The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-03-01

Our letter from Berlin, published elsewhere.
gossips pleasantly over an illustrated volume
made up, as to text, of the pithy, crisp. signif-
cant sayings of Prince Bismarck. In the
number of these we find none more notable
than his "Wir gelen NIGHT mach Cd''osso'
Our readers will understand this as bitter
reference to a shameful page in German his
tory-the story Of an Emperor who, having
deied the Pope, eventually saw his error and
was compelled to stand barefoot in the snow
at the Pope's gate at the castle of Canossa,
and pitifully appeal for authority to retain his
throne Bismarck, therefore, when he says
''We will not go to Canossa" declares In the
most downright terms that the issue between
the Prussian State and the authority
of the Church of Rome in Germany,
is to be waged to an ultimate VIC
tory for one or the other in virtue OF its
power to employ every other means than that
OF compromise or appeal; in other words the
Emperor will fight it out and will fall in the
fight if need be- but will never call for mercy
from the Pope The bills on the relation of
Church and State now before the Reichstag
and which we printed yesterday, indicate the
intense earnestness with which the govern
ment pursues the subject. One of these is
general in its terms and relates to the educa-
ton and appointment of ecclesiastics, and is
supplementary to previous act, the meaning
of which it more precisely declares; while the
other relates especially to the appointments of
bishops, and has been drawn out apparently
by the case of Bishop Ledochowski. By this
latter it is assumed that bishoprics under the
action of previous law may become vacant
by Judicial decree; and in case of such va
cancy, or vacancy from any other cause, it be-
comes the duty of the civil authorities of the
province to invite the Grand Chapter to elect
vicar If the Chapter does not act within four
teen days the government appoints commits
saryt to administer the temporalities of the see,
and until the proper appointment of bishop
this commissary has the same power as to all
church revenues that the bishop would have.
But if an election takes place the person pro-
posing to act as bishop can only perform the
religious functions of that Office after having
notified the local authorities of his election,
and that he has fulfilled all the requirements
of the law, and is willing to take the oath of
allegiance. He must then, before acting, wait
ten days, that the authorities may protest
against him, if they see any reason. The
penalty of violation is Imprisonment for from
six months to two years. In the other law the
points are substantially the same, only directed
to the different purpose of regulating the
minor appointments. By these laws it will be
seen the government proposes to assume Wig
orous hold on the control of all appointments
to ecclesiastical position, and to guarantee
it's own supremacy by requiring fealty to itself
as primary necessity even Of admission to
the priesthood, or of the exercise of the priesty
function within its limits. Politically, it
may certainly be said, it seems only to require
the things that belong to Caesar; but the ad-
herents of infallibility argue from a different
standpoint, and, of course, agreement is quite
impossible; so force only can determine the
issue, and the force, certainly, is on the side
of the State.