The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-03-19
RELIGION AND THE BALLOT.
THE DISCORD THAT WAS MADE BY MIX
ING THEM IN CANADA.
A Supreme Court Urscnts Member Of Par
Lament ON the Ground that his Election
was improperly Influenced by CIergynen.

| Supreme Court Unscnts Member Of Par
Lament ON the Ground that his Election
was improperly Influenced by CIergy,nen.
! OTTAWA, March 1G-The Supreme Court,
| from whose decisions there is no appeal re-
comfy delivered n Judgment that signalzes n
conflict between the civil and the ecclesiastical
authorities in an aggravated form. At tho eloc-
ton OF n member OF the House OF Commons for
the county Of Charlevoix. Province of Quebec.
the Roman Catholic clergy took very decided
stand in favor Of one Of the candidates. NJ
Longevin. and against the other, NJ. Tremblay.
| Proceedings were taken TO set aside the elcc-
| ton. on the ground that undue clerical in
| huence had been exercised over the voters
| The trial lasted over Ave weeks, and one hun
| dred and sevcnty-nve witnesses were examined
| Justice Routhier. whose Ultramonta leanings
| were previously known. decided In favor OF tho
sitting candidate He took the ground that n
sermon, no matter what IL might contain. could
not be submitted to the jurisdiction of a lay
tribunal; although tho Roman doctors Of tho
necessarily religious, and that whether il is SO
ornot depends upon the subject matter.
To tell the electors that they will 20 to hell N
they vote for the candidate OF one pnrty and
against that OF another. Mr.. Justice Routhier
REGARDED r. pregGhing the GOSPEL. IN the
society are united and even in countries where
the separation Of Church and State is an article
The limited opiscopate Of Quebec tlate Lower
Ianndal delayed. IN loint letter Of sept %.
lStJ that the state is contained in the Church.
not the Church in the State. This Joint letter
which the parish priests were instructed to
read to their hocks directed the clergy TO tell
the electors how To- vote. and to withhold the sa-
craments for disobedience. 1t was in pursu-
ance OF these instructions that the clergy acted
III thc ChareNOiN election.
Al, one time a rumor was circulated that. in
obedience TO orders from Rome. tho ground
taken in the Joint letter of the Bishops had been
"A nlStOrul hv
tho Archbishop Of Quebec gave some counte,
nance to the rumor. In his individual pasto-
RAJ ne forbade the priests to speak on
political subjects ut election times unlessntcr-
rogned on the subject; and when they were on
they were not even 10 answer such questions il
PIT e them. But he ,alterward said that the
Joint letter was still in force.
Whatever may have been the occasion Of the
PRONUNCIATION OF this pastoral. II proved to be
dlsturbing, element among the more pro-
not without fears that The Joint letter had boon
discountenanced in kome. Therefore. thny
drew up petition TO the Pope praying that the
ground taken in the Joint letter might be- MAIN
mincd. and one of their number the Bishop Of
Three Rivers, was despatched with il 10 Rome
While there this ambassador drew up lon do.
uments to prove that the Liberal party IN poll
tics are identical with the Catholic Liberals.
whom his Holiness had, on six or seven q FER
ent occasions, publicly condemned. Hecarricd
his point. and obtained "A brief from the Pope
which ne published on his return. UNFOLDING in
general terms the conduct Of the Canadian
bishops, and sanctoning the Joint letter In
lllc IhStorhl leUer Win when ne accom- mi 4
this, brief when publishing IT, he explicit de-
MED that any mond'ra had come from r. Del on
the subject OF the loint letter. or the Hy in
which II had been acted upon hy the clcr-.y
Everything now depended on whoi. r Il
civil tribunals would support the prc,rnsion
81 the Joint letter Justice southier boldly 81,
the ground that although he held his commits
sion from the Queen it was not in the power ri
her Majesty To confer upon him any juris-
di'tion in the case. The incriminatod priests
he SAID, are rcproachcd with having repre-
scntrd me Liberal party as dangerous TO re-
with bong id.ntical in principle with the Lib
Srai party Of France. and. finally. with having
I" vote for this party. His reply was that. NJ a
10y Judge, he had nothing to say 10 all this. and
tldt thc priests were within their own domain.
oftheir rehtful jurisdiction"
After justice h9uthicr's decision. had been
given and while the appeal was pending in the
supreme Court, another similar ease was de-
Gnided 10y three Judges. by whom the election for
slmonski was unanimously set aside on ac-
count OF the undue influence of the Roman
Rf mons geSsy SroiSar qnctJre the Bishop Of
Charievolx election case. sent out n pastoral,
which had direct reference to the judgment in
the Rimonski case, and In which the ground
WAS taken that laws passed in opposition 10 the
nf'tcnsions OF the Church are nun and void. II
nus WAS intended TO intmidate the Superior
-, The supremee Court unanimously set aside
Went over the chiei points Of the testimony,
not ing that NJ. Cinq Mars the cure Of St Fiddle
had told johnny Debens that to vote for NJ.
Bay -. Paul had In sermon, said that IL the
party IN power were upheld, we should wade in
tihe blood OF the priests. and all the horrors Of
the French revolution would be- reenacted Lib
cralisn must he crushed by the clergy, rs a
means of preventing these misiortunes." This
cure added thnt any one who should die after
Young Tor VI. Iremblay would not be entitled to
The services OF a priest. The effect upon the
hearers Of this language. in the opinion of The
supreme Court was to produce a dread OF COM
mltting grcvous sin and Of being deprived of
the sacraments.
There is here" Justice Tachereau said an
excrtiOn OF undue influence of the worst kind
lnasmuch IA these threats and these declarl-
tons fell from the lips of the priests in the
name OF religion, and were addressed to per-
sons or little instruction. generally well dis
posed Ia follow the counsels OF the cures -
Justice Konther's doctrine of clerical i'm
munity WAS laughed out of court. Tho ecclosl-
astical tribunal 10 which II WAS pretended the
clergy were 10 appeal 10, in the words of Justice
Tahcrcau, Invisible intangible. non-cX istent
IN this country The. pretnnce Of immunity
the Judge further said, is not according 10
law, and Is rcpudiatei by the most ancient ~
we'll ~ the most modern authors" The priests
were assumed 10 have acted aA agents of the
candidnt, they supported. ON the ground that
as body, they had agreed to accept him US
their candidate in advance.
Iho bishops are supported by the highest
authority in their church. and the conduct ~
the cures who actHd on their instructions II de-
sldrcd hy the highest tribunal in tho cuuntryto
he Illegal. This conflict OF authority the
.NneY'rf rharaeterizes as tho most serious that
has ever menuced Canada.