, 1875-04-21
The LAWS"
Is PUBLISHED
EVERY WEDNESDAY M s. TURDAY.
PENAL DISAPPOINTMENT IN
PRUSSIA.
Concluded J

The German Government IS nor only
adopting the pr incipIe Of q penal dis
endowment, which would be altogether
fair if it held the character of the
Church's teaching to be in direct an
tagonism to the political welfare of the
State, but it does not leave the disendow-
ed Church any more liberty Of action than
the endowed. It exercises the right &C.
uuired by virtue of a compact with the
Church, after it has broken that compact.
It acts like o husband who refuses to con
tribute a halfpenny towards his wife's sup
port and yet insists on the right to con-
troll all her movements and to lock her
up if she does not go where he chooses.
Nor, apparently, If we may trust q con-
curreuce Of rumours. is even this to be
the end OF it. 1t is stated that q test
Act is also in contemplation, that Roman
Catholics are not to he permitted either to
become municipal officers (burgomasters)
or civil servants without taking an oath
rspudiating the right of the Church 10 Ia
terfere between them and the laws of
the State. The same test must in COM
mon logic be applied to the army as we'll
as to the service, for indeed in the army,
disloyalty, if distoyalty were to be feared,
would be much more dangerous. And
if that policy is to be developed, the Ro-
man Catholic Church in Prussia will first
have been bound, and then stripped;
and then, lastly, individual Roman Ca
tbolics will be either beset with tempta-
tions to repudiote their Church rather than
lose their civic honours and military I'M
portauce, or be rendered bitter and an-
CIV at heart by the insults put upon them.
The whole policy is a miserable bit Of
vicious aud rrtlOgrade legislation, aud
as far az we can see, without q single par
ticle Of evidence Of that kind of dlsnff,.c-
tion which alone would have justified
it. It may be true-nrithrr PrInce Bis
marck nor any of his adherents has ever
attempted to prove it true, though 1t has
been repeatedly asstrted,-that the RO-
man Catholics Of Prussia have been plot
ting the breakup Of the Empire, aud
that the source of their disloyaIty is at
Rome. But to us it seems that more
pains have been taken by the Govern
ment to foster such disloyalty than 10
, punish it, and that the motive for this
strange policy will be found in the ne
ceRsity for coDClllatlng the so.CaIltd Ma
tional Liberals in some direction which
does not risk either the administrative
autocracy of the Government or the
military power of the State. But be this
hypothesis true or false, it is quite GER
tain that the steps taken to punish the
T assumed disloyalty of the Roman Catho-
Lies have been wanting in man'lness and
plain-dealing. 1t seems to US that a
~ straightforward exposure, it there were
any possibility of exposure, OF the DIS
loyalty of the Roman Catholics, by a lew
typical State prosecutions, even If follow
ed by a direct prohibition or strln-
gent regulation of the Roman Catholic
8 faith az such, would have been far les lg-
noble and far more logically detensIole
) than the course actually pursued: NO
doubt there are reIigions,--we do not
believe the Roman Catholic religion to
be one,-which are. in direct conflict with
S the objects Of , civiIised Governments
and which. if they are not put down by
the State. will ultimately put down the
State with which they are a~tissue. where
that is 30, q Church braces Herself up tor