THE TABLET

AWeekly Newspaper and Review

D um VOBIS GRATULAMUR, AN IM OS ETIAM ADDIMUS UT IN INCOEPTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANEAYIS,

From the Brief of His Holiness P iu s IX . to T h e T a b l e t , June 4, 1870.

Vol. 52. No. 2008. London, October 5, 1878.

PRrcE5d.BYPosTS5i<*

(R egistered a t th e General P ost O ffice a s a N ewspaper.

Chronicle of the Week

Page

Preparations for the Afghan Campaign. — Probable Policy of Russia.—The Russian Mission to Cabul.—A Russian Apology for the Amir.—The Pope and the Italian Government.— The Italian Government and the Archbishop • f Chieti.— The Pope and Germany. — Austrian Successes in Bosnia.— Resistance and Resignation of the Hungarian Ministry.—Turkey and Greece.—The Sultan and the Insurgents.— The Fleet in the Sea of Marmara.— Draft Treaty between Russia and Turkey. — The Constitution for Cyprus. — “ Comprehensiveness ” and “ Unity,” &c. . . . . .. 417

C 0 N T

Page

P eter's Pence .........................421 L e a d e r s :

The Holy See and Italy .. ..4 2 1 Russian Intrigues at Cabul .. 422 The German Emperor at Cologne 423 An Educational Question in

Malta ..

Letter of his Holiness Pope Leo

XIII. to the Cardinal Secretary of State .. .. .. •• 424 On Certain Inconsistencies of

423

Ritualists.—V ................................ 426 R eviews :

“ The Month and Catholic Re­

view” ..

History of Birmingham . . .. 428 The Nineteenth Century .. . . 428

427

E N T S .

Page

Short N otices ;

Cyclopaedia of Costume

Lives of the Cardinals

London Charities ..

. . 429

. . 429

. . 429

C orrespondence:

Faith of our Fathers.— XXI. . . 429 A Cry from Egypt.. .. 430 The Report on Higher Catholic

Education.. Peter’s Pence Protestant England and the

Eastern Question

•• 43r

Catholics and Board Schools •• 431 R ome :— Letter from our own

Correspondent . . . . •• 433

D iocesan N ews Westminster........................

Birmingham.. Scotland :

Glasgow ..

Page

•• 435

Education in Church Music.- I V . . 436 I reland

Letter from our own Correspondent .. .. ., • - 437 Foreign N ews

France Germany M emoranda :—

R e l ig io u s ....................... . General N ews

CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.

PREPARATIONS

FOR THE AFGHAN CAMPAIGN. I T is clear that temporising counsels are not in the ascendant at Simla. Nothing could be more vigorous than the action o f the V iceregal Governm ent in preparing to exact amends for the affront inflicted on us by th e ruler o f Afghanistan. T h e telegram s from Calcutta which reached England at the close o f last week had, indeed, thrown some doubt upon the rapidity o f the operations, and produced an impression that it was probable after all that we should not cross the frontier until the spring. A n d reasons were immediately adduced for the delay. T h e severity o f the winter in the country around Cabul, and the probable hostility o f the tribes through whose country we should have to pass were mentioned as adequate reasons why we should th ink tw ice before entering on a campaign at th is season. A t all events, it was argued, we ought to wait until Nawab Gholam Hussein came back and brought with h im the real explanation o f the Am ir ’s behaviour. But that E n voy has returned, and is a lready at Peshawur, though we have not as yet heard whether he has anything to tell us beyond what we know already. Lord Lytton has not relaxed his preparations for one moment. Only a week had e lapsed since we heard o f the repulse o f Sir N eville Cham berlain’s Embassy, and already at the commencement o f th is week we had learnt that all the necessary steps had been taken for the speedy concentration o f forty thousand men, with appropriate reserves, at the most convenient points on the frontier. A siege train was ready at Bombay for transm ission to Sukhur, and steamers were engaged for the transport o f troops and material up and down the Indus. A n d the southern column, whose destination is Quettah, has a lready begun to move. T h e 8th Cavalry marched from M oultan on the morning o f Friday the 27 th, the Artillery started on S a tu rd ay; the 26th was to arrive at Moultan by rail from Lahore on Sunday, and the 19th Cavalry were proceeding from the same p lace by regular marches. T h e European and Native Infantry were to leave Moultan on M onday. This column is to assemble at D e raG h a z i Khan, the nearest point for an advance to Quettah, and is p laced under the command o f General B iddulph. I t will enter by the Sangarh pass, and debouche on H a ikulzai, to the north o f Quettah, but the distance from the Indus to that station w ill, we are informed, be thus reduced from three hundred m iles to two hundred and fifty. T h e Khouram V a lle y colum n , which is under the command o f General Roberts,

is, as we said last week, to start from Thall, and General Crawford T rotter Chamberlain is, it is said, to have the command o f the whole expedition. This officer is a younger

N ew S e r ie s , Vol. XX. No. 517.

brother o f General Sir N eville Chamberlain. General Stewart is to command the reserve force at Sukhur. A telegram from Bombay of Tuesday’s date, to iheSta-ndard, states that the latest news received there was that an opportunity had been offered to the Am ir to make amends for the affront offered to the British Envoys, but that, in any event, the Governm ent would insist on our troops being cantoned in a permanent position behind Candahar.

T h a t the outbreak o f this quarrel should roLicnfoF exc’te considerable interest throughout Europe,

Ru ss ia . at,d especially at St. Petersburg, is quite natural, and the comments o f the Russian press are, i f not exactly consistent with the facts, very much what we should have expected them to be. T h e y tell us that the attitude o f Russia in a war between England and A fghanistan will be precisely that which was adopted by England in the war between Russia and Turkey. Russian officers will be allowed to take service with the Amir, and manufacturers and merchants will be permitted to sell arms and ammunition to both parties in the struggle. T o this it is, o f course, easy to reply that officers in the English army d id not serve under the Turks, the Englishm en employed b y the Porte r.o longer holding her M ajesty’s commission : but this is a detail which will present no difficulty to the Russian authorities,— as the precedent o f the Servian war very c learly proves. T h e Berlin National Zeitung is o f the same opinion with ourselves. “ Though Shere A l i evidently relies upon Russian help, it is greatly doubted,” says this journal, “ that Russia will openly assist him in the war. O f course, it is foreseen that General Kaufm ann will p lace his advice and resources at his disposal. S ince the Servian campaign we are aware that war may be carried on not only officially but semi-officially.”

THE RUSSIAN MISSION TO

CABUL.

One o f those telegrams from Paris with news from St. Petersburg, which so often have to be contradicted, alleges, on the authority o f “ private advices," that the British Charge d ’A ffaires at the Russian capital has presented to the Imperial Chancellor a Note from the English Cabinet, inquiring in what way the Russian Governm ent propose to reconcile General S to lie te ffs mission to Cabul with its previous engagements, by which Russia agreed to renounce all political influence in Afghanistan. And the answer is said to have been to the effect that Russia was always disposed to respect existing engagements, that the mission o f General S tolieteff was decided upon at a time and under circum stances which no longer existed, and was now merely intended as an act o f courtesy towards the Am ir o f Afghanistan. This means, we suppose, that the mission was originally intended to have a political character, but that, when there w s no longer any danger o f war with England, it had