{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_29143/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_29143","id":"gutenberg_29143","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29143","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Papacy -- History","Pius IX, Pope, 1792-1878"],"text":"Pius IX.\n\n                               And His Time\n\n                                    By\n\n                     The Rev. \u00c6neas MacDonell Dawson.\n\n                                 London:\n\n         Printed by Thos. Coffey, Catholic Record Printing House.\n\n                                   1880\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nPreface.\nPius IX. And His Time.\nFootnotes\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe history of Pius IX. will always be read with interest. His Pontificate\nwas, indeed, eventful. In no preceding age were the annals of the Church\nso grandly illustrated.\n\nThe spiritual sovereignty, \u201cwith which,\u201d to use the words of a British\nstatesman, \u201cthere is nothing on this earth that can at all compare,\u201d was\ncrowned with surpassing glory. Doctrines which, hitherto, had been open to\ntheological discussion, were ascertained and pronounced to be in\naccordance with the belief of all preceding Christian ages. The Church was\nenabled, through the labors of her Chief and the zeal of her Priesthood,\nto extend vastly the place of her tent. The life of Pius IX. himself was a\nmarvel and a glory. None of his predecessors, not even Peter, attained to\nhis length of days.\n\nOn the other hand, the venerable Pontiff, and, together with him, the\nCatholic people, were doomed to behold and lament the loss of the\ntime-honored patrimony of St. Peter. The Papacy, however, unlike all\ntemporal sovereignties, was able to sustain so great a loss. More ancient\nthan its temporal power, it still survives; \u201cnot a mere antique, but in\nundiminished vigor.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nPIUS IX. AND HIS TIME.\n\n\nJohn Mary Count Mastai Ferreti was born at Sinigaglia, on the 13th of May,\n1792. At the age of twenty-two he came to Rome. Anxious to serve the Holy\nFather, and yet not aspiring to the priesthood, he resolved to become a\nmember of the Noble Guard. This the delicate state of his health forbade.\nRepelled by the Prince Commandant, he sought counsel of the Pope. Pius\nVII. pronounced that his destiny was the Cross, and advised him to devote\nhimself to the ecclesiastical state. The words of the Holy Father were, to\nthe youthful Mastai, as a voice from on high. He decided for the Church,\nand, as if in testimony that his decision was ratified in heaven, the\nfalling-sickness left him. His studies were more than ordinarily\nsuccessful, and he already gave proof of those high qualities which were\nafterwards so greatly developed. The distinguished Canon Graniare, his\nprofessor, little dreaming of the exalted destiny which awaited him, held\nhim up as a pattern of excellence to his fellow-students, saying that he\npossessed the heart of a Pope.\n\nWhilst yet a student, Mastai interested himself in an orphanage, which was\nfounded by John Bonghi, a charitable mason of Rome. He spent in this\ninstitution the first seven years of his priesthood, devoting himself to\nthe care of the orphans, who were, as yet, his only parishioners. The\nincome which he derived from family resources was liberally applied in\nsupplying the wants of these destitute children, and even in ministering\nto their recreation.\n\nIt now became his duty to accompany, as a missionary priest, Monsignore\nMazi, who was appointed Vicar-Apostolic for Chili, Peru and Mexico. These\ncountries had thrown off the yoke of Spain and adopted Republican forms of\ngovernment. The Vicar-Apostolic and his companions suffered much in the\ncourse of their voyage to America. They were cast into prison, at the\nIsland of Majorca, by Spanish officials, who took it amiss that Rome\nshould hold direct relations with the rebellious subjects of their\ngovernment. Their ship was attacked by corsairs, and was afterwards in\ndanger from a storm. A single circumstance only need be mentioned in order\nto show what the faithful ministers of the Church had to endure when\ntraversing the inhospitable steppes of the Pampas. Once, at night, they\nhad no other shelter than a wretched cabin built with the bones of\nanimals, which still emitted a cadaverous odour.\n\nIn those arid deserts, they suffered from thirst as well as from dearth of\nprovisions. Great results can only be attained by equally great labors.\nIf, after a period of privation, the travellers enjoyed no more luxurious\nrefreshment than the waters of the crystal brook, it might well be said,\n\u201cde torrente in viabibet propterea exaltabit caput.\u201d (They shall be\nreduced to quench their thirst in the mountain stream, and therefore shall\nbe exalted.) The delegates of the Holy Father were received with\nenthusiasm by the South American populations. Meanwhile, the narrow\ngovernments that were set over those countries raised so many difficulties\nthat the mission was only partially successful.\n\nThis mission, however, was not without benefit to the Reverend Count\nMastai. It had been the means of developing the admirable qualities which\nhe possessed. It had afforded him the opportunity of seeing many cities,\nas well as the manners and customs of many people. These lessons of travel\nwere not addressed to an ordinary mind. His views were enlarged, elevated\nand refined by contact with so many rising or fallen civilizations, so\nmany different nationalities, and by the spectacle of Nature, that\nadmirable handmaid of the Divinity, with her varied splendors and her\nmanifold wonders, astonishing no less in the immensity of the ocean than\nin the vast forests of the New World.\n\nThe mind appears to grow as the sphere of material life extends. Vast\nhorizons are adapted to great souls, and prepare them for great things.\nThe Abbe Mastai had thus received in his youth two most salutary lessons,\nwhich are often wanting to the best-tried virtues of the sacerdotal\nstate\u2014the lesson of the world, which Mastai had received before the time\nof his vocation to Holy Orders, and the lessons of travel, which\ndisengages the mind from the bondage of local prejudices. Both of these\nteachers he admirably understood. He had, indeed, drank of the torrent\nwhich exalts.\n\nLeo XII. now filled the Apostolic Chair. This Pontiff, highly appreciating\nthe good sense and penetration of which Mastai had given proof in the\ndifficult mission to Chili, appointed him Canon of Sancta Maria, Rome, _in\nvia lata_, and, at the same time, conferred on him the dignity of Prelate.\nNever was the Roman purple more adorned by the learning and genuine virtue\nof him on whom it was bestowed.\n\nThere is at Rome an institution of charity, the greatest which that city\nor even the world possesses, the immense hospital of _St. Michael a Ripa\nGrande_. A whole people dwells within its vast precincts. It is at once a\nplace of retreat for aged and infirm men, a most extensive professional\nschool for poor girls, and a sort of workshop, on a great scale, for\nchildren that have been forsaken. The greater number learn trades. Some,\nwho give proof of higher talents, apply, at the expense of the hospital,\nto the study of the fine arts. This hospital is, in itself, a world, and\nits government requires almost the qualities of a statesman. Pope Leo\nXII., anxious to render available the rare abilities of Canon Mastai,\nnamed him President of the commission which governs this great\nestablishment. There was need, at the time, so low was the state of the\nhospital budget, of the nicest management, unremitting care, and the\nhighest financial capacity. These qualities were all speedily at work, and\nin the course of two years all the resources of the institution were in\nadmirable order. The fear of bankruptcy was removed, deficits of income\nmade up, and receipts abundant.\n\nIt had not been the custom to allow to apprentice-workmen any share in the\nfruits of their labors. Herein Mastai effected a great and certainly not\nuncalled-for reform. Far from impoverishing the hospital, this liberal\nmeasure only showed, by its happy results, that justice is in perfect\nharmony with economy, and that the best houses are not those which make\nthe most of the labor of their inmates, but those which encourage industry\nby allowing it what is just. The orphans were thus, in two years, enabled\nto have a small sum, which secured to them, so far, a mitigation of their\nlot. Meanwhile, the proceeds of the hospital were doubled. This was\nremarkable success. Count Mastai\u2019s reputation for administrative ability\nwas now of the highest order.\n\nIn the Consistory of May 21st, 1827, Canon Count Mastai was named\nArchbishop of Spoleto. Thus did Pope Leo XII. signalize his solicitude and\naffection for the city of his birth. The appointment came not too soon. It\nrequired all the influence of a great mind to maintain peace at Spoleto.\nParty spirit ran high. One side clamored against abuses: the other,\ndreading all change, clung pertinaciously to the past. Wrath was treasured\nin every bosom. If civil war had not yet broken out, it raged already in\nthe breasts of the people. Spoleto resembled two hostile camps, and\nvividly recalled the state of these cities of the Middle-Age, where stood\nin presence, and armed from head to heel, the undying enmities of the\nGhibellins and the Guelphs. The slightest occasion would have sufficed to\ncause the hardly-suppressed embers of deadly strife to burst into a flame.\nThrough the zeal and diplomacy of the Archbishop, such occasion was\naverted. Spoleto may yet remember, and not without emotion, how earnestly\nhe studied to appease wild passions, with what delicacy and perseverance\nhe labored to reconcile the terrible feuds that prevailed, to calm the\ndire spirit of revenge, to bury the sense of wrong in the oblivion of\nforgiveness. At length, in 1831 and 1832, a hopeless rebellion unfurled\nits blood-red banner. It was speedily and pitilessly repressed. Such an\noccasion only was wanting in order to show what one man can do when\nsustained by the power of virtue and the esteem of mankind. The foreign\nand Teutonic arm which conquered the insurrection had been always hateful\nto the Italian people; nor did its display and exercise of military force,\nin restoring tranquillity to the troubled State, conciliate their\nfriendship.\n\nOnly when vanquished did the rebels appear before the walls of Spoleto. In\ntheir extremity, they came to beg for shelter and for bread. In the\nestimation of the benevolent Archbishop, they were as lost sheep whom it\nwas his duty, if possible, to save. He hastened, accordingly, to meet the\nwolf. The Austrian General, although a stern warrior, was, at the same\ntime, the servant of a Christian Power. He listened to the Archbishop\u2019s\nremonstrances, and resolved to refrain from further military proceedings,\nthe Prelate undertaking to disarm the rebels, and thus satisfy the sad\nrequirements of war without any recourse to useless and hateful cruelties.\nReturning to the city, he addressed the insurgents, and, to his\nunspeakable satisfaction, they at once came to lay at his feet those arms\nwhich the Austrian soldiers could only have torn from their lifeless\nbodies. Thus did the good pastor, by disarming, save the rebellious flock.\n\nMastai was now transferred to Imola. This city is less considerable than\nSpoleto. The diocese, however, is richer and more populous. Its Episcopal\nchair leads directly to the Cardinalate. It has also thrice given to the\nCatholic Church its Chief Pastor. The people of Spoleto sent a deputation,\nbut in vain, to beseech the Holy Father to leave the good pastor to his\naffectionate flock.\n\nHe was destined also to reign in the hearts of the good people of Imola.\nThe numerous institutions there, which owe their existence to his\nEpiscopal zeal and Christian charity, are monuments of his pastoral care.\nThe virtue of which Archbishop Mastai was so bright a pattern had no\nsourness in it, no outward show of austerity; nor was it forbidding and\nintolerant, but sweet and gentle. Words of forgiveness were always on his\nlips, and his hand was ever open to distress. He labored assiduously to\nreform, wherever reform was needed, but, what rarely happens, without\nalienating affection from the reformer. It was his constant study to\nelevate the character of the clergy, and he ceased not to encourage among\nthem learning as well as piety. Into the Diocesan Seminary, which was\nalways the object of his most anxious care, he introduced some new\nbranches of study, such as agriculture, practical as well as theoretical,\nand a general knowledge of the medical art. There was yet wanting to the\nclergy of his diocese a common centre where they could meet for mutual\nedification and instruction. To this purpose he devoted his own palace,\nand founded there a Biblical Academy. The members of this Academy met once\na month in order to discuss together some subjects connected with the\nSacred Writings. None can be ignorant how powerfully such meetings\ncontribute to promote the study of the Scriptures, pulpit eloquence, and\nthe great science of theology. In order, moreover, to obviate the dangers\nto which students were exposed, who, whilst they studied at the Seminary,\nwere not inmates, and enjoyed not the safeguards of its discipline, he\nfounded an institution called the \u201cConvitto,\u201d where the poorer alumni were\nboarded without charge.\n\nAnxious also to provide for the comfort of the lowly poor, and to guard\nagainst all wasting of their humble means, the good Prelate reformed the\nhospital of Imola, and set over it the Sisters of Charity\u2014that\nincomparable Order which owes its existence to the most benevolent of men,\nSt. Vincent de Paul. Nor, in his higher state, did he forget his first\ncare\u2014the orphan. An orphanage at Imola is due to his munificence. There\nwere no bounds to his liberality. At his own expense alone he repaired the\ntomb of St. Cassien, and decorated the Chapel of Our Lady of Dolours in\nthe Church of the Servites.\n\nWhen raised to the dignity of Cardinal, by Pope Gregory XVI., in December,\n1840, Archbishop Mastai was already universally popular. The ovations of a\nlater period may have originated in political motives\u2014may even have been\npromoted by a political party; but the honors now spontaneously heaped\nupon him were awarded to the man and the Christian pastor. Congratulations\nin prose and in verse, illuminations, fireworks, demonstrations of every\nkind, announced the joy with which the new Cardinal was welcomed\neverywhere.\n\nGregory XVI. had the reputation of being highly conservative. In the true\nsense of the term, he really was so. Nevertheless, he was not averse to\nreform, and he showed that he was not when he elevated Archbishop Mastai,\nwhose tendencies were well known, to the rank and office of Cardinal. More\nthan this, in concurrence with the Great Powers of Europe, with whom he\ntook counsel, he labored to introduce certain salutary reforms in his\nStates. Such reforms, indeed, were needed; and the aged Pontiff resolved\non them, not only in order to render unnecessary the intervention of\nforeign arms in the affairs of his government, but also with a view to\nbring his rule into harmony with the spirit and civilization of the age.\nIf in this most laudable undertaking he did not succeed, he owed his\nfailure to the Socialist party, those enemies of law and order, of\nproperty, and life even, whose fatal action at a later period marred the\npolitical career of Pius IX. The Roman people, generally, were capable of\nappreciating, and surely did appreciate, the enlightened efforts of their\nPontiff Sovereign. They were not, as some writers would have us believe,\nin a semi-barbarous condition. Sylvio Pellico, whose testimony cannot be\nquestioned, speaks of them in the following terms: \u201cThe eight months I\nhave spent at Rome in 1845 and 1846 (time of Gregory XVI.) have abounded\nin delightful impressions. It can never be sufficiently told how well this\nvenerable city deserves to be visited, and not in passing only. How the\ngood and beautiful abound in it!\u201d A little later, Pellico writes: \u201cI\ncontinue to be quite delighted with Rome, both as regards men and things.\nIn the small book, _Dei Doceri_, I have shown my inclination to avoid\nbeing absolute in my judgments, a too common error, especially with minds\nthat dogmatize passionately. By such Rome is often unjustly judged.\n\n\u201cSeveral types of social customs must be considered as moderately good;\nand we cannot condemn, as decidedly bad, anything but barbarism,\nirreligion and a superabundance of knaves and fools. These odious elements\nare by no means over-abundant in this country. And in the midst of evils\nthat are unavoidable everywhere, I observe great intellectual power, much\ngoodness, cultivated minds, gracious and sincere generosity. Whoever comes\nto Rome will be morally well off as regards intelligence. He will be so,\nlikewise, on account of the sociability of the inhabitants. The Romans are\na jovial people. But even their joviality is as admirably subject to good\norder as it is graceful, and does not impair the natural goodness of their\ndisposition. But perhaps I am wrong; and it were better I should assume a\nfrowning aspect, and behold only attempts on life, importunate beggary,\nuseless priests and monks, and reserve my praises for those happy nations\nwhere there are no crimes, no inequality of fortune, no misery.\nImpassioned men declaim, exaggerate, lie. For my part, I am neither an\noptimist nor a pessimist. It is impossible to speak with certainty of the\nmoral of a country if we speak of it too soon. I know that here at Rome I\nfind amiability, science and good sense. It seems to me that everything is\nmuch the same as in other civilized countries.\u201d\n\nSuch was the people over whom, on the 16th day of June, 1846, Cardinal\nMastai was called to exercise authority in the twofold capacity of Pontiff\nand Prince. On the first day of the Conclave several votes were cast for\nthe liberal-minded Cardinal Gizzi, and some in favor of the\nhighly-conservative Lambruschini. The second day all joined for Mastai.\nAnd thus was elected to the Papal Chair, by the unanimous voice of the\nSacred College, one of their body, who, in all the positions which he had\nheld, as Priest, as Archbishop, as Cardinal, had shown his determination\nto promote reform and improvement. No better proof could be required that\nthe Cardinals perfectly understood the state of the country, its urgent\nwants, its relations with the Church and the rest of the world.\n\nThere was much rejoicing in the Papal City. It seemed as if, with the\nelevation of a great character to high authority, the days of the\nMillennium had at length dawned on the distracted world. There was now\nquestion only of forgiveness for the past. Order and peace only were\npossible in time to come. The new Pontiff was resolved that there should\nbe no element of sorrow to mar the general joy; and so he amnestied the\npolitical offenders who had borne arms against the government of his\npredecessor. Only one condition was required, viz.: that, in the future,\nthey should fulfil the duties of good and order-loving subjects. Thus were\nfifteen hundred exiles restored to their families, who had lost all hope\nof ever seeing them again. The cases only of a small number of the\nring-leaders of the rebellion were reserved for consideration, and they,\ntoo, were cheered with the hope of pardon. The preamble of the decree of\namnesty, all in the Pope\u2019s own handwriting, bore the following words:\n\n\u201cAt the time when the public joy occasioned by our accession to the office\nof Sovereign Pontiff caused us to experience in our inmost soul the most\nlively emotion, we could not avoid entertaining a feeling of sorrow when\nwe remembered that a great number of families amongst our people could not\ntake part in the general rejoicing, deprived, as they were, of domestic\nhappiness.... On the other hand, we cast a look of compassion on the\nnumerous and inexperienced youth, which, although carried away by\ndeceitful flatterers, in the midst of political troubles, appeared to us\nguilty rather of allowing itself to be led astray, than of deceiving\nothers. On this account it was that, from that moment, we cherished the\nthought of extending a friendly hand, and offering peace to such of these\ndear but misguided children as should come to us, and give proof of their\nsincere repentance.\u201d\n\nNight was drawing on when the decree was posted on the walls of Rome. It\nwas observed, however, amidst the growing darkness; and no sooner was the\nword _amnesty_ read than a cry of enthusiasm was heard. People hastened\nfrom their houses in all directions, the passers-by stopped in crowds to\nread, by torchlight, the cabalistic words. Among the fast-assembling\nmasses there was but one feeling. They embraced and even wept for joy. In\nthe depth of their emotion, and whilst yet, as may be said, intoxicated\nwith delight, they sought how to express their gratitude. The cry was\nraised, \u201cTo the Quirinal!\u201d Arrived there, they hailed, with loud and\nunited voice, the beneficent Pontiff\u2014\u201cVivat Pius Nonus!\u201d \u201cLong live our\nHoly Father!\u201d Crowd after crowd thus approached the person of the Pope. It\nwas now late, and Pius IX., much fatigued, overwhelmed by his emotions,\nhad withdrawn to the silence of his Oratory. Meanwhile, fresh crowds of\noverjoyed citizens were pressing forward. Ten thousand men, at least, were\nnow waiting, with respectful anxiety, under the walls of the Quirinal\nPalace. The French Ambassador to Rome, Count Rossi, was a witness of these\nevents. He became also their historian. He wrote thus to M. Guizot:\n\n\u201cSuddenly the acclamations are redoubled. I had not yet understood on what\naccount, when some one called my attention to the light which was shining\nthrough the window-blinds at the farthest end of the Pontifical Palace.\nThe people had observed that the Holy Father was traversing the apartment\nin order to reach the balcony. It was speedily thrown open, and the\nSovereign Pontiff, in a white robe and scarlet mantle, made his\nappearance, surrounded by torches. If your Excellency (M. Guizot, at that\ntime Minister of the French King, Louis Philippe) will only figure to\nyourself a magnificent place, a summer night, the sky of Rome, an immense\npeople moved with gratitude, weeping for joy and receiving with love and\nreverence the benediction of their Pastor and their Prince, you will not\nbe astonished, if I add that we have shared the general emotion, and have\nplaced this spectacle above every thing that Rome had as yet offered to\nour contemplation. Just as I had foreseen, as soon as the window was\nclosed the crowd withdrew peacefully and in perfect silence. You would\nhave called them a people of mutes; they were satisfied.\u201d\n\nIt is not so difficult to grant an amnesty. It is delightful, even, to men\nof the character of Pius IX. to dispense forgiveness. This is particularly\nthe office and the privilege of the Church. Sterner duties devolve upon\nthe statesman. And, however reconcileable the two courses of conduct in\npublic affairs may really be, it is difficult often to reconcile them.\n\nThe amnesty, although far from being everything, was, nevertheless, a\nbeginning, and one of favorable omen. The furrow was opened, to use the\nlanguage of M. Rossi, and no doubt the ploughing would proceed. Many\nformidable difficulties must, however, be surmounted. On the one hand,\nstood the influence of the old feudal Conservative party, which frowned on\nthe slightest change. On the other, were the Socialists, who aimed at the\ndestruction of every existing institution\u2014in whose estimation property\neven was not sacred, nor life itself. It was necessary, meanwhile, to\nimprove the condition of the people, and, in doing so, to guard against\nanarchy. By wise and well-considered reforms only could the growth and\nadvance of revolution be discouraged and stayed, whilst a political\nsystem, almost entirely new, came to be firmly established. For this\npurpose, it was necessary that there should prevail in the Pontifical\nStates a sounder state of opinion. This was not the work of a single day.\nIt was necessary, nevertheless, as the people could not be safely led by\ntheir ever-changing emotions. Based on such quicksands, the government of\nthe Holy Father could have no stability, and it was his aim so to form it\nthat it should be able to keep its ground without the aid of foreign arms.\nThe state of Italy, the peculiar position of the Pontifical States, the\ncharacter of modern civilization, the spirit of the age\u2014all conspired to\nproduce new wants, and, at the same time, made it a matter of the greatest\ndifficulty to meet them. \u201cThis difficulty,\u201d writes the Spanish Sage,\nBalmes, \u201cit was impossible to surmount by chanting patriotic hymns any\nmore than by having recourse to Austrian bayonets.\u201d\n\nBy none was this better understood than by Pius IX. The study of State\naffairs was not new to him. He had considered and lamented the condition\nof things which so often brought upon his country foreign invasion, the\nhorrors of war, and punishments without end, inflicted on his\nfellow-citizens. It is related even that he prepared and presented to\nGregory XVI. a programme of reforms, which he believed would bring the\nnecessary remedy. Now that he was at the head of the State, he believed\nthat the responsibility devolved on him of introducing such reforms as\nwere called for by the exigency of the time, and by which alone he was\npersuaded the evils which oppressed the country could be brought to an\nend. It was not possible, as yet, to inaugurate any general measure of\nreform. In the meantime, however, the rule of the Pontiff was\ncharacterized by wise, just, humane and liberal acts, which could not fail\nto pave the way for the greater improvements which he meditated. Among\nthese lesser, but by no means unimportant, reforms may be mentioned the\nabolition of an odious law which had long disgraced the legislation of so\nmany Christian nations. The punishment by imprisonment for petty debts\nwas, in the estimation of Pius IX., as unjust as it was cruel and hateful.\nIt answered no better purpose, for the most part, than the gratification\nof private spite. By a generous contribution from his own funds, the Pope\nthrew open the prisons of the Capitol. He set a great example, which could\nnot fail to promote the cause of virtue whilst it relieved the indigent,\nby distributing twelve thousand Roman _ecus_, in the form of dowries,\namong the young women of poor families, whose poverty rendered an\nhonorable settlement extremely difficult. He also encouraged collections\nin favor of such of the amnestied parties as were in need. His financial\nreforms were more important. And by these he won a title to the gratitude\nof the State. The public revenue was alarmingly deficient. Only by some\ngreat change could ruin be averted. First of all, he proposed that his\nfaithful clergy should make a sacrifice; and every convent engaged to pay\nten _scudi_ yearly, and every parish priest a _scudo_ during three\nconsecutive years. He himself set the example of the most rigid economy by\nreducing the scale of his establishment. He at the same time retrenched\nthose rich sinecures which were, so to say, engrafted on the temporalities\nof the Papacy. What was well worthy of a great statesman, he showed the\nmost enlightened sympathy for all the sciences which contribute to the\nmaterial and intellectual well-being of the populations, such as\nphysiology, natural history, political economy and mathematics. Nor was he\nunwilling that his people should avail themselves of the knowledge of\nforeigners. He went so far as to intimate his intention to re-establish\nthe celebrated Scientific Academy, _Di Lincei_.\n\nHe could not, as yet, by any other than such isolated acts as these,\nevince the elevated and liberal tendencies of his mind, in which were\nblended boldness with moderation, and views of reform with all that became\nhis position, and was adapted to the wants of the country and the age.\n\nPius IX., although not a constitutional sovereign, and unable so to\nconstitute himself, was anxious, nevertheless, to give to his people all\nthe benefits of constitutional government. A first step was to choose a\npopular Minister, and Cardinal Gizzi was called to the counsels of the\nState. This Cardinal was beloved at Rome, and not undeservedly. When\nLegate at Forli, he had opposed the establishment of an arbitrary court,\nand thus won for himself the sympathies of all national reformers. His\nloyalty, sincerity and patriotism were well known; nor was he wanting in\nany other quality of the statesman. Of a patient and enquiring mind, he\nwas incapable of coming hastily to a decision; but, when once resolved, he\ncould not be easily diverted from his purpose. The ministry of such a man\nwas full of promise; but in this lay its weakness. It held out hopes\nwhich, in the state of parties which at that time prevailed, it was unable\nto realize. There were two great parties at Rome, with neither of which\nthe Gizzi ministry was in sympathy. There existed no party with which it\ncould act harmoniously. There were no reformers. It would have been most\nfortunate for Pius IX. if such a party could have been formed, but the\nelements were wanting. The true idea of constitutional government was as\nlittle understood in Italy as in the rest of continental Europe. The only\nparty at Rome who desired change were the Socialists, who identified\nreform with subversion, who denied every right, and sought the destruction\nof all existing institutions. No wonder if, in presence of such a faction,\nthe aristocracy, so highly conservative, dreaded and opposed all change.\nThe Socialists, whilst by the fear which they inspired strengthened the\nhands of the conservative party, opposed and prevented the formation of a\nbody of reformers who, like Gizzi and Pius IX., would have labored\nintelligently to forward the cause of reform, never losing sight of the\ngreat principles of humanity and justice, never sacrificing to Utopian\ntheories inalienable rights, above all the rights of property\u2014the very\ngroundwork of the social fabric. Without the aid and countenance of a body\nof reformers, the able ministry that now surrounded the Pope found it\ndifficult to proceed. They could not determine for any important\nconstitutional change. They could not even undertake any considerable\nimprovement.\n\nThey were, however, not inactive. They studied to educate the people by\nimproving and extending the public schools, and by what was, indeed, an\nadvance in continental Europe\u2014establishing a periodical press.\n\nThere were few cities so highly favored as Rome as regards the facilities\nfor educating youth. Nevertheless, there was room for improvement, and\nPius IX. accordingly established in the city a central school for the\ninstruction of the youth of the operative classes. This was a school of\narts and manufactures, and, at the same time, a military institution, in\nwhich the pupils were qualified to become either tradesmen or subordinate\nofficers in the army. Whilst Cardinal Gizzi was Minister many other useful\nschemes met the approbation of the Pontiff, and were sanctioned by his\nsignature.\n\nNot a few commissions also were appointed\u2014some for the study of railway\ncommunication in the Roman States, others for the improvement of both\ncriminal and civil procedure, and others for the amelioration of the\nmunicipal system and the repression of vagrancy.\n\nRome, so richly endowed in many respects, could scarcely be said, as yet,\nto possess a periodical press. To establish such a press was, for the\nreforming ministry, a labor of love. Whilst they were preparing a law by\nwhich it should be called into existence and its liberty secured and\nregulated, Pius IX., in anticipation of their labors, authorized the\npublication of several journals. First, came the \u201cContemporaneo,\u201d which\nwas followed in due time by the \u201cBilancia,\u201d the \u201cItalico,\u201d the \u201cAlba.\u201d\nThese publications were in sympathy, at first, with the Pontiff and his\nreforming ministry. They advocated only rational reform, real improvement,\nsuch changes as were both practicable and useful. They had not yet\ndiscovered the excellence of the Socialist utopia. Their enthusiasm and\ntheir _vivats_ were all for the reformer Pope.\n\nIt is far from being matter of surprise to Catholic people, at least, that\nthe See of Rome should be the first to practice the virtues\u2014the high\nmorality which it teaches. In regard to their treatment of the Jewish\npeople, the Christian nations generally stood in need of such an example\nas Papal Rome has always shown in her consideration for the race of\nIsrael. The nations, although professing Christianity, have been anything\nbut Christian in their conduct towards these people. It was their idea,\none would say, that they were called of heaven to execute justice on an\noffending race. The Popes never believed that they or any other Christians\nwere entrusted with such a mission. Accordingly, the Jews, when cruelly\npersecuted in other countries, always found protection and safety at Rome\nunder the wing of the Pope. Even such restrictions as they were subject\nto, contributed to maintain them in security and peace. The Holy Father,\nalthough it was his sublime mission to preach the Gospel, could not always\ncause its precepts to be obeyed. If prejudice was against living on terms\nof charity with the Jews, was it not kind, as well as wise and politic, to\nassign to them a quarter of the city where only they should dwell, free\nfrom all interference on the part of the rest of the inhabitants? Pius IX.\nbelieved that the time had come when a more liberal arrangement might be\nadvantageously adopted. In pursuance of this conviction, he regulated that\nthe Jews should enjoy the privilege of establishing their habitations\nwherever they should deem it most suitable, that they should be governed\nby the same laws as the other citizens, and in no way be treated as a\nforeign people. Such of them as stood in need of assistance Pius IX.\nadmitted to a share in his benefactions, and without occasioning the\nslightest murmur on the part of his Christian subjects.\n\nThe Jews, whilst considered as foreigners in Rome, were subject to the\ncustom of coming yearly to the Capitol to pay tribute. With this custom\nthe Holy Father generously dispensed. All this liberality and kindness\nwere highly appreciated. The Jewish people generally beheld in the wise\nand Holy Pontiff the looked-for Messiah. The aged Rabbins, more\nconsiderate, affirmed only that the Pope was a great prophet. The chief of\nthe Synagogue, Moses Kassan, composed in his honor a canticle marked by\npoetic inspiration. It extols and blesses the Holy Father for having\ngathered together in the same barque all the children whom God had\nconfided to his care ... for having snatched from the contempt of nations,\nand sheltered under his wing, a persecuted people.\n\nThere being many Christians of the United Greek rite throughout the\ndominions of the Sultan, it was necessary that the Holy Father should\nnegotiate, occasionally, with the successor of Mahomet. Pius IX. yielded\nnot to any of his predecessors in zeal for the welfare of all Catholic\npeople. Those who lived and often suffered under the Moslem yoke were,\nespecially, objects of his fatherly solicitude. Policy had not yet brought\nthe Cross into the same field of strife in union with the Crescent, when,\non the 20th of February, 1847, the portals of the Quirinal were thrown\nopen to the Ambassador of the Sublime Porte. To the Jews the Rome of Pius\nIX. was as a new Jerusalem. Islamism, from its tottering throne at\nConstantinople, looked towards it with hope and rapture.\n\nThe armed protection of Christians in the Turkish dominions, by the great\nEuropean Powers, was, no doubt, galling to the Sultan\u2019s court. It was,\ntherefore, ardently desired, we can readily believe, to place the\nChristians of the Levant under the peaceful guardianship of the Roman\nPontiff. The Embassy may also have had other objects in view. Be this as\nit may, it was new and quite extraordinary to behold the representative of\nthe prophet at the palace of the Sovereign Pontiff. No wonder if all\nEurope was moved to admiration. The presentation was very solemn\u2014in the\nhigh ceremonial of Eastern lands. Chekif Effendi, the Turkish Ambassador,\nsaluted the Holy Father in Oriental style, and addressed to him a\nmagnificent oration, which was richly interspersed with metaphors\u2014the\npearls and diamonds of his country\u2019s eloquence. The Sublime Porte was\ncompared to the Queen of Sheba, and Pius IX. to King Solomon. Whatever may\nbe thought of the figures, the sentiments expressed in the speech were\nappropriate and affecting. The Pope replied by assuring the Ambassador\nthat he was anxious to cultivate friendly relations with the Sultan, his\nmaster. Three days later Chekif Effendi took his departure from Rome,\nbearing with him on his breast, as a _nishun_ (decoration), the portrait\nof the Holy Father.\n\nThis Embassy was more than mere show\u2014more than an interchange of friendly\nsentiments. It enabled the Pope to adopt a measure which was calculated to\nbe highly beneficial to the Christians of the East. The Latin Patriarchate\nof Jerusalem was restored. And thus was accomplished a wonderful\nrevolution in European diplomacy as regarded the Eastern world. At the\nrequest of the Porte, the Latin Patriarch became bound to reside in the\ncity of Jerusalem. In the confidential position which he held there, he\nwas the natural protector of the Catholic subjects of the Sultan. In\naddition to the duties of his sacred office, he was, as a consul,\nappointed by the Holy See to watch over the interests of\nreligion\u2014interests as important, surely, as those of trade and worldly\npolicy. The first whom the Pope named to the dignity of Latin Patriarch\nwas Monsignore Valergo, who had formerly been a missionary at Paris.\n\nThere appears to have been something irresistibly attractive in the\ncharacter of Pius IX. That illustrious champion of Ireland and of liberty,\nDaniel O\u2019Connell, resolved, towards the close of his days, to visit Rome\nand pay the homage of a kindred spirit to the Holy Father. Not only was he\nanxious to be enriched with the choicest heavenly benedictions, whilst\nkneeling reverently at the shrine of the Apostles, but he desired also,\nwith a fervor which finds place only in the most nobly-moulded souls,\nwhose love of liberty and whose patriotism are unfeigned and pure, to hold\ncommunion with one who was, no less than himself, a friend of liberty, and\nwhose exalted station, and whose high duties towards mankind at large,\nhindered him not from laboring, as did Ireland\u2019s patriot, to liberate his\ncountry, not, indeed, from such cruel bondage as that under which the land\nof O\u2019Connell had for so many ages groaned, but from the no less dangerous\ntyranny of abuses which, like weeds that grow most luxuriantly in the\nrichest soil, it becomes necessary, in due season, to extirpate.\n\nIt was not, however, appointed that Ireland\u2019s liberator should ever see\nRome. His illness continued to increase. No sooner had he reached the\nshores of Italy than the strength of his once powerful frame declined\nrapidly, and he was unable to proceed. Arrived at Genoa, O\u2019Connell\nunderstood that his last hour on earth was near at hand. He now expressed\nthe wish that his heart should rest in the Holy City. Thither,\naccordingly, it was borne by friendly hands to commingle with the\nconsecrated dust of heroes, saints and martyrs. To Rome it was a relic of\nincomparable price. Although cold and inanimate, it was still eloquent in\ndeath, and grandly emblematic of all that he had been to whom it was the\ncentre of life, and to whose generous impulses it had so long and so\nfaithfully beat responsive.\n\nThat son of O\u2019Connell who bore his name, together with the Rev. Dr. Miley,\nof Dublin, who had accompanied him to Genoa and ministered to him in his\nlast hours, now proceeded to Rome and sought the presence of the Holy\nFather. On their arrival at the Quirinal, the halls and ante-chambers were\nalready filled with groups of personages in every style of costume, from\nthe glittering uniform to the cowl. The travellers, therefore, must wait\ntill all these have had an audience. But no. The name of O\u2019Connell, as if\npossessed of talismanic power, caused them to be at once admitted to the\npresence of the Holy Father. The reception was most cordial. \u201cSince the\nhappiness I had so much longed for,\u201d said the Pontiff, \u201cwas not reserved\nfor me, to behold and embrace the hero of Christianity, let me, at least,\nhave the consolation to embrace his son.\u201d \u201cAs he spoke,\u201d writes Dr. Miley,\n\u201che drew the son of O\u2019Connell to his bosom and embraced him, not unmoved,\nwith the tenderness of a father and a friend. Then, with an emotion which\nstirred our hearts within us, this great Father of the faithful poured out\nhis benign and loving soul in words of comfort, which proved that it was\nnot new to him to pour the balm of heaven into broken and wounded hearts.\u201d\n\u201cHis death,\u201d said the Pontiff, \u201cwas blessed. I have read the letter in\nwhich his last moments were described with the greatest consolation.\u201d The\nPope then proceeded to eulogize the liberator, as the great champion of\nreligion and the Church, as the father of his people and the glory of the\nwhole Christian world. \u201cHow else,\u201d observed Monsignore Cullen, late\nCardinal Archbishop of Dublin, who was present, \u201ccould the Pope have\nspoken of him than he has done, even if he had been the bosom friend of\nthe liberator, as well as the ardent admirer of his career.\u201d Nor must we\nfail to record the terms in which the venerable Pontiff, on this memorable\noccasion, referred to Ireland. The thought of O\u2019Connell was one with that\nof his native Erin. Death, even, could not sever them. Whilst the living\nimage of grief and bereavement stood in his presence, the Holy Father\ncould not refrain from giving expression to his paternal sympathy. But, at\nthe same time, the country of O\u2019Connell was not forgotten. Writes Dr.\nMiley: \u201cWhile he spoke of the sufferings of the Irish, of their fidelity,\nof his solicitude and his hopes regarding them, it was beautiful and\nimpressive beyond my power to describe, to observe that countenance,\nwhich, like a mirror, reflects the charity, the compassionate care, the\nfortitude, with a hundred other sentiments divine, which are never dormant\nwithin his breast.\u201d\n\nPius IX., anxious that due honor should be done to the memory of\nO\u2019Connell, gave orders for the celebration of a solemn funeral service,\nand intimated his will and command that it should be celebrated in his\nname. \u201cThe achievements also of his wonderful existence I desire to be\ncommemorated and made known to the world\u201d\u2014not that this is necessary,\n\u201cbecause,\u201d said the Pontiff with a sublime look and gesture, \u201chis grand\ncareer was ever in the face of heaven\u2014he always stood up for legality\u2014he\nhad nothing to hide; and it was this, with his unshaken fidelity and\nreverence for religion, that secured his triumph.\u201d It is only justice to\nthe people of Rome to state that they vied with the Sovereign Pontiff, the\nmagnates of their country and the representatives of European nations at\nthe Holy City, in doing honor to the memory of O\u2019Connell. \u201cFrom the Campus\nMartius,\u201d writes Dr. Miley, \u201cand the Roman Forum, from both sides of the\nTiber, and from all the seven hills and their interjacent valleys, this\npeople, who grow up from infancy with the trophies of thirty centuries of\ngreatness around them on every hand, assembled with enthusiasm to\nsupplicate heaven for the eternal happiness of Ireland\u2019s liberator, and to\nexult in the wonders he had achieved, as if he had been their own.\u201d The\ngreatest homage paid by Rome on this melancholy occasion, was undoubtedly,\nthe funeral oration, which was spoken by the Bossuet of Italy, the\ncelebrated preacher, Father Ventura, the friend and fellow-student of Pius\nIX. This most eloquent discourse was listened to with attention and\ndelight by the vast congregation that had gathered round the cenotaph of\nthe immortal patriot. Let a passage or two here suffice to give an idea of\nthe magnificent panegyric:\n\n\u201cIt is, then, because these two loves\u2014the love of religion and the love of\nliberty, common to all good Princes, to all great minds, to all truly\nlearned men, to all elevated souls, to all generous hearts might be said\nto be personified in Daniel O\u2019Connell\u2014because in him they manifested\nthemselves in all the perfection of their nature\u2014in all the energy of\ntheir deeply-felt conviction\u2014in all the potency of their strength\u2014in all\nthe splendor of their magnificence, and in all the glory of their triumph;\nit is because of all this that this singular man\u2014who was born and has\nlived at such a distance from Rome\u2014is now admired, is now wept for by you,\nas if he had been born in the midst of you. Hence it is that this great\ncharacter, this sublime nature, has awakened all your sympathies.\u201d\n\nO\u2019Connell had studied for some time at the College of St. Omer, in France.\nWhat he saw and learned in that country is ably described by the Italian\norator:\n\n\u201cHe saw with his own eyes monarchy compelled to degrade itself, and to\ninflict its death-wound with its own hand; he saw the throne that base\ncourtiers had dragged through the mire defiled by the grip of parricidal\nhands, and buried, fathoms deep, beneath a sea of blood; he saw the best\nof kings expire upon a scaffold, the victim not less of other men\u2019s crimes\nthan of his own weakness; he saw that vice was hailed, as if it were\nvirtue, wickedness uplifted, as if it were morality atheism, proclaimed\naloud, as if it were religion; that the \u2018Goddess of Reason\u2019 (or rather a\nvile strumpet) was recognized as the only Deity, and honored with\nhecatombs of human victims; the people decimated and oppressed by cruel\ntyrants, in the name of the people; whilst beneath the shade of the tree\nof liberty was instituted universal slavery; and that the most Christian,\nas well as the most civilized of all nations, had fallen down to the\nlowest limits of impiety and barbarism.\n\n\u201cNow, God having so disposed that the young O\u2019Connell should be witness of\nthese events\u2014the most celebrated and the most instructive to be found in\nthe annals of history\u2014they served to inspire him with the greatest horror\nfor tumults and rebellion; they persuaded him that there is nothing more\ninsane, and, at the same time, more pernicious than to proclaim the rights\nof man, in trampling upon those of heaven\u2014in establishing liberty on the\nruins of religion\u2014in making laws, under the dictation of passion, or\nthrough the inspiration of sacrilege\u2014and, finally, they convinced him,\nthat to _regenerate_ a people, religion is omnipotent\u2014philosophy of little\nor no avail.\u201d\n\nIn alluding to the well-known piety of O\u2019Connell, the preacher said: \u201cWhat\nmore moving spectacle than to see the greatest man in the United\nKingdom\u2014to see him, who was the object of Ireland\u2019s devotion, of England\u2019s\nfear, and of the world\u2019s admiration, kneeling with the people before the\naltar, practicing the piety of the people, with that humble simplicity,\nthat recollection, that devoutness, and that modesty, which supercilious\nscience and stolid pride abandon as things fit only to be followed by\nthose whom they disdain as the people?\u201d\n\nIt is matter of notoriety that the Tory party, whose death-knell was soon\nto be tolled, constantly poured on the great Irish Tribune the most\nscurrilous abuse. One of the mock titles with which they honored him was\nthat of \u201cKing of the Beggars.\u201d Such pitiful ribaldry awakened the highest\npowers of the Roman orator. \u201cPoor, miserable, and most pitiful fatuity\nwhich, while intending to mock, actually did him honor. For, what\nsovereignty is more beautiful than that whose tribute is not wrung from\nunwilling fear, but that is a voluntary, love-inspired offering? What\nsovereignty is more glorious than that whose sword is the pen, and whose\nonly artillery the tongue; whose only couriers are the poor, and its sole\nbodyguard the affections of the people? What sovereignty more beneficent\nthan that which, far from causing tears to flow, dries them; which, far\nfrom shedding blood, stanches it; which, far from immolating life,\npreserves it; which, far from pressing down upon the people, elevates\nthem; which, far from forging chains, breaks them; and which always\nmaintains order, harmony and peace, without ever inflicting the slightest\naggression on liberty? Where is the monarch who would not esteem himself\nhappy in reigning thus? Of such a sovereignty, we may with truth say what\nwas said of Solomon\u2019s, that none can equal its grandeur, its glory and its\nmagnificence.\u201d\n\nSo favorable an opportunity for instructing the Italians was not thrown\naway. False liberty was already strewing their path with its meretricious\nallurements. \u201cAs true liberty diffuses around it peace and grace and calm,\nso does false liberty disseminate, wherever it is implanted, terror,\ndismay and horror. The brows of one are illuminated with the splendid halo\nof order, and those of the other are covered with the red cap of anarchy.\nOne holds in her hand the olive-branch of peace; the other waves the torch\nof discord. One is arrayed in robes white as those of innocence, and the\nother is enveloped in the dark, blood-stained mantle of guilt. One is the\nprop of thrones; the other a yawning abyss beneath them. One is the glory\nand the happiness of nations; the other their disgrace and their\npunishment. The latter bursts out of hell as if it were a poisonous blast\nissuing from the jaws of the devil himself; whilst true liberty descends\nsweetly and gently upon the earth, as if the spirit of God had sent it\ndown to us a holy and blessed thing from heaven. _Ubi spiritus Domini ibi\nLibertas._\u201d\n\nNone will be surprised to learn that on hearing these singularly eloquent\nwords, the immense auditory could no longer control their emotions. A\ngeneral murmur of approbation was heard throughout the vast temple and was\nbreaking out into loud applause, when the preacher, mindful of the\nreverence due to the holy place, made haste to repress it.\n\nThis great demonstration may well be considered as the best testimony that\ncould be given as to the real sentiments of the Italian people. They were\nnot ignorant of the nature of that liberty for which O\u2019Connell had so long\nand successfully contended. Nor were they under any erroneous impression\nas to what the gifted preacher meant when he extolled in such glowing\nterms that true liberty which is the glory, at once, and the best security\nof nations. If, a little later, they pursued the phantom instead of the\nreality, it must be considered that, as yet, they had no political\neducation or experience, and that no high-principled Tribune, like\nO\u2019Connell, stood forward to lead them. All who aspired to guide them, and\nwho won their confidence, were tainted with the doctrines of the Socialist\nparty, whose ideas of government and liberty were utterly utopian.\n\nIf it could be said that public rejoicings afforded any assistance to the\nPope, in his labors as the head of the Roman State, he was not left\nwithout aid in his great undertakings. Such things, however, rather\nhindered than promoted his endeavors. His people had, so to say,\ncommenced, under his auspices, a long and laborious journey. There was no\ntime for mere pleasure and amusement. Nevertheless, whenever a new scene\nor landscape opened to their view, they stopped to rejoice, and gave\nthemselves up, without control, to the intoxication of delight. In so\ndoing they laid themselves open to the snares and attacks of many secret\nenemies, who availed themselves of their frequent gatherings to sow the\nseeds of discord and corrupt their minds with false political doctrines.\nFar better would it have been if they had left to the Sovereign in whom,\nat first, they placed unbounded confidence, and the wise Ministers whom he\ncalled to his counsels, the care of forwarding the cause of reform. It had\nbeen most benevolently and successfully begun, and was proceeding, in the\nestimation of all but an impatient people, with rapidity which had no\nparallel in the history of nations. The people, by assembling tumultuously\non occasion of every popular measure, no doubt meant no more at first than\nto show gratitude and affection to their pastor and prince. Such meetings,\nhowever, were not without danger to the cause of reform. The political\nenemies of the Pope easily foresaw that, by his wise and popular\nimprovements in the State, he would certainly secure to himself a\npeaceful, strong and glorious reign. So, laying hold of the general\nenthusiasm, they trained and disciplined to their will a people who were\nnaturally good and unsuspecting. These men came at length to give the\nwatchword, and, according to their wishes and the views which it suited\nthem to insinuate into the popular mind, the uneducated and fickle\nmultitude expressed satisfaction or discontent, as they defiled in\nimposing masses before the mansion of the Pontiff. Thus was formed a sort\nof government out of doors, which, if it did not yet oppose or appear to\noppose at least, powerfully swayed the official authority. Cardinal Gizzi,\nwhose ministry was so popular, deemed it necessary to require by\nproclamation that these noisy demonstrations should cease. It was too\nlate. The people, defying the Cardinal\u2019s mandate, hastened in crowds to\nthe Quirinal, saluted, as usual, the Pope with enthusiastic _vivats_,\nexpressing, at the same time, their detestation of his ministry, which\nthey were wont to applaud so loudly, and which, if it had not by any great\nactivity done much to acquire, had certainly done nothing to forfeit their\nfavor. \u201c_Viva Pio Nono! Pio Nono Solo!_\u201d was now their cry. The Pope\nhimself next came to be considered as intolerably dilatory in preparing\nmeasures of reform. Nor did he escape the accusation, at the same time, of\nsacrificing to his zeal, as a temporal ruler, the higher duties which he\nowed to religion and the Church. According to one set of revilers, he was\nbreaking with inviolable tradition. Others insisted that so enthusiastic a\nreformer of the State must be a revolutionist in the Church. Such attacks\nwere met by anticipation in the Encyclical of 9th November, 1846. This\nwell-known document was received with applause by the civilized world. It\nleaves no ground for the charges in question. It would only destroy the\nChurch to pretend to reform its dogma and revolutionize its discipline and\ngovernment. Such an idea could proceed from no other source than the\nstratagems of unbelief, or from the snares of the wolf, who, in sheep\u2019s\nclothing, seeks to insinuate himself into the fold. It is nothing short of\nsacrilege to hold that religion is susceptible of progress or improvement,\nas if it were a philosophical discovery, which could advance with the\nmarch of science. The Holy Father enumerates also in this Encyclical the\nprincipal grounds of faith, and exhorts all bishops to oppose with all\ntheir zeal and learning those who, alleging progress as their motive,\nperversely endeavor to destroy religion by subjecting it to every man\u2019s\nindividual judgment. He condemns indifference as regards religion,\neloquently defends ecclesiastical celibacy, and, mindful that the Church\nis the teacher of the great as well as of the humble, he enforces the\nobligations of sovereigns towards their subjects, not forgetting the\nfulfilment of all the duties which the people owe to their rulers. In a\nformer Encyclical, Pius IX. had expressed his predilection for the\nreligious orders. This expression was now renewed. Time may have\ninterfered, more or less, with their discipline. Anxious to preserve them\nand promote their prosperity, he was ever willing to correct such abuses\nas may have existed. To some communities he offered the most admirable\nsuggestions. Others he honored with personal visits, evincing always a\ntruly pastoral zeal for the well-being of institutions so precious to\nreligion.\n\nPius IX., although deeply occupied with affairs of State that would have\ncommanded all the attention and energy of any ordinary mind, found time,\nnevertheless, for the discharge of duties of a still higher order. He\nnever forgot that he was the Bishop as well as the Sovereign of Rome. The\nRomans, although inhabiting the Holy City, like all other people, stood in\nneed of the instructions and warnings of religion. The Pope was aware,\nbesides, that bad habits prevailed, such as profane swearing, luxurious\nliving, the neglect of parents in the training of their children. The\nknowledge of such things grieved him exceedingly. He now resolved to have\nrecourse to a measure which was as striking as it was unexpected. In the\ntrying days of the Crusaders, and moved by their zeal for the safety of\nChristendom, the Popes of an earlier time had addressed, as the ministers\nof God, immense public assemblages. No Pope, however, had appeared in the\npulpit since Gregory VII. The Church of St. Andrew, where the eloquent\nFather Ventura was accustomed to preach, was selected, but, lest there\nshould be too great a crowd, no notice of the Pope\u2019s intention was\npublished. At half-past three o\u2019clock on a Sunday afternoon, just as the\ncongregation were expecting to see Abbate Ventura enter the church, the\nPope himself made his appearance. The sermon was not a long one; but it\nwas memorable, and to be long remembered. \u201cIn this city,\u201d said the Holy\nFather, \u201cwhich is the centre of Catholicity, there are men who insult the\nholy name of God by profane and blasphemous language. On all those who now\nhear me I lay this charge: publish everywhere that I have no hope for such\nmen. They cast in the face of Heaven the stone which will, one day, recoil\nupon them and crush them. I would also most earnestly exhort you as\nregards the duty of fasting. Many fathers and mothers come to me in order\nto impart to me the sorrow which they experience in considering the\nmelancholy fact which cannot escape their observation, that the demon of\nuncleanness exercises a destructive empire over the youth of Rome. Our\nLord Himself in the Holy Gospel assures us that, by no other means than\nprayer and fasting, is it possible to overcome this demon who poisons the\nsources of life and works the ruin of immortal souls.\u201d The sermon,\nalthough comparatively short, spoke of the chief obligations of a\nChristian life. It was delivered with great unction, and the Holy Father\nconcluded with a fervent prayer for Rome and the Roman State. \u201cLook down\nupon this vine, O Lord, which Thy right hand hath planted! Look upon it in\nmercy, and remove from it the hand of iron which weighs so heavily upon\nit. Pour into the bosoms of the rising generations those two most precious\nattributes of youth,\u2014modesty and a teachable mind. Listen to my prayer, O\nLord, and bestow upon this congregation, on this city and all people, Thy\nmost precious blessings.\u201d\n\nAppropriate gesticulations added to the power of words. Another influence,\nalso, came in aid,\u2014an influence peculiar to Pius IX.,\u2014that indescribable\nexpression of goodness which lighted up his countenance as he spoke. The\npeople, whose feelings are naturally fine, were moved even to tears and\nsighs. The occasion itself was well calculated to move the minds of a\nCatholic audience. It was an element, no doubt, which, together with the\neloquence of the preacher, and the power of apostolic preaching, could not\nfail to produce a profound impression. And, indeed, the whole congregation\nwere filled with enthusiasm.\n\nWhilst thus finding consolation in the exercise of his sublime ministry,\nthe benevolent Pontiff was destined to encounter formidable attacks on the\npart of political opponents. On the one hand, the ultra-Conservatives, who\nheld in abomination the mere idea of reform, endeavored by every means to\nconfound in the popular mind the beneficial measures which the Pope was\nintroducing into the economy of the State, with radical changes in the\nmost essential points of religion itself. The Socialists, on the other\nhand, studied to excite the people and increase their impatience by\nmisrepresenting all the acts of the ministry, and causing it to be\nbelieved that, by the delay which was unavoidable in labors of such\nmagnitude and importance, they were only abusing the confidence of the\nsovereign and betraying the cause of reform. Some remains of chivalry\nmight have been expected in the ranks of the high Conservative party. But,\nalas! too truly the age of chivalry was gone, and these sticklers for the\nusages of a bygone age, only showed by their modes of proceeding that they\nclung to an empty and inanimate form of things from which life and\nsubstance had departed. As was related at the time, they stepped down to\nthe depths of calumny and published a cruel libel, in which the Holy\nFather was held up to the scorn of all right-thinking men as an\n\u201cintruder,\u201d \u201can enemy of Religion,\u201d \u201cthe chief of _Young Italy_.\u201d In the\nestimation of such men discretion is the better part of valor. But whilst\nthey fought with the coward\u2019s weapon\u2014slander\u2014they could not wholly escape\ndetection. Their libel was seized in the hands of a _colporteur_. This\nwretched man offered to disclose the names of the libellers. Pius IX.\ndeclined his offer, generously forgave him the offence, and even bestowed\nupon him a sum of money in order to induce him and enable him to give up\nhis nefarious trade.\n\nMeanwhile, there was at Rome a still more numerous body who sustained the\npolicy of the Holy Father. These friends of order, it is most pleasing to\nrecord, made every effort to aid him in carrying out the measures of\nreform which he contemplated. This influential body of faithful and\npatriotic citizens, who can never be sufficiently praised, organized a\nconsiderable force which kept the populace in check. This party consisted,\nchiefly, of the burghers of Rome. They were encouraged and headed by the\nhigher nobles, such as the Borghese, the Rospigliosi, the Riguano, the\nPiombino, and the Aldobrandini. Acting as a noble guard, they were able to\npreserve order in the city, when, on occasion of celebrating the memorable\namnesty, it was seriously threatened by the factions. They were, indeed, a\nparty of reform, order-loving and law-abiding. It can never be\nsufficiently regretted that, unaccustomed as they were to political\nturmoil, they knew not how to keep their ground in the face of new dangers\nwhich arose so soon.\n\nThe health of Cardinal Gizzi had begun to decline. The toils of office\nwere not calculated to improve it, and so he relinquished a post which\nwas, every day, becoming more onerous and difficult. There was another\nCardinal whose high character had endeared him to the Romans. Ability and\nlearning were not his only qualities. He was energetic and resolute,\nfaithful, straightforward and self-sacrificing. When the dread scourge of\ncholera swept over his episcopal city and impoverished his people,\nCardinal Ferretti gave up for the relief of the sufferers all that he\npossessed\u2014money, clothing, plate, furniture, and remained in his empty\nPalace, as destitute as a pauper. To this eminent Cardinal Pius IX.\nappealed, offering him the high office which Gizzi could no longer hold.\nOn 26th July, 1847, the new Chief Minister arrived at Rome. He was warmly\nreceived. The citizens gave him an ovation.\n\nShortly before his arrival, news had come to Rome that Austrian troops\nwere marching on Ferrara, a city of the Papal States. They were, indeed,\nentitled, by the treaty of 1815, to occupy this fortress, as well as that\nof Camachio. They could urge no better excuse for a display of military\npower in the Pope\u2019s States on occasion of the threatened disturbance of\n16th July. This parade was only the prelude to further military\noperations. On 13th August, General Count Auesperg occupied all the posts\nof Ferrara. Whatever may be said as to treaty rights, this was,\nundoubtedly, an insult to the Papal flag. The most energetic remonstrances\nwere immediately addressed to the Cabinet of Vienna. Austria endeavored to\njustify her proceeding by a wide interpretation of the right of\noccupation, by alleging the disturbed state of the public mind at Rome,\nand by insisting on certain precedents. But to no purpose. The diplomacy\nof Ferretti contended successfully with that of Metternich. And Austria,\nyielding with the best grace possible to the representations of the Holy\nFather, evacuated Ferrara.\n\nThe Pope, far from allowing himself to be disquieted by the presence in\nhis States of Croat troops, proceeded with the work of reform which he had\nundertaken, slowly, indeed, but with energy and perseverance. In these\nlabors of the statesman, he was ably aided by the Cardinal Minister\nFerretti. A promise was given that before the end of the year two great\npolitical and administrative institutions would be called into existence.\nAccordingly, so early as the month of October, two State papers appeared,\nthe one instituting the municipality of Rome, which was to be called _the\nSenate_, the other decreeing an assembly that should be, to a certain\nextent, representative, under the name of _Council of State_ (consulta).\nThe City of Rome had not, for a long time, possessed, like the other\ncities of the Pontifical States, municipal institutions. It was now\nordained that there should be a City Council, consisting of the mayor (in\nthe language of the country, _Senator_), with eight colleagues and a\nhundred other members. This is not unlike our own municipal magistracy,\nwherein are the mayor, aldermen and common councilmen or councillors. With\nus, however, aldermen could hardly be called the colleagues of the mayor.\nThis functionary stands alone in his worshipful dignity. The first\nnomination of the members of this municipal body was reserved to the Pope.\nBut it was appointed that, ever after, it should be chosen by free popular\nelection. None will question the wisdom and liberality of the language in\nwhich the Pope expressed himself in the preamble to the new law. \u201cWhen we\nwere called by Divine Providence to govern the Church and the State, our\npaternal solicitude was at once directed to every portion of the Dominion\nsubjected to our Government, but especially towards the capital, the chief\nof all our cities, to which it is consoling for us to devote our watchings\nand our labors. What was, above all, important, and what we think will be\na subject of joy to all, is the restoration to this beloved city of its\nancient glory of communal representation, by granting to it a deliberative\ncouncil. The study of this project has been particularly pleasing to us,\nand we have not allowed ourselves to be discouraged by any difficulty.\u201d\nThis important decree was published on the 2nd day of October, 1847. On\nthe following day there was a national festival. The people were in\nraptures, and loudly demonstrated their gratitude to the Holy Father for\nan institution which recalled the glorious associations of ancient Rome,\nand restored it to its place and rank among modern cities. The\nCardinal-prince Altieri was named president. He opened the first session\nof the municipal council by a speech which was marked by the homage paid\ntherein to Pius IX. \u201cHe considered not,\u201d said the orator, \u201cwhether the\nwork be difficult. He sees its utility and hesitates not.\u201d The council\nalmost unanimously elected to the post of Senator (Mayor) Prince Corsini,\nwho was, at that time, devoted to the policy of the reforming Pontiff.\n\nA measure of more general importance now occupied the attention of the\nSovereign Pontiff and his Ministers. The Council of State (consulta) was\nestablished. It was a deliberative assembly. It was not sovereign, but\npossessed the right to advise the Sovereign. There were twenty-four\ncouncillors. The President was a Cardinal Legate. Each councillor was\nchosen by the Pope from a list of three candidates presented by each\nProvince of the Pontifical States. The Council was divided into four\nsections, whose office it was to prepare laws relating to the Departments\nof Finance, Home Affairs, Public Works and Justice. It was the duty also\nof these four Committees to hold a general meeting on certain days, in\norder to take counsel together on the draughts of proposed laws which they\nhad separately prepared. On the 25th November, 1847, the National\nRepresentatives met for the first time. Their place of meeting was the\nthrone-room of the Quirinal Palace. Cardinal Antonelli was the first\nPresident. The proceedings were commenced, and most appropriately, by a\nrespectful address to the Holy Father. It was well known to Pius IX. that\nthe creation of this institution had awakened exaggerated and premature\nhopes in the minds of a portion of the people, and that some of the\nDeputies were not disinclined to encourage them. So he considered it\nnecessary, in his reply, to define, in a very decided manner, the true\ncharacter and functions of the National Representative Body. \u201cIt is\nchiefly,\u201d said he, \u201cin order that I may become better acquainted with the\nwants of my people, and that I may better provide for the exigencies of\nthe State, that I have called you together. I am prepared, in time, to do\neverything, without, however, diminishing the Sovereignty of the\nPontificate. That man would be grievously mistaken who should behold in\nthe functions which devolve on you, or in your institution itself, his own\nUtopias, or the commencement of anything incompatible with the Pontifical\nSovereignty.\u201d In concluding, he spoke in a still more determined tone, and\nreproached his people with the ingratitude which they had already begun to\nmanifest. \u201cThere are some persons who, having nothing to lose, wish for\ndisorder and insurrection, and go so far as to make a bad use even of our\nconcessions.\u201d\n\nThere was in this Council a commencement of representative government.\nDeputies from the Provinces assembled\u2014deliberated. They heard a Speech\nfrom the Throne. They presented an address in reply. In due time this germ\nof constitutional monarchy would be developed. But the Sovereign would not\nproceed rashly. The full measure of reform, he was well aware, must, like\nall great works, be the fruit of time, of much labor and patient\nconsideration.\n\nCount Rossi, the French Ambassador, considered that it was already time to\nintroduce a lay element into the political administration of the Papal\nStates. The Holy Father, accordingly, after due consideration, appointed\nsome distinguished laymen to the Ministry. In so doing, no doubt, he\nsacrificed time-honored usage; but not so much to the wishes of his\nfriends and allies, as to the spirit of the age, which, whether right or\nwrong, will have men of the world to deal with the world.\n\nItaly, although divided into several States, looked to Rome as its centre\nand its capital. Whatever occurred in the city of the Popes was at once\nknown throughout the whole peninsula. Such important and unlooked-for\nmeasures of reform as were now carried into effect could not fail, as they\nwere communicated, to affect deeply the Italian mind. Public opinion was\naroused. The most profound sympathy was everywhere felt and expressed.\nLiberty had revived under the auspices of Religion. It had emanated as a\nnew blessing from the Cross. The Chief of Religion, the Father of the\nFaithful, had become its High Priest. His name was held in benediction.\nHis praises were proclaimed not only by the Italian people, but also by\nevery civilized nation. It was no longer violence\u2014no longer\ninsurrection\u2014that contended for liberty. The greatest of all sovereigns\nhad announced its reign. It was not indebted to any secret society. It\nrelied upon society at large. It rested secure, so men believed, on the\nfirm foundation of enlightened public opinion. Philosophy, as represented\nby M. Cousin, hailed its advent. The statesmanship of France, headed by M.\nThiers, extolled its champion. Protestantism, forgetting its illiberal\nprejudices, re-echoed with enthusiasm the warm _vivats_ of reformed Italy.\nPius IX., meanwhile, enjoyed his reward,\u2014not in the flattering echo of the\nthousand voices which sounded his praise, but in the one still voice of\napproving conscience. He was consoled, moreover, by a profound conviction\nthat the cause which he had taken in hand would, one day, prove\ntriumphant.\n\nWith every new concession came the desire for further change. The people\ngenerally were satisfied, even grateful, and they frequently expressed\ntheir gratitude in the most sincere and enthusiastic manner. They were\nnot, however, all sincere. There were not wanting those who studied only\nto make available for their own ends the tumultuous gatherings and warm\nexpressions of satisfaction in which the people so often indulged. This\nwas the Socialist faction. It aimed at nothing less than to establish a\nRepublic\u2014a _Republic, one and undivided_, or, as it has been called,\nbecause of its cruel and blood-thirsty character, the _Red Republic_.\n\nWith a view to the establishment of such a Republic, the men of this party\ntook advantage of the numerous assemblages, which could not now either be\nregulated or diminished in number, to gain new friends, to increase\npopular excitement, and so to discipline it as to bring it, through some\nfavorite demagogues, under their control. It will shortly be seen with\nwhat a dangerous weapon they were arming themselves. It can scarcely be\ndoubted that but for the machinations of these factionists and their\ninfluence with the masses, which was every day increasing, Pius IX. would\nhave succeeded in establishing a system of government as constitutional\nand as free as was at all compatible with his own rights as sovereign.\nThese rights he was not at liberty to abandon. No greater measure of\npolitical freedom could be reasonably desired by any people. From all\nhistory it is manifest that liberty is as fully enjoyed, and established\non a more secure and permanent basis, under the fostering auspices of a\nconstitutional monarchy, than in the best regulated republics. Such a form\nof government may indeed be said to be more republican than monarchical.\nBut although possessing many properties, and all the popular advantages of\na Republic, it does not cease to be a monarchy. The kingly dignity still\nremains with all that appertains to it, and is an essential element of its\nconstitution. Such was the monarchy that Pius IX. desired to retain, and\nwhich he was bound in conscience, he believed, never to relinquish. That\nin this he was sincere his high character bears witness. Never was there a\nless selfish sovereign, or a man of more upright mind and sounder\njudgment. No prince ever held less to prerogative. Essential rights he was\nfirmly resolved to maintain, whilst he never would have shrunk from any\nlegitimate concession. Whatever was adapted to the time and the\ncircumstances of his country, useful to his people, and conformable to a\nwell-informed and sound public opinion, he was prepared to introduce into\nthe economy of the State. But, the complete secularization of public power\nin the Pontifical States, in other words, the establishment of a Republic\nbased on anti-Christian principles,\u2014the _Red Republic_,\u2014could never for a\nmoment be contemplated. What may be called the consultative Government had\njust entered upon the discharge of its duties, when Pius IX. resolved to\nrender it completely representative. This important resolution was the\nsubject of frequent conversations with M. Rossi, at the time ambassador at\nRome of the French constitutional monarchy. M. Rossi wrote as follows, to\nhis government, in January, 1848:\n\n\n    \u201cIt is a problem which, after much reflection, I consider may be\n    solved. The divisions of sovereignty in the world have been\n    numerous and diverse. And as they lasted for ages, we might even\n    try one more, beginning by separating entirely the temporal from\n    the spiritual\u2014the Pope from the King. Only it would be necessary\n    to leave wholly to the spiritual, and the clergy, matters which\n    with us are mixed.\u201d\n\n\nNot many days later, the ambassador imparted to his government this more\ndecided intelligence: \u201cThe Pope will shortly grant the constitution. It is\nhis serious and constant study.\u201d M. Rossi earnestly recommended that there\nshould be no delay in adopting this important measure. It would, he\nconceived, put an end to agitation,\u2014a most desirable result, surely, when\nit is considered how fatal to the cause of liberty and reform might any\nday become the too frequent tumultuous assemblages which, once\nconstitutional government was established, would necessarily cease.\n\nThe Pope held the same idea as the eminent diplomatist. The great idea was\nas yet, however, far from being realized. A new and most serious\ndifficulty unexpectedly arose. On the 5th of March, 1848, a courier\narrived, bearing the startling intelligence that the constitutional\nmonarchy of France had fallen, and that a Republic was established at\nParis. No greater misfortune could have befallen Rome. The public\nexcitement was increased beyond measure, and exaggerated hopes were\nenkindled that could never be fulfilled. The people, at first enthusiastic\nonly, were now turbulent. The events in France exercised a still more\nfatal influence. They caused anarchy to prevail. The extreme or Socialist\nRepublicans, whom the proclamation of the constitution would have\nparalyzed, were now in the ascendant. What had been done at Paris, they\nconceived, might be done at Rome. And they induced the inexperienced\nmultitude to share their conviction. Such belief was only an idle and a\nculpable dream. For surely it could not be guiltless to resolve on\nsacrificing thousands on thousands of precious lives for an Utopia,\u2014a\nsystem that could never be realized. Events have shown that in France\nitself, which was entirely free to make whatever political arrangement it\npleased, a Republic was not possible, even such a Republic as was\nestablished at the downfall of the citizen monarchy, in preference to the\nRed Republic. How, then, should it be possible to build up at Rome an\nextreme system in opposition to the views and wishes of the whole\nChristian world,\u2014in opposition even to the people of Rome themselves, who,\nwhen free from undue excitement, were the loyal supporters of the\nsovereign who had already introduced into the economy of the State so many\nliberal institutions\u2014institutions that were in perfect harmony with their\nideas, and admirably adapted to the exigencies of the times? There was no\nneed, as yet, that the Catholic nations should come to the aid of their\nChief. It was necessary only to appeal, in defence of his sovereignty,\n_from Rome drunk to Rome sober_,\u2014from Rome intoxicated with unwonted\ndraughts of liberty to Rome in its normal state\u2014to Rome, cool, and calm,\nand intellectual, even as in the days of her ancient glory, when her sages\nand grave senators sat by her gates sorrowing but dignified in their\ndefeat. With the like countenance ought modern Rome to have met the tide\nof Socialist invasion, which every successive endeavor to establish the\nRed or Communist Republic proves to be more destructive than the war of\nmighty legions, which can only cast down material walls.\n\nA Socialist Republic was impossible at Rome, the city of the Popes. It\nnever could have held its ground against the sound principle which\nuniversally prevailed throughout the Pontifical States. Nor would it ever\nhave been able to obtain the countenance, or even the recognition, of the\nEuropean governments. Not France and Austria only; every other Catholic\nnation as well would have exerted all their influence against it. Nor in\ndoing so would they have acted unwisely or unjustly. Had not Rome been the\nresidence of their Chief Pastor, that great historic city would have\nceased long ago to exist, or would be known only as an insignificant\nvillage, scarcely perceptible on the map of Europe. How often has not the\ncelebrated city been rescued from destruction by the direct agency of the\nPopes? How long have they not governed it with wisdom and blessed it with\nprosperity? If there be any such thing as prescriptive right, undoubtedly\nit is theirs. If there be any right better founded and stronger than that\nof conquest, such right belongs unquestionably to the saviors of Rome.\nThey have saved it for the Christian world, for mankind, for the Church.\nIt is no man\u2019s property. It cannot be let, like a paltry farm, to those\nwho shall bid the highest, in vain compromises and delusive hopes of\nliberty. Should the Roman people, of their own free will, pretend to give\nthemselves away,\u2014to sell themselves to a faction whose subversive\nprinciples they abhor, their forefathers of all preceding ages would\nprotest against their base degeneracy; the children of the generations to\ncome would curse their memory; all reflecting men of the present time\nwould accuse them of black ingratitude,\u2014ingratitude to the mighty dead\namong their Pontiffs, to whom they are indebted for their very name, their\ncity\u2019s fame, its honored State, its very existence in modern times;\ningratitude, above all, to that ruler who offered them, who bestowed upon\nthem, liberty, and who would have gladly rescued them in his day from\ntyranny,\u2014the tyranny of faction,\u2014even as his predecessors, in bygone\ntimes, snatched them from the cruel grasp of barbarism.\n\nPius IX. had made up his mind to institute thoroughly representative and\nconstitutional government. And this was all that the Roman people, as yet,\ndesired. They were only anxious that the views of the Pontiff should be\nspeedily carried into effect. Accordingly, Prince Corsini, the Senator\n(Mayor), and the eight principal members of the Municipal Council, were\ncommissioned to make known their wishes to the Pope. His reply was\ndignified and candid. In declaring his intention to grant the constitution\nwhich they asked for, he took care to intimate in the most decided manner\nthat he was not making a concession to the urgency of the moment, but\naccomplishing his premeditated purpose. \u201cEvents,\u201d said he, \u201cabundantly\njustify the request which you address to me in the name of the Council and\nMagistracy of Rome. All are aware that it is my constant study to give to\nthe Government the form which appears to me to be most in harmony with the\ntimes. But, none are ignorant, at the same time, of the difficulties to\nwhich he is exposed, who unites in his own person two great dignities,\nwhen endeavouring to trace the line of demarcation between these two\npowers. What, in a secular Government, may be done in one day, in the\nPontifical can only be accomplished after mature deliberation. I flatter\nmyself, nevertheless, that the preliminary labours having been completed,\nI shall be able, in a few days, to impart to you the result of my\nreflections, and that this result will meet the wishes of all reasonable\npeople.\u201d\n\nOn the 14th of March, accordingly, was published _the fundamental statute\nfor the temporal government of the Holy See_, and so was inaugurated\nconstitutional rule in the most complete and straightforward manner which\nit is possible to conceive.\n\nThe constitution was framed according to the model of the French Liberal\nMonarchy of 1830, so modified as to render it capable of being adapted to\nthe Pontifical Government. Under its provisions there were a Ministry\nwhich was responsible, and two Houses of Parliament, one of which was\nelective, and the other composed of members who should hold their\nappointment during their lifetime. To the Council of State belonged the\nframing of laws to be afterwards submitted to the votes of the two\nChambers.\n\nIn all constitutional monarchies, the assent of the sovereign is\nnecessary, in order to give the force of law to measures voted by\nParliament. So, under the constitution promulgated at Rome by Pius IX.,\nthe College of Cardinals were constituted a permanent council, whose\noffice it was to sanction finally the decisions of the Legislative\nChambers. Such, in substance, was the statute by which the Pontifical\nStates became undeniably constitutional. A few days later the Ministry was\nnamed. Three-fourths of their number were laymen. Cardinal Antonelli was\nappointed President or First Minister. And thus the constitution was no\nsooner framed than it came into operation, so anxious was Pius IX. to\nadvance the interests and meet the wants and wishes of his people.\n\nNow, one would say, gratitude only could await the Pontiff. But no! at the\nmoment when, of all others, he was entitled to rely on the devotedness of\nhis people, a new and great difficulty arose.\n\nBy the diplomacy of 1815, at the close of the great European War, certain\nportions of Italy had been left subject to German rule. By war only, some\nItalians imagined, could this evil be removed. This was an extravagant\nidea. War could only raise up new enemies to the cause of Italy and that\nregeneration which appeared to be so near at hand. Diplomacy would have\nserved them better. What it had done at one time, under pressure of the\nmost trying circumstances, it would have been ready to achieve when\ncircumstances were changed, and imperatively demanded a new order of\nthings.\n\nIn the new emergencies that had arisen, the learning and ability of\nstatesmen ought, at least, in the first instance, to have been appealed\nto. As between individuals, it is reasonable that all peaceful means of\nadjusting a quarrel should be employed, so, in the greater affairs of\nnations, all the arts of statesmanship ought to be had recourse to before\nresort is had to bayonets and blood. How successful such a course would\nhave proved, and how beneficial to the cause of Italian liberty, is more\nthan sufficiently shown by the great result which diplomacy obtained, when\nAustria, insisting on treaty rights, displayed the flag of war at Ferrara.\nIn that case, no doubt, the Pope was the chief diplomatist. But would he\nnot have been so, likewise, when there was question, not of one city only,\nbut of many of the greatest cities and best provinces of Italy? It is not\nto be supposed, that in these more momentous circumstances he would have\nfound \u201cthe Barbarians\u201d more hard to deal with. Austria, indeed, was so\nbarbarous as to ignore that exquisite refinement of modern times, which\ndespises religion and its ministers; and so she would have shown, as of\nold, her reverence for the Pontiff, by withdrawing, at his request, her\nsoldiers from Italian soil.\n\nThe Italians, however, did not think so. They would have war, cost what it\nwould. The people even of the Papal States, whose august Chief could have\nconquered without war, were bent on the same fatal purpose. They were\nwholly under the influence of the Socialist agitation, and no wiser\ncounsel could be made to prevail.\n\nIt was decided among the popular leaders that the question of war should\nbe agitated in the greatest assembly which it was possible to gather\ntogether. The Coliseum was appointed as the place of meeting, and it was\ndestined to present an unwanted spectacle, a grand but ill-omened scene.\nAll Rome, it may be said, was congregated in the ancient arena, the\nfavorite tribunes at their head. These demagogues were determined that the\nquestion of war should be settled by acclamation, hoping thus to influence\nthe Sovereign Pontiff to induce him to abandon his policy of neutrality by\nthis imposing display of opinion and excitement, by so much popular\nenthusiasm, by such intoxication, so to say, of patriotism. At an early\nhour the vast arena was already crowded. All orders of the State were\nthere\u2014Nobles, Burghers, Soldiers, Princes\u2014everybody. Priests even came in\ntolerable numbers to swell the crowd, and monks of every order,\necclesiastics of every college, members of every congregation. Such was\nthe immense open air assemblage in which the question of the new crusade\nwas to be solemnly discussed. It would have been a grand and noteworthy\nspectacle, had it not been arranged beforehand by skilful leaders who were\nadepts in the art of getting up revolutionary displays. In the great\nassembly there may have been sincerity. In the chief actors there was\nnone. Such a spontaneous expression of public sentiment, if really such,\nwould, indeed, have been imposing\u2014grand. Viewed only as a theatrical\nperformance of parts learned to order\u2014and it was nothing more\u2014it was\ndeserving of nothing but contempt. There was in this display, besides, a\nsinister and melancholy feature\u2014a set of actors practising on the popular\nmind to-day, in order to discover what they might safely attempt\nto-morrow.\n\nNear the tribune which overlooks the arena were ranged all those agitators\nwho were destined to become, at a later period, so notorious in the\ncommotions of the time. Among them was observed Padre Gavazzi, a Barnabite\nmonk, whose puerile vanity made him aspire to distinction, and whose\ncareer was already marked by pretentious eloquence, a bombastic style,\nconfused ideas, and a mind still undecided as to the limits of orthodoxy,\nwhich, a little later, he stepped beyond. He was the preacher of _the\ncrusade_. Next came the shepherd poet, Rosi; Prince Canino\u2019s Secretary,\nMasi; a young French monk of the order of Conventualists, Dumaine;\nGenerals Durando and Ferrari; the journalist, Sterbini, afterwards so\nfatally popular; and, of course, the demagogue, Cicerruacho, who had been,\nat first, enthusiastic in the cause of the Pope, but who now burned for\nwar, and, ere long, imparted to the revolution a character of fitful\nfanaticism and absurd sympathies. The day was spent in magniloquent\naddresses, which affected the style of ancient types, urgent exhortations\nto war, poetical orations, rounds of applause, rapturous demonstrations.\nThe result was, lists for the enrolment of volunteers; the establishment\nin the different quarters of the city of tables for receiving patriotic\nofferings, and a threatening demonstration against the Quirinal Palace,\nwhere it was intended to force the Pope to bless the colours for the\nexpedition against Austria.\n\nThe movement was now beyond all control. The orders of the Pope were\ntreated with a sort of respect, but not obeyed. The spirit of rebellion\nwas abroad, although the people still made a show of reverence. They were\nno sooner from the presence of the Pontiff than they transgressed his most\nsacred commands. Pius IX. had distinctly specified, when he authorized the\nenrolment and the departure of volunteers, that it was his intention and\nhis will that the expedition should be exclusively defensive; that it\nshould protect the territory, but avoid passing the frontier. The leaders,\nnotwithstanding, adding perfidy to rebellion, made use of the Pontiff\u2019s\nname in order to deceive the people. General Durando had no sooner arrived\nat Bologna than he issued a proclamation, in which, falsifying the Pope\u2019s\nwishes, he adduced his authority in order to encourage the war.\n\u201cRadetsky,\u201d said he, \u201cfights against the cross of Christ. Pius IX. has\nblessed your swords together with those of Charles Albert. This war of\ncivilization against barbarism is not merely national, it is a Christian\nwar. With the cross and by the cross, we shall be victorious. God wills\nit.\u201d\n\nNothing could have tended more completely to compromise the character of\nthe Pontiff. It became necessary, accordingly, to publish the Encyclical\nLetter of 29th April, 1848. \u201cMen are endeavouring,\u201d said the Holy Father,\nin this admirable document, \u201cto disseminate suspicions that are injurious\nto the temporal administration of our States. It is our duty to prevent\nthe scandal that might thus be given to the simple and unreflecting.\u201d He\nthen proceeds to declare that he is resolved to expose clearly and to\nproclaim loudly the origin of all the facts of his Government. He refers\nto the memorandum of 1831, which contained the collective counsels of the\nEuropean Cabinets to the Apostolic See, recommending the necessary\nreforms. Some of these reforms were adopted by Gregory XVI. Circumstances\nand the danger of the times caused others to be deferred. Pius IX.\nconsidered that it was his duty to complete what his predecessor had\nbegun. He does not disclaim having taken the initiative on certain other\npoints. He had pardoned extensively, and he congratulates himself on this\nclemency. He repels the calumny which would ascribe to the reforms which\nhe had inaugurated the general movement of Italy towards its\nenfranchisement. This agitation he attributes to events that occurred\nelsewhere, and which became facts of overwhelming influence for the whole\nof Europe. Finally, he protests that he gave no other order to his\nsoldiers than that which required that they should defend the Pontifical\nterritory. He cannot be held responsible for the conduct of those amongst\nhis subjects who allow themselves to be swayed by the example of other\nItalians. He had given his orders distinctly. They had been transgressed.\nOn the disturbing question of war with Austria, the _Encyclical_ bears the\nfollowing words:\n\n\n    \u201cThey would have us declare war against Austria. We have thought\n    it our duty to protest formally against such a resolution,\n    considering that, notwithstanding our unworthiness, we hold on\n    earth the place of Him who is the Author of peace\u2014the Friend of\n    charity; and that, faithful to the Divine obligations of our\n    Apostolate, we embrace all countries, all peoples, all nations, in\n    a like sentiment of paternal love. Nor can we refrain from\n    repelling, in the face of all nations, the perfidious assertions\n    of those who desire that the Roman Pontiff should be the chief of\n    the government of a new republic, consisting of all the peoples of\n    Italy.\n\n    \u201cMoreover, we earnestly exhort, on this occasion, these same\n    Italian peoples to keep particularly on their guard against these\n    treacherous counsels. We conjure them to remain devotedly attached\n    to their princes, whose affection they have experienced. To act\n    otherwise would be not only to fail in their duty, but also to\n    expose Italy to discord and factions. As regards ourselves, we\n    declare once more that all the thoughts and all the efforts of the\n    Roman Pontiff tend only to increase every day the kingdom of Jesus\n    Christ, which is the Church, and not to extend the limits of the\n    temporal sovereignty, with which Divine Providence has endowed the\n    Holy See, for the dignity and the free exercise of the sublime\n    Apostolate.\u201d\n\n\nNo better argument could have been offered in reply to those parties who\nclamored so unreasonably for war. Nor could the Pontiff have vindicated\nmore eloquently the pacific character of that religion of which he is the\nChief and Representative on earth. At the same time, he offered wise and\nauthoritative counsel to the Italian nationalities. It was too late. The\nvoice of friendly warning remained unheard amidst the din of strife and\nrevolution. Need it be added\u2014the cause of liberty perished for a time,\nvictimized by its own excess.\n\nThe Socialist party had succeeded in gaining the populace of Rome, and\nthey now constituted a power which prevailed in the city, whatever it\nmight have been in the field. Skilfully managed by its leaders, it gave\nlaw to the Pontifical government. The Pope was not, however, powerless. A\nmerely secular sovereign would have been crushed. He would have had no\nother resource than to abdicate. The Holy Father was not reduced to this\nextremity. He was still able to repel the unacceptable measures which the\nSocialists endeavoured to thrust upon him. They and their myrmidons\nvociferated for war with Austria. The Pope could still say there should be\nno war, and his people did not engage in the contest. A few among the\nRoman youth took the field. But, as effeminate as they were ardent, their\ncourage cooled at the first sight of a _barbarian_ camp. They returned to\ntheir hearths, and there talked magniloquently of the tented fields which\nthey had traversed, the savage hordes which they had encountered, and the\ndangers they had escaped. The party succeeded, however, in forcing a\nministry on the reluctant Pontiff. Such a thing, when done through the\nrepresentative body, however unreasonable, does not so much shock our idea\nof constitutional government. Neither can we approve the conduct of a\nfaction which, whilst it was anything but constitutional, imposed a\nminister who held its principles, on the prince who had, of his own\naccord, become a constitutional monarch. Count Mamiani was one of those\nwhom the clemency of Pius IX. had restored to their country, of all the\nparties thus favored, he alone refused to become bound in honor to the\nHoly Father never to abuse the favor, but to remain always a good and\nfaithful subject. He was not without ability; was well informed, cool and\nresolute, but without any fixed principle in politics. He would as readily\nhave set up a Red Republic as a constitutional monarchy. His political\nconduct was guided more by events and circumstances than by any\nwell-conceived idea of what is right and fitting. He was one of those\nItalian Liberals who might be compared to the Necker of the French\nRevolution, whilst Mazzini and his followers were the ultra-radicals\u2014the\nRobespierres of Roman politics. The Mamiani ministry necessarily arose out\nof the popular commotions, and was a protest of the excited masses against\nthe Encyclical of 29th April. Its policy was no secret. In the days of\npopular turmoil they immediately preceded his nomination. Mamiani had\ndeclared distinctly in his harangues to the people that no priest should\nbe appointed to any public office; that although Pius IX. should remain at\nthe head of the government, they ought to obtain from him the revocation\nof his Encyclical of 29th April, and a declaration of war against Austria;\nthat a new expedition should be speedily organized, and that an official\nbulletin of the war should be published daily. The warlike and\nrevolutionary pronunciamentos, thus pompously made, could not fail to\narouse the enthusiasm of the multitude, whose excitement was already so\ngreat. In matters of this nature, however, it is more easy to make fine\nspeeches than to act. The popular Tribune was no sooner elevated to the\nministry than he came to experience this difficulty. So it was convenient\nto forget the grand lessons which he had labored so vehemently to impress\nupon the people. He still, however, insisted, or appeared to insist, on\nthe Austrian war. It may have been necessary for the new minister, in\norder to maintain his influence over the masses, to announce a war policy.\nSuch policy, nevertheless, was chimerical. It was decidedly opposed by the\nlegitimately-constituted powers of the State\u2014the Sovereign on the one\nhand, who, by his name, his character, his virtues, his office, was still\npowerful; and on the other, the representative body. Accordingly, when\nthis body came together in the beginning of June, there was an end to the\ngovernment of the streets. But there arose new difficulties, and these\ndifficulties the government of the Holy Father diligently studied to\novercome. Cardinal Altieri delivered, on the part of the Sovereign\nPontiff, an energetic and moving exhortation in support of unity and\nconcord.\n\nAt the same time, he expressed his earnest hope that the newly-elected\ndeputies would show their good will by concurring with the ministry in\nrendering the new adaptation of the constitution compatible with the\nPontifical government.\n\nThis address, however ineffectual, possessed the merit of being thoroughly\nconstitutional. The same praise cannot be awarded to Count Mamiani\u2019s\ninaugural oration. Next day, which was the 9th of June, he ascended the\nTribune, and there enunciated ideas which belonged more to the ministry in\ntheir individual capacity, than as the representatives of their Sovereign.\nThis was supremely unconstitutional, and could only be the result of\ninexperience. What knowledge could those men have had of a free and\nnational constitution? They ought, at least, to have been guided by the\nlaws of honesty and honor. Who will say that they were so, when they gave\nout that the opinion which they expressed in favor of war was also that of\nthe Pontiff? They endeavored thus to extend the sanction of a venerated\nname to designs that were subversive of Pontifical rule. Neither\ninexperience nor ignorance of constitutions presents any valid excuse, or\neven palliation of such a proceeding. No doubt they called it policy. It\nwas the basest trickery.\n\nIn the hands of honest and judicious ministers the new constitution might\nhave proved successful. So thought many persons who were well informed and\ncompetent to form an opinion in regard to so difficult a question. It had\nalso many well-wishers. But for the war agitation, it would, to all\nappearance, have had a different fate. According to the exaggerated idea\nof Italian patriotism which prevailed, all true Italians were bound to\nfight for their country. On the Mamiani ministry devolved the very arduous\ntask of reconciling this warlike spirit with the pacific character of the\nPontificate. The Pope, like any other sovereign, had a right, no doubt, to\ndefend himself. But both the theology which guided him and the traditions\nof his sovereignty forbade him to wage war on any people. Such was the\ndifficulty which it fell to the lot of his ministry to solve. The\narguments to which they had recourse, however well meant, were certainly\nvery puerile. The Pope, as such, they insisted, might decide for peace,\nand condemn the shedding of blood, whilst, as temporal sovereign, he would\nauthorize his ministers to act as should seem to them proper, and they\nwould declare for war. This miserable sophistry only showed the weakness\nof the government which employed it. The Pontiff could not be expected to\nact as if he were two distinct persons. Nor whilst his ministers waged\nwar, could he, whose representatives they were, be considered as neutral.\nFor a few months that this ministry remained in office, the Pope continued\nto save his States by resisting the war-cry in opposition to their wishes.\nThey were constantly at variance with him on this one great topic. His\nrepugnance to war they could neither comprehend nor overcome. Popular\ndemonstrations of the most threatening kind were often made, but to no\npurpose.\n\n\n    Justum et tenacem propositi virum,\n    Non civium ardor prava jubentum mente quatit solida.\n\n\nThe Pontiff could not be moved from his firm resolve. The ministry,\nhowever, was shaken. With no better stay than sophistry and inconsistency,\nits weakness became apparent, and, as had been for some time clearly\ninevitable, it fell.\n\nBefore considering further the statesman-like efforts of Pius IX. in the\ncause of reform, it may not be out of place to review briefly the\npolitical opinion of the time. Although all men cannot be expected to\naccept, especially in many important matters, all the ideas of those\ndistinguished writers, Gioberti, Balbo, D\u2019Azeglio, it would be unjust,\nnevertheless, to deny them the credit of having imparted new vigor, if not\nits first impulse, to the cause of reform in Italy. They were not, like so\nmany others, rash and inconsiderate. They desired not to hurry on\nrecklessly to the wished-for goal. They thought it was unwise to aspire,\nall at once, to the greatest degree of liberty that might be attained. The\nend in view could be best reached, they conceived, by judicious and\nwell-timed measures of reform, and by such institutions as might be\ndeveloped at a later period, when the Italian people, unaccustomed as yet\nto a constitutional _regime_, should be capable of a greater degree of\nfreedom. Nothing more wise can be supposed than this view of educating the\npeople for liberty before bestowing on them the precious boon. Their idea\nof commencing the work of reform by waging war on Austria does not appear\nto be so commendable. It was not, surely, the part of prudence, when on\nthe eve of a great and arduous undertaking, to stir up enemies on every\nside. And this was really what they sought to do by provoking Austrian\nhostility. The government at Vienna was not inclined to be hostile. It had\njoined with other powers in recommending reform to the late Pope. And now\nit would rather have been an ally than an enemy. But the \u201cbarbarian\u201d\nGermans were entirely odious to the Italian people. The power of education\nought to have been brought to bear on this same people, if only in order\nto disabuse their minds of this one noxious prejudice. It had become\nnecessary at length to extend to them the benefits of a political\neducation. And surely the eradication of illiberal ideas would have formed\na profitable branch of study.\n\nPius IX., as has been already shown, was a practical reformer, and he had\nzealously undertaken the work of reform. Austria was not inclined to throw\nany impediments in the way of his patriotic labors. Only on one occasion\ndid that powerful empire show a disposition to interfere. It was when Rome\nand the Sovereign Pontiff were threatened by popular commotions. Then,\neven on the representation of the Holy Father, Austria laid down her arms.\nWith these constitutional reformers, if we except their insane idea of\nwaging a needless war, very little fault can be found as politicians. So\nlately as the early part of the year 1848, their opinions were generally\naccepted throughout Italy. They were, at that time, also the most powerful\nparty. Their numbers, authority and talent, gave them a decided\nsuperiority, whilst the Republicans were still a weak minority. In a few\nmonths, to all appearance, everything was completely changed. Talent,\nrespectability, authority, and influence, were still on the side of the\nconstitutional reformers. But, in the meantime, the Red Republic had\ngained the command of numbers. How this came to pass it may be well now to\nenquire.\n\nIn every great community there are many people who have no fixed\nprinciples in politics, and others, perhaps, not less numerous, who have\nno political principles at all. Both these classes of people depend\nentirety on other men for the sentiments and opinions by which, at any\ngiven moment, they shall be guided. Such people were sufficiently numerous\nat Rome and the other cities and provinces of Italy. Demagogues,\ntherefore, who were not without ability and possessed fluency of speech,\nfound it no very difficult task to fashion as they had a mind, for these\nclasses of citizens, any amount of political principles and _programmes_.\nThose even who were fairly imbued with constitutional ideas, but whose\nminds were not wholly decided, the leaders of the Red Republic endeavored,\nand not without success, to gain to their side, by persuading them to\ncompromise, as regarded certain points, to modify their opinions on\nothers, change their designations, enter into coalitions, and adopt such\ningenious arrangements as were proposed to them. Thus, by degrees, and as\nwas only to be expected in such circumstances, the ultra-radicals\nsucceeded but too well in causing the most extravagant political notions\nto prevail among the masses. As fate would have it, the revolution in\nFrance of February, 1848, which brought to an end the constitutional\nmonarchy, afforded no slight aid and encouragement to the Red Republic of\nItaly. The men of this party might have understood, on reflection, to what\nextreme peril France became exposed, when she preferred brute force to\nconstitutional proceeding, and tore down by violence a system which was,\nin many respects, good; and which, inasmuch as it was a constitution,\ncould in due time have been extended and improved, receiving, as new wants\narose, and wisdom and experience warranted, new developments, new\nadaptations, and daily increasing excellence. The constitutional element\nonce removed, there was no medium between and safeguard against\nabsolutism; on the one hand, and on the other anarchy, or the reign of\nviolence and terror.\n\nThe extremists of Italy, however, beheld only in the too successful action\nof the Parisian populace a new step towards liberty. It became the duty of\nthe Italian people, they declared, to march onward in the wake of\nenlightened France, and seize the prize that was at length presented for\ntheir acceptance. By such counsellors were the people abused and led\nastray. The moderate reform party were themselves excited by the\nenthusiasm which events had inspired, and heeded not the snares which the\nradical chiefs were laying for them. They were thus caught in the toils of\nthose designing men, whilst they imagined that they were only working out\ntheir own idea. They supposed even that they were gaining Mazzini, whilst,\nin reality, Mazzini was making proselytes of them. Gioberti and his more\nimmediate friends, who certainly were not without their faults, were\nabandoned by the crowd.\n\nReverting to what has been said already concerning Mazzini and his\npolitical doctrines, there need be no hesitation in pronouncing him the\nevil genius of modern Italy. In his book, \u201cItaly in its Relations with\nLiberty and Moral Civilization,\u201d which was published in France, where he\nwas an exile, in 1847, he formally declared that \u201cYoung Italy\u201d (the\nextreme Republicans) was the only party that could exercise any decisive\ninfluence on the destiny of Italy. At the same time, he treated with\nsupreme contempt the ideas and hopes of the Reform party. In his mystic\nrepublic only was to be found, he affirmed, _the principle of unity, the\nideal formula of actual progress_. This theory was the idol at whose\nshrine he offered sacrifice. His followers were also his\nfellow-worshippers, and he was their high priest. They were fascinated by\nhis brilliant utopias. He was no longer a legislator, a politician, a\nphilosopher only. He was a man of inspiration, a prophet, the Mahomet of a\nnew hegira. His sayings were oracles. His doctrines were enunciated in\nsententious and poetical language; and from his place of exile they were\ndisseminated over the Italian peninsula. It has been shown already how\ngenerously Pius IX. had recalled from banishment many subjects who had\nviolated the laws of their country. These men were, at one time, no doubt,\nsincerely grateful, and showed how highly they appreciated the clemency of\nthe Pontiff. It is not, however, surprising, if, as is usual in such\ncircumstances, they began to consider more the severity which punished\nthan the goodness which forgave them. Mazzini, among others, dissembled\nfor a time. It may be\u2014it has even been suggested that he was at first\nsincere, and had nobly resolved to sacrifice his favorite ideas to the\ncause of Italy. This opinion, however, was destined to be soon dispelled.\nIt was not long till the newspaper _Italia del Popolo_, revealed the fact\nthat he still held to extreme and revolutionary views. The minds of the\npeople were poisoned by the ravings of this journal, and filled with\nmistrust. It became the instrument by which sects and parties were stirred\nup to work the ruin of the country. \u201c_Unita e non unione. Assemblea del\nPopolo Italiano e non dieta._\u201d \u201c_Unity; not union. The assembly of the\nItalian people; not a federal diet._\u201d Such was the watchword of Mazzini\u2019s\npaper. And now the masses in the streets, under the guidance of the\nrevolutionary leader, vociferated, \u201cLive the Constituent Assembly!\u201d with\nas much wild enthusiasm as they had formerly shouted for Pius IX. and\nreform. They had no distinct idea as to the meaning of the cry, but held\nit to be something extreme\u2014a boundless measure of liberty. The populace\nwanted nothing better; and so they continued to shout, as they believed,\nfor unity and Republican Government. Such a system was, from the very\nnature and position of the States of Italy, impracticable, and without\npressure from without, foreign war\u2014which the Mazzinians so much\ndeprecated\u2014could never have been established. How bring under the yoke of\na general popular convention so many diverse peoples? They were all\nItalian, no doubt, but of different races, different nationalities, and\neach of them had for ages enjoyed its own national laws, customs, manners,\nprejudices, predilections, and antipathies. Nor had they common interests.\nWhat would be good and suitable in one State might, by no means, be\nadapted to the requirements of another; might even in some cases prove\ndisastrous. The Grand Dukes had, by their mild and liberal rule, endeared\nthemselves to the Tuscan people. Piedmont and Naples were alike devoted to\ntheir respective monarchies. The people of the Papal States, with the\nexception of the populace of Rome, were loyal to their government. That\npopulace was greatly increased in 1848 by the influx of strangers\u2014men\nholding Republican opinions, who were diligently culled from foreign\nnationalities. All but these abnormal masses were attached to the wise and\nclement rule of their Pontiff Sovereigns. Of late years many things had\noccurred to confirm their devoted loyalty. Above all, proof had been given\nthat the sacred monarchy itself could, without any diminution of its real\npower and dignity, adopt such political reforms as were adapted to the\nwants of the time. All these monarchies, already so moderate and popular,\nwere becoming every day more constitutional. Were they now to be\noverthrown? The Mazzinian idea aimed at nothing less. And yet, what would\nit not have cost? So many time-honored rights would never have been given\nup without a struggle\u2014without bloodshed, if they were at all to be\nsacrificed. The torch of civil strife would have blazed from end to end of\nthe Italian peninsula. And the ruin of the ancient monarchies\u2014if, indeed,\nthey had been destined at that time to fall\u2014would probably have been\nsucceeded by more despotic forms of kingly rule.\n\nIf, at the time in question, the people of the different States of Italy\nhad acted in concert, uniting their influence, they would have assumed an\nimposing attitude, and might have obtained not only the forbearance but\nthe aid even of their powerful neighbors in developing such of their\ninstitutions as already contained germs of liberty, in extending\nconstitutional rights which had long existed in monarchies that were by no\nmeans absolute. In the place of political wisdom, however, a universal\nmania appeared to prevail. In the confusion of popular demonstrations, and\nthe clamor of party cries, the \u201cstill small voice of reason\u201d was unheard.\nThe revolutionary chiefs harangued anew for war, and Italy, listening to\ntheir ill-omened counsels, took up arms against its sovereigns; and so\ngave the death-blow to its political existence.\n\nThe moderate Reform party conceived a plan which, if it had been carried\ninto effect, would have been attended, no doubt, with great and happy\nresults. They proposed to unite all the States of Italy by means of a\nFederal Parliament. They directed their efforts in the first place to\npromote union between the rulers and the people, recommending to the\nformer moderation, to the latter a wise forbearance. They hoped thus to\npostpone the idea of absolute unity, and of the popular convention by\nwhich it was designed to establish and maintain it. The federal diet, an\nexcellent idea of which was reduced to writing by the reverend and learned\nAbbate Rosmini, would have held the place of this assembly. According to\nthis plan of confederation, the Pope, the King of Sardinia, the Grand Duke\nof Tuscany and the other Princes would have been united in an offensive\nand defensive league. Based on these principles, and provided that nothing\nwere admitted in its details which could interfere with the sacred\ncharacter and office of the Sovereign Pontiff, the proposed political\narrangement would have found favor generally with all who held\nconstitutional views. Eminent authors, at least, have written concerning\nit approvingly. M. Laboulaye, in his learned work on Count Balbo, says:\n\n\n    \u201cIt was necessary that the Princes should be induced to take an\n    interest in the independence which concerned them so much, by\n    forming a confederation like the _Zolverein_, which has so\n    powerfully contributed to the union and the greatness of Germany.\n    A confederation is undoubtedly that organization which is most\n    suited to the character and the history of Italy, and it is also\n    the best means of reviving Italian nationality and of checking\n    Austria.\u201d\n\n\nNeed it be added, that when there should have been question of restraining\nAustria, there would have been at hand an influence which Austria\nrespected, and to which that mighty empire and its disciplined armies\nwould have yielded more readily than to all Italy in arms. Without a\nconfederation, or an arrangement equally good, there could be no better\nlot for Italy than civil war and national ruin.\n\nEvents, meanwhile, were hastening on with alarming rapidity. The Red\nRepublic persisted in maintaining its idea. The danger with which the\ncountry was threatened from without did not, in the least, moderate its\nefforts, and they were attended by the only results which they were\ncalculated to produce. Italy remained divided. The sword of Charles Albert\ncould not cope alone with the formidable arms of Austria. A united people\nmight have stayed the tide of battle. The imposing spectacle of their\nunion might even have influenced the German Cabinet, and the legions of\nRadetsky might never have presumed to cross the Mincio. But it was fated\nto be otherwise. Excess followed on excess, and the inevitable consequence\nwas speedy chastisement. \u201c_Perish Italy rather than our idea_,\u201d was the\nwatch-cry of the Socialist leaders. And as if fate had combined with their\nphrenzy to destroy a people, Italy was crushed by the invader. What cared\nthey? What imported it to them that their country was brought low, and its\nPrinces humbled in the field of Novara? The downfall of the Sardinian\nmonarch, which at the same time was the defeat of Italy, was to them a\nvictory. One more impediment to their designs was removed. \u201c_The war of\nKings_,\u201d said Mazzini, \u201c_is at an end; that of the people commences_.\u201d And\nhe declared himself a soldier. But Garibaldi did not long command him. His\nwarlike enthusiasm was soon exhausted. _The war of the people_ also ended\ndisastrously; and the revolutionary chief, tired of the sword, resumed his\npen and renewed his attacks on the moderate Reformers, who alone had\nfought, like brave men, in the Austrian war. The strife of words was more\ncongenial to the revolutionist; and he set about editing a new\npublication. In this journal he raged against the Reformers. They were a\nset of traitors, ante-chamber Machiavels, who had muzzled the popular lion\nfor the benefit of kings and aristocracies.\n\nThese _Machiavels_ were such men as Count Balbo, who had given his five\nsons to the war of independence; Signor D\u2019Azeglio, who had been in the\ncampaign with Durando, and who had a leg broken by a ball at Vicenza,\nwhilst defending Monte Benico with two thousand men against twelve\nthousand Austrians. D\u2019Azeglio, still smarting from his wounds, as well as\nfrom the insults of these reckless politicians, replied in a pamphlet,\nwhich appeared under the title of \u201cFears and Hopes.\u201d He took no pains to\nspare those club soldiers, those tavern heroes and intriguers, who could\nwage war so cleverly against the men who had stood under the enemy\u2019s guns.\n\u201cFor my part,\u201d he wrote, \u201cI do not fear your republic, but despotism. Your\nagitation will end with the Croats.\u201d And so it fell out. The prediction\nwas but too speedily and too completely realized. A French author, M.\nMignet, comments on this subject at some length, and with remarkable\neloquence:\n\n\n    \u201cA party as extreme in its desires as in its doctrines, and which\n    believes that it is possessed of nothing so long as it does not\n    possess everything, and which, when it has everything, knows not\n    how to make anything of it, imagined the establishing of a\n    republic in a country which is scarcely capable of attaining to\n    representative monarchy, and where the only thing to be thought\n    of, as yet, was territorial independence. This party divided the\n    thoughts, weakened the efforts of the country, and caused mutual\n    mistrust to arise between those governments and peoples which were\n    reconciled under constitutional liberty, and had an understanding\n    against the common enemy. They thus compromised the deliverance of\n    the land. The King of Naples, threatened by an insurrection in his\n    capital, retained his troops that were on the point of marching to\n    the theatre of war; the Pope ceased to give encouragement; the\n    King of Piedmont, already in full march, hesitated; and Italy,\n    agitated, without being free, became once more powerless, because\n    she was disunited, and beheld the Austrians reappear as\n    conquerors, and re-establish themselves anew as masters, in the\n    recovered plains of Lombardy.\u201d\n\n\nThese eloquent words confirm the view so generally entertained, that the\nRed Republicans were all along the cause of Italy\u2019s disasters. In\nconsequence of the national weakness which their baneful operations\nproduced, Radetski was enabled to reconquer Upper Italy, whilst they\nthemselves directed their steps towards Rome, spreading terror as they\napproached, even as if they had been an army of Goths and Vandals.\nSwelling by their presence the numbers of men who held the same opinions,\nwho, like them, were dissatisfied, and whom nothing could satisfy, they\noccasioned an extraordinary agitation of the people, caused fearful\ndisquietude, and excited inordinate hopes. They imbued the masses with\ntheir subversive principles, and there was an end to all transaction with\nthe Papal government. They had already done all that lay in their power in\norder to destroy monarchy in Piedmont. They now brought into play every\nscheme that could be devised, in order to advance the sinister work of\ndispossessing the Holy Father. They succeeded in gaining many Reformers,\nwho, too easily, allowed themselves to become their dupes.\n\nAt first, as has been shown, the popular demonstrations in honor of Pius\nIX. were honestly expressive of gratitude to the beneficent Pontiff. The\nSocialists now succeeded in gaining possession of this great influence,\nand they employed it, certainly, with consummate ability. The masses, when\nonce under the spell of agitation, are at the disposal of the boldest\ndemagogues. The Reformers who had allowed themselves to be ensnared,\ncontinued to sing their patriotic hymns, the Roman _Marseillaises_,\nwithout heeding that Socialist radicalism was imperceptibly taking the\ncrown of the causeway, and that the popular demonstrations had undergone a\ncomplete change. At an earlier date \u201cYoung Italy\u201d had only used them as a\nthreat. They were now an arm in its hands. And so it governed in the\nstreets, making a tribune of every milestone.\n\nThere was only wanting to them at this moment a common centre or general\nheadquarters of insurrection, from which should go forth the word of\ncommand, the signal for every rising of the people. This was found in the\ncelebrated _Roman Circle_. This circle was a kind of convention without\ncommission\u2014a travelling cohort of two or three hundred agitators, who\ncarried from town to town the dread and dismal flag of the Red Republic.\nThis mob-power had, in opposition to the wishes of the Holy Father,\nbrought into office the Mamiani ministry. This weak and irresolute\nminister broke the ranks of his own party, and passed over to \u201c_Young\nItaly_\u201d. This party now dictated to him on all occasions. They urged on\nhim with special earnestness war with Austria, knowing full well that the\nPope would never agree to it, and so by his refusal would decline in\npopularity.\n\nThe constitution was now in abeyance, the minister being at the orders of\na party out of doors, and no longer the organ of the Sovereign and the\nrepresentative body. The Pontifical authority, although still venerated by\nmany, was no longer obeyed. It was only a name.\n\nThe republic reigned, and only waited for the moment, too surely to come\nat last, when it should be openly recognized. In such circumstances the\nMamiani ministry rapidly lost ground. Now in its death agony, and impotent\nfor good, it persisted, with a degree of perverseness which nothing could\nmoderate, in reiterating its declarations of war against Austria. This\nonly added to the confusion which prevailed. The ministers and their more\nardent adherents were ready, as became patriots and heroes, to fight for\ntheir country. Nevertheless, with all this boasting, they made no haste to\nbe enrolled. Whilst these men were indulging in such idle and\nvain-glorious talk, the few who had volunteered and taken the field,\nreturned from Vicenza, which, during two days, had been bravely but\nfruitlessly defended. The forum warriors had only set out in time to meet\ntheir defeated and wounded fellow-countrymen, and give them the honors of\nan ovation on their return to the city. The war agitation was evidently\nnothing else than a weapon of offence against the Holy See. In its results\nit was most unprofitable, every day bringing news of fresh disasters.\nCircumstances now rendered the war-cry more inopportune than ever. Charles\nAlbert, King of Sardinia, had been driven from the Mincio to the Oglio,\nthence to the Adda, thence to Milan. He was now recrossing the Piedmontese\nfrontier, vanquished, despairing and heart-broken. Piedmont, nevertheless,\nin the silence of her humiliation, set about preparing for a final effort.\n\nThe various ministers whom Pius IX. had called to his counsels were all\nalike unsuccessful. Circumstances of greater difficulty than ever had now\narisen, and not without a sad foreboding of the greater evils that were\nyet in store, the Holy Father had recourse to the well-known statesmanship\nof Count Rossi, who had formerly been French Ambassador to the Holy See.\n\nM. Mignet, the able biographer of this eminent statesman, gives a distinct\nand interesting account of the difficulties with which, as Chief of the\nPope\u2019s Council of State, he was called to contend:\n\n\n    \u201cM. Rossi at first hesitated. He knew what formidable problems\n    there were to solve. To conduct, according to constitutional\n    principles, a government that had been heretofore absolute; to\n    administer by the hands of laymen the affairs of a country that\n    had been hitherto subject to Ecclesiastics; to unite in an Italian\n    league a state that had been almost always opposed to a political\n    union of the Peninsula; in a word, to establish all at the same\n    time, a Constitutional Government, a Civil Administration, a\n    National Federation, were not the only difficulties that he would\n    have to overcome. The minister of a Prince, whose confidence\n    others would dispute with him, a stranger in a country, where he\n    would exercise public authority, he would be liable to be left\n    without support notwithstanding his devotedness, and without\n    approbation notwithstanding his services; to be attacked as a\n    revolutionist by the blind advocates of abuses, and disavowed as\n    an enemy of liberty by the impassioned partisans of chimeras. He\n    continued to decline for a considerable time. The conditions which\n    he at first proposed to the Sovereign Pontiff not having been\n    accepted, M. Rossi thought that he had escaped the lot that was in\n    store for him. But the Pope, after having essayed in vain a new\n    ministry, pressed him more urgently, in the month of September,\n    1848, to come to his aid, offering him at the same time his full\n    confidence and unlimited authority. M. Rossi accepted.\u201d\n\n\nAt the time of his accession to office Count Rossi was sixty years of age.\nHe was no stranger to politics. His life, indeed, had been spent in the\nmidst of political turmoil. As may be supposed, he suffered much in the\ncourse of his checkered career. He had, at the same time, learned much at\nthe stern school of experience. He had been several times an exile, and\nhad thus become the citizen of more than one country. In 1815 he was\nbanished from the Peninsula, on account of the part which he had borne in\nthe cause of Italian liberty; and having resided at Geneva and Paris, he\nhad made for himself, in those cities, a brilliant reputation. He wrote on\nthe important subjects of political economy and jurisprudence, displaying\nintimate knowledge of these sciences, great intellectual power and\nsuperior penetration. Although relying on principles and theory, he did\nnot ignore facts, nor refuse to accommodate the lofty forms of science to\npractical requirements. He was versed in the knowledge of mankind, and was\nfar from being one of those, who, adhering rigidly to theories, would\nforce nature itself to yield to their opinion. At a time when the affairs\nof Italy were in a most dangerous crisis, and anarchy actually prevailed\nat Rome, he was the ablest counsellor and auxiliary that Pius IX. could\nhave placed at the head of his ministry. Possessing many rare endowments,\nCount Rossi was not gifted with those outward graces which tend so much to\nwin favor for public men. His manner was such that he appeared cold and\nreserved; and his keen, searching lynx-like eye, was calculated to cause\nembarrassment. Familiarity with the objects of science and habits of\ndiplomacy had imparted to him a gravity of demeanor which was easily\nmistaken for superciliousness and disdain. Withal he cared not to please,\npreferring to exercise influence by strength of will and the authority of\nsuperior intellect, rather than by attractive and amiable qualities and\nthe charm of the affections. He had the mind of a statesman, but owned not\nthat winning exterior which gains the crowd and disarms hostility. None\nbut his own family knew how good he really was, and how tender-minded, so\ncompletely was all this excellence concealed by his cold and repulsive\nmanner.\n\nThe new minister was resolved, above all, to preserve the sovereignty of\nthe Holy See. \u201cThe Papacy,\u201d he wrote at the time, \u201cis the last living\nglory of Italy.\u201d His conduct was in perfect harmony with his language. He\napplied with no less ardour than ability to the work that lay before him.\nIn less than two months he accomplished more than can be well conceived,\nand further measures were in course of preparation. Those matters to which\nhe first devoted his chief attention were the Interior Government of Rome,\nthe state of the Pontifical finances and the territorial independence of\nItaly. He found the public treasury in imminent danger of bankruptcy, and\nhe saved it by obtaining three millions of _ecus_ from the Roman clergy.\nThrough this munificent donation the minister was relieved from all\ndisquietude as regarded finance, and so was enabled to direct his energies\nto the more difficult task of adapting the administration to the new\ninstitutions. The constitution was, indeed, legally established. The\nobject now to be aimed at was to bring its wise provisions into practical\noperation; in other words, to create a constitutional Pontificate.\n\nWith a view to this desirable end, M. Rossi prepared such legislative\nmeasures as were calculated nicely to determine the sphere of action that\nshould be proper to each of the powers. By such means only could the\ndisorderly force of popular movements be controlled and restrained within\nfixed limits. The Civil Government of the Roman States required to be\nentirely reorganized. To this task also the minister diligently applied,\nimpressed with the conviction that good laws are at once the strongest\nbulwark of liberty, and the most efficient check to arbitrary power. Count\nRossi was by birth an Italian. He was so in feeling also, and was\nnaturally led to consider how he should best avail himself in his\npolitical arrangements, of the sound and enlightened doctrines of Gioberti\nand Rosmini. With a view to this end he commenced negotiations at Turin,\nNaples and Florence, for a confederation of the Italian States. It was his\npolicy that all these States should unite under a general government,\nwhilst each State retained the forms, laws and institutions to which it\nhad been accustomed. Certain relations between them, suitable to the time\nof peace, should be established, as well as such regulations as would\nfacilitate their common action in case of war. Pius IX. saw the wisdom of\nthis great design, and favored its realization. It redounds to his glory,\nas a ruler of mankind, that he decided for this salutary measure from\nwhich, if it had been carried into effect, might have resulted, in time,\nthe complete emancipation and regeneration of Italy. Time, however, was\nnot granted, and as we shall presently see, anarchy resumed its dismal\nreign.\n\nAnterior to the accession of Count Rossi\u2019s Ministry, the Legislative\nChambers had only wasted their time in unprofitable debates. It was\nappointed that they should meet on the 15th of December, 1848, and the\nminister prepared a bold and energetic, but conciliatory address. The\nrepresentatives of the people, it was designed, should now hear no longer\nthe ambiguous and factious harangues of a weak-minded demagogue, but the\ntrue and candid utterances of a Constitutional Government. Rossi showed\nhimself on this occasion, to which melancholy circumstances have added\nextraordinary solemnity, a grave and resolute minister, determined to\nappear as the counsellor of his Sovereign and the exponent of his views,\nnot as the slave of the people and the organ of their blind passions. This\ndiscourse was not destined to be delivered. It commenced as follows:\n\n\n    \u201cScarcely had his Holiness ascended the Pontifical throne when the\n    Catholic world was filled with admiration at his clemency as a\n    Pontiff and his wisdom as a temporal Sovereign.... The most\n    important facts have shown to mankind the fallacy of the\n    groundless predictions of that pretended philosophy which had\n    declared the Papacy to be, from the nature of its constitutive\n    principle, the enemy of constitutional liberty. In the course of a\n    few months, the Holy Father, of his own accord, and without aid,\n    accomplished a work which would have sufficed for the glory of a\n    long reign. History, impartially sincere, will repeat\u2014and not\n    without good reason\u2014as it records the acts of this Pontificate,\n    that the Church, immovable on her Divine foundations, and\n    inflexible in the sanctity of her dogmas, always intelligently\n    considers and encourages with admirable prudence, such changes as\n    are suitable in the things of the world.\u201d\n\n\nThe oration was, throughout, a bold and luminous exposition of the ideas\nand policy which M. Rossi was charged to carry into effect. It was, at the\nsame time, an earnest appeal to the representative body in order to obtain\nthe aid, which was so necessary, of their loyal concurrence, and the\nminister held himself bound in honor to abide strictly by the provisions\nof the constitution. The constitution, meanwhile, was in presence of very\ndetermined enemies. They had sworn its overthrow. They met, however, with\na formidable opponent in the ministry, which was resolved to sustain the\nnew order of things, and prepared to defeat all the schemes of the radical\nfaction. The constitution itself was also a serious impediment to their\ncontrivances. Both constitution and ministry accordingly became the\nobjects of violent attacks at street meetings and in the revolutionary\njournals. The minister was undaunted. \u201cTo reach the Holy Father,\u201d said he,\n\u201cthey must pass by my lifeless body.\u201d This noble determination only\nrendered him more odious to the revolutionists. The leaders of the Red\nRepublic party, on their return from a scientific Congress at Turin, where\nthe name of science was only used as a cloak the better to conceal their\nplots, decreed that Rossi should be put to death. Mazzini, in a letter\nwhich was published, declared that his assassination was indispensable. In\none of the clubs of Rome the Socialists selected by lot the assassins who\nshould bear a hand in the murder of the minister. The wretched man who was\nappointed to be the principal actor in the deed of blood actually\npractised on a dead body in one of the hospitals. The day on which\nParliament was summoned to meet, 15th November, was to see the full\npurpose of the faction carried into effect. As almost always occurs in\nsuch cases, warnings reached the ears of the intended victim. Some of the\nconspirators, struck with remorse, had so far revealed the plot. Others\nboasted cynically that they would soon be rid of the oppressor. The\nDuchess de Rignano conjured the minister to remain at home. Equally solemn\nand urgent words of warning came from other quarters, and were alike\nunheeded. If, indeed, he believed that there was a plot, he relied on\ndisarming the hatred of the conspirators by his courageous bearing, and\nproceeded from his house to the Quirinal Palace. When there he addressed\ncomforting words to the Pope, who was in a a state of great anxiety. Pius\nIX., in bestowing a parting benediction, earnestly recommended that he\nshould keep on his guard.\n\nAt the door of the Pope\u2019s apartments he met an aged priest, who beseeched\nhim to remain. \u201cIf you proceed,\u201d said he, \u201cyou will be murdered.\u201d M. Rossi\npaused a moment and replied: \u201cThe cause of the Pope is the cause of God.\u201d\n\nA guard of carabiniers, treacherously disobeying the orders which had been\ngiven them, were absent from the approach to the house where parliament\nassembled. The minister had reached the stairs, and was ascending when a\ngroup of conspirators came around him. At first they insulted him. Then\none of the assassins struck him on the shoulder. As he turned indignantly\ntowards this assassin, his neck was exposed to the poniard of another,\nwho, availing himself of the opportune moment, dealt the fatal blow. The\nminister fell, bedewing with his blood the steps at the very threshold of\nthe legislative chamber. As the details of the murder were related to the\nmembers, they remained ominously silent. Not one of them uttered a word in\ncondemnation of this monstrous crime. They proceeded at once to the\nbusiness of the day. Although in the open space at the foot of the stairs\nwhich led to the assembly hall the civic guard was stationed in arms,\nnobody arrested, or showed the slightest inclination to arrest, the\nmurderer. On the contrary, the criminal was conducted, not only unpunished\nbut in triumph, through the streets of the city by his accomplices. A new\nhymn was sung\u2014\u201cBlessed be the hand that slew Rossi.\u201d The dagger of the\nassassin was enwreathed with flowers and exposed for public veneration in\nthe _cafe_ of the Fine Arts. The populace, in the excess of their phrenzy,\ninsulted the widow of the murdered minister; and, by an extravagance of\nirony, they required that she should illuminate her house. The newspapers\nexpressed approval of the crime, as it was, they pretended, the necessary\nmanifestation of the general sentiment. The whole people, by their\nsilence, although not by actual participation in such demon-like\nrejoicings, declared themselves accomplices in the deed of blood.\n\nTogether with the noble Rossi perished, for the time, the cause of Rome,\nthe cause of Italy. What might not have been the gain to both, if the\ndevoted minister had been allowed to fulfil his appointed mission?\nConstitutional government would have been established on a solid and\npermanent basis; the wild agitation of the streets would have been brought\nto an end, and the excited passions of the revolution, beholding the\nsound, regular and beneficial working of free political institutions,\nwould have been awed into composure. But, sad reflection! by an act which\nhistory will never cease to stigmatize, the only man who, by the authority\nof his reputation, abilities and experience, was equal to the stupendous\nlabor of building up on sure foundations the social fabric was struck\ndown, and the nations of Europe, which had looked on hitherto in sympathy,\nrecoiled with horror. Liberal men throughout the civilized world had long\nbeen deeply interested in the state of Italy. Such was their belief in the\nbright future, which they were confident awaited her, that they could\npardon the ill-controlled agitation of her children, and even their\ngreatest excesses, when they first began to enjoy, before they knew how to\nuse it, the unwonted boon of liberty. With crime and the evils which\nfollowed in its train they had no sympathy. A system which relied on\nassassination could not prosper. Inaugurated by violence, it could exist\nonly by violence. The better feelings of mankind were shocked. The die was\ncast, and Rome was doomed. The fated city had rejoiced in the exercise of\nunhallowed force, and through that legitimate force which, in due time,\nDivine Providence allowed to be brought against her, she met her\npunishment.\n\nWith the death of Rossi ended all hope of liberty.\n\nThe conspirators were resolved that nothing should be allowed to delay the\nbenefits which they anticipated from their crime. All sense of propriety\nwas not yet extinguished in the representative body. There was question of\nsending a deputation to the Pope, in order to convey to him the condolence\nof the Chamber, and express their regret for the sad event. This step,\nwhich good sense and proper feeling so urgently demanded, was opposed, and\nonly too successfully, by Charles Bonaparte, Prince of Canino.\n\n(M1) The revolutionists now resolved themselves into a kind of permanent\nclub. This club set about making a great demonstration, and required that\nboth the civic guard and the army should join them. When all was ready for\nthis purpose, a mob which had for some time been in course of organization\nmarched to the Quirinal Palace, where the Pope resided, and pointed cannon\nagainst the gates. They also caused muskets to be discharged from the\nneighboring houses. Monsignore Palma fell, mortally wounded, and\nexpired(1) at the feet of the Holy Father. They next set fire to one of\nthe gates. But the Swiss Guards succeeded in extinguishing the flames. The\nrebels now threatened to put to death all the inmates of the palace, with\nthe exception of Pius IX. himself, unless he consented to their\nunreasonable demands. Even he would not have been spared, as was but too\nwell shown by the balls which fell in his apartments. Until this moment\nthe Holy Father had resolutely refused to accept a ministry, to press\nwhich upon him was an insult. Now, but only in order to save the lives of\nthe people around him, he submitted to this indignity. Mamiani, with his\nformer programme, supported by the constituent assembly, which consisted\nof the representatives of all Italy, together with Dr. Sterbini, Garetti,\nand four other persons equally unacceptable, constituted this Socialist\nministry.\n\nThey desired also to include in the sinister list the celebrated Abbate\nRosmini. But this gifted and eminent divine refused to take part with\nthem, or lend any countenance to their proceedings. On the 17th November\nseveral members of the representative chamber proposed that a deputation\nshould be sent to Pius IX., in order to express to him their devotedness\nand gratitude. They were not wholly lost to all sense of propriety. But\nthe Prince de Canino, true to his antecedents, succeeded in preventing so\nlaudable a purpose from being carried into effect. He declared that such a\nstep would be imprudent, and that they might have cause to repent it.\n\u201cCitizen Bonaparte,\u201d such was the appellation he gloried in, further said\nthat the Italian people were undeniably the masters now, and that they\nwell understood how to humble all parliaments, ministers and thrones that\nshould oppose their energetic impulses.\n\n(M2) Meanwhile the Pope, in such a fearful crisis, was abandoned by all\nsave a few friends, the officials of his Palace, his faithful Swiss Guards\nand the foreign ambassadors. Among those who remained with him were six\nNoble Guards, and the Cardinals Soglia and Antonelli. This was all the\ncourt and army that was left to the great Pontiff, who had been so\ndeservedly the idol of his people and the hope of mankind. In so desperate\na condition he never lost confidence. Throughout all the trying\ncircumstances he was self-possessed and serene. Nothing pained him so much\nas the ingratitude of his people. The new ministry of subversion had\nextorted from the Pope his forced and reluctant consent to their\nformation. He deemed it his duty to protest, which he did in the most\nsolemn manner, against them and all their acts, before all the Christian\nEuropean nations, as represented by their ambassadors.\n\nThese ambassadors and diplomatists were Martizez Della Rosa, the\nambassador of Spain, with the Secretary of the Embassy, M. Arnao; the Duke\nd\u2019Harcourt, ambassador of France; the Count de Spaur, ambassador of\nBavaria; the Baron Venda Cruz, ambassador of Portugal, with the Commandant\nHuston; the Count Boutenieff, who represented at that time the Emperor of\nRussia and King of Poland; Figuereido, ambassador of Brazil; Liedekerke of\nHolland, and several other diplomatists, of whom not one was an Italian.\nThere was at Rome also on the occasion, although not in the apartments of\nthe Pope, a British statesman, who was not an ambassador, inasmuch as,\nwhatever may have been his business at Rome, he had no recognized mission,\nif any mission at all, to the Sovereign of Rome. He was rather officious\nthan official, and whether he had commission or not, he held, as is well\nknown, serious communications with the enemies of the Pope. Lord Minto was\nenthusiastically received by the secret societies of Rome. The people,\nforgetting at the time the way to the Quirinal, went to serenade him. Lord\nMinto frequented \u201cthe popular circle\u201d (a band of three hundred chosen\nagitators, whose office it was to carry the torch of discord into all the\ncities of the Papal States and of Italy) and the offices of the Socialist\nnewspaper. He went so far as to receive courteously Cicervacchio, and made\nverses for his son Cicervacchietto.\n\nThe Earl of Minto was not, however, a faithful exponent of the opinions of\nBritish statesmen. Few of them, fortunately, held the subversive doctrines\nthat were countenanced by his lordship when representing at Rome the least\nrespectable portion of the Whig party.\n\nThe multitude, intoxicated with their delusive success, and the desperate\nmen who led them, were still celebrating their ill-gained victory, the\nfrequent discharge of fire-arms and the impassioned vociferations of the\ncrowd were yet reverberating through the venerable edifices of Rome, when\nthe Holy Father addressed the following words, giving proof of the deepest\nemotion whilst he spoke, to the ambassadors who remained with him:\n\n\u201cGentlemen, I am a prisoner here. Now that I am deprived of all support\nand of all power, my whole conduct will have only one aim\u2014to prevent any,\neven one drop of fraternal blood from being uselessly shed in my cause. I\nyield everything to this principle; but at the same time I am anxious that\nyou, gentlemen, should know, that all Europe should be made aware, that I\ntake no part, even nominally, in this government, and that I am resolved\nto remain an absolute stranger to it. I have forbidden them to abuse my\nname; I have ordered that recourse should not be had even to the ordinary\nformulas.\u201d\n\nThe representatives of the European Powers received respectfully, and with\nfeelings which found expression in tears, the protestation of Pius IX.,\nwho was now a prisoner in his own mansion, and a hostage of the\nrevolutionary faction.\n\nPius IX. was in imminent danger. A prisoner, and surrounded by implacable\nenemies, he had no power to protect his own life or that of any faithful\ncitizens. Many who were devoted to his cause had been obliged to leave the\ncity. The Cardinals, indeed, were all true to their illustrious Chief. But\nseveral were driven by threats of assassination to go into exile. The\nchildren of Saint Ignatius withdrew, at the request of the Holy Father, in\norder to escape the wrath of the excited multitude. The Pope himself knew\nnot whither to direct his steps.\n\n(M3) The revolution was everywhere. It had not yet conquered, but it\ndisturbed all Europe. The representatives of the Powers remained devotedly\nwith the Pope. But the countries which would have sustained them were\ndistracted by political commotions. The King of Naples was threatened on\nall hands by revolution. Lombardy and Venice were in a state of\ninsurrection. Piedmont was making war on Austria, and all Hungary was in\nrebellion. The Emperor Ferdinand was compelled twice over by civil\ncommotion to abandon his capital. Unable to face the revolutionary tide,\nhe handed over his tottering throne to a youth of eighteen years. The King\nof Prussia and other German Sovereigns, who hoped at first to direct the\nrevolutionary movement as to derive from it new strength, were obliged\neither to fly before it or to struggle against it in the streets. France,\nwho commenced the disturbance which was now so general, was compelled to\nfight for her existence against her own children. Her chief city, Paris,\nhad become a battle-field, where wicked men and equally wicked women slew\nthe soldiers of the country with poisoned balls. A greater number of the\nbest officers of France fell in a single fight against Parisian anarchy\nthan during the whole time of the war with the wild Bedouins of Africa.\n\n(M4) At Rome the revolutionary faction was gaining strength, and the\nposition of the Pope was becoming every day more perilous. It was the\nopinion of his most devoted friends that he should leave the city. But to\nwhat country should he repair? All Europe was agitated by revolutionary\ntroubles. The Holy Father was still undecided, when he received from the\nBishop of Valence a letter of wise counsel, together with a precious\ngift\u2014the Pyx which the venerable Pius VI. had borne on his person when an\nexile and the captive of an earlier revolution. Pius IX., on receiving a\npresent which was so suggestive, resolved to remain no longer in the power\nof his enemies. With the assistance of the Duke d\u2019Harcourt, ambassador of\nFrance, and the Bavarian Ambassador, Count de Spaur, he left the Quirinal\nPalace and the city of Rome. He was safely conducted by the latter\npersonage to Albano, and thence in this ambassador\u2019s carriage to Gaeta, in\nthe kingdom of Naples. As soon as his arrival there was intimated to King\nFerdinand, who was not yet deprived of his royal power, this monarch,\nattended by a brilliant suite, embarked for Gaeta, in order to welcome the\nHoly Father and assure him of protection. During seventeen months that\nPius IX. resided as a voluntary exile in the kingdom of Naples, Ferdinand\nceased not to afford all the comfort in his power to the Sovereign\nPontiff. His conduct towards him in every respect was beyond all praise.\nAs a fellow-man, he consoled him in his sorrows; as a prince, he\nentertained him with truly royal magnificence, sparing nothing that was\ncalculated to lessen, even to do away with the pain and tedium of exile,\nwhilst, as a faithful Christian, he fulfilled every filial duty towards\nthe Vicar of Christ, expiating, as far as was possible, the crimes\ncommitted against him by so many ruthless enemies.\n\n(M5) The revolution of another country had for chiefs such men as\nRobespierre. That of Rome and Italy gloried in Mazzini, who ordered the\nassassination of Count Rossi. There was at Rome another revolutionary\nleader, the Advocate Armellini, who pronounced the downfall of the Pope\nfrom his temporal sovereignty. This consistorial advocate had, six times\nover, solemnly sworn fidelity to the Pontiff. He had even composed in\nhonor of the Papacy a sonnet, in which are read these remarkable words: \u201cI\nspoke with Time, and asked it what had become of so many empires, of those\nkingdoms of Argos and Thebes and Sidon, and so many others which had\npreceded or followed them. For only answer, Time strewed its passage with\nshreds of purple and kingly mantles, fragments of armor, wrecks of crowns,\nand cast at my feet thousands of broken sceptres. I then enquired what\nwould become of the thrones of to-day. What the first became, was the\nreply\u2014and Time waved the direful scythe which levels all things under its\nmerciless strokes\u2014these also will be. I asked if a like destiny was in\nstore for the Throne of Peter. Time was silent; Eternity alone could\nreply.\u201d\n\nNot long after the departure of the Holy Father, this traitor, Armellini,\ngave a banquet to the principal chiefs of the revolution. His wife, who\nhad often charged him with the violation of his oath, remained on this\noccasion in her apartment, lest she should be contaminated by any, even an\napparent association with, such men as Sterbini, Mamiani, Galetti and\nothers.\n\nThe guests enquired the cause of her absence, when suddenly the door\nopened, and Madam Armellini, pale, animated, in a threatening attitude,\nand with a roll of paper in her hand, exclaimed: \u201cYou are all accursed!\nFear the judgments of God, you, who in contempt of your oaths, although\nunable to slay, have banished his minister. Dread the Divine anger. Pius\nIX., from his place of exile, appeals to God against you. Listen to his\nwords.\u201d She unrolled slowly, as she spoke, the paper which she held in her\nhand, and read in a firm voice, emphasising every word, the decree of the\nHoly Father, which contained a threat of excommunication. This reading\ncame like a lightning stroke on the startled guests. Madam Armellini,\nafter a moment\u2019s silence, resumed: \u201cSirs, have you understood? The\navenging hand which none can escape is suspended over your heads, ready to\nstrike. But there is still time. The voice of God has not yet, through\nthat of his Vicar, fulminated the terrible sentence. For the sake of your\nhappiness in this world and your salvation in the next, throw yourselves\non his mercy. The cup of your iniquities is filling fast. Dash it from you\nbefore it overflow.\u201d Having thus spoken, this courageous woman, whose just\nindignation was at its height, approached her husband and threw down\nbefore him, on the table, the decree of the Holy Father. She then\nwithdrew.\n\n(M6) About two months and a half after the assassination of the Pope\u2019s\nminister, Count Rossi, the leading conspirators caused it to be decreed,\nin their revolutionary assembly, that the Papacy was fallen, _de facto et\nde jure_, from the government of the Roman States. They made a fashion of\nproviding, at the same time, that the Pontiff should have all necessary\nguarantees for his independence in the exercise of his spiritual office.\nAbove all, they forgot not to declare that the form of government should\nbe purely democratic, and assume the glorious name of _Roman Republic_.\nAll this was very little in harmony with the sentiments which were\nexpressed at the commencement of the popular movements. With regard to\nthese sentiments, which were so loudly and apparently also so sincerely\nproclaimed, new light was dispensed. Mazzini arrived at Rome as a deputy\nto the Revolutionary Convention. He had no sooner taken his place there\nthan he declared that the reiterated _vivats_ in honor of the reforming\nPope were lies, and were had recourse to in order to conceal designs which\nit was not yet time to reveal. Is there not reason to believe that the new\nwatchword, \u201cLive the Roman people!\u201d was equally sincere? It is well known\nthat they never would admit a fair representation of the people. And had\nthey not declared that they are incapable of governing themselves, and\nmust be ruled with a rod of iron?\n\n(M7) Public opinion at the same time gave the lie to their unwarrantable\npretensions. The revolutionary chiefs gave out in an official\nproclamation, \u201cthat a republic had arisen at Rome on the ruins of the\nPapal Throne, which the unanimous voice of Europe, the malediction of all\ncivilized people and the spirit of the Gospel, had levelled in the dust.\u201d\nNot only the nations of Europe, but also the whole civilized world and\npeople, the most remote, who scarcely yet enjoyed the blessings of\ncivilization, made haste to deny an assertion which was as false as it was\naudacious. All the nations of Christendom were deeply moved when they\nheard of the outrages which the Roman populace had heaped upon the common\nFather of the faithful. Compassion was universally expressed, together\nwith professions of duty and obedience, whilst there was only indignation\nat the base conduct of the faction which persecuted him. There was\nscarcely a Sovereign Prince in Europe who did not send to Pius IX. most\naffectionate letters, expressive of reverence and devotedness, whilst they\npromised assistance and defence. The four Catholic Powers, and not without\nthe consent of the other States, united in order to drive the rebels from\nRome and the Roman States, and restore to the Pontiff his temporality. In\nthe representative assemblies of France and Spain, the most eloquent\norators upheld the rights of the Holy See, the utility and necessity of\nthe complete independence of the Roman Pontiff, both for the government of\nhis States and the exercise of his spiritual power. At the same time\nnumerous associations were formed under the auspices of the civil and\necclesiastical authorities, for the purpose of collecting offerings in aid\nof the Sovereign Pontiff, impoverished as he was by the privation of his\nrevenues. These associations extended not only throughout Europe, but were\nestablished also in North and South America, India, China and the\nPhilippine Islands. The poorest even, like the widow of the Gospel,\ninsisted on contributing their mite.\n\nMany touching instances are quoted. Some young persons, who were only\nhumble artisans, managed by great economy to save some thirty-five livres,\nand sent them, accompanied with a very feeling address, to the association\nof their locality. \u201cIf, at this moment,\u201d they said, \u201cwe were near the Holy\nFather, we would say to him, whilst reverently kneeling at his feet: Most\nHoly Father, this is the happiest of our days. We are a society of young\npersons who consider it our greatest happiness to give proof of our\nveneration for your Holiness. We claim to be your most affectionate\nchildren; and notwithstanding the efforts of ill-disposed persons to\nseparate us from Catholic unity, we declare that we recognize in your\nHoliness the successor of St. Peter and the Vicar of Jesus Christ. We are\nprepared to sacrifice all that we possess, and even our life, in order to\nprove ourselves worthy children of so good a Father.\u201d The testimony of\nyouth and innocence is precious in the sight of heaven. Hence, allusion is\nmade to this case in preference to so many others. _Ex ore infantium et\nlactantium perfecisti laudem._ On occasion of receiving such genuine marks\nof filial devotedness Pius IX. was often moved to tears.\n\nThe revival of the offering of \u201cPeter\u2019s Pence\u201d recalls to mind the piety\nof the early ages. This practice was in vigor when the world had scarcely\nyet begun to believe. It is not a little remarkable that it has been\nrenewed in an age when so many have fallen from belief. The more the\nChurch was persecuted in the early days the more were her ministers held\nin honor. Such, one is compelled to say, is her destiny in all ages. Pius\nIX., when an exile at Gaeta, was the object of the most respectful and\ndevoted attentions of all classes of Christians in every land. Bishops,\necclesiastical communities, religious congregations, all orders of\nChristian people, vied with one another in their zeal to do him honor. As\nmany as six, eight, eleven thousand signatures were often appended to the\nsame dutiful address. The memory of such faith and devotedness can never\nperish. A selection of letters and addresses to the Holy Father was\npublished at Naples in two large quarto volumes, under the title: _The\nCatholic world to Pius IX., Sovereign Pontiff, an exile at Gaeta from 1848\nto 1850_.\n\n(M8) When Peter himself was in prison the whole Church was moved, and\nprayed for his release. It speedily followed. Prayer, no less earnest, was\nmade in behalf of his successor. With what success a few words will show.\nThe deliverers were the Princes and people of Catholic Europe. If there\nwas still some delay it was only that for which diplomacy is proverbial.\nAustria, that had more than once obeyed the voice of the Holy Father, in\nwithdrawing her troops from the Roman States, and against which he had so\noften refused to allow war to be declared, was the first now to propose\nthat measures should be adopted for his restoration. In a note addressed\nby this State to the other Powers we find the following words: \u201cThe\nCatholic world is entitled to require for the visible Chief of the Church\nthe plenitude of liberty which is essential for the government of Catholic\nsociety, and the restoration of that ancient monarchy which has subjects\nin every part of the world. The Catholic nations will never allow the head\nof their Church to be robbed of his independence and reduced to be the\nsubject of a foreign Prince. They will not suffer him to be degraded by a\nfaction which, under the cloak of his venerable name, is endeavoring to\nundermine and destroy his power. In order that the Bishop of Rome, who is\nat the same time the Sovereign Pastor of the Church, may be able to\nexercise the duties of his exalted office, it is necessary that he should\nbe also Sovereign of Rome.\u201d\n\nSpain came next. On the 21st December, 1848, the Spanish ministry\naddressed to the other Catholic nations the following circular letter:\n\u201cThe government of her Majesty has decided on doing whatever shall be\nnecessary in order to reinstate the Holy Father in a state of independence\nand dignity, which will admit of his discharging the duties of his sacred\noffice. With a view to this end the government of Spain, having been\napprised of the Pope\u2019s flight, addressed the French Government, which\ndeclared itself prepared to sustain the liberty of the Pontiff. These\nnegotiations, nevertheless, may be considered as insufficient when we\nglance at the turn which affairs have taken at Rome. There is no question\nany longer of protecting the liberty of the Pope, but of re-establishing\nhis authority on a solid and stable basis, and of securing him against\nviolence. It is well known to you that the Catholic Powers have always had\nit at heart to guarantee the sovereignty of the Pope, and assure to him an\nindependent position. Such position is so important for the Christian\nStates that it cannot on any account be subjected to the will and pleasure\nof so small a portion of the Catholic world as the Roman States. It is the\nbelief of Spain that the Catholic Powers cannot commit the liberty of the\nPope to the caprice of the city of Rome. Nor can they permit that, whilst\nall the Catholic nations are warmly offering to the Holy Father proofs of\ntheir profound respect, a single town of Italy shall dare to outrage his\ndignity, and restrict the Pope to a state of independence which could be\nso easily abused at any time as a religious power. These considerations\ninduce the government of her Majesty to invite the other Catholic Powers\nto come to an understanding on the means to be employed for averting the\nevils which would arise, if matters remained in their present position. In\nfurtherance of this object, her Majesty has ordered her government to\naddress the governments of France, Austria, Bavaria, Sardinia, Tuscany and\nNaples, in order to invite them to name Plenipotentiaries, and appoint the\nplace where they shall meet.\u201d\n\nThe Catholic Powers welcomed cordially this admirable note, which\nexpressed so clearly the idea which they all entertained. Piedmont alone,\nas if already casting a covetous eye on Rome and its territory, refused to\nconcur. Its refusal was expressed by the pen of the once so highly\nesteemed Abbate Gioberti, who was President of the Council. It was not\nlong till Piedmont reaped its reward. The following year, 1849, on the 22d\nof March, it had to lament the disastrous battle of Novara.\n\nNot long after, Cardinal Antonelli, who remained with the Pope, addressed,\non the part of the Holy See, to the governments of France, Austria, Spain\nand Naples, a highly important paper. It recapitulated, in a clear and\nforcible manner, all that had occurred at Rome from the time of the Pope\u2019s\ndeparture till the 18th of February, and then requested, in the most\nformal and pressing way possible, the intervention of these four Catholic\nPowers. The governments thus appealed to promptly replied by sending\nPlenipotentiaries to Gaeta, where the Pope desired that the diplomatic\nconference should be opened. The Catholic countries had already\nanticipated the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff\u2014some by acts, others\nby energetic resolutions. On the one hand, General Cavaignac, to whom\nFrance had for the time committed her sword, had concentrated, as early as\nthe month of September, 1848, a body of troops under the command of\nGeneral Molliere, whose duty it should be to hold themselves in readiness\nto embark for Italy at the first signal. Spain, on the other hand,\nprepared her fleet. The King of the Two Sicilies could scarcely restrain\nthe ardor of his soldiers. Portugal, even, which had not been mentioned in\nthe document addressed to the four Catholic Powers, considered it a duty\nto cause it to be represented to the government of the Pope through its\nambassador, the Baron de Verda Cruz, that the Portuguese people would be\nmost happy to take up arms in the interest of the Papal cause. Portugal\nwas among the first, on occasion of the 16th November, 1848, to offer\nhospitality to the Sovereign Pontiff, and to invite him to one of the\nfinest residences in Christendom, the magnificent palace of Mafra.\n\n(M9) The time of the Holy Father at Gaeta was employed, as it usually is,\nin prayer, the giving of audiences and the business of the Church. In one\npoint, there was an exception to the rules of the Papal Court. The King of\nNaples, the Queen and the Princes were admitted every day to the table of\nthe Pope. King Ferdinand, notwithstanding his friendly relations with Pius\nIX., never availed himself of this privilege without a new daily\ninvitation. In all other respects, likewise, his conduct towards the Holy\nFather was all that the most devout Catholic could desire.\n\n(M10) The internal state of the Catholic Powers caused their action to be\ndelayed. The political troubles of the Austrian Empire obliged the Emperor\nFerdinand to abdicate in favor of his youthful nephew, Francis Joseph.\nFrance was laboring to consolidate her newly-founded Republic. There was\nquestion of electing a president. And if, on the occasion, Prince Louis\nNapoleon Bonaparte secured the greatest number of votes, he owed this\nsuccess, if not wholly, in great measure, at least, to his repudiation of\nthe undutiful conduct of his cousin, the Prince of Canino, at Rome, and\nhis declaration in favor of the temporal sovereignty of the Pope. On the\neve of the election he wrote as follows to the Papal Nuncio: \u201cMy Lord, I\nam anxious that the rumors which tend to make me an accomplice of the\nconduct of Prince Canino at Rome should not be credited by you. I have\nnot, for a long time, had any relations with the eldest son of Lucien\nBonaparte; and I am profoundly grieved that he has not understood that the\nmaintenance of the temporal sovereignty of the venerable Head of the\nChurch is intimately connected with the glory of Catholicism, no less than\nwith the liberty and independence of Italy. Accept, my Lord, the\nexpression of my sentiments of high esteem.\n\n\u201cLOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.\u201d\n\n(M11) Spain had already despatched a fleet to Gaeta, the Austrians had\nadvanced in the direction of Ferrara, and the King of Naples at Terracina,\nwhen, on the 25th of April 1849, a French army, under the command of\nGeneral Oudinot, disembarked at Civita Vecchia. This military expedition\nwas, at first, considerably thwarted by diplomacy. The general-in-chief\nwas assured at the outset that he had only to show himself before the\nwalls of Rome, and the gates would be opened immediately in consequence of\nthe reaction which was taking place within. Accordingly, the army\nadvanced, on the 30th April, to the foot of the ramparts, and was received\nwith a discharge of fire-arms. Nevertheless, one of the gates was opened\nto a French battalion. The Romans came out in crowds, waving white\nhandkerchiefs, and shouting, \u201cPeace is concluded! Peace for ever! Enemies\nin the morning, we are brothers this evening! Long live the French!\u201d The\nsoldiers, deceived by these demonstrations, were persuaded to enter they\ncity. They were at once disarmed and declared prisoners of war. It was now\nmanifest that a regular siege was necessary. An impediment was, however,\nthrown in the way of military operations, by a civil or diplomatic agent\nwho entered Rome, and in the course of a few weeks concluded with the\nrevolutionists a treaty which was contrary to his instructions, to those\nof the commander-in-chief, to the honor of France and the objects of the\nexpedition. Odillon Barrot was, at that time, President of the French\nMinistry\u2014the same Odillon Barrot who, in 1830, was prefect of police, and\nallowed the mansion of the Archbishop to be demolished without taking any\nmeasures for its protection. Such conduct, as has been well observed,\nshowed that this official loved anarchy more than order. Hence, probably,\narose those impediments to the Roman expedition which gave time to (M12)\nthe revolutionists to organize, under the leadership of a chief of\nbanditti, Garibaldi, of Genoa. They availed themselves, at the same time,\nof the leisure afforded, to massacre many faithful priests, to enable some\nrenegade monks to profane the solemnities of religion, and to commit, in\nthe hospitals, outrages which were, until that time, unheard of.\nUnfortunate soldiers, sick and at the point of death, beholding persons\ndressed like Nuns and Sisters of Charity, expected to hear from them the\nlanguage of religion, in order to assist them in preparing for a Christian\ndeath. It can easily be imagined how greatly they were shocked to hear\nonly lascivious expressions and the most infamous provocations to vice.\nThese pretended Sisters of Charity were nothing else than professed\nprostitutes. Their president, a revolutionary princess, admits, in her\nmemoirs, this melancholy fact.\n\n(M13) The King of Naples and General Cordova, commander-in-chief of the\nSpanish army, offered to General Oudinot the aid of their arms. He thanked\nthem, but declined their offer, desiring, for the honor of the French\narmy, that as it had begun, so it should complete the duty which it had\nundertaken. The French general represented, and with reason, to the\nSpanish commander, that he would have entered Rome several weeks sooner\nbut for the diplomatic negotiations already alluded to. The\nPlenipotentiary, who conducted these negotiations, having been disavowed,\nthe general held himself alone responsible, and it was his duty to\nsimplify matters as much as possible. He urged, moreover, that when an\narmy is besieging a place no foreign troops can approach it, unless their\nassistance is requested either by the besiegers or the besieged. The\nlatter were far from having any claim to the protection of Spain, and the\nFrench army was in a position to meet every contingency.\n\n(M14) On the 30th June, 1849, the city surrendered, unconditionally. On\n3rd July the French army entered Rome, amidst the joyous acclamations of\nthe native Roman people.\n\n(M15) On the same day General Oudinot despatched Colonel Niel to Gaeta, in\norder to deliver to the Sovereign Pontiff the keys of his capital. Pius\nIX. was overjoyed at the arrival of the French officer. His people were\nnow free. The war was at an end. Blood no longer flowed. There was nothing\nwanting to his satisfaction and happiness. \u201cO! speak to me of my children\nof Rome and France,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cHow they must have suffered! How\nearnestly have I prayed for them!\u201d He then listened with interest, and the\nfeelings of a father, to the recital of the sufferings of the French army\nand their prolonged labors, which were patiently undergone; in order to\nsave the edifices and monuments of Rome from irreparable destruction.\nUnable, at length, to contain his emotion, he spoke thus to Colonel Niel:\n\u201cColonel, I have often said, on other occasions, and I am happy to be able\nto repeat the same to-day, after so great a service, that I have always\nrelied on France. That country had promised me nothing, but I understood\nfull well, that when opportunity offered she would give to the Church her\ntreasures, her blood, and what is, perhaps, still more difficult for her\nvaliant children, that bravery which can restrain itself, that patience\nand perseverance to which is due the preservation of Rome, that treasure\nof the world, that beloved and sorely-tried city, towards which, during\nthese days of exile, I have always looked in great anxiety of mind. Say to\nthe commander-in-chief, to all the generals and all the officers\u2014would it\ncould also be said to every soldier of France!\u2014that there are no bounds to\nmy gratitude. My prayers for the prosperity of your country will be more\nfervent than ever. My love for the French people has been increased, if,\nindeed, anything could make it greater than it was, by the great service\nwhich I now acknowledge.\u201d\n\n(M16) At the same time, Pius IX. addressed an appropriate letter to\nGeneral Oudinot. He recognized the well-known valor of the French armies,\nwhich was sustained by the justice of the cause which they came to defend,\nand which won for them the meed of victory. In congratulating the general\non the principal share which he bore in the important event, the Holy\nFather was careful to say that he rejoiced not over the bloodshed which\nhad necessarily occurred, but in the triumph of order over anarchy, and\nbecause liberty was restored to honest and Christian people, for whom it\nwould no longer be a crime to enjoy the property which God had bestowed\nupon them, and to adore Him, with becoming pomp of worship, without\nincurring the risk of being deprived of life or liberty. In the difficult\ncircumstances which might arise, the Holy Father would rely on the Divine\nprotection. As it might prove useful to the French army to be acquainted\nwith the events of his Pontificate, he sent, along with his letter, a\nnumber of copies of the Allocution, in which these events are related.\nThis paper, he stated, proved abundantly that the army had won a victory\nover the enemies of human society, and that their triumph, consequently,\nwould awaken sentiments of gratitude in the breasts of all honest men\nthroughout Europe and the whole civilized world.\n\n(M17) The President of the French Republic, Louis Napoleon, the French\nMinister of War and the National Assembly, all joined in congratulating\nGeneral Oudinot and his army. Pius IX. had just appointed (31st July) a\ncommission of three Cardinals for the government of the Roman States, when\nGeneral Oudinot arrived at Gaeta, and urged the Pope to return himself to\nhis capital. Pius IX. had already stated to M. de Corcelles, the\nPlenipotentiary of France, his objections to an immediate return. He now\nheld the same language to General Oudinot. He could not, he said, so far\nforget the purely moral nature of his power as to bind himself in a\npositive way, when there was nothing settled as to matters of detail, and\nespecially when he was called upon to speak in presence of a first-class\nPower, whose exigencies were no secret. Ought he to condemn himself to\nappear to act under the impulsion of force? If he did anything good, was\nit not necessary that his acts should be spontaneous, and should also have\nthe appearance of being so? Were not his inclinations well known? Were\nthey not calculated to inspire confidence? Nevertheless, it was his\nintention to return, in a few days, to his States, and to remain some time\nat Castel-Gandolfo, in the midst of the French army. General Oudinot\nreturned to Rome fully assured of the speedy return of the Holy Father.\n\n(M18) About this time it became manifest that the French Republic desired\nto restore the Pope as a mere agent of their newly-instituted government.\nThe French ministry, of which Odillon Barrot was the head, saw, with\nimpatience, that Pontifical affairs were not proceeding to such a\nconclusion as they wished. Accordingly, General Oudinot was recalled and\nreplaced by General Rostolan, the next in command. Two days later, a\nletter signed \u201cLouis Napoleon,\u201d and addressed to Colonel Edgar Ney, who\nwas also the bearer of it, was despatched to Rome. This letter contained\ninsulting allusions to the Pontifical government; and its requirements\nwould have annihilated, in the estimation of Europe, the independence of\nthe Sovereign Pontiff, whilst personally dishonoring him. \u201cI thus\nrecapitulate,\u201d said the president, in this memorable epistle, \u201cthe\ntemporal power of the Pope, _a general amnesty, secularization of the\nadministration, and liberal government_.\u201d It was appointed that General\nRostolan should publish this ill-timed letter, and carry it into effect.\nHe refused to do so, tendered his resignation, and thus firmly replied:\n\u201cConscience requires that I should sacrifice my position and my\nsympathies. My successor, more fortunate than myself, will perhaps enjoy\nthe signal honor to terminate peacefully the work which we have begun at\nthe head of the army. As a soldier and a Christian, I will rejoice on\naccount of the Sovereign Pontiff, who will have been restored to his\npeople, and because of France, which will have accomplished a noble and\nmost worthy mission.\u201d To the Odillon Barrot ministry, which at one time\ndisowned the letter, and at another acknowledged it, and ordered its\npublication, the general declared that he would never identify himself\nwith an act which, besides being unjust, would endanger the peace of all\nEurope. According to his view, which was the same as that of the French\nambassadors, M. de Rayneval and M. de Corcelles, a general war would\nfollow the official publication of the letter of 18th August; and such a\nwar could not but prove fatal to the ideas of order which were beginning\nto resume their empire. He loved his country too well to bear part in\nincurring for it such fearful risks. Messrs. de Rayneval and de Corcelles\nwrote to the same effect, and communicated to the French Government the\nresolution of the Sovereign Pontiff to seek the protection of Austria, or\neven to repair to America, rather than submit to the constraint with which\nhe was threatened.\n\n(M19) It was not, however, ordained that the conditions of the Pope\u2019s\nrestoration should be decided by the President of the French Republic, or\nthe Odillon Barrot ministry. The National Assembly of France took the\nmatter in hand, and after a keen debate, which lasted three days\u201413th,\n18th and 19th October\u2014came to a resolution favorable to the Holy See.\nThere can be no doubt that the Chamber was greatly influenced by the\npowerful eloquence of M. de Montalembert. \u201cIt has been said,\u201d observed\nthis orator, \u201cthat the honor of our flag was compromised by the expedition\nundertaken against Rome in order to destroy the Roman Republic and restore\nthe authority of the Pope. All in this Assembly must feel insulted by this\nreproach, and cannot but repel it, as I do at this moment. No! the honor\nof our flag was never compromised. No! never did this noble flag cover\nwith its folds a more noble enterprise. History will tell. I confidently\ninvoke its testimony and its judgment. History will throw a veil over all\nthe ambiguity, tergiversation and contestation which have been pointed to\nwith so much bitterness and so eager a desire to spread discord amongst\nus. It will ignore all this, or, rather, it will proclaim it all, in order\nthat the greatness of the undertaking may become apparent from the number\nand nature of the difficulties that have been surmounted.\n\n\u201cHistory will say that a thousand years from the time of Charlemagne, and\nfifty from that of Napoleon\u2014a thousand years after Charlemagne had won for\nhimself imperishable glory by restoring the Pontifical State, and fifty\nyears after Napoleon, in the zenith of power and prestige, had failed in\nhis endeavor to undo the work of his predecessor; history will say that\nFrance has remained true to her traditions and deaf to odious counsels.\nHistory will say that thirty thousand Frenchmen, under the leadership of\nthe worthy son of one of the giants of our great imperial glories, left\nthe shores of their country, in order to re-establish at Rome, in the\nperson of the Pope, right, equity, European and French interest. History\nwill further say what Pius IX. himself said, in his letter of thanks to\nGeneral Oudinot: \u2018_The victory of the French arms is won over the enemies\nof human society_.\u2019 Yes! gentlemen, such will be the judgment of impartial\nhistory; and it will be one of the brightest glories of France and the\nnineteenth century. You will not attenuate, tarnish, eclipse this glory by\nplunging into a mass of contradictions, complications, and inextricable\ninconsistency. Know you what would dim for ever the lustre of the French\nflag? It would be to set it in opposition to the Cross, to the Tiara,\nwhich it has delivered. It would be to transform the soldiers of France,\nthe protectors of the Pope, into his oppressors. It would be to exchange\nthe _role_ and the glory of Charlemagne for a pitiful mimicry of\nGaribaldi.\u201d\n\n(M20) A large majority of the legislative assembly agreed with\nMontalembert. The news of their decision, which was in accordance with the\ngeneral sentiment of the French nation, was speedily conveyed to the\nPontifical Court. It dispelled all the unpleasant (M21) apprehensions\nwhich had hitherto prevailed, and gave great satisfaction to the Holy\nFather. The influence which it exercised over his plans for the future may\nbe learned from the reply which he gave to a deputation from the\nmunicipality of Rome, which now came to pray that he would return to his\nStates. \u201cIt was repugnant to us,\u201d said he, \u201cto return to our States, so\nlong as France made it a question whether we should be independent. But\nnow that a happy solution has been reached, which appears to put an end to\nall doubt on this point, we hope to be able, in a short time, to return to\nour city of Rome.\u201d Accordingly, on 12th April, 1850, Pius IX. made his\nentrance into Rome amidst the dutiful and joyous acclamations of the\nFrench army and the Roman people. On the 18th day of the same month he\nformally blessed the arms and colors of France in front of St. Peter\u2019s\nChurch. Thus ended at Rome a political revolution, which nothing less\npowerful than Catholic sentiment could have overcome.\n\n(M22) Whilst the comparatively small Pontifical State was agitated by\nrevolution, the greater kingdom of the church was steadily pursuing, under\nthe auspices of its august Chief, its grand career of progress and\ndevelopment. A new era seemed to have dawned over all those great\ncountries which the Photian schism had so seriously affected. About the\ntime of Pius the Ninth\u2019s accession, more favorable dispositions had come\nto prevail among the Greeks of Constantinople, of Syria, of Palestine, of\nEgypt. Among the Armenians and Chaldeans there were numerous conversions,\nwhilst even the Turks showed a better feeling towards the Catholic people,\namong whom their lot was cast. We have already seen how well such\nsentiments were encouraged by the newly-elected Pontiff. His words of\nkindness were repaid by increased affection for the Catholic people, and\nthe wish, not to say the belief, that when the Turkish Empire fell, the\nfragments of its once great inheritance would be gathered up by Catholics.\n\u201cAre this belief and friendship,\u201d asks the Abbe Etienne, \u201can indication of\nthe speedy reunion of the children of Mahomet with the great Christian\nfamily? We have much reason to think so, when we behold Islamism\neverywhere dwindling away and giving place to the true faith.\u201d Damascus,\nso sacred in Mussulman estimation, and so intolerant that no Christian\ncould pass within its gates except bareheaded, and on paying a capitation\ntax, now beholds with pleasure the celebration of Catholic rites. So great\nwas the change that in a short time all the inhabitants of a village in\nthe neighborhood embraced the Catholic faith. The Mahometans who are most\ncapable of appreciating religious questions, study Christianity secretly.\nNot long ago, a Turk of Damascus caused a Catholic priest to be called to\nhis deathbed, and begged to be baptized. Great was the surprise of the\nmissionary to find him as well acquainted with the truths of religion as\nhe was anxious to receive the sacrament of regeneration. A few moments\nlater the good priest beheld his neophyte expire, expressing the most\npious sentiments.\n\nIn Russia, the most powerful seat of the great eastern schism, Catholics\nwere long subjected to the most trying persecution. It is well known what\ninfluence the venerable Pontiff, Gregory XVI., exercised over the mind of\nthe late Emperor Nicholas, and that he succeeded in causing him to\nmitigate the evils which weighed so heavily on his Catholic subjects. Pius\nIX. was still more successful. Having concluded a Concordat with the Czar,\nwhich was signed at Rome on the 3rd August, 1847, by Cardinal\nLambruschini, on the part of the Holy See, and Counts Bloudoff and\nBoutenieff, on the part of Russia, Pius IX., in a consistory held on 3rd\nJuly of the same year, instituted bishops for the following Sees of the\nRussian Empire: The Metropolitan Church of Mohilow, the united dioceses of\nLuccoria and Zitomeritz, in Volhynia, the diocese of Vilna, in Poland, and\na coadjutor, with right of succession, for the archbishopric of Mohilow.\nThe Concordat contained 31 articles. Article 1st. Seven Roman Catholic\ndioceses are established in the Russian Empire\u2014an archbishopric and six\nbishoprics, viz.: the archbishopric of Mohilow, which comprises all those\nparts of the Empire which are not contained in the undermentioned\ndioceses. The Grand Duchy of Finland is also included in this archdiocese.\nThe diocese of Vilna, comprising the governments of Vilna and Grodno,\naccording to their present limits; the diocese of Telsca, or Samogitia,\ncomprising the governments of Courland and Kowno; the diocese of Minsk,\ncomprising the government of Minsk, as at present limited; the diocese of\nLuceoria and Zitomeritz, containing the governments of Kiovia and\nVolhynia; the diocese of Kaminiec, comprising the government of Podolia;\nthe new diocese of Kherson, containing the Province of Bessarabia, the\ngovernments of Khersonesus, Ecatherinaslaw, Taurida, Saratow and Astracan,\ntogether with the regions that are subject to the general government of\nthe Caucasus.\n\nIn glancing at the articles of the Concordat, the Catholic reader will be\nagreeably surprised to observe that in so many important things the wishes\nof the Holy Father were acceded to, whilst it is matter for regret that in\nregard to others the Plenipotentiaries could not come to an understanding.\nIt is provided by the 2nd and 3rd articles that apostolic letters under\nthe leaden seal shall determine the extent and limits of the dioceses, as\nindicated in article 1st. The decrees of execution shall express the\nnumber and the names of the parishes of each diocese, and shall be\nsubmitted for the sanction of the Holy See. The number of suffragan\nbishoprics, as settled by the apostolic letters of Pius VI. in 1789, is\nretained in the six ancient dioceses. In the following articles, from 4 to\n10, it is agreed that the suffragan of the new diocese of Kherson shall\nreside in the town of Saratow. The annual allowance to the Bishop of\nKherson shall be 4,480 silver roubles. His suffragan shall have the same\nincome as the other bishops of the Empire, viz.: 2,000 silver roubles. The\nchapter of the Cathedral Church of Kherson shall consist of nine members,\nviz.: two prelates or dignitaries, the president and archdeacon; four\ncanons, of whom three shall discharge the duties of theologian,\npenitentiary and rector; and three resident priests, or beneficiaries. In\nthe new bishopric of Kherson there shall be a diocesan seminary, in which\nfrom fifteen to twenty-five students shall be supported at the cost of the\ngovernment, the same as those who enjoy a pension in other seminaries.\nUntil a Catholic bishop of the Armenian rite is named, the spiritual wants\nof the Armenian Catholics of the dioceses of Kherson and Kaminiec shall be\nprovided for by applying the ninth chapter of the Council of Lateran, held\nin 1215. The bishops of Kaminiec and Kherson shall determine the number of\nCatholic Armenian ecclesiastics who shall be educated in their seminaries\nat the expense of the government. In each of these seminaries there shall\nreside a Catholic Armenian priest, in order to instruct the students in\nthe ceremonies of their national rite. As often as the spiritual wants of\nthe Armenian Roman Catholics of the newly-instituted diocese of Kherson\nshall require it, the bishop, besides the means hitherto employed for this\npurpose, may send priests as missionaries, and the government will supply\nthe funds that shall be necessary for their journeys and sustenance.\n\nArticles 11 and 12 provide that the number of dioceses in the Kingdom of\nPoland shall remain the same as ordained by the Apostolical Letters of\nPius VII., of date 30th June, 1818. There is no change as to the number\nand designation of the suffragans of these dioceses. The appointment of\nbishops for the dioceses and the suffragan bishoprics of the Empire of\nRussia and the Kingdom of Poland shall only take effect after each\nnomination shall have been agreed upon between the Emperor and the Holy\nSee. Canonical institution will be given by the Roman Pontiff in the usual\nform.\n\nIn articles 13-20 are contained the following regulations: the bishop is\nthe sole judge and administrator of the ecclesiastical affairs of his\ndiocese, having due regard to the canonical obedience which he owes to the\nHoly Apostolic See. Certain affairs must be, in the first place, submitted\nto the deliberations of the diocesan consistory. Such affairs are decided\nby the bishop, after having been examined by the consistory, which,\nhowever, is only consultative. The bishop is by no means bound to give the\nreasons of his decision, even in case of his opinion being different from\nthat of the consistory. The other affairs of the diocese, which are called\n_administrative_, and among which are included cases of conscience, and,\nas has been said above, cases of discipline which are visited only by\nlight punishments and pastoral admonitions, depend entirely on the\nauthority and the spontaneous decision of the bishop. All the members of\nthe consistory are ecclesiastics. Their nomination and their revocation\nbelong to the bishop. The nominations are so made as not to displease the\ngovernment. The officials of the consistorial chancery are confirmed by\nthe bishop, on the presentation of the secretary of the consistory. The\nsecretary of the bishop, who is charged with official and private\ncorrespondence, is named directly by the bishop; and an ecclesiastic, as\nthe bishop thinks proper, may be chosen. The duties of the members of the\nconsistory cease when the bishop dies or resigns, and also when the\nadministration of a vacant See comes to an end.\n\nFrom articles 21-29 we read as follows: The bishop has the supreme\ndirection of the teaching of doctrine and discipline in the seminaries of\nhis diocese, according to the prescriptions of the Council of Trent. The\nchoice of rectors, inspectors and Professors for the diocesan seminaries\nis reserved to the bishop. Before naming them, he must ascertain that, as\nregards their civil conduct, they will not give occasion to any objection\non the part of the government. The Archbishop Metropolitan of Mohilow\nshall exercise in the ecclesiastical academy of St. Petersburg the same\njurisdiction as does each bishop in his diocesan seminary. He is the sole\nchief of this academy\u2014its supreme director. The council or directory of\nthis academy is only consultative. The choice of the rector, the inspector\nand professors of this academy, shall be made by the archbishop, after he\nhas received the report of the Academical Council. The professors and\nassistant-professors of Theological science shall always be chosen among\necclesiastics. The other masters may be selected among lay persons,\nprofessing the Roman Catholic religion. The confessors of the students of\neach seminary and of the academy shall take no part in the disciplinary\ngovernment of the establishment. They shall be chosen and nominated by the\nbishop or archbishop. When the limits of the dioceses shall have been\nfixed according to the new regulation, the archbishop, with the advice of\nthe ordinaries, shall determine, once for all, the number of students that\neach diocese may send to the academy. The programme of studies in the\nseminaries shall be regulated by the bishops. The archbishop shall decide\nupon that of the academy after having conferred with the Academical\nCouncil. When the rule of the ecclesiastical academy of St. Petersburg\nshall have been modified conformably with the principles agreed upon in\nthe preceding articles, the Archbishop of Mohilow will send to the Holy\nSee a report on the academy like that which was made by Archbishop\nKoromanski when the academy was restored.\n\nArticles 30 and 31. Wherever the right of patronage does not exist, or has\nbeen discontinued for a certain time, parish priests shall be appointed by\nthe bishop. They must not offend the government, and must have undergone\nexamination and competition according to the rules laid down by the\nCouncil of Trent. Roman Catholic churches may be freely repaired at the\nexpense of communities or individuals who shall please to take charge of\nthis work. When their own resources are insufficient, they may apply to\nthe Imperial Government in order to obtain assistance. New churches shall\nbe constructed, and the number of parishes augmented, when such measures\nbecome necessary from the increase of population, the too great extent of\nexisting parishes, or the difficulty of communications.\n\nSuch matters as could not be agreed upon and embodied in the Concordat may\nbe gleaned from the allocution which Pius IX. addressed, at the time, to\nthe Cardinals. \u201cMany things of the greatest importance still remain, in\nregard to which the Plenipotentiaries could not come to an agreement, and\nthe omission of which awakens our most lively solicitude, and causes us\nthe utmost pain; for they concern, in the highest degree, the liberty of\nthe church, its rights, its essential principles, and the salvation of the\nfaithful in those Russian countries. We allude to that true and complete\nliberty, which ought to be secured to the Christian people, of being able,\nin regard to the things which relate to religion, to communicate, without\nimpediment, with this Apostolic See, the centre of Catholic unity and\ntruth, the Father and Master of all the Faithful. All men may understand\nhow deeply grieved we are, when they call to mind the multiplied appeals\nwhich this Apostolic See has never ceased to cause to be heard at divers\ntimes, in order to obtain free communication of the faithful, not only in\nRussia, but also in other countries, where, in certain affairs of\nreligion, it is seriously impeded, to the great loss of souls. We would\nspeak of the property which ought to be restored to the clergy. We would\nhave removed from the Episcopal Consistories the lay person chosen by the\ngovernment, in order that, in these assemblies, the bishops may be able to\nact with all liberty. We must advert to the law according to which mixed\nmarriages are not recognized as valid, until they have been blessed by a\nRusso-Greek Catholic priest; and also to the liberty which Catholics ought\nto possess of trying and judging their matrimonial causes, in eases of\nmixed marriages, by a Catholic ecclesiastical tribunal. Finally, we would\nallude to divers laws prevalent in Russia, which fix the age at which\nreligious professions may be made, which destroy entirely the schools that\nare held in the houses of religious orders, which prevent the visits of\nprovincial superiors, which forbid and interdict conversion to the\nCatholic faith.\u201d\n\nIn this same allocution the Holy Father deplores the miserable state of\nthe illustrious Ruthenian nation, which, dispersed throughout the vast\ncountries of Russia, is, from various causes, exposed to great dangers as\nregards salvation. Without bishops, they have none to guide them in the\npaths of righteousness, none to administer to them spiritual succour, or\nto warn them against the insidious approaches of heresy and schism. The\nHoly Father is confident that the Latin priests will bestow all their care\nand employ every available resource in affording spiritual aid to these\n\u201cmost dear children.\u201d \u201cFrom our inmost soul,\u201d concludes the venerable\nPontiff, \u201cwe exhort, earnestly and lovingly in the Lord, and urge the\nRuthenians themselves to remain faithful and steadfast in the unity of the\nCatholic Church, or, if they have been so unfortunate as to abandon it, to\nreturn to the bosom of their most loving mother, to have recourse to us,\nwho, with God\u2019s assistance, will do whatever is best calculated to secure\ntheir salvation.\u201d\n\nAs regards some of these highly important matters, the wishes of the Holy\nFather were acceded to by the Russian Emperor. The bishop of Kherson was\nallowed a second suffragan. It was also regulated that matrimonial and\nother ecclesiastical causes, whether in Russia proper or in the kingdom of\nPoland, should, on appeal from a sentence pronounced by the ordinary, be\nheard before the tribunal of the metropolitan, or before the more\nneighboring bishop, in case of judgment having been first given by the\nmetropolitan. Such causes, in the event of final appeal, should be\nreferred to Rome\u2014to the tribunal of the Apostolic See.\n\nIn considering, at some length, the Concordat with Russia, and the more\nfavorable terms by which it was followed, we learn what hopes may be\nentertained as regards the spiritual well-being of the more numerous\nCatholics, Armenians and others, who will now, in all probability, come\nunder the sway of Russia.(2)\n\n(M23) The Society of the Holy Ghost had labored successfully in France,\nthe Indies, Canada, China, Acadia, or Nova Scotia, the islands, Miquelon\nand St. Peter. In the countries referred to, there were bishops, vicars\napostolic, of this society, and several missionary priests. In Cayenne and\nFrench Guiana, they maintained an apostolic prefect and twenty\nmissionaries apostolic. The troubles of the French revolution all but\nextinguished this zealous and influential missionary society. It was\nrevived in the year 1848, under the auspices of Pius IX., and resumed its\nlabors under the title of Society of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate\nHeart of Mary. During the negotiations which led to the restoration of\nthis society, the Vicariate Apostolic of Madagascar became vacant by the\ndeath of Bishop Dalton. Abbe Monnet, Superior of the Society of the Holy\nGhost, was appointed to succeed him, and Rev. Abbe Liebermann, a\ndistinguished convert from Judaism, was unanimously elected to the post of\nsuperior-general of the two united societies. The labors of Abbe\nLiebermann were crowned with complete success. In 1850, the Holy Father,\nin order to confirm and perpetuate the fruit of so much apostolic labor,\nerected three bishoprics\u2014one in the low country of Guadeloupe, another at\nFort Francis, in Martinica, and a third at St. Denis, of Bourbon Island.\nThe eminent convert died in 1852, after having had the satisfaction to\nbehold such great developments of his missionary work. The death of the\nfirst superior-general did not, by any means, retard the increase of the\nnew society. On the contrary, new blessings seemed to descend upon it.\nUnder the guidance of the second superior, the Abbe Schwindenhammer, who\nhad been the friend and confidential counsellor of the first, the society\ncame to be as an order of three choirs\u2014Fathers, Friars, Sisters. To the\nRev. Fathers, who were missionaries apostolic, the Father of the great\nChristian Family, Pius IX., assigned a field of labor, a hundred times\nmore extensive than the land which was promised of old to the children of\nIsrael\u2014a territory from eleven to twelve hundred leagues in length, and\nbroad in proportion. The friars were lay missionaries, whose duty it was\nto assist the Rev. Fathers, teach the neophytes the arts of Christian\ncivilization, and change the deserts, the wild forest lands and dismal\nswamps, into smiling fields. A brother, who is a printer, has already\ndeparted for those missions, carrying with him a complete set of types.\nThe sisters, in order to draw down the mercy of heaven on the negro lands,\ndevote themselves to prayer, works of charity and self-denial, perpetual\nadoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the continual offering of\nthemselves in sacrifice for the salvation of the souls that are most\nneglected. They would even, if it were the call of heaven, repair to\nAfrica, and found there religious communities, in order to confirm the\ngood work commenced by the missionaries. So early as their first year,\n1852, they had established two or three houses in France. This great\nmissionary society came into existence at a singularly opportune moment,\nand none can tell what an important part it may bear in carrying the light\nof Christianity into that benighted Africa which modern discovery, the\ndiscovery of our age, the age of Pius IX., is now throwing open to the\nmany blessed influences of civilization.\n\nIn the early days of the Pontificate of Pius IX., the Guinea missions\nextended over regions of negro-land nine hundred leagues from east to\nwest, and seven hundred leagues from north to south, with a coast-line of\neleven hundred leagues. These African countries are very populous; and\nthere are towns of 20,000, 30,000, and even 60,000 inhabitants. The\ngreatest barbarism prevails. With the exception of a few Mahometans in\nSanegambia, the people are idolators. They are also cannibals, and human\nsacrifices are frequent. Polygamy is one of their vices, and those on the\nsea coast of Guinea have learned many others from contact with Europeans,\nsuch as hard drinking and all kinds of excess. Their women are in a\ndegraded condition, doing all the drudgery, and not being admitted to an\nequality with their husbands. Notwithstanding all this, the missionaries\ngive them a high character. They bear pain with fortitude, and have a\nhorror of slavery, although so many of them are reduced to servitude by\ngreedy traders. A sea captain once offered a negro any amount of money, on\ncondition that he should become his slave. \u201cAll the gold your ship could\nhold,\u201d said the spirited African, \u201cis no price for my liberty.\u201d They are\nvery sensitive, grateful, and even affectionate towards those who befriend\nthem. To the missionaries they always showed hospitality; and the peaceful\nexplorer, Livingstone, and his friends generally met with the same\nkindness. If it was otherwise with the adventurous discoverer, Stanley, he\nowed the hostility with which he was often received by the African tribes\nto the armed force by which he was accompanied, and his determination to\ntraverse their countries, whether they liked it or not. They listened\nattentively to the missionaries, and this circumstance induced these\nexcellent persons to express the belief that, with proper precautions,\nthey may be induced to embrace the Christian faith. Many things have\noccurred, in the course of this favored age, to encourage this hope for\nthe future welfare of so many millions of the human race. Science has\nthrown its light into the hitherto dark regions of Central Africa, where\nno European had, as yet, been able to penetrate. The petty and corrupting\ntraffic on the coasts will speedily expand into wide extended and\nimproving commerce. The slave trade is gradually diminishing, and must,\nere long, disappear under the blessed influences, more active than ever,\nwhich are now at work; the whole church is moved by the edifying\nnarratives of zealous missionaries; and the countenance of the Apostolic\nSee is willingly bestowed on missionary effort. So, it is not too much to\nsay that, with such auspicious commencements in the age of Pius IX., the\ndays of some future Pontiff, at no very distant epoch, will be blessed to\nbehold Africa, so long neglected, happily, at length, brought within the\npale of Christianity and civilization.\n\nThe missionaries speak of a Prince, whose history, if related by less\ntrustworthy parties, could not fail to be considered fabulous. His\nterritory is situated on the river Gabon. He speaks English and French\nfluently, as well as an African dialect called _Boulou_. He is a man of\ngentle and polished manners, and possesses the self-control of the most\naccomplished European. In point of sobriety, he is equal to the best of\nEuropeans. He never drinks intoxicating liquor, and forbids his children\nto use it. He is beloved by his subjects, and respected by the neighboring\ntribes, who hold with him commercial and friendly relations. He shows\ngreat friendship to the missionaries, and takes great delight in assisting\nthem. A good bishop is also mentioned, whose horror of the slave trade was\nsuch that he would not allow a negro to serve him. In addition to the\nmission-house, which is a solid stone building, there is also a seminary,\nwhere some of the native youth are educated for the duties of the\nChristian priesthood. The aboriginal populations receive the bishop and\nthe heads of the missions with extraordinary honors. The salubrity of the\nclimate is favorably spoken of, being nowise inferior to that of France.\nEverything appeared to favor the Guinea missions in the early years of the\nPontificate of Pius IX. With the aid of continued countenance and\nencouragement, they cease not to be developed every day more and more\nthroughout the vast countries extending from Senegambia to the Equator. At\nJoal and St. Mary of Gambia, there were flourishing missions so early as\n1852. In 1850 M. L\u2019Abbe Arlabosse founded a mission at Galam, 150 leagues\nin the interior of Senegal. Another mission was successfully established\nat Grand Bassam, in 1851. The printing press, already referred to, has\ncontributed powerfully to facilitate missionary work. Seven diverse\nlanguages are now taught, viz.: Wolof, Serer, Saracole, Abule, Mpongue,\nBingue and Balu, or Boulou.\n\nIt is somewhat remarkable that in all the countries connected as colonies\nwith Great Britain, where Protestantism is so persistently adhered to,\nthere should prevail the greatest liberty as regards the exercise of the\nCatholic religion. Thus, Cape Colony (Cape of Good Hope) was no sooner\ntransferred from the rule of Holland to that of Britain than the Holy\nFather was enabled to extend his care to the Catholics of that remote\nland. A bishop was appointed, and missions speedily established. There are\nnow three bishops, vicars apostolic, at Cape Town, Graham\u2019s Town, Natal.\nThe islands Mauritius and Bourbon, each of which has a population of more\nthan 100,000 souls, share the solicitude of the church and its august\nHead. They are not both equally favored by their civil rulers. The former\nwas annexed to Great Britain in 1810. The Holy Father provides for its\nspiritual welfare, confiding its administration to a bishop and a\nsufficient number of priests, all of whom receive salaries from the\ngovernment. The bishops hitherto have been members of the illustrious\norder of St. Benedict, and some of them have enjoyed a high reputation in\nthe church, such as the learned and eloquent Bishop Morris, and the pious\nand accomplished Bishop Collier. Bourbon Island, until of late, 1850, when\na bishop was appointed, had not been so fortunate. An eminent French\nwriter rather satirically remarks, that it would have to wait until France\nceded all her colonies to the British. There are, however, some priests\nwho, together with the bishop, minister to the spiritual wants of the\npeople. Great efforts have been made to establish missions in the large\nand populous Island of Madagascar, which, according to geographers, is\n1,000 miles in length.\n\nThe priests of the congregation of St. Vincent of Paul, as zealous now as\nin the days of their illustrious founder, have penetrated into Abyssinia,\nand are laboring to bring about a complete reconciliation of that once\neminently Christian nation to the church of Pius IX. The \u00c6thiopian may\nnot, indeed, change his skin. But, according to the reports of the\nmissionaries, these people are changing their ideas, and giving proofs of\na disposition to return to the centre of Christian unity. Everywhere the\nmissionaries are received with kindness by princes and people, and favored\nwith a respectful hearing.\n\nSo great is the reverence of the nations of the Turkish Empire for the\ncharacter of the Pope, that one would say that he had a Concordat with\nthose nations and their chiefs. The legate of the Holy See, Archbishop\nAuvergne, of Iconium, was received with the greatest honor by the\nSovereign of \u00c6gypt, on occasion of his legation to that country and Syria.\nA Catholic bishop was established at Alexandria, a city so intimately\nassociated with the memory of Saint Athanasius. His jurisdiction extends\nover the \u00c6thiopian countries, and this circumstance, considering their\nrelations in bygone ages with the Patriarchs of Alexandria, facilitates\ntheir communion with the centre of unity. The Catholic bishop of Cairo,\nassisted by thirty priests, so long ago as 1840, governed a flock of\nnearly twenty thousand Copts of the ancient race of \u00c6gypt. This body of\nfaithful Christians is daily increasing, by the adherence of other Copts\nwho had fallen into the Eutichyan heresy, more from want of instruction\nthan obstinacy. Nothing could surpass the generosity of the Khedive\ntowards the church. He presented to the Pope several marble columns, for\nthe restoration of the Basilica of St. Paul at Rome, and built for the\nmissionaries and sisters of St. Vincent de Paul a college, schools, and an\nhospital in the city of Alexandria. At Tunis and Tripoli there are 7,000\nCatholics, who are ministered to by nine priests of the order of St.\nFrancis. So early as 1840, Sisters of Charity went from France in order to\nestablish a community at Tunis, with the full concurrence of the Mussulman\ngovernment.\n\nIt is well known that as soon as a French colony was founded at Algiers, a\nbishop was appointed. That African Christendom, so happily commenced,\nstill prospers, and extends its labors under the auspices of the august\nHead of the church. It is consoling to observe that there are so many\nnascent and even flourishing churches around the vast continent of Africa,\nfrom Senegambia and Sierra Leone, by the Cape of Good Hope, the islands on\nthe south-east coast, \u00c6thiopia and \u00c6gypt, to the gates of Hercules. They\nstand there as sentinels, ready to intimate the moment when the army of\nthe Cross may penetrate to the central continent, and conquer new kingdoms\nto the cause of Christ. This is surely not too much to hope for in an age\nwhen science has done so much, and commerce, that great handmaid of\ncivilization, is opening a highway to the darkest recesses of the wide and\nlong-lost heathen land.\n\n(M24) Some serious-minded Catholics of Germany, dreading lest a national\nor schismatical church should come to be established in that country,\nconceived the happy idea of organizing, under the auspices of Pius IX.,\nassociations of laymen, who made it their duty to assist the clergy in\neverything that could tend to improve morals and education, relieve\nsuffering, and restore the liberty and rights of the church, whilst they\nstudied, at the same time, to impart a spirit of faith to the pursuits of\nscience, the arts, and even the more humble occupations of trade. The\nchief founder of these associations, Mr. Francis Joseph Busz, has written\na book, in which he shows what progress they had already made in 1851, and\nwhat it still remained for them to accomplish. They continued to prosper,\nand gave birth to associations of a like nature. Thus, at Cologne, Abbe\nKolping, Vicar of the Cathedral, founded a society of _Catholic\nCompanions_, the object of whose institute was, that they should spend\ntheir leisure hours together in a Christian manner, and increase the\nknowledge suited to their state of life, instead of losing their time,\ntheir money and their morals in taverns. By the year 1852, such\nassociations of workmen had taken root in no fewer than twenty-five cities\nin Germany.\n\nEver since the Thirty Years\u2019 War, Germany had been distracted by religious\ndivisions. And yet the sectarian spirit does not appear to have been so\nbitter as in some other countries. There was at least a desire for\nreligious peace and union. This is sufficiently expressed in the articles\nof the treaty of Westphalia, which seems to have been intended as a\ntemporary arrangement for the pacification of the country, until peace\nshould be permanently established \u201cby the agreement of all parties on\npoints of religion;\u201d \u201cuntil all controversies should be terminated by an\namicable and universal understanding.\u201d \u201cBut if, which God forbid! people\ncannot come to such amicable agreement on the controverted points of\nreligion, that this convention shall, nevertheless, be perpetual, and this\npeace always continue.\u201d Thus was the great treaty only a preliminary of\nthat lasting peace which can only be finally concluded when all minds and\nhearts are united in the bonds of a common faith.\n\nWhilst many good men labored to bring about this most desirable end,\nothers, such as Frederic of Prussia, and Joseph II. of Austria, by\nill-advised measures, and the countenance which they gave to unsound and\neven irreligious doctrines, sowed the seeds of anarchy and unbelief, which\nfailed not, in due time, to produce fruit according to their kind, and\nwell-nigh accomplished the overthrow of society as well as that of the\nChristian Church. The Austrian Emperor appears to have understood the\nsituation, and has generally maintained friendly relations with the Chief\nPastor. Germany, besides, has not been without able and pious men, who\nhave nobly sustained the cause of Truth and Union. Among these are\nparticularly deserving of honorable mention the Counts Stolberg, father\nand son, whose writings have exercised a salutary influence. Whilst many\nother noble laymen contributed, like them, to the regeneration of their\ncountry, others, who were noble only in the ranks of literature and\nscience, vied in their efforts with the learned of noble birth. The elder\nG\u0153rres headed the Catholic movement when Prussia so cruelly persecuted the\nArchbishop of Cologne. So good an example was not lost on the son. The\nyounger G\u0153rres ceased not to emulate his worthy parent until the day of\nhis death, in 1852. Another distinguished author, who, by his writings,\ngreatly contributed to inform and encourage the Catholics of Germany, was\nMr. Francis Joseph Busz, already mentioned in connection with the\nassociations of Pius IX. He was a native of Baden, and an Aulic Counsellor\nof the Grand Duke. He had also been a member of the great National\nParliament, which assembled at Frankfort for the purpose of restoring\nGerman unity. The best-known of his works are: _Catholic Association of\nGermany, and the necessity of reform in the instruction and education of\nthe Catholic secular clergy of Germany_. Some of his remarks may be\nappropriately quoted, as they throw light on the present (1877-78) state\nof Germany, and explain in great measure the extraordinary relations\nbetween Church and State in the New German Empire: \u201cThe year 1848 proved\nto us Germans that we could not rely on our governments. Both diplomacy\nand bureaucracy are, and will remain, incorrigible. Our misery is, indeed,\ngreat. Dissension prevails among our good citizens; the ill-meaning are\nunited. The Revolutionary War of 1848 and 1849 was a war of principles,\nbut without results. It was repressed, but not exhausted. It keeps alive\nunder the appearances by which it is concealed. The inexhaustible volcano\nis at work amongst us, not only since 1848, but for three hundred years.\nThe abjuration of law, and even of all principle of right, is only the\nform or expression; the essence of our malady is the denial of God and His\nChurch. The revolution is apostacy, the disunion of the nation is schism,\nits anarchy Atheism. Whoever, like myself, has witnessed the public\nnegotiations of Germany, knows full well that the political struggle was,\nfor a long time, and particularly for the last three years, a contest\nbetween the religious confessions. Such evolutions of evil possess a\ncertain life, although it be only that which leads to dissolution. They\nspring one from another, and the new growth is always an improvement on\nthat by which it was preceded. I say it with sorrow. The strife of\npolitical parties comes at last to be civil war, which, in its turn,\nbecomes a religious war, and such war soon grows to a war of unbelief\nagainst Faith, of antichrist against Christ. The end is not uncertain.\nChrist will be victorious; for it is appointed that the power of hell\nshall not prevail.\u201d In such a state of things the first duty of German\nCatholics is that they be united. It is necessary that the German church\nshould remain in intimate union with the Holy Apostolic See, relinquishing\nall pretension to be a separate National Church.\n\nThe aspiration of our author, so warmly expressed in 1850, that the German\nEpiscopate should, in mind and action, be one body in the nation, acting\nand suffering together, appears, in these later days, to have been\nrealized. It was also his firm conviction that it behooved them to labor\nto obtain complete liberty of action for the church, particularly in\nforming an exemplary clergy, both in the lesser and greater seminaries, as\nwell as in those higher institutions, the German universities. Neither\nshould the laity fail in the fulfilment of all Christian and charitable\nduties.\n\n(M25) It is well known that, in ancient times, no countries in the world\nwere more Catholic than Spain and and Portugal. The great wealth and power\nand glory to which they attained was, one would say, a mark of Heaven\u2019s\napprobation. Wealth, however, is a dangerous possession. In the countries\nreferred to it induced corruption and degeneracy. Principles of anarchy\ncame to be disseminated, devolution on revolution followed. The authority\nof the Chief Pastor was resisted. The ministers of religion and the\nreligious orders were treated with contempt\u2014were persecuted in lands where\nthey had been so long cherished and revered. The children of a corrupt\nnobility were sent to govern the provinces and churches of the falling\nEmpire. The result was, it is superfluous to say, the decline of\nreligion\u2014the overthrow of the once flourishing churches of Spain and\nPortugal. And yet were they not destined to perish wholly. A remnant was\nleft; and it was appointed that this remnant should take root and fructify\nin a soil which trials and persecution had prepared for a new growth. It\nwas reserved for the age of Pius IX. to behold Spain and Portugal renew\ntheir early fervor. They have returned to the centre of Catholic unity;\nand in both countries arrangements have been entered into for staying the\nspoliation of ecclesiastical property, appointing learned and edifying\nbishops to the vacant Sees, restoring seminaries and clerical education.\nThe clergy, who had been infected more or less by the Jansenist heresy,\nnow purified in the crucible of persecution, have resumed the sound\ndoctrines and the heroic virtues of the apostolic men who will ever be the\nbrightest glory of their land\u2014Thomas of Villa-Nova, Francis Xavier,\nIgnatius of Loyola, Peter of Alcantara, Francis Borgia, St. John of the\nCross, and Saint Theresa. The Holy See, with the concurrence of the\nSpanish Government, has organized anew the churches of Spain. In the\nconsistory of 3rd July, 1848, Pope Pius IX. instituted bishops for the\nfollowing Sees: Segovia and Calahorra, in Old Castile; Tortosa and Vich,\nin Catalonia; Porto Rico, in North America; Cuenca and St. Charles de\nAucud de Chil\u0153, in South America. This last-named diocese, at the time of\nthe appointment, was newly erected.\n\n(M26) From the epoch of the \u201cReformation,\u201d when the ancient Catholic\nhierarchy of England, which had been so successfully founded by St.\nAugustine and the disciples of St. Columba, was swept away, until the year\n1850, the church was missionary, and governed, as missions usually are, by\nprefects, who may be arch-priests, or vicars-apostolic, with episcopal\ntitles. Until the year 1625, the English mission was under the guidance of\nan arch-priest. In that year Pope Gregory II. appointed a vicar-apostolic\nfor all England. Circumstances appearing favorable to the church after the\naccession of King James II., Pope Innocent XI. placed the English mission\nunder the spiritual charge of four vicars-apostolic, who were bishops,\nwith titles taken from churches, _in partibus infidelium_. The country\nwas, at the same time, divided into four missionary districts\u2014the London,\nthe Eastern, the Midland and the Western. The numbers of Catholics having\ngreatly increased during the early portion of the present century, the\nHoly Father, Gregory XVI., took into consideration the new requirements\nthat had arisen, by letters apostolical, of date 3rd July, 1840, made a\nnew ecclesiastical division of the English counties, and doubled the\nnumber of vicars-apostolic. There were now eight districts under the\nspiritual jurisdiction of these vicars-apostolic, who governed and were\ngoverned by the wise constitutions given to their predecessors by Pope\nBenedict XIV. Meanwhile, the state of the Catholics of England was rapidly\nimproving. Relieved of so many of their disabilities by the gracious Act\nof 1829, there were no longer any serious legal impediments to the\nlegitimate development of their church. It grew accordingly, and by the\nyear 1840 had become comparatively flourishing. It possessed many stately\nchurches, eight or ten important colleges, the buildings of which were of\na high order of architecture; numerous charitable institutions, each of\nconsiderable extent; over six hundred public churches or chapels, and\neight hundred clergy. Many of the most ancient families of the land were\namong its devoted adherents, and it also claimed a not unequal share of\nthe intellect and learning, the literary and scientific distinction of the\ncountry. Many of the British colonies had already been favored, and not\nwithout the full concurrence of the Imperial government, with that more\nsuitable and normal state of church government, which depends on the\ninstitution of bishops in ordinary. Was the Mother Country, the seat of\nempire, whose church was so much more developed than that of any of the\ncolonies, alone to be deprived of so great an advantage? Were the\nCatholics of England, who were certainly in no respect behind the rest of\ntheir fellow-countrymen, even in an age of light and improvement, to rest\nsatisfied with a primitive state of things, when a broader, a more free,\nand in every way a more beneficial system of spiritual rule was within\ntheir reach? The Chief Pastor was willing to inaugurate such rule,\nprovided that he found, on examination, that it was suited to the\nspiritual state and religious wants of the Catholic people. There was\nnothing, besides, in the legislation of the country that could be called\nan impediment to a new and better condition of ecclesiastical government.\n\n(M27) For some time the Catholics of England had desired that their church\nshould enjoy the advantage of being governed by bishops in ordinary. So\nearly as the year 1834, they petitioned the Holy See to this effect. At\nthat time, however, nothing was concluded. In 1847 the vicars-apostolic\nassembled in London, and deputed two of their number to bear a petition to\nthe Holy Father, earnestly praying for the long-desired boon. It was\ncraved, not as a mark of triumphant progress, far less as an act of\naggression on the law-established church, but simply in order to afford\ngreater facility for the administration of the affairs of the church, and\nmore effectually to promote the edification of the Catholic people. The\nexisting code of government had been adopted about a hundred years before,\nwhen heavy penal laws, together with endless disabilities, were in force,\nand religious liberty was unknown. Part of this code had been repealed by\nPope Gregory XVI. But it still tended to embarrass rather than to aid and\nguide. Since Emancipation, in 1829, the Catholic church had greatly\nexpanded, and the bishops, vicars-apostolic, were in a situation of great\ndifficulty, as they were most anxious to be guarded against arbitrary\ndecisions by fixed rules, whilst as yet none were provided for them. No\ndoubt the system of church government by vicars-apostolic could have been\namended and made more suitable to the altered circumstances of the church.\nBut it would have been necessarily complicated, and at best could only\nhave been a temporary arrangement. It was thought expedient, therefore,\nthat the ordinary mode of church government should be extended to the\nCatholic church in England, in as far as was compatible with its social\nposition. It was, accordingly, necessary that there should be a hierarchy.\nThe canon law could not be applied under vicars-apostolic, nor could\nprovincial synods be held, however necessary their action might be,\nwithout a metropolitan and suffragan bishops. The vicars-apostolic\npetitioned only with a view to improve the internal organization of the\nchurch. They had no idea of attacking any other body, and surely never\ndreamt of rivalry with the established Anglican church. What they did,\nbesides, was perfectly within the law, and according to the rights of\nliberty of conscience. The Holy Father kindly listened to the petition,\nand referred it for further consideration to the congregation of\nPropaganda. When every point was carefully examined, and objections\nsatisfactorily replied to, the favor petitioned for was granted.\nDifficulties having been started in regard to some matter of detail, the\npublication of the new code of church administration was delayed. These\ndifficulties were removed the following year by Bishop Ullathorne. But the\nmeasure was again retarded by the revolution which broke out at Rome in\n1848. The delay was not without its uses. It gave time to the statesmen of\nEngland to become acquainted with and consider the measure of reform which\nwas proposed for adoption in the internal organization of the Catholic\nchurch in England. It was officially communicated to them when printed, in\n1848. They made no objection. And yet, when it was promulgated in 1850,\ntheir chief spoke of it, in his ill-timed letter to the Bishop of Durham,\nas \u201cinsolent and insidious.\u201d For many an age to come, Catholics will read\nwith astonishment that so inoffensive an act of the Holy See, done at the\nrequest of the Catholic bishops of England, and in the interest of the\nCatholic people, at the time some seven millions in number, should have\nexcited the anger of so great a portion of the English nation. The isle\nwas literally frighted from its propriety. From the Queen on her throne to\nthe humblest villager, all were seized with sudden and unaccountable fear,\nas if the monarchy had been threatened with immediate overthrow. The\nQueen, in terror, called her Council of State around her. But her chief\nadviser, a weak-minded old man, had very little comfort to bestow. He\ncould only help her Majesty\u2019s bishops to inflame the public mind. In all\nconscience, they had done quite enough in this direction without his\nassistance. The spirit of bigotry was enkindled, and the clergy, with\ntheir chiefs, gave proof of their bitter hostility through every newspaper\nof the land. This acrimonious opposition was, however, chiefly confined to\nthe ministers of the church by law established. They believed, or\npretended to believe, that the titles and legal rights of their bishops\nwere aimed at, whilst, in reality, care had been taken to avoid offending\nthem, or violating the law, by conferring on the new bishops the titles of\nthe ancient Sees which were held by the established church. It is\nimpossible to mention anything connected with the establishment of the\nhierarchy which can at all explain the violence of the bishops and clergy\ngenerally of the establishment. The popular commotion arose from\nmisconception and the absurd falsehoods that were industriously\ndisseminated. The masses were still raging, when Dr. Wiseman, who had just\nbeen raised to the dignity of Cardinal, published an appeal to the people\nof England, in which he showed that the measure which had occasioned so\nmuch disturbance concerned only the internal organization of the Catholic\nchurch, that the Pope had not sought such a measure, but had only acceded\nto it at the earnest request of the bishops, vicars-apostolic of England:\nthat there was nothing connected with it contrary to the laws of the\ncountry, or that could not be reconciled with liberty of conscience, which\nwas now so completely and generally recognized. It was as ridiculous as it\nwas illiberal to heap torrents of abuse on the Pope, as if he had sought\nto usurp the rights of the Crown, or seize on the territory and revenues\nof the established Anglican church. As for himself, he was reviled because\nhe had received the title of Archbishop of Westminster, whilst, in\nreality, as regarded the church of that name, and any territory or\nproperty connected with it, it was only an empty title. He was to be\nmetropolitan. The title of London was inhibited by law. Southwark was to\nbe itself a diocese. To have taken the title of a subordinate portion of\nthe great metropolis, such as Finsbury or Islington, would only have\nexcited ridicule, and caused the new episcopate to be jeered at.\nWestminster was naturally selected, although not by himself, as giving an\nhonorable and well-known title. He was glad that it was chosen, not\nbecause it was the seat of the courts of law, or of parliament, but\nbecause it brought the real point of the controversy more clearly and\nstrikingly before the opponents of the hierarchy. \u201cHave we, in anything,\nacted contrary to law? And if not, why are we to be blamed?\u201d But he\nrejoiced, also, for another reason. The chapter of Westminster had been\nthe first to protest against the new archiepiscopal title, as though some\npractical attempt at jurisdiction within the Abbey had been intended. To\nthis more than absurd charge, the Cardinal eloquently replied: \u201cThe\ndiocese, indeed, of Westminster, embraces a large district, but\nWestminster proper consists of two very different parts. One comprises the\nstately Abbey, with its adjacent palaces and its royal parks. To this\nportion the duties and occupations of the dean and chapter are mainly\nconfined, and they shall range there undisturbed. To the venerable old\nchurch I may repair, as I have been wont to do. But perhaps the dean and\nchapter are not aware, that were I disposed to claim more than the right\nto tread the Catholic pavement of that noble building, and breathe its air\nof ancient consecration, another might step in with a prior claim. For\nsuccessive generations there has existed ever, in the Benedictine order,\nan Abbot of Westminster, the representative in religious dignity of those\nwho erected and beautified and governed that church and cloister. Have\nthey ever been disturbed by this titular? Have they heard of any claim or\nprotest on his part touching their temporalities? Then let them fear no\ngreater aggression now. Like him, I may visit, as I have said, the old\nAbbey, and say my prayer by the shrine of good St. Edward, and meditate on\nthe olden times, when the church filled without a coronation and\nmultitudes hourly worshipped without a service. But in their temporal\nrights, or their quiet possession of any dignity and title, they will not\nsuffer. Whenever I go in I will pay my entrance fee, like other liege\nsubjects, and resign myself meekly to the guidance of the beadle, and\nlisten without rebuke when he points out to my admiration detestable\nmonuments, or shows me a hole in the wall for a confessional. Yet this\nsplendid monument, its treasures of art and its fitting endowments, form\nnot the parts of Westminster which will concern me; for there is another\npart which stands in frightful contrast, though in immediate contact with\nthis magnificence. In ancient times the existence of an abbey in any spot,\nwith a large staff of clergy and ample revenues, would have sufficed to\ncreate around it a little paradise of comfort, cheerfulness and ease.\nThis, however, is not now the case. Close under the Abbey of Westminster\nthere lie concealed labyrinths of lanes and courts, and alleys and slums,\nnests of ignorance, vice, depravity and crime, as well as of squalor,\nwretchedness and disease; whose atmosphere is typhus, whose ventilation is\ncholera; in which swarms a huge and almost countless population, in great\nmeasure, nominally, at least, Catholic; haunts of filth which no sewerage\ncommittee can reach; dark corners which no lighting board can brighten.\nThis is the part of Westminster which alone I covet, and which I shall be\nglad to claim and to visit, as a blessed pasture in which sheep of Holy\nChurch are to be tended, in which a bishop\u2019s godly work has to be done, of\nconsoling, converting and preserving. And if, as I humbly trust in God, it\nshall be seen that this special culture, arising from the establishment of\nour hierarchy, bears fruits of order, peacefulness, decency, religion and\nvirtue, it may be that the Holy See shall not be thought to have acted\nunwisely, when it bound up the very soul and salvation of a Chief Pastor\nwith those of a city, whereof the name, indeed, is glorious, but the\npurlieus infamous\u2014in which the very grandeur of its public edifices is as\na shadow to screen from the public eye sin and misery the most appalling.\nIf the wealth of the Abbey be stagnant, and not diffusive; if it in no way\nrescue the neighboring population from the depths in which it is sunk, let\nthere be no jealousy of any one who, by whatever name, is ready to make\nthe latter his care, without interfering with the former.\u201d\n\nIn the passage which follows, the established clergy are rather\nunceremoniously handled; and not undeservedly, for there can be no doubt\nthat their reckless diatribes in the pulpit, on the platform, and in the\npress, were the chief cause of the unhallowed uproar which attended the\npublication of the new and much-needed organization of the Catholic church\nin England. It certainly was not their fault if the country was not\ndisgraced by deeds of violence. In one or two places, indeed, such things\nwere attempted. At a town in the north of England, where there is a\nCatholic mission, a mob of excited people threatened the chapel and\npriest\u2019s house. The presence of a counter-mob from a neighboring colliery\nspeedily restored tranquillity. In another town a crowd of the unwashed\nwere proceeding to burn the Pope and Cardinal in effigy, when these august\npersons were wisely seized by order of the magistrates, and, with some of\ntheir unruly escort, secured within the prison walls. Although a few\n_hired_ ruffians could attempt such things (it is known that those last\nnamed were hired), the English people were far from contemplating anything\nlike violence. So it is with no small pleasure that is here recorded the\nhigh compliment paid to them in the following eloquent passage of Cardinal\nWiseman\u2019s appeal: \u201cI cannot conclude,\u201d he says towards the end, \u201cwithout\none word on the part which the clergy of the Anglican church have acted in\nthe late excitement. Catholics have been their principal theological\nopponents, and we have carried on our controversies with them temperately,\nand with every personal consideration. We have had no recourse to popular\narts to debase them; we have never attempted, even when the current of\npublic opinion has set against them, to turn it to advantage, by joining\nin any outcry. They are not our members who yearly call for returns of\nsinecures or episcopal incomes; they are not our people who form\nantichurch-and-state associations; it is not our press which sends forth\ncaricatures of ecclesiastical dignitaries, or throws ridicule on clerical\navocations. With us the cause of truth and of faith has been held too\nsacred to be advocated in any but honorable and religious modes. We have\navoided the tumult of public assemblies and farthing appeals to the\nignorance of the multitude. But no sooner has an opportunity been given\nfor awakening every lurking passion against us than it has been eagerly\nseized by the ministers of the Establishment. The pulpit and the platform,\nthe church and the town hall, have been equally their field of labor; and\nspeeches have been made and untruths uttered, and calumnies repeated, and\nflashing words of disdain and anger and hate and contempt, and of every\nunpriestly and unchristian and unholy sentiment, have been spoken, that\ncould be said against those who almost alone have treated them with\nrespect. And little care was taken at what time or in what circumstances\nthese things were done. If the spark had fallen upon the inflammable\nmaterials of a gunpowder-treason mob, and made it explode, or, what was\nworse, had ignited it, what cared they? If blood had been inflamed and\narms uplifted, and the torch in their grasp, and flames had been\nenkindled, what heeded they? If the persons of those whom consecration\nmakes holy, even according to their own belief, had been seized, like the\nAustrian general, and ill-treated, and perhaps maimed, or worse, what\nrecked they? These very things were, one and all, pointed at as glorious\nsigns, should they take place, of high and noble Protestant feeling in the\nland, as proofs of the prevalence of an unpersecuting, a free, inquiring,\na tolerant gospel creed!\n\n\u201cThanks to you, brave and generous and noble-hearted people of England!\nwho would not be stirred up by those whose duty it is to teach you,\ngentlemen, meekness and forbearance, to support what they call a religious\ncause, by irreligious means; and would not hunt down, when bidden, your\nunoffending fellow-citizens, to the hollow cry of \u2018No Popery,\u2019 and on the\npretence of a fabled aggression.\u201d\n\nThe London _Times_ might well say, referring to this magnificent appeal,\nthat the Cardinal had at length spoken English. It was easy to mystify the\npeople in regard to theological utterances. They could be no longer\ndeceived now that the Chief of the new hierarchy had addressed them in\nround Saxon terms, about the meaning of which there could be no mistake.\nThe _appeal_ first published in the London _Times_ was reproduced in all\nthe newspapers of the country. The public mind was tranquillized, and very\nlittle was heard, afterwards, of the \u201cPapal aggression.\u201d The Prime\nMinister, however, was bound, for the sake of consistency, to do\nsomething. What he did was highly in favor of the hierarchy. It proved\nthat everything had been done according to law, simply by the fact that\nparliament was urged to make a new law by which everything that had been\ndone would be illegal. This was the famous Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. It\nwas designed to accomplish a great deal\u2014to extinguish for ever the\nCardinal Archbishop, and all the other newly-instituted bishops. It proved\nutterly futile\u2014_telum imbelle sine ictu_. The people could not be made to\nput down the Catholic institution; and religious liberty was so thoroughly\nrecognized that even an act of parliament was powerless against it.\n\n(M28) The new Sees constituted by the Letters Apostolical of 29th\nSeptember, 1850, were thirteen in number\u2014Westminster, the Metropolitan\nSee; Southwark, Hexham, Beverly, Liverpool, Salford, Shrewsbury, Newport,\nClifton, Plymouth, Nottingham, Birmingham and Northampton.\n\n(M29) At the time of the restoration of the English hierarchy, Dr. Wiseman\nwas created a Cardinal, not so much in honor of the important act to which\nit was his charge to give effect, as because the Holy Father having\nresolved on a creation of Cardinals so eminent a man could not be\noverlooked. At the accession of Pius IX. there were sixty-one living\nCardinals. Of these only nine were not Italians. When, on his return to\nRome, after his sojourn in the kingdom of Naples, he determined to add\nfourteen Cardinals to the Sacred College, only four of the prelates\nselected were natives of Italy. The rest were, at the time, the most\ndistinguished men of the Catholic world. Of this number Archbishop Geissel\nof Cologne was one, and the King of Prussia, more liberal than certain\nmagnates of England, thanked the Holy Father, in an autograph letter, for\nthe honor thus done to the Catholic church of his country. Since that time\nthe Prussian monarch appears to have changed his sentiments as well as his\nministry.\n\n(M30) Notwithstanding the noisy demonstrations in opposition to the\nCardinal Archbishop and his brother bishops, they were allowed to pursue\nin peace their labors of Christian zeal. The English grumbled, as is their\nwont. But discovering in time that they were neither attacked nor hurt,\nthe rights of liberty of conscience were respected, and no persecution\nfollowed what it was at first the fashion to call the \u201cPapal aggression.\u201d\n\n(M31) The Emancipation Bill of 1829, by which liberty of conscience, which\nwas so proudly called the birthright of every Englishman, was extended to\nCatholics, tended powerfully, no doubt, to promote the development of the\nCatholic church. It grew also by emigration from Catholic Ireland, and\nthere were some conversions occasionally from the Protestant ranks. It was\nnot, however, till the decade immediately preceding the restoration of the\nhierarchy, that there was a very marked and decided movement of the\neducated and learned men of England towards the Catholic church. It is not\nrecorded anywhere that Catholic missionaries or envoys of the Pope had\npenetrated into those sanctuaries of Protestant learning\u2014the celebrated\nuniversities of Oxford and Cambridge. There, at least, there was no \u201cPapal\naggression,\u201d and tract upon tract was issued from the press of those seats\nof learning, in which it was argued that the doctrines taught by the\nFathers of the first five centuries were the real Christian teaching which\nall men were bound to accept. It appeared to have escaped the learned men\nof Cambridge and Oxford that these were the very doctrines so\nperseveringly adhered to by the long-ignored and down-trodden Catholics of\nEngland.\n\nThis fact, however, flashed upon their minds at last, and they who were\nlights in the Anglican establishment, which had been so long surrounded by\na halo of worldly glory, and to be connected with which was a sure title\nto respectability, hesitated not to place themselves in communion with\nthose whose position as a church had been for so many generations like to\nthat of the early Christians who lurked in the catacombs of Rome. The\nclergy of the Catholic church in England, although they did not and could\nnot have inaugurated the Cambridge and Oxford movement, recognized its\nimportance, and freely seconded what it was beyond their power to\ninitiate. Foremost amongst those who were ever ready to afford comfort and\nencouragement to the able and inquiring men who sought the one true fold,\nwas the learned ecclesiastic of world-wide renown who, a little later,\nbore so conspicuous a part in the re-establishment of the sacred hierarchy\nin England. This highly-gifted divine was a willing worker in the great\nMaster\u2019s field. His labors were beyond even his great powers; and so his\ncareer, though brilliant, was comparatively short. The cause which he so\nwell sustained is one which cannot suffer an irreparable loss; and great\nwould be the joy of the pious and devoted Cardinal, so early snatched\naway, if it were given him to behold the rapid developments of the church\nwhich, in his day, he so ably and successfully upheld.\n\n(M32) If the increase of Catholics in England was rapid during the decade\nwhich preceded, it was much more so immediately alter the restoration of\nthe hierarchy. This event appears to have given a new impetus to the\ngrowth of the church and her salutary institutions. Religious communities\nmultiplied under the fostering care of the Cardinal Archbishop, and the\nencouragement which the Holy Father never ceased to afford. From 80, at\nthe accession of Pius IX., they rose to 367; and schools and colleges\nincreased from 500 to 1,300. The number of priests in Great Britain was\nmore than trebled. It grew from 820 to 1,968, whilst churches and chapels\nrose in proportion\u2014from 626 to 1,268. The number of dignitaries and other\nministers of the Church of England, by law established, who, within the\nsame period, embraced the Catholic faith, is estimated at over one\nthousand. There were, at the same time, numerous conversions among the\nlaity. All this, together with the natural growth of population and\nimmigration from Ireland, accounts for the increase of Catholics\nthroughout the British isles in the days of Pius IX., as well as for the\ngreat additions to the number of their clergy, churches, religious and\neducational institutions. Monsignore Capel ascribes these extraordinary\ndevelopments in great measure to the action of that section of the Church\nof England which is known as the High Church or Ritualist division of the\nEstablishment. This is true, no doubt, as regards any augmentation of the\nchurch through conversions from Protestantism, and the impetus given by\nthe movement towards Catholic union. \u201cIt is scarcely possible,\u201d says the\nRev. Monsignore Capel, \u201cto find a family in England that will not own that\none of its members, or, at least, some acquaintance, has relations with\nthe Catholic church, or observes some of the practices of that church,\nwhether it be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, auricular confession,\ndevotion to the Blessed Virgin, or veneration of the saints. This movement\nis of such powerful proportions, and possesses such vitality of action,\nthat no power on earth, no persecution on the part of Protestantism, the\ngovernment or the press, is able to suppress it. Catholics would never\nhave been able, themselves alone, to realize what is now accomplished by a\nsection of the established Anglican church. The members of this party, by\ntheir discourses in the pulpit, have familiarized the public mind with\nexpressions which Catholics never could have spread among the English\npeople to the same extent, such as altar and sacrifice, priest and\npriesthood, high mass, sacrament, penance, confession, &c. The movement\nhas produced this result. Many persons have become seriously religious,\nwho had been in the habit of considering that the service of God was only\na fitting employment for Sunday. In fine, the spirit of God which breathed\non the waters at the commencement is now passing over the British nation\nand impelling it towards Catholic truth.\u201d\n\nNot a few of those who were once distinguished ministers of the Anglican\nchurch are now officiating, with great acceptance, as Catholic priests. Of\nthe 264 priests of the diocese of Westminster, there are 40 who were\nmembers of the official or law church. There passed not a week, M. Capel\nassures us, that he did not receive four or five Ritualists into the\ncommunion of the Catholic church. This was no fruit of his labor and\nability, he modestly as well as truly declares. They were persons with\nwhom he had no relations whatsoever, until they came to him, their minds\nmade up, and expressed that serious determination which is so\ncharacteristic of them.\n\nThe publications of the celebrated statesman, Mr. Gladstone, although they\nhave not won for him reputation as a theologian, have, nevertheless,\npromoted the cause of Catholic theology. The opinions of so eminent a man\nwere naturally subjects of general discussion; and thus, whilst he opposed\nPius IX. and his decisions, he caused many, who would never probably have\nthought seriously of anything a Pope could say, to give their attention to\nmatters spiritual of the highest import. As regards his own theology, it\nis partly sound, partly the reverse. Whilst entirely misapprehending the\ndoctrine of infallibility, and denying what he conceives it to be, he\nvigorously maintains the indefectibility of the Catholic church, and\nacknowledges the claim of her pastors to \u201cdescent in an unbroken line from\nChrist and His apostles.\u201d Such is one of the powerful agents in the great\nmovement of the age. The most influential of all, however, was Pope Pius\nIX. himself. English people and Americans often sought his presence. And\nwho shall tell how many, after having conversed with him or his\nrepresentatives, have been disabused of their erroneous notions, or have\neven embraced the Catholic faith?\n\nOne chief cause of the remarkable development of the Catholic church in\nthe British isles, is the complete religious liberty which Catholics\nenjoy. This important fact was thoroughly recognized on occasion of the\ncelebration of the anniversary of O\u2019Connell in August, 1875, when a solemn\n_Te Deum_ was ordered in all the churches by the Cardinal Archbishop, in\nthanksgiving for the liberty of conscience which was so gloriously won for\nthe United Kingdom as well as Ireland and all the colonies. Pius IX. and\nthe whole Catholic world joined on the same occasion in acts of\nthanksgiving with the spiritual heirs of Sts. Patrick, Augustine, Columba\nand St. Thomas of Canterbury. It is a noteworthy fact that the number of\narchiepiscopal and episcopal sees, together with vicariates-apostolic,\n&c., created by Pius IX. throughout the British Empire, is not less than\none hundred and twenty-five.\n\n(M33) For three hundred years the Catholics of Holland were sorely tried\nby persecution. Until the time of the Concordat of 1827, they were\ngoverned by archpriests, whose superior or prefect resided at the Hague.\nWhen Holland was separated from Belgium, the king of the former country\nwisely resolved to act as a constitutional monarch. He was considerate as\nregarded his Catholic subjects. His successor, William II., to whom in\n1840 he resigned the crown, treated them with still greater benevolence.\nHe sought an understanding with the Holy See, and gave effect to the\nConcordat of 1827. Vicars-apostolic, invested with the episcopal\ncharacter, were now the chief pastors of the church of Holland. The king\nalso sanctioned the establishment of several religious communities, among\nthe rest the Society of Jesuits and the Liguorians. These arrangements\nwere joyfully accepted by the Catholics of Holland, and paved the way for\ngreater developments. These worthy people were, for a long time, believed\nto be few in number, and scarcely more than nominally Catholics. Relieved,\nat length, from the pressure of persecution, they astonished the world,\nnot only by their numbers, but also, and even more, by their zeal in the\ncause of religion. According to the census of 1840, they were nearly\none-half of the entire population of Holland. Total population, 2,860,450;\nProtestants, 1,700,275; Catholics, 1,100,616. The remainder was made up of\nJews and other dissenters. Thus were the Catholics of Holland as eleven to\nseventeen. Since that time they have not ceased to increase. Nor have they\nlost the high character which induced Pius IX., in 1853, to restore, the\nking concurring, their long-lost hierarchy. An archbishopric, Utrecht, and\nfour episcopal sees were established\u2014Harlem, Herzogenbosch, or Bois le\nDue, Breda and Roermonde. This wise and necessary measure was followed by\nan outburst of wrath on the side of the anti-Catholic party. But in\nHolland, as in England, it soon subsided, and left only the impression\nthat Protestants and other non-Catholic people claim an exclusive right to\nreligious liberty. Pius IX. never ceased to entertain a high opinion of\nthe good Catholics of Holland. \u201cAh!\u201d said he to visitors from that\ncountry, \u201ccould we ever forget that these single-minded, loyal, patient\nHollanders formed the majority of our soldiers, who were not native\nItalians, at Castelfidardo and Mentana.\u201d\n\n(M34) Whilst in the old world, wherever really free political institutions\nexisted, the spirit of persecution quailed before the recognized principle\nof religious liberty, in certain portions of the new it appeared to gain\nstrength, and to increase in the violence of its opposition to the liberty\nof the church. This was particularly the case in New Granada, where\npoliticians, without statesmanship or experience, imagined that they had\nmade their people free, when they succeeded in separating them from Spain\nand establishing a republic, in which the first principles of liberty were\nignored. It is not recorded that the clergy of New Granada sought to do\nviolence to any man\u2019s conscience, or ever thought of forcing any one to\naccept the Catholic creed. To say the least, they were too wise to\nattempt, thus to fill the church with hypocrites and secret enemies. Of\nsuch there were already too many in those societies which shun the light,\nand in the new world as actively as in the old intrigue and man\u0153uvre in\norder to overthrow every regular and legitimately established government.\nEven the republic of New Granada, which had been fashioned so much\naccording to their will, was far from perfect in their estimation, so long\nas the church was not completely subject to the state. So early as 1847,\nPius IX. addressed a fatherly remonstrance to the President of the New\nRepublic. It was of no avail. The evil continued. Anti-Catholic\nlegislation was coolly proceeded with. In 1850 the seminary of Bogota was\nconfiscated. The following year bishops were forbidden the visitation of\nconvents. Laws were enacted requiring that lay parishioners should elect\ntheir parish priests, and that canons should be appointed by the\nprovincial councils. The clergy were robbed of their proper incomes, and\nthe congress or parliament of the republic arrogated the right to\ndetermine what salaries they should enjoy as well as what duties they\nshould fulfil. This surely was nothing less than to reduce the church to\nbe nothing more than a department of the civil government. The church\ncould not so exist. Its principle and organization were from a higher\nsource. The Socialists and secret plotters fully understood that they were\nso, and that in this lay the secret of the church\u2019s power to promote\nvirtue and check the course of evil. It consisted, it appears, with their\nideas of justice and liberty, that the church should, if possible, be\ndeprived of this great and salutary moral power. So, whilst neither its\nmembers, generally, nor its clergy desired radical and subversive changes\nin the essential constitution of the church, the republican leaders\ndetermined that it should be completely revolutionized. The bishops and\npriests protested, with one voice, against such fundamental innovations.\nThe republicans, no less resolute, and, bent on their wicked purpose,\nimprisoned and banished the clergy. One dignitary alone showed weakness.\nHe was no other than the Vicar-Caputular of Antioquia. Pius IX. charitably\nrebuked him, and exhorted him to suffer courageously, like his brethren.\nThe persecution, meanwhile, was very sweeping. The Archbishop of Bogota,\nSenor Mosquera, and almost all the suffragan bishops, were driven from the\ncountry, so that there was scarcely a bishop left in the republic. It was\nnow speedily seen that the godless radicals had overdone their ungracious\nwork. The country was roused. The tide of popular indignation set in\nagainst the short-sighted politicians who persecuted the church, and they,\ndreading an insurrection, withdrew, with the best grace they could\ncommand, from the false position which they had so unwisely assumed.\n\n(M35) Whilst the spirit of persecution brooded gloomily over many\ncountries of the new world, its influence began to decline in those lands\nwhere for centuries the idea of liberty of conscience was unknown, where\neven the slightest toleration existed not. Those northern lights, those\nchampions in their day of Protestantism and \u201c_religious liberty_\u201d Gustavus\nWasa and Gustavus Adolphus, were not mistaken when they bequeathed to\ntheir country laws which were intended to be as unchangeable as those of\nthe Medes and Persians, and which forbade all Scandinavians, whether\nSwedes, Danes or Norwegians, under pain of death, to embrace the Catholic\nfaith. Those princes were wise in their generation. They understood the\npower of Truth; they knew that half measures were of no avail against it;\nand that in order to stifle it, even for a time, all the terrors of\nworldly tyranny must be brought into play. Their laws, more terrible than\nthe code of Draco, remained in force and without mitigation until a great\nrevolution had swept over Europe, and sent a military adventurer to fill\nthe regal seat of the formidable Wasas. In the time of Bernadotte (the\nDoct Baron), the infamous penal laws were relaxed. To become a Catholic\nnow only led to imprisonment or exile. Six ladies of Sweden, in defiance\nof this _milder_ law, came to profess the Catholic faith. They were tried,\ncondemned and sentenced to be banished from the country. The execution of\nthis barbarous sentence roused all Europe, and caused the abrogation of\nthe Swedish penal laws against religion. (M36) Thus was a new field laid\nopen to missionary zeal, and Pius IX., availing himself of so favorable a\nchange of circumstances, appointed a Catholic pastor missionary apostolic\nat Stockholm. This devoted priest labors assiduously and in the midst of\ndifficulties, but not without fruit. He contends, with all the success\nthat can be as yet expected, against prejudices hostile to the religion\nwhich brought civilization to the Scandinavian nations, and which have\nbeen accumulating for three centuries and a half.\n\n(M37) Denmark followed in the wake of Sweden. Within the first two years\nafter the abrogation of the cruel Danish penal code, there were six\nhundred conversions to the Catholic faith.\n\n(M38) The Catholic church in the recently-erected kingdom of Greece was\ngoverned by vicars-apostolic. It grieved King Otho, who, as is well known,\nwas of the Catholic royal family of Bavaria, to see his country treated as\nif it were a heathen land. It was not, however, till the time of his\nsuccessor, who is a son of the King of Denmark, that Pius the Ninth was\nable to establish a hierarchy in Greece. There is now an archbishop of\nAthens as well as an archbishop of Corfu.\n\n(M39) At a time when crime abounded, the governments of certain petty\nStates of Germany, instead of directing their energies towards its\nrepression, and so fulfilling one of the chief duties incumbent on the\nState, employed all the authority with which they were invested to\ndisorganize the church and destroy its salutary influence. As is usual,\nwhen States, forgetting the great objects for which they are entrusted\nwith the sword of justice, follow such a course, they attacked the\nministers of the church, banishing, imprisoning, thwarting and molesting\nthem in every possible way. In the Grand Duchy of Baden the civil\nauthorities arrogated the right to appoint parish priests and other\nmembers of the sacred ministry. They went so far as to endeavor to poison\nreligious instruction at its source, and declared that the students in\nCatholic seminaries must undergo, before ordination, an examination by\ncivil officials. This tyrannical law was courageously opposed by the\nvenerable archbishop, Vicary, of Friburg. (M40) Although eighty years of\nage, he was dragged before the courts, and placed like a criminal under\ncharge of the police. The faithful clergy were banished, imprisoned and\nfined. The Holy Father, with his usual zeal, remonstrated. It was to no\npurpose. At length the Catholics of Germany were roused. They could no\nlonger be indifferent. The day was come when the church, in her utmost\nneed, could not dispense with their assistance. All must now be for her or\nagainst her. The great majority flocked around her standard. Meanwhile,\nthe public offices in the churches were suspended. The bells and organs\nwere heard no more. Silence and death-like gloom overspread the land.\nBaden gave way. Wurtemberg, Hesse Cassel and Nassau, which had done their\nbest to follow in the wake of Baden, paused in their mad career. Thus,\nthroughout those lesser States peace reigned once more, and continued to\nreign in Germany until a greater State, Prussia, unwisely disturbed the\nreligious harmony which so happily prevailed. The chiefs of States,\nalarmed by the revolutionary spirit which spread, like contagion,\nthroughout Germany as well as the rest of Europe, adopted a more rational\npolicy. They encouraged the clergy to hold missions everywhere. They\ninvited the Liguorians and Jesuits, as well as the secular clergy, to\nassemble the people in the towns and throughout the country, knowing full\nwell that they would preach peace and concord no less than respect for\nproperty and life. These pastoral labors were attended with extraordinary\nsuccess. Faith, piety, and every virtue flourished among the Catholic\npeople. All honest Protestants were filled with admiration. Among the\nlatter there was also a remarkable movement. Some striking conversions\ntook place, especially in the higher and better educated classes of\nsociety. The Countess de Hahn, so renowned in the literary world for her\nwit, abilities, and fine writings, joined the Catholic church, and\npublished her reasons for so doing. Not satisfied with this step, she came\nto the town of Angers, in France, and placed herself as a novice under the\ndirection of the devout sisters of the Good Shepherd. It is on record\nalso, that a Protestant journalist of Mecklenburgh, in view of the\ncommotions which prevailed, and the anti-social doctrines which pervaded\nsociety, went so far as to declare that there was no other remedy for\nProtestant Germany than a return to the Catholic church. His remarks\nconclude with the following words, extraordinary words, indeed, when it is\nconsidered whence they proceed: \u201cForward, then, to Rome!\u201d\n\n(M41) In countries nearer the Holy City, and professing to be Catholic,\nthe venerable Pontiff found not such a source of consolation. Sardinia had\nbanished the archbishop of Turin. It not only refused to recall him, but\nadded to its list of exiles the archbishop of Cagliari. Many more bishops\nwere, at the same time, threatened with banishment. A professor in the\nRoyal University of Turin, encouraged by the government, attacked the\ndoctrine of the church, and was so bold as to deny, in public, that\nmatrimony is a sacrament. Pius IX. issued a condemnation of his\nanti-Catholic writings. The sentence did not move him. Nor did it stay the\nhand of the Sardinian government which was raised against the church and\nher institutions. It continued the preparation of its anti-marriage law.\nIn addition, accusations were laid against the clergy. The king himself,\nevading the real question at issue, accused them of disloyalty, and\ndeclared that they were warring against the monarchy. The Holy Father, in\nthe following letter to the king, distinctly set forth the real state of\nthe case:\n\n\n    \u201cIf by words provoking insubordination are meant the writings of\n    the clergy against the proposed marriage law, we declare, without\n    endorsing the language which some may have adopted, that in\n    opposing it the clergy simply did their duty. We write to your\n    Majesty that the law is not Catholic. Now, if the law is not\n    Catholic, the clergy are bound to warn the faithful, even though\n    by doing so they incur the greatest dangers. It is in the name of\n    Jesus Christ, whose Vicar, though unworthy, we are, that we speak,\n    and we tell your Majesty, in His sacred name, not to sanction this\n    law, which will be the source of a thousand disorders. We also beg\n    your Majesty to put a check to the press which is constantly\n    vomiting forth blasphemy and immorality. Your Majesty complains of\n    the clergy. But these last years the clergy have been persistently\n    outraged, mocked, calumniated, reviled and derided by almost all\n    the papers published in Piedmont.\u201d\n\n\nThat country, unfortunately, appears to have been entirely at the mercy of\nthe party of unbelief. It was ever ready to inflict new wrongs on the\nchurch, and occasion anxiety and sorrow to the Holy Father.\n\n(M42) There are few readers of ecclesiastical history who are not deeply\ninterested in that portion of India which was the first field of the\nextraordinary apostolic labors of Saint Francis Xavier. The blessing of\nthe Saint appears to have rested on the land of Goa; for after many years\nof trial and difficulty and schism, this Portuguese settlement, once so\ngreat and important, still remains a province of the church. The\nPortuguese government, by unjustly claiming right of patronage, originated\nthe schism which, unfortunately, was of such long continuance. It was\nreserved for Pius IX. to restore harmony to the Colonial church of Goa.\nHappily, in 1851, the schism was brought to an end.\n\n(M43) Pius IX. was still an exile at Gaeta when, observing the increasing\npiety of the Catholic world towards the Blessed Virgin, and moved by the\nrepresentations of many bishops that were in harmony with his own\nconviction, he issued the Encyclical of the 2nd February, 1849, addressed\nto the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and Bishops of the whole world,\nin order to obtain from them the universal tradition concerning the\nImmaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother of God. In this Encyclical the\nHoly Father recognizes the fact that there was a universal movement among\nChristians in favor of the belief in question, so that the complete\nacknowledgment of it appeared to be sufficiently prepared both by the\nliturgy and the formal requisitions of numerous bishops, no less than by\nthe studies of the most learned theologians. He further states that this\ngeneral disposition was in full accordance with his own thought, and that\nit would afford him great consolation, at a time when so many evils\nassailed the church, to add a flower to the crown of the most holy Virgin,\nand so acquire a title to her special protection. He declares, moreover,\nthat with this end in view he had appointed a commission of Cardinals in\norder to study the question. He concludes by inviting all his venerable\nbrethren of the Episcopate to make known to him their sentiments and join\ntheir prayers with his in order to obtain light from on high.\n\nAs the cross itself was folly in the estimation of the early unbelieving\nworld, so were such theological occupations, at a time when the Sovereign\nPontiff had not an inch of ground whereon he could freely tread, a subject\nfor jesting and sarcasm to the worldly-wise of the nineteenth century. It\nwas some time before they came to understand that a Pope is a theologian\nmore than a king, that, as such, he is sure of the future, and that the\nsolemn proceeding in regard to the Immaculate Conception was a triumphant\nreply to all the errors of modern thought. This dogma brings to naught all\nthe rationalist systems which refuse to acknowledge in human nature either\nfall or supernatural redemption. The means, besides, which were adopted in\norder to prepare its promulgation, tended to bring the various churches\nthroughout the world into closer relation with their common Head and\nCentre. They who had hitherto laughed, now raged when they saw this great\nresult, and attacked with the utmost fury what they called the \u201cnew\ndogma.\u201d Both sectarianism and the schools of sophistry descanted loudly,\nalthough certainly not learnedly, on the ignorance and ineptitude of the\ninstitution which so powerfully opposed them. All this was only idle\nclamoring. It never hindered the Holy Pontiff from prosecuting calmly the\nimportant work which heaven had inspired him to begin.\n\nThe Encyclical was warmly responded to by the Episcopate. Six hundred and\nthree replies were duly forwarded to the Holy Father. Five hundred and\nforty-six urgently insisted on a doctrinal definition. A few only, and\namong these was Mgr. Sibour, Archbishop of Paris, doubted whether the time\nwere opportune. But there was no doubt as to the sentiments of the\nCatholic world. Only in our time, when the facilities of communication are\nso much greater than in any former age, could the plan of consulting so\nmany bishops in all parts of the world have been successfully adopted.\nPius IX. was now at Rome, and invited around him all bishops who could\ntravel to the Holy City. No fewer than one hundred and ninety-two from\nevery country except Russia sought the presence of the Chief Pastor. The\nabsence of the Russian bishops was all the more surprising, as the\nRusso-Greek church vies with Rome in the honor which it pays to the\nBlessed Mary. The bishops, however, were not to blame. Their good purposes\nwere frustrated by the jealous policy of the Emperor Nicholas. The bishops\nassembled at Rome, in obedience to the wishes of Pius IX., did not\nconstitute a formal council. They were, nevertheless, a very complete\nrepresentation of the universal church. There were of their number some\nhighly distinguished cardinals, archbishops and bishops, such as Cardinals\nWiseman and Patrizzi, Archbishops Fransoni of Turin, Reisach of Munich,\nSibour of Paris, Bedini of Thebes, Hughes of New York, Kenrick of\nBaltimore, and Dixon of Armagh, together with Bishops Mazenod of\nMarseilles, Bouvier of Mans, Malon of Bruges, Dupanloup of Orleans, and\nKetteler of Mayence. Who will say that the learning of the Catholic world\nwas not at hand to aid with sound counsel the commission of cardinals and\ntheologians whom the Holy Father had appointed to prepare the Bull of\ndefinition? There had never been so many eminent bishops together at Rome,\nsince the \u0152cumenial Council of 1215. On so great an occasion Pius IX. had\nrequested the prayers of the faithful, and throughout the Catholic world\nsupplication was made to heaven, in order to obtain, through the light of\nthe Holy Ghost, such a decision as could tend only to promote the glory of\nGod, the honor due to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the salvation of\nmankind. The bishops at one of their sessions gave a very practical\nutterance as regards the infallible authority of the Pope. The question\nhaving arisen whether the bishops were to assist him as judges in coming\nto a decision, and pronounce simultaneously with him, or leave the final\njudgment solely to the word of the Sovereign Pontiff, the debate, as if by\ninspiration from on high, came suddenly to a close. It was the Angelus\nhour. The prelates had scarcely resumed their places after the short\nprayer, and exchanged a few words, when they made a unanimous declaration\nin favor of the supremacy of St. Peter\u2019s chair: _Petre, doce nos; confirma\nfratres tuos_\u2014\u201cPeter, teach us; confirm thy brethren.\u201d The teaching which\nthe Reverend Fathers sought from the lips of the Supreme Pastor was the\ndefinition of the Immaculate Conception.\n\n(M44) The 8th December, 1854, was the great triumphal day which, according\nto the fine language of Bishop Dupanloup, \u201ccrowned the expectation of past\nages, blessed the present time, claimed the gratitude of the centuries to\ncome, and left an imperishable memory\u2014the day on which was pronounced the\nfirst definition of an article of Faith which no dissentient voice\npreceded, and which no heresy followed.\u201d All Rome rejoiced. An immense\nmultitude of people of all tongues crowded the approaches to the vast\nBasilica of St. Peter, which was by far too small to contain the imposing\nhost. Then were seen advancing the bishops, in solemn procession, placed\naccording to seniority, and followed by the cardinals. The Sovereign\nPontiff, surrounded by a brilliant cortege, closed the procession.\nMeanwhile was heard the grave chant of the Litanies of the Saints,\ninviting the heavenly court to join with the Church militant in doing\nhonor to her who was Queen alike of angels and of men. Pius IX. ascended\nhis throne; and as soon as he had received the obedience of the cardinals\nand bishops, the Pontifical Mass began. When the Gospel had been chanted\nin Greek and in Latin, Cardinal Macchi, Dean of the Sacred College,\naccompanied by the deans of the archbishops and bishops, by an archbishop\nof the Greek rite, also, and an Armenian archbishop, advanced to the foot\nof the throne, and begged of the Holy Father, in the name of the whole\nchurch, \u201cto raise his apostolic voice and pronounce the dogmatic decree of\nthe _Immaculate Conception_.\u201d The Pope, bowing his head, gladly welcomed\nthe petition; but wished once more to invoke the aid of the Holy Ghost.\nThen rising from his throne, he intoned in a clear and firm voice, which\nrang through the grand Basilica, the _veni creator spiritus_. All who were\npresent, cardinals, bishops, priests and people, mingled their voices with\nthat of the Father of the Faithful, and the sonorous tones of the heavenly\nhymn resounded through the spacious edifice. Silence came. All eyes were\nrivetted on the venerable Pontiff. His countenance appeared to be\ntransfigured by the solemnity of the act in which he was engaged. And now,\nin that firm and grave, but mild and majestic, tone of voice, the charm of\nwhich was known to so many millions, he began to read the Bull, which\nannounced the sublime dogma of the Immaculate Conception. It established,\nin the first place, the theological reasons for the belief in the\nprivilege of Mary. It then appealed to the ancient and universal\ntraditions of both the Eastern and the Western churches, the testimony of\nthe religious orders, and of the schools of theology, that of the Holy\nFathers and the Councils, as well as the witness borne by Pontifical acts,\nboth ancient and more recent. The countenance of the Holy Father showed\nthat he was deeply moved, as he unfolded these magnificent documents. He\nwas obliged, several times, so great was his emotion, to stop.\n\u201cConsequently,\u201d he continued, \u201cafter having offered without ceasing, in\nhumility and with fasting, our own prayers and the public prayers of the\nchurch to God the Father through His Son, that He would deign to guide and\nconfirm our mind by the power of the Holy Ghost, after we had implored the\naid of the whole host of heaven, to the glory of the Holy and Undivided\nTrinity, for the honor of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of\nthe Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian religion; by the\nauthority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed apostles Peter and\nPaul, and by our own\u201d\u2014at these words the Holy Father\u2019s voice appeared to\nfail him, and he paused to wipe away his tears. The audience was, at the\nsame time, deeply moved; but, dumb from respect and admiration, they\nwaited in deepest silence. The venerable Pontiff resumed in a strong\nvoice, which shortly rose to a tone of enthusiasm: \u201cWe declare, pronounce\nand define, that the doctrine which affirms that the Blessed Virgin Mary\nwas preserved and exempt from all stain of original sin from the first\nmoment of her conception, in consideration of the merits of Jesus Christ,\nthe Saviour of mankind, is a doctrine revealed by God, and which, for this\ncause, the faithful must firmly and constantly believe. Wherefore, if any\none should be so presumptuous, which, God forbid! as to admit a belief\ncontrary to our definition, let him know that he has suffered shipwreck of\nhis faith, and that he is separated from the unity of the church.\u201d As the\nPontiff concluded, a glad responsive \u201cAmen\u201d resounded through the crowded\ntemple.\n\nThe Cardinal-dean once more reverently approached, and petitioned that\norder be given for the publication of the apostolic letters containing the\ndefinition; the promoter of the Faith, accompanied by the Apostolic\nProtonotaries, also came to ask that a formal record of the great act\nshould be drawn up. At the same time the cannon of the castle of Saint\nAngelo, and all the bells of Rome, proclaimed to the world that the\never-blessed Mary was gloriously declared immaculate. Throughout the\nevening the holy city echoed and re-echoed to the sounds of joyous music,\nwas ablaze with fire-works, and decorated with innumerable inscriptions\nand emblematic transparencies.\n\nThe example of Rome was immediately followed by thousands of towns and\nvillages over the whole surface of the globe. It would require libraries\nrather than volumes to reproduce the expressions of pious concurrence\nwhich everywhere took place. The replies of the bishops to the Pope before\nthe definition, were printed in nine volumes; the Bull itself, translated\ninto all the tongues and dialects of the universe, by the labors of a\nlearned French sulpician, the Abbe Sire, appeared in ten volumes; the\npastoral instructions, publishing and explaining the Bull, together with\nthe articles of religious journals, would certainly make several hundred\nvolumes, especially if to these were added the many books by the most\nlearned men, and the singularly beautiful hymns and poems which flowed\nfrom the pens of Catholic poets, no less than the eloquent discourses of\nthe most gifted orators. Descriptions of monuments and celebrations would\nalso immensely swell the list. Sanctuaries, altars, statues, monuments of\nevery kind, as well as pious associations rose everywhere in honor of the\nImmaculate Conception. The ever-increasing devotion to Mary had become\ngreater than ever. It was to the unbelieving a phenomenon in the moral\nworld of the nineteenth century, which they could neither comprehend nor\naccount for. They could only see that it was as a source of new life to\nthe church.\n\n(M45) The education law of France, enacted in 1850, had given rise to\ndifferences of opinion among earnest Catholics. These only increased after\nthe celebrated _coup d\u2019etat_ of 2nd December. M. de Montalembert, who had\nbecome hostile to Prince Louis Napoleon, on occasion of the iniquitous\nconfiscation of the Orleans property, M. de Falloux, and their friends of\nthe _Correspondant_, and the _Ami de la Religion_, insisted that they\nought not to accept the protection of C\u00e6sar in place of the general\nguarantees which were so profitable to the liberty of the church. They\nwere right, as was but too well shown in the sequel. M. Louis Veuillot and\nthe writers of the _Univers_ opposed their views, and so they accused\nthese gentlemen of servility. But this was too much, as the event also\nshowed.\n\nThe congregation of the \u201cIndex\u201d had condemned several French works, some\nabsolutely, and others only until they should be corrected. Among these\nlast were books generally used, notwithstanding their faults, in the\npublic schools, such as the _Manual of Canon Law_, by M. Lequeux,\nvicar-general of the Archbishop of Paris, and the theology, so long in\nuse, of Bailly. The authors of these works at once submitted. One of the\nsentences, however, that which affected the Dictionary of M. Bouillet,\ngreatly offended the Archbishop of Paris\u2014Mgr. Sibour, who had signified\nhis approval of this publication. He blamed the _Univers_ and the lay\nreligious press in general. He formulated his complaints in a charge of\n15th January, 1851, and by a still more vigorous one in 1853, which was\nwritten at the instigation of a Canon of Orleans, M. L\u2019Abbe Gaduel, who\nhad accused Donoso Cortes, in the _Ami de la Religion_, of several\nheresies, and who complained of having been refuted in the _Univers_ with\na warmth that was far from respectful. Mgr. Sibour forbade the priests of\nhis diocese to read the _Univers_, and threatened with excommunication the\neditors of this journal, if they presumed to discuss the sentence which he\nhad pronounced against them. A similar sentence came to be uttered by Mgr.\nDupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, against the same writers, condemning the\nopinions which they held concerning the study of the classics. M.\nVeuillot, following in the wake of M. L\u2019Abbe Gaume, maintained that one of\nthe principal causes of the weakening of faith since the time of the\n_renaissance_, was the obligation imposed on youth of studying, almost\nexclusively, Pagan authors. Mgr. Dupanloup contended rather against\nexaggerations of this opinion than against the idea itself. But having\ndeveloped his views in an episcopal letter to the professors of his lesser\nseminaries, he would not allow them to be opposed; and so, like Mgr.\nSibour, interdicted the _Univers_ to his clergy. M. Louis Veuillot\nappealed to the supreme bishop.\n\nThe French episcopate was _greatly_ divided on the subject of these\nuntoward controversies. The Bishops of Chartres, Moulins and others, had\npublicly defended the _Univers_ in opposition to the Archbishop of Paris.\nCardinal Gousset, Archbishop of Rheims, patronized the opinions of M.\nVeuillot in regard to the use of heathen classics. An anonymous paper on\n_the right of custom_, addressed to the episcopate, now added to all these\nsubjects of controversy the recriminations of Gallicanism, which was\nalmost extinct. The author denying that the customs of the church of\nFrance were abrogated by the Concordat, maintained that the disciplinary\nsentences of the Popes could not be applied in any diocese until they were\nfirst promulgated therein. He disputed the authority of the decrees of the\n\u201cIndex,\u201d blamed the liturgical movement, reproached the religious\njournalists with seeking, above all, to please the Court of Rome, and\nconcluded by advising the bishops to come to an understanding among\nthemselves, in order to obtain from the Pope a modification of his\ndecisions. Pius IX. could be silent no longer. Accordingly, he addressed\nto all the French bishops an Encyclical, which is known in history as the\nEncyclical _inter multiplices_. He commenced by acknowledging the subjects\nof joy and consolation afforded him by the progress of religion in France,\nand especially by the zeal and devotedness of the bishops of that country.\nHe gave special praise to these prelates, because they availed themselves\nof the liberty which had been restored to them in order to hold Provincial\nCouncils, and expressed his satisfaction, \u201cthat in a great many dioceses,\nwhere no particular circumstance opposed an impediment, the Roman Liturgy\nwas re-established.\u201d He could not, however, dissemble the sorrow which was\ncaused him by existing dissensions, and for which he blamed, although\nindirectly, political opposition and party spirit. \u201cIf ever,\u201d said the\nHoly Father, \u201cit behooved you to maintain among yourselves agreement of\nmind and will, it is, above all, now, when, through the disposition of our\nvery dear son in Christ, Napoleon, Emperor of the French, the Catholic\nchurch amongst you enjoys complete peace, liberty and protection.\u201d In\nspeaking of the good education of youth, which he earnestly recommended as\nbeing of the highest importance, he gave a practical solution of the vexed\nquestion of the classics. \u201cIt is necessary,\u201d he insisted, \u201cthat young\necclesiastics should, without being exposed to any danger of error, learn\ntrue elegance of language and style, together with real eloquence, whether\nin the very pious and learned works of the Holy Fathers, or in the most\ncelebrated Pagan authors, when thoroughly expurgated.\u201d In this same\nEncyclical also, the venerable Pontiff, speaking of the Catholic press,\ndeclared it to be indispensible. \u201cEncourage, we most anxiously ask of you,\nwith the utmost benevolence, those men who, filled with a truly Catholic\nspirit, and thoroughly acquainted with literature and science, devote\ntheir time in writing books and journals for the propagation and defence\nof Truth.\u201d\n\nCatholic writers, in return, it is added, ought to acknowledge the\nauthority of bishops to guide, admonish and rebuke them. The anonymous\npaper is then severely censured, and the Pope concludes by a new and\npressing appeal in favor of concord. As soon as this Encyclical of 21st\nMarch, 1853, was published, M. Louis Veuillot and his fellow-laborers\naddressed to Mgr. Sibour a letter expressive of respect and deference, in\nwhich they promised to avoid everything that could render them unworthy of\nthe encouragement of their archbishop. This prelate immediately withdrew\nthe sentence which he had issued against them, and thus was peace\nrestored, once more, by the authority of the Supreme Pastor.\n\n(M46) On the 12th of April, 1855, the fifth anniversary of his return from\nGaeta, Pius IX. drove by the via Nomentana, the beautiful Church of St.\nAgnes and the Porta Pia, to a spot five miles from the city, where, on\ngrounds belonging to the congregation of Propaganda, catacombs had been\nrecently discovered. In these subterranean recesses were found, among\nother venerated tombs, that which contained the relics of St. Alexander\nI., Pope and Martyr, and those of the companions who shared his\nsufferings. The professors and students of Propaganda had assembled at the\nplace in honor of the Pope\u2019s visit. They descended with him to the Crypt,\nwhere the Holy Father, as soon as he entered, knelt in prayer beside the\nremains of his sainted predecessor, who, more than seventeen centuries\nago, had sealed his faith with his blood. After examining the long\ncorridors of the catacomb, the Holy Father took his seat on the ancient\nthrone of the chapel, which, no doubt, in the dark days of heathen\npersecution, several of his predecessors had filled. So placed, he\ndelivered to the pupils of Propaganda a feeling allocution on the high\ncareer which lay before them as preachers of the true Faith. He then\naddressed a few words to the eminent persons who surrounded him, and\nproceeded back to the Church of St. Agnes. Having adored the Blessed\nSacrament, and venerated the relics of the Virgin Martyr, he entered the\nneighboring convent of canons regular of St. John Lateran, where a\nsuitable repast awaited the august visitor. This was followed by a\nconversazione in the parlor, in which the distinguished parties who had\naccompanied the Pope took part. Almost every Catholic country was\nrepresented there; and, among the rest, were Archbishop Cullen of Dublin\n(long since a Cardinal), and Bishop de Goesbriand of Burlington. The Pope\nwas on the point of departing, when the Superiors of Propaganda prayed him\nto grant an audience to the students. Pius IX. graciously complied, and\nresumed his seat in the chair of state which was appropriately canopied. A\nhundred young ecclesiastics now rapidly entered the room. All of a sudden\nthe floor gave way with a loud crash, and the whole assembly disappeared\nin a confused mass of furniture, stones, plaster, and a blinding cloud of\ndust. The joists had given way, and the whole flooring fell to a depth of\nnearly twenty feet. The voice of the Pope was first heard, intimating that\nhe was safe and uninjured. As a few inmates of the convent had remained\noutside, assistance speedily came, and the Holy Father was promptly\nextricated from the ruins. Solicitous only for the safety of the company,\nhe urgently ordered that they should all be withdrawn as rapidly as\npossible from their perilous position; and he waited in the garden till\nevery one of them was rescued. Not so much as one was dangerously injured.\n\n\u201cIt is a miracle,\u201d said the Pope, who was greatly rejoiced. \u201cLet us go and\nthank God.\u201d Followed by the whole company, as well as those who had come\nto rescue them, he entered the church, where, deeply affected, he intoned\nthe _Te Deum_, and concluded with the solemn benediction of the most Holy\nSacrament.\n\nThe news of the accident spread rapidly through the city. The people\nflocked to the churches. At St. Agnes the wonderful deliverance was\ncommemorated by a special service. The interior of this church has been\nsince restored at great cost by Pius IX. A fresco in the open space in\nfront represents the scene at the convent. The 12th of April is now a\nholiday at Rome, and it is observed every year with piety and gratitude.\nTwenty years later\u201412th of April, 1875\u2014the Romans held a magnificent\ncelebration of the anniversary of the accident at St. Agnes. It was also\nthe day of the Pope\u2019s return from Gaeta, in 1850. In reply to the address,\nexpressive of duty and devotedness, which was presented to him on that\noccasion, the Holy Father alluded, in the language of an apostle, to the\nmysterious ways of Providence. \u201cOur fall at St. Agnes,\u201d said he, \u201cappeared\nat first to be a catastrophe. It struck us all with fear. Its only result,\nhowever, was to cause the works by which the ancient Basilica was renewed\nand embellished to be more vigorously prosecuted. The same will be the\ncase in regard to the moral ruins which the powers of darkness are\nconstantly heaping up against us and around us. The church will emerge\nfrom the confused mass more vigorous and more beautiful than ever.\u201d\n\n(M47) Piedmont, surely, had little to do at the Congress of Paris, the\nobject of which was to make the best arrangements possible for the\nChristians, and especially the Catholics, of the East. Count Cavour, its\nrepresentative, nevertheless, found a pretext for being present, and\nintroduced as he was by the Minister of France, Count Walewski, and\nsustained by the British Plenipotentiary, Lord Clarendon, he became more\nimportant than the power of his country, or the share it had in the\nCrimean War, would alone have warranted. He availed himself of his\nposition to attack and undermine two of the minor sovereigns\u2014the Pope and\nthe King of Naples.\n\n\u201cThe States of the Holy See,\u201d he insisted, \u201cnever knew prosperity, except\nunder the rule of Napoleon I., when they formed part of the French empire\nand the kingdom of Italy. Later, the Emperor Napoleon III., _with that\nprecision and firmness of view by which he is characterized_, understood\nand clearly pointed out in his letter to Colonel Ney the solution of the\nproblem: _Secularization and the Code Napoleon_; but it is evident that\nthe Court of Rome will struggle to the last moment, and by every possible\nmeans, against the realization of this twofold combination. It is easily\nunderstood that it may appear to accept civil and even political reforms,\ntaking care always to render them illusory. But it knows too well that\nsecularization and the code Napoleon, once introduced into the edifice of\nthe temporal power, would undermine it and cause it to fall, simply by\nremoving its principal supports\u2014clerical privileges and canon law.\nClerical organization opposes insurmountable impediments to all kinds of\ninnovations.\u201d\n\nCavour urged, in conclusion, that \u201cthe legations\u201d must be separated\npolitically, and a viceroy set over those provinces. Walewski and\nClarendon supported these views, but cautiously using the enigmatic\nlanguage of diplomacy. The Plenipotentiaries of the other Powers were\nsilent, or refused to give an opinion, on the ground that they had no\ninstructions. M. de Mauteuffel alone, the Prussian representative, sternly\nobserved that such recriminations as M. de Cavour had brought forward were\nvery like an appeal to the revolutionary movements in Italy. Prussia did\nnot, at that time, foresee what advantage it was destined to reap from the\nalliance of the Italian revolution with Napoleon III. France, however, had\nreason to dread lest the chief of her choice should return to the dark\npractices of his youth. Her too well-founded apprehensions were confirmed\nand aggravated when it came to the public ear, through the newspapers of\nthe time, that the Emperor had held a too intimate interview with M. de\nCavour at the waters of Plombieres. All this, notwithstanding an alliance\nof France with Piedmont, for the destruction of the Pope\u2019s temporal\nsovereignty, appeared as yet to be so completely out of the question, that\nthe French ambassador at Rome refuted publicly the calumnies which M. de\nCavour had so selfishly promulgated. Count de Rayneval had been a long\ntime at Rome, first as Secretary of the Embassy of King Louis Philippe,\nand afterwards as Plenipotentiary of the Republic, before he was appointed\nto represent the Emperor Napoleon. None could be better qualified to give\na luminous report of the state of matters at Rome. The revolutionary\npress, however, never noticed it, and the government refused to publish it\nin the _Moniteur_, preferring the wretched pamphlet of M. About on the\n_Roman Question_. The French, who wished to be well informed, sought the\nwords of M. de Rayneval\u2019s report in the columns of the London _Daily\nNews_:\n\nCOUNT RAYNEVAL\u2019s REPORT TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.\n\n\u201cPius IX. shows himself full of ardor for reforms. He himself puts his\nhand to the work. From the very day Pius IX. mounted the throne he has\nmade continuous efforts to sweep away every legitimate cause of complaint\nagainst the public administration of affairs.\n\n\u201cAlready have civil and criminal cases, as well as a code relating to\ncommerce, all founded on our own, enriched by lessons derived from\nexperience, been promulgated. I have studied these carefully\u2014they are\nabove criticism. The Code des Hypotheques has been examined by French\n_juris consults_, and has been cited by them as a model document. Abroad\n(says this distinguished and able writer), those essential changes that\nare introduced into the order of things, those incessant efforts of the\nPontifical government to ameliorate the lot of the populations, have\npassed unnoticed. People have had ears only for the declamation of the\ndiscontented, and for the permanent calumnies of the bad portion of the\nPiedmontese and Italian press. This is the source from which public\nopinion has derived its inspiration. And in spite of well established\nfacts, it is believed in most places, but particularly in England, that\nthe Pontifical government has done nothing for its subjects, and has\nrestricted itself to the perpetuation of the errors of another age. I have\nonly yet indicated the ameliorations introduced into the organization of\nthe administration. Above all, let us remember that never has a more\nexalted spirit of clemency been seen to preside over a restoration. No\nvengeance has been exercised on those who caused the overthrow of the\nPontifical government\u2014no measures of rigor have been adopted against\nthem\u2014the Pope has contented himself with depriving them of the power of\ndoing harm by banishing them from the land.\u201d\n\nECONOMY OF THE PAPAL GOVERNMENT\u2014MODERATE TAXATION.\n\n\u201cIn spite of considerable burdens which were occasioned by the revolution,\nand left as a legacy to the present government\u2014in spite of extraordinary\nexpenses caused by the reorganization of the army\u2014in spite of numerous\ncontributions towards the encouragement of public works, the state budget,\nwhich, at the commencement, exhibited a tolerably large _deficit_, has\nbeen gradually tending towards equilibrium. I have had the honor recently\nof pointing out to your Excellency, that the deficit of 1857 has been\nreduced to an insignificant sum, consisting for the most part of\nunexpected expenses, and of money reserved for the extinction of the debt.\nThe taxes remain still much below the mean rate of the different European\nStates. A Roman pays the state 22 francs annually, 68,000,000 being levied\non a population of 3,000,000. A Frenchman pays the French government 45\nfrancs, 1,600,000,000 being levied on a population of 35,000,000. These\nfigures show, demonstratively, that the Pontifical States, with regard to\nso important a point, must be reckoned amongst the most favored nations.\nThe expenses are regulated on principles of the greatest economy. One fact\nis sufficient. The civil list, the expenses of the cardinals, of the\ndiplomatic corps abroad, the maintenance of Pontifical palaces and the\nmuseum, cost the state no more than 600,000 crowns (3,200,000). This small\nsum is the only share of the public revenue taken by the Papacy for the\nsupport of the Pontifical dignity, and for keeping up the principal\nestablishments of the superior ecclesiastical administration. We might ask\nthose persons, so zealous in hunting down abuses, whether the\nappropriation of 4,000 crowns to the wants of the princes of the church\nseems to them to bear the impress of a proper economy exercised with\nrespect to the public revenue?\n\nAGRICULTURE\u2014DRAINING THE CAMPAGNA\u2014PRISON DISCIPLINE\u2014ADMINISTRATION OF\nCHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS\u2014ABUSES\u2014JUDICIAL SYSTEM, ETC.\n\n\u201cAgriculture has been equally the object of encouragement, and also\ngardening and the raising of stock. Lastly, a commission, composed of the\nprincipal landed proprietors, is now studying the hitherto insoluble\nquestion of draining the Campagna of Rome, and filling it with\ninhabitants. There is, in truth, misery here as elsewhere, but it is\ninfinitely less heavy than in less favored climates. Mere necessaries are\nobtained cheaply. Private charities are numerous and effective. Here also\nthe action of the government is perceptible. Important ameliorations have\nbeen introduced into the administration of hospitals and prisons. Some of\nthese prisons should be visited, that the visitor may admire\u2014the term is\nnot too strong\u2014the persevering charity of the Holy Father. I will not\nextend this enumeration. What I have said ought to be sufficient to prove\nthat all the measures adopted by the Pontifical administration bear marks\nof wisdom, reason and progress; that they have already produced happy\nresults; in short, that there is not a single detail of interest to the\nwell-being, either moral or material, of the population, which has escaped\nthe attention of the government, or which has not been treated in a\nfavorable manner. In truth, when certain persons say to the Pontifical\ngovernment, \u2018form an administration which may have for its aim the good of\nthe people,\u2019 the government might reply, \u2018look at our acts, and condemn us\nif you dare.\u2019 The government might ask, \u2018not only which of its acts is a\nsubject of legitimate blame, but in which of its duties it has failed?\u2019\nAre we, then, to be told that the Pontifical government is a model\u2014that it\nhas no weakness or imperfections? Certainly not; but its weakness and\nimperfections are of the same kind as are met with in all governments, and\neven in all men, with very few exceptions. I am perpetually interrogating\nthose who come to me to denounce what they call the abuses of the Papal\ngovernment. The expression, it must be remembered, is now consecrated, and\nis above criticism or objection. It is held as Gospel. Now, in what do the\nabuses consist? I have never yet been able to discover. At least, the\nfacts which go by that name are such as are elsewhere traceable to the\nimperfection of human nature, and we need not load the government with the\ndirect responsibility of the irregularities committed by some of its\nsubordinate agents. The imperfections of the judiciary system are often\ncited. I have examined it closely, and have found it impossible to\ndiscover any serious cause of complaint. Those who lose their causes\ncomplain more loudly and more continuously than is the custom in other\nplaces, but without any more reason. Most of the important civil cases are\ndecided in the tribunal of the Rota. Now, in spite of the habitual license\nof Italian criticism, no one has dared to express a doubt of the profound\nknowledge and the exalted integrity of the tribunal of the Rota. If the\nlawyers are incredibly fertile in raising objections and exceptions\u2014if\nthey lengthen out lawsuits\u2014to what is this fault to be attributed if not\nto the peculiarity of the national genius? Lastly, civil law is well\nadministered. I do not know a single sentence the justice of which would\nnot be recognized by the best tribunal in Europe. Criminal justice is\nadministered in a manner equally unassailable. I have watched some trials\nthroughout their whole details; I was obliged to confess that necessary\nprecautions for the verification of facts\u2014all possible guarantees for the\nfree defence of the accused, including the publication of the\nproceedings\u2014were taken.\u201d\n\nBRIGANDS\u2014BANDS OF ROBBERS DISPERSED BY THE GOVERNMENT.\n\n\u201cMuch is said of the brigands who, we are told, lay the country desolate.\nIt has fallen to our lot to pass through the country, in all directions,\nwithout seeing even the shadow of a robber. It cannot be denied that, from\ntime to time, we hear of a diligence stopped, of a traveller plundered.\nEven one accident of this kind is too much, but we must remember that the\nadministration has employed all the means in its power to repress these\ndisorders. Thanks to energetic measures, the brigands have been arrested\nat all points and punished. When in France a diligence is stopped; when in\ngoing from London to Windsor a lady of the Queen\u2019s palace is robbed of her\nluggage and jewels, such incidents passed unnoticed; but when, on an\nisolated road in the Roman States, the least fact of this nature takes\nplace, the passenger, for a pretext, prints the news in large characters,\nand cries for vengeance on the government. On the side of Rome the attacks\nwhich have taken place at distant intervals have never assumed an\nappearance calculated to excite anxiety.\n\n\u201cIn the Romagna, organized bands have been formed, which, taking advantage\nof the Tuscan frontier, easily escaped pursuit, and were for a time to be\ndreaded. The government declared unceasing war against them, and after\nseveral engagements, in which a certain number of _gens d\u2019armes_ were\neither killed or wounded, these bands have been in a great measure\ndispersed. The Italians always depend for the completion of their projects\non foreign support. If this support were to fail, then they would adopt a\nproper course much more readily than would be necessary. Meanwhile, in\nEngland and Sardinia, the organs of the press should cease to excite the\npassions, and Catholic Powers should continue to give the Holy See evident\nmarks of sympathy. But how can we hope that enemies, animated with such a\nspirit as influences the opponents of the Holy See, should put a stop to\ntheir attacks when they have been made in so remarkable a manner?\u201d\n\nEXTRAORDINARILY SMALL NUMBER OF ECCLESIASTICS EMPLOYED BY THE PAPAL\nGOVERNMENT.\n\nThose who are generally mentioned as _ecclesiastics_, are not necessarily\npriests or in holy orders.\n\n\u201cCount Rayneval took occasion to show, with proofs in his hands, that the\nhalf of these supposed priests were not in orders.... The Roman prelates\nare not all bound to enter into holy orders. For the most part they\ndispense with them. Can we then call by the name of priests those who have\nnothing of the priest but the uniform? Is Count Spada a more zealous or a\nmore skilful administrator now than when, in the costume of a priest, he\nofficiated as Minister of War? Do Monsignor Matteuci (Minister of Police),\nMonsignor Mertel (Minister of the Interior), Monsignor Berardi (substitute\nof the Secretary of State), and so many others, who have liberty to marry\nto-morrow, constitute a religious caste, sacrificing its own interests to\nthe interests of the country, and would they become, all of a sudden,\nirreproachable if they were dressed differently? If we examine the share\ngiven the prelates, both priests and non-priests, in the Roman\nadministration, we shall arrive at some results which it is important to\nnotice. Out of Rome, that is, throughout the whole extent of the\nPontifical States, with the exception of the capital\u2014in the Legations, the\nMarshes, Umbria, and all the Provinces, to the number of eighteen, how\nmany ecclesiastics do you think are employed? Their number does not exceed\nfifteen\u2014one for each Province except three, where there is not one at all.\nThey are delegates, or, as we should say, prefects. The councils, the\ntribunals, and offices of all sorts, are filled with laymen. So that for\none ecclesiastic in office, we have in the Roman Provinces one hundred and\nninety-five laymen.\u201d\n\nThe following table, which appeared in the London _Weekly Register_ (_The\nWeekly Register, June_, 1859.), shows at a glance what a small proportion\nthe clerical bore to the lay element in the government of the Papal\nStates:\n\nMinistries.             Eccles.   Lay Places.   Eccles.    Lay Salary\n                        Places.                 Salary\nSecretariate of State   14        18            $100,500   $8,340\nJustice and Police      277       3,271         110,205    637,602\nPublic Instruction      3         9             1,320      1,824\nFinance                 7         3,084         10,320     730,268\nCommerce, P. Work       1         347           2,400      69,808\nArms                              125                      51,885\nTotal                   303       6,854         $224,755   $1,490,747\n\nM. De Rayneval admits that the people are not enterprising. If they do not\nshow much industrial activity, this is to be ascribed not to the\ngovernment, but to the climate, the facility with which everything\nnecessary for comfort is obtained, and the long-established habits of the\nnatives of the South of Europe. \u201cThe condition of the population,\nnevertheless,\u201d adds the ambassador, \u201cis comparatively good. They readily\ntake part in public amusements, when pleasure may be read on every\ncountenance. Are these the misgoverned people \u2018_whose miseries excite the\ncommiseration of all Europe?_\u2019 There is misery, no doubt, as there is\neverywhere. But it is less than in lands that are not so highly favored.\nThe necessaries of life are so cheap as to be easily procured. Private\ncharity never fails; and there are numerous and efficient public\nbenevolent establishments.\u201d\n\n(M48) It may be said, by way of supplement to M. De Rayneval\u2019s report,\nthat Pius IX. did all in his power to encourage both science and the fine\narts. His many foundations for their promotion are his witness. Among the\nrest are the College of Sinigaglia, and the _Seminario Pio_ at Rome,\ntogether with the educational establishments, endowed from his private\nresources, at Perugia, Civita Vecchia, Ancona and Pesaro. To him also are\ndue the high renown to which rose the studies of the Roman university, the\nrestoration of the Appian way, and the many arch\u00e6ological works which have\nwon for their august promoter the glorious surname of _Vindex\nAntiquitatis_. His day would be memorable if it had been illustrated only\nby the names of Vico, Secchi, Rossi and Visconti.\n\nIt is impossible to overrate the importance of Count de Rayneval\u2019s report,\nor the influence which it exercised over the public mind of Europe, when,\nat length, through the agency of the British and Belgian press, it\nobtained publicity. A refutation of Cavour\u2019s interested calumnies, so\nable, distinct and straightforward, powerfully impressed the minds of\nBritish statesmen, and caused them to see the grievous error into which\nthey had been betrayed at the Congress of Paris, by Count Cavour and the\nEmperor Louis Napoleon, in the interest of their fellow-conspirators\nagainst the sovereignty of the Pope.\n\n(M49) Lord Clarendon was the first who had knowledge of the now celebrated\nstate paper. He was also the first who, for the sake of truth and justice,\nmade it public, committing it to the English press, whence it found its\nway to continental Europe. This eminent British statesman promptly\ncommunicated with Count Cavour, and took him to task severely for his\ndouble dealing at the congress, and for having induced him, as British\nPlenipotentiary, by false statements, to sanction his views.\n\n(M50) The calumnies and misrepresentations of the Cavour-Napoleon party\nhad, indeed, been met by anticipation in the decree, known as _motu\nproprio_, which Pius IX. issued from Portici, shortly before his return to\nRome. This decree indicated the reforms which, as we learn from Count de\nRayneval\u2019s report, were afterwards carried out. It even granted a\nconstitution as complete as was consistent with the existence of the Papal\nSovereignty. More could not be looked for. The much-vaunted constitution\nof England itself does not abrogate or nullify the monarchy. But neither\nthis nor any other measure of reform, however well adapted to\ncircumstances and the character of the people, could ever have satisfied\nthe _Italianissimi_, whose hatred of every existing institution was\nboundless as it was incomprehensible. The Holy Father solemnly declared\nthat he decreed the measures in question for the good of his people, and\nunder the eye of heaven. \u201cThey are such,\u201d he adds, at the conclusion of\nthe document, _motu proprio_, \u201cas to be compatible with our dignity, and,\nif faithfully carried out, we are convinced that they will produce results\nwhich must command the approval of all wise minds. The good sense of all\namong you who aspire to what is best, with a fervor proportionate to the\nills which you have endured, shall be our judge in this matter. Above all,\nlet us place our trust in God, who, even in fulfilling the decrees of His\njustice, is never unmindful of His mercy.\u201d It could not be expected, and\nit was not expected, that the Pope should resign his sovereignty. The\nwords of Donoso Cortez, spoken in the Spanish parliament, in defence of\nthe temporal sovereignty, were received at the time with universal\nacceptance.\n\n(M51) \u201cCivilized Europe,\u201d said this distinguished author and statesman,\n\u201cwill not consent to see enthroned in that mad city of Rome a new and\nstrange dynasty begotten of crime. And let no one here say, that in this\nmatter there are two separate questions\u2014one a temporal question, the other\nentirely spiritual\u2014that the difficulty lies between the temporal sovereign\nand his subjects; that the Pontiff has been respected and still subsists.\u201d\nTwo words on this point\u2014just two words\u2014shall suffice to make us understand\nthe whole matter.\n\n\u201cIt is perfectly true that the spiritual power of the Papacy is its\nprincipal power; the temporal is only an accessory, but that accessory is\none that is indispensible. The Catholic world has a right to insist upon\nit, that the infallible organ of its belief shall be free and independent.\nThe Catholic world cannot know with certainty, as it needs must know,\nwhether that organ is really free and independent, unless it be sovereign.\nFor he alone who is sovereign, depends on no other power. Hence it is that\nthe question of sovereignty, which everywhere else is a political\nquestion, is in Rome a religious question.\u201d\n\n\u201cConstituent assemblies may exist rightfully elsewhere; at Rome they\ncannot; at Rome there can be no constituent power outside of and apart\nfrom the constituted power. Neither Rome herself nor the Pontifical States\nbelong to Rome or belong to the Pope\u2014they belong to the Catholic world.\nThe Catholic world has recognized, in the Pope, the lawful possessor\nthereof, in order to his being free and independent; and the Pope may not\nstrip himself of this sovereignty, this independence.\u201d\n\nThe greatest statesmen of the age, such as Guizot, Thiers, and\nMontalembert, in France; Normanby, Lansdowne, Disraeli, and even\nPalmerston, in England; the statesmen of Prussia, and even those of the\nRussian Empire; the Emperor of Austria and his advisers; Spain, Portugal\nand Naples, all shared the opinion of the illustrious Spanish statesman,\nDonoso Cortes. All alike favored the restoration of the Holy Father, and\nthe securing of his government against the accidents of revolution in the\nfuture by placing it under the protection of the Great Powers. \u201cThe\naffairs Rome,\u201d wrote the Russian Chancellor in a circular, \u201ccause to the\ngovernment of his Majesty the Emperor great concern; and it were a serious\nerror to think that we take a less lively interest than the other Catholic\ngovernments in the situation to which his Holiness Pope Pius IX. has been\nbrought by the events of the time. There can be no room for doubting that\nthe Holy Father shall receive from the Emperor a loyal support towards the\nrestoration of his temporal and spiritual power, and that the Russian\ngovernment shall co-operate cheerfully in all the measures necessary to\nthis result; for it cherishes against the court of Rome no sentiment of\nreligious animosity or rivalry.\u201d\n\n(M52) Sardinia alone held aloof. Its minister did not, like the other\nEuropean ambassadors, seek the presence of the Pope when he was pressed by\nthe revolutionists. Nor did he repair, as they did, to Gaeta, but remained\nin Rome, and, to the great surprise and scandal of all the European\nCourts, transacted business with the governments which reigned there in\nthe absence of the legitimate sovereign. The absorption of all the states\nof Italy, not excepting that of the Pope, by Piedmont, was the ruling idea\nof Piedmontese statesmen. They were guided by a selfish view to what they\nconsidered their own interest, not by principles that were universally\nrecognized. Such were continental liberals. The English liberals, the\nparty of reform, thought differently. One of their chiefs, Lord Lansdowne,\nwhose high character as a statesman gives weight to his words, declared,\nin the British House of Peers, when the French expedition to Rome was\ndiscussed there, that \u201cthe condition of the Pope\u2019s sovereignty is\nespecially remarkable in this, that so far as his temporal power is\nconcerned, he is only a sovereign of the fourth or fifth order. In his\nspiritual power he enjoys a sovereignty without its equal on earth. Every\ncountry which has Roman Catholic subjects has an interest in the condition\nof the Roman States, and should see to it that the Pope be able to\nexercise his authority independently of any temporal influence that could\naffect his spiritual power.\u201d Thus did all Christendom\u2014all the states which\nowned the Christian name\u2014true to immemorial tradition, consider that they\nlay under the obligation to watch over the freedom and independence of the\ngreat central power whence proceeded their early civilization.\n\nThe French government, in restoring Pius IX., only obeyed the will so\noften and so clearly expressed of the European nations. Now that he was\nonce more firmly seated on the Pontifical throne, it was time, thought the\nCavour-Napoleon-Mazzini party, that he should introduce into his states\nwhat they called true reform\u2014_the Code Napoleon and the secularization of\nhis government_. This, as has been seen, he could not do. It was\ntantamount to the abdication of his sovereignty. That he did reform,\nhowever, wisely and efficiently, Count de Rayneval has abundantly shown.\nHis measures of reform were large and liberal, and, in the judgment of\neminent statesmen, left little room for improvement. It is necessary to\nbestow a few words in making this fact still more apparent; for it was\nlong the fashion to say and insist that the policy of Pius IX., after his\nrestoration, was reactionary, and that the once-reforming Pope had, with\ninconceivable inconsistency, ceased to be a reformer.\n\nIn the _motu proprio_, published by the Pope on occasion of reorganizing\nhis states in 1849, \u201950, there was inaugurated as full a measure of\nliberty as was compatible with the circumstances of the country and the\ncharacter of the people. Two political bodies, a council of state and a\ncouncil of finance were instituted. These were designed as temporary\ninstitutions, whose object it should be to remedy the fearful evils caused\nby the revolution\u2014in plain terms, to bring order out of anarchy and chaos.\nM. de Rayneval has shown that in this they were successful, and that they\nalso put an end to the disorder and difficulty caused by the issue of\nforty millions of worthless paper which the _Republic_ had bequeathed to\nthem. The _Moniteur_, as well as the ambassador, admitted that by the end\nof the first seven years the finances had nearly reached an _equilibrium_,\nthe deficit at that time being only half a million of dollars. This\ntemporary state of things was destined, once its objects were\naccomplished, to give place to a more ample constitution, which certainly\nwould have been granted in due time but for the hostile intrigues of those\nwho blamed the most free and complete constitutional system. It will not\nbe without interest to consider what was thought among distinguished\nforeigners in regard to the Pope\u2019s early measures\u2014measures which, it is\nwell known, were intended as a preparation for more advanced\nconstitutional government. The French Republic appointed a commission,\nconsisting of fifteen of its best statesmen, to examine and report upon\nthe political wisdom and practical value of the institutions which Pius\nIX. had granted to his states. M. Thiers, to whom none will give credit\nfor being over friendly to the Holy See, drew up, signed and presented\nthis report:\n\n\u201cYour commission,\u201d the report states, \u201chas maturely examined this act,\n_motu proprio_, in order to see whether the counsels which France believed\nherself authorized to offer had borne such fruits as to prevent her\nregretting having interfered in Roman affairs. Well, by a large majority,\ntwelve in fifteen, your commission declares that it sees in the _motu\nproprio_ a first boon of such real value, that nothing but unjust\npretensions could overlook its importance. We shall discuss this act in\nits every detail. But limiting ourselves, at present, to consider the\nprinciple on which is based the Pontifical concession, we say that it\ngrants all desirable provincial and municipal liberties. As to political\nliberties, consisting in the power of deciding on the public business of a\ncountry in one of the two assemblies, and in union with the executive\u2014as\nin England, for instance\u2014it is very true that the _motu proprio_ does not\ngrant this sort of political liberty, or only grants it in the rudimentary\nform of a council without deliberative voice. This is a question of\nimmense gravity, which the Holy Father alone can solve, and which he and\nthe Christian world are interested in not leaving to chance. That on this\npoint he should have chosen to be prudent; that after his recent\nexperience he should have preferred not to reopen a career of agitation\namong a people who have shown themselves so unprepared for parliamentary\nliberty, is what we do not know that we have either the right or the cause\nto deem blameworthy.\u201d\n\nA well-known British statesman expressed similar views. \u201cWe all know,\u201d\nsaid Lord Palmerston, \u201cthat the Pope, on his restoration to his states in\n1849, published an ordinance called _motu proprio_, by which he declared\nhis intention to bestow institutions, not indeed on the large proportions\nof a constitutional government, but based, nevertheless, on popular\nelection, and which, if they had only been carried out, must have given\nhis subjects such satisfaction as to render unnecessary the intervention\nof a foreign army.\u201d These words were uttered in 1856, when Lord Palmerston\nought to have known, if indeed he did not actually know, that the proposed\nreforms of the Pope had been faithfully and successfully carried out. The\nreport of Count de Rayneval was before the world, and so important a state\npaper could not have been unknown to a statesman who interested himself so\nmuch in European affairs generally, and those of Rome in particular. The\nRayneval report, besides, which showed how completely Pius IX. had\nfulfilled his promises\u2014how assiduously and effectually he had labored in\nthe cause of reform\u2014had been specially communicated, as has been seen, to\nan eminent member of the British Cabinet, Lord Clarendon. It is not so\nclear that the Pope\u2019s subjects were not satisfied. None knew better than\nLord Palmerston, that there was always a foreign influence at Rome which\nnever ceased to cause discontent, and was ready, on occasion, to raise\ndisturbance. This alien and sinister influence was only too powerfully\nseconded, both by some members of the British ministry and the intriguing\nhead of the French government.\n\nBaron Sauzet, who was President of the French Chamber of Deputies in the\nreign of Louis Philippe, and who was, by no means, over partial to Rome,\nwrote in 1860 on the system of legislation which obtained in the States of\nthe Church, and gave utterance to the opinion that it was a solid basis on\nwhich Pius IX. was endeavoring to raise such a superstructure of\nimprovement as was adapted to the wants of modern society. Criminal law\nwas regulated according to the wise codes of Gregory XVI., which were a\nreal progress. Civil legislation had for its groundwork the old Roman law,\nwhich the Popes, at various times, had wisely adapted to their age and the\ncircumstances of their people. There are certain points of great delicacy,\nwith regard to which, in Christian communities, religious authority only\ncan legislate. These excepted, the Justinian code, with some necessary\nmodifications, prevailed. Few changes have been made since Gregory the\nSixteenth\u2019s time, and they are codified with such perfect scientific\nlucidity as to be available to practitioners. This is one of the special\nlabors of the Council of State, which is aided by a commission consisting\nof the most eminent and learned jurists of Rome. The distinguished\nstatesman (Baron Sauzet), moreover, repels the idea of thrusting on the\nRomans the Code Napoleon, as was intended by the Emperor Louis Napoleon.\n\nGaleotti, who was Minister of Justice in the Mazzini ministry, and who\ncannot be suspected of much favor to the Holy See, declares that, \u201cin the\nPontifical government there are many parts deserving of praise; it\ncontains many ancient institutions which are of unquestioned excellence,\nand there are others of more modern date which the other provinces of\nItaly might well enjoy. One may confidently say that there is no other\ngovernment in Italy in which the principle of discussion and deliberation\nhas been so long established and so generally practised.\u201d\n\nGaleotti further says, speaking of the Judicature: \u201cThe tribunal of the\nRota is the best and the most respected of the ancient institutions of\nRome. Some slight changes would make it the best in all Europe. The mode\nof procedure followed in it is excellent, and might serve as a model in\nevery country where people would not have the administration of justice\nreduced to the art of simply terminating lawsuits.\u201d\n\nAnother author, whose remarks are deserving of attention, Monsignor Fevre,\nsays that law expenses are very moderate, the proceedings very rapid, and\nthe rules of the Judiciary among the very best of the kind. Besides, the\npoor are never taxed by the courts, while they are always supplied with\ncounsel. In Rome itself the pious confraternity of St. Yeo (the patron\nsaint of lawyers) takes on itself, gratuitously, the cases of all poor\npeople, when they appear to have right on their side. The\narch-confraternity of San Girolamo Della Carita, also undertakes the\ndefence of prisoners and poor persons, especially widows. \u201cIt has the\nadministration of a legacy left by Felice Amadori, a noble Florentine, who\ndied in the year 1639. The principal objects of their solicitude are\npersons confined in prison. These they visit, comfort, clothe, and\nfrequently liberate, either by paying the fine imposed on them as the\npenalty of their offence, or by arranging matters with their creditors.\nWith a wise charity they endeavor to simplify and shorten causes; and they\nemploy a solicitor, who assists in settling disputes, and thus putting an\nend to litigation. This confraternity embraces the flower of the Roman\nprelacy, the patrician order and the priesthood.\u201d\n\nOne is naturally inclined to ask how it came to pass that a people,\npossessing such wise institutions, such an admirable system of\nlegislation, and a sovereign who constantly studied to enlarge and improve\ntheir inherited benefits, were never satisfied? It would be hard to say\nthat the Romans, the real subjects of the Pope, were not satisfied. But\nthere were not wanting those who succeeded in making it appear that they\nwere not, and who also contrived to induce many of the Romans themselves\nto believe that they had cause to be discontented. It was the fashion in\nPiedmont to rail against everything clerical, and to such an extent did\nthis mania proceed, that they began to persecute the clergy. Through the\nagency of the secret societies, whose chief was Mazzini, this\nanti-clerical prejudice spread through all Italy, and even extended to\nRome, the government of which, as a matter of course, was bad, for no\nother reason than that, being conducted by the Chief of the clergy, it was\nreputed to be clerical. Thus did Count Cavour and the Piedmontese\ngovernment use the Mazzinian faction for the furtherance of their own\nambitious ends, whilst the Mazzinians believed that they were using them\nas they intended to use them, and their king and all kings, as long as\nthere should be kings, for their subversive purposes, in the first\ninstance, and for the establishment, finally, of their Utopian republic on\nthe ruins of all thrones and regular governments whatsoever. As will be\nseen, most recent history shows the first act of the drama has been\nplayed, apparently to the profit of a king. Time will prove to whom, in\nthe end, victory shall belong. One institution at least will remain, for\nno power, not even that of hell, can prevail against it. As in the early\ndays, when society had fallen to a state of chaos, and orderly government\nhad become impossible, it may, once more, raise the standard of order and\nreconstitute the broken and scattered elements.\n\n(M53) Rome and the Catholic world were yet rejoicing on occasion of the\nhappy restoration of Pius IX. to his states, and pilgrims still flocked\nfrom every region of the universe to the holy city, when two remarkable\nevents came to add new glory to the flourishing church of America.\nHitherto America could reverence and invoke only one native saint. On 16th\nJuly, 1850, took place the beatification of the venerable Peter Claver, of\nthe Society of Jesus, the apostle of New Granada; and in October, Mariana\nde Paredes, of Flores, \u201cthe lily of Quito,\u201d was beatified. The latter was\nfirst cousin and contemporary of Saint Rose of Lima. This circumstance\nvividly awakens the idea, that already saints, although there were few as\nyet who could claim the honors of canonization, were not uncommon in\nAmerica. Whatever may have been the measure and excellence of her\nchildren\u2019s sanctity, the church was rapidly extending. So great was her\ngrowth that, in the year 1850, Pius IX. considered it opportune to erect\nfour metropolitan sees in the United States\u2014New York, Cincinnati, St.\nLouis and New Orleans. Baltimore, the primatial see, was already\nmetropolitan.\n\n(M54) The Holy Father showed no less solicitude for the welfare of the\nchurch in France, Spain, and other European countries. Napoleon III.,\nanxious to gain the good-will of Catholic France, prayed the Holy See to\nerect a new diocese at Laval, to raise the see of Rennes to metropolitan\ndignity, to reorganize the grand chaplaincy, and restore the chapter of\nSt. Denis. All this was done by a brief of 31st March, 1857, and there was\nnow a thoroughly good understanding between the Pope and the Emperor,\nbetween the latter and the people over whom he ruled. (M55) It was even\nsaid that Napoleon III. desired, like his uncle, to be anointed Emperor by\na Pope; that with a view to this end, he made many advances to Pius IX.,\nand went so far even as to propose in confidence the abolition of the\norganic articles, and a modification of the Code Napoleon, in so far as\nthat parties who marry before the church should be exempted from the civil\nceremony. A still less doubtful pledge of the continuance of amicable\nrelations between Rome and Paris was the baptism of the Prince Imperial.\nThe Emperor had asked the Pope to do him the favor to act as sponsor for\nthe child that Providence had deigned to give him, and Pius IX. readily\nconsented. As he could not be present in person at the ceremony, he caused\nhimself to be represented by his legate, _a latere_, Cardinal Patrizzi.\nThis cardinal, at the same time, presented to the Empress the golden rose,\nwhich is blessed every year on the fourth Sunday of Lent, in order to be\nsent to the princes, cities and churches on which the Pope desires to\nconfer special honor. The blessed rose was a small rose-tree in gold,\ncovered with rose-flowers. The vessel which contained it was of massive\ngold. It stood on a pedestal of lapis lazzuli, which bore in Mosaic the\narms of the Pope and the Emperor. On the vase itself were sculptured the\nbirth of the Blessed Virgin, and the Presentation in the Temple.\n\nIt would have been well if all this friendship had been as sincere as it\nwas warmly expressed. It cannot, however, be forgotten that the government\nof the Emperor Napoleon had suppressed the Rayneval report, and Pius IX.\nmust have thought, although prudence forbade him to say, that there was\nreason to doubt the fidelity of his apparently devoted ally. \u201c_Timeo\nDanaos et dona ferentes._\u201d\n\n(M56) It may be said that, at this time, the Powers of the world vied with\none another in seeking the favor of the Pope. Isabella II., Queen of\nSpain, like Napoleon of France, was anxious that Pius IX. should, through\na representative, stand godfather to her son, who afterwards became\nAlphonso XII. Other princes sought the like consideration, and among the\nrest, Victor Emmanuel, whose daughter, the Princess Pia, thus became the\ngodchild of Pius the Pope. This princess is now the Queen of Portugal.\n\n(M57) Another bond of friendship with the world\u2019s Powers was secured,\napparently, by the conclusion of a Concordat with the great Austrian\nEmpire. The negotiations which led to this Concordat had lasted several\nyears. It was abundantly liberal in the true acceptation of this term.\nNevertheless, it awakened the hatred and contempt of the professed\nliberals, who enjoy this appellation, one would say, simply because they\nare not liberal, just as in Latin a grove is called by a word expressive\nof light, because it is not light (_lucus a non lucendo_). How can they be\ncalled truly liberal, who have no liberality for any but themselves, who\nknow no other liberty than that which enables them to tyrannize over the\nchurch, and trample under foot her most sacred and beneficial\ninstitutions? The Concordat with Austria provides that the Catholic,\nApostolic and Roman religion shall be preserved in its integrity\nthroughout the whole extent of the Austrian monarchy, together with all\nthe rights and prerogatives which it ought to enjoy in virtue of the order\nwhich God has established and the canon law.\n\nThe Roman Pontiff having, by divine right, in the whole church the primacy\nof honor and jurisdiction, mutual communication, as regards all spiritual\nthings, and the ecclesiastical relations of the bishops, the clergy and\nthe people with the Holy See, shall not be subject to the necessity of\nobtaining the royal _placet_, but shall be wholly free.\n\nIn a consistorial allocution of 5th November, 1855, Pius IX. gave\nexpression to the joy which it afforded him to have obtained, after so\nmuch tedious negotiation, such happy results. The following year, on the\n17th of March, he addressed a brief to the bishops of the Austrian Empire,\nexhorting them to avail themselves of the spiritual independence which\nthey had once more won, in order to guard their dioceses against the\nravages of rationalism and indifference.\n\n(M58) Meanwhile, new difficulties arose in Spain and Spanish America. The\ngovernment of Isabella II., regretting the good to which it had so\nrecently been a party, commenced a new war against the church.\nNotwithstanding the Concordat, it exposed for sale such ecclesiastical\nproperty as was not yet sold, forbade religious communities of women to\nreceive novices, and forcibly removed several bishops from their dioceses.\nThe excesses were such that Pius IX. was obliged to recall his\nrepresentative from Madrid. There were similar persecutions in the South\nAmerican Republics and in Mexico. The congress of Mexico forbade monastic\nvows, banished the Archbishop of Mexico, and imprisoned the Bishop of\nMichoacan. Germany, at the same time, was not without its troubles. A\nlearned theologian of the diocese of Cologne, Dr. Anthony Gunther, had\nallowed himself to drift from the sure ways of tradition, imperceptibly\ngliding into rationalism, and confounding reason and faith. His ideas had\npartisans in several countries of Germany. The vigilant eye of Pius IX.\ndiscovered in them germs of heresy, which it was important to check before\nthey attained development. Gunther, on being condemned, accepted humbly\nthe judgment of the Holy See. But there was a long contest with some of\nhis partisans who were less pious than himself.\n\n(M59) The record of Pius the Ninth\u2019s progress through his States, in 1857,\nis alone a sufficient reply to the calumnies of those enemies who never\nceased to assert that ever since his return to Rome he had pursued a\nretrograde policy. Reform was always an object of his solicitude. It was\nwith a view to improve the condition of his people that he undertook, when\nalmost a septuagenarian, a four months\u2019 journey through the States of the\nChurch. He travelled slowly, and sometimes on foot, in order the better to\nobserve and ascertain the state of the provinces. All could approach him\nand address him freely. He visited churches, hospitals and workshops. He\nexamined the works of the ports and the public ways. Many addresses and\npetitions were presented. Far, however, from asking the abolition of\npriestly rule, the petitioners prayed for a return to the former state of\nthings, when cardinals and prelates only were set over the provinces. The\nprogress of the Holy Father was a series of joyous ovations from the time\nthat he left Rome\u20144th May\u2014till his return on the 5th September. His\njourney was at first in the direction of Ancona, Ravenna and Bologna. He\nreturned by way of Florence and Modena. His progress would have been\ncrowned with success if it had only served to show the loyalty and\ndevotedness of his people. But it was attended with still greater results.\nThe Holy Father bestowed much time at every place in seeking, personally\nand through his ministers, information which became the basis of reform\nand improvement. Thus, as is known by the authentic accounts which have\nbeen published, many localities derived very material benefit from the\nPapal visit. The port of Pesaro was to be almost entirely reconstructed,\nthe Holy Father bestowing $80,000 from his own resources. The port of\nSinigaglia was also considerably improved, and a new sanitary office\nbuilt. The cities of Ancona and Civita Vecchia were to be enlarged. At\nBologna the High street was widened and beautified; the fine fa\u00e7ade of the\ncathedral was to be completed, the Pope contributing $5,000 for fifteen\nyears. At Perugia new prisons were to be constructed, and the condition of\nthe prisoners was to be in every way improved; a liberal annual\ncontribution was given towards preserving the splendid native collections\nof art. Ravenna, although long neglected and in decay, was not forgotten.\nPius IX. wished to revive, as far as possible, the ancient commercial\nprosperity of this city, and promised $4,000 annually for ten years\ntowards improving the port. At Ferrara many improvements were ordered, and\n$9,000 contributed for the completing of the Pamfilio canal. The Holy\nFather also appointed a commission of engineers, in order to devise a plan\nby which the river Reno should be turned into the Po, and an extensive\ntract of fertile land thus saved from periodical inundations. Funds were\nprovided for the relief of poor sailors. Liberal grants were allotted for\nartesian wells, where required, and for bridges and public roads.\nEspecially were large allowances devoted for the improvement of the\nhighways at Pesaro, Macerata, Imola, Camerino, &c. Telegraphic\ncommunication was widely established. Prisons, hospitals and schools were\nspecial objects of the Holy Father\u2019s care. It was the duty of Monsignor de\nMerode, who accompanied the Pope, on arriving in any city or town, to\nvisit the prison, enquire into everything connected with it, and report\naccordingly. Monsignor Talbot had commission to look to the state of\ncharitable, industrial and educational institutions, in all of which he\naided in promoting valuable reforms.\n\nIt is impossible to consider, without emotion, the reception which greeted\nthe Holy Father in his former diocese of Spoleto. At every step proof upon\nproof was given of reverence and affection, which time had not diminished.\nEtiquette and state ceremony were laid aside. The youthful and the aged\nalike would see their good shepherd, and he was anxious to salute his\npeople, and converse with them all. Many a face, familiar to him of old,\nwas recognized with pleasure, and even names were not forgotten.\n\nAs has been seen, the days of the Holy Father\u2019s journey were not all spent\nin pleasurable greetings or official receptions. He never forgot or\nneglected the work of reform and improvement. Nor were such care and labor\nnew to him. It had often been said that the Popes were hostile to all\nmodern improvements. Why did they not favor railways? Why did they not\ndrain the Pontine Marshes, and cause the _Campagna_ to be cultivated? Let\nthe labors of Pius IX. reply. A railway through the States of the Church\nwas one of his favorite ideas, and he beheld it realized. It must have\nafforded him no ordinary satisfaction to see the railway which his\nprincely care had provided now winding along the valley of the Tiber, now\nclimbing the heights and stretching its arms across the Apennines,\nreaching down to the seaboard at Ancona, now passing beyond the limits of\nthe Papal territory, and extending away to the Tuscan capital.\n\nThe uneducated or half-educated traveller, who surveys the uncultivated\nand malarious plains around the city of the Popes, at once discovers, in\nthis desolation which prevails, an argument against priestly rule. With a\nlittle more information, however, he would see the ruins and the vestiges\nof a mighty empire, the works of which, like its conquests, were the\nwonder of the world. How such works came to be so successfully executed is\neasily understood, when it is remembered that heathen Rome commanded the\nwealth, the intellect, and the strong arms of many subject nations. The\nPopes, on the other hand, though they often tried, as did Pius IX. among\nthe rest, to cultivate the Campagna and drain the Pontine Marshes, had so\nlittle means at their disposal, that they could never accomplish anything\nimportant. Among other difficulties that the Roman Pontiffs had to contend\nwith, was that of obtaining an outlet towards the sea, whilst ancient Rome\ncommanded all the seas and lands of the known world. Surely it does not\nrequire a Solomon to understand that without access to the Mediterranean,\nit is physically impossible to drain and cultivate such low-lying lands as\nthe Pontine Marshes.\n\nAt Perugia the Holy Father received the kindly visit of the Archduke\nCharles, who came, on the part of his father Leopold, to compliment the\nSovereign Pontiff. Archduke Maximilian, of Austria, who, at the time,\nlittle thought of a Mexican Empire, came to salute the Pope at Pesaro.\nNeither he nor Pius IX. had been, as yet, betrayed and abandoned by\nNapoleon III. The Grand Duke of Tuscany and all his family, together with\nthe Dukes of Parma and Modena, came to pay their homage at Bologna. The\nHoly Father accepted their pressing invitation to visit Tuscany and\nModena, the sovereigns showing publicly, in presence of their people, such\nreverence and devotedness as recalled the faith and loyalty of the Middle\nAges. The Pope himself bears witness to the truly noble and chivalrous\nconduct of these provinces. \u201cHe introduced us himself into Florence,\u201d says\nPius IX., in speaking of the Grand Duke Leopold, \u201cwalking by our side, and\naccompanied us to every Tuscan city which we visited. All the archbishops\nand bishops of his States, all the clergy, the corporate bodies, the\nmagistrates and the nobles showed their delight by testifying their\ndevotion to us in a thousand ways. Not only at Florence, but wherever we\nwent in Tuscany, the people from town and country, far and near, came\nforth to greet us, acclaiming the Chief Pontiff of the church with such\nardent affection, showing such an intense desire to see him, to do him\nreverence, to receive his benediction, that our fatherly heart was moved\nto its inmost depths.\u201d On the Holy Father\u2019s return to Rome there was high\njubilee among all classes of the people a fact which the traducers of Pius\nIX. would do well to note, as it proves beyond a doubt how idle and\nill-founded was all their clamor, to the effect that in the holy city his\npopularity had departed.\n\n(M60) A case in itself comparatively unimportant now became a _cause\ncelebre_, and agitated all Europe. One Mortara, a Jew of Bologna, had, in\nviolation of the laws of the country, taken into his service a Christian\nmaid. Meantime, one of his children, a boy about seven years of age,\nbecame dangerously ill. The Christian girl, unadvisedly, and also in\nopposition to the law, baptized him. Her act could not be undone, and the\nlaw required that every baptized person should be educated as a Christian.\nPius IX. refused to interfere with the action of this law. Hence the\ntorrents of abuse that were poured upon him by the infidel _liberal_ press\nof Europe, as well as by the ultra-Protestant organs of England. He had\nignored liberty of conscience, abused his authority, &c. Now, let us\nsuppose that he had acted otherwise, and prevented the execution of a\nwell-known law, what would have been the result? He would have been\ndenounced as a despot, whose arbitrary decision was the only law. But\nmight not he, who was so great a reformer, have contrived to cause the law\nto be altered? Such alteration could not have affected the Mortara case. A\nchange, besides, would have been quite unnecessary, as it was not probable\nthat after such a storm, and the lesson which it taught, either Jews or\nChristians would expose themselves to the consequences of a violation of\ntheir country\u2019s laws. And were not those laws a sufficient protection to\nthe Jewish people?\n\n(M61) From the first days of his Pontificate, America engaged the\nsolicitude of Pius IX. So rapid was the growth of the church on that\ncontinent that it became necessary to give bishops to several countries\nwhere the Catholic faith had been scarcely known. So early as 1846 Oregon\nwas constituted an Archiepiscopal See. In 1850 Episcopal Sees were erected\nat Monterey and Santa Fe, in the Spanish American territory, which was\nrecently annexed to the United States, and in Savannah, Wheeling, St. Paul\nand Nesqualy. The Indian territory became a Vicariate Apostolic, under the\njurisdiction of a bishop. Three years afterwards six more sees were\nestablished\u2014San Francisco, Brooklyn, Burlington, Covington, Erie and\nNatchitoches. Later still, 1857, Pius IX. gave bishops to Illinois; Fort\nWayne, in Indiana; and Marquette, in Michigan. This last city derived its\nname from the celebrated missionary who first explored the river\nMississippi. It was now more important than ever, having become a centre\nof Catholic life and action.\n\n(M62) In 1852, Pius IX. beatified John de Britto, a martyr in India, John\nGrande and the renowned Paul of the Cross, who founded the zealous and\naustere order of Passionists. In 1853, the like honor was conferred on the\npious French shepherdess, Germaine Cousin, and the Jesuit father, Andrew\nBobola, who was martyred by the Cossacks. In 1861, John Leonardi was\nbeatified.\n\n(M63) It is now time to record events of a less pleasing nature. In 1853,\nseveral attempts had been made on the life of the Emperor Napoleon III. In\n1855, Pianori made a similar attempt. In 1858, Count Felix Orsini almost\nsucceeded in assassinating him. This Orsini was an accomplice of Louis\nNapoleon in raising an insurrection in Romagna in 1831. He was condemned\nfor conspiracy in 1845, and was amnestied by Pius IX. In 1849, he was a\nmember of the Roman Constituent Assembly. In his political testament,\ndated at the Mazas prison, and read before the jury by Jules Favre, his\ncounsel, he coolly declared that the object of his crime was to remind the\nEmperor of his former secret engagements in favor of Italian independence;\nthat he was only one of the conspirators who had charge so to remind him;\nand that, although he had failed in his aim, others would come after him\nwho would not fail. \u201cSire,\u201d he wrote, \u201clet your Majesty remember\u2014so long\nas Italy is not independent, the tranquillity of Europe and that of your\nMajesty are mere chimeras.\u201d French authors remark that it is painful to\nenquire what measure of influence these threats may have exercised on the\nsubsequent resolutions of the man to whom they were addressed, and still\nmore painful to be compelled to recognize the unworthy motive of fear at\nthe first link of the fatal chain which inevitably led to Sedan, where\nthis same man had not the courage to seek a manly death. God only could\nsee his secret mind. But it is impossible not to observe very sad\ncoincidences. Immediately after Orsini had penned his memorable testament,\nthe imperial policy was completely changed. The declaration of Orsini is\nas the dividing point between the two portions of the Emperor\u2019s reign, the\nformer openly, reasonably conservative and glorious, the latter sometimes\ndecidedly revolutionary, sometimes vacillating, contradictory, or\nunwillingly conservative, and finally terminated by a catastrophe\nunexampled in the annals of France.\n\n(M64) All who take an interest in public affairs cannot fail to remember\nthe startling words which the Emperor Napoleon III. addressed to the\nrepresentative of Austria, on occasion of the diplomatic reception at the\nTuileries, on New Year\u2019s day, 1859: \u201cI regret that my relations with your\ngovernment are not so good as in the past.\u201d This language of Napoleon\nastonished all Europe. It was as a sudden clap of thunder on the calmest\nsummer day. Ten days later, Victor Emmanuel gave the interpretation of\nthis mysterious speech, at the opening of the Piedmontese parliament, when\nhe declared that \u201che was not unmoved by the cries of pain which reached\nhim from so many parts of Italy.\u201d Finally, the marriage of Prince\nNapoleon, the Emperor\u2019s cousin, with a daughter of the Sardinian King,\nremoved all doubt. France was made to adopt, without being consulted, the\nenmities and the ambition of the Cabinet of Turin.\n\nOn the 4th of February appeared a pamphlet which increased the alarm of\nthe friends of peace and order. It may not have been written by Napoleon,\nbut it was according to his ideas and dictation. Its title was, \u201c_Napoleon\nIII. and Italy_;\u201d and it set forth a programme of the political\nreconstituting of Italy. It exonerated Pius IX. of all the things laid to\nhis charge by the revolution, but only in order to lay them at the door of\nthe Papacy itself. \u201cThe Pope,\u201d it alleged, \u201cbeing placed between two\nclasses of duty, is constrained to sacrifice the one to the other. He\nnecessarily makes political give way to spiritual duty. This is\ncondemnation, not of Pius IX. but of the system; not of the man, but of\nthe situation; since the latter imposes on the former the formidable\nalternative of immolating the Prince to the Pontiff, or the Pontiff to the\nPrince.\u201d The pamphlet further taught: \u201cThe absolutely clerical character\nof the Roman government is opposed to common sense, and is a fertile\nsource of discontent. The canon law does not suffice for the protection\nand development of modern society.\u201d The document concluded by proposing\nthe secularization of the Roman government, and the establishment of an\nItalian confederation, of which the Pope should have the honorary\npresidency, whilst Piedmont should have the real control. The pamphlet\nurged, in support of its arguments, the \u201cabnormal position\u201d of the Papacy,\nwhich was obliged, in order to sustain itself, to rely on foreign armies\nof occupation. Such a reproach on the part of one of those who lent succor\nto the Pope was anything but generous. Pius IX. hastened to remove this\ncause of complaint. On the 27th of February Cardinal Antonelli notified\nFrance and Austria that the Holy Father was grateful to them for their\ngood services, but that he thought he could himself maintain order in his\nStates, and so would beg of them to withdraw their troops. This would not\nhave suited Piedmont, which was interested in maintaining the grievance,\nas well as in rendering it possible to involve the Roman States in the war\nwhich was so rapidly approaching. The troops were not removed. Pius IX.\nwas too clear-sighted not to foresee what was so soon to happen. In an\nEncyclical of 27th April, he asked prayers for peace of all the\npatriarchs, primates, archbishops and bishops. \u201c_Pax vobis! pax vobis!_\u201d\nhe painfully repeated. But it was already too late. The young and rash\nEmperor of Austria, driven to extremity, thought himself sufficiently\nstrong to contend at once against France and the revolution. He summoned\nPiedmont to disband such of her regiments as were composed of Lombards and\nVenetians, who were Austrian subjects. As this was refused, he declared\nwar. He fell into a second error. He assumed the offensive tardily, and\ndid not push forward rapidly to the point where the French army must\nconcentrate, before its concentration could be accomplished. He made a\nthird and more serious mistake, which proved ruinous. He withdrew from the\nwar after his first defeats when his army was beat, indeed, but neither\nbroken nor disorganized, when he still held the unconquered quadrilateral,\nand when Prussia and Germany were arming to support him. In 1866 he was\nequally imprudent in the war against Prussia, when a continuation of the\ncontest would have obliged France, whether willingly or otherwise, to\nintervene, and would probably have saved both Austria and France.\n\nMeanwhile, Napoleon felt that it was necessary to reassure the Catholics\nof France. \u201cWe do not go to Italy,\u201d said he, boldly, but untruly, in his\nproclamation of 3rd May, \u201cin order to encourage disorder, nor to shake the\npower of the Holy Father, whom we have replaced on his throne, but in\norder to liberate him from the foreign pressure which weighs upon the\nwhole peninsula, and assist in founding order on legitimate interests that\nwill be satisfied.\u201d M. Rouland, the Minister of Public Worship, wrote to\nthe bishops, in order to inspire them with confidence as to the\nconsequences of the contest. \u201cThe Emperor,\u201d he said, hypocritically, \u201chas\nweighed the matter in the presence of God, and his well-known wisdom,\nenergy and loyalty will not be wanting, either to religion or the country.\nThe prince who has given to religion so many proofs of deference and\nattachment, who, after the evil days of 1848, brought back the Holy Father\nto the Vatican, is the firmest support of Catholic unity, and he desires\nthat the Chief of the Church shall be respected in all his rights as a\ntemporal sovereign. The prince, who saved France from the invasion of the\ndemocracy, cannot accept either its doctrines or its domination in Italy.\u201d\nThese declarations, which promised so much, were joyfully accepted by the\nCatholics. Events, however, soon made it appear how hollow they were. The\ngrand conspiracy, whilst it amused the friends of order and legality with\nfine words and lying protestations, acted in such a way as to favor the\nrevolution and meet all its wishes. On the 27th of April, the Grand Duke\nof Tuscany, uncle of Victor Emmanuel, was overthrown in consequence of\nintrigues and plots at the house of Signor Buoncompagni, ambassador of the\nPiedmontese King, a fact to which Mr. Scarlett, the British\nrepresentative, bears witness in an official despatch. The same blow was\nstruck, and with the like success, against the excellent and popular\nDuchess of Parma. But this princess was immediately recalled by the\npeople, who had been taken by surprise, and remained until Piedmont took\nmilitary possession of the Duchies, which it never gave up. Prince\nNapoleon, who commanded the 5th French Army Corps, looking out for the\nenemy by a devious route, in the direction of Romagna, reached the\nbattle-field of Solferino too late to take part in the fight, but quite in\ntime to make it available to the revolution. The Austrian troops who\noccupied Bologna, being threatened by the movement, made haste to recross\nthe Po, without waiting to be replaced by a Pontifical garrison, and\nwithout even advising the Holy See. M. de Cavour\u2019s emissaries immediately\navailed themselves of so good an opportunity, took possession of the city,\nwhere there was not a soldier left, and offered its government to Victor\nEmmanuel.\n\nThey were preparing at Rome to celebrate the thirteenth anniversary of the\ncoronation of Pius IX., when the news of these sad events reached the\ncity. The addresses of the Pope, on this occasion, therefore, were\nnecessarily full of melancholy feeling. \u201cIn whatever direction I look,\u201d\nsaid he, in his reply to the cardinals, \u201cI behold only subjects of sorrow;\nbut, \u2018_v\u00e6 homini illi per quem scandalum venit!_\u2019 Woe to that man by whom\nscandal cometh! For my part, personally, I am not shaken; I place my trust\nin God.\u201d Three days later, the 18th June, he announced, in a consistorial\nallocution, that Cardinal Antonelli had been commissioned to protest at\nthe courts of all the Powers against the events in Romagna. But his\nposition as sovereign required of him something more than words, and he\ndid not shrink from any of his duties. Perugia had followed the example of\nBologna, and to the former city he despatched troops, who retook it\nwithout any difficulty. In the contest some twelve men were either killed\nor wounded, and the clamors of the revolutionary press rung throughout\nEurope, denouncing the massacres and the \u201csack of Perugia.\u201d\n\n\n    Letter of the Honorable Mrs. Ross from Perugia, _vide Weekly\n    Register_, February 11th, 1860.\n\n    THE TRUTH ABOUT PERUGIA.\u2014We have received from Rome an original\n    English copy of the letter of Mrs. Ross of Bladensburgh, written\n    from Perugia on the 23rd of June last, and an Italian version of\n    which we announced last week to our readers as having appeared in\n    the _Giornale di Roma_ of 23rd ult., and which is referred to in\n    our special correspondence from Rome this week. We really never\n    expected that our former Perugino antagonist, Mr. Perkins, of\n    Boston, should have turned out to be such a very _unfortunate_\n    man. We have now a fair sample of the authorities consulted by\n    travellers of his class to procure evidence against the Pontifical\n    government.\n\n                  -------------------------------------\n\n    Extract from a letter written by the Hon. Mrs. Ross of\n    Bladensburgh, to her husband, from Villa Monti, at Perugia, dated\n    Perugia, June 21st, 1859.\n\n    \u201cTo David Ross, of Bladensburgh, Hautes Pyrenees, France.\n\n    \u201cI wrote to you last Wednesday, 15th inst., to announce a\n    revolution which occurred here on the previous day; now I write to\n    relieve your mind of anxiety in case an exaggerated account of\n    what has occurred here be given in the public papers. I have to\n    tell you of the re-entrance of the Papal troops, which took place\n    yesterday after a stubborn resistance of four hours on the part of\n    the revolutionists.\n\n    \u201cWhen the revolt at Perugia was known at Rome, orders were given\n    to a body of Swiss troops to replace the little garrison which had\n    been driven out. The revolutionary junta was well informed of what\n    had been decided on at Rome, and immediately prepared to oppose\n    the re-establishment of social order in the town. Victor Emmanuel,\n    to whom they had offered the town, returned no official answer,\n    but, instead, reports were industriously circulated among the\n    citizens of sympathy and support from Piedmont. An honest refusal\n    on the part of Victor Emmanuel, or an open acceptance, would have\n    prevented subsequent events, which his calculated silence brought\n    about. On Saturday last, the 18th inst., we heard that the Pope\u2019s\n    troops were close to \u2014\u2014 and on Sunday that they had actually\n    arrived there. In the \u2014\u2014 Buoncompagni sent from Tuscany, I am\n    told, 300 muskets in aid and wagons were despatched to Arezzo for\n    arms and ammunition; barricades were commenced. The monks were\n    turned out of their convent at St. Peter\u2019s Gate (one of them came\n    down to us); and 500 armed men instead were put in to defend the\n    gate and first barricade. After two o\u2019clock p.m., the gates were\n    closed, and no one could go in or out of the town without an\n    order. It was then I wrote a note to Mr. Perkins, warning and\n    requesting him and his family to accept a shake-down with us; and\n    with difficulty I got the note conveyed up to town by a woman who\n    happened to have a pass. Nothing could induce any of the peasants\n    about us to go near the town, as the revolutionary party were\n    making forced levies of the youth of the place, and arming them to\n    resist the coming troops. Next morning (Monday the 20th) a body of\n    shepherds coming up from the place, told us that they had just\n    seen the Swiss troops at Santa Maria degli Angioli, where they\n    stopped and had mass,(3) having heard that the citizens\n    contemplated resistance. About ten o\u2019clock that same morning I got\n    Mr. Perkins\u2019 answer to my note; it was to this effect\u2014that he had\n    gone to the president (of the Junta), who assured him that the\n    Swiss had not yet even reached \u2014\u2014 and that certainly they would\n    not arrive before the next day at sunset. And the inn-keeper (the\n    notorious Storti), he added, said that they were not coming here\n    at all, but going to Ancona! I cannot imagine how he could trust\n    such people, who were all implicated in the business. His\n    messenger, who was one of the servants of the hotel, said, as he\n    gave the note, \u2018Don\u2019t delay me, or I shall not be in time to kill\n    my three or four Swiss,\u2019 showing how well informed and prepared\n    the hotel was. I should have written again to the poor Perkins\u2019 to\n    undeceive them; but it was too late, for almost immediately the\n    columns of the Swiss appeared in the plain below, which you know\n    we see from our villa, and the president (revolutionary Junta) and\n    other heads of the rebellion had their carriages and horses ready\n    waiting. They fled at the first gun, leaving the people to act for\n    themselves after having inflamed, deceived and armed them, and\n    gathered into the town all the _canaille_ they could get from the\n    neighboring country. From the moment the troops appeared, all the\n    peasants belonging to the villa flocked around us. Anxiety was\n    depicted on every face. The countenance of one old man in\n    particular was very striking\u2014\u2018bad times,\u2019 he murmured. \u2018We have\n    fallen on evil days\u2014respect and awe are gone, and the people are\n    blinded.\u2019 The parish priest was also with us, and the monk I\n    mentioned before. We watched with great anxiety the slow ascent of\n    the troops up the long five miles to the city gate. There the\n    colonel and his men halted, and he parleyed with the people. We\n    could see him stop and address them, and then we saw a volley\n    fired down on them by the armed men in the convent windows. The\n    first fire was from the people on the troops. We could see all\n    from our villa windows like a scene on the stage; while the\n    distance was sufficient to veil the horrors of war. Then we saw\n    some troops separate from the main body and advance to the foot of\n    the wall, and in the twinkling of an eye they scaled it, amid a\n    hot fire from the insurgents, whom we heard shouting out,\n    \u2018Coraggio! coraggio!\u2019 from behind the walls. Then we saw one\n    soldier rush up and tear down the revolutionary flag, and carry it\n    in triumph back to the main body of the troops, and then we saw\n    the Pontifical flag float where the revolutionary one had been. In\n    the meantime the rest of the troops had planted their cannon\n    opposite to the city gate. Boom! boom! they went at the\n    barricades, and in an hour after the firing of the first gun, they\n    had driven out the 500 armed men from the convent of St. Peter\u2019s,\n    and entered the first enclosure of the town. We then saw no more,\n    but sat all that afternoon in the window, listening to the\n    incessant firing in deep anxiety. As the soldiers fought their way\n    up to their barracks, and as the report of the arms became more\n    and more distant, we could judge pretty well of the advance of the\n    troops, knowing as we did the chief points of resistance within.\n    The first gun fired was at three o\u2019clock p.m. precisely, and at\n    seven p.m. all was silent again; the soldiers had reached their\n    barracks. I hear that \u2014\u2014 have fled out towards Arezzo; all the\n    _canaille_ of the villages of the place were enlisted to defend\n    the city, and it was the talk of the country that had the Swiss\n    been beaten, the city was to have been pillaged by that armed mob.\n    They say that had they not had promises of succor from Victor\n    Emmanuel (the \u2018Re Galantuomo\u2019), and of encouragement from Princess\n    Valentini (nee Buonaparte, who resides here), they would not have\n    resisted as they did: thus were they deceived! There is more in it\n    all than one sees at first; and clearly it was an affair got up to\n    make out a case against the Pope. Piedmontese money was circulated\n    there just before the revolution. N\u2014\u2014 got it in change in the\n    shops.\n\n    \u201cJune 22.\u2014P.S.\u2014Our servant has been to town to-day; he brings me a\n    letter from the Perkins\u2019, and such news as is the general talk of\n    the _cafes_. Our poor friends in the Hotel de France (Locanda\n    Storti) suffered much. Deceived to the last, they had not even\n    been told of the actual arrival of the troops, and had just sat\n    quietly to dinner when the roar of the guns startled them. They\n    strove to go to another hotel, but alas! the gates of their inn\n    were fastened; they could not stir. The letter I got from them\n    said that the troops were _irritated on account of the firing from\n    the roof_. We knew beforehand how it would be _there_; and in fact\n    they did shoot an officer and two men while passing the door. It\n    was on this that the soldiers, infuriated, rushed and assailed the\n    house.... I hear every one blames the imprudence of these people.\n    They could not afford to be hostile; for the hotel, if you\n    remember, commands the street from the base up the hill. No\n    troops, therefore, could risk going up that hill with a hostile\n    house in that position ready to take them in the rear. The escape\n    of the poor Perkins\u2019 is a perfect miracle; they, I hear, lost\n    everything. The innkeeper, waiter and stableman, they say, were\n    killed in the fray. The number of deaths among the Swiss were 10,\n    and 33 of the Perugians. Several prisoners were made. I went up on\n    this same afternoon (June 22) with the two little boys to see the\n    colonel of the regiment. The town is wonderfully little injured,\n    only broken windows ... after a mob riot, with the exception of a\n    few houses in the suburbs, between the outer and inner gates. One\n    was burned by the accident of the falling of a bomb-shell. The\n    other was cannonaded as being a resort of the rebels. There is\n    great talk of how the heads of the revolution scampered off,\n    betraying thus the tools and dupes of their faction.\u201d\n\n                  -------------------------------------\n\n    Extract from another letter to David Ross of Bladensburgh:\n\n    \u201cThere is great terror here among all the country people, who\n    dread, sooner or later, vengeance being taken upon them by the\n    revolutionary party, because they would have nothing to say to the\n    movement.\u201d\n\n\n(M65) It is well known how rapidly events succeeded one another, when\nNapoleon\u2019s friendly relations with Austria came to an end. On May 3rd he\ndeclared war. On the 12th he arrived at Genoa, commanded in person, on the\n4th of June, at the battle of Magenta, where, but for the superior\ngeneralship of Marshal McMahon, he would have lost his life, together with\nhis army, and on the 24th of the same month won the great victory of\nSolferino. He now gave out that he had enough of glory and would fight no\nmore, whilst in reality he was constrained to yield to powerful pressure\nfrom without. Prussia, foreseeing that, if Austria experienced a few more\ndefeats, she herself would suffer, deemed it wise to interfere. Prussia\nhad, indeed, concerted matters beforehand with the Emperor of the French,\nand had undertaken to isolate Austria, her hereditary rival in Germany.\n\nBut at the first rumor of the Franco-Piedmontese aggression, the German\nStates were moved. The Diet of Francfort insisted that the confederate\nnations should proceed to assist the Emperor, who was President of the\nGerman Confederation. It fell to Prussia to head the movement. But, as may\nbe conceived, she was not hearty in the cause. Her statesmen hesitated,\nargued, equivocated, and made a show of preparing, but slowly, for war.\nMeanwhile, the news of the successive defeats of Austria roused still more\nthe patriotism of the Germans. The Prussian monarch, finding that he was\non the point of being overwhelmed, addressed to his Imperial accomplice,\nthe day after the battle of Solferino, a most pressing telegram, informing\nhim that he must make peace, cost what it would. Napoleon, it need hardly\nbe said, obeyed, and so _the peace of Villafranca was concluded_. By this\ntreaty was established an Italian Confederation, under the honorary\npresidency of the Pope, Lombardy given to Piedmont, Venice left to\nAustria, the rights of the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the other sovereigns,\nwho were for the moment dispossessed, expressly reserved. Thus appeared to\nend the intrigues of the revolution. Pius IX. promptly invited the\nfaithful of Rome to join with him in offering thanksgiving to God. His\nletter thus concludes: \u201cWhat do we pray for? That all the enemies of\nChrist, of His Church and of the Holy See, may be converted and live.\u201d\n\n(M66) So clear, apparently, was now the political atmosphere, that men\ncould not avoid accusing themselves of having judged rashly the mighty\nconqueror, who, by a word, could restore serenity as easily as he had\ndisturbed it. It was not yet known by what power he was restrained. In\ncompliance with the requirements of the treaty of Villafranca, Piedmont,\nindeed, withdrew her commissioners from Central Italy. The public,\nhowever, soon learned, to its great astonishment, what, at first, it could\nnot believe, that provisional governments took the place of the\nPiedmontese Commissioners, and that Baron Ricasoli, at Florence, Signor\nFarini, at Modena and Parma, and Cipriani, at Bologna, all agents of Count\nde Cavour and the revolution, dismissed everywhere such officials as were\nsuspected of looking seriously to the return of the legitimate sovereigns,\nand had recourse to popular suffrage. This, it is no exaggeration to say,\nwas a mere mockery. The voting directed, expurgated by these parties,\nnever extended to the landward districts, but, confined entirely to the\ntowns, was necessarily calculated to produce the result at which they\naimed\u2014a _plebiscitum_ in favor of annexation to Piedmont. In Romagna, for\ninstance, where there were about two hundred thousand electors, only\n18,000 were registered, and of these only one-third presented their votes.\nBy such means was a national assembly constituted. This assembly met at\nBologna on the 6th of September, and at its first sitting voted the\nabolition of the Pontifical government, and invited Victor Emmanuel. This\npotentate dared not, at first, to accept, but appointed Signor\nBuoncompagni, governor-general of the league of Central Italy. It did not\nappear from the state of the polls, if, indeed, the polling of votes was\neven made a fashion of, that the people of the Papal States were at all\nanxious to do away with the government under which they and their\nforefathers had enjoyed so many blessings, together with the surpassing\nhonor of possessing, as their capital, the metropolis of the Christian\nworld. They were too happy in being ruled over by the elective monarch\nwhom they themselves had chosen, to desire, in preference to him, the mere\nshadow of a king\u2014the satrap of an Imperial despot. It was not they who, in\na pretended _patriotic_ endeavor to shake off the Pontifical yoke, raised\nthe standard of rebellion in so many cities and provinces of the Papal\nStates. This was wholly the work of foreigners. A Bonaparte, attended by a\nnumerous and well-disciplined army, invaded Italy. His arms were, to a\ncertain extent, successful; and so rebellion was encouraged. Another\nBonaparte excited to revolt the city of Perugia. The disturbance was\nspeedily settled by a handful of troops whom the sovereign had despatched\nfrom Rome, to the great satisfaction of the citizens of Perugia. In other\ncities, by the like instrumentalities, were like movements occasioned.\nThey were invariably suppressed by the loyal and devoted people. So much\nwas this the case that the Pontifical government warmly thanked the mayors\nand municipalities of no fewer than seven or eight cities for their good\nservices in putting down the nascent revolution. At Bologna, the capital\nof the Romagnol or \u00c6milian provinces, a cousin of the Bonapartes, the\nMarquis Pepoli, whom the benevolence of Pius IX. had restored to his\ncountry, stirred up rebellion, and caused the Pontifical government to\ngive place to revolutionary misrule. The abettors of Pepoli, in this most\nbase and ungrateful proceeding, were his associates of the secret\nsocieties; others who were foreigners at Bologna, and a few malcontents of\nthat city itself. But all these were far from being the citizens of\nBologna, far from being the people of the Bolognese provinces. Whilst such\nthings were done, where was the peace of Villafranca? It had become, or\nrather, never was anything better than, waste paper. The head of the\nBonapartes was the offender, and he contrived to make France the partner\nof his guilt.\n\n\u201cIt is France,\u201d the illustrious M. de Montalembert affirms, \u201cthat has\nallowed the temporal power of the Pope to be shaken. This is the fact,\nwhich blind men only can deny. France is not engaged alone in this path,\nbut her overwhelming ascendancy places her at the head of the movement,\nand throws the great and supreme responsibility of it upon her. We know\nall the legitimate and crushing reproaches that are due to England and\nPiedmont; but if France had so willed it, Piedmont would not have dared to\nundertake anything against the Holy See, and England would have been\ncondemned to her impotent hatred.... The Congress of Paris, in 1856\u2014having\nsolemnly declared, \u2018that none of the contracting powers had the right of\ninterfering, either collectively or individually, between a sovereign and\nhis subjects\u2019(4)\u2014after having proclaimed the principle of the absolute\nindependence of sovereigns in favor of the Turkish Sultan against his\nChristian subjects, thought itself justified by its protocol of April 8th,\nand in the absence of any representative of the august accused, in\nproclaiming that the situation of the Papal States was _abnormal_ and\n_irregular_. This accusation, developed, aggravated and exaggerated in\nparliament and elsewhere, by Lord Palmerston and Count Cavour, was,\nnevertheless, formally put forward under the presidency and on the\n_initiative_ of the French minister for foreign affairs. Consequently,\nFrance must be held accountable for it to the Church, and to the rest of\nEurope.\u201d The war which \u201cthe skilful but guilty perseverance of Piedmontese\npolicy\u201d succeeded in occasioning between France and Austria facilitated\nnot a little the work of revolution in the States of the Church. In order\nto dispel the fears that prevailed, the following words were addressed to\nthe Bishops of France by the minister of the Emperor: \u201cThe prince who\nrestored the Holy Father to his throne in the Vatican wills that the Head\nof the Church should be respected in all his rights as a temporal\nsovereign.\u201d A little later, the Emperor of the French, elated with his\nmilitary success, issued a proclamation which renewed the apprehensions\nthat had been so happily allayed. \u201cItalians!\u2014Providence sometimes favors\nnations and individuals by giving them the opportunity of suddenly\nspringing into their full growth. Avail yourselves, then, of the fortune\nthat is offered you! Your desire of independence, so long expressed, so\noften deceived, will be realized, if you show yourselves worthy of it.\nUnite then for one sole object, the liberation of your country. Fly to the\nstandards of King Victor Emmanuel, who has already so nobly shown you the\nway to honor. Remember that without discipline there can be no army, and\nanimated with the sacred fire of patriotism, be soldiers only to-day, and\nyou will be to-morrow free citizens of a great country.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Romagnese,\u201d continues Montalembert, \u201ctook the speaker at his word.\nFour days after the appearance of this proclamation, they rose against the\nPapal authority, created a provisional government, convoked a sovereign\nassembly, voted the deposition of the Pope, and the annexation to\nPiedmont. Finally, seeing their audacity remained unpunished, they\norganized an armed league, officered by Piedmontese, and commanded by\nGaribaldi\u2014that Garibaldi, who, having been vanquished by French troops ten\nyears ago, now avails himself of our recent hard-won victories, to boast\nthat he will \u2018soon make an end of clerical despotism.\u2019 \u201d\n\nThree months after the revolution had been established in the Romagna, M.\nde Montalembert wrote: \u201cThe revolution, triumphant, is still asking Europe\nto sanction its work. France has to impute to herself all the scandals and\nall the calamities that will follow. Great nations are responsible not\nonly for what they do, but for what they permit to be done under the\nshadow of their flag, and by the incitement of their influence. The war\nwhich France waged in Italy has cost the Pope the loss of the third part\nof his dominions, and the irreparable weakening of his hold on what\nremains. The eldest daughter of the church will remain accountable for it\nbefore contemporaries, before history, before Europe, and before God. She\nwill not be allowed to wipe her mouth like the adultress in Scripture,\n_qu\u00e6 tergens os suum dicit, non sum operata malum_.\u201d\n\nAnother power which was, in the full sense of the term, _foreign_ in the\nRoman States, still more directly aided the revolution. This power was the\narmy of Garibaldi. It will be seen, when it is considered what troops this\narmy was composed of, that it was wholly alien in the States of the\nChurch. In this motley corps there were:\n\n6,750 Piedmontese volunteers.\n3,240 Lombards volunteers\n1,200 Venetians.\n2,150 Neapolitans and Sicilians.\n500 Romans.\n1,200 Hungarians.\n200 French.\n30 English.\n150 Maltese and Ionians.\n260 Greeks.\n450 Poles.\n370 Swiss.\n160 Spaniards, Belgians and Americans.\n800 Austrian deserters and liberated convicts.\n\nCould such an army as this be held to be a representation of the people of\nthe Papal States? One-third of it was supplied by two hostile nations, one\nof which, Piedmont, had actually, by the intrigues of its government and\nin pursuance of a policy which an able statesman, a most candid writer and\nan honorable man, Count Montalembert, has stigmatized as _criminal_,\ncaused the rebellion in Romagna, and has since earnestly labored to avail\nitself of the state of things, by annexing Central Italy to the\nterritories of the Piedmontese King. It were superfluous to direct\nattention to the numbers of foreigners from various states. It is,\nhowever, deserving of remark that the whole population of the Papal\nStates, amounting to 3,000,000, should have shown its alleged sympathy\nwith the \u201ccause of Italy,\u201d by sending only 500 men to fight its battles.\nThey did not want courage, as was shown in 1848, when neither the\nconsiderate advice and paternal remonstrances of the Holy Father, nor the\nwise counsel of grave statesmen and learned cardinals, could moderate the\nardor of the Roman youth, believing, as they had been persuaded, that\npatriotism and duty called them to follow the standard of King Charles\nAlbert. Then they took up arms, as they conceived, in the cause of Italian\nliberty. But now that honorable cause was manifestly in abeyance; and they\nwould not leave their homes and endanger their lives for the phantom of\nnational independence offered them by the revolution.\n\nThe French were equally wary. They sympathized with Italy. They fought for\ntheir Emperor. But they had no admiration for Piedmontese ambition, or\nthat of Murats, and Pepolis, and Bonapartes.\n\nEngland was more cautious still. However much her demagogues may have\nexerted their oratorical powers at home, they carefully avoided perilling\neither life or limb in the cause of the revolution. A more numerous band\nof fighting men of English origin, in Garibaldi\u2019s ranks, would have shown\nmore sympathy with rebellion in some Italian States than the proposal made\nby a right honorable member of the richest peerage in the world to raise a\npenny subscription in order to supply the rebels with bayonets and\nfire-arms. When we call to mind that this suggestion was made by that very\nlordly peer who was once Governor-General of India, we have little\ndifficulty in understanding why his superiors, the members of the East\nIndia Company, dismissed him from the high and responsible office with\nwhich he had been entrusted.\n\nIt cannot be pretended that the army of Garibaldi was, in any degree, a\nnational representation. No nation or community can be fairly represented\nby a number of its people, insignificantly small, unless, indeed, these\nfew individuals hold commission from their fellow-countrymen. We have not\nread anywhere that the Garibaldian army was thus honored. Social status,\ncharacter and respectability, may, on occasions, give to individuals the\nprivilege of representing their country. But on these grounds the motley\ntroop of the revolutionary leader possessed no claim. They were men for\nwhom peace and order have no charms. The powerful corrective of military\ndiscipline was applied to them in vain. Their insubordination was\nnotorious. To Garibaldi even it was intolerable. And this man, daring as\nhe was, withdrew from the command in disgust. He had scarcely retired when\nmany of his men deserted. These the people refused to recognize, and would\nnot afford them assistance on their journey. Some fifty of them arrived at\nPlacentia, after having been reduced to mendicancy before they could reach\ntheir homes. The revolutionary governor, Doctor Fanti, issued an order of\nthe day, requiring that these men, on account of their insubordination and\nbad conduct, should not be admitted anew into the army of the League. The\ngeneral-in-chief also published an order, under date of 26th November,\n1859, absolutely forbidding to accept any person who had belonged to\nGaribaldi\u2019s force. An army so composed could, by no means, claim to\nrepresent the highly refined, intellectual, and moral populations of\nItaly. Far less did it afford any proof that the people of the Papal\nStates were anxious to forward the work of the revolution.\n\nThe inhabitants of Rome and the Roman States, far from showing any\ninclination to side with the revolutionary party, were wont never to let\npass an opportunity of manifesting their satisfaction with the government\nof the Pope. His Holiness walked abroad without guards. And although he\nsought the most retired places, for the enjoyment of that pedestrian\nexercise which his health required, numbers of the people often contrived\nto throw themselves in his way, in order to testify to him their reverence\nand affection, as well as to receive his paternal benediction. When taking\nhis walk, one day, on Monte Pincio, many thousands came around him,\ndeclaring loudly their unfeigned loyalty. The following day, still greater\ncrowds repaired to the same place. But the Holy Father, with a view to be\nmore retired, had gone in another direction. It ought not to be forgotten,\nthat when returning, in the autumn of 1859, from his villa at Castel\nGandolpho, the road was thronged on both sides to the distance of four\nmiles from Rome with citizens who had no other object in view than to give\na cordial and loyal welcome to their Bishop and Prince. This was an\novation\u2014a triumph which the greatest conqueror might well have envied. It\nhas already been recorded that, on occasion of the progress which the Holy\nFather made through his States, he was everywhere received with the most\nlively demonstrations of enthusiastic loyalty, reverence and affection. On\nthe 18th of January, 1860, the municipal body, or, as it is called, \u201cthe\nSenate,\u201d of Rome, presented to the Sovereign Pontiff, as well in their own\nname as on behalf of all the people, an address expressive of their filial\nduty and loyal sentiments. On the following day, January 19th, one hundred\nand thirty-four of the nobility of Rome, who are, in all, one hundred and\nsixty, approached the person of the Pontiff in order to present an equally\nloyal and dutiful address. The sentiments of this address will be best\nconveyed in its own plain and energetic language\u2014language which does honor\nto the patricians of modern Rome:\n\n\u201cWe, the undersigned, deeply grieved by the publication of various libels\nwhich, emanating from the revolutionary press, tend to make the world\nbelieve that the people subject to the authority of your Holiness are\nwishing to shake off the yoke which, as it is reported, has become\ninsufferable, feel necessitated to show fidelity and loyalty to your\nHoliness, and to make known to the rest of Europe, which, at the present\nmoment, doubts the sincerity of our words, the fidelity of our persons\ntowards your Holiness, by a manifestation of attachment and fidelity\ntowards your person, proceeding from our duty as Catholics, and from our\nlawful submission as your subjects.\n\n\u201cIt is not, however, our intention to vie with the miserable cunning of\nyour enemies\u2014enemies of the faith\u2014of that very faith which they profess to\nvenerate. But placed, as it is our fortune, by your side, and seeing the\nmalignity of those who attack you, and the disloyal character of their\nattacks, we feel bound to gather ourselves at the foot of your twofold\nthrone, with vows for the integrity of your independent sovereignty; and\nonce more offering you our whole selves, too happy if this manifestation\nof our fidelity may sweeten the bitterness with which your Holiness is\nafflicted, and if you are pleased to accept our offerings. Thus may\nEurope, deceived by so many perverse writings, be thoroughly convinced\nthat if the nobility have hitherto been restrained from the expression of\ntheir desires by respect and the fear of throwing any obstacle in the way\nof a happy solution, so anxiously desired, they have not the less retained\nthem, and expressed them as individuals; and that they, this day, unite to\ndeclare them, heartily and sincerely pledging to them before all the world\ntheir honor and their faith.\n\n\u201cAccept, Holy Father, Pontiff and King, this energetic protest and the\nunlimited devotedness which the nobles of Rome offer in reverence to your\nSceptre, no less than to your Pastoral staff.\u201d\u2014(_In the Weekly Register of\nJanuary 28, 1860, from the Giornale di Roma._)\n\nThe like loyal and patriotic feeling was manifested throughout all the\ncities and provinces of the Papal States. One of the most eminent of\nliberal British statesmen, the Marquis of Normanby, bears witness to the\nfact that very few of the citizens of Bologna could be compelled, even at\nthe point of the sword, to express adherence to the revolution. A portion\nof the periodical press labored to keep such facts as these out of view.\nBut they would have required better evidence than they were ever able to\nproduce in order to convince reasonable and reflecting men that people,\nblessed with so great a degree of material prosperity as the subjects of\nthe Pope and the other Princes of Italy, were anxious to see radical\nchanges introduced into the governments under which they were so favored.\nThat they were highly prosperous and but slightly taxed, many\ndistinguished travellers, members of both houses of the British\nparliament, and others bear witness. None will question the evidence of\nthese facts which are known on the authority of such men as the Marquis of\nNormanby and his Excellency the Earl of Carlisle. The Hon. Mr. Pope\nHennessey stated in the House of Commons: \u201cThat the national prosperity of\nthe States of the Church and of Austria had become greater, year after\nyear, than that of Sardinia (where a sort of revolutionary constitution\nhad been established), and that documents existed in the Foreign Office,\nin the shape of reports from our own consuls, which proved it, with\nrespect to commercial interests in Sardinia. Mr. Erskine, our minister at\nTurin, in a despatch of January 7, 1856, gave a very unfavorable view of\nthe manufacturing, mining and agricultural progress of Sardinia. But from\nVenetia, Mr. Elliott gave a perfectly opposite view, showing that great\nprogress was being made there. The shipping trade of Sardinia with England\nhad declined 2,000 tons. But the British trade with Ancona had increased\n21,000 tons, and with Venice 25,000 tons, in the course of the last two\nyears. He attributed these results to the increase of taxation in\nSardinia, through the introduction of the constitutional (the _Sardinian_\ninstitutional) system of government, and to the comparatively easy\ntaxation of Venetia. The increased taxation of Sardinia from 1847 to 1857\nwas no less than 50,000,000 francs. With respect to education in the Papal\nStates, he contended that it was more diffused than it was in this\ncountry\u2014Great Britain.\u201d\n\nIn countries that were so prosperous, every man literally \u201csitting under\nhis own vine and his own fig-tree,\u201d it is difficult to believe that there\nwas wide-spread discontent and a general desire for radical changes. To\nprove that there was, it would have required evidence of no ordinary\nweight. All testimony that can be relied on shows a very different state\nof feeling. Lord John Russell, in his too memorable Aberdeen speech, gave\nexpression to an opinion which, through the labors of the newspaper press,\nhad become very prevalent in England, that \u201cunder their provisional\nrevolutionary governments the people of Central Italy had conducted\nthemselves with perfect order, just as if they had been the citizens of a\ncountry that had long enjoyed free institutions.\u201d\n\nThe Marquis of Normanby, in his place in the British House of Peers, made\nreply to this allegation:(5)\n\n\u201cI should like to know where the noble Lord found that information. There\nis not in Central Italy a single government that has resulted from popular\nelection. They were all named by Piedmont\u2014which had, as it were, packed\nthe cards. Liberty of speech there was none, nor liberty of the press, nor\npersonal liberty.... The Grand Duchess of Parma was expelled by a\nPiedmontese army, and restored by the spontaneous call of her people. She\nleft the country, declaring that she would suffer everything sooner than\nexpose her subjects to the horrors of civil war.... Numberless atrocities\nhave been committed under the rule of these governments which, according\nto my noble friend, are so wise and orderly. I read to you the first day\nof this session the letter of a Tuscan, whose character is irreproachable.\nSince that time I have received from him another letter, in which he says:\n\u2018You will not be surprised to learn that my letter to you has been the\noccasion of the coarsest invectives. For what reason I cannot tell, if it\nwas not because it spoke the truth.\u2019\n\n\u201cHere is a second letter, which I received a few days ago from an English\nmerchant of the highest standing at Leghorn: \u2018No intervention is allowed\nin Tuscany; and nevertheless, my Lord, intervention appears everywhere;\neven armed and foreign intervention. The governor-general is a\nPiedmontese; the minister of war is a Piedmontese; the commander of the\narmed police is a Piedmontese; the military governor of Leghorn is a\nPiedmontese; the captain of the port is a Piedmontese; without reckoning a\ngreat number of other functionaries of the same nation. This is what I\ncall armed and foreign intervention. Let us be disembarrassed of all this;\nlet us be free from the despotic pressure of this government, and the\ngreat majority of the country would vote the restoration of the House of\nLorraine. Almost all the army would be for the Grand Duke, and on this\naccount it is kept at a distance from Tuscany. I can say the same of\ntwo-thirds of the national guard. All the Great Powers have observed\nstrict neutrality here, inasmuch as they have not been present at any\nceremony which could be looked upon as a recognition of the existing\ngovernment. But since the peace of Villafranca, the English agents have\ntaken part in all the ceremonies, in all the balls.\u2019 Assuredly, thus to\nrecognize such a government is far from being faithful to the assurance\ngiven last session by the noble Lord at the head of the foreign department\n(cheers).\u201d\n\nLord Normanby\u2019s trustworthy correspondent says, moreover, in the letter\nreferred to, that the Tuscan troops being kept at a distance from Tuscany,\nthe people dreaded making any demonstration, being well aware that an\nimprudent word would be punished with imprisonment. \u201cAt Leghorn, however,\nsome private meetings were held, at which influential persons were\npresent. Public meetings are impossible. Twenty-three members of the\nassembly asked that it should be convened. This was refused them. At the\nprivate meetings, however, it was decided that Ferdinand IV. should be\nrecalled, on condition of granting a constitution and an amnesty. The\npeople have been dreadfully deceived. All promises have been violated, the\nprice of provisions has risen, the national debt has been enormously\nincreased.\u201d\n\nLord Normanby also laid before the House of Peers the testimony of a\ndistinguished Italian writer, Signor Amperi, whom he described as a man of\nhigh character. This gentleman addressed the governments of Central Italy\nin the following terms:\n\n\u201cThe false position in which you have placed yourselves has reduced you to\nthe necessity, in times of liberty, as you pretend, but of false liberty,\nas I conceive, to make falsehood a system of government. Of the promises\nof Victor Emmanuel that he would sustain before the Great Powers the vote\nof the Tuscan Assembly, you have made a formal accepting for himself of\nthis vote, and, in order to deceive the ignorant multitude, you ordered\npublic rejoicings in honor of a fact which you knew to be false. You\ndeclared yourselves the ministers of a king who had not appointed you. You\nadminister the government in his name; you give judgments in his name; you\npledge the public faith of a sovereign who has given you no commission to\ndo any such thing; and although you forced the Tuscans to acknowledge him\nfor king, you despise his authority to such an extent as to impose upon\nhim the choice of a regent. What right have you to do this, if he be\nreally king, and if he be not, is your right any better founded?\u201d\n\nThe Marquis of Normanby laughs to scorn the various attempts that were\nmade to establish a government in Central Italy against the will of the\npeople. First of all, a certain Signor Buoncompagni was appointed\ngovernor-general by the King of Sardinia. The Emperor of the French judged\nthat the ambitious satrap had exceeded his powers, and Buoncompagni was\nimmediately recalled. The Prince de Carignan was then offered the regency\nof Central Italy. He thought it prudent to decline; but, unwilling wholly\nto relinquish a cherished object of ambition, he named in his place the\nabove-mentioned Signor Buoncompagni. It would be hard to say in virtue of\nwhat right he so acted. The appointment, it is well known, caused the\ngreatest indignation at Florence, and elicited a protest from the liberal\nrepresentatives themselves. Will it be believed, in after times, that the\nBritish ministry, at that time in power, actually recognized this spurious\ngovernment, ordering the Queen\u2019s representative to pay an official visit\nto Signor Buoncompagni? Whilst all Europe held aloof, anxious to avoid\nwrong and insult to the Italian people, whence this zeal and haste on the\npart of the British cabinet? At first they had resolved to be neutral. But\nthere occurred to them the chimerical idea of a great kingdom of Central\nItaly; and, as Lord Normanby stated, they hastened in their ignorance to\ncarry this idea into effect. \u201cYes,\u201d continued the illustrious Peer, when\nassailed by the laughter of the more ignorant portion of his hearers,\n\u201cyes, in complete ignorance of the aspirations and the prejudices of the\nItalian people.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a painful duty,\u201d said the illustrious statesman, in concluding his\neloquent appeal to the common sense and honorable feeling of the British\npeerage, \u201cto have to dispel the illusions of public opinion in regard to\nItaly. I have endeavored to fulfil this duty by laying before you\ninformation that can be relied on; and I have the pleasure to observe that\nlight is now beginning to penetrate the darkness which has hitherto\nenveloped this question. There is already a greater chance that Italian\nindependence will be established on a more legitimate basis, free from all\nforeign intervention, and in such a way as to favor the cause of fidelity,\nof truth, of honor and general order (cheers).\u201d\n\nIf there were no foreign intervention, it was long the fashion with\ncertain parties to say, we should soon see the end of Papal rule, as well\nas that of all the other sovereignties of Italy. Such, however, were not\nthe views of the great majority of the Italian people. It has been\nsatisfactorily proved, those people themselves being the witnesses, that\nsuch of them as were subjects of the Pope, far from being discontented and\nanxious to do away with the government which was set over them, and\nsubstitute for it either a republic or a foreign monarchy, highly\nappreciated and were steadfastly devoted to the wise and paternal rule of\ntheir Pontiff Sovereign. The subjects of the other Italian Princes, as\nwell as the inhabitants of the revolutionized portion of the Papal States,\nwere only prevented by the armed intervention of foreign Powers from\ndeclaring in favor of their rightful sovereigns. There is no pretension to\ndeny that there were reformers and constitutionalists in those States. Of\ntheir number the Pope himself was one. But the well-informed and\nintellectual Italians were not ignorant that all reforms must be the fruit\nof time and of opinion, and that under the sway of enlightened and\nbenevolent sovereigns, aided by the learning and wise counsel of able and\nconscientious statesmen, such changes, in matters of civil polity, as were\nadapted to the wants of the people would not have been delayed beyond the\ntime when circumstances called for and justified their adoption.\n\n(M67) All eyes were turned towards the victor of Solferino, who was the\nabsolute master of the situation. What would he do? Would he allow to be\nviolated the definitive treaty which his Plenipotentiaries were actually\ncompleting at Zurich? Napoleon III. did positively nothing. He repeated in\nthe treaty the stipulations in favor of the dispossessed sovereigns, just\nas if the pretended plebiscitums were null, and he had no knowledge of\nthem. He quietly permitted these plebiscitums to take effect with all\ntheir consequences, quite the same as if the treaty had never existed.\nAustria saw the treaty executed, as regarded every sacrifice to which she\nhad consented, and not without pain, that it was set aside in all the\npoints which set a limit to those sacrifices. But Austria was not the\nstrongest Power. Piedmont, meanwhile, adhibited her signature without\nwincing under those of France and Austria. Thus, as Mgr. Pie of Poitiers\ndeclared, the church was deprived of all human stay. Such a state of\nthings was not witnessed without emotion. Even in the frivolous society of\nFrance a change had taken place since the days of the great revolution.\nCatholic sentiment had gained among the lettered classes. The dethronement\nof Pius VI. had passed unnoticed, like that of an ordinary sovereign. That\nof Pius VII. had excited only some isolated animadversions. That of Pius\nIX. raised storms of protestation on the one hand, and on the other\nthunders of applause. One party so hated the Papacy as to become traitors\nto their country, and bind themselves with a sort of wild enthusiasm,\nfirst to the car of Italian unity, afterwards to that of Germany. They who\nthought otherwise carried their love of the imperilled institution to such\nan extent as to forget all their calculations, all their political\nalliances, and to incur freely the displeasure of men in power, even to\nsacrifice the favor of the multitude, favor which was not less valuable in\ntimes of universal suffrage than that of power. The Roman question became\nthe inexhaustible subject of public discussions and private conversations.\nIt sometimes even occasioned family quarrels, and was a trying ordeal for\nlong-established friendships. Such extraordinary emotion on account of an\nidea\u2014an abstraction, as it was called by the indifferent, who took part\nwith neither one side nor the other\u2014showed that society was not yet\ncorroded to the core by selfishness and purely material interests. It was\nsick, indeed, but far from dead. The French government ought, surely, at\nthe outset, to have taken warning. It ought to have learned something from\nthe unanimity with which all the enemies of order, who were also its\nenemies, supported its new policy, and the unanimity, not less remarkable,\nwith which religious people who, generally, had been its friends, combated\nthat policy. Both liberal and ultramontane Catholics, Protestants even,\nsuch, at least, as were earnest Christians, and practised what they\nbelieved, forgot their divisions. The bishops were the first who spoke\nout. Mgr. de Parisis, who had so nobly contended for the liberties of the\nchurch in the reign of Louis Philippe, gave the keynote, and all took part\nwith him and their venerable colleagues of Italy and Germany, of Ireland\nand Spain, of England and America. To say all in a word, the note of alarm\nwas sounded throughout the whole extent of Christendom.\n\nIn this magnificent concert was heard the courageous language of Mgr.\nDupanloup, the learned and illustrious Bishop of Orleans. On the 30th of\nSeptember, 1859, this prelate wrote, no less boldly than eloquently:\n\n\u201cPeople say that to touch the sovereign is not to touch the Pontiff.\nCertainly his temporal power is not a divine institution; who does not\nknow this? But it is a providential institution, and who is ignorant of\nthe fact? Doubtless, during three centuries, the Popes only possessed\nindependence enough to die martyrs; but they assuredly had a right to\nanother sort of independence; and providence, which does not always use\nmiracles for its purpose, ended by founding on the most lawful sovereignty\nin Europe the freedom and the independence necessary to the church.\nHistory proves it beyond the possibility of doubt; all eminent intellects\nhave confessed it; all true statesmen know it. Yes, that the church may be\nfree, the Pope must be free and independent. That independence must be\nsovereign. The Pope must be free, and he must be evidently so. The Pope\nmust be free in his own interior as well as in his exterior government.\nThis must be so, for the sake of his own dignity in the government of the\nchurch as well as for the security of our own consciences. This must be\nso, in order to secure to the common parent of all the faithful that\nneutrality which is indispensable to him amid the frequent wars between\nChristian Powers. The Pope must not only be free in his own conscience, in\nhis own interior, but it must be evident to all that he is so; he must\nshow himself to be so, in order that all may know and believe it, and that\nno doubt or suspicion be possible on this subject. But, say the Italian\nrevolutionists, we do not propose to do away with the Papal sovereignty;\nwe merely wish to limit and restrain it. And why so, I ask you in my turn,\nif thereby you also diminish and debase the honor of the Catholic\nreligion, its dignity and independence? Why do so, if thereby you lower\nand degrade the most Italian sovereignty of the whole peninsula? Why, more\nespecially, do so now, in presence of all these unchained evil passions,\nand thereby give against the Holy See a sentence of incapacity, and thus,\nin the eyes of Christendom, insult that unarmed and oppressed Majesty? You\nsay he will only lose the Romagna and the Legations. But allow me to ask\nyou by what right you take them? And why not take all the rest, if you\nplease? Why, in your dreams of Italian unity, should other Italian cities\nfare otherwise than Bologna and Ferrara? Why have you not made up your\nminds to take everything outside of Rome, with the garden of the Vatican?\nYou have said this, you know. But why leave him, even in Rome? Why should\nnot Dioclesian and the catacombs be the best of all governments for the\nchurch? Where are you going? How far will your detestable principles lead\nyou? At least, tell us clearly? Is this a clever calculation of yours?\nand, not daring to do more at present, or unable to do more, are you\nwaiting for time and the violence of events to accomplish the rest? But\nwho, think you, is to be deceived by you? Must we say, with the highest\norgan of the English press, that in the present business France is\naggressive and insidious? I do not admit that our country is willing to\nplay the part designed for her. Such calculations are not suited to French\ngenerosity. For my part, I protest, with my whole soul, against the\nperfidious intentions that we are supposed to entertain. But, in\nconcluding, I must protest, still more solemnly, as a devoted son of the\nHoly Roman Church, the mother and teacher of all others\u2014I protest against\nthe revolutionary impiety which ignores her rights and would fain steal\nher patrimony. I protest, in the name of good sense and honor, indignant\nat beholding an Italian Sovereign Power become the accomplice of\ninsurrection and revolt, and at the conspiracy of so many blind and\nunreasoning passions against the principles proclaimed and professed\nthroughout the world by all great statesmen and politicians. I protest, in\nthe name of common decency and European law, against this profanation of\nall that is most august, against the brutal passions which have inspired\nacts of inconceivable cowardice. And if I must speak out, I protest, in\nthe name of good faith, against this restless and ill-disguised ambition,\nthose evasive answers, that disloyal policy, of which we have the\nsaddening spectacle before our eyes.\u201d\n\nThese burning words of the eminent and patriotic French bishop must have\npierced the soul of Napoleon III. To any other man, at least, an Orsini\nshell would have been less terrible. But, \u201c_Perversi difficillime\ncorriguntur_.\u201d No reproaches, however severe and well deserved, no\nremonstrance, however well founded, could move the French Emperor. A\ngreater power than that of words had impelled him towards the evil courses\nwhich the great majority of the French nation, together with the whole\nCatholic world, condemned. The bishops, meanwhile, continued to protest.\nThe Archbishop of Sens, Mellon-Jolly, dared to say, in accents of sorrow:\n\u201cEvents, alas! are far beyond all that we feared.\u201d De Prilly, Bishop of\nChalons, Dean of the French Episcopate, thus wrote a few days before his\ndeath: \u201cAh! who deserved less than Pius IX. to be attacked by so many\nenemies! If the tears which he sheds are so bitter for himself, they are\nterrible to those who cause them! A poor bishop, at the point of death, so\nassures him and craves his benediction.\u201d The expiring prelate, one would\nsay, had foreseen the humiliation of Sedan. The courageous language of the\nbishops was so much feared that it was thought necessary to silence them.\nNapoleon, having endeavored in vain to remove their disquietude by\nrenewing his hollow protestations, denounced them as violent agitators,\nabandoned them to the jeers of the infidel press, for which alone there\nwas liberty in those days, and finally forbade all journals whatsoever to\npublish episcopal writings that bore any relation to the Roman question.\nThus did he think to escape the danger with which he was threatened by\nsilencing the tongues which warned him.\n\nThe learned Cardinal Donnet, so celebrated as a theologian, now showed the\nabilities of a diplomatist. When Napoleon III. was at Bordeaux, on the\n11th October, 1859, the cardinal, whose duty it was to compliment the\nEmperor as his sovereign, failed not at the same time to remonstrate\nagainst his tortuous policy. \u201cWe pray,\u201d said the pious cardinal, \u201cwe pray\nconfidently, persistently, and with hope which neither deplorable events\nnor sacrilegious acts of violence extinguished. Our hopes, the realization\nof which appears to be so remote, are founded on yourself, sire, next to\nGod. You were and you still desire to be the oldest son of the church, and\nit cannot be forgotten that you spoke the memorable words: \u2018The temporal\nsovereignty of the venerable head of the church is intimately connected\nwith the lustre of Catholicism, as also with the liberty and independence\nof Italy.\u2019 Grand idea! perfectly in harmony with that of the august Chief\nof your dynasty, who said in regard to the temporal power of the Popes:\n\u2018_The centuries made it, and they did well._\u2019 \u201d The only reply of the\nall-powerful Emperor was a refusal to reply. \u201cI cannot here,\u201d he said,\n\u201cdiscuss all the weighty matters, the development of which would be\nrequired by the serious question to which you have alluded. So I confine\nmyself to reminding you that the government which restored the Holy Father\nto his throne can only give him counsel inspired by sincere and respectful\ndevotedness to his interests. But he is anxious, and not without cause, as\nto the time, which cannot be far distant, when our troops must evacuate\nRome. For Europe cannot allow the occupation, which has already lasted ten\nyears, to be prolonged for an indefinite period. But when our army shall\nbe withdrawn, what will be left behind? These are questions of the\nimportance of which none are ignorant. But, believe me, in order to solve\nthem, we must, considering the age in which we live, avoid appealing to\nardent passions, calmly seek truth, and pray Divine Providence to\nenlighten both peoples and kings, in order that they may wisely use their\nrights and fully discharge their duties.\u201d From these last words the\nEmperor appeared to have forgot that when there are duties to be fulfilled\nprayer alone will not suffice. His speech at the opening of the\nlegislative session, 7th March, 1860, showed that either irresistible\nillusion or a foregone conclusion of complicity guided his Italian policy.\nHe accused the Catholics of becoming excited without grounds, and of\ningratitude towards him. The logic of events, so plain to all besides, was\na dead letter to the imperial mind, blinded as it was by the habit of dark\nman\u0153uvres.\n\n\u201cI cannot pass unnoticed,\u201d said he, \u201cthe excitement of a portion of the\nCatholic world. It has accepted, without reflection, erroneous\nimpressions, allowed itself to become passionately alarmed. The past which\nought to have been a guarantee for the future has been so ignored, and\nservices rendered so forgotten, that profound conviction, absolute\nconfidence in the public good sense, was necessary for me, in order to\npreserve, amid the agitation which was industriously occasioned, that\nserenity of mind which alone maintains us in the way of truth.\u201d\n\n(M68) Meanwhile, a Congress for settling the difficulties of Italy was\nannounced. This Congress was to be composed of all the great European\nPowers\u2014of France, whose government had no good will; of Austria, which had\nnot the power to cause the treaty of Zurich to be put in execution; of\nschismatical Russia; of Protestant Prussia, and of Protestant England,\nwhich favored revolution so long as it kept at a distance from its own\ndoors. Pius IX. beheld in it many causes of disquietude. Nevertheless, he\naccepted the congress. The public were discussing, and not without\nimpatience, the names of the presumed negotiators, when there appeared on\nthe 22d of December, 1859, a new pamphlet which, like the former, was\nanonymous, and was ascribed as it also had been, to an author who was in\ntoo high a position to append his signature. Its title was, \u201c_The Pope and\nthe Congress_.\u201d It abounded in high sounding words, and was full of\ncontradictions from beginning to end. It demonstrated, indeed, that the\ntemporal power of the Pope was an essential guarantee of his spiritual\nindependence, but that this power could only be exercised within\nterritorial limits of very small extent, which could not enable him to\nsustain himself, whilst, nevertheless, his dignity and the general\ninterest forbade him to seek foreign intervention. The pamphlet concluded\nby insisting that the Pope ought to begin by giving up all claim to\nRomagna, and so prepare for ceding, a little later, the rest of his\nstates, when he would be satisfied to hold the Vatican with a garden\naround it, and receive a magnificent salary provided by all the Catholic\nPowers. Hundreds of pamphlets and articles in the Catholic journals\nappeared in reply to this anonymous writing. They proved that the proposed\narrangement would subject the Head of the Church to the caprice of the\nPowers, and then enquired what security he would have against those who\nwere his securities, especially at a time like the present, when the\nancient law of nations, which was founded on respect for the weak and\nsworn faith, is suppressed by the revolution, and the reason of the\nstrongest is the only one attended to; when the most solemn treaties are\nviolated with impunity by those who have signed them, and as soon as they\nhave signed them. The bishops raised their voice anew. They stated with\nsorrow that the pamphlet decided in favor of the revolution. But the\nboldest condemnation proceeded from Rome itself. The Popes, it is well\nknown, hesitate not to use the proper terms when there is question of\nstigmatizing iniquity. No matter though they be at the mercy of those whom\nthey brand, they define each error and each act of injustice with the same\nprecision as in writing a theological thesis. Pius IX., who was mildness\nitself, more than once startles the delicate ear by the liberty of his\nlanguage, so different from the minced and often ambiguous style of\ndiplomacy. On the 30th of December, the official journal of Rome published\nthe following note: \u201cThere appeared lately at Paris an anonymous pamphlet,\nentitled, \u2018_The Pope and the Congress_.\u2019 This pamphlet is nothing else\nthan homage paid to the revolution\u2014an insidious thesis addressed to those\nweak minds who have no sure _criterium_ by which they can detect the\npoison which it holds concealed, and a subject of sorrow to all good\nCatholics. The arguments contained in this writing are only a reproduction\nof the errors and outrages so often hurled against the Holy See, and so\noften victoriously refuted. If it was the object of the author, perchance,\nto intimidate him whom he threatens with such great disasters, he can rest\nassured that he who has right on his side, who seeks no other support than\nthe solid and immovable foundations of justice, and who is sustained\nespecially by the protection of the King of kings, has certainly nothing\nto fear from the snares of men.\u201d\n\nOn 1st January, 1860, Pius IX., in his reply to the complimentary address\nof General Goyon, who commanded the French military at Rome, characterized\nthe pamphlet as \u201ca signal monument of hypocrisy, and an unworthy tissue of\ncontradictions.\u201d The Holy Father further observed, before expressing his\ngood wishes for the Emperor, the Empress, the Prince Imperial, and all\nFrance, that the principles enunciated in the pamphlet were condemned by\nseveral papers which his Imperial Majesty had some time before been so\ngood as to send to him. A few days later the _Moniteur_ published a letter\nof the Emperor to the Pope, dated 31st December, 1859, in which the former\nrenews his hypocritical expressions of devotedness, but admits, at the\nsame time, that \u201cnotwithstanding the presence of his troops at Rome, and\nhis dutiful affection to the Holy See, he could not avoid a certain\npartnership in the effects of the national movement provoked in Italy by\nthe war against Austria.\u201d In this same letter Napoleon III. reminds the\nPontiff, that at the conclusion of the war he had recommended, as the best\nmeans of maintaining tranquillity, the secularization of his government,\nand he still believes that, \u201cif, at that time, his Holiness had consented\nto an administrative separation of the Romagna, and the nomination of a\nlay governor, the provinces would have come, once more, under his\nauthority.\u201d What, then, could the people have meant when they petitioned,\non occasion of the Pope\u2019s progress, to have a cardinal for governor, as\nformerly, and not lay prefects, as was then the case, under the regime\ninaugurated by Pius IX.? The Pope having neglected his advice, Napoleon,\nof course, was powerless to stay the tide of revolution. \u201cMy efforts were\nonly successful in preventing the insurrection from spreading, and the\nresignation of Garibaldi preserved the marches of Ancona from certain\ninvasion.\u201d No doubt it did. But, as will soon be seen, this modern\ncrusader was let loose in order that he might follow his calling more\nvigorously, _i.e._, rob and slay on a more extensive scale. The Emperor\nnow approaches the subjects of the Congress. In his letter he recognizes\nthe indisputable right of the Holy See to the legations. But he does not\nthink it probable that the Powers would think it proper to have recourse\nto force, in order to restore them. If the restoration were effected by\nmeans of foreign troops, it would be necessary, for a long time, to hold\nmilitary occupation of these provinces; and this would only feed the\nenmities and hatred of the Italian people. This state of uncertainty\ncannot always last. What then is to be done? The Imperial revolutionist\nconcludes, expressing the most sincere regret, and the pain which such a\nsolution gives him, that the way most in harmony with the interests of the\nHoly See is that it should sacrifice the revolted provinces. For the last\nfifty years they have only caused embarrassment to the government of the\nHoly Father. If he asked of the Powers to guarantee to him, in exchange\nfor them, the possession of what remained, order, he had no doubt, would\nbe immediately restored. This letter left no room to doubt that the policy\nof the pamphlet, \u201c_The Pope and the Congress_,\u201d was that of Napoleon III.\nAs soon as this was known the Congress became impossible. The Pope could\nnot agree to deliberations based upon the principle of his dispossession.\nAustria could not be a party to combinations which removed the bases of\nthe treaty of Zurich. This opinion was expressed by Count de Rechberg,\nfirst Minister of Austria, in a note of 17th February, 1860, and by Lord\nJohn Russell, in a despatch to Lord Cowley, the British Ambassador at\nParis. \u201cThe pamphlets are important,\u201d said the latter statesman; \u201cthe\nresult of the one entitled, \u2018_The Pope and the Congress_,\u2019 is to prevent a\nCongress, and to cause the Pope to be deprived of one-half of his\ndominions.\u201d\n\nIt was not without significance that M. Thouvenel was French Minister of\nForeign Affairs from the 4th of January. Piedmont understood this fact. It\ncaused its troops to cross the Romagnese frontier, whilst M. de Cavour,\ntriumphant, affirmed, in the Piedmontese Senate, that the letter of\nNapoleon III., declaring that the temporal sovereignty was not sacred, was\na fact as important in the Italian question as the battle of Solferino.\n\nThe Pope\u2019s reply to Napoleon\u2019s letter of 31st December is of some length.\nElegant in expression, forcible in reasoning, it can only be briefly\nreviewed. \u201cI am under the necessity of declaring to your majesty that I\ncannot cede the legations without violating the oaths by which I am bound,\nwithout causing misfortune and disturbance in the other provinces, without\ndoing wrong and giving scandal to all Catholics, without weakening the\nrights of the sovereigns of Italy, unjustly despoiled of their dominions,\nbut also the sovereigns of the whole Christian world, who could not see\nwith indifference great principles trampled under foot.\u201d The Emperor had\ninsisted that the cession of the legations by the Pope was necessary, in\norder to put an end to the disturbances, which, according to him, although\nhe knew that such disturbances proceeded wholly from foreigners, had, for\nthe last fifty years, caused embarrassment to the Pontifical government.\n\u201cWho,\u201d said the Pope, \u201ccould count the revolutions that have occurred in\nFrance during the last seventy years? And yet, who would dare maintain\nthat the great French nation is under the necessity, in order to secure\nthe peace of Europe, to narrow the limits of the Empire? Your argument\nproves too much. So I must discard it. Your majesty is not ignorant by\nwhat parties, with what money, and with what support, were committed the\nspoliations of Bologna, Ravenna, and other cities.\u201d\n\nThe Imperial letter was communicated to all the newspapers. The reply of\nthe Pope was carefully withheld from them. It only became known in France,\nsome time later, through a German translation in the Austrian _Gazette_.\nPius IX. was anxious, meantime, that the public should hear both sides of\nthe question. He therefore brought to the knowledge of the Catholic world\nthe principal points of his answer to Napoleon in the Encyclical, _nullis\ncerte verbis_, of date 19th January, in which he declared that he was\nprepared to suffer the last extremities rather than betray the cause of\nthe church and of justice. He also invited all the bishops to join with\nhim in praying _that God would arise and vindicate his cause_.\n\nThe government having information that there was a copy of this document\nin the hands of the distinguished Catholic journalist, M. Louis Veuillot,\nthe Minister of the Interior, M. Billaut, sent for this courageous writer,\nand gave him to understand that if he published the Encyclical it would be\nthe death-warrant of his journal. But M. Veuillot was not to be\nintimidated. Next morning, 29th January, there appeared in his paper,\n_l\u2019Univers_, the Latin text of the Pontifical document, together with a\nFrench translation. The same day, without trial or sentence, was signed a\ndecree suppressing _l\u2019Univers_. Yet was not this paper destined wholly to\nperish. Ten years later it reappeared, when the tyranny of Napoleon III.\nwas crushed for ever at Sedan. Several other Catholic journals shared the\nfate of _l\u2019Univers_, such as the _Bretagne_, of Saint Brieue, and the\n_Gazette_, of Lyons. The government of the Emperor thus showed by what\nspirit its counsels were guided. All the Catholic journals of France were\nalready under the ban of two warnings, so that they had only a precarious\nexistence, a third warning, according to the legislation of the time\nconstituting their death-warrant.\n\nSo early as 3rd December, 1859, whilst yet a Congress was believed to be\npossible, Pius IX. had written with his own hand to Victor Emmanuel, in\norder to remind him of his duties, and induce him to defend at the meeting\nof the Powers the rights of the Holy See. The latter had answered, 6th\nFebruary, 1860, \u201cthat he certainly would not have failed in this duty if\nthe Congress had met.\u201d For, \u201cdevoted son as he was of the church, and the\ndescendant of a most pious family, it never was his intention to neglect\nhis duties as a Catholic Prince.\u201d He protested, therefore, that he had\ndone nothing to provoke the insurrection, and that when the war was ended\nhe had renounced all interference in the legations. But he added, \u201cit is\nan acknowledged fact, and which I have personally verified, that in those\nprovinces which, lately, were so unmanageable and dissatisfied with the\ncourt of Rome, the ministers of worship are actually respected and\nprotected, and the temples of God more frequented than ever.\u201d Victor\nEmmanuel surely now thought that the Pope would never think of disturbing\nthis happiness and self-satisfaction. \u201cThe interests of religion required\nit not.\u201d He even hoped that the Holy Father, not satisfied with refraining\nfrom a renewal of his claim on Romagna, would also hand over to him the\nmarches and Umbria, in order that they might enjoy the same prosperity.\nAnd so he discoursed anew to Pius IX., about his \u201cfrank and loyal\nconcurrence, his sincere and devoted heart,\u201d and ended by craving the Holy\nFather\u2019s apostolic blessing.\n\nThe King of Piedmont must have been sadly blinded by revolutionary\nteachings not to see\u2014if, indeed, he did not see\u2014that such professions of\nloyalty and devotedness were positively derisive. Pius IX. so viewed them,\nand gave the intriguing monarch to understand that he did so. The\nmoderation of his language is but slightly indicative of the sorrow and\nindignation which he must have experienced. \u201cThe idea which your majesty\nhas thought fit to lay before me is highly imprudent, unworthy, most\nassuredly, of a king who is a Catholic and a member of the house of Savoy.\nYou may read my reply in an Encyclical which will soon appear. I am deeply\naffected, not on my own account, but by the deplorable state of your\nmajesty\u2019s soul. You are already under the ban of censures, which, alas!\nwill be aggravated when the sacrilegious act which you and your\naccomplices are meditating shall have been consummated. May the Lord\nenlighten you and give you grace to understand and to bewail the scandals\nwhich have occurred, and the fearful evils with which unfortunate Italy\nhas been visited through your co-operation.\u201d\n\n(M69) About this time diplomatists discovered the convenient political\ndoctrine of non-intervention. It was, like most diplomatic devices, a\nfallacy. But it served its purpose. The Catholic Powers, however friendly\nto the Holy See, were unable to intervene. The greatest of them all,\nAustria, was put _hors de combat_ at Solferino. Prussia had intervened, as\nfar as its policy required, when it forbade further hostilities after the\ngreat battle which made France the mistress of the destinies of Italy.\nEngland, which, as a Protestant Power, had no great friendship for the\nHoly See, found it suitable to preach non-intervention, as an excuse for\nnot being able or for not daring to aid her ancient and faithful ally, the\nPope, in opposition to her new friend, the Emperor of the French. England,\nat least, was consistent, for, while she proclaimed and practised\nnon-intervention in favor of the French Emperor\u2019s subversive intervention\nin Italy, she adhered most devoutly to the doctrine when there was\nquestion, a little later, of aiding France against the crushing power of\nPrussia.\n\n(M70) Whilst the European Powers lay dormant under the spell of the new\ndoctrine of non-intervention, the King of Piedmont vigorously pursued his\ncareer of spoliation. Having accepted a sham plebiscitum, he annexed, by a\nformal decree of 18th March, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchies of\nParma and Modena, and that portion of the Papal States known as the\nLegations, to his ancient kingdom of Sardinia and Piedmont. This was done\nwith the full consent of his Imperial patron, Napoleon III. For, at this\ntime, Victor Emmanuel ceded to France, as compensation for Central Italy,\nNice and Savoy. This boded ill for France. Some French writers consider\nthat this transaction would have been less disgraceful if these provinces\nhad been exchanged for Lombardy, which had been won from Austria with\nFrench blood and treasure. But, as evil destiny, which was hastening to\nits accomplishment, would have it, they were given as payment for the\nspoils of the widow and orphan of Parma and the aged man of the Vatican.\nThus for once was non-intervention dearly purchased.\n\nThe usurping monarch having now accomplished a long-cherished purpose,\nought, one would suppose, to have obeyed the dictates of prudence, and\nheld his peace. But no. He must write to the Pope, in order to justify his\nnefarious proceeding. Piedmontese bayonets and four millions of\nPiedmontese gold had won for him the plebiscitum of which he was so proud.\nNevertheless, he declared, addressing the Holy Father, that, \u201cas a\nCatholic Prince, he believed he was not wanting to the unchangeable\nprinciples of the religion which it was his glory to profess with\nunalterable devotedness and fidelity.\u201d Notwithstanding, \u201cfor the sake of\npeace, he offered to acknowledge the Pope as his Suzerain, would always\ndiminish his charges and contribute towards his independence and\nsecurity.\u201d He ended his letter by most humbly soliciting, once more, the\napostolic benediction. There is more plain speaking in the reply of Pius\nIX. than could have been to the liking of the _Re galantuomo_. \u201cI could\nsay that the pretended universal suffrage was imposed, not voluntary. I\ncould say that the Pontifical troops were hindered by other troops, and\nyou know well what troops, from restoring the legitimate government in the\nprovinces.\u201d The Holy Father then bewails the increasing immorality\noccasioned by the usurping government and the insults constantly offered\nto the ministers of religion. Even if he were not bound by solemn oaths to\npreserve intact the patrimony of the church, he would, nevertheless, be\nobliged to repel everything that tended in this direction, lest his\nconscience should be stained by even an indirect sanctioning of, and\nparticipating in, such disorders, and justifying, by concurrence, unjust\nand violent spoliation. The Pope concludes by saying, emphatically, that\nhe cannot extend a friendly welcome to the projects of his majesty, but\nthat, on the contrary, he protests against the usurpation, and leaves on\nthe conscience of his majesty and all who co-operate with him in such\niniquity the fatal consequences which flow therefrom. Finally, he hopes\nthat the king, in reperusing his own letter, will find grounds for\nrepentance. The Pope, far from being actuated by feelings of resentment,\nprays God to give his majesty the grace he stands so much in need of in\nsuch difficult circumstances. The letter is dated at the Vatican, 2nd\nApril, 1860.\n\nIt is related that Victor Emmanuel bedewed with tears this letter, which\nso gently and tenderly rebuked him. It must have reached him at one of\nthose moments of remorse which, more than once, interrupted his scandalous\ncareer. It hindered him not, however, from fulfilling the promise which he\nhad given to the revolution, when, at the beginning of the war of 1859,\nplacing his hand on his sword and looking towards Rome, he said: \u201c_Andremo\nal fondo_\u201d (\u201cwe shall go on to the end\u201d).\n\nOn the 26th of March of the same year, Pius IX. issued a Bull,\nexcommunicating all who took part in wrenching from him so great a portion\nof the patrimony of the church. Some parties received the intimation of\nthis sentence with such noisy demonstrations of delight as to cause their\nsincerity to be doubted. Others, and of the number was King Victor\nEmmanuel, were struck with indescribable fear. Napoleon III. insisted that\nthe organic article of the Concordat, forbidding the publication in France\nof Bulls, Briefs, &c., should be enforced. But he could not, any more than\nhis uncle, forbid the excommunication to take effect. The first Napoleon\nwas at the height of his greatness when struck with excommunication. He\nreceived the sentence with jeers. Would it make the arms fall from the\nhands of his soldiers? How literally this question was answered, let the\nsnows of Russia tell. There are other ministers of the wrath of heaven\nbesides the frosts of a Northern winter. Napoleon III. was in the zenith\nof his power when he heard the sentence which he vainly tried to stifle.\nHis great political wisdom, and the wonderful success of all he undertook\nhad hitherto astonished the world. There was now a manifest change. But it\nneed not here be said with what unspeakable humiliation his star went\ndown.\n\nThe revolutionary party could not have more effectually shown their dread\nof the Papal sentence, than by their endeavors to suppress it. They went\nso far as to publish in its place a forged document, as odious as it was\nextravagant, appended there to the signature of Pius IX., and exposed it\nto the jeers of the ignorant multitude. The bishops did their best in\norder to make known the truth; with what difficulty it will be easily\nunderstood, when it is remembered that an Imperial decree forbade the\nnewspapers to publish a word in their interest.\n\n(M71) Had there been question only of forming a united Italy, and of\nintroducing such reforms as the time demanded into the States of the\nChurch, and those of the Italian grand dukes, such a cause would have had\nno better friends and supporters than the Pope and the native princes. But\nthe revolutionary party aimed at more than this, and they hastened to show\ntheir hand as soon as they obtained any power. As has been seen, the Holy\nFather himself complained bitterly of the increase of irreligion and\nimmorality under their ill-omened auspices in Romagna. It was not their\npolicy to reconstitute, but to subvert. No existing institution, however\nexcellent, was sacred in their eyes. Thus speak the archbishops and\nbishops of the Marches in a remonstrance addressed to the Piedmontese\nGovernor on 21st November, 1860: \u201cWe scarcely believe our own eyes, or the\ntestimony of our own ears, when we see and hear the excesses, the\nabominations, the disorders witnessed in the chief cities of our\nrespective dioceses, to the shame and horror of the beholders, to the\ngreat detriment of religion, of decency and public morality, since the\nordinances against which we protest deprive us of all power to protect\nreligion and morality, or to repress the prevailing crimes and\nlicentiousness. The public sale, at nominal prices, of mutilated\ntranslations of the Bible, of pamphlets of every description, saturated\nwith poisonous errors or infamous obscenities, is permitted in the cities\nwhich, a few months ago, had never heard the names of these scandalous\nproductions; the impunity with which the most horrible blasphemies are\nuttered in public, and the worse utterance of expressions and sentiments\nthat breathe a hellish wickedness; the exposition, the public sale and the\ndiffusion of statuettes, pictures and engravings, which brutally outrage\npiety, purity, the commonest decency; the representation in our theatres\nof pieces and scenes in which are turned into ridicule the Church\u2014Christ\u2019s\nimmaculate spouse\u2014the Vicar of Christ, the ministers of religion, and\neverything held dear to piety and faith; in fine, the fearful\nlicentiousness of public manners, the odious devices resorted to for\nperverting the innocent and the young, the evident wish and aim to make\nimmorality, obscenity, uncleanness triumph among all classes; such are,\nyour Excellency, the rapid and faint outlines of the scandalous state of\nthings created in the Marches by the legislation and discipline so\nprecipitately introduced by the Piedmontese government. We appeal to your\nExcellency. Could we remain silent and indifferent spectators of this\nimmense calamity without violating our most sacred duty?\u201d If anything\nunder the government of subversion has saved Italy from utter ruin, it is\nnothing less than the zeal and devotedness of its pastors. In the\nremonstrance referred to, they declare that notwithstanding all the\ncontradictions, the trials, the obstacles they have had to encounter, \u201cnot\none spark of charity, of zeal, of pastoral and fatherly solicitude has\nbeen quenched in our souls. We solemnly affirm it, with our anointed hands\non our hearts, and with the help of God\u2019s grace, these sentiments shall\nnever depart from us through fault of ours.\u201d\n\n(M72) This mode of reforming, so dear to the revolutionists, is further\nillustrated by the proceedings of Garibaldi in Sicily and at Naples. It\nwill be remembered that this hero of the revolution was eclipsed for a\ntime by the splendors of Solferino. Immediately after that battle he\nretired into private life, and the motley troop which he commanded\ndisappeared. Whilst, however, there remained any revolutionary work to be\ndone, such a man could not be idle. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies was,\nas yet, unshaken. This was too much for Count de Cavour, and so he\nencouraged the ever-willing Garibaldi to fit out an armament against that\nkingdom. The hero sailed for Sicily, and there, assured of\n_non-intervention_ by the presence of the flags of France, England and\nSardinia, he made an easy conquest of the defenceless island. As soon as\nhe got possession of Palermo, and had assumed the title and powers of\ndictator, he commenced, like a true revolutionist, the work of subversion.\nGaribaldi, no doubt, was a man of the age, and the great diplomatic\ndiscovery which the age had fallen upon was never wanting to him. It\nserved him at Naples as it had done in Sicily; and so, a mere diplomatic\nidea\u2014_non-intervention_\u2014drove the king to Gaeta, and established the power\nof the revolutionist.\n\n(M73) As soon as Garibaldi was master in Sicily, the work of revolutionary\nreform commenced. It was always the first aim of the revolutionists to\nstrike at civilization and civilizing influences. Churches were\ndesecrated, the ministers of religion insulted, religious orders\nsuppressed. \u201cThe Society of Jesus alone,\u201d said the venerable superior,\nFather Beckx, in his solemn protestation of 24th October, 1860, to the\nKing of Sardinia, \u201cwas robbed of three residences and colleges in\nLombardy; of six in the Duchy of Modena; of eleven in the Pontifical\nStates; nineteen in the kingdom of Naples; and fifteen in Sicily.\u201d\n\u201cEverywhere,\u201d adds Father Beckx, \u201cthe Society has been literally stripped\nof all its property, movable and immovable. Its members, to the number of\n1,500, were driven forth from their houses and the cities. They were led\nby an armed force, like so many malefactors, from province to province,\ncast into the public prisons, ill-treated and outraged in the most\nhorrible manner. They were even prevented from finding a refuge in pious\nfamilies, while in several places no consideration was had for the extreme\nold age of many among them, nor for the infirmity and weakness of others.\n\n\u201cAll these acts were perpetrated against men who were not accused of one\nillegal or criminal act, without any judicial process, without allowing\nany justification to be recorded. In one word, all this was consummated in\nthe most despotic and savage manner. If such acts had been accomplished in\na popular riot, by men blinded by passion, we might perhaps bear them in\nsilence. But, as all such acts have been done in the name of the Sardinian\nlaws; as the provisional governments established in Modena and the\nPontifical States, as well as the dictator of Sicily himself, have claimed\nto be supported by the Sardinian government; and as your majesty\u2019s name is\nstill invoked to sanction these iniquitous measures, I can no longer\nremain a silent spectator of such enormous injustice, but in my quality of\nsupreme head of the order, I feel myself strictly bound to ask for justice\nand satisfaction, and to protest before God and man, lest the resignation\ninspired by religious meekness and forbearance should appear to be a\nweakness which might be construed into an acknowledgment of guilt, or a\nrelinquishment of our rights. I protest solemnly, and in the best form I\ncan think of, against the suppression of our houses and colleges, against\nthe proscriptions, banishments and imprisonments, against the acts of\nviolence and outrage committed against the brethren bound to me by\nreligious ties. I protest before all Catholics, in the name of the rights\nof the church sacrilegiously violated. I protest, in the name of the\nbenefactors and founders of our houses and colleges, whose will and\nexpressed intentions in founding these good works, for the interest alike\nof the living and the dead, are thus nullified. I protest, in the name of\nthe sacred rights of property, contemned and trampled under foot by brutal\nforce. I protest, in the name of citizenship and the inviolability of\nindividual persons, of whose rights no man may be deprived without being\naccused in form, arraigned and judged. I protest, in the name of humanity,\nwhose rights have been so shamefully outraged in the persons of so many\naged men, sick, infirm and helpless, driven from their peaceful seclusion,\nleft without any assistance, cast on the highways without any means of\nsubsistence.\u201d Such was the revolution which Victor Emmanuel and Napoleon\nIII. were driven by fear, or even worse motives, to patronize and foster.\nIt had, in the days of its power, made France a desolation. It was now\nsweeping like devouring flames over Italy, and fast approaching the city\nof the Popes.\n\n(M74) Pius IX., although not unaware of the fearful calamities with which\nhe was threatened, was far from allowing his mind to be shaken. He trusted\nin that Providence which watches over the church. \u201cWe are as yet,\u201d said he\non 16th February, 1860, to the lenten preachers of the time, \u201cat the\nbeginning of the evils which must soon overtake us. At the same time, we\nare consoled by the cheering prospect that, as calamity succeeds calamity,\nthe spirit of faith and of sacrifice will be proportionately developed.\u201d\n\nThere was nothing now to be hoped for from the powers which nominally\nruled the world, but which were, in reality, under the control of the\nrevolution. Deprived of so great a portion of his states, and the revenue\nwhich accrued to him therefrom, the Holy Father resolved to sustain his\nfailing finances by relying on the spontaneous offerings of the faithful\nthroughout the world. His appeal was not made in vain. The piety and zeal\nof the early ages appeared to have revived. The word of the common Father\nwas received with reverence in the remotest lands. Offerings of \u201c_Peter\u2019s\npence_,\u201d as in days of apostolic fervor, were poured into the Papal\ntreasury. In Europe, especially, the movement was so general as to show\nthat the people everywhere were resolved to act independently of their\ngovernments, which had so shamefully become subservient to the will of the\nrevolution. It was scarcely necessary that the bishops should speak a word\nof encouragement. In France, indeed, under a jealous and revolutionary\ngovernment, there could be no associations for the collection of Peter\u2019s\npence. But the government could not, so far, place itself in opposition to\nthe religion of the country as to forbid collections in the churches; nor\ncould it reach such subscriptions as were offered in private dwellings. In\nBelgium, although the party of unbelief, of Freemasonry and revolution,\nheld the reins of power, the constitution protected all citizens alike,\nand so the new work which the circumstances of the church required was\naccomplished by association, pretty much in the same way as the work of\nthe propagation of the faith. By the end of three months, there were in\nFlanders no fewer than four hundred thousand associates for the collection\nof Peter\u2019s pence. In Italy, a Catholic journal, _Armonia_, collected\nconsiderable sums of money, and caskets filled with jewels and other\nprecious objects. Poland, in her sorrow, was magnificently generous. And\nIreland, renewing her strength after centuries of misgovernment,\npersecution and poverty, emulated the richest countries, America, Germany,\nHolland and England. One of the collections at Dublin amounted to \u00a310,000.\nAll these rich donations, together with thousands of addresses which bore\nmillions of signatures, were humbly laid at the feet of the Holy Father.\n\n(M75) Now that it is well known that France was not less hostile than\nSardinia and the revolution, to the cause of the Pope, it appears more a\nloss of labor than a wise precaution, that the Holy Father should have\nassembled an army for maintaining order in his states, and repelling any\nattack on the part of the revolutionary faction. This was all that he\ncontemplated. Deceived by the professions of his French ally, he was far\nfrom suspecting that the small force which he was collecting for the\nmaintenance of order would be no sooner organized than it would be\nattacked by the military power of Piedmont, supported by the Emperor of\nthe French. On the contrary, Pius IX. had every reason to believe that the\nformation of a Pontifical army, destined for the duties which devolved on\nthe French soldiers, then at Rome, would be acceptable to Napoleon III.\nThe latter had, more than once, said to his Holiness: \u201cPlace yourself in a\nposition to be independent of my army of occupation.\u201d This recommendation\nis repeated in a despatch of Messrs. Thouvenel and Gramont, so late as the\n14th of April, 1860. As soon as it was known that the Pope desired to have\nan army for maintaining internal peace, and finally, in order to replace\nthe foreign troops which occupied Rome, the youth of many countries freely\noffered their services. France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Holland, and even\ndistant Canada sent numerous volunteers. The noble youth of France, whose\neducation, for the most part, was eminently Christian, were only too happy\nto tear themselves from the luxurious life of Paris. Their joy was equal\nto their ardor, when they found that they could bear arms without serving\na Bonaparte. Gontants and Larochefoucauld Doudeauvilles, Noes and\nPimodans, Tournous and Bourbon Chalus, came to range themselves, as\nprivate soldiers, when necessary, under the banner of the Pope. Nor were\nthey attracted by any hope of gain. A goodly number, on the contrary,\nsustained by their ample means the government to which they offered their\nlives. The revolution signified its displeasure by branding these devoted\nyouths with the ignominious title of \u201cMercenaries of the Pope.\u201d This\nungracious word proceeded from the palace of Jerome Napoleon, on whom\nmerciless history bestows a more opprobrious epithet. As a matter of\ncourse, it was repeated in all the revolutionary journals.\n\nThe command of the new force was offered to the brave and experienced\nGeneral Lamoriciere. At first he hesitated, the cause of the Pope, as\nregarded his temporal power, was already so much compromised. Finally, on\nthe representation of the Reverend Count de Merode, he gave his consent.\nIt was pure sacrifice. No success could add to his military renown. And\nsuccess was impossible. The general distributed his soldiers, from 20,000\nto 25,000 in number, in small bodies, throughout the towns of that portion\nof the Papal States which still remained. This was a judicious\narrangement, as far as internal peace and order were concerned. Neither\nLamoriciere nor the Pope had any idea, so firmly did they rely on the\nhollow professions of France, that a foreign army would have to be met.\nThe general spoke words of encouragement to his willing soldiers. \u201cThe\nrevolution,\u201d said he, in an order of the day, \u201clike Islamism of old,\nthreatens Europe. To-day, as in ancient times, the cause of the Papacy is\nthe cause of civilization and of the liberty of mankind.\u201d The infidel\npress was excited to fury, and showed, by the violence of its writing,\nthat the comparison of the revolution to Islamism was but too well\nfounded. Were not both alike ferocious? Did not both spread terror and\ndesolation in their track? Weigh them together\u2014Islamism has the advantage.\nIn addition to all its other barbarities, the revolution violated the\ntemples of God and the abodes of prayer. The followers of the prophet were\ncommanded to respect every place where God was worshipped, and every house\nwhere dwelt the ministers of His worship.\n\nThe organization of Lamoriciere\u2019s army was now so complete that a friendly\nconvention was entered into with the Cabinet of the Tuilleries, and that\nthe evacuation of Rome by the French garrison should commence on the 11th\nof May.\n\nThis was not at all to the liking of the revolutionists. M. de Cavour, who\nhad complained so loudly at the Congress of Paris that the Pope had not an\narmy sufficiently strong to render unnecessary the protection of France\nand Austria, protested against the formation of such an army as soon as he\nsaw that it was seriously contemplated. He denounced it to all Europe as a\ngathering of adventurers from every country, and feigned the greatest\ndisquietude for the new frontiers of Piedmont.\n\nOn the 4th September, 1860, Napoleon III. was at Chambery, receiving the\nhomage and congratulations of his Savoyard subjects. A public banquet was\nheld in his honor, and whilst the guests were yet at table, two\nPiedmontese envoys, Messrs. Farini and Cialdini, sought a private\ninterview with the Emperor. Napoleon left the festive board and remained\ncloseted with the envoys the remainder of the evening. The result of this\nconference was the immediate invasion of the Papal States by Sardinian\ntroops, under the command of General Cialdini. This officer reports that\nhe was fully authorized by Napoleon. It is even related that the Emperor,\nstrongly encouraging him used the words of our blessed Lord to Judas:\n\u201c_Quod facis, fac citius_.\u201d Napoleon, indeed, denied having uttered these\nwords. It matters not. All his acts, at the time, expressed their meaning.\nWhilst conferring with the envoys at Chambery, there lay on a table a map\nof Central Italy, on which he traced in pencil and effaced several lines.\nThe map having been left on the table, was afterwards found to contain one\nline in crayon, which was not effaced. It showed exactly the route which\nCialdini followed in marching to the destruction of the Papal army.\nBetween the conference of Chambery and the arrival of Cialdini on the\nPontifical territory, there elapsed precisely the time necessary for the\njourney by post-carriage and railway. Seventy thousand men were waiting\nfor him on the frontier, ready to march as soon as he brought them the\nrequired authorization. General Fanti, who also had an army corps\nconcentrated on the borders of the Marches, had already intimated to\nGeneral Lamoriciere, that if the Papal troops had recourse to force, \u201cin\norder to suppress any insurrection in the Papal State,\u201d he would, at once,\noccupy the Marches and Umbria, \u201cin order to secure to the inhabitants full\nliberty to express their wishes.\u201d The Sardinian generals evidently wished\nto raise an insurrection, but as no insurrection occurred, they managed to\ndo without one. In the meantime, it was thought expedient to perform a\npiece of mock diplomacy. Count Delia Minerva was despatched from Turin to\nRome, charged with an _ultimatum_ to the Pope. Without diplomatic\nnegotiations or shadow of pretext, purely by virtue of the right of the\nstrongest and most audacious, the Holy Father was suddenly summoned to\ndismiss his volunteers as foreigners, and was allowed four-and-twenty\nhours to give his answer. But the party did not wait so long. The\n_ultimatum_, of a piece with their other proceedings, was a mockery. On\n10th September, before the reply of the Pope could have been known, even\nbefore Delia Minerva had reached Rome, Generals Cialdini and Fanti,\nwithout any previous declaration of war, passed the Pontifical frontier.\nIt was the barbarians once more at the gates of Rome. The orders of the\nday, which the Piedmontese commanders addressed to their troops, were\ninexpressibly savage. Pitiless history fails not to record them.\n\u201cSoldiers,\u201d said Cialdini, \u201cI lead you against a band of adventurers, whom\nthe thirst for gold and pillage has brought to our country. Fight,\ndisperse without mercy, these wretched cut-throats. Let them feel, by the\nweight of our arm, the power and the anger of a people who strive to be\nindependent soldiers. Perugia seeks vengeance. And, although late, it\nshall have it.\u201d The language of King Victor Emmanuel, although somewhat\nmore politely diplomatic, was not less false and savage. His proclamation\nis a master-piece of Count de Cavour\u2019s hypocritical style. \u201cSoldiers, you\nare entering the Marches and Umbria, in order to restore civil order in\nthe desolated cities and to secure to the inhabitants the liberty to\nexpress their wishes. You have not to meet powerful armies, but only to\ndeliver the unfortunate Italian provinces from companies of foreign\nadventurers. You are not going to avenge the injuries done to Italy or to\nme, but to hinder the popular hatred from wreaking vengeance on the\noppressor. You will teach by your example pardon of offences and Christian\ntoleration to those who compare Italian patriotism to Islamism. At peace\nwith all the Great Powers, and without provocation, I mean to banish from\nCentral Italy a constant cause of trouble and discord. I wish to respect\nthe seat of the Chief of the Church, &c.\u201d Whatever this king may have\nwished to do, he was compelled to obey the will of the revolution, and to\njustify by his acts the comparison of the party which he patronized with\nIslamism,\u2014a comparison disparaging only to the followers of the prophet.\nThe ferocious sentiments to which Cialdini gave utterance were not mere\nbravado. When Colonel Zappi, of the Pontifical service, dared to hold out\nwith 800 men at Pesaro, and check for two-and-twenty hours the whole\nPiedmontese army before this village, Cialdini, instead of admiring such\nbravery, refused to cease firing, when Zappi, crushed by numbers, was at\nlast obliged to capitulate. For two hours longer he took pleasure in\ndischarging grape shot at the little town which had ceased to reply\notherwise than by exhibiting a white flag and sending messengers of peace.\nNor did this vandalic soldier show any consideration for the wishes of the\npeople whom he professed to have come to protect. This contempt for the\npopular will was sufficiently well shown the following month, in his\ndespatch to the Garibaldian Commander of Molise: \u201cPublish that I cause to\nbe shot all peasants taken with arms in their hands. I have this day\ncommenced such executions.\u201d\n\n(M76) Lamoriciere was far from expecting to be attacked by the armies of\nPiedmont. The most he could contemplate was an attack by the Garibaldians,\nand the probability of some partial insurrections in the interior. He\ndistributed his troops accordingly in the towns and along the Neapolitan\nfrontier. The insolent message of General Fanti contributed to confirm him\nin this idea. He had only 1,500 men with him when the message reached him.\nHe held himself in readiness, but without concentrating his force, which\nappeared to him dangerous and premature. He learned, unexpectedly, that\nthe frontier on the side of Piedmont was violated at every point of attack\nat the same time; that an army corps, commanded by General de Sonnaz, was\nmarching on Perugia; another, led by Brignone, on Spoleto; another, under\nthe Garibaldian Mazi, on Orvieto; finally, that Cialdini was advancing on\nSinigaglia, thence on Torrede Jesi, Castelfidardo and Loretto, and that\nhis object was Ancona, the only city except Rome which was capable of\nmaking any resistance. Lamoriciere, unable to face so many enemies at\nonce, saw, with pain, that his scattered garrisons were lost. He was far,\nhowever, from being discouraged. Recalling, hastily, all that were within\nreach, and unfortunately they were not the most considerable, he changed\nall the arrangements which he had made for another kind of contest; he\ngave up all idea of opposing Brignone, De Sonnaz and Fanti, who,\nnevertheless, were in a position to cut off his retreat towards Rome, and\nrushed boldly to the point of greatest danger between these generals and\nCialdini, with the design of piercing the lines of the latter and reaching\nAncona before him. There he thought he would be able to hold out a week or\ntwo, more than sufficient time for France and the other civilized nations\nto come to his assistance. He, a French general, relied on France, so\ncompletely were Frenchmen deceived. He also trusted, and with better\ngrounds, to Austria. This confidence emboldened him to reply defiantly to\nthe insolent message of General Fanti: \u201cWe are only a handful of men. But\na Frenchman counts not his enemies, and France will support us.\u201d\n\nBefore the invasion took place, the Ambassador of France, the Duke of\nGramont, whose word was corroborated by the presence of a French army at\nRome and in the neighborhood, had, several times, reassured Cardinal\nAntonelli, who was much disquieted, affirming that the concentration of\nPiedmontese troops was intended to check the banditti, and protect the\nPontifical frontier, but would not attack it. Lamoriciere testifies to\nthis fact in the report of his operations. When there was no longer any\ndoubt as regarded the violation of Papal territory, the Ambassador,\nGramont, communicated to Cardinal Antonelli, and telegraphed, in clear and\ndistinct language, to the Vice-Consul of France, at Ancona, the following\ndespatch: \u201cThe Emperor has written from Marseilles to the King of\nSardinia, that if the Piedmontese troops advance on the Pontifical\nterritory he will be compelled to oppose them. Orders are already given\nfor the embarkation of troops at Toulon; and these re-inforcements will\nforthwith arrive. The government of the Emperor will not tolerate the\ncriminal attack of the Sardinians. As Vice-Consul of France, you will\ngovern yourself accordingly.\u201d M. de Courcy, the Vice-Consul, to whom the\ndespatch was addressed, took it immediately to M. de Quatrebarbes, the\ncivil governor of Ancona. His great age would not admit of his carrying it\nin person to Cialdini, but he lost no time in sending it by an employee of\nthe Consulate, making no doubt that a despatch which bore the signature of\nFrance would prevent bloodshed. He was mistaken. Cialdini read the paper,\nand coolly put it in his pocket, saying: \u201cI know more about these matters\nthan you. I have just had an interview with the Emperor.\u201d When the clerk\nasked for a receipt, he signed one, remarking that \u201cit would make a good\naddition to other diplomatic papers.\u201d He then continued to advance. The\ngeneral was no less explicit, a few days later, at Loretto, when\nconversing with Count Bourbon Busset and other prisoners taken at\nCastelfidardo. \u201cYou astonish me, gentlemen,\u201d said he; \u201chow could you for a\nmoment entertain the idea that we would have occupied the Pontifical State\nwithout the full consent of the government of your country!\u201d As one of the\nbystanders, in reply to Cialdini, alluded to the fact which was announced,\nof the disembarkation of a new French division at Civita Vecchia, \u201cAnd to\nwhat purpose?\u201d answered one of the higher officers of Cialdini\u2019s staff.\n\u201cFrance has no need to re-inforce her army of occupation. See these wires,\ngentlemen (pointing to the telegraph), if they chose to speak they would\nsuffice to stop us at once.\u201d It would have been impossible to express more\nplainly the omnipotence at that moment of the conqueror of Solferino, and\nthe fearful stigma which he was preparing for his memory. Not only did he\ndisorganize the defence, the responsibility, &c., of which he was\nunderstood to have assumed, not only did he deceive the Court of Rome, and\ninspire it with a false security, as if it had been his purpose more\nsurely to throw Lamoriciere into the snares of Cialdini; but, at the same\ntime, he paralyzed the good intention of the Powers that were sincerely\ndevoted to the Holy See.\n\nFrancis Joseph, Emperor of Austria, had dreaded, a month before it\noccurred, an invasion of the Pontifical State. His army divisions of the\nMincio were on a war footing. It was only necessary that they should pass\nthe river and march against Piedmont. An order to this effect was signed.\nBut before despatching the order, and taking on himself such great\nresponsibility, the youthful Emperor, who had been none the better for\ngiving way to his chivalrous impulses in 1859, resolved to call a meeting\nof his ministers and chief generals. Addressing this grave assembly, he\nstated distinctly the new situation in which Austria was placed by the\nviolation of recent treaties, and the obligation under which he lay of\nopposing such proceedings by arms. His duty as a Catholic was concerned as\nwell as his honor and interest as a sovereign. It appeared, besides, that\nGod had blinded the revolution, and the invasion was so odious that\nPiedmont would not find a single ally. \u201cI have signed,\u201d he added, \u201can\norder to pass to-morrow into Lombardy. Together with this, I have\naddressed a manifesto to Europe, in which I declare that I will respect\nand cause to be respected the treaty of Zurich. Lombardy does not now\nbelong to me. I have ceded it, and I do not recall my word; but I require\nthat the clauses which are burdensome to Austria shall not alone be\nexecuted. I claim, at the same time, the incontestible rights of my\ncousins of Florence, Parma and Modena, so unworthily robbed by one of\nthose who signed and guaranteed the treaty. Finally, I require that the\nneutrality of the Pope and the integrity of his territory be respected;\nfor the Pope is my ally, as a sovereign, and as the Chief of the Church,\nmy Father. The fleet of Trieste will, at the same time, cruise before\nAncona.\u201d This noble address was followed by profound silence. The attitude\nof several of the bystanders was expressive of doubt when the Emperor\naffirmed that the brutality of the Piedmontese aggression would alone\nsuffice to prevent any one from making common cause with it. The Count de\nThun at length rose. He acknowledged the manifestly just grievances of\nAustria, and admired the manly resolution of the Emperor. He then set\nforth the dangers of every kind which this resolution would cause to\narise. The army had not yet repaired its losses; the wounds of Magenta and\nSolferino were still bleeding. The French would, once more, pass the Alps,\nand the revolution, far from being stifled, would be more threatening than\never.\n\n\u201cIf my crown must be broken,\u201d interposed the Emperor, \u201cI prefer losing it\nat the gates of the Vatican, in defence of justice and religion, than\nunder the walls of Vienna or Presburgh by the hands of the\nrevolutionists.\u201d \u201cSire,\u201d replied Count de Thun, \u201cwhether at Presburgh or\nthe Vatican, you will always find us by your side, ready to conquer or\nperish honorably with you. But allow me to repeat that there is not\nquestion only of commencing a struggle against the two-fold revolution of\nthe King of Sardinia. If France once more comes to his support, who will\nbe our auxiliaries? What alliances have we, so necessary in case of\nreverse? Our cruel experience of last year only shows too plainly that we\nhave none; and that Prussia has an understanding with France. And if the\nwar continues any time, if the revolution throws into the arms of Russia\nHungary, and our Sclav provinces, and gives to Prussia our German\ncountries, what will become of the great Catholic Empire of Germany? Will\nnot your majesty have hastened, without intending it, the satisfaction of\nthat cupidity which is everywhere aiming at our ruin, and the triumph\neither of Protestantism or the Greek schism?\u201d Francis Joseph replied by\ndescribing the not less serious dangers which the triumph of the Italian\nrevolution would occasion to the tranquillity and integrity of the Empire.\nHe could not but foresee how precarious Austrian rule would become at\nVenice, and how impossible it would be to preserve, for any length of\ntime, the last remains of the Pontifical State, once the King of Piedmont\nwas master of the rest of the peninsula. The struggle, by being delayed,\ncould not be avoided. We should only have to undertake it later against a\nusurper consolidated by time, and with less manifest evidence of right on\nour side. But the embarrassments of the moment engaged the thoughts of his\nministers more than those of the future. All the ministers dissenting from\nhis opinion, the Emperor made up his mind, after two hours\u2019 discussion, to\nrecall the order which he had signed. The Austrian fleet continued at\nanchor in the harbor of Trieste, and the army of the Mincio remained\ninactive, although, as may be supposed, indignant, in its quadrilateral,\nuntil Italian unity became a reality, and coalesced with Prussia in order\nto expel it.\n\nThere must now be recorded another proof of the Emperor Napoleon\u2019s double\ndealing. On 13th September, M. Thouvenel wrote to Baron de Talleyrand, the\nAmbassador of France at Turin: \u201cThe Emperor has decided that you must\nleave Turin immediately, in order to show his firm determination to\ndecline all partnership in acts which his counsels, that were given in the\ninterests of Italy, have not been able to prevent.\u201d Vain pretence!\ninexorable history accepts not such apologies.\n\nWith the exception of the Piedmontese, and perhaps also the Austrian\nministers, there were none in Europe having knowledge of this document,\nand the despatch of M. de Gramont to the Consul of Ancona, who did not\nbelieve that a rupture was imminent, if it had not already taken place,\nbetween the Emperor Napoleon and King Victor Emmanuel. General Lamoriciere\nwas too upright and loyal-minded not to fall into the snare. He wrote\npromptly to Mgr. de Merode, asking him to send provisions to Ancona, where\nhe purposed establishing his quarters, not having had time to prepare for\nbattle in the open country. He had no disquietude as regarded Umbria. He\nleft it to be defended by France. He hoped also that General de Goyon\nwould not confine himself to guarding the walls of Rome, and that he\nwould, at least, prevent invasion from the direction of Naples, and by way\nof the valley of Orvieto. He was confident that France would finally\nintervene. And it would be highly advantageous if, in the meantime, French\ntroops garrisoned Viterbo, Velletri and Orvieto.\n\nThe declarations of Napoleon were like the despatches of Messrs. Thouvenel\nand Gramont, nothing better than empty words\u2014\u201cdiplomatic papers,\u201d as\nCialdini contemptuously called them. His only object was to lull public\nopinion, and let the Piedmontese have the advantage of a _fait accompli_.\nOf this there was no room to doubt, when, a little later, he took\nofficially under his protection the fruit of that criminal aggression\nagainst which he had so loudly protested. Either from weakness or\ntreachery he was an accomplice, and played a preconcerted game. At first\nhe may have been sincere in threatening, in the hope of intimidating the\nrevolution. But when there was question of acting, and he knew that it\ndefied him, he recoiled. French historians remark, with pain, that this\nwas a sad alternative, as regards the memory of a man who had the honor to\ngovern France\u2014the nation, more than all others, renowned for chivalry. It\nwas also a rebuke to that nation which was so weak as to submit, for\ntwenty years, to his rule. His friends are brought to the extremity of\ndemonstrating that he was a coward, if they wish to hinder mankind from\nbelieving that he was a traitor.\n\nMeanwhile, Lamoriciere, by forced marches, on the 16th September, reached\nLoretto, from which the enemy withdrew at his approach. His inconsiderable\nforce counted scarcely 3,000 combatants, viz.: 2,000 infantry, 800\ntroopers, and 200 artillerymen. But he had given rendezvous at the spot to\nthe general, Marquis of Pimodan, who brought to him from Terai 2,000\ninfantry, and arrived a little before night, on the 17th. Thus did it fall\nto his lot, with 5,000 men at most, and some old artillery which had not\nbeen sufficiently exercised, to face Cialdini, who had, at the moment,\n45,000 men, and was provided with rifled cannon. An engagement on the 18th\nwas inevitable. The Piedmontese were echeloned along the hills which fill\nthe declivity from Castelfidardo towards the plain, and extend to within\n500 metres of the small river Musone. Their artillery swept the\ndeclivities in all directions. They occupied, in strength, two farms which\nwere situated, the one 600 metres behind the other, towards the principal\nhill. By delaying longer, Lamoriciere would only have exposed himself to\nbe surrounded and compelled to lay down his arms. At four o\u2019clock in the\nmorning, the soldiers of the Pope, with the two generals at their head,\nprepared for death, by devoutly participating in the most holy sacrament\nof the Eucharist. At eight, Pimodan rushed upon the two farms already\nmentioned. His watchword was to carry them and hold them as long as\npossible, as they commanded the pass of Musone, where the bulk of the\narmy, with the baggage, must defile, and there was no other way than this\npass by which the route of Ancona could be gained. The first farm,\nalthough warmly defended, was carried, and a hundred prisoners were taken.\nSix six-pounders were immediately brought up, in order to protect the\nposition against a fresh attack of the enemy. Captain Richter, who\ncommanded them, under the orders of Colonel Blumenstihl, was pierced in\nthe thigh by a ball; he would not, however, leave the field, but remained\nin the midst of the fire. Two howitzers, commanded by Lieutenant Dandier,\nwith the aid of a hundred Irishmen, who had arrived the night before from\nSpoleto, were placed in the open space in front of the farm, exposed to\nthe grape shot of the Piedmontese, to which they replied as if they had\nbeen in force. Unfortunately, all parties did not do their duty so well.\nPimodan was obliged to dismiss, on the battle-field, the commander of the\nFirst Battalion of _Chasseurs_. \u201cThe moment had come,\u201d says Lamoriciere in\nhis report, \u201cto attack the second farm. General Pimodan formed a small\ncolumn, under the orders of Commandant Becdelievre, composed of the\nBattalion of Belgian Fusiliers, of a detachment of Carabiniers, and of the\nFirst Battalion of _Chasseurs_. This column boldly advanced,\nnotwithstanding a most active fusilade from the farm and the wood. There\nwere 500 metres to march over thus exposed. But when about a hundred and\nfifty feet from the summit of the hill it was received by the fire of two\nranks of a strong line of battle, which put so great a number of the men\n_hors de combat_ that it was obliged to fall back. The enemy pursued. But\nwhen he had nearly reached our troops, the column faced round, waited for\nhim at fifteen paces distance, received him with a well-directed fire, and\nrushed on him with the bayonet. Astonished at so much daring and coolness,\nthe enemy, although superior in number, fell back in his turn, and thus\nallowed our soldiers to regain the position which they had left. The fire\nof our artillery, which was well supplied and well directed, protected\nthese movements. The enemy had lost more men; but, relatively, our losses\nwere more felt than his. Pimodan had been wounded in the face; but,\nnevertheless, he retained his command. I observed that his two battalions\nand a half were not sufficiently strong to carry the second position; so I\nsent for the two reserve battalions, and ordered the cavalry to pass the\nriver, and follow on our right flank the march of our columns. During this\ntime the enemy had endeavored to overwhelm us on both sides. Major\nBecdelievre brought together what remained of his battalion, rushed upon\nthe fusileers and forced them back into the wood whence they had come.\u201d\nThese were splendid feats of arms. But the excessive inferiority of\nLamoriciere\u2019s artillery and numbers made victory impossible. The\nrevolution had its emissaries enrolled as soldiers in the Pontifical army.\nOne of these, by a traitorous blow from behind, slew the brave Pimodan in\nthe height of the battle. These traitors also caused a panic at the\ndecisive moment by spreading false alarms. The youthful soldiers of the\nreserve, who had never seen fire, became demoralized, and fled in\nconfusion, without hearing the sound of a single ball. Others followed.\nThe artillery, now no longer supported, and, fearing to be taken, sought\nsafety in flight. But instead of gaining the road to Ancona, it fell back\non Loretto, where it could not fail to fall into the hands of the enemy.\nLamoriciere, always calm in such terrible discomfiture, made unheard-of\nexertions, as did also his aids-de-camp, Messrs. de Maistre, de Lorgeril,\nde Robiano, de France and Montmarin, in endeavoring to guide the\nprecipitate retreat. His orders either were not conveyed or were not\nexecuted. Then, as was his custom in Africa, he hurried alone on horseback\nto within a hundred feet of the lines, in order to ascertain the\nsituation, rejoined his staff, labored to stay the flight, and when all\nwas lost, he executed, with five-and-forty horse and a hundred infantry, a\nmovement which with the army was impossible. He took the route of Ancona,\nwhich a Piedmontese squadron was preparing to bombard, and reached that\nplace by five o\u2019clock in the evening. The brave Franco-Belgians sacrificed\nthemselves in order to save the rest of the army. They held out in the\nfarm which they had occupied as long as their ammunition lasted. The\nneighboring fields and hedges were covered with dead and wounded\nPiedmontese; but they themselves were all either killed or taken. Among\nthe slain and wounded were many of the best nobility of Europe\u2014Paul de\nPercevaux, Edme de Montagnac, Arthur de Chalus, Hyacinth de Lanascol,\nAlfege du Baudier, Joseph Guerin, Georges de Haliand, Felix de Montravel,\nAlfred de la Barre de Nanteuil, Thierry du Fougeray, Leopold de Lippe,\nGaston du Plessis de Grenedan, Raoul Dumanoir, Lanfranc de Beccary,\nAlphonse Menard, Guelton, Rogatien Picon, Anseline de Puisage, George\nMyonnet. Such are a few of those noble youths who fell victims to their\nzeal and bravery when engaged with General Lamoriciere in his hopeless\nattempt to stem the overwhelming tide of revolution which, at the time,\nsuccessfully defied all the Powers of Europe to move an arm in opposition\nto it.\n\nLamoriciere succeeded in reaching Ancona, but only to prolong, for a few\ndays more, a desperate contest. The available force in the place amounted\nonly to 4,200 effective men, a number quite insufficient to man all the\nposts of such extensive fortifications. The general did not yet despair of\naid from the French at Rome, and he flattered himself with the idea that\nif he only held out a few days, Austria and the other Catholic States\nwould be shamed into activity. They, however, knew too well the intentions\nof France, and France had won the battle of Solferino. The brave\nLamoriciere was assailed in his last retreat, both by sea and land. The\nbombardment lasted ten days, and was heard at Venice, the islands of\nDalmatia, and even at Trieste. But not a friendly sail appeared in support\nof the besieged. The prolonged struggle did not even attract such vessels\nof neutral Powers as are commonly sent for the protection of their consuls\nand others of their respective nations, as well as to offer their good\nservices to women, children and other non-combatants. Such disgraceful\nconduct was condemned alike by the Protestant and Catholic press of\nEurope. The London _Times_ reproached M. de Cavour with not having\nunderstood that \u201ccandid and honorable conduct is not incompatible with\npatriotism.\u201d The same paper quoted, in this connection, the words of\nManin, which are a condemnation of the whole conduct of the Piedmontese\nunder Victor Emmanuel: \u201cMeans which the moral sense repels, even when they\nare materially profitable, deal a mortal blow to a cause. No victory can\nbe put in comparison with the absence of self-respect.\u201d Ancona was yet\nundergoing bombardment, when the three sovereigns of the North, who alone\ncould have undertaken efficaciously the defence of the violated law of\nnations, met at Warsaw; and Napoleon III. presented to them a memorandum\nby which he engaged to abandon Piedmont in the event of her attacking\nVenice. But \u201che presupposed that the German Powers would also confine\nthemselves to an attitude of abstention, and would avoid furnishing a\npretext for an Italian attack of Austria.\u201d At length, the Piedmontese\nfleet, under Admiral Persano, succeeded in demolishing the more important\nportion of the fortifications of Ancona. A white flag was now displayed on\nthe citadel and all the lesser forts; and Major Mauri was sent on board\nthe admiral\u2019s ship to negotiate a capitulation. The firing ceased on both\nsides. But now occurred a circumstance which stigmatizes to all time the\ncharacter of the Piedmontese generals, Fanti and Cialdini. M. de\nQuatrebarbes relates, \u201cthat whilst the conditions of capitulation were\nunder discussion, the land army, furious at having been repelled, and at\nhaving done nothing that could contribute towards the taking of the city,\nrecommenced firing along the whole line. The bombardment and cannonade\ncontinued from nine o\u2019clock in the evening of the 28th until nine in the\nmorning of the 29th, and that, although negotiators had been sent, and\nbells had been rung, announcing the cessation of hostilities, in defiance\neven of a very pressing letter of the admiral, who would not participate\nin such an infamous proceeding. He also recalled on board his ships the\nmarine who served a land battery. All this time not a single cannon was\nfired from the city. Thus the Piedmontese army bombarded incessantly for\ntwelve hours a defenceless town, in violation of the law of nations, and\nall sentiments of honor and humanity. Admiral Persano himself reported at\nTurin the refusal of the land army to cease firing. Such a fact must\nexcite the indignation of all right-thinking people.\u201d The revolution was\nhighly offended when compared to Islamism. Are the regular troops of Islam\naccused of such barbarities? The Bashi-Bazouks could not have done worse.\n\nWhen the capitulation was signed at two o\u2019clock in the afternoon of the\n29th, the small Pontifical army had ceased to exist, and the Piedmontese,\nnow free to follow out their plans, could go to join the bands of\nGaribaldi, under the walls of Gaeta, and, together with him, complete \u201cthe\nextirpation of the Papal cancer,\u201d or, as one of their school, Pinelli,\nsaid, \u201cCrush the sacerdotal vampire.\u201d But although right had been trampled\ndown, it knew how to do battle and to die. \u201cFor the first time,\u201d observed\na Protestant journal, the new Gazette of Prussia, \u201ca general of the party\nof legality has dared to lead his troops against the enemy. For the first\ntime the revolution has been met in the field of battle. The effort has\nnot been successful. We know it. And as we repeatedly said beforehand, we\nhad no hope that it would. But the defeat of Lamoriciere raises the mind\nby contrast. For a long time we had been accustomed to the triumphs of\ncowardice, treachery and corruption, of all which the victories of\nGaribaldi presented such a disgusting spectacle. We are assured that the\nPontifical troops did their duty unto death. This is enough. It is easily\nunderstood how the adversaries of the revolution had become humble. For\nyears they could only record the victories of their enemies. But if, at\nCastelfidardo, a few individuals were defeated, the principle of legality\nwas at last asserted. Now, if men contend in battle for a principle its\nfinal triumph is assured.\u201d\n\nIt was to be expected that Pius the Ninth would avenge the memory of the\nbrave men who had been branded by the name of _Mercenaries_, the greater\nnumber of whom served without pay. No wonder if he did justice on the\npretended moral order which Piedmont said it had come to restore in the\nStates of the Church. Not only did he honor their noble efforts, he also\nfounded at his own cost, and for their benefit, the chaplaincy of\nCastelfidardo in the sanctuary of the Scala Santa. He ordered the funeral\nobsequies of General Pimodan to be celebrated with becoming magnificence,\nand composed himself an inscription for his tomb in the French Church of\nSt. Louis. He wished to confer on Lamoriciere the title of Roman Count.\nBut the defeated hero declined the honor, saying that he desired always to\nbe called Leon de la Moriciere. Pius IX. then addressed him a few words,\nwhich recall the piety of early times: \u201cI send you what, at least, you\ncannot refuse, the order of Christ, for whom you have combated, and who\nwill, I trust, be your reward as well as mine.\u201d\n\nIn France the government showed its revolutionary leaning by forbidding a\nsubscription which was undertaken for the purpose of presenting a sword of\nhonor to Lamoriciere. It did even worse than this. It meanly persecuted\nthe vanquished soldiers of the Holy See, as well as those who had hastened\nto fill their places. This was pure revenge. And now that the success of\nPiedmont was no longer doubtful, it could serve no other purpose than to\nestablish the fact of the Emperor\u2019s complicity. Such of the soldiers of\nthe Pope as were natives of France were deprived of their rights of\ncitizenship. Thus were noble youths, the flower of France, on their return\nfrom Castelfidardo and Ancona, deprived of the electoral franchise, and\nstripped of their right to serve on juries and in the army. Some even were\ninterdicted from inheriting property on the pretext that, as strangers,\ntheir signatures required to be legalized. These men were, nevertheless,\nthe actual defenders of a sovereign whom the government pretended to\ndefend officially. The revolutionary papers audaciously said that the same\nlaw was not applicable to such French subjects as joined the bands of\nGaribaldi, on the ground that these bands were neither a government nor a\nmilitary corporation. This odd interpretation completely met the views of\nministerial jurisprudence; and so was presented the extraordinary\nspectacle of a country outlawing such of her children as served the same\ncause as her army, and in nowise molesting those who supported the\nopposite side. All political allusions in the pulpit were now repressed\nwith increased severity. The bishops, however, could not be intimidated.\nBesides, as they could not be displaced, they were not so easily reached.\nMgr. Pie, the eminent Bishop of Poitiers, ascended the pulpit the Sunday\nafter the battle. \u201cMy brethren,\u201d said he, \u201cyou all expected of me that I\nwould speak to-day in my cathedral. It is according to the customs of the\nchurch to know how to honor her defenders, and to mourn for them when\ndead. And because, having taken upon myself a responsibility which I\ndecline not, and having encouraged and blessed the departure of several of\nthose youthful volunteers, I would be ashamed of myself if now, restrained\nby the fears arising from a pusillanimous prudence, I did not offer them\nthe homage of my admiration together with that of my prayers. Your\nsympathies are already with my words. If they gave offence to any hearers,\nI would, indeed, be afflicted. But, by the grace of God, the country which\nwe inhabit is called France, which warrants, or rather commands, that I\nshould be candid.\u201d In the absence of that fame which victory confers, the\nvanquished were consoled by that immortality which eloquence bestows on\nthose whom it celebrates. So long as the great art of oratory shall be\nappreciated in the countries of Fenelon and Bossuet, the funeral orations\non Lamoriciere, by Bishops Pie and Dupanloup, together with the fine pages\non the heroes of Castelfidardo, by Bishop Gerbet of Perpignan, Mgr.\nPlantier of Nismes, and other writers, will not cease to be read.\n\n\u201cThey died in order to defend us,\u201d said, as if prophetically, Archbishop\nManning, who succeeded Cardinal Wiseman in the new See of Westminster,\nalready so illustrious; \u201cthe cause for which they fell is our cause. They\nare blind, indeed, who cannot see that what has been begun by the head\nwill soon be undertaken against all the members; that the attacks will\nextend rapidly from the centre to the extremities; that revolutionary\ntyranny and the despotism of civil power will strive to establish\neverywhere, in detail, the domination which they are endeavoring to\nexercise over the will and the person of the Holy Father. We are at the\ncommencement of a new era of penal laws against the liberty of the church.\nIt is for us, therefore, that they have given their life. They died whilst\nthe profane world loaded them with its curses, as died the martyrs in the\nFlavian amphitheatre, whilst the cry resounded, \u2018The Christians to the\nlions!\u2019 (_Christianas ad leones_), and in presence of thousands of\nspectators of the Imperial and Patrician families of Rome, and for the\ngratification of the multitude which thirsted for blood, and such blood as\nwas most noble and innocent. Thus died He who is greater than the martyrs,\nassailed by the insults of the Pharisees and the jeers of the ignorant\nmasses. It is, therefore, glorious to die for a cause which the world will\nnot and cannot understand. If they had died to defend commercial\nestablishments against the indigenous inhabitants of some distant country,\nor to repel the attacks of a neighbor, or to maintain the integrity of the\nOttoman Empire, the world would have understood and honored them, as it\ndid in regard to the combatants of Alma and Inkerman. But, to fall in\nbattle for the independence of the Sovereign Pontificate, to sacrifice\nthemselves for the liberty of Christian consciences, and that of the\ngenerations to come\u2014this the world understands not, and for this we\nproclaim them great and glorious among departed heroes.\u201d\n\nFour months later, Mgr. Pie was obliged to refute a new pamphlet,\nentitled, \u201c_France, Rome and Italy_,\u201d and so endeavor to prevent new\niniquities. He feared not to formulate the following terrible rebuke,\nwhich was denounced as seditious, but which history has already confirmed\nas a sentence:\n\n\u201cPilate had it in his power to save Christ, and without Pilate He could\nnot be put to death. The death-warrant could only come from him; _nobis\nnon licet interficere_, said the Jews. Wash thy hands, O Pilate! declare\nthyself guiltless of the death of Christ. Our only answer every day will\nbe, and the latest posterity will repeat the same: I believe in Jesus\nChrist, the only Son of the Father, who was conceived of the Holy Ghost,\nwho was born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered death and passion under\nPontius Pilate; _Quipassus est sub Pontio Pilato_.\u201d\n\nIt was no secret when these words were spoken, as it was to Lamoriciere\nand his brave army, that the government of the French Emperor encouraged\nand patronized the iniquitous aggressions of Piedmont, whilst it\npretended, in the face of Europe, to support the Holy See.\n\n(M77) \u201cIt was not Garibaldi and his volunteers,\u201d said the Revue des deux\nMondes, \u201cthat General Lamoriciere had to fight; the odds in that case\nwould not have been so unequal. But he had the regular army of Piedmont\nbefore him\u2014an army six times more numerous than his own. Nor was it the\nattack merely of a revolutionary party which was now directed against the\ntemporal power of the Papacy. It was a government incomparably more\npowerful than the Pope\u2019s, which decreed arbitrarily itself alone, and in\nthe face of the other nations of the world, the suppression of this power,\nand which accomplished that suppression by the irresistible force of its\narms, and under the eyes of our garrison in Rome.\u201d Whilst Austria, not\nfrom any want of sympathy with the Holy See, but from the dread her\ncautious ministry, who had penetrated the designs of France, entertained\nof a new French invasion, looked tamely on from the heights of her\nquadrilateral, the French Emperor secretly expressed his approval of the\nPiedmontese attack on the Papal States, and at the same time publicly\nwithdrew his ambassador at Turin, as a protest in the face of mankind\nagainst this unprovoked and unjustifiable attack. England, which could not\nbe supposed to have much sympathy with the Holy See, notwithstanding the\ndeclarations of her best statesmen in support of the temporal sovereignty,\nopenly pronounced in favor of the Piedmontese aggression on the Pope, who,\nin trying times, had been her most faithful ally. But the days of the\nelder Bonaparte were forgotten, and too much could not be done to\nconciliate the new ally whom the English had found in the second\nBonaparte. So their representative, Sir John Hudson, remained at Turin,\nand was the confidential adviser there of Count de Cavour, while Sir Henry\nElliot continued to reside at Naples after that city had become the\nheadquarters of Garibaldi. The great Northern Powers, Russia and Prussia,\nacted a more honorable part. Even before the fall of Ancona was known,\nthey both withdrew their ambassadors from Turin. Von Schleinitz, the\nPrussian Prime Minister, protested energetically against the unwarrantable\naggression of Piedmont. M. de Cavour, who understood the tendencies of the\ntime, replied to Von Schleinitz, as if uttering a prophecy: \u201cI regret that\nthe Court of Berlin should judge so severely the conduct of the king and\nhis government. I am conscious of acting in the interests of my sovereign\nand my country. I might reply successfully to what M. Von Schleinitz says.\nBut, be that as it may, I console myself with the thought that, on the\npresent occasion, I am setting an example which Prussia, within a short\ntime probably, will be happy to follow.\u201d\n\nThe cannonade had scarcely ceased to be heard at Ancona, when the Holy\nFather raised his voice in a consistorial allocution of 28th September,\nwhich, although addressed to the cardinals, is intended for the whole\ncivilized world. The allocution briefly enumerates the several acts of\naggression successively committed by the Piedmontese. It then alludes to\nCavour\u2019s audacious letter, which was intended as a justification\nbeforehand of the violation of territory, and the fearful bloodshed which\nfollowed. It expresses the false accusations, the repeated calumnies and\ninsults which were put forward as a pretext for the invasion. It also\nrebukes \u201cthe singular malignity with which the Piedmontese government\ndared to call the Pontifical soldiers _mercenaries_, when so many of them,\nboth Italians and foreigners, were of noble lineage, bearing illustrious\nnames, and had resolved to serve in our troops without pay, and for the\nsole love of our holy religion.\u201d The fact is established, to the disgrace\nof Piedmont, that the Papal government \u201ccould have had no intimation of\nthe enemy\u2019s purpose. The general-in-chief commanding our forces could not\nhave entertained the thought of having to contend with the soldiers of\nPiedmont.\u201d The meed of praise is awarded to the fallen warriors, together\nwith the expression of unfeigned sorrow for their loss: \u201cWhilst we must\nbestow merited praise on the general, his officers and his men, we can\nscarcely restrain our tears as we remember all those brave soldiers, those\nnoble young men especially, who had been impelled by faith and their own\ngenerous hearts to fly to the defence of the temporal power of the Roman\nChurch, and who have met with their death in this cruel and unjust\ninvasion. We are deeply moved by the grief of their families; and would to\nGod it were in our power, by any word of ours, to dry up the source of\ntheir tears!\u201d If anything could be worse than the savage and murderous\nattack of Piedmont, it was the hypocritical pretence under which it was\nundertaken. The invaders came as \u201cthe restorers of moral order and as the\npreachers of tolerance and charity.\u201d The allocution concludes by\ndenouncing this hypocrisy, together with the diplomatic principle of\nnon-intervention, of which France and Piedmont set such brilliant\nexamples.\n\n(M78) The King of Sardinia having violently seized Umbria and the Marches\nof Ancona, must also have a mock plebiscitum, in order, no doubt, to make\nit appear that these provinces were spontaneously annexed to his kingdom.\nThe fall of Gaeta and the conquest of Naples by Garibaldi encouraged the\nambitious monarch in these unjustifiable annexations, and although\ngenerally condemned by the European press, he most audaciously issued a\nproclamation in reply to the Papal allocution. All these nefarious acts,\ntogether with the outrages everywhere perpetrated against all who remained\nloyal to the Holy See and faithful to the sacred laws of the church,\ninduced the Holy Father to publish the now celebrated allocution of March\n18th, 1861. This allocution is perhaps the greatest doctrinal utterance of\nthe Pontificate of Pius IX. But it must be considered in connection with\nthe _syllabus_, which will now shortly be noticed.\n\nThe Emperor Napoleon had, indeed, suspended public diplomatic relations\nwith the court of Turin. This was intended merely as a blind, for he\ncontinued to negotiate secretly, through Prince Jerome Napoleon,\nconcerning Rome, and what yet remained to the Pope of his states. He\nappeared to bind Piedmont to respect the sovereignty and independence of\nthe Holy See, and had no objections that the Pope should raise an army\ndesigned only for defensive purposes. On such conditions the Emperor would\nacknowledge the new kingdom of Italy. In all this there was a want of\nsincerity. Count Cavour, Prince Napoleon and the Emperor, were perfectly\nagreed that the Holy Father was, in due course of time, to be given up to\nhis enemies.\n\n(M79) In order to prepare the world for this consummation of\nFranco-Sardinian policy, there appeared a new pamphlet, entitled _La\nFrance, Rome et l\u2019Italie_. It was signed by M. de la Gueronniere, and\npublished on the 7th day of March. It was suggested, if not actually\nwritten, by the Emperor himself. The allocution already alluded to, dealt\nby anticipation with the chief points of this publication. It was,\nhowever, directly replied to in a letter of the eminent Cardinal\nAntonelli, to the Papal Minister at Paris. The cardinal begins by stating\nthat the chief object of the pamphlet was \u201cto throw on the Holy Father and\nhis government the responsibility of the condition to which Italy and the\nPontifical States in particular were reduced.\u201d He then proceeds lucidly,\nlogically, and not without eloquence, to attack all the positions assumed\nby the writer, and exposes the treachery, baseness and duplicity of the\nprincipal adversaries of the Holy See in its long struggle with\nrevolutionary Piedmont, supported as it was by the Emperor Napoleon III.\nIt will be recollected that it had been proposed, indeed it was one of the\narticles of the treaty of Zurich, that there should be a confederation of\nthe States of Italy. The writer of the pamphlet audaciously accused the\nPope of having rejected the plan of an Italian confederacy, just as if he\nand not the Emperor and his ally, the King of Piedmont, had violated the\ntreaty which succeeded the battle of Solferino. \u201cThe official proposition\nof such a confederacy,\u201d the cardinal states, \u201cand of its presidency came\nonly after the preliminaries of Villafranca and the treaty of Zurich; and\nthe Holy Father showed himself disposed to accept it as soon as its basis\nshould be defined. The author, nevertheless, says that it was then too\nlate. He does not, in saying so, seem to perceive that he seriously\ninsults his own sovereign, as if he and the other Powers had proposed as\nthe basis of a solemn treaty and the great means of conciliation, a thing\nwhich was at that moment neither possible nor opportune. Be that as it\nmay, it was only then that the proposition was made by the person\nauthorized to make it; and it is unjust to pretend that his Holiness had\ntaken any action thereon before it was laid before him. Since, therefore,\nthe plan fell through independently of his refusal, how can he, without a\npositive act of calumny, be accused of obstinacy on this point?\u201d\n\nThe cardinal\u2019s letter is of great length. In one place he recapitulates\nthe heads of accusation contained in the pamphlet. \u201cPutting aside,\u201d says\nhe, \u201cthe unfounded assertions, the matters foreign to the case, which\nhelped to fill up the pamphlet, the obstinacy which it imputes to the Holy\nFather amounts to his having declined an abdication which his conscience\ncondemned, to his having deferred some reforms that were promised till the\nrevolted provinces had returned to their allegiance; to his having\nproposed to recruit an army for himself instead of accepting the troops\noffered to him; to his having preferred the voluntary offerings of the\nfaithful to subsidies furnished by governments which are not all nor\nalways equally disposed to be friendly. And these acts of firmness, of\nnoble disinterestedness, which must appear most praiseworthy to the\nunprejudiced mind, which have appeared and do still appear worthy of the\nadmiration of Protestants, seem, on the other hand, to the Catholic author\nof the pamphlet, to be so blameworthy that he could not find more bitter\nwords of censure were he to write against those who are alone responsible\nfor the sad disorders of the present time. But this is precisely what is\nof a nature to surprise us. The Imperial government of France had given\nadvice to his Holiness; it had also given advice to the Piedmontese\ngovernment. Now, if the Holy Father must be accused of not having followed\nsuch advice, the Piedmontese government does not seem to have been more\ndocile. His Holiness did not deem it expedient to do some things desired\nby the French government. But Piedmont did a great many things which the\nFrench government had publicly declared it was opposed to. The Imperial\ngovernment forbade the violation of the neutrality of the Papal States;\nand to this the Piedmontese government responded by occupying the Romagna.\nThe Imperial government disapproved annexation; and the Piedmontese\ngovernment only answered by accomplishing annexation. The Imperial\ngovernment forbade, in threatening language, the invasion of the Marches\nand Umbria; and the Piedmontese government responded by pouring grape shot\ninto the small Pontifical army, by bombarding Ancona from sea and land,\nand by refusing to observe any of the laws of war acknowledged by all\ncivilized nations. The author of the pamphlet allows his pen the most\ncruel license against the Holy See, but has not one single word of blame\nfor the Piedmontese government. Who can explain such an attitude? The\nexplanation is a very natural one, and is given on the last page of the\npamphlet, where the author tells us that the Emperor of the French _cannot\nsacrifice Italy to the Court of Rome, nor give up the Papacy to the\nrevolution_; which means that the Court of Rome must be sacrificed to the\nexigencies of the peninsula, that the temporal dominion of the Holy See\nmust be done away with, because it is in the way of the unification of\nItaly, and that this suppression is to prevent the Papacy or the spiritual\npower from falling beneath the blows of the revolution.\u201d It cannot fail to\nbe remarked that in all the French Emperor\u2019s manifestos appears the\npretext of protecting the Papacy from the revolution, whilst, but for his\ninterference, it needed not such protection. Pius IX. was quite able to\ncontend successfully against whatever revolutionary element there was in\nthe Pontifical States. With the aid of his allies, he could also have\nrepelled the attacks of Piedmont, if unsupported by the French. But\nagainst a Power so great that it could command the non-intervention of all\nother Powers, he was powerless. It may have afforded a momentary pleasure\nto the Carbonaro Prince, Napoleon III., to annihilate, for the sake of his\nway of promoting Italian unification, the time-honored sovereignty of the\nPope. It afforded him no lasting benefit. Germany caught the idea, and\nbecoming unified, hurled her legions against the common European enemy,\nwho, in his day of sorest need, found not an ally, not so much as one\npowerful friend even in that Italy for which he had done and sacrificed so\nmuch.\n\n(M80) It now only remained for young Italy, revolutionized as it was, to\nassume and wear its blushing honors. Piedmont having seized Umbria and the\nMarches of Ancona, and having also, through her agent Garibaldi, taken\npossession of Sicily and Naples, was mistress not only of the greater\nportion of the Pontifical States, but also of almost all Italy at the same\ntime. It became such greatness to have a parliament. Accordingly, the\nfirst Italian parliament assembled at Turin in February, 1861; and on the\n14th of March, Victor Emmanuel was proclaimed King of Italy. It was not,\nhowever, till the 24th of June that the French Emperor found it convenient\nto recognize this extended sovereignty. In doing so, no doubt, he was\nconsistent with himself, although quite at variance with the professions\nof him who had so lately withdrawn his ambassador from the Court of Turin.\n\n(M81) Count de Cavour lived not to enjoy this recognition. He died on the\n6th of June. This minister was a politician to the end; and he had no wish\never to be anything else. He was anxious, however, at the close, to have\nthe merit of reconciliation with the church which he had so cruelly\npersecuted, both in the ancient State of Sardinia and in the newly-annexed\nterritories of the \u201cKingdom of Italy.\u201d Finding that his latter end was\napproaching, he desired the presence of Friar Giacomo, Rector of the\nMadonna degli Angeli. This Friar, with whom, as is related, the Count had\nhad a previous understanding, faithfully came. M. de Cavour remained alone\nwith him for half an hour; and when the priest was gone he called Farini,\nand said to him: \u201cMy niece has had Fra Giacomo to come to me; I must\nprepare for the dread passage to eternity; I have made my confession and\nreceived absolution. I wish all to know, and the good people of Turin\nparticularly, that I die like a good Christian. I am at peace with myself.\nI have never wronged any one.\u201d It is a trite saying that the ruling\npassion of a man\u2019s life asserts its power at the hour of death; and the\nlast recorded words of Count de Cavour would seem to show that to the end\nhe was more bent on politics than prayer. As Friar Giacomo was reciting\nsolemnly by his bedside the prayers for the departing soul, \u201cFrate!\nFrate!\u201d he exclaimed, whilst he pressed the Friar\u2019s hand, \u201c_libera chiesa\nin libera stato_!\u201d (a free church in a free state). Admirable, no doubt.\nBut how was the great idea to be realized, since the church could only be\nfree when her ministers were dictated to, imprisoned, banished, and\notherwise tormented? And what freedom for the state, unless it were free\nto tyrannize over and persecute the church? Judging Cavour and his party\nby their acts rather than their fine speeches, such was their idea of _a\nfree church in a free state_. If it be true that, as men live so they die,\nit is not true that Count de Cavour died like a good Christian. None will\nbe inclined to dispute with him the comfort which he claimed of being at\npeace with himself. But they who are aware of the violence, the\nspoliation, the rapine, bloodshed, and unspeakable suffering, in all which\nhe was, at least, an accomplice, if not the direct cause, throughout the\nStates of the Italian Grand Dukes, the Pontifical territories and the\nkingdom of Naples, will not easily acknowledge that he spoke truth when he\nsaid that \u201che had never wronged anyone.\u201d But let us now be silent. There\nis _One_, and only _One_, who judgeth.\n\n(M82) Considering the assistance so recently afforded to Turkey by the\nChristian Powers, her Christian subjects were surely entitled to her\nprotection, But gratitude, it would appear, is not one of the virtues of\nIslamism. In June, 1860, the Pachas disarmed and delivered up to their\ndeadly enemies the Christian Maronites of Lebanon and Damascus. Over a\nhundred villages inhabited by these people were completely destroyed.\nNeither the aged nor the young that fell into the hands of the enemy were\nspared; and, worse than all, seven thousand young women were carried\ncaptive into the desert. In these melancholy circumstances, Napoleon III.\nacted honorably and independently. He sent an armed expedition to chastise\nthe guilty, and that in defiance of all opposition on the part of his\nallies, the English, who, from national jealousy, resisted a French\nprotectorate in the East, and so assumed the disgraceful _role_ of\npatronizing hordes of assassins. Incomprehensible conduct! since, a few\nyears later, the same people were so moved by Turkish atrocities in\nBulgaria that no British government could have dared to raise an arm in\ndefence of the crumbling Empire of the Sultan. Pius IX. was deeply moved\nby the sufferings of his fellow-Christians. In a letter of 29th July, to\nthe Patriarch of Antioch and the Bishops of his Patriarchate, he expressed\nhis sorrow and indignation at the fearful crimes that were committed. \u201cIt\nis particularly afflicting,\u201d said he, as he condemned certain speeches\nthat were delivered in the British Parliament in favor of the guilty\nparties, \u201cthat more sympathy is accorded, and even more assistance\nextended, in our age to the fomenters of troubles and revolutions than to\ntheir victims.\u201d He commended France, that had remembered in the\ncircumstances her Catholic traditions, and intimated that he would\nencourage with all his power the liberal offerings of the Christians of\nthe West in support of their brethren of Syria. He himself, although he\nwas deprived of his accustomed revenue, together with the greater portion\nof his states, contrived to bestow considerable assistance.\n\n(M83) A little later in the same year, the Holy Father met with\nunlooked-for consolation in the conversion of the Bulgarian nation. On the\n20th December, bishops, priests, and a great many lay persons of that\ncountry, abjured the Photian schism, and addressed to Rome a solemn act of\nunion in the name of the majority of their fellow-countrymen. Pius IX.\nreplied on the 29th of January, 1861. He was pleased himself to consecrate\nin the Sistine chapel their new archbishop, Sokolski. The latter, as he\nrenewed the profession of faith, which had been already formulated in\nwriting at Constantinople, said to the Holy Father: \u201cIt is your work that,\nalthough dead, we are come to life, and that, being lost, we are found\nagain.\u201d Pius IX. referred all the glory to God. \u201cSuch works,\u201d he said,\n\u201care wholly divine. To Thee praise, benediction, everlasting thanks! O,\nJesus Christ! source of mercy and of all consolation!\u201d The Bulgarians were\nunfortunately situated. Jealousies of race prevailed among them, and did\nmuch to shake religious principle. Add to this that the schismatical\nPatriarch of Constantinople agreed to grant ecclesiastical autonomy, as it\nmight be called, to Bulgaria. This was a deadly blow to the noble impulse\nwhich led them towards the centre of Christian unity. At first they were\nthree millions of Catholics. The number speedily diminished to some tens\nof thousands. Archbishop Sokolski suddenly disappeared. It is not known\nwhether he abandoned his post or was carried away by force. The latter\nsupposition is, as yet, the more probable. He is thought to have been\nrecognized, several times, in a Russian monastery, whither he is supposed\nto have been taken by surprise, and obliged to remain against his will.\nPius IX., understanding how necessary it was that the new flock should\nhave a resident pastor, appointed a provisional successor to Sokolski,\nwith the title of Administrator of the United Bulgarians, and labored\nassiduously to found for him churches and schools. Three schismatical\nGreek bishops, who had sought protection at Rome from the violent\nproceedings of their patriarch, did not persevere any more than the\nmajority of the Bulgarians. A fourth, however, Melethios, Archbishop of\nDrama, happily remained steadfast, together with the Protestant bishop of\nMalta, another Protestant bishop, who was an American of the United\nStates, and several prelates of the Greek schism, Armenians, Chaldeans or\nCopts. All these, about this time, placed themselves under the crook of\nthe Supreme Pastor.\n\n(M84) Shortly before the death of Count de Cavour, the Emperor Napoleon\nwas pleased to define the new limits of the papal domain. In doing so, he\nleft the recently alienated provinces to Piedmont, and and confined the\nPontiff to a comparatively small territory around the city of Rome. He\ncould not have sanctioned more decidedly or more publicly the\nunjustifiable spoliation of the Sardinian king. Such a proceeding cannot\nbut appear inconsistent to such as are aware only of his apparent quarrel\nwith this monarch, and the withdrawal of his ambassador from Turin. To\nthose, on the contrary, who have knowledge of, and consider his secret\nconference with, the Piedmontese Envoys at Chambery, and the violent\nattack on the Papal States, which, notwithstanding the public and official\nprotest of the French government through their consul at Ancona,\nimmediately followed, it will appear that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte,\nEmperor of the French, was only acting up to his policy and character.\nSoon after this new distribution of territory, the \u201cKingdom of Italy\u201d was\nofficially recognized by the government of the French Emperor; and this\nrecognition paved the way for that of the other Powers, by most of whom,\nafter some time, it was reluctantly given.\n\n(M85) Cavour was dead. But Sardinian ambition died not with him. Baron\nRicasoli, who succeeded him as Prime Minister, encouraged by the support\nof France, which was no longer disguised, actually wrote, in the name of\nhis king, both to the Pope and Cardinal Antonelli, urging them to give up\nthe sovereignty of Rome. This was done, not, of course, from any ambitious\nmotive, but with a view to carrying out their great designs, such as the\nregeneration of society, and, above all, their conception of a \u201cfree\nchurch in a free state.\u201d The minister concludes magniloquently: \u201cIt is in\nyour power, Holy Father, to renew, once more, the face of the earth. You\ncan raise the Apostolic See to a height unknown for ages. If you wish to\nbe greater than earthly sovereigns, cast away from you the wretched\nkingship which brings you down to their level. Italy will bestow upon you\na firm seat, entire liberty, and new greatness. She reveres in you the\nPontiff; but she will not stop in her progress for the Prince. She intends\nto remain Catholic; but she purposes to be a free and independent nation.\nIf you will only hearken to the prayers of that daughter whom you love so\ndearly, you will gain over souls more power than you can lose as a prince,\nand from the Vatican, as you lift your hand to bless Rome and the world,\nyou will behold the nations, restored to their rights, bow down before\nyou, their defender and protector.\u201d The new minister, less wary than his\npredecessor, immediately set about realizing his grand idea. With what\nsuccess will soon be seen.\n\n(M86) The Piedmontese conquests had not been made without cost. Enormous\nsums had been spent in corrupting the Neapolitan people. Large amounts\nwere still scattered throughout the annexed provinces, in order to\nmaintain their loyalty to the new power; and the press was liberally\nsubsidized, both in Italy and abroad. For such heavy expenditure money\nmust be had. _Rem! quomodocunque modo rem!_ An expedient which occurs so\nreadily to revolutions was had recourse to. The properties of the convents\nand the treasures of the churches were seized. Members of religious\ncommunities were expelled from their monasteries and reduced to mendicity.\nThe laws of the church were trampled under foot, together with the rights\nof citizens. The Jesuits were banished and cruelly maltreated like so many\nfelons. Religious corporations were suppressed, the faithful clergy were\nthrown into prison, and many dioceses and parishes deprived of their\npastors. Pius IX. deplored these calamities in his Allocution of 30th\nNovember, 1861. In that of 18th March of the same year, he had replied to\nthose who conjured him to be reconciled with modern civilization: \u201cThe\nHoly See,\u201d the Pontiff insisted, \u201cis always consistent. It has never\nceased to promote and sustain civilization. History bears witness to this\nfact. It shows most eloquently that, in every age, the Popes carried\ncivilization into barbarous nations, and even to the remotest lands. But\nis that true civilization which enslaves the church, makes no account of\ntreaties, and recognizes not the rights of weaker parties? It is quite\ncertain that the church can never come to an understanding with such\ncivilization. What is there in common, says the apostle, between Christ\nand Belial? As to making friendship with the usurpers of our provinces,\nbefore they have shown repentance, let no such thing be hoped for. To make\nsuch a proposition to us, is to ask this see, which has always been the\nrampart of justice and truth, to sanction the principle that a stolen\nobject can be possessed in peace by the thief, and that injustice which\nsucceeds is justified by success. We loudly declare, therefore, before God\nand men, that there is no reason why we should be reconciled with any one.\nOur only duty, in this connection, is to forgive our enemies, and to pray\nfor them, in order that they may be converted. This we do in all\nsincerity. But when we are asked to do what is unjust, we cannot give our\nconsent: _Pr\u00e6stare non possumus_.\u201d\n\nA little later, January, 1862, Cardinal Antonelli replied in the name of\nPius IX. to the Marquis de Lavallette, the French Ambassador at Rome,\nshowing that it was by no means true to say that the Pope was at variance\nwith Italy. \u201cAn Italian himself, and the chief Italian, he suffers when\nItaly suffers, and he beholds with pain the severe trials to which the\nItalian church is subjected. As to arranging with those who have robbed\nus, we never will do any such thing. All transaction on this ground is\nimpossible. By whatever reservations it might be accompanied, with\nwhatever ingenuity of language it might be disguised, we could not accept,\nwithout appearing to consecrate the wrong. The Sovereign Pontiff, before\nhis exaltation, as well as the cardinals before their nomination, bind\nthemselves by oath to cede no portion of the territory of the church. The\nHoly Father, therefore, will not make any concession of this kind. Neither\na Conclave, nor a new Pontiff, nor his successors in any age, would be\nentitled to make such concession.\u201d\n\nThe revolutionists, however, could help themselves. It would not be\ndifficult to imagine the people of Italy, a few generations hence, if,\nindeed, the kingdom of Italy be destined to last so long, looking back to\ntheir founders with that same kind of pride which animated the great\nRomans when they thought of Romulus and Remus, and the band of brigands\nwho helped them to found the city.\n\n(M87) About this time the French parliamentary chambers began to enjoy, to\na certain extent, liberty of speech. They could now discuss an address to\nthe sovereign, and give full publicity to their debates. Inquiry could now\nbe made to some purpose, whether the Italian policy of Napoleon III. was\nsanctioned by France, whether that aberration were national which impelled\nto the violation of all right and law, in order to unify Italy, and pave\nthe way, at the same time, for the unification of Germany. The\nrevolutionary left of the French parliament, as a matter of course,\nfavored the Emperor\u2019s revolutionary foreign policy. But the liberty of\ndebate showed that there was a powerful minority opposed to them, and this\nminority enjoyed the sanction of the greatest statesmen of the age. In the\nSenate, notwithstanding the absence of every member of the Legitimist\nparty, as well as that of Messrs. de Montalembert and de Fallou, whom a\ncoalition of the despotism of the day with radicalism had caused to lose\ntheir seats, a tolerable number of the most devoted partisans of the\nempire showed a boldness of language, together with well-defined\nstatesmanlike views, to which the Imperial _regime_ was not accustomed.\nSeveral of the ablest orators concurred in presenting an amendment to the\naddress to the throne in favor of the Pope\u2019s temporal sovereignty. It was,\nof course, opposed by the government, but was supported, nevertheless, by\nsixty votes to seventy-nine. In the legislative assembly, notwithstanding\nall the ability displayed by the representatives of the government, the\nEmperor\u2019s Italian policy could obtain the support of only 161 votes,\nwhilst it was condemned by the powerful minority of ninety-one. The\nradical leaders of the majority now thought the time opportune for\ndemanding the recall of the French troops from Rome. The government went\ndead against it, and invited the deputies to join with it in condemning\nthe inordinate and persistent ambition of the revolution. This the\nassembly did by a solid vote of the whole house to five. Of this precious\nquintet, Jules Favre and Emile Olivier, the leaders of the government,\nwere two.\n\nSuch national demonstrations in favor of the sovereignty which he had done\nhis best to crush were very irritating to the Emperor Napoleon; and\nalthough he endeavored to appear wholly absorbed by his life of C\u00e6sar, he\ncould not avoid showing by his acts how profoundly he was disturbed by\nbeing thwarted. Everywhere throughout France the Catholics were made to\nsuffer. The clergy were persecuted as far as the laws of the country would\nallow, and the Imperial anger went so far as to wreak its vengeance on the\npoor by suppressing that benevolent and non-political institution, the\nAssociation of St. Vincent de Paul. Needless to say that, at the same\ntime, the Catholic press was held in fetters. There was no relaxation in\nits favor till the year 1867, when the law extending the liberty of the\npress became available to Catholic as well as all other writers. The\nEmperor even sacrificed the best supporters of the Imperial system on\naccount of their dislike to his anti-Roman policy. Not only from such men\ndid warnings come, but also from eminent statesmen of former _regimes_,\nsuch as Messrs. Sauzet, de Broglie, Vitet, and even M. Guizot, who was a\nProtestant, together with Messrs. Thiers, Cousin and Dufaure, who were\nonly nominal Catholics. \u201cMadame,\u201d said M. Thiers, one day, to the Empress,\nwith more truth than _politesse_, \u201chistory lays down the law that\n_quiconque mange du Pape en creve_.\u201d(6)\n\nSo many and such decided manifestations of public opinion were not without\ntheir effects. No less a personage than Garibaldi, relying, as he thought\nhe could do, on Piedmontese support, now undertook to realize to the full\nthe revolutionary programme\u2014the Kingdom of Italy, with Rome for its\ncapital. The King of Piedmont, whilst he publicly disowned the filibuster,\nas he had affected to disown him in Sicily, held an army in reserve for\nhis support. He expected himself to be officially condemned, whilst in\nreality, as usual, privately sustained.\n\n(M88) In the meantime, however, the policy of his Imperial patron was\nconsiderably modified; and orders were despatched to his Sardinian\nMajesty, which he could neither take as a blind nor dare to disregard. So\nthe Piedmontese army, which was intended to aid the filibusters in the\nsack of Rome, was obliged to fight them. It came up with the bands of\nGaribaldi, at a place called Aspromonte, on the 29th of August, 1862. The\nirregular force was defeated, its leader wounded in the heel and taken\nprisoner. Garibaldi being so renowned a warrior\u2014Achilles was nothing to\nhim\u2014was immediately released. Napoleon had spoken sincerely at last. If he\nhad always done so there would have been less disorder, less violation of\nall right and less bloodshed, in bringing together the provinces and\nstates of Italy. If it had been his policy to concur with the Pope and the\nparty of true reform, instead of patronizing a filibustering prince, he\nmight have lived to see a less objectionable and more lasting unification\nof Italy than that which he so powerfully aided in achieving.\n\nThe intriguing Cabinet of Turin took great credit to itself for having so\nvigorously acted, although against its will, in preventing Garibaldi from\nseizing Rome. As a reward for this signal service, it boldly proposed to\ngo there itself. But the time had not yet come. The fall of Rome was\ndestined to occur simultaneously with another event, in which the Emperor\nNapoleon was directly and personally interested. To do him justice, he was\nfrom this time anxious that matters should be settled advantageously to\nthe Holy See, but without prejudice to the revolution. The idea was\nchimerical. But that is no reason for supposing that it was not sincerely\nentertained.\n\n(M89) The venerable Pontiff derived some comfort from the resolve of the\nFrench nation, in which all parties, as has been seen, concurred, and the\ndetermination of its Imperial head to check the career of revolution, and\nleave Rome to its legitimate sovereign. But meanwhile more abundant\nconsolations in the spiritual order were showered upon him. In the course\nof the great struggle in which there was now, at length, a pause, he was\npractically abandoned, even by the most friendly nations. It now fell to\nhis lot to fulfil a high duty incident to the Pontifical office, and the\nnations, through their numerous representatives, flocked around him. No\nearthly prince was ever so sustained by the sympathies of mankind. The\ntime had now arrived, all research and investigation having come to a\nclose, when those heroes of the Christian faith who, in the year 1597, had\nsuffered martyrdom at the hands of the Japanese, should be solemnly\ncanonized. They were twenty-six in number. One of these was an American,\nand suffered at Nagasaki in the year just mentioned. Another process of\ncanonization had also been concluded\u2014that of the blessed Michael de\nSanctis, a Trinitarian, and member of the order for the Redemption of\nCaptives. Pius IX. had invited the bishops to attend the important\nceremony. The Sardinian government, which took credit to itself for having\nestablished a \u201cfree church in a free state,\u201d forbade the Italian bishops\nto visit Rome on this occasion. No fewer than ninety bishops protested\nagainst this mockery of liberty, and declared that nothing but the strong\nhand of power could have prevented them from repairing to the holy city.\n\nNotwithstanding the forced absence of so many bishops, there were at Rome\nthree hundred and twenty-three cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops and\nbishops, more than four thousand priests, and one hundred thousand\nstrangers of various nations and classes. Humble curates of the Alpine\nregions, who were too poor to undertake the journey, subscribed in order\nto send a few of their number in the name of the rest. Numerous ships\nwhich were, for the time, as floating convents, sailed from the ports of\nFrance, Spain and Italy, invoking Mary the Star of the Sea\u2014_Ave Maris\nStella_\u2014whilst masses of people responded from the shore; the hearts of\nall were with them. There was high festival at Rome from Ascension Day to\nWhitsuntide. All thoughts of politics were dismissed; the grand religious\ncelebration absorbing all attention. As often as Pius IX. appeared in\npublic, he was honored with an ovation. On one occasion, in particular,\nthere was a great demonstration by the clergy and the artillerymen of the\nFrench army, on the day before Pentecost Sunday. The Bishop of Tulle, Mgr.\nBerteaud, Mgr. Dupanloup of Orleans, and other bishops, addressed immense\ncrowds, and produced religious emotion in which unbelievers could not help\nparticipating. It is not recorded that Pius IX. had preached in public\nsince the beginning of his Pontificate. He now, on the 6th of June,\ndelivered the word of God in the Sistine Chapel, speaking first in Latin\nand afterwards in French. His audience consisted of four thousand priests,\nas many as could be assembled within the spacious edifice. All were deeply\nmoved, and only refrained through reverence from giving vent to their\nfeelings. As soon as the Holy Father had announced the apostolic\nbenediction, one of the priests happily intoned the liturgical prayer:\n\u201c_Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Pio_.\u201d \u201cLet us pray for our Pontiff Pius.\u201d\nAll present, as if with one voice, responded: \u201cThe Lord preserve him and\ngive him life, and make him blessed upon earth, and deliver him not to the\nwill of his enemies.\u201d One may have some idea how the Catholic mind was\nimpressed, from the words of M. Louis Veuillot: \u201cWe traversed our beloved\nRome with filial affection. And if the thought occurred to us that there\nexisted a design to rob us of it, our feeling was one of anger rather than\nof fear. We passed from sanctuary to sanctuary, inquiring as to the places\nwhere Pius IX. would appear, in order to pay profoundest reverence to the\nHoly Pontiff. \u2018No, no,\u2019 exclaimed a bishop, as he came from the presence\nof the Holy Father, \u2018it is not true, it is not possible! Do not believe\nthat there are Victor Emmanuels, Garibaldis, Ratazzis! Such a man cannot\nhave enemies!\u2019 \u201d\n\nOn Pentecost Sunday, June 8th, 1862, it was known that the Basilica of St.\nPeter would be open at five o\u2019clock in the morning. All night the\nneighboring streets were crowded, and when the gates were thrown open that\ngreatest of earth\u2019s temples was filled in a few minutes. The Pontifical\ntroops were on guard inside. The foreign ambassadors, the royal family of\nNaples, and other distinguished persons filled the tribunes; and the\nFrench infantry was massed on St. Peter\u2019s place. The church was\nappropriately decorated with paintings representing scenes in the lives of\nthe martyrs and illustrious confessors. The thousands of lights which\nshone around added splendor to the scene. At seven o\u2019clock the great\nprocession began to move. First came a troop of orphans, then appeared the\nstudents of the ecclesiastical seminaries. These were followed by\nreligious communities and the secular clergy. Bishops came next, and\narchbishops, patriarchs and cardinals. Then appeared the Supreme Pastor,\npreceded by the banners of the saints that were to be canonized. All\nbesides was now forgot, as the Holy Father was borne slowly along, seated\non the _sedia gestatoria_, which was carried by twelve attendants in\nscarlet cloaks. The Tiara added dignity to the noble figure of the\nPontiff. In his left hand, which was veiled with white silk, embroidered\nwith gold, he held a lighted wax taper, while his right was left free to\nbless the people as he passed along. The correspondent of the London\n_Times_, who was a Protestant, says: \u201cLooking over the sea of heads placed\nbetween me and the procession, I observed that all knelt before Pius IX.,\nthe meek and the good, for it is only justice so to speak of him. The\nchanters of the Vatican chanted in angelic tones: _Tu es Petrus_, and\nthese tones, softened rather than weakened by distance, pervaded the whole\nedifice like spirits. At intervals, another group chanted: _Ave Maris\nStella_, and thus the Pope was borne, through the thousands of Christians\nwho had come from every country on which the sun shines, to the high altar\nbehind the tomb of the apostles.\u201d\n\nIn the midst of so much pomp and glory, Pius IX. was humble and collected,\nreferring all to Him of whom he was only the representative on earth. At\nthe same time, his soul overflowed with happiness when he saw that there\nwas still so much faith in Israel. The Sovereign Pontiff now took his seat\nupon the Papal throne, and having received the obedience of the cardinals\nand bishops, he was approached by the consistorial advocate, who thrice\npetitioned him to permit the names of the glorious martyrs and confessors\nto be inscribed on the diptychs of the saints, which the church recognizes\nand holds sacred. After the request had been made the third time, the Holy\nFather read in a clear and audible voice the decree of canonization. He\nthen intoned the _Te Deum_, which was chanted by the immense congregation.\nThe ceremonies concluded with a solemn High Mass, which was celebrated by\nthe Pope himself, surrounded by the cardinals and bishops. The people\nspent the remainder of the day in pious rejoicing. They were gay and\nexpansive, but calm and brotherly; thus exhibiting, without being\nconscious of it, a spectacle unknown to the inhabitants of other capitals.\n\n(M90) The demonstrations which took place at Rome on the following day\nwere not less important, and perhaps had greater significance, although\nnot accompanied by so much pomp and ceremony. There was held in the Palace\nof the Vatican a semi-public consistory, at which all the bishops who were\nat Rome attended. The venerable Pontiff denounced, in his allocution to\nthe attentive audience, those errors which are too ancient to have even\nthe merit of originality, but which are the more dangerous that, at the\npresent time more than ever, they are loudly preached and widely\ndisseminated. He alluded in particular to that German criticism, which\nviews our sacred books as nothing better than a system of mythology, and\nto that too well-known romance of a French writer, M. Renan, entitled:\n\u201cThe Life of Jesus.\u201d He condemned materialism, pantheism, naturalism, and\nall those more or less degrading systems which deny human liberty,\nproclaim a morality independent of the laws of God; which derive from\nmaterial force and superior numbers all law and authority: and which in\nphilosophy make reason their God, the state in politics, and passion in\nthe daily conduct of life. The Holy Father then thanked the bishops who\nwere present, regretting the absence of those of Portugal and Italy, the\nlatter of whom were restrained by the Piedmontese government, and exhorted\nthem all to continue to combat error, and to turn away the eyes and hands\nof the faithful from bad books and bad journals, and to promote, without\never wearying, the instruction of the clergy and the good education of\nyouth. He concluded, in a voice which was impeded by his tears, and with\nhis eyes raised to heaven, by joining with all present in beseeching the\nFather of mercies, through the merits of Jesus Christ, His only Son, to\nextend a helping hand to Christian and civil society, and to restore peace\nto the church.\n\nCardinal Mattei, dean of the Sacred College, replied in the name of all\nthe bishops. Three points chiefly, among others, were affirmed in his\ndeclaration. First of all, the supreme doctrinal authority and\ninfallibility of the Roman Pontiff. \u201cYou are in our regard the master of\nsound doctrine. You are the centre of unity. You are the foundation of the\nchurch itself, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. When you\nspeak, we hear Peter. When you decree, we obey Jesus Christ. We admire you\nin the midst of so many trials and tempests, with a serene brow and\nunshaken mind, invincibly fulfilling your sacred ministry.\u201d Next, the\ntemporal sovereignty of the Holy See. \u201cWe acknowledge that your temporal\nsovereignty is necessary, and that it was established in fulfilment of a\nmanifest design of Divine Providence. We hesitate not to declare that this\ntemporal sovereignty is required for the good of the church and the free\ngovernment of souls. It was necessary that the Supreme Pontiff should be\nneither the subject nor even the guest of any prince. There was required\nin the centre of Europe a sacred bond, placed between the three continents\nof the ancient world, an august seat, whence arises in turns, for peoples\nand for princes, a great and powerful voice, the voice of justice and of\ntruth, impartial and without preference, free from all arbitrary\ninfluence, and which can neither be repressed by fear nor circumvented by\nartifice. How could it have been that at this very moment the prelates of\nthe church, arriving from all points of the universe, should have come\nhere in order to represent all peoples, and confer in security on the\ngravest interests, if they had found any prince whomsoever ruling in this\nland who had suspicions of their princes, or who was suspected by them on\naccount of his hostility? In such case their duties as citizens might have\nconflicted with their duties as bishops.\u201d Finally, the intimate union of\nthe Catholic world with the Pope. \u201cWe condemn the errors which you have\ncondemned. We reprove the sacrilegious acts, the violations of\necclesiastical immunity, and the other crimes committed against the chair\nof Peter. We give utterance to this protest, which we claim shall be\ninserted in the annals of the church, in all sincerity, in the name of our\nbrethren who are absent, in the name of those who, detained at home by\nforce, lament and are silent, in the name of those whom the state of their\nhealth or important affairs have prevented from joining us in this place.\nTo our number we add the clergy and the faithful people who give you proof\nof their love and veneration by their assiduous prayers, as well as by the\noffering of Peter\u2019s pence. Would to God that all kings and powerful men in\nthe world understood that the cause of the Pontiff is the cause of all\nstates. Would to God that they came to an understanding in order to place\nin security the sacred cause of the Christian world and of social order.\u201d\n\nPius IX. made reply: \u201cUnited as we are, venerable brethren, we cannot\ndoubt that the God of peace and charity is with us. And if God be with us,\nwho shall be against us? Praise, honor, glory to God! To you, peace,\nsalvation and joy! Peace to your minds; salvation to the faithful\ncommitted to your care; joy to you and to them, in order that you may all\nrejoice, chaunting a new canticle in the House of God for evermore!\u201d\n\nThe address which Cardinal Mattei read bore the signatures of all the\nbishops who were in Rome. The bishops of Italy hastened to express their\nconcurrence, with one exception, Ariano, who had participated in the\nrevolutionary movement, and who came to an unhappy death within the year.\nThere came, in due course, numerous adhesions from all parts of the world,\ntogether with countless addresses from the clergy of the second order. The\nlaity, on their part, received the bishops on their return home with\ntriumphal honors. They came around them and escorted them to the pulpits\nof their cathedrals, in order to hear from their lips all that had taken\nplace at Rome. The Bishop of Moulins, Mgr. de Droux Breze, admirably\nexpressed in a few words the impressions of the venerable pilgrims: \u201cRome\nis a city of wonders; but the wonder of Rome is Pius IX.\u201d\n\nThe moral result of all these manifestations was incalculable. At a time\nwhen universal suffrage had come into vogue, it was impossible not to see\nin all this, from a merely wordly point of view, indirect, indeed, but\nstrikingly universal suffrage. The vote of the whole Catholic world was\nshown, united with that of the Romans, in affirming the rights of the\nCatholic world over Rome, whilst appeared, at the same time, the\ndetermination of the Romans to retain their cherished autonomy, and to\nremain the capital of the Catholic world. The parliament of Turin was\ngreatly agitated. There was indescribable confusion, so that discussion\nwas impossible. They voted, in opposition to the Episcopal and Pontifical\nallocutions, an address to Victor Emmanuel, the character of which may be\ngathered from the following few words: \u201cSire, bishops, almost all\nstrangers in Italy, have proclaimed the strange doctrine that Rome is the\nslave of the Catholic world. We reply to them by declaring that we are\nresolved, to maintain inviolable the right of the nation and that of the\nItalian metropolis, which is, at present, retained by force under a\ndetested yoke.\u201d It was of a piece with many other assertions of the\nrevolutionary party that the Romans detested the rule of the Holy Father.\nIt was particularly audacious to make such an assertion in face of the\nenthusiastic demonstrations which had just been made in the city of the\nPopes. They had forbidden the presence of the Italian bishops at Rome, and\nnevertheless they dared to complain that almost all the bishops who\ngathered around the Sovereign Pontiff were strangers in Italy. But what\ndid this avail them? Did not the Italian bishops decidedly express\ncomplete concurrence with their brethren?\n\nIt is still more surprising that the Emperor Napoleon took no warning from\nthe words of the Turin parliament, and went so far as to conclude an\nagreement with them for the preservation to the Pope of the Holy City.\n\n(M91) It is difficult to understand how a people numerically so weak as\nthe inhabitants of that portion of the once great kingdom of Poland, which\nfell to the Russian Empire at the time of the unfortunate partition, could\nhave undertaken a rebellion against so great a Power as Russia. But\nprovocation, patriotism, the sense of nationality, together with the\nardent love of liberty, set the laws of prudence at defiance. That\nprovocation must have been of no ordinary kind which could excite, in\nRussian Poland, a third rebellion, which had no better prospect of success\nthan the two former, which resulted so disastrously for the unhappy Poles.\nAnd, indeed, what could be worse or more calculated to cause insurrection\nthan the cruelties, crimes and sacrilegious acts which the Russian\ngovernment was guilty of throughout Poland in the years 1861 and 1862? The\nchurches of that ill-fated country were seized and profaned, divine\nservice interdicted, and the bishops arraigned before courts-martial and\ncast into prison. Such atrocities, instead of crushing, only increased the\npatriotism of the people. Russian policy, baffled as was to be expected,\nin its design of establishing tranquillity by such barbarous proceedings,\nhad recourse to a rigid conscription intended to have the effect of\nforcing all the patriotic youth of the country into the ranks of the\nRussian army. This violent recruiting was first attempted at Warsaw, at\ndead of night, on the 15th of January, 1863. When the news of this\nviolence spread throughout the country, all the young men capable of\nbearing arms fled to the steppes and forests, and, in eight days, all\nPoland was in rebellion for the third time, in order to break the yoke of\nthe foreigner. A word from the great Powers, or any one of them, would\nhave restored peace. But they all alike refused to speak this word. The\nBritish, after having encouraged the Poles to resistance in public\nspeeches, were on the point of intervening in their behalf, when a hint\nfrom M. de Bismark suddenly cooled their zeal, and determined Lord John\nRussell to recall by telegraph threatening despatches which were already\non their way to St. Petersburgh. It need scarcely be said that Prussia,\nwhich was an accomplice of Russia in the iniquitous partition, made common\ncause with Russia in the work of repression. Austria was at the time\nparalyzed, as Italy was threatening Venice. Italy simply expressed to\nPrince Gortschakoff, the Russian Chancellor, \u201cits confidence that the\nEmperor Alexander would persevere in the reforms so unfortunately\ninterrupted by the rebellion.\u201d Innocent Italians! They, of course, were\nnot guilty of causing rebellion, which was now, in their estimation, so\ndeplorable in Sicily, Naples, the Grand Duchies, &c. Napoleon remained, as\nwas his wont, undecided. He would neither assist the Poles nor give them\nto understand that he would not assist them. A word from him would have\nshortened, by eighteen months, a hopeless struggle of two years, which\nended by exhausting them.\n\nThere was one, however, who protested. Pius IX. denounced the oppressor as\nfearlessly as if he had been the least of the princes of the earth. He\nwrote to him, at first, in a tone of mild remonstrance, on the 22d of\nApril, 1863. But finding that his representations were not heeded, he\nrenewed them more pressingly. He did not confine himself to merely\nofficial acts. He sent Cardinal Reisach on a confidential mission to\nVienna, and addressed a warm and feeling letter to the Emperor Francis\nJoseph, in order to induce him to take action energetically in common with\nFrance. He invited the whole Christian world to join with him in praying\nfor the suffering nation which he nobly declared to be \u201cthe soldier of\ncivilization and of faith.\u201d Such as were at Rome, at the time of these\nprayers, will never forget how enthusiastically the Roman people responded\nto the call of Pius IX. In praying for the defenders of a distant country,\nthey seemed to pray, at the same time, for their own, which was now, more\nthan ever, threatened. But the time of mercy had not yet come, and\npersecution was redoubled. Ecclesiastics were deported or put to death,\nsimply for not having refused the aid of religion to the dying on the\nfield of battle. Families and whole populations were doomed to choose\nbetween exile and apostacy. All the bishops, without exception, were\ndriven from their dioceses, and some of them perished on the way to\nSiberia. Pius IX. could no longer contain his grief and indignation. On\nthe 27th of April, 1864, in replying to the postulators in the cause of\nblessed Francis of the five wounds, he said: \u201cThe blood of the helpless\nand the innocent cries for vengeance to the throne of the Almighty against\nthose by whom it is shed. Unhappy Poland! It was my desire not to speak\nbefore the approaching consistory. But I fear lest, by being silent any\nlonger, I should draw down upon myself the punishment denounced by the\nprophets against those who tolerate iniquity. No, I would not that I were\nforced to cry out, one day, in presence of the Sovereign Judge: \u2018Woe to me\nbecause I have held my peace!\u2019 (_Va mihi quia tacui._) I feel inspired at\nthis moment to condemn a sovereign whose vast Empire reaches to the Pole.\nThis potentate, who falsely calls himself the Catholic of the East, but\nwho is only a schismatic cast forth from the bosom of the true church,\npersecutes and slays his Catholic subjects, and by his ferocious cruelty\nhas driven them to insurrection. Under the pretext of suppressing this\ninsurrection, he extirpates the Catholic religion. He deports whole\npopulations to inhospitable climes, where they are deprived of all\nreligious assistance, and replaces them by schismatical adventurers. He\ntears the pastors from their flocks, and drives them into exile, or\ncondemns them to forced labors and other degrading punishments. Happy they\nwho have been able to escape, and who now wander in strange lands! This\npotentate, all heterodox and schismatical as he is, arrogates to himself a\npower which the Vicar of Christ possesses not. He pretends to deprive a\nbishop whom we have rightfully instituted. Can he be ignorant that a\nCatholic bishop is always the same, whether in his see or in the\ncatacombs, and that his character is ineffaceable? Let it not be said that\nin raising our voice against such misdeeds we encourage the European\nrevolution. We can distinguish between the socialist revolution and the\nlegitimate rights of a nation struggling for independence and its\nreligion. In stigmatizing the persecutors of the Catholic religion, we\nfulfil a duty laid on us by our conscience. It behooves us to pray, with\nrenewed earnestness, for that unfortunate country. In consequence, we\nimpart our apostolic benediction to all who shall, this day, pray for\nPoland. Let us all pray for Poland!\u201d It was as if the breath of God\u2019s\nanger were on the lips of the Holy Pontiff. Pius IX., remarks M. de St.\nAlbin, swayed by his deep emotion, had risen from his throne, his voice\nwas like thunder, and his arm appeared to threaten as if possessed of\nomnipotence.\n\n(M92) Such apostolic courage commanded the admiration of the enemies of\nthe Papacy. The deputy, Brofferio, said in the parliament of Turin, whilst\nhis colleagues, revolutionists like himself, applauded: \u201cAn old man,\nexhausted, sickly, without resources, without an army, on the brink of the\ngrave, curses a potentate who slaughters a people; I feel moved in my\ninmost soul; I imagine myself borne back to the days of Gregory VII.; I\nreverence and applaud.\u201d\n\n(M93) M. Meyendorf, the _charge d\u2019affaires_ of Russia, having been\nadmitted to a private audience on occasion of the Christmas festivities of\n1866, Pius IX. naturally directed the conversation to the painful state of\necclesiastical affairs in Poland. The Russian minister denied everything,\neven the most notorious facts, and ended by casting all the blame on the\nCatholics, who, he affirmed, had openly transacted with the Polish\ninsurrection, whilst the Protestants generally sided with the government.\n\u201cNor was this astonishing,\u201d he added, \u201cconsidering that Catholicism and\nrevolution are the same thing.\u201d Pius IX. could not tolerate this false\nassertion, which was so absurd that it could have no other object than to\ninsult him and the whole body of the faithful of whom he was the Chief.\n\u201cDepart,\u201d said he to the minister, as he dismissed him, \u201cI cannot but\nbelieve that your Emperor is ignorant of the greater part of the injustice\nunder which Poland suffers. I, therefore, honor and esteem your Emperor;\nbut I cannot say as much of his representative who comes to insult me in\nmy own house.\u201d Pius IX. vainly hoped that the Envoy would be disowned, and\ndiplomatic relations between Rome and St. Petersburgh continued. When\nAlexander II. suppressed, by his own authority, in 1867, the Catholic\ndiocese of Kaminieck, Pius IX. was obliged to have recourse to the\nnewspaper press, in order to make known to the Catholics of that\nunfortunate country that he appointed the Bishop of Zitomir provisional\nadministrator. \u201cI have no other means of communicating with them,\u201d said he\n\u201cI act like the captain of a vessel who encloses in a bottle his last\nwords to his family, and confides them to the storm, hoping that the waves\nwill deposit them on some shore where they will be gathered up.\u201d\n\n(M94) Pius IX. showed himself as generous to princes as to peoples, acting\nalways as the champion of justice in the cause of the former, as well as\nin supporting the undoubted rights of the latter. Francis II., of Naples,\ndethroned by his ambitious cousin, King Victor Emmanuel, was, as the\nBonapartes had once been, an exile at Rome, and enjoyed the same princely\nhospitality which his predecessor, in 1848, had extended to the Holy\nFather in the Kingdom of Naples. Victor Emmanuel remonstrated against this\nkindness to a fallen enemy. But in vain! He was powerless. His ally and\npatron, however, the French Emperor, was not so easily resisted. This\npotentate gave it to be understood, although not in express terms, that\nthe stay of the French troops at Rome was dependent on the departure of\nthe exiled monarch. The Pope, alluding to the family of Napoleon I., whom\nPius VII. had kindly received at Rome, replied, satirically, that the\nRoman Pontiffs had traditions of hospitality, as regarded their\npersecutors, and much more in favor of their benefactors. Napoleon was\nashamed to persist; and Francis II. remained at Rome as long as Pius IX.\nwas master there.\n\n(M95) It was quite natural that Napoleon III. should entertain the idea\nthat he was born to found empires. He had succeeded in establishing one on\nthe ruins of a republic in the Old World. He now sought to build up\nImperial power side by side with a republic in the New. Mexico was\ndesigned to be the seat of this empire; and, as that country greatly\nneeded government of some kind, the time was deemed opportune for carrying\ninto effect Napoleon\u2019s idea. The Imperial dignity was offered to the\nArchduke Maximilian of Austria; and this prince, relying on the support of\nFrance, consented to ascend the throne of the Montezumas. Before crossing\nthe seas, Prince Maximilian came, together with his wife, the Princess\nCharlotte of Belgium, to Rome, in order to beg the prayers, the wise\ncounsel and the apostolic benediction of the venerable Pontiff. So desired\nthe new Emperor to inaugurate a reign which, it was hoped, would be great\nand prosperous. The Holy Father, at the solemn moment of communion, spoke\nto the Prince of Him by whom kings reign and the framers of laws decree\njust things. In the name of this King of kings, he recommended to him the\nCatholic nation of Mexico, reminding him, at the same time, that he was,\nunder God, the constituted protector of the rights of the people as well\nas those of the church. The Emperor and his youthful spouse were moved to\ntears; and Maximilian, on leaving Rome, declared that he departed under\nthe protection of God, and with the benediction of the Holy Pontiff. \u201cI am\nconfident, therefore,\u201d he added, \u201cthat I shall be able to fulfil my great\nmission to Mexico.\u201d\n\nUnfortunately for him, however, liberalism, or, rather, ill-disguised\nsocialism, was enthroned, for the moment, in what was destined to be, for\na little while longer, the chief seat of European Power. It is not\ndifficult to imagine whence counsel proceeded, and the inexperienced\nEmperor came to believe that Mexico might be governed as France was,\nwhilst its ruler thwarted the will of the great majority of her people. He\nmay not, indeed, have been free to reject the advice which swayed him. Be\nthis as it may, he most unwisely cast himself into the arms of the party\nto whom monarchy and religion were alike hateful. He now framed a\nConcordat which, whilst it could not be acceptable to his new friends, was\nfar from being such as the Pope could ratify. The revolutionary party had\ngained the new Emperor.\n\n(M96) The Holy Father, ever anxious to promote the well-being of the\nchurch, sent a nuncio to Maximilian, in order to remind him of his\npromises, and induce him to abolish the laws that had been enacted for the\npurpose of oppressing the church, and completely to reorganize\necclesiastical affairs with the full concurrence of the Holy See. The\nletter borne by the nuncio required that the Catholic religion should\ncontinue to be the stay and glory of the Mexican nation; that the bishops\nshould be entirely free in the exercise of their pastoral ministry; that\nthe religious orders should be restored and organized according to the\ninstructions and faculties imparted by the Sovereign Pontiff; that the\npatrimony of the church and the rights connected therewith should be\nguaranteed and protected; that none be allowed to disseminate false and\nsubversive doctrines; that public as well as private education be directed\nand superintended by ecclesiastical authority; and, finally, that those\nfetters be broken which had hitherto for some time held the church\ndependent on the arbitrary will of the civil power. \u201cIf,\u201d continued the\nHoly Father, \u201cthe religious edifice be re-established, as we doubt not it\nwill, on such foundations, your Majesty will satisfy one of the greatest\nwants and realize the most ardent aspirations of the religious people of\nMexico; you will dispel our disquietude and that of the illustrious\nMexican Episcopate; you will pave the way for the education of a learned\nand zealous clergy, as well as the moral reformation of the people. You\nwill thus, also, consolidate your throne, and promote the prosperity and\nglory of your Imperial family.\u201d In all this the Emperor would have been\nsustained by the great majority of the Mexican people. And there was\nnothing impossible required of him. It is not shown anywhere that the\nrestoration of church properties, which had been long alienated and had\noften changed proprietors, would have been exacted, any more than in\nEngland, when religion was restored under the reign of Mary. The policy\nindicated by Pius IX. would have won for Maximilian a host of friends and\nsupporters. The line of conduct which he pursued was most unacceptable to\nthe Catholic nation of Mexico, whilst it was not in the least calculated\nto satisfy the revolutionary party. Refusing to concede everything that\nthe church required, he wished to retain for himself the ancient regal\nprivileges of the Crown of Spain\u2014the investiture of bishops, the\nregulating of ecclesiastical tariffs, the limitation of the number of\nmonastic orders and religious associations, &c. So far the revolution was\npleased. It was loud in its applause. With what sincerity events failed\nnot to show. Pius IX. insisted on the Emperor\u2019s solemn pledges so recently\ngiven at Rome. Maximilian was deaf to the counsels, the complaints, the\nearnest prayers of the Holy Father. So it remained only for the Papal\nNuncio, Monsignor Meglia, to take his departure from Vera Cruz (1st June,\n1865). Meanwhile, Maximilian\u2019s chief support, the French Emperor, dreading\nthe formidable hostility of the United States of America, which could not\ntolerate an empire on the borders of their great republic, was obliged to\nwithdraw from Mexico the army which, from the first, was necessary to\nsustain the new empire. Napoleon, one would say, was pledged to\nMaximilian, having induced him to assume the Imperial Crown, and having\nalso promised all necessary support. He could not, however, command\nsuccess; and chivalry, even if it had still existed, would have availed\nbut little, when power alone could win.\n\nMaximilian was now all alone, face to face with anarchy and the Mexican\nnation which he had slighted. Faction ruled in his place. The\nrevolutionary party which he had favored proved untrue; and falling into\nthe hands of his enemies, he was solemnly murdered by the ruling brigand\nof the day. The officers of Napoleon\u2019s army sincerely believed that no\nbetter fate could be anticipated; for they earnestly advised him to\naccompany them on their return to Europe. This he could have done without\ndishonor. The idea of a Mexican empire was Napoleon\u2019s, and he alone was\nanswerable for its success. On the part of Maximilian it was more than\nchivalry to remain in Mexico when his guard was gone. But the idea of the\nyouthful Prince in regard to honor appears to have been, like his policy,\nunsound. The policy may not have been, most probably was not, his. But the\nsentiment of honor was all his own. And although, in an age of chivalry\neven, it would have appeared exaggerated, it redounds to his credit. It is\nnot surprising that a man animated by such noble sentiments should have\ndied as became a hero and a Christian.\n\n(M97) The potentate, on whom, as far as worldly power was concerned,\ndepended the Pope\u2019s temporal sovereignty, was throwing himself every day\nmore and more into the hands of the enemies of the church. His ministers,\nmore audacious than himself, carried their blind hatred of \u201cClericalism\u201d\nto such an extent as to sacrifice many of the best supporters of the\nempire. This was singularly apparent at the general election of 1863. M.\nde Persigny hesitated not to employ all the influence of the government\nagainst such Imperialists as had voted for or shown themselves favorable\nto the Pope\u2019s temporal power. He succeeded in causing such friends of\nNapoleon as De Caverville, Cochin and Lemercier to be replaced by the most\nbitter enemies of the Imperial _regime_. He also managed to exclude from\nparliament Messrs. de Montalembert, de Falloux and Keller. But Messrs.\nPlichou, Berryer and Thiers, notwithstanding his hostile efforts, were\nelected. This last-named statesman was himself a host, and his eloquent\nspeeches in support of the temporal sovereignty made all the more\nimpression that they were known to be dictated by far-seeing policy,\nrather than any leaning towards religion. They deeply impressed the\nparliament and the country; but availed not with Napoleon III., whom an\nunprincipled ministry were leading blindfolded to destruction. Meanwhile,\nthe question of Rome entered on a new phase. The Cabinets of Turin and\nParis concluded an agreement in regard to the Roman State on 15th\nSeptember, 1864. The text of this notorious agreement was known to Europe,\nwhilst its meaning remained a mystery. The ministry of Napoleon III. made\nit appear in France as a guarantee for the safety of the Pope. The\nPiedmontese government flattered the revolutionary element of Italy, by\nrepresenting that it did not in the least change their programme, the\nkeynote of which was \u201cRome the Capital.\u201d They were right. This proved to\nbe the true solution of the mystery. The first article provided that the\nKing of Piedmont should not attack, and he bound himself by oath not to\nattack, the remaining territory of the Holy Father, to prevent by force,\nif necessary, all aggression from any other quarter, and to pay the debts\nof the former States of the Church. By the second clause France became\nbound to withdraw her troops in two years. A protocol was added, by which\nVictor Emmanuel engaged to transfer his capital from Turin to Florence in\nsix months. It was more than disrespectful to the Pope; it was of evil\nomen, of sinister import, that the sovereign whose state was concerned was\nnot a party to the treaty\u2014was not even consulted. The minds of all\nCatholics were greatly disquieted, and their anxiety was only increased by\nthe Italian interpretation of the agreement. Pius IX., who understood well\nby what men and by what principles the Cabinet of the Tuileries was\ngoverned, made a remark which indicated more his fears for the great\nFrench nation than for the fragment which remained to him of his\nterritory. He would have nothing to do with the pecuniary compensation\nthat was offered to him. He could only say that \u201che pitied France.\u201d The\ncrime of that country was that her government made any agreement at all\nwith the monarch who had so unscrupulously violated the treaty of Zurich,\nand who was, besides, the chief hero of Gaeta, Naples, Castelfidardo and\nAncona. One of the most eloquent of Bishop Dupanloup\u2019s publications, the\none which, perhaps, has been the most generally read, exposes the\nhollowness of this arrangement, which is known in history as the September\nagreement.\n\n(M98) The 8th of December, 1864, the tenth anniversary of the proclamation\nof the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, was marked by the publication\nof the Encyclical, \u201cquanta cura,\u201d and, together with it, the \u201cSyllabus.\u201d\nThis great doctrinal act was a crushing reply to the erroneous assertions\nof the time, as well as to the vain ideas of those politicians who boasted\nthat, through their efforts, the spiritual office no less than the\ntemporal sovereignty of the Pope was drawing to a close. The Encyclical\nletter is addressed to all bishops in communion with the Holy See, and\nthrough them to all the faithful throughout the world. It contains the\nteachings of Pius IX., and the Popes, his predecessors, in opposition to\nthe errors of the present age\u2014the mistaken ideas of natural religion;\nreligious indifference which, falsely assuming the name of liberty of\nconscience and of worship, establishes the reign of physical force in the\nplace of law and justice; communism and socialism; the subjection of the\nchurch to the state; and the independence of Christians in regard to the\nHoly See.\n\nThe \u201cSyllabus\u201d consists of eighty propositions, which are a summary of the\nfalse teachings of the enemies of the Catholic church, as found in the\nperiodical press, as well as in their writings of a more permanent\ncharacter. The first seven propositions briefly express the errors on\npantheism, naturalism, and absolute rationalism. All who have any\nChristian belief, to whatever denomination they may adhere, must surely\nacknowledge the justice of denouncing philosophers of the school of\nStrauss, who insist that Christ is a myth, and His religion a system of\nmythology.\n\nFrom the eighth to the fourteenth proposition inclusively, are pointed out\nand condemned the errors of modern rationalism. From the fourteenth to the\neighteenth, indifferentism and latitudinarianism are exposed. Throughout\nthe rest of the catalogue, secret societies and communism are condemned;\nerroneous views, as regards church and state, natural and Christian\nethics, and Christian marriage are expressed and denounced. Finally, are\npointed out the errors that have been uttered in regard to the temporal\npower of the Pope, together with such as have reference to modern\nliberalism.\n\nThese important documents, the Encyclical, \u201cquanta cura,\u201d and the\n\u201cSyllabus,\u201d are not so much the work of Pius IX. as of all the Popes of a\ncentury back, from the Council of Pistoia, Febronianism and Josephism.\nWhilst the \u201cSyllabus\u201d was yet in embryo, it was, with the exception of a\nfew propositions which were not yet formulated, confidentially\ncommunicated to the bishops on occasion of the canonization of the\nJapanese martyrs. Each bishop was at that time invited to select two\ntheologians in order to examine the propositions, and give their opinion\nin six months. The church, therefore, was not taken by surprise, when the\n\u201cSyllabus\u201d appeared, however much its publication may have struck with\nastonishment and alarm the party of revolution and unbelief. Catholics, at\nleast, could not fail to be swayed by such a masterly exposition of\nCatholic theology on so many subjects, all intimately connected with human\nconduct in private life as well as in affairs of public import. And there\nwere Catholics everywhere\u2014among the rulers of the world and its leading\nstatesmen, no less than in all classes and grades of society. Such now\ncould have no excuse for favoring opinions which were so distinctly\ncondemned by that authority which they all recognized as the highest upon\nearth. Nevertheless, whatever impression the clear teaching of the\n\u201cSyllabus,\u201d in regard to the church and her rights, civil society, and\nboth natural and Christian morality, was destined, in time, to produce,\nbut little disposition was shown to be guided by it at the outset. There\nwas all but a universal clamor that the church had pronounced a divorce\nbetween modern society and the spiritual order. Nor could it be otherwise,\nso long as the former held principles which were essentially incompatible\nwith the latter. Neither could reconciliation be easily or speedily\nbrought about. The principles which religion condemned were in the\nascendant. The existing civil law of all European nations was founded on\nthem. There was no government that had not adopted them and shown itself\ninclined to be entirely guided by them. The formal condemnation of the\ncherished ideas of the age was as a thunderbolt hurled against the social\nelements of the day. But why disturb their peace? They had no peace. They\nwere already discordant. \u201c_Non esi pax impiis_.\u201d Peace could not be born\nof unbelief. It could come only through the truth, even as health conquers\ndisease by the most trying curative process. Napoleon III. was the first\nwho openly resisted the \u201cencroachments\u201d of Rome, just as if they had\nconstituted the only danger to his throne. By a decree dated 1st January,\n1865, he forbade the publication of the Encyclical and the Syllabus,\nwhilst he caused to be tried and condemned, as guilty of abuse, the\nArchbishop of Besan\u00e7on and the Bishop of Moulins, because they had read\nthe Encyclical in their pulpits. The other prelates of France so far\nsubmitted as to avoid printing the obnoxious documents, lest their\nprinters should be uselessly compromised. Several bishops declared that\nthe Encyclical was already sufficiently published in their dioceses by the\nvoice of the press. They thus expressed the idea of the whole episcopate.\nPius IX. highly commended their zeal. \u201cWe must go back,\u201d he said, \u201cto the\nearly ages of Christianity, in order to find an episcopal body that could\nshow such courage.\u201d\n\nTo persons accustomed to theological studies, it is sufficiently apparent\nwhy each proposition of the \u201cSyllabus\u201d stands condemned. To others, cause\nis shown in the consistorial allocutions, Encyclical and other letters\napostolical of the Holy Father, in relation to each proposition. Some\nthings must be interpreted by the conduct of the Pope himself. For\ninstance, what is said in regard to the liberty of public worship and of\nthe press must be read in the light of that reasonable tolerance which the\nPopes were accustomed to exercise when they ruled at Rome as sovereign\nPrinces. There is no liberty without some restraint. The press, in this\nrespect, is in the same position as individuals. According to the laws of\nall civilized lands, when it abuses its liberty and commits crime, it is\nvisited with severe punishment. The greater liberty which the press\nenjoys, and must enjoy, in the present circumstances of the world, by no\nmeans clashes with the condemnation of proposition 79 of the \u201cSyllabus.\u201d\nThe press can no more be free to publish anything whatsoever, however\noffensive it may be, than persons are free to perform such acts as\nnecessarily subject them, even in states where there is the greatest\nattainable degree of liberty, to condemnation and punishment. If every\norganized community possesses, as it certainly does possess, the right so\nto stigmatize an offending citizen, and that without any violation of\nliberty, it is equally entitled to judge and punish an offending press.\n\n(M99) Not satisfied with the blow which so greatly weakened Austria in the\nItalian campaign, Napoleon III. plotted with Prussia for a further\nhumbling of the great Catholic Power. To this end he held dark\nconsultations with Count Bismark, at Biarritz, as he had formerly done\nwith Count de Cavour at Plombieres. The former, however, proved to be more\nthan a match for him. Hence the great victory of Sadowa which paved the\nway for Sedan. Prussia, without a rival in Germany, could freely pursue\nher ambitious schemes. Napoleon, apparently suspecting nothing, left the\nRhine frontier comparatively unprotected; and Prussia, victorious in the\nstruggle with Austria, refused to France all compensation for her\ncomplicity and encouragement. This hindered not Napoleon from taking part\nin the treaty of Prague, as president, and sanctioning by his signature\nthe expulsion of Austria from Germany, and the confiscation of Hanover,\nNassau, the two Hesses and other small independent sovereignties, in the\ninterest of Prussia. This Power, besides, assumed the military direction\nof Southern Germany, and so was, literally, doubled in extent and\npopulation. Thus was swept away in the course of seven years, through the\nagency of Napoleon III., the barrier of small states which the wisdom of\nages had placed along the continental frontier of France, from the\nMediterranean to the ocean, and which moderated the shocks of the greater\nPowers. France, accordingly, by her own act, was confined between unified\nItaly on the one hand, and on the other, the formidable German Empire.\n\nIn exchange for combinations which proved so disastrous, Venice was ceded\nto Napoleon, and immediately made over by him to Italy. Defeated both by\nsea and land in his struggle with Austria, Victor Emmanuel, nevertheless,\naccepted the present, as if it had come to him by conquest, and Italy was\nfree to the Adriatic, and the celebrated Milan programme of 1859\ncompletely carried out. This result, whilst it flattered the vanity of\nNapoleon III., crowned the wishes of the secret societies. Protestants,\nJews, Freemasons, and people of all shades of unbelief, deputies of the\nFrench left, and the revolutionary journals, all zealous in the service of\nPrussia, enthusiastically applauded. The French Emperor\u2019s ministers, even,\nM. Rouher, in the Legislative Chamber, and M. de Lavalette, in a\ndiplomatic circular, were not ashamed to congratulate themselves publicly\non the stipulations of the treaty of Prague. In their mania for Italian\nunity, these wise statesmen became blind to the interests of their own\ncountry\u2014condign punishment, surely, of their disloyal and unprincipled\npolicy.\n\n(M100) Whilst the political world was extraordinarily agitated, and a\ngreat potentate was endeavoring to destroy the last remnant of Papal\nsovereignty, and was himself at the same time, hastening blindly but\nsurely to ignominy and ruin, the Pontiff against whom he warred calmly and\nsuccessfully continued to accomplish the sublime work of his spiritual\nmission.\n\n(M101) Nothing tends more to the instruction and edification of the\nCatholic people than the canonization of saints and martyrs. But for the\ncare which the church bestows in bringing to light the acts and sufferings\nof those heroes of the Christian faith, many of them, remaining unknown,\nwould be lost as examples to the rest of mankind. It is also due to the\nsaints themselves that the church should honor them, although, indeed,\nearthly celebrity and true fame which lasts throughout all time is as\nnothing compared to the glory which they enjoy. John Baptist de Rossi (de\nRub\u00e6s) was a canon of the Collegiate Basilica of Saint Mary, _in\ncosmedin_. The venerable John Baptist de Rossi was in every respect a\nworthy minister of God. He labored last century at Rome, in the vineyard\nof the Lord, with so much, patience, longanimity and meekness, and was so\nfilled with the Holy Ghost and sincere charity, that he spent his whole\nlife in evangelizing the poor, to the great gain of souls. He instructed\nothers unto righteousness, and God willed that he should shine for\nevermore as a star in the firmament. And not only was he crowned with\nlight in heaven, in order that, transformed to the Divine image, he should\nappear in God\u2019s presence environed with heavenly splendor; but God,\nthrough His unspeakable bounty, appointed that His servant, enriched by an\nabundant harvest of merits, illustrated by triumphal honors, and glorified\nby miracles, should also enjoy upon earth a name glorious in the\nestimation of mankind, and should thus be a new ornament to the church\nmilitant. The process of canonization was commenced in the time of Gregory\nXVI., and completed by Pius IX., when in March, 1859, the name of John\nBaptist de Rossi was inscribed on the sacred diptychs.\n\n(M102) John Sarcander was born at Skoczovia, in Upper Silesia, in the year\n1577. He obeyed the call of God and joined the ranks of the priesthood.\nWhen ordained priest, he showed himself in every way a pattern of\nexcellence\u2014by his good works, his science, the integrity and gravity of\nhis character. He was appointed, accordingly, to the charge and guidance\nof souls. He fulfilled so well all the duties of a good pastor that the\nfour parishes to which he was successively called by episcopal authority\nreceived him as an angel sent to them from heaven, and bore witness by\ntheir tears to their regret when they were deprived of his presence.\nMeanwhile, the ministers of the sect of Pikardites were driven from the\nparish of Holleschow, where the scourge of heresy, like the wild boar of\nthe forests, had spread devastation during eight years. John Sarcander was\nselected in order to repair the incalculable evil that had been done to\nthat unfortunate vineyard. He shrunk not from the struggle which it\nbehooved him to maintain in the cause of the true faith. He was in every\nsense an example to his flock. He exhorted, beseeched, reprimanded with\npatience and wisdom, neglecting nothing that was calculated to strengthen\nwhatever was weak and heal what was sick, to reunite those who were\nseparated, to raise up the fallen and seek such as were astray. Such\nexemplary conduct only excited the extreme hatred of the heretical party,\nand he was obliged to leave Holleschow and retire to Poland. But moved by\nthe dangers to which were exposed the people whom he loved so dearly in\nChrist, he returned to his parish, after having venerated the Holy Virgin\nat her shrine of Crenstochow, in fulfilment of a vow which he had made.\nSoon after his return the heretics cast him into prison as a traitor to\nhis country, but, in reality, on account of his zeal in preaching the\nCatholic faith. He was subjected to vigorous interrogatories, and in order\nto induce him to reveal what the supreme head of the administration in\nMoravia had confided to him in confession, he was made to undergo the most\nexquisite torture. Preferring a glorious death to a miserable life, he\ncombated to his last breath for the work of Christ, and gave up his soul\nto God, leaving to all the people the remembrance of his death as an\nexample of fortitude and courage. Fearfully tortured on the rack for three\nhours, burned slowly in almost every part of his body, by torches and\nbundles of feathers steeped in rosin, oil, pitch and sulphur, he was\ncarried back almost lifeless to his prison. There he lingered a whole\nmonth, suffering more than the pain of death, whilst his mind and heart\nwere so fixed on God that he ceased not to sing His praises as long as\nlife remained. He fell asleep in the Lord, the sixteenth of the calends of\nApril, 1620. It was not appointed that such heroic suffering should be\ndoomed to oblivion. Public report, the witness of contemporary writers,\nthe monuments of the time, and the splendor of miracles caused them to be\nso celebrated that, notwithstanding the wars, losses and other impediments\nwhich had prevented the Archbishops of Olmutz from considering this grand\nand beautiful cause, and reporting it to the Holy See sooner than the 18th\ncentury, the sanctity and martyrdom of the venerable John Sarcander were\nnot only known to the populations of Moravia and the neighboring\ncountries, but were also remembered with the most profound veneration.\nFrom 1754 till the time of Pius IX., this celebrated cause was before the\nchurch, and subjected to the usual searching investigation. Finally, in\nFebruary, 1859, it was concluded, and the blessed John Sarcander\nrecognized, as a saint and martyr, by the universal church.\n\n(M103) This same year, 1859, was canonized the venerable servant of God,\nBenedict Joseph Labre, of the diocese of Boulogne. Voluntary poverty was\nthe lot in life of this saint of modern times. Worldly wisdom condemns as\nfolly, the choice of this devoted Christian who preferred to all earthly\nadvantages the most abject poverty. God is, indeed, wonderful in His\nsaints; and as He often chooses what is folly in the estimation of the\nworld, in order to confound what it holds to be wise, so He appointed that\nthe humble Labre who, for the love of Christ, led a life of poverty, and\ntaught mankind the excellence of self-denial in an unbelieving and selfish\nage, should be exalted, even upon earth, and ranked among the princes of\nGod\u2019s people. In June, 1842, Gregory XVI. declared, by a solemn decree,\nthat Benedict Joseph Labre had practised, in a heroic degree, all the\nChristian virtues. The necessary investigations and formalities were\ncontinued, and in September, 1859, Pius IX. ordained that apostolic\nletters should be issued, ordering the celebration of the solemn rite of\nhis beatification in the Patriarchal Basilica of the Vatican.\n\n(M104) The year 1859 was also marked by the solicitude of Pius IX. for the\nChurch of Ireland. In a letter to the archbishops and bishops of that\ncountry, he commends their zeal in promoting Catholic education, and\nconcurs with them in pointing out the dangers of mixed schools. In the\nsame letter the Holy Father earnestly entreats the venerable pastors of\nthe Irish Church to pray that the designs of the wicked may not succeed,\nthat it would please God to bring to naught the machinations of those\nmisguided men who, by their false teachings, endeavor to corrupt the\npeople everywhere, and to overthrow, if that were possible, the Catholic\nreligion. At the same time, it was appointed that the feast of Saint\nPatrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, should be celebrated according to a\nhigher rite.\n\n(M105) The anti-President Juarez had succeeded in establishing himself at\nVera Cruz, whilst Miramon was recognized by Mexico, after General Zuloago,\nas the successor of Santa Anna. Juarez was a revolutionist and persecutor\nof the church; Miramon, a conservative and friend of religion. As proof of\nthe tyranny of the former, may be cited a decree which he published in\nJuly of this year (1859). This decree, which aimed at nothing less than\nthe destruction of religion, and was, at the same time, a cruel outrage on\nthe Catholic nation of Mexico, accounts for the earnestness and\ndetermination with which Pius IX., a little later, as has already been\nshown, insisted that the Emperor Maximilian should adopt a policy friendly\nto the church, and in harmony with the wishes of the great majority of the\nMexican people. Such policy, if only followed in time, would have so\nstrengthened the hands of Maximilian that, in all probability, he would\nhave been able to hold his ground when most unchivalrously abandoned by\nhis faint-hearted ally. No doubt the anti-president claimed that he was a\nreformer of the church. And surely, indeed, he was, if it was reform to\nsuppress all religious societies whatsoever, to rob the clergy of their\nproperty, and that so completely as to reduce them to mendicancy. But let\nthe decree speak for itself:\n\nArt. 1. All property administered under divers titles, by the regular or\nsecular clergy, whether real or personal, whatever its name or object, is\nhenceforth the property of the nation.\n\nArt. 3. There shall be complete independence between affairs of state and\nsuch as are purely ecclesiastical. The government will confine itself to\nprotecting the public worship of the Catholic religion the same as any\nother religion.\n\nArt. 4. The ministers of religion can accept such offerings as may be made\non account of the administration of the sacraments and the other duties of\ntheir office. They may also, by an agreement with those who employ them,\nstipulate for remuneration for their services. But in no case can these\nofferings or this remuneration be converted into permanent property.\n\nArt. 5. All religious orders, whatever their name or their object, are\nsuppressed throughout the whole republic, as well as confraternities or\nassociations connected with a religious community or any church\nwhatsoever.\n\nThe 6th article, whilst it prohibits the erection of new convents and new\nconfraternities, forbids also the use of the religious habit.\n\nTHE EIGHTEENTH CENTENARY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF SS. PETER AND PAUL.\n\nA new joy awaited the Holy Father. The year 1867 will be ever memorable in\nsacred annals, as the year of the great centennial celebration of the\nglorious martrydom of SS. Peter and Paul. \u201cPeter went to Rome,\u201d St. Jerome\nwrites, \u201cin the second year of the Emperor Claudius, and occupied there\nthe priestly chair for twenty-five years.\u201d On the same venerable authority\nit is known that Peter suffered two years after the death of the great\nRoman philosopher, Seneca, who was executed by order of Nero in the\nsixty-fifth year of the Christian era. In the same work (_de viris\nillustribus_), St. Jerome says that SS. Peter and Paul were put to death\nin the fourteenth year of Nero\u2019s reign, which corresponds with the\nsixty-seventh year of our era, when reckoned from the first of January,\nand not from the 13th October, the date of Nero\u2019s accession.\n\nThe French troops had scarcely been withdrawn from Rome in fulfilment of\nthe September agreement, when Pius IX. invited all the clergy and people\nof the Catholic world to visit the city in order to participate in the\ncelebration of the centenary, and witness the canonization of several holy\npersons long since deceased. Their names were Josaphat, the martyr\nArchbishop of Solotsk; Pedro de Arbues, an Augustinian friar; the martyrs\nof Gorcum; Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists; Leonardo di\nPorto Maurizio; Maria Francesca, a Neapolitan of the third order of St.\nPeter of Alcantara, and Germaine Cousin, of the diocese of Toulouse.\nShortly before, in the preceding December, the Holy Father enjoyed the\ngreat happiness of celebrating, with even more than ordinary solemnity,\nthe beatification of the Franciscan Monk, Benedict of Urbino, who died in\nodor of sanctity, at Fossombrone, in 1625, within a few miles of\nSinigaglia, the birthplace of the Pope, leaving the whole country\nbordering on the Adriatic and the province of Umbria in a manner embalmed\nby a life of sanctity and extraordinary self-denial. Pius IX., from early\nyouth, was familiar with the history of this saint, whose noble birth and\ndistinguished abilities opened to him the way to worldly fame and\nprosperity, but who, nevertheless, chose the cross, becoming a Capuchin,\nand having no other ambition in the seclusion of the cloister than to be a\nworthy disciple of his crucified Saviour.\n\nIt was by no means to indulge his own pious feelings, or to gratify the\nclergy and Catholic people, that the venerable Pontiff invited so many\nfrom Italy and all parts of the Christian world to take part with him in\ncelebrating these canonizations, and, at the same time, the eighteen\nhundredth anniversary of the martyrdom of the blessed Apostles, the\nfounders of the Church. His object was to edify, to place in contrast\nwith, and in opposition to, the worldly and unbelieving spirit of the time\nthe teachings and the solemn offices of religion, together with the power\nof holiness, so admirably shown forth in the lives and glory of the\nsaints. The revolution aimed at nothing less than the destruction of\neverything spiritual. It was good for it to be taught that true\nspirituality is beyond its reach.\n\nIt would hardly be fair to contrast as purely worldly the grand exposition\nat Paris, the World\u2019s Fair, with the religious celebrations at Rome. The\nrich and varied display of the objects of art and industry, in the\nbeautiful capital of France, was the result of an advanced Christian\ncivilization. It was recognized as such by the greatest statesmen, the\nablest men of science, and the wisest rulers of the age. No doubt it\nsavored more of the world and of things worldly than the festivals at\nRome. But the holy city bore it no grudge. It was other powers and other\narts than those which furnished out so grandly the Parisian exposition\nagainst which Rome waged perpetual war. A Roman, let it not be forgotten,\nand not the least pious among the Romans, the illustrious scientist,\nFather Secchi, whose recent decease the world laments, took the highest\nhonors at the great industrial and artistic fair.\n\nParis, indeed, was in contrast with Rome, but more by its materialist\nphilosophy than by its magnificent exhibition of material improvements.\nThis philosophy availed itself of the exposition in order to show to what\nextent it prevailed; and Paris extolled mere worldly power, luxury,\ncomfort and voluptuousness, whilst Rome had no praise but for humility,\npoverty, self-denial, chastity. Paris applauded Alexander II., who\nmassacred the Poles; Rome, on the other hand, did honor to a Polish\nbishop, Joseph Kunicievicz, who was cruelly murdered by Russian\nfanaticism. Paris celebrated the apotheosis of free-thinking and religious\nindifference; Rome, on the contrary, heaped honors on an Inquisitor, Peter\nd\u2019Arbues, who suffered martyrdom. Paris was loud in her acclamations to\nthe potentates and conquerors of the day, whilst Rome exalted an humble\nshepherdess, Germaine Cousin, and some poor and obscure monks who were\nhanged by heretics three hundred years ago, in a small town of Holland.\nYet was not Paris distinguished only by material glories, nor was Rome\naltogether free from the taint of modern worldliness. There were those in\nthe latter city who, in the midst of an atmosphere of pious thought,\nplotted deeds of diabolic wickedness, whilst Paris, which honored the\narts, was not without sympathy at Rome, and her prelates, the bishops of\nFrance, were far from being the least among those five hundred high\ndignitaries, twenty thousand priests of God\u2019s Church, and more than one\nhundred and fifty thousand Christian people from all quarters of the known\nworld, who took part in celebrating the glorious centenary and the no less\nglorious victory of more than two hundred martyrs. The display of art,\nindustry and modern improvements of very kind presented, indeed, in the\nmidst of the beautiful French capital, a magnificent and cheering sight.\nIt was nothing, however, to the moral spectacle afforded by the presence\nof ten or twelve mighty sovereigns around the now Imperial author of the\n_coup d\u2019etat_. It was supremely worldly. Who would then have said that\nWilliam of Prussia, and Napoleon III., the Czar of Russia, and the\nsuccessor of the caliphs, who, at the exhibition _fetes_, joined hands in\napparent friendship, were so soon to be engaged in deadly strife? and that\nthat capital, where so many great potentates came to honor Napoleon,\nshould, in a year or two, know him no more, and even struggle with all the\nenergy of desperation to obliterate every vestige of the improvements with\nwhich he had so enriched and beautified the city? This was the world; for\nthe world is insincere. This was the world; for the figure thereof passeth\nquickly away.\n\nIn Rome it was not so. There art and religion walked hand in hand.\nReligion fostered art. Art was dutiful, and repaid the boon. It became the\nhandmaid of religion. Everywhere within the walls of her temples were seen\nthe products of art\u2019s filial labor, in sculpture, painting, poetry and\nmusic, her inexhaustible treasury of thought and history ever presenting\nnew sources of artistic power to the hand of genius. Those temples\nthemselves being, indeed, the finest monuments of architecture, bear\nglorious witness to the excellent union of art and religion. Worldliness,\non the other hand, when at the height of its passion against religion,\nseeks to destroy all the creations of art and genius. It aims at nothing\nless than to reduce mankind to the condition of the savage, and is not\nashamed to acknowledge that such is its aim.\n\nLet us hear the testimony of the Roman artists. This body, on the one\nhand, rejoiced in the coming celebration of the centenary; on the other,\nthey were filled with sad forebodings as to the approaching downfall of\nthe Papal sovereignty by the threats of Garibaldi and the predictions of\nMazzini. They resolved, therefore, whilst yet the Pope, who, like his\npredecessors, had shown them much kindness, and munificently rewarded\ntheir labors, reigned at Rome, to present to him a dutiful and\naffectionate address, which should remain, in time to come, as a testimony\nof their gratitude to that beneficent sovereignty which they had but too\nmuch reason to fear would soon come to an end. This address is so\nimportant and tells so much truth, that it is deserving of a place in all\nhistories. It is as follows: \u201cMost Holy Father, religion, policy and mere\nhuman wisdom have protested in favor of the temporal power of the Papacy.\nThe arts come, in their turn, to lay their homage at the feet of your\nHoliness, and to proclaim to the world that this power is to them\nindispensable. Their voice must be heard and listened to. For when the\ntide of generations recedes, the arts remain as the irrefutable witnesses\nof the power and splendor of the civilization amid which these generations\nlived. The sovereigns who encourage and develop them acquire immortal\nrenown; those who neglect or oppress them meet only with the contempt of\nposterity. What royal dynasty has in this respect deserved so well of\ncivilization and humanity as that of the Sovereign Pontiffs? They have\nbeen the watchful guardians of the master-pieces bequeathed to us by\nantiquity. They have given these a home in their own palaces to show that\nreligion adopts and ennobles all that is truly beautiful. It is the\nSovereign Pontiffs who, by opening new avenues for modern art, have\nbrought it to the point of perfection, embodied in the master-pieces of\nRaphael and Michael Angelo. They alone support in Rome that unique\nassemblage of all that is beautiful in every order, that splendid\nintellectual galaxy in whose light the artists of every land are formed.\nHoly Father, the little spot of earth which the revolution has not yet\ntaken from you is the only place in which the arts find the inspiration\nthat is for them the breath of life, and the quiet without which that life\ncannot expand. The soul of the true artist is filled with unspeakable\napprehension by the possibility of seeing these master-pieces destroyed or\nscattered abroad, these treasures plundered, all this wealth annihilated;\nand especially by the danger of seeing the ungraceful and meagre forms of\nmodern utilitarianism usurp the place held by the manners, the habits, the\nface of all things in this privileged land of beauty, all consecrated by\nthe admiration of ages. Alas! Holy Father, what is happening in the rest\nof Italy affords but too firm a ground for such apprehensions. The genius\nof destruction is abroad there, and proceeds to sweep away pitilessly what\nwas the glory of ancient Italy. The spoliation and suppression of the\nreligious orders are one of the most deadly blows ever aimed at the\nexistence of the fine arts. Saddened by those forebodings, fearful of what\nthe future may bring forth, the artists resident in Rome come to the feet\nof your Holiness to give utterance to their deep conviction that the\nsplendor, the greatness, the very existence of the fine arts in Europe are\ninseparably connected with the maintenance of the beneficent power of the\nSovereign Pontiffs. Were it not that the rival passions which divide\nEurope are of themselves fatally blind to consequences, the reign of your\nHoliness would suffice to render this truth evident to all. For while\nelsewhere national wealth is wasted in frivolous undertakings, or in\npreparing instruments of destruction, the modest revenues inherited by\nyour Holiness are ever employed in continuing gloriously the noble labor\nof your predecessors. On the one hand, you have drawn from obscurity the\nbeginnings of Christian art, thereby affording it new and precious data;\non the other, you have adorned Rome and the Vatican with works which\nfurnish a new and brilliant page to the grand history of art embodied in\nthe Vatican itself. While elsewhere reigned trouble and agitation, here\nartists were able, beneath the blessed sway of your Holiness, to enjoy a\nkindly welcome, an unrestrained liberty, and the peaceful contemplation of\nthose venerable structures and sites preserved so happily by the\nPontifical government from the sad alterations blindly wrought in other\ncities by the troublous life of modern communities. May the Almighty One\nhear our prayer, and persuade both sovereigns and nations that their honor\nand glory will be measured, in coming ages, on the degree of protection\nthey shall have afforded to the temporal power of the Papacy, which has\never been the unwearied promoter of the development of all the noblest\nfaculties in man, and which alone can continue to be the custodian of the\nworks of art originated by itself, and by it so faithfully treasured for\nthe benefit of all peoples!\u201d This eloquent address will ever remain\ncarefully guarded by history, a noble monument of gratitude, and not only\nthis, but also as a testimony, all the more valuable as it is the\nspontaneous utterance of men of the most cultivated intellect, in favor of\nthat sovereignty the destruction of which was sought, and has been\naccomplished, by a party in whose ranks could be counted only rude\nsoldiers, bands of filibusters and politicians, if such they could be\ncalled, whose counsels were inspired, not by the wisdom which\ndistinguishes statesmen, but by blind passion, and the most unworthy of\nall passions, the passion of hatred\u2014hatred of everything connected with\nthe Christian faith.\n\nThe great centennial celebration proceeded. Who would have dared to say,\nwhilst Nero reigned at Rome, and Christians were as pariahs, tolerated\nonly in order to afford the spectacle of their tortures to a heathen\nmultitude, that eighteen hundred years from Nero\u2019s time, Christianity\nwould flourish and celebrate in that city, which was the scene of its\ngreatest trials, as well as all over the world, its victory and the\nglorious martyrdom of its apostolic founders! The month of June, 1867,\nwill ever be memorable in the annals of the church. Never had so many\nbishops assembled in the holy city. Nor were there ever there, at one\ntime, so many priests and pilgrims of all ranks and classes. The duties of\nthe time were commenced early in the month. On the 11th and 12th of June,\nconsistories were held in presence of the bishops, in order to make\npreparation for the canonization of two hundred and five Japanese\nChristians\u2014priests, catechists, laymen, women and children\u2014put to death in\nhatred of the Christian faith, from 1617 to 1632. On the 26th of February,\n1867, the decree of canonization had already been solemnly read in\npresence of Pius IX., who, on the occasion, went in state to the Roman\nCollege. On the 22nd February of the same year, the Holy Father signed\ndecrees bearing on the beatification of several holy persons, among whom\nwas Clement Maria Hofbauer, a Redemptorist. In an age of unbelief, it was\nonly to be expected that the enquiry should be made why the Pope made so\nmany saints?\n\nIn February, 1867, his Holiness replied, on occasion of a visit to the\nConvent of the Capuchin Friars: \u201cI have been shown,\u201d said he, \u201ca pamphlet,\nentitled \u2018Why so many Saints?\u2019 Had we ever so much need of intercessors in\nheaven and patterns in this world?\u201d A little later he also said, alluding\nto the festivals at Paris: \u201cMan has not been placed on the earth solely in\norder to amass wealth; still less in order to lead a life of pleasure. The\nworld is ignorant of this. It forgets mind, and devotes itself to matter.\nNeither you nor I are this world of which I speak. You are come here in\nthe good disposition to seek the edification of your souls. I hope,\ntherefore, that you will bear away with you a salutary impression. Never\nforget, my children, that you have a soul, a soul created in the image of\nGod, and which God will judge. Bestow on it more thought and care than on\nindustrial speculations, railways, and all those lesser objects which\nconstitute the good things of this world. I forbid you not to interest\nyourselves in such transient matters. Do so reasonably and moderately. But\nlet me once more beg of you to remember that you have a soul.\u201d\n\nNone of the ten or twelve potentates who visited Paris came to Rome. But\ntheir absence was amply made up for by the immense concourse of clergy and\npeople from every quarter of the civilized world. The reverence shown to\nPius IX. by so many prelates was truly admirable. A Chinese bishop, Mgr.\nLanguillat, Vicar-apostolic of Nankin, coming for the first time into the\npresence of the Supreme Pastor, fell prostrate on the threshold, and with\nhis arms extended towards the Pontiff, began to exclaim: \u201c_Tu es Petrus!_\u201d\n(\u201cThou art Peter!\u201d)\n\n\u201cCome to me, my brother,\u201d said the Holy Father. \u201c_Tu es Petrus!_\u201d replied\nthe Chinese bishop, \u201c_Tu es Petrus!_\u201d Needless to say that when he\napproached the venerable Pontiff affectionately embraced him, whilst both\ngave vent to their feelings in tears. The laity of all ranks and classes\nwere no less devoted. A very moving scene which was witnessed this same\nyear (1867) is beautifully described by the Protestant correspondent of\nthe London _Morning Post_: \u201cIt is truly delightful to meet Pius IX. in the\ncountry on foot, walking faster than one would suppose his age could\nallow, his majestic person arrayed in a white soutane, and protected by a\nlarge broad-brimmed purple hat. The other day, when I was at Aricia, he\nwas proceeding towards Genzano, followed by his guards and his carriage.\nThe ex-Queen of Naples and the Infanta, lately Regent, were walking in the\nopposite direction, followed by their equipages and domestics. At a turn\nof the road, exactly below the Villa Chigi, the two groups met. In a\nmoment their Royal Majesties were on their knees. His Holiness quickened\nhis pace in order to raise them up. The peasants of the neighborhood, who\nwere returning from their vineyards and orchards, together with their\nwives and daughters, were struck with admiration. They also advanced and\nknelt on each side of the central group formed by the illustrious\npersonages, calling out with all their might: \u2018_Santo Padre, la\nbenedizione_.\u2019 \u2018Holy Father, your benediction!\u2019 It was a splendid\ntableau.\u201d\n\nOn occasion of the centennial, substantial proofs of devotedness abounded.\nThe numerous pilgrims not only gave the homage of their faith, but also\nbrought magnificent offerings, as Peter\u2019s pence, and presented addresses\nwith millions of signatures. One day fifteen hundred Italians were\nreceived at an audience of the Holy Father, and made the offering of a\nmonumental album, together with one hundred purses filled with gold, as\nthe homage of one hundred Italian cities. Cardinal Manning laid at the\nfeet of Pius IX. \u00a330,000\u2014a generous testimony of English piety. The\nCardinal Archbishop of Mechlin brought to the centenary celebration\n\u00a316,000, the Archbishop of Posen \u00a320,000, and the Mexican archbishop\n\u00a312,000, whilst Cuba offered 100,000 douros. \u201cWe are reversing the order\nof nature,\u201d smilingly observed the Holy Father; \u201chere are the children\nsupporting the Father.\u201d Nor was it too much for the wants of such a\nFather. He received with one hand and generously dispensed with the other.\nHe took charge himself to lodge and entertain eighty-five of the poorer\nbishops from Italy, the East, and remote missions. None of these were\nallowed to depart without receiving abundant aid for their diocesan good\nworks.\n\nFestival followed festival at Rome, from the 20th June till the 7th of\nJuly. On the former day was celebrated the grand solemnity of Corpus\nChristi. The Pope himself bore the holy sacrament, kneeling and surrounded\nby the greater half of the whole Christian episcopate. It was remarked\nthat he was as calm and collected in the midst of such a great and\nimposing multitude as if he had been in his private oratory. The vast\nassemblage was also rapt in silent contemplation. Not a sound was heard\nsave the murmur of the fountains. An eye-witness has observed that if one\nclosed his eyes he could imagine himself in a desert. Next day was\ncelebrated the 21st anniversary of the coronation of Pius IX. He had\nalready said, in reply to an address read by Cardinal Patrizi, when all\nthe visitors to Rome were assembled on occasion of the commemoration of\nhis election\u201410th June\u2014\u201cModern society is ardent in the pursuit of two\nthings, progress, and unity. It fails to reach either, because its motive\nprinciples are selfishness and pride. Pride is the worst enemy of\nprogress, and selfishness by destroying charity, the bond of souls,\nthereby rendering union impossible. Now God Himself has established the\nSovereign Pontiff in order to direct and enlighten society, to point out\nevil and indicate the proper remedy. This induced me, some years ago, to\npublish the \u2018Syllabus.\u2019 I now confirm that solemn act in your presence. It\nis to be, henceforth, the rule of your teaching. We have to contend,\nunceasingly, with the enemies who beset us. Placed on the mountain-top\nlike Moses, I lift up my hands to God in prayer for the triumph of the\nchurch. I ask of you, my brother bishops, to support my arms, for they\ngrow weary. Take courage! The church must triumph. I leave this hope in\nyour hearts, not as a hope merely, but as a prophecy.\u201d\n\nOn the 23rd was consecrated the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, an\nadmirable architectural monument, built originally according to the plans\nof Michael Angelo, and rebuilt by Pius IX. The 24th, on leaving the\nBasilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope was the object of a more splendid\novation than any, perhaps, that he had as yet received. Kneeling on the\nvast place, and completely filling it, the multitude which had not been\nable to enter the Basilica waited for the Pontifical benediction. After\nthe Holy Father had raised his hand and pronounced the words of blessing,\nthe whole people rose, and, by a simultaneous movement and with one voice,\nreplied: \u201cLive Pius IX.! Live the Pope-King!\u201d Arms and handkerchiefs waved\namidst a rain of beautiful flowers. The Pope\u2019s carriage was detained a\nconsiderable time, and he himself, accustomed as he was to the\ndemonstrations of a devoted people, was moved to tears. His hood was\nalmost taken to pieces, thread by thread, by French ecclesiastics who were\nclose behind his Holiness, and who deposited the fragments, as precious\nrelics, in their breviaries. The crowd thronged around the Holy Father and\ncontinued their acclamations as far as the Vatican, a distance of three\nmiles. Every new day gave proof of a like enthusiasm.\n\nPius IX. was anxious to address words of encouragement to the twenty\nthousand priests of the church who had come to Rome. The greatness of\ntheir number was a serious hindrance to this laudable purpose. The\nspacious consistorial hall was by far too small to contain so many. On the\n25th of June, however, they came to the hall, crowding its approaches, the\npassages, the great staircase and the outer court. The Holy Father,\ndesiring to show his respect and affection for so many pilgrims of the\nsacred order of the priesthood, came to the assembly in more than usual\nstate. The throne was raised a few steps, in order to afford an\nopportunity of seeing and hearing the Supreme Pastor. The Pontiff was\npreceded by the noble guard and the household prelates. As he entered the\nhall, loud and joyous acclamations burst from the assembled priesthood,\nfor whom it was impossible to restrain their feelings of love and\nveneration. The Holy Father himself was deeply moved, and, gathering\nenthusiasm from the unusual scene around him, spoke so as to be heard even\nin the remotest corridors, whilst those at a still greater distance were\nvisibly moved by the thrilling tones of his sonorous voice. There are no\nreaders who will not be interested in the words which fell from the lips\nof the Sovereign Pontiff on this unique and solemn occasion. He began by\nthanking the assembled clergy for their attendance in such imposing\nnumbers. They were the tribe in Israel, he continued, whose special\ninheritance was the Lord. They stood between him and his people evermore,\noffering with prayer and supplication the spotless victim of the new law.\nLet them look well to the ministry entrusted to them, shining in the\npresence of all men by the dignity of their bearing, the innocence of\ntheir life, by integrity and charity, and the golden ornaments of every\nvirtue. \u201cYou,\u201d he said, \u201cwho are the interpreters of the word of God, you\nmust preach it unweariedly to the wise and the unwise. Preach to them\nChrist and Him crucified, not in loftiness of speech, but in the knowledge\nof the spirit, never ceasing to call into the right road all who stray,\nand confirm them in sound doctrine. Dispensers of the divine mysteries and\nof the manifold grace of God, deal it out to the faithful people, to the\nsick especially, in order that no help may fail them in their last\nstruggle with the evil one. Do not refuse to the little ones of the flock\nthe milk which they need. Let it be your dearest care to teach them, to\ntrain them, to form them. Be the faithful and devoted helpmates of your\nrespective bishops; obeying them in all things, zealous to heal in your\nparishes whatever is ailing, to bind up what is broken, to raise up what\nis fallen, to seek what is lost, in order that in all things God may be\nhonored through our Lord Jesus Christ. Lift up your souls and contemplate\nthe immeasurable height of glory prepared by him for all true and faithful\nlaborers.\u201d\n\nOn the 26th a great public consistory was held. The five hundred bishops\nthen at Rome were invited to attend. So great a number had never before\nassembled in Italy or any part of Western Christendom. Nor indeed was\nthere ever, or could there ever have been, so great an occasion for their\nassembling. There was question of celebrating the eighteen hundredth\nanniversary of the glorious martyrdom of Rome\u2019s first great bishop, so\nmany prelates had come together, also in order to venerate Peter in the\nperson of his venerable successor, who had now so long and so gloriously\nborne witness to the Truth\u2014the Truth in its plenitude, as first committed\nto Peter and his fellow-apostles. The world was no longer heathen, and no\nNero reigned, but the spirit of unbelief was abroad, and its champions\nwere even then seeking to drive the Sovereign Pontiff from the holy city,\nand were waging war with as determined wickedness as that of the early\npersecutors against whom the apostles had so successfully contended.\n\nThe number of pilgrims from all parts of the Christian world, who had come\nto Rome on occasion of the centennial celebration, is said by some writers\nto have been not less than half a million. The presence of so great a\nnumber of devoted Christian people on such an occasion was the noblest\nprotest that could be imagined against the vain boasts and prophecies of\nthe enemies of the Church which Peter founded. That church was not yet\nforsaken, or destined soon to perish, which, in the nineteenth century of\nher uninterrupted existence, could speak through so many witnesses\u2014the\nrepresentatives of every civilized nation of the world.\n\nThe great consistorial hall in the Vatican Palace being too small to\ncontain so great a crowd of dignified listeners, the assembly was held in\nthe more spacious room which is situated above the vestibule of St.\nPeter\u2019s Church. At the opening of the consistory the cardinal\u2019s hat was\nconferred on the Archbishop of Seville, Luis de la Lastray Cuesta. A\nformal petition for the beatification of Marie Rivier, the foundress of\nthe presentation Nuns of France, was then presented. After this ceremony,\nthe Holy Father, as was expected, delivered an allocution to the bishops.\nHe was full of admiration for their zeal in coming in such numbers on his\ninvitation, and he could not do less than express to them his gratitude.\nTheir presence was a striking proof of the unity of the Catholic Church.\n\u201cYes, everything here proclaims that admirable unity by which, as through\na mysterious channel, all the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit flow\ninto the mystic body of Christ, calling forth in every one of its members\nthose acts of faith and charity which excite the wonder of all mankind.\nWhat has brought you here? Are you not come to decree the honors of\nsanctity to those heroes of the church, the greater number of whom bore\naway the palm of victory in their glorious witness for Christ? Of these\nsome died in defending the primacy of this apostolic see, which is the\ncentre of truth and unity; others gave their lives in defence of the unity\nand integrity of the faith; others again shed their blood in the endeavor\nto bring back schismatics to the one fold. Is it not providential that\nsuch heroism should be commemorated and honored at the very moment when\nthe Catholic faith and the authority of the Holy See are the objects of\nsuch furious and implacable conspiracies? We are also here to celebrate\nwith solemn rites the memory of that auspicious day, eighteen hundred\nyears ago, when Peter and Paul consecrated by their heroic witnessing and\ntheir precious blood this impregnable stronghold of Catholic unity. What\ncan be more reasonable than that our joyous commemoration of this\ntriumphant death of the prince of the apostles should be graced by your\npresence? For he belongs to the entire Catholic world. It is also most\nimportant that the enemies of religion should conclude from what they\nwitness here how mighty is the energy, how unfailing the life, of that\nCatholic Church which they so bitterly hate; how little wisdom they\ndisplay in matching their strength and their temporary triumphs over her\nagainst that incomparable union of living forces which the creative power\nof Christ has bound around this central rock. More than ever is it needful\nin our age, that all men should see and understand that the only strong\nand lasting tie between men\u2019s souls depends on the reign over all of the\nsame Spirit of God. Besides, what can make a more abiding impression on\nCatholic nations; what can draw them more powerfully and bind them more\nclosely in obedience to this apostolic chair and to us, than to see how\nmuch their pastors cherish the rights and duties of Catholic unity, than\nto behold them journeying from the farthest lands, notwithstanding every\ninconvenience and impediment, in order to visit Rome and the apostolic\nchair, as well as to revere in our humble person the successor of Peter\nand the Vicar of Christ? We have been always convinced, from the moment we\nbeheld you approaching Peter in the person of his successor, or even\nentering this city, which is impregnated with his blood, that from thence\nto each one of you should go forth a special virtue. Yes, from this tomb,\nwhere Peter\u2019s ashes repose amid the veneration of the Christian world, a\nhidden power, a salutary energy, emanates which instils into the souls of\nthe Chief Pastors the desire of great undertakings and of vast designs,\ninspiring that fearlessness and magnanimity which enable them to put down\nthe impudent boldness of their assailants. There cannot be offered to the\neyes of men and angels a more magnificent spectacle than what one beholds\nin such a concourse of pilgrims as this. You who come from the ends of the\nearth to this home of your Father remind us not only of that pilgrimage\nwhich leads us all to the eternal home, you also call to mind the journey\nof the chosen people from \u00c6gypt to the promised land, the twelve tribes\nmarching together, each under its chief, bearing its own name, having its\nown appropriate place in the camp. Every family there was obedient to its\nparents, every company of warriors hearkened to the voice of its captain,\nand the entire multitude to the divinely-appointed leader. All these\ntribes, nevertheless, were but one people, adoring the same God,\nworshipping at the same altar, obeying the same laws, having one Pontiff,\nAaron, and one leader, Moses\u2014one people, enjoying common rights in the\nperils and labors of warfare as well as in the results of victory,\ndwelling in the same tents, and fed by the same miraculous bread, whilst\nall yearned for the same end of their pilgrimage. Nothing is to us the\nsubject of such ardent longing as to see both ourselves and the whole\nchurch deriving from this precious union the most salutary blessings. It\nhas long been a serious matter of thought for us, and which, indeed, we\ncommunicated to several of the episcopal body, to hold an \u0152cumenical\nCouncil, in which, with the Divine assistance, our united counsels and\nsolicitude should devise such efficient remedies as are necessary for the\nevils that afflict the church.\u201d\n\nPius IX. had for a long time entertained the idea of holding an \u0152cumenical\nCouncil. And no doubt his mind found relief when he communicated his\npurpose to the assembled bishops. Two years later, as is well known, the\nproposed council was convened at the Vatican, and from this circumstance\nis known in history as the Vatican Council. Bishops, priests and laity\nheard the intimation with delight. Their fervor and enthusiasm increased\nas the day of the grand centennial celebration approached. The vigil, 28th\nJune, was enlivened by illuminations. By early dawn on the 29th, the feast\nof SS. Peter and Paul, people poured into Rome from the surrounding\nterritory. They were welcome visitors. The Romans, far from being jealous\nof so great a concourse of strangers, hailed them as brothers, engaged, as\nthey also were, in the great object of doing honor to the memory of Rome\u2019s\napostles. The first grand public ceremony of the day was the solemn\ncanonization, of which no description need be given in this place, as\neverything was conducted in the same way as in 1852 and 1863. The Holy\nFather himself then celebrated High Mass, and, what is still more\nnoteworthy, delivered the sermon of the day. Until the time of Pius IX.,\nno Pope had preached in public since the epoch of the Crusades and the\nPontificate of Gregory VII. The Holy Father set an example to all who\npreach on great and solemn public occasions. His sermon was short, but\nreplete with instruction, and marked by that earnestness which commands\nattention and moves the soul. The music, as was fitting at so great a\ncelebration, was given by three choirs, in all four hundred voices, which\ncompletely filled the immense Basilica, conveying, by the exquisite music\nwhich they gave forth, an idea of that more than earthly harmony which\never ascends to the throne of heaven from the angelic choirs. There was\nalso a solemn service in the afternoon, which was alike highly interesting\nand calculated to inspire devotion. The general illumination which took\nplace at night rivalled the splendor of the bright Italian day. On June\n30th was celebrated the special feast of St. Paul in the fine church\ndedicated to this great apostle, and with scarcely less magnificence than\nthat of St. Peter had been honored.\n\nThe bishops now desired, before leaving Rome, to present an address to the\nHoly Father, as well in reply to his allocution of 26th June as to express\ntheir gratitude for the great kindness which he had shown them. The 1st\nJuly was the day chosen for the presentation of this address. It is a\nmodel of elegant Latinity, and completely refutes the modern assertion\nthat churchmen are unacquainted with the Latin of the classics. The reply\nof the assembled bishops to the fatherly allocution of Pius IX. affords,\nmoreover, an admirable proof of the sympathy of the united episcopate with\nthe Supreme Bishop. It shows the excellent union of the bishops with one\nanother, and their no less perfect union with their Head. What more could\nthere have been in the brightest days of the church\u2019s history?\n\n(M106) The French garrison had departed before the commencement of the\nmemorable celebrations that have been just described. Although the\npopulation of Rome was literally doubled by the presence of pious\nstrangers, not the slightest breach of order was ever observed. The\nexercise of filial duty required not to be watched over by any outside\npower. It was now seven months since Napoleon III. had withdrawn his\ntroops.\n\nOn the 6th December, 1866, Pius IX. had taken leave of them in the\nfollowing words:\n\n\u201cYour flag, which left France eighteen years ago with commission to defend\nthe rights of the Holy See, was at that time attended by the prayers and\nacclamations of all Christendom. To-day it returns to France. I desire, my\ndear children, that it may be welcomed by the same acclamations. But I\ndoubt it. It is only too manifest, indeed, that because it will appear to\nhave ceased to protect me my enemies will not on that account cease to\nattack me. Quite the contrary. We must not delude ourselves. The\nrevolution will come here. It has declared and still declares that it\nwill. An Italian personage in high position lately said that Italy is made\nbut not completed. Italy would be undone if there were here one spot of\nearth where order, justice and tranquillity prevail! Formerly, six years\nago, I conversed with a representative of France. He asked me if there\nwere anything I wished to transmit to the Emperor. I replied: St.\nAugustine, Bishop of Hippo, which is now a French city, beholding the\nbarbarians at the gates of the town, prayed the Lord that he might die\nbefore they entered, because his mind was horror-struck by the thought of\nthe evils which they would cause. I added: Say this to the Emperor: he\nwill understand it. The ambassador made answer: Most Holy Father, have\nconfidence; the barbarians will not enter. The ambassador was no prophet.\nDepart, my children, depart with my blessing and my love. If you see the\nEmperor, tell him that I pray for him every day. It is said that his\nhealth is not very good; I pray that he may have health. It is said that\nhis mind is not at ease. I pray for his soul. The French nation is\nChristian; its Chief ought also to be Christian. Let there be prayer with\nconfidence and perseverance, and this great and powerful nation may obtain\nwhat it desires. Depart, my children; I impart to you my benediction, and\nwith it my wish that it may attend you throughout the journey of life.\nThink not that you leave me here alone and deprived of all resource. God\nremains with me; in Him I place my trust!\u201d\n\nPius IX., in a more private communication, said: \u201cYes, God sustains His\nvicar and aids his weakness. He may permit him to be driven away, but only\nin order to show, once more, that he can bring him back. I have been\nexiled; I returned from exile. If banished anew, I will again return. And\nif I die\u2014well! if I die, Peter will rise again!\u201d\n\nThus did Pius IX. clearly foresee the danger but was not on that account\nless confident. Nor did his confidence lessen his foresight. What, indeed,\nhe said publicly, \u201cThe revolution will come here,\u201d everyone capable of\nreasoning said in secret. The September convention left the small\nPontifical sovereignty surrounded on all sides by its enemies, just as the\ngovernment of Napoleon III. would have been if isolated in Paris and the\ntwo neighboring departments, all the rest of the French territory being in\nthe power of a republic, or a Bourbon Monarchy. In vain did M. Rouher\nendeavor to demonstrate to the Chambers that a stable equilibrium was\nestablished, and which was of such a character as to remain by itself for\nan indefinite period. Nobody was convinced by his reasoning. But the\nImperial majorities, recruited as they were by the system of official\ncandidatures, asked not of the complaisant minister reasons which he had\nnot to give. They sought only pretexts which should allow them to vote,\nwith a show of decency, according to the wishes of the master.\n\nThe Holy Father was destined to enjoy a period of success before his\nprophecy came to be fulfilled. Immediately after the disastrous but\nglorious events of 1860, the courageous Belgian, Mgr. de Merode, as\nMinister of War, and afterwards General Kanzler, in this same capacity,\ngreatly renewed the small Pontifical army. As their labors deserved, they\nwere attended with success. Lamoriciere died towards the end of 1865; but\non the new alarm of danger, many of his veterans of Castelfidardo and\nAncona, returned to Rome in 1866. The flower of the French, Dutch,\nBelgian, English, Swiss and Roman youth made it a point of honor to swell\nthe ranks of the Papal Zouaves. The high tone, the illustrious names of\nseveral of these new crusaders, and the admirable discipline which\nprevailed among them all, soon won for them the respect even of the few\nrevolutionists who were at Rome. These brave and self-sacrificing youths,\nmany of whom served at their own cost, were addressed as \u201cSignor Soldato\u201d\n(Signor Soldier) by the passers-by, whilst the venal scribes of the\noutside revolutionary press did their best to stigmatize them as \u201cthe\nmercenaries of the Pope.\u201d Whilst some of these warriors devoted their\nlife, others bestowed their gold. It is honorable to the Catholic people\nthat, in the circumstances, they added the good work of supporting the\nPontifical army to their collections of Peter\u2019s pence. In order to furnish\nthe sum of 500 francs (\u00a320 sterling) yearly, which was required for each\nsoldier, artisans and even domestic servants freely subscribed. In 1867,\nthe Catholics of the diocese of Cambrai, sent two hundred Zouaves; those\nof Rodez and Arras, one hundred for each diocese; whilst Cologne, Nantes,\nRennes and Toulouse did almost as much.\n\nMeanwhile, having its eyes somewhat opened by the light from Sadowa, the\nFrench government appeared to have abandoned, as regarded the protection\nof the Holy See, its secret maxim of 1860: \u201cNeither do anything nor allow\nanything to be done.\u201d In withdrawing from Rome, it had authorized the\ncreation, under a chief whom it was pleased itself to designate, a body of\nvolunteers, selected chiefly from the French army, whose duty it should be\nto guard the Pope. This corps was called the Legion of Antibes, from the\nname of the city where it was formed. Pius IX., besides, could rely on the\nfidelity of the Roman army, properly so called. Thus was he more than\nsufficiently provided against any possible internal disturbance. It was\nnot to be expected that he should be prepared to meet a formidable foreign\ninvasion of his state.\n\nThe notorious Garibaldi had already made preparations for invading the\nRoman territory. Whilst he neglected not to strengthen the _International_\nat the Geneva Congress of Demagogues, the indefatigable brigand availed\nhimself of the crowding of pilgrims to Rome in order to deceive the\nPontifical police, and to introduce into the city bands of cutthroats,\nmunitions of war, and arms of every kind, not excepting Orsini bombs.\nAfter the departure of the bishops, he opened publicly, in Italy,\nsubscription lists, and enrolled soldiers. The Piedmontese government\nstores were at his service as they were in 1860, in order to aid him in\nclothing and arming his volunteers. These were joined by numerous\nfunctionaries and officers of the regular army, who took no pains to\nconceal their Piedmontese arms and uniforms. Municipalities, at public\ndeliberative meetings, voted subsidies to the Garibaldians, and railway\nmanagers provided them with special trains. Whilst so many things that\nclearly showed the complicity of Piedmont were done, Victor Emmanuel sent\nprotestation after protestation to Paris. He did not, by any means,\nintend, he said, to disembarrass himself of the obligations which were\nimposed on him by the first article of the convention of the 15th\nSeptember, 1865. It might be relied upon, besides, that he would check the\nagitators and repress by force, even, if necessary, all violation of the\nPontifical frontier. Nor did the wily monarch confine himself to words. He\nacted as he could act so well. Garibaldi was sent to his island, Caprera;\nbut only in order to escape from it at the opportune moment, through the\nseven vessels by which he was guarded. An order for his arrest was then\nissued. Active search was made for him at Genoa, at Turin, everywhere\nexcept at Florence, where he harangued the people in the most public\nplaces, even under the windows of the King\u2019s palace. Later, when it was\nundertaken to arrest him at Florence, it so happened that he had started\nby a special train for the Roman frontier, together with a complete staff.\n(M107) The telegraph was put in requisition in order to turn back the\ntrain. But, possibly through the fault of a disobedient employee, the\ntelegraph failed to accomplish its purpose. The Italian government\nneglected not to hold an investigation in regard to this matter, and swore\nthat the guilty party, if found out, would be punished. What more could be\ndesired? Was not France satisfied with much less than this in 1860? Whilst\ndiplomacy was thus playing its _role_, Garibaldi and his myrmidons were\npenetrating on all sides at once the Pontifical territory. Twenty-seven\ngensd\u2019armes, who guarded the small town of Aquapendente, were surprised by\ntwo hundred and fifty Garibaldians, who, on being re-inforced by another\nband, marched thence on Ischia, Valentano and Canino, pillaging the public\nchests, sacking the convents and churches, prudently retiring as often as\nthey met Pontifical forces in any considerable numbers. Eighty-five\nZouaves, or soldiers of the line, having rashly pursued them at Bagnorea,\nand attacked them with the bayonet, were repulsed with loss. It could not\nwell have been otherwise, considering the great disparity of numbers.\nGaribaldi shouted victory, in his usual emphatic style: \u201cHail to the\nvictors of Aquapendente and Bagnorea! The foreign mercenaries have fled\nbefore the valiant champions of Italian liberty. Those braggarts who\nthirsted for blood have experienced the noble generosity of their brave\nconquerors. As to you, priests, who know so well how to burn, torture and\nimprison; you who drink, with hyena-like delight, in the cup of your\ndeceit, the blood of the liberators; we pardon you, and, together with\nyou, that butcher soldiery, the pestilent scum of a faithless faction.\u201d\n\nThe conquerors, however, were driven from their easy conquests before they\nreceived this proclamation which spoke of mercy in terms that expressed it\nso poorly. Events which were a cruel satire on Garibaldi\u2019s words, and\nwhich he had not foreseen, caused his bands to fall into the power of the\nPontifical troops, so that it was they who sued for pardon and obtained\nit. It can even be said that on this occasion the generosity of the\nsoldiers of the Pope was excessive, for the vanquished enemy had been\nguilty of many other crimes besides that of rising in arms against the\nlegitimate government. They had pillaged the Cathedral of Bagnorea, broken\nthe tabernacle, stolen the sacred vessels, defiled the image of the\nMadonna, pierced the crucifix with their bayonets, decapitated the statues\nof the saints, and enacting an infernal parody, shot an inoffensive man,\nin order that human blood might be shed on the altar of sacrifice.\n\nAt Subiaco, the governor, who was a priest, fell, together with the town,\ninto the hands of the banditti. They were preparing to sack the place and\nput the governor to death, when a Pontifical troop appeared. The struggle\nwas short. The Garibaldian chief was slain, and the rest fled. They who\nguarded the prisoner threw themselves at his knees, imploring mercy. \u201cHave\npity on us, my Lord; do not give us up to the Zouaves; they would kill\nus.\u201d The governor made them go into his oratory and closed the door.\nMeanwhile the commandant of the Zouaves arrived, gave him the details of\nthe battle, and spoke of the prisoners he had taken. \u201cEverybody makes\nprisoners,\u201d said the governor, smiling. \u201cI have some also, although not,\nlike you, a man of the sword.\u201d \u201cWhere are they?\u201d \u201cAh! they are mine and\nnot yours. Promise that you will respect my absolute right of conqueror;\nif not, I will not show them.\u201d The commandant made the desired promise,\nand the governor opened the door of his oratory and made the Garibaldians\ncome out. These prisoners were greatly amazed. Having asked and obtained\nthe governor\u2019s priestly blessing, they freely recrossed the Italian\nfrontier.\n\nThe action at Monte-Libretti, which took place on the 14th October, was of\na more serious character. Eighty Zouaves contended from half-past five in\nthe evening till eight o\u2019clock against twelve hundred Garibaldians. Arthur\nGuillemin, their captain, and Urbain de Quelen, their second lieutenant,\nfell gloriously. When night came, the Zouaves being unable to fight any\nlonger, and not venturing to establish themselves in the first houses\nwhich they had taken, whilst all the rest of the town still swarmed with\nthe enemy, retired in good order, bearing away their dead, and also twelve\nprisoners. They returned next morning, in order to renew the attack, but\nfound the place evacuated.\n\nThe violation of the Pontifical territory was now too flagrant to be\ndenied any longer, and the more so, as the Cabinet of the Tuileries was\nnot ignorant of anything that was taking place. It was, by a fortunate\naccident, represented at Rome by a diplomatist of a different school from\nthat of Thouvenel and Lavalette. The ambassador, M. de Sartiges, was\nabsent on leave, and was replaced by his first secretary, M. Arman. The\nlatter understood his duty, and, at the risk of being importunate, ceased\nnot to make known, every day, to France, the events which were so rapidly\noccurring. Thus did a comparatively humble secretary save the honor of his\ncountry. Compelled by the terms of the September convention to stay the\ninvasion, the Government of Florence stationed a corps of forty thousand\nmen, under the command of Cialdini, around the Pontifical frontier, and\nintimated to the Tuileries that it was for its protection. It soon became\nevident that it was in order to fall upon it, in the wake of Garibaldi, as\nthey had fallen upon the Kingdom of Naples in 1860. Meanwhile, the\ninvaders passed without any difficulty between the different posts, and\nwhen beaten and pursued by the Pontifical troops, they retired and\nreformed behind the ranks of the Piedmontese.\n\n(M108) Hence the small body of Pontifical soldiers was easily overwhelmed,\nand the Garibaldian hordes, although beaten, were always advancing. Rome\nwas filled with consternation. The cutthroats of the revolution spoke of\napplying gunpowder to public edifices. And indeed they set about\nfulfilling their threat by blowing up the Serratori barracks, which they\nhad undermined, and which buried, one evening, in their ruins, the music\nband of the Zouaves, whilst they were engaged at a rehearsal. Fortunately\nthe bandsmen were the only victims. The rest of the corps which remained\nto guard the city was at the moment patrolling at a distance from the\nbarracks. The Garibaldians expected the explosion. They rushed into the\nstreets and endeavored to avail themselves of the terror and confusion\nwhich generally prevailed in order to seize the military posts. They\nmanaged to assassinate, in the dark, a few soldiers and some gensd\u2019armes;\nbut they succeeded not even in ringing the alarm-bell at the Capitol,\nwhich was intended to be their signal. Their principal leader, a Milanese,\nwhose name was Cairoli, was killed with arms in his hands, together with\nsome twenty of his followers, in a vineyard near the city; and so failed\nthe enterprise.\n\nThe French Cabinet ceased, at length, to persist in the face of the\nclearest evidence and against the unanimous voice of the national\nconscience. A small body of soldiers had been sent to the French port of\nToulon. It received orders to embark for Civita Vecchia. Catholics were\nrelieved from their anxiety. Meanwhile came new assurances from Florence.\nA counter-order was given, and the embarkation suspended. Victor Emmanuel\nand his minister, Ratazzi, thought they understood the secret meaning of\nthis counter-order. They remembered the past, and the troops of Cialdini\nboldly crossed the Pontifical frontier.\n\n(M109) French historians relate that, on receiving this news, all who had\nany concern for the honor of France believed that it had come to an end,\nand made up their minds, in sullen silence, to swallow the new disgrace.\nThey who were indifferent, even, became indignant. People who met on the\nboulevards of Paris asked one another to what extremes those Italian\nmountebanks (farceurs) would bring them. The enemies of the Pope, who were\nequally hostile to the Emperor, rejoiced, but secretly. The deputies\neither protested together with the Catholics, or dared not show\nthemselves; the ministers were silent. Finally, the army took its\ndeparture from Toulon. It was time that it should; and this appeared to be\nwell understood. There was great irresolution in coming to a decision. It\nwas no less promptly carried into effect. The French army disembarked at\nCivita Vecchia on the 29th October, under the command of General de\nFailly.\n\nThree days earlier, 26th October, the small town of Monte Rotondo, five\nleagues from Rome, was attacked by Garibaldi in person, attended by a band\nof five thousand four hundred fighting men. Its garrison consisted of five\nhundred men of the legion of Antibes. These few brave soldiers held their\nground for two days and repelled five attacks. They were compelled at last\nto yield, having exhausted all their munitions of war. They retired, but\nleft Garibaldi so much weakened and disorganized by his inglorious victory\nthat he was unable for several days to advance. Thus, for the moment, did\nthe legion of Antibes save Rome.\n\n(M110) Monte Rotondo, it is almost superfluous to relate, experienced the\nfate of Bagnorea. Nothing comparable in point of atrocity had occurred\nsince the invasion of Italy by the barbarians. In justice to Garibaldi, it\nmust be said that he rebuked publicly by an order of the day, dated 28th\nOctober, the \u201cshameful excess\u201d of his fellow-adventurers, and proceeded to\nexpurgate their ranks. But he could not hinder them from being what they\nwere, a mob of miscreants that the secret societies of the whole world had\ndischarged on the Pontifical State. He was not less astonished to meet\nwith so poor a welcome on the part of the people whom it was supposed he\ncame to deliver. His chief lieutenant, Bertani, bears witness to this\nstate of things, in the _Riforma_ of 18th November, 1867: \u201cIt must be\nadmitted,\u201d said this writer, \u201cthat the people of the Roman States have no\nidea of an Italy one and free. We have not been greeted or encouraged by a\nsingle cry of rejoicing; nor have we obtained either any spontaneous\nassistance, or even a word of consolation, from these brutified people.\u201d\n\nGeneral Kanzler, the pro-Minister of War, well understood that it was\nimpossible to defend for any length of time the frontier against bands\nthat were constantly recruited. Accordingly, he ordered all the isolated\ngarrisons to concentrate at Rome. It was more important than anything else\nto preserve the Papal city from being surprised by the invaders.\nGaribaldi, when re-inforced, marched in advance of Monte Rotondo. Cialdini\nfollowed him at some distance, but without daring as yet openly to join\nthe banditti. The French, however, were _en route_. Kanzler took his\ndeparture from Rome on 3rd November, at two o\u2019clock in the morning,\nfollowed by 3,000 Pontifical troops and 2,000 French soldiers. \u201cCome,\u201d\nsaid he, to M. Emilius Keller, Dr. O\u2019Zannam, and some others who had just\narrived from Paris, in order to organize the ambulance service of the\nPontifical army, \u201ccome, and you will see a fine battle.\u201d The small army\nmet the enemy at one o\u2019clock in the afternoon, at a short distance from\nthe town of Mentana, the ancient Nomentum from which the Nomentan way\n(_via Nomentana_) took its name. Garibaldi\u2019s command was from 10,000 to\n12,000 strong. He placed his men in ambuscade, partly on small hills that\nwere covered with wood, and partly scattered them, as fusileers, along the\nhedges. His left wing was commanded by Pianciani, who, some time later,\nwas Mayor of Rome. Kanzler\u2019s force commenced firing. But what could it\navail against an enemy that was invisible and in superior numbers? A\nveteran of Castelfidardo, Lieutenant-Colonel de Charette, the same who was\ndestined afterwards to immortalize himself at Patay and at Mans,\nunderstood that nothing was to be gained by a fusillade. \u201cForward,\u201d he\ncried, \u201cmy Zouaves! charge with the bayonet; and, remember, the French\narmy is looking on.\u201d The Zouaves reply: \u201cLive Pius IX!\u201d and spring forward\nwith their leader. The Garibaldians are dislodged from the first hill\u2014from\nthe other hills, and would have been utterly routed but for the formidable\nintrenchments presented by the Santucci vineyard, which was laid out in\ngardens rising in storeys, one above the other, and intersected by walls.\nGaribaldi was posted on the summit, in a villa, whence he directed his\nfire without being exposed to personal danger. His position was, indeed,\nstrong. Charette\u2019s troop was observed to waver. \u201cForward, Zouaves!\u201d cried\ntheir leader, \u201cor I shall die without you!\u201d As he spoke, his horse was\nstruck by a ball and fell dead. Meanwhile, the Zouaves scaled the walls\nand the ravines, without heeding those who fell. Garibaldi was\ndisconcerted by this living tornado. He fell back from his villa to the\nhouses, and thence to the Castle of Mentana. The Zouaves followed in the\nface of a murderous fire, discharged from the walls of the castle; but\nthey always advanced, and finally, repelled, by a bayonet charge, a\nrenewed and general attack of the enemy. Such efforts, however, could not\nhave been sustained for any length of time unaided, and bravery must, in\nthe end, have given way to numbers. General de Courten, who directed this\nattack, sent to ask assistance from General Polhes, who commanded the army\nof France. The French soldiers had been, hitherto, inactive, although by\nno means unheeding spectators of the combat. \u201cBravo! Zouaves, bravo!\u201d\ncried they, eagerly desiring to share in the fight. At a sign from their\nchief, they sprang forward in their turn. At their head was Colonel\nSaussier, of the 20th regiment of the line, who was afterwards general and\nmember of the National Assembly at Versailles. The sudden and hitherto\nunknown fire of the chassepots carried death and terror within the\nprecincts of the castle. Meanwhile, a detachment of Zouaves managed to\nplace themselves between Mentana and Monte Rotondo, and so intercepted the\nreinforcements which were hastening from the latter place to join the\nGaribaldians. At sight of this achievement, the bands, already much\ndemoralized, were thrown into confusion. Night came, and, favoring their\nflight, changed it to a rout. Garibaldi himself, who had so often shouted,\n\u201c_Rome or death_\u201d\u2014stole away, under cover of the darkness, like the\nmeanest of the fugitives. His sons did in like manner. It was expected\nthat they would renew the battle next day, as Monte Rotondo, which they\nstill held, presented a convenient position for rallying. They did nothing\nof the kind. On the very night which followed the engagement Garibaldi and\nhis sons recrossed the Italian frontier. \u201cHe always runs away\u201d (_si salva\nsempre_), said his followers, in the bitterness of their disappointment,\nwhen so shamefully betrayed and abandoned. The French soldiers, on the\nother hand, always inclined to raillery and punning, baptized the action\nof the preceding day, calling it the battle of _Montre ton dos_. The\nGaribaldians, who held the castle, as well as the rest of the banditti who\ncould not get away in time, surrendered, unconditionally, to General\nPolhes. There was but little bloodshed on the side of the victors, thanks\nto the rapidity with which the victory was won. The losses of the French\ntroops were not more than two killed, two officers and thirty-six privates\nwounded. Of the Pontifical force there were twenty killed and one hundred\nand twenty-three wounded. Several of these died of their wounds.\n\n(M111) Among those noble victims who claim the gratitude of the Catholic\nworld, were names already dear to the church\u2014such as Bernard de\nQuatre-barbe, a nephew of the defender of Ancona; Rodolph de Maistre,\ngrandson of the immortal author of \u201cThe Pope;\u201d and John de Muller, son of\nthe celebrated German controversialist. As if nothing that is glorious\nshould be wanting to the field of Mentana, it had also its martyrs of\ncharity. The Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul went and came among the\nwounded and the dying, giving their aid alike to all, no matter what their\nuniform. There was need of water. A Pontifical Zouave, Julius Watts\nRussell, ran to find some for a Garibaldian who was at the point of death.\nAs he was gently raising the head of the moribund, in order that he might\ndrink, he was himself struck with a ball and fell dead on the body of him\nwhom he had endeavored to succour. On his person was found a small note,\nin which he thus exhorted himself: \u201cMy soul, O, my soul! love God and\npursue thy way.\u201d What Christian would not be envious of a like death\u2014a\ndeath which nobly crowned such a life as these few words necessarily\nsuppose?\n\n(M112) The vanquished had been fanaticised by the secret societies as well\nas by Garibaldi himself, that infuriated enthusiast, who could not write\nfour lines nor utter four words without enshrining therein the treasons of\nthe black race, that prurient sore of Italy; or the _venom_ of the\nVatican, that nest of vipers; or the lies of Pius IX., that pest, that\nmonster, twice accursed, as priest and as king. So when these people were\nmade prisoners, they expected nothing better than the hardest treatment\nand the most terrible vengeance. How surprised must they not then have\nbeen to find that their wounded were attended to on the field of battle,\nand the same care and attention extended to them as to the wounded of the\nPontifical force, whilst those who were sound met with no other punishment\nthan to be well guarded at first, and afterwards released by degrees, as\nit became certain that Garibaldi would be in no hurry to renew his game.\nFinally, a complete amnesty was granted. This extreme clemency of a\nlegitimate government towards an invading banditti presented a noble and\nhappy contrast with the implacable revenge of the usurping King of\nPiedmont. Victor Emmanuel, in fact, had no hesitation in putting to death\nthe Spanish general Borges and his Neapolitan comrades, who were arrested\nwhilst bearing arms in an endeavor to deliver the kingdom of Naples, and\nrestore its former king, Francis II.\n\n(M113) Two men only were excepted from the Pontifical amnesty. These were\nthe authors of that atrocious act, the blowing up of the Sorristori\nbarracks. Their crime, indeed, could not be considered as anything\nconnected with the war, but simply as cowardly assassination. Those two\nwretches, Monti and Tognetti, underwent a regular trial, which lasted more\nthan a year, and at which all the forms required by law were strictly\nobserved. They were convicted, and ended by acknowledging everything. They\nsuffered capital punishment, and, at their execution, begged pardon of God\nand men. The day after this execution\u2014coming generations will scarcely\nbelieve so strange a fact\u2014the Chamber of Deputies at Florence solemnly\nprotested against it, as did also Victor Emmanuel. The secret societies\nopened a subscription list for the widows of the executed criminals.\nVictor Emmanuel took part in it. And thus did a king honor parties who\ncommit murder by gunpowder plots. True, this king was the same prince who,\nin pursuance of a decree issued by Garibaldi, at Naples, in 1861,\npensioned the widow of the regicide, Agesilas Milano.\n\n(M114) Pius IX. entertained quite a different idea of the duties of\nroyalty. He was persuaded that an example should be made of the foul crime\nof Monti and Tognetti, and so could not be moved. \u201cA king,\u201d said he, \u201cowes\njustice to all alike, certainly not excepting honest people: and hence\nassassins must not be allowed to count on impunity.\u201d He went kindly to\nvisit the wounded Garibaldians, \u201cthose unfortunate people, a great many of\nwhom were only misled, and who, nevertheless, were his children.\u201d Two\nhundred of them had been conveyed to a lower room in the Castle of St.\nAngelo. He visited them quite alone, and thus addressed them: \u201cHere I am,\nmy friends; you see before you him whom your general calls the Vampire of\nItaly; you all took up arms against me, and you see that I am only a poor\nold man! You are in need of shoes, clothes and linen. Well, the Pope on\nwhom you made war will cause you to be supplied with all these things. He\nwill then send you back to your families; only before your departure, you\nwill, from love to me, make a spiritual retreat.\u201d The unfortunate rebels\ncould not believe their eyes or their ears. Some turned away from him in\nsullen wrath, like demons who will not give up hating. Others, in greater\nnumbers, seized hold of the paternal hand which was raised over them to\nbless them, and bathed it with their tears. The good Pope, marvelled at\nthe designs of God, who brings good out of evil. \u201c_O felix culpa_\u201d (\u201cO\nhappy fault!\u201d), said he, alluding to the prayers of Holy Saturday, \u201cif\nthese children had not borne arms against me, they would not, perhaps,\nhave died so piously.\u201d\n\nIt was some time before the details of Mentana were known in France. The\ngovernment, it would appear, feared to acknowledge that the French\nsoldiers took part in the engagement. When, however, the general\u2019s report\nput an end to all doubt on the subject, there were no bounds to the rage\nof the revolutionary party. The revolution, hitherto, had used Louis\nNapoleon as a facile and valuable instrument. It could not pardon him\nMentana. But France was not all revolutionary. The mass of the nation,\nhonest and loyal, shared not the ideas of the secret societies. Far from\nregretting what had taken place, the French people dreaded lest there\nshould not have been enough done.\n\nCialdini, indeed, had been able to withdraw his troops, not with honor but\nwithout molestation, within the Italian frontier, whilst no account was\nrequired of his violation of the September convention. The ministers\ncontinued to discuss Italian unity as freely as they had been in the habit\nof doing for eight years, and the officious demagogue papers which were\ndevoted to Prince Napoleon began to demand the speedy return of the French\ntroops from Rome, and that by virtue of the famous convention which,\naccording to these politicians, was binding on France, but not on Italy.\nThe legislative body was moved. Not only the deputies who were declared\nCatholics, and who always divided against the government on the Roman\nquestion, but a great number of those also who had never until that time\nshown any indocility at the moment of voting, resolved to force the\ngovernment to make a clear and public declaration of its intentions. The\ndebate was opened by M. Thiers in an eloquent speech at the sitting of 4th\nDecember. He proved, and the proof was not difficult, that no reliance\ncould be placed on the word of Victor Emmanual or Italian promises. \u201cThe\nHouse of Savoy,\u201d said he, \u201cgoes to a falcon hunt with Garibaldi. If the\nlatter fails he is taken to Caprera. If he succeeds, and takes a kingdom,\nthey say to him, you are the revolution: your prey does not belong to you;\nit is ours, who are order and legality.\u201d Jules Favre, a barrister,\nshamelessly spoke in a contrary sense, and endeavored to justify Italy.\nHis sophistry met with no response.\n\nThe minister, M. Rouher, could not retreat. He made a long speech, in\nwhich he defended the policy of Napoleon III. against the two former\nspeakers, and involved himself once more in the inconceivable idea of\nneither sacrificing Italian unity to the Pope\u2019s temporal sovereignty nor\nthat sovereignty to Italian unity. (On the one hand, M. Jules Favre\nobjected that Italy, and chiefly amongst others, Menabrea, the actual head\nof the Florence Cabinet, whose wisdom and moderation had just been praised\nby the French minister, ceased not to declare that the possession of Rome\nwas indispensable.) On the other hand, there were loud murmurs which\nprotested against the iniquitous equality which was sought to be\nestablished between the victim and his executioner. M. Rouher perceived\nthat the majority which the Imperial government had commanded for sixteen\nyears, was on the point of slipping from him; so, turning to Jules Favre,\nhe declared \u201cthat he was not agreed with him on any point\u2014that he\nabsolutely rejected his policy.\u201d Then, addressing the Conservatives, he\naffirmed that they would defend Rome so long as the desired reconciliation\ndid not take place\u2014that France would never, never abandon Rome. He\nconcluded by conjuring the deputies to cling to the government which gave\nthe battle of Mentana as a pledge of its sincerity. This declaration was\ngreeted with prolonged applause, and it could no longer be doubted that\nthe vote would be almost unanimous. The deputies, however, determined that\nthe head of their church should not be imperfectly protected, required of\nthe minister a distinct explanation of what he meant by defending Rome.\nThey were resolved that the government should not have the power to give\nup to Italy the territory around the city which the Pope still possessed,\nand leave to him only the walls of Rome. This position was maintained by\nthe veteran orator of French parliaments, M. Berryer. A great number of\ndeputies came to his support, so necessary was it understood to be to\nguard against all subterfuge in transacting with Napoleon III. M. Rouher\nwas constrained to reascend the tribune. He did so, he said, more fully to\nexpress his idea, and declared, whilst the Chamber loudly applauded, that\nthe Emperor guaranteed not only the city of Rome, but also the territory\nactually possessed by the Holy See, in all its integrity. Such was the\nmemorable sitting of 4th December, 1867, at which the will of France was\nforced on its despotic ruler. But both for him and the country, French\nwriters assure us, it was too late. If the representatives of the nation,\nthey say, had shown from the beginning the same decision; if the empire\nhad always spoken as on the 4th December, 1867; if, above all, it had\nacted conformably to its words, it would either not have fallen or fallen\nwith honor. But never would we have seen either Italian unity or German\nunity, and the black flag of Prussia would not wave to-day over Metz,\nMalhouse and Strasbourg.\n\nPiedmont having withdrawn its threatening force on the approach of the\nFrench troops, the Holy See had nothing to dread, for some time at least,\nfrom foreign invasion. It remained only to provide against the attacks of\nbanditti such as had been just defeated at Mentana. In this important\nmatter the Holy Father was not left to his own resources. The whole\nChristian world was in sympathy with him, and anxious for his safety.\nVolunteers from all Catholic countries hastened to Rome. Even remote\nCanada, so early as 1868, had sent her three hundred. And these\nmercenaries, as the enemy called them, served at their own expense. The\nBishops of Hungary furnished three squadrons of Hussars, who were all\nmounted, equipped, and in every way supplied by Hungarian subscriptions.\nThe bishops and nobility of Galicia sent lancers. France, Belgium and\nCatholic Germany, emulated one another in their efforts to maintain the\nPontifical force.\n\nThere was nothing warlike in thus providing against possible danger. So\nlong as France held Piedmont bound to treaty stipulations, any army in the\nservice of the Pope could only be employed as a police force in\nmaintaining internal peace, or in repelling such attempts as had recently\nbeen made by the irregular bands of Garibaldi against the Pontifical\nStates.\n\nMeanwhile, the arts of peace were not neglected. The Holy Father, as might\nbe supposed, when freed from the fear of invasion and expulsion from his\nstate, applied with renewed zeal to the duties of his sublime office. Nor\nto these alone did he confine the exercise of his well-directed charity.\nThe agricultural school for children remains a lasting and solid proof of\nhis enlightened benevolence. This establishment is called, in honor of its\naugust founder, the Pio Vigneard (Pia Vigna). It is provided with all the\nmost improved implements, and is confided to the care of the Belgian\nBrothers of Mercy. It is wholly maintained by the private funds of Pius\nIX. It may be seen on an eminence to the left of the railway as you\napproach the city of Rome.\n\nANNIVERSARY OF THE HOLY FATHER\u2019S ORDINATION.\n\nThe anniversary of the elevation of Pius IX. to the Christian priesthood\nhappily occurred during this interval of peace. There was but one feeling\nthroughout the whole Christian world. The warmest expressions of love and\ndevotedness proceeded from every land. All the sovereigns of Europe\nconveyed by autograph letters their dutiful congratulations, whilst the\njoy of the people everywhere knew no bounds. At Rome the feast of the\ngolden wedding of Pius IX. lasted three days. Everywhere else, as it fell\non the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, it was celebrated in the churches, and\noften in public places or on the mountains by illuminations or bonfires.\nUnder the name of handsel to Pius IX., the Catholic press opened\nsubscription lists. Notwithstanding the regular payment of Peter\u2019s pence,\nthe public generosity was not exhausted.\n\nOne journal might be quoted, which alone collected more than one hundred\nthousand francs. The Archbishop of Cologne, Monsigneur Melchers, observed,\nin a pastoral instruction which he issued on the occasion, that never\nbefore had a Pope been in such intimate and universal relation with the\nheart of humanity. And indeed it was more consoling to the Supreme Pastor\nthan all other demonstrations to reflect that so many millions on millions\nof faithful united with him in prayer at the Mass of the 11th of April,\nall on the occasion participating in the Holy Communion. He felt that the\nwhole universe prayed with him and for him. \u201cO God!\u201d he exclaimed, in\npresence of some pilgrims who had come to congratulate him in person, \u201cO\nGod! have mercy on me! This is too much happiness! I dread when, ere long,\nI shall appear before Thy judgment-seat, lest Thou say to me: Thou hast\nhad thy reward on earth! Not to me, but to Thee, O Lord! belongeth the\nlove of Christians.\u201d He fully appreciated the numerous offerings and\ncongratulations of the Catholic world. His servants conceived the happy\nidea of placing in symmetrical order throughout the apartments of the\nVatican the rich and numerous gifts which were presented to him on the\noccasion of his jubilee. Beholding them, he exclaimed: \u201cI also have my\nuniversal exposition! It is the fruit not of my industry but of the love\nof my children.\u201d Then, as he turned over the leaves of the gigantic\nmanuscripts which were covered with addresses of devotedness, he added:\n\u201cThis is the true expression of the universal Catholic suffrage.\u201d\n\nThis auspicious time of peace and rejoicing was not without its sorrows.\nAmong these were the fearful massacres of Christians in China. Nor were\nthese the worst, for they carried with them their consolation. If the\nChurch was cruelly persecuted in China, she won new glory in adding\nmartyrs to the Triumphant army in heaven. The many scandals that occurred\nthroughout Christendom were more truly afflicting. Above all, were truly\ntrying to the paternal heart of the Holy Father those which happened among\nthe Catholic people, who protected him in the possession of what remained\nof his dilapidated patrimony. A court and a political system which were\ndestined soon to disappear were laboring to put an end to Christian\neducation. The prince, cousin of the Emperor, Napoleon III., and the\nSenator and Academician, Sainte Beuve, held heathenish orgies in the\nLenten season, even on Good Friday. To crown the list of evil, apostacy\nwas not wanting. It was of little consequence that one who fell away,\nalthough a vehement declaimer, was a shallow theologian; his loss was,\nnevertheless, to be deplored. The progress of a low sect in Belgium called\nSolidaires, the success of a new revolution in Spain, under favor of which\nthe members of religious communities, both of men and of women, were\ndriven from their homes in the name of liberty, together with the opening\nof revolutionary clubs in Paris, caused Pius IX. to dread catastrophes in\nthe near future. Severe domestic affliction came this year (1869) to\naggravate the sorrows of Pius IX. His brother, Count Gabriel Mastai, met\nwith an accident which, at his advanced age, ninety, proved to be serious.\nThe Holy Father, immediately traversing Rome, ascended on his knees the\n_scala sancta_. A few days later the death of the patient was intimated to\nhim. He shut himself up several hours in his private apartment, in order\nthat none might witness the tears which grief made him shed. Finally, he\nrepaired to the Vatican Basilica, where he prayed for a long time, both\nbefore the Holy Sacrament and at the tomb of the apostles.\n\nAN EXERCISE OF SOVEREIGNTY.\n\nThose states which formed the monetary division of Western Europe\u2014France,\nBelgium, Switzerland and the Holy See, agreed at this time to refound\ntheir silver coinage. A model was chosen, which Greece, Portugal, Roumania\nand some other countries adopted in their turn, and it was understood that\nthe new coinage for each state should be in proportion to its population.\nHence it behooved the Pontifical State to issue forty millions of livres\nor thereby, for a population numbering from three to four millions of\nsouls, including Romagna and Umbria, which the Pope still claimed. The\nFlorence government remonstrated against the issue of forty million\nlivres, on the ground that the Pontiff could not now actually count more\nthan from 600,000 to 700,000 subjects. Napoleon III., always inclined to\ngratify the revolution, summoned Pius IX. to suspend the issue of his\nexaggerated coinage, three-fourths of which, it was insisted, should be\ncast anew with the effigy of Victor Emmanuel. This interference of\nNapoleon was considered inopportune and unacceptable, the operation of\ncoining being almost completed. Cardinal Antonelli maintained the right of\nthe Holy See. The French and Italian governments agreed to exclude from\ntheir circulation, and consequently from that of the whole monetary union,\nall silver coins which bore the meek and noble likeness of Pius IX. This\nthey did without offering to the public any explanation. The revolutionary\nparty, however, were too honest not to supply this want. They at once gave\ncirculation to the rumor that the coinage of the Pope was of inferior\nquality. He was pointed out as a money-counterfeiter by the thousand\norgans of the infidel press. The people, grossly deceived, repelled with\nindignation, as if it were that of a robber, the likeness of the\nrepresentative of justice on earth. The Catholics, meanwhile, observed\nwith pain that while this storm of calumny was raging, one of their own\nnumber, once a champion of the temporal power, held in the French\ngovernment the portfolio of finance. The Pontifical treasury subjected\nitself to considerable sacrifices, in order to diminish the losses and\nsilence the recriminations of those who were compelled to stop its money,\nwhich could no longer be circulated. Chemists, in the interest of truth,\nanalyzed the depreciated metal, and declared that it was exactly of the\nsame value as the coinage of Napoleon III. But neither the officious nor\nthe official press took the pains to publish this fact, and the calumny\nremained. The time was even then at hand, as French writers observe with\npain, when France, in her downfallen and exhausted condition, would have\nbeen glad to possess this Pontifical money and dispense with worthless\npaper.\n\nTHE VATICAN COUNCIL\u2014PURPOSE OF THE POPE IN CONVENING A GENERAL COUNCIL.\n\nThis time of sorrow, mourning and difficulty was succeeded by a period of\nunwonted activity. It was deemed expedient to convoke an \u0152cumenical\nCouncil. This important measure was thought of on occasion of the\ncentenary celebration of the martyrdom of SS. Peter and Paul. After two\nyears of serious and mature deliberation and consultation, Pius IX. issued\napostolical letters, convening a council of the whole church at the\nVatican Basilica. The 8th of December, 1869, was appointed as the day for\nits first assembling. The objects in view cannot be better described than\nin the words of the venerable Pontiff. After a few preliminary paragraphs\nin his Bull of Indiction, the Holy Father thus proceeds:\n\n\u201cThe Roman Pontiffs, in the discharge of the office divinely confided to\nthem in the person of Peter of feeding the entire flock of Christ, have\nunweariedly taken on themselves the most arduous labors, and used every\npossible means in order to have the various nations and races all over the\nearth brought to the light of the Gospel, and by truth and holiness to\neternal life. All men know the zeal and unceasing vigilance with which\nthese same Roman Pontiffs have kept inviolate the deposit of faith,\ndiscipline among the clergy, purity and science in the education given to\nthe members of the church, the holiness and dignity of Christian marriage:\nhow they studied day by day to promote the Christian education of the\nyouth of both sexes, to foster among all classes the love of religion, the\npractice of piety and purity of morals as well as everything that might\nconduce to the tranquillity, the good order and the prosperity of civil\nsociety. Whenever great troubles arose, or serious calamities threatened\neither the church or social order, the Roman Pontiffs judged it opportune\nto convoke general councils, in order that with the advice and assistance\nof the bishops of the Catholic world, whom the Holy Ghost hath established\nto rule the Church of God, they might, in their united wisdom and\nforethought, so dispose everything as to define the doctrines of faith, to\nsecure the destruction of the most prevalent errors, defend, illustrate\nand develop Catholic teaching, restore and promote ecclesiastical\ndiscipline and the reformation of morals.\n\n\u201cNo one at the present time can be ignorant how terrible is the storm by\nwhich the church is assailed, and what an accumulation of evils afflicts\ncivil society. The Catholic Church, her most salutary doctrines, her most\nrevered power, the supreme authority of this Holy See, are all assailed\nand trampled on by the bitter enemies of God and man. All that is most\nsacred is held up to contempt; ecclesiastical property is made the prey of\nthe spoiler; the most venerable ministers of the sacraments, men most\neminent for their Catholic character, are harassed by unheard of\nannoyances. The religious orders are suppressed, impious books of every\nkind and pestilential publications are disseminated, wicked and pernicious\nsocieties are everywhere and under every form multiplied. The education of\nyouth is, in almost all countries, withdrawn from the clergy, and, what is\nfar worse, intrusted in many places to teachers of error and evil.\n\n\u201cIn consequence of all these facts, to our great grief and that of all\ngood men, and to the irreparable ruin of souls, impiety, corruption of\nmorals, unbridled licentiousness, the contagion of depraved opinions, and\nof every species of pestilential vice and crime, the violation of all\nlaws, human and divine, prevail everywhere to such an extent, that not\nonly religion but human society itself is thrown into the most deplorable\ndisorder and confusion.\n\n\u201cWherefore, following in the footsteps of our illustrious predecessors, we\nhave deemed it opportune to call together a General Council, as we had\nlong desired to do.\n\n\u201cThis \u0152cumenical Council will have to examine most diligently, and to\ndetermine what it is most seasonable to do, in these calamitous times, for\nthe greatest glory of God, the integrity of faith, the splendor of Divine\nworship, the eternal salvation of men, the discipline of the regular and\nsecular clergy, and their sound and solid education, the observance of\necclesiastical laws, the reformation of morals, the Christian education of\nyouth, the common peace and universal concord. With the Divine assistance,\nour labors must also be directed towards remedying the peculiar evils\nwhich afflict church and state; towards bringing back into the right road\nthose who have strayed away from truth and righteousness; towards\nrepressing vice and error, in order that our holy religion and her saving\ndoctrines may acquire renewed vigor all over the earth, that its empire\nmay be restored and increased, and that thereby piety, modesty, honor,\njustice, charity and all Christian virtues may wax strong and nourish for\nthe glory and happiness of our common humanity.\u201d\n\nIt has been alleged and persistently maintained by the enemies of the Holy\nSee, that Pius IX. sought only to promote his own importance by convening\na General Council. Of this calumny the foregoing words, which so plainly\nand distinctly set forth the purposes of the council, afford an abundant\nrefutation. No man holding a great public office can fulfil faithfully the\nduties of that office without exalting his own character in the estimation\nof mankind. Ought he then, because such things exalt him, to leave them\nundone? This would, indeed, be mistaken humility.\n\nCouncils, although not an essential element in the government of the\nchurch, are had recourse to in times of difficulty, in order to settle\ndoctrinal disputes, promote morality and establish or restore discipline.\nWith the exception of the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem, no council was\nheld for the first three hundred years of the church\u2019s existence. The\nchurch, nevertheless, as regarded her spiritual state, was highly\nprosperous and extended rapidly. Councils came as exigencies arose, and\nwhen there was no insuperable impediment to their assembling. They were in\ntheir time a source of great and lasting good, whilst their record remains\nshedding light on the centuries as they pass. There had already been\neighteen \u0152cumenical Councils, that of Trent, held three hundred years ago,\nhaving been the last. Causes like to those which occasioned the earlier\ncouncils, although in a different state of the world and human society,\nappeared to call for such action on the part of the church as should\npowerfully influence the passing age, and cause the light of Divine\nrevelation to penetrate the dark places of the nineteenth century. It was\nresolved, accordingly, to convoke the \u0152cumenical Council of the age.\n\nBISHOPS, ETC., BIDDEN TO THE COUNCIL.\n\nIt was the duty of the Commission of Direction to decide as to who had a\nright to be called to, and to sit in, the council. This commission\nconsisted of five cardinals who were presidents, eight bishops and a\nsecretary, the Archbishop of Sardis. There was no difference of opinion. A\nquestion, however, arose as to the right of vicars-apostolic to be invited\nto the council. They were bishops, indeed, but without ordinary\njurisdiction. Hence the doubt as to their right to be called. Neither\ntheir admissibility, if invited, nor of their decisive vote when admitted\nwas at all questioned. The precedents and practice of the Holy See were in\nfavor of their being called. It was also dreaded lest their exclusion\nshould give rise to questions as to the \u0153cumenicity of the council. All\nbishops, undoubtedly, were entitled to be invited. It was decided,\ntherefore, that bishops, vicars-apostolic, should be bidden to the\ncouncil. The Bulls by which former councils had been convoked called\ntogether archbishops, bishops, etc. The law, therefore, making no\ndistinction between bishops in ordinary and such as were vicars-apostolic,\nneither could the commission. _Ubi lex non distinguit nec nos distingnere\ndebemus_.\n\nIt was a far more serious matter to invite \u201cthe bishops of the Oriental\nrite who are not in communion with the Apostolic See.\u201d An earnest and\naffectionate letter of invitation was addressed to them. It was presented\nto the Patriarch of the \u201cOrthodox\u201d Greek Church, who did not consider it\nworth while to open it. On the same day, it is related, four millions of\nBulgarians notified to this patriarch their withdrawal from his\njurisdiction. Many bishops of the Greek patriarchate were deeply moved by\nthe most kind and pressing appeal of the Holy Father. He had beseeched and\nconjured them in the most earnest manner \u201cto come to the general assembly\nof the bishops of the West and of the whole world, as their fathers had\ncome to the second Council of Lyons and that of Florence, in order that,\nrenewing the charity which existed of old, and restoring the peace which\nprevailed in the early ages, the fruits of which time has snatched from\nus, we may behold at last the pure and bright dawn of that union which we\nso ardently desire.\u201d The separated bishops to whom these touching words\nwere addressed, appear to have been profoundly moved. A goodly number,\neven, actuated by the paternal intentions of the Holy Father, were\nstrongly inclined to meet his advances; but so powerful was the example of\nthe Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, that none of them dared to take the\nlead. The non-united Patriarch of Armenia replied that he would attend the\ncouncil. But he failed to do so.\n\nA very considerate letter was also addressed to Protestants and all\nnon-Catholics. Needless to say it was not responded to. At the Council of\nTrent the same attention was shown, but with an equally unsuccessful\nresult. Julius II. had published the condition on which alone\nnon-Catholics generally could be invited, viz.: that they should recognize\nthe Divine authority of the Church. It was not surely to be expected that,\non occasion of the meeting of a General Council, the Catholic Church\nshould abandon, in favor of a comparatively small number of dissenters,\nher fundamental claim to Divine commission, which was acknowledged\nthroughout all Christendom. The bishops of the Anglican Church were\nastonished and irritated on finding that they were invited only as other\nProtestants, and not convoked along with the Fathers of the Council. Rome\nthus plainly intimated to them that they have yet to prove their\nconsecration and right to episcopal dignity.\n\nRev. Dr. Cumming of London, a minister of the Scotch Presbyterian Church,\nasked, through Archbishop Manning, to be allowed to lay before the council\nsuch arguments as could be adduced in support of Protestant opinions. Pius\nIX. caused the following reply to be sent to the learned minister: \u201cThe\ndecisions of former councils could not be shaken by bringing them anew\ninto question, and by discussing what had been already examined, judged\nand condemned.\u201d Two months later, 30th October, 1869, having been informed\nthat his words might have been misunderstood, and that certain Protestants\nimagined that all access to the Holy See was henceforth closed against\nthem, the Holy Father, in a new Bull which he very considerately issued,\ndeclared that: \u201cFar from repelling any one, we, on the contrary, make\nadvances towards all. To those who, led astray by their education, believe\nin the truth of their opinions, we, by no means, refuse the examination\nand discussion of their arguments. This cannot be done within the council;\nbut there are not wanting learned theologians whom we shall designate to\nthem, and to whom they can open their minds. May there be many who, in all\nsincerity, shall avail themselves of this facility! We earnestly pray that\nthe God of mercy may bring about this happy result.\u201d\n\nFATHERS WHO ATTENDED THE COUNCIL.\n\nA statement of the number of Fathers who attended the council, at any\nparticular time during its celebration, can hardly convey an accurate idea\nof the numbers who took part in its proceedings. Some were always arriving\nand others departing. Some fell sick, and a few died. The number in\nattendance, however, was always considerable. An official list, published\nby the Apostolic Chamber, shows the number and quality of such as were\nentitled to be present, and who could have attended except on account of\nhindrances arising from sickness, age or impediments thrown in their way\nby the governments under which they lived. These included 55 cardinals, 11\npatriarchs, 7 primates, 159 archbishops, 755 bishops, 6 abbots, 22 mitred\nabbots-general, 29 generals and vicars-general of orders; in all, 1,044. A\nlater official list of 1st May states the total number at 1,050, new\nprimatial, archiepiscopal and episcopal churches having been erected in\nthe meantime.\n\nOn the 8th December there were at Rome: 49 cardinals, 9 patriarchs, 4\nprimates, 123 archbishops, 481 bishops, 6 abbots, 22 abbots-general, 29\nvicars and vicars-general of orders; in all, 723 Fathers. On 20th December\nthere were 743.\n\nThe following Bishops of England were in attendance at the council: The\nMost Rev. Archbishop Manning, of Westminster; the Most Rev. Dr. Errington,\nArchbishop of Trebizonde; the Right Rev. Dr. Grant, of Southwark; the\nRight Rev. Dr. Cornthwaite, of Beverly; the Right Rev. Dr. Uullathorne, of\nBirmingham; the Right Rev. Dr. Clifford, of Clifton; the Right Rev. Dr.\nChadwick, of Hexham; the Right Rev. Dr. Amherst, of Northampton; the Right\nRev. Dr. Roskell, of Nottingham; the Right Rev. Dr. Vaughan, of Plymouth;\nthe Right Rev. Dr. Turner, of Salford; the Right Rev. Dr. Brown, of\nShrewsbury.\n\nThere was a somewhat longer list of Irish bishops, viz.: His Eminence\nPaul, Cardinal-Archbishop of Dublin; the Most Rev. Dr. McGettigan, Primate\nof all Ireland, Archbishop of Armagh; the Most Rev. Dr. Leahy, Archbishop\nof Cashel; the Most Rev. Dr. McHale, Archbishop of Tuam; the Right Rev.\nDr. Derry, of Clonfert; O\u2019Keane, Fermoy; Kelly, Derry; Moriarty, Kerry;\nLeahy, Dromore; Gillooly, Elphin; McEvilly, Galway; Furlong, Ferns; O\u2019Hea,\nRoss; Dorrian, Down and Connor; Butler, Limerick; Conaty, Kilmore; Nulty,\nMeath; Donnelly, Clogher; Power, Killaloe; McCabe, Ardagh.\n\nThe hierarchy had not yet been restored in Scotland; so that country could\nsend only three bishops to the \u0152cumenical Council. These were the Right\nRev. John Strain, Vicar-Apostolic, Edinburgh (afterwards, in the restored\nhierarchy, Most Rev. Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh); the Most\nRev. Dr. Eyre, Archbishop, Glasgow; the Right Rev. Dr. McDonald (in the\nrestored hierarchy, Bishop of Aberdeen), Vicar-Apostolic, Preshome.\n\nAll the other civilized nations, with scarcely an exception,(7) sent their\nbishops to the general assembly of the Church. France supplied the\ngreatest number, eighty-one. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies came next,\nbeing represented by sixty-eight bishops. Next came the States of the\nChurch, sending sixty-two bishops. From Great Britain and Ireland, with\nthe colonies, including Canada, went fifty-five bishops to the great\ncouncil. Austria and Hungary were nobly represented by forty-three\nbishops. Spain and the United States of America sent each forty prelates,\nand the States of South America, thirty; whilst of the Oriental rites\nthere were forty-two bishops. Piedmont, Tuscany, Lombardy and Venetia,\ntogether with Modena and Parma, Prussia, Bavaria, Mexico, Belgium,\nHolland, Portugal, Switzerland, the Isles of Greece, and even the Turkish\nempire, cheerfully willed that the Catholic prelates of their lands should\nbear their part in the grand \u0152cumenical Council which was now about to\nassemble. All these, with the cardinals, abbots, mitred abbots and\ngenerals of religious orders, who were also members of the great assembly,\nmade up the goodly number which has already been adverted to.(8)\n\nSUBJECTS WHICH IT WAS PROPOSED TO DISCUSS IN THE COUNCIL.\n\nThe subjects for discussion were expressed in _schemata_, or draft\ndecrees, which were drawn up by a \u201ccongregation,\u201d or, as we should say, a\ncommittee of one hundred and two ecclesiastics, who were cardinals and\nothers learned in theology and canon law, selected from many nations on\naccount of their superior wisdom and experience. By these alone the\n_schemata_ were prepared. They bore not so much as the shadow of the\nsupreme authority. So the council was perfectly at liberty to accept or\nreject, to change or to modify them, as it should deem fit and proper. Of\nthis we are assured by the words of the Pope, who, in his \u201cConstitution,\u201d\nat the commencement of the council, informed the bishops that he had not\ngiven any sanction to the _schemata_, and that consequently in regard to\nthem there was complete freedom.\n\nThe _schemata_, six in number, were very comprehensive. It is deeply to be\nregretted that the council was not allowed time to discuss them all. They\nconcerned:\n\n\n    1. Catholic doctrine in opposition to the manifold errors flowing\n    from rationalism.\n\n    2. The Church of Christ.\n\n    3. The office of bishops.\n\n    4. The vacancy of sees.\n\n    5. The life and manners of the clergy.\n\n    6. The Little Catechism.\n\n\nThe _schema_ on the Church of Christ necessarily involved the question of\ninfallibility. As this question, more than any other subject, appears to\nhave disturbed the equanimity of the outside world, it may not be\ninappropriate to consider the preliminary labors, as regarded it, of the\ngreat theological commission. The _schema_ on the Church of Christ\nextended to fifteen chapters. Having treated, at length, on the body of\nthe church, the commission or committee of 102 theologians could not fail\nto treat also of the Church\u2019s Head. On this point they prepared two\nchapters. The one spoke of the primacy of the Roman Pontiff, the other of\nhis temporal power. In treating of the primacy, its endowments also\nnecessarily came under discussion. Among these claimed the first place the\nDivine assistance in matters of faith which was promised to Peter, and in\nPeter to his successors. This is nothing less than infallibility.\n\nOn the 14th and 21st of January, the commission discussed the nature of\nthe primacy. On the 11th of February, it took up the question of\ninfallibility. It was enquired: 1st, whether the infallibility of the\nRoman Pontiff can be defined as an article of faith; 2nd, whether it ought\nto be so defined? The first question was answered unanimously in the\naffirmative. To the second, all, with one exception, replied, expressing\nconcurrence in the judgment that the subject ought not to be proposed to\nthe council unless it were demanded by the bishops. The wording of the\njudgment is as follows: _Sententia commissionis est, nonnisi ad\npostulationem episcoporum rei hujus propositionem ab apostolica sede\nfaciendam esse._ (\u201cThe judgment of the commission is that this subject\nought not to be proposed by the Apostolic See, except at the petition of\nthe bishops.\u201d) One member of the commission considered the discussion of\nthe subject inopportune. On account of his dissent, the chapter bearing on\ninfallibility was never completed.\n\nThus for a second time was the question of infallibility deliberately set\naside. As for Pius IX. himself, he had no desire any more than he had need\nto propose that there should be a dogmatical definition. Even as his\npredecessors in all preceding ages, he was conscious that his primacy was\ncomplete. He had acted on this conviction, exercising his sublime\nprivilege with universal consent, in the face of all Christendom. In 1854,\n1862 and 1867, the bishops had abundantly testified in his favor. If an\nauthoritative declaration was called for, it could only be on account of\nthe few who disputed and doubted, and the still smaller number who denied\nthat the Head of the Church on earth can neither err in faith and morals,\nnor lead into error the church of which he is divinely constituted the\nSupreme Teacher.\n\nOPENING OF THE COUNCIL.\n\nOn the 7th of December, 1869\u2014Vigil of the Immaculate Conception\u2014Pius IX.,\nattended by an imposing suite, repaired to the Church of the Twelve\nApostles, in order to inaugurate solemnly a period of nine days\u2019 prayer in\nhonor of the Blessed and Immaculate Mary. The following day, at an early\nhour, the cannon of the Castle of St. Angelo announced to the holy city\nthe great event that had been so long looked forward to. As early as six\no\u2019clock a.m. the three naves of St. Peter\u2019s were filled with a crowd of\nthe faithful, and all the approaches to the Basilica were thronged with\npeople. At nine o\u2019clock was seen the magnificent procession of mitred\nabbots, bishops and archbishops, primates, patriarchs and cardinals, that\npreceded the _sedia gestatoria_ which bore the Pope. The sacred cortege\nrequired about an hour to traverse the hall (atrium) and the chief nave of\nSt. Peter\u2019s, and reach the left(9) arm of the cross which forms the\nimmense Basilica, and which had been set apart and prepared as a vast\nchamber for the celebration of the council by that skilful architect,\nVirginius Vespignani.\n\n1,044 Fathers were invited to be present as members of the council. 803\nattended at the opening. Of these there were six archbishops who were also\nprinces, forty-nine cardinals, eleven patriarchs, six hundred and eighty\narchbishops and bishops, twenty-eight abbots, and twenty-nine generals of\nreligious orders. The entire number surpassed by one hundred and\nthirty-five the united numbers of all the Fathers of Nice, Constantinople\nand Ephesus. The day had gone by when the European sovereigns could be\nbidden to an \u0152cumenical Council. Several of their representatives,\nhowever, attended at the opening. The highest of the Roman nobility were\nalso present. The Colonna and Orsini families enjoyed the honor of being\nprinces attendant at the Papal throne on occasion of all the public\nceremonials of the council. Others of the Roman nobility, sovereigns and\nprinces, at the time in the city, were present. Among these were the\nex-King of Naples, the Empress of Austria, the ex-Duke and Duchess of\nTuscany, the ex-Duke and Duchess of Parma, together with the Doria and\nBorghese families. Several foreign princes, General Kanzler,\ncommander-in-chief of the Papal forces, and General Dumont, who commanded\nthe French battalions in garrison at Rome, likewise attended.\n\nThe hymn, _Veni Creator_, was sung, and immediately thereafter the first\nsession of the Vatican Council was formally opened with the celebration of\nHigh Mass. At the conclusion of mass, the secretary of the council placed\nupon the altar the Book of the Gospels, which always remained open\nthroughout the session. The council then heard a sermon, and the Holy\nFather intoned the Synodal prayers, which were followed by the Litany of\nthe Saints. Immediately after the chanting of the Gospel, Pius IX. made an\nallocution to the following effect: \u201cYou are met, venerable brethren, in\nthe name of Jesus Christ, to bear witness with us to the word of God; to\ndeclare with us to all men the truth, which is the way that leads to God;\nand to condemn with us, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, the\ndoctrines of false science. God is present in His holy place; He is with\nour deliberations and our efforts; He has chosen us to be His servants and\nfellow-workers in the great work of His salvation. Therefore, knowing well\nour own weakness, and filled with mistrust of ourselves, we lift up our\neyes and our prayers to Thee, O Holy Ghost, to Thee the source of true\nlight and wisdom.\u201d\n\nThe _Veni Creator_ having been once more sung, the Bishop of Fabriano read\nfrom the _Ambo_ the decree ordaining the opening of the council. It was in\nsubstance as follows: \u201cIs it the pleasure of the Fathers that the\n\u0152cumenical Council of the Vatican should be opened, and should be declared\nopen for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, the custody and declaration\nof the faith and of the Catholic religion; for the condemnation of errors\nwhich are widely spreading, and the correction of clergy and people?\u201d The\ncouncil replied unanimously _placet_. The Pope then declared the council\nto be opened, and fixed the second public session for the feast of the\nEpiphany, January 6, 1870. The session closed with the _Te Deum_ and the\nPontifical benediction. All the public sessions which were afterwards held\nwere opened pretty much in the same manner.\n\nDEATH OF TWO DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.\n\nAt this time the council and the Catholic world had to bewail the death of\ntwo very eminent Fathers. Cardinal de Reisach was a man of great and\nvaried learning, of large and refined culture of mind, and was fitted in a\nspecial way to understand the diversities of thought which met in the\nVatican Council. His loss to the Holy See, great as it would have been at\nany time, was more seriously felt at the meeting of the council, in\npreparing for which he had borne a chief part. Cardinal de Reisach was not\nonly one of the foremost members of the Sacred College in the public\nservice of the church, but in private life he was greatly and deservedly\nloved for his genial and sympathetic character.\n\nThe late illustrious Bishop of Southwark, the Right Rev. Thomas Grant,\nwhose zeal induced him to proceed to Rome in the height of a serious\nillness, was also torn away from the cares of this life and the affection\nof many friends, when, a little later, he was about to address a luminous\ndiscourse to the assembled Fathers. Whilst he stood in the midst of them,\nthere occurred a crisis of his malady from which he never rallied. He was\nvisited on his deathbed, which was that of the faithful servant, by Pius\nIX., who held him in the highest esteem.\n\nTHE SECOND SESSION.\n\nPreparatory to the second session of the council, various commissions were\nconstituted. That of postulates or propositions was appointed by the Pope,\nand consisted of cardinals who had experience, both as residents of Rome\nand formerly as nuncios at foreign courts, together with archbishops and\nbishops selected from each of the chief nations in the council. Its\nmembers were twelve cardinals, two patriarchs\u2014Antioch and Jerusalem\u2014ten\narchbishops, among whom was the Archbishop of Westminster, and two\nbishops.\n\nIt was resolved that the other commissions should be elected by the\nuniversal suffrage of the council. The Commission of Faith was elected in\nthe Third General Congregation, on the 20th of December. It was composed\nof twenty-five members, among whom were remarked the successor of Fenelon\nin the archiepiscopal see of Cambrai, the Archbishop of Westminster and\nthe Archbishop of Cashel (Ireland), three American bishops, Baltimore, San\nFrancisco, Rio Grande.\n\nThe Commission of Discipline consisted of twenty-four members, who\nrepresented as many nations\u2014the Bishop of Birmingham, on the part of\nEngland.\n\nThe Commission on Religious Orders was also chosen; the Bishop of Clifton\nrepresenting England.\n\nNo more being necessary at the earlier sittings of the council, the\nnomination of all other commissions was postponed.\n\nSECOND PUBLIC SESSION\u2014PROFESSION OF FAITH BY ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE\nCOUNCIL.\n\nThe second public session was held on the feast of the Epiphany, January\n6th, 1870. It had been always customary at general councils to make a\nprofession of faith. This custom was not departed from at the Vatican\nCouncil. As at Constantinople, A. D. 381, and Chalcedon, A. D. 481, was\nrecited the Creed of Nicea, and at subsequent councils was solemnly\nprofessed the faith as expressed by those which had preceded them; so at\nthe Council of the Vatican were repeated the articles of Catholic belief,\nas handed down through Trent and the more ancient councils. First of all,\nthe Holy Father, rising from his seat, read, in a distinct voice, the\ndefinitions of the Council of Trent, known as the Creed of Pope Pius IV.\nThe same profession of faith was then read from the _Ambo_ by the Bishop\nof Fabriano. As soon as he had done so, the other Fathers of the Council\nexpressed their adhesion by kissing the Gospel at the throne of the Chief\nPastor. Seven hundred bishops of the church, representing more than thirty\nnations and about(10) three hundred millions of Christians, thus solemnly\nprofessed, with one heart and mind, the same faith in the same form of\nwords. In this wonderful unanimity there is more than nature and\nphilosophy. Through all the changes of nearly nineteen hundred years, this\nintellectual unity of faith, although minutely defined at Nicea,\nConstantinople and Trent, has endured unchanged. We cannot but behold in\nthis immutability of Divine faith something far beyond the power of human\nwisdom. It is surely providential that, in the face of so much unbelief,\nsuch witness should have been borne to the unity and universality of the\nCatholic faith.\n\nAnd now closed the second public session of the Vatican Council.\n\nTHIRD SESSION.\n\nPreparatory to the opening of the third public session of the council, the\n_schema_ \u201con Catholic faith and on the errors springing from rationalism\u201d\nwas discussed by thirty-five bishops in the general congregations, between\nthe 18th of December and the 10th of January. It contained eighteen\nchapters, and was sent back to the Commission on Faith in order to be\ncompletely remodeled. It was a grand theological document, and was cast in\nthe traditional form of conciliar decrees, taking its shape, as they did,\nfrom the errors which it was intended to condemn. It was somewhat archaic,\nperhaps, in language, but worthy to rank with the decrees of the Councils\nof Toledo or of Lateran. Having been referred to the Commission on Faith,\nit was again distributed to the council in its new form on the 14th of\nMarch, wholly recast, and was received with general approbation. This new\ndocument is quite of a distinct character, and not to be compared with the\n_schema_ by which it was preceded. It contained, instead of eighteen\nchapters, only an introduction and four chapters, in which every sentence\nis full of condensed doctrine, the whole having impressed upon it a\nsingular beauty and splendor of Divine truth. The commission was engaged\nin recasting this _schema_ until the end of February. Its subject-matter\nwas what may well be considered the first foundations of natural and\nrevealed religion, viz.: the existence and perfections of God, the\ncreation of the world, the powers and office of human reason, revelation,\nfaith, the relation of reason to faith and of faith to science. As a\nconsequence of these truths came the condemnation of atheism, materialism,\npantheism, naturalism and rationalism.\n\nWhilst the non-Catholic world believed that the Pope and the Fathers of\nthe Council were bestowing all their care on one subject which happened to\nbe more prominently before the public, they were, on the contrary,\nlaboring with the greatest pains to elucidate every subject as it came up\nfor consideration. As has been seen, the most important _schema_ on\nCatholic faith had been already very carefully discussed. On the 18th of\nMarch a second discussion took place in the general congregation (or\ncommittee of the whole council) on a report being made by the Primate of\nHungary. Nine bishops then discoursed on the text of the _schema_, after\nwhich, no Father desiring to speak more upon it, the general discussion\nended. Each chapter in particular now came to be discussed. In the debate\non the first chapter sixteen Fathers took part; on the second, twenty; on\nthe third, twenty-two; on the fourth, twelve; in all, seventy-nine spoke.\nThis discussion occupied nine sittings, and only ended when no one desired\nto speak any further. The amendments of the bishops were sent with the\n_schema_ to the commission. As soon as they were printed and distributed\nthey were examined by the commission, when a full report was made in the\ngeneral congregation on the introduction, and the amendments were put to\nthe vote. The text of the introduction was then once more referred. Each\nof the four chapters was treated in the same manner. To the first there\nwere forty-seven amendments, which, being printed and distributed, the\ncommission reported, and the amendments were put to the vote. Still\nanother revision, and the first chapter was adopted, almost unanimously,\non the 1st of April.\n\nThe second chapter had sixty-two amendments. Referring to the commission,\nrevising, reporting and voting followed, as in the case of the first\nchapter, when the second was referred back for final amendment.\n\nThe third chapter had one hundred and twenty-two amendments. The same\nprocess was followed, in regard to these amendments, as in the case of the\nfirst and second chapters. The proceedings lasted two days.\n\nThe fourth chapter had fifty amendments, which were subjected to the same\nprocess as those of the three first, and sent back to the commission. On\nthe same day, 8th April, the second chapter as amended was passed, and on\nthe 12th of April, the third and fourth, the former unanimously, the\nlatter almost so. When the whole was put to the vote, no _non placet_ was\ngiven, whilst there were eighty-three _placets juxta modum_. The\namendments were all sent, as before, to the commission, and printed in a\nquarto volume of fifty-one pages. The report was made on the 10th of\nApril, and on the same day the amended text was unanimously accepted. All\nthe time between the 14th of March and the 19th of April was consumed in\npassing this first _schema_. Sixty-nine members of the council spoke.\nThree hundred and sixty-four amendments were made, examined and voted\nupon. Six reports were made by the commission upon the text, which, after\nits first recasting, had been six times amended. The decree was finally\nadopted unanimously by the assembled Fathers, all who were present, six\nhundred and sixty-seven, voting in the third public session, on Low Sunday\n(Dominica in Abbis), 24th April. This solemn vote of the council was\nconfirmed by the Pope, who, on the occasion, spoke as follows: \u201cThe\ndecrees and canons contained in the Constitution just read were accepted\nby all the Fathers, no one dissenting; and we, the Sacred Council\napproving, by our apostolical authority, so define and confirm them.\u201d\nContinuing, he addressed the Fathers of the Council: \u201cYou see, beloved\nbrethren, how good and pleasant it is to walk in the House of God in unity\nand peace. As our Lord gave to His apostles, so I, His unworthy Vicar, in\nHis name, give peace to you. That peace, as you know, casts out fear; that\npeace shuts the ear to unwise words. May that peace go with you in all the\ndays of your life; may that peace be with you in death; may that peace be\nyour everlasting joy in heaven.\u201d\n\nAfter much deliberation and painstaking, the third public session of the\ncouncil came to a close.\n\nAt less formal sittings was discussed the discipline relating to bishops.\nOn this subject thirty-seven Fathers discoursed in the council. Seven\nsittings were employed in discussing discipline as concerns the clergy,\nand thirty-seven Fathers spoke. Forty-one Fathers took part in discussing\nthe _schema_ on the Little Catechism. The discussion occupied six\nsittings. There was no hurrying of matters in the council. None of the\ndiscussions were closed until none of the Fathers desired further to be\nheard. All the _schemata_, it is almost needless to say, having been\ndiscussed, were referred to their respective commissions, in order to be\nrevised in accordance with the speeches and the written amendments of the\nbishops.\n\nPius IX., meanwhile, was most anxious to aid and promote the labors of the\ncouncil. Notwithstanding the great increase of ecclesiastical business\noccasioned by the presence in Rome of so many prelates, the affairs of\nwhose churches, as well as their own more personal matters, required no\nsmall degree of attention, he followed, with unabated interest, every\nstage of its proceedings, and caused a minute account to be given to him\nevery day of what was done in the various committees. These unwonted\ncares, and the unusual amount of labor and fatigue which they entailed,\nnever induced him to omit any of those devotional offices with which he\nwas accustomed to renew and strengthen his soul. He would not hear of any\nhurrying in the discussions on the first _schema_\u2014that on faith, but, on\nthe contrary, gave due praise to the pains and labor bestowed by the\nFathers on every chapter, word and sentence. It was their object to secure\nthat complete accuracy and perfection of expression which could not fail\nto prove eminently useful in all time to come. As has been already\nremarked, the Fathers of the \u201cCongregations\u201d and \u201cCommissions\u201d labored\nmost assiduously in preparing, for the acceptance of the council, the\n_schema_ on faith and doctrine. In the course of the six weeks that it was\nunder review, seventy-nine discourses were delivered, three hundred and\nsixty-four amendments proposed, examined and voted upon, while six reports\nwere made upon the text of the _schema_, which had been six times amended.\nThe introduction, the four chapters and the eighteen canons, having\nfinally passed the council, were approved by the Holy Father, adopted and\npromulgated as a Papal \u201cConstitution,\u201d which will be known in history as\nthe Constitution _Dei Filius_. It is a masterpiece of theological science,\nand may be compared to priceless gems artistically arranged by skilful\nhands in the richest settings.\n\nIt would be idle, indeed, to recount all the hard and absurd things that\nhave been said by the enemies of the council and the Catholic religion.\nOne of their accusations, if well founded, would be truly crushing. Some\nscientists, who claim to be very profound, deem it necessary to abjure the\nCatholic faith, because the Vatican Council has placed an impassable gulf\nbetween religion and science, faith and reason. The council anticipated\nand met this accusation which is so vigorously and persistently urged by\nthe false science of the day. Let us quote from its \u201cConstitution:\u201d\n\u201cAlthough faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy\nbetween faith and reason, since the same God who reveals mysteries and\ninfuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, and\ncannot deny Himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. The false\nappearance of such a contradiction is mainly due, either to the dogmas of\nfaith not having been understood and expounded according to the mind of\nthe church, or to the inventions of opinion having been taken for the\nverdicts of reason. And not only can faith and reason never be opposed to\none another, but they are of mutual aid the one to the other. For right\nreason demonstrates the foundations of faith, and, enlightened by its\nlight, cultivates the science of things divine; while faith frees and\nguards reason from errors, and furnishes it with manifold knowledge.\n\n\u201cSo far, therefore, is the church from opposing the cultivation of human\narts and sciences, that it, in many ways, helps and promotes it. For the\nChurch neither ignores nor despises the benefits to human life which\nresult from the arts and sciences, but confesses that, as they came from\nGod, the Lord of all science, so, if they be rightly used, they lead to\nGod by the help of His grace. Nor does the Church forbid that each of\nthese sciences, in its sphere, should make use of its own principle and\nits own method. But while recognizing this just liberty, it stands\nwatchfully on guard, lest the sciences, setting themselves against the\nDivine teaching, or transgressing their own limits, should invade and\ndisturb the domain of faith.\u201d\n\nFOURTH PUBLIC SESSION.\n\nThere was only one point in the discussions on the Church of Christ in\nwhich the outside world appeared to take an interest, and it is one which\nthe council did not at first contemplate taking into consideration. The\nFathers appear to have resolved to limit themselves, in treating of the\nChurch, and consequently of the Head of the Church on earth, to the\ndiscussion of the primacy of the Supreme Pastor and of his temporalities.\nThe commission of one hundred and two cardinals, and other learned\ntheologians, had even set aside the question of infallibility when it came\nbefore them, one of their number pronouncing a decision on it as\ninopportune. A great majority of the bishops, however, were strongly of\nopinion that in view of the outcry which had been raised on this point,\nthe opportunity of an \u0152cumenical Council being held should not be allowed\nto pass without defining the belief of the Church in regard to the\nunerring nature of the decisions, in matters of doctrine and morals, of\nthe successor of St. Peter. At their request, accordingly, it was ordered\nthat the important subject should be introduced in the eleventh chapter of\nthe _schema_ on the Church, and prepared in the usual way for the\nconsideration of the council. It could not be laid before the Fathers\nsooner than the 18th of July, when the fourth solemn session was held. It\nis proper to remark here that the doctrine in question was never\ndiscussed, either in the congregations or committees of the whole council,\nas to its Divine origin, or as to the fact of its having been revealed;\nnot one of the seven hundred members of the council expressed any doubt as\nto this. There was no discussion except as to the opportuneness of\ndefining to be of faith what all believed to be so. The _schema_ having\npassed through all the preparatory stages, finally assumed the form of a\n\u201cdogmatic constitution,\u201d which will be known in history as the\nConstitution, _Pastor \u00e6ternus_, from the words with which it commences.\nThis Constitution was brought before the council at a solemn session, the\nfourth and last which it held, the 18th July, 1870. The session was opened\nwith all the usual solemnities. The Pope himself presided in person. The\nMass of the Holy Ghost having been celebrated, the Sacred Scriptures were\nplaced upon the lectern on the high altar, and, as was customary, the\n_Veni Creator_ was sung. The Bishop of Fabriano then read the\nConstitution, or decree _de Romano Pontifice_, from the _Ambo_ (pulpit),\nand the Fathers of the Council were invited to vote. Each Father,\naccordingly, as his name was called, took off his mitre, rose from his\nseat and voted. Of the five hundred and thirty-five who were present, five\nhundred and thirty-three voted _placet_ (aye), whilst there were only two\nnays. The secretary of the council, together with the scrutineers,\nadvanced to the Pontifical throne and declared the result. The Holy Father\nthen confirmed the decision in the usual form. He prayed, at the same\ntime, that they who had considered such a decision inopportune, at a time\nof unusual agitation, might, in calmer days, unite with the great majority\nof their brethren, and contend with them for the truth. The insertion here\nof the allocution which he delivered on the occasion cannot but prove\nacceptable to all English readers:\n\n\n    \u201cGreat is the authority with which the Supreme Pontiff is\n    invested. This authority, however, does not destroy. It builds up.\n    It does not oppress. But, on the contrary, sustains. Very\n    frequently it behooves it to defend the rights of our brethren,\n    the bishops. If some have not been of the same mind with us, let\n    them consider that they have formed their judgment under the\n    influence of agitation. Let them bear in mind that the Lord is not\n    in the storm (2 Kings, xix., 11). Let them remember that, a few\n    years ago, they held the opposite opinion, and abounded in the\n    same belief with us, and in that of this most august assembly, for\n    then they judged in the untroubled air. Can two opposite\n    consciences stand together in the same judgment? By no means.\n    Therefore, we pray God that He who alone can work great things,\n    may Himself enlighten their minds and hearts, that all may come to\n    the bosom of their Father, the unworthy Vicar of Jesus Christ on\n    earth, who loves them and desires to be one with them, and, united\n    in the bond of charity, to fight with them the battle of the Lord.\n    Thus shall our enemies not dare to deride us, but rather be awed,\n    and at length lay down the arms of their warfare in the presence\n    of truth; so that all may say, with St. Augustine: \u2018Thou hast\n    called me unto Thy wonderful light, and behold I see.\u2019 \u201d\n\n\n_Te Deum_ was now chanted, the Pope intoning the sublime hymn, and with\nthe Pontifical benediction, ended the fourth solemn public session of the\nVatican Council. With this council also ended all discussion within the\nchurch on those questions in regard to which it pronounced\nauthoritatively. No doubt the enemies of the Catholic faith would have\nbeen better pleased if there had been absolute unanimity when the final\nvote was taken on the widely-discussed question of infallibility. Such a\ncoincidence would have afforded them a pretext, although, indeed, a\ngroundless one, for asserting that there was either collusion or\ncompulsion, whilst in reality there was complete liberty. The two Fathers\nwho voted, nay, constituting a minority of two, acted according to their\nright, and it was not questioned. These Fathers were Monsignor Louis\nRiccio, Bishop of Casazzio, in the kingdom of Naples, and the Right Rev,\nEdward Fitzgerald, Bishop of Petricola (Little Rock, Arkansas), in the\nUnited States of America. Immediately after the confirmation of the\n\u201cConstitution,\u201d these two prelates, advancing to the Papal chair, solemnly\ndeclared their adhesion to the act of the council. The four dissentient\ncardinals\u2014Rauscher, Schwarzenberg, Mathieu and Hohenlohe\u2014who had left the\ncouncil when the fourth session was held, also, in their turn, expressed\ntheir assent to the decision of the assembled Fathers. The opposing\nbishops did in like manner. All of them, not excepting Strossmayer, Bishop\nof Sirmium, who was the most eloquent orator of the minority in the\ncouncil, and who appeared to hesitate longer than the rest, ended by\npromulgating all the decrees of the council in their respective dioceses.\nThis is more than could be said of Nicea, Chalcedon and Constantinople.\nFor the first time, no bishop persisted in resisting the decisions of an\n\u0152cumenical Council. It was now acknowledged by the whole episcopate that\nthose measures were timely, wise and salutary, which the Church, ever\nguided by the Spirit of God, had deemed it proper to adopt, but which so\nmany, awed by the spirit of unbelief which was abroad, had judged were\ninopportune.\n\nIt may have been merely a coincidence. But there can be no doubt that\ngrandeur was added to a scene, in itself sufficiently imposing, when, as\non Sinai of old, lightning flashed and thunder pealed, as the Fathers of\nthe Council solemnly rose to give their final vote. \u201cThe _placets_ of the\nFathers,\u201d writes the correspondent of the London _Times_ (Aug. 5, 1870),\n\u201cstruggled through the storm while the thunder pealed above, and the\nlightning flashed in at every window, and down through the dome and every\nsmaller cupola. \u2018_Placet!_\u2019 shouted his Eminence or his Grace, and a loud\nclap of thunder followed in response, and then the lightning darted about\nthe Baldacchino and every part of the church and council-hall, as if\nannouncing the response. So it continued for nearly one hour and a half,\nduring which time the roll was being called, and a more effective scene I\nnever witnessed. Had all the decorators and all the getters-up of\nceremonies in Rome been employed, nothing approaching to the solemn\ngrandeur of the storm could have been prepared, and never will those who\nsaw it and felt it forget the promulgation of the first dogma of the\nchurch.\u201d Less friendly critics beheld, in this magnificent thunder-storm,\na distinct voice of Divine anger, condemning the important act of the\nassembled Fathers. Had they forgotten Sinai and the Ten Commandments? All\nof a sudden, as the last words were uttered, the tempest ceased; and, at\nthe moment when Pius IX. intoned the _Te Deum_, a sun-ray lighted up his\nnoble and expressive countenance. The voices of the Sixtine choristers,\nwho continued chanting the hymn, could not be heard. They were lost in the\nunited concert of the venerable Fathers and the vast assemblage.\n\nCOMPARATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE VATICAN COUNCIL.\n\nIn whatever light we view the Council of the Vatican\u2014the \u0153cumenical of the\nnineteenth century\u2014it strikes us as being, in ecclesiastical annals, the\nevent of the age. It also marks, in a remarkable manner, the character and\nprogress of the time. The Council of Trent was highly important in its\nday; and still, after a lapse of three hundred years, its teachings govern\nthe Church. Whilst, as regards the wisdom of its decisions, it cannot be\nexcelled, it was surpassed in many things by the Council of the Vatican.\n\nTrent was attended by comparatively few bishops, who were from Europe, the\nEastern Church and the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. The\nVatican Council consisted of prelates from at least thirty different\nnations, from the remotest regions of the habitable globe, from the\nnumerous churches in India which owed their origin to the apostolic zeal\nof St. Francis Xavier, from North and South America, China, Australia, New\nZealand and Oceanica. One-fifth of the churches existed not as yet in the\ntime of Trent which sent their bishops to represent them at the Vatican\nCouncil. The countries in which many of these churches flourish had no\nplace, when the Council of Trent was called, on the map of the world. From\nthose vast regions which now constitute the United States of America,\nthere was not so much as one bishop at Trent. At the Vatican Council there\nwere no fewer than sixty. There were never more than three bishops of\nIreland present together at Trent, and four only were members of that\ncouncil. Twenty Irish prelates attended the Vatican Council. England sent\nonly one bishop to Trent. He is mentioned as Godveus Anglus, Episc.\nAsaphensis. The Catholics of England were represented by thirteen English\nbishops at the Council of the Vatican. Scotland had no representation at\nTrent. The Catholics of that country were most worthily represented at the\nVatican by Bishop Strain, now Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh;\nArchbishop Eyre, of Glasgow, and Bishop McDonald, of Aberdeen. There was\nonly a very small number of English-speaking bishops at Trent. At the\nVatican Council they were particularly numerous, constituting, as nearly\nas can be calculated, one-fifth of the assembled Catholic hierarchy. At\nTrent there were not many bishops from countries speaking different\nlanguages. Twenty-seven languages, and various dialects besides, were\nrepresented by prelates at the Vatican.\n\nThe greater facilities for travelling, which this favored age enjoys, no\ndoubt rendered it more easy to attend the Council of the Vatican than it\nwas to journey to Trent, even from the nearest lands. Nevertheless, there\nwas laborious journeying to the Vatican. Prelates from the vast regions of\nAsia and Africa, America and Australia, knew what they would have to\nencounter, but they were not deterred. Some, on their way to the Vatican,\ntravelled for whole weeks mounted on camels before they could reach the\nports at which it behooved them to embark. Bishop Launy, of Santa Fe, was\nforty-two days on his land-journey, and travelled on horseback. Such of\nthe laity as visited Trent were comparatively few, and only from places\nnot very distant. One hundred thousand pilgrims, many of them from the\nmost remote regions, repaired to the Vatican. The number of Fathers at any\none time in council at Trent was somewhat under three hundred. Seven\nhundred and eighty-three took part in the Council of the Vatican. The\nCouncil of Trent, however, must not be underrated. It was a most important\ncouncil, and admirably calculated to meet the wants of the time. It marked\nan era in the history of the Church. It provided remedies for numerous\nevils, and safety in the midst of danger. It became a power which time has\nnot diminished. For three hundred years it has guided the destinies of\nPeter\u2019s barque, prelates and people wisely accepting its discipline, and\nmeekly obeying its rule. It added, no doubt, to the importance of the\nVatican Council that it was held at Rome, in the very centre of\nCatholicity and of Catholic unity, and near the tombs of the martyred\napostles, the founders of the Church. In this it contrasts with Trent,\nwhich, although the Fathers assembled at an obscure village in the Tyrol,\nwas not less, on this account, an \u0152cumenical Council. Papal legates\npresided at Trent, whilst the Holy Father himself was present at all the\nsolemn sessions of the Vatican Council which have as yet been held.\n\nINFALLIBILITY.\n\nThere was no intention at first, as has been shown, of laying the question\nof infallibility before the council. It happened, however, that a great\nclamor, in regard to this question, came to prevail both within and\nwithout the Church. The enemies of the doctrine railed so strongly against\nit, and they who did not deny it declaimed so loudly against the\nopportuneness of pronouncing any decision concerning it, that it was\npositively forced upon the attention of the assembled Fathers. When,\ntherefore, they came to discuss the primacy and the temporalities of the\nSovereign Pontiff in connection with the Church of Christ, they hesitated\nnot to consider, at the same time, his immunity from error when speaking,\nas Head of the Church and successor of Saint Peter, _ex cathedra_ on\nmatters of faith and morals. The learning of theologians and the ability\nof orators were brought into requisition, and the fact came prominently\nout that it had been according to the mind of the Church at all times,\nthat the Pope, the successor of St. Peter, is divinely assisted when\npronouncing solemnly _ex cathedra_ on questions of faith and morals. When\nso pronouncing, the decisions of the Supreme Pastor have always been\naccepted by the Church, whether dispersed or assembled in council. It is a\nreceived belief among Christians that to every legitimate office is\nattached a grace of vocation. Is it not, therefore, in accordance with\nreason and Christian faith, that such grace should belong, and specially\nto the highest and most important of all offices? Such grace or assistance\nwas promised to St. Peter, and through him to his successors, who are\nappointed to bear witness throughout all time to the truths of Divine\nrevelation. For our blessed Lord declared, \u201cI am with you all days.\u201d He\ncould not better have secured the permanence of his religion\u2014the kingdom\nof God on earth, for the salvation of men in every age of the world. When\nthe Supreme Pastor speaks in the exercise of his sublime office, the\nChurch also speaks. The teaching and testimony of the Head of the Church\nand of the great body of the Church are identical. They must always be in\nharmony, as was so admirably shown by the decision of the council on\ninfallibility and the confirmation thereof by the Holy Father\u2014_confirma\nfratres tuous_\u2014\u201cconfirm thy brethren.\u201d Let not the opponents of the Church\nand her salutary doctrines be carried away by the idea that a subservient\ncouncil wished only to glorify their spiritual Chief by ascribing to him\nimaginary personal gifts. They were incapable of any such thing. They were\nan assembly of the most venerable men in Christendom, who felt all the\nweight of their responsibility to God and men in the exercise of their\nsacred functions. Their decision has not altered the position of the\nSupreme Pastor. Any writings or discourses which he may produce in his\nmerely personal or more private capacity are received by the Christian\nworld with that degree of consideration to which they are entitled on\naccount of the estimation in which he is held by men as a theologian and a\nman of learning and ability. It is only when pronouncing solemnly _ex __\ncathedra_, as the successor of St. Peter and the Head of the Church, on\nquestions of faith and morals, that he is universally believed to be\ndivinely assisted so as to be above the danger of erring, or of leading\ninto error\u2014in other words (and we cannot help who may be offended), that\nhe is infallible.\n\nFRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR\u2014WITHDRAWAL OF THE FRENCH GARRISON FROM\nROME\u2014ADJOURNMENT OF THE COUNCIL.\n\nEvents were now at hand which made it impossible for the council to hold\nanother session. The French Emperor had greatly fallen, in the estimation\nof the people of France, from the time of his shameful abandonment of the\nchivalrous Maximilian and the popular design of establishing a Latin\nempire on the continent of America. In order to make amends and regain his\n_prestige_, he had revived the idea, so dear to the French, of rectifying\nthe Rhine frontier of France by resuming possession of Luxembourg and some\nother adjacent provinces. He formally intimated his design to Prussia.\nThat Power, however, aware of its rights and conscious of its military\nsuperiority, declined all negotiation on the subject. From that moment\nPrussia held herself in readiness to repel, with the sword, if necessary,\nany insolence that, in the future, might proceed from her aggressive\nneighbor, for whose tottering throne war was a necessity. The candidature\nof Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern for the throne of Spain now afforded a\npretext, which Napoleon III. was only too anxious to find, for provoking\nby a fresh insult his powerful rival. It may be that he dreaded the\naccession of strength which might eventually accrue to Prussia if the\ncrown of Spain were placed on the head of a Prince of the house of\nHohenzollern. Napoleon remonstrated, and threatened war. The youthful\nGerman prince generously renounced a candidature which it was not hard to\nsee would lead to a rupture between the two Powers, and cause a\ndestructive war. The King of Prussia, head of the Hohenzollerns,\nsanctioned, if he did not command, this act of moderation on the part of\nthe prince, his relative. But moderation was of no avail. Napoleon,\nsurrounded by a Jacobinical ministry, insisted upon war. The very idea of\nproposing a German for the throne of Spain appeared to him to be a\nsufficient cause for issuing a declaration of hostilities. The gauntlet\nthus thrown down, the Prussian monarch was too chivalrous to decline the\nchallenge. He relied on his great military strength, and could afford to\ndespise the comparatively inferior preparations of the French Empire. With\nthe vast resources of France at his command, the Emperor, one would\nsuppose, might have managed, in the course of three years, to increase and\ndiscipline his army, garrison his fortresses and seek alliances. He might\nhave taken more time if necessary. He had no need to precipitate events,\nas he so recklessly did, by declaring war when there was positively no\npreparation made for it. We shall presently see whether he were not one of\nthose whom Providence deprives of reason when it has resolved on their\ndestruction. In the absence of more effective preparations, the small\ngarrison at Rome of five thousand men was withdrawn in order to augment\nthe army which all France believed was destined to crush the formidable\nTeuton and capture Berlin. If, however, this had been Napoleon\u2019s only\nobject in recalling the troops, he could have accomplished it as easily by\nordering four thousand five hundred of the Roman garrison to join the\ninvading army, leaving the remaining five hundred to guard the city of the\nPopes. This smaller number would surely have been as able as five thousand\nto repel a Piedmontese force of sixty thousand men. But there was question\nof more than mere physical power. So long as it was evident that France\nprotected the Papal city, whether by a greater or smaller number of\nsoldiers, the legions of Piedmont never would have marched against it.\nNapoleon\u2019s minister, M. de Gramont, revealed the pretext: \u201cIt is certainly\nnot from strategetical necessity that we evacuate the Roman States, but\nthe political urgency is obvious. We must conciliate the good-will of the\nItalian Cabinet.\u201d Much, indeed, it availed them.\n\nViterbo was evacuated on the 4th of August. The last remnant of French\ntroops embarked at Civita Vecchia, partly on the 4th and partly on the\n6th, the very days on which the French army experienced its first reverses\nat Weissemberg, W\u0153rth and Spikeren. Instead of hesitating to perform a\nmost cowardly act, which, viewing it only politically, proclaimed his\nweakness to all Europe, the Emperor Napoleon made all haste to complete\nit. He expressed regret. Who will say that he was sincere? Had he not\nperfected the master-work of his reign\u2014his grand transalpine scheme? The\nPiedmontese minister, Visconti Venosta, gives a very distinct reply.\nWriting to the Piedmontese representatives at foreign courts, this\nminister says that as several governments had desired to know their views\nin regard to the relation of passing events with the Roman question, his\ngovernment had no hesitation in making the clearest explanations. The\nconvention of 15th September, 1864, had not sufficed to avert the causes\narising abroad which hindered the settlement of the Roman difficulty. He\nthen accuses the Roman Court of having assumed a hostile attitude in the\ncentre of the peninsula, and that the consequences of such a position\nmight be serious for Piedmont on occasion of the Franco-Prussian war and\nthe complications to which it might give rise. Visconti Venosta further\nstates that the basis of a new and definite solution of the Roman question\nhad been confidentially recognized in principle, and was subject only to\nthe condition of opportunity.\n\nIt is no pleasure, surely, to convict the late Emperor of a deep-laid\nconspiracy to revolutionize the Roman State, and rob the Holy Father of\nhis time-honored patrimony. But there is no escaping the conclusion that\nhe had never ceased to plot with the revolutionists. He was not yet\nvanquished and fallen himself when he left the Sovereign Pontiff to his\nenemies.\n\nOne of the chief calumnies of the time was directed by the revolutionists\nagainst Pius IX. They accused the venerable Pontiff of encouraging the\nPrussian monarch to wage war against France. The falsehood of this\naccusation can only be equalled by its absurdity. The Holy Father, on the\ncontrary, earnestly endeavored, although in vain, before the commencement\nof hostilities, to avert the dire calamity of war. So early as 22nd July,\n1870, he interposed between the two rival sovereigns. \u201cSire,\u201d he wrote to\nthe King of Prussia, \u201cin the most serious circumstances in which we are\nplaced, it will appear to you unusual to receive a letter from me. But as\nI hold the office of Vicar of the God of peace in this world, I cannot do\nless than offer you my mediation. It is my desire that all preparations\nfor war should disappear, and that the evils which inevitably follow\nshould be prevented. My mediation is that of a sovereign who, in his\ncapacity of king, cannot, on account of the smallness of his territory,\nexcite any jealousy, but who, nevertheless, will inspire confidence by the\nmoral and religious influence which he personifies. May God hear my\nprayers! and may He also accept those which I offer for your Majesty, with\nwhom I desire to be united in the common bond of charity.\n\nPius PP. IX.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have written also to the Emperor of the French.\u201d\n\nThe King of Prussia replied from Berlin on the 30th July. The kindly\nmonarch expressed himself beautifully and with the finest feeling: \u201cMost\nblessed Pontiff\u2014I was not surprised but deeply moved when I read the\nfeeling words which you wrote, in order to cause the voice of the God of\npeace to be heard. How could I be deaf to such a powerful appeal? God is\nmy witness that neither I nor my people have desired this war. In\nfulfilment of the sacred duties which God lays on sovereigns and on\nnations, we have drawn the sword in order to defend the independence and\nhonor of our country, and we are prepared to lay it down as soon as these\nblessings shall no longer be in danger of being torn from us. If your\nHoliness could offer me, on the part of him who has so unexpectedly\ndeclared war, the assurance of sincerely pacific dispositions and of\nguarantees against a renewal of such violation of the peace and\ntranquillity of Europe, I certainly would be far from refusing to accept\nthem at the venerable hands of your Holiness, united as I am with you by\nthe bonds of Christian charity and true friendship. WILLIAM.\u201d\n\nThe letter of Pius IX. to the French Emperor has not been published, and\nit is not known whether Napoleon deigned to reply. One thing is certain.\nHe did not either accept the mediation or heed the remonstrances of the\nHoly Father. He was equally deaf to the warnings of his old allies of\nCrimean fame. The British government despatched to Paris a member of the\ncabinet, who, in a prolonged interview with the demented Emperor, argued\nearnestly on the part of Queen Victoria and her ministry against his\npurposed violation of the peace of Europe by undertaking an unprovoked,\nunjust and irrational war.\n\nThe war broke out. It was waged disastrously to the French. Pius IX. was\ndeeply grieved. \u201cPoor France!\u201d he exclaimed, as he heard of each new\ndefeat of the nation that he loved so well. He interposed once more. But\nwith the like ill success. Neither could the Germans be checked in their\nvictorious career, nor could the vanquished French be induced to\nacknowledge their defeat and seek such terms of peace as might possibly\nhave been obtained. On 12th November, 1870, the Holy Father wrote to Mgr.\nGuibert, Archbishop of Tours, in whose palace was resident a delegation of\nthe French government.\n\n\u201cNeglect nothing,\u201d wrote the Pontiff, \u201cwe conjure you, in order to prevail\non your illustrious guests to put an end to this war. Nevertheless, we are\nnot unaware that it does not depend on them alone, and that we should\nvainly pursue the great object of peace, if our pacific ministry did not\nalso meet with support on the part of the conqueror. So we have not\nhesitated to write to this effect to his Majesty the King of Prussia. We\ncannot, indeed, affirm anything as to the favorable result of the step\nwhich we have taken. We have, nevertheless, some ground for hope, as this\nmonarch has in other circumstances shown us much good-will.\u201d\n\nUnfortunately, the bold men who had assumed supreme authority in France,\nand had undertaken the difficult task of saving the country, were\nincapable of accepting good advice, especially when it came from a Pope.\nThe King of Prussia and his minister, on the other hand, were of the\nnumber of those whom victory intoxicates, and whom the power to dare\neverything deprives of all sense of moderation. Pius IX. did not know them\nas yet. The representations of Mgr. Guibert to Messrs. Cremieux, Glais\nBisoin and Gambetta, were not more successful than those of Mgr.\nLedochowski, Archbishop of Posen, who hastened to the presence of King\nWilliam at Versailles. The earnest endeavors of the archbishop met with\nless consideration, to all appearance, at least, although it does not\nappear that, on this occasion, William made any reply to Pius IX.\n\nNotwithstanding these untoward circumstances, the Holy Pontiff never lost\nconfidence in the nation of Charlemagne and St. Louis. France, he said,\nalthough sadly exhausted and bathed in blood, would yet show excellent\nfruits.\n\nThe Piedmontese government, which had been for some time established at\nFlorence, now resolved to avail itself of the disasters of France to seize\nthe city of the Popes, and to constitute it the capital of regenerated\nItaly. The minister, Visconti Venosta, in a circular letter, renewed his\ncalumnies, pretending that a hostile power existed in the centre of Italy,\nand hypocritically declared that it had become necessary that the\ngovernment of his master should assume the protection of the Holy See.\nThey would not wait, he said, moreover, till the agitation at home should\nlead to the effusion of blood between the Romans and foreign forces, but\nwould proceed, as soon as they could learn that the opportune time had\ncome, to occupy what remained to the Holy Father of the Roman States. The\ninformation which the minister sought came with remarkable rapidity. The\nday after the circular alluded to was written, another minister, Signor\nLanza, declared that the solemn moment had arrived when the government of\nhis king was called upon, in the interest of the Holy See and of Italy, to\ntake measures for the national safety. An envoy was despatched to Rome,\nwith a letter to the Pope, assuring him that the king\u2019s government was\nfirmly resolved to give the necessary guarantees for the spiritual\nindependence of the Holy See, and that these guarantees would be hereafter\nthe subject of negotiations with the Powers that were interested in the\nPapacy. In addition to this mockery of diplomacy, Victor Emmanuel himself\nwrote to the Pope, expressing his filial devotedness, while at the same\ntime he was preparing, from an excess of affection, to bombard his city\nand slay his defenders, to rob him from an excessive zeal for justice, to\nimprison him in order to set him free, and, finally, that he ought to\nallow all this to be done without complaint, and even thank the good king\nwho took so much care of him.\n\nThe Florentine Envoy, Signor Ponza di San Martino, when he came to Rome,\nmade his first visit to Cardinal Antonelli, who received him politely, and\ndid not refuse to ask for him an interview with the Pope. The cardinal,\nhowever, declined to have any conversation with him on the object of his\nmission. \u201cI know already,\u201d said he, \u201call that you could tell me. You are\nalso aware of the reply that I would give. Force, not argument, speaks at\npresent.\u201d Pius IX. was more afflicted than surprised when he read King\nVictor Emmanuel\u2019s letter. He was particularly pained by the tone of this\ndocument. \u201cHow the revolution has abased a Prince of the House of Savoy!\nIt is not satisfied with dethroning kings as often as it can, and with\ncommitting their heads to the guillotine. It must also dishonor them.\u201d The\nenvoy insisted that the king was sincere; that he was more convinced than\nany other, that the independence of the Chief of the Church was a\nnecessity; and that he offered real and substantial guarantees to this\nindependence. \u201cAnd who will guarantee these guarantees\u201d asked the Pope.\n\u201cYour king cannot promise anything. He is no longer a king. He depends on\nhis parliament, which, in its turn, depends on the secret societies.\u201d The\nambassador, more disconcerted than ever, remarked on the difficulties of\nthe time. He claimed, although timidly, that the king ought to be judged\naccording to his intentions, as at the time he was constrained by the\naspirations of four-and-twenty millions of Italians. \u201cYour statement is\nuntrue, sir,\u201d replied Pius IX. \u201cYou calumniate Italy! Of these\nfour-and-twenty millions, twenty-three millions are devoted to me, love\nand respect me, and only require that the revolution leave them and me in\npeace. The remaining million you have poisoned with false doctrines and\ninspired with base passions. These unfortunate people are the friends of\nyour king and the instigators of his ambitious designs. When they have no\nlonger need of him they will cast him aside. My answer will be\ncommunicated to you to-morrow. I am too much moved with grief and\nindignation to be able to write at present.\u201d Next day, accordingly, 11th\nSeptember, the following reply to Victor Emmanuel was conveyed to Signor\nPonza:\n\n\u201cSIRE,\u2014Count Ponza di San Martino has handed me a letter which it has\npleased your Majesty to address to me. This letter is not worthy of an\naffectionate son who glories in professing the Catholic faith, and who\nprides himself on being royally loyal. I dwell not on the details\ncontained in the letter, in order to avoid renewing the pain which a first\nreading of it gave me. I bless God, who has permitted that your Majesty\nshould overwhelm with bitterness the last years of my life. I cannot admit\nthe demands made in your letter, nor adopt the principles which it\ncontains. I call upon God anew, and commend to Him my cause, which is also\nwholly His own. I beseech Him to bestow abundant graces on your Majesty,\nto deliver you from all danger, and to grant you all the mercy which you\nrequire.\u201d This answer was not waited for. Victor Emmanuel made haste to\nbecome the declared enemy of Pius IX. On 11th September, the Pontifical\nterritory was invaded by his orders at three different\npoints\u2014Aquapendente, in the north: Orte and Correse, to the east; and on\nthe south, Ceprano. The invading army amounted to sixty thousand men.\nAfter the withdrawal of the French garrison, there remained only at Rome\nthe few soldiers who constituted the army of the Pope. A great portion of\nthese were, to the lasting honor of a remote British dependency,\nCanadians. They all deserved well of the Holy Father, and had imperilled\ntheir lives in his service. On occasion of the great difficulty which had\narisen, accordingly, he was pleased to address to them in person special\nwords of comfort and encouragement.\n\nIt was evident that, in the adverse circumstances of the time, the Council\nof the Vatican could not long continue its deliberations. Accordingly, the\nHoly Father authorized such of the bishops as desired to retire to return\nto their dioceses until the feast of St. Martin, 11th November following,\nat which date it was intended to resume the labors of the council. It was\nnot, however, strictly speaking, suspended. Some general congregations\n(committees) were still held, and the various deputations continued their\nstudies. During this time, the bishops of the minority, one after another,\nexpressed their adhesion. The bishops, on returning to their dioceses,\nwere received with magnificent proofs of the people\u2019s fidelity. Some\nparties pretending that the Constitution, _Pastor \u00e6ternus_, was not\nobligatory, because the council was not terminated, Cardinal Antonelli\naddressed to the Papal Nuncio at Brussels a letter under date of 11th\nAugust, which removed all doubt on the subject. The rapid march of events,\nhowever, rendered it necessary to interrupt the labors of the assembled\nFathers. On 20th October, accordingly, Pius IX. published the Bull,\n_Postquam Dei Munere_, which suspended them for an indefinite period.\n\nTHE WOLF IN THE FOLD.\n\nWhen all the Pontifical forces had returned from the outposts, on the\napproach of the formidable Piedmontese invader, and were concentrated at\nRome, they numbered not more than some ten thousand men. Such an army was\nquite inadequate to cope with the superior power of the Florence\ngovernment. Pius IX., therefore, in order to prevent an unavailing\nconflict, placed an order in the hands of his general-in-chief, to the\neffect that as soon as sufficient resistance was made, in order to show\nthat violence was used against the Holy See, he should surrender the city.\nThis was a trial to the devoted Papal Zouaves, who, during the few moments\nthat fighting was allowed, conducted themselves in the most gallant style,\nand kept the enemy at bay. Their bravery deserved a better fate than that\nwhich befell them and the Roman State. Two lieutenants, Niel and Brondeis,\nfell, pierced with wounds, exclaiming with their last breath, \u201cLong live\nPius IX.!\u201d A brave Alsacian fell by their side. A Canadian Zouave,\nHormisdas Sauvet, was also wounded, and declared that he was more\nfortunate than so many of his fellow-countrymen who had been two years in\nthe Pontifical service without the slightest accident. Another Zouave,\nwhose name was Burel, when wounded in the mouth, and his tongue was\ndestroyed, made a sign that he wished to write. Paper was brought to him,\nand he thus wrote his will: \u201cI leave to the Holy Father all that I\npossess.\u201d He died the following day. The paper, all covered with blood,\nwas taken to Pius IX., who, in his turn, bedewed it with tears, and\ndesired to keep it as a memorial.\n\nThe Italian general Cadorna, an apostate priest, commenced bombarding Rome\nat five points. At one of these, between the gates Pia and Salara, they\nspeedily effected a breach in an old wall about two feet in thickness, and\nbuilt of bricks and tufa. It may be conceived with what feelings the brave\nPapal soldiers beheld the storming column enter the city, whilst they, in\nobedience to orders, remained inactive spectators. They bore in silence\nand without moving an arm the insults and even the violence of the fierce\nsoldiery of Piedmont. Finally, after a white flag had been displayed for\nsome time on the Pontifical side, almost in vain, General Kanzler had an\ninterview with Cadorna, at the Villa Albani. It can hardly be said that a\nconvention was resolved on. It would be more true to write that the terms\nof the conqueror were imposed on the vanquished, and, as a matter of\nnecessity, accepted. The soldiers were better treated than in such\ncircumstances could well be expected. They were allowed to march out of\nRome with the honors of war, bearing with them their colors, arms and\nbaggage. When once out of the city, however, they were all obliged to lay\ndown their arms and their colors, with the exception of the officers, who\nwere permitted to retain their swords, their horses and everything that\nbelonged to them. Such soldiers as were foreigners were to be sent to\ntheir respective homes by the Italian government. The future position of\nthe Pope\u2019s native troops was to be taken into consideration. By the\narticles of capitulation, it was settled that the Pope should be allowed\nonly the Vatican Palace and that part of Rome which is called the Leonine\ncity. Thus were carried into effect the views of those revolutionists of\nParis and Turin who claimed to be moderate. Their programme was that which\nPrince Napoleon had concocted in 1861.\n\nIt is deeply to be regretted that when so little resistance was required,\nso many of the Pope\u2019s brave defenders should have fallen. Some were basely\nmurdered in the streets on the nights of the 20th and 21st September.\nWithout counting these, however, there were sixteen killed, of whom one\nwas an officer, and fifty-eight wounded. Among these last there were two\nofficers, two surgeons and a chaplain. The troops having been so hastily\ndismissed to their foreign homes, to Civita Vecchia, etc., it is possible\nthat the list may be incomplete. The losses of the Piedmontese were never\nmade known. It is certain, at any rate, that one hundred wounded were\nreceived at the hospital \u201cde la Consolation\u201d alone.\n\nWhilst Pius IX. neglected not to warn, remonstrate and use every fair and\nloyal art of diplomacy, he failed not, at the same time, to have recourse\nto the spiritual weapon of prayer. As the enemy approached his gates, he\nrepaired to the Lateran Basilica, and there most earnestly addressed his\nsupplications to the God of armies. Notwithstanding his great age, he\nascended, on his knees, all the time absorbed in prayer, the twenty-nine\nsteps of the _Scala Santa_, which, at the Palace of Pontius Pilate, was\nconsecrated by the footsteps of our suffering Saviour. On reaching the\nchapel at the head of the holy stair, he poured forth a prayer by which\nall who heard it were deeply moved. He beseeched our blessed Lord, whose\nhumble servant and representative he was, to turn aside the wrath of\nheaven, to prevent the profanation of the holy places, to save his people.\nHe conjured our most loving Saviour, by virtue of His passion, by the pain\nespecially which He suffered when spontaneously ascending that same stair\nin order to undergo the mockery of judgment by His erring creatures, to\nhave mercy on afflicted Rome, on His people, on His Church\u2014His\nwell-beloved and stainless spouse, to save her temples from desecration\nand her children from the sword. \u201cPardon,\u201d he concluded, \u201cpardon my\npeople, who are also Thy people. If Thou desirest a victim, O God! take\nThy unworthy servant! Have I not lived long enough? Mercy! O God! have\nmercy, I beseech Thee! But whatever may happen, Thy holy will be done!\u201d\n\nAs was always the case when Pius IX. appeared among his people, he was\nreceived on this occasion with every demonstration of welcome. As soon as\nthe inhabitants of the locality became aware of his presence, they\nthronged around his carriage in order to do him honor, and, urged by the\ncircumstances of the time, with that freedom and familiarity of manner\npeculiar to the Romans, they added to their acclamations and cordial\n_vivats_ words of encouragement and even advice. \u201cDefend yourself. Holy\nFather! defend us! courage! courage!\u201d A parting benediction, and he left\nhis people of Rome to be with them no more.\n\nAll the representatives of foreign States, with the exception of Von\nArnim, the Prussian Ambassador, remained with the Holy Father, protesting\nby their presence against the flagrant violation of a solemn treaty which\nthe Florence government was committing. It is not known that Von Arnim was\ninstructed by his government to act as he did. But none are ignorant that\nsince that time it has dealt severely with him. The diplomatist who\nrejoiced over the fall of Rome has himself incurred disgrace, and\nundergoes the punishment of a banished man.\n\nPius IX., complimenting the ambassadors, called to mind how they had\nafforded him much comfort on a similar occasion. This was in 1848, and at\nthe Quirinal Palace. He informed them also that he had written to King\nVictor Emmanuel, but did not know whether he had received his letter. At\nany rate, he had little hope that it would have any result. His mention of\nthe notorious Bixio, who was with the Italian army, was not without\nsignificance. This rabid red republican had threatened that if ever he\nentered Rome he would throw the Pope and cardinals into the Tiber. \u201cHis\nideas,\u201d the Holy Father observed, \u201cwere now probably modified. He was with\na king. May it please Heaven to effect a complete transformation and\nconvert this Bixio and so many others.\u201d\n\nThe students of the American College at Rome, the ambassadors were then\ntold, had offered to take up arms in the service of Pius IX. The Holy\nFather would not allow them to serve otherwise than by attending to the\nwounded.\n\n\u201cI wish I could say that I count on you,\u201d said the Pope, addressing the\nambassadors, \u201cand that one of you will have the honor, as formerly, to\nextricate the Church and her Chief from difficulty. But the times are\nchanged. The aged Pope, in his misfortunes, cannot rely on any one in this\nworld. But the Church is immortal. Let this never be forgotten.\u201d\n\nGeneral Kanzler now brought the intelligence that a breach was made, and\nthe assault on the point of commencing. The Pope having conferred a few\nmoments apart with Cardinal Antonelli, resumed his discourse: \u201cI have just\ngiven the order to capitulate. We might still defend ourselves. But to\nwhat purpose? Abandoned by every one, I must yield sooner or later; and I\nmust not allow any useless shedding of blood. You are my witnesses,\ngentlemen, that the foreigner enters here only by violence, and that if my\ndoor is forced, it is by breaking it open. This the world shall know, and\nhistory will tell it, one day, to the honor of the Romans, my children. I\nspeak not of myself, gentlemen; I weep not for myself, but for those\nunfortunate young men who have come to defend me as their Father. You will\ntake care, each of you, of those of your country. There are some from all\ncountries. I recommend them all to you, in order that you may preserve\nthem from such maltreatment as others had to suffer ten years ago. I\nabsolve my soldiers from their oath of fidelity. I pray God to give me\nstrength and courage. Ah! it is not they who suffer injustice that are\nmost to be pitied.\u201d Having thus spoken, he took leave of the ambassadors,\nwith tears in his eyes. On the same day, Cardinal Antonelli, by his order,\nintimated the sad tidings to the governments of all civilized nations.\nPius IX. also protested by an allocution to the cardinals. It only remains\nto chronicle the shameful violation of the treaty, which bound the French\nnation to protect the Holy Father, by the government temporarily\nestablished in France. \u201cThe September agreement,\u201d wrote a representative\nof the French republic, under the date of 22nd September, 1870, \u201cvirtually\nceases to exist by the proclamation of the French republic. I congratulate\nthe King of Italy, in the name of the French government and in my own\nname, on the deliverance of Home and the final consecration of Italian\nunity.\u201d Thus was disgrace added to the misfortunes of a great country.\n\nIt was some time before order could be restored at Rome. From four\nthousand to five thousand vagrants and bandits, chiefly Garibaldians,\nentered the city at the heels of the invading force. The prisons were\nthrown open, and swelled the ranks of these disorderly bands. During two\nwhole days that these lawless hordes were allowed to commit all kinds of\nexcesses, houses were fired, valuable property destroyed or carried off,\nsome eighty unoffending citizens put to death, and such of the Roman\nsoldiers as were recognized cut down or thrown into the Tiber. Nor was the\nItalian general in any hurry to repress such proceedings. \u201c_Lasciate il\npopolo sfogarsir_,\u201d coolly said Cadorna to the parties who entreated him\nto put an end to such horrors. This general and the men with whom he acted\nwere only robbers on a greater scale. Their commissioners lost not a\nmoment. When tranquillity was somewhat restored, and complaints were made\nagainst housebreakers, it was found that everything was already\nconfiscated\u2014libraries, archives, colleges, museums, etc.\n\nVictor Emmanuel had need of the mob which followed his troops. Anxious to\ngive a coloring of right to his brigandage, he resolved, according to the\nfashion of his Imperial patron and accomplice, to hold a _plebiscitum_. In\nthe city of Rome, with the help of his numerous assemblage of vagrants, he\nhad forty thousand votes, whilst against him there were only forty-six.\nSomething similar was done in the landward part of the Roman State.\nBetter, surely, no right beyond what the sword could give, than such a\ntransparent semblance of right. No wonder that Victor Emmanuel\u2019s best\nfriends condemned such an impolitic and ridiculous proceeding. None could\nbe so simple as to believe that there were only forty-six voters against\nhim, when all the numerous officials, both civil and military, protested\nagainst his aggression by resigning their offices. It is bad enough when\nmen in authority play fantastic tricks. When the play is badly played, the\ntrickery becomes ridiculous.\n\nIt now remained to adhibit the seal of permanency to the _fait accompli_.\nThis was done by the following decree:\n\n\n    Art. 1st. Rome and the Roman Provinces constitute an integral\n    portion of the kingdom of Italy.\n\n    Art. 2nd. The Sovereign Pontiff retains the dignity,\n    inviolability, and all the prerogatives of a sovereign.\n\n    Art. 3rd. A special law will sanction the conditions calculated to\n    guarantee, even by territorial franchises, the independence of the\n    Sovereign Pontiff and the free exercise of the spiritual authority\n    of the Holy See.\n\n\nThus was sacrificed to Italian unity the city of the Popes. Was the\nsacrifice essential? Florence might have well sufficed. It was of little\navail that the brigands who followed the Piedmontese army were compelled,\nby superior power, to moderate their violence. Their robberies were, for\nthe most part, of a private nature, and committed on a small scale. Those\nof their superiors\u2014the Piedmontese usurpers\u2014were grander and more\nextensive. They astonished, if they did not terrify, by their magnitude\nand the daring which achieved them. There were palaces at Rome and\nsoldiers\u2019 quarters which had satisfied all the requirements of Papal\ngrandeur. These were nothing to the republican simplicity of the new order\nof things. No doubt the parliament which had just arrived from Florence\nrequired ample space. The costly equipages and hunting studs of a\nconstitutional king were also to be provided for. Could not all this have\nbeen done, especially in such a vast city, without expropriating convents,\ndesecrating churches, and even seizing for their purposes the refuges of\nthe sick? It was more than an idea that required such spoliation. But what\nshall we say when we call to mind that the mere desire to modernize\neverything threatened the destruction of all those monuments which\nrendered Rome so dear to travellers from every clime? It had been hitherto\nthe city of the Consuls, of the Emperors, of the Popes. It must now become\na commonplace town, with straight lines, rectangles and parallelograms,\nlike Philadelphia, New York, or the _Haussmanized_ Paris of Napoleon III.\nThe Royal Palace of the Popes, the Quirinal, was unscrupulously seized, in\norder to make a city mansion for the King of Italy. It was too\nmagnificent, apparently, for this gentleman prince. He seldom entered it.\nIt may be that he dreaded offending the revolution, to which he owed so\nmuch, by too great an affectation of royal style. If the gratitude of such\na heartless thing could be relied on, he had no need to fear. Without the\nsword of Piedmont the revolution never could have entered Rome.\n\nMeanwhile, the Pope was engaged in most anxious deliberation. At last,\nconsidering the disturbed state of Europe generally, he concluded that it\nwas better for him to remain at Rome. A Pontifical ship, which had not\nbeen included in the articles of capitulation, awaited his orders in the\nwaters of Civita Vecchia. This vessel was named the \u201cImmaculate\nConception;\u201d and two years later, by order of his Holiness, was laid up at\nToulon, under the protection of the flag of France. A French ship, the\n\u201cOrenoque,\u201d was then placed at the disposal of Pius IX., in case he should\nwish, at any time, to leave Rome: and later, the \u201cKleber,\u201d which was\nstationed in the waters of Bastia (Corsica).\n\nThe Holy Father had made up his mind so early as the first days of\nSeptember, 1870, to remain in the city. His presence, he felt confident,\nwould so far prevent the evils which he feared. If he were gone, there\nwould be less restraint on the usurping power, when it might wish to\nconfiscate more convents, churches and church property generally. Almost\nall the foreign ambassadors remained with him; and this circumstance\npresented another cause why the new government would be more moderate and\ncircumspect in its attacks on property.\n\nA beautiful legend which the Holy Father recounted, at an interview with\nCardinal De Bonnechose, was well calculated to reconcile the Catholic\nworld to the stay of Pius IX. at Rome, even although he was there as a\nprisoner of the victorious king. And a prisoner he really was; for he\ncould not have removed to any other country except by a successful\nstratagem, so closely guarded were all the approaches to the city by the\nmyrmidons of the conqueror. Taking the cardinal aside, he informed him\nthat he wished to present him with a memorial. \u201cThe object in itself is of\nlittle value. The intention with which I give it is all its worth.\u201d It was\na small plate of ivory, framed in gold, surmounted by the arms of the Holy\nSee, and representing in the most exquisite manner a moving scene in the\nlife of St. Peter. \u201cYou behold the subject of my frequent meditations for\nmany years. When the prince of the apostles, fleeing from persecution,\nquitted Rome, he met, not far from the gate of Saint Sebastian, our Lord\nHimself, carrying His cross and looking extraordinarily sad: \u2018_Domine quo\nradis?_\u2019 \u2018Lord, where are you going?\u2019 exclaimed Peter. \u2018I am going to\nRome,\u2019 replied our blessed Lord, \u2018In order to be there crucified anew to\ndie in your place, as your courage has failed you.\u2019 \u201d \u201cPeter understood,\u201d\ncontinued the Holy Father, \u201cand remained at Rome. I also remain. For if,\nat this moment, I left the eternal city, it would seem to me as if our\nLord addressed to me the same words of reproach. The representation of\nthis scene I am anxious to leave with you as a memorial. It may, in\nreality, be nothing more than a pious legend. But for me it in a decisive\ninstruction.\u201d Pius IX. then delivered the precious medallion to the\ncardinal.\n\nGUARANTEES WHICH GUARANTEED NOTHING\u2014\u00a3120,000 WITH WHICH NOTHING WAS\nPAID\u2014PETER\u2019S PENCE WHICH PAID EVERYTHING.\n\nIn order to give a coloring to his usurpation in the eyes of Christian\nEurope, and to set at rest any scruples which may have remained in the\nminds of his adherents, Victor Emmanuel caused a law to be enacted on the\n13th March, 1871, which is known as _the law of guarantees_. This law\ndeclared the person of the Sovereign Pontiff sacred and inviolable,\nrecognized his title and dignity of sovereign, assured to him an annual\nendowment of 3,225,000 francs (\u00a3120,000), together with the possession of\nthe Vatican and Lateran Palaces, as well as the Pontifical Villa of Castel\nGandolfo, and provided for the complete liberty of all future Conclaves\nand \u0152cumenical Councils. It requires two parties to every contract or\nagreement. _The law of guarantees_ had no such condition, the Holy Father\nnot being a party to it. He could not accept the honors which the new\ngovernment pretended to confer, nor the money which it offered. It was not\na government by any other law than that of the sword\u2014that of a war not\nonly undertaken against the unoffending, but also in violation of a solemn\ntreaty. Neither was the treasure which it proffered its rightful property.\nIt held it, indeed; but only as the robber holds the purse of his victim,\nwhilst he mocks him by an offer of alms. It was also the merest mockery to\npretend to recognize the Pope as a sovereign, whilst, in reality, he was\ndetained as a prisoner, who could not pass beyond the gate of his garden\nwithout coming into the custody of the armed police or soldiery of the\nusurper, By the provisions of this same law of guarantees, full liberty\nwas secured to the Sovereign Pontiff in the exercise of his spiritual\noffice. The persecutions to which the ministers of the Church were\nfrequently subjected, when they dared to obey the orders of the Pope in\nfulfilling the duties of his and their ministry, show to what extent the\nframers of the law were sincere. It need only be added, without further\ncomment, that article eighteen confiscated, by anticipation, all\necclesiastical properties, under the pretence that they were to be\nreorganized, preserved and administered. No wonder that the Pope\nstigmatized such a law as hypocritical and iniquitous. In the supposition\nthat he could have derived any benefit from accepting it, he would still\nhave been at the mercy of a fickle king and parliament, to whom it was\ncompetent, at any moment, to change the law which they had made. The\nsafety of the Holy Father, under Heaven, lay in this, that the newly\nerected kingdom of Victor Emmanuel was most ambitious to figure as a State\namong the States of Europe. To none of these would it have been pleasing\nto see the venerable Pontiff forcibly driven from the city of the Popes.\nIt was necessary, as far as possible, to blindfold them.\n\n\u201cI have, indeed, great need of money.\u201d said Pius IX., when the sum\nappropriated by the law of guarantees was first presented for his\nacceptance; \u201cmy children, everywhere, impose on themselves the most\nserious sacrifices in order to supply my wants, at all times so great, but\nto which you are daily adding. As it is a portion of the property that has\nbeen stolen from me, I could only accept it as restitution money. I will\nnever sign a receipt which would appear to express my acquiescence in the\nrobbery.\u201d Every succeeding year the form, or rather the farce, of offering\nthe subsidy was renewed and as often rejected. That the offer of so large\na sum was hypocritical, and intended only for show, is well proved by the\ncircumstance that the liberal Italian government deprived of their incomes\nand drove from their places of residence many bishops, whose wants were\nsupplied in their great distress from the resources of the Holy Father.\n\nLove is stronger than hate; and so well-beloved was Pius IX. throughout\nCatholic Christendom, that contributions of money from every country where\nthere were any Catholics were poured into his treasury, in such abundance\nas more than compensated for the loss of his Italian revenue. Not only\nwere these contributions, under the name of Peter\u2019s pence, sufficient to\nmaintain the venerable Pontiff during the remainder of his days, without\nits being necessary to accept, as a royal benefaction, any portion of the\nproperty that was stolen from him, they also sufficed to enable him to\ncontinue their salaries to his former employees, who had almost all\nremained faithful, as well as to those still required for his service and\nfor transacting the business of the Church. In addition to this, he\nretained on half or quarter pay a number of the soldiers of his former\narmy, and maintained his establishment of Vigna Pia, together with the\nhospital of Tata Giovanni, from which the new Roman municipality had\nmeanly withdrawn the subsidy, for no other reason than that in former\ntimes it had been a favorite institution of Pius IX. This was not all. The\nHoly Pontiff maintained, by means of popular schools, a necessary warfare\nagainst both Protestant and Atheistic propagandism. The former had been\nvery active ever since the occupation of Rome by the Piedmontese. The\nvarious Protestant societies actually spent \u00a3100,000 yearly in the vain\nattempt to Protestantize the Romans. By 1st January, 1875, they had\nerected three churches and founded twelve missionary residences in the\ninterest of divers denominations\u2014Anglicans, Methodists, American\nEpiscopalians, Vaudois, Baptists, Anabaptists, etc. The Italians have\nlittle taste for Protestantism in any of its forms. So there was no danger\nof discordant and jarring sects coming to prevail. It cannot be denied,\nhowever, that the movement increased the number of free-thinkers\u2014a result\nno less calculated to afflict tho Holy Father.\n\nWhen to these expenses are added those of sustaining the Sacred College,\nthe prelature, the guards, the museums, and bishops that were exiled for\nthe faith, there is shown a monthly expenditure of more than six hundred\nthousand francs, which is equal to seven millions and a half yearly. These\nexpenses always increased as the elder bishops passed away. Pius IX.\nappointed successors. But as none of these could, in conscience, ask the\nroyal _exequatur_, which, notwithstanding article sixteen of the notorious\nguarantees, was still in force, Victor Emmanuel had no hesitation in\nsuppressing the revenues of the bishops. Pius IX. sent to the bishops who\nwere thus deprived of their legitimate incomes five hundred francs\nmonthly, and to archbishops from seven hundred to one thousand francs. He\nalso labored to establish foundations for the education of ecclesiastical\nstudents whom a revolutionary and anti-Christian law made subject to\nmilitary service, thus rendering morally impossible the following out of\nclerical vocations and the recruiting of the priesthood. From this and\nsuch like proceedings, it can easily be seen that the revolutionary\n_regime_, and the Italian government was nothing less, aimed at the\nextirpation of Christianity, and that civilization, the only possible\ncivilization which follows in its train.\n\nMisfortune, meanwhile, was not neglected by the Holy Pontiff. He sent\nvestments to the churches of Paris which had been pillaged by the Commune.\nHe provided, habitually, in like manner, for the churches of poor and\nremote missions. In July, 1875, he sent twenty thousand francs to the\npeople who had suffered by inundations in the southwest of France, and\nfive thousand francs to such as had similarly suffered at Brescia, in\nUpper Italy. He bestowed, likewise, large sums for the rebuilding of\nchurches\u2014for instance, eight hundred francs for this pious purpose to the\nBishop of Sarsina, and two thousand to the Bishop of Osimo. Charitable\ninstitutions were not overlooked, and the Princess Rospigliosi Champigny\nde Cadore received fifty thousand francs towards the support of the house\nof St. Mary Magdalen, the object of which was the preservation of young\nwomen in the city of Rome.\n\nAs regarded works of art or of public utility, the venerable Pontiff was\nno less munificent. He completed the restoration of the Church of Saint\nAnge in Peschiera, together with the magnificent contiguous portico called\nOctavia, and rebuilt the altar with the marbles found by Visconti in the\nemporium of the Emperors. The tomb of his illustrious predecessor Gregory\nVII., at Salerno, having become dilapidated, he undertook to restore it at\nhis own cost, and renewed the fine epitaph which Pope Gregory himself had\ncaused to be engraved on the sepulchral stone; _Dileri justitiam et odici\niniquitatem, et ecce in exilio mortor_. (I loved righteousness and hated\niniquity, and lo! I die in exile.)\n\nQuite a number of people were employed in the manufacture of mosaics at\nthe Vatican. On this the Romans justly prided themselves. Pius IX.\ncontinued to employ these artists, and, as in former times, presented\ntheir works to his guests or to the churches of Italy. If he was not still\na king, he retained, at least, a truly royal prerogative\u2014that of\nconferring gifts in every way worthy of royalty. Nothing could exceed the\ndelicacy and graciousness with which he did so. Of this the two Russian\nGrand Dukes, brothers of the reigning Emperor, were witnesses, when he\nmade a present to them of a splendid table, in mosaic, which they were\nobserved to admire among the more humble furniture of his apartment. The\nfunds must have been, indeed, abundant which could meet so many demands.\nAlthough despoiled of his revenues and property, the Holy Father was a\nricher monarch than the prince who robbed him. So liberally were Peter\u2019s\npence bestowed and so economically managed, that Pius IX. was able to\ninvest money for the benefit of his successor, although not to such an\nextent as to render the collection of Peter\u2019s pence in the future\nunnecessary.\n\nIt has long been customary, on occasion of the august ceremony of the\ncoronation of the Popes, to address to them, with due solemnity, the\nwords: _Annos Petri tu non ridebis_. (Thou wilt not see the years of\nPeter.) It is related that one of the Popes thus replied to the ominous\naddress: _Non est de fide_. (That is no article of faith.) Pius IX.,\nhowever, was the first who showed that the words were not strictly\nprophetic. His Pontificate was prolonged beyond the years of Peter at\nRome. Already, on the 10th of June, 1871, when he was enabled to celebrate\nthe twenty-fifth anniversary of his election to the Pontifical chair, he\nhad enjoyed more than the years of Peter. The great apostle, it will be\nremembered, spent two years after our Lord\u2019s ascension in preaching the\nGospel at Jerusalem and throughout Judea. After this, Antioch, at the time\nthe capital of the Eastern world, became the scene of his apostolic\nlabors. He was bishop there for seven years when he established the\ncentral seat of Christendom at Rome, the metropolis of the known world.\nThe apostle remained there till his martyrdom under Nero, A. D. 67. Thus,\nPeter was Pope thirty-four years or so, whilst he was Bishop of Rome only\ntwenty-five years and some days. A festival at Rome could not now be held\nwith the wonted circumstance of outward religious pomp. The remarkable\nanniversary was not, however, less devoutly observed at the Basilicas of\nSt. Peter and St. John Lateran. These immense edifices were crowded with\npeople of all classes and of every age. Nor in this did the Romans stand\nalone. Prayers and communions were offered up in every diocese of the\nworld, supplicating Heaven for a continuation of the years which had been\nalready so auspiciously granted to the venerable Pontiff. More than a\nthousand congratulatory messages were flashed along the telegraph lines.\nAll the sovereigns of Europe, with scarcely an exception, paid their\ndutiful compliments to Pius IX.; the telegram of Queen Victoria being the\nfirst that reached him. From the New World as well as from the Old there\ncame numerous deputations. One day, in replying to them, the Holy Father\ndelivered no fewer than twelve discourses in Latin, French, Spanish and\nItalian. To many of the addresses was appended a singularly great number\nof signatures. The Bishop of Nevers presented one with two millions of\nnames.\n\nA few days later, 20th September, the Holy Father had to lament the death\nof his brother, Count Gaetano Mastai. So little, however, was his grief\nrespected by Victor Emmanuel and his government, that their cannon were\nheard booming joyously in honor of the violent occupation of the city. All\nRome was indignant. Patrician and plebeian, all citizens alike, hastened\nto the Vatican, protesting and presenting addresses of condolence. The\n_Riforma_ (a Roman journal) said, on the occasion: \u201cAfter two years\u2019\nsojourn Italy was still as much a stranger as on the first day, so that\nthere was no appearance of friendliness, but rather of a city that still\ngroaned under a military occupation, which it bore with the greatest\nimpatience.\u201d\n\nMORE SPOLIATION AND DESECRATION\u2014NO RECONCILIATION.\n\nRobbery, wholesale and sacrilegious, was now the order of the day at Rome.\nThroughout the city convents were closed and sequestrated, libraries were\nconfiscated, and often dilapidated in transferring them from one place to\nanother. Religious men and religious women were driven from their homes\nand brutally searched on their thresholds lest they should carry away with\nthem anything that belonged to them. These religious people obtained,\nevery month, as indemnification, twenty-five centimes each daily, and the\naged forty centimes; but they were paid only when the treasury was in a\ncondition to pay them, and this was not the case every month. The poor and\nthe infirm, no longer sustained by Catholic charity, encumbered the\nhospitals or were associated with the knights of industry, who swarmed\nfrom the prisons of Italy. It was in vain that the police were doubled.\nRobberies increased in the same proportion. The people in such\ncircumstances could not but ask themselves what sacrifices were laid upon\nhimself by the usurping king, who was now the master of the domains of six\nItalian princes who had never allowed their subjects to go without bread.\nBefore the end of the year 1873, the number of religious houses that were\ntaken, in whole or in part, from their legitimate proprietors, was over\none hundred. The intervention of diplomacy saved for a time the Roman\nCollege, which was essentially international and not Roman, as formerly no\nclerks of the city of Rome could attend it, and as it was endowed solely\nby foreign kings and benefactors. The Italian government consented, not,\nindeed, to renounce, but only to stay this new spoliation. It claimed all\nthe more credit for its pretended moderation, as it secretly caused the\nnewspapers in its interest to instigate it to listen to no terms. By means\nof its gensd\u2019armes and its police force, it was master of the secret\nsocieties, and allowed them to raise a cry without allowing them to act,\nwhilst it chose its own time for the execution of its wicked purposes.\n\nPius IX. was deeply grieved when beholding so many evil deeds which he\ncould not prevent. His sorrow found expression in one of his allocutions,\nthat of 1st January, 1873:\n\n\u201cYou are come,\u201d said he, to parties who had come to compliment him on New\nYears day, \u201cfrom divers distant lands in order to offer me your\ncongratulations and wish me a happy new year. The past year, alas! is far\nfrom having been a happy one. Society is astray in evil courses. There are\npeople who think that peace prevails at Rome, and that matters are not so\nbad there as is said. Some strangers, on arriving in the city, even ask\nfor cards of admission to religious ceremonies. I am persuaded that this\nyear also the same request will be made as regards the celebrations of\nholy week. So long as the present state of things continues, alas! there\ncan be no such celebrations. The Church is in mourning. Rome has lost its\ncharacter of capital of the Christian world\u2014so many horrible deeds are\ndone, so many blasphemies uttered. Let us beseech the Lord to put an end\nto such a painful state of things.\u201d\n\nVictor Emmanuel, notwithstanding his extraordinary proceedings, appears to\nhave thought that there might be a reconciliation with the Pope. The\nEmperor of Brazil, a man of science and a celebrated traveller, then at\nRome, accepted the office of mediator. One morning, in the year 1872, the\nBrazilian monarch repaired to the Vatican. The hour of his visit was\ninopportune, as its object also proved to be. It was seven o\u2019clock in the\nmorning. The Holy Father had not yet finished his Mass when the Emperor\nwas announced. As soon as was possible his Holiness proceeded to receive\nhim. Whether fearing some design, or from dislike only to meet a prince\nwho came from the hostile usurper\u2019s court, Pius IX., with an unusual\ncoldness of manner, addressed the Emperor: \u201cWhat does your Majesty\ndesire?\u201d \u201cI beg your Holiness will not call me Majesty. Here, I am only\nthe Count of Alcantara.\u201d The Holy Father then, without showing the least\nemotion, said to him: \u201cMy dear Count, what do you desire?\u201d \u201cI am come,\nyour Holiness, in order to ask that you will allow me to introduce to you\nthe King of Italy.\u201d At these words the Pontiff rose from his seat, and,\nlooking indignantly at the Emperor, said to him with much firmness: \u201cIt is\nquite useless to hold such language. Let the King of Piedmont abjure his\nmisdeeds and restore to me my States. I will then consent to receive him.\nBut not till then.\u201d\n\nCREATION OF CARDINALS\u2014AUDIENCES AND ALLOCUTIONS\u2014THE POPE REALLY A\nPRISONER\u2014THE PRINCE OF WALES\u2014ENGLAND\u2014IRELAND.\n\nA creation of cardinals was necessary. There were twenty-nine vacant hats.\nTowards the close of 1873 Pius IX. resolved on twelve new creations. One\nof these became the occasion of protesting anew against the Italian\ngovernment. The Society of Jesuits had always been a special object of its\nhatred. They were the first whom it expelled from Rome, as has been the\ncase in more than one persecution. And now they were robbed,\nnotwithstanding the hopes that the European ambassadors were led to\nentertain of the Roman College which was their property. The Holy Father\nmet this new brigandage by raising a member of the society to the dignity\nof cardinal. Tarquini, professor of canon law at the Sapienza (Roman\nCollege), was the favored member. Thus did the despoiled Pontiff condemn\nthe ignorance and rebuke the robbery of the new rulers of Rome. \u201cI am\naware,\u201d said Pius IX. on this occasion, \u201cthat the Jesuits do not willingly\naccept ecclesiastical dignities. I had not, therefore, thought, until now,\nof conferring the purple on any of their members. But the unjust acts from\nwhich your society is suffering at this moment have determined me. It\nappeared to me to be necessary that I should make known in this way what I\nthink of the ignorant calumnies of which you are the victims, and at the\nsame time give proof to yourself and your brethren of my esteem and\nfriendship.\u201d\n\nIf, ever since the violent seizure of Rome, it was customary to speak of\nthe Pope as \u201cthe prisoner of the Vatican,\u201d his enemies, on the other hand,\nceased not to insist that he was perfectly free, whilst he obstinately\npersisted in remaining within the walls of his palace. It has been noticed\nalready that every approach to Rome and the Vatican was strictly guarded\nby the soldiers of the usurping king. A circumstance which occurred on the\nevening of the 20th June, 1874, further showed how close the imprisonment\nwas. It was the twenty-eighth anniversary of the coronation of Pius IX.\n_Te Deum_ was celebrated in the Vatican Basilica, and, what rarely\nhappens, the spacious edifice was completely filled. More than one hundred\nthousand people, as nearly as could be estimated, or two-thirds of all the\nRomans who were able to leave their houses, were massed as well within the\nchurch as on the places St. Peter and Risticucci. When _Te Deum_ was over,\nall eyes instinctively turned towards a window of the second story of the\npalace. It was the window of the Pope\u2019s apartment. Suddenly a white figure\nappeared at this window, and immediately a cry arose from below. It was\nthe voice of the Roman citizens; a voice so grand that it might be said to\nexpress the mind of a whole people, as they saluted their king, who was a\nprisoner. It continued for some time, and, although the window was at once\nclosed, the prolonged acclamation of the faithful Romans rose louder and\nlouder, until the Piedmontese troops came on the ground and swept away the\ncrowd. The people departed without making any resistance. The police,\nnevertheless, arrested some twelve persons, of whom six were ladies of the\nbest society of Rome. These ladies were at once set at liberty. But four\nyoung men of the number of those arrested were detained and afterwards\ncondemned, one of them to two years, and the rest to several months\u2019\nimprisonment, for having cried, \u201cLong live the Pontiff-King.\u201d This crime\nthey pretended not to deny. Could it be doubted any longer that the Pope\nwas a prisoner? It was not only on moral grounds that he could not leave\nthe Vatican. There were also bayonets and fire-arms between him and the\nnearest streets of Rome. It was only in the beginning of the year 1875\nthat Pius IX. could no longer refrain from visiting the Basilica of St.\nPeter. He had not been within it for four years and a half. Every\nnecessary precaution was observed on occasion of his visit. The gates of\nthe temple were kept shut, and none were present but members of the\nchapter and some other persons required for the service of the Church. The\nHoly Father entered by the stair which forms direct communication between\nhis palace and the holy place. As may well be understood, he prayed for\nsome time with his accustomed earnestness, that it would please God to put\nan end to the evils by which the Church was so sorely afflicted.\n\nPius IX. was indefatigable in giving audiences and receiving deputations\nfrom every country where there were members of the Catholic Church. On\nsuch occasions he never failed to speak words of edification and\nencouragement. It was even said that he spoke too much. They were not,\nhowever, of the number of his friends who call him _il Papa verboso_. He\nwas endowed with a wonderful gift of speech, and he always used it\neffectively. His discourses were invariably to the purpose, the subject of\nthem being suggested by the most recent events, by the nationality of his\nvisitors, or by the expressed pious intentions which brought them to his\npresence. He made allusion very often to the Gospel of the preceding\nSunday, or to the festival of the day, and concluded by imparting his\nbenediction, which his hearers always received kneeling, and seldom\nwithout tears. The addresses of Pius IX. delivered at the Vatican have\nbeen preserved by the stenographic art, and fill many volumes. His ideas\nsometimes found expression in conversations with distinguished visitors.\nSuch was the case on occasion of the visit, in 1872, of the Prince of\nWales, the heir apparent of the British Crown. His Royal Highness showed\nhis good taste by declining the use of Victor Emmanuel\u2019s equipages in\ncoming to the Vatican. The Princess also made manifest her respect for the\nwell-known sentiments of Pius IX. in regard to showy toilettes by\nappearing in a plain dress. There was a striking contrast between the\nplacid old man, so near the close of his career, and the handsome young\ncouple, in the flower of their age. The Prince and the Pope appeared\ndelighted at meeting; and the eyes of the Princess, who looked alternately\nat the animated figure of her husband and the benevolent countenance of\nthe venerable Pontiff, were suffused with tears. The Pope began the\nconversation by expressing his great admiration for the character, both\npublic and private, of the Queen of Great Britain; and smiling\nexpressively, and not without a slight degree of Italian irony, he thanked\nthe British ministers who, more than once, had offered him, in the name of\nthe Queen, an asylum on British territory. \u201cYou see, Prince, I have not\nleft Rome quite as soon as some of your statesmen supposed I would.\u201d The\nHoly Father then alluded to the existing state of things, adding: \u201cIn my\npresent condition I am assuredly more happy than those who consider\nthemselves more the masters of Rome than myself. I have no fear for my\ndynasty. It is powerfully protected. God Himself is its guardian. He also\nlooks to my succession and my family. You are not unaware that these are\nno other than the Church. I can speak without offence to the Prince of\nWales of the instability of Royal Houses, that which he represents being\nfirmly anchored in the affections of a wise people.\u201d \u201cI am delighted,\u201d\nreplied the Prince, smiling expressively, \u201cto find that your Holiness has\nso good an opinion of our people.\u201d \u201cYes, indeed, I respect the English\npeople,\u201d continued the Holy Father, \u201cbecause they are more truly\nreligious, both as regards feeling and conduct, than many who call\nthemselves Catholics. When, one day, they shall return to the fold, with\nwhat joy will we not welcome that flock which is astray, but not lost!\u201d\nThe Prince and Princess, being rather incredulous, received this\nbenevolent aspiration with a good-natured smile. \u201cOh! my children,\u201d\nresumed the Pontiff, \u201cthe future has in store for mankind the most strange\nsurprises. Who could have imagined, two years ago, that we should see a\nPrussian army in France? I hesitate not to say that your ablest statesmen\nexpected sooner to see the Pope at Malta than Napoleon III. in England. As\nregards myself, you will observe I am, indeed, robbed of my States, but\nGod, who, at any moment, withdraws the possessions of this world, can also\nrestore them a hundred-fold. Is the dynasty of the Head of the Church, on\nthis account, less secure? I may, for a time, be driven from Rome. But\nwhen your children and grandchildren shall come to visit the holy city,\nthey will see, as you see to-day\u2014let the temporal power be more or less\nconsiderable\u2014an old man, clothed in white, pointing the way to heaven for\nthe good of hundreds of millions of human consciences. To compensate for\nthe absence of subjects immediately around him, he will have devoted\nadherents at all times and everywhere.\u201d The conversation turning on\nIreland, the Holy Father spoke in the warmest terms of the fidelity of the\nCatholics of that country. \u201cYou know, Prince, the results of persecution.\nIt does not make us any more Catholics. Your Royal Mother follows a policy\nquite different from that of her predecessors, in regard to Ireland, and\nyou are, like her, aware that good Catholics are always good subjects.\u201d\nThat country, the Pope continued to observe, had need of the vigilant and\nenergetic superintendence of its devoted prelates, whom he praised in the\nhighest terms. \u201cFor,\u201d said he, \u201cthe wolf\u2014I do not mean Protestantism\u2014but\nthe wolf of anarchy and infidelity is abroad, I fear, in the regions of\nthe West.\u201d He referred to the organization called \u201cthe International,\u201d and\nexpressed his astonishment that \u201cany princes should be still so blind as\nto take pleasure in making war on the Church, at a period when the\nfoundations of civil society were threatened on every side.\u201d\n\nThe chief cause of the Holy Father\u2019s grief and poignant sorrow, under his\ncalamities, was the loss of souls. \u201cAh!\u201d said he, in a conversation with\nMgr. Langenieux, Archbishop of Rheims, \u201cI could bear my misfortunes\ncourageously, and God would give me strength to withstand the evils which\nafflict the Church. But there is one thing I cannot forgive those who\npersecute us. They eradicate the faith of my people\u2014they kill the souls of\nthe children of unfortunate Italy.\u201d The Pontiff, as he uttered these\nwords, moved his hand towards his breast, and as his fingers ruffled his\nwhite robe, he exclaimed, in a tone that was truly heartrending: \u201cThey\ntear away my heart!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was sublime,\u201d adds the archbishop, \u201cthe great soul of the Pope subdued\nus, and, at the same time, inspired us with light and fortitude.\u201d\n\nRELATIONS OF PIUS IX. WITH FOREIGN STATES\u2014SWITZERLAND\u2014GERMANY.\n\nThe party in Europe who desired the suppression of the Pope\u2019s temporal\nrule professed to be actuated by zeal for promoting a more free and useful\nexercise of his spiritual authority. It soon became manifest that this was\nthe merest sham. Switzerland, guided by that narrow kind of Protestantism\nwhich has so often asserted its power, pretended to see only in the Pope\nthe Chief of the small Roman State; when deprived of that State, he was no\nlonger a prince or dignitary, with whom diplomatic relations could be\nheld. His legate at Berne, accordingly, was informed that he must take his\ndeparture from the territory of the Swiss Confederation. It is well\nunderstood that this ungracious measure was secretly advised and promoted\nby Germany. That Power speedily followed the example, although not at\nfirst in a very direct or open way. The German ministry appointed to the\nEmbassy of the Vatican Cardinal Hohenlohe, the only one of the cardinals\nwho proved unfaithful to Pius IX. in the hour of his great distress. The\nPope remonstrated against the appointment. The inflexible Prussian\nminister, Bismarck, replied that he would send no other, suspended and\nfinally abolished diplomatic relations between the new Empire and the Holy\nSee. It is by no means matter for surprise that a man of Prince Bismarck\u2019s\nviews and character should have so acted, or even that he should have\nbecome the promoter of the greatest and most unwarrantable persecution by\nwhich any nation has been disgraced, or to which any portion of the Church\nhas been subjected in modern times. This minister, who may be truly\ndescribed as the political scourge of Germany, is as fanatical in religion\nas he is coarse and sceptical in politics. He abandoned his party, and\nbecame, or feigned to become, a liberal in order to gratify his hatred of\nthe Catholic Church. He belongs to that branch of Protestantism which is\ncalled \u201corthodox\u201d (_lucus a non lucendo_). On occasion of the debate, 14th\nApril, 1874, on the law which withdrew the salaries of the Catholic\nclergy, a Protestant conservative member of the representative body, Count\nde Malrahn, declared that he would vote for this law, because it would\naffect only the Catholics, without interfering with the rights of the\nEvangelical denomination. Bismarck, by his reply, not only showed an utter\nabsence of all political faith, but at the same time a degree of political\nhypocrisy with which all true history will never cease to stigmatize him.\n\u201cI must express the great joy which I experience on hearing the\ndeclaration of the preceding speaker. If, at the commencement of the\nreligious conflict, the conservatives had taken this ground, and sustained\nthe government in the name of the Evangelical religion, I never would have\nbeen under the necessity of separating from the Conservative party.\u201d\n\nFrom Chancellor Bismarck\u2019s own words, therefore, it may be concluded that\nit was excessive sectarian fanaticism which made him an infidel and\nhypocrite in politics, a traitor to his party, and a savage persecutor of\nthe Church. When there was question in December, 1874, of obtaining an act\nfor the suppression of the Prussian legation to the Holy See, the\ndeep-rooted hatred of Prince Bismarck and his absolute want of conscience\nbecame still more apparent. He audaciously accused the Court of Rome of\nhaving been the ally of France, and even of the revolution in the war\nagainst Prussia in 1870. He pretended that if the \u0152cumenical Council was\nclosed abruptly, it was in order to leave complete liberty of action to\nNapoleon III.; and, as facts were necessary in order to support this\nextraordinary and false assertion, he ascribed to Monsignor Meglia, at the\ntime nuncio at Munich, the words, \u201cOur only hope is in the revolution.\u201d As\nthe chancellor uttered this odious calumny, he suddenly took ill. He\nbecame pale, stammered, and had recourse, four or five times, to a glass\nof water, which was beside him, in order to recover his spirits and find\nthe words which he should use. The whole parliament was struck with this\nincident. The Abbe Majunke, editor of the Catholic journal _Germania_,\nwas, however, the only one who spoke of it publicly. Such an offence\nagainst the omnipotent chancellor could not, of course, be overlooked. M.\nMajunke was summoned to the police office, and thence consigned to prison,\nnotwithstanding his inviolability as deputy, and the protestations of the\n_Reichstag_ (parliament). What a grand conception Chancellor Bismarck must\nhave had of constitutional government!\n\nThe great success of William I. in the Franco-Prussian war appears to have\nso elated that monarch that he considered there was nothing which he might\nnot successfully undertake. He had annexed to Prussia some of the lesser\nStates of Germany, and made a German Empire. The Church in Germany enjoyed\nmany privileges and immunities under his predecessors, who, for the most\npart, were, like himself, Protestants. Whether it was that he desired to\nshow himself a better Protestant than his ancestors, or that he could not\nemancipate himself from the control of the minister who had so long\nguided, with singular success, the destinies of the empire, as well as his\nown career, or that he believed it to be a political necessity to act\naccording to the views and carry out the principles of the German and\nEuropean \u201cLiberals\u201d\u2014the party of revolution and unbelief\u2014he resolved to\noppose no impediment to his chancellor and the liberal majority of\nparliament in their endeavors to destroy the Catholic Church in Germany,\nunless it chose to become as a mere department of the State, acting and\nspeaking in the name of the State, receiving its appointments from the\nState, as well as the funds requisite for the support of its ministers,\naccepting all its orders and instructions, even in the most spiritual\nthings, from the State; in fine, looking to the State as the sole source\nof all its authority, honor, power and influence. There was nothing like\nthe German Empire. It had conquered in gigantic wars with two Powers that\nwere considered the greatest in continental Europe. It had attained a\ndegree of power and greatness, scarcely if at all inferior to that of the\nfirst Napoleon, and, like Napoleon, it aimed at more. It sought, like him,\nto have the Church, no less than the police courts, in every respect, in\nall circumstances and on all occasions, completely at its orders. This\nill-judged ambition accounts for the long list of oppressive laws which\nwere enacted at Berlin for the enslavement of the Catholic Church. They\nare known as the \u201cMay Laws,\u201d all of them having been passed, although not\nin the same year, in the month of May. Dollinger, Hohenlohe and the rest\nof the anti-Catholic Bavarian _coterie_, deluded the Emperor and his\nminister with the idea of an independent German _alt_, or Old Catholic\nChurch. They sold their country to the new empire, politically. But they\ncould not sell its church. One of these _alt-Catholics_, Dr. Schulte,\nrecommended persecution as the surest means of eradicating the ancient\nchurch. \u201cLet his twenty thousand florins be withdrawn from such a one, his\ntwelve thousand thalers from such another; let the salaries of the bishops\nand chapters be suppressed, and the result will soon be manifest. The\nhumbler clergy will rejoice. Since 18th July, 1870, there has been neither\nbelief in Christ nor religious conviction among the bearers of mitres and\ntonsures.\u201d Thus was the Prussian minister led to imagine that he had only\nto transfer the benefices of the Catholic dignitaries to the\n_alt-Catholics_ in order to constitute an independent German Church, which\nwould unite the whole of Germany religiously, as he had already united it\npolitically. All Catholics, of course, would be members of this new\nChurch. The State Protestantism of Prussia would, in due time, join this\nState Church, and there would be, if not one Faith and one Baptism, one\nChurch and one State.\n\nThe calculations of Chancellor Bismarck were, however, at fault. He soon\ndiscovered that the clergy were grossly calumniated, and that the\n_alt-Catholic_ Church in which he trusted never counted more than thirty\npriests; that this number increased not, and that the hundreds of\nthousands of adherents of whom the pseudo bishop, Reinkens, boasted, were\nonly some twenty thousand to thirty thousand, scattered over all Germany.\nThese had no principle of cohesion. They could not agree as to any\nfundamental point of religious doctrine or discipline. According to a\ncensus made in 1876, they numbered only one hundred and thirty-six, in a\npopulation of twenty-five thousand Catholics, at the city of Bonn, which\nM. Reinkens had selected as the seat and centre of his episcopal\nministrations. Meanwhile, there was a considerable reaction in\nprevaricating Bavaria. The Catholic minority was changed into a majority,\nand the Prussian Catholic representation, which was called the fraction of\nthe centre, was strengthened at the elections of 1874 by an increase from\ntwenty-five to forty votes. The chancellor, although enlightened, was not\ncorrected. Nothing could divert him from his evil purpose. By a strange\nconfusion of ideas, he called _Kulturcampf_ (struggle for civilization)\nthe open war which he waged against the Church, the source of all\ncivilization and of liberty of conscience. The persecuting laws which,\nwith the aid of the so-called \u201cliberal\u201d party, or party of unbelief, he\nsucceeded in causing to be enacted were to the following effect. As was to\nbe expected of the blind political fanaticism of the party, the Jesuits\nwere the first objects of hostility, and the first victims of persecution.\nThe May laws required that these unoffending individuals should be\nexpelled without any form of trial, and deprived of their rights of\ncitizens. At the same time, certain religious orders which, it was\npretended, were affiliated with the Jesuits, were subjected to the like\ntreatment.\n\nAll ecclesiastical seminaries were suppressed, the solons of legislation\npretending that it was necessary to oblige the candidates for the\npriesthood to imbue their minds in lay schools, with the ideas and wants\nof modern society.\n\nThe new laws abolished articles fifteen, sixteen and eighteen of the\nPrussian Constitution, which guaranteed the autonomy of the different\nforms of worship; they bestowed on the State the nomination to\necclesiastical functions, and went so far as to forbid bishops the use of\ntheir right to declare apostates excluded from the Catholic communion.\n\nThey suppressed the subsidies and allowances which the State, until that\ntime, paid to the diocesan establishments and the clergy generally,\nnotwithstanding that such subsidies were not gratuitously bestowed by the\ngovernment, but were nothing else than, as in France and Belgium, the\nrestitution, in part, of the debt due by the State to the Church. It was\nprovided, however, that such members of the clergy as should make their\nsubmission should at once have their salaries restored. By a refinement of\ncruelty, all collections and subscriptions, whether public or private, for\nthe requirements of public worship and the support of the clergy were\nforbidden, and elective lay commissions were charged with the management\nof all ecclesiastical property. Finally, all religious orders, as well of\nmen as of women, were suppressed, with the exception, and that\nprovisionally only, of such as were devoted to the care of the sick.\n\nIf Chancellor Bismarck really believed, at any time, that the Catholic\nclergy were without faith and conscience, ready to submit to any terms the\nState might impose, in order to save their incomes and the institutions of\nthe Church, he must have been greatly surprised when he found them all,\nwithout exception, prepared to welcome poverty, imprisonment and exile,\nrather than abandon the inalienable rights of conscience. On the 26th May,\n1873, the Bishops of Prussia signed a collective declaration, in which\nthey stated, with regret, that it was impossible for them to obey. \u201cThe\nChurch,\u201d said they, \u201ccannot acknowledge the heathen state principle,\naccording to which the laws of the State are the source of all right, and\nthe Church possesses only such rights as it pleases the State to grant. By\nso doing, it would deny its own Divine origin, and would make Christianity\nwholly dependent on the arbitrary will of men.\u201d In regard to temporal\nmatters connected with the Church they could afford to be less strict: and\nso they authorized their people to take part in the election of the new\nlay managers of the properties of the churches. This wise policy was\nattended with the most happy results. The chancellor\u2019s plans were\neverywhere completely marred. He had reckoned that the Catholics would\nabstain from voting, and so allow a \u201cliberal\u201d (infidel) minority, however\nsmall, to dispose of the churches and presbyteries.\n\nIn reviewing the news of the day, we have been accustomed to think of only\none or two more eminent prelates suffering under the lash of persecution.\nThe truth is, that the whole Church suffered. The persecution was as cruel\nas an age which does not permit the shedding of blood would tolerate. The\nbishops were crushed with fines on account of each act which they\nperformed of their spiritual office. Such fines they refused to pay, lest\nthey should acknowledge the justice of their condemnation. Their movable\nproperty, accordingly, was seized and sold at auction, and they themselves\nwere immured in the prisons, where they were mixed up with felons\ncondemned to the same labors, and designated, like them, by numbers. It\nwas all in vain. Nothing could shake their constancy. At Berlin was\nerected a sort of ecclesiastical tribunal, which arrogated to itself the\npower of deposing from sees, and which actually pretended to depose the\nArchbishop of Posen, the Bishop of Paderborn, the Prince-Bishop of\nBreslau, and several other prelates. The fortresses of Germany were filled\nwith priests, whose only crime was that they _obeyed God rather than men_.\nThe public ways were crowded with priests who had been deprived,\nafterwards _interned_, and finally banished. Numerous religious people,\nboth men and women, were in the like sad position, thronging the road of\nexile. The people, in tears, escorted these victims of heathenish rage.\nThey chanted, as they went, the psalm, \u201c_Miserere_,\u201d and the canticle,\n\u201c_Wir sind ini waren Christenthum_\u201d (\u201cwe are in true Christianity\u201d), until\nthey reached the railway depots. The Prussian gensd\u2019armes, who were often\nno more than two or three in number, were astonished to find that they\ncould so easily conduct their prisoners, whom thousands and tens of\nthousands of other men, the greater number of whom were veteran soldiers,\naccompanied, as they passed, expressing their regrets and good wishes.\n\nPersecution is impolitic no less than it is cruel and immoral. The German\npeople, to say the least, were shocked by the tyranny of their government.\nNothing could prevent them from showing what they felt and thought, on\noccasion of the release of the prisoners at the end of their two years\u2019\nterm of imprisonment. They took every possible means of expressing their\nsatisfaction. Thus, at Munster, when Bishop Warendorf returned, the\ninhabitants paid no attention to the prohibition of the burgomaster, who,\nby order of the government, intimated that he would repress, by force,\nevery external and public demonstration. The whole city rushed to the\ngate, St. Mauritius, by which the released prisoner was to enter. Count\nDroste-Erhdroste proceeded to receive him in a magnificent carriage, drawn\nby four horses, which was followed by four more carriages in charge of his\nservants, who were in complete gala dress. An immense crowd strewed\nflowers along the route as the bishop advanced, and ceased not to hail him\nwith joyous acclamations until he reached his residence, where the first\nfamilies of the country were in attendance to receive him. In the evening,\nthe whole town, with the exception of the public buildings, was\nilluminated. The citizens of Posen were preparing a like triumphal\nreception for their archbishop, Cardinal Ledochowski, on occasion of his\nrelease in February, 1876, from the fortress of Ostrowo, where he had been\nincarcerated for two years, when he was carried off in the nighttime and\ntransported beyond the limits of his diocese, in which he is forbidden\never again to set foot. Two suffragan bishops were left behind. They also\nwere imprisoned at Gnesten, one for having administered the Sacrament of\nConfirmation without special leave from the government, the other for\nhaving consecrated the holy oils on Maunday Thursday, 1875. By such acts,\nwhich evidently belonged to the spiritual order, they were held to be\nguilty of sedition and a violation of the rights of the State.\n\nThe whole Catholic world was deeply moved by this modern and unprovoked\npersecution. All could not speak, indeed; but all were in sympathy with\nthe clergy and faithful people of Germany. The bishops of France would\nhave brought war upon their country by uttering a word of disapproval. The\nirascible chancellor actually sought to raise a quarrel with that country\non account of a slight and inoffensive allusion which fell from the lips\nof two of the bishops. Could he not see that he will be branded throughout\nthe ages as a persecutor and a short-sighted politician? Great Britain and\nAmerica could speak without fear or hindrance. And they were not slow to\nsend their words of consolation and encouragement to their suffering\nbrethren of Germany. The Cardinal-Archbishop of Westminster wrote in a\nstrain which may be described as apostolical, to the Archbishop of\nCologne, the Primate of Germany, greeting \u201cwith the greatest affection\nboth himself and his brethren, the other bishops who are in prison for\nhaving defended the authority and liberty of the Church.\u201d This letter was\nreproduced by all the newspapers, and could not have escaped the notice of\nthe Prussian minister. Nevertheless, he was silent. Although sensitive in\nthe extreme, as regarded France and Belgium, his knowledge of geography\nand naval statistics, no doubt, enabled him to possess his soul in\npatience.\n\nPius IX. could not but feel for his afflicted children of Germany. He was\nmoved, accordingly, to address a very earnest remonstrance to the Emperor,\nWilliam I. This was done so early as August, 1873. He could not believe\nthat such cruel measures proceeded from a prince who had so often given\nproof of his Christian sentiments. He had even been informed that his\nMajesty did not approve of the conduct of his government, and condemned\nthe laws which were enacted against the Catholic religion. \u201cBut, if it be\ntrue that your Majesty does not approve of these measures (and the letters\nwhich you formerly addressed to me appear to me to prove sufficiently that\nyou do not think well of what is actually taking place),\u2014if, I say, it is\nnot with your sanction that your government continues to extend more and\nmore those repressive measures against the Christian religion which so\ngrievously injure that religion, must you not come to the conclusion that\nsuch measures can have no other effect than to undermine your throne?\u201d He\nmay possibly have thought so, when, a little later, his life was attempted\nby parties who are known to seek the destruction of religion and civil\ngovernment at the same time. Be this as it may, his reply to Pius IX. was\nnot in his usual kindly style. It was scarcely polite, and appeared to be\nthe work of the savage chancellor rather than of the good-natured monarch.\n\nThe appeal of Pius IX. produced no result. The Emperor\u2019s government added\nto the harshness of his refusal by advising him to address a letter of\ncongratulation to the new bishop of the _alt-Catholics_. This was done, as\nwas expressed, \u201con account of his complete deference to the State and his\nacknowledgment of its rights.\u201d In another letter, which was also made\npublic, William I. recalled to mind those ancient Emperors of Germany who\nwere the irreconcilable enemies of the spiritual supremacy of the Popes,\nand intimated that he was resuming the work of Frederick Barbarossa and\nHenry IV. The association was unfortunate. The chancellor\u2019s commentary was\nmore so. \u201cWe shall never,\u201d he boasted, \u201cgo to Canossa!\u201d These words,\nspoken before the assembled parliament, were a defiance of Divine\nProvidence. Was it forgotten that there were other snows than those of\nCanossa, in which Emperors could perish? The first Napoleon pursued, in\nregard to the Church, the same policy that Germany was now pursuing. He\ndefied the religious power, and contemptuously asked _whether the arms\ncould be made to fall from the hands of his soldiers_! They did so fall,\nnevertheless, when the demented Emperor led his legions into the snows of\nRussia.\n\nPius IX. could not behold without concern the deep distress of his\nbrethren in Germany. He addressed an Encyclical letter, under date of 5th\nFebruary, 1875, to the Bishops of Prussia, lamenting the persecution which\ntried them so severely, dwelling at great length on the evils of the _May\nlaws_, praising the constancy of the clergy, and exhorting them to\ncontinued patience and perseverance. The whole doctrine of the Encyclical\nmay be said to be expressed in the following words:\n\n\u201cLet those who are your enemies know that you do no injury to the royal\nauthority, and that you have no prejudice against it when you refuse to\ngive to C\u00e6sar what belongs to God; for it is written, \u2018_We must obey God\nrather than men_.\u2019 \u201d\n\nThis eloquent letter, like everything else that was done in order to\nmitigate the most trying persecution of modern times, remained without any\nother result than to afford some comfort to the clergy of the afflicted\nChurch of Germany.\n\nPius IX., in order to show still further his appreciation of the constancy\nunder persecution of the German clergy, conferred the dignity of Cardinal\non Archbishop Ledochowski, who courageously accepted the proffered honor.\nThe persecuting government prevented him from ever enjoying it in his\ndiocese, by condemning him to perpetual banishment. This was, at least, an\napproach to the cruelty practised on Fisher, the illustrious English\nConfessor, who was consigned to the Tower of London because he would not\nsanction the divorce of Henry VIII., and acknowledge the Royal Supremacy\nin questions of religion. The Pope of the time sent him a cardinal\u2019s hat.\nBut the enraged king took care that he should never wear it by cutting off\nhis head. The time was past when blood could be shed in hatred of the\ntruth, even by so hard a tyrant as the Prussian minister. In the\nnineteenth century, however, as well as in the sixteenth, there would not\nbe wanting those who would resist unto blood for religion\u2019s sake.\n\nIt was comparatively an easy matter to deprive and banish the legitimate\npastors, but not quite so easy to find priests so unprincipled as to\nbecome their successors. The politic chancellor, apparently, had not\nthought of this beforehand. In the course of five years he could find only\ntwo ecclesiastics who would consent to accept benefices at his hands. All\nthose on whom he might have counted for establishing a schism in the\nChurch had already joined, with all the encouragement which the minister\ncould bestow, the _alt-Catholic_ sect, which, as has been shown, was\ndestined to prove a failure. It is almost superfluous to say that the\nparishioners studiously avoided all communication in things spiritual with\nthe nominees of the State. Meanwhile, the faithful people were not left\ndestitute. Zealous young priests from the seminaries visited them\nprivately at their houses, and ministered to their religious wants. Such\nas so acted were arrested and conducted to the frontier. They returned by\nthe next railway train. They were then cast into prison. As soon as they\nwere free they returned to the post of duty. There was in Germany a\nrevival of the Primitive Church\u2014of the zeal and self-sacrifice of the\napostolic age. All this was met by the closing of the seminaries, the\nseverest blow that had, as yet, been struck against the cause of religion.\nThe chancellor, nevertheless, was not successful. The newspapers in his\ninterest, which he designated as the _reptile press_, laughed at his\nshort-sightedness. He had counted on accomplishing his purpose by some six\nmonths of persecution. Generations would not suffice. The endurance of the\nChurch is unconquerable. It is as an anvil which wears out many hammers.\nThat which Chancellor Bismarck applied, so vigorously, will prove to be no\nexception.(11) Southern Germany, it is a pleasure to record, abhors the\nridiculous _Kulturkampf_ of Chancellor Bismarck. Louis II., of Bavaria,\nwould fain follow in his wake. But, as is shown by the large Catholic\nmajorities at the elections, he is not seconded, even passively, as in\nPrussia, by the Bavarian people. The persecution, attended by its\nessential results, is rendering all Germany more Catholic than ever. When\nits work shall have been accomplished, what will remain? The Church or the\n_Kulturkampf_?\n\nIn the meantime many innocent persons must suffer: many time-honored\ninstitutions will have been swept away: in the pursuit of an ideal\ncivilization, and by means of cruelties unworthy of an enlightened age,\nmany monuments which owed their origin to the superior civilizing power of\nChristianity will have disappeared forever. In addition to all this,\nfeelings hostile to the Church, and prejudices hurtful as they are\ngroundless, are everywhere created. Pius IX. complained of this\nunfortunate state of things, when he said (10th January, 1875): \u201cThe\nrevolution, not satisfied with persecuting Catholics in Prussia, excites,\non both sides of the Alps, those governments which profess to be Catholic,\nbut which have only too plainly led the way, in the shameful career of\nreligious oppression. It excites them to persist, more boldly than ever,\nin the work of persecution, and these governments execute its behests. God\nwill arise, some day, and, addressing the Protestant oppressor, he will\nsay to him: Thou hast sinned\u2014grievously sinned; but the Catholic\ngovernments, on all hands, have still more grievously sinned. _Majus\npeccatum habent._\u201d\n\nITALY\u2014EDUCATION.\n\nAt the time of the Piedmontese invasion, there were in the city of Rome,\none hundred and sixty-eight colleges or public schools.\n\nThe number of schools was twenty thousand, whilst the whole population of\nthe city was two hundred and twenty thousand. The pupils are classed as\nfollows, according to the statistics of his Eminence the Cardinal-Vicar,\nin 1870:\n\nStudents, boarding in seminaries and colleges: 703\nStudents, day scholars, gratuitously taught in the schools: 5,555\nStudents, day scholars, who paid a small fee: 1,603\nTotal: 7,941\n\nGirls, boarding in _refuges_: 2,986\nGirls, day scholars, gratuitously taught: 6,523\nGirls, day scholars, who paid a small fee: 2,871\nTotal: 11,380\n\nGeneral total: 19,321\n\nThus, including the orphans of both sexes, at _St. Michael de Termini_ and\nother asylums, pupils are in the proportion of one to ten inhabitants.\nThis is not inferior to Paris, and surpasses Berlin, so much spoken of as\na seat of education. This Prussian (now German capital) reckoned, in 1875,\nonly eighty-five thousand scholars for a population of nine hundred and\nseventy-four thousand souls, or ten scholars to one hundred and fourteen\ncitizens. The Godless schools, established by the new rulers, have\nimpeded, only to a certain extent, the development given to education by\nthe Government of Pius IX. In the poorer quarters of the city some parties\nhave been either intimidated by the threats of the _Department of\nCharity_, or gained by the offer of bounties to themselves and a\ngratuitous breakfast to their children. But, generally, the people of Rome\nstill resist, and several Christian schools have considerably increased\nsince 1870, the number of their pupils. This is all the more remarkable,\nas the ruling faction showed a strong determination to put an end entirely\nto Christian education. By the end of 1873, the usurping government had\nconfiscated more than one hundred monasteries, convents, and other\nestablishments of public education. A Lyceum was set up in place of the\ncelebrated Roman College, from which its proprietors, the Rev. Fathers of\nthe Society of Jesuits, were finally expelled in 1874. The better to show\ntheir _animus_ on the occasion, the new Rulers tore down a magnificent\npiece of sculpture, in marble, which adorned the gate, and on which was\nengraved the blessed name of the Saviour, replacing it by the escutcheon\nin wood of Victor Emmanuel.\n\nAs if to give zest to robbery, the Godless tyrants proposed that the\nprofessors of the Roman College should continue their lessons, as\nfunctionaries of the Italian government, and after having qualified by\naccepting diplomas from a lay university. It would, indeed, have been\ncomical to see such men as Secchi, Franzelin, Tarquini, and many, besides,\nthe first professors in the world, seated on scholars\u2019 benches, to be\nexamined by the semi-barbarous officials, whether civil or military, of\nthe Piedmontese King. Pius IX., although pressed by many wants, provided\nan asylum for science. He called together the Jesuit Fathers who had been\ndispersed, in the halls of the American and German Colleges. There,\nalthough somewhat pinched for room, they continued their international\ncourses, the most extensive that ever were known.\n\nThe new Rulers, however, it is only proper to observe, never dared to\ndrive Father Secchi from his observatory.\n\nThere ought never to have been any difficulty in Italy as regards\neducation. The Italians were, and are still, of one mind, and not divided,\nlike us, into numerous denominations, all of which have to be considered\nwithout prejudice to their religious views. The usurping Italian\ngovernment allotted one million of francs (\u00a340,000) per annum, for\nelementary education at Rome. Not one half of the children for whom this\nbounty is intended, avail themselves of it\u2014a fact which shows that the\npopular want has not been met. The outlay only burdens the ratepayers\nwithout advancing the end for which it is designed\u2014elementary education.\nPrivate persons supply the need according to the popular desire, by means\nof regionary schools, supported entirely at their own expense, and with a\nlaudable degree of self-sacrifice. The same state of things prevails,\ngenerally, throughout Italy, as is shown by a circular of the minister of\npublic instruction. The new government aims at nothing less than the\nsubversion of religious principle. This the Italians resist, and will\ncontinue to resist. The government schools for secular and irreligious\neducation, among the upper classes, are like those for elementary\nteaching, very thinly attended, parents preferring to send their children\nabroad, and, when this cannot be afforded, to such ecclesiastical colleges\nand seminaries as are still in existence. The State schools have already a\nmonopoly in the conferring of degrees and the consequent civil advantages.\nIt is proposed to go still further, and, actually, to close by force, all\nthe higher schools in which religion is recognized, even as the school\nestablished by the Pope in the city of Rome, was recently put down. It is\nthus that these emancipators of mankind understand liberty!\n\nAs regards female education, especially, the people will never, willingly,\ngive up the schools that are conducted by \u201cSisters\u201d or \u201cNuns.\u201d The\neducation which such schools afford is universally appreciated\u2014among\nourselves who are divided, but more particularly among the Italians, who\nare all Catholics. It is in vain _to kick against the goad_, and this the\nItalian government will learn, some day, when it is cast forth as a rotten\ninstitution by the people, whose dearest wishes it ignores. It is of no\nuse to suppose that Italy is advanced to a state of irreligion, and so\nrequires a system of Godless education. The contrary is well known. State\nsystems, based, not on statistical facts, but, on idle suppositions, must\nneeds come to nought.\n\nITALY\u2014RELIGION.\n\n\u201cA free Church in a free State\u201d\u2014the great idea of such Italian liberals as\nhad any conception of a church at all, was surely to be realized when the\nfellow-countrymen of Count de Cavour came to rule at Rome. What was the\ncase? There was neither a free church nor a free State? That State is not\nfree, wherein the people are not fairly represented. The new Italian State\ncould not claim any such representation. It was held in such contempt that\nthe great majority of the Italian people, unwisely, indeed, we who are\naccustomed to constitutional government would say, declined to take part\nin the elections. Thus the entire control of the country was left in the\nhands of two comparatively small factions\u2014the _moderate_ and the _extreme_\nradicals. It is of little importance to the mass of the Italian people\nwhich of these factions holds sway for the moment. They both legislate and\nexecute the laws in opposition to the will of the nation, and in the sense\nand for the benefit of the prevailing faction. They are both alike\ncharacterized by hatred of the Christian faith and all religious\ninstitutions. This feeling impels them to war against everything connected\nwith Christianity, and to substitute what the Germans of the same school\ncall _Kulturkampf_, or, _a struggle for culture_, on principles the very\nopposite of those on which is founded the high civilization of the\nnineteenth century. No doubt these apostles of _Kulturkampf_ have a much\nhigher civilization in store for mankind. But it must be admitted that\nthey follow a strange way of bringing about the much-desired consummation.\nRobbery and sacrilege they believe, or profess to believe, will promote\nthe great object of their ambition, and so they practice, to their heart\u2019s\ncontent, robbery and sacrilege. Have they forgotten that, according to\ntheir code, it is a _Jesuitical_ teaching, that evil may be done in order\nto produce good. These legislators and administrators of laws claim to be\nsuperior to the _effete_ errors of the age. Why then should they still\ncling to those of the despised _Jesuits_? Because, no doubt, it serves the\npurpose of the moment, and affords some relief to, if it does not satisfy,\nan insatiable passion. On approaching Rome they affected much reverence\nfor the Holy Father and the institutions of religion. They could do\nnothing less, accordingly, than enact their now famous _law of\nguarantees_, which assured complete protection to the Pope and the\ninstitutions over which he presided. Let us enquire for a moment how this\nlaw was enforced. It surpassed, in generosity to the church, the\nlegislation of the most chivalrous monarchs. It gave up the royal rights\nof former kings in regard to nominating and proposing to ecclesiastical\noffices. It dispensed with the oath of bishops to the king, and formally\nabolished (see articles fifteen and sixteen) the _exequatur_, as it is\ncalled, authorizing the publication and execution of all notable acts of\necclesiastical authority. Such clear and apparently solemn regulations\nappeared to be inviolable. Nevertheless, whilst one hundred and fifty\nbishops were named by Pius IX., from the commencement of the Piedmontese\ninvasions till the month of August, 1875, no fewer than one hundred and\nthirty-seven of this number were not acknowledged by the civil power,\nbecause they did not apply for and obtain the _exequatur_. The ministry\nwas not satisfied with this. It pushed its tyranny to such an extreme as\nto refuse in future, to grant the _exequatur_ and to expel from their\nresidences all bishops who should not possess it. Not only did the\ngovernment withhold the incomes of the bishops, and confiscate the\nrevenues which the piety of the people had devoted for their support, it\nalso employed its gensd\u2019armes and police agents in seizing the prelates at\ntheir homes and casting them into the streets. The new rulers went further\nstill, and displayed their financial genius in a way peculiar to\nthemselves. They actually subjected to the tax on moveable property, the\nalms which the bishops received from the Sovereign Pontiff, who, like\nthemselves, was robbed of his proper income. Thus did the beggarly\ngovernment make money out of the small resources of those who, when the\nexchequer failed to fulfil its duties, endeavored themselves, as best they\ncould, to make up for this dereliction.\n\nMilitary conscription is essentially tyrannical. It is particularly so\nwhen used as an arm of offence against the church. It was applied to\necclesiastical students, and even to such as were in holy orders,\nexpressly for the purpose of depriving the church of recruits from the\nseminaries. None could now be found to renew the ranks of the clergy,\nexcept such as were invalids or of weak constitutions, or who, by miracle,\npersevered in their vocation, after four years\u2019 service in military\nbarracks.\n\nThe public robbers, notwithstanding their professions and guarantees,\naudaciously laid sacrilegious hands on the properties of the Basilicas of\nSt. Peter and St. John Lateran, which they themselves had expressly\nreserved for the use of the Holy See. They hesitated not even to seize the\nfunds of the celebrated missionary college\u2014Propaganda. These properties\nthey did not simply annex, as they did so many, besides, that belonged to\nthe Church. They created a liquidating junta or commission, as they called\nit, which should change all immovable ecclesiastical properties that were\nnot already confiscated into national rent. Such national rent, as is well\nknown, had only an ephemeral value. It was, at best, variable; and Italy,\nwhich was partially bankrupt when it reduced the interest due to its\ncreditors, will, sooner or later, according to the opinion of the ablest\nwriters, land in complete bankruptcy. The rents substituted by force,\ninstead of real property, will then possess the value of the _assignats_\nof the first French revolution.\n\nThe endowments of Propaganda, appointed by Christian generosity, at\ndifferent epochs, were not designed for the use of Rome or Italy, or any\nCatholic country whatever. Their object was the support of remote\nmissions. This was well understood. The very name of the institution shows\nthat it was. In vain did Cardinal Franchi apply to the tribunals. The\nproperties of the great universal institution, as well as those of the\nChapters, were sold at public auction, and the confiscation, although not\nimmediate, was in course of being accomplished. The state of things did\nnot improve on the advent to power of Messrs. Nicotera and Depretis, the\nformer a radical of the most extreme views, and the latter, very little,\nif at all, better. These revolutionists having gained the object of their\nambition, might have been inclined to halt in their mad career; but, their\nparty driving them onward, they proceeded to still more rigid and cruel\nmeasures. It is not too much to say that such men are digging a grave for\nthe House of Savoy and Italian unity.\n\nThe measures aiming at the destruction of religion may be summarized as\nfollows:\n\n1st. They have introduced civil registration of births, as an equivalent\nand alternative to Christian baptism.\n\n2nd. They have permitted and encouraged civil interment instead of\nChristian burial.\n\n3rd. They have abolished oaths in courts of law.\n\n4th. They have systematically encouraged the profanation of the Sunday and\nthe great festivals of Christmas, Easter, etc., by ordering the\nprosecution of the government buildings and other public works on Sundays;\nby ostentatiously holding their sessions on those days: by ordering public\nlectures in the universities and higher schools on Sundays as on week\ndays, etc.\n\n5th. They have established civil marriage as an equivalent before the law\nfor Christian marriage, and as necessary, in all cases, besides the\nreligious ceremony.\n\n6th. They have established a recognized system of public immorality by\nindemnities, and deriving from this shameful source a revenue which is\napplied to augment the secret service funds.\n\nIt is easily observed that in every detail of this enumeration, religion\nand morals are directly attacked. The Pope, who is the chief of religion\nand the great preacher of morality, cannot give any countenance to such\nthings. Far less can he identify himself with such anti-Christian\nlegislation. This is the insuperable impediment to his reconciliation with\nthe present Rulers of \u201cUnited Italy.\u201d He can resist evil, and resist unto\nblood, as so many of his sainted predecessors have done. But when there is\nquestion of accepting it, his only word must be, as it has always been,\n_non possumus_. What would men say, if He, who is the Head of the Church,\nand the chief guardian of the truth confided to Her keeping, could be\nbrought by the threats or caresses of ephemeral worldly Powers, _to call\ngood evil, and evil good_!\n\nITALY\u2014CRIME.\n\nReligion, when persecuted in any country, fails not to wreak vengeance on\nthe persecuting power. In such countries, virtue, generally, respect for\nlaw, order and authority, as well as public security, rapidly diminish,\nand the State discovers, although too late, that, in aiming at the Church,\nit has struck against itself a deadly blow.\n\nSince the inauguration of the much vaunted _Kulturkampf_, socialism has\nincreased to such a degree in Germany as to appal even Chancellor\nBismarck, whilst Italy, at the same time that it closed its convents and\nCatholic colleges, was obliged to multiply not only its military barracks,\nbut also its prisons. In no part of Italian territory have these\npreventives of crime, if, indeed, they may be so-called, proved\nsufficient. So rapid has been the increase of crime, that, according to\nofficial statistics, in the Province of Rome alone, seven thousand two\nhundred and ninety-three cases were ascertained and brought before the\ntribunals, in 1874. This is just double what appeared in the criminal\ncourts under the Pontifical government. In the whole kingdom there were\neighty-four thousand prisoners, or criminals under restraint. This is\nthirty-five thousand more than in France, the general population of which\nis greater by one-third, and four times more than in Great Britain, the\npopulation of which is about the same as that of united Italy. This state\nof crime is not surprising when it is considered that the rulers\nthemselves have never ceased to set the example of the most unscrupulous\nand merciless theft and robbery. The new civil code, besides, appears to\nhave had no other object in view than to obliterate all idea of right, and\nto legitimatize all robberies, past, present and future, in the\nunfortunate kingdom of Italy. Article seven hundred and ten of this code\ndeclares, plainly, _that property is acquired by possession_.\n\nAt Rome, barristers, judges, and even the most revolutionary journalists\nare assassinated by private vengeance, in broad day, in the street, or in\ntheir offices, and no one dare molest the murderers. In Romagna it was\nfound necessary to bring to justice an association of assassins, who were,\nfor the most part, persons of good education and men of property. In\nSicily matters were still worse. There, a society of Brigands, called\n_Maffia_, holds the island in a state of perpetual terror. Numerous\nGaribaldians who have been without employment since 1870, and were long\ntolerated, on account of former complicity, added to the ranks of this\nfraternity. The _Maffia_ rid themselves of another society, the _Kamorra_,\nby the successive assassination at Palermo alone, of twenty-three of its\nchiefs. All these crimes remain unpunished, none daring to bear witness\nagainst the guilty.\n\nIn the departments of government there is not less moral disorder. The\nfinances are mismanaged and dilapidated. Notwithstanding the enormous and\noppressive increase of taxation, together with the forcible appropriation\nof ecclesiastical property, deficits are the order of the day, and the\nnation has been, more than once, and probably is still, on the verge of\nbankruptcy. Truly, may the Italians, who are twenty-three to one, exclaim,\nin their distress: _Quo usque tandem abuteris patientia nostra?_ \u201cHow\nlong, O disastrous revolution! wilt thou abuse our patience?\u201d\n\nNor are the better thinking Italians without blame. Why did they not take\npart\u2014why do they not still take part in the elections, and return, as they\nwell may, a majority to the would-be constitutional parliament? Their\nnumbers would, undoubtedly, be imposing and influential. So much so,\nindeed, that they must finally obtain admission, without burdening their\nconscience with an obnoxious oath. What did not Daniel O\u2019Connell,\nIreland\u2019s liberator, accomplish, by causing himself alone to be elected\nfor an Irish constituency, and by proceeding to demand the seat to which\nhe was elected in the British parliament, without uttering an oath which\nshocked his conscience?\n\nRUSSIA AND THE EAST.\n\nThe cruel and sanguinary persecution of Catholics in the Russian Empire\nwas a cause of intense sorrow to Pius IX. He could do nothing towards\nalleviating the sufferings of those unfortunate people. The Tsar,\nAlexander II., shows in his treatment of his Ruthenian subjects of the\nunited Greek Church, that he is wholly unworthy of the reputation for\nenlightenment and benevolence with which he has been credited. The\nEmpress, indeed, is blamed, together with her fanatical favorite, Melle.\nBludow, the Minister of Public Instruction, Tolstoy, and Gromeka, Governor\nof Siedlce, for having urged him to use the power of the empire in forcing\nconversions to Russo-Greek _orthodoxy_. That the heads of a semi-barbarous\nnation should so advise is not surprising. The Tsar, who is an absolute\nmonarch, cannot be excused. There is every reason, besides, for holding\nhim personally responsible. When he was at Warsaw, a peasant woman,\nbearing a petition, succeeded in obtaining admission to his presence. As\nsoon as he learned that the petition begged toleration for the united\nGreek Church, he replied by inserting in all the newspapers a confirmation\nof the orders formerly given for the extinction of that church. Count\nAlexandrowicz de Constantinovo was repeatedly warned by the Russian\nauthorities that he had no right to attend the Latin churches, which,\nbeing less persecuted, were a refuge for the united Greeks, when, indeed,\nas was rarely the case, they were allowed to enjoy it. The Count, hoping\nto be more liberally dealt with by the enlightened Tsar, who was said to\nsurpass in all that was great and noble, his tolerant predecessor,\nAlexander I., proceeded to St. Petersburgh. The Tsar made a reply to his\nrepresentation, which, in the case of an ordinary mortal, would be taken\nfor a proof of stupidity, or of impenetrable ignorance. \u201cThe Orthodox\nreligion is pleasing to me. Why should it not please you also?\u201d It\nremained only for the Count to sell his properties and abandon his\ncountry. More humble members of the obnoxious church could not so easily\nescape. The savage treatment to which they were subjected can only be\nbriefly alluded to here. A persecution which has lasted more than a\nhundred years, and is not yet at an end, is more a subject for the general\nhistory of the church than for the life of Pius IX. A few facts,\ntherefore, must suffice.\n\nIn the important diocese of Chelm, particularly, the most ingenious\ndevices were had recourse to, in order to delude the Catholic people, and\ninduce them to comply with the requirements of the Russo-Greek Church. All\nthese failing, force was had recourse to, and it was used, assuredly,\nwithout stint or measure. Seizure of property, imprisonment, the lash and\nexile to Siberia, proved equally unavailing, as persecution, in every\nform, must always be. Greater excesses were then had recourse to.\n\nThey who dared to perform a pilgrimage, take part in a religious\nprocession, or enter a Catholic Church, were shot down like the wild game\nof the forests, by the fanatical myrmidons of the Tsar. In January, 1874,\nthe people of Rudno were forced to abandon their dwellings and take refuge\nin the woods. At Chmalowski, several united Greeks, of whom three were\nwomen, were flogged to death by Cossack troops. At Pratulin, in the\ndistrict of Janow, when a number of people assembled in a cemetery, were\nguarding the door of the church against apostate priests, a German\ncolonel, who commanded three companies of Cossacks, ordered his troops to\nfire. Nine of the people fell dead on the spot. A great many more were\nmortally wounded. Of these four died within the day. \u201cThus does the Tsar\npunish rebels,\u201d said the savage colonel to the mayors of the neighboring\nvillages, whom he had forced to witness the execution. At Drylow, five men\nwere slain on the same day, and in the same cruel way as at Pratulin. So\nrecently as August, 1870, a body of peasants, returning from a pilgrimage,\nwere attacked by Russian soldiers. They defended themselves bravely, as\nbest they could, with no better weapons than their walking canes. Six of\nthe troops fell, and thirty, one of whom was an officer, were wounded.\nReinforcements coming to the aid of the military, the peasants were\ndefeated, and a great number of them killed and wounded. Among the latter\nwere many women, and seven children. Two hundred arrests were made, the\nnext and following days. The prisoners were at first immured in the\nCitadel of Warsaw. It is not probable that they will ever be allowed to\nvisit their kindred or their native villages.\n\nPius IX., being partially informed of such cruelties, which it was utterly\nbeyond his power to prevent, wrote to the United Greek Archbishop of\nLemberg, Sembratovicz, conjuring him to send to the sorely persecuted\npeople all the help in his power, both spiritual and material. He\ndeclared, at the same time, by the Bull, \u201c_omnem sollicitudinem_\u201d dated\n13th May, 1874, that the Liturgies proper to the Eastern Churches, and\nparticularly that of the United Greeks, which was settled by the Council\nof Tamose, in 1720, were always held in high esteem by the Holy See, and\nought to be carefully preserved. Hearing that a Bull which concerned them\nhad arrived from Rome, the Ruthenian peasants sent secretly to Lemberg, in\norder to procure it. Their envoys entering Galicia without passports,\nincurred the risk of being sent to Siberia. When the Bull was once\nobtained, the people assembled in groups, in remote places, and any one\nwho could read, read it to the rest of the company. It was held in honor\nas a relic. When the Russians discovered that the Bull was known to the\npeople, they did their best to cause it to be misunderstood, both among\nthe clergy and the laity. They insisted, even, that the Pope had discarded\nthe Greek rite; that henceforth, they who adhered to Rome, could not\ncelebrate either the Mass of St. John Chrysostom or that of St. Basil, and\nthat the marriage of secular priests, together with the Sclavonic\nlanguage, would cease to be tolerated.\n\nIt has been attempted to conceal from the civilized world the more\natrocious circumstances of the Russian persecution. But the darkest deeds\nof the darkest despotism cannot be always done in the dark. The press of\ncontinental Europe has informed the public mind. If anything were wanting\nto satisfy English readers, generally, it would be found in the despatch\nof Mr. Marshall Jewell, Minister of the United States, at St. Petersburgh,\nto Mr. Secretary Fish. This document is dated at the United States\nLegation at St. Petersburgh, 23rd February, 1874. The minister begins by\nstating that he took great pains to be correctly informed, regarding the\nstate of matters, before writing his report. This, he adds, was not done\nwithout difficulty, as the affair was kept very quiet at St. Petersburgh.\nCertain repressive measures for the conversion of the Ruthenian Catholics\nhaving proved inadequate, \u201cnew and more stringent orders were given a few\nweeks later. In consequence of these orders, several priests (thirty-four,\nI have been told) who persisted in performing the former services, were\narrested. In some localities the peasants refused to go to the churches\nwhen the Orthodox priests officiated, until they were forced to go by the\ntroops. In other localities they assembled in crowds, shut the churches,\nand prevented the priests from performing the offices. In one case, it is\nsaid, a priest was stoned to death. Conflicts arose between the peasants\nand the armed force. On such occasions many persons were maltreated, and\nin the case of the village of Drelow\u201428th February\u2014thirty peasants were\nslain, and many more wounded. It is said, even, that several soldiers were\nkilled. It is reported that the prisons at Lublin and Kielce are crammed\nwith prisoners. The peasants have also been flogged, men receiving fifty,\nwomen twenty-five, and children ten lashes each. Some women, more\ndetermined and outspoken than the rest, were punished with a hundred\nlashes. Like troubles, it is said, have occurred at Pratulin and other\nlocalities, with loss of life.... Last summer, the peasants of divers\nvillages, in the Government of Lublin, were constantly obliged to submit\nto examination, and to appear before the courts. It was, in consequence,\nimpossible for them to cultivate their fields; and, hence, they have been\nreduced almost to a state of famine. (Signed.) MARSHALL JEWELL.\u201d\n\nTHE EAST\u2014CHURCH IN THE TURKISH EMPIRE.\n\nIt is comparatively an easy undertaking to create trouble and disturbance\nin the church. It is not so easy, however, to establish a schism. The\nPrussian chancellor learned this fact when he beheld the failure of his\n_alt-Catholic_ scheme in Germany. Having tried the same game in Turkey,\nhis projects, notwithstanding the aid and countenance of the Mussulman\nPower, proved abortive. The government of the sublime Porte had been very\ntolerant hitherto, as regarded its Catholic subjects. In the early days of\nPius IX. it had concurred with the Holy See in establishing a Catholic\nbishop at Jerusalem; it protected pilgrimages and processions; it favored\ncolleges and institutions for ecclesiastical education; and to such a\ndegree that, under its auspices and through its care, there are several\nflourishing seminaries which renew the intellectual life of the people who\nfollow the Latin rite. A united Bulgarian church has been founded and is\ndaily gaining strength. The Maronites are almost completely restored after\nthe disaster of 1860. The number of Greek Catholics or Melchites, has been\nalmost doubled, so great is the number of conversions. The same may be\nsaid of the Chaldean or Armenian Catholics. These last are probably the\nbest informed and the most influential of the Christian populations under\nthe Sultan\u2019s rule. Prussian intrigue, and a momentary renewal of Mussulman\nfanaticism, have done much to check, if not wholly to destroy this happy\nstate of things. One Kupelian, aspiring to be patriarch of Armenia, was\nput forward by rich and influential parties as the administrator of their\nnation, and they succeeded in obtaining from the Porte his investiture, as\nthe only true Head of the Armenian Catholics. The legitimate chief,\nHassoum, Patriarch of Cilicia, protested. In vain, however, as France was\nno longer able to maintain his right. The last ambassador of that country\nrepresenting Napoleon III., had even supported the pretensions and favored\nthe machinations of the Kupelianites. The Porte was induced to treat\nHassoum as a seditious person, and banished him from the country. The\nexile found his way to Rome, where he was kindly received by Pius IX. He\ndid not return to Constantinople till 1876. Meanwhile, persecution was\ncruelly carried on. Bishops were expelled from their sees, rectors from\ntheir parishes, churches, monasteries and hospitals were seized by force\nof arms. At Damascus, Broussa, Sinope, Mardyn, Mossoul, all the principal\ntowns of the Ottoman Empire, Armenian Catholics were forcibly driven from\ntheir churches, in order to make room for mere handfuls of Kupelianists.\nThe persecution extended as far as Cairo. At Augora, twelve thousand\nArmenian Catholics were dispossessed in favor of twelve dissenters, one of\nthese twelve being an apostate monk, the delegate of Kupelian. At Adana,\nthe church, the school, and the residence of the Catholic Armenian bishop,\nwith all the revenues attached thereto, became the prey of two\nindividuals, a priest and a lay person. At Trebizonde, the bishop was\nexpelled by Russian bayonettes, and died of grief. The value of property\ntaken from Catholics is estimated at one hundred millions of livres. For\nwhat, it may be asked, was the power of an empire exercised, and so much\nrobbery perpetrated? In favor, at least, one would say, of some important\nsect? No such thing. It was all for the would-be Kupelian schism, seven\nhundred strong. It is needless here to say how soon the degenerate Sultan,\nAbdul Aziz, and his prevaricating empire met their reward, whilst the\nlegitimate Armenian patriarch, Hassoum, so long the victim of persecution,\nhas been restored, is honored by the government of his country and held in\nthe highest esteem by the Chief Pastor of the Christian fold. All this was\nforetold by Pius IX., although, indeed, the Holy Pontiff pretended not to\nutter a prophecy. In a letter intended for the consolation of the banished\nArchbishop of Mardyn, in Mesopotamia, and the Armenian Catholics, he says:\n\u201cIt behooves us not to lose courage, nor to believe that the triumph of\niniquity will be of long continuance. For, does not the Scripture say:\n\u2018The wicked man is caught in his own perversity; he is bound by the chains\nof his crimes, and he who digs a pit for others will fall into it himself:\nhe who casts a stone into the path of his neighbor, will strike against it\nand stumble; finally, he who lays a snare for another will be caught\ntherein himself.\u2019 This war, venerable, brother, is waged, not so much\nagainst men as against God. It is because of hatred to his name that his\nministers and faithful people are persecuted. Persecution constitutes\ntheir merit and their glory. God will at length arise and vindicate his\ncause. Whilst I applaud your firmness, I most earnestly exhort you never\nto let it fail you, but to possess your soul in patience, to wait\nconfidently, and, at the same time, courageously, for you rely not on your\nown strength, but on the power of God, whose cause you maintain. Your\nconstancy will confirm that of your brethren of the clergy and of the\nflock confided to your care. It will lead to a moral victory, assuredly\nmore brilliant and more solid than the ephemeral success of violence.\u201d\n\nIt was not long till the news of the day bore that many distinguished\npersons were returning to the one fold. A moral victory for the Armenian\nCatholics was following fast in the wake of successful force. The number\nof Kupelianists was diminishing. The churches and church properties of\nAdana and Diabekir, were abandoned by them in 1876, and the schism was in\ncourse of being extinguished.\n\nThe Chaldean patriarch, Audon, rashly undertook to establish a schism.\nTowards the end of February, 1873, he was reconciled to Pius IX., and\nrelieved from the censures which he had incurred. The Chaldean Catholics\ngave a great deal of trouble. However anxiously Pius IX. labored for their\nsalvation, they are insignificant in point of numbers, scarcely as many as\nwould constitute a parish in any of our cities. Any further historical\nnotice of them may, therefore, be very properly dispensed with.\n\nCHINA\u2014INDIA\u2014JAPAN\u2014WONDERFUL CHANGE.\n\nChina, where the light of Christianity has sought so long to penetrate and\ndispel the dismal gloom of heathen darkness, may now, at length, be said\nto enjoy the greatest possible degree of religious liberty. The European\nPowers, Great Britain and France, whilst securing the freedom of trade,\nand generally that intercourse which is customary between civilized\nnations, neglected not, at the same time, to establish such relations as\nrender safe and available the labors of Christian missionaries. If, in\nTonquin, there occurred a fearful massacre of Christians, it was due to\nthe indiscretion of a French officer who exceeded his orders, and excited\nagainst his fellow-countrymen and the Christian populations, generally,\nthe anger of the pagan Mandarins. The vengeance of these chiefs was\nprompt, sweeping and cruel. In the localities inhabited by Christians only\nsome women and little children were spared. Not a house was left. The\nFrench government probably, from unwillingness to recognize, in any way,\nthe action of its officer, refrained from punishing these atrocities. A\ntreaty, placing the whole country of Tonquin under the protection of\nFrance, was concluded with the Emperor of Aunam, who is the Liege Lord of\nTonquin, and thus liberty to preach the Gospel secured for the future.\n\nIn India and Western China, liberty of conscience has long prevailed. Pius\nIX. was, in consequence, enabled to increase the number of\nvicariates-apostolic in those countries, as well as in China proper, in\nproportion to the growth of the faithful people, however inconsiderable it\nwas, as yet in the midst of countless numbers of heathens and Mahometans.\n\nThe Pontificate of Pius IX. would be for ever memorable, if only on\naccount of the new era which appears, at length, to have dawned for the\nlong benighted empire of Japan. That empire was as a sealed book to all\nChristian nations. As is well known, no traveller or merchant from any\nChristian land could set foot on its territory without first performing\nthe revolting ceremony of trampling on the chief emblem of the Christian\nfaith. At one time, nevertheless, there were many Christians in Japan,\nand, as will be seen, heathen prejudice and persecution had not been able\nto extinguish the Divine light. It may be conceived how searching and\ncruel the persecution was when it is remembered that, in the early part of\nthe seventeenth century, there were two millions of Christians, and, about\nthe same time, almost as many martyrs. All missionaries who, since 1630,\nlanded on the inhospitable shores of Japan, were immediately seized,\ntortured, and put to death. It was generally believed that the Christian\npeople were totally exterminated. Pius IX., notwithstanding, as if\nactuated by some secret inspiration, the very first year of his\nPontificate, created a vicariate-apostolic of Japan. Several endeavors to\nenter into communication with the Japanese were made; but, for a long\ntime, to no purpose. The sealed-up empire, at length, opened its ports to\nGreat Britain and the United States of America. Such was the power of\ntrade. The other civilized nations could no longer be excluded. Japan\nconcluded a treaty with France by virtue of which the subjects of the\nlatter State were secured in the free exercise of their religion among the\nJapanese. Mgr. Petitjean, who was, at the time, the vicar-apostolic,\navailed himself of such favorable relations to erect a church at Yokohama,\nand establish his residence at Nagasaki. All this was happily accomplished\nunder the encouraging auspices of Pius IX. One day, as the vicar-apostolic\nhad concluded the celebration of Mass, some inhabitants of a large village\nnamed Ourakami, near the city, came to him with countenances, expressive,\nat the same time, of joy and fear. Addressing him, they said: \u201cHave you\nand your priests renounced marriage, and do you honor in your prayers the\nMother of Christ?\u201d The missionary replying in the affirmative, the\nJapanese fell on their knees and exclaimed: \u201cYou are, indeed, the\ndisciples of Saint Francis Xavier, our first apostle. You are the true\nbrethren of our former Jesuit Fathers. At last, after a lapse of two\nhundred years, we behold, once more, the priests of the true faith!\u201d They\ngave thanks to God, shedding abundance of tears, with which mingled those\nof the good missionary; \u201creligion,\u201d they added, \u201cis free only to\nstrangers. The law has not ceased to punish us Japanese Catholics with\ndeath. No matter; receive us, nevertheless, and instruct us. The lapse of\ntime and the want of books have, perhaps, disfigured in our memories the\nteachings of truth. There will happen to us whatever it shall please God\nto appoint.\u201d\n\nFour thousand families, comprising fourteen thousand individuals, had\nsecretly persevered, clinging to the Catholic faith since the days of the\nApostolic Xavier. Notwithstanding all the prudence of the missionaries,\nthe secret of their relations with the natives became known to the local\npolice, and more than four thousand inhabitants of Ourakami were arrested,\nbastinadoed, imprisoned or transported to the North. Their punishment\nlasted four years. One-third of their number died of want, but few of them\ngave way. The survivors of these persecuted people were finally restored\nto their country, and through the representations of the European consuls,\nreligious liberty was granted, at least, provisionally, to natives as well\nas strangers. Thus did Pius IX., at length, enjoy the consolation to\nbehold, established in peace, the church which St. Francis Xavier had\nplanted in the Empire of Japan, and which was so celebrated in the annals\nof Christian heroism.\n\nPERSECUTION IN BRAZIL.\n\nGonsalvez de Oliveira, Bishop of Olinda, had found it necessary to warn\nhis diocesans against the machinations of certain secret societies, which\nwere alike hostile to the Church and to the State. They had obtained so\nmuch influence with the latter as to be able to attack, with impunity, the\nSisters of Charity, and the priests of the Lazarist congregation, as well\nas all other zealous priests who sought to restore the discipline of the\nchurch. Whilst, on the one hand, the bishop was sustained by the\ncongratulations and encouragement of the Holy See, and by the deference to\necclesiastical authority of many Catholics who had been accustomed to\nconsider the secret societies as most inoffensive associations, he was\nurged, on the other hand, by the fury of the chiefs of those societies,\nwho, alone, know all that they aim at and hold secret.\n\nThe Emperor, Don Pedro II., influenced by his free-thinking _entourage_,\njudged that the pastoral letter should be denounced to the Council of\nState. The councillors declared that it was an illegal document, not\nhaving received the Imperial _placet_ \u201crequired by the Constitution of the\nEmpire.\u201d Now commenced the most heartless, and, as is always the case,\nunavailing persecution. By order of the ministry, the procurator-general\nsummoned the Bishop of Olinda before the Supreme Court of Rio Janeiro. The\nintrepid prelate replied by a letter, in which he declared that he could\nnot, in conscience, appear before the Supreme Court, because it was\nimpossible to do so, without acknowledging the competence of a civil court\nin matters purely religious. On 3rd January, 1874, the bishop was ordered\nto go to prison. He intimated that he would yield only to force. The chief\nof police, accordingly, accompanied by two army officers, repaired to the\nEpiscopal palace, and conducted Mgr. de Oliveira to the port where a ship\nof war was in attendance, to transport him to the maritime arsenal of Rio\nJaneiro, one of the most unwholesome stations in Brazil. There the\nillustrious prisoner was visited by Mgr. Lacerda, Bishop of Rio Janeiro,\nwho took off his pectoral cross, which was a family keep-sake, and placing\nit around the neck of Mgr. Oliveira, said: \u201cMy Lord, you have full\njurisdiction throughout this land to which you are brought as a captive.\nMy clergy, the chapter of my cathedral, all will be most happy to obey\nyour orders. Have the goodness to bless us all. The blessing of those who\nsuffer persecution in the cause of Christ is a pledge of salvation.\u201d\nBishop Lacerda, before retiring, handed to the prisoner a large sum of\nmoney, in order that he should want for nothing, and promised to renew his\nvisit as often as the gaolers would permit. Almost all the bishops of\nBrazil sent congratulatory telegrams to the imprisoned bishop. One of them\nwent so far as to identify himself with the action of the Bishop of\nOlinda, by doing in like manner. It was the Bishop of Para, who was\nspeedily transferred from his Episcopal palace to prison. The\nadministrator who filled his place, having refused to remove the interdict\nwhich had been pronounced against certain confraternities which admitted\nmembers of the secret societies, was condemned on 25th April, 1875, to six\nyears of forced penal labor. Four years of the like torture were decreed\nagainst the administrator of Olinda for a similar offence. So much for the\nhumanitarian Emperor of Brazil and his enlightened advisers.\n\nIt was not long till new elections raised to power, men who had more\nrespect for the Episcopal office, and the wretched Brazilian persecution\ncame to an end.\n\nThe Bishop of Olinda was no sooner set at liberty than he repaired to\nRome, in order to give an account of his conduct to Pius IX. The Holy\nFather gave him every proof of the warmest affection.\n\nThe lesser States of South America, which, on being emancipated from the\nyoke of Spain, had chosen the republican form of government, became a\nsource of intense anxiety to the Holy Father. Venezuela, Chili, the\nArgentine Republic, and, even Hayti, appear to have been seized with the\nspirit of the time. They had become too great, one would say, to accept\nhumbly the teachings of religion. Even Chili, where comparative moderation\nprevailed, made an attempt to subordinate in all things, spiritual as well\nas temporal, the Church to the State. The bishops, as in duty bound,\nprotested; and, being unanimously supported by the people, the attack of\nChilian free-thinkers, on public peace and liberty, was abandoned. The\ntrouble in Hayti arose more from a desire, on the part of the negroes, to\nhave native priests than any real hostility to religion. The government\nignorantly assumed the right to appoint the chief administrators of the\nChurch. The people were painfully affected by this unwarrantable\nencroachment on the spiritual power. It was hardly to be supposed that\nPeru should be out of the fashion. Pius IX. appears, however, to have\nsettled the difficulties of the Peruvians, by granting to their presidents\nthe same right of patronage which was formerly enjoyed by the Kings of\nSpain. The religious troubles of Mexico were not so easily composed. The\ncivil authorities of that sadly unsettled republic, urged, it is believed,\nby the secret societies, aimed at nothing less than the total suppression\nof religion. On 24th November, 1874, they decreed that no public\nfunctionary or body of officials, whether civil or military, should attend\nany religious office whatsoever. \u201cThe Sunday or Sabbath day,\u201d they\nimpiously ruled, \u201cshall henceforth be tolerated only in as far as it\naffords rest to public employees.\u201d Religious instruction, together with\nall practices of religion, was prohibited in all the establishments of the\nfederation of the States and the municipalities. No religious act could be\ndone except in the churches, and there, only, under the superintendence of\nthe police. No religious institution was authorized to acquire real estate\nor any capital accruing from such property. Article nineteen of this\ndetestable legislation, and which was carried by one hundred and thirteen\nto fifty-seven votes, interdicted the Sisters of Charity from living in\ncommunity and wearing publicly their costume. Thus were expelled from\nMexico four hundred sisters, who performed their charitable offices in the\nhospitals, schools and asylums of the country. Public opinion was roused,\nbut to no purpose. The good sisters were allowed to embark for France,\nbearing with them the fate of thousands of the unfortunate. They may,\nperhaps, be replaced by the Prussian chancellor\u2019s deaconesses; of this\nsisterhood, the best suited for the Mexican climate, would, no doubt, be\nthat portion which fled from Smyrna on the approach of an epidemic.\n\nECUADOR.\n\nIn the midst of so many discontented, turbulent, persecuting,\nsemi-barbarous States, there was one where there was neither discontent,\nnor turbulence, nor persecution. This favored Republic of Ecuador was in\nclose communion with Pius IX., and its president discarding all the\nfine-spun views and chimerical theories of the time, ruled, as became the\nchief of a free State, according to the wishes and the generally accepted\nprinciples of his people. A republic, so governed, provided it remain\nuncorrupt, cannot fail to enjoy the highest degree of prosperity\ncompatible with its position and material resources. Not only did Ecuador\nitself enjoy the fruits of its truly free and rationally republican\ngovernment, it was able also to extend the blessings of its Christian and\nliberal civilization to neighboring tribes. Moved by the example and the\nrepresentations of the good people of Ecuador, nine thousand savages of\nthe Province of Oriente were induced to adopt the habits of Christian\ncivilization. The government of the enlightened president, Garcia Moreno,\nwas so abundantly blessed that, in twelve years, the trade of Ecuador was\ndoubled, as were also the number of its schools and the sum of its public\nrevenues.\n\nSo bright an illustration of the good-working of sound principles was not\nto be tolerated. The love of a grateful and prosperous people could not\nprotect their great and successful fellow-citizens against the weapons of\nsecret conspirators. Political fanatics, who were strangers in Ecuador,\nand who, according to their own declaration, bore no personal ill-will to\nthe president, struck the fatal blow. \u201cI die,\u201d said the illustrious\nvictim, as he expired, \u201cbut God dieth not!\u201d The assassins were they who\nhold that God has no business in this world. \u201c_Dixit insipicus; non est\nDeus_.\u201d\n\nPius IX. lamented the death of Garcia Moreno, as he had lamented some\nseven-and-twenty years before, the untimely fate of his own minister,\nCount Rossi. He extolled the President of Ecuador in several allocutions,\nas the champion of true civilization and its martyr. He caused his\nobsequies to be solemnized in one of the Basilicas of Rome, over which he\nstill held authority, and ordered that his bust should be placed in one of\nthe galleries of the Vatican.\n\nIn the estimation of a certain class of politicians, Moreno was behind the\nage. In reality he was far in advance of it. The mania for Godless\ngovernment, Godless education, Godless manners, and generally a Godless\nstate of society, is only a passing phase on the face of the world. If,\nindeed, it be anything more, woe to mankind! Despair only can harbor the\nidea of its long continuance. The social and political chaos which darkens\nthe age, must, surely, a little sooner or a little later, give way to that\norder which is heaven\u2019s first law. Moreno beheld, through the storms that\nraged around his infant State, the early dawn of this better day. This\nlight led him onwards. History will place him, not only among heroes and\nsages, but also among the most renowned initiators of great movements. His\ndeath is a glorious protest against the Godless, reckless, revolutionary\nsects. His high career will be as a monument throughout the centuries,\nconstantly reminding mankind that, in this age, which may well be called\nthe age of chaos and confusion\u2014confusion in politics, confusion in the\nsocial State, confusion of ideas\u2014there was, at least, one favored spot,\nwhere truth, order and justice reigned, and there was a contented and\nhappy people.\n\nSTATES OF EUROPE\u2014SWITZERLAND.\n\nThe Protestant and free-thinking majority in Switzerland were jealous of\nthe prosperity of the Catholic Church. They must, therefore, if possible,\ndivide, and by dividing, weaken, if not destroy, the Catholic body. The\nmost efficient means they could think of was the establishment of an old\nor _alt-Catholic_ Church on the model of that of Germany. The idea was at\nhand, and the elements were not far to seek. Among the Swiss Catholic\nclergy there were none so weak as to betray their church. In the\ncoterminous country\u2014France, where there are fifty thousand parochial\npriests, some thirty were found already in disgrace among their brethren,\nwho were ready to form the nucleus of the proposed schismatical church.\nThe pretext was the pretended novelties introduced by the \u0152cumenical\nCouncil of the Vatican, which, they insisted, changed the character of the\nancient Catholic Church. The schism once on foot, the majority in the\nState affected to treat the real Catholics as dissenters, and the handful\nof schismatics as the Catholic Church of Switzerland. Founding on this\nidea, persecution was speedily inaugurated. First came the secularization\nof several abbeys, which the revolution of the sixteenth century had\nrespected, in the northern cantons, and the confiscation of the Church of\nZurich, which was handed over to the _alt-Catholics_. Their next measure\nwas the expulsion of Mgr. Mermillod, Bishop of Hebron and Coadjutor of\nGeneva. Mgr. Lachat, Bishop of Bale, was then deprived, and, on a purely\ntheological pretext, his public adhesion to the Council of the Vatican.\nThe sixty-nine parish priests of Bernese Jura, having declared in writing\nthat they remained faithful to the Bishop of Bale, were, in their turn,\nsuspended from their offices and driven, at first, from their parishes,\nand afterwards from the country. As there was not a sufficient number of\nforeign priests to replace the dispossessed clergy, the number of parishes\nwas arbitrarily reduced from seventy-six to twenty-eight. It was regulated\nthat nominations should, henceforth, be made by the government alone, and\nby a single stroke of the pen were suppressed, both the Concordat\nconcluded with Rome, in 1828, and the act of re-union of 1815, by which,\nwhen Bernese Jura, formerly French, was incorporated with Switzerland, an\nengagement was made with France to respect, in every way, the liberty of\nCatholic worship. France was not in a position, at the time, to enforce\nthe terms of the treaty. They who dared to call it to mind, accordingly,\nwere sent to prison or heavily fined.\n\nAlmost all the Bernese clergy, when banished from their churches and\npresbyteries, sought shelter and protection on the hospitable soil of\nFrance. From that country they returned often, under cover of night, to\ntheir forsaken parishes, in order to administer the sacraments and perform\nother religious offices for the consolation of their flocks, hastening\nback to the land of liberty and safety before the approach of day. The\npersecution was carried to such extremes that the Catholics were not only\ndeprived of their churches, but forbidden, under severe penalties, to\nassemble for Divine worship, even in barns or such-like places. \u201cAs an\nofficial of the State of Bearn,\u201d wrote a school inspector to a school\nmistress, \u201cyou are bound to strive, with all your might, that the purposes\nof the said State, as regards attendance at public worship, be carried\nout. If your conscience does not admit of your attending the Church which\nis recognized and approved by the government, I leave you at liberty to\nrefrain from attending any worship, but I forbid you to go to the barn,\nwhere the deprived parish priest officiates, because I would not have you\nset a bad example to your children.\u201d\n\nNo encouragement or word of consolation that Pius IX. could bestow, was\nwanting to his persecuted children of Switzerland. In addressing Bishop\nLachat, whom he received with every mark of friendship, when he came to\nrepresent the sad condition to which he was reduced, the Holy Father said:\n\u201cTo you also it is now given to experience the greatest happiness that can\nfall to the lot of an apostolic man. This happiness is thus expressed in\nthe New Testament: _Ibant gaudentes, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine\nJesu contumeliam pati._ They went away rejoicing, because they were\nthought worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.\u201d\n\nThe Prussian chancellor, as devoid of humanity as he was short-sighted in\nstatesmanship, forbad the exiled clergy of Switzerland to set foot in the\nannexed Province of Alsace. The brutal conduct of the chancellor could,\nhowever, only injure himself. It stigmatizes him as a persecutor\nthroughout the ages, as long as history shall be read, whilst the\nsufferers to whom he refused shelter and bread, found abundant\ncompensation in the generous hospitality of the French nation.\n\n_Mentita est iniquitas sibi._ The persecution brought little benefit to\neither the Protestant or infidel party in the Bernese Legislature, by whom\nit was inaugurated, whilst the moral power of the Catholics was greatly\nincreased. Travellers relate that \u201cthe Catholics of Jura treat with a\ndegree of contempt, as immense as is their faith, the apostate priests who\nbanished the true ministers of God. They assembled in barns and all sorts\nof out-buildings, all remaining faithful to God, the Holy Church and their\nparish priests. Faith which slept in some souls is reawakened and endowed\nwith new life. Bernese Jura is more Catholic than ever.\u201d\n\nThe Central Council of the Swiss Confederation, at length, became ashamed\nof the inglorious name which the Canton of Bearn was making for the common\ncountry\u2014the country of William Tell so highly famed for its love of\nliberty and its noble hospitality. Perhaps, also, they were not\nunconcerned to find that travellers from other lands protested, in their\nway, against the barbarous persecution, and left their money in more\nfavored lands.\n\nThe Bernese government was advised, either to proceed legally and\nregularly against the parish priests, or to recall them. There being\nnothing on which to found legal proceedings, the exiles returned to their\ncountry at the end of 1875. The persecution was not, however, at an end.\nNeither churches, nor presbyteries, nor liberty, were restored. The\nfaithful clergy, rich in the fidelity of their devoted flocks, fulfilled\nthe duties of their ministry in the darkness of night, using every\nprecaution in order to escape the snares of the police, and to avoid fines\nand imprisonment, which were now the punishment instead of exile.\n\nGREAT BRITAIN AND THE BRITISH COLONIES.\n\nTaking leave of the dark and dreary pages which bear the melancholy record\nof persecution, we turn, with a feeling of relief, to the more cheering\npicture presented by those countries where the great principle of\nreligious liberty has come, at length, to be fully understood. It was a\ngreat day for the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, when the\nlegal disabilities which weighed so long on the Catholic people, were\nremoved. It was the noble and powerful protest of a mighty empire against\nthe narrow and irrational spirit of persecution, which still disgraces so\nmany of the European nations. If ever the Catholics, by superiority of\nnumbers, which is far from being an impossible state of things, should\ncome to sway the destinies of that empire, the glorious fact will be\nremembered and bear its fruit. England, Ireland and Scotland, already\nenjoy an abundant measure of their reward, in the increase of piety and of\nthat righteousness which exalteth a nation. This is manifest in many ways.\nIt is particularly shown forth by the more friendly feeling towards the\nCatholics of the empire which now universally prevails. We may not be\nsupposed to know much, here in Canada, about the state of sentiment or\nopinion in England. But when we appeal to the testimony of so eminent an\nEnglishman as Cardinal Newman, what we affirm cannot be easily gainsaid.\nIn a discourse recently delivered at Birmingham, on the growth of the\nCatholic Church in England, the very learned cardinal noted the striking\ncontrast between the feeling towards Catholics in Cardinal Wiseman\u2019s time\nand that of the present day, and accounted for the improvement by showing\nthat there is now a much better knowledge of the Catholic religion among\nProtestants. \u201cWhat I wish to show,\u201d said his Eminence, \u201cand what I believe\nto be the remarkable fact is, that whereas there have been many\nconversions to the Catholic Church during the last thirty years, and a\ngreat deal of ill-will felt towards us, in consequence, nevertheless, that\nill-will has been overcome, and a feeling of positive good-will has been\ncreated instead in the minds of our very enemies, by means of those\nconversions which they feared from their hatred of us. How this was, let\nme now say: The Catholics in England, fifty years ago, were an unknown\nsect amongst us. Now there is hardly a family but has brothers or sisters,\nor cousins or connections, or friends and acquaintances, or associates in\nbusiness or work, of that religion, not to mention the large influx of\npopulation from the sister island: and such an interpenetration of\nCatholics with Protestants, especially in our great cities, could not take\nplace without there being a gradual accumulation of experience, slow,\nindeed, but therefore the more sure about individual Catholics, and what\nthey really are in character, and, whether or not, they can be trusted in\nthe concerns and intercourse of life; and I fancy that Protestants,\nspontaneously, and before setting about to form a judgment, have found\nthem to be men whom they could be drawn to like and to love quite as much\nas their fellow-Protestants\u2014to be human beings in whom they could be\ninterested and sympathize with, and interchange good offices with, before\nthe question of religion came into consideration.\u201d\n\nThe increase in the number of Catholics and of Catholic institutions in\nGreat Britain, has kept pace with the growth of friendly sentiments in\ntheir regard. That island, \u201cthe mother of nations,\u201d appears to be destined\nto unite by means of her ever spreading language, the immense family of\nmankind. For what end and purpose none can tell. The hidden ways of Divine\nProvidence are known to God alone. We may, nevertheless, in view of\ncertain well-known facts, presume to draw the veil of mystery aside, and\ndiscover so far the secret of God\u2019s mercy. In Pius the Ninth\u2019s time the\nnumber of Catholics has been doubled in Great Britain, as well as in the\nUnited States of America, Canada, Australia, remote India and the Cape of\nGood Hope.\n\nAt the time of the election of Pius IX., there were in England and\nScotland eight hundred and twenty Catholic priests. There are now two\nthousand and eighty-eight.(12) The number of churches and chapels had\ngrown from six hundred and twenty-six to one thousand three hundred and\nfifteen. Within the last twenty years religious houses for men had\nincreased from twenty-one to seventy-three, and convents for religious\nsisters, from ninety-seven to two hundred and thirty-nine. Catholic\nschools and colleges had more than doubled their number, being now one\nthousand three hundred, whilst a little over twenty years ago it was five\nhundred.\n\nIn the British colonies, generally, including British America, Australia,\nIndia, and the West Indies, there were, in 1855, no more than forty-four\nEpiscopal Sees, several of which owed their erection to Pius IX. By the\nyear 1876, the solicitude of the same venerable Pontiff had raised to\neighty-eight, the number of archbishops and bishops who exercised the\nduties of their sacred office, throughout the Colonial Empire of Great\nBritain. In the whole empire there cannot be fewer than one hundred and\ntwenty-five prelates, whether vicars-apostolic, archbishops, bishops, or\nprefects-apostolic.\n\nIn no country have the benefits of religious liberty been more abundantly\nenjoyed than in Canada. In 1869, the two Provinces of Ontario and Quebec,\nformerly Canada West and Canada East, counted ten dioceses and seven\nhundred and seventy-nine churches. Including Sherbrooke, Chicoutimi, and\nthe vicariate-apostolic of Northern Canada, there are now thirteen\ndioceses in the two provinces, whilst, during the seven years anterior to\n1876, there was an increase of one hundred and seventy-three churches,\nmaking, in all, one thousand one hundred and seventy-one. In the same\nperiod religious houses had increased from seventy-three to one hundred\nand ninety-six. Education of a religious character is, at the same time,\namply provided for. There are, in the Province of Quebec, three thousand\none hundred and thirty-nine parochial, and altogether three thousand six\nhundred and thirty elementary schools, for a population of one million\neight hundred and eighty-two thousand souls. These schools, without\nincluding educational institutions of a more private kind, which are very\nnumerous in Lower Canada (Quebec), allow one school to every six hundred\npeople. It may be doubted whether Prussia, even, which possesses greater\nfacilities for education than any other European country, comes up to this\nstandard. The increase of Catholic people everywhere, throughout the\ncountry, keeps pace with the building of churches and the establishing of\nCatholic schools and other religious institutions. This increase is\nparticularly noticeable in the towns and cities, where the growth of the\nCatholic population is remarkably rapid.\n\nIn all the British dependencies, liberty, as understood by the British\npeople, prevails; and, wherever it is held in honor and exercises its\nlegitimate influence, religion nourishes. Contrast, for instance,\nAustralia, when a penal colony, and when liberty was unknown with\nAustralia, as it is to-day. In 1804 two priests were permitted, by the\ncivil power, to perform the duties of their sacred office. Their labors\nsufficed for the very limited spiritual wants of the colony. By 1827 these\nwants had so slightly increased that two priests were still able to meet\nthem all. One of these was Dr. Ullathorne, now Bishop of Birmingham,\nassisted by another priest and a lay teacher. So late as 1842, matters\nwere little better, Hobart-town having one priest, but no church.\nAustralia, meanwhile, was growing in importance, and it came to possess,\nas became an important British colony, constitutional government. This was\na new era for the cause of religion. Australia has now, 1880, two\narchbishoprics and ten other episcopal sees. In three of the dioceses,\nMelbourne, Sandhurst and Perth, there are no fewer than one hundred and\nthirty-five priests.\n\nTHE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.\n\nAt the epoch of Independence, 1776, the number of Catholics in the new\nrepublic was estimated at twenty-five thousand. The spiritual wants of\nthis comparatively small body were ministered to by nineteen priests, who\nwere under the jurisdiction of the bishop Vicar-Apostolic of London,\nEngland. By 1790, the number of priests was doubled, and a bishop was\nappointed. In 1840, there were in the United States one million five\nhundred thousand Catholics. By 1855, they had grown to two millions. In\nthe twenty-one years from 1855 to 1876 the increase was from two millions\nto six million five hundred thousand. This extraordinary growth, though\nrapid, was, nevertheless, vigorous and healthy. There was a corresponding\nincrease in the numbers of the clergy, as well as of religious and\neducational institutions. For the instruction and spiritual comfort of so\ngreat a flock, there were, in 1879, no fewer than five thousand three\nhundred and fifty-eight priests, with fifty-six bishops and archbishops,\nfive thousand and forty-six churches, three thousand seven hundred and\neleven oratories and missionary stations. Religious houses have also\nincreased in due proportion. In 1855, there were only fifteen religious\nhouses for men in all the United States. There are now ninety-five.\nCommunities of religious sisters, who chiefly devote themselves to works\nof charity and instruction, also flourish. In 1855 there were only fifty\nsuch communities. There are now two hundred and twenty-five. Educational\ninstitutions of a religious character also abound. In 1800, there was only\none Catholic academy for girls in all the United States. At the present\nday they number more than four hundred. Catholic colleges have increased\nfrom two to sixty-four.\n\nThe number of parochial schools is not so great, in proportion to the\npopulation, as in the Province of Quebec. This is accounted for by the\nstill defective state of religious liberty in the United States. There is\na sort of State fanaticism there in favor of common or national schools.\nWhilst Catholics cannot avail themselves of such institutions, which\nprovide only a Godless education, they are, nevertheless, heavily taxed\nfor their support. Being so burdened, it is surely much to the credit of\nthe Catholics of the United States that they, in addition, support two\nthousand two hundred and forty-four parochial schools, besides six hundred\nand sixty-three colleges or academies, and twenty-four seminaries, for\nhigher and ecclesiastical education. Notwithstanding the drawback alluded\nto, Pius IX. entertained a high idea of the North American Republic, and\nhe showed that he did so when he declared that it was almost the only\ncountry wherein he could exercise, without hindrance, the duties of his\nsublime office. He further evinced his appreciation by raising several\nAmerican bishops to the dignity of archbishop, and one to that of\ncardinal. The Archbishop of New York is the first American who has enjoyed\nthe high position of cardinal. He was formally thanked for this\nwell-merited honor by the President of the United States, and all America\nconcurred in extolling the wisdom of the choice which gave the dignity to\nthe Most Rev. Archbishop McCloskey, of New York.\n\nHIERARCHY OF SCOTLAND.\n\nOne of the latest labors of Pius IX. was that which he undertook, on the\nurgent request of the Catholics of Scotland, in connection with the\nrestoration of the ancient Scottish hierarchy. The venerable Pontiff, now\nso far advanced in years, did not live to complete this important work.\nThe late reverend and learned Dr. Grant, President of the Scotch College\nat Rome, ceased not, meanwhile, to promote, as representing the Catholics\nof Scotland, the institution of the hierarchy. His knowledge of the\ncountry and historical research eminently qualified him for the task. The\nwork, so happily commenced under the auspices of Pius IX., was brought to\na conclusion soon after the accession of his successor, Leo XIII. The Most\nRev. John Strain, well known as a sound theologian and eminently practical\npreacher, was appointed Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh. The\nlearned prelate thus became the successor of the ancient Archbishops of\nSt. Andrews and Primate of Scotland. The other Episcopal Sees erected were\nGlasgow, Aberdeen, Dunkeld, Galloway, Argyll and the Isles. Glasgow, in\nconsideration of its former honors, was made an archbishopric, but without\nsuffragans. The archbishop is a member of the Synod of St. Andrews and\nEdinburgh. To the undying honor of the people of Scotland, there is\nnothing more to record. There were no commotions, no eloquent appeals for\nthe purpose of allaying groundless fears and calming the popular mind, to\nburden the tale of the historian. An unsuccessful attempt at riot, by some\nrowdies, in a city of six hundred thousand souls, confirms rather than\nderogates from the absolute truth of this statement.\n\nThere are already in the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh several\nimportant religions institutions. Among these may be mentioned four\ncommunities of religious sisters. The sisters, called \u201cUrsulines of\nJesus,\u201d have two establishments in the city of Edinburgh, and devote\nthemselves entirely to education and charity. There are fifty-four\nchurches, chapels and stations. The missions, properly so-called, are\ntwenty-eight in number, and forty-three priests, of whom thirteen are\nmembers of religious societies, perform all the missionary duty and\nminister to the spiritual wants of the congregations. It cannot be said\nthat education is neglected, and such education as recognizes religious\nprinciple; there being, in addition to the convent schools, thirty-six\ncongregational or parochial schools.\n\nIn the Archdiocese of Glasgow, one hundred and twenty-one priests, of whom\ntwenty-four are members of religious societies, attend to the spiritual\nwants of the missions and congregations. The Glasgow missions count\nfifty-nine, with seventy-eight churches, chapels and stations. The\ncongregational or parochial schools number one hundred and eighty-six, in\naddition to religious educational institutions.\n\nAberdeen has forty-seven priests, of whom seven are members of the\nBenedictine Order. It has thirty-two missions, with fifty-one churches,\nchapels and stations. Colleges, convents, and congregational schools, are\nin proportion to the Catholic population.\n\nDunkeld contains within its borders the important seaport town of Dundee,\nand the ancient city of Perth, where may still be seen the Church of St.\nJohn, against which the Knox Iconoclasts cast the first stone\u2014the sad\nprelude to their furious onslaught on all the sacred edifices of the land.\nAt Dundee there is a numerous Catholic population. In the whole diocese\nthere are thirty-three priests, of whom twelve are members of the\nreligious Society of Redemptorists. There are religious communities of\nSisters of Mercy, Little Sisters of the Poor, and Ursulines of Jesus. The\nMarist Brothers and Redemptorists have their monasteries, and there is a\ncreditable number of congregational schools.\n\nThe ancient See of Whithorn (Candidacasa) is now known as the diocese of\nGalloway. It dates from St. Ninian, the apostle of the Southern Picts, by\nwhom it was founded in 397. It was destroyed in the time of the\nScandinavian invasions, and remained extinct from 808 till 1189. It fell\nagain at the epoch of the Reformation, and had no bishop from the death of\nAndrew Durie, in 1558, till the appointment of Bishop McLachlan by Leo\nXIII. The residence of the bishop is at Dumfries, where there is a\nnumerous congregation and an elegant church.\n\nArgyll and the Isles is a diocese full of promise. The traditions of its\npiety in ancient days are a rich inheritance. It has already thirty-eight\nchurches, chapels and stations, together with some numerous congregations.\n\nINCREASE AND NUMBER OF CATHOLICS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN THE TIME OF PIUS\nIX.\n\nAbout the time of the accession of Pius IX., the Catholic population of\nthe world was estimated by scientific men at two hundred and fifty-four\nmillion six hundred and fifty-five thousand (see the _Scientific\nMiscellany_ of the time). Since that time there has been a very\nconsiderable increase. How great it has been we may judge from the\nstatistics with which we are most familiar, those of Great Britain and the\nBritish Colonies, as well as those of the United States of America. The\neminent statisticians, Drs. Behm and Wagner, hold that the number of\nProtestants has more than doubled in the same period. Some thirty-five\nyears ago, according to the _Scientific Miscellany_, the Protestant\npopulation of the world was forty-eight million nine hundred and\neighty-nine thousand. Without saying that the learned men alluded to are\nwrong in estimating them now at one hundred and one million, it may be\nclaimed that Catholics have enjoyed at least as great an increase. The\ntendency of the latter, in the present age, is to spread and to spread\nrapidly, whilst among Protestants, according to their own ablest writers,\nthere exists no such expansive power. An opinion prevails among those who\nare not friendly to the Catholic Church, that such an institution can only\ntake root and grow in an age of ignorance, or among ignorant people. This\nopinion enjoys not the sanction of the most distinguished Protestant\nauthors and preachers. Baron Macaulay writes: \u201cWe often hear it said that\nthe world is constantly becoming more and more enlightened, and that the\nenlightenment must be favorable to Protestantism and unfavorable to\nCatholicism. We wish that we could think so. But we see great reason to\ndoubt whether this is a well-founded expectation. We see that during the\nlast two hundred and fifty years the human mind has been in the highest\ndegree active; that it has made great advances in every branch of natural\nphilosophy; that it has produced innumerable inventions, tending to\npromote the convenience of life; that medicine, surgery, chemistry,\nengineering, have been very greatly improved; that government, police and\nlaw, have been improved, though not to so great an extent as the physical\nsciences. Yet we see that during these two hundred and fifty years\nProtestantism has made no conquests worth speaking of. Nay, we believe\nthat as far as there has been change, that change has been in favor of the\nChurch of Rome. We cannot, therefore, feel confident that the progress of\nknowledge will necessarily be fatal to a system which has, to say the\nleast, stood its ground in spite of the immense progress made by the human\nrace in knowledge since the time of Queen Elizabeth.\u201d If, then,\nProtestantism, as regards increase and development, has been at a\nstand-still for the last two(13) hundred and fifty years, whilst it is\nadmitted on all hands that Catholicism has been growing rapidly, it is\nnot, surely, unreasonable to claim that the increase of Catholics keeps\npace with that of Protestants. The claim, however, must be waived, as it\nwould give a greater expansion to the Catholic Church than Catholics can\nsuppose it is entitled to. If the number of Catholics had doubled within\nthe last five-and-thirty or forty years, as that of Protestants is alleged\nby the learned statisticians to have done, they would now count five\nhundred and nine million three hundred thousand. Behm and Wagner estimate\nthem at two hundred and seventy million.\n\nJudging by the facts alluded to, this estimate is certainly below the\nmark, and we shall still be considered as determining for a low figure\nwhen we reckon the Catholic population of the whole world at three hundred\nmillion.\n\nThe heathen masses are still the most numerous. But, if the statement\nrecently made by the Secretary of the Chinese Legation, at Washington, may\nbe relied on, they are not overwhelmingly so. This statement reduces the\npopulation of China from the fabulous number of four hundred million to\none hundred million. It is not, surely, reasonable to suppose, as the\nworld has so long supposed, that one nation, China, has a population\ndouble that of all the nations of India. The whole heathen world,\ntherefore, cannot count more than six hundred and fifty million souls\u2014too\nmany to be still in darkness and the shadow of death. But let each\nbeliever labor to convert a heathen, and there will be light at last. The\nbelieving portion of mankind is not so far behind, in point of numbers, at\nleast. It consists of (according to Drs. Behm and Wagner):\n\n300,000,000 Catholics.\n90,000,000 members of the Greek Church.\n101,000,000 Protestants.\n7,000,000 Jews.\n\nANNIVERSARY OF THE EPISCOPAL CONSECRATION OF PIUS IX.\n\nThe 3rd of June, 1877, was a great day for Rome and the Catholic world. Of\nall the _fetes_ which Plus IX. was favored to celebrate, there was none\nmore honored than the anniversary of his episcopal consecration. One would\nsay that the faithful Catholic people everywhere had resolved to make it\nan occasion of protesting against the treatment to which the venerable\nPontiff was subjected, and the false principles which governed the Italian\nfaction, by which he was so cruelly persecuted. Pilgrims came from all\nlands and crowded the streets of the Papal city; for such it still was.\nNotwithstanding all the efforts of the usurping government, the Roman\npeople acknowledged no other ruler at Rome than the Holy Father. During\nsix months of the year 1877, the devoted Catholics of every nation ceased\nnot to throng the streets, the approaches to and from the halls of the\nVatican Palace. Nor did they come empty-handed. They were literally laden\nwith gold and silver, together with an endless variety of other rich and\nappropriate gifts. A month before the anniversary day, there were already\nfive hundred chalices, as well as other church plate, jewellery,\nvestments, altar linens, etc., deposited in the Vatican. An eye-witness\nbeheld these precious offerings suitably laid out in one of the largest\ngalleries, forming an immense treasury, from which the benevolent Pontiff\nsupplied the poorer missions throughout the world. Congratulatory\naddresses were constantly presented, and Pius IX. was indefatigable in\nreceiving these proofs of the faith and love of his spiritual children.\nDay after day he made replies to deputations, and often, four times a day\nwithout appearing fatigued or giving any sign that his bodily strength or\nvigor of mind was failing him. Day after day, throughout the whole summer\nof 1877, the faithful people ceased not to astonish the new masters of\nRome, who flattered themselves with the belief that faith was dead in the\nworld, and would no longer be an impediment to their domination. They\nbeheld pilgrims from every clime in vast numbers, of which they could form\nno estimate. They also heard their voice, and wondered at their admirable\nunanimity. \u201cAll of us, whoever we are, Christians of every nation and of\nevery tongue,\u201d said the Bishop of Poitiers, speaking in the name of his\nfellow-Catholics, \u201cwe have all been brought here by the desire, the\nnecessity we are under, to offer our tribute of regret and love to the\nvenerated Pontiff, whom the whole world honors with all the veneration of\nfilial duty. After having placed at his feet our presents and our\nrespectful homage, we come to offer, in this sanctuary, our thanksgiving\nand our prayers\u2014our thanksgiving, for Pius IX. has been preserved to us\nbeyond the term of all preceding Pontificates\u2014our prayers for his\nremaining in this life is, at present, our only pledge of safety.\u201d(14)\n\nOn occasion of the memorable anniversary, Pius IX. proclaimed a jubilee,\nand thus afforded to all his children throughout the universe an\nopportunity of uniting with those of Rome in one common prayer and act of\nthanksgiving. Numberless communions, in every Catholic land, on the very\nday of the anniversary\u20143rd June\u2014bore witness to the lively faith which\nuniversally prevailed, and made it plain as noon-day to the unbelieving\nthat the body of the Church is united by the bond of charity, even as is\nthe family by the ties of blood. The power of such a celebration was\nwidely felt. And the revolutionists of Italy believed that something must\nbe done in order to counteract its influence. They could not propose, as\nthey had done six years before on occasion of the anniversary of Pius the\nNinth\u2019s exaltation to the Popedom, to display on all the public edifices\nof Rome the flag of revolutionized Italy in fraternal union with that of\nthe Pontiff and the Church. It must, therefore, be unfurled in direct\nopposition to the cause of the Holy Father. A festive commemoration of the\n\u201cconstitutional statute\u201d was ordered to be held on the 3rd June, the day\nof the Papal celebration. The scheme proved to be more than a failure. It\nwas intended as an insult to the Pope and protest against the Christian\nfaith. In reality it became a testimony which redounded to the honor of\nthe Holy Father and the glory of religion. What cared the Romans, or the\npeople of the Roman territory, for the \u201cconstitutional statute\u201d of Charles\nAlbert? Their _vivats_ were all for Pius IX. and his more constitutional\nconstitution.\n\n\u201cLong live Pius IX.!\u2014Pius IX., our only King!\u201d No other cry was heard in\nthe streets of Rome, or in the wide campagna. The populations of the\ncountry as well as of the city were alike devoted to Pius IX., and would\nhave no other to rule over them. The usurping revolutionists must needs\nretaliate. In doing so, they still more degraded their _fete_ of the\n\u201cconstitutional statute.\u201d\n\nOn occasion of royal _fetes_, favors are liberally dispensed. This order\nof things was now reversed. Parties convicted of illuminating their\nhouses, of displaying white and yellow colors, or of expressing in words\ntheir loyalty to Pius IX., were sentenced to imprisonment.\n\nDEATH OF ANTONELLI AND PATRIZI.\n\nShortly before the anniversary celebration, Pius IX. had to lament the\ndeath of his faithful Secretary of State, Cardinal Antonelli. This\nintrepid statesman had done battle courageously during six-and-twenty\nyears for the Church, the Holy See and the temporal sovereignty of the\nRoman Pontiff, who had been threatened in his life, his priestly honor and\nhis character for integrity. The devoted cardinal defied both the poniard\nand the tongue of the calumniator. Although able to unmask the most secret\nintrigues of the revolutionists, he could not avert the blow which it was\npermitted that they should strike against the time-honored institutions of\nhis country. They appear to have been destined to reign for a time. Their\nsuccess did not appal Antonelli nor shake his fidelity. In evil report and\ngood report he stood by his sovereign, and shared his exile as well as the\nhonor which he enjoyed in the more auspicious days of his glorious\nPontificate.\n\nThree weeks later, Cardinal Patrizi, who was Vicar of Rome and chief\ncounsellor of Pius IX. in all matters connected with the government of the\nchurch, was called from this earthly scene. Thus was the aged Pontiff\ndestined to be tried by new afflictions. The success of his enemies and of\nthe enemies of the Church, the privation and humiliation to which he was\nsubjected, were rendered more severe by the death of his dearest friends\nwho were also his ablest supporters. He was grieved, but could not be\ncrushed by so many calamities. He remained until his health utterly failed\nequal to his high position.\n\nAn additional cause of sorrow to the Holy Father was the enactment of the\nItalian Legislature, known as the _Mancini law_. This law was in downright\nopposition to the _law of guarantees_. It made it a crime to preach the\nGospel. On pretence of repressing the abuses of the clergy, their offences\nagainst the laws and institutions of the State, it forbade all apostolic\npreaching. It was too late. Nero, even, was not in time, and all the fury\nof persecution could not uproot the belief in virtue which prevailed. The\nclergy shall no longer say that fraud, robbery, lying, violence and\nassassination are sins. But _cui bono_? The world has already its\nconvictions\u2014prejudices, the philosophy of _Kulturkampf_ may call them\u2014in\nregard to all such things, and no law that an infidel parliament can enact\nwill suffice to eradicate them. It could only sadden the heart of the\nChief Pastor to see the power which ruled in his country and in his stead\nlaboring so strenuously but ineffectually to demolish the edifice of the\nchurch, which, for so many ages, had been assailed in vain. It was the\nheight of presumption, surely, when a few modern Italians, a miserable\nminority of their own nation, undertook a task which defied all the power\nof Imperial Rome. In a country where liberty is better understood, a\npowerful voice was raised in condemnation of the _Mancini law_. The\nBritish _Catholic Union_ protested against the cruel enactment as an\nattack not only on the liberty of the Church but also on the very\nexistence of the Christian faith in Italy. This purpose was, indeed,\navowed by many of its supporters in the Italian parliament.\n\nPius IX. could not fail to protest against such an attack on that liberty\nwhich is the birthright of every Christian. In a Consistorial Allocution\nof 12th March, 1877, he exposed the plot which the revolutionists had\nprepared in order to prevent the Holy Father from accomplishing his\nappointed mission\u2014that of instructing and edifying the whole flock of\nChrist. That his protest was fully justified and demanded by the\ncircumstances of the case was abundantly shown by the rage which it\nexcited among the ruling faction. Their press did its best to dissemble,\nand affected to treat with contempt the Pope\u2019s address. It contained only\n\u201clame and doubtful reasonings\u2014such arguments as are termed paralogisms or\ninvoluntary sophisms, which escape the notice of their authors.\u201d The\ngovernment, in unison with the press, sought to stifle the importunate\nvoice of the Pontiff. The council of ministers went so far as to resolve\non prosecuting any journals that should dare to publish the Papal\nallocution. But they found it was too late. The obnoxious document was\nalready printed in France, and, consequently, open to the civilized world.\nSo the wrath of the ministry was allowed to cool. It sought, nevertheless,\nto be revenged. The minister of justice, accordingly, addressed a circular\nto the procurators-general, in which he denounced the language of Pius IX.\nas \u201cexcessive and violent.\u201d The Pope himself he railed was a factious\nperson, as a fomenter of sedition and revolt. He also charged him with\ningratitude. For what was he ungrateful? Had they not robbed him of his\nsovereignty and his property? Did they not now hold him closely guarded in\nthe Vatican? They spared his life, indeed, but made him understand that he\nwas their prisoner, as, in reality, he was. To have gone farther would\nhave been to outrage all Italy, which they were so anxious to conciliate,\nand the great Powers, whose forbearance they so much needed. Cardinal\nSimeoni, who had succeeded Antonelli as Secretary of State, in a circular\naddressed to the Papal nuncios, pointed out the weakness and gross\ninjustice of Mancini\u2019s letter. The secret societies, on the other hand,\ncongratulated their most dear and most active _brother_, and expressed the\nhope _that he would not stop until he reached the end to which he so nobly\ntended_. The minister of justice fully acceded to the wishes of the\n_brethren_, and they could rely upon it that he would persevere until he\ncompassed the destruction of the Papacy. Such good resolutions deserved a\nreward. They awarded him, accordingly, what they called a _diploma of\nhonor_.\n\nThe _Mancini law_, notwithstanding all the efforts of its supporters,\nnever became law. There is not much in this history to be placed to the\ncredit of Victor Emmanuel. Nevertheless, he, all of a sudden, opposed the\nenactment of the odious law which he had allowed to be prepared and\npresented in his name to the representative chamber. By expressing his\nrepugnance to it, he caused it to fail in the Senate. It is related that\nit was on the representation of his daughter, the Princess Clotilde, that\nhe so acted.\n\nPLAN FOR ELECTING A POPE.\n\nOne of the most daring enterprises of the Italian ministry was their\nscheme, in conjunction with the Prussian chancellor, for the election of a\nPope on the demise of Pius IX. Hitherto, when the Popes enjoyed their\ntemporal sovereignty, the Cardinal Camerlingo, or high chamberlain,\ndirected everything from the time of the Pope\u2019s decease until the election\nof a successor. It was the purpose of the ministry to arrogate to\nthemselves the attributes of this high dignitary, who acted, temporarily,\nas the Sovereign of Rome. For the attainment of their end, fraud, lying\nand forgery were freely had recourse to. It being understood that there\nexisted a Bull relating to the election of Pius the Ninth\u2019s successor, and\nthat it was in the custody of Mgr. Mercurelli, the Secretary of Pontifical\nbriefs, a high price was offered to any one who should treacherously\ndeliver it into the hands of the revolutionists. Such a temptation was not\nto be resisted. A cunning scribe, who could imitate the handwriting of\nMercurelli, made a copy of an ancient Bull of Pius VI., adapting it to the\ncircumstances of the time. To the great confusion of the astute chancellor\nand his associates, the Italian ministers, the forgery was discovered, and\nthe sage statesmen befooled in the sight of all Europe by a common felon.\nNothing, however, was to be left undone that was calculated, as the\nconspirators conceived, to secure the election of a Pope who would reject\nthe decisions of the Vatican Council. For this end it was proposed to take\nmilitary possession of the Vatican Palace, and appoint a commissioner to\nsuperintend the election and carry out the views of the faction. This\niniquitous plot appears to have been overthrown by a vigorous article\nwhich was published in the _Osservatore Romano_. It is said to have been\ninspired by Pius IX. It stated, among other things, that \u201cthe Vatican\nchanges not with the changes of the times, and the Lord, who has protected\nit in the past, and given visible proofs of His continued protection, will\nprotect it in the future, and defend it against all, whatever artifices,\nwhether secret or open, its enemies may employ, in order to conquer and\noverthrow it.\u201d The revolutionary journals, whose constant cry was \u201cwar to\nthe knife\u201d on the Church and the Papacy, could not refrain from expressing\ntheir astonishment, it ought to be said their admiration, of this masterly\ndocument. \u201cIt is impossible,\u201d said the _Republique Francaise_ of 28th\nJuly, 1877, \u201cnot to be struck by the tone of authority, the vehemence and\nthe menaces, the ardent and deep-rooted faith which prevail from beginning\nto end of this extraordinary production.\u201d\n\nILLNESS OF THE POPE\u2014VICTOR EMMANUEL AT THE VATICAN.\n\nIn the autumn of 1877, the health of Pius IX. began to fail. He caught\ncold and had a renewal of rheumatic attacks. He was obliged, in\nconsequence, to discontinue giving audiences. Finally, by the advice of\nhis physicians, he kept his bed continuously for three weeks, from 20th\nNovember. The Pope\u2019s indisposition appears to have been quite a God-send\nto the ever-busy press of the hostile faction. There were, of course,\nspasms, fainting fits, mortification of the extremities, etc. The Pope is\ndying\u2014the Pope is dead!\u2014and the enemy rejoiced, as over a hard-won\nvictory. But the end was not yet. The Holy Father recovered, and was able\nto hold a Consistory and deliver an allocution on the 28th of December.\n\nThere was one at Rome who felt differently from the party with whom he\nacted in regard to the illness and possible death of the Pope. This was no\nother than King Victor Emmanuel. The dethroned Pontiff was still a power\nthat helped to stem the tide of red republican revolution which rolled so\nangrily against the tottering throne of united Italy. The barrier was in\ndanger. Only the slender thread of an exhausted life saved it from giving\nway. The king was awe-struck, and sought comfort in the Palace of the\nVatican.(15)\n\nWhat passed at the extraordinary interview none will ever know. All that\ncan be found on record is that the King of Italy retired with a lightened\nheart from the mansion of the Sovereign Pontiff. Pardon, benediction,\nrenewal of promises\u2014what may there not have been? That the meeting was not\nwithout result, an event which was not at that time far distant clearly\nshows.\n\nThe restoration of Pius IX. to comparative health was matter for\nthanksgiving and congratulation. A consistory was held, accordingly, on\nthe 28th of December, 1877. The cardinals having assembled, the Holy\nFather thus addressed them: \u201cWe rejoice in the Lord at having experienced\nhow faithfully you sustain the burden of the apostolic ministry; and, at\nthe same time, for having enjoyed the sweet consolation to find the\nsorrows of our soul alleviated by your virtue and the constant affection\nof your charity.\u201d The venerable Pontiff concluded this address, which was\ndestined to be his last in solemn consistory, by inviting the members of\nthe Sacred College \u201cto offer up their prayers assiduously to the throne of\nDivine mercy for himself and for the Church,\u201d representing that the\nstrength of Christians is in prayer, in the power of God, which the prayer\nof His creature, made in his image, causes to be exerted. And who is\nstronger than God? _Quis ut Deus?_\n\nThe aged Pontiff, whom the revolutionists of Italy and other countries\ncried out against with such vehemence of hatred and malediction, asked no\nother favor for himself of the Supreme Giver than the pleasure to impart\nonce more his benediction from the Vatican to the city and the whole\nworld. On occasion of some foreign ladies resident at Rome coming to\npresent him with a rich canopy for decorating the Vatican lodge, at the\nbenediction he gave utterance to the following prayer: \u201cLend new strength,\nO Lord, to Thy Vicar on earth; give new vigor to his voice and to his arm,\nin order that, in the present crisis, it may be permitted him, as a sign\nof reconciliation and peace to bless once more solemnly the whole Catholic\npeople, and that thus, through Thy assistance, society may be restored to\na state of tranquillity and the practice of all the Christian virtues.\u201d He\nadored, without knowing it, the Divine will, which was not that he should\never again impart his apostolic benediction from the Vatican. This he knew\nnot, and could not pretend to know. But he was comforted in the firm\nbelief that the benediction would never cease to be dispensed. On the same\nday, he said, addressing the Roman ladies who presented a carpet for the\nsolemn benediction: \u201cAt this time of darkness and tribulation, when we are\nin the power of our enemies, you may say to me: \u2018We have exerted ourselves\nso much, we have offered up so many prayers, shed so many tears, and,\nnotwithstanding, all to no purpose.\u2019 The time will come when this present\nwill be made use of. _Tota nocte laborantes_.... The Romans have, indeed,\nprayed. They have given signal proof of their fidelity and their piety,\namid the gloom and trouble of our national catastrophes, and why have\nthey, as yet, obtained nothing? But what do I say? Are those evidences of\naffection which every day reach the Holy See to be reputed as nothing? Is\nthat earnestness of prayer which prevails at Rome and throughout the\nCatholic world to no purpose? In the most desert regions and remotest\ncountries vows and prayers are offered up for our deliverance. Your\nprayers and communions are so many petitions, laid at the foot of the\naltar, which cannot fail to be heard. As our Lord, who was pleased to show\nPeter where to cast his nets, in order to have an abundant draught of\nfish, teaches us also how we shall escape from the abyss of calamity into\nwhich our sins, perhaps, have thrown us.... Although I, who, at present,\nam the Vicar of Christ, may not, one of my successors will, see Rome,\nwhich is our city, restored to its pristine state, tranquil and\nflourishing as it was some months ago. He will also behold all the rights\nof this Holy See completely recovered.\u201d\n\nBy one of two things only, as far as man can see, is it possible that\nItaly should be emancipated from its present bondage, and governed\naccording to the wishes of its people. A constitutional monarchy, such as\nPius IX. sought so long to establish, would be the most secure and\npermanent guarantee for peace and liberty in the south of Europe. A remedy\nfor present evils may also be found in a thoroughly representative system\nof government, which the system that prevails for the moment in Italy has\nno claim to be. There cannot, however, be representative government so\nlong as the Italian people allow a reckless faction, which is only a small\nminority of the nation, to control the elections, monopolize the votes,\nand constitute themselves the legislature of the country. Patience is a\nvirtue. But it may be abused. It certainly has been so in the case of\nItaly, and by a base conspiracy. When will the people arise in their\nmight, and, by their immense superiority in numbers as well as\nintelligence, cast off the yoke of the conspirators\u2014the incubus which\ncrushes and degrades them in the eyes of mankind?\n\nKING VICTOR EMMANUEL SANCTIONS ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL OF PIUS\nIX.\u2014DEATH OF VICTOR EMMANUEL.\n\nOn the 29th December, 1877, King Victor Emmanuel came to Rome on business\nof the State, as if the city of the Popes were _de jure_ as well as _de\nfacto_ his capital. On the 31st of the same month, his ministers induced\nhim to affix his royal signature to some new acts of brigandage and\nusurpation, which they had prepared, but which could not be accomplished\nuntil the death of Pius IX. At the same time, a decree regulating the\nfuneral of the Pope was drawn up and signed by the king. Royal honors were\nto be restored, but only when they could not be enjoyed. The Holy Father,\nalthough stripped of his sovereignty in life, was to be honored when dead\nas a sovereign prince. It was appointed that mourning should be worn\nthroughout all the Kingdom of Italy. Court liveries, even, were got ready,\nand also the minutest details of mourning apparel. Nothing was wanting but\ndeath\u2014and death came\u2014but not the death that was so ardently desired.\nScarcely had Victor Emmanuel signed the funeral decree, which was intended\nto be, at the same time, the death-warrant of the Papacy and the Church,\nwhen he was taken suddenly ill. He was anxious to leave Rome, where his\nstay was always as short as possible, but was detained by the receptions\nof New Year\u2019s day, and in order to attend a diplomatic dinner on the 6th\nof January. On that very day, a three-fold malady laid him on his\ndeathbed. He became at once the victim of pleuro-pneumonia, together with\nthe fatal malaria and miliary fevers. There was no hope of his recovery.\nTo leave Rome was impossible. \u201cCarry me hence, at any rate,\u201d cried the\ndying king, in an agony of horror; \u201cI must not die at the Quirinal.\u201d It\nwas too late. The physicians would not allow him to be moved. Unhallowed\nforce placed him in the sacred palace of the Conclave. Greater force held\nhim there. The prince who said, \u201cWe are at Rome and at Rome we shall\nremain,\u201d was doomed to die at Rome. After death, too, he must remain at\nRome, notwithstanding the wishes of all his kindred and of his son and\nsuccessor. The new king expressed to a deputation of the municipality of\nTurin with what pain he made the sacrifice which policy required. The\npolicy of the revolutionary faction would not allow Victor Emmanuel to\nhave his last resting-place with his ancestors at the Superga. Policy\nforbade that death even should liberate him who was called the liberator\nof Italy. Policy hoped to perpetuate usurpation, by holding the usurper in\nthe usurped capital. The dead king remained in death, as he had ever been\nin life, the captive of the faction.\n\nAs soon as Pius IX. became aware of the critical state of King Victor\nEmmanuel, he sent to him his own chaplain, Bishop Marinelli, with full\nauthority to reconcile the dying monarch to the church on his expressing\nrepentance and retracting. This dignitary went thrice to the palace, and\nwas as often repelled by the watchful ministers, who strictly guarded the\nperson of the king. They dreaded lest so public a retractation as he was,\nat the time, able to make, and as would have been required, should prove\ninjurious to their schemes. Later, when there was no hope of recovery,\nanxious that the king should have the credit of being at peace with the\nChurch, they allowed his own chaplain, the Rev. Signor Azenio, to approach\nhis bed-side. This worthy priest, being fully authorized, heard the\nconfession of King Victor Emmanuel, and administered to him the Sacraments\nof the Church. As the most Holy Sacrament was borne to the monarch\u2019s\ndeathbed, Prince Humbert, Princess Margaret, and, together with them, ten\nministers and dignitaries of the Court, bearing lighted torches,\naccompanied the priest: and as Victor Emmanuel received the Viaticum and\nExtreme Unction, they all fell upon their knees. (9th January, 1878.) This\nconclusion, so consoling to the departing soul, was gall and wormwood to\nthe worldly ministers. The founder of United Italy, before he could have\nthe benefit of the last sacred rites, prayed to be pardoned all his crimes\nagainst the Sovereign Pontiff and the Church. By acknowledging and\ncondemning his faults, he also condemned the unhallowed work which was\nforwarded by so much usurpation and sacrilege. The Christian-like end of\nVictor Emmanuel did not meet the views of the ministers. (_Osservatore\nRomano_ of 10th January.) Accordingly, they endeavored immediately to\nlessen its effect on the public mind. Their journals, unable to deny the\ntruth, even acknowledging the benefit they had by the king\u2019s confession\nand communion, cunningly labored to counteract the same by the grossest\nmisrepresentation. They related that the king, at the moment of his death,\nhad spoken both as a Christian and an infidel revolutionist. They made him\nthus retract his retractation. \u201cIn all that I have done, I am conscious of\nhaving always fulfilled my duties as a citizen and a prince, and of having\ndone nothing against the religion of my ancestors.\u201d As his conscience was\nthus at ease, for what did he beg pardon of the Sovereign Pontiff and the\nChurch? Of what could he repent who acknowledged no sin?\n\n_L\u2019Osservatore Romano_, in reply, reiterated all that it had already\nstated on the highest authority. \u201cLet there be an end, once for all,\u201d said\nthis excellent journal, \u201cto the profane language which dares rashly to\nintervene between the dying man and his God, of whom the priest is the\nrepresentative. The Church, appealed to on so short a notice, and in the\nawful hour of the death agony, mercifully extends her hand to him who is\nabout to approach the presence of the Sovereign Judge, and opens to him,\nas far as possible, the way of salvation; but she strictly sees to it that\nher holy laws be fully observed.\u201d Policy makes laws which it violates as\neasily as it makes them. The Church can never break her laws, which are of\nDivine origin. Victor Emmanuel, accordingly, must have submitted to the\nlaws of the Church, in order to be reconciled to the Church, to Pius IX.\nand to God.\n\nAt the death of the king the revolutionists were struck with\nconsternation. \u201cVictor Emmanuel is no more!\u201d said the _Liberta_, \u201cand\nItaly is like a warrior without his sword.\u201d They all felt as if the\nedifice which they had raised were falling to pieces. They took no blame\nto themselves, however. They ascribed not to their folly or their\nwickedness the danger which threatened them. \u201cGod is unjust,\u201d said one of\nthe party, as he announced to the Romans the king\u2019s death. Considering the\nterm of human life, it was no doubt unjust, to remove from this world a\nman at the advanced age of eight-and-fifty years! Another, as the remains\nof the \u201cfather of his country\u201d were borne to the Pantheon, blasphemously\nexclaimed: \u201cThat everlasting Pantheon! so long the altar of inanimate\ngods\u2014now the temple of a hostile _Deity_!\u201d\n\nAlthough Pius IX., with his usual goodness and consistency, authorized the\nclergy to take part in the funeral of the deceased king, thus according\nwhat was due to the honor of a Christian who had been reconciled to God\nand the Church, the ceremony which, otherwise, would have been so solemn,\nwas sadly marred by processions of secret societies, Grand Orients and\nGaribaldians, which followed the funeral car to the Church of St. Mary of\nthe Martyrs.(16)\n\nThe Pantheon was not too grand for so great a king. It was only fitting\nthat he who had lent himself to the baleful work of paganizing modern Rome\nshould have his final resting-place in the temple that was so long sacred\nto Rome\u2019s heathen _deities_.\n\nThe Holy Father had so well recovered from his illness, and his health was\nso good during the months of December and January, 1877-78, that he was\nable to transact business daily with the cardinals, heads of congregations\nand other prelates. It was for him the revival\u2014the lucid interval\u2014which so\noften precedes the final scene. Notwithstanding the pompous obsequies\nwhich the late king had prepared for Pius IX., the venerable Pontiff still\nlived, and was able to protest against the pretensions of the successor of\nthat king, and to defend against his usurpation the Church and her\ninalienable rights. The proclamation of King Humbert was met by a protest\naddressed to all the Powers from the Cardinal-Secretary of State, and Pius\nIX. himself raised his voice in order to vindicate publicly those writers\nwho had spoken the truth concerning the deceased prince. The whole world\nwas moved by the solicitude of the Holy Father in laboring so as that\nVictor Emmanuel should die as became a Christian, and in providing that\nhis funeral should be conducted according to the consoling ceremonial of\nthe Church. It now became his duty to take care lest the irreconcilable\nenemies of religion should succeed in availing themselves of these\ncircumstances in order to deceive and induce mankind to believe that the\nGodless revolution was in sympathy with Pius IX. and the Church. The\nvenerable Pontiff was still able to take to task the indiscreet writers\nwho, from mistaken zeal, maintained that such an incongruous coalition had\ntaken place or was possible.\n\nA very great number of people of all ranks conceived the happy idea of\ncelebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of Pius the Ninth\u2019s first\ncommunion. This afforded another great occasion for uniting in prayer all\nover the wide extent of the Catholic Church. The _fete_ occurred on the\n2nd of February, \u201cCandlemas day,\u201d or the purification of the Blessed\nVirgin. The Holy Father was able, all exhausted as he was, to leave his\ncouch, celebrate Mass, and even repair to the throne-room of the Vatican,\nwhere he performed the ceremony of distributing blessed tapers to the\ncardinals, bishops and heads of religious orders. He spoke also with his\naccustomed eloquence to those whom it gave him so much pleasure to see\ngathered around him. He addressed himself particularly to the parish\npriests of Rome, recommending above all things to their pastoral\nsolicitude, the children of the city who bore so important a part in the\ncelebration of the anniversary. He expatiated on the value of Christian\neducation, and exhorted the pastors to stir up the zeal of parents. His\napostolate had begun with children in the happy days of _Tata Giovanni_.\nIt was only fitting that his last exhortation should be all in their\ninterest and for their happiness.\n\nAll, in expressing his gratitude for the prayers that were offered in his\nbehalf, he asked was that they should be continued, hoping always \u201cthat He\nwho had commenced a good work would not fail to bring it to a successful\ntermination.\u201d But it is not given to man to complete or perfect anything\nin this life; and that pontificate of thirty-two years, which was still\nmore astonishing by its acts and labors than by its long duration, was\ndestined to leave its good work incomplete. It will be continued,\nnevertheless, and men will be made to understand that it is not alone\nMastai\u2019s work, or any man\u2019s work, but the cause of Him who guides, with\nirresistible power, the destinies of mankind.\n\nPius IX., however, had accomplished his appointed task. He had celebrated,\nand with a wonderful renewal of health, his last festival and his last\nanniversary. Four days later, in the evening of the 6th February, he was\nseized with a slight attack of fever, which caused no alarm. It was the\nprelude, however, to more serious attacks, which shortly succeeded one\nanother in rapid succession till the moment of his death. At four o\u2019clock\nin the morning a potion was administered, in order to soothe the feverish\nagitation of the patient. Its good effect was only of short duration. As\nhis physician entered, \u201cthis time,\u201d said he, \u201cmy dear doctor, all is\nover.\u201d He did not share the hopes of those who attended the celebration of\nCandlemas day. He understood that his last hour on earth was near at hand,\nand he requested that the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction should be\nadministered.\n\nAs soon as the doleful tidings reached the city, the people were bid to\nprayer by a general ringing of the bells. Great numbers of the faithful\nsought the approaches to the Vatican. Many entered and crowded the halls\nand ante-chambers of the palace, offering up their prayers, with abundance\nof tears, as Bishop Marinelli, whom, only one month before, Pius IX. had\nsent to assist King Victor Emmanuel, conveyed the Viaticum to the chamber\nof death and administered the Sacraments. As the malady increased it\nattacked the lungs (not the brain, as the infidel newspapers falsely\nrepresented),(17) rendering difficult and painful the breathing of the\npatient. Nevertheless, Pius IX. calmly and distinctly repeated the prayers\nfor the dying, which Cardinal Bilio had begun to recite. At the end of the\nAct of Contrition, he said, with great humility and confidence, \u201c_Col\nrostro adjuto_\u201d(18) and expressed his Christian hope, saying, \u201c_In Domumm\nDomini ibimus._\u201d(19) As the cardinal, bathed in tears, hesitated to\npronounce the words of final adieu\u2014\u201c_Proficiscere anima\nChristiana_\u201d(20)\u2014the Holy Father inspired the courage so necessary at the\nhour of separation, be, himself uttering the words, \u201c_Si Proficiscere_.\u201d\nHe must bless, once more, the Sacred College, the members of which were\nall kneeling around him. Cardinal Bilio, in their name, asked him to\nimpart his blessing. Extending his right hand, he blessed them for the\nlast time. Scarcely had the hand that had been so often raised in blessing\nmankind fallen on the couch when the eyes became dim. A little before four\no\u2019clock the death agony commenced. A few moments before six Pius IX.\nceased to live.\n\n\u201cEternal rest give to him, O Lord,\u201d devoutly said the cardinal, \u201cand may\nperpetual light shine upon him.\u201d These words conveyed the mournful fact\nthat Pius IX. lived no more. They were, at the same time, the occasion of\nan outburst of love and devotedness, which showed that this wonderful Pope\nstill commanded in death that affection which, in his lifetime, had been\noften so gloriously manifested.\n\nCardinals, prelates, nobles, people of Rome, guards and servants,\nstruggled and crowded on each other, in order to press, once more,\nforehead and lips on those sacred hands which could never more be raised\nto bless them. It was a singularly affecting scene. The wail of sorrow and\nthe unfeigned expression of esteem and love arose also as the tidings\nspread throughout the wide extent of the Catholic world.\n\nThe deceased Pontiff needs no eulogium. His memory will be as green\nthroughout the centuries to come as on the day of his decease. It is\nimpossible, however, to avoid calling to mind the words of Saint Cyprian,\nspoken in praise of Pope Cornelius, and most appropriately applied by the\npious and learned Bishop of Poitiers to Pius IX: \u201cAfter a promotion which\nhe had neither desired nor sought, but which was due to him alone who\nmakes Pontiffs, what activity from the first moment he was in office! what\nboldness of initiative! And, what we must chiefly consider and praise,\nwhat strength of faith and what courage in having perseveringly and\nintrepidly held the sacerdotal chair at Rome, at a time when, through\nopposition to the priesthood, were uttered such fearful threats, and when\nthe Powers of the world were more inclined to undergo any kind of reverse\nrather than that the Priest of God should occupy at Rome a throne which\nwas the rival of their earthly throne. If, in the midst of so much\nagitation, the power of the Lord evidently protected the priest whom he\nhad chosen, that priest, nevertheless, in resisting, suffered all that it\nwas possible to suffer, and overcame, by his priestly energy, those for\nwhom were in store other and ulterior defeats.\u201d\n\nST. CYPRIAN, Epist. LII, _ad Antonianum_.\n\nThe death of Pius IX., long so ardently desired by the Italian ministry,\ncame upon them unawares at last. They had no scheme or plot in readiness,\nto thwart the action of the cardinals in the election of a successor to\nthe Pontificate.(21) The Conclave, accordingly, assembled in due course,\nand, on the third day of its meeting, elected to the Chair of Peter\nCardinal-Archbishop Pecci, Bishop of Perugia, who will be known in history\nas LEO XIII.\n\n\u2014FINIS.\u2014\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n   M1 Further violence.\u2014Attack on the Holy Father.\u2014Murder of Monsignore\n      Palma.\n\n    1 In 1855 the Bonaparte family were without a name in that Europe\n      where they had possessed so many thrones. One man had compassion on\n      them, and acted generously, Pius VIII. welcomed them to his States.\n      A member of this family, Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon\u2019s brother,\n      having always shown great faithfulness to the Holy See, Pius VIII.\n      conferred upon him the title of a Roman Prince and the principality\n      of Canino. Lucien\u2019s son has not been gifted to walk in the footsteps\n      of his honorable father. Balleydier, in his history of the Roman\n      revolution, thus portrays him: \u201cVersed in dissimulation, Charles\n      Bonaparte had, under the preceding Pontificate, acted two very\n      opposite characters. In the morning attending in the ante-chambers\n      of the Cardinals, in the evening at the Conciliabula of the secret\n      Societies, he labored to secure, by a double game, the chances of\n      the present and the probabilities of the future. He had often been\n      seen going piously to the Vatican even, to lay at the feet of\n      Gregory XVI. homage which his heart belied.\u201d No doubt, in 1847 and\n      1848, he thought himself an abler man than his father, as he\n      marched, poignard in hand, at the head of the malcontents of Rome.\n\n   M2 The Pope abandoned by his people. The Pope protests against the\n      Socialist ministry and its acts.\n   M3 Unsettled state of the European nations.\n   M4 Pius IX. retires to Gaeta.\n   M5 Treacherous conduct of sworn servants of the Papacy.\n   M6 Sentiments and declarations of the Revolutionists.\n   M7 What the world thought of the proceedings at Rome.\n   M8 The Catholic Powers resolve to reinstate the Pope.\n   M9 Dutiful conduct of Ferdinand of Naples, towards the exiled Pope.\n  M10 Action of the Powers delayed. Prince Louis Napoleon repudiates the\n      conduct of the Prince of Canino.\u2014Declares for the temporal\n      sovereignty.\n  M11 Several Powers undertake to restore the Pope. France sends an army\n      to Rome. Treachery of the Roman populace. Determination to besiege\n      Rome. The siege delayed by diplomatic man\u0153uvres.\n  M12 Excesses of the Revolutionists.\n  M13 The King of Naples and the Spaniards offer to assist the French.\n  M14 Rome surrenders to the French.\n  M15 Colonel Niel despatched to Gaeta with the keys of the city.\n  M16 Letter of Pius IX. to General Oudinot.\n  M17 General Oudinot repairs to Gaeta and invites the Pope to return to\n      his Capital.\n  M18 The French Republic tries to coerce the Pope.\u2014Letter to Colonel\n      Edgar Ney.\n  M19 Address of Montalembert to the National Assembly of France.\n  M20 The Municipality of Rome invites the Pope to return.\n  M21 The Pope returns to Rome.\n  M22 State of religion in countries affected by the Photian schism and\n      the Mahometan imposture.\n\n    2 This danger is past.\n\n  M23 French colonies and foreign missions\u2014Africa.\n  M24 German associations of Pius IX.\u2014State of religion in Germany.\n  M25 Degeneracy of Spain and Portugal, and their colonies\u2014Restoration\n      under the auspices of Pius IX.\n  M26 State of the Catholic Church in England prior to 1850.\n  M27 Pius IX. restores the English Hierarchy.\n  M28 Numbers and names of the new Sees.\n  M29 Dr. Wiseman and thirteen other eminent persons raised by Pius IX. to\n      the dignity of Cardinal.\n  M30 Success of the English Hierarchy.\n  M31 Increase of Catholics during the decade\u20141840-1850.\n  M32 Wonderful growth of the Catholic Church in England during the\n      Pontificate of Pius IX.\n  M33 State of the Catholic Church in Holland anterior to the restoration\n      of its Hierarchy in 1853.\n  M34 Persecution in New Granada. Pius IX. remonstrates.\n  M35 Persecution ceases at last in the Scandinavian countries.\n  M36 Pius IX. sends a Catholic pastor to Stockholm.\n  M37 Denmark\u2014600 conversions.\n  M38 Pius IX. establishes a Metropolitan See at Athens.\n  M39 Germany\u2014Wars against the Church.\n  M40 An archbishop and other priests cruelly persecuted. Sustained by\n      Pius IX. and finally by the people.\n  M41 Pius IX. laments the state of religion in Sardinia.\u2014Condemns the Act\n      secularizing marriage.\n  M42 Pius IX. puts an end to the celebrated Goa Schism in 1851.\n  M43 Encyclical on the Immaculate Conception\u20141849.\n  M44 Pius IX. solemnly promulgated the Dogma of the Immaculate\n      Conception.\n  M45 Disputes concerning the study of the ancient classics happily\n      terminated by Pius IX.\n  M46 Accident at St. Agnes. Narrow escape of Pius IX. and many eminent\n      persons.\n  M47 Piedmont seeks a French alliance against the Pope.\n  M48 Pius IX. encourages Science and the Fine Arts\u2014\u201cVindex antiquitatis.\u201d\n  M49 Lord Clarendon rebukes Count Cavour.\n  M50 \u201c_Motu proprio_.\u201d\n  M51 Donoso Cortez, in the Spanish Parliament, supports the Papal\n      Sovereignty.\n  M52 Lord Lansdowne, together with all the statesmen and States of\n      Christendom, recognize the principles laid down in Pius the Ninth\u2019s\n      \u201c_motu proprio_.\u201d\n  M53 Canonizations at Rome.\u2014Two American Saints. Pius IX. erects four\n      Metropolitan Sees in the United States.\n  M54 New See of Laval.\u2014Rennes becomes Metropolitan.\u2014Restoration of the\n      Chapter of St. Denis.\n  M55 Napoleon desires to be crowned by the Pope. Pius IX. sponsor for\n      Napoleon\u2019s son.\u2014Golden rose sent to the Empress.\n  M56 Pius IX. godfather to Alphonso XII. of Spain.\n  M57 Concordat with Austria.\n  M58 Difficulties in Spain and Spanish countries. Errors of Gunther.\n  M59 Pius IX. makes a progress through his States.\u2014His popularity.\n  M60 The Mortara case.\n  M61 New Sees erected by Pius IX. in America.\n  M62 Several names added to the number of the Saints.\n  M63 Count Orsini attempts to murder the Emperor Napoleon III.\n  M64 The war of 1859.\u2014The legations severed from the states of the\n      Church.\n\n    3 Mr. Perkins, in his letter to the _Times_, makes out that they\n      forced open the houses of the inhabitants to make them give up their\n      wine, and that they got drunk.\n\n  M65 The peace of Villafranca.\n  M66 How the treaty was observed.\n\n    4 Protocol, March 18th.\n\n    5 \u201cIf we were to sift the pretensions of all our public men, to\n      discover that one person who is necessarily best informed of the\n      past and present state of Italy, and the causes and means that have\n      produced the anarchy which now prevails over the greater part of\n      that unfortunate peninsula, Lord Normanby would inevitably be the\n      man for our purpose. His long residence in Italy, his intimate\n      acquaintance with all that is there distinguished for literature,\n      science, art and statesmanship, and his unquestionable liberality of\n      sentiment, as a politician, give him a paramount claim to our\n      respectful attention, and even to our confidence, when he comes\n      forward to enlighten his countrymen, with respect to Italian\n      affairs\u2014a claim to which no other member of the legislature can have\n      the slightest pretensions. He has, too, throughout a long public\n      career, always maintained such an independence of character, and so\n      nobly and generously subordinated his personal interests to his\n      sense of public duty, as to entitle him as a right to our\n      confidence, when he unbosoms himself either in print or in speech,\n      of that knowledge which he has acquired by long study and experience\n      in official and non-official life, and tells us important truths\n      which it is necessary for us to know, in order to be able to form a\n      correct judgment upon momentous passing events.\u201d\u2014_Weekly Register_,\n      _February 11, 1860_.\n\n  M67 The French Emperor connives at the violation of the Treaty.\n  M68 A European Congress proposed for settling the affairs of Italy.\n  M69 Diplomatic doctrine of non-intervention.\n  M70 Tuscany, Parma, Modena and the Legations finally annexed to\n      Piedmont. Price of the spoil.\n  M71 Results of Revolutionary Government.\n  M72 Garibaldi reappears.\n  M73 Revolutionary reforms in Sicily, Naples, Lombardy, Modena, the\n      Pontifical States, &c.\n  M74 Revival of Peter\u2019s pence.\n  M75 The Pope forms an army.\u2014Lamoriciere commands.\n  M76 Duplicity of the French Government.\u2014The Emperor of Austria\n      restrained by his Council.\u2014Lamoriciere\u2019s force cut to pieces by the\n      Piedmontese at Castelfidaro.\n  M77 Further expression of opinion.\u2014The Great Powers.\n  M78 A Plebiscitum.\u2014Umbria and the Marches of Ancona annexed to Sardinia.\n  M79 The pamphlet La France, Rome et l\u2019Italie.\u2014Cardinal Antonelli\u2019s\n      reply.\n  M80 First Italian Parliament. Victor Emmanuel proclaimed King of Italy.\n  M81 Death of Count de Cavour.\n  M82 The Lebanon Massacres.\u2014Generosity of Pius IX.\n  M83 Conversion of the Bulgarians.\n  M84 The annexation to Piedmont of Umbria and the Marches publicly\n      sanctioned by Napoleon III.\n  M85 Piedmont seeks to reign at Rome.\n  M86 The Piedmontese Government fills its coffers by plundering the\n      church.\n  M87 The Emperor Napoleon induced to modify his Italian policy.\n\n    6 Whoever thinks to devour the Pope will die of indigestion. These\n      words, though not very polite, proved to be prophetic.\n\n  M88 Garibaldi defeated at Aspromonte.\n  M89 Canonization of the Martyrs of Japan.\n  M90 The Pope\u2019s consistorial allocution to the assembled bishops. He\n      denounces the errors of the time.\n  M91 The Church in Poland persecuted. Pius IX. raises his voice in its\n      behalf.\n  M92 The revolutionists admire the courage of Pius IX.\n  M93 The Russian Envoy insults the Pope.\n  M94 Pius IX. insists on protecting the ex-King of Naples, and takes\n      Napoleon severely to task.\n  M95 An Emperor and Empress visit the Pope.\n  M96 A Papal Nuncio sent to remind Maximilian of his promises made at\n      Rome.\n  M97 A further step towards the abolition of the Papal sovereignty.\n  M98 The Syllabus.\n  M99 Successful efforts of Napoleon III. to humble Austria.\n M100 Pius IX. devoted to the duties of his spiritual office.\n M101 Canonization, 1859. John Baptist de Rossi.\n M102 John Sarcander.\n M103 Benedict Joseph Labre.\n M104 Mixed schools\u2014Ireland.\n M105 Troubles of the Church in Mexico.\n M106 Revolutionary aggression.\u2014Treachery of the Italian Government.\n M107 Garibaldi invades the Papal states.\n M108 Murder of the Zouave music band.\n M109 French army ordered to Rome.\n M110 Character of Garibaldians\u2014No sympathy with them.\n M111 The Maistre\u2014Muller.\n M112 Garibaldian fanaticism.\n M113 Two murderers executed.\n M114 Pius IX. visits the wounded rebels.\n\n    7 If Russia were a little more within the pale of civilization, it\n      would be noted as an exception. Its bishops were not allowed to\n      proceed to Rome.\n\n    8 The number of prelates at Rome attending the council was never, for\n      any length of time, the same. And writers give the numbers according\n      to the time at which they noted them.\n\n    9 The _left arm_ looking from the door of the Basilica, the _right_\n      looking from the high altar. As was fitting, it was the Gospel side.\n\n   10 According to the best statistics that can be found.\n\n   11 There appeared at Munich, in 1874, an ingenious caricature. It\n      represented the Prussian chancellor, endeavoring, with a Krupp gun,\n      which he used as a lever, to overthrow a church emblem of\n      Catholicism. Satan comes on the scene, and says: \u201cWhat are you\n      doing, my friend?\u201d Bismarck, \u201cThis church embarrasses me; I want to\n      upset it.\u201d Satan, \u201cIt embarrasses me, too. I have been laboring 1800\n      years to demolish it. If your Excellency succeeds, I pledge myself\n      to resign my office in your favor.\u201d\n\n   12 A later estimate than at page 120.\n\n   13 The late celebrated preacher, Dr. Cumming, also admitted the\n      expansive power which is characteristic of the Catholic Church. And\n      in doing so, he bore witness to its actual growth in his time. In a\n      lecture delivered at Brentford, England, in 1860, he said: \u201cHe would\n      do the priests of the Church of Rome the justice to say that a more\n      earnest, energetic, a more industrious body he did not know in any\n      portion of our church; they were laboring incessantly for what they\n      believed to be the truth, and he would that he could say without\n      success, but he was sorry to say _with great success_. He saw going\n      over to the Church of Rome a section of the nobility and many\n      ministers of our church. These were well instructed, and ought to\n      have known better. In England, account for it as they could, it had\n      made progress to such an extent, during the last twenty years, that\n      it had doubled its churches and doubled its priests.\u201d\u2014Lecture at\n      Brentford. England, 1860.\n\n   14 Discourse delivered in the Church of St. Peter _ad vincula_, 1st\n      June, 1877, by the Bishop of Poitiers.\n\n_   15 La Captivite de Pie IX. par Alexander de St. Albin. Paris_, 1878.\n      Pages 513 and 514.\n\n   16 That _was_ the Pantheon, or temple of all the Gods. It is now the\n      Church called _St. Mary of the Martyrs_ (_S\u00e6 Mari\u00e6 ad Martyres_).\n\n   17 Their purpose is sufficiently manifest. But the calumny did not\n      avail them. Pius the Ninth\u2019s last illness was of such a character as\n      to render impossible congestion of the brain. He possessed to the\n      end his mental faculties. And when the power of speech failed, he\n      was still able to express his thoughts, which were clear and\n      distinct, by looks and gestures.\n\n   18 \u201cWith the aid of Thy grace.\u201d\n\n   19 \u201cWe shall enter into the House of the Lord.\u201d\n\n   20 \u201cDepart, Christian soul.\u201d\n\n   21 The crisis in the Eastern question, the attitude of the Holy Father\n      on the occasion of Victor Emmanuel\u2019s sudden demise, the consequent\n      devolution of the crown to a new sovereign, the scandal of the Prime\n      Minister\u2019s (Orispi\u2019s) notorious criminality before the law\n      necessitating his unwilling resignation and the fall of the\n      ministry, the suddenness of the Holy Father\u2019s decease; all these\n      events and conditions, in their several degrees and kinds, made the\n      moment at which it had to meet astonishingly propitious for the\n      holding of the Conclave in the Vatican itself.","title":"Pius IX. And His Time","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":154675}