The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1876-09-17
THE CROHN PRINCE OF GERMANY.
Correspondence LIVERPOOL rimea

Correspondence Liverpool Ilmeal
Does the German Crown Prince show him
self hostile to the Catholic Church as his
father Z" is question to which know many
of your readers would like to have positive
ans "er. Doring a long tour through several
provinces of Prussia, did my best to get en-
ligteDed on the subject, and heard the opinion
Of good many people in whose Judgment 1
have reason to place implicit cor fdeuce. The
result of my Inquiries was every where the
same. viz, that the Catholic Church in Ger
many bas nothing to expect from the Crown
Prinoe,-that he is, on the contrary, perhaps
more prejudiced against her than his Royal
Father Brought up under the influence of
freethip kers there never was any room in his
beart for Catholic even Christian sympa-
thies; his religious notions being those Of
Freemasonry, the interests of which he has all
along promoted openly and with an earnest
ness which the wise call imprndent in him
who will one day rule over millions of good
Christians. Quite recently he made q speech
at a great gathering of Freemasons at the
Hague, where he declared his full agreement
with the principles and aims of the order, aud
expressed hope that Freemasonry would gain
the fnsl victory in the struggle for popular en-
lghtenment and intellectual freedom, viz,
Kultur Kampf. This is not the only occasion
on whioh his Imperial Highness has let the cat
out of the bag. When the Jesuits were driven
out of the country, although not q shadow Of
crime or wrong could be brought against
them, the Crown Prince, whom people call just,
honest, and generous, did not shrink from
pressing his great satisfaction with the new
laws, and the hope that the internal enemies
of the Empire would soon be successfully
overcome as the foreign national foe had been
by the army" The prnoe's anti ipathies against
the Catholic Church are indeed secret to
the German people, the Liberals rejoice at it,
bnt the hearts of Catholics filled with sad
apprehensions when they come to think of the
princes accession to power. That their fears
are well founded, there can be no doubt but
am sometimes inclined to believe the anecdotes
q little exaggerated which circulate in Catholic
circles about the Princes dislike to Catho-
lies. Popular Imagination is very inventive in
such cases. To mention one of the many
speeches attributed to him, the Prince is be-
lieved to have said to some of his friends: IF
I had the power for it, should bundle up all
Catholic bishops, have them carried on board
q ship and sent adrift on the ocean" The
mother of the Crown Prince, Empress Augusta,
on the. other hand, entertains very different
feelings towards Catholics; in fact, she is as
friendly towards them as he aud his father are
hostile to them. The Inhabitants of Coblentz
and neigh bort ood often wonder how it came
that comparately 30 few of their priests had
to suffer from the present persecution. They
have since heard that this happy state of
things is solely the work of the Empress, who
is said to have made strong representations at
Berlin, demanding the cessation of prosecu-
tions in Coblentz. as she wanted peace in tn Q
place where she lives.