THE TABLET
A IVeekly Newspaper and Review.
D um VOBIS GRATULAMUR, ANIMOS ETIAM ADDIMUS UT IN INCCEPTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANEATIS.
From the B r ie f 0} His Holiness to The Tablet, J u n e 4, 1870.
Vol. 38, No. 1634. London, August 5, 1871.
P rice sd. By Post 5 % d .
[Registered at the General Post Office as a Newspaper.
«Chronicle of the Week : “ Princes deposed by the Pope, &c.”—The Roman Plebiscite. — The “ Pall Mall Gazette ” on Rome. —The Roman Question.—The Foreign Press on the Versailles Debate.— The “ Frusta ” Riot.—Religious Orders at Rome.—The International in Italy.—Fires.—Strikes.— The French Crisis.'—The Paris Municipal Elections.—The Conduct of the War.—The Election of Dr. Dollinger.—The Bavarian Ministry.—Persecution in Switzerland.—Prince Arthur’s Settlement. —The Trafalgar-square Meeting. —Our Autumn Campaign.—Election Expenses.—Business of the Session.—Royal Visit to Ireland.— The Royal Hibernian School . 161 '
L eaders :
C O N T
The Vote of Censure . . . 165 The Irish University Debate. . 165 Communism in England.—Apro
pos of the International Association ..... 166 The “ Times ” Newspaper and the
King at Rome .... 167 The Anglican Movement : What does the term “ Catholic”
mean?—No. II . . . . 169 R eviews :
The Quarterly Review . . . 169 Her Title of Honour . . . 171 Short Notices: Poems.—The
Life of S Ignatius of Loyola.— Macmillan's Magazine. — Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine.— The Dark Blue.—Harmony in
E N T S .
Religion.—The Pontifical Jubilee of Pius I X ....................................... 172 New Mu s i c ..........................................17 2 Correspondence :
On the Education of Daughters . 173 Young Men’s Catholic Societies . 173 Parliamentary Summary . . 173 Rome :
Letter from Rome . . . 176 Reply of his Holiness to the
Deputation from the Society of Catholic Interests . . . 177 Deputation from the Circolo
S Pietro ..... 177 The Pope’s Gift to Dr. Acquaderni 177 Peter's Pence . . . . 1 7 7 R ecord of the Council :
A Protestant on the German
Recusants....................................... 177
Diocesan News : Westminster.—
Southwark.—Beverley.— Birmingham.—Plymouth .... 178 I reland:
Letter from our Dublin Corre
spondent . . . . . 1 7 9 The Royal Visit.... 180 Installation of Knights of S Patrick 180 Memoranda :
Religious : Conference of the
Deputies of the Catholic Young Men’s Societies of Great Britain. 180 Educational....................................... 182 Literary.................................................18 3 Fine A r t s ....................................... 183 General News . . . 184
CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.
-<1 PRINCES npHE other day, in replying to the deputation deposed I o f the “Academy o f the Catholic R e lig ion ,”
by the -1 - the Holy Father let fall some remarks which pope, Sec." are worth the especial study o f some people ■ who are fond o f attacking the “ exorbitant pretensions” of the Holy See to temporal dominion. His Holiness urged the Academy, in its literary labours on behalf o f truth, to refute the assertions o f those who attem pt to create a false conception o f Infallibility by declaring that it comprises the right o f deposing sovereigns and absolving the peoples from the duty o f fidelity. This right (his Holiness went on to say) has been sometimes exercised .by the Popes in extreme circumstances, but it has nothing to do with Infallibility, nor does it spring from Infallibility, but from the authority itself of the Vicar of Christ. In accordance with ancient public law, and the agreement of Christian nations who revered in the Pope the supreme judge of Christendom, this authority reached so far as to judge even in civil matters princes and States. But the present conditions are absolutely different, and only malice could confuse the two things and times, as if infallible judgment on a principle of revelation had the smallest -affinity with a right which the Popes, called thereto by the wish of the peoples, had to exercise when the general good required it. But it is plainly to be seen why so absurd an idea, of which no one thinks, and the Sovereign Pontiff least of all, is now propagated. It is to excite the princes against the Church that this is done. Some persons desire that Ï should explain and define the decision of the Council, but I will not •do so ; it is clear of itself, and has no need of commentaries and explanations. It suffices to read the decree with an upright intelligence ; its true sense is easily apprehended. We recommend these words to the attention o f writers, and even o f Governments— for there are such— who pretend that infallibility is a danger to States.
The Voce d e l la V erità , which has recently the roman undergone a condemnation for having spoken disrespectfully o f the Roman p lé b is c it e , hopes that it may at least be allowed to register the fact that 2 7 , 1 6 1 Romans have signed the address o f fidelity to the P ope without its being accused o f getting up a counter -p léb isc ite . I t is clearly useless to talk any longer about only 47 votes having been given against the annexation. And if it be alleged that at the time o f the p lé b is c it e these 27 ,0 00 odd people voted in the majority, it only proves, first, that they have since seen reason to change their minds as to the advantages o f Italian rule, and, secondly, that the majority reckoned a t 4 0 ,7 8 5 must to all intents and purposes be reduced to a minority numbering 1 3 ,6 2 4 . But whether any o f these 2 7 ,0 0 0 then voted in the majority or not, not to speak o f the personations and multiplication o f votes-— cases o f one man voting 1 2 times over, and the like— the thousands o f im ported voters, when taken into account, would b e quite sufficient to reduce the 40,000 odd to below the number o f the 2 7 , 1 6 1 who have now openly attested their indignation at the existing state o f things, and that, b e it
New S e r ie s . Yol. VI. No. 143.
rem embered, at a season when very many others who think with them, especially o f the higher classes, are absent. While on this subject we may note two facts. One is, that the chief of the q u e s tu r in i , or police-agents o f the q u e s tu r a , has been pillaged, though armed with a revolver, in one o f the most frequented streets o f Rome. So much for the respect inspired by arm ed force. The other is, that o f 58 numbers o f the C apita te , one o f the condem ned journals, which a newsvendor was accustom ed to dispose o f in the Corso, he was the other day only able to sell two. Such is the respect inspired by ju s t though dispossessed authority. the“ pall ' We have before this had occasion to notice mall the extraordinary inaccuracies o f which the gazette” on writer o f the “ Notes from Rom e” in the P a l l rome. M a l l G azette is guilty. This time he has alm ost surpassed himself. We pass over the errors and assumptions according to which in his “ Notes” published on Wednesday, he estimates 46 ,0 00 votes o f the p le b i s c it e as giving a majority o f 2 3 ,0 0 0 over the signers o f the address to the Pope. We have ju st stated our opinion o f the relative value o f the two demonstrations. But when he proceeds to say that the Pope replied to the Prince o f Campagnano “ in a discourse which “ cited the following words from Holy Writ— 1 vee t ib i Coro“ ‘ z a in , vee t ib i B e t h s a id a , ’ ” and adds— “ this phrase was “ greeted with shouts o f applause,”— he uses words calculated to produce an impression directly contrary to fact. The Pope did not apply the Scriptural denunciation quoted to anybody ; on the contrary, what he said was that the Romans had been so faithful that that denunciation could not be applied to them. This is one misrepresentation. The other is as follow s :— “ A day or two ago the Holy F ather gave audience “ to the Belgian (sic) Catholic Academy, the members o f “ which presented him with an address o f adhesion to the “ dogma o f Infallibility, and in his reply he insisted on the “ plenitude o f his authority in earth and heaven, and also “ on his right to depose Sovereigns and to absolve subjects “ from their allegiance.” This is distinctly false. The Pope insisted on no such r ig h t ; he said ju s t the very reverse o f what is here conveyed. H e stated, as we have already said, that to represent the doctrine of Infallibility as implying any such right, was a disingenuous device, and that no one, least o f all the Pope, thought o f exercising in these days a power, which circum stances and the will o f nations had in other times required the Pope to use. We do not think tfiat this kind o f misrepresentation is creditable to any paper ; and the habitual repetition o f it by the writer o f these “ Notes from “ Rom e ,” has already led even Protestant organs to observe that his contributions are altogether untrustworthy.
One o f the bitterest pens employed against the roman the Temporal Power was certainly that o f M. question. jr^m ond About. His Q u estion R om a in e was one o f the most vicious and, to those who did not under-