The New York herald., 1874-11-15
A Religious Excitement fn England-
Controversy Between Mr. Gladstone
and Archbishop Manning.

So"tHOversy netWeen Mrs Glaost0n0
and Archbishop Manning.
The London Times, in a recent article upon
the elections in America, mentioned point
which attracted our own attention at the
be under the influence of conservative tides.
Some years since and the affairs of the nations
all ran into radicalsm and change. The
French Revolution wss the beginning of the
new order Of events This was IN some
respects an inspiration Of our American
Revolution for, while the French uprising
would have taken place sooner or later, the
o republic was the direct impelling
cause of the revolution in France. Since
then we have had periodical movements Of
the political tides from radicalism to conserv-
atism and back again. The Reign of Terror
was followed by Waterloo and the Holy
Alliance. Then came the revolution which
established Louis Philippe and the English
Reform bill agitation, followed by Guizot con-
servatism and the tory ideas of Wellington
and Peel. Then we rolled back to the
revolutionary movements OF that year of
change, l84S, when socialism began to be
political power; then to the Napoleonic EN-
pire and the rise of Prussia into first class
nation; then back to the national movement
in Germany, emancipation in America and
the Commune. Then once more the con-
servative tides which bring the Septennate,
Disraeli's Ministry and the astounding demo-
cratic victories at the late election.
This shows how the nations of the world are
becoming more and mora as one family by the
advance Of science and the diffusion of univer-
family they respond to tho same political
emotions. We believe in the steady advance
of mankind toward peace, freedom and repub-
licanism. But before we come to the ultimate
realization of these hopes the tides will come
and 60 with the varying changes of party
strife. 1t is interesting to note, also, the close
sympathy between these political movements
and religion. Thus Germany, which only
yesterday was in a controversy with France,
suddenly finds herself in struggle with the
Papacy, and we are taught that in Bismarck's
eye it is only q new phase of the old
controversy. The first blow at the liberal
Ministry of Mr.. Gladstone came from the
Catholic influence in Parliament, which dis
sented from his views on education and gave
him his first defeat. Mr.. Disraeli had only
one debate in the last session of Parliament
which menaced the harmony of his Cabinet or
the influence of his administraion-the de-
bate on ritualism, which led to his public
censure of Lord Salisbury. And now all
England is excited over another religious dis
cussion between Mr. Gladstone, as leader of
the liberal party, and Archbishop Manning,
the head of the Catholic Church in England.
The religious tide has swept from the politics
of Germany to the politics Of Great Britain
His Grace the Archbishop addresses the
HERALD letter, explaining his part in this
controversy. This letter, in our desire to con-
vey it at once to the public, has been sent by
cable from our London Office and is printed
this morning In order that the controversy
may be Ineligible to our American readers
our correspondent sends us also by cable
summary of the manifesto of Mr. Gladstone,
TO which the Archbishops letter to the
HERALD is reply, and the opinions of
the London press. The chapter thus pre-
sented is an important and extraordi-
nary manifestation of the influence
of religious questions upon the politics
of England. We see how fercely the tide is
sweeping, and that religion is about to play as
important part in English political affairs as
in those of Germany. Mr.. Gladstone ad-
vances the extraordinary and irritating propo-
sition that no one can become convert to
Rome without renouncing his mental and
moral freedom, thus directly assailing Lord
Ripon, member of his own Cabinet and
recently convert to Rome. The Vatican, he
contends, controls the civil actions Of citi-
zen, and Catholic must regard his ale
glance to the Pope as paramount to
his allegiance to the nation. The dogma Of
infallibility exacts from the Catholic absolute
and unquestioning obedience to Rome, not
only in Europe, but ''even in the United
States where separation between the Church
and State is supposed to be complete The
natural sequence of this claim on the part of
tre Pope must be q renewal Of the agitation
for the temporal power and consequent jeop-
ardy to the peace Of Europe In other words,
Romanism is driving the nations to war, and
Mr.. Gladstone calls upon Englshmen to re-
member what sacrifices their fathers made
for Professionalism and to be true to religious
freedom now.
This is certainly an extraordinary mani
| festo. MIR. Gladstone has been denounced as
Jesuit in disguise in the heat of political
strife, and he certainly destroys that impress
sion. His Holiness the Pope, whose temper
does not mellow with advancing years, is said
to have become angry and to have publicly
stigmatized Mr.. Gladstone as "a viper assal-
ing St. Peter" Archbishop Manning comes
into the lists. He denies that the Vatican