New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-06-03
POPE Plus TX. AND TIM ROMAN
QUESTION.

time, feeble, Pickering light, which the hrs
strong blast may extinguish. The demise o
Pope and the subsequent "conclaye" Of TIN
College of Cardinals for the election OF a new
Head of the Roman Catholic Church, have, a
all times, been events of political importance
The rulers Of the great Catholic NATIONS, in par
ticular, being aware of the vast influence which
the voice of the Pope infallibly commando
among Catholic nations, have always used thu
strongest efforts to secure the election of a mar
whom they supposed to be friendly to thei
policy, and generally during the Papal inter
regnum Rome has been the scene of the most
active intrigues Of France Austria and Spain.
Great Importance therefore attaches to the
approaching death of Plus TX. II is the COM
mon belief that in that event the Roman qucs-
ton, which is one of the chief causes of the
revolutionary agitation in Europe, and which
constantly threatens Italy with civil war, will
Immediately lead to serious complications among
European Powers, and will largely add to the
warlike excitement already peryading all Europe.
Its solution has hitherto been adjourned by the
Emperor of France, who keeps his troops in Rome
in order to prevent the national party and the
Government of Italy from abolishing the tenn
poraa power of the Pope, and annexng
the small remainder of the former States Of the
Church to Italy. Upon the death of Pope Plus,
however, the Government of Italy will, without
doubt, make renewed efforts to cause the with
drawal of the French troops, and the Party OF
Action. which, under the leadership Of Carl
baldi and Mazzini. il waiting with as great I'M
patience, and working with as great energy a.
ever. for the contamination of the national uni
ty. will hardly be restrained from making an
other desperate effort to obtain by force what
the whole nation demands.
The Government and the people OF Italy ex-
pect that, upon the death of Plus TX, Louis
Napoleon will make another effort to bring about
such a solution Of the Roman question a. would
give to Italy, if not all, at least large portion
of what she demands. On more than one occa-
sion Louis Napoleon has expressed himself in
favor of uniting the Papal States with the
Kingdom of Italy, and has endeavored to pre-
vail upon the Pope to relinquish voluntarily his
temporal power, in return for which he was to
have the entire independence OF the Papal See
guaranteed in the most efficient manner
by all the Catholic Powers. The Pope had
steadfastly refused to accept this proposition,
maintaining that the oath which every Pope has
TO take upon his accession to the See OF 81.
Peter imposes upon him the duty OF maintain
ing the integrity of the States of the Church
or, rs il is called in ecclesiastical language, the
patrimony of st. Peter. In this refusal the
Pope has always been supported BY Austria,
Spain, and other Catholic Powers, and il was
mainly owing to the wish to prevent the active
interference of these Powers in behalf of the
Pope that France occupied the City of Rome,
and forbade the Government of Italy TO an
mex any other portion of the Pope's domin- |
ions.
Louis Napoleon regards this state Of things as
only temporary, and can hardly fail TO seize the
opportunity of the election of a new Pope to
carry out his plan, which consists in obtaining
the consent of the Pope md of the other Catho-
lie Powers to substitute "a Independent position
of the Pope guaranteed by all the Catholic
Powers of the world, for his temporal power
The easiest and safest way to obtain this result
would be the election by the College Of Cardi-
nails of Pope who would concur in the I'M
perial plan. At present, it is not doubted
that all, or nearly all, the Card-
nails are opposed to such scheme, and
are determined to maintain the integrity Of the
dominions of the Pope, and to reclaim from the
Kingdom of Italy all that formerly belonged to
them. But whether the French Government
will be able to bring such pressure 30 bear upon
the Cardinals when assembled to elect a sue
ccSSor to Popo Plus remains to be seen. In
moro than ono instance, such pressure has
brought about the election Of Pope who granted
to tho great Catholic Powers demands which his !
predecessor had unfinchingly refused. The case
Of Cardinal Ganganelli, Pope Clement XIV,
who owed his election to the combined efforts of
France, Spain, and Portugal, and yielded to
them the suppression of the order of the Jesuits,
to which his predecessors had never been willing
to consent, is the most authentic of these in
stances Upon tho death of Plus IL. the efforts
of France, Italy, and Portugal will probably be
combined to obtain at least the virtual abandon
mcnt of the temporal power by the next Pope.
Ii is said that when Prince Napoleon was asked
what would be done when Pho Mono had ceased |
to exist, he replied, 1--WE must have manage
able Pope" Whether the story is genuine or
not, such undoubtedly are the designs of France,
Italv and Portugal.