New-York tribune., 1874-11-24
POLEMICS IN ENGLAND.

| THE ONE NULLIFED BY THE orHER-oPINIoNs
| OF TIE ENGLISH AND IRISH PREss-MR. Dis
RAEIIs ALLUsIoN To THE CONTROVERSY.
rhoh THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.l
| LONDON Nov. 10.-Mr Gladstone cannot complain
'hat Ills challenge has not been promptly answered
| utter one fashion or another. Summaries of his
pamphlet appeared in some of the morning papers
on saturday, and on Monday Archbishop Mannngs
response was published IN all of them, followed-in
me fimes-by long letter from Lord Acton, Ro-
man Catholic nobleman, to Mr.. Gladstone. The
Archblshops letter is a characteristic one. very
sounding in phrase but empty of practical assur-
ance or perhaps should rather say full Of assur-
ances that seem to mean much but which pledge the
writer to nothing but glitterinR generaties.
| Dr. Manning says he is bound not to suffer
day to pass without repellng from the Catholics
OF this country the lightest ImputatiOn upon their
loyalty. He regards Mr.. GladstOnes pamphlet as an
elaborate argument to prove that the teaching of
the Vatican Council renders it impossible for
Catholics to be loyal, and to that proposition he
gives prompt contradiction and with equal prompt
airms that the loyalty of their civil allegiance
is not in spite of the teaching of the Catholic
Church. but because of it. The sentence is scarcely
adroit one, for it suggests that if the Catholic
| Church taught the contrary doctrine English
Catholics would have TO follow that, and their loyalty
be exchanged for disloyalty. This of is not
| what the Archbishop means us to understand. lie
says: The civil allegiance of every Christian man
| in England is limited by conscience and
the law of God, and the civil allegiance of Catholics
is limited neither less nor more" But Archbishop
Manning. if put on the stand, would have to admit
that he does not mean by the words civil allegiance
what Mr. Gladstone and Protestants in general
mean by them. lie has asserted so lately as this
present year that the spiritual power can define
with divine certainty its own limits with refer
ence to the civil power; or in other words, that
" the spiritual power knows, with divine certainty,
the limits of its own Jurisdiction, and it knows
therefore the limits and the competence of the civil
power" The civil allegiance" therefore, of which
he makes boast is allegiance to the civil power
as and limited by the spiritual power of Rome
which is precisely what Mr. Gladstone complains
of. We have not therefore got single step further
by help of Archbishop Mannng'5 letter. Nor have
l stated the whole force of the objection to his
declaration. 1t is certan-admtting for the mo
ment that he means by civil allegiance what Prot
estants mean by t-that, when he describes it as
limited by conscience and the law of God, he means
conscience under the guidance Of the priest and thc
law of God as infaliby declared by the Pope. Thus
once more we are landed where we started. and find
the Archbishop travelling in vicious circle
Lord Acton takes different line. and his letter is
interesting, though Lord Acton is not man who can
be said to speak with such authority for lay CathO-
lies as Archbishop Manning does for the sacerdotal
order. He is, nevertheless an important person. lie
inherited an old baronetcy bestowed in 1911 by
Charles /. on the first possessOr for distinguished
loyalty and Mr.. Gladstone made him Lord in 1859.
He had been educated under Dr. DJlnger, and
under his inspiration Lord Acton went to Rome to
oppose the adoption by the Gcumenical Council in
4l,ot r,ftb In e la
has not so far as know, been communicated, but
he must be taken to represent the old Catholic party,
which in England, prefers to be known as Liberal
Catholics He is only 40 years old. and man of
great activity and much influence. Ills letter
is written with marked ability and it is an en-
deavor to meet Mr.. GladstOnes cxpostulation by
the logical process known rs rdactiO ad d6aurdam.
lie admits, in substance, that the Papai claim OF
supremacy in temporal matters is inconsistent with
perfect civil allegiance. But, says Lord Acton
you might have proved great deal more than you
have proved. You might have proved that the doe
trne proclaimed by Pope lnnoccnt Ill, VIZ that IL
is murder to kill cxcommunicated persons, Is sti
part of ecclesiastical law. You might have shown
that the doctrine that allegiance is not to be Kept
with horetical princes rests on equal authority;
that Plus ". the last canOnizc1 Pope, commissioned
an assassin take the life of Queen Elizabeth, and
that his successor not only approved the massacre of
the French Irotcstants, but imporcd the hlng OF
France to carry on the work OF slaughter tlI
every IIuguenOt had recanted or periShed' goou
Catholic is as much bound to accept doctrines ana
examples of this sort as TO accept the recent Natl-
can DEGREES If Lord Acton does not say this Iii so
many words that is plainly what he means. Ii Is
the point to which his whole argument tends, ana
his own position in the Church is well known.
Whether, therefore, his argument DC suihcleht
answer to Mr.. Gladstone or not, 1t IS suhcieht an
swer to Archbishop Manning. The one nuiliies tho
other Lord Acton maintains his loyalty as an En-
gshman at the expense of his loyalty as Catholic.
He does not admit that the Vatican decrces make
him any less good citizen because he does not in-
tend to obey them.
The interest excited by the sudden appearance OF
Mr.. Gladstone's manifesto can hardly be exagger-
ated Some of the causes which led to 1t are stated
in the summary sent you last week, but had not
then heard Of the impatencc which Mr.. Gladstone
himself felt to get his views before the world. lhe
last of his manuscript. am told' was not III MI
Murray's hands till Wednesday evening but the
pamphlet was sent complete to the London papers
on Friday afternoon. 1t was announced Tor pup
lcation yesterday. Some copies, however reached
the booksellers on Saturday, with third thousand"
ON the cover. The copious extracts and abstracts
in the newspapers did not make people
less eager to have the book itself In Ireland, the
strongest feelings have been aroused, as might be
expected, and tho expression Of them is perhaps
stronger still. The London papers, with character
stic heedessnes of what goes on outside the etrop
olis gives us the most meagcr epltomes OF what the
Irish papers say. Yet the occasion is one when tue
Irish are sure to regard as most serious. lheir
fercest passions will be kindled. learn from dis
patch in last nights PdH Mall Gazette that me fFee-
mans Journal printed the pamphlet IN fnil-wiich Is
Ar MIlrr will hnrllN