The New York herald., 1870-02-28


Baltimore and N Third Party-Piatform Of
the Middle Men ON neutrality-suspicious. and
Departures Homeward--Hoiy CandIes-May
DO Better in the Eature-H0pe OF N Diss0Iu.
siOn BY Natural Heat-Thc Art Exhibition.
ROME, Feb. 2, 1870.
On the Sd inst. again the general congregation Of
she Counci held meeting a, Sc Peters. But al
though the fathers discuss O great deal they decide
but very little.
The event most worthy OF mention lately is ceg-
Iany the formation OF third party, headed by Mon
seigneur Spalding Archbishop OF Baltimore, whose
policy win ne to steer middle course with respect
70 the disputed dogma OF the Pope's personal
infaibllity, between the ultra Romans who
favor It, on the ono hand, and the liberal
Catholics, represented by the French ana
German bishops, who follow Monsegneur
Dupanoup and Cardinal Rauscher on the other.
Like the pro aud anti infallibsts the middle men
have drawn MP their postldtis also. In this docu-
ment the sgnataries express their conviction mat
the personal nalliblity may be safely treated OF
the Council, but tney would wish the Assembly to
limit Its action to declaration Of censure against
whoever shall profess erroneous doctrines hostile to
the Pope's primacy-against those who maintain
that while they owe an external veneraton for the
DEGREES OF the Roman Pontir they are by no means
obliged to yield the internal assent OF their hearts
and mInds'--agaInst those who see nothing impos.
sble In the Pope's opinion differing from that OF the
bishops thus morally severlng the head Of the
church from the body and members--and against
those who maintain that the Pope may occasionally
condemn some proposition from the mere fact OF not
having thoroughly understood 1t.
so far the third party seeks to maintain the spfr
itua prestige OF tue Pope without going to the ex
treme measure OF deifyiny him. 1t assumes ~ the
head and 'front.' OF Its position the unerrIng prerog
afty NJ her viii a nj
bilty OF the Church.r Butts does not consider pos
sble advisable the disjunction OF these two astr
bu,es any more than II would be possible for human
head and body to function separately from and nde
pendently OF each other
This seems 10 be the only practical compromise
between the TWO extreme parties and 1t Is evident
given their adherence TO the DosudG Tor or against
The dogma, well as many others who have Already
enlisted under one banner or the other, viii be glad
to become recruits In the Archbishop or Batlmore's
spiritual BATTALION which, at the outset, was princi
pally composed OF fathers speaking either EnglisA
or Spanish.
1t Is evident that with so many clashlng interests
and opinions to be reconciled on one single head OF
Tue matters to be discussed and decreed by the
Council IL not TO be expected that the entire pro-
cecdings OF the assembly can be completed within
the proposed period.
The fathers OF the Charch who have come t.
attend the Ecumenical Council are, Or rather were,
!70 In number; but OF these seven have died and
four have returned home with the full appreciation
Of the jttdices ercus1ti0nt1a. Tne seven deceased
are Cardinals de Reisach and Pentlni ana five
,Fogglai, two South American Panama and Vera
CRUZ and one French (Tarbes The four departed
are the Archbishop OF New Orleans and Tue bishops
and Axyndeia, pdtTtbUs or the Original ITO there
7o4 fathers OF the Latin rite AZ Austrians aud
Hungarfaps 81 French, two Scotch, 10 English, ID
Gcrmans, 20 Irish, go italians and Papal subjects,
II Spanish 6i subjects Of the Sutan, ll3 Amer-
cans, OF whom IS are from the United states. These
figures snow that che Italians form good part OF
tue Council and would De just about hali n the
eighty sees now vacant IN me kl1gdom Of Italy nad
tanned majority Ia preceding Councils by such u
mass Of bishops under It's immediate influence, but
nowadays that influence has diminshed spirit
ualIy and still more Temporarily since Al hours ride
ON the Ancona railway takes the traveller from the
Eternal CITY ont Of the limits OF the Sovereign Pom
En,H civil jurisdiction.
Yesterday the Pope went through the customary
splendid ceremony OF blessing and distributing 70
the eccleslastlcGl, clyn, military and diplomatic
algnaries including crowned heads or royal
princes when present tne wax candies gilt aud
Illuminated torcnes, four or ave feet long, which
give TO this annual the name OF ''Canielora.n
With upwards vi 200 more bishops than usual 10
give candles 10 IL mar De Imagined WHAT consGmp-
ton Of WAX there was yesterday morning.
Bus there was no subsequent pubic session or the
Ecumenlcal Counc as 4 was understood tusre
would have been II the fathers tad reeD ~ ali the
unanimous mode OF thinking hitherto 40 iau1sd IN
Sue Catholic Church. ia now thought thar The next
public session will he on the 26th Of March, another
grand festival or the Madonna; but E Cardinal Bio's
reputation OF revision does not soon make the pro.
bishops they wil be rejected second sime, aud So
shere will be no canons voted, ana consequently
aecrees ready 20 be publicly announced Dy the su-
preme Pontiff TO the Catholic world.
1t uappears singular that with sucn an example OF no
working OF this Ecumenical assembly MoDscgneur
Strossmayer saould have proposed the conyocaton
pf regular Ecumenjeai Councils every ten years.
German newspapers alirEn that he did 30 Ia one OF
the general congregations he'd at the beginning or
last week; nut do not credit tile report, although
certainly = similar suggestion occurs In MoD-
segneur Marets celebrated work on the subject
what renders the operations Of the dcputation de
ylte so SLOW IN the remoceng OF. me rejected
propositions ID the diversity Of opinion between th
swenty tour members OF that commission Ia is a
freely elected body and therefore does not submit
entirely TO the control OF The cardinal President
Bnio named by the Pope.
The Council Is not unanimous, nor are the denu.
tations either SO that the Ecumenlcal business drags
on wearlly and undoubtedly, and when the summer
heats give the Pope fair excuse for dIsmsslng his
venerable brethren pro te1sp0se no doust great
proportion OF them, especially those whose missions
dioceses are situated beyond tue caey access OF
European railways, viii snake on the dust OF their
feet against tBs Eternal City aud take f1ey de-