Current Topics AT HOME AND ABROAD.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 45, 27 February 1885, Page 1

Current Topics AT HOME AND ABROAD.

The Saturday Review has devoted an article to bask Michael Davitr, in relation to the announcement of prejudice, his intention to make a toar abroad. The Review we need hardly say, does not particularly admire Mr. Davitt, and the object of it 3 article seems to be more that of sneering at Irish shortcomings and once more asserting the ground, letroess of Irish hopes than that of doing much to make the man whose career it deals with better or more favourably known to its readers. For if it be true, as the writer says, that a « hardly veiled contempt " for the Irish race is " hereditary among the English working classes," it is no less true that enlightenment among certain higher orders of Englishmen has done nothing to prevent them from sharing in the feeling in question. Or, rather, that it has not prevented them from indulging in a hatred more bitter than contempt and which must degrade them iD the eyes of all just and moderate men. We may remark, moreover, in passing that thia admission made by the Saturday Review serves well as a reply to those people who reproach Irishmen with a hatred of England, and with an unreasonable determination to secure for their country a safe independence of her, for it must be evident that the people who are, possessed by a hereditary contempt of another people can hardly be considered as deserving to hold the reins of Government by which that people is restrained. What, nnder such circumstances, can possibly arise but tyranny and brutality on the one side and suffering and discontent on the other ? The object of the Saturday Review, nevertheless, ia to exhibit Michael Davitt not as the friend of Ireland, but as the visionary whose leadership is ultimately to prevail againEt that of Mr. Parnell, and by means of the labourers, as opposed to the farmers, to succeed in stirring up a counter-agitation to that which has been undertaken by the League, and has already iesulted in some partial success. Tha-Revum sketches Michael Davitt's career from the time when he was taken to England by bis evicted parents at the age of five, flawing in tho accident owing to which he lost an arm an event of vast importance to the Irish people, since without it the agitator might have found occupation for all his energies in manual labour, and not been thrown back upon the workings of his brain. It evidently seems quite reasonable to the Saturday Review that Micbael Davitt Bhould have been imprisoned on any evidence, since it concludes hiai to have been at any Tate a Fenian. It does not dare to question his solemn assertion that he had been convicted on the oath of a perjurer with whom he had never in his life been brought face to face until he found himself accused by him in a court of justice. The Iruth of this assertion the Saturday Revi&v does not attempt to deny, bnt neither does it utter one word of condemnation of the system under which such an event could take place. In the eyes of the writer all that was needful evidently was that a presumed Fenian should be punished on the oath true or false of whomsoever it might "be, and here again we have a vivid illustration of English justice towards Ireland, as well as a reason for every attempt that Ireland can make to escape from the bonds in which sbs is bound. The whole history of the informer system is contained in this method of dealing with the matter used by the Saturday Review, as well as the assurance that so long as Dublin Castle exists so long will that < detestable system be maintained and justified. — The men whose interest it is that Ireland should continue to be ground down into the dust, or whose disgraceful, even if hereditary, contempt for her makes them rejoice to see her so treated, outrage with regard to her all those Iranditions of which the Briton elsewhere makes his boast, violating, for example, the spirit of the law of England that holds every man innocent until he be proved guilty, They hold the accused Irishman guilty from the first and bring in their bribed perjurer to prove him so.—ls it, then, to be wondered at if Irishmen abhor English justice and deride it as a foul hyprocrisy and lie 1 The Saturday Review, however, goes on to picture Michael Davitt as disgusted with the conduct of the Irish farmers, who it says, with the the word of a bitter enemy, have refused to allow the labourers to participate,*!* they themselves reap greedily, as, moreover, irretrievably divided from Mr. Parnell, and his party, and

holding the parliamentary campAy in deriaion.-And so much of this is true, we know, that Davitt advocates the nationalisation of the land, rather tbWthe establishment of a peasant proprietary, in which impossible' adrocacy we bslieve him to be mistaken.-He also has told n t jit in his opinion there may be profitable occupation for the t.j* Jatriot outside the walls of Parliament.— But between all this ar^r** course marked out for him by the Saturday Revwro there i*a 7 ; , , c chasm over which' we have no reason to believe that he desir^^. cross. The Review describes him as anxious to play the part of . evolutionary leader, and, by means not only of the Irish popuUefijjfobufc that also of England and Scotland, to secure the triumph ».\ xtreme rationalism which he hag at heart.— The writer concludes I ,[ asserting that his future career is uncertain.—" He may die of oonsvinption or end his days on a barricade."—But let us ask, granting jAicbael Davitt to be a man or the dangerous type described by the Saturday Review, and that it is probable he may at length moun 1 : a barricade as a revolutionary leader, why it isso certain that he frould die there.— Have barricades never been used with success, and a event of a rerolution'j breaking out among the populace of the fbree Kingdoms is it most certainly condemned to failure.— The signs of the times, at least, so far as they point to the possibility of a revolution at all give us room for doubts.— Meantime there is no man. who seems more unlikely to become tha leader of aa unsuccessful revolution than Michael Davitt.— There is no man who appears to be less bent on a resolute self-assertion, and any unreasonable pursuit of his own ideas, to the overthrow of more moderate courses.— The Saturday Review misjudges the man as those who are in the midnight darkness of inveterate prejudices must always misjudge.

Among the various telegrams received within the A sbbiods last week or so from Europe there came the somequestion. what astonishing one that Government did not

propose to withdraw any of the troops quartered in Ireland lest a rising should occur there.— This is a telegram, it seems to us, that may be read by Jrishmeu with some slight feelinga of pride, forsurely they must belong to a formidable people if, even on an Imperial emergency , it is necessary to ie am a large force in the country to keep them in order when they are armed with shillelaghs only.— Were our Paddies ths masters of rides and revolvers what could, restrain them ? Or even had they nothing better than the traditional ' pikss themselves could they not still make their mark ? The consideration, meantime, arises as to what may be the position in which Lord Wolseley finds himself, for, if it takes aa overwhelming British army to keep a totally, unarmed pejple in subjectioa, we may fairly question as to whether a much smaller number of men are able to encounter the warlike and fanatical Arabs armed with the weapons of their tribes and in using which they are so skilful and so strong that it is said a single thrust from a spear in the hands of one of them will despatch a lion. But then, of course, the Saxon foe would face the Arabi with a good conscience whereas, in holding his ground to over-awe the Irish people, conscience must make a coward of him. It must positively be his knowledge of the evil cause he supports in Ireland that makes the difference and therefore we may have some hopes for the eventual success of the expedition to the Soudan. But it may further be questioned as to the part that Ireland is destined to play in aiding or hampering the undertakings of the Imperial Government. The war ia the Soudan, as yet, is but a comparatively trifling campaign ; there are certainly possibilities attached to it that may be looked upon with fear and apprehension, but it is blbo quite within the bouuds of possibility that the end sought for may be attained to without encountering the graver issues that are to be dreaded. In case, however, that things reach the extreme ; in case a long and exhausting war has been -begun to be fought to the bitter end among these burning deserts and requiring continued reinforcements, or, in the still graver, and yet quite possible event, that further complications may arise and that other nations may tjike advantage of England's embarrassment to enter upon courses that she cannot afford to overlook— what is the effect of Irish disaffection to be upon the condition of the empire? Will ifc still be necessary, or if necessary, will it be possible for England to keep a large force in idleness to watch the unarmed Irish peasantry ? Must the determination, in short, to persevere' in the

resolution to refuse to Ireland the full measure of jefstice she demands result in endangering the whole standing of the empire and paving the way for disaster and destruction ? The question is a grave oneahd well worthy of consideration, and that the necessity for asking and answering it exists, we may perceive from the contents of the telegram to which we allude. — An army engaged ia fighting the wind but absent from the battle-field on which real battles were fought might make a very serious difference. Is it wise to support misgovern ment at such a risk 1

• The offers of assistance given by Canada to Eng-MOEB-f land in the matter of the Soudan war would seem discontent, to prove that the colonies in question are as fuil Of

loyalty as that in which we ourselves have the happiness of dwelling [as well as its Australian sisters. It would never be guessed from these enthusiastic offers that it was but the other day that a leader among Canadian statesmen, a man who is a E.C.M.6., aud had served as Cabinet Minister for years, delivered' a speech in Montreal before an applauding and respectable audience gravely blaming English rule in Canada and advocating separation. We would by no means care positively to explain the readiness with which Canadians are coming forward as volunteers for the Soudan campaign as in any degree due to the fact that, owing, to English misgovernment, the affairs of the country are such as men might be glad to escape from, even for a time, since in our own colonies an' equal readiness has been shown or promised without any such reason But Sir Bichard Cartright to whom we refer certainly painted the effects of English rule in very sombre colours— and yet we should have supposed that, had any man been inclined to be enthusiastically loyal to the English crown, it must have been the son of an Anglican clergymm educated at Trinity College, Dublin, for Sir Eichard Cartright, although born in Canada, was sent there to pursue his University course, and, doubtless drank deep of the spirit of the place Nothing, in short but stern facts forcing themselves on the attention of a man so educated, and of such a career, could have induced him to make the exposure he made, and to put forward the views he advanced. Taxation, according to his statement, from being 18 years ago half that of the United States has advanced to be its double. Pauperism has increased, while the population at best stands still — losing, however, ia Oatario, where that of school age has decreased during the last four years by 11,000. It has also notably decreased during the last three years in Manitoba— that excellent province whither philanthropists have been anxious to eend the Irish people. But immigr .tion into Canada generally has been a vain undertaking for oE 342,000 arrivals there in the last ten years ninety thousand only remained in the country, The poor Irish, nevertheless, would have found it difficult to make their way out of Manitoba and would iudubitably have perished there, for the most part, miserably. So much for the benevolence, or atbtstthe wisdom, of those who are philanthropically inclined towards them. Capital had followed the population, added Sir Richard, the rich had become licher and tbc poor poorer, penury and wretchedness being the lot of the bulk of the people. There were robbery and corruption and ia every shape the fruits of misgpvernment and the only cure for all was the building up of an independent nationality. Kir llichard Cartright spake too with bis eye upon England's undertaking in Egypt and the Soudan. As reported by the Montreal Daily Post, he concluded his speech as follows. — He declared amidst cheers that '• England neglected every reasonable opportunity to leconcile the people of the United States to the English people, and that England is neglecting the opportunity to conciliate the people of Ireland at the present.moment. Either of these great things is worth doiDg a hundred thousand times more than anything England can gain in Egypt, or in the Soudan, or ia South Africa. I don't conceive, 1 he said, 'that our position is altogether a hopeful one. In our present relation with England we are neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring, and I don't think it is well for us to have the poweTa of government without the responsibilities. I think it is becoming morally and materially injurious to us that our present position lowers us to a considerable extent in the eyes of foreigners and of our own people. Although this may be called sentiment, yet it is a sentiment which had a great deal to do with the loss to the nation which we all so deeply deplore. In my judgment the situation is critical. In my judgment the situation may soon become serious if the remedy be not soon applied. I advise you not to be over sanguine or disappointed. I would not despair, but I cannot help seeing that there are enormous faults and enormous mischief. I cannot help seeing the moral deterioration going on in our country, and I think the situation is one in which no small amount of self-sacrifice is likely to be demanded of these who wish well of their country.' " In the face of all this, therefore, we may reasonably be permitted to inquire whether the Canadian contingent in volunteering for the Soudan does so induced altogether by a pure patriotism, or with the hope' of escaping from a wretched position at home—

We may again perceive that there are men bssides the Irish nationalists who, owing allegiance to the English crown, are not content to sit down in silence and see their country suffer fro on English misrule:— And in conclusion whatever may be England's interest in Egypt 'or the Soudan, we agree with Sir. Richard Cartright in his opinion that there are greater interests in which she is still more deeply concsrned but which, with a strange fatuity, she continues to neglect or even to outrage. It should meantime- rather be tke province of those who wish her well to bring this fact into prominence, so that the evil may be rectified, than to endeavour, as for the most part they do, to perpetuate it by misrepresentation. A few more men, of Sir. Eicbard Cartright 's standing and of equal frankness, would prove of much advantage to the stability of the Empire.

A.MONO the great services rendered by the monks to A art is to be reckoned the perfecting and introducing WONDERFUL into general use of the organ, Cassiodoru9, a monk of invention, the sixth century, according to Montalembert,

being the o'.dest as well as the most exact describer of the instrument. — The hiatoriau also mentions that Elphege abbot of Winchester in the Teuth Century built the largest organ spoken of in medieval annals and which it took seventy men to manage.— lt is interesting, therefore, tj learn that it was a priest of the last century with whom tbc idea originated which has resulted in the latest improvement applied to the organ and which, as we find it described in the last number of Musical (Jjpinwn, seems 'to be a very marvelous invention. — It offers, at least, a complete contrast with the management of Abbot Elpbege's instrument for it enables one man to perform on two instruments at the same time.—" About the middle of the last century," says Mmical Opinion, " a parish priest of Nivernais, Jean-Baptist; Labordu, coaceived the idea of applying electricity to key-board instruments. A century later Barker, aided by Peschaud, a barrister, who was himself assisted by an able electrician, realized the priest's dream by constructing the large organ of the church of St. Augustin, at Paris." — The construe • tion of the instrument in question we are, however, told was no t sufficient to cause any lasting sensation and it remained for a French firm, that of M. Merklin and Co., to employ electricity in such a manner as quite to alter the method of organ-building, as well as of performance on the instrument. — According to the system of M, Merklin, the organ may be erected in any way that is most euitable to the church, and played from any position where it ia convenient to fix the organist's desk.— Two organs, moreover, may as we said, be managed by the same performer, and played simultaneously or at different times as it is found suitable : — " These various advantages," says the writer from whom we quote, are fully .displayed in th c church of St. Nizier, Lyons : for this M. Merklin is constructing an organ of forty-three stops, to which the electro-pneumatic system, over which he alone has control in Fiance, is being applied. — This organ, which is approachiDg completion, will possess three separate and independent key-boards and a pedal, capable of combi. nation, and able to be united at will, all being provided with stop-knobs, combination pedals, and couplers (on a central stand in the middle of the choir stalls, behind the high altar).— One of the key-boards will answer to the stops of the choir, and act as an accompaniment organ, aud will be distributed in equal parts under the arcades formed by the colonnade which surrounds the choir. — The other key -boards will command the stops of the great, swell? and pedal organs, wnich will be placed in the gallery above the principal entrance, a distance of about 244 feet. Thus the problem is solved — since this organ will shortly be in working order — of having two organs in a single instrument, two organist, in one— now acting as accompanist, and now as one of the orchestra ." — The cost» moreover, of the instruments will be simply that of the ordinary organ with the addition of some two or three shillings a year for the electric battery. — It may, again be asked whether the distance from each other of the various parts may not affect the hearing, — " To answer this question, it is only requisite to bear in mind the delay necessary for tie transmission of the movement of the key-boards to the valves and for the return of the sound — from the point of departure to the point of arrival. Now the electricity travels about 129,000 miles in a second. That being' so, I take it that the time necessary to admit of the current to pass from the key-board at one extremity of the cathedral to the case of the organ at the other extremity would be quite inappreciable. What shall we say as to the return of the sound to the organist's ear ? This will be less rapid, but the speed of sound in the air at a medium temperature* is about 1101 feet a second, so that it would require less than the third of a second to traverse 872 feet, which may be mathematically, but certainly not musically, appreciable, and I challenge the most practised ear to detect the least inaccuracy in the measure." — The invention is truly a wonderful one and not the least interesting fact connected with it, as we said, is that of the idea's having originated with a Catholic ecclesiatic, one of that class of men to whom the world owes. most in both art aud science, but whom with as much ignorance as ingratitude, let us hope, it accuses of retarding progress