The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1888-08-18
KING and POPE IN ITALY.
According to an Exchange, the Situa-
tion in Italy is Most
Peculiar One.
DISGRACEFUl. PRIME MINISTER
Signor Orispi Desires to Crowd the Pope
to the Wall and Compel Him to
Leave Rome.

Leave Rome
The situation in Italy, both OF the
King and of the Pope, is a most singular
one. The prime minister, Signor Crispi,
is about equally detestab)e TO the King.
or at least to the Queen, and to the
Pope. He is q lawyer. Of Greek extrac-
tion Who has gained a position OF leader
ship such That when Signor Depretis
died last year the support he could COM
mand made him the only man who could
form ministry, ana the King was cotn-
PEELED 20 accept him rs prime minister
1t WAS q particularly hitter necessity to
the Queen, because she had driven lin
cutof a former ministry on the discovery
which was made that he had deserted a
wife OF twenty years unsellish devotion,
and married another without pretence
of release from the first, Not only that,
he had at a later Date, Oh the death OF
the first wife, deserted the second, on
the plea that the marriage had been il
legal, and Wedaed for third wifea bold
woman ct previous bad character. 1t
was with all those stains upon his name
that Crispi turned up as the head Of the
majority in the italian parliament, and
in a position to compel Ghe Kings ac-
ceptanoe OF him as prime minister. And
although al first the Queen would not
receive his wife at court, Crispi was
able at last to compel court recognition
of Madame
Before Crispi was found out aud made
to resign, Cd account Of his crooked mar.
riage doings, he was minister Of the I'LL
terror at this time when Plus TX. died,
and there fell to him the difficult task Of
making che arrangements under which
the election Of the present Pope was
permitted to take place. The success
with which he managed everything, anA
brought about the election OF Leo Kill,
without any trouble between the Vail
can and the government, wasvery much
to his credit, And down to q very recent
date, whoever has been minister, the
government has pursued policy Of al"
lowing The Vatican to 60 on its own
way without mo}estation, or anything
to make it's situation needlessly I'm
pleasant, so long as nothing is attempted
in violation of The law and in derogatlon
of the royal authority.
But this arrangement SC keep things
pleasant has been recently disturbed,
and that by the Prime Minister himself,
from q cause which is O. scandal not
alone to the Vatican, i,ut to the court
and to the whole OF Isoman society.
Madame Crispi, the wife Of the minis
ter. not long since sought to get herself
recogni2edi bv Gila ladies Of the oolrt
and of Rome, through her own getting
up ofa fair, for which she solicited their
contributions and assistance ia manage
ment. They one and al! snubbed her,
and in particular the wife Of the Duke
of Torlonia, who filed the office OF syn
die, or mayor OF Rome, openly refused
to be spoken to by her. Crispi soon
found an excuse for visiting the offence
to Madame upon the Duke, and turned
him ont Of bjs Office OF mayor.
He then SGT to work to urge to hasty
completion the new code Of criminal
and civil law which had been for twelve
years under way. and had embodied IN
it clauses touching ecclesiastics which
break down the understanding of antity
towards the Vatican which has existed
since 1870, and make it criminal Of
fence to raise the question Of the Pope's
claim to at least some small sovereignty
in Rome. The passage of the code a
few weeks Since has been followed by a
declaration in Parliament, made by the
minister Of justice, that the government
regards any meeting of the Pope's right
to Rome as rebellion and treason, and
intends to SO treat 1t hereafter.
This is the purpose of Signor Crispi
and his supporters, who have the King
as we'll as the pope in their power, and
whatsmay come Of it depends on Crispi's
ability to remain master of the govern
ment. Ii he does, he has two plans in
hand. One is to compass an injury to
the Papacy through what shall seem
only a courtesy to Kaiser Wilhelm, his
reception by the King in Rome itself,
necessitating arecognltion by the Kaiser
that Rome is the Kings ground, and is
not the Pope's. Nothing Of the kind
has yet taken place, and the Vatican
has clung to the hope that nothing of
the kind would take place.
The further purpose Of Crispi is to
crowd the Pope to the wall and compel
him to leave Rome. This is the mean
ing Of the reports that Leo XIII. has
been contemp plating withdrawal to an