The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-03-12
CONSTITUTION OF Venice
1t Was Dwelt Upon by ". Hudson
Shaw in His Third Lecture.
MOST CONSUMMATE OLIGARCHY
When Chosen. tho Doec Was au Absolute
Monarch Worked Well as Applied to
the Needs OF Vcnicc-lifc and
Travels OF Marco Polo.

The third lecture OF w. Hudson
Shaw upon the History of the Re
public of Venice" was delivered at
Young Mems Christian Association
hall last evening. to the largest audi
ence of the series. 1t covered three
general divisions: ID the origin scope
and changes of the Venetian constitu-
ton; CO the life and travels of the
great Venetian globe-trotter Marco
Polo; ana CD the struggle for suprem-
acy between Venice and Genoa
Venice. for 500 years: that IL to say.
from 1897 to 1897. was governed by the
most consummate oligarchy that ever
assumed the functions of statesman
ship. First Democracy, in the sense
that all the people had voice in
choosing the doge, who became, when
chosen. almost an absolute monarch;
Venice next gave Itself into the keep
Ing of the nobility OF birth, as repre-
sented In the descendants OF the early
Roman patrclan refugees who came
To the lagoon islands when Attila the
Hun had sacked their Tuscan homes
at Aquileia and Altinum and Padua;
and lastly. power was wrested from
these hands by the new nobility Of
wealth, which gained in strength in
direct proportion as the republic OF st.
Marks gained in trade and riches.
Nenice's stable Constitution.
Some very interesting comparisons
We're drawn, by the speaker, between
this rule of an hereditary commercial
arIstocracy, or Maggior Conslglio as 1t
was called, and the constitutional gov
thousand men, and their descendants,
governed Venice, absolutely, without
material modification Of the form Of
that government for 800 years. The
England of today. on the other hand,
dates back no further than 1885, when
by the extension of the franchise to
artisans and the middle classes, a quiet
but momentous Oyerturning of the
spirit and effect of the whole British
constitution was effected. In fact, no
other nation in the purview of history
supplies such an instance of constitu-
tional stability and iniieXibility as Is
supplied by the constitution of st.
Marks from the election of Pietro
Gradenigo as doge, in 1883, down to the
extinction Of Venice by Napoleon In
the closing decade of the last century.
The majority of historians, Mr.. Shaw
continued, have undertaken to con-
/ denim the principles of this government
/ Of the Venetian people. But while those
principles appear to clash with the pre-
/ dominent IDEAS of modern times, 1t must
be admitted. with due candor, that, as
applied to the time and needs of Venice,
| they worked wonderfully well. For the
greater part, the power usurped by the
| aristocracy, although jealousy con-
| fined to its few hereditary benefciaries,
/ was welded justly, progressively and
/ to the distinct upbuilding of the com
/ monWealth. Its mailed hand descended
/ rarely on the common people; in the
main the injustices Of rule by this
| limited number were felt by would-be
/ competitors of ilmstrious lineage, who,
had they succeeded in their many plots
! to wipe out the grand council, would
/ have lost no time in establishing new
! and parallel despotism in its stead.
Many Interesting Pictures.
/ The lecturers narration of the life and
travels of Marco Polo and the condi-
/ tion of Asia under the benignant sway
of the Mongol emporer, Kublai Khan,
| was most interesting. Scarcely less so
was his description of the contest for
| supremacy between Venice and Genoa,
ending most dramatically with the
/ providential return of the fleet of Carlo
| Zeno on the morn of New Years day,
| 1850, just in time to save Vittor Pisani
| from surrendering ingloriously to the
| Genoese. entrenchcd at Chioggia. At
| the lectures conclusion, numerous
views Of pertinent interest were pro-
| jscted upon the screen, the most inter-
estlng ones being those showing the
interiors of the grand council chamber,
| the meeting place of the senate or
pregadi; the assemblege room of the
college, or doge's cabinet, and the en-
trance doors to the room of the dread
| council Of ten.