CAUSED IRRITATION

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 148, 15 February 1932, Page 5

CAUSED IRRITATION

' ' •'* '• - -* *•' *--»••• newspaper's strictures MALTA, Saturday. Discussing the politico-religious dispute, the • newspap"er> *"The Church," says: "Our "ixripression- is . that "n early -every action -to ■ which & "inister implication5 could 'be given ••-'as attributable with »• increasing ." ^orce to- Lord Strickland alone as the "ommating power ! in th'e:'-constitu- . tional party. It is useless to disguis'e the "opmion that Lord Strickland- 'is ! the- dominating. aggressive-foree,'with a manrier calculated to- cause: irritation and annoyance, and with-methods of attack involving personal animosity towards many of those attacked, leading to a tendency -for •the-island-to become divided into cliques." There has been a long and bitter controversy ih Malta b'etWeen :thri civil authorities and "the" representatives of th'e Roman "Catholic. Chtrrdh. It was averred -that the latter' were interf ering itt political ' matters and the Premifer: (Lord Strickland), intervened to1 prevent a British priest being transferred from the island aL • legedly for political' reasons. 4It was tbereupon reported (errorieously it subsequently transpired) that"- Lord Strickland, who is a member ' of' the Roman Catholic Church, had ' be£n oxcohihranicated. Feeling subsenuently waxed high and culminated ;n 1930 when the Bishop of Gozo in a pastoraT letter ' deelared that it would be a mortal sin to vote for Lord Strickland's Constitutional Party at the 'forthcomirig Clecti'drib r.nd that its supporters Would not receive absdlution tml'ess 'they r e'ranted. The Arehbishop of" Malta : f ollowed. suit. The result was the postponemerit of the elections- by tbe Governor. The dispute was- then' taken up by thd British Goverriment with the Vatican, the out-come' beirig a temporary suspension of the conrtitution and t-h'e setting-up of a Royal Commission, which has submitted the above recommendations; ' f