TOPICS OF THE DAY.
TEMPERATE ZEAL : THE ROMISH CONTROVERSY. IT is a hopeful omen of the temper with which the pending eccle- siastical contest will be carried on, that two of the newly-appointed Romanist Prelates have issued pastoral letters remarkable for their calmness and moderation.* In commenting last week upon the Bishop of London's charge, we drew especial attention to the free- dom from rancour and exaggeration in his allusions to the great topic of the day. On the other side, Dr. Wareing has addressed to the clergy and laity of his so-called diocese of Northampton a circu- lar epistle, which has the rare merit in such compositions of being short and keeping closely to the point at issue. It may be, that in the ease of the Protestant Bishop the violence of animosity may be curbed by an official position, which would make railing singu- larly unbecoming; and Doctors lillathorne and Wareing may be only veiling the arrogance of their pretensions, and the bitterness of their theological hatred, with that serpentine guile and smooth- ness of speech which have always, when necessary, accompanied the most despotic acts and the most intrusive encroachments of their Church. But, whatever be the cause, we are bound to ao- knowledge the fact ; and we would fain hope that, be the course and fortune of the battle what they may, the same decency of lan- guage and demeanour may be observed throughout. It is almost needless to remark, that deep conviction and resolute purpose do not, except in the coarsest natures, clothe themselves of necessity in intemperate speech and unmeasured abuse of opponents ; and as these are proverbially the poor resource of those who doubt them- selves or suspect that others doubt them, we trust that on the present occasion they will be left to such as distrust their own Protestant principle, or have given their neighbours strong reasons for putting but little faith in it. Especially it is to be hoped that all who value religious liberty will see the abso- lute necessity of confining themselves, as Dr. Wareing has done, to the political and legal bearing of the question, and of not mixing up with these the relative truth of the doctrines taught or the usages sanetioned by the respective Churches of Rome and Eng- land. Most cordially therefore do we concur with Dr. Wareing in deprecating " the violent declamation, the furious onslaught, and unscrupulous misrepresentation," which he characterizes as " some- thing little short of insanity." For our own sakes, as well as for the sake of justice, we would have the dispute conducted with fair- ness and scrupulous adherence to the facts of the case. The rights of a minority are the safeguard and standard of social progress. When Dr. Wareing, however, goes on to tell us, " that the rule and motto of his Church has ever been, Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but to God what belongs to God," we with difficulty give him credit for believing what he says. At least we should be glad if he had defined what in his opinion was Caesar's portion. History tells us of kings deposed and people excommunicated—of crimes sanctioned and the domestic charities outraged—of all that men and nations count life worth living for—sacrificed to the dogma of an absolute church and an infallible authority. And Englishmen need but look across the Irish Channel, and they will find it hard to be- lieve that this dogma is less stern, less anti-social, and less anti-na- tional now, than when the bolt that flashed from the Vatican could tumble kings and emperors in the dust. This we believe to be the true ground of the undeniable indignation with which the people of this country view the restoration of the Papal hierarchy. It is not as men holding certain religious opinions, and organizing themselves accordingly, that our Roman Catholic fellow subjects are looked on with suspicion and dislike, but as the parties, conscious or un- conscious, in a conspiracy for the destruction of family and na- tional life. This suspicion, which, as applied to the priests of that religion, is stronger and more deep-rooted in Catholic than in Pro- testant countries, will scarcely yield to official declarations how- ever emphatic, however conciliating. Men will, and justly, judge the system by what its results have been when unimpeded by sur- rounding alien influence, not by the professions of its votaries under such wholesome checks as happily our free atmosphere supplies.
• Written before the appearance of Dr. Briggs's letter—a still calmer pro- duction.
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