The Free School System of the United States

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1875 Excerpt: ...that the rules said to have been adopted in 1842 had long since ceased to be acted upon or to be recognised as of binding force, the same not being found amongst the rules published by the Board during the previous twenty-five years; and that the sole version of the Bible which had been read in the common schools at any time was King James's version. It was admitted by the defendants that numbers educated in the common schools received no religious instruction except that communicated in the schools; and while they acknowledged the necessity for such instruction, they denied that it ought to be imparted by the State. Upon the pleadings of which I have stated the substance, the cause was argued, and every authority and argument on the subject was exhaustively discussed. The decision of the Court was that the resolutions were in violation of the law of Ohio, two of the judges being of that opinion and one dissenting. Judge Hagans said: "Our common schools cannot be secularised under the Constitution of Ohio. It is a serious question whether, as a matter of policy merely, it would not be better that they were, rather than offend conscience. With this, however, we have now nothing to do." 0) The decision of the first Court was reversed on appeal to the Supreme Court of the State, since when the schools have been wholly secular. In this case the important question was raised whether the secularisation of the schools would bring in the Soman Catholics. It was admitted that their ulterior object was to secure a division of the school fund. On these resolutions of the Cincinnati Board, the Tablet said: "The School Board of Cincinnati have voted, we see from the papers, to exclude the Bible and all religious instruction from the public schools of the ...