THE TABLET. A Weekly Newspaper a n d Review.

DUM VOBIS GRATULAMUR, ANIMOS ETIAM ADDIMUS UT~IN INCCEPTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANEATIS.

From the Brief of His Holiness Pius IX. to T h e T a b l e t June 1870.

V ol. 77. No. 2668.

London, June 27, 1891.

P r ice sd ., b y P o st 5%d.

[R eg is tered a t t h e G en er a l P o st O f f ic e a s a N ew spaper.

'C hronicle of th e W e e k :

Page

Imperial Parliament : Defeat of the Government— Manipur—The Education Bill — The Handel . Festival— The Lord Mayor and the Omibus— Postage of Periodicals— The Empress Eugénie— The Emperor William and Peace — An Insurrection in Arabia—The Melinite Affair — Accident to Royal Engineers— Mr. Chamberlain and the Unionist Party— Launch of the “ Brilliant”— Lord Hartington on the Labour Commission-Royal Visit to Rother. h a m ........................................ 1001 'Leaders :

Catholics and the Education Bill 1005 Anti-Christian Rioting inChina 1006 Saint N i c h o l a s .................. 1007 N o t e s ..............................................1008

CONTENTS.

St. Mary’s Church, Cresswell Park,

Page

Blackheath.. . . . . .. ioxo R eview s :

An Ancient Pilgrimage . . . . 1010 The Bad Old Times . . . . 1011 Local Colour and Sawdust . . 1012 The Holy Mass Explained . . 1012 Prayers of the Orthodox Eastern

Church . . . . . . .. 1012 Solace for the Afflicted . . . . 1012 The Benedictines at Malvern . . 1013 The Queen and the Pope . . . . 1013 St. Cecilia in Trastevere . . . . 1015 C orrespondence :

Rome :— (From Our Own Corre­

spondent) . . . . •• ..1017 Dublin :— (From Our Own Corre­

spondent) . . . . . . ..1018 L e t t e r s to t h e E d it or :

London UniversityReconstitution 1020

L e t t e r s to t h e E d itor (Con­

tinued) : The Catholic School Commmittee

Page and Certificated Teachers ..1020 The Proposed Catholic Associa­

tion . . . . .. ..1021 Ferdinand not Ferrante . . ..1021 Hours of Service . . . . . . 1021 The Approaching Pilgrimage to

Canterbury . . .. ..1021

D ecisions of R oman C ongrega­

t i o n s . . . ........................... 1021

N ew s from t h e S chools :

Manchester Collegiate Institute. .1022 Memorial Window at Ratcliffe . . 1022 Budget of the London School

Board . . . . . . . . 1022 Preston and Free Education ..1022 Centenary of St. Aloysius at

Stonyhurst .........................1023 About Education . . . . . . 1023

N ews f r o m t h e D io ceses :

Page

Westminster.....................................1023. S o u th w a rk ......................... „.1023 ‘ Clifton . . . . . . . . 1024 Salford . . . . . . . . 1024 St. Andrews and Edinburgh . . 1024 Aberdeen . . 1024 Catholics Abroad ......................... 1025 The Archbishop of Dublin at Rome 1026 Catholics and American Asylums.. 1026 Catholic Truth Society . . ..1027 C r ic k e t .................................................... 1027 Social a n d P o l it ic a l . . ..1027 F rom E v e r yw h e r e . . . . ..1027 O b itu a r y .........................................1028 A p peal t o t h e C h a r it a b l e ..1028

SU PPLEM EN T . Westminster Diocesan Education

Fund . . . . . . . .

. .1033

RejectedMS. cannot be returnedunless accompanied with address andpostage.

C H R O N I C L E O F T H E W E E K .

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

— DEFEAT OF THE

GOVERNMENT.

o

, N the one point over which we have heartily desired a Government defeat, as we expressed our opinion some little tim e ago, the Government a t the end o f last week did actually sustain a defeat. I t was in connection with the j Factories B ill when Mr. Sydney Buxton moved a new clause providing that on and after January i , 1893, no child under x 1 should be employed in a factory, but, at the same time, ■ exempting children now lawfully employed from the operation o f the clause. H e announced that i f this proposal were agreed to he should follow it up by another, raising the age further to 12 years after July 4, 1894. A t present no children were a llow ed to be employed under 10 years o f age, nor were children allowed to be employed for full tim e until they were 14 years o f age or had passed the 4th standard. But at present it was also left with the local authorities to fix the qualifying standard for half-time employment, and he stated, that in many towns this standard was fixed as low as the 2nd standard, and in others at the 3rd. There were now 185.000 half-timers in the United K in gdom . O f those, 100.000 were employed in factories and workshops. About 25 per cent, were between 10 and 11 years o f age, and about 75 per cent, between 11 and 12 years. T h e total number o f children affected by his two proposals would therefore be about 60,000, o f whom 40,000 were in Lancashire. T h e evidence o f the teachers in the manufacturing districts was that the employment o f these young children as half-timers tended to make them dull and exhausted, and therefore inapt for school work, while the evidence o f the certifying surgeons and other medical officers was not less decisively to the effect that the employment was injurious to their health, and tended to their permanent physical deterioration. It was, indeed, alleged— the point was neither essential nor humourous— that there could be no such deterioration amongst our manufacturing population, because the B la ck burn Rovers were the most powerful and successful o f our football teams. But o f that team seven were Scotchmen imported for the occasion, one was a schoolmaster, one was unemployed, and one was a publican. I f the half-time age were raised, the aggregate rate o f wages would be rather increased than dim inished, because the same amount o f work would be done b y the older children at higher wages. H e admitted that the Lancashire operatives were opposed to this proposal, but he did not regard that as decisive. T h e y were bound to look at this question from a general and national point o f view. T h e honour o f England was pledged to the prohibition o f the employment o f children under 12 years o f age, by the engagement entered into by our plenipotentiaries at the recent Berlin Congress. Readers will remember the Cardinal A rchbishop’s pithy and powerful article in The Cotitemporary on the same su b je c t ; why Mr. Matthews opposed it cannot well be discovered, but on the division taken at midnight the clause was passed by 202 votes against 186.

In the H ouse o f Lords on Monday the

— manipur. Marquis o f R ip on called attention to the affairs o f Manipur, lately laid before the

House and moved for further documents. H is speech was coherent and temperate. H e began by a careful criticism o f the Indian Government in the matter. There were two courses, one o f which should have been p u rsu ed : the Government should either have restored the old Maharajah or have acknowledged the R egent and acquiesced in the Palace Revolution. T h e course o f temporising which the Government d id actually pursue had proved to be unwise, a declaration which he demonstrated from results. Turning to Sir John Gorst’s curious speech in the Commons Lord R ipon protested against the argument there used that the Senaputty was considered dangerous because he was able, and the policy o f the Indian Government had ever been to discourage ability and reward mediocrity. T h e argument indeed (ingenious though it undoubtedly was) had never any but a purely academ ic value ; none who heard it, possessed o f any sense o f proportion, could consider it gravely. For party purposes, however, it was needful that Lord R ipon should advert to it with solemnity. H e declared that such statements as these were capable o f enormous mischief. T h e y would be repeated in every native newspaper, and discussed in every bazaar. H e expected from Lord Cross a distinct and complete repudiation o f the unworthy insinuation. Concluding with a reference to the trials now proceeding at Manipur (why does The Spectator so pedantically insist on Muneepore ?) he trusted that the acquittal o f the Regent from complicity in Mr. Quinton’s murder would save him from the further condemnation on the score o f high treason ; which hath something o f an illogical sound. H e finished with a protest against the annexation o f the

N ew S e r i e s , Vox. X L V . , No. 1,177.