THE TAB LET A W eekly Newspaper and Review

D u m VOBIS GRATULAMUR, ANIMOS ETIAM ADDIMUS UT IN INCCEPTIS VESTRIS CONSTANTER MANEATIS.

From the Brief of His Holiness to The Tablet, June 4, 1870,

Vol. 45 . No. 1832. L o n d o n , M a y 22, 1875.

P rice 5«!. B y P ost

[R eg is tered a t t h e G en e r a l P o st O f f ic e a s a N ew spaper

Page

''Ch r o n ic l e o f t h e W e e k :—

The Tsar at Berlin.— The “ Norddeutsche Zeitung ” on the Panic. — Russia and Prussia.— Offers of Mediation.— The Peace Preservation Bill.— Regimental Exchanges. — The Deposition of the Guikwar. — Native Opinion.— Removal of Mulhar Rao.— 1The French Assembly.— Supplementary Organic Laws— the Public Powers Bill.— The Senate Bill.— The Committee o f Thirty.— The French Academy. The Prussian Bishops.— The Ca­

tholic Church in Russia.— The Carlist War.— The New Judge .. 64t

CONTENTS.

L e a d e r s :

Page

The Future of Europe . . . . 645 Brighton Proprieties . . . • 645 Internationalists and the Catholic

Clergy in Italy . . . . - • 646 O ur P r o t e s t a n t C o n tem po r a r ie s :

Effects of Disestablishment . . 647 R e v ie w s :

St. Thomas D ’Aquin et les Beaux

Arts . . . . _ ........................... 649 International Vanities 650 Elements of General History,

Ancient and Modern .. . • 650 S hort N otices :

Nano Nagle . . . . •• - - 651 The Handy Book of Bees . . 651 Library of English Literature . . 651 Cyclopaedia of Costume . . . . 6 5 1

Devotions for Public and Private

Page

Use . . . . . . . . . . 651 Rome, Semper Eadem . . . . 652 The Eucharist and the Christian

Life .. .. .........................652 Catharine Grown Older . . . . 652 The Child . . . . . . . . 652 Mr. Smith—aP a r t o f his Life . . 652 Literary, Artistic, & Scientific Gossip 653 C o r r e s p o n d e n c e :

Church Music . . . . . . 653 Irish College Education . . . . 654 Boarding and Day Schools . . 654 Jubilees . . .. . . . . 654 The Feast of Corpus Christi . . 654 The “ Lock-out ” at Ebbw V a le .. 655 St. Mary’s Orphanage, Park

House, Blackheath Park . . 655 P a r l ia m en t a r y Summary . . 655

R ome :— Letter from our own Cor­

respondent . . . . . . 657 D io c e sa n N ew s :—

Westminster .. Southwark Hexham and Newcastle Salford I r e l a n d :

658 659 659 660

Letter from our Dublin Correspondent . . .......................... 660 F oreign N ew s :—

Germany .......................................660 M em oranda :—

Religious ...................................... 66r Educational ., . . . . . . 662 Cricket .......................................863 Gen er a l N ew s . . . . . . 663

CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.

TH E Emperor o f Russia’s visit to

Berlin, although the Prussian papers are careful to deny the exercise o f any pressure on their own Government, is accepted on all sides, in one sense or another, as a guarantee o f peace. The French way of putting it is that the Tsar has declared that he should consider any Power which broke the peace of Europe as an enemy ; the extreme German statement is that he has agreed with Prince Bismarck to insist upon a disarmament, or at least, according to a pamphlet published by a diplomatist at Brussels, to draw a certain line beyond which France is not to be allowed to carry her military reorganization, making, if necessary, an armed demonstration in order to prevent her doing so. We are not obliged to believe that either account exactly represents what the Emperor actually said. What really took took place during the hour’s talk between the two Sovereigns and the subsequent interviews between the Emperor Alexander and Prince Bismarck, and between that statesman and Prince Gortschakoff, nobody can say, and very probably no one will ever know. But whatever it was, and however the Prussian papers may choose to represent the matter, the presence of the Tsar at Berlin was at any rate synchronous with, if it did not cause, a remarkable change in the tone of those very semi-official papers which first raised the scare.

The conversion of the principal offender, the the “ nord- JSforddeutsche Zeitung, is so astoundingly comzeitung” on plete and rapid as to betray either a singular the panic, confidence in the forgetfulness of its readers or a disregard of criticism which is almost cynical.

After quoting a saying attributed some time ago to the Emperor of Russia— that “ the alliance of the three Em“ perors would guarantee the maintenance o f peace, and that ■“ there would only be danger o f the peace of the world “ being broken if France were bent upon breaking it,” it proceeds to say that “ Russia’s confidence in Germany is “ not shared everywhere,” and then with the most charming simplicity looks about for a reason. “ Public opinion,” it says, “ vainly endeavours to discover why these falsehoods “ have found credence on this occasion, especially in “ England. In our age, every secret is brought to light. “ It may now easily be guessed why the leading members “ o f society have given way to this suspicion. It mani“ fested itself in a well-accredited manner. Persons whose “ position gave them a great claim to be trusted were con“ sidered to guarantee the statements set afloat, and it was, “ moreover, overlooked that highly-placed personages had ■“ evidently some connexion with the Ultramontanes. It is “ therefore so much the more pleasant to remember that our

New Series. V ol. X I I I . No. 341.

“ Russian friends have not doubted Germany’s policy for “ one moment.” This is a masterly example o f the explanation which explains nothing. Why was it believed, especially in England, that there was a party in Germany desirous o f forcing on a war? Because “ highly-placed “ personages ” were “ considered to guarantee the state“ ments,” and it was “ overlooked ” that those highly-placed personages had “ evidently some connexion with the Ultra“ moqtanes.” Whether the “ highly-placed personages ” were English Ministers or German Royalties, we are not told — the one set of persons would probably serve the purpose as well as the other— but how about the Norddeutsche Zeitung's own articles ? Was that paper itself misled by an undue confidence in “ highly-placed personages,” and did it also overlook, the fact that they had “ some connexion with “ Ultramontanes?”

A Belgian paper, the B ie n Public, mentions

Russia and as an incident which had been the subject o f

Prussia, comment at Berlin that Prince Bismarck did not go to meet the Emperor Alexander at the railway station, although he went to breakfast with Lord Odo Russell two hours afterwards, that the Tsar on returning his visit of ceremony did not enter the room, but spoke to him on the staircase, where the Prince o f course received him, and that the Chancellor excused himself from attending the Court dinner on that day. We are not disposed to attach much importance to this kind o f gossip, but it is quite possible that it may have been true that on the Emperor o f Russia’s first arrival neither he nor the German Chancellor were quite certain of each other. It is indeed reported that both the Tsar and Prince Gortschakoff on their first arrival, before they had received the oral assurances o f the Powers at Berlin, were inclined to believe that there had really been some cause for the scare. But if they heard Prince Bismarck declare what he is alleged to have said to another diplomatist— that for Germany to crush France merely because she might one day be strong enough again to attack Germany, would be no more just or reasonable than if he were to strangle Kullmann because the prisoner, after the expiration of his sentence, might repeat his attempt on his (Prince Bismarck’s) life— the coolness at first, and the warmth of demonstrative friendship afterwards, would be explained. The view just expressed with regard to a war against France is now that of even the semi-official papers that a fortnight ago were most warlike in their articles, and the Norddeutsche Zeitung reminds the world of the fact that except in case of an invasion o f German soil war can only be declared by the Empire on a resolution o f the Bundesrath, or Federal Council, in which Prussia has only seventeen votes out o f fifty-eight. But it must not be forgotten that i f those at the head o f the Imperial