THE TABLET.
A. Weekly Newspaper and Review.
DOM VOBIS GRATULAMÜR, ANIMOS BTIAM ADDIMUS DT IN INCCEPTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANEATiS.
From, the B r i e f o f H is H o lin ess P iu s IX . to T h e T a b l e t , June 4, 1870.
Vol. 84. No. 2843. L ondon, N o v e m b e r 3 i 1 8 9 4 * price sd. byPosTs^d.
[R e g is tered a t t h e G en e r a l P ost O f f ic e a s a N ew spaper
C h ronicle o f t h e W e e k :
Lord Rosebery and the Peers— T h e Manner of Attack — Mr. ■ Labouchere’s Views—What Mr. Redmond Says— Lord Salisbury’s Answer— The Parnellites and the '.Government — Mr. Morley and Political Prisoners— The German Ministerial Crisis — Opening of
Page the Victorian Parliament— French Expedition to Madagascar— The •British Mission to Morocco—The Pope’s Tomb— The New Servian Cabinet — The Porte and Archbishop Azarian — Death of the T s a r ................................................677 ’. L eaders :
The London School Board . . 681 The Transvaal and Delagoa Bay 682 The Portrait Exhibition . . . . 683 Manifesto of Irish Priests . . . . 684 CNOTES . . — . . . . 684
C O N T E N T S .
R e v ie w s :
Page J
Religion in History and in Modern
Life . . ......................... 686 Children of Circumstance . . 686 Mr. H. Spencer’s Philosophy _.. 687 The G e n t l em a n ’ s M a g a z in e
Library . . . . . . . 687 Catholic Truth Society Publica
tions . . . . . . . . 687 Queen Victoria . .. . . 688 Compendium Theologiæ Moralis 688 The Portfolio _ . . _ _.. . . 688 Foreign Catholic Periodicals . . 688 Messrs. Raphael Tuck and Sons’
Publications . . . . . . 689 A Life’s Struggle and its Results 689 Books o f the Week _ . . . . 689 The Language of the Liturgy . . 689 “ TheFermanagh News” on Messrs.
T . P. O’Connor and Diamond . . 691 C orrespondence : •’ jR om e :— (From Our Own Corre
spondent) .................................... 693
News from Irelan d ........................ 694 L e t t e r s to t h e E d itor :
Father Doubleday and the School
Board . . .. .. . . 695 Religious Intolerance and “ The
Page
Daily News” . . . . .. 695 Cobbett’s “ Reformation” . . 696 “ Half Communion” .. . . 696 Bibliography of the Rosary . . 696 The Divine Infinity and Pan
theism . . .. . . .. 696 The School Board Elections . . 696 An Appeal.. .. . . , . 696 Cardinal Vaughan on the Consecra
tion of Senor Cabrera .. . . 696 The Holy House of Loretto . . 697 The Bishop of Sodor and Man and
Cardinal Vaughan .. .. . . 698 “ United Ireland.” on C a r d in a l
Vaughan’s Critics .. .. . . 699 Catholic Evidence Lectures . . 699 F rom E veryw h ere . . . . 700 M arr ia g e . . . . . . . 700 Social a n d P o l it ic a l . . . . 702
SU PPLEM EN T . N ews from t h e S ch o o l s :
School Board for London . . 709 To the Electors o f the Tower
Hamlets . . - . . .. . . 709 T h e E d u c a t io n o f C a th o l i c
Children .. .. .. . . 709 St. Bede’s College, Manchester 710 The Position and Prospects of
Voluntary Schools . . .. 710 The Appeal^Against Father Law
less Dismissed . . . . . . 711 N ews from t h e D io c e s e s :
Westminster . . . . . . 711 Hexham and Newcastle . . . . 711 Liverpool . . . . . . . . 711 Northampton . . . . . . 7 1 1 Nottingham.................................... 711 P l y m o u t h .................................... 71 r Portsmouth .. . . . . 712 St. Andrews and Edinburgh . . 712 Aberdeen . . .. .. ..*712 “ By Their Leaders You Shall Know
Them ” . . . . .. . . 712
Rejected MS. cannot be returned unless accompanied with address and postage.
C H R O N I C L E O F T H E W E E K .
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r ' ' ' P E A K IN G at Bradford, the Prime olord rosebery ^ Minister revealed his long waited theApeers. ^ for [Plan of attack against the
House of “Lords. He began by say-
*ing that the absolute veto now exercised by an irresponsible Chamber made the situation intolerable. "The next election must turn not upon Home Rule, or Disestablishment, or Local Option, but upon the issue which involved and included all of these, the continued existence of the House o f Lords. Lord Rosebery -was very anxious to impress upon his audience the extreme gravity and importance of the task which the Liberal party i s about to take in hand— partly, however, as a reason for mot being in a hurry. H e described it as the greatest constitutional question which had arisen in England for two centuries or more, and therefore a solemn sense of responsibility, as well as considerable deliberateness in counsel and action, were desirable. H e explained that the Radical -quarrel with the House of Lords was not really o f ancient date. Up to 1884 there was some appearance o f equality ■ between the two parties in the Upper H o u se ; but two •years later, for good or for evil, its character changed. The .Home Rule proposals of Mr. Gladstone alienated the Whig Peers, and now only a handful supported, or would ever support, a Liberal Government. On principle Lord Rosebery is in favour o f some sort of a second Chamber, but after speaking with respect and admiration of the American .“Senate he went on to say that he would prefer a single Chamber to such a second Chamber as the House of Lords is at the present. In what way, if he could, he would constitute his ideal second Chamber he did not say. A fte r digressing a second time to speak o f the tremendous character o f the campaign he was there to open, he pointed out the obvious constitutional difficulty o f effecting any •change in the constitution of the House o f Lords without its consent. In fact, to put the thing shortly, there is no ■ means known to the Constitution of doing it at all. The Peers, as a body, would as soon not exist as exist without the veto, for their House would then become simply a sort o f State prison, whereas if the Upper House were abolished altogether its members would be eligible for seats in the
New Series, Vc*.. LII., No 2,153
House of Commons. As reasons for not having already taken some steps against the Peers Lord Rosebery men tioned the facts that the Government had had no mandate from the electors, and in the second place had a very minute majority. The last point is undoubtedly the weak point in the Government position. It is idle to fulminate against the tyranny of the Peers when you know all the time that their action is approved by the majority o f the constituencies of Great Britain.
However, as the Government has made up its m>nd not t0 dissolve at once, or to appeal a t t a c k . t0 the nation upon the great issue of Home Rule,
it was neceessary to do something, and Lord Rosebery proceeded to explain what that something is to consist of. H e pointed out that the House o f Commons in its struggles with the Lords has always proceeded by resolutions. It would be the duty of the House o f Commons at the instance of the Government to pass a resolution to the effect that the Lower House in the partnership with the House o f Lords is unmistakeably the predominant partner. “ It will be the duty o f the Government to move the House of Commons to pass such a resolution, aud, if they do pass it, remember that never before in the history o f Parliament has such a resolution, at the instance and on the responsibility o f the Government, been passed in the House o f Commons against the House o f Lords. What will it represent ? The joint demand of the executive Government o f the day and of the House o f Commons for the revision o f the Constitution, and in that way the question will enter in itself on a new phase. That resolution will stand for ever upon the journals of the House. No Government, however bold, however cynical it may be, that may eventually succeed ours, will be bold enough or cynical enough to propose its reversal. Not all the perfumes o f Araby itself will wash that resolution out of the books o f the House.” Still, suppose the House of Lords is stiffnecked and impenitent, and decides to be unaware of this resolution. Lord Rosebery said frankly enough that the resolution would not do by itse lf; it must be backed up by the people o f Great Britain, and to that august tribunal he would make appeal. As this is precisely what his opponents are inviting him to do at once, Lord Rosebery had to explain why for the present he would content himself with a harmless resolution. He hoped that the usefulness o f the present Parliament was not yet exhausted ; they might still do good work, and it was a little hard to punish the Commons for the unrea-