Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 268, 21 June 1878, Page 1

Current Topics

AT HOME & ABROAD.

ff N a letter to the New York Freeman's Journal, the Most f» Rev. Louis Lootons, Catholic Bisliop in Van Couvcr t Island, hns proved conclusively that the so-called L. 1 prophecy of St. Malachy concerning the successsion of ?^ Pontiffs is a forgery and contains nothing whatever } ' prophetic. For ourselves, we were only acquainted with the titles ascribed to the Popes from Pius VI. forward, and they seemed to us sufficiently applicable to prove the truth of the prediction. It, however, seems that it was only by ex. tremc straining, and by taking in a list of antipopos that they could be made fit the Pontiffs to whom they were severally ascribed, and that otherwise they would have been ludicrously inapplicable. Bishop Lootens tells us that the first author in whose writings mention of this prophecy occurs is Arnold dc Wien, an eccentric Benedictine Monk, who was a native of Douay, in Flanders, and who wrote in 1593, and that by him the prediction was ascribed not to St. Malachy, but to Alphonsus Ciaeonus. But Nicholas Antonio and Ambrose de Altamura, two writers who have accurately described the writings of Ciaeonus, make no mention whatever of the prophecy alluded to. and hence it is reasonable to conclude that this author knew nothing of it. The true origin, of the prediction appears to be as follows :: — ■ At the conclave held on the death of Urban VII., in 1590, certain adherents of Cardinal Shnonceli were anxious that he should have been elected Pope. To effect this, and •with a view of influencing the electors, some one amongst these adherents set his brains to work and drew up a list of Popes, those who had really existed and an imaginary line to follow, affixing to each of the PontifEs a title supposed to relate to some of his personal characteristics or to some event of his reign or life, and to the Pope about to be elected a title exactly descriptive of Cardinal Simonceli. The titles given to the Popes who bad existed prior to the date alluded to are found, in consequence, to be most exact, while those ascribed to the Popes that followed, arc in very many instances, as it might be expected, inapplicable and absurd to a degree. The person who undertook to interpret the prophecy, supposing it to be a prophecy., had no authority to do so. He made the great error of taking in eight antipopes, and had he not done so, our present Holy Father, instead of the title ascribed to him, " Lumen hi Ccclo? would have one by no means complimentary, " Animal Iluralc ''—a Rural Animal. " Just now," continues the Bishop, " people are lifting up their eyes and hands to heaven, at the sight of — what ? Of a little star in a picture which they call lumen in ccclo / "What light ? and in what heaven 1 Can it be necessary to observe that none of these quibbles have any symbolical meaning ? If they have, and that ouv present Pope is really a light in heaven, because the prophecy says so, then was Urban 111. really " a sow in a sieve : " Gregory X. really an " eel ; " Callixtus 111. really a " grazing ox ; " an oJfci Ocenfc XL really "an insatiable wild beast." Lumen in ccclo is J^cching that applies to every Pope. Were it not for them, the sky would be dark iixleed. But in this particular case, that is to say» so far as it is a pretended prophetical utterance, it /ueans nothing more than a few strokes of the graving- tool upon paper, or of the brush upon canvas. If our prophets" had thought of it, they might as well have foretold a tall Pope, or a short Pope, or a Pope witli black or gray hair, or a Pope with no hair, or a Pope 'with a wart upou his nose, and what not ? At least, they might have douc so with impunity for the Popes who reigned before L>9o. The expressions would have been less mysterious, but the information they would have conveyed would not have been different in kind, while they would have exactly answered the same purpose ; that is to say, no serious purpose at all. Let any one deny this if be can, or attribute such aimless devices to the Spirit of Truth, if ho dare ! His Lordship further takes occasion to denounce another pretended prophecy, that named of Orval, and of which he thus speaks :— " While I was living in Paris, there appeared in the month of March, 1849, in both La Voiv de la Tvrifc, and Z'Awi de la Religion, and no doubt in many more papers which I did not see, a letter from a Cure of the Diocese of Orleans, wherein that man declared himself the forger of those prophecies, and asked pardon of God and man for the deceit which, as be said, bad

commenced in thoughtlessness, but the confession of -which it had become hard to make, after Ms work had, in a manner, gone round the world."

Some few months ago our contemporary the Daily Times had a fit of virtuous indignation. Tlie Patriarch of the Princess Theatre was likewise 1 at the time filled -with a sarcasticzeal, and the one in his leading columns and the other in correspondence and oratory, with a singular coincidence of style and argument, proved to his own satisfaction and that of sundry of his clients and admirers that the Catholic Missionary, then inn Dunedin, had grossly calumniated the American people, when he made the' fearless statement made by him concerning infanticide in America. We sided with the Missionary, and for our pains were informed that we were wanting in knowledge of the world, and generally ignorant, and it was even demonstrated beyond dispute, we forget whether by the Patriarch or the Editor, that the very same accusation brought by Father Hennebery against America might with equal truth be brought against this good city of Dunedin. This, we say, was conclusively proved by a most skilful manipulation of statistics. Our Editor or our Patriarch, we cannot say which, but it does not much signify, for they were singularly unanimous., showed most clearly that if American society were depraved, so also must be that of Diinedin, "VVe insist upon this point, because, for certain reasons, it now fills us with consternation ; and we should think that the dismay experienced by us must on consideration be shared in by all our worthy fellowcitizens. In fact the only hope left to us by which we may be reassured is that it may bo conclusively shown that our Patriarch or our Editor erred in. his figures, or very skilfully indeed manipulated them for the temporary overthrow of an enemy, and this, we suppose, is an utter impossibility. For, lo and behold I it turns out that America actually is festering with the rottenness to which the Missionary alluded, and we should be in a pretty pickle if we were forced to believe that statistics certainly proved Dunedin to be in a like state. Since the Missionary made his statement which so convulsed our contemporary and our brilliant notable, it is a remarkable fact that the subject has come most prominently into notice in America itself. It might almost seem that a providential confirmation of Father Hcnnebery's sincerity was intended, but, however it be, we have found in American newspapers, since the statements alluded to were made, abundant confirmation of their substantial truth. In ouo way or other the matter has kept continually cropping up ; the Recorder of New York, for instauce, declared from the Bench recently that the commission of the revolting crime in question had become an established and most lucrative trade, and now the suicide of a wretch engaged in it has drawn the attention of the world to this trade, and appalled all even moderately right-minded people by convincing them with its attendant circumstances of the terrible extent to which the crime has spread, and the good position of multitudes involved in it. la Dunedin our secularists were very jealous of the honour of American society. They scoffed at the bold priest who raised his voice amongst us for the purpose of warning us, as it was bis duty to do, against that system -which he had witnessed breed so terrible a state of things in the country alluded to. In their besotted advocacy of their idol — " Seeking sweet savours for this hateful fool," they loaded the missionary's statements with contempt, and emulated, ignorantly we liopc, the traditional "ill bird;" for they, with their statistics, branded Dunedin likewise as impure if America were impure- But American editors are more candid, they perhaps have had enough of secularism ; they certainty have no intention of bolstering it up by biding the corruption of their country, and we even find amongst them certain just enough to applaud the condemning voice of the priest, who is not afraid to stand up on the altar of his God and denounce the wickedness he knows to be around him, although it may work in secret. Take for iustance the following extract from a non-Catholic paper, published in Vermont, the Rutland Globe : "It is all very well to moralize over the miserable end of Madame Eestell, but the Boston Herald, speaks a needed word when it says in substance, • that her accomplices were found in every rank and condition of life, so much so that in England the sneer is frequently heard " that there are many wives in Americabut ievr mothers."

The Herald is right. To the honour of the Catholic Church be it said that their clergy, without any prudery, both preach and teach the deadly character of the sin of seeking to dodge the responsibilities of maternity by becoming an accomplice in child murder." Some little time ago we .submitted a nut to he cracked by our scientific world, or rather half-world, but they did not deign to exercise their powerful jaws upon it. We put forward a foeman worthy of their steel, hoping that " Greek" would hasten to encounter " Greek," and that the sight of an opposing Titan would rouse the gods to battle, but in vain. Our scientists have never once advanced an argument in opposition to those quoted by us from Professor Virchow, wh stated that evolution was a theory, as yet unproven, and dangerous to dogmatise upon, in direct opposition to all that they had so long been proclaiming \o us. We trust that now, however, these learned imbibers and spouters of scientific doctrines will favour us with the mere trivial explanation we ask them.kindly to vouchsafe us, believing that what we ask will be to them a bagatelle. Will they kindly explain to us, since it is acknowledged on all hands, now, that infanticide, in the broad sense of the words, does exist extensively in America, how comes it the statistics put forward here a few months ago proved that it could not possibly exist there ; and, above all, whether we are*still bound to believe that the purity or corruption of Dunedin is to be judged by the standard of that existing in the United States.

An article in the Revue Acs Deux Monties, of March Ist last, affords an insight into the political life of Germany, a sketch of which cannot fail to be of interest to our readers. It runs as follows : — Germany has her troubles ; some come to her from without, and she demands an account of them from her neighbours whose actions appear to her suspicious ; others are caused by grave questions of home management, which she is much hindered in solving, There axe many questions which disturb her, but that which disturbs her most is her Constitution, still very young, but already worn out. Of all forms of Government none is more difficult to organise than a Confederation, or a Federate State. The difficulty becomes graver when the Federate State is composed of lesser countries united to a great monarchy — to one of the great powers of Europe. The whole policy of the affair is in La Fontaine. We know what happened the heifer, the she-goat, and the ewe, when they thought good to unite themselves to a proud lion, lord of the district. These four were to divide the prey ; the lion allotted the first part to himself in quality of sire ; he took the second as belonging to the strongest, and the third as the bravest.

Si quelqu' une de vous touche a la quatrienie,

Je 1' (itmnglcrai tout cV abord. Of the forty- two millions who compose the German Empire, 2G,000,000 belong to Prussia, and the rest to the lesser States. On setting out the lion showed himself generous. Prussia possesses in Parliament a number of Deputies proportioned to her population ; in the Federal Council of the 58 voices she owns but 17. Had the lesser States been republics she would have treated them with less consideration, but little crowns have their use ; they arc a counterpoise to democracy. In suppressing them she would have served the revolution, but the Ciusars of Germany wish, rather, to make the revolution serve them. Still, in truth, Prussia fully indemnified herself for the concessions she made. She scaled her hegemony by uniting in the person of M. dc Bismarck the functions of President of the Prussian Ministry and Chancellor of the Empire. The Chancellor is the man who does all, directs all, oversees all, the man who proposes and disposes, He alone has the watchword and the responsibility, and he who answers for all answers for nothing. M. Hoesler, a Professor of the Rostock University, wrote lately, " The institution of the Imperial Chancellorship is a monstrous accumulation of uncontrollable and irresponsible powers, which defies all analogy and all rule." M. Eoesler was right. One might search in vain in the history of constitutional countries to find an institution equal or analogous to this. In the Holland of the past alone might something like it be discovered, but what is a Hcinsius compared with the man who sways the destinies of 40 millions of Germans. The office of Chancellor has been created by M. dc Bismarck, and for M. dc Bismarck. Germany would not have consented to this concentration of power in one hand, if this man had not been able to avail himself of the rights of genius and his providential mission. " Prince Bismarck," said a Berlin review recently, '• is Minister by the Giace of God; he has founded an empire, and confounded himself with that empire. He figures by uame, after a manner, in the constitution of the German Empire. It never enters the mind of any one that he can be overthrown by a frown 'from above, or that he can succumb to a Parliamentary vote of want of confidence. We are accustomed to let ourselves be governed from. Varzin, and this village, or this Pomeranian estate, disputes for the moment with Berlin the honour of being the capital of Germany. Germany wishes to be governed by Bismarck. A popularity such as his has never been gained by any one, so that never in any state, not absolute, ha

a ministerial situation been seen dowered "by all the functions and powers he ro-unites in his hand." Germany had determined that, during M. Bismarck's life, she would content herself with the constitution he had given her. To alter her mind it was necessary for Bismarck himself to say :—": — " I can* do no more, my burden is too heavy, unless you decide on accepting the combination that I shall he in a position to propose to you, I shall resign. Meantime I shall take a holiday." Since the Spring of '77, negotiations have been conducted between M. de Bismarck and the liberal party in order to discover a means to solve the difficulties and the questions pending. The point was to discover a negotiator, pleasing to the Chancellor. Ate is not disposed to listen to the first comer. He would perhaps sayto any envoy they should send to him, that which he formerly said to a certain A\istrian minister : — "Your word is no more to me than the wind in my chimney." Happily the Prussian liberals have a man suitable to M. de Bismarck. M. de Bennigsen, President of the Prussian Chamber of Deputies. During the course of last year, M. Bennigsen went and came to and from Varzin more than once, and all Germany hung on the movement. But nothing came of the matter ; M. de Bismarck asked too much and would grant too little. The negotiation having fallen through, M. de Bismarck took counsel with himself and with himself alone. In interior policy he is a man of expedients, and it was an expedient that he brought back with him from Varzin. His ideal is an empire which, having in its hands the greater part of the finances, would not be reduced to go begging to* the doors of the German States, but would be in a position to give them money and to shower upon them the manna of its liberality. He, however, puts off for the time the fulfilment of his great design, and in order to increase the revenues of the empire he contents himself with creating Imperial stamp duties and with increasing the tax on tobacco. At the same time he submitted to the Federal Counci 1 an important project concerning providing assistance for the Imperial Chancellor, in case of need, a project destined to relieve him a little of his burden by giving him a co-adjutor in the person of a Vice-chan-cellor. It is, meantime, well understood that should he wish it, he will or will not have assistance. His convenience only will decide the matter, and it is undoubted tbat, should he wish it, the administration of the empire will be confided to half-a-dozen Prussian ministers. This project, at first, caused some emotion in the Federal Council. The delegates of the lesser States seemed to hear it said — " All is lost ; the sails are torn. It is not Prussia that belongs to th c empire, but tlie empire that belongs to Prussia. 1 ' They, however, kept their melancholy reflections to themselves, resigned themselves to their fate, and voted in favour of the project, with a slight amendment. The hour is come when the truth of things triumphs over conventions, and, as it has been well said, "the German empire* while it borrowed the exterior forms of a federate state, in reality constitutes an union of half-sovereign States with a sovereign State." What reception will the liberals of Parliament give to the propositions of M. de Bismarck ? On the matter of taxes their mot do r Are is "No new taxes without a general reform of the fiscal system, and no reform without constitutional guarantees which will assure to Parliament the full exercise of its rights over the budget. The Vice-Chan-cellor will be regarded as the man of the future— the presumptive heir of M. de Bismarck — will he be a liberal or a conservative ? It will be known ere long ; but from tliatjlay Germany may assure herself that she is not done with the policy of expedients, and a great nation accepts with difficulty the part of being reduced to expedients submitted to the convenience of one man. It cannot refrain from saying to itself — et apres ?— What next ? This is why Germany is troubled.

We have learned from the columns of the Melbourne Age if^Lof the A?'f/vn particulars of the wreck of the Loch Ard. The ill-tTOa vessel, it appeal's, set sail from. London for Melbourne on March 2nd last, under the command of Captain George Gibb, and having on board, besides the crew, sixteen passengers. Of these the principal interest surrounds the memory of the Carmichael family — a father, mother, four daughters, and two sons — becatise of the melancholy fate that overtook them in all perishing together, with the exception of one daughter, saved as if by miracle. All appears to have gone well with the ship until the night when the storm arose in which she was wrecked — that is the night of Friday, May 31st last. Bearings had been taken that day by the sun, and it was calculated that Cape Otway was still 150 miles distant, but unfortunately the iron in the vessel is supposed to have affected the compasses, and the calculation was false. The iron-bound coast and precipitous cliffs in the neigh> bourhood of the Cape were much nearer than it was supposed. At about four o'clock in the morning of June Ist, while the vessel was under close-reefed topsails going with the breeze, an alarm was given of land ahead. The captain was at his post on deck, and gave orders to hold the ship to the wind, but she could not weather the land, and seemed at the mercy of the wind and sea. Orders were then given to let go the anchors j these, however, dragged on a bottom of

smooth rock and the ship was still found heading for the breakers. -Uus commotion seems to have frightened the passengers, most of wiom got up ; and the poor young ladies in their cabin were roused by their mother, but after a moment, supposing nothing unusual to be the matter, they lay clown again. Meantime the sailors were busy endeavouring to put on sail, but the mainsail only was set, when came the catastrophe—

" -the dreadful touch Ot merchant-marring rocks." siSes^M^ wit £ aM f ht£ul «**. andripped open her bows and one of tW r Jn Carm * hae1 ' * c <*ly ■"**« of her family, and foDow- ft T. WhlCh ° UtOf all BUrvived the says that following the crash immediately there was a rush of water, and everyone washed about, It was totally dark ; she could see nothing, o TthZt O *7&7 &m n t6riified pe °P le - Amidsfc allthe hon ™ of the scene Captain Gibb appears to have maintained his calmness ; he orderecUhe boats out, and meantime had severaUadies lashed to spars, with life preservers around them. The last that was seen of wirr^V^f^ 118 Gl?gaged ' he kissed Miss Carmichael, and begged of her to tell his wife he had « died like a sailor." The midthe^J'TV*l^o^ survivor ' had c° fc into a boat ™ th a™ <* whirl iT\i? hG b ° at Was washed onboard, swamped, and whirled about like a cork. Pearce was stunned for a moment, andon recovering found himself under the boat, which had capskk He about amZ?^ bCTWere **** there ' and was locked about amongst them, until at length the boat struck a rock and threw mm _ off. He then swam some yards and caught hold of a table, which the exh V 1° SW HCTe he d0 ™ t0 ™°™ *™ tUe exhaustion, but on feeling better, and looking out to sea, his attention was caught by someone who was straggling with the waves and crying aloud. He at once swam out to the rescue, and succeeded S-T^J* 8 Me ° f tbG Wh ° had * this time become insensible, bne had been for about two hours in the water. Conduct on his part which it requires no comment to point out as heroic, and honourable to lus profession and Ins country. But much still remained to to be done : there were the cliffs 150 feet in height to be scaled in search of assistance. After a rest, therefore, the midshipman set himself to perform his task, which, with considerable difficulty, he succeeded in accomplishing, and then, having walked a distance of three miles, he fell in with a man, who brought intelligence of the wreck to Mr Gibson's head station, whence Mr. Gibson and a party of men hastened at once to the aid of the survivors. Miss Carmichael had meantime, wandered away from the place where Pearce had left her, and it was not until after a considerable search that she was found very much exhausted and almost in a dying state. Her life was in danger lor some time, but she now appears to be The young lady was coming out to Australia with her parents, 'and the other members of her family ; her father, who was a medical man, intending to settle, for the benefit of his health, in Queensland. Midshipman Pearce is the son of Captain Pearce, who was lost some years ago m the Gothenburg off the nortli-east coast of Australia.

M G. Valbert in his article (kg Sbucis de VAllemagnc) in the Ilcmc das Deux Moncles, of which we have already given a sketch, 1 aving shown what cause Germany has for anxiety with respect to ft IS PC ? lCy ° f PfiuccßismaP f iuccßismar ckcontinuesto explain her reasons «J^V" «f takeQ by thG cWell <* with respect to nnSr tt 1 * S1 i C hh ff S ' beSidGS ' Says M ' Valberfc ' ofch <* «*™» &r SJ Cai ' eS b^ Httlcaboutt^ Russians, and to-day she very much desires peace. Therefore she did not sec without inquLude tS da k cloud, from which the storm was about to burst upon the East fhat thTl « moUntainS ° f Herze^-« quickly rccognis that tliis cloud .was an artificial cloud, and she divined the great house m which it had been manufactured,-** there are manufacturers of clouds. She allayed her anxiety by saying -.-After all, a cannon shot cannot be fired in Europe without my permission • if M tie BlSmarckB IS marck opposes his veto there will be no war in the East' Meantime she saw with astonishment that the journals in the confidence of the Chancellor, instead of dissuading Kussia from her designs encouraged her, opened by anticipation the gates of Byzantium to her and announced that the moment had come wherein to settle the" pastern Question.-that half measures would satisfy no one. The tact is that M. Bismarck, in opening the Reichstag in December '76 did not hold the same language as the official Press ; nevertheless he aid not pronounce the decisive word, the veto Germany looked for He declared that, tbe Empire having no serious interest in the question his policy would consist in preserving those friendly relations alsut,7 re » ValUe> that hG W ° llld als ° )ly himself > with °ut assuming a threatening attitude, to preserve peace between the European powers and to localise the war. H« added : « If Ido not succeed, then a new situation will arise concerning which I by no means wish to make conjectures or to furnish particulars which you

do not demand of me." Four days previously he had said, at a Parliamentary dinner, that mediation is a delicate task , if it is difficult to sit between two chairs, it is impossible to sit between three ; if war was inevitable Russia and Turkey would grow weary of it, and that then would come the moment for Germany to give them peaceful counsels. It would do barm instead of good to advance these prematurely. In spite of the hopes expressed by M. Bismarck war broke out. Germany followed its fortunes with anxious curiosity, most desirous pf knowing what the Chancellor- had to say concerning it. But the Chancellor was at Varzin, and for a year kept a strict silence. Formerly M. Bismarck spoke freely on all subjects alike : latterly he has become almost taciturn. This change of manner lias disconcerted the Germans. So long as the army of the Grand-Duke Nicholas was held in check by a fortified village and the heroism of a true soldier, they thought: the hermit of Varzin has prophesied truly, the campaign promises to be bloody and laborious ; the belligerents will willingly be reconciled. But when Plevna fell the appearance of things became changed. All then lay in the power of the Russians. Then Germany was greatly moved ; she asked herself, has this Empire only been founded to deliver over the world to the greed of the Czars ? Shall we "permit this inconvenient neighbour that already impedes our commerce to seize upon the mouths of the Danube, and shut the only road that remains open for us to the Bast? Shall we permit his conquests to threaten the existence of the AustroHungarian monarchy to which friendship and interest unite us ? " M. de Bismarck had once said that if ever he sold himself to a devil,' it would be to a Teutonic devil ; had he broken his word ? Had he sold himself to a Muscovite devil instead ? Or must it be believed that the wondrous success of the conquerors of Plevna had falsified all his previsions ; aixlthat hehad been taken by surprise like Napoleon 111. by the victory of Sadowa 1 Germany may reassure herself : M. Bismarck was not deceived ; he is ready, and never was he better prepared. The Russians have no doubts concerning this, they only need a word from Berlin to arrest their course, but they also know that word will not be spoken. The Germans waited with feverish impatience for M. Bismarck to emerge from his cloud. The. demand for intervention in the affairs of the East was signed by representatives of almost every party, and M. Bennigsen was entrusted with carrying it through. The remarkable discourse pronounced by him on February 19th appears to have been a true expression of the opinion of Germany :— *• If we consent without complaining to support the increasing charges of a military system which oppresses us, it is not because we dream of future conquests ; what war, undertaken by us with or without allies, could procure for us an augmentation of power or an increase of territory which w.ould be to us rather a gain than a burden 1 If we have the army which we have ; if we do not care to lessen it, it is not only that we desire to be in a position to defend ourselves against attack, but tbat we also feel the responsibility attaching to our greatness, and wish to assure peace to Europe." Although he carefully avoided contradicting M. Bennigsen, M. Bismarck gave utterance to different language. His discourse of February 19th is the masterpiece of Ms new manner— his sibylline method. Some one has justly compared this discourse to those portraits which seem to look at all those who are looking at them. To whom did the Chancellor address such a veiled allusion,— such a warning 1 To Prince Gortschakoff , to Count Andrassy, or to Lord Beaconsfield ?

Deviuo, si tv peiix, ct choisis, si tv loses. On the 19th February, in short, M. Bismarck declared that if Eussia did not wish to make sacrifices for the sake of peace, if she refused to moderate her pretensions, he should not know what to do in the matter, and he cried : Beatl j/ossidentcs ! This declaration must have been grateful to St. Petersburg. But, on the other hand, he also declared that if the discontented wished to run the chances of a geneial war he would not be at the pains of hindering them, and that he wouia grant to all, even to Austria, the right of fighting ; and this second declaration caused less pleasure than the first at St. Petersburg Why was it not the Chancellor who pronounced the speech of M.' Bennigsen 1 If it had been so Europe and G ermany would have been more tranquil. They would have gained the certainty that the Con- . gress will be a work of peace, and that the sword will remain in its scabbard.

The London Times in a leading article on the Centennary of Voltaire, then approaching, takes occasion to reflect unfavourably on the treatment received by the Huguenots under King Louis XIV. The spirit in which the Times writes, it is needless to say, is that of partisanship-, of extreme prejudice against all that is Catholic. A kindred spirit 'to that, in short, which inspired the fiction that passes with some for history under the name of Merle d'Aubigne, whiclf induced Mosbeim to garble one passage at least taken from the

writings of a medieval saint, and led Michelet to compromise bis reputation as a 'scholar by a mistranslation that might excusably cause a school-boy to be punished, and would certainly result in the rejection of any candidate for matriculation at an University examination. The Huguenots, according to the Times, were the "most religious" of the people of France. Yet Bossuet, who certainly had had an opportunity of knowing of what he was speaking, affirmed that, even by the confession of their own ministers, they only desired to overturn Christianity, and there is nothing to show that, while they did much to improve the arts and manufactures of the countries in which they sought a refuge on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, they by any means improved the religions tone of those countries. The contrary, indeed, would seem to be the case, for there is not wanting evidence to prove that in some instances their tendency abroad was towards the infidelity of which the Bishop of Meaux accused them at home. Nor is it likely that, had not their impiety been very apparent, the mild but firm voice of F6nelon, whom the Times also blames for hostility towards them, would have refrained from speaking in their behalf. It is in itself a proof that the condemnation was deserved which was assented to by one who said o* himself, and as it is acknowledged with the utmost sincerity :: — '•' I love my family better than myself, my country better than my family, humanity better than my country." And of whom the historian, Henri Martin, thus testifies :— •• Never did the broad path of Christianity find such an apostle." But much and reasonably as we distrust the Times when it treats of any subject in which matters relating to the Catholic Church are involved, there are questions on which it i s a most reliable and potent authority. The occasions are numerous on which most valuable knowledge is to be acquired from its columns, and society owes it frequently a debt of gratitude for the exposal of an abuse, or the upholding of a point of morals, or propriety. Such an instance, indeed, do we discover even in the article to which we have now alluded, and we count ourselves fortunate in having been able to pick out from a mass of prejudice and one-sided statements a truth that is most wholesome. It is as follows : — '" Coarse attacks on the Christian religion, are now made only hi the shims of literature and politics." But, to apply this sentence to a patent case, and derive from it the profit it is capable of affording us even here in the antipodes, who would have thought that such a habitation would have been assigned to our enlightened " men of the future 1 " " The slums of literature and politics " — is such the locality beloved of the soul of our great Attorney General ?—? —

Proli curia invcrsiquc mores !