National Republican., 1883-03-05
OLD BUT VIGOROUS.
Steady Growth OF the Romish Church In
Recent Scars.

Pail Mall Gazette.
Tho Catholics of England and Scotland, it
seems, have increased at between twice and
three times the ratio of increase in the popu-
lation. In tho year 1910 tho Catholics of
Great Britain numbered 539,5O0, the clergy
62i, and their churches 500. In 1880 the
first of these totals had risen to 1,35i,OOo
tho second to 2,2s2, and tho third to
1,461. Thus, while tho inhabitants of Great
Britain have increased in number by 60 per
cent, the Catholics have increased by 15S per
cent. within the period under consideration.
"At present." says their representative organ,
I'VE constitute per cent. of the population
of Great Britain and should have twenty
seven members of tho house of commons,
whereas there is actually but one-the men,
ber for Berwick" In the United States-for
reason which lies, of course, upon tho sur
face-the growth Of the Catholic community
has been much moro rapid even than this.
They have there multiplied $40 per cent,
while the rest of the population has advanced
1872 per cent. during the last thirty yeSrs.
Numbering only 666,630 in 1910, they have
now reached a total of 6,143000. In Aus
tralia, according to the authority from
which We quote, the Catholics could on
the accession Of Queen Victoria "havo
been almost counted on ones fingers"
attending 800 churches, and receiving the
ministrations of 400 priests and sixteen
bishops. Perhaps, however, tho most sngu-
lar example of the vigorous growth of Ca
tholicism which the Catholic journal has in
stanccd is to be found in India. There tho
number Of Catholics is stated TO bo 1,3lS,000
or moro than four times that of the Protest
ants, and to amount to thirteen -sixtecnths
OF all Christian denominations put together.
And here, too, the case seems really to be ono
OF genuine missionary success, for DR.. Hunter
records in his cyclopodia that in the single
province of POndiCherry no fewer than
10000 adults We're baptized into the Catholic
religion in the three months ending Decem-
Der, 1850. In tho United States,
on tho other hand, tho case is ex-
actly reversed. There, at any rate,
it would be gratutous to assume any remark
able triumph Of proselyti2ing energy; for the
increase, immense as it is, of the American
Catholic population during a period which
covers the years Of the Irish exodus produced
by the great famine may be said to explain it.
self And the same explanation may be taken
perhaps to account, at least in some consider
able measure, for tho growth of the Catholic
element among the people of Australia. But
what is the explanation MS regards Great
Britain herself is the increase Of Catholicism
in the country to be set down to tho "propa-
CATION OF the faith" or to the propagation of
a particular race by whom the faith is held ?
% That the Irish element in our popua-
tion shows tendency to increase thrice as
fast as the English-or, in other words,
that certain influences which tend to
lower the standard of living among the work
ing class Of the community are nearly three
times us active rs the influences tending to
maintain it's scarcely II comfortable re-
Election. We may console ourselves to
some extent by rejecting that processes of
this kind are not necessarily beyond the reach
of correction, and that they do sometimes, in
fact, correct themselves in various ways. But
meanwhile the inordinate growth of this par.
ticular ingredient in our social whole seems
certainly TO be threatening us for the time
with something like the "Chinesc problem" of
the Americans on very small scale.