The year has borne witness to the steady growth of the great federation movement, as shown in the convention at Detroit. The Empire State has taken it up warmly, while in other parts of the country associations with enormous membership have been affiliated. The re-election of President Roosevelt is a national testimony to his great popularity with all classes. By his own personal initiative he has righted many things of which Catholics justly complained. This is true particularly of the Indian schools. These are enabled to provide for more children by the restoration of the "rations given by the Government. The Indian Department recognizes, also, that the Indians are the undisputed owners of the tribal funds, and may use these to educate their children as they desire. Injusticeshave been prevented, such as, for instance, the attempt to deprive the Colville Indians in Washington State of 1,300,000 acres of land without compensation. Archbishop Ryan and Mr. Charles J. Bonaparte have been able to do much good as members of the Board of Indian Commissioners, and the Marquette League has been recently formed to promote the interests of the Catholic Indians. In our insular possessions, the year was made remarkable by the work of our American bishops, especially in Porto Rico and the Philippines. Their active visitations of their respective dioceses have restored confidence among the people and created a new enthusiasm for religion. The death of Archbishop Guidi, Apostolic Delegate in Manila, has delayed for some time the settlement of the question of the ownership of churches and other ecclesiastical properties in the Islands. The Aglipayans, realizing that the more they become known as insurrectos the less they can hope to claim and hold church property in good faith, have been pretending for some time that the municipalities own it all, so that they may lease churches and convents at easy terms for their insurrectionary meetings. The honorable Secretary of War, in his address at Notre Dame University, October 5, declared that personally he was of the opinion that all these properties belonged to the Church, but that the matter would be decided in the courts. It is now proposed to give the Supreme Court of Manila powers which will enable it to decide this dispute without delay or needless expense, and it is hoped that the new Apostolic Delegate to Manila, Archbishop Agius, will soon have the gratification of disposing of this and similar temporal matters of less importance, so as to devote his energies to the spiritual' needs of the 7,000,000 Catholics intrusted to his care. About one half of the money for the Friars' lands has been paid; the balance, which will purchase the Dominican estates, will be turned over as soon as all disputes about boundaries and titles have been decided. The 51st Congress of German Catholics at Ratisbon shows the same superb organization, the same devoted and intelligent work, the same steady development of Catholic life and action, which characterized preceding assemblies, and which have made the religious workers of the Fatherland the models of their fellow-believers everywhere. Opening with the usual public procession of many thousands of workingmen, the Congress reviewed the work of the vast organizations represented in it, and traced out definitely and intelligently the line of action to be followed in the great social issues of the hour. Germany's disgraceful treatment of her Polish subjects is as much a blot on her fair fame as a danger to her national life. One of the latest phases of it is the formation of German colonies from which all Poles are excluded by law, in the Polish provinces of the Empire. A fund also has been voted by the Reichstag to reward all officials, and especially school teachers, who distinguish themselves in the Germanisation of these territories. The persecution of the Poles has consolidated them all the more and intensified their sense of nationality. This is one of the most noteworthy growths of our time and a thing to be reckoned with in future political upheavals. In Prussia conservative Protestants and the Catholic Centre hold a solid political majority against liberals of all shades, and thus safeguard the denominational school. The Catholics of Cologne, who had long been governed by men hostile to their creed and interests, have at last obtained a majority in the city council. Fierce anti-Catholic prejudice, always chronic in parts of Germany, has been rebuked by the government's partial revocation of the law excluding Jesuits from the Fatherland, and by the Emperor's special honor of the Archbishop of Cologne, whom he has made a life-member of the Prussian House of Lords. Conservative Protestants, also, have pointedly condemned the fanatical Evangelical Alliance. The historical work of Father Denifle on Luther, setting the repulsive character of the reformer in its true light, should not be left unnoticed. England has still on her hands the "passive resisters "-conscientious Nonconformists who refuse to obey the law because it does justice to the religious schools of Anglicans and Catholics. The local authorities, also, which have been appointed to administer the Education Act, have frequently failed in their duty. Political parties have not yet adjusted their dissentient views concerning a policy of protection, so strongly advocated by Mr. Chamberlain. One of his most telling arguments is drawn from the misery of the English masses, a phenomenon not at all new in one of the richest countries in Europe. The condition of agriculture is bad in England, Mr. Chamberlain informs us, and is becoming rapidly worse. Land values have shrunk by hundreds of millions, and money has gone from the farmers' hands. Laborers are fewer by a million than they were in 1851, and one-half of the English people are underfed. While the statesman was speaking, 50,000 persons were on the verge of starvation in one city alone, Manchester, owing to depression in the cotton trade; and similar conditions prevail-so it was said in the Manchester City Council-in London and all the chief cities of the Kingdom. The enthronement of Archbishop Bourne at Westminster, after he had received the pallium in Rome, was a very notable event. Accompanied by the procession and chant of the Benedictine monks, it recalled the establishment of Catholicity in England; and proved, in the words of the Daily Mail, that Catholics had renewed a broken tradition, and are no longer aliens. Notable, too, were the official honors paid to Cardinal Vannutelli during his visit. The Irish Land Act, during the one year that it has been in operation, has to a great extent failed of its effect, owing to the greed of the landlords, who will not sell their vast estates without exorbitant prices. They selfishly availed themselves of every loophole in the Act; but amendments are now being considered, and faith in the ultimate benefits of the Act remains almost unshaken. Mr. Redmond affirms that it is "destined, with common prudence and courage on the part of the people, to hand over nine-tenths of the country to the native population in comparatively few years." Meanwhile the industrial revival continues, although one of its chief organizers, Sir Horace Plunkett, has injured his own cause by his absurd theories regarding the causes of depression in Ireland. During the year there have been remarkable official testimonies as to the morality of the people, the general crimelessness of the country, and the superiority of the convent schools over those of the national system. The Bishops have kept up the fight for justice in the common schools, the training schools, and in the matter of a National University. The Wasmann, S. J., Häckel and Father.. Spillman, S.J., Death of Father Joseph Statistics, Bureau of Catholic Strossmayer, Death of Bishop. Students' Clubs in Germany Successful Nations, The. D. Lynch, S.J. Sue, Eugene and Sainte-Beuve Centenaries. Editorial Switzerland, Catholic Statistics of Switzerland, Expulsion of Religious from. Syveton Mystery Treaties, Proposed Arbitration United States, Catholic Statistics of University, The Catholic Van Gorp, S. J., Rev. Leopold.. Vesalius, As a Horrible Example. James J. Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. Washington, Bust of, France's Gift to Capitol Wasmann and De Vries on Evolution. H. Muckermann, S.J. 459 84 322 209 693 100 121 190 700 700 337 198, 322 451 .323, 564 682 129 384 295 451 689 417 Witchcraft, Dr. Andrew D. White on. Robert Schwickerath, S. J. 593 Wyndham, Resignation of Chief Secretary for Ireland, Mr.. 467 218 Illustrations-Fountain of Moses (Brazzà)-- Fountain of the Tortoises (Giacomo della The British Government vs. the Congo Free State. PERE JEAN Editorial 57 The Spy System-The New Ethics-The Late Commissioner of Indian Affairs-The Home News-The St. Louis Exposition-Jubilee of the Immaculate Conception- England-The London County Council and the Education Act-Divorce in England— Ireland-Mr. Redmond on the Land Act. Schouppe, S.J. The Reader Monks in Agriculture-The Belgium Missions-Death of Father Literary Notes Science Education Sociology Drama Books Received Advertiser 91 106 109 ΠΙΟ 115 116 118 120 I-16 Entered as second-class mail matter at the New York Post Office Copyright, 1904, by The Messenger |