, 1877-05-27

It begins to appear more clearly every day
that the most dangerous feature Of the pres
ent crisis in France is the religious, and that
11Ac1IAnoN is nctuated in all his movements,
first by religious purpose, and second By
the same purpose al1ied with a political pnr-
pose, or Ultramontanism allied with Bour-
bonism,--two forces which he cannot easi1y
Withstand, being himself both Ultramontane
and Bourbon. The dogma Of Papal Infalli-
bi1ity seems to underlie and direct the drift
of the politics Of his Administration, and the
despair Of the situation is that the people of
Trance cannot and will not accept that
dogma. The commencement of the quarrel
runs back to the Papal allocution of last
Mnrch directed against the MANc1S1 law
against clerical abuses. The italian
Minister of Justice retorted by send
ing circular to public prosecutors through
out the Kingdom directing them to institute
prosecutions wherever the allocution was
printed with favorable comment. Cardinal
S1MEoSr thereupon sent circular to the ya-
rious Papal Nuncios to the effect that the
italian Minister'S circular was tanta1nount to
declaration that the Pope was q prisoner in
Rome, and did not enjoy free communion
ton with the outside world. The circular,
as might be expected, raised breeze, if not
a tempest of excitement, among the U1tra-
montane clericals of France, who IRE the
chief supporters OF the Roman Curia. They
immediately assumed an attitude Of hostility
to the Government of Italy, and sought to
break the penceful relations existing between
the two countries. The Bishop of Nevers
not only wrote to MAoA1AHos to restore the
Pope's liberty, but also commenced popular
agitation in his diocese, with the same pur-
pose in view. The Bishop was snubbed,
but he had succeeded in hndling conaagra-
hon. The quarrel broke out in the Assembly.
and, as the debates grew mora intense, the
Ultramontane attacks grew more violent, un-
til at last the whole public mind became
disturbed The Extreme Left and its con-
stituency, smarting under the U1trnmontane
taunts, went to the other extreme, as French
men always do. Papers like the Radical and
LdnteTne commenced lampooning the Ultra
montanes IN the most savage style. The
Catholic religion was ridiculed in the most
scur1ilous manner. Meanwhile, the Ultra
montane papers like the Union and O7dre
reproduced the articles in full. Even the
organ Of u. GAstpErrA, which represents the
Moderate Republicans, had no rebuke for
the more radich papers, probably because
II. GAalBETTA feared to ALLEVIATE the Extreme
Left; On the other hand, it complained of
the violence Of the clericals, and took the
ground that the whole Left vas unanimous
on the clerical question. Such ordinations
and recriminations set the excitable French
mind into frenzy, and seem to have
reacted upon MAcMAHos, who, instead
Of acting promptly in the settlement
OF the quarrel MS wise ruler, added pitch
to the fire by seizing upon the neglect Of his
Premier to oppose the repeal Of the Press
law as q prete1t for removing the whole
Cabinet and reinstating the Orleanist DUO
DE BRoo1IE, the leader Of the minority. in
political control.
Reverting to first causes, then, the cause
Of the French crisis may be traced to the
dogma OF 1nfa1ibility,- dogma which not
even tho majority of the Catholic 1aity in
France arc willing to accept. When that
dogma ~ns thrust upon them by the clericals
they "ero enraged- When they found that
it vas allied with an attempt at the restora-
ton Of the Bourbons they were e1aspersted.
The extreme danger, therefore, lies in the
fact that the new Ministry has made it an