The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-08 00:00:00

THE QUESTION OF INFALLIBILITY.

Dr. Ullathorne, the Catholic Bishop of Birmingham,
delivered an address on Sunday night, in St. Chad's Ca-
thedral, Bath-street. The greater part of the discourse
was taken up with reference to the Infallibility dogma,
which the right reverend prelate vigorously defended.
The following is a passage from the sermon.
The object of the Church's infallible teaching was not
any new revelation or new invention, but the old
deposit of faith left to the Church's keeping by Christ
and His Apostles. It was the trust of faith deposited in
the hands of the Apostles and delivered down throughout
ages from Pope to Pope, from bishops to bishops, as it
was contained in the Holy Scriptures, and the traditions
of the teaching Church. Beyond the deposit left by
Christ, beyond this trust, beyond those Scriptures and
those traditional teachings that were everywhere in the
Church, and at all times the same, the infallible guid-
ance was not granted, and could not extend. And, as this
infallibility did not contemplate any new revelation,
so it did not contemplate‘any new inspiration, but only
that sufficient and effective guidance of the Holy Ghost
which kept the Church free from error. The order of God
is to work not only by Himself, but through created
intelligences, thus glorifying Himself in the ennobling of
His creature ; for was it not a greater and more glorious
work of God to communicate His illuminating
power to a creature than for Himself alone to
be the one and only illuminating power of all spirits?
By this He puts into the creature a brighter
seal of resemblance. By this He makes His creature
God-like in power ; and the lower God descended to find
the creature whom He lifted up to be the illuminator of
other creatures, the more noble was His work. But the
work of God must ever reflect Himself, and His noblest
work, that of perfecting the intelligence of His creature,
must reflect Him the more perfectly. When the law
given by Moses had receded,"and grace and truth came
by Jesus Christ, He ordained a perfect hier-
archical or er in His Church. First he constituted
one as the complete and full representative of Himself,
the hierarch who represents the unity of His power
and truth ; then what he had given to one he distri-
buted to other apostolic men joined in union with that
one. But He called a third dabs whom He sent as mes-
sengers to preach His word. Thus, they had the three
orders of the sanctuary—the pontiff, the bishops,
and the priests. To secure unity, to shadow
out God's glory in His work, Christ constituted
the earthly upon the model of the heavenly hierarchies.
Like Michael, the Pontiff leads the army of light against
the,prince of darkness. The "Angels of the Churches,"
as tile bishops were called in Scripture, united with their
hierarch, were the local leaders, receiving illumination
from their chief, and passing on the light to the priests,
who were the multiplication of their energy. The Pon-
tiff constituted the bishops, the bishops constituted the
priests, and all along the line of hierarchic order and
descent, from the central unity of light and power,
accumulated and individualised in the Pontiff, passed out
the strengthening and confirming influence upon the faith
of all, flowing from the pastors to the multitude of the
people, and embracing in one light of faith the entire
Catholic Church of Christ.

RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT BIRMINGHAM.
A somewhat serious and, for the moment, alarming
accident happened in the Edgbaston Tunnel at New-
street Station on Saturday. It appears that at about
nine o'clock in the morning some half-dozen empty
carriages were being shunted on to a siding on the
New-street side of the station, and in order
to convey them thither they had first to be
taken into the tunnel. From some unexplained cause
they were allowed to remain there, it is alleged, by the
pointsman, and at ten minutes past nine the train to
Dudley left the Queen-street side of the station, and
proceeded towards Edgbaston Station. It had, however,
barely entered the tunnel when the engine came into
violent collision with the guard's van of the empty car-
riages, shattering it nearly in pieces. Unfortunately a
man was in the van, and he was thrown out with some
violence, but the injuries he sustained, happily, were
not of a serious nature. The roof of the
carriage to which the van was attached was nearly broken
from the sides, and the buffers were snapped entirely off.
Several passengers received slight injuries—contusions,
abrasions of the face, &c.—and others a severe shaking,
and a porter in the employ of the company at Dudley
sustained a rather bad wound on his head. The passen-
gers generally, however, were more frightened than hurt;
and after a brief delay spent in clearing the line the
train proceeded.—Birmingh,can Gazette.

DEATH OF A MILLIONAILM—Mr. William Thomas
Farnell, of the firm of Farnell, Watson and Company,
brewers, died at his residence, Isleworth, on Friday after-
noon, after an illness of only about teu days. The
deceased has for many yews been connected with the
celebrated firm of brewers, and was the last of the male
line of Farnells, who have been identified with Isleworth
for a number of years. The deceased was in his 69th
year. He was possessed of great wealth, worth nearly a
million pounds.

THE BIRMINGHAM CATTLE AND DOG SHOW.-
The entries for the Great Midland Cattle Show, to be
opened there on the 26th inst., have just been closed, and
they include 151 head of cattle, against 111 last year : 75
sheep entries against 50 in 1869 ; and 61 pigs against 45.
There are 234 entries of roots, and 46 of corn. The
National Dog Show is becoming more popular than ever.
Something like a thousand applications have been re-
ceived, but the Committee have been able to find room for
only 870. This is a larger number than at any previous
exhibition.

SELF-DENIAL.----In one of the laading London
morning papers the following advertisement appeared
yesterday morning --" An elderly person, fond of every
pleasure life can afford or money procure, desires to be
received into or to make an enjoyable home. Party
possesses and lives up to an ample fortune, has common-
sense perception, and therefore hopes boarding-house
keepers and such like, as puritanical people, monotonists,
and hungry, poor, struggling respectabilities, will feel it
useless to write. Offers must be very explicit on all
points, and will be confidential ; therefore no mere general
or anonymous letters will be noticed."—Addrebs, &c.
PROPOSED RAILWAY AMALGAMATION.—It has
been rumoured for some time past that the Great Eastern
Railway contemplates an amalgamation with the Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Company. To carry
out this amalgamation it would be necessary to construct
a link line from Peterborough to Lincoln. Up to Satur-
day evening it had not transpired that surveys for such a
line were in progress, but the Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincolnshire has been surveying for a line between
Lincoln and Sleaford, and also proposes to establish an
independent station at Lincoln. These measures, if
sanctioned by Parliament, would facilitate an amalga-
mation.

GERMAN HATRED OF THE FRENCH.—The corres-
pondent of the Standard, writing from the Prussian head-
quarters during the negotiations for an armistice, remai ks :
in any case M. Thiers' visit has hitherto not
muzzled the guns on either side. How grievous
will it be should it fail to do so ! lam sorry to say
that I notice the feeling of exasperation against the
vanquished steadily growing in the breasts of the
victors. You might have thought that the splendour
and completeness of their triumph would have blunted
the edge of the bitter sentiments evoked by war. Such is
unfortunately not the case. I never saw the truth of the
familiar saying, odisse gums lceseris—of course I use
the latter word in the mere sense of " in-
jured," not of " wronged" more conspicuously
illustrated. Nothing is commoner now than to
hear in German mouths the shocking and re-
prehenhible phrase, " I hate the French." When
hatred and contempt combine, the amalgamation is a
feeling of utter pitilessness. I do not say this tone is
universal, but it is too common. And they " hate " the
French because the latter are resisting after they are
beaten. The German character shows better in adversity
than in prosperity. They are patient, disciplined, resolute,
untalkative under defeat; full of grand possibilities of
self-redress. In victory they are unquestionably arrogant,
and but little open to the promptings of generosity. We
are now seeing their, most unlovely side. Mind, I still
fail to perceive that they are exorbitant in their terms ;
only one would wish their manner and language to be
more worthy of those who certainly have a giant's
strength.