The culminating act of the Eucharistic Congress, the pro- cession
of Cardinals and Bishops through the streets of Westminster, took place on Sunday last in the presence of immense and orderly crowds. But the ceremonial designed to lend the procession its distinctive feature—the carrying of the Host—was omitted at the request of the Prime Minister. The alteration was announced by Archbishop Bourne at the Albert Hall meeting last Saturday, and Monday's papers contained the correspondence between him and Mr. Asquith. From this it appears that on the Thursday morning the Prime Minister privately intimated to Archbishop Bourne, through Lord Ripon, his desire that the procession should be abandoned. The Archbishop in his reply deprecated the invoking of obsolete statutes, asserting that the police authorities bad raised no objection whatever, and declined to countermand the procession unless be were empowered to say that he did so in accordance with a formal request from the Prime Minister. On the Friday the Archbishop received a letter from the Home Secretary expressing the strong hope that he would " take every care to secure conformity with the law of the land," and, after consultation with the Home Office authorities, that evening informed Mr. Asquith that he would abandon the special ceremonial of which the legality was questioned, provided be were authorised to state publicly that he did so at the Premier's request. To this Mr. Asquith replied stating that the change entirely removed all reason- able objection and withdrawing his stipulation for secrecy.
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