The Sun.
London, England, 1825-10-12 00:00:00

THE CHURCH OF TUSCANY.

At the • period when -LEOPOLD began his res
forms (in 1784), the church in Tosceny was more
powerful, and better provided for.; than in the
Roman states. The Voptit n atio of the cOuntrY
did pot much exceed a inilli'i).6-4--Certainly not a
tallion and an eighth-; ide Tar' the
ipiritual wants 'of this littlt.-sfalk,.- we fiDd niters
thous-and nine 'hundred and 4ifty-sevett secular
priests, and two thousand five hundred and
eighty-one persons in orders of a lower rank;
two thousand four hundredntid thirty-three re.
gular ' priests, -and sixteen hundred and twenty..
seven lay brothers, . distributed
,over. twenty
hundred and 'thirteen convents, together with
seven thousand, .six,•hendred and seventy OUnii
occupying a hundred and thirty-six establish.. 't
mews of seclusion.. :The whole ,number of pet;..
sons thus taken from the basinessof life to conduct
the exercise of public worship, or to spend,theic
days in the ignorance andseciusion. of the cloisters
amounted by this statement to 22,268,, ;Thus the
religious population was to the secular!as one iu
fifty ; or allowing for children and persons unable
to work in the latter., the inhabitants .of convents
and the secular clergy were to the active and 'in-
dustrious portion of the community as.. one to 2a
or 30. • London exceeds in the number of its ,
habitants the whole of. Tuscany.,. What skosfid
we say of the church ;of London, if it could mus.
ter a body of 20,000 perscas. The nuns, headed
by their abbesses, it is trOe,,would not add much
to the efficient strength Of the cap's, ; but, laying
aside their veils and their'hYpoerisy (Which they
had often done in such presence before) they
might serve in their former' capacity as camp itt-,
tendants to their ancient directorS anal confessari.:.
The revenues which supported them it-Cihe':oo
religious garrisons,' in which the regular 'Portivins
of them resided, and which amounted• 'on ELM
average to 1,0001.' or 1,5001. for each,' would 'be •
more than sufficient, including the livings of tht
higher clergy', to maintain them in their newcapaa
city. That this numerous-body might not
rectors' or supetintendants, the Church of Tuscany .
'.could boast of nut less than 'lB. prelates,Tnamoly,3
Archbishops and 15 -Bishops, with'considerable
incomes and richly endured chapters. it is par»
ticularly stated in severaLwiarks as a rnatter of
boast, and cannot be denied as a master of fact,
'that the city of Florence Contained more Monastic
establishments than Rothe itself, the. c.qital og
the Catholic world. Tuscany owed 'this, flourish-
Ing state of.tnonastic institutions, and this abutidd
alit supply of eecle‘sia.WCal persons, which
-converted the Grand Duchy into the vitsvicti.lors
paratli,e of the. Church, to the Yuperstitioui
position of the family of NlediCi, and: iOl-131
elite ,0% it was anxious to maintain mith„the
Holy See.

• - •
.; An apothecary of.Cae.n,,ltiNorinanay,,Tittsjusi
found out a rneLhod of procuring ice at all sea•
sons of the 'year, hy mixing four PoUndsoriul.
plitiric acid (sit or i{liot),of 36 deg: witli'tive
pounds of sulptez.te of soda
.0..,1a4bei salts)
powder.

A .Q.l

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