The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-09-13
REMARKS OF MIR. JOHN A. DIX,
or NEW YORK,
ON THE MISSION TO ROME.
IN SENATE. MARCH 81, 1913.


ON THE MISSION TO ROME
Il In SENATE MARCH 81 ls4S r.rr
The motion to strike from the appropriation bill III,
item for mission to the Papal States being under con
sideraton IN the Senate h..
Mr.. DIX said voted yesterday against the amend
ment OF the Senator from Indiana, MIR HANNEGAN.( pro
posing resident minister TO the Papa States. did 80
proposition Of the Senator from Missouri, lr Benton
to send out a minister plenipofennary IL this notion
10 strike out fails, and the Senator from Indiana moves
his amendment again. shall vote for II, and IN stating
my reasons, as propose TO do now, without waiting FOL
bis notion hope it will not be considered out OF place
present statistical details in relation TO the cond
ton OF the Papal States.
DESIRE the first place, say, that do not regard
this political mission unless the term political be
understood in It's largest sense Much less do consider
it religious mission, the honorable Senator from
North Carolina (Mr. BADoER) would have us regard it.
consider the Pope, to all ntents temporal sove.
reign. He has been SO for the last eleven hundred
years. believe the first territorial possession OF the
Pope was conferred upon him by Pepin, the father
and predecessor of Chaemagne, in the eighth century
1t consisted Of the Duchy OF Rome or, at that tims more
properly called the EXarchate of Ravenna, and was
wrested by the King of France from the Lombards, who
had overrun northern and central Italy. 1t extended
from the present frontier Of Naples on the Mediiera
Campagna and the Ponne marshes, and running back
10 the Sabine and voscan hills In the twelfth centu-
possessions to the Pope They embraced the parimony
of ST. Peter, on the Mediterranean, extending from the
mouth OF the Iber TO the present frontier of Tuscany
and the march OF Ancona the Adriatic, with the ad,
sequently made by cODquest-Umbra, ROmagna, Peru
ga, Oryieto, Ca di Casiello Bologna, Ravenna, and
other cities and districts of country In the seventeenth
century, the Duke of tlrbino abdcaed in favor of the
Pope; and at still later period, further additions
were made by arms Thus the territorial possessions of
the Pope held, like those of other sovereigns by
succession, Donation and conquest consider the terri
tora possessions of the church much the domnions
of the Pope The territorial possessions of Spain the
| har, thnl,n Mn,o~ aud
more to decline diplomatic relations in the first
than in the last unless there is in other respects
propriety in dong
Ii is true there is popularity in the form of the Pa
pal government from the fact that the temporal head Of
The State also the spiritual head of the Roman Catholic
Church The senator from North Carolina very Justly
remarked that his chief ministers ecclesiascs. AS
is well known the most important political body in the
Roman States is the Sacred College Of the Cardinals who
Der, the in number the disciples by the
Great Founder of the Christian faith to preach the Gospel
to the world Six cardinal bishops, fifty cardinal
priests, and fourteen cardinal deacons believe the
number has been nvariable for two hundred and fifty
years, though it is not always full All vacancies are
filed by the Pope who IS chosen BY the cardinals from
their own body. The government is, therefore,
limited elective monarchy, if you please, hierarchy,
of which the Pope is the head.
The government is administered, under the direction of
the Pope by the Secretary OF State, who is cardinal
He is aided by several departments, bureaus boards,
the chief of which is the Camera Aposolica, correspond
ing with our Treasury Department L is under the charge
Of the Chamberlain, who is assisted by number of
dnas and subordnaes OF different grades There also
the Buon Goveno, charged with the municipal police of
the States the Sacra Consulta to which is ntrused the
civil and political administration of the provinces and
the Sacra Ruota the great court OF appeals in judicial
proceedings There several more of these boards of
which do not remember the names or the functions
but they all under the direction OF cardinals The
Chamberlain is the only of these executive officers
who appointed for life, and the for the disnc
of the Pope for nine days. when new election takes
place. and during that period ne has the privilege OF
coming money in his own name The Secretary of State,
who the Prime Minister and the confidential adviser of
the Pope besides having the general direction of the adj
mnisiratve functions OF the government presdes espe
ciay over the Saca Consua, or the department for the
provinces, to give IL name suited to IFS functions
There is another class OF official dgnitaries of high
rank under the Papa government-the prelates They
There two three hundred of these dignita-
tares employed in various departments of the govern
men civil or ecclesiastical. The post of prelae often
opens the way to higher preferment, and is next in i'm
portance to membership Of the Sacred College These
are the great officers of the government.
MIR. BADGER. Will the senator allow me to ask him.
for my recollection IS not very accurate and taking
great deal of interest in what he is saying and listening
to him with much pleasure-whether understand him
correctly saying that these preates not always
holy ORDERS Are they not either in holy orders else
undergoing ecclesiastical apprenticeship, which in
wolves the design to take holy orders' -...al ~
Mr.. DIX. said they were not always in holy orders,
and believe am not mistaken. They usually, if not
uniformly, occupy posts under the government Some
OF them governors of provinces, under the denomna-
ton OF delegates, and many OF Them are employed the
executive departments Some OF them become cardinals
but should not consider it accurate TO say of them as
body that they undergoing ecclesiastical appren-
ticeshp.
Let now to the political divisions of the Papal
States. tl r .-. .-.rt XIII
The Papa dominons are divided into twenty provinces
The first is the Comarca of Rome The other nine
teen are divided into legations and delegations The
former are six number, and have each cardinal to
preside them The latter thirteen in number,
with pelaes their presiding officers. Each province
ia vdeu Of local
eminent.
In the provinces, the legations and delegations have
council, tCongregazone d Governo) consisting of the
Gonfalonere or mayor of the chief town. and from two
five councillors, according to the magnitude and import
ance of the province They named by the Pope, and
hold their Office for five years The councillors have no
vote, but when they differ in opinion from the presiding
and sent to the Secretary of State.
Some OF the delegations divided into districts, with
governors subordinate to the delegate Each district is
again divided into cOmmunes, with their mags-
trates and councils. These councils are close corpora
,lons the members of which self elected, subject
the veto OF the delegate and retain their seats tor e
Gonfalonere or mayor, elected from their body by
are eight nine hundred, if remember accurately
with similar forms OF administration.
Thus il will be that the whole government is as
far removed as possible from popular influence 1t is
from the centre to the extremtes founded and admins
tered upon the principles of close corporation, and this
is its CHIEF peculiarly.
The administration of justice partakes OF the nature OF
the political organization 1t is founded the basis OF
the corpus Jur civs and the corpus iur,s odnoncthe
civil and canon law All criminal proceedings are con-
Quoted with closed doors, and the testimony taken in
writing The accused entitled TO the aid OF an adyo-