Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1856-08-20

ton. The marriage had taken place in spite OF
the earnest and reiterated opposition of NJ. Pis-
hon, the French Charge de Atfaires at Washing
ton. The friends of the Patterson family-eith-
err directly or through General Smith, Senator
of the United States-were apprised of the In
validity with which the marriage would be re-
garded by the French civil law. The first rea-
son was, want of consent of the mother OF Je-
rome (who was still living and his minority
and secondly the obstacle offered by law to the
marriage of an officer of the army or navy with
out the consent of the government. NotWlth-
standing this notice the family proceeded. The
Marquis of Casa Irugo, Spanish Minister in
Washington, from what motive we cannot say,
did not hesitate to ask from the parents OF Miss
Patterson her hand for Jerome Bonaparte-Sen-
or Casa-Irugo was himself married to an Amerl-
can lady. But what appeared most extraordin-
airy, was the conduct Of the French Consul at
Baltimore, who happened to be M. Sotin, the
former Minister of Police in France, and who in
that quality had presided on the 18th Fructador.
NJ. Sotin sent into exile Nnder the guise of q
civil ofice) to the United States, by his appoint
ment of Vice Consul at Savannah, would have
died from the unheathiness of the climate If NJ,
Pichon had not transferred him to the Consulate
at Baltimore. NJ. Pichon, detained at Wash
ington by important political affairs, had order
ed M. Sotin to present formal protest against
the marriage, founded on the civil laws OF
France In defiance of his Injunction NJ. Sotin
assisted as witness at the ceremony of the
marriage, which was solemnized by Bishop Car
roll. 1t was the intervention of Senor Casa-lrugo
which gave rise to the mention in Napoleon's
letter of the presence of Spanard. Bishop
Carroll was an American. The marriage was
celebrated with all the formalities required by
the Catholic laws and, although Napoleon was
right in his construction of the civil laws he en-
countered ecclesiastical obstacles in his applica-
ton to the Pope, somewhat stronger than he an
ticipated, as we shall see in the next paragraph
From an exact copy Of the original, which
was made in Paris thirty years ago, we here
give the answer of Plus VII. to the Emperor:
''FRoM THE VATICAN, June 26, 1906.
"Emperor and Royal MajeSty-I beg your
Majesty not to attribute the delay in the return
of the courier to any other cause than desire
to employ all the means in our power to COM
ply with the requests of your Majesty, ,communi-
Gated to us by the letter, which together with
its accompanying documents, was handed to US
by the courier himself
SIN everything which depended upon us, viz:
Iinvioable secresy,we have felt honored in yield
ing to the solicitations of your Majesty with the
most scrupulous eXactness !; hence we have con-
fined entirely to ourself the investigation of the
petition concerning the judgement ON the mar
riage in question.
'sIn the crowd of affairs which overwhelm us,
we have taken all the care and given ourself
all the trouble to derive personally from all
sources the means of making the most careful
researches to ascertain if our apostolic authority
could furnish any method OF satisfying the
wishes of your Majesty, which, considering their
end, it would have been very agreeable to us to
second But in whatever light we have consi-
dered it, the result of our examination has been
that of all the motives that have been proposed
which we can imagine, there is not one which
allows us to crafty your Majesty as we should
be glad to do, by declaring the nullity OF the
marriage The three documents which your
Majesty has sent us, being based on principles
contrary to each other, are reciprocally Destroy
ed. The first, settling aside all other absolute
impediments, pretends that there are only two
which can apply to the case, viz; difference OF
the religion of the contracting parties, and the
absence of the curate at the celebration OF the
marriage The second, rejecting these two inn
pediments, deduces two others-from the want
of the consent of the mother, and the relations
of the young man, q minor, and of the rape
The third disagrees with the second, and pro-
poses as the motive of nullity, the want of con-
sent of the curate of the husband, which it pre-
tends is necessary, since he has not changed his
residence, because, according to the disposition
of the Council of Trent, the permission of the
curate of the parish is absolutely necessary in
marriages.
''But from an analysis Of these conflicting O.
IA. 4l,o+t H., ,,a1. ,nntc
are four in number. On examining them sepa-
rately, however, it has not been possible to tnd
one which in the present case, and according
to the principles of the Church, can authorise
us to declare the nullity of the marriage con-
tracted and already consummated. The differ
ence of religion considered by the church as an
absolute impeachment, does not obtain between
two persons who have been baptized even when
one of them is not in the Catholic communion.
This impediment obtains only in marriage con-
tracted between q Christian and an intidel.-
These marriages between Protestants and Cath
ocs, although disapproved of by the Church,
are nevertheless acknowledged as valid"
This is but brief extract from a long letter,
in which the Pontiff sweeps over the entire field
of ecclesiastical learning, showing at every step
that there was no authority vested in him nor
could any precedent be found in the history OF
the Church, for dissolving the marriage; and,
like an honest man as he was, Plus VII. comes
to the conclusion which he unhesitatingly an
nounces, that he neither can nor will annu the
marriage between Jerome Bonaparte ard Eliza
beth Patterson. In the course the Emperor took
in this case there was not Shadow of justifica-
ton, and he cannot be vindicated; and if q
learned and complacent Pontitf could not find in
the library of the Vatican single precedent for
so bad an act we do not deem it our duty to ex-
tend our search any further.
Finding that to persist in his opposition to the
will of his brother would only lead to life of
continual persecution, and feeling assured that
the American marriage would never be recog-
nized, Jerome finally sacrificed his inclinations |
to his interests, and espoused, on the 18th of
August 1907, the Princess Frederick Catharina,
daughter of the King of Wurtemberg. A few
days after he was proclaimed King of Westpha-
liza. BY his marriage with this princess he had
for offspring jerome Napoleon, born in 1914,
Matilda, born in 1919, and Napoleon, born in
1928. These children are illegitimatized by the
decision of the Imperial Commission, and the
fathers rights, whatever they be, are now CEN
tired in the American branch of the family. Of
the descendants of Miss Patterson we have the
following particulars in the work Just quoted -
His son and only child by Elizabeth Patter-
son, born at Camberwel in 1906, was brought
to America by his mother and educated with
care. At an early age he was sent to Harvard
University, and when he graduated he immed-
ately began the study Of the law He was ad-
lnitted to the bar of Maryland, ,and would doubt
less have devoted himself to the practice of that
rofession had not his marriage with a rich lady /