The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-23 00:00:00

Miscellaneous Foreign News.

A letter from Geneva, dated Sept. 11, says :
Your readers are probably aware that the Peace
Congress opened its sittings in this city on Monday
last, the Bth inst. The great attraction held to the
uninitiated world was the presence of General
Garibaldi. That potentate accordingly made his
entrance into the city on Sunday evening, attired
in his usual fancy dress, in a carriage and four,
escorted by the various democratic clubs of Geneva,
with their banners. It was thought possible, by
those who were unacquainted with the character
of the man, that he might on this occasion confine
himself to the subjects indicated in the programme
of the Congress, and for once abstain from ribald
attacks against priests and denunciations of the
Papacy. Not at all. lie lost no opportunity, either
in the Congress or in his orations from his balcony,
of exciting religious strife, and succeeded, as you
will see, from the accompanying documents, in
imposing on the Congress a series of propositions,
embodying his views regarding the abolition of the
Papacy, and the inauguration of a new religion,
apparently the same with that already advocated
by Mazzini in the columns of the Westminster
Review. The result, however, has been different
from the one on which his admirers probably
calculated. Ile has covered the whole proceedings
of the Congress with ridicule, and so succeeded in
opening the eyes of the more serious politicians
here to the impracticability of the whole affair,
that the few among them who had lent their sup-
port to the Congress have already withdrawn from
the posts they occupied, or shown manifest symp-
toms of doing so. The final blow was administered
yesterday by an enthusiastic admirer of the illus-
trious guest who informed the Congress that
Christ and William Tell had hail their day, and
that the present " Redeemer of humanity" was
General Garibaldi. lie was greeted by inextin-
guishable laughter, as another, who attributed the
failure of the first French Republic to its weak
maintenance of a belief in Providence, was met
by a storm of hisses.

The Catholics of Geneva, who form a majority
of the Canton, counting in the country population,
observed a dignified silence, resolved to give no
unnecessary handle for outrage, or pretext for
reprisals. However, when in spite of their forbear-
ance these uncalled-for insults had been already
offered to their religion, they thought it time to
speak, and waited yesterday on the " Conseil
d'Etat," with a protestation, a copy of which I fors

ward to you, and which is placarded on :the walls
of Geneva and the surrounding villages. . _

The "Conseil d'Etat " fully admitted thell- right
to protest, and informed them that if they; the
members of the council, had been aware of the lie
General Garibaldi was about to take, they would
not have lent the cannon and military band for his
reception, and that, in consequence of -what had
taken place, their official visit to Garibaldi, and
the dinner which they had intended to offer him
was countermanded.

The Catholic protestation received thirty-two
signatures, principally of the heads of commercial
establishments, and is backed by the warm and
rather bellicose sympathy of the country popula-
tion. It is accompanied by an address of sym-
pathy to Mgr. Mermillod. The sum total is that
Garibaldi departed at nine o'clock this morning,
as it was expressed to me, "soul conune un chien,"
without any ovation whatsoever, having completely
exploded any reputation which he may have had
here as a practical politician, and regarded by the
more sympathetically disposed as an amiable but
idiotic enthusiast ; by the less indulgent as a mis-
chievously disposed charlatan, who is fortunately
unable to avoid exposing himself, as soon as ever
he is no longer transfigured by the halo which
distance and imagination throw around him.

ADDRESS OF THE CATTIOLICS TO HIS LORDSHIP MON-
SIGNEUR DIERMILLOD, BISHOP OF GENEVA.
It is a public fact that in the ovation organized
to give him a public reception, Garibaldi insulted
the Holy See and the sacred rights of the Papacy,
which he called a monster, a pestilential institu-
tion, and an asylum of falsehood and idolatry.
The Catholics could not remain under this out-
rage without giving expression to their grief.
A deputation repaired to the Bishop of Geneva,
and read the following address to his lordship
"My Lord,—We feel anxious to come before
your lordship to protest against the outrageous
language which the avowed enemy of the Papacy
has given utterance to in our city.
" This language outrages the religious feelings
of one-half of the inhabitants of the canton of
Geneva.
" We think that to come and declare war against
the Sovereign Pontiff is little consonant to the reign
of peace. We belong to Geneva and live at Ge-
neva, but we belong also to the Holy Church,
which is the country of our souls. 'This is the
reason wherefore we are profoundly indignant
that a foreigner should come to resuscitate old
animosities, and to sow civil discord in our country.
" Deign, my lord, to be our interpreter with the
august Pius IX., the Vicar of Jesus Christ and
Pontiff King.
"Lay before the Head of the Church the hom-
age of our filial veneration for his sacred person,
and of our inviolable attachment to all the rights
of the Holy See. By this step we wish more than
ever to unite ourselves with you and the clergy.
"We feel certain of serving, thereby, our
country, of defending its independence, and of
labouring for its prosperity. We shall thus be
men of order and of peace, and will preserve in-
tact the honour of our faith with the freedom of
our conscience."
Here follow the signatures.
The following is the analysis of the reply made
by Mgr. Mermillod
:
"Gentlemen,--Your proceeding honours you and
is a source of consolationto me. This solemn.decla-
ration of your Catholic convictions is an act which
God will bless. By this protestation against the
insulting language which has resounded within our
walls, you defend your faith, your Church, and
its august and venerated Head. This is your
right and your duty. You have no fear, and you
wish, as citizens or inhabitants of a free soil, to
maintain that which is most sacred—the freedom
of the soul and the imprescriptable rights of con-
science. The address which you bring me is a first
act, which must have its completion. Neither you
nor myself have wished amid these unhealthy
agitations to give the remotest pretext for any
irritation whatsoever. We are all men of peace,
and we ask it of God for the union of the people
and the prosperity of our dear country. But we
could not see, without profound grief, that, under
the standard of peace, a foreigner should come
to Geneva and indulge in the most violent and
insulting language, and declare open war against
the Head of the religion of one half of the country.
Our free land—our independent nationality—is an
oasis amid the struggles of Europe—it is hospita-
ble soil for the proscribed :of every class. This is
why we indulged in the hope that the public
peace would not be compromised, and that the
rights of hospitality should be respected. More-
over, gentlemen, everything is called in ques-
tion : the Gospel— our Lord Jesus Christ—Pro-
vidence— God Himself. What do these men then
wish to make of a people that would no longer
be under any religious or moral restraint? This
is evidently to bring down ruin on the nations, and
to reduce society to dust. Preserve your holy and
precious convictions as your best treasure ! Let
us remain calm in the serenity of our faith, and in
the security of our rights. We have nothing to
fear, for we are the sons of that Church which
has seen many a storm roll by. Unite in your soul
love of religion with devotedness to your country.
Faith and patriotism exclude not each other ; your
conduct to-day proves it. According to the words
of Holy Writ, which are the words of the God of
Truth, the impious demand peace ; but they can
neither have peace nor establish peace. Peace is
the gift of God, the fruit of conquered passions,
and not of revolution unbound. Keep peace in
your souls by Christian fidelity to faith and to
prayer. Keep it at your domestic hearth by the
energy of duty purity of life and your austere
joy of labour. Keep peace in our country by
the spirit of order, self-devotion, and charity for
all, and attachment to the independence of Swit-
zerland. You will thus ward off the dangers which
threaten her at home and abroad. I thank you,
gentlemen ; your generous sympathies, your filial
homage shall be brought to Pius IX. You are the
echo of that great voice of the Catholic world,
which hails him as the Head of the Church, the
Man of Peace, the Guardian of Right and Justice,
the Pontiff King. Be for ever without fear and
without reproach—faithful to God and to religion.
In a few days, when the effervescence shall have
calmed down, we will give words of counsel to Ca-
tholic consciences, and we shall be happy to trans-
mit to the Vicar of Jesus Christ the expression of
your filial devotedness. This homage coming from
Geneva will be grateful to his heart, and will con-
sole him amid his struggles. I thank you again,
gentlemen, and accept my blessing, because you
have shown yourselves to be men of faith and free
citizens, who have the courage to do your duty
and to save your honour."

The following address from ➢lazzini has just been
published : _

" President of the Congress,—ls it possible
that at Geneva, where the Reformers thundered
with so much violence against the Popes, the illus-
trious Garibaldi has been unable to pronounce his
prophetic phrases, the downfall of the Papacy, with-
out exciting on the part of a quantity of Protestants
reclamations as senseless as they are illogical ? The
Journal de Geneve itself puts its gag upon you.
Nothing against the Pope, nothing against Kings !
"Where,then, are the energetic Genovese who re-
sisted LouisXlV? Where are those manly convic-
tions—that energy of the old Swiss?

" Under the vain pretext of neutrality, under
the vain pretext of wounding no one, they will not
allow the truth to be spoken, and they cause that
which is bad to be called good."
As a commentary on Signor Mazzini's accusa-
tion against the Genevese Protestants, we subjoin
a letter addressed to the editor of the Journal de
Geneve by a Protestant pastor :

" Geneva, Sept. 14, 1867.
"Sir,--As you mentioned in your number of
Thursday, a letter had been transmitted the day
before to the Committee of the Peace Congress,
signed by Messrs. Richard, pastor; Lenoir, member
of the Church of the Oratory ; Poulin-Darier,
Mohardt, deacon, and myself, each of us signing in
his own name, and in that of manylother persons.
The object of this address was :

"1. To declare publicly, contrary to certain

affirmations, that there were in the Congress persons
heartily attached to the Christian faith.
" 2. To protest against the attacks directed by
the greater number of the orators against Christi-
anity ; and
" 3. To ask that if such attacks were renewed,
without being immediately repressed, leave might
be given to one of us to reply.
" In the name of liberty all attacks were permit-
ted'; in the name of peace all replies were. forbid-
den. Our letter was neither read nor mentioned.

"We only ask the publicity of your journal to
state a fact. It was impossible such brutal chal-
lenges could be uttered in the open day at Geneva
without any one being found to take them up.—
Believe me, sir, &c., J. A. BOSCK.