A MISSION TO THE VATICAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10128, 11 May 1896, Page 4

A MISSION TO THE VATICAN.

— « I— MuOH surprise will Is occasioned by the statement that Sir George Errington has gone on a mission to the Vatican, as no intimation has hitherto been published that the Salisbury Government had any intention of despatching a special mission to Pope Leo XIII What the object of Sir George's mission may lje can only be conjectured from what occupied him at Rome on a former occasion. Sir George belongs to an old English Catholic family. During the disturbances in Ireland in 1881 he was in Rome, and the Gladstone Ministry were charged with having sent him there as an emissary of the British Government, to ask the Pope to put pressure on the Roman Catholic priesthood in Ireland to discourage the Laud League agitation. The matter was frequently debated in Parliament and while it was denied that Mr. Errington (as he then was) had any official authority, it was stated that he had been recommended by Lord Granville as a well-informed and influential Roman Catholic gentleman, who could give a trustworthy account of the state of things in Ireland. Sir George Errington had been member for the County of Longford. A circular from Cardinal Simeoni," condemning the Parnell testimonial, was attributed to the influence of Sir George, and at a subsequent period he was charged with attempting to prevent the appointment of Dr. Walsh to the Archbishopric ol Dublin. Ho was created a baronet by the Gladstone Ministry shortly before they left office. There appears to be no doubt at the present timo that Sir George Errington has official sanction for his mission to Rome. It can scarcely be, however, in connection with Irish affairs, for Ireland is quiet. It is singular that Lord Salisbury should choose as his emissary the gentleman who found favour in the eyes of Mr. Gladstone, but doubtless there is good reason for his selection.