THE TABLET N. W e e k ly N e w s p a p e r a n d R e v i e w DUM VOBIS GRATULAMUR ANIMOS ETIAM ADDIMUS UT IN INCCEPTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANEATIS

From the Brief o f His Holiness Pius IX to The Tablet, June 4,1870.

V ol. 15 5 . No. 4,683.

L o n d o n , F e b r u a r y 8 , 1930.

S ix p e n c e .

J C E G IS T E R E D a T T H E G E N E R A L P O S T O F F I C E A S A N E W S P A P E R

Pago

New s and No t e s ...................161 Lord Amulree’s Task . .. 165 Pair Women with Fairer

Souls— I I ............................ 166 Through Dante to the

Church ............................ 167 From The Tablet of Eighty

Years A g o ............................168 R e v ie w s :

Spain, Past and Present 168 The Church and Modern

Democracy ................. 170 Yorkshire’s Five Dales . . . 171 Witches and Witch Trials 172 Books Received ................. 172 New Books and Music . . . 178

C O N

T ENTS

Catholic Education Notes . . . 173 The Oratory Central School 174 Correspondence :

Rome (Our Own Corre­

Page spondent’s Weekly Letter from) ............................ 177 E p is c o p a l E ngagements 178 ET CiETERA...............................179 L etters to the Ed it o r :

Official Directories . .. 180 Carmelites of S. Maria

Maddelena de’ Pazzi . . . 180 “ A History for British

People ” ............................ 180 The Birth Prevention

Campaign

180

Ob it u ary ......................... 180 T w o N e w Lancashire

Page

Churches ......................... 181 Or b is T errarum :

England, Scotland Wales .............. and 182 Ireland .............. 182 Albania .............. 183 Australia .............. 183 Austria .............. 184 Belgium .............. 184 China . .. 184 Czecho-Slovakia 184 Dutch East Indies 184

Orb i s T errarum (Gontd.) :

Page

France ........................ 184 Hungary ........................ 185 I n d i a .................................. 185 Madagascar ............. 185 Poland ........................ 185 Sweden ........................ 186 U. SA.................................... 186 Yugo-Slavia ............. 186 Com in g E ve n t s .............. 186 Marriage .......................... 188 So c ia l and P ersonal .. 188 Ch e s s ...................................... 188

NOTANDA The Royal Commission on Licensing. A Tablet leader-writer discusses the progress made under Lord Amulree and promises a constructive suggestion later on (p. 165).

The Malines Conversations again. Further promised publications, including a proposal “ on the part o f Rome ” (p. 161).

H ow Giosuè Borsi came to the Church, by the grace o f God, through Dante. The story o f an ardent reader o f the Italian classics ; and o f a bloodstained little book in a dead soldier’s pocket (p. 167).

An important extension to London’s first Catholic central school. The new building at Chelsea opened by His Eminence Cardinal Bourne (p. 174).

Why, in the case o f the Canal Boats Bill, Mr. Gosling’s remedy may be worse than the disease. A too Muscovite measure criticized (p. 163).

English into Latin. A n interesting essay in translation from the text o f The Dream o f Gerontins (p. 179).

N EW S AND NOTES W E revert unwillingly to the Malines Conversations. On Friday of last week, the following statement appeared in The Times :

Lord Halifax, presiding at the annual meeting last evening at the Church House of the Catholic Literature Association, in connection with the Anglo-Catholic Congress, said he had been busy for some time regarding the conversations that took place at Malines under the presidency of Cardinal Mercier. There had been an attempt in some quarters to disparage them, and to attribute to them a history which was entirely erroneous. It was not much use for him to correct that, because people were told that Lord Halifax was an optimist. The only reply that could be effectual was to publish the conversations in extenso— to give an account of what was

N ew S e r ie s . Voi. CXXIII. No. 4,082.

said and done without any alteration or comment. He had hoped that the conversations would have been in the hands of the public before, but there were difficulties in the way. He trusted the publication would have the result of bringing the matter fully before the public. They must ever feel love for and gratitude to Cardinal Mercier, and try to give effect to the words ever on his lips :— “ That all may be one.” Our comment shall be as brief as our duty to the public allows.

By “ The Catholic Literature Association ” is meant a body which uses printer's ink on behalf of certain “ Highs ” in the Protestant Church established by law. By his allusion to the title “ optim ist,” Lord Halifax meant The Tablet, which recently applied to his lordship that inoffensive and even flattering word. It follows that our Notes are read by (or made known to) Lord Halifax ; and therefore we must express our regret that he has kept silence on some points which called for his prompt and serious attention. On these omissions, which affect Lord Halifax much more than ourselves, we will not dwell. But we must make it plain that there is a limit to Catholic patience and that no book purporting to reproduce the Malines Conversations in extenso ought to be accepted by the public unless it be authenticated by prefatory matter from some trustworthy person rather than a pen which has notoriously erred and strayed in offering earlier descriptions of these Conversations. As Cardinal Mercier’s name has been invoked by Lord Halifax, we hope that no further wrong will be done to the memory of that great man.

Three days after the foregoing Notes were put into type, The Times prominently supplemented its earlier paragraph as follows

The original documents, French and English, read at the four Conversations (1921- 25) held at Malines under the presidency of Cardinal Mercier, together with the summary of the Conversations written by the French members, are about to be published by Lord Halifax through the Society of SS. Peter and Paul, Westminster House.