New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-12-28
Sold fer Taxes.

One of the best indications that the CON.
solidation of Italy under Victor Emanuel
10 for the advantage of the people is tho
situation of. the sOcalled ecclesiastical
property. The extent to which property
was Withdrawn from the burdens Of tho
State BY considering it - the possession of
the Church, the amount of IL illness created
By these vast endowments, can be imagined
from tho sales made by the Italian govern.
ment within the last ten years. Theee
sales do not include parish churches actu.
ally in use for purposes of worship, but
chiefly of monssteries and converts
with their appurte nances and heredita-
ments. Within about ten years the gov
erL ment has sold nearly IN, 600 different
parcels Of real estat. of this character, and
has received therefrOm the vast sum of
over Sl00, 600 900, and still the work goes
on, every month Witnessing the disposal of
from 500 to 1000 new pieces on government
account. and the proceeds of these sales
being from tl40 900 to 5000. 900. In addition
to this use made Of mOnastic property and
other religious end0wments to supply idlers,
the government has reserved very many
buildipgs for ito own use, and turned over
many more tn communes and municipalities
for public official edifices. To large ex-
tent, the new kingdom fnds it's public build
ings already made for 1t, and an enormous
In spite of all that has been done, the
work Of CONVEX Jog such property will con-
,iaue for years to come. In Nsplee, within
the last few months, thirty two additional
conventual institutions have been turned
over to the government, and there are more
to come. Tnis city WAS fu of monasteries
and converts. So we're most Of the Italian
cities. The conse quences were, that large
amount of properly was Withdrawn from
a. aaG % v,V1h1 10
tert ct and it WAS not improved, nor did it
induce any adjoining improvements; it hin.
dered the extension of trade and industry,
come of the structures being in the very
centres of activity; it filled Italy with an
endless collection of monks and nuns who
were engaged in no productive employ
ment, and only consumed the revenues Of
these large estatee; it fostered pauperism
and beggary, the great curses of Italian
low life. The government has pre- flied not
only BY the proceeds of these sales, but by
the increased activity of business gained
from converting these estates to industrial
uses. They nave passed into the economical
system, and becoming centres of trade or
public business, or factories, the adjoining
properties have been improved, and the
taxable valuation OF Italian real estate has
very greatly increased.
To Americsn ears this way of doing will
seem like . cOnfiscation, an invasion of
vested rights. spoiling of the church. But
ws should, zoe shall, feel differently if ever
the most valuable estates Of the country
pass into nOrtmain and 80 out of ali tax
able or industrial control In Europe the
confiscstion of mOnsa'ic property is an old
preceding. H .nry VIII. did deal Of it.
Germany and France have engaged in 1t.
At ono time half the property Of Europe
belonged to the church, and civil society
would have been crushed had it not been
for Wholesale and ruthless confscstions.
Italy 10 only doing now what France and
England and Germany did In turn years
ago. She is late about it because che ls 90
new . kingdom.-Proridenee Post.