, 1879-03-16

ploacu. 1He proposed rue ToutQ eXcluue
Profs. Tyndali and Huxley RS witnesses.
a1r. Barnes thought otherwise. Hc did not
understand that Prof. Tynla}1 was an atheist
He believed in d God, but did not believe In the
efficacy OF prayer. Whena witness swea.s upon
the Bible to tell the truth, the truth must rest
With his conscience to his God.
Tie Court rcassertcd that the rule had be-
come absolctc; il it had not, it ought to he.
The enforcement Of such a rule would be an
outragc-to cut oil, by circumstance, very im-
portans testimony. The motion would be over
ruled. What DO you mean BY an athcists
AIR. Barues-l will explain lil Il moment.
The Court-Yop can put lle point in any for
mula you choose for consideration hereafter.
ARCHBISHOP PURCELL.
DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES foF HIS FAILURE.
reso 1nrk .Naftfn.
It is safe to say that no c9nseauence of the
panic Of 1878 has been SO grptcsque, as we'll US
disastrous, as the apocaranf nfe Of a Catholic
Archbishop in the cllaractar IT bankrupt saw
ings-banl1. His failure il1usfrat in d curious
way the nature Of the ma3ia-for this is tile
proper word for it-which preceded the crisis
and brought it about. Ills taking about s4,-
000,000 Of poor peoples money, and keeping no
books OF account, or only ve3y imperfect ones,
aud putting it all, or nearly al1, into churches
and monaster;es and schopls-Or, in other
words, into unproductive! and practically
unstable propcrty-is VERY singular phe-
uoncuon. 1t is very sing 31lar, too. after
making every allowance fof the reverence
of Catholics for High Church ttgnitarics, that SO
many people should have been found willing to
trust him with their funds, and should have be-
lievcd in bis ability to manage them safely. 1t
is true that feeling Of respect for the financial
capacity OF Bishops is ditfuscd through the
Church by the absolute control over the diocesan
property with which they are entrusted, so ab-
solutc, indeed, that we believed they are not
called on for any public accounts. The Arch
bishops own views on this subject. too, were
forcibly set forth in circular which he issued
in 1865 to the clergy OF his diocese touching the
management Of church property. After show
ing that by the canuns, by q tile consent of the
faithful ia all ages" and by the Bible, this man
agcmeut 'is condded to the Blshops,n he goes
on to say:
Fourth-In the discharge Of this duty he 1.-THE
pastor OF a congregation, representative OF the
Bishop] may be alvantagcously assisted by lay
counsellors selected from among men Of the con-
Creyation Of wcll-kn0wn piety, pEobity, intelli-
gence, prudence, and peaccableness. The evils
done the Church in the United States in times past
aud the scandals given BY lay trustees have caused
look with disfavor on the appointment Of laymen
NJ managers Of church funds. Hence 1t is only
wnen care nas oeen takcn 20 guard a:a1ns' unfea-
sonaue anu T2'n nd a e,oiinn m
s thnt ,i ~ o;tsn4 t1', mn aunnaa VI ,ch,
a.. ot thc ~ cont1ocrs o
property: they are moi the representatives oi ihe
CONGREGATION, as has sometimes been supposed
but simply the assistants Of the pastor in the
OF the temporal Affairs of'thc congregation.
Still the knowledge that the Archbishop had
become liable for interest on an enormous sum
must have been widely spread for many years,
and spread, too, in 4 community which is tolcr
ably we'll Informed, even in its most Ignorant
strata, about the conditions on which money
can be made productive aud repaid when called
for; aud this without exciting alarm. There is
nothing in the relations Of the Catholic clergy
to their tlocils that will account Ior this. The
Church, especially since SHE lost her vast enduw
ments, would doubtless have, gladly undertaken
in various countries the function OF keeping
and managing the savings Of the poor, il there
were a.nong the faithful unT strong general con-
flepce IN the financial capas:itT Of the clergy:
and this VIC think 49,. true in spite of
the prohibition in many yGiocescs OF the
ish priest. In fact, considering the readiness
which she ALWAYS has shown to undertake any
duties which seemed likely to give her influence,
the inference that she would have widely en-
gagged in the banking business, if people had
been willing to resort to her1for this purpose, is
not al unfair Que. The Clergy have shown great
ability 10 accumulati1lg church property and in
managing it for church purposes, but this has
not, somehow, satisfied the world that llley are
good financial advisers or good persons to hold
money " on call.'
The secret OF the Archbishop's success in pro-
curing deposits undoubtedly lay in tue state OF
mind gu the part OF the public, aud on the part
OF the lay tinnnciers. which made possible the
enormous investments in railroads during the
seven years preceding 1878, and which during
the same re7iod plunged SO many cities and
towns into the work of making ti1nprove-
ments." His mental condition when receiving
the deposits and promising interest on
them was probably, III its vague hopefu]ness
and dislike OF dry investigation, very like that
Of the spectators who sold the bonds Of all
the now bankrupt railroads. Hc did not clearly
know how he was to provide the interest. nor
they where the earnings on which they relied
were to come from; but it was st in tie nir u
that oil would 20 we'll, and that real estate
would rise, and traffic grow, and population in
crease, and the good times never eud. Between
1870 and 1878 a large number Of spectators
really believed that an issue Of bonds would
make business for Il railroad; that bond was
not simply Fan acvidence Of debt but crc-
ator OF wealth. The editors Of the religious
papers had a feeling abouta well-engravcu bond
H., ;,I~