Those who, like ourselves, admire the civic virtues of the
Duke of Norfolk, and whose hearts were deeply touched by the way in which he threw up an office in which he had done excellent work, and volunteered for the front, cannot but regret that he should have allowed himself to be made the mouthpiece of an attack on the Italian King, Government, and nation. In an address presented on Tues- day last by the English pilgrims to the Pope, and read by the Duke of Norfolk, the following words were used :—" We pray and trust that the new century may witness the restora- tion of the Roman Pontiff to that position of temporal inde- pendence which your Holiness has declared necessary for the effective fulfilment of your world-wide charge." Naturally, Italians who care for their country have deeply resented this demand for the disintegration of Italy. We suppose the Duke of Norfolk felt obliged, out of loyalty to the Vatican, to make this protest, but the fact that he felt such an obligation is but another sign of the unwisdom of the policy to which the Pope is committed.
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