The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1867-03-01
The PdpGi Government.

From an interesting letter i'll the Dos
ton Journal, under the above heal. writ
ten from Rome by ''Carleton. we make
these extracts
THE PRIESTS AND TIE sEUPLE.
By the census OF 1868, the last one ta-
ken, the entire population OF the Roman
territory was G92, JOG. The city of Rome
contained POI ,l6l. o. this city popula-
ton 81 were cardinals, So bishops, l45 =
priests, 361 seminari>ts, 2561 monks.
203l nuns, 6G0 male thcologians in train
ing, 1914 female inmates OF ecclesiastical
establishments, 941 Christian brothers.
llS0 female inmates OF charitable institu-
tons under ecclesiastical control-lnaking
1882 persons directly under ecclesilstic
control This does not include the host
Of attendants, the bell ringers, candle
lighters and servants employed in the 400
churches, converts and monasteries TAX
inc the eccleSiaSticS, attendants and SOL
diers OF the pope together, it is safe TO say
that there are at least 81, 600 persons vino
live upon the church, and who add no.
thing to the wealth of the state. Many
OF the converts and monasteries have gar-
dens attached, but the monks hire the
ground cultivated, and give their time to
repeating pater nosters, and the saying OF
masses for the dead.
Here Is government, having control
ola population about as large as that con-
tanned in the states Of New Hampshire
and Vermont, owing Il debt of one nun
dred and twenty millions, keeping up Il
standing army of twelve thousand men,
with eleven thousand eccleSiaSticS and
members of religious orders, and Us many
more church employees to feed p. How
long can such government stand, even
if left to itself ? How long can the pope
keep the pontitical machinery in motion
with an annual deficit of SIX millions in
his treasury How long would the peo-
pie OF Vermont and New Hampshire sub
nit to such rule, having no voice in the
making of the laws, the levying of taxes,
the election of rulers How long would
they tolerate government responsible to
no One-wlthout constitution, without
statute book except the code papal, re-
pealable, alterable and reversible, at the
will Of the pope? What would the peo-
pie of the Green Mountains say if their
good governor should some morning pro-
mulgate a new set of laws, which he and
his council had agreed upon in secret con-
sistory during the night? But this is the
way OF this theocratlc government.
PAPAL JUSTICE.
The admirers of the pope say that he is
benevolent, tender hearted, mildly dispos-
ed and forgiving, while those who are of
a different way of thinking point to his
acts and quote the scripture rule, " By
their fruits We shall know them" In 1851
soon after his restoration by the French,
issued an inquisitorial decree for the pun
lshment of those who had taken part in
the revolution of lSi9. The decree pro-
vided also that every inhabitant of the pa
pal dominions who failed to inform the
inquisition of those who had heretical
writings, prints or books in their posses
sion-such as the Psalms of David, the
books of the old testament, of the evan
gelists, and the writings of the apostles,
were to be communicated from the Ro-
man church For the primary>offenders
there were fines and imprisonments for
witnesses who would not voluntarily rem