Delaware gazette and state journal., 1899-10-26
TiTLEN FOK oisH.
Almost Auybody Can Have One IL He sas
the Pr ce.

| Almost Anybody Can Have One III He sas
the prce.
Pail Mall Gazette
Every now and again we read in the
newspapers that the Pope has created
some pious or wealthy son ct the
church u ''count of the Holy Roman
Empire. " When Count Jametel was
married at Richmond a few weeks ago
to the sister of tho new Princess Danilo
of Montenegro almost every paper IN
the country described him as q count
of the empire. 1t seems, therefore, not
altogether surerfiuous to explain that
the lucky young man whose family has
been raised in two generations from
shopkeeping to close alliance with
thrones is not that kind of count, and
that the Pope, who gave him his title.
has no power and claims no right TO
create titles of the Roman Empire.
What the Popo can, and does, create
are counts of Rome. These mobiles are
not counts of the Papal States, which
no longer exist. They are, properly
speaking, counts of the Vatican counts
palatine, nohles of the palace. The
official title, indeed, is Count of tho
Apostolic Palace and of the Court OF
the Lateran. . The designation comes
down from the time when the popes
lived at st, John Lateran, and these
counts were, in actual fact, tho ''com-
panions' of the pontiif. 1t is another
survival of those distant days that
every bishop-assistant at tho pontiiical
throne is created count when he
receives his court nomination. But il
is in relation to laymen that these
papal distinctions arc most interesting.
Originally, no doubt, as still is the
case in theory, Vatican titles-and the
Pope grants everything from knight
hood to dukedoms- were conferred rs
rewards for good and faithful service to
the church.
: In such cases it is the custom of the
Pope to confer these honors motu pro-
prio ct sine pecunia- without the pay
ment of fees to the Vatican chancery
But during the present century great
numbers OF papal titles have BEEN
created, and 1t is quite certain that
the vast majority OF them have not
been accorded sine pecunia. Tho
granting of them, indeed, has come to
be regarded as regular source of in.
come to the Holy See; and it would
appear that it is no longer necessary to
be Roman Catholic or even, for the
matter of that, Christian ut all to
become noble of the apostolic palace
and of the court of the Lateran. Ac-
cording to the tariff of foreign
mobility AGENT" which was issued
few years ago, tine title of prince could
at that time be had for e3,000; duke
dom cost $4,000, while E1,000 would
buy countship and $500 bnrony.
We need hardly say that we do not
vouch for these figures.
1t has often been denied that the
Vatican sells titles, and technically
speaking it, of course, does not. The
money paid is not in return for the dis
tinction: it passes in the euise of fees
for making out and sealing the patent,
and SO on--fees which oven an English
peer or baronet has to pay. Nor does
the Pope stand alone in covering up
transactions of this kind under pleasant
fictions. Italy and Portugal do the
same, to say nothing of the accom-
modating little republic of Andorra,
which recently ennobled an American
because he made an allowance Of el00
o year to the national library. 1t is in
Franco that papal titles find their
readiest sale, which is not surprising,
seeing that they are borne by many
Fronchmen of position and real dis
tinction. Indeed, it is almost tradi-
tional that every French ambassador to
tho court of the Vatican should he
created count by the Pope, and it is
only few months since the customary
distinction was conferred upon Nj.
Poubelle. 1t would be i'll bred 10 refuse
almost as impossible, indeed, as it
would be for French president to
decline the honorary canonry OF st.
John Latoran. NJ. Loubet, like his
predecessor, is, indeed, already canon
of the Lateran.