THE DECREE RE DIETARY

New Zealand Tablet, 25 April 1912, Page 13

THE DECREE RE DIETARY

(From the , Daily ZXpress, February, 1912.)

The following amusing skit by Avis on the religious agitators who are stirring up strife with regard to-i'tiie" JSe Ttiritre and Diligentia decrees, appears in the Dublin Header. , ' - • YVe learn on good <■:■ authority '(writes the Italian correspondent : yof: the ' Daily ' Paragraph, London) that a fresh, decree has just been promulgated by ; the Vatican, affecting -discipline? in the Roman Communion; This new decree goes a step further than even A-c Temere or Qudntavu, Diligentia.; Those fulminations sought to regulate the actions of ' the faithful ' only >on certain, well-defined occasions, v but : the most recent decree interferes with? their daily lives. ; It is nothing else than a decree as to diet! All Roman Catholics are thereby enjoined to eat only one meal on week days for the next six weeks in atonement for their sins,: and the :use?of meat on " Wednesdays and Fridays is forbidden. The decree has caused'■, a profound sensation throughout Italy, and even the ] most, ultramontane-Romanists are perturbed by it. " The Italian correspondent of the Daily Paragraph has done a public service in dragging into the light of day the recent tyrannical edict issued froln the Vatican. Surely the limit has been reached? Recent ' legislation has prepared us for much, but we confess that this latest piece of Papist aggression staggers our imagination. British subjects, forsooth, are to be deprived not alone of their birthright, but of their mess of pottage as well. Matters have reached a pretty pass, indeed, when in the liberty-exhaling atmosphere of the British Empire a man may not eat the thing he will! The new decree re dietary forbids (mark the word) Roman Catholics to eat more than one meal per day, and, furthermore, refuses them the right to eat meat except on occasions. Milk, innocuous milk, -is also con-, demned. No wonder this mediaeval curtailment of the healthy appetites of a healthy people has aroused a storm of indignation. Protestants throughout the United Kingdom have been stirred to their depths. They are resolved to save their Roman Catholic brethren at all costs from starvation in obedience to the decrees of a voracious.priesthood. There is, indeed, one bright feature. This recent act of wanton aggression can only strengthen the agitation against Home Rule. We note with pleasure .that a meeting of protest has been convened by the Unionist Alliance and the Orange Lodges. The meeting will be heldmost fittingly—in the supper room of the Mansion House (kindly lent by the Corporation.in recognition of Belfast amenities on the occasion of the Churchill visit), and will be addressed by leading men in the Unionist Party.

THE DECREE RE DIETARY. GREAT MEETING IN THE SUPPER ROOM. (By Our Special Reporter.) The meeting in the Supper Room last might was worthy of the best traditions of that historic hall. A large audience of well-fed citizens filled the spacious chamber. * The Right to Eat ’ was championed by

those best "qualified to assert themselves in connection with this subject. The members of t the Corinthian Club were present in full force. The Masonic Lodges were well represented. Mr. J. C. Campbell, K.C., voiced the sentiments of the great gathering when he said that they would never let a Bull from Rome supplant the Roast Beef of Old England ! They had been told that this new decree did not concern the Protestants. " That was nonsense. (A voice' "What" about the butchers?') Aye, indeed! Was that splendid industry to be allowed to decline because of a decree from Rome. Never ! Ireland was an agricultural country, subsisting mainly on. her trade in. eggs and poultry. ,Was the consumption of these articles to be stopped by decrees from Rome? In the sacred name of Liberty he —No. _, ; , ;

Sir Edward Carson, K.C., said Ulster would eat, Ulster would have meat! Why, even Mr. Winston Churchill on his recent visit to Belfast had had his breakfast. If they had had the Home Rule the First Lord came to advocate, Mr. Churchill would not have been allowed to get that meal. Home Rule meant Rome Rule, and Rome Rule meant no more rashers ! Well, he would tell them that no matter what happened, he (Sir Edward) would have his cut of mutton or his slice off 'the breast. Their forefathers cheerfully faced the stake for their convictions, and they, their descendants, would face the steak— aye, the beefsteak —for theirs. He had seen it urged in the craven newspapers of a priest-ridden press that ’ this was no new decree. Well, it was the first he had heard of it, anyhow. It was further alleged that dispensations could be obtained. He thought they knew those dispensations. For his part, he would shed his last tear before Jhe allowed Italian priests to dictate his menu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OF THE. DAILY XXPRESS. Dear Sir, —The recent decree re dietary has a subtle significance which seems so far to have been overlooked. It is well known that fish is good for the brain. In this simple fact we have the explanation of Rome’s latest action. Papists-,—notoriously inferior to Protestants in intellectual as well as moral fibre—are to be put on a fish diet to stimulate their sluggish mental powers. This, I take it, is the meaning of the recent enactment. Shall we permit it? Yours observantly, Anti-Jesuit. Sir, —I am a vegetarian. Hence I cannot support the meat-eaters’ campaign against the new decree re dietary. But a sprat is as much a brother to me as a sheep. Therefore am with you in denouncing this last encroachment of Rome. —Yours perennially, ' Cauliflower. Dear Sir,The Papists rely on two arguments in defence of the new decree— (a) That it is not new; (b) that it affects only themselves. As regards (a) it is a lie; as regards (b) no people can exist without proper food. If the Irish Papists become weak from want of nourishment, ‘Where are we to look for our soldiers and sailors? Verb. sap. —Yours enthusiastically, Imperialist.