The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-10-08
FOREIGN MISCELLTNY.
The Rome of tO-day-The Suppression Of
Religious Houses.
[coRRBPoNDRNoE OF THE WORLD. ]


TcuRREsPoNDENOE OF THE WORLD.
ROME, September 4.-Some interesting
statistics of Rome have just been pub
lished. The city contains 248,307 inhab-
itants, who occupy 1850 apartments or
houses. There is room for more, as 800
apartments are standing vacant. Rome
is divided into Al parishes, each of which
has its parish church. There are besides
these 363 other churches. There are 283
schools, of which 30 are private, II reli-
gious, So mixed, and 55municipal. Rome
has always been exceptionally well pro.
yided with schools. remember how'll
once surprised a ScOtchman many years
ago by showing him that Rome, with IA
population equal to that of Edinburgh,
had more than twice as many schools,
Rome has infant asylums, 4 spacious
hospitals 2 municipal asylums, and a
number of other charitable houses.
There are 6 prisons. The police forde
consists of $40 municipal guards; 1857 ex-
else guards, and % mounted rural police.
There are 1900 cabs and omnibuses, 81
O42 two-wheeled and 80l four-wheeled
carts for the carriage of goods, and $40
cafes and restaurants. aM ..t.-
The seizures and confiscations of prop
erty effected by the Italian Government
in Rome and throughout Italy have been
enormous. One only wonders how it Is
that the Government remains so poor.
The number Of pieces Of property seized
and sold by the Government, between
October 26, 1867, and Jolly 81, 1874 was
l020l9 and the amount realized by
these sales was 467, ,l54,708 lire, or about
$93 ,43O,942. In the province of ROME
alone, up tothe 3lst of December last,
and in the space ofysix months, 267 ee-
clesiastical corporations were seized,
having revenue of 1852, ,42S lire, and
personal property amounting to 2S5, $50
lire. Among these seizures were, l5
bishoprics, II seminaries, Z cathedral
chapters, So canonries, and l6 colleges
Altogether the Government has come
into possession of 4,054 ecclesiastical in
stitutes of one kind or another, within
the provinces of Rome. The real own
ers Of these institutes, for the most part
are the members of the Catholic Church
throughout the world. 1t might be ip-
agined that after seizing and selling this
property, the Government could afford
to reduce the taxes. On the contrary il
increases them. Under the reign of the
Pope the average tax paid by the Ro'
mans was less than 22 lire. This
year it is 73 lire, and next year it will b(
more. sr
A state paper, printed by order o
Parliament, gives some interesting intor
nation concerning the amount Of the
personal property which was seized witt
the churches and the religious houses
and of the disposition that was made o
4 it. This property embraced the churcf
ornaments, vessels, yestments, reliquariei
missals, and libraries. The report come'
down only to the 3lst Of last December
| Up to that time, in Rome alone, ~
Government had seized articles of thil
| kind which is estimated at 8l9,3O3 lire-
a sum far below their real value. Nom
of these articles have yet been sold. II
| Turin the Government made seizures Q
| this kind amounting to 92,l4l lire II
Messina, ll9,331 lire; in palermo, 2,67P,
7O5; in Arezzo, 1887; in Bologna, S,3Ye
in Caltanisetta, 3255S; in Catania, "a ,5gC
in Florence, 10000; in Genoa, 6s,S57 il
Luca, q, ,294 and so on through sixty
nine provinces. The total value Of tn
articles thus taken was 11,8l5,2lO lire
or 50, ,9O7 ,6O2. The money thus realize'
has done the Government no apparen
good. 1t has vtnished--who know
where? 'i
The entire amount of real and persona
property of which the Church in Ital
has been deprivedup to the beginning Q
this year is 849,2O3 ,404 lire, or Sl29, ,841
OS7, and 1905 reliE Eious houses have bee
suppressed, and their inmates elected
| Ctn bonof The most ardent friend 9
| Italy would find Il difficult to prove tina
| these spoliations had brought blessing
and not curses III their train. To-da
Italy is a hot-bed Of discomfort and Rev
olution. One hears everywhere Of plot
and seditions; the recent arrests hay
served only TO show how whispered ar
the schemes Of the Reds; there is IN
money In the treasury, suicides an