The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-06-04
THE POPE'S ELECTION.
1t Is Done by Inspiration. by Compromise
and by Ballot.

and by Ballot.
Having come to order at the request
OF the dean, if the formality of recognize
ing the cardinals be dispensed with
and i'll so small body it is hardly nee
essary, because no impostor could hope
successfully to palm himself off as car
dinal-the first business is to choose
three scrutators, one from each order,
to count the ballots, and three infer
mieri, who collect the votes of the sick.
The canons define three kinds of cleo
ton: by inspiration, by compromise
and by ballot. Election by inspiration
takes place when "all the cardinals, as
If by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, pro.
claim one candidate as pontiif unani-
mously and viva voce." A single dis
senting voice vitiates this method,
which, we may remark, has perhaps
never been carried out in literal con-
formity TO rule, although several popes,
after more or less wire-pulling, have
been chosen by reclamation.
Election by compromise has some
times been resorted to, after a long
deadlock, by the appointment of com
nlittee consisting of representatives of
the various rival factions. The conclave
merely ratifies the candidate nominated
by the committee.
But election by ballot is the ordinary
method. The ballots, when open. are
about four inches long and three broad.
In the first or upper section the car
dinal writes his name; in the middle,
the name of the candidate whom he pro-
poses; in the lower section, some motto
from the Scriptures. When he folds the
sheet his name, being inside, is covered
by the lower section, and only the can
didate's name or the seal comes upper
most. To guard against the ballots
opening he seals it with a seal he has
chosen, but it must not be one which the
scrutators might recognize. Going to
the central table he deposits the ballot
i'll the chalice, repeating at the same
time this formula: '''restor Christum
dominum qui me judicaturus est, me
eligere QUEEN secundum Deum iudico
elegi debere ct quod idem i'll accessu
praestabo."
When everyone has voted, and the
infermieri have brought the ballots of
the sick members, the first scrutator
takes each ballot from the chalice, and
opening it (but only so far as to read
the motto) hands it to the second, who,
having entered the vote opposite the
candidates name on the list, passes il to
the third, who reads it aloud. During
this process the other cardinals keep
the tally on the duplicate lists which
| each of them has before him. At the
conclusion all the ballots are taken to
the stove and burned, the somke from
the chimney being a signal which null
tltudes outside the palace await. Ac-
cordlng to common belief, when no
smoke appears at the usual time it is a
sign that the pope has been elected.
The last ballots are burned like the rest.
however, the difference in the volume of
smoke being due to the fact that as no
straw is used at the last burning there
is very little smoke.
There being no election, the cardinals
now return to their quarters for dinner,
after which, at three o'clock or little
later, they reassemble for another bal
lot. This differs from the morning one
In that the cardinals, instead of voting
for their favorite candidates, vote for
their second choice. The process is
called "acceding," and seems devised
for breaking a deadlock. Each must
vote for some one who has received sup
port at the morning trial; but if none
of these suits him, being prohibited
from again casting for his favorite, he
may simply vote for nobody" Thus
it might happen that the pope chosen in
the accessus, or acccding, was a candi-
date whom very few or none of the car
dinals would select on their first choice.
AS matter of fact, however, not many
popes have owed their election to the
Rccessus, in which the cardinals general
~ throw random votes for candidates
who have little chance of success.-Wil-
liam r. Thayer, in Century.