CARDINAL MORAN ON MR. GLADSTONE. SOME INTERESTING PARTICULARS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVI, Issue 7, 17 June 1898, Page 28

CARDINAL MORAN ON MR. GLADSTONE. SOME INTERESTING PARTICULARS.

Atf interesting interview with his Eminence Cardinal Mornn was published in the Sydney Catholic Pnxx of May L'S. Jt rpinrwl exclusively to the great statesman recently deceased. Mr. Gladstone, and contains matter which will be of interest to Catholic readers everywhere. Jn the course of the interview tho editor of the Cathuhr Pn^ asked hi" Eminence wh^thor Mr GlncKfnno ovov oonfompl.itol entering the Catholic Church. "Yes." the Cardinal replied. '• Gladstone was one of tho°e who, with M-mning mid other*, drov up tho famous protest in connection with the Goiham controversy against the interference of the State in Church nvitters. That was loin--after the reception of Newman. At that time Mr. Gladstone was on the verge of entering the Church, lie entered tho porch and turned back, and he does not f-eetn to have over had the grace again. But he remained an honest champion of the authoritative teaching of the Church, and his sister and sevei-dl of his relatives became Catholics. DENOUNCING- THE TEMPORAL POWER. " His great bugbear was the supreme authority of tho Holy See. And I suppose his political principles must have given .some bias in the formation of his religious system. He took a very active part in the revolutions in Italy. And he was most violent in his denunciation of the temporal sovereignty of th« Pope. I think it was in refutation of his statements about the Government of Rome that Mr. Maguire wrote his famous work on Pius the Ninth and the Papal States. Mr. Gladstone in his accusation had relied on the statistics and data which were forwarded to him by the leaders of the revolution. These were merely the work of their own fancy, and were quite contrary to the real condition of things in Rome. Maguire gave the statistics of schools, and of the administration, etc., as he found them himself, and his refutation of the calumnies against the temporal power of the Pope was quite unanswerable. VATICANISM. WRULEXT AND I'OOLISII ATTACK'S. " Later Mr. Gladstone was bitter in his hostility to the Vatican Council. A great number of his Catholic friends were ranged among those who did not consider the definition of the Papal infallibility to be opportune. They were known as the 'opportunists,' and included Lord Acton. Monsigneur Dupanloup, and the Bishop of Kerry, Dr. Moriarty. All these pushed their opposition to the definition as far as it could be legitimately shown, but when once the definition had taken place they proved their loyalty to the Church by their hearty acceptance of the definition. l!ut Mr. Gladstone, viewing the matter as an outsider, and as a politician^ pushed those difficulties not only as far as a loyal child of the Church could do, but used them as weapons to attack the Church itself. " He was embittered at the time by the defeat of his Ministry on the University question in Ireland, and he gave vent to his bitterness in the pamphlet which he published on Vatican ism. We may say that his violent attack was a happy fault, as it led to the magnificent vindications of tho Vatican Council by Newrnnn and to many other champions of the Church. In his attack ho was especially virulent in denouncing the converts from Anglicanism to the Catholic Church, and he laid down the broad principle that no such convert could be loyal to the throne of England, lie apologised in after times for this foolit-h assertion, and lie proved in a a cr/lo' 1 ical way his regret by including in ministries, subsequently formed. some leading converts to the Church, such as Lord Monsell, the Marquis of llipon and several others. GLADSTONE IN" IREL VND. '•When ho was repenting of his folly in writing tlu\ -Vaticanism,' and preparing to resume office as Prime Minister he visited Ireland. I think it was in '7G. The friend-; of the Liberal Party were in great anxiety about tho reception which would be given to him by the Catholics of Ireland at that time, as they were smarting under the absurd accusations he had made against their faith. One of the leading Liberals, who at present occupies one of the highest offices in England, spoke to me at the time (I was then Bishop of Ossory), and he gave expression to the fears that were entertained by the party in England lest anything should occur to disturb the harmony of the Liberals in Ireland and their leaders in England. As a matter of fact the Catholics of Ireland gave full forgiveness to Mr. Gladstone for all his insults to their religion. They regarded him as little loss than insane on this matter of religion, and they accepted as unsaid all the foolish things set forth in ' Vaticanism.' They gave him a most enthusiastic reception, looking on him as a benefactor of tho country and as the only statesman who had set his heart in cirnost in remedying the grievances under which Ireland had suffered so long. PERSONAL REMINI&CENCES. " He did me the honour of visiting me at Kilkenny on that occasion, and he accompanied me afterwards on a visit to our college in Kilkenny. I think it was the only college in Ireland he visited, and he trot a ringing cheer from the students— most of whom were ecclesiastical students — which should have convinced him that the Irish heart was sincere in its affection for him. " I had an opportunity of seeing Mr. Gladstone in the House of Commons in 18S4 when passing through London on my appointment to Sydney. I called specially to see Mr Childers, who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and who took a great interest in Australia, being in fact an Australian himself. He wished to introduce me to Mr. Gladstone, who chatted with me for over an hour. I was charmed with the wonderful knowledge and practical

Riasp ot matter, which ho »aye proof of. Ho seemed' to know re and ami Australia even to the minutest detail What pnrticul.n y etruck me was that ho recollected hi, vi.it to Kilkenny some eurbt or mne years beiore, and notwithstanding- all the risibility of his oil.cial position during those years, he recolLted everything-, to the Hinallest incident, in connection vrithUiau^t hnu °T wveral things I had entirely forjrotten, and he r c ,m r a t r h pi ; CUlat rl In , * ™* P«i icular way the cnthi.M.u.tic icccpuou tJic ( uthohch ot Ireland - aye lliin on tha^ occabi ■■