THE TABLET

A W eekly Newspaper and Review

DUM V O B IS G R A T U L A M U R , A N IM O S ET IA M ADDIM U S U T IN IN CCEPTIS V E S TR IS CON S TAN TER M A N E A Y IS .

From the B r ie f o f His Holiness Pius IX . to T he T ablet, June 4, 1870.

Voi. 52. No. 2005. L o n d o n , S e p t e m b e r 14, 1878.

P r ice 5d. By P ost s%d

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

C hronicle of t h e W e e k :—

Pa?e

Assassination of Mehemet Ali Pasha.— His Romantic Career.— The Russian Entry into Batoum. — The Austrian Army of Occupation.— The English Mission to Cabul. — The Disaster on the 'Thames.— Great Colliery Disaster. The Yellow Fever in Louisiana.— Central African Missions. — Speech of Comte Albert de Mun. — The Socialists in Paris.— Public Works in France. — An Overzealous Official. — Catholics and Board Schools.................................. 321

L e a d e r s :

CONTENTS.

Page

S hort N otices (Continued):

Page

The Missions to Cabul .. . . 325 The Disturbances in Western

Turkey .. .. •• •• 325 The Irish Judicial Bench . . . . 326 Musical Education.. . . . . 327 The Bishop of Nimes on Vocations

Sequel to Edwin Drood .. .. 332 Sacred Vows.................................332 C o r r e s p o n d e n c e :

Has Dr. Pusey been Misrepre­

sented? .. .. .. .. 332 The State of Religion injFrance —

for the Priesthood . . . . . . 328 Lessons Taught by the Late Disaster on the Thames .........................329 R ev iew s :

Gibbon ....................................33° The “ Month ” for September .. 331 The Burning of the Barns of Ayr 331 S hort N otices : Why Catholic Doctrines are

R e j e c t e d ......................... •• 331

Scarcity of Vocations to the Priesthood.. . . . . . . 332 Does It Concern Us ? .. .. 333 Perversions of Ecclesiastical His­

tory ............................................. .3 33 St. Joseph’s Home, Bournemouth 333 The “ Echo” Newspaper and

“ the Jesuits” ............................333 The Premonstratensians . . . . 334 A Cry from E g y p t ..................... 334 Indian Missions . . . . . . 334 Board Schools . . . . . . 334

I r e lan d :—

Letter from our own Corre­

Page spondent ......................... — 334. R ome : — Letter from our own

Correspondent ............................337 D io cesan N ews

Westminster.......................................339 S o u th w a rk .......................................339 Beverley ....................................... 339 Hexham and Newcastle . . .. 340 Northampton . . . . . . 341 Shrewsbury....................................... 341 F oreign N ews

F rance ....................................... 341 Germany . . 341 Cyprus ....................................... 342 G en er a l N ews . . . . _. 342

ASSASSINATION OF MEHEMET

ALI PASHA.

CHRONICLE OF THE WEEK.

MEHEMET ALI PASHA, lately appointed by the Porte Extraordinary Commissioner in Albania, has been murdered at Ipek. His mission— which, it appears, was to reconcile the Albanians to the cession of territory to Montenegro as settled by the Berlin Congress— was especially offensive to the fanatical Musulmans who compose the Albanian League. On his arrival in Djakova, Mehemet Ali had some warning of what he was to expect, the house in which he took up his residence being surrounded by armed men, to the number .of more than a hundred. These were with difficulty persuaded to disperse. Particulars of the murder are wanting, but it would appear that Mehemet Ali and his escort afterwards went for security to a watch-tow er at Ipek, which was surrounded by the insurgents, and after a long conflict, in which 400 on both sides were wounded, he was killed. The insurgents then set the building on fire with petroleum. The murder of Mehemet Ali is ascribed by some to the cause mentioned above, by others to jealousy excited by the fact that he was not a Turk by birth, and by others again to his having mortally offended Musulman fanatics by his supposed lukewarmness in resisting Russian claims at the Berlin Congress.

For Mehemet Ali Pasha was not born a h i s r o m a n t i c Musulman nor even a Turk. His ancestors c a r e e r . were Huguenots, who, on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, fled from France into

Germany, where Charles Detroit, the future Pasha, was born. His first step in life was to run away and go to sea in a German merchant ship as a ■ cabin boy, from which humble position he escaped, at the tender age of 11 years, to Constantinople, where he obtained employment in the household of Ali Pasha, who, noticing the cleverness o f the lad, sent him to a military college and made him enter the Turkish army. He now abjured the Christian religion, became a Musulman, and rapidly rose to a high position. At the Berlin Congress he was second Plenipotentiary of the Porte. It is said by those who met him in Berlin that his manners were popular, but the fact of his being an apostate prevented any cordiality being shown towards him ; Prince Bismarck, especially, maintaining an attitude of reserve with regard to him.

On Friday a Russian force, consisting of eight

ENTRY INTO

BATOUM.

t h e Ru s s ia n battalions of infantry, under the command of

Adjutant-General Prince Mirsky and General Otulobjeo, entered and took possession of Batoum. The ceremonies usual on such occasions were

N e w S e r i e s , V o l . XX. No. 514.

observed. First the Turkish flag was saluted with 21 guns and then hauled down. The Russian flag was then hoisted and saluted with 101 guns. Dervish Pasha had politely met the Russians at Cape Jekho, about three miles from Batoum, and escorted them to the town, subsequently entertaining the Generals and superior officers on board the flagship.

THE AUSTRIAN

ARMY OF OCCUPATION.

It is impossible not to sympathise deeply with the Austrians, who have undertaken an ungracious though necessary task in endeavouring to occupy Bosnia. General Zach has been severely defeated, in great measure through insufficiency of troops, though the army of occupation now numbers two hundred thousand, and is on the point of receiving reinforcements. On Sunday evening four hundred wounded Austrians, among whom were many distinguished officers, were brought into Zavaleye; and so exhausting had been the engagement on Friday that Saturday had to be devoted to rest. At Bihacs, which was formerly the principal residence of the reigning Sovereigns of Croatia, there is a fortress which has been well utilised by the insurgents, and General Zach was here signally defeated, and was obliged to retreat in some disorder. The insurgents occupy all the best points and strong positions along the main Bosnian roads,and strategically they command the surrounding districts. Though they withdrew to the left bank of the Unna, they had managed to divide General Sametz from active co-operation with General Zach. There appears to be more harassing from the flank and the rear than there is from the open warfare of the insurgents. Altogether the task of occupation proceeds so slowly as to cause much anxiety; and it is even doubtful whether it can be accomplished this year. There are only three more weeks left for fighting, and this time will hardly suffice for operations. And it is doubtful moreover, whether the army of occupation would be able to winter in its present quarters. The means of communicating, though not likely to be cut off, would be continually impeded by the insurgents; the incessant attacks on the flank and the rear making all transit hazardous. Meanwhile it is probable that the passive attitude of the Porte may lead to a rupture with Austria. This is another grave feature. There is nothing to show that the Porte encourage the insurgents, but, as we have shown elsewhere, its position is full of difficulties. Meanwhile the Austrians have but hope, they have not any tangible successes. A great effort was to be made at the close of this week, so soon as the reinforcements should arrive, to crush the insurgents by a coup de main; and as their total number, at least on the frontier, is not estimated at more than thirty thousand, it is just possible that the effort may succeed^ General Szapary, marching from Doboj, a detachment from