The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-05-08

monopoly OF these Portuguese legal privileged
IL is the contest between the vulture and the
crow, for piece Of stolen meat Would that the
people Of the Peninsula knew their interest well
enough to knock both on the head, when painting
under the exhaustion which is sure 10 follow as
consequence Of their struggle Until Portugal
may free herself from the control Of the church.
she will continue to be the prey Of tyrants, from
the Queen down TO the lowest officer of the law
or sergeant OF the troops
We have meager details from Rome which
however 20 TO elucidate the blessings of Papai
government. They tell Of continued imprison-
ments for political offences foggings, &c. nHict-
ed on all orders Of men who are suspected even of
sympathy with the Republican cause Never
theless, Mazzinps loan is acknowledged by all to
be making great secret progress there as through
out all Italy. The Roman correspondent of the
Times says that many Of the stanchest friends OF
the present Government have subscribed literally
to it, by way Of escaping prescription, If in time
to come the Republic may be reestablished over
the Italian peninsula. This is, indeed, far.
fetched excuse The Government Of Plus TX Is
at this moment as heartily hated by all classes of
his subjects, as ever was that of either of his
drunken or tyrannical predecessors. His people
advance money to enable Mazzini to perpetuate
the organization of the Republicans of Italy, only
at the risks Of their lives and of the deprivation
Of their families OF all their property after their
execution.
Under these circumstances, to write down any
such subscribers to be friends of the existing Gov
eminent, is insulting to the common sense of the
leading journal y is it not ? Jesuitism runs riot
throughout the Eternal City. The spies of this
terrible band Of inqusitors are in every consid-
cradle family, and in almost every establishment
Of a rival religious order. They control every
body and everything; disposing as absolutely of
private fortunes and public Offices, as of the lives
Of those recently denounced by their spies. Very
erroneous ideas of the liberalism Of Plus TX
exist in England, as well as among us. You will
recollect the flourish Of trumpets with which we
welcomed the promises of reform made by him.
on ascending the Papal throne. He was TO have
utterly abolished the principle of inquisitorisl
trial in criminal cases. By the 536th article Of
the Gregorisn code, State criminals are judged
by the tribunal Of prelstes Of the sacred college
not by established rules, but with powers awarded
to the court III each case The 560th article au-
thorizes the court to deny the accused the right
to be confronted with the witnesses against him
The 56lst article denies the right of the accused
to be present after his examination by the whole
tribunal, when his case is being considered and
argued By the 564th article there is no appeal
against the sentence even though the case may
have been decided against him by bare majority,
except III CAGES Of. condemnation to death not
pronounced unanimously; when the judges must
be, in part the same who have already decided
upon the very facts Of d. zx--. Is Ike 55Sth
article the choice of counsel is not free, but shb-
Jet 10 the approval Of the President. The trial
takes place with closed DOORS and NO report there
of is allowed to 20 to the public As this code
has been practiced at Rome, there are no perma-
nent judges but the powers that be appoint one
for each case of course to suit their own purposes
more especially when, as at present, the Jesuits
rule the roast. The order of calling the accused
before the court is arbitrary; and they are not
confronted one with the other. The reader will
perceive that this is invitation to the real viii
lain and criminal to purchase immunity with a
lie without the possibility Of REPUTATION. Plus
TX, fancying such provisions as | mention above
too liberal, notwithstanding his promises has alb
solutely taken from the accused even the poor
right of proposing his own counsel In his mes
sage, at the opening of the French Chamber, If
| remember rightly; Louis Napoleon writes pa
thetically concerning the Holy Fathers " liberal
| and philanthropic deedsn To find them, would
be like the hunt for the needle in the hsystack
| He promised an amnesty, excluding from its bless
ings, however, all who were Of the Assembly I'M
der the Republic, whether voting against the dec
laration Of the Republic or not all members of
the Provisional IS we'll as of the Republican Gov
vernment, and all who served the Republic in
arms, as officers. Thus he cut off from hopes of
his mercy about all who could justly have been
| included among the real enemies Of his Govern
ment.
Ia the administration of this amnesty, all who
accidentally had control Of the men at any time
| in the Revolution are written down to be " Off
cersn But, to this hour, thousands of the anass-
tied grosn in prisons, in which they have been in
carcerated without trial upwayds of year. Hun
dreds Of these miserable beings have been placed
there on the bare suspicion of the police, or to
! crafty the private malice of some jesuit spy.
Rogues, VIGOROUSLY 30, are treated in the dun
geons or prisons of the gentle and Liberal PIUs
just as are the political offenders In few words
all who are not Jesuits are written down to be
rebels, and are treated az such on the first often.
sive occasion.
But Plus also boosted of his intention to reform
the municipal organization Of his temporal king
dom. How does the reader think he redeemed
that pledge? Why, actually by restricting the
regulations, in this connection, made in 1916 by
! Plus VII He has reduced the number Of repre-
sentatives from the principal places in the prov
inces, from forty-eight to thirty-six, and from
eighteen to ten, in less populous communities. He
has decreed the renewal Of the Councils trien-
nially instead of biennialy as heretofore and has
90 reduced the number Of electors, to have them
but six times great as that Of the
themselves allowing Dub <lO 10 population or
70, 900 souls There's the democratic. republi-
can, universal suffrage, of the benign Plus TX
He has placed additional restrictions on the choice
Of representatives, combining them wholly to the
very wealthy, whe can also produce Government
certificate Of good religious and political conduct
Thus, he has managed to exclude whoever has
rendered himself obnoxious by even speaking
against one of his Ministers of State.
But all his promised reforms, In every branch
Of his Government, prove to be deceptive retro
gressions-in his long -talked-of Consultative As.
sembly, in his Council Of State, in the commits.
sions for Law reform, In his lay-ministry, &C. He
has taken measures to oonfne more strictly than
ever in the hands Of Jesuts and cardinals his
whole Government in it's various departments Of
education finance justice In the civil and military
administration, In home and in foreign affairs
and he has so committed al into such keeping
without making them responsible, or even SUBJ
jecting their acts to publicity. Does not the read
or understand that the honest administration Of
the law, as bad as Roman law now u.s. and the
preservation Of "order,n are things utterly i'm
possible in the Romsn States, while matters re-
main there as at present. Does he not also CON-
prehend, that commercial ruin and irretrevable
financial embarrassment must be the inevitable
doom Of Inflated Italy, so long as In pursuance Of
his all-wise purposes, Providence may see At to
curse that fairest land with the continuance of
this benign Government restored over loath-
ing people by foreign Governments, and main
tanned only by the force Of foreign arms, against
theswishes of an unanimous peopls7 Does not
the American understand why the discipline Of
the Church Of Rome 10 Italy forbids the reading
Of the Bible by laymen when, In % doing, CON-
parsons cannot fall TO be drawn between the sys-
ten politica Of Christ and his apostles, and that
Of Plus TX and his minions-the latter proclaim
ing themselves the while, to be imitators Of the
former laboring only TO faithfully tend the vine
yard which they planted7
Mans propensity for worldly wealth and honor
Is at the bottom Of all these peryersions Of Ckys