New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-04-18
THE LATE CARDINAL TASCHEREAO.
SUCCESSOR OF A LONG LINE OF PRELAIES
A STANCH FRENCH CANADIAN.

a cadet OF the tlustrious mouse Oh Nun
morency which boosted lie premier baron chretien-
The next six Bishops were also from France Mon
s,gnor BRAND the last Of them, being consecraied
seven years after Wolfe and Montcalm fell on the
Plains of Abraham. Since then the Bishops haVepeeh
French Canadians. The first Archbishop. Monsignor
Pess!s QstO-ls2O probably he abest Il the pref
ates. next to Laval himself. who now, by-the-way'
Is undergoing the slow process OF canonzauoh' nav
ing been declared 'venerable' IN 1890. Monsignor
Taschereau came OF a distinguished family "aDi'ei
E,zear Taschereau. judge OF the Court OF Co'iiio"
Pleas was one of the foremost champions OF inc
rights Of the people during the seml-niitaiy a1h"-
istration OF Governor SIR James Craig, and was I'M
prisonod along with Papineau and Bedard Inc
Taschereaus have always been Liberals in ponies
The Cardinal was incapacitated by illness Tor some
time before his DEATH but his coadJutor Mons's"o'
Begin. also a Liberal in the broad sense Oh 'He
term Both did much for education " men FRANCE
owned the colony there were no rural schools OF any
sort The Recoets begging friars, used 10 teach me
Three RS at the houses where they stopped lot
the night. and in most parishes the cure TOOK charse
of a bright lad two and prepared them LOT the
Seminary. But beyond this nothing was zone low
ard Illuminating the common people. There were 10
representative institutions. no town meeting; they
could not even tax themselves for local improve
ments without the royal permission When EnGiana
took possession. iliteracy was almost universal Al
Quebec, Montreal and Three Rivers the Jesuits ana
nuns had primary schools. and Of course the SEMI
nary turned out prests But in the country parts as
late as 1895 1t was found necessary. system OF ele-
mentary education having been established TO pass
an Of the Legislature empowering the schooi
trustees sign their reports with cross Accofu-
ing 10 the census of 1891. only &C per cent OF the
adult population of the Province of Quebec can
write while of persons between the ages Of ten and
twenty years. only Il per cent can read VI those
twenty the percentage able TO read is cohsiuer-
ably less Monsisnor Taschereau. until he was
stricken by disease. did his best TO improve matters
but for various reasons progress has been slow.
He had Il struggle at the beginning OF MS
episcopal reign with the Ultramontanes His prede-
cessor. Archbishop Baillargeon. was suspected OF
sympathizins with the opponents OF the doctrine OF
Papsi infalllby; in fact. the tltramontane press
natly accused him Of it. on one occasion he was
reported as yng 10 n voter: You ought TO vote N
accordance with your conscience and not that
of another" whica brough, upon him the horrible
charge that he modern. Taschereau. Gam
and Liberal by birth. was at once beset by the
Ultramontanes. who watched his public utterances
and bounced upon any expression that savored OF
Ba.llargeonism. Their model was Monsgnor Bourget.
of Montreal. a of sweet disposition. but extreme
~ views The theory that the Church isabovc
the state and supreme within the sphere winch she
chooses tc define her own was NJ doubt enter
tanned as a pious BELIEF by Taschereau But he felt
the difficult of trying t, enforce it IN British
colony eni wing popular government. and IN private
used to smile at the enthusiasts who talked OF set
ting II up in the United States. You may believe In
that principle" he used TO say, land In some IDEAL
Catholic community 1t might. doubt. work with
out friction: but here in Canada. which is 60 per
cent Protestant and fortor in the United States,
you would sooner have 1t in working order than
there would come deus afiiavi in the shape o.
popular storm. and you and It would be dissipaied
into thin air"
Nevertheless he signed collective letters with the
other Bishops going pretty far in the direction OF
creating a theocracy. The Bishops and priests were
to say whether a candidate for the Provincial Leg
isa,ure Dominion Parliament was a M and prop
er person 70 represent constituency when the ques-
lions at issue belonged to the elastic domain OF
faith and morals. and electors bound under
spiritual pains and penalties 10 abide by their decl-
sion. But he contrivsi TO leave the impression that
this authority was 10 be exercised only IN rare
cases and then only with MODERATION. Some OF the
other Bishops, however. real believed that they
were the divnely appointed OF the ballot
box The Bleus or Tories. course. encourage
them in this notion The Bled newspapers in each
diocese lauded the Bishop II ne was Of this way OF
The Movement happily. W. snockel On n, s"al
by Monslgnor Conroy. rapai dp'rsite Se"t 20
Canada for the purpose If aves iiiuAs H. al
since then the Bis9ops have been more moaeSSt
cd Monsignor Taschereau mad rather curl
Gus task to perform An clecI2n wls p!o-
through the exercise Of undue clerical influence, In
people would go TO he il they voted for his Liberal
opponent. The lower court took the view that Par
Ing out the orders Of his Bishop in short that the
Church WIS above the STATE ana tnre~ out me
Of Canada. Judge Taschereau. the Cardinals broth.
the Church. Genouncng the conduct OF the priests
Illegal and subversivc OF free Institutions ana
dressing a protest urbi ct orb against the decision.
ana the Cardinal mad to dra" one up. Here aGaln'
however, while giving expression 10 the doc
rines Of the Ex,remiss he MANAGE 10 convey hs
been 30 youghIy handled by his brother
In the ordinary affairs OF NE Mons.gnor Tascher-
eau was q more broad-mlnded man than appears
lars. In these he is found denouncing theatrcals
Protestant Bibles and tracts denounclng news
paper for reprlnting a foreign article on OAR
a perfected ape and on Bat in Quebec the
pastorals OF one Bishop are very mucn h" the
from Brands. or Brands from Taschereau's. Ths
is probably because clerical rule there is essentially
asy hn 5ee a ~s an
ways moderate ana CAUTIONS and wise a an,
vontncate he would doubtless have done something
1.-THE every twenty-sixth busheD; The fabfique as
the ihe, for building new churches; the enormous
estates Of the religious orders. with their exemption
in part from municipal taxes; the eHcesslve subdi.
vision Of parishes T. provide Vin&s Tor more cures:
the anspan,ns Of orde,s from Europe and oihsr
popular grievances he could not nave deat WIN,
Inc time e not yet ripe But he made gallant
regarded it as ciallican and therefore Liberal
cd 70 start university OF their own IN opposition
Monsienor Taschereau was stanca French
Canadian. and erieved over the asAt II ne loo-
pie to New England. lie and other Bishops
issued collective letters ascrib!ng II to the
"extravagant habits" Of ne farmers, which
involved them in debt. There are no thrftier
farmers anywhere than the farmers Of French
Canada True. they DO not subsist altogether.
in former days. on pea soup cells and
black bread nor wear homespun. retoffe du pays.
and nothing else. but for all that they waste little:
indeed. have little 10 waste after paying their Do
minon. provincial. municipal, school and clerical
taxes and rearing their patriarchal families. The
exodus is due the depression OF agriculture and
exhaustion OF the soil from centuries Of
overcropping The province has an area larger than
that OF France but tho arabic portion Is confined
the district between the international boundary and
the 81 Lawrence. and fringe one hundred miles