Current Topics. AT HOME & ABROAD.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 279, 6 September 1878, Page 1

Current Topics. AT HOME & ABROAD.

§HAT immoral, sensational,"or otherwise trashy literature isa great evil we hare always known. There is nothing , that more unhinges the mind, or turns it away from everything wholesome and good than a course of deleterious reading ; and amongst the enemies of the human race we reckon none more deadly than those authors who have produced works which, under the attractive garb of ~ x ~ brilliancy, have inculcated false and dangerous principles. Unfortunately of late years amongst English writers there have been numerous authors of the class to which we refer ; and the works published by them have contained all the most objectionable elements to be found in the coarsest publications, with the coarseness concealed, or replaced by piquancy and elegance. A blow at the well-being of society has thus been dealt which seems to be showing as its results an abundance of livid wounds, for from every side we receive descriptions of evils prevalent that are of the most deplorable nature. The Btrangest and weirdest aspect, however, of this question is that which presents itself to us in America ; where it would seem that all the particular movements of the day are destined to receive their most extraordinary development. There, it appears, a number of unprincipled men, writers and publishers, have entered into a conspiracy against the very children of the country, and by the dissemination of an abominable class of books, have already worked wild havoc amongst their recklessly chosen victims. The American papers are full of remonstrance against this system, and from time to time we find in them details that are of the deepest alarm. A little time ago, for instance, we were told of a boy who had been thus induced to leave his home in order to follow the career of a highwayman, and who, in the performance of this calling had been guilty of robberies innumerable, and even it is said of murder. The evil, however, is extensive ; it seems now thoroughly to have taken root in the country afflicted with it and there is no saying in what it may end. But shall we have it in these countries ? it is extremely probable that we may ; American institutions of certain kinds have a tendency to spread themselves abroad, and we think it especially likely that we shall see the " Dime Novel," before long established amongst our schoolboys. There is no doubt that already the way is to a coasiderable extent prepared for this. The sensational novel— the feverish folly of Miss Braddon, the brilliant poison of Ouida, the slightly improper toned twaddle of Mrs Henry Wood, all this is eagerly devoured by those who are of novel-reading age amongst us ; and it is certain that the children will take example by their elders. That is inevitable. They may not as yet be capable of interest in tender and delicate situations ; in doubtful circumstances, intrigue, and passion ; but there are cunning mer iyho may be already on the alert to purvey for them that which wi] fliasily come within the range of their comprehension, and seize on their taste and imagination. We have no doubt that the elders in America may thank themselves for the state of things described there, and we see that matters around us here are ripe for the introduction of just such another evil. It behoves all those who are interested then in the future of children to take especial care of what the style of literature is which they allow to be introduced into their houses ; to purify their book-shelves, and see that they contain none of that mental alcohol that caunot fail in every case to produce evil results, at least by enervating and rendering less fit for wholesome life those who give them selves up toits influences, and which indubitably helps to throw open the door for that which is even worse than it is itself.

Ixckktitude is to save the world. The Atlas that is to support the universe above the dark gulfs that open around it is an Atlas, who is not only to stagger occasionally, but even to come heavily down now and then ; yet he is to be the Saviour. The affair seems rather paradoxical, but we have for it the word of a man who was once known and honoured as Father Hyacinthe, but who is now despised by all but the resolute bigots of the sects, who are ardent in cherish-

ing every thing hostile to Rome. In a word, the apostate will have it that a fallible catholicity is to rescue men from all the dangers that impend. This is a doctrine worthy of the Cirque eF&iuer, the arena in which it has been proclaimed to Paris ; a doctrine, indeed, worthy of a circus, but that cannot do much towards arresting Paris in her Gomorrha-ward swing ; for the impetus that bears her on- that grim road is not to be arrested by twaddle. What a miserable sight does not this unfortunate man now present to the world ; Notre Same exchanged for a circus ; the incense of the sanctuary for the palled odours of the arena ; the truths of God's Church for a jargon brimming over with absurdity. There are people who accuse the Church of being behind the age ; she that has power to attract and bind closely to her the freshest intellects, and men whose minds are in advance of their times ; but it is such poor beings as this man to whom we refer, and who has been hailed by certain as an apostle who are behind their age. There is no monk now who can rebel against his vows and break out of his cloister to lead a world after him to perdition by preaching a false Christianity as Luther did. The time is gone by for this ; then the minds of men had been under the influence of religion for ages : they could not at once fling this from them. They tended towards perfect license indeed, but the road by which they travelled could not be stripped of all semblance of the old land-marks without striking them with terror. But now it is no Jonger so ; the old paths have too long been left behind. Year by year have men been travelling away from them, and they no longer are shocked at the thoughts of striking out alone into the unknown land beyond. There is no world now growing weary of wholesome restraint to flock round an apostate monk ; he walks on ground over which they have long since passed ; they are centuries advanced beyond his lifetime, and they can only mock when he calls upon them to return. Like him, they too have had their day, when the spirit was willing though the flesh was weak ; when they would have been wholly free, but were bound down by the old forms of thought, the old habits, the old restraints that would cling however they might kick against them. Had it not been for this the " Reformation" would have been openly a revolution. Thus it is that Loyson is no leader. He cannot stand out in the open air and gather the libertine city around him. Its license has passed beyond his ; the individual is bound still by the traditions of his youth ; the crowd has forgotten those that in their youth restrained them, and he who would aspire to lead lags miserably behind, and, were Luther come again, he would be treated in the same way. He, too, might hire his arena in the shadow of Kotre Dame's majestic towers, and pour forth his ineffectual eloquence to an audience composed of bigots from the sects and curious from the crowd, who, according to their preconceived opinions, would applaud or criticise, or any thing but follow. But as to the fallible faith that is to save the world, we know what of old happened a youth who, on wings of earthly construction, ventured to soar above the deep ; the world whose safety lies in the empyrean must have supports that were framed in the empyrean.

We cannot tell as yet whether the affairs of Europe and the East have for the time been settled or not. It will be ■well if it prove so ; war is never a thing to be wished for ; and if we have at any time regarded that just ended without a strong desire to see it ended, it was because we hoped that it would eventuate in some great catastrophe for Russia, which could not fail to be of the utmost service to the interests of civilisation and humanity. The matter as now settled is, indeed, in this respect, not settled altogether to our satisfaction. It is satisfactory that England has extended her empire in the East, and that the Holy Land bids fair now to be under a guardianship which will tend to raise it from the abject and miserable position it has so long occupied. "We trust that in a few years the experiences of those who travel there will not contain so miserable a record of beggary, and every description of wretchedness, as we have been accustomed to peruse. It is also satisfactory to see that Austria has in some manner benefitted by the affair.— that is, supposing the occupation or annexation of Bosnia and Herzogovina to be effectually carried out ; but we confess that we have been disappointed with regard to the way in which Russia has issued from the combat. We should have been rejoiced to have seen her beaten even by the Turks ; we should have greatly rejoiced to have seen her strength thoroughly

broken by a contest with England. But, instead of this, she has profitted ; and it is only with regard to her ulterior dishonest views on India that she has been circumvented ; but even for that, slight as is the affection we otherwise cherish toward* him, we shall thank Lord Beaconsfield, if it prove that he has finally been successful. There is only one other point, then, on which we see reason to feel content : it is that Russia has shown out in her true colours, and that now there can be np question pf her being a humane or civilized country as many people chose to believe. They must, indeed, have easily followed the bent of their inclinations who persuaded themselves that the slow torturer, the enduring murderer of Poland, was civilized or humane. But no one can think this now. Kussian atrocities have been worse than Turkish. During the months of May and June, the Bulgarians, Cossacks, and Kussian regulars burned and destroyed ninety-eight villages. They committed the most brutal enormities on the people of these villages ; it was common for them to burn people alive, and there was nothing that ruffians could picture to themselves which they did not execute. A crusade of civilized Europe against this great brutal power that disgraces her would be SLT? i J xt is a crying shame to see that she has in fa <* extended her boundaries.

It is wonderful what men who set out in life with opinions ready made for them, and which worldly wisdom and self-interest oblige them to maintain, can bring themselves to believe and utter in the way of nonsense. The Archbishop of Canterbury speaking at Canterbury m June last expressed himself as foUows :-It was his great prmkge to welcome to the cradle of Anglo-Saxon Christianity those who were engaged in the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever the svm shines, No difficulties greater than those which St. Augustine whTlTr^ \ QS t^ m iQ their P atts - Na * they had blessings which he had not. They stood nearer to the pure Primitive Church tl Z f f he eT6r Stood ' and that S ave them motive power lllT + J e A cartS ° f men that was Probably denied to him." The a hvnT ? T \ itSdf ° n US ia readin 2 this is simply :Is this man a hypocrite or a fool ; which of the two, either he must be ? But on reflection we acknowledge he is not necessarily anything of the kind. SdHmt \ f f infalSe beKefs; Ms anl tastes have led him to chensh them, and every scrap of talent he possesses his hon n es e t w P S ed fc TT ° Te t0 Mm that Ms false beliefs are tr «th. He honestly believes the outrageous stuff he utters. Candour obliges us itarU l?idb S r : ,"* * reqUlreS ' ™ CODfeBS * ~2£» perience wJ n*? ** C ° nCIUSi ° n ° f ° m owa reason and «" Sofn <Z eatGr Up ° n the question raised b r the ArchLeateraL ! g n0 diffi ° UltieS faced Mm and Ms brethren cultT f^ V q ° n aS t0 Whether Jt ma y not be m °re diffi" 1?. I can X^ aga^ adCad ° r dyfng Chris tianity, such as that these tlt7£:T n T< aYG tO deal^h,thanto awaken Christianity But w t'" he V l b ?"t eXiStCd ' * feU the lot ° f Sfc ' *****£ on the XZ tt ™ y. Pat hiS W ° rd :he has laid ifc d0 ™ that nearer £ Z^T*, T* the pr °° f that are are neam toTho « p? "^ that SinCe the An^ lican Bisb °P* probaWv m Pm ' G PnmitiVe Church of the AP°stl^"A P° stl^" tbey have S^«2T PoWer ? toUch Ws than had St. Augustine Let that hai; T T llmftS WHI alloW ' decide this mat ter by the facts 816 reCOrded concerning it. Yen St peop c !Th c anf * ?"*? "* he foUnd there a king and heathen peopie , the queen only was a Christian ; St. Augustine converted the holvhL7t n t\ y ? UChedhisheavt > to}: itwas th * exam Ple of this Son l\ P Ethelberttobegfor baptism. Who is the Anglican nota W rr C °T rfceda MDg7 IS tt not tne other way? was it not a king who made the first Anglican bishop -.-converted him if you Henry v? V^ Cl ' amUer Wb ° followed in the wake <* King Hemy VIII., and not King Hemy VJIL q aiouf/^T 1 ' 0 S ° lt W ° Uld be all the worse ; for *c bishop who would TZZTi T S T aS thOSG ° f that kin^ would P rOTC ***** »ot empowered by a divine creed to "touch" the heart, but by a hellish one to rouse the devil that lurked in awicked man. This is what Lord Macaulay tells us of the archbishop in question-" Cranmer rose into favour by serving Henry in the disgraceful affair of his first divorce ■He promoted the marriage of Anne Boleyn with the king. On a involous pretence, he pronounced that marriage null and void On a pretence, if possible, still more frivolous, he dissolved the ties that bound the shameless tyrant to Anne, of Cleves. He attached himself to Cromwell while the fortunes of Cromwell flourished. He voted for cutting off his head without a trial, when the tide of royal favour turned. He conformed backwards and forwards as the king chanced his mind. While Henry lived, he assisted in condemning to the flames those who denied the doctrine of transubstantiation. When Henry died he found out that the doctrine was false. He was however, not at a loss for people to burn. The authority of his station and of h ls grey hairs was employed to overcome the disgust with which an intelligeut and virtuous child regarded persecution." What power of touching hearts had this man which could prove him nearer

to a " pure primitive Church " than was St. Augustine ? Besides -he was 'the convert of Henry VIII. ; in this instance the king had touched the heart of the bishop. St. Augustine converted the king, and he also converted the people. E thelbert would not force them to become Christians. He left the gospel to work its own way preached by the mouth of St. Augustine. It touched the hearts of the people and they like their king became Christians. What people have the bishops of the Anglican Church converted ? What nation's heart have they touched that proves them nearer to a " pure primitive Church of the Apostles " than was St. Augustine? Did they " convert " even their own land when that dire labour was taken in hand ? Or is it not true what Montalembert says ?—"? — " The Saxon king had learned from the Italian monks that no constraint is compatible with the service of Christ. It was not to unite England to the Eoman Church, ifc was in order to tear her from it, a thousand years after this, that another king and other apostles had to employ the torture and the stake.' From these " other apostles " it is that this Archbishop of Canterbury is descended who tells us to-day that he and his brethren prove by their power to touch hearts, that they stand nearer to a " pure primitive Church " than did St. Augustine. Where are the hearts they have touched. They have gone out into heathen lands backed up by all the power and prestige of mighty England. Not as Augustine came with his poor monks— forty poor men travelling on foot, their only treasure a cross and a picture of the Saviour ; and with solemn chants instead of the sound of a great armament. But what have they done ? Where is the land that was once heathen and that belongs this day to the Anglican Church ? Where are the hearts they have touched? They have not been able to bind to them the hearts acquired for them in their own land ; if they have touched hearts, indeed, it has been to smite and repel them. Body after body has separated from them because they had evidently no power over hearts, and these in their sore need were obliged to turn elsewhere — alas ! that it should have been towards shrines as cold as that deserted by them. We acknowledge that there is a certain power in the Anglican Church, but it is not over hearts. It is the Church of good taste and elegance, of respectability and self-respect, and propriety. But as for hearts, it has but emptiness to offer them.

It would appear that amongst the signs of the times the increase of earthquakes is to be reckoned. Since some time in last year they have been on the increase, and it is believed by competent authorities that they are still destined to increase. The eighteenth centennial of the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii -will occur next year, and we have seen it stated that it is probable this will be celebrated in a most appropriate manner by at least a year of disaster in many places. We do not recollect that anyone has gone so far as to predict that there will be a repetition in these cities' immediate neighbourhood of the tragic and awful scene that took place in the reign of Titus. Some commemorative scene, however, is to take place there, the nature of which we have not had as yet the means of ascertaining, if indeed this has been determined on, and we are rather at a loss to devine what would be the fitting thing to have transacted on the occasion, or what will be the transaction that will actually take place. These cities were heathen ; their citizens worshipped the pagan gods, — they are said to have been particularly devout to, the Egyptian deity, Isis. No Christian ceremonies therefore can be performed in memory of them ; no requiem sung for their eternal rest« But even if it were not so, we greatly doubt if the Italian Government would invite the Church to take part in the contemplated ceremonies. With respect to this very neighbourhood an insult has lately been offered by the Government to the Holy Father ; it has been demanded of him that he should make the appointment of an Archbishop of Naples on the recommendation of the Government, or at least submit the name of the ecclesiastic chosen to their approbation, and on his refusal, that as a matter of course was given, the revenues of the Archiepiscopal See were appropriated by the authorities that be. "A<| good opportunity, therefore, will be afforded of following up this * insult and injury to the Church by a public display of those heathen principles that now prevail. But how will the display be made ? Festivities in these cities of the dead in honour of the terrible catastrophe that overtook them would assuredly be an outrage on good taste, if nothing more, that we can hardly conceive possible at the present stage of society's degeneration in Italy ; it must, we should say, progress a little further for this. We shall probably witness some grotesque solemnities, theatrical processions, and displays of oratory. Perhaps even M. Victor Hugo may be invited from France* if he last so long, to delight all who understand his language and share in his sentiments with a torrent of that spasmodic yelping, which when he speaks replaces the epigrammatic style of his writings. The pirate of Caprera perhaps will also be there to point a moral and adorn a tale, within view of the remains of that society towards which he has so much contributed to lead back the Italians of the nineteenth century. Soms great heathen display ac any rate we expect, and we cannot forget that the men of the " Eeformation" will be to a large extent accountable for it. Such things follow naturally from disturbing the Catholic Church,

A bright day has dawned upon Ireland. Once more in her schools is to be taught the language in which she spoke while she justly bore the title of " Island of saints and scholars." The ancient poetical and eloquently expressive tongue of Ireland is no longer to be suffered to lie dying amongst a remnant of her people, that every year grows smaller in number. The rooting out of the ancient tongue was part and parcel of the system of oppression that for centuries beat down the Irish people. Queen Elizabeth went so far as to forbid that it should be used in the Protestant services introduced for the purpose of overthrowing the Catholic faith. She feared the preservation of the people's nationality, and no doubt relied upon her savage power to crush out the faith without seeking the aid of seduction in pdoing so. She, however, made so much of a concession that she permitted the services of the English Church to be conducted amongst the Irish in Latin, believing that the familiar sound of the language of God's Church would attract the children of the Church out of her bosom into that of a hostile and heretical establishment. It was a notable instance of the wisdom of the wise confounded by the merciful will of heaven, that would preserve to the dragooned people their faith, and that would not permit the tongue in which they had been won to Christ to be turned into a snare to entice them away from the foot of His crona. We have, indeed, more than once heard the memory of the queen loudly blamed by advocates of the " Eeformation " for this short-sighted policy ; and it was undoubtedly a shortsighted policy, although had worldly wisdom guided their pernicious counsels, the kind Providence that blinded them here would have found some other way to defeat their ends. But as for the Latin tongue used in Protestant worship, its effect must have been doubly repulsive. So employed it had no meaning, and could only remind those Catholics, if any there were who heard it, of the true mother from whose fostering care they had been forced or enticed. The hands of the profane Esau would but seem the more rough and violent because they were accompanied by some slight tone of Jacob's holy voice. But now the Irish language has been introduced into the public schools of Ireland, and the children are to be taught once more the accents that all civilized Europe of old associated with holiness and learning. It is a measure full of hope ; perhaps none know this bo well as they who have had an opportunity of observing what the effect of the old tongue was upon those people amongst whom it was preserved ; how refining was the influence of the legends and remnants of poetry that remained expressed by means of it. How the intellect grew brighter under the inflnence of the wise sayings and witty proverbs it contained. The whole man seemed often changed by a change of tongue from the foreign English into his native Irish. People who seemed stupid, dogged, or even half-witted, became as if by magic eloquent and lively.