The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-08 00:00:00

aoultsao.

The Times, in reterring to the leading dogma pre-
'mounded in the (Ecumenical Council, observes it is pre-
4oisely because this Papal Infallibility, or, more properly,
'Cis universal Papal spiritual absolutism, has been for so
'many years borne by the whole of Roman Catholic
}Christendom without murmuring, that the Jesuit advisers
gol Pius IX.. ought to have felt the wisdom of the maxim,
o"Quieta non movere." It is for this reason that, in
our opinion, Bishop Dupanloup deserved such high
credit for his bold denunciation of the inoppor-
4-eneness of bringing such a question before the
?world at this moment, or, as he might have added,
at any moment. It is one of those subjects
about which "least said is soonest mended." The vast
bulk of Roman Catholics look upon the dictum, " The
Pope is infallible," with the same feeling with which we
here in England accept the maxim, "The Queen can do no
w cong." It is, in both cases, a convenient myth ; but with
this difference, that we, politically, profess to accept the
le et at the Sovereign's hands because we are aware of our
power to discuss it with her responsible Ministers; while,
religiously, the Roman Catholics submit to the Pope's
word as indisputable because they have long agreed that,
in matters of faith, truth gains nothing by dispute,
and safety lies in utter abnegation of reason.
The Pope, however, or his Jemit advisers, have too far
pi 'mimed on this self-denial of the Catholic intellect.
They have thrown down a gauntlet which bold spirits have
been ready to raise from the ground. Father Hyacinthe,
" Janus," Professor Dollinger, Monseigneur Blaret, the
theologians of Fulda, Bonn, and Coblentz, have sounded
the depth of Papal pretensions to their very
sources. We will not venture to say whether argu-
ments of the nature of those urged by " Janus " or by
Monseigneur Maret will be allowed a free utterance
['within the Vatican halls ; we do not know whether spoken
'opposition will be as easily disposed of by anathema as
' written objection. But of this we are sure, that there is
no thickness of Vatican walls that can keep the light from
ebhe world, if the Court of Rome will really allow that
there should be light. The Jesuits have put their foot in
it ; the Pope must bear the consequences. Well may the
shrewd Antonelli declare withreepect to the Loyola Brother-
h god, Whatever they touch they are sure to bring to
destruction."

The Daily News declares that as an imposing spectacle,
the series of ceremonies just begun in Rome, will be one
of the most magnificent "revivals of an age which in faith,
as in learning and in art, is more remarkable for its
a7ltiquarian and archa,'ological discoveries and restorations
'than for any original productions of its own. There is no
place like Rome for processions and celebrations.
The city itself is a fragment of antiquity. The
crowds of heretical tourists who will fill the
pockets of the Pope's dear and loving subjects,
and call down their disinterested blessings on his
head, will probably see very little :of the sessions or
" actions" of the Council itself ; once a month, perhaps, the
curtain will be withdrawn, and the Fathers of the Church
will be discovered sitting, in a state of chronic inspiration,
round their venerable Pontiff; but every day, and at all
lours, the streets of the Eternal City will be enlivened
Ly groups of Bishops of fearful and wonderful aspect,
yellow-faced Bishops, black-faced Bishops; Bishops smok-
if Ig, pipes, and Bishops smoking cigars ; Bishops with earrings,
ad Bishops in the wildest fancy dresses and hats. From
China, from Japan, from remotest India, from Australasia,
and Polynesia, from the islands of the Atlantic and the
Pacific and from the Eastern. Ocean there will be repre-
sentatives of the Latin Communion, and it is to these
i'cvoted and often admirable servants of the Cross the
Council will owe whatever it possessed of an " Ecumeni-
cal" character. In the 364 churches of Rome there will
be more than usual brilliant "functions," and a vast variety
of preachers.

The Telegraph discusses a recent railway compensation
ease, and finds that the question of " fining " the company
—for it comes to that—altogether depends, not on the
character, but on the consequences, of their acts. If a
most unpardonable and flagrant accident occurs, and yet
by some chance nobody is hurt, they get off scot free. But
some slight fault may lead to the railway murder of scores,
and then the penalty upon them is terribly severe. At this
trial nobody asked how the accident occurred; the great
question was how Dinah Harris " took it." To that issue
Vail the trial narrowed down. This mode of inquiry follows,
of course, from the fact, that our only way of keeping
the companies in order is to make them amenable for the
results of their blunders; and we suppose that system is
better than no system at all. It is open to this objection,
however, that the companies carrying third class pas-
sengers only need not be so particular 33 when they carry
first-class travellers; they had better kill three hundred
working men than one Bishop--and, having their choice,
they generally do select their victims from the lower
elasses, travelling mainly by excursion trains. The Great
'Western Company wish to do even more than this ;
they have started workmen's trains from Hammersmith
and other places adjacent to the City; but the
workmen are bound by the inscription cn the ticket, in-
stead of suing for damages in case of accident, to refer the
claim to an arbitrator, who shall not grant in any cane more
than £lOO. In this way the company practically says:
!` We will not convey these working men unless we can
get off at a cheap rate in case we kill or wound them.'

There is something cynical in the proposition ; and yet it
ascords with our modern practice of fixing £5 as the tariff
price for a brutal assault, and the more ancient usage
"When every Saxon clown first killed his man, and then
Laid half-a-crown."

The Herald remarks that the canal through the Isthmus
of Suez, about the feasibility of which so much incredulity
has been expressed, is now so far a fact that it has posi-
tively been opened, and a considerable number of vessels
of large tonnage have passed along its whole
length of ninety-two miles, from the Bay of Pelusium
in the Mediterranean, to the Harbour of Suez, in the Red
Sea. So far from feeling any jealousy or apprehension
about it, we in England have every reason to
wish prosperity to this Ship Canal. Whether it
-a ill prosper—whether, in fact, it will pay—is quite
another question. It has already cost twelve millions
instead of the eight millions originally raised. It will
cost some millions more to dredge it down to the proposed
depth of twenty-six feet. It has to be seen how the
dredging machines are to be kept at work while ships
are passing to and fro. Experience only will show
bow far the wash of the steamers will injure or
destroy the sandy banks, and whether the drifting sand of
the desert will choke up the channel. The expense
of its annual maintenance cannot be fairly calculated
by a comparison with the outlay on the sluggish
inland waters of Holland, where no such dangers
are to be anticipated. On the other hand, full stress
must be laid on the argument advanced by M. de Lesseps
and DI. Lange, that, at a uniform rate of 10s. per ton, two
vessels of large tonnage, passing daily, will bring in an
income of £BOO,OOO a year. On the whole, we cannot see
any sufficient reason why the Canal should not be a suc-
cess. Trusting sincerely that it may prove so, we can
only reiterate the sentiment of the Liverpool Chamber of
Commerce, when asked for its opinion on the matter in
3357, that f‘ the completion and maintenance of such a
canal would be of great benefit to the commercial interests
cf this country."

It is clear, observes the Post, that Ireland has some
claim to exceptional legislation, and a suggestion has been
made by Mr. Robert Baxter for the satisfaction of that
claim which has the merit of being simple and perfectly
practicable, and also of not being without precedent. It
is to assimilate the law and practice of Ireland to the law
and practice of England. Mr. Baxter is not a theorist.
Ile writes upon a subject he thoroughly under-
stands, with which he has for many years been
rractieally conversant, and, what is still more to
the purpose, he justifies the right of Ireland to
special legislation by showing that there is in
England a system of tenant right which is only to be
found in one province of Ireland, and there in a corrupt
form. His suggestion deserves to be considered, and we
would especially point out the absurdity to which he
reduces the panacea, popular in Ireland at the present
sooment, of fixity of tenure. It is the most discouraging
i)art of the Irish land question that we have to legislate
for men who can believe that such a principle is practicable,
or that it would be productive of good results even if it
were. The last thing that a nation aiming at prosperityshould wish for is a fixity which, as Mr. Baxter justly says
and groves. would amount to paralysis.
11.0 01..1110.:10
Show, now in full glory, is 1.,
I.
illtvt.%Lec;

Chili Cattle
of the age in which we

cc (Any our progress in agriculture,
but also a large development in our ideas of progress itself.
If seventy years have dole for the cultivation of our herds
end flock.; tenors than seven hundred years prior to the
organisation of this society, seventeen, or even seven,
have advanced its objects in a remarkable degree,
an.l changed the anaition cf exhibitors. The
days of mere size, weight, and fat have long
gone by. 'Each succeeding Christmas,• as it hap-
pens, renders the display more interesting, on
acconet of the 17evastation which, not long ago, smote
the English Line in farm and field ; but, surveying the won-
derful wealth set forth in the Agricultural Hall, it is diffi-
cult to remember that so hrief an interval has passed
since our cattle were tlyinl; le: thousands thioughout the
land. The Royal Agricuitur.il society of England retains
its rank as the leading inslitutien Of that class in the
world, and its eneiPery, the mikhfieid Club, is, in its
not le.; distin:;uished. More than this, the spirit of
cer agriculture is essentiaßy one of education and improve-
ment. Emulation has a good deal to do with it, of course, and
year by year more aspirants are hurrying towards the great
highway. If once now and then a halt takes place, or a fal-
ling off is visible, the peculiar incidents of the time must be
considered. The cattle trade in the United Kingdom has
passed through a severe and destructive crisis, is still
surroutied by d:fEcaltk-u, is not yet free from alarm, and
2,2Tmirp. to acme nt, the mercy of Orders in Council.
While theF;e harassing influences continue; they must, more
or less, affect both the culture of meat and the commerce
in it. But none can visit the Agricultural Hall, or will
next week see the shining shop-fronts, and refuse to con-
cede that London is the greatest beef-market in the world,
and has nothing, in this respect at any rate, to envy any-
'where.