo soon cross the Atlantic and appear among the sombre-dressing folks of London But it has ; you , dear reader in full skirts and crinoline , may be shocked or surprised—but a lecture on Bloomerism by a Bloomer has actually been delivered at the John-street Institution , Fitzroy-square . Great numbers of both sexes attended ; in fact , the hall and gallery were crowded .
At half-past eight , Mrs . Dexter , the lecturer , a lady about thirty-five years of age , made her appearance on the platform habited in the Bloomer costume . She was received with slight manifestations of applause . Her attire , which was wholly composed of black stain , consisted of a jacket ordinarily worn by ladies in walking dress , a skirt below that , scarcely reached down to the knee , and a pair of exceedingly wide trowsers , tied at the ankle .
Mrs . Dexter entered at once upon her lecture ; referring to the time of ball head-dresses and expanded hoops , by way of exordium , and concluding it by a wise denunciation of the " infernal contrivance of tight stays . " She laid it down as a principle , that , providing any dress did no injury to health or offered an affront to modesty ; a woman had a perfect right to adopt that dress . If her particular costume did neither , she demanded to be left at perfect liberty to consult her own taste in the matter of decoration , and her own feelings with regard to convenience and comfort . ( Applause . )
•• She had long felt the inconvenience arising from long petticoats ; yet she never thought of adopting the Oriental costume until she learnt that one lady across the Atlantic had actually walked abroad in trousers , to the amusement of fastidious fault-finders . Let her remind her audience of a common exhibition , a lady ' s dress on a rainy day ; it ¦ wa s a moving panorama , and really gave her more trouble than a baby . ( Laughter . ) If that was not a pitiable and ludicrous spectacle , she ( Mrs . Dexter ) was much mistaken . The long petticoats , too , were equally inconvenient in fine as in dirty weather . When a lady , on a beautiful summer ' s day , attired herself in a dress of rich
material , she forgot that the pavement would be wiped with it as it trailed magnificently along , enveloped in c ' ouds of dust . What , she would ask , prevented women enjoy ing the vigorous exercise of their limbs ? Let ladies ask their wardrobes and they would find an answer . Women , from time immemorial , had been cheated out of many a sweet summer ' s ramble in the open country . Was not a woman able to get over a stile without the care and assistance of her husband or her lover . ( Laughter . ) There was elasticity enough in her constitution ( renewed laughter ) ; but she was the slave of the foolish and too general impression that there was something of vulgarity in the gentler sex depending on their
own resources . Returning again to the subject of tight-lacing she exclaimed— " Only conceive a Venus held up to the admiration of man supported by slips of whalebone . " ( Laughter . ) Trousers , she said , were worn by Greeks , and short petticoats by the Italians . As to the charge of novelty , — why novelty was the sine qua non of fashion . ' Would it not be wiser to inquire whether a thing was meritorious or useful , leaving the question of novelty to idlers and simple folk ? She would remind them that
there were at the present time millions of women who had never seen any other female dress than trousers and short petticoats ; so that their lords and masters in this country must not look on the new dress as an illegal encroachment . The women of Georgia , Circassia , the Burman empire—in a word , one half of the human racehad from time immemorial worn trousers ; so that there would be nodanger of her ( Mrs . Dexter ) standing a solitary monument of trousers . ( Laughter . ) She was quite sure there would be more difficulty in convincing the ladies that their errors in dresa demanded reform than in
convincing the gentlemen that it was their duty to persuade them to assent to the change , ( daughter . ) She was also quite sure that such views as she desired to convey would be embraced only by those who had good hearts and happy dispositions . ( Hear , hear . ) The question in America wan , what right had men to wear trousers at all ? ( Great laughter . ) In China the men now wore Jetticoats and the women trouserH . ( llenewed laughter . ) n the dress in which she was now endeavouring to enlist their interest there was nothing inconvenient , unbecoming , or unsightly . ( Cheers . ) Of its comfort she could speak from experience , and with regard to its appearance she would leave the audience to contrast it with its competitors , ( Hear , hear . )
Sho vindicated the Bloomer costume from the charge of indelicacy , by a " tu quoque . " Were ladies caught in a shower , nnd obliged to hold up their petticoats , particularly modest appearances ? She said the dress she wore would soon cease to be singular : — " She was the first who had dared publicly to call attention to it in this metropolis . She hud , therefore , been subject to many jeers . A young man , for instance , unaware of her presence , had asked whether she would
complete the . outrage on masculine attire by appearing at tlio lecture in whiskers . ( A laugh . ) Another had offered to prenent her with a box of cigars . She thanked him ; but she had no desire to commit nn outrage on nature ; she wished rather to strengthen than to debilitate her nerves . Through a foolish Bervnity to the dictates of fashion , women had been deprived ol c \ u > ice in matters of dress , and in order to maintain their rights it had consequently become ne-CeBBary to set on foot an agitation as active as any
political one . If ladies chose to wear long dresses indoors or in carriages , where they were protected frommud and mire , it was not her business to interfere . What she asked \» as , that she might not he subjected to an noyance or insulting remarks because she differed from those about her in matters of costume . From the male sex she had never been treated with insult when she had appeared in the reformed costume . On the contrary , they had ever received her with respect and dignified politeness ( A laugh . ) She could not say as much of her sex . " She called on men , in conclusion , as the natural protectors of women in time of need , to shield those of her sex who might follow her example in adopting the costume she then wore from gratuitous and vulgar insult .
Mrs . Dexter then withdrew , amid expressions of general applause , mingled with some faint laughter .
Sept, 20, 1851.J . Csi Ftgafrgr. 889
Sept , 20 , 1851 . J . csi ftgafrgr . 889
Papal Aggression. The "Lord Bishop Of Sh...
PAPAL AGGRESSION . The " Lord Bishop of Shrewsbury" preached a charity sermon at the church of St . Werburgh , Birkenhead , the same having been publicly announced . Of course Protestants were duly shocked , and the law violated , whereat great wrath . Some of the particulars are interesting , as showing what humanity is still capable of in the way of priestly idolatry in the nineteenth century . The church of St . Werburgh is one of unpretending character , but it was made on this occasion somewhat more attractive . The altar was decorated with flowers , and to the right there was a kind of canopy ,
or throne , intended for the reception of " the Lord Bishop of Shrewsbury . " The service was principally conducted by three priests , in vestments of cloth of gold , who appeared to act as the chaplains to the bishop . " The Lord Bishop of Troy , " whose presence was promised in the handbill , did not make his appearance , and his absence was accounted for by Mr . Brown , who , before the service commenced , stated that " the Lord Bishop of Troy was called to the South , and , consequently , could not be present as announced in the printed placard " ; but his lordship , " their own bishop , would address them in the
evening as well as the morning . " The sermon preached by " the Lord Bishop " in the morning was a very plain discourse , entirely confined to the charitable object for which the ceremony was got up . The only noticeable feature was that the greatest devotion was paid to the " sacred person " of the bishop , whose hands were repeatedly kissed during the ceremony , by the officiating priests . On leaving the chapel many of the congregation , principally those of the poorer class , kneeled down and eagerly caught the garment of the prelate , " which they applied to their lips .
Dr. Cullen On Education. Roman Catholic ...
DR . CULLEN ON EDUCATION . Roman Catholic views on education have received an official exposition from Dr . Cullen , Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ire-land . The document in which this is contained comes to us in the shape of a letter to Mr . Alderman Boylan of Drogheda , in reply to a letter from the Alderman relative to a discussion on education in the Drogheda corporation . Dr . Cullen was reported to be favourable to the * ' model school and the mixed system , " because he patronised the national schools in his diocese ; and upon this point Alderman Boy Ian wished to be enlightened . Dr . Cullen prefaces his reply with some observations denying the charge that the Catholics are opposed to education : —
" Before I enter into tho subject of your communication , allow me to assure you that I do not yield to any one in a sincere desire to see our people well instructed . You and every true Catholic feel as I do , and our feelings are quite in accordance with tho spirit of the Catholic Church . She has been the instructress and civiliser of all the nations of the earth ; every noble and useful institution that we possess has originated with her ; and to her are due the preservation of the arts and sciences in ages of darkness , and their revival and diffusion at a later period . The man who accuses the Catholic Church of promoting or patronising ignorance , or of being hostile to the improvement of the mind , either does not know her history , or wilfully misrepresents it . There i » ,
indeed , a sort of knowledge not encouraged by our Church , a knowledge without religion , which , as the Apostle St . Paul says , puficth up , and is described by St James as earthly , Bensual , devilish . The rifects of knowledge of tltia kind can be easily traced in the history of Europe during the last eighty yearB . Its fruits have been sedition , rebellion , immorality , impiety , or , at least , an indifference to every Hort of religion . Within tho last twenty ycuta the occupier of the throne in France and his minititcrs became iln patroniHers in their university system , and , though that ; ( system was altogether uuder their control , yet they fell victims to the wicked spirit which their favoured godless education called into existence and nurtured . ' lit nuno reges intclligitc , erudimini qui judioatis terrain . ' ( B . 2 . ) "
In explanation he asserts , that Catholics cannot , sanction nnv nyHtem of education " opposed or d < mgorouH to the Catholic faith ; " that wliat is called mixed education is dangerous to that faith , being found pernicious and " well calculated to how tho needs of inditferentism . " Protestants , he writes , act upon theao principles , giving their children un
education purely Protestant and anti-catholic ; never sending them to Catholic schools , and setting a hig her value on Protestantism than on its doctrines . He then asks , what are the Catholic doctrines , about which true Catholics are very anxious ? and replies : — ' We believe that if any one wilfully denies , or even calls into doubt , one single article of our faith , he ceases to be a member of the true Church , and must be regarded as out of the way of salvation . " " He stigmatises all Catholics who send their children to the mixed schools in which there is " no mixture of Catholicity "; and he explains , that he patronises the national schools in his own diocese , because they are not mixed schools ; the managers , the teachers , the children , and the spirit of the schools being Catholic . He points out a second class where Catholics do not attend , and a third class , which he
condemns : — " There is a third class of national schools under the control of proselytising parsons , or agents of bigoted enemies of our faith , in which , though the masters are Protestant , and the teaching and spirit Protestant , yet Catholic children , by promises or threats , are induced to attend . Such schools I consider most dangerous . There is no protection in them for the faith of Catholic children . The parents , indeed , may object to the teaching of Protestant doctrines , and make their representations to the
board . But this is in reality no protection , when the parents are dependent on the patrons or managers of the schools . It would be necessary to say a great deal about this branch of the national system . I shall for the present limit myself to observe that it is most unjust to tax a Catholic population for the support of schools of this kind that have been , or may be made an engine for undermining their faith . It is to be regretted that the original rules of the national board have been modified in a manner to favour such schools that may be made nurseries of proselytism . "
Of the model school he thinks it not necessary to speak much . ' He delivers a wholesale sentence on these schools , in which Protestant , Presbyterian , and Catholic teachers instruct children of every denomination , and over which Catholics have no control . " The whole system tends to inspire children with the absurd idea that all religions are equally good , and is thus hostile to truth , which is one and exclusive in its nature . The system also is directed to throw the education of a Catholic population into the hands of a Protestant Government , or at least of a commission appointed by the Protestant ministers of the day . Ought Catholics , or can they , conscientiously take an active part in establishing such schools ?"
The remainder of the letter is devoted to a reply to a possible objection to his opinions on these important points . It will be argued , he says , that we live in times of great liberality , and that no teacher will interfere with the religious doctrines of his pupils . But , he replies , is it not a fact borne out by experience , that the most liberal of Ministers , Lord John Russell to wit , are oftenest most hostile to the Catholic religion , writing Durham letters , demanding penal enactments , displaying great bigotry , and treating its
rites and practices as the mummeries of superstition ? Trinity College does not escape . Its effects are evil in the eyes of Dr . Cullen : — " The example of those in office , the sneers of companions , the spirit of the place , the atmosphere itself , produce their effect , and many young either become open apostates from the faith ot ' their fathers , or , at least , lose the spirit of their religion , and abandon its practices and observances . " And he sweepingly concludes that the same effects will probably be produced in the model school when mixed education is fully developed in them .
As a pendant to this , we give the following from the Irish correspondent of the Times . The guardians of the Newry Poor Law Union have , by a majority of 2 ' . i to 11 $ , negatived a motion for placing the schools under the Board of National Education . As far an can be judged by names , the minority was composed for the greater part of Roman Catholics , and the majority almost exclusively of Protestants , the latter resting their opposition on the threadbare argument of mutilated Scriptures , unholy tampering with the Word , and so forth . The gentleman who brought the question under consideration , prefaced the motion with a sensible speech , in the cour . se of which he observed r —
" I do not care about Dr . Cullen or any one . el . se ; what any one else may do is nothing to me . If they fancy they can put down the national system of education , 1 miy they cannot do it . ; 1 defy them . { Hear , hear . ) Dr . Herenford and Dr . Cullen may insuc their pronunciamentoH against the schools , but they will be in v ;» in ; for the whole rnaBB of the people is in favour of them . Dr . Cullen baa not been long enough here to understand the quetition , which is simply a question of fuir play and justice . Uuder the national system we have , peace , should
order , and quietness ; but . if wit had it not , we have broils and disturbances in our school * eternally , m consequence of people interfering with the children and going about difitritiuting tracts among them . All the great and vvirte men in the country are in favour ol the national system of education - -sudi , for instance , aB Dr . TuwiihciiiI , Bishop of Meath , wh «> ih h warm advocate of it The Lord Primate and Dr . Culh-n must eventually come round . Dr . (" ooko and the General Assembly , who were formerly opposed to tho national ayRtem , had to come round , « "i « i U » e othero must do bo in the end . Tho
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 20, 1851, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20091851/page/5/
-