True American

The Popular Verdict. -In the recent contest between Senator Brooks and Archbishop Hughes, the unanimous verdict of the press appears to be that the Archbishop got worsted. The Philadelphia Sun sums up the matter thus: "It will be remembered that Mr. Brooks charged that the Archbishop held large amounts of property, to which the evasive answer was given by the latter that he only owned his library and the bed on which he slept ; Mr. Brooks copied from the Court records to show one hundred and one deeds of lots deeded to him. This vast accumulation of property in the hands of a Romish Bishop was regarded as dangerous, therefore Mr. Brooks sought to expose it, and the prelate only answered by billingsgate, bravado, and disgraceful evasions. The Senator in every essential particular has proved his assertions and maintained his ground, while the Archbishop endeavors to escape by pleading that he holds the property only for the Catholic Church; and this, it appears to us, is the very charge first advanced by the Senator, for he was exposing the dangerous aggression of wealth and church property in the hands of ecclesiastics. The defense of Archbishop Hughes is virtually a plea of guilty, but he throws in technicalities to mitigate the severity of the sentence. We have never seen a discomfiture more complete despite all evasions and side issues and special pleading-