But  he,  too,  had  his  fears,  and  they  call  for  a  word
of  explanation — not  only  because  they  were  very  char-
acteristic of  him,  but  because  they  determined  the  whole


ENGLAND  AND  THE  VATICAN  COUNCIL     201

policy  of  the  Tablet  at  this  period.  It  was  a  singular
policy  and  a  very  simple  one.  Side  by  side  with  the
vehement  advocacy  of  Papal  Infallibility  as  a  doctrine
recommended  at  once  by  reason  and  authority,  and  the
almost  universal  belief  of  Catholic  Christendom,  was  a
resolute  exclusion  of  any  and  every  expression  of  the
opposite  view.  As  far  as  the  Tablet  was  concerned,
Herbert  Vaughan  deliberately  set  himself  to  strangle
and  suppress  any  and  every  utterance  in  favour  of  the
Inopportunist  Party.  A  search  through  the  correspond-
ence columns  of  the  Tablet  fails  to  show  a  single  letter
on  the  side  of  which,  in  this  country,  Cardinal  Newman
and  the  Bishop  of  Clifton  (Dr.  Clifford)  were  the  con-
spicuous exponents.  At  the  same  time  the  Weekly
Register^  then  under  the  control  of  Henry  Wilberforce,1
was  filled  with  letters,  some  openly  questioning  the
doctrine  of  the  Infallibility,  and  others  deploring  the
probable  consequences  of  the  Definition.  That  this  policy
of  wilful  and  systematic  suppression  was  distasteful  to
Herbert  Vaughan  is  certain.  He  was  naturally  fearless
and  open,  and  under  ordinary  circumstances  it  was  his
way  to  invite  the  freest  discussion,  and  himself  to  go
out  to  meet  a  difficulty  or  a  danger  more  than  half-way.
