On  the  Bill  becoming  law,  the  Gallicans  feared
that  the  Holy  See,  forgetful  of  past  experiences,
would  again  repeat  its  old  blunders  by  sending
over  foreign  priests  to  act  as  Vicars- Apostolic,  or
Bishops,  and  by  permitting  the  return  of  the
Jesuits  in  force.  The  English  Gallicans,  headed
by  such  men  as  Sir  John  Throckmorton,  Charles
Butler,  Dr.  Kirk,  and  Bishop  Poynter,  wished
the  British  Government  to  retain  a  veto  in
regard  to  the  election  of  all  the  Roman  Catholic
Bishops  appointed  for  England  and  Wales.  That
the  Gallicans  would,  in  spite  of  the  extreme  in-
dignation their  policy  caused  at  Rome,  have  got
the  best  of  the  struggle  is  probable,  had  it  not  been
for  the  extraordinary  and  untiring  energy  displayed
against  them  by  the  leader  of  their  opponents,
Bishop  Milner.  This  ecclesiastic,  an  Ultramontane
to  the  backbone — who  was  supported  by  the  Irish
bishops,  by  the  Jesuits,  and  by  one  or  two  of  his
own  colleagues — strained  every  nerve  to  prevent
the  right  of  veto  being  granted  to  the  British
Government.  Although  he  died  before  the  Act
was  passed,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  living  long
enough  to  know  that  he  and  his  friends  had  won
a  complete  victory.  By  the  terms  of  the  Act,


GALLICANS   AND   ROME  23

Rome  was  left  with  unrestrained  powers  as  to  the
selection  and  method  of  election  of  the  Bishops,
and  although  the  presence  of  the  Jesuits  in  Eng-
land was  still  forbidden,  the  prohibitory  clauses
relating  to  their  habitation  here  have  never  been
put  into  legal  operation.  *  If  it  had  not  been  for
Dr.  Milner,'  wrote,  in  after  years,  the  Ultramontane
Monsignor  George  Talbot  to  Cardinal  Manning,
'almost  a  schism  would  have  taken  place  in
England.  Roman  principles  go  very  much  against
the  grain  of  English  Catholics  ! '

The  British  Government  had,  in  truth,  but
little  reason  to  congratulate  itself  upon  the  solu-
tion of  the  Catholic  question.  In  the  first  place,
the  final  measure  of  relief  ought  to  have  been
passed  in  the  reign  of  George  III.  Had  this
been  done,  the  agitation  in  Ireland,  which  nearly
developed  into  civil  war,  would  have  been  averted.
