"I thought you"d like to be present at the end, Monsignor,"
whispered the member who had beckoned him. "The Cardinal is just speaking."
Committee room number XI seemed strangely quiet, as the prelate slipped in behind his friend and stood motionless. One voice was speaking; and, as he tried to catch the sense, he looked round the faces, that were all turned in his direction. He saw Mr.
Manners on the extreme left.
Every man sat without moving, simply listening, it seemed, with an extraordinary attention; some leaning forward, some back, with the papers disregarded on the table. A couple of recording machines stood now in the centre. Then he began to catch the words. . . .
"I think, gentlemen," said the voice from behind the high-backed chair, "that I need say no more. We have discussed at length, and I hope to your satisfaction, the particular points on which you desired information: and my answers have brought out, I think, the essence of all the conditions on which alone the Church can accept the terms proposed.
"I wish it to be brought before the House, perfectly clearly, that in her own province the Church must be supreme. She must have an entire and undisputed right over her own doctrine and discipline; for that is at the root of her only claim to be heard. In respect to any legislation which, in her opinion, touches the eternal principles of morality--in all such things, for example, as the marriage law--her supreme authority must be respected; as well as in all those other matters of the same nature upon which you have questioned me.
"But on the other side the Church recognizes, and always will recognize, the right of a free people to govern themselves; and, not only recognizes that right, but will support it with all the power at her command. I have acknowledged that in a few instances in history ecclesiastics have interfered unduly with what did not concern them--interfered, that is, not as citizens (for that is their right, in common with all other citizens)--but in the Name of Religion. Now that, gentlemen, is simply a thing of the past.
If secular rulers have learned by experience, so have ecclesiastical rulers. . . . I have invited investigation into the history of the last hundred years; and I have answered those few charges that have been brought--I hope to your satisfaction."
(There was a murmur of applause.)
"In secular matters, therefore, the Church will be wholly on the side of liberty. Ecclesiastical authorities, for example, would be the first to welcome a repeal of legislation as regards heresy; but, on the other hand, we fully recognize the right of a secular State to protect itself, even by the death penalty, against those who threaten the existence of the sanctions on which a secular State takes its stand. We recognize her right, I say; but I do not mean by that that you will not find a majority of ecclesiastics who hold that it is, to put it mildly, a deplorable policy and very imperfectly Christian.
"However, I have said all this before, both in public and now again in answer to your questions; and I think that, at any rate so far as I am concerned, I shall not be to blame if the nation accepts the proposed change under a misapprehension.
"You see, gentlemen, the attempt that ended fifty years ago--the attempt that was called in its day Protestantism--to establish a religion which was to be secondary in any sense to the State, failed and failed lamentably, in spite of the n.o.ble lives that were spent in labouring for such a compromise. For it is the whole essence of a Supernatural Religion to be supreme in it own province--the very adjective a.s.serts it; and any endeavour to compromise on this entirely vital point is in itself a denial of the principle, For a while this was not perceived. Men regarded the Christian Church--or rather, that which they took to be the Christian Church--merely, on its earthly side, as an organization comparable to a State. They did not seem to see that Religion must always have a wider basis than any secular body, since it deals with eternity as well as with time, while the State, professedly, treats only of temporal things. The consequence was either conflict, whenever supernatural elements clashed with natural; or else the subservience of Religion, and its consequent loss of prestige, as well as of its supernatural character. A National Church, therefore, is a contradiction in terms, since it a.s.serts that that which is in its very nature larger than this world must yet be confined within the limits not only of this world, but even of a part of it. . . . Well, I need not labour that point. You grasped it, gentlemen, even before you were good enough to ask me to give evidence before this Commission. I felt it, however, only right that such conditions should be reiterated and recorded before matters went any farther.
"The Church, therefore, is perfectly content to remain as she has always remained in this country for the last four centuries--a free society governing the consciences of her children. Or she is content to take outwardly and officially that position which she has always, at least tacitly, claimed, and to rea.s.sume her civil dignity and her civil responsibilities. But she is not content to waive any of those Divine Rights with which her Founder endowed her, even in return for the greatest privileges; still less is she content to receive those privileges under false pretences. . . ."
Again the low murmur of applause broke out, and three or four men shifted their positions slightly.
Monsignor was conscious again, suddenly and vividly, of that double sense of unreality and of intense drama which he had felt so often before at critical moments. It seemed to him amazing, and yet more amazingly simple, that such claims should be put in such words under such circ.u.mstances. It was astounding that such things should be said, and yet more astounding that they needed to be said, for were they not, after all, the very elements of civil and religious relations? . . .
There was something too in the voice of the invisible speaker that thrilled his very heart. The tones were completely tranquil, there were no gestures, and the very face that spoke was unseen.
Yet in the quiet fluency, the note of absolute a.s.surance, there was a dominating appeal that was almost hypnotic in its effect.
He had perceived this characteristic of the Cardinal often before; he had noticed it first on that occasion on which, for the first time in his knowledge, he had come into his presence, still staggered by the shock of his mental failure and recovery.
But he had never appreciated the strength of the personality so clearly. The Cardinal was no orator in the ordinary sense; there was no thunder or pathos or drama in his manner. But his complete a.s.surance and the long, gentle, incisive sentences, moving like rollers in a calm sea, were more affecting than any pa.s.sion could be. . . . It seemed to him now the very incarnation of that spirit of the Church that at once attracted and repelled him--in its serenity, its gentleness, its reasonableness, and its irresistible force.
Then, on a slightly higher note, and with a perceptible increase of deliberation, the voice went on.
"I must add one word, gentlemen.
"I said just now that the Church was content to be as she has recently been in this country--content, that is, so long as she continues to enjoy the liberty with which England endows her.
"And perhaps, as her chief minister in this country, I ought to say no more. But, gentlemen, I am an Englishman as well as a Catholic, and I love England only less than I love the Church. I say frankly that I do love her less. No man who has any principles that can be called religious can say otherwise. I tell you plainly that should it come to be a choice between Caesar and G.o.d--between the King and the Pope--I should throw myself at once on the side of Christ and his Vicar. . . ."
(Monsignor drew a breath. It seemed to him that this was appallingly plain speaking. He expected a murmur of remonstrance.
He glanced at the faces, but there was no movement or change, except that a young member suddenly smiled, as with pleasure.)
"But I love England," went on the voice, "pa.s.sionately and devotedly. And in spite of what I said just now I must add that, as an Englishman, there is but one more thing that I desire for my country, and that is that she may carry out that project on whose account you, gentlemen, have met to-day."
(Again a murmur of applause rose, and sank again instantly.)
"You have kindly asked me to make this little speech, and I do not wish to turn it into a sermon, but I must conclude by saying that, splendid as is the history of England in many points, there is one black blot upon the page, and that, the act of hers by which she renounced Christ"s Vicar, by whom kings reign. You have done justice at last in returning to us those possessions which our forefathers dedicated to G.o.d"s service. But there remains one more thing to do, formally and deliberately, as one kingdom, to return to Him who is King of kings. I know it will come some day.
As individuals, Englishmen have already returned to Him. But a corporate crime must be expiated by corporate reparation, and it is that reparation which has already waited too long. I am an old man, gentlemen. That, no doubt, is why I have been so verbose, but my one prayer for the last thirty years has been that that corporate reparation may be made within my own lifetime. . . ."
The voice suddenly trembled.
Then the watcher saw the chair pushed back, and the little scarlet cap, covering the white hair, rise above it.
Simultaneously every man rose to his feet.
"That is all, gentlemen."
There was a moment"s silence.
Then the applause broke out. It was not loud or noisy, as there were scarcely two dozen men in the room, yet it was astonishingly affecting, just the tapping of hands on the table and a murmur of voices.
The Cardinal silenced it by a gesture.
"One word, gentlemen. . . . I have said nothing of any opposition. Perhaps it would have been better if I had. But I will only say this, and it is something of a warning too. I do not believe that this Bill that is spoken of will necessarily mean peace. I am aware of the dangers that are threatening; perhaps I am even more aware of them than any other person present. And yet, for all that, I am not in favour of delay."
He turned suddenly, and with his long smooth step was at the door almost before Monsignor had time to open it and step aside. There was no time for any other man to speak.
The car had hardly moved off from the door before Monsignor turned to his chief.
"Your Eminence," he said, "what was that about danger? I did not understand."
The thin face was a little pale with the exertions of the speech, as it turned to him in answer.
"I will tell you that," he said, "as soon as the Bill becomes law."
CHAPTER VI
(I)
It was an astounding scene in which Monsignor found himself, six weeks later--extraordinary from the extreme quietness of it, and the enormous importance of the issue for which they waited.
The Cardinal and he had gone down to Lord Southminster"s house on the coast of Kent for three or four days to wait for the final news, as it was wished to avoid the possibility of any dangerous excitement on the night of the division; and it was thought that the Cardinal"s absence might be of service in preventing any formidable demonstration at Westminster. He was to return to London, in the event of the Bill pa.s.sing, on the following morning.
The situation was as follows: