THE TABLET.
A IVeekly Newspaper and Review.
DUM VOBIS GRATULAM I/ * , ANIMOS ETIAM ADDIMCJS UT IN IN CŒ PTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANŒATIS.
From the B r i e f o j H is Holiness P iu s IX . to T h e T a b l e t , June 4, 1870.
V ol. 89. N o . 2971.
L o n d o n , A p r i l 17, 1897.
P r ice 5c!., by P o st s% d .
[R eg iste r ed 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 hronicle o f t h e W e e k !
Page
Imperial P a r l i a m e n t : T h e Evidence of Criminals — The Crisis in Crete — Sir William Harcourt’s String o f Questions— I f Mr. Balfour Were Sir William Harcourt’s Secretary— A Board of Agriculture for Ireland— The South African I n q u i r y — What 'Was to be Done with President Kruger?—The Greek Crisis— Mr. Goschen and the New High Commissioner— The Ethnike Hetairia — The Japanese Gold Standard— The War in Cuba—Sir William Harcourt with the Eighty C lub .. 597 L e a d e r s :
Abolition of Slavery in Zanzibar 6or Victorian Pictures at the Guildhall 602 The Archbishops of Canterbury
From Norman Times . . . . 603 N o tes . . . . . . ... . . 606
C 0 N T
R e v iew s :
Page
Indulgences......................... . . 608 Bishop Doyle .........................610 Some Catholic So mons . . . . 610 Sebastiani’s Secret .. . . . . 6ir “ The Month” . . . . .. 611 C orrespondence :
Rome :— (From Our Own Corre
spondent) . . . .
. . 613
News From Ireland _ __ 615 News From France . . . . 016 L e t t e r s t o t h e E d it or :
“ T h e M o n t h ’ an d Diana
Vaughan .. ..
. . 617
Father Clarke and St. Augustine 618 The Anglican Doctrine of the
Eucharist . . . . . . . .6 1 8 “ The Rule of Worship ” . . . . 619 “ The Catholic Directory for
Scotland” ......................... . . 619 Keble and the Eucharist . . . . 619 An Appeal . . ......................... 619
ENTS.
The Catholic Schools Associations 619 How Our Fathers Were Taught in
Catholic Days . . . . . . 619 Secure Taoernacles . . . . . . 621 Golden Jubilee o f the Superior-
General of the Paulists . . . . 621 The Manitoba School Question . . 622 The Dynamite P l o t ........................... 624 O b itu a r y ...................................... 625 Books of the Week . . .. . . 625
SU PPLEM ENT. N ew s from t h e S chools:
The Voluntary Schools Act .. 629 Catholic Educational Progiess in
Ceylon . . . . .. . . 630 The School Board Question at
Heywood . . .. . . 630 Nonconformists and the Volun
tary Schools Act . . . .6 3 1 The School Boards Bill . . . . 631 Popular Representation in Volun- '
tary Schools . . . . . . 632
N ew s from t h e S chools (Con
tinued): An Oath and a Sin . . •• 63 Stonyhurst College: A t h l e t i c
Sports .. .. .. . . 632 Convent of the Holy Child Jesus,
Blackpool.. . . .. . . 632 Mr. Athelstan Riley and the Lon
don School Board .. . . 632 N ew s from t h e D io ceses : Westminster
Southwark Leeds ......................... Portsm outh......................... Salford ......................... Newport St. Andrews and Edinburgh
« 632 •• 633 •• 633 -- 633 •• 633 . . 634 . . 634
Those Empty Churches .. . . 634 Lord Russell and the Edinburgh
University .. . . . . . . 635 Catholic Missionary Work in Natal 635
*** Rejected MS. cannot be returned unless accompanied with address
and postage.
CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.
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TH E House of Commons has
just repeated the approval it has already expressed during a number o f years on the
question ot allowing prisoners in criminal cases to give evidence. The Attorney-General moved the Second Reading of the Law of Evidence in Criminal Cases Bill, and after an animated and interesting discussion, a majority of one hundred and sixty-nine declared in favour of the proposed changes. Sir Richard Webster explained that the aim of the Bill was to enable accused persons in criminal proceedings, and the wives or husbands of persons so charged, competent, but not compellable, to give evidence. The principle, as was pointed out, has really passed beyond the stage of argument. Generally speaking, prisoners are not allowed to give evidence in their own behalf, yet since 1872 nearly thirty Acts of Parliament, relating to different classes of crime, have been passed to enable a prisoner to enter the witness-box. The principle had, therefore, been already affirmed time after time, and no distinction could be drawn between the cases in which prisoners are allowed and those in which they are not allowed to give evidence. Sir Richard thought it time for Parliament to make up its mind to introduce uniformity of practice in place of the present system, with its numerous and indefensible anomalies, and in order to assist in the process he instanced some examples of these anomalies : “ Take the case of trial for libel. I f there was an indictment and a question whether the libel was written by the defendant he could give evidence, but if a man were charged with writing a threatening letter or with forgery, or with extorting money by writing letters he could not give evidence. I f a man were charged under the Criminal Law Amendment A ct with indecent assault he could give evidence, whereas if he were charged with common assault he could not. He could multiply such examples a hundredfold. Then as to the rule preventing a wife giving evidence for her husband, he had known of a woman being allowed to give evidence on behalf of a man to whom she was not married, but with whom she had been living, whereas where there was a lawful marriage the wife was not
N ew S e r i e s . Vol. LVII..^No.r2,280.
allowed to give evidence for her husband. A greater absurdity could scarcely be suggested.” The Bill was strongly supported by Sir Edward Clarke, who had never ceased to be wiling to help either a Conservative or a Liberal Government in promoting such a reform, and who even envied the Attorney-General in being able to associate his name with so beneficent a measure. Sir Frank Lockwood in a lively speech also expressed his warm approval of the Bill. In answer to the objection that there was no demand for it he declared that there was a strong feeling in its favour among her Majesty’s judges, and amongst a large number of lawyers. He scarcely saw where a demand should come from. One could scarcely expect unconvicted prisoners to go in procession with bands to Hyde Park on a Sunday afternoon. The opposition to the measure was led by Mr. Lloyd Morgan, Mr. Carson and Mr. Knox. It was feared that the change would cause hardship to prisoners by exposing them to the ordeal of cross-examination. It may be pointed out, however, that the prisoner need not give evidence unless he likes ; and as the AttorneyGeneral explained, words had been inserted to the effect that a man should not be cross-examined with regard to his past history unless it formed part of the chain of evidence. The Bill does not apply to Ireland. On Saturday, Mr. Balfour, in answer to several questions put to him on the order of public business, announced that the Second Reading o f the School Board Bill would be taken on the Monday after the Easter holidays.
The Opposition were not to be baulked of
— t h e c r i s i s a field day of debate on the question of
in c r e t e . the Government policy in regard to Crete.
Accordingly when Mr. Balfour rose in the
House o f Commons, on Monday afternoon, to move its adjournment till the 26th, Sir Charles Dilke used the opportunity to force the matter upon the House. He declared that the refusal of the Government for a day to discuss the question was quite unusual. The blockade of Crete and Greece might upset the latter kingdom, but it could not bring peace into the interior of Crete, or solve the problem which the Powers had set themselves to solve The Sultan and the K ing of Greece had been brought to the verge of war by the interference of the Powers. In opposition to Mr. Curzon’s statement that the Cretans had been striving during a hundred years for autonomy, he contended that they had agitated for union with Greece. This he supported by an excursion into past history. “ In 1830, when Crete had risen, and the whole island was in the hands of the people fighting for independence, Lord Holland
