Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-28

nounced in his anti religious opinions as
are his opponents, and he is prepared TO
apply to ecclesiastical matters generally
the utmost rigor of his views Yet in his
first public ut.erancs he has said some
things which will sound much stranger in
France than here. Thus he observes that
"The Minister of Public Worship, in his
functions as Minister, must be neither
religious nor anti-religious. The depart
ment which 1 control is simply Min
"istry of the general police Of worship, if
meaning" This is really very moder-
ate statement of the case, and win not APP
pear unreasonable in country where State
and Church have always been separated.
But it must be remembered that NJ. Bert
is applying the American principle to a
country where it has never been applied
before, and which has until very recently
been under a separate ecclesiastical gov.
eminent, practically responsible only to
the Pope. NJ. Bert, however, has not
fiinched from the logical consequences of
his position. He declares that neither
Catholic nor Protestant Churches can ex.
pect any favors from his department, but
that he intends to make all Churches fulfill
their obligations to the State.
But he does not stop here, though he
might very well have done so. He pro-
ceeds to express the opinion that all eccles-
iastical systems are in the nature of
excrescerces on the body polite, which it
may be advisable to tolerate for time,
until they can be removed without danger,
but which must be regarded by all en-
| hghtened statesmen as evils which ought
to be got rid of as soon as possible. He
further intimates that his department is
more concerned with the supervision and
restraint of the Churches than with any,
thing else. In fact he makes it clear that
he looks upon the Churches as inimical to
the republic, and as requiring the sharpest
and most vigilant scrutiny to keep them
from doing mischief. 1t is this uncompro.
mis'ngly hostile attitude towards the
clergy that seems certain to produce
| decided results. NJ. Paul Bert tells the
clerical party plainly that he believes
them to be impostors and rogues, and that
he intends to watch them carefully, and
curtail their privileges in every possible
way. If by this policy he does not pro.
duce contest it can only DO because the
Gallican clergy concludes the situation to
be desperate. But we have no reason as
yet to suppose that they are prepared to
surrender on the first summons. 1t is true
that they can expect no help from Rome,
and perhaps they can obtain none else
where, though that is not SO certain. Bis.
marck has been coquetting with the Vati-
can of late, and if he thought the matter
worth his while be might take the part of
the French clericalists, of course not in an
open way, but nevertheless effectively.
But NJ. Paul Bert is really trying an ex.
pertinent on the French people. No doubt
his purpose is to pave the way for the dis
solution of all bonds between Church and
State, and there can be no doubt that
Gambetta favors that policy. It is indeed
necessary to the stability of the French
Republic, for all history shows that the
effect of the union between Church and
State is demoralizing to both, and preju-
dicial to the development of liberal insti.
buttons. And in France the revolutions
of the last hundred years have nearly de-
stroyed. popular regard for the Church,
The city communities may be said to have
fully emancipated themselves from priestly
control, and it is only in some of the re-
moter rural districts that the Church retains
any real hold upon the minds of the people.
And it is only by working upon public
opinion that the clericalists can now hope
to defend themselves. The tendency of
public sentiment in France is against cleri-
calism, and not for it. There exists no
longer any powerful emotional element.
The peasantry are either skeptical or in.
different. The women alone continue to
90 to mass and attend confession. The
priests cannot any longer control the hus-
bands through the wives, and under the
new regime they will be prevented from
gaining the confidence of the rising gener.
alton. The Government has taken the
schools into its own charge, and has oasted
the priests, and this, too, has been done
without causing anything more than a
comparatively feeble and ephemeral pro-
! test from small minority.
In fact the general situation is such as to
give NJ. Paul Bert reason for thinking that
his experiment is likely to succeed. The
probability that any new access of re-
ligious sentiment will spring up is very
slight. The mass of the French people do
not seem to care what becomes of the
Church. A few months of the new meas
ures, however, will no doubt solve the
problem. The indications are that Gam
beta will not find it difficult to effect a
complete separation between Church and
State. But when that is done it will
be necessary to allow equal freedom to all
religions, and that is kind of policy
which will not suit the new Minister of
Public Worship. That, however, must
evidently be the next step; for however
skeptical France may have become she will
not be willing to surrender the right of
worshiping as she may please. Perhaps
NJ. Bert is right, but until he has con-
WINGED his countrymen that he is right he
cannot be justified in undertaking to settle
for them matters in regard to which they
properly claim the fullest liberty. And he
should also remember that though there
may be no present sign of a revival of re-
ligious feeling, the surest way to bring
such revival about would be to adopt an
anti-religious programme which should
| have the religious vice Of intolerance
SMALLPOX SPREADING.
1t is evident that smallpox is spreading
quite steadily in and about Chicago. So