Show BANNING A BOOK readers of the NEWS will remember a paper under the heading beading saturday talk by an ex editor 11 written by president george Q cannon and published in these columns some time ago commenting commencing on the startling magazine articles arti olee of sir george entitled happiness Happl neBB iu in hell they will also alar have noticed that these articles art lolea oame came under the scrutiny and later the condemnation dem nation of the catholic church the articles being finally banned or proscribed or whatever the usual term in such instances ineta noea may ber be sir george givart was too loo good a catholic to resist the interdict and he be obediently signi fied his retraction of the opi opinions wons he had bad incautiously advanced now cornea comes a writer in the nineteenth century and details in an in manner the formal and deliberate stepa taken by the church in the banning of a book from his hia account we learn that the members ot of the me congregation of the index tire are some six aix or seven cardinals cardinala appoint edby the pope it has haa a prefect art leot or president an assistant and sa a secretary the last baat named being always a dominican it haa has attached to it a number of oon con suitors aul tora selected teu from the of the secular and beaular clergy of rome borne its ita method of procedure la is naturally a replies replica more or less leae of that of the he congregation of the inquisition and its sentences aarein a majority supplementary to sentences already passed io in the older congregation A large proportion of the books condemned by it have previously been condemned by the inquisition biome times however it takes the initiative and it then proceeds as foi follows lows A book is denounced by some zealous catholic to the cardinal prefect as hurtful to the soul goul and the denunciation is laid before the secretary of the congregation the denouncer denoun oer or delator delater as be beis ie technically termed has to give full reasons for his complaint the secretary has then to examine the book for himself with care and to associate with himself two advisers chosen by him with the consent of the holy fattier or the cardinal prefect it if their 0 collective J judgment is against the book a further adviser has bag to be selected who is an expert in the special subject of which the book treats he has to give in st detailed report to the decre tary marking the particular pass passages ogell to which exception can justly be taken laken alter after this a preliminary meeting of the body of is in held the secretary kwing being present with at least six 8 who wh are familiar with the topics io in the book finally a general meeting of the cardinal composing the congregation is ie held whose pruce procedure dure is exactly I 1 he be same as that of the comire congregation gation of the tion don there is the same tul full discussion the sanae same ref reference refer oreace euce to the consul tors anti and finally dually the same report of the pro ce edings and of their result to the pope with a view to his ap approval pruva or of the sentence passed mere would acer accordingly seem to ke be neither undue haste nor unfairness though the abe hearing Is lu in a sense genss ez ex parte in reaching a conclusion that means so much to the publia publisher ber of x kiewe mr givart at any rate has coincided with the clams of his bis church superiors and in promptly accepting their verdict he intimates a belief that no injustice has been done him the incident is note worthy as illustrating that in these latt r days of boasted independence in thought which however is frequent ly a a euphemism for stubbornness against reason there are still load leading ing spirits that yield readily t the pressure brought by the eleven juryman jurymen vi against galust the one |