Carnets du Journaliste Catholique Alexandre Delmer (1860-1889), Tome IV: 1870-1872. ed. by Marie-Thérèse Delmer

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS139 activities he was a negotiator with government ministers and a member of a Royal Commission. But the period of his efforts to defend Wesleyan education saw also the contraction of this type of schooling. On the question of maintainingWesleyan schools, Rigg clashed with Hugh Price Hughes and some other leading Wesleyans. At a few points in the book more explanation would have been a benefit, but this is a well-researched study which clearly charts the complex story of Wesleyan education in relation to rival developments. It forms a very useful addition to the growing literature on nineteenth-century Methodism. Ian Machin University ofDundee Carnets dufournaliste CatholiqueAlexandre Delmer (1860-1889),Tome IV: 1870-1872. Edited by Marie-Thérèse Delmer. [Bibliothèque de la Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique, Fascicule 81.] (Brussels: Editions Nauwelaerts; Louvain-la-Neuve: Collège Erasme. 1998. Pp. 944. Fr.b. 1800 paperback.) This final volume of the notebooks of the hard-working Belgian journalist, Alexandre Delmer (1835-1915), covers three years of momentous political and religious events which range from the Vatican Council's declaration of papal infallibility to the Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune. The central event in Delmer's professional life during these years is his decision to transform a weekly, Courrier de Bruxelles, into a daily Catholic newspaper to counteract the liberalism of his former employer,/owrai?/ de Bruxelles. The volume concludes with an appendix covering the brief entries of November and December , 1889, in which Delmer resigns from the Courrier over a difference of opinion and becomes a librarian at the University of Liège. As in the earlier volumes, Delmer reveals not only his views on the political questions of the day but also his personal worries and everyday activities. He supported universal suffrage, distrusted liberal politicians, and was troubled by rumors of the activities of King Leopold II. The reader also learns of his religious practices (e.g., confessions and communions, charitable works), of his occasional leisure activities (e.g., riding horseback, reading classical and contemporary works), of the difficulties in his professional life (e.g., long hours, disagreements with others, starting and financing a daily) and in his personal life (e.g., the unsuccessful search for a wife, the insanity and death of his brother Louis, the fidelity to a friend who was in legal trouble). Delmer is sympathetic toward the French and comments on the political situation in France as well as on French leaders (both Catholic and political). Unfortunately , there is nothing in this volume about the siege of Paris, probably because he received no information during those months but possibly because there are missing entries dating from December, 1870, and January, 1871. In 140bookrevipjcs commenting on the events of May, 1871 (Paris Commune and aftermath), he labeled the Communards "monstres" (p. 379) who killed Archbishop Darboy He opposed the militarism of the government and wrote that France would be saved by the Church and Catholic education rather than by military action. Catholicism is the essential element in Delmer's life, and he is conscious of his vocation as a Catholic journalist. He opposed Belgian separation of Church and State as being detrimental to Catholic interests. The Italian question convinced him of the necessity of a second daily Catholic newspaper in Brussels which would more ardently support the Pope. The description and narration of Delmer's securing financing and collaborators show him to be a determined and persevering man of principle. His seeking the active approbation of the Belgian bishops and papal nuncio reveals the close connection between the press and the Belgian hierarchy. In this volume as in the previous three, there are extensive indices (about ninety pages). These research aids include brief identifications and references to all four volumes. Since there is no introduction to this volume, the introductory biography in Volume I is indispensable for providing a context for this volume . Delmer's granddaughter's editing is once again meticulous; she inserts relevant letters mentioned in the notebooks to provide a fuller picture of Delmer's ideas and activities. The four volumes published over the past decade provide a useful source for understanding the life and views of a...