Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, 6 April 1911, Page 613

Current Topics

Reverting to Type The Rev. Dr. Gibb —an ex-Duuedinite, of (more or less) happy memory —who, it will bo remembered, was always liable to frequent and acute attacks of Romeophobia, has, so far as press utterances afford evidence, been on good behaviour for quite a while. It would be too much, however, to expect that such a state of things should last indefinitely, and there arc signs that the long lucid interval is beginning to give out. Last week the • Anglican Bishop of Wellington was farewelled by the local Ministers' Association; and the speeches on the occasion were for the most part tactful and happy. It was reserved for Dr. Gibb to strike a narrow note, and so far mar an interesting gathering, by dragging in the following malapropos remark: ' It was a significant gathering—of the changes which had taken place, and especially of the fact that they were drawing close together for the great fight. They had need to do so. Were there not the devil, and the world, and the flesh to fight, to say nothing of the Pope of Rome, who had been very much in evidence of late.' This may have been only the Doctor's joke; but if so, verily he jokes ' wi' deeficulty.' Rather it looks like the old Adam re-asserting itself. We remember reading how, in the general election before last, a noble lord, an opponent of Mr. Lloyd George, scored rather cleverly off the fiery Welshman. Mr. Lloyd George had for a time abstained from his accustomed raillery and invective against the House of Lords, and had spoken quite respectfully of the Peers; but latterly he had lapsed into his old ways. ' Mr. Lloyd George,' said the noble lord we have referred to; ' was for a short time a gentleman. Latterly he has reverted to type, and has become —Mr. Lloyd George.' Similarly with the Rev. Dr. Gibb. For quite a time Dr. Gibb has been a gentleman; last week he reverted to type, and became— Gibb. A * Conversion t Tract After a long period of comparative quiescence, the harmless, necessary tract pedlar is once more to the fore. A Masterton correspondent has forwarded us a production bearing the title ' Conversion of a Roman Catholic,' which is being circulated in his district, and which we learn from other sources is also being ladled out to pedestrians in the streets, lady passengers in trains, etc., round about Wellington city. The story of the ' conversion ' is very simple, and singularly unimpressive. The victim is a Catholic woman married to a Protestant husband —the woman, amiable in character, but weak-willed, and not what Catholics understand as a ' practical Catholic' After prolonged illness of herself and her husband—during which she was helped from time to time by the St. Vincent de Paul Society— family, according to the tract, ' got into difficulties, and the home had to be sold to pay debts.' At this critical juncture the woman seems to have been visited and befriended by Protestants, for she describes how, after the birth of her last ' dear baby girl,' when she ' seemed to be sinking,' she put out her hand and found that some person had left some tracts on a chair. She took one of the —read it—and called at once for a Bible, which was later on supplied by one of her new-found friends. Then she ' simply devoured ' the volume, and at once 'saw the light.' For the present she is a Protestant; but how long she will remain so will probably depend on circumstances. Eaten bread is soon forgotten; and, with rare exceptions which only serve to prove the rule, these suddenly-illuminated converts are notoriously bad stayers. So far as Catholics are concerned, neither the tract nor the 'conversion' is of the slightest moment. The only feeling we need have is one of —pity for the woman, and pity for her innocent children. Regarding the tract, and the statements contained in it, we have made inquiries, -and are - in possession of a full history of the facts. It would be giving the publication an importance it in no way deserves to enter into any detailed comment on its contents at the present stage, but we may briefly mention the following points. (1) It may be taken for granted that the woman in question did not herself write the pamphlet. She has, we understand, no ' literary ' turn of any kind. The ignorance of all concerned in the production of the publication—the ' convert,' the writer, and the printerregarding things Catholic may be gauged from the fact that they were capable of perpetrating the following 'howler.' The 'convert is supposed to be enthusing on the delights of her new faith. ' It is all so different,' she is made to say, to that other way: there are no beads to pray on, no cross to kiss, no Scapular or Agnes Days (sir) to pray on." (2) Nearly all the interesting facts' supplied far as the Catholic side of the narrative is concernedare not

facts at all, but very far otherwise. For example: ' I thought I was very good— people call a good Roman Catholic —always going to Church and confession.' This is simply and absolutely not true, the actual fact being that the woman was not in any sense of the word a practical Catholic. Owing to her large family and her own illness every allowance must be made for her not attending Mass; but if tho matter must be referred to, at least let the truth be spoken. Again, she says: Often paying money for Mass to be said for some relation mother's father in particular. Most of my pocket money went in this.' We have communicated with the priests on this point, and this is the reply: . ' She was never known to have had even one Mass said for the old gentleman. -If she did, at least she never paid for it, nor would any priest accept an offering from her when for years we had been helping her. That part of the story is absolutely false.' These are samples of the unreliableness of this little conversion story—made, for the most part, in wowserland. There are others —many othersand should occasion arise, we will return to the subject, and deal with it more fully. In the meantime, without unnecessary advertising the leaflet, we trust we have said sufficient to show anyone into whose hands it may fall the general untrustworthiness of the narrative, and to indicate a little at least of what may be said on the other side. We need only add — the benefit of Wairarapa readers — the leaflet bears the imprint, ' E. Whitehead, Palmerston North.' The Arbitration Treaty According to a London cable (dated March 30), ' a committee representing both sides of the House of Commons has been formed to promote an arbitration agreement on the lines discussed by President Taft and Sir E. Grey '; and America, going one better, announces —per medium of a New York cable, dated March 31that ' Mr. Knox is drafting an arbitration treaty with Britain, and it will probably be submitted to the April Congressional session.' It would, indeed, be a magnificent achievement — one over which the friends of humanity everywhere would uni'eignedly rejoice— the Coronation year should witness, as Mr. Asquith expressed it,"' the sealing of a solemn compact between Britain and America, ending once and for all the hideous and unthinkable possibilities of fratricidal strife.' It is, however, much too soon to indulge in unrestrained jubilation on the matter. Negotiations for arbitration between England and America have before now reached a much more advanced stage than they have at the present juncture, and yet have ended in fiasco. In 1897, for example, a Treaty of Arbitration was actually signed at Washington by Secretary Olney and the British Ambassador; and the fact was hailed by the London press as ' The greatest event of the century.' In order to take effect the Treaty only awaited the ratification of the American Senate on the one hand and of the English Parliament on the other. The approval of the English Parliament was a foregone conclusion; but before it was given any opportunity to say its say, the Senate had mutilated the great Treaty out of all recognition— it may be added, out of all possible acceptance. * The Treaty came before the Senate, backed by the following interesting and impressive message from President McKinley: 'Since this. Treaty is clearly the result of our own initiative, since it has been recognised as a leading feature in our foreign policy throughout our entire national historynamely, the adjustment of difficulties by judicial methods rather than force of arms—and since it presents to the world a glorious example of reason and peace, not passion and war, controlling the .relations between the two greatest nations of the: world, an example certain to be followed by others, I respectfully urge early action by the Senate thereon, not merely as a matter of policy, but as a duty to mankind.' Notwithstanding this recommendation, and despite the fact that the President used his personal influence with his friends in the Senate to secure its ratification without substantial amendment, the Senate finally killed the great Treaty without even a division. They did not, of course, actually reject it, as that would have brought them into almost universal odium, but they accepted it subject to an amendment which made the Treaty a simple farce. The article of submission in the original Treaty was in these terms: 'The high contracting parties agree to submit to arbitration, in accordance with the provisions and subject to the limitations of this Treaty, all questions in difference between them which they may fail to adjust by diplomatic negotiations.' To which the Senate added the following amendment: 'And any agreement to submit, together with formulations, shall, in every case before it becomes final be communicated by the President of the United States to the Senate with his approval, and be concurred in by twothirds of the Senators present, and shall also be approved by her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.' This meant that in every case the

subject of arbitration must be previously approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. The Treaty could thus never be applied unless a two-thirds majority of the Senate desired it; and the British Government would in effect have been compelled to ask the Senate in each case to agree to a new Treaty. Of course, as the majority of the Senators must have been well aware, the Treaty could not possibly have been accepted in London in such a form. Thus modified, the Treaty was an arrangement which enabled the parties to arbitrate only when they felt like it, and they could do that without a treaty. According to the American correspondent of the Times, the vote was dictated partly by blind hostility to Great Britain, and partly by jealousy lest the right of the Senate to concur in treaty-making should be rendered of less importance. "Whatever may have been the motives that led to the action, the effect was to utterly wreck the Treaty. It is certain, of course, that the adoption of such a Treaty between these two great nations would contribute immensely to the peace and progress of the world, but in the meantime it may be as well that philanthropists should not build their hopes too high. ."',. The Bubonic Plague Both England and New Zealand arc, it would seem, at the present moment face to face with a visit — a small scalefrom that most fearsome variety of human ill, the bubonic plague. In England, indeed, according to the London Time?,, the danger has attained formidable and serious dimensions. ' Plague is a word of ill-omen,' says the Scotsman. 'lts significance and its danger are increased when it takes the form and the name of rat plague. It is startling to' hear, as we do in a long article in the Times, that a plague epidemic, conveyed and transmitted chiefly by rats, has been amongst us for four yeras past. The area of infection has, so far, mainly been Suffolk, and in particular, the district adjoining Ipswich. It has not, of late, shown any clear indications of spreading into other districts. It* is, in a sense, an arrested danger. But it continues to be a peril that is formidable in its dimensions and mysterious in it character.' The Times calls loudly for prompt and energetic action on the part of the Government. It says, In this matter we cannot afford to "muddle through.'' The case calls for far more than the employment of a few rat-catchers, or the enthusiastic organisation of amateur rat hunts. It requires calm, deliberate, careful investigation at the hands of scientific experts with ample funds and many assistants at their disposal. _ The plague bacillus has .obtained an extensive lodgment in England, and the absence of serious human mortality up to the present does little to minimise that one indisputable fact. Though three months have elapsed since the epidemic was discovered, the Government have still to begin the development of an organised system of investigation. The General Election is now over, and the_ most intense preoccupations elsewhere will no longer suffice to relieve the Ministry from this grave responsibility.' :Sy-.,. ■•; •■' * According to Dr. Molyneux, who saw and treated the plague in Hong Kong, and who some time ago contributed a lengthy article on the subject to the Australasian Medical the disease is defined as follows: 'The bubonic plague is a specific bacillary infectious disease, characterised by the presence of a definite bacillus, by inflammatory, .affections of the lymphatic system, severe nervous symptoms, and necessarily epidemic in nature.' From his description of the cases treated by him it appears that, as the disease progresses, the tongue becomes dry and sore the lips hard and cracky, the skin burns, the temperature ranges from 103 to 105 degrees, and remains so until the seventh day, and the bubo or inflamed swelling of the lymphatic glands.(from which it takes its name), is always present. ' The predisposing causes to its development ! he says, are overcrowding, dirt, and probably a moist and increasingly warm atmosphere. Ventilation and sunlight are mimical to its development; but none of the predisposing causes will generate the bacillus de novo. It must be introduced into a medium of culture from without ' It appears that, as mosquitos convey malaria, so rats are the chief agents m the spread of the bubonic plague. # Happily, plague prevention is better understood nowadays than in the panic times of the Black Death, and the heavy mortality of the olden time can never be repeated It is now within the power of both the individual and the community to keep the bacillus of the bubonic plague at bay. Rat-traps, carbonic acid gas, and copious disinfection at the ports will undoubtedly help to stave off the unwelcome visitor. And even if he should break throuch at last and secure a local habitation, his power for mischief may bo greatly curtailed. 'All prevention,' says Dr Hodgson, of Sydney, ' lies in making a city and its" people clean, vigorous, and healthy. A city will be more liable

to plague or less liable according to its sanitary and personal conditions.' Dr. Molyneux writes to like effect; and gives us the comforting assurance that while the plague was overwhelming the undertakers with business in fHong Kong, no attendant in the European hospitals was attacked by it. * This immunity he attributed to scrupulous cleanliness, a plentiful supply of fresh air, and a bountiful use of disinfectants. . From all of which it appears that — while the bubonic plague is not to be trifled with —for the country, as for the individual, that is in a good sanitary condition, it need have no serious terrors. The Centre of the Church's Life It is somewhat remarkable to note the unerring instinct with which educated convertsin their preliminary investigations of the credentials of the Catholic Churchhave recognised the Blessed Eucharist as the source and centre of the divine life of the Church, and as the great dividing line between the Catholic Church and each and every of the Reformation sects outside her fold. The thought had early impressed itself on the mind of Manning; and after his reception he preached one of his most thoughtful and striking sermons on the thesis, The Blessed Sacrament, the Centre of Immutable Truth.' 'ln the world of divine realities,' said the preacher, ' all things are true, not illusory —real, not phantastic. So it is when Christ said, 'He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood dwelleth in Me and lin him.' I, that is, as you have known Me, though in a manner you know not as yet. 'My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed.' But it is neither, indeed, unless it be both, indeed, in substance and reality. ... By the substance of Jesus communicated to us we become ' of His Flesh and of His Bones,' and have thereby in us the pledge of a resurrection in the substance of the body to eternal life. These truths, as I have said, are in seriesthey hang upon the same thread of the divine veracity; the substantial presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the substantial regeneration of soul and body by the union of the members with their Head, the substantial resurrection of the flesh. Break this line anywhere, and all these truths, sooner or later, disappear into the world of shadows and unrealities, of words and figures, which, driven beyond the frontiers of the Church of God, hovers around the suburbs, but can never enter within its unity or endure its light.' * Belief in the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament —and adoration consequent on this belief— continued Manning, ' the test by which faith is discerned from unbelief.' Professor Albert Von Ruville—the latest eminent convert to the Church— probably never heard of Manning's sermon ; but in a striking passage of his very interesting and striking book he emphasises and develops precisely -the same idea. We quote a portion of tho passage : 'Francesco Pizarro, the Conqueror of Peru, fell into great distress on his way to the land of gold, so that all his companions despaired and demanded that they should return home. Then Pizarro stepped among the men, drew with his sword a line from east to west, and said: "To the north of this line a comfortable life awaits you, free from dangers, but with it poverty and lowliness. South of this line you are threatened by the most strenuous exertions, struggles, and misery; but in case of success, riches, power, and honor are yours. Now, choose your place." All thronged to the north side. Only twelve men stepped across to Pizarro. The thirteen sons of fame (las trecc di farm) reached their goal. In a similar way Jesus also drew a line which separated his faithful ones from the opponents. This line was the Holy Eucharist. The man who did not dare to cross it He could not use for His great work; but he who, overcoming all doubts, had sufficient faith and confidence in Him to step valiantly across, he was one of His very own; he could help to establish the Church. Peter was the first who resolutely placed himself on the side of the Master, with the words: "Lord, whither shall we go, Thou hast the words of Eternal Life"; he was 'followed by the other disciples. . . . The fame which St. Peter ivon by stepping to Jcsus's side in advance of the disciples and of all humanity will not fade in all eternity.' V * 1 Last week we referred in this column to the interesting developments that are taking place in the direction of the restoration of the Greek Church to Catholic unity. Apropos of the Blessed Sacrament as a source of grace, as well as a foundation for dogmatic truth, Manning uses words which, in the light of the present trend of events, would seem to have in them something of the prophetic. , 'Even in the great Greek schism,' he. says, in the great sermon from which we have already quoted, 'which has rent itself from obedience to the Vicar of Christ, and after its schism labored to justify it by errors which border upon heresy even there all the conditions of truth and grace remain.

In a moment, as once already in the Council of Florence, if it would but renounce its national pride, its schism, and the contentious, if not heretical errors it has elaborated, it might be restored as a whole to Catholic unity. It has valid Orders, and the -presence of Jesus, and the whole order of divine facts and truths, less only by its schisms and its errors. But it is recoverable, and one day may rise again as from the dead.'