THE TABLET. A W e e k ly N ew sp a p e r a n d R e v ie w .
DUM V C B IS G R A T U L AM U R , AN IM O S E T IA M A DD IM U S U T IN INCCEPTIS V E S T R IS CON S TAN TER M AN E A T IS .
F rom the B r ie / o j H i s H o lin ess P iu s I X . to T h e T a b l e t , J u n e p, 1870.
V o l . 82. No. 2786. L ondon, S e p t em b e r 30, 1893. P r ic e sd., by P o s t s^d.
[ R e g i s t e r e d a t t h e G e n e r a l P o s t O f f i c e a s a N ew s p a p e r .
C h r o n ic l e o f t h e W e e k :
Mr. Gladstone in Midlothian — .A narchist Outrage in Barcelona—
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Paris and the Russian Fleet — National Econom ics— The London School Board — Prince B ismarck and the Emperor — The French F lag at Nazareth — Sir Andrew Rollit on the Condition o f Trade— Argentina and Brazil— M r. Wm. O ’Brien and the E v ic ted Tenants— N ew South Wales Finance— The Cholera . . . . 52r ‘T h e Catholic Truth Society at
Portsmouth . . ......................... 525 L e a d e r s :
Rome Twenty Years After . . 532 Reading o f Thought . . . . 533
CONTENTS.
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N o t e s ......................................................534 From “ S k e t ch ” ............................535
C orrespon d e n c e :
Rome :— (From Our Own Corre
spondent) . . . . . . . - 537 Dublin :— (From Our Own Corre
spondent) ......................... . . 538
A Fiesta in G r an a d a ........................... 540
L e t t e r s t o t h e E d it o r :
Convent Schools and Higher E du
cation . . . •. . . 541 St. Patrick’s W ell at Orvieto _ . . 542 A Proposal for the Professional
Training o f Catholic WomenTeachers o f Secondary Schools 542
L e t t e r s t o t h e E d it o r (Con
tinued) : The Brownes o f Cowdray and
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Easebourne . . . . . . 542 Father Curci .. . . .. 542 Leakage in the Catholic Church o f Australia . .. .. 542 Divergence o f Views Among
Church o f England Dignatories — Where is the Deciding Authority ? .................................... 543 An A p p e a l .................................... 543
A Paper on Italian Immigration and
Colonization.. . . . . . . 543
The Catholic Congress at C h ica eo .. 545 Indian Missions in the United
S ta te s .. . . . . . . . . 546
S U P P L E M E N T . N ew s from t h e S chools :
School Accommodation in Roch
dale # ................................ 553 St. Wilfrid’s College, Stoke-on
P a ge
Trent ....................................... 554. Mr. Acland and the Fee System 554 Guild o f Catholic Teachers . . 555 N ew s from t h e D io ceses :
S o u t h w a r k ......................... . . 555 B irm in gh am .............................. 555 Northampton . . . . . . 556 Plymouth . . . . . . . . 556 Portsmouth . . . . . . . . 556 Shrewsbury . . . . . . . . 557 Glasgow . . . . . . . . 557 Inauguration o f a Sailor’s Club . . 557 Ireland After the Bill . . . . 55S
Rejected MS. cannot be returned unless accompanied with address and postage.
CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.
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R . G L A D S T O N E ’S speech in
Edinburgh seems to have given considerable satisfaction to his political supporters, but it contained no declaration o f policy, nor any revelation as to the means by which the resistance o f the House o f Lords I s to be overcome. T h e one piece o f information as to his intentions which Mr. Gladstone gave came early in the evening. H e announced that the English Parish Councils Bill will be accompanied by a similar I .measure for Ireland, and that the two together and the Employers’ L iability B ill will form the programme for the Autum n session. Further than that he declined to lift the I ■ veil, and gave no indication as to which measure is to have j precedence in the session o f 1894. While declining to admit that the late session has been wasted, for he assured fois hearers that the step taken by the people’s House o f 'Parliament in the direction o f Home Rule could never be retraced, Mr. Gladstone pointed to the comparative poverty •of legislative achievement as fresh proof o f the need for some great measure o f decentralization. There was a •legislative famine in the land and no progress could b e made because Ireland still blocks the way. Disestab lishm ent must wait, and temperance reform and the many claims o f labour, because the Peers prevent the settlement o f the eternal Irish difficulty. Mr. Gladstone then ran off into political reminiscences intended to illustrate the mingled obstinacy and stupidity which had uniformly marked the collective action o f the Peers. I f before the ¡great Reform Bill conflicts between the two Houses had been unknown, that was due not to the ancient moderat io n o f the Upper House, but to its position o f privilege, which in those evil times allowed it to dominate the Com mons. T h e day o f the rotten borough was ended in 1832, and from that time forward the House o f Lords began to come in contact with the representatives o f the people, and had to be coerced. T h ey took it upon themselves to throw out the Reform B ill o f 1831, and thought it was a triumph, but within six months they were compelled ignominiously to pass the Bill they had rejected, and ounder the distinct and public threat that i f they did not give way their House would be swamped by a crowd o f new peers made for the purpose. Then he took the case o f the abolition of the paper duty in i860, and pointed out how the | resistance o f the Peers had only this result— that for ever ; afterwards their order was totally and absolutely excluded from all influence whatever upon the finances o f the country. Did these instances encourage the Peers o f to-day to resist the will o f the people ? Mr. Gladstone would not allow that the Peers had the slightest excuse for interposing their veto upon the Home Rule Bill. For seven years the question had been actively and incessantly discussed, and then the entire country sent back a majority in favour o f the Bill. In 1886 England rejected the Bill by a majority o f English votes exceeding 200; in 1892 that majority was reduced to 70. Therefore he claimed that there had been a far greater progress in England in favour o f Home Rule during those six years than had taken place either in Scotland or Wales. T h e next part o f his speech was devoted to meeting the obvious retort that hitherto the country has had no opportunity whatever o f expressing its opinion upon the way in which the Government has given expression to the Home Rule idea, which might have been dealt with either by a gas and water Bill or by a system of the loosest Federalism. H e acknowledged the argument but denied its force, on the ground that the people knew at the time o f the General Election all they wanted to know. T h e business o f a self-governing nation was to take in a great idea and then to stick to it, but to leave the manner o f its application to the discretion of Parliament. T h e question necessarily involved a multitude o f important details, but with a single exception the people had never shown the slightest disposition to inquire about them, and far less to dictate about them. T h e exception to which he referred was the question of the retention o f the Irish members, and upon that point he had deliberately bowed to the articulate wishes o f the nation. H e had conformed to the will o f the country, and the country knew it and was satisfied. T h e people knew all they cared to know about details, and willingly left the rest to the wisdom o f their chosen and trusted representatives. Not only was this arrangement the rational and natural arrangement, but it was the one sanctioned by precedent and custom. When he went to the country and said the Irish Church must be abolished, he put the principle before the people, and when they had accepted that, he left himself at liberty to apply the prin ciple without a second dissolution to get specific sanction for the details o f the Bill by which he sought to carry out the mandate he had received. T h e gagging o f discussion, which was such a distinguishing feature during the late
N e w S e r i e s , V o l . L., N o « 2 ,0 9 5