THE 'OTAGO TIMES,' THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND THE 'TABLET.'

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 81, 14 November 1874, Page 8

THE 'OTAGO TIMES,' THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND THE 'TABLET.'

You shall he hated by all nations for my sate" wag the warning wh.ch the fodder of iheChris.i™ Church addressed to thoie who werf o rule lfc or belong to it This prediction has often been fulfilled br the treatment winch the Catholic Church, her ministers, and UeoolJ have received afc the hand, of the Civil Government and popukr f ?flli n S m t0 ° ge - N6Ver ' P™bably, «a 9 it more Kbly R.-fhepreßenttimR .-f hepreBenttim0 ' by Buch mea as Bismarck an^ the Otago Tunes,' if we may compare the tiger and torn eat Th«, «• -T gfficumt means fully to inform thrives. A perusal of the EnS Protestantjournals, especially the impartial London • Spectator 'would have convinced your <TinW that the Protestant feeling of BnalSdS SKVf 88 t w glj : g r !t Bismarck's iniquitous persecuting law" They argue .that each laws strike at the very root of religion! and therefore, of c.v.l hberty. If the one go down,' the other cannot stand! Such laws, Jf introduced into England, would deprive Protestarit Nonconformists no less than Catholics, of all those rights they noTeniov * «nd which they stm^led so manfully to secure, up to a recent dat? It is to be hoped that the Otago ' Times' does not speak the sentiment, of any considerable portion of its readers when it says that "The Cathohc Church only exists in this colony by the grace and favor of • - the Governor and General Assembly, and thafc it could claim no inherent right to continue its ministrations were the Civil Government wS?T" ■* J "% • A " ythin? m ° re out ''«^°«B than S Cm hardly be conceived. It v a sentiment more befitting a Nero than a journalist addressing a community of free-born men. The ' Times 'in SiTihm IS T*. 811^ be J' )kirj g. ™ d P okin g '»* ft" at his Catholic neighbours. It is easy to conceive why men like him should be irritated, annoyerl, and alarmed at the progress which the Catholic Migion 13 everywhere making among devout and learned Protestants. The long list off clerical and titled converts given in a late issua might well cause him and others to ponder. But, surely, he cannot for a second imagine that the spirit of the English, Scotch, and Irish people woxild ever permit such la*s as Bismarck is now trying to enforce to be placed on our Statute Books. S The British people and Parliament, have had quite enough, of such aws and the last of them disappeared for ever when Lord Russell's Eccles^stical Titles Bill" was repealed. Bismarck is provoking a contest of a very serious kind, the upshot of which will be still further' to prove the irrepressible power of the Roman Catholic Church. Catholics will bldeb I de their time, and offer nothing but a passive resistance. God can do more to direct the current of human affairs thau Bismarck V the Otago 'Times.' Anylhing the 'Times' can say against the Catholic Church, or m favor of Bismarck's policy, must be very h-rm-less to us. He may grin and show his teeth—bite he cannot. Your province is pre-eminently Scotch, and the « Times' must needs write to please the Scotch people. It is a remarkable fact that the Catholic region is now mafting great and unlooked-for progress amon<r Scotch families of distinction. The noble houses of Argyle, Bucoleueh Douglas, Lothian, Hamilton, and Gordon took a leading part in establishing the Reformed faith in Scotland, and they got hold of the lion a i share > of the Church lands, greatly to the disgust of Knoi and his friends. Yet these same houses are now becoming the very nurseries of Catholic children, in consequence of their female heads having embraced the Catholic faith. A mother's influence is Lke tHe influence of the Church herself— irresistible in the long run, and no effort to keep the children out of the Catholic Church will be long successful when once the mother has joined its communion. Her prayers alone, not to speak ot any other influence, would, as a rule, bad to their conversion We see instances of this daily almost. When fervent Protestants do enter the Catholic Church, they " pray without ceasing" for tha conversion of their relatives, more especially their children, and their prayers are often answered iv a wonderful and unlooked-for manner. Not all 1 the power of Bi<marck or the Otago • Times,' or even the London. ' Times' himself can prevent this. That is an " influence" which defies theit power. Will the * Times* call it an undue influence ? Scotland if not so rich and populous and luxurious in Catholic ages as she is now, was more virtuo^ then by a great deal. When virtue and piety declined, then the " Reformation" e.tme. In our day virtue and piety are beginning to revive in Scotland, and the natural outcome of this is the eturn of her people to the Catholic Church. When the Church has ricli children, she will never be poor. The pious munificence of the late Duchess Dowager of Argyle is a proof of this. There are other instances in. point. Indeed, it was recently suggested by the Scotch, Press that some law should be passed to restrain the liberality of Catholics to the Church in their testamentary bequests. The Ora»o ' Times,' no doubt, would be ready to frame and support such a law with all the power at his command. Poor man! As yet, unfortunately, euch a restraining law is but little wanted in New Ze -land. We have no rich ladies', like the Duchess of Argyle and other gentles,* to bequeath their thousands to the Church ; but we support it out of our poverty. By the way, Ido not see the name of the late Duchess of Kent-~the Queen's mother — in your published list of converts. It is given in the O'atholic Almanac, published "by authority." Treat the ' Times' tenderly. We at a distance look upou htm as a benefactor to the Church. Like Bismarck, he is doing what will show her beauty, and her power, and her usefulness more plainly than ever. He is giving you the opportunity to remove from the public mind prejudices and misapprehensions against the Church such as you would not otherwise have. Therefore, treat him gently, and do not overwhelm him, with harsh epithets, however rnuuh his presumption or malevolence may deserve them. A soft answer is the best answer, whether to ignorance folly, or malice. It would be difficult to say of which of these three the ' Times' shows the most. Let us not boast of such triumph*. We have enough of causes of sorrow and humiliation when we look at our own shortcomings. — Laic.