The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1900-08-04

TO its property in the United States Would Captain
o'Farrall maintain that the property of Trinity
Church in New York Ito choose an example coming
home to his audience) shall be taken away from
that corporation without full compensation
because and though it consist of some of the best
and most valuable business blocks in the American
Metropolis? Or shall sauce for the American goose
not be sauce for the Philippine gander?
The first requisite. it has been wittily said, for
entering upon argument, is to know nothing
about the point. Only profound ignorance of the
just modes of acquiring property, and of the man-
ner in which the property under consideration has
been acquired, could lead man to make insinua-
tions as the Captain does in his wild reference to
the Frars' property. 1t would be well for all
champions of church spoliation first to learn some
thing of the history of properties they eager
to confiscate, before they proceed to the division
If all property fairly acquired that of
the Friars anarchy would not have the ghost ofa
foundation reason for its being.
Why has the doughty champion of peoples rights
nothing to say of the violation of the rights of his
fellow Catholics in territories, instead of
appealing to the antiCatholic prejudices of mis-
dienee tremendous applause greeted his burst of
illiberality and narrowness, showing how he touch
ed the of their preudice) Is it not violation
of the grossest kind. committed under and by our
Government of the rights of conscience, when mar
riage is proclaimed invalid and illegal If performed
| by priest? Here patent sacred rights denied
| to the Catholics ofour dependencies. The Captain
| has no word of burning indignation wherewith to
brand this infractfon of the liberty of conscience
| ofCatholics He is guardedly silent Though ref
ereuce to the outnges perpetrated under the flag of
the "free and the brave upon the deenceless Fill
| pinos' Churches would have been an unanswcrable
argument against the Presidents Filipino policy
about the sacreges spolations of Catholic Churches
| and the indecencies in the abuse OF yestments
| images and emblems of Catholic worshipY Not
| word in defence of helpless people against the in
direct, yet none the less effective propagation of
anti-catholiesm under and through Government
agencies in the schoolhouse and elsewhere. Why
does this Boanerges not thunder from his political
pulpit ithe facts would furnish such splendid unan-
swenble argumentsl and make the welkn ring
| with his indignant and righteous denunciaton ofa
Government which, after going to war with Spain
on the high and lofty moral ground of deliverance
from spiritual and material oppression and bondage
| c'our moral sense had been outraged by the mon
| strous crimes of Spain") on the ground of freedom
and liberty, deals out to the conquered peoples a
truly cromwellan liberty of conscience the liberty
TO think and believe as the conqueror chooses and
elects his captives shall do? Perhaps he knows not
of these things shall not say he is of those Cath
| olics who never read anything in defence of the
rights of their conscience and Church. If he is not
| he cannot have helped seeing these things in the
Catholic and secular press. He will find in the
Catholic News of July l1th ample evidence of all
these things copied in some instances from the
pages OF the daily press. Let him read, and then
direct his heaviest ordnance against and blow TO
atoms the wall of oppression which tyranny, in
the of liberty, is rearing against the heaven
| given boon of freedom in our Colonies" and
silence by his batteries the artillery OF the gospel
| of gunpowder."
As to what Father MacKnnon is doing the Cath
Ollie News of July 11th. copying an article of the
| San Francisco Monitor, will tell him; the Chapigins
work, and the many outrages above referred to,
will furnish him theme worthy Of his mettle.
"what right has our government to invite the Papal
Delegate to aid assist in settling political
affairs p? he asks. The same right, answer any
testing parties have to invoke the arbitration of
| power friendly to both belligerents, which can
therefore, be presumed to safeguard the rights o.
both in the delicate task of arbitration Besides.
the question before Archbishop Chappelle is not
merely political His Grace represents the
Church and her rights in the matter and these are
not within the domain of mere pure politics. This.
by the way. President Nick inley has the right
to invoke the good offices of the Papal Delegate in
this delicate question which was exercised by
President Lincoln ito go no further back in the
| history of arbitration) when he avaied himself of
the services and ability of archbishop Hughes dur
| ing our late war in delicate diplomatic dilemma
or Ito come to recent events the right by
|
| German Empire, when, with a sagacity which no
national religious prejudice (and he was power
fully swayed by boti) could cloud, he called The
Pope arbiter in similar situation in the Caroline
| Islands.
In reading the Captains speech fancied that be
| was anything else than a Catholic Not that
should have called him an A. P. A. for do not
| credit the average A. P. A. with any such insane
prejudice as the good man seems for the noce to
have been betrayed into.
have no doubt the Captain would contribute his
share towards keeping the priest poor"--and per-
haps thanks the Lord for getting his gospel free.
If Daniel oConpell ever spoke the words the
Captain puts in his mouth to keep the priest poor"
| he like Homer, was nodding. oConnelPs devotion
to the rights of the Church. and his generous sup
| port given her, need no mention. And his whole
attitude to the church and Der and the Irish peo-
pies priests gives the lie TO any such sentiment as
| expressing his abiding conviction.
The Irish priest has never used the wealth. which
on rare occasions he may have been possessed of.
except wisely If he had he should never have been
enshrined in the hearts of the people as the sog-
garth aroon, so deeply that no amount of persecq-
tion total loss of faith tear him out of
the hearts of the people. The sentiment is
| worthy, that to think it could find home in the
heart and conscience of any honorable man; be he
Catholic Protestant, would be the grossest insult
one could offer to his manhood. do not think the
| Captain meant so much to make these sentiments
his own but rather, for the sake of effect ad cap
tandem. and to score good political point he was
| not prescriptions in the OF the stick with
which TO cudge the political back of the President.
The Church. be it said, has good right to own
! property as the Captain himself has; so has any
| Church. And when he proceeds TO discover to us
the causes of the Reformation under Henry VIII,
and of the French Revolution he will pardon me
| for reminding him that both profane and Sacred
History have somewhat advanced beyond the stage
when crude guessing or bigoted invective -four
| ished at Exeter ball, or when knownothingism
stalked through our own dear land.
| True Democney's faith is embodied in the prin-
ciple of airpay and the Democratic party needs no
friends or supporters except such in hearty
| accord with 1t.
mon tall durilio deessorbus istis let that be
its motto in all its political contests and it need
| not fear the result Yours respectfully,
REV. NJ A. FEMME.
Col. Roosevelt in the West.