The Irish standard., 1899-12-30
THE vExED CONTROVERSY IS ENDED
Rev. DR.. Lambert Agrees with
the Chronologists.
The DISCUSSION BY GEN. SCHUYLER
Convincing Argument by the
Revolutionary Hero.

In reply to correspondent the Irish
Standard said last week that the twen-
tietf century would begin next Monday,
Jan. 1, 1000, and gave the argument en-
ployed by Rev. DR.. Lambert, the noted
controversialist. 1t appears that DR..
Lambert in discussing the question rca-
soned from analogy, but i'll matter OF
chronology custom and not logic pre-
walls, and hence the learned editor OF
the New York Frccnan's Journal, since
the appearance OF the Pope's decree, has
changed his former views, as may be
seen in last weeks issue OF his admra-
bic paper, i'll which he says:
But the question is not how it ought
to be, or how it accords with our ways
OF counting other things, but what way
OF counting years has custom made to
prevail. In matters Of this kind custom,
without reference to how it originated,
acquires the force of law. This law OF
custom is so strong that if we disregard
it in our manner OF speech we subject
ourselves to the inconvenience of being
misunderstood.
The question then is, what signifi-
cance has custom given to date ex-
pressed in day, month and year? Does
Dec. rs, 1890, mean II months and rs
days into or Of 1899, or does it mean
1899 years plus IL months and IS days?
II it means the former, we are now in
the ooth year OF the century; If it means
the latter we are now in the Tooth year
OF the century, and the century closes
with the close OF the 31st OF this month
In the first case 1899 means the passing
year; in the second case it means the
past year, and the present December is
part of the year 100. The first means
that we are II months and rs days into
the 18ooth year since the birth OF Christ;
the second means that it is 1899 years II
months and IS days since that moment
Gus event.
Now the question is not which Of
these two meanings of the date Dec. IS,
1900, is the most logical or in accord
with Our custom OF counting other
measurable things, but which has been
determined by custom? There is no
doubt that custom has given the date
the first meaning, namely, that the year
figure indicates the passing year, OF
which the months and days in the date
are part, and not the past year to
which the months and days are plus.
Then the date, Dec. IS, 1899, means that
we are II months and rs days into the
ooth year OF the century, and not II
months and rs days into the Tooth year
OF the century. Consequently next year
will be, by force OF the usus loquendi,
the tooth year Of the century, and the
next the first year OF the new century.
This custom OF dating at the passing
year instead of from the past year was
fixed, if not originated, by French uni
versity some centuries ago. The Pope
in his recent letter on the Holy Year
adhercs to the custom.
The misunderstanding in the matter
arises from confounding the two qucs-
tions, how long since the birth OF Christ
and i'll what year OF the era are we liv-
ing? The answer to the first, assuming
as correct the chronology OF Dionisius
Exiguus, is 1893 years, II months and
rs days; the answer to the second is,
we arc into the year 1899 as far as Dec.
IS. Properly understood, these two an
swcrs or sets Of figures indicate the
same time, for 1893 plus II months and
IS days means the same thing as II
months and rs days into $780, If asked
the time of day you can say o'clock
and 10 minutes or 10 minutes into or
toward 6 o'clock. 1t is difference OF
measuring from something or mcasur-
ing toward something. And custom
says in dates VIC should measure toward
the end OF the passing year, not from
the end OF the past year. Some time
ago i'll speaking of this subject we took
it for granted that in measuring years,
as we measure other things, we count
from the last complete unit, and that
date was record Of past time.
Reasoning from analogy we conclud-
cd that as we say in telling the time, S
o'clock 10 minutes and 80 seconds, we
should say and mean of Dec. IS, 1899,
1899 o'year II months and IS days; the
months and years to be added to 90
o'year as the minutes and seconds are
added to S o'clock, thus making the