Cardinal Vaughan knows England, or should know it, being by
birth and nature a typical Englishman, but he is encourag- ing two efforts which, we think, show want of comprehension of Englishmen. One is a fund to assist clergymen who in becoming Roman Catholics forfeit their means of subsistence, which will be called bribery, and the other is for the conversion of well.to-do Nonconformists. He had better try the Quakers, and see what he makes of them. Of all classes in the world we should say Romanism, with its huge demands on faith, its sacerdotalism, and its stately ritual, appeals least to English Dissenters, who think all these things are in excess even in the Anglican Church. The chance of Catholicism in England, as Cardinal Manning clearly perceived, consists in the irreligion of the masses of workmen, who, if they turn their attention to religion at all, may be attracted by a system at once complete and visible. It is a poor prospect for the Cardinal's faith at best, though it has not been without its successes among the farmers in the Western States of America.
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