Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 26, 27 October 1893, Page 1

Current Topics

A1 HOME AND ABROAD.

The funny man of our contemporary the Napier FIBALD Evening News, who eoeß by the name of *• CurmudBALDEBDASH. geon, 1 " plays the part of a mistaken Betsy Prigg towards the devil. He, though possibly without being in hie cups, gives us to understand that there "ain't no sitch a person." Our funny friend is quite convulsed with laughter, and his guffaw might be heard from one end of en Australian gum forest to the other if he were only mounted on a stump there. The subject of onr funny friend's mirth is a report lately published by the Liverpool Catlwlio Times, and quoted by us two or three weeks ago, respecting a case of exorcism whtch recently occurred at Gif, in the diocese of Versailles. Our funny friend, of coarse, is mightily tickled by the matter. Monßignor Goux, B shop of Versailles, and all his priests, who can ho.d their own, nevertheless, among the freetbiokers of the chief centre of freethought. are a fit object of mockery for a hilarious penny-a-liner in Napier. Perhaps Dr Charcot would be glad of the services of oar funny friend at the Salpetriere. He, at leas f , acknowledges that there are cases there which his science is not able to explain ; but our funny friead, " Curmudgeon," knows all abiut i', and a great deal more besid>s Oar funny fnen", nevertheless, is obliged to call in the aivi of an enlightened publication named the Humanitarian to put him up to the s»ate of things in the "dark ages." Tba', of course, according to the Humanitarian was most ridiculous. Supposing, for example, our funny friend and the Humanitarian bad to do with the devil, they would treat him very differently. Ihey would, perhaps, use a short spoon instead of the traditional loneone, and find themselves in very good company. But in the •• dark ages," the ages of 8t Thomas of Aquin, and Dantr, and Thomie li X mpis, and many others whose works or whose memories will last while the world endures, men were all idiot?, and only knew how to deal with theirdevil idiouc^l y. The pretended quotation of the Humanitarian from the form of exorcism, we need hardly say, is the impudent invention of some would-be wit, some penny-4-liner most probably in want of trash for fools to grin at. Our fi nuy friend adds a word of his own as to the eff ct on the insane of the assumed action of the clergy, and let us at leaßt admit tnat, though he mny err as to the madmen nf the pis', there are the best reasons why he may be taken as an authority concerning the " cranks " of the present. But our funny friend is not done *ith it He go»s on, by the aid of one Rev Dr Momerie, to make an ht ack on the paints of the Catholic Chuich— every one of whom, he says, ' confused naetiness with piety." Does our funny friend borrow his lie from Dr Momene, or is it uf his own invention ? Our funny friend, whether by his own presumptuous ignorance or that of the Rev Dr Momerie we cannot distinguish, eccuses the clergy of encouraging dirt among the people by their preachirg, and c insequeotly of breeding pestilence. Be seems, moreover, to confound together the black death and the great plague of London — one of which took place in the fourteenth and the other in the seventeenth century — one in tl c reign of Edward 111 , the other in that of Cnarles H.—aod ■gain accuses the clergy of the mischief. But the Catholic clergy in the reign of King Edward 111. were as they have been in tbe reign of Queen Vicoria. In our own time they have neither brought on pestilence by their encouragement of dirt, nor increased it by iheir fanatic denunciations. They have braved it everywhere to bring comfort and relief to the sufferers. As a matter of fact, acknowledged even by their enemies, in medieval England 'be clergy were closely engaged in the care of the Bick, and notably in that of the leprous — whose condition was as revolting as that of any victim of the plague, and hardly less dangerous in contact. But let us not be too bard on our funny friend. He necessarily takes up the tone of Betsy Prigg. The existence of such a person as the devil could not possibly be admitted by our contoaiparary the Nervs— so smirkingly civil all round, «o obstqmons— in every direction where obsequiousness is payable.

AT a meeting of tbe Congregational Cuurch held AN impossible last week in Danedin, the Rev J. Gibb, of the Presunion. byterian First Church we presume, delivered himself of some very profounl sentiments. The rev gentleman quite despairs, it would seem of the Catholic Church, of which he thinks nothing whatever can be made while she continues in communion with the See nf Rome, or, as hia reverence eleg^ntlr expresses, or is reported as expressing it, "synonymous with Vaticanism." We must confess, however, that tbe rev J. Qibb it tolerably correct in bis guess- The Catholic Church is sure to stand apart, separate from all so-called churches, until tbe day of judgment and the sound of the Archangel's trumpet will find her in communion with the See of Rome. With the Rev J. Gibb's sentimeHts respecting the Church of England we must also in wme degree concur, Her tradiion of Apostolical succession certainly is, as tbe rev gentleman say?, a figment. We do no', however, know that her assumption of superiority over other Protestant churches is, as the rev gentleman claims, an arrogant assumption. In a social point of view tbe Church of England undoubtedly has advantages that those other bodies do not possess. She is, moreover, associated with more renowned sea's of learning, has produced more eminent scholars— and takes a higher standing from the venerable cathedrals and ancient churches she first plundered and then preserved for her own uses. The men of the Anglican Church may thank their forefathers that they were not so brutal as those of the Scotch Presbyterians, The Church of England, for sonn three or four hundred years, has had decided advantages over the Scotch Kirk, and cannot oow be c vertaken by ber. We can understand the Rev J. Gibb's claim that there is nothing, or khould be nothing, to preveut a nnion of the Presbyterian, Congregational, and Wesleyau Ohurchee. So far as doctrine is concerned, probably ministers themselves cannot tell why they stand apart. The R'v J. Gibb, for example, does not seem to know wh«t i 9 to be made of the symb >1 of his particular Churchthat is tbe Wistminster Confession. Of tbe faith that is in the Wesley an body we ma,y p issibly ]ulge from the jargon of stale Rationalism delivered at tbeir conference la«t year, and wbi<;b appeared not very distasteful to roost of them. It is, moveover, a 1 ttle remarkable that, in proposing a political alliancu of these sects, the Rev J. Gibb made an exception of the only purely religious point mentioned by himt He said that on the questioo of the Bible in schools they would probably differ. It is io the blooi of Protestantism, in fact, to differ oo religious points, and it c.innot be at one with itself where they nre concerned. Another speaker at th s meeting WiS the Rev Mr Dutton. The rev gentleman in qaestion expressed himself in a very remarkable manner. ''He would," he said, ' have every millionaire arrested on su«pic on of having n> lawful visible means of support, an i called upon to explain how it came about that in the midst of so much miteiy he bad amassed co much wealth." Madame An'oinette Sterling, before she started from Sydney, exhorted her hearerb to barn down every house of ill- ame in the city bpfore her return — and then she catno to Chns'chnrch and saw a ghost 1 We hope that tb« Rdv Mr Dutton may never see anything morse than himpelf. It is, meantime, sustentive to find th»t at this meeting f he Catholic Church was slighted. Wherever folly and vani y go together sha is lightly esteemed.

We do not find that Professor Tnorold Rogers, for tub black example, who is an autboiity anything rather than death. favourable to the Catholic Church or her clergy, and whose testimony must be taken as that of an enemy, attributes to the influence of religion any aggravation of the Black Death. Oo the contrary he mentions one caie in which tbe cleanliness of a churchman bad resulted in mitigating its effects. The Black Death, he sajs, is alleged to have had its origin in the EMt where nearly every infectious or contagious disease appears to ! aye arisen. Nor does the writer seem to think that the uncleanltness of the people had much to do with tbe mater. " The period just before the plague,"he stys "was one of prosperity and abundance; and though our forefathers were immeasurably unclean la their h*bitg and borrouodicgp, and remained unclean for centuries afterwards, tbe best conditions of life do not appear to have given an immunity from tbe plague." "The Black Daatb," adds the writer, (< visited

Christ Church, Canterbury, very lightly for a century before the prior had laid on pure water from the nil l to the monastery." That the members of the priesthood were not wanting to the people in their distress we may gather from the fact that " the disease made havoc among tha secular and regular clergy, " three Archbishops of Canterbury dying of i' ia the first year. The frame of mind doe to the pestilence, we may add in conclusion, scums hardly that derived from listening to penitential sermons: — " Ibe novelist B >ccacio dwells on the effect which the mortality caused ia the character ot the survivors, and how panic or despair made men callous, reckless, ■operatitious, heartless, cruel, and licentious ; and Sismondi, in hie great history of the French peeple, and of the Italian Republic?, has collected contemporaneous evidence to the same effect." Our quotations are taken from " Six Centuries of Work and Wages " p p 219 to 224.

The periodical trudging abroad of fish-wives to cry DITTO AND "No Bishop "is still in full swing. We have given DITTO an echo of the roar in our column?, but all oar BEPEATED. space would not suffice for half the reverberations. We must cut it short whether we will or not. There are leaders acd correspondence and the efforts of funny men But let us, for example, take local extremes. The Auckland Star mputes it as a grave fault to Bibhop Grimes that he does not know a word about fair electors. The lavercargill Times imputes it aa a grave fault to Dr Moran that he understands them all too well. The Star says the women do not care a fig for the one Bishop ; the Times says that they aie the slaves of the other. Each of our contemporaries thinks that be himself can read the mind of the fair elector as if it were an open book. The northern lu ninary says that she will not use her power to carry out the fads and schemes of any extremist ; the southern luminary relies upon her to bring about Bible reading in the schools. Our northern contemporary, however, is far too ixpansive in his views and far too deep for us to comprehend him, He sees a broad wave echoing around the world, on which woman stands like Venus emerging from the foam . Can it be a wonder if conceit of bis discernment has a little affected his manners, and made him presumptuous and rather rude? Our southern contemporary is much less expansive and profound but, then, he is ever so much more canny. He is not the man, like Dr Moran, to nail his colours to the mast and go straight on full sail towards an all-important end. He will keep his colours easiiy moveable, and dodge them op and down, as it suits his purpose. He will arrive at the end if he cm do bo cannily. He is not consciously dishonest — but he sees the advantage of remaining on good terms with the mammon of unrighteousness. Our southern contemporary, we may remark in passing, seenoß to mistake Dr Moran's meaning in his Lordship's comment on the labour party. It was not the cause of labour, but the particular action of the party th*t the Bishop condemned. He certainly meant to express no disapproval of the co-operative system, to which our contemporary especially refers. And if this systtm, as our contemporary arguep, engenders a spirit of dependence in the minds cf the labouring clas°, is it not still to be preferred to the system of secular education, which engenders suuh a spirit also in the minds of well-to-do people 1 However, our space is limited, we cannot echo all the cry. The profundity of our Auckland contemporary, though on some points it contrasts with the caoniness of our contemporary in Invercargill, has still a good deal io common with it. The echo, in short, ot the fishwives' traditional cry must still be ditto and duto rt petted.

If we are to judge by the condition of ibiogs at 'ABBY AND UI3 Mr Fish'd meeting the other night ia Dunjdin, UIBL. the excellent effects of the women's franchise have not yet shown themselves. We are not prepared, of our own motio°, to say positively tbat any other effects of the female franchise showed tLemselveß on the occasion. It may be suppose), n ver heless, that the young men in the corner, shared the ordinary lot of coloaial youth, or, indeed, of 'Arry anywhere, and bad eac^i his 'girl." Is it outrageous then to arg'ie that every knight carried his Jady'd colours, at least in his mind's eye, and tilted in her cause. If we are to believe the Auckland Star, everyone who is not convinced thit tha female franchise holdß a chief place in the thoughts of every female in the Colony, is as blind as a bat, and as stupiei as an owl. Therefore it is prudent for us to conclude that thit uproarious corner was, at auy rate in spirit, as much fern i!e as it was male. The day, perhaps is approaching when such a corner may be materially co. Ia passing, we may point to the testimony borue by such an unmannerly, and, as it is hinted, vena', mob of juveniles to the m'>ral influences of tbe godless schools. We find, meantime, tbat Mr Fish has no more perception than has Bishop Grimt-s of that great wave that echoes around the world with woman emerging from its luam. Mr Fish also says that in his belief the maj jrity of the women of the Col ny did not want tbe franchise. Let us, in conclusion, be thankful even for small mercies. Women are not yet qual:fLd to serve as Parlia-

mentary representatives, though their d*y is probably not far off. How would it have been, for example, had a woman stood in Mr Fish's place, when one of the corner lads addressed him as "You cunning old dog ?" If however, we think any scandal concerning the meeting in question where fair electors are concerned, we must escape the censure passed by the Auckland Star on all who are capable of harbouring such an idea aa that women are not one and all passionately devoted to their new lights and privileges. We are bound, according to our Auckland contemporary, to believe that every yonth in that corner was most warmly congratulated by his " gul," on relating his exploits to her. Seli-defence, in a word, leaves us no o'ber course than to admit that the effects of the female franchise really were in evidence. Larnkinism certainly was so in a very disgraceful manner.

8t Antony is one of the stints whom "Cnrmudgeon" st Antony, in the Napier Newt brings forward as a lover of dirt. " Cnrmudgeon " quotes the authority of St Athan> asius. We have not at hand the Ufa of St Antony written by St Atbanasius, but we have copiouß extractß from it translated by Dr Newman. We fiid in them no suggestion of anything of the kind. Here is an example. "He (St Antony) was the more earnest in chastising his body and bringing it into subjection, lest triumphing in some things, in others be might be brought low. His vigils were often through the whole night. He ate but once in the day, after sunset ; sometimes after two days, often after four ; his food wai bread and salt — his drink water only. He never had more than a mat to Bleep on, but generally lay down on the ground. H« put aside oil for anointing, saying that the youthful ought to be forward in their asceticism, and, insteid of seeking what might relax the body, to accustom it to hardships, remembering the Apostle's words— ' When lam weak, then am I powerful.' " Of the person formed in such a school here is a picture :— " His countenance had a great and extraordinary beauty in it. Tais was a gift from the Savionr ; for, if he was in company with a number of monks, and any stranger wished to have a sight of him, directly that he came to them, he would pass by the res , and run to Antony, as being attracted by oil appearance. Not that he was taller or larger than others, but there was a peculiar composure of manner and purity of soul in him. For being unruffled in soul, all his outward expressions of feeling were free from perturbation also ; so that the joy of his sonl made his very face cheerful, and from the gestures of the body might be understood the composure of his soul, according to the texf, 'A glad heart maketh a cheeiful countenance ; bat by grief of mind the spirit is cast down. 1 Thus Jabob detected Laban's treachery, and said to his wivep, ' I see your father's countenance, that it is not towards me as yesterday.' Tbu3 Samuel too discovered David ; for be had beaming eyes and teeth white as milk. In like manner one might recognise Antony, for he was never agitated, bis soul being in a deep calm — never cnan?ed countenance, frum his inward joyfulness." Finally of the Bdint's intellectual powers the following passage, relating bis answer to certain heatben philosophers who came to jeer at his ignorance of literature, will inform U9 :— " Aotooy said to them, ' What do you say ? which is prior, the mmd or letters 1 And which gives rise to which, mind to letters, or letters to mind?' When they answered that mind was prior, and invented letters, Antony replied) ' Hp, the, whose mind is in health, does not need letters.' This answer struck all who were present, as well as the philosophers. They went away surprised that an uneducated man should show such understanding. For, indeed, he had nothing of the wildness of one who bad lived and grown oil on a mountain ; but was po'ished in bis manners and a man of the world " (Church of the Fathers p p 184 to 217). We learr, nevertheless, from '' Curmudgeon," that there is one Rev Dr Momene who has to say of St Antony only that he had dirty feet. Similar remarks made by his reverence concerning other saints may be taken as equally valuable. But as for those heathen philosophers " Curmudgeon," had be been there, could bavt entertained them for hours with the most brilliant literary sallLs His mind comes a long way after the ABC.

That gushing specimen of Kaow-nothingisnij the keokuk " U'ysses," who writes an American letter for the dust-caut again. Dunedin Evening Star has lost the hopes he had foolishly founded on the mission of Monsignor Satolli. Consequently he sends his paper a rigmarole of very melancholy views as to the altitude and influence on education of the Catholic Church in America. The rigmarole contains the claptrap proper to the sect to which the writer belongs and is unworthy of further notice. The opinions of a Know-nothing must necessarily go for what they are worth. We find, meantime, in glowing contrast with the croakingsof Know-nothingism, ihat co brilliant has been the success of the pupils of Catholic schools io recent competitive examinations held in New York, public attention has been forcibly attracted to it. Mr Joseph Howard, for example, a (.romimnt member of the secular Press of tbat city, accounts for it as follows: — "The nason for this remarkable showing is easily explained. Tbe teachers in the Catholic tchools are inspired by a higher motive than

(rain. The greater number of ihem belong to religious orders, and have been specially educated (or the vocation of tei chiDg. Personally, they receive no salaries ; the money they get from some parishes goes into the com anon fund of their order, which cares for their absolute necessities and provides them with » home. They possess not a penny which they call thur own. Living according to a strict daily rule themselves, it io only natural that they should command order in their class-rooms Political inflnnce has no'hing to do with their appointment. Kxperienced judges pass upon their capacity, and lltce them in the pphere where they will do the most «ffi>ctive s rvice. " Po mucH, therefore, for the opinions propounded by the Know-nothing correspondent of the Star. As to his "ficte" and assumed quotations, they may be appraised by the exposure we made of him a few months ago with respect to the attitude towards education of the Archbishop of San Franci-co. Even from a KnowLothinp, nevertheless 1 , and a congenial panderer to the needs of the unholy alliance represented by the Dunedin Star, we may learn a useful lesson. Here is an open expression of the hope of the league of Satan against the Church :— " Our hope is that another geni>ration of Catholic children, taught in the public schools, will turn the tide against Borne for ever." We may learn from this hope of the leagua — formed, in the bonds of a consistent S*<an, of ihe atheist, the freethinker, the Jew, and the fervent Evangelical— the absolute necessity that exists for Catholics to mako thd education question the first interest of all, and to surrender not one hair's breadth in connection with it. That is the me useful i-crap, and doubtless it is of sufficient imjortance, to be picktd from this heap of rubbish.

The excellent results obUinr-d m Catholic schools CATHOLIC are aloo oace more made evident by the recent EDUCATION. Intermediate Ex unina-ions in Ireland Tlie Dub in Freeman once more »-tp>ita the sociess of the Catholic competitors -.—"Almost all of the cjvetei prizep, at least in the boya' department," says our contemporary, ' have falen to thrm. A Catholic student is first in each of ths thre j gra<es. IntheS-nior

Grade the special gold mednl9 for English, cl ■ssic^, ma hjuuthics, and modern languages bavd all fallen to Catholic btudents Tues" are some, and only somo, of the m .st reraa ka l >le of the Catholic ■ocoessea." In allading to individual students the Fret man assigns the palm of distinction to Master Andrew R?a . of the Chns:ia'i B others' College, Cork. "He has not oaly g -iae I firs pi u:e in the Sinior Grade, bu', even still more remark ible. he rus obtained the gold m.-dals both in classics and mithematics, in a 1 Uiion to the gold medal for the highest score. This unique distinction r f ft c a the highest credit on the tetching staff of the Ch-is'ian College, Cork, and attach is tha highest promise to the future of the student bim•clf." Bt Colman's College, Ptjtmoy, has also obtained fine results. 'Jwoof its students won, respec ively, the first place in tbe Middle and Junior Grades ; another of thtm won the fourth place ia the Junior Grade, and two otters Buike Memorial irzs. Tbe pupil* of the Jusuits of Clonjtowes Wood have alsodis inguit-hed themselves, winning first place in the Preparatory Gra<ie, and second place respectively in the Senior end M.ddle Giudee. •' Besides the gold medal won lor Englit-h by Master Conioy in the Senior Grade, we notice that Clongowea Wood has secured many other bi^h exnibitioas. The success of Blackroek College if, as usual, con-p cuous. The gold medal for modern languages in the Senior Grade and tbe English medal in the Middle Grade have been won by its pupils. Two students of the Cbiistian Brothers' pch ol , Noith Richmond street, have obtained second and third places iv the Juuior Grade, a distinction which is only the moat nouble of a wenes attributable to tbiß admirable institution." The Cah lie g'rl»' schools aie also well tv the front " Thug, in the MiddleGiade the trold medal for Kntlnjh aod, we bolieve. the first place l i the grade have been Btcure<i by Miss Mary A. Barnaville, of the Domini an Convent, K cries htreet. The Loretto and Ursuline nunp, ami the oher teaching OkUtp, have aUo well sustained their repu anon." In the face oi ml this evidence, therefore, what becomes of the vapounrgn of imp-dent Kuowuotbinge, and panderers to a league of Satan ?

'lwo of the Dunei'in ministers h«vo made a stnsaA doubtful tional display. Their reverences have copied, with sensation. some moaificatio 1, an example set them two or three years ago by a minister in New York. That divine limaelf, in propria persona, made a t ur of the liquor and gambling sa'oons, and other infamous haunts of the city, and then described his experiences in a svrtea of sermons. These ministers in Dunedin tell us that they had contemplated personal exploration, but, on reflection, found thtmaalves hardly equal to the tusk, partly, if r.ot chiefly, it would seem, because they did rot feel '• cute " enough to undertake it with success. They therefore employed a detectiv. , and set him to work in their s'ead. The details collected by this individual, we trust without any sacrifice of personal integrity, or partakirg in the orgies for the laudable purpose of exposing then » are very full. The city, indeed, appears to be teaming with vice undtr nil ita shapes, fifty per ceut of our men, and fi»e per c nt of our married men taking part in it. The ministerp throw all the blame on the hotels, and accuse even thrsi of the trade who »re most mpectable of conniving at the infamy. But rev ministerp, in many instance*, seem fieed from the obligations of the commandment that forbids a man to bear false wiinew against his neighbour. That they should cast oil tbe bonds when it is necess-ry to defend thtmselves from blame is only to be expected. Who, in fact, more than themselve* is in fault— that is, according to their own showing 1 They have a gospel and a power of preaching, they profe*p, which c n reform and Tivfy the world. Have they, therelore, refrained Irom a due exercise cf thtir Ministry ? They have, at least, ukan a leading part in that league of Fatan by which the young are deprived of religious teachin». at.d they ' ;.ve done so by virtue of the common bond, enmity towards the Catho'ic CMnch. Instigated by tLi->, they have joined in the crjwd be^otte.i of Sitm hi a lei by atheistic Jews, and embracing men of every t-hade of an'i-Cathohc opinion. Let these iev ministers examine their own conscience as w»ll as that of the hoe'.keeperH. And «hat now is thur remedy? The formation of something they call a •' Civic Church "tnhllnpa torch to vie» and

make it glarmg as well aa general. Ti.eir ' Civic Church" will prove i\e egregious a failuie im their Evangelical Church has proved. No good came in New Ycik of tbe di-play made there by the sensational preacher to whom we have leferred ; n- r will any good come in Dunedin of the strnation to which we particularly al ude. Something, nevertheless, might be done to stem the tide i f , instead of a no sensical nondescript ''Chic Chuicb," a league were formed against the gjdless schools. The dcv.l, however, cc they say, can take care of las owo. The league of Satan is tuo strong for that.

Among the quotations or the concoctions contained grinning in the Keokuk dust-cart it one which purports to matter give a pessimistic view of the position and moral FOB the jkw. condition of Catholics in America, as taken by * Mr Elder who read a paper at tne Chicago Congress. We notice, however, that, in this quotation or concoction, Catholics are not mentioned os partaking especially in the filth of the nation — in the adulttTous ranks o( the divorced Ur example. That, as it wou d s<em, is reserved for piou9 gentry of the Evangelical stamp :— 'As the scope of th« law [of divorce],' 1 says a writ, r in the North American, Itcvitw, vis Ult.e by little enlarged, an increasing number st» k and obtain divorcee, and after a while it bfComeß a peifecily respectable thing to contract what might be termed i xpeni&eutal marriages, lv the West, especially, Bocu-ty receives back divorcees. The palaces of the well-to-do are open io them. Churches do not cast them out, and ministers welcome tut mat their Communion cabl> s. They rray occupy positions of Irunt aid honou r , tv.o nr thr<e divorces to their credit side notwithstanding."—Nor does Mr Elder mention Ca'holics as prominent in the filthy ranks concming which, for further examplf, Victoria Woodhull furnishes us wit i pa t cuiars— hardly possible to reproduce, lhat a p)or imnrgrant population, largely exposed too to the p^r ecution of those Kuownjthinga of wuom this Keokuk beiuty is so bright a specimeu, should be found iv a backward position and in many objectionable quarters is a matter of neceaiity. Bat we need not go to America to fiud disreputable ranks in which

Oath olios do not largely figure. The blackguards of Duned'u, according to rev ministers, number fifty per cent of the men of the city ; the Catholic population is but ten per cent of the whole. And this is a generation which has bad 16 years' ex{ erience of godless schools 1 Our contemporary tbe Star may spare his quotations or concoctions from American sources when he has right under his nose a mess of such a nature as this. Tbe Jew who is among uc, however, will grin at the fruits his Ingenuity has produced from Evangelical Christianity, He must limit bis quotations to these bearing on Rommism, nevertheless, so tbat bis game may be fully played out.

The death of Marshal MacMabon, which occurred ODDS AND last week at the age of 85, has taken away BNOS one of the chief historic figures of the centuryMacMabon, who had already attained position and turns in the French army, won European renown daring the Crimean War, and ever tinea his name has been familiar among his oontemporarita. His capture of the Malakoff tower at tfebastopol, we need hardly My, wu the crowning event of bis earlier career. Those who remember the details of the war in question know how long and anxiously the fall of this fortress was lookad for, and the rejoicing occasioned by it. As an expression of biave determination the words reported of the victor, as having been ottered by him while to others his victory seemed as yet uncertain, " Fy suis, et j'y re»te,"— There I am, and there I stay, becams at once proverbial. Another famous saying associated with MacMahon seems less honourable to hi a memory. It is that in which Gimbetta dared him when, as Piesiden t of the French Republic, he was oppoied to the action of a Republican majority, — " Se soumettre ou se dentdttre." He yielded at the time* bat the second alternative seemed to be that chosen by him, when a couple of years afterwards be resigned the Presidency. The Crimean war, however, had been followtd in three or four years by that with the Austrians in Italy, and there McMahon won his title of Duke of Magenta. Nor did the subsequent misfortunes of the war with Germany dim the lustre of the laurels he had previously gained. Among a general deficiency and a rsvelation of fault and failing on every side, it was acknowledged that he held his ground wijh credit . He still showed himself a fearless soldier and an able general. The stvere wound, moreover, received by him at the culminating disaster of Sedan saved him in a greet degree from the humiliation of the surrender. Necessarily, as all the world knows, and as his name beepraks, MacMahon was of Irish extraction, the association of dib family with France dating from tbe unhappy days of the defeat of King James 11. Intermarriage had made him a Frenchman by blood, as well as by birth and education. He, nevertheless, inherited warm sympathies for Ireland, the land of his forefathers, to which especially he gave expression when on the termination of the Crimean war a sword was presented to him by tbe liish people. Wiih Marshal MacMabon has died the last of the great generals of the century. It remains, perhaps, for future wars to reveal to us their worthy Buccejsors. A memory of another kind thin that of Marshal MacMabon has been bequeathed to Fiance by another of her sons, whose death has also, within tbe past wetk, taken place. We allude to the composer Gounod. His victories were confined to the peaceful realm of art— but possibly the glory conferred by them on hi j c untry wa9 no less. A contrast, too, may be drawn in a remarkable respect between the fortunes of the soldier and those of the musician. MacMabon owed defeat to Germany ; Germany owed a gift of exceeding richness to Gounod. The French composer, and he alone, had been inspired to adapt to the lyric stage the weird tale told by the prince of German poets. Truly it may seem strange that the child of the boulevards, born and brought up amid the jingle of Parisian levity, should conceive a fit musical expression for tbe creation of the grave Tsutonie mind, brooding in its profoundest depths. French brilliancy, perhaps, is not, after all, tbe burning straw for wbicb some philosophers would persuade us to accept it — and even on tbe boulevards all may not be idle glare. Gjunod, also, had his depths. Bis spirit was grave and religious. If, also, his music baa the brightness, the delicacy, and refinement of tbe Parisian genius, it combines beauty with substance. Gounod was a good man and a great composer — one of whose memory his country may well be proud. The word cotaque, then, drops out of the French vocabulary, o r , at least, if it remains there, takes quite another meaning. Bo far, it had signified every affl ction that was barbarous ad cruel. Now it stands for all that is friendly and charming. Are we to measure the French desire tor vengeance or the French relief from the lear of Germany by the exuberance of the delight poured oat at tbe visit of the Russian fleet to a French port, and of tbe visit of certain officers and men of the fleet to tbe French capital I Never did a welcome so run mad, even where it was possible to look upon it a 8a 8 sinoere. But French traditions are opposed to friendship with Russia Russia, indeed, may be regarded as a hereditary enemy of Franceand sums of the heaviest sufferings and deepest humiliations of the French people have been associated with her. We net d not speak of the different forms of Gjvernm nt, the freedom of one country or

the despotism of tbe other, because between th« freedom of the period and tbe despotiim of tbe past there is much that is common—' nor shall we speak of tbe people who are the perpetual victims ot_ Russian tyranny, and for whom the French nation were supposed tfj feel a siocere sympathy, Tbe freedom of tbe period contemplates with great serenity the slavery of a Catholic people. By their demonstrations in favour of their Russian visitors, however, the French people betray either a frantic desire for revengp, or a pusillanimous fear. Neither alternative adds to the fair fame of France. A report from London runs to the effect that alarm at the aspect of affairs is felt in Catholic centres, and that the Pope contemplates a departure from Rome. Possibly. There are a great many things at present that, if they are understood at all, are understood only in the best informed quarters, and which migbt lead us to take with little surprise whatever may come. The demonstrations in France, of course, are aimed at the Triple Alliance, and in proportion to their fervour must be the strengthening of the bonds that unite the allied powers. But why should the matter exercise an adverse influence over tbe position of the Pope ? It cannot be to the interest of Germany—who dominates the alliance— tbat the Holy See should b« interfered with. On tbe contrary, the disposition of tbe Emperor has evidently been to conciliate it, and a very striking proof of this has been the visit, on hia Majesty's invitation, of Cardinal Ledochowbki, the proscribed prelate of the May Laws, to Berlin. We do not profess to have any particu'ar information on the mat er, but what seems to us a cause which migbt lead to the departure of the Pope from Rome is a perception tbat the revoluionary mob were likely to obtain a loose rein. Possibly there is some danger of this. We have lately, for example, heard of the throwing of dynamite bombs in a manner that appeared suggestive of weakness in the police arrangements of the city. Possibly the Pope may see reason to believe that tha authorities are unable to provide for tbe safety of tbe Vatican, andi in tbat case, bis departure would seem probable enough. To run a risk of having the pa'ace, with its immense and unique treasures of science and art, destroyed by a brutal mob would, perhaps, seem to his Holiness a worse alternative than tbat of placing it under the protection of a foreign flag and risking the seizure of it by the Government. Or, again, in case of impending war, it might seem desirable to the Pope that he should take up a position where hia surroundings would be neutral. The report, however, so far rests only on the authority of a London newspaper. The Archbishop of Melbourne, in reply to a claim of Apostolical succession and continuity put forward for the Church of England by Bishop G je, has delivered three lecture?, of two of which full reports have reached us. Tbe Archbishop has placed the position ia a very clear light and it is difficult to see how any attempt to meet bis arguments can be made. The Melbourne correspondent of tbe Otago Daily Times, meantime, acquaints us with some very foolish comments p saed on the matter by a Presbyterian minister, the rev Alexander Marshall, of Scats Church, Collins street. Mr Marshall despises the Apostolical succession as an authoritative seal placed upon the Church, the organisation that, for example, according to the tbe Protestant bis orian Guizot, saved the C Lurch and Christianity from perishing in the barbarian irruption of the early cen'uries, and which could only exist because of an assurance of the Apostolical succession he holds ia deriaoc. All obscurities of history explained in what he calls "dog Latin "he also derides. Thin divine evidently shares the belief tbat the Apostolic succession died out immediately after the Apostolic age, to be revived only, and almost exclusively in Northern* Europe, in the sixteenth century. Ha makes the Apostolical succession a personal matter common to all, and to be appropriated by virtue of the individual's conceit. Well may the preacher express a contempt for " dog Lttin." Tbe language uf theology never expressed even a suspicion of his doctrine. Tbe imitation of Christ and bis Apostles in thought and deed to which this divine points as tbe true Apostolic succession, if, indeed, necessary to the Christian, It however is possible alone by tbe grace of those sacraments which tbe authorised successors of tbe Apostles alone can administer. A metaphor about an empty bucket and thirsty souls introduced by the rev minister has no meaning where Catholics are concerned. On the whole his comment seems rather ignorant as well as txtremely supid.