The Irish standard., 1908-07-04

the Archbishop. At Westminster Ed.
ward relented and apologized. He
Y confirmed the two great charters; he
did away with illegal judgments that
1 infringed them. Next year the primate
communicated those royal officers
who had seized goods or persons be.
longing to the clergy, and all who had
violated Magma Charta. The Church
\ more truly, self-governing Estate of
"A the Realm. 1t must be considered as
having greatly concurred towards the
establishment of that fundamental
law, invoked long after by the thir-
teen American Colonies. NO taxa.
ton without representation which is
the corner stone of British freedom"
With regard to this Interpretation
. of DIR. Barry's it was said in the ar
ticle in the Catholic World already
cited:
What curious juxtaposition is this
placing of the much maligned bull,
'Clericis Laicos'-the supposed apoth.
costs of priestly power and denial of
true freedom-as the very foundation
stone of the principle upon which.
what we Americans, at least, are ac.
custoned to think as the freest gov.
eminent In the worlds history, has
been so successfully built up. Verify,
in measuring historical influences it is
necessary to look before and after for
the causes and effects of events
1t may seem utterly far-fetched to
go back to the end Of the 18th cen.
fury for the foundation of what is
most recent in modern liberty, but If 1t
do it is because people generally do
not know better the details of the his.
tory of that wonderful century which
contains the great origins of nearly
everything that we now hold most
dear. 1t might seem even more para
doxical to bark back so far for the
basis of our modern education, the
very newest thing we have, but any
one familiar with the story of the de-
velopment of human culture will re-
call that to that century we owe the
universities; and that the educational
=. instrument thus created with it's fac.
,1lty of arts: its faculty of philosophy.
In which was included natural philos.
ophy, or. what we now call science,
and speculative or pure philosophy; Its
faculties of law and medicine; and its
faculty of theology retains exactly the
form then given it down to our own
days. We have not changed even the
subjects taught near as much as we
sometimes imagine. AS for techanical
schools the world has never seen such
a system of instruction for artist and
artisans as gave lis the architecture,
the sculpture. the gold and silver.
.smithy, the iron-work, and the deco
rations. besides the stained glass and
the miniature painting of the great
Gothic cathedrals Of the 18th century.
1t is not surprising then If the gen.
Grafton that accomplished all this sue.
ceeded in building deeper and loftier
than they knew ntte structure of hui
man liberty. AS matter of fact their
palpable advances in the securing Of
human rights and the acknowledgment
of social, individual and municipal
privileges are the foundation stones
Of our own most precious rights and
privileges.
Magma Charta was signed in 1916 %
be forever the basis Of personal liberty
not alone for the English speaking
peoples but also for the whole world
Shortly after the middle Of the CEN
tury constitutional representation for
all the people was secured by the
meeting of the first English Parlia-
ment. At this time the first inklings
of that sordid principle on which SO
much of human progress has been
made to depend. namely. that people.
''shall pay taxes only If voted by their
Representatives" are to be noted.
Before the end of the 18th century,
under the great monarch who is some
times called the English Justinian,"
Edward I. the English Common Law
twas put into definite form. Bracton's
digest Of the principles of the English
Common Law is authoritative even in
>: our own day. There are still not few
states of the United States, one of
y them. I believe the State of Pennsyl.
4 vania, in which the English Common
Law remains as the ultimate appeal,
especially for the guidance of decisions
of the Supreme Court. when there is
question Of the rights Of man and their
Interpretation. 1t seems almost i'm
possible that the 18th century should
have advanced so far in this matter
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