25 JUNE 1994, Page 19

One hundred years ago

IT IS evident that the Archbishop of Canterbury is rather unfortunate in the reports of his speeches at the National Society. On Tuesday, he declared that he never had said at that Society's meet- ings the things which had given pain to the Roman Catholics, for he respected the Roman Catholics greatly, but according to the Times of Wednesday, which reports the Archbishop's speech of Tuesday, he went on to say that he wished it to be understood that he did not impute anything but truth to the principles of the Catholic Church, "but he believed that these principles made the Roman Church no fitting ally for the members of the Protestant Church." Surely this statement is stronger than anything he has yet said. To impute nothing but truth to the principles of the Roman Catholic Church, and yet to find that a sufficient reason for not act- ing with that Church, is the quaintest of all paradoxes. We suppose that the Archbishop has been misreported again, and that he has some better reason for not acting with Roman Catholics on the subject of denominational education, than the very singular reason that Roman Catholic principles are true.

The Spectator 23 June 1894