THE TABLET

A W eekly Newspaper and Review

D u m v o b i s g r a t u l a m u r , a n im o s e t i a m a d d im u s u t i n i n c c e p t i s v e s t r i s c o n s t a n t e r m a n e a t i s .

From the Brie-f of His Holiness to T h e T a b l e t , June 4, 1870.

Vol. 48. No. 1903. L ondon, S e p t em b e r 30, 1876. pR.cESd. by post

[ R e g is t e r e d a t t h e G e n e r a l P o st O f f ic e a s a N ew spaper

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C h r o n ic l e o f t h e W e e k :—

Lord Derby and the City Deputation.— The English Proposals for a Settlement. —Rejection of the Armistice by Servia.— Mr. Gladstone at Staindrop.—The Weak Point of his Position.— Mr. Gladstone at Durham.— Obstacles to Peace in Servia.— And in Turkey. —Outrages on Catholics in Asiatic Turkey.—The Bucks Election.— Lord Beaconsfield’s Elevation.—The Cardinal Archbishop •on England and Spain.— The “ Times” on Canossa.— Martyrs in China.— Catholic Army Chaplains in India.—Destruction of “ Hell-Gate” .. .. .. 417

CONTENTS.

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L e a d e r s :

England’s Peace Proposals .. 421 Amendment of the Irish Land Act 421 An Austrian View of the Turkish

Difficulty .. .. .. .. 423 The Protestant Tradition.— IV. .. 424 The Book of the Imitation of

Christ and its Author, John Gersen, Abbot of St Stephen’s, at Vercelli.— I I I . . . .. .. 425 R e v iew s :

Curiosities of English Dialects .. 426 The Catholic Church under

Russia .................................... 427 Saint Bernard .. .. .. 428 S h o r t N o t ic e s :

The Rector of St. Judy .. .. 428 Reflections and Prayers for Holy

Communion .. .. ... 428

S hort N o t ic es (continued):

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The Science of the Spiritual Life 429 The Last Act, being the Funeral

Rites of Nations and Individuals 429 Literary, Artistic, & Scientific Gossip 429 C o r r e s p o n d e n c e :

Relict of Mary Queen cf Scots .. 429 j The Church of St. Philomena at

A r s ................................................430 1 The Irish Land Act . . .. 430 Club for Working Lads .. .. 430 Reading Club for Working Men 431 An Appeal.—The Benedictine

Monastery at Fort Augustus.. 431 1 The New Church at Homerton .. 431 The Sisters of Charity at Lanark 431 Mission in Connemara .. .. 431 Home for Consumptive Patients,

Bournemouth .. .. .. 431

R ome :— Letter from our own Correspondent .. .. D io c e s a n N ew s Westminster..

Beverley

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•• 435

Hexham and Newcastle .. •• 435 Liverpool Nottingham .. .. 436 Scotland I r e land .. 436 F o reign N ew s ;—

Germany .. . . .. Austria •• 439 M em o r a n d a :—

Religious

Educational .. Fine Arts G e n e r a l N ews

• • 439

CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.

TATION. I

CLORD DERBY

AND THE C IT Y DEPU­

T is in tolerable that persons utterly unac­

quainted with the practical difficulties o f diplom acy should dictate to the Government the details o f the arrangement which they would have it press on the Powers o f Europe.

Y e t some o f the C ity deputation who went to Lord D erby on W ednesday did no less. Lord D erby was quite as frank as it would be possible for a Foreign Scretary to be. H e to ld them that what he hoped to obtain was a lo cal or adm in istrative self-government— for autonomy and self-government mean precisely the same th ing— not exactly, perhaps, on the models o f the constitutions o f Crete and the Lebanon, but something o f that kind. H e gave reasons why com p lete political autonomy was impossible, namely, that foreign statesm en are not so impulsive as some English politicians, that we should not get other Powers to act with us where no national advantage was to be gained by them, and that one S ta te— meaning o f course Austria— would no doubt “ resist, even at the cost of war, the substitution o f a Sla“ vonic for a Turkish S tate.” Y e t one gentlem an cried out “ T ry ir,” and even Mr. Hubbard pressed for complete autonom y “ north o f the Balkan”— a favourite phrase with th e self-constituted advisers o f the Foreign Office, who would have done well, before they dictated the terms o f the ■ settlement, to get up the geography o f the countries they .are talking about. T h e scene o f the atrocities— Philippopolis and the surrounding district— is south, not north, o f the Balkan range. W ith regard to punishment for the past, Lord Derby said that his despatch to Sir H enry E llio t would be made public in a few days. T h e Ambassador has been charged to obtain an audience o f the Sultan, and lay all the fac s fully and unreservedly before him, to denounce the crim inals by name and call for their punishment, and to demand that the present sufferings should be relieved, and the women who have been taken away searched for and i f possible restored. (That much abused diplom atist by the bye, has ju s t heaped coals o f fire on the heads o fh is enemies b y insisting that the correspondent o f the D a i ly News as well as Mr, Schuyler should be put upon the Bulgarian R e l ie f Commission o f Constantinople.) But the deputation was not satisfied with anything but its own nostrum, and a t a subseqt, nt meeting at the Cannon Street H o te l passed resolutions ; corriingly • M r. Merriman saying that the suffering if t i e Asiatic Christians were “ held up to them “ a s . . 1■1 )ear.” We should like to know what difference then: i- tw c ii this treatm ent o f the horrible atrocities we record tic. week, and the “ cyn ic ism ” which was charged against I d I .consfield; and why the Armenian Cathol i c s— t ie most peaceable o f races— are to be massacred and h r " - h.r ik s , Vo l . X V I . N o . 412.

pillaged without protection from us, while a terrible European war is to be risked for the sake o f the Bulgarians. T h e real answer to such people is contained in Lord D e rb y ’s last “ sentence, “ it is not what you or I or anybody wishes to “ see d o n e ; it is what can be done ”

T h e conditions which the British Govern-

the English jjjgnt proposes as a basis for negotiation were

F0R A made known to the Turkish Governm ent on settlement. Friday the 22nd, and the immediate conse­

quence has been that the Porte has granted an extension o f the armistice for ten days from Monday. A l l the Powers cordially support the English schem e, one slight alteration desired by Russia having been immediately adopted by Lord Derby. W hat the Russians— with whom we have been represented as utterly at variance— think o f the policy and conduct o f our Governm ent m a ybe gathered from the language o f the usually hostile Nord. “ A l l praise “ is due,” says that organ o f M uscovite opinion, “ to the “ manner in which the English Governm ent has accom “ plished the mission which it undertook. Lord Beacons“ field did not exaggerate in. his speech at A y le sbury the “ merits o f the project elaborated by his colleague, Lord “ Derby. In presence o f the in itiative ju s t taken by the “ Cabinet o f St. James’s, in v iew o f the pacification o f the “ East on a serious and solid basis, the retrospective com“ ments contained in the sartie speech, and doubtless “ prompted by Parliam entary prepossessions, may be over“ lo oked.” In drawing up these proposals our Foreign S ecretary has carefully avoided entering in to details, the re je c tion o f which m ight have delayed the opening o f the negotiations. Thus the status quo ante helium for Servia and Montenegro is said to be laid down “ roughly,” in order to leave room for slight modifications demanded on either side, and specially for the grant to Montenegro of a small slip o f territory and a port, which is really a matter o f prim ary necessity to that little principality. For the provinces of B osnia and Herzegovina, and as far as is feasible for Bulgaria, Lord D erby proposes a system o f “ reform ed lo cal adminis“ tration,” a phrase which, according to a “ special te legram ” in the P a l l M a l l Gazette, is the result o f a compromise. Lord D erby’s original proposal contained the words “ administrative autonomy but while Prince Gortchakoff w ished to change “ administrative ” in to “ political,” Count Andrasy preferred “ lo cal autonomy,” a difference which was arranged by the substitution o f the words as they now stand. That this reform of the lo cal administration will have to be so radical and com p lete as entirely to put an end to the arbitrary government o f Turkish officials, all the Powers, vve should imagine, are agreed. But to effect this end without the establishm ent o f some foreign control, will, as we have said elsewhere, be next door to an im possibility.