Notes

New Zealand Tablet, 20 May 1915, Page 35

Notes

Carlyle and Prussia 'itiii 7-;v'T Thomas Carlyle, then venerated as c the Sage of "\Dhelsea, : is attributed the oft-quoted dictum that the population of London comprised so many millions,, 'mostly fools.' Presumably the" Sage did not include himself in the category, but his blind admiration for Germany and all things German led him into making at least one very bad break. He declined to receive a decoration from his own Sovereign, but accepted one from Prussia y and writing immediately after the war of 1870-71, he published an elaborate eulogy of Prussia. To him 'alone of nations Prussia seemed still to understand something.of the art of governing, and of fighting enemies to the same art. Germany of old has been the peaceablest, most pious, and in the end most valiant and terriblest of nations. Germany ought to be President of Europe, and will again, it seems, be tried with that office for five centuries or so.' This particular pro- . phecy of the Wise Man has thus far gone rather badly awry. What's In a Name The advent of the football season reminds us that, so far as Catholic teams are concerned, the choice of a club name is a matter that calls for sonic consideration and circumspection. Sometimes there is a good deal in a name, and an otherwise excellent title may prove to have unsuspected drawbacks. The College of the Sacred Heart, Prairie du Chien, Wis., for example, has recently been constrained to change its name to Campion College of the Sacred Heart, because of the somewhat irreverent way in which its name was used at athletic events. 'We leave it to our readers to enter into our feelings,' say the college authorities, ' on the occasions when we listened to visiting teams of a different faith or no faith at all, veiling, with the best of intentions, "What's the matter with Sacred Heart?'' and answering themselves with the usual formula "She's all right." So the college will be Campion College hereafterfor athletic purposes.' The Booksellers and Objectionable Literature The following is a copy of a letter which has been forwarded by the Napier branch of the Catholic Federation to all the Napier booksellers, and which has been sent to us with the request that we should find space for it in our columns. We gladly accede to the request: Napier, May 10, 1915. Dear Sir, —It has come to the knowledge of the "N.Z. Catholic Federation that (a) risky, suggestive, or frankly licentious writingssuch as the novels of Elinor Glyn and Victoria Cross, and (b) anti-Catholic books, e.g., the works of Hocking, McCabe, and others, are freely exposed for sale by certain booksellers in Napier. As regards books of the former class, every healthyminded man, whatever his creed, must admit that they cannot fail to have a most pernicious influence on the young. As regards writings of the latter class, they influence religious animosities, and thus imperil the peace and happiness of the community. That they wound the tenderest feelings and make a mock of the most cherished beliefs of practising Catholics, is in the Federation's opinion a reason for keeping them out of sight, as far as possible ; but of course this reason may not carry much weight with the non-Catholic majority. The Federation have no desire to hamper or interfere with the book trade. Looking at the matter from a , strictly business point of view, they recognise that it is ( a bookseller's business to supply the books that his customers demand. All they ask is that immoral writings and anti-Catholic polemics shall not be flaunted in shop windows. - I remain, dear sir, Yours faithfully, ' . v " H. McNamara, Hon. Sec. Napier Branch N.Z. Catholic Federation.

This is an extremely reasonable and modest request, and if it errs at all, errs on the side of moderation. The principle that it -is . a bookseller’s .. business to supply the books that his customers demand has, of course, obvious limitations and no -bookseller: with a conscience could fairly plead it as an excuse for stocking such productions as those of Victoria Cross. • The question as to where precisely the line is to be drawn may occasionally present a little difficulty to a welldisposed bookseller, but at least there can be no possible objection to the course suggested by the Napier Federation—thatr doubtful books should not be flaunted and, their sale pushed by means of conspicuous and tempting display. That is an important first step in the right direction, and doubtless the Napier example will be widely followed where occasion seems to call for some action of the kind. In such t cases a friendly visit from one or two specially-appointed and tactful members of the Federation is often productive of good result ; and such a deputation is in a position to urge, in a quiet and reasonable way, the absolute withdrawal from sale of really objectionable publications, which represents, of course, the ideal solution of the problem. There are many instances, however, in which there is not the faintest chance of realising such an ideal; and in such cases the request of the Napier Federation, in so far as it is acceded to, stands for an important and substantial gain.