The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-26
PAPAL FINANCE.

From the London Spectator.
Papal finance has always been a mystery to
outsiders, and the tendency among Protest
ants has been to consider it a mystery of in
iquity. Very grave writer's use very hard
language about the wickedness of Popes who
raised money by selling offices, though the
sale was in fact only a rough and unscientifc
way of borrowing on life annuities, the offices
bringing no advantage except an exemption
from taxation. More recently 1t has been
declared that the Papacy would collapse for
lack of money, that the Popes had a secret
treasure, that property belonging to converts
all over the world was in course of transmits
sion to Rome, and that the Papal debt would
be repudiated. The truth all the while
seems to have been that the revenue of the
Roman States, aided by the proceeds
of the lottery was for many years nearly
sufficient for the Vatican and the expenses of
its very imperfect civil administration. Alb
solutism is always cheap, as we saw in Naples
under the Bourbons, a celibate priesthood is
satisfied with very small salaries, and amid a
very corrupt population fees are sure to be
heavy. The total expenditure on all purposes
seems to have been little in excess of three
millions, of which less than one was, as far as
we can understand accounts made imperfect
by the use of the word Pensions, expended
on the Papacy itself, the vast staff that is
Church rather than of the Roman people.
The latter were not very severely taxed
except indirectly through the discourage
ment of enterprise, though the Month
talks economic nonsense when it compares
their taxation with that of Englishmen, but
suffered great injustice in being required to
pay all the expenses of an establishment
kept up in theory for the benefit of the whole
world. 1t is true they received some benefit
in return from the multitude of pilgrims and
| visitors drawn to Rome, but that expenditure
was chiefly felt within the city itself, which,
nevertheless, did not grow rich. From 1916
to 1850, however, the Papal revenue has been
nearly sufficient. Any small deficit occurring
was made up by loan at 6 per cent, the
interest on which was regularly paid, and by
1859, says the Month, a Catholic magazine
which has recently reported the facts, the
revenue and expenditure were fairly balanced
The story of an accumulated treasure was
however, fiction, as was indeed evident from
the raising Of the loans, and in 1860, after the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of two-thirds of the Roman
territory, the Vatican found itself in pecu
mary straits. True, with the territory. par
otthe debt and of the civil expenditure ha(
disappeared, but the hinge central organism
was not maintained for Rome, but for tn,
world, aud could not, on the theory of the in
stitution, be materially reduced. The Pope
moreover, under an idea which, after ever,
effort to be as fair TO him as to any othe
sovereign,we still fail to comprehend, though
1t necessary to maintain an army of his own
which costs 100000 a year, an,
would not, if France withdrew he
troops, keep of invasion for a week
No persuasions, however, could chang
the mind of the Vatican on this matter, an
within the last month the Pope has declare
that he must, like other kings have soldiers