The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 38, 21 January 1898, Page 23

The Catholic World.

CANADA.— The Canadian Premier's Tribute to the Pope. — Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Premier of Canada, waxes eloquent on the subject of the Pope's vitality and intellectual powers. He says :—: — " His Holiness filled me with wonderment as to how so much vigour and keen intellect could be housed in such an emaciated body. The Pope is bent double, and appears to be in the frailest heal i, though he is not troubled with any bodily ailment, and his whole mental machinery is marvellous. I was amazed at the prof oundity of his knowledge of Canadian affairs, was charmed with his exquisite gentleness and sympathy, and I was moved deeply at the supreme elevation of his Christian aims." ENGLAND —A Catholic Workhouse Boy's Success .— John Gerrahty, an orphan brought up from his childhood in Morpeth Workhouse, gained, about two years ago in an open competition, a scholarship in the Morpeth Grammar School. The scholarship entitled the boy to free education for three years. The boy's success created great interest not only at the workhouse but at St. Robert's Catholic school, where Crerrahty had received all previous education. The teachers and priests of St. Robert's wt re proud of their pupil, and the Grammar School governors were gratified that their scheme of minor scholarships connected not only public elementary schools but also the workhouse with higher education. Existing Catholic Disabilities. — The degrees conferred recently on the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chief Justice by the University of Cambridge have occasioned the following very sensible remarks in a leading article in the Dally A'cws on existing Catholic disabilities : — The Primate of All England and the head of the criminal judicature are both officially and personally among the leading men of the day. Lord Russell, of Killowen, belongs to a more ancient and a more widely diffused Church than that over which the Archbishop of Canterbury so ably presides. He is the first Catholic Chief Justice of England since the Reformation. There are at least two other Roman Catholics on the English Bench, Mr. Justice Mathew and Mr. Justice Day. But do not let us boast of our tolerance. At this moment the Lord Chief Justice is ineligible for the Woolsack, and when Mr. Gladstone brought in a Bill which would have removed that odiously irrational disability, a Conservative House of Commons threw it out. With dismal fatuity and execrable taste they called it a Russell and Ripon Relief Bill, because it referred to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland as well as to the Lord Chancellorship of England. To this day the Irish Viceroy cannot enter upon his functions without formally abjuring the faith of the people he is to rule. The University of Cambridge is, of course, above such ignoble bigotry, and the Lord Chief Justice was received with hearty enthusiasm. Though an English judge, he is an Irish patriot. The Church in India.— A Parliamentary paper just issued gives details of the charges of the ecclesiastical establishments in India for the pabt year. The tqtal costs amounts to Rx.1'.(2,410. Of this sum the Church of England gets Rx.1b2,718, the Church of Scotland Rx.12,441, the Church of Rome Rx.4, 1.11, and other churches which are not classified Rx.7,122. In addition to this, Rx. 28,0.31 is paid in army charges for chaplains attached to regiments. The whole of this sum, except Rx.Blo paid to Presbyterian chaplains, is received by Catholic clergymen. FRANCE.— Crusade against Ritualism.— There is quite a storm raging in the Press and pulpit against Ritualism in Paris just now. Several correspondents have written to the Herald, criticising the vestments and peculiar rubrics adopted by tho Key.

Mr. Washington, a clergyman of well-known High Church proclivities. "A Roman Catholic" writes to say that "if the Rev. George Washington really believed in confession and the Real Presence he would only be subscribing to two of those practices which pervaded the whole of Christ's Church till Luther and Calvin and Henry VIII. made their appearance in this world of darkness. But before that blessed period (he asks) where was the Church ?" The controversy has not yet ended, for the Ritualistic " Master of Ceremonies " promised to enlighten the world in a lecture on rubrics if his admirers will secure a hall for him. Many of the letters on the question are singularly amusing, but apace prevents me from even giving extracts. The controversy goes to show the multitudinous antagonistic opinions and practices prevailing amongst the various sections of the Church of England.

Personal and Religious Liberty in France. — A poor man may be buried where he will provided the necessary amount be forthcoming to purchase a few feet of earth. A bishop in France is less favoured. The Cathedral Chapter of Vannes, knowing that in this they echoed a wish of their late Bishop, desired that Mgr. Becel's remains should be laid to rest in the Basilica of St. Anne d'Auray, which had grown into such stately splendour beneath his Episcopal reign. The French Government decided otherwise, and ordered that the interment should take place in the Cathedral of Vannes. Mgr. Becel's remains were lowered amid the prayers and tears of his flock. This prelate journeyed from Vannes to Paris in order to administer the last Sacraments to M. Jules Simon.

The Next Elections. — Though tha elections are still some months off, there can be no question that all parties are preparing themselves for the coming struggle. Some of the Royalist and Bonapartist organs have hoped to join their forces by reviving the Conservative League, and have expressed the utmost confidence in the success of their cause. It is hard, however, to see what they can expect to conserve, seeing that the present state of affairs is exactly what they wish to demolish. They may succeed for a moment in closing their ranks, but their forces are now too small and their cause too thoroughly discredited to be able to make any breach in the solid and increasing legions of the Republic. The reiterated voice of the Brest electors ought to have convinced them that the Catholic electors were on the side of the Pope in his acceptance of the Republic and his advice to work out their own salvation on constitutional lines. As time goes on the sagacity and soundness of that policy is more and more clearly demonstrated. The Radical and Socialistic following that acknowledges M. Bourgeois as its leader has daily been losing ground. The Russian Alliance has proportionately strengthened the Moderate Republicans whose ranks are now being swelled by the increasing numbers of the Rallied. Under these circumstances it may be said that Republican France has arrived at a turning point in her history. The supreme interests of religion and of social order have a better chance now than they have had for years. The Radicals and the Reactionaries see this plainly, and their only hope now is to deny, or at least to minimise, the instructions issued by the Pope.

ITALY. — Taxation in Italy.— The Italian people may well be excused for the loss of temper over the excessive taxation to which they are subjected. They pay in taxation 20 per cent, of their incomes, while Greece paid before the war only 14 [ per cent. Of the other countries considered heavily taxed, Holland and Portugal pay 13 per cent.; France, Austria, and Iloumania, 12; Spain 11, and Germany and .Russia 10. Among the countries with light taxes are Great Britain, the people of which pay 6£ per cent., the United States s£, and Canada 4]. The seriousness of the Italian financial situation is increased by the poverty of the people. It has been computed that the average capital of each Italian is £100. This is a smaller amount than owned by the people of any other country except Portugal and Roumania, where the average is £90, and Russia, which goes down to £W>. England heads the list at £330, being followed by France with £2.">0, and the United States and Denmark at £230. Taxation in Italy has reached such a point that it is a common saying there that " there is nothing untaxed except the air we breathe." When the people are suffering under such a real and pressing grievance, to attempt to divert their attention by raising the religious question is mere childishness, not statesmanship.

ROME.— A Pontifical Veteran.— The veterans of the Pontifical Army in Italy are rapidly dying. Scarcely a week passes without bringing its record of deaths among the ranks of the veterans. Count Cesare Caimi, who has just passed away, was a soldier of special distinction. He was born on September 7, 1833, at Parma, into the army of which Duchy he entered at an early age. After the suppression of the Duchy, in the army of which he held a high command, he was invited by General Culoz, the Austrian Commander, to enter the army of the Emperor. He preferred, however, to serve the Holy See, whose troops were then commanded by Lamoricidre. The Duchess of Parma, who had presented a battery of artillery to Pius IX., placed Count Caimi in charge of its transfer, saying : "Go serve a saint under the command of a hero." He thus entered the Pontifical Army with the grade of Captain on April 16, 1860. He was promoted to be Major during the siege of Ancona on September 21, 1860, to be LieutenantColonel on December 11. 1866, and to be Colonel on December 27, 1868. These his promotions were all due to his valour and efficiency in command ; qualities, especially the latter, which caused his selection as the chief organiser of the defence of Rome in 1870. His merits during many years were acknowledged by the Holy See, from which he received the decorations of Knight-Commander in the Orders of Pius IX. and St. Gregory the Great. He was also decorated with the campaign medals of 1860 and 1867, and with the insigna of Knight-Commander in the Orders of St. George and La Reunion. After September 20, IS7O, he retired to Parma, having married the Marchioness Ernesta Rusconi. of Bologna. He took no

further part in public affairs from that time until the decline of his health. He died childless.

The Latest Saints.— While the statue of St. Peter Fourier is being prepared for one of the remaining vacant niches of the Vatican Basilica, to which his Order has the right of presenting it, by reason of his being a religious founder, a new and splendid organ has been set up in the Church of San Carlo at Catinari in honour of St. Antonio Maria Zaccaria, the founder of the Barnabite Clerks, who was canonised on the same day of May last as St. Peter Fourier.

Coming Pilgrimages. — The opening of the New Year will be the occasion of an assembly of pilgrims from various countries. January Ist, 1898, will be the 60th anniversary of the Popes first Mass, and is to be celebrated with much pomp. A large pilgrimage from the different provinces of Italy will be present for the solemn function which it is intended to hold in St. Peter's. Other pligrimages are announced to arrive from Austria, France, Ireland, and America, but whether the bodies from the two latter countries will be here for the feast day itself is more than doubtful. However, their arrival cannot be much delayed, and will take place within the period of festivities devoted to the celebration of the anniversary.

RUSSIA.— The Czar's Clemency.— it is stated that the Czar has pardoned ."32 Catholic clergymen, who during the last eight years had made themselves liable for imprisonment or exile to Siberia through not complying with the rigorous and repressive measures in existence in Russia against the Catholic Church. The Holy Father will be informed of this act of clemency, which is certain to have an excellent effect on Poland, where large numbers of the clergy are disaffected towards Russian rule.

SPAIN.— An Interesting Document.— A document of uncommon interest (says the Tablet) has been discovered in the archives of the Spanish Navy. It consists of the bills of payment of the crews who sailed with Columbus on his first great voyage of discovery. The pay of the sailors was from two dollars to two dollars and 40 cents, a month, including food. The captains of the caravals had each 16 dollars a month, and Columbus received the title of Admiral and 200 dollars a year.

UNITED STATES.— The Fruit of Missions Conducted by the Paulist Fathers. — Last Sunday morning, November 14, at 10 o'clock Archbishop Corrigan administered Confirmation to a large class, consisting of nearly 300 children and adults at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, New York. The Confirmation was noteworthy in the history of the Paulist Fathers, since the number of adult converts to the Church is believed to be the largest ever confirmed at one time in New York City. In the ceremony Rev. John Hughes, C.S.P., who had baptised most of them during the past year, was their sponsor. An immense audience filled the great church to witness the ceremonies, which were very impressive. Clad in full canonicals, Archbishop Corrigan was seated in the sanctuary, surrounded by many of the leading Catholic clergy. The converts were the result of the non-Catholic mission of Father Elliott, the Paulist missionary at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle last January. Missions to non-Catholics had been held before, but Father Elliott, who is the animating spirit of the non-Catholic mission movement set on foot last year a systematic mission of two weeks for the conversion of non-Catholics in New York city. The 100 persons confirmed on Sunday are not the only fru't of that mission. The date of another mission to be held in January will soon be announced.