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THE TABLET, [Saturday, September 2, 1871.

to Italy, and found the K in g distinctly on the side o f France. H e said to him : “ Y o u have 300,000 men ; march 100,000 “ on Lyons. T h e y w ill be covered by Switzerland and the “ A lp s , and will have nothing to fear, while they will produce “ an im portant diversion in our favour, which will very likely “ d isengage M e tz .” T h e K in g and his generals were willing, but the M in isters form ally refused theirconsent. T h e con fe ren c e o f M . Thiers with Count v. B ism ark at head-quarters at Versailles and his visit to Paris are described by him in great detail, as are a lso his efforts to prevent the entry o f the Prussians into the town. I t was the K in g , he says, who insisted on it, and the partial occupation which ensued was the indirect cause o f th e seizure o f the cannon b y the populace, an act o f which, as everybody knows, the consequences were nothing less than trem endous. T h e rest o f the deposition is taken up with a narrative o f the operations o f the second siege.

a r ise s : I s the ablest adm in istrator in the M in istry, outside the Cabinet, to be again passed over? I f so, who m ay doubt that it is because he is a Roman Catholic ? “ A n U lster C a tholic,” writing to the Spectator last week in the same strain, says: “ I t is to be particularly re“ gretted that at a tim e when the delicate question o f Catho“ lie education in Ireland is about to be considered in the “ Cabinet, the opinion o f the Irish C atholics should not b e “ in any way represented there. I believe the solution o f “ that great difficulty would be much more easy, i f th ey are “ so represented. Whether as a medium or as a buffer, Lord “ Hartington is hardly the right man in the right p lace.” W e are not quite sure that we understand what this correspondent means b y such phrases as “ medium” and “ buffer but no doubt there is much truth in what he says, though his judgm ent o f Lord Hartington is hardly just.

Mr. W halley with that indefatigable good-

the w ill for C a tholic interests which so distinguishes religious n ioved at the c lose o f the session for a re

tiie turn the number o f Roman Catholics acCAiiiNET. tually being members o f the C a b in e t ; and

may, we hope, be induced next session to

m ove for an additional return o f the name o f all Roman C a tholics who have been members o f the different Cabinets th a t have governed the Empire since the A c t o f Em ancipation was passed. H e has thus revived a discussion, which w e have no desire to avoid, on the Religious E lem ent in the C a b in e t ; and the Spectator has printed several letters on the subject in its issues o f last w eek and the w eek before. T h e first o f these letters is written by a G a lw ay gentlem an. H e com p la ins o f “ the humiliatihg position in which 6,000,000— “ that is, one-fifth— o f the population o f the U n ited K in gdom “ are p laced b y the system atic exclusion o f a representative “ o f their religious opinions from the Cabinet. T h e Irish “ people, w hoarem ost nearly concerned by this most illiberal “ S tate policy, are day after day taunted with ‘ ingratitude ’ “ because th ey continue to murmur, despite the legislation “ o f the last few years. But let any o f your readers reflect ■ “ upon the fact now brought under their notice, perhaps for 1 “ the first tim e, and say whether it does not constitute a j “ grievance o f a most undeniable kind. For my own part, : “ speaking as an Irish C a tholic— and I have not liv ed for j “ 20 years in England w ithout learning to appreciate the “ good qualities o f my English fellow -subjects— I am not “ seldom tem pted to forget your Church and land reforms “ in the presence o f this d ishonouring reflection upon my “ religion, which is, be it rem embered, the religion o f the “ greater part o f Christendom , o f the most distinguished “ European sovereigns, and o f more than one near relative “ o f her gracious M a je sty the Queen.” On this letter the Spectator remarks : “ T h a t a man should be excluded from “ the Cabinet because he is a Catholic is an oppression, but “ that he should be in c luded because he is a C a tholic would “ be fo lly .” T h is decision unfortunately (ow ing to the p resent condition o f the Irish representation) applies on ly to one person. I t would b e absurd to contend that one or tw o Catholics u tterly unfit for h igh adm in istrative duties should be raised to the C ab inet m erely to prove the reality o f religious equality. But we have ventured to contend already, and we repeat our conviction, that if the present Postm aster-General were not a Roman Catholic, he would before now have been a C ab in et M inister. N o instance can be cited o f a Protestant possessing such adm itted capacity for high office, combined w ith a Parliam entary position o f long standing and great

in fluence, who has been excluded from the Cabinet. H e adm in isters w ith adm itted ability and energy an office, a lm ost a lw ays hitherto held w ith a seat in the Cabinet, at a tim e when there is no office in the Governm ent that exacts more vigour, foresight, and care. R eview in g the position o f the M in istry at the close o f the Session in an article rem arkab le for its acumen and candour, the Spectator, while obliged to adm it that in many o f the principal departm ents o f G o vernm ent there have been great failures, admits that the Post-O ffice is an absolute exception. “ A s an administrator,” it says, “ M r. Low'e cannot compare with Mr. Monsell, “ who is in troducing im provem ents o f the most practical and “ yet daring k ind, a ltering the unit o f postal weight, for ex“ ample, in favour o f the public. T h e post-card, the reduction “ o f newspaper postage, and the substitution o f the ounce for “ the half-ounce as the base o f the penny-post, are felt as direct « benefits b y every man in the k ingdom who can read and “ w rite.” T h e re is a general conviction th a t the Cabinet needs an infusion o f new blood. T h e question then

What im portance are we to attach to th e

THE Surrey election as an indication o f Conservative election, reaction in the constituencies ? t o this ques­

tion each party is endeavouring to find a con­

clusive answer which w ill exactly square with their own wishes. While the Standard looks on the v icto ry as a great trium ph o f principle, the D a i ly News, after hinting that the fight may possibly not have been fought with fair weapons, argues that so many Whigs and Radicals in East Surrey cannot have been transform ed in three years into T o r ie s ; and puts down its defeat to the account o f the large mass o f floating opinion which is swayed this way or that by the skill or b lundering o f an Administration. This, however, we suspect, is all that the other side would claim under the head o f political conversion. T h e Spectator admits that “ it looks very much as i f “ Liberalism were declining, in the counties at all events and the Tim es says, that “ the m istakes o f the Session have “ told with the electors to a degree which the transparent “ artifices em p loyed to cover them have failed to m itigate.” T hus much we may take as adm itted on a ll sides, that the past Session has been trem endously damaging to G overnment. T h e fact is so, whether we lo ok upon the East Surrey contest as a presage o f v icto ry with the Standard, or with the T im es as a “ b lessing in disguise,” because o f the warning which it is calculated to convey.

A fter v isitin g the C o v e o f Cork, steam ing

the french roun(] tl,e Channel F le e t and going on board in Ir e lan d " the Northumberland, the F rench visitors have

returned to Dublin and left for K in gstow n on

Sunday. T h e y were supposed to be escorted by a procession, which is described as two m iles long, and as consisting o f 23 bands, which p layed “ T h e Wearing o f the G reen,” “ O ’D onnell A b o o ,” and other seditious tunes. T h is feature however was only part o f the general “ m ake-believe." T h e F rench deputation were considered to be there, but were not there at all. L ik e sensible people they got away privately b y the train. T h e c losing scene was o f a p iece w ith the rest. When once you have persuaded yourself that half-adozen gentlem en com e over to assist in winding up the a c counts o f a R e l ie f Fund, are an “ Embassy from France to “ Ireland,” there is nothing very startling in a monster escort for people who are not there to escort. T h e d istinguished guests were probably o f opinion that they had been a lready sufficiently “ ovated,” as th ey say in America, and began tofind their position rather embarrassing. Som e people in France seem to th ink that it would have been better i f th ey had awaked to that conviction a little earlier. T h e Opinion Nationale sa y s : “ T h e Irish have unfortunately made this v is it “ the occasion o f manifesting ill will towards England. A t “ a grand banquet the custom ary toast to the Queen’s health “ was received with hisses. W e protest against such pro“ ceedings, and all reasonable and th inking men in our “ country will do so likew ise. T h e Irish have forgotten “ upon this occasion the observances o f delicacy and good “ taste. T h e y have compromised their guests b y making “ their friendly welcom e the cover for political manifestations, “ and have offended France, which desires to strengthen the “ relations existing betw een it and the U n ited K in gdom .” T h e French journal adds that, when the deputation becam e aware o f the purpose for which it was being used, it was its obvious duty to retrace its steps, out o f consideration for its own dignity and that o f the country it represented. T o this criticism we must take one exception. W e shoujd be sorry to believe that the Irish nation is responsible for all this shallow and m ischievous pretence. W e cannot admit that the “ demonstrators” represented Ireland practically any more than the deputation represented France officially. W ith this proviso we enter in to the feelings o f the Opinion