New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-04
GUY FAWKES DAY.
THE ouNpowpER PLOT FROM TWO
POINTS OF VIEW.

WHAT WAS THE GUNPOWD6E.Kta rLE Hvdence
by John Gerard. octave; pp. xiv. sSs. Lonooh'
osgood. McIivains q Co.
WHAT THE GUNPOwDER PLOT WAs TX Se sas
nel RaWson Gardiner octave; PIP. WILL N"'
Longmans. Green q Co. ,,
FOR some time a controversy has been tahiiie
Mace in periodicals and newspapers on the .fu0
history Of the Gunpowder Plot. which. as II nc
were its arch conspirator. popular Tao'''on %
soc,ates with the name Of Guy Fawxes 10 @
plain tho natur, Of that controversy 10 YIN
cult task For one thing 1t has ht''e i.'"
70 the popularity accredited TRADITIONS winch w..
E,wpe, Day perpetuates. Tradition. Or in otheE
words. history. In so far as II ever 49,.
,,ss,, IN the popular mind. II persistsndy pct
$50. Ont q, the crude material Of the past
a builds I'D q wonderful. diversified ana or'iiiA.
.,.c,oc,. ~ heroes. eeniuses and villans-ano
EsvLss has been par excellence the V'i'a'h 'i
ro.r.h tradition The credulous human iiiiiiu
etc itself no limit In conceiving the rah'no~
.,on. ~ h,s conspiracy with his corehsloh'''s'
ana the havoc that conspiracy "o"'o ~
drought had Il not In tho eleventn hou'
A.,.ct.d To understand the present coh'fo-
,,.r,v however. one must dismiss this ora"'~''0
,so~nd from the mind History. IN 80 iar Dc '"'
tsrm stands for the consensus OF tho Iea'" -
nr,.aic. II refuses to find IN Guy FA"AeS q
h,ood relation to Rlue Beard: to oeheVe hn' IA
..r.. q chosen engine Of the Roman CAIN
~~'s ~ % .unpose that the conspiracy
associated with his name was IN any oHneo. =.
d,verting England for q moment iroii' "0' "
49,, o.r.ar On all these points the present
coutrovsrsialists are agreed
I,aoaa a would be easier to define tho Po'i''
-, ,vh,,h they are agreed th1n those on "hion
+hav differ They all believe, TOT ihS'ano0 u"'
T., tha year 1905 q small group OF Roman cain
ohc gentlemen, one Catesby In the iore''on'
erd enlisted among his neutenan's' Ahon'a'
percy Francis Tresham and Guy fa"Kes' Gun
sn,rsd TO strike what they thought wou'u 10
1reat blow against the then exis'ins
Ministry and Government ana 'na' '"e.' po'
involved the use OF large amount "a
nowdsr: that they entered into TINS p'o'' nv
from any love Of bloodshed TOT 'ts o"" CO.
~, from the misguided notion that they cou.o
~ .hv. IN. lust cause OF their corelisionisS
=. v.r,.na. that the Roman Catholic oooy OF
r.o,ana never could have been got to sanouon
.,a that no faction Of the Church ever did sane
- N. conspiracy: that though 1t was oisoioseo
- q, least one priest in the CONFESSIONAL 'n''o
q. M abso,ute proof that any priest appro'eo
=, ~ .xcept under the seal Of the CONCESSIONS.
ned corn,zance Of It: and that the report WINCH
uau circulated as to it, discovery ID IN 'o''''
particulars inadequate and disinsenuoos.
within the limits Of these articles OF oenei IN
~er,ous students Of history have peeh aoie ~
raise three questions: First-Dio 'neee IL!
~. consnirators as Is generally believed ih'enu
~. Asmo,ition Of the House OF Loros a' '''e
onen,ne Of Parliament. the destruction 'ne'.u'
=, tho King. the Lords and the Commons ''''
capture of the only possible heirs OF 'he .n'oAe
ana the declaration Of Roman Ca'ho.'o re
yarcvP Second-Does circumstance e''eA00
o.. o. the connivance OF two Jesuit priests
ro,har. Camel and Greenway. IN the con-
,.,, rh,rd-Did the Prime Minister eaiis-
-, us,ng Catesby and his heutenah's a'
s,,os originally instigate their conspiracy Or
:. not that. direct and amplify 1t TO It's hnai
,ssua In order to gain justihcatoh on. u VI"
r,o. for further anti-Catholic lesislatoh'
7, IS only natural that man 8 rehsious - III
r.,b,es should influence In some measure MS
consideration Of these questions Out II - N'''
a,,,t % Gee how his final decision can in any
way affect his estimates OF either the no'''a',
Co.bol;c ar the Protestant Church No rational
49,, .,,dSos ,srse bodies Of Christians by one
n-iest or one Prime Minister. The enthusiastic
.,,.oh,,an however does not always take this
rno,ter 60 ph,losophically. Some months ago
on rng,,sh Jesuit, Father Gerard, evidently dis
rosad 70 see In the answer Of modern English
.cho,arship TO these questions an injustice 10 MS
church nut forth an honest and plausible treat
tee IN thu other side In this he has mace OUT
n strong case for the two priests. he 60 IN
ternrets the Jesuit point Of view that, at leas'
for a time he places the reader In intellectual
sympathy with It. On this charge ne teinpls
one to substitute for the confessedly hypothetica
verdict Of history. which stigmatizes the men
az guilty, the more len!ent Scotch Verolct' ho'
proven On the other two questions MS posi'ioN
IA hard TO define. Though he believes CatesoS
and his fellows quite innocent or any intehtioi
20 blow I'D the House Of Lords. he oners nc
theory Of his own to explain away their extraor-
binary course OF action both before and artei
the capture Of Guy Fawkes. For a periecuy
ineligible hypothesis, quite credible enough &c
satisfy modern English scholars. he proposes &c
substitute absolute ignorance and vacuity OF
mind. The most ne succeeds in doing is TO raise
a suspicion that Catesby. Percy and Fawkes
were not as shrewd and subtle as they are
usually supposed &c have been. When he turns
10 the question Of salsbury's responsibility foi
the Mot. his position is still weaker. AT every
. oppor.un.ty he insinuates his charges. but h'
nowhere adduces q scrap Of proof to substan
tiate them The only suspicion he tempts one tC
entertain rests on the possibility that Salisbury
sagaciously delayed the disclosure OF Catesby'
purposes till the times were ripe for 1t. In othe
words the statesman may have allowed the enc
mics of his King and his Ministry to play Int
his own hands.
Father Gsrard's defects as a student OF his
tory are precisely those Of shakespeare's de
cr.ers, the Baconians. He is exceeding ingeniou
IN discovering difficulties in accepted interpreta
lions Of history but most Of his difficulties arts
from his inability to put himself imaginativel
into past epoch and Judge 1t by its own stand
ards and In the light OF its own circumstances
He quite forgets. for instance. that In 1900 tn
region about Parliament House was not IN
same freQuented resort It IS to-day; he forget
that there was ever a time when gentlemen o
pleasing address were capable Of violent an
dangerous conspiracy and rebellion. He seem