THE 'TABLET,' THE 'GUARDIAN,' AND THE " ULTRAMONTANES."

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 46, 14 March 1874, Page 8

THE 'TABLET,' THE 'GUARDIAN,' AND THE " ULTRAMONTANES."

i In your article of the 7th inst. jou treat the ' Otago Guardian ' as I honest I/aac Walton recommended all anglers to treat their fish after |iv hooking him. " You treat the ' Q-uardian ' "gently." This is the | best mode of dealing with such men. ' His principles, 60 far as regards I the treatment of his Catholic fellow citizens, are no doubt abominably ! arbitrary, unjust, and cruel. lie obviously would, if he had the power, exterminate the Catholic Church without much regard to the ! means he employed, or at least be would destroy its independence eni tirely, and make it a mere department of the Civil Government, after | the manner of Bismarck, and place it under " a Boird " or " a Minis1 try of Worship and Public Industries." Of course he would serve alj other religious denominations after the same fashion, except Presby tenanism perhaps. But then a man may be a perjurer, a murderer, or a thief innocently — under certain circumstances — and all in good faith and under I a mistake. He may swear falsely in ignorance, excusable ignonnnce, j and wjthout malice or corrupt motive. He may take the life of his

fellow creature under the belief that he did so justifiably and in self defence, or to defend others from unjust aggression. He may take and keep property wrongfully, believing it to be his own. In like manner a man such as the ' Guardian ' may set himself without malice or corrupt motive to oppress and rob and calumniate us and all clergy, both Catholic t»nd Protestant, and to " put them down ;" to place them in bonds and allow them to speak and act only a? the Civil Government or a popular majority may permit, and all the time he may innocently fancy he is doing a service to God and liberty and real justice by this line of conduct. The only way to deal with such men is to reason kindly with them, and to pray for them. They are under the power of the evil one no doubt. An " Ultramontane " I take to be a staunch, honest, consistent, " practical " Catholic,. and, therefore, a man hateful to the devil and other enemies of the Church, such as the • Guardian ' and ' Bruce Herald. 1 Laic.