Dr. Robertson

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 31, 3 August 1905, Page 19

Dr. Robertson

A religious contemporary in New Zealand recently recommended to its readers a malevolent book on Italy by the somewhat notorious Dr. Robertson. M&ny of that extravagant enthusiast's fairy tales about Catholicism in Italy have been dynamited in our columns from time to time. The keen-witted Venetians do not appreciate either Dr, Robertson or his religion or his books, for the Latin people still retain a sense of humor. But he had the usual roseate tales to tell about his mission to Catholics in Venice. One of his recent reports contains this statement : ' Our mission is exceedingly encouraging from several points of view. Italy is nominally Roman Catholic, but practically Protestant.' The statistics published by us in a recent issue form a droll commentary on the second part of the imaginative Doctor's story. The sequel to his ' exceedingly encouraging ' rdport came speedily. We take it from the ' Glasgow Observer ' of June 9,, From it we learn' that Dr. Robertson had just written as follows to the Colonial Committee of the Church of Scotland : 1 I am sorry to say that my place of worship has changed hands. The Italian Evangelical Church, to whom it belonged, having got into financial difficulties, has parted with it to an American Italian Church.' And this is the upshot of twenty years of wasted effort to make every Venetian chiel his am Pope.