The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-08-18
The Treaties of San Stephano and Berlin in their
Bearing on Catholic Interests.
London Tablet.


Perhaps it is only atural that to the eyes o
POLITICAL partisans everything ccomplshet
by their opponon's is bonnd to be wrong; the
successes must be failures, their victorious de
feats. There are few among us who have no
personal consciousness of the force of pr.j udice
Bat when rejndice expanCs so the pi oportioDt
of passion, It's irhaence on our appreciat or
ia more dis !strous than mere mental c0lGr
blindness. No 6oubs it Is very trs ing to the
patience to fiud good deeds Jgmas; I'D as evil
ones, and to read or hear appeals TO the conn
try to condemn and +jsct proceedings which
deserve the nations warmes5 appreciation and
gratitude. Bat, no o~ever irritating this mus
be, we fear it is only too likely to happen wheI
men take for the guides of their Judgment and
conduct. not principles but prejudices, especi
ally prejudices of personal character, infam
ed and envenomed by sore personal dissppoint
ment. Few men can with equapimty see 9
rival preferred to the place which they be
lieve they would fill better themselves Fewer
still will generously join in applauGing riva
for an achievement, the opportunity of which
has been denied to themselves.
It will then be no novelty, should the worh
which Lord Beaoonefield and the Government
have accomplished at Berlin and Constanti
nople be deprecated, carcstured, and held ur
to soorD, by at least some OF the more violent
and less informed of their political opponents
We have had a sample tf this more than once
during the presentlyear. As soon rs the Cabi
net had decided that the moment had come
Z when it was necessary to demonstrate to Ruseia
by active measures that England would moi
permit herintereets in the East to be encroaoh.
ed upon, the country WAS at once assured,
even by leading men among the Liberal party,
that the Government was seeking to precipi-
tate war. The refusal to acquiesce IN the treaty
80 surreptitously negotiated by General Igua-
tief, or to join in Congress unless every
clause of that treaty was to be submitted to
the Judgment of the European Powers, was de-
nounoed as piece Of injustice towards r Issia,
an effort to rehabiitate Turkish msrule and
Christian degradation, and proof that war
was to be forced on at any cost. Later. upon
Nln no.; u - af Al
randum," an sutcry was at once raised in come
quarters, that the Government had been all
along only plal ing a game of brsg. to amuse
and deceive t1e British paop1e, while in reality
they we're yielding up to Russia every point OF
Importance. Even while the Congress was
actually sitting. end were daily receiving
reports of how the English Penipotentiaries
were steadfastly maintaining the ground
which they had publicly taken up and were
not only successfully eliminating the obnoxi-
ous clauses from the Treaty of San S5efauo. but
a'so adding others as safeguards againtt Ros
sian encroschments, soms newspapers were
either SO ill-informed pre- 1diced ae t } re-
prese1 the proceedings at Berlin 90 "a triu m ph
for Russia all along the line" We regret to
see that misrepresentation of this character
we prefer, 10 their case, to hope that they are
only misrepresentation - have appeared in
Journals wbich are usually most loyal in up
holding Catholic Interests Bat in dealing wth
what has been done iu the re-arrapgemeut of
the Turkish douiinions, they seem 10 have left
ont of consideration how differently those in
terests were fected by the original Treaty of
San Stsfano, and by the decisions of the Cen
gresH.
Aud yet no great attention perspicuity is
needed in order to recognise this difference
The orig nal docum ent practically established
Russian PEotet IrAte over all le SulGRn's 3 Eu-
ropeap Provinces. 1t iS unnecessary to ssy tbat
the CoDgre has not only put end to this,
but has made its revival under any disguise
impossible in the future. Even the most sim
pie need no enlightenment as t. the meaning
of q Russian PrOtecGOrsts, SO far ss the Catho-
lilo religion is concerned. TIE scenes which
have been epac ed aud may stlll be with sssed
in the Russian Provinces IF Poland, make this
clear to the dullest apprehension. The mere
putting aside such fatal protectorets would
be to avert one of the:greatett c3lAmities and
dangers that could threaten the Catholics of
Turkey. But the Congress has done much
more than this. According TO the original stip-
nlations forced upon the Porte. Roumania,
Seryla and Montenegro, were to be absolutely
Independent The huge Bulgaria" which
was to include nearly tue whole of Rouuela,
was also to be Independent of the Sultan all
but in name, while it was to be organized" by
Russian officials, and generally handed over to
Russian influence. Finally, the Porte was TO
reorganizs the other provinces in conjunction
with Russia. Now, putting aside any direct
action cf Russia, we ask whst under these cir.
%cSmstances, GU would be the position OF the Ca
tholics throughout all those regionsf What
has been done in Servia is q type of what was
likely to happen. There, under the pretext
that All Servians are members of the "Ortho-
do1" lSohismstic) Greek Church, the profes.
sion of CstholiciJy has been made practically
impossible.
This conduct is identical in princi pie With
that by which the Rossiau Government Affects
10 regard the uniates as officially mem bers of
the State schism. The outrage on individual
liberty of conscience is transparent in both
cases Eve do not persecute Roman Catbo-
lics," the Servian or the Muscovite may saw
with cynical franknts5, I've simply say that
such and such persons are not Roman Catho.
lies, but members of the State Church, What
has been done in Ssrvia would be sure to be
repeated in Bulgaria. Already, within the
past few Yeas the Bulgarian Catholics have
sonered sorely at the hands of their schismatic
GO, ProVincials, backed up by Russian intrigues
at Conssantinople. Within the last few months
tne CaSholio b ligarians of the southern dis
SLicts near the Archipelago have bsen greatly
narassed. owing to the Greek Bishops and
olefRY of thoae diakrin.n rnnrnnnntinr thn.n 10