TH E TABLET.
[Saturday, January 7, iSyr.
Pope may now call his own is his own private apartments therein. So also an inventory has been taken of the furniture of the Quirinal: and the crucifixes, Madonnas, and holy water stoops, are said to belong to the Pope as Pope, whereas the rest of the furniture belonged to him as Sovereign / Whilst we are on the topic of the Vatican we may mention that we observed how the I llu stra ted London N ew s selected Christmas week for presenting its Catholic readers with a choice sample of good taste, when it refers to the Holy Father as “ the aged priest who is now petulantly be“ wailing himself in the private chambers of the Vatican, and “ inflicting on the world all the small revenge in his power “ by excluding strangers from the sight of the treasures of a
“ mythology older than his own.” The writer is ridiculously unfair in this remark, but not worse than others amongst his contemporaries of the English press, who of course produce what they know will please their public. But we would ask, what claim have the “ strangers” who buy and enjoy these sort of attacks—what claim have they upon the courtesy of the venerable Pontiff to whom they are openly hostile ? What right have they to intrude upon his privacy in the only dwelling left him by their Italian friends ? The claim is so simply impudent, that it could only have been thought of in connection with the Pope. The vulgarest Fenian would hardly insult the Queen in one breath, and in the next com plain that he was not admitted to disport himself in the State apartments of Windsor Castle, her Majesty being the while in residence.
Among the most noteworthy things at the
t h e r e ig n opening of the new year stands the fact that oi' itus ix. our j£ 0iy pother Pius IX has now attained length of reign exceeding all those of the Popes with the one exception of S. Peter. A correspondent reminds us that the next longest occupant of the Pontifical Chair would appear to be, by Bishop Kenrick’s P rim acy o f the Apostolic Sec, Pope Pius V I , who was elected on the 15th February, 1775, and died on 29th August, 1799— a period of 24 years and 195 days. Pius IX was elected the 16th of June, 18 4 6 ; hence on the 3 1st of December last his reign’s duration had exceeded that of Pius V I by 3 1 days. Though often mentioned before, some readers may like to have the dates of the Pope’s life and reign as given in the A nnuario. They are as follows:— His Holiness was born at Sinigaglia, May 13th, 1792. He was elected Pope, June
1 6th, 1846, and crowned on the 21st of the same month in the same year.
Our Roman letter had not come to hand at rome. the hour of going to press; but the political topic of interest is still the debate at Florence on the
always advocated in word and deed by Italians, has (he added) powerfully contributed to win the sympathy of such Catholics for the traditional aspirations of the nation towards “ the ancient and natural metropolis of the Italian
people.” The assumption, as we need scarcely say, is historically groundless. Rome was neither the ancient nor the natural capital of Italy, nor the capital of Italy at any time, if Italy is to be taken as a politically significant word, and not as that mere “ geographical expression” so much objected to by Italians. To appeal to the past in this sense is to revive that “ geographical expression” as an historical fact. Rome was never the capital of Italy, except when Rome was also the capital of the world, and when Italy’s existence was merged in an empire co-extensive with the limits of civilization. Do the pretensions of Italy look towards the restoration of Roman dominion ? That cannot be, for Italians are not Romans, but their antithesis. Again, where are these “ sincere Catholics,” who approve of the Pope’s spoliation ? I t would have puzzled Lanza to name them. He went on to show how one half of the problem had been achieved in the destruction of the Temporal Power. The second half now occupied their attention, viz, the con structive portion: How to “ constituteaposition for the PaPaCb
“ which shall satisfy all good Catholics who are notp r e ju d f0 “ by passion, that the Pope and the Holy See will lose noilbmS “ which appertains to dignity, respect, and independence, “ shall acquire so much the more liberty and authority m “ religious order as they will be liberated from all the an ^ “ ture and distraction of earthly and mundane cares. ^ then proceeded to comment on the separate articlesshould like to put one question to the Florentine ^hnis , waiving all other considerations for the moment. How he purpose to guarantee the guarantees ? As matters n stand at Rome, if the Pope should come out of the ^ and show himself in the Piazza of S. Peter, he might as U’ > as not receive a bullet from the revolver of Tognetti or s° ^ of his crew, notwithstanding that his person is guaran ^ as sacredjand inviolable by the first article of this law. Government either can or cannot prevent such scene those that have recently occurred at Rome. In either
their present project of law is a futile thing, not to men , that they know very well that, were they both able an ¡cl ing to abide by the terms offered, the Holy Lather accept none of them.
BELGIUM AND ITALY. The Green Book lately Em i t te d o ^ Florentine Parliament contains a despat
Signor Barral, the Italian ambassaao at the ocBrussells, describing a conversation he had had °n prjnlC cupation of Rome with M. d’Anethan, the Catho no Mini«»«- nf tui™ ™ -'—a .»»t.ments, _
binet, but scarcely so to the Catholics of Belgium, lC_ subject of the Roman aggressions. According to ,
“ Guarantees,” and it will be found pretty fully treated of Minister of Belgium,'"and"‘a U r ib ^w ' io hhn sentimer by our Italian correspondent. Rome is suffering from an doubt satisfactory to the writer and to the Florentine Ca extraordinary inundation of the Tiber, causing much damage Klif PAorAfll,, ~~ ~ _i;_„r T>„Irrilim. OHtft to property, and augmenting the distress, already very great. There is another piece of news : King Victor has actually been to Rome, but not to take possession of his vineyard. He started suddenly incognito, and arrived on New Year’s Eve, but departed on New Year’s Day. Venit, v id it , ct evanuit. He is stated to have been received with acclamations by the populace, and to have been called for to show himself to them on the balcony of the Quirinal Palace, but it is not mentioned that he complied with the popular desire. What is to his credit is, that we are told lie presented to the municipality the sum of 200,000 fra n c s for the relief of the poor, and begged of the authorities
count given by Barral, all that the Belgian statesman Hasist'
on was, firstly, the difficulty of evincing to the wc reality of the liberty and independence which the measure» taken by Italy should secure to the Pope ; and, secondly, 1 neutrality to which Belgium is committed by the terms of n _ constitution, and which must prevent her taking action in aQ religious question. The B ie n Public comments withincreduht) on this document. It says that the Ambassador of a l >0'v]er so steeped in duplicity and perjury as Italy has probably made untrue representations to his Government about the sentiments of the Belgian Cabinet, but at the same tin'2 (it says) Catholics will await the explanations of ^ * d Anethan. I he B ie n Public, in the course of its remarks,quotes an important fact in the past history of its country> a history which does contain much that is dubious, as lts oldest date is short of the mythic period. The circumstance
orld the
to devote to the same object whatever sums might have been intended to defray the expenses of rejoicing on theoccasion of his public reception, yet to come. O, si sic omnia ! Charity to the poor is admirable, but is that charity which robs S. Peter of his patrimony, and not for the honour or profit of S. Paul ? Prince Doria Pamphili is, after all, the Sindico of Rome, and not the Hebrew financier Samuele.
We have before us an extract from a letter
in question is, that when Pius IX was driven from Rom2 " l . tlle year 1849, Belgium being then under a liberal Ministry, King Leopold I , himself a Protestant, offered the
t h e Ita l ia n Written by a member of the Italian Governgovern.m ent. ment t0 a frjen(j jn R ome “ You Romans,” 'it says, “ are dissatisfied with u s : you won't have us. I know it, and understand the reason. But the die is cast, and we must go on to the end. The European Powers give us no trouble. They have no desire to interfere with us really. I f they speak with severity, it is to calm the Ca
tholic enthusiasm of their people. Bismark and others are now without faith, without conscience, and without religion.”
In the debate on the guarantees, Signor roma Lanza anticipated (he said) for the measures cahtalk. un(jer diSCuSSion the approbation of “ liberal « and sincere Catholics." The association of the two ideas,
an army of 10,000 men commanded by Genera Olivier to cooperate in effecting his restoration. Nor was this done for the purpose of currying favour with the Catholic party in Belgium, for the fact was* unknown there at the time, and has only come out subsequently in the book ot the Italian historian Spada. I t tells now much to the credit of King Leopold I , who was called in his later days the Nestor of Europe.
The Spectator argues against the election oi
C<™ I ° N a National Assembly in France, on what it conp l e b is c it e , sidersthe strongest possible grounds. It says : it
a plebiscite could be fairly put to the people ot “ France, we should strongly approve it, and feel no sort ot
