Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-05-28
1cIiELIEU.

Called becausdt was signed at Nan
tes). which gai to his old co-reliSion-
! lists civil andreligious liberty; thal
! is TO say, right and privileges IN the
| main the samchs those enjoyed ny
their fellow coutrymen who were adj
herents of the oil religion. AT the same
time, rs Il guarnty OF the possession
of these rights All privileges the gov
ernment OF Il ccrain number OF ioru-
fled towns was ut into their hands.
1t was Il measurt of religious toic;a-
ton. the like of ,pich was not 10 be
seen elsewhere in europe. And yet 1t
was not given in te spirit of justice,
but of prudence andpolicy. 1t was CIV
en- to secure peace. M one but an aoso-
lutte monarch could lave set in force
such n law, for it WIS opposed by the
whole might of the hirarchy, and was
contrary To the feeling of the majority
of the nation. which indeed was still
strongly catholic. WorG than all, 1t was
NOT Il simple measure Of religious tole-
ration, but the recognition of the liu-
guenot polity as n distinct and indie
pendent civic orga nizadon in the king
dom. an "imrorinn ;n inperio,' Il state
within a state. The Husueno.*. IN fact,
became - poodle wiihia Il people.
Wherc ahaolute monarchy prevails
there can be no logical principle in con-
stitutional settlements. The "Edict OF
Nantes" was Henry's personal gift TO
MS Ia IcI.DW 4tliiNNS sthNA ~ ~ WI
tanned provisions which af;erward We're
objected to by oihor absolute ruiers OF
the country, the Hugueno!s Themselves,
al the time they were enacted. could
neither have helped nor hindercd them
When. therefore. thirty years later.
llchelieu. at that time the chief pow
er in France. took away from the
IIugucnots their civic independence he
did what was a. very natural thing to
u Ia. In IN
against France. they had sought and
made an alliance with England aud in
others ways while contcnding for lib
crty OF conscience had also contended
for the retention of powers which
should belong only to the supreme
state
But liberty Of conscience is precious
treasure. Wherever it is possessed and
religion as Il vital force prevails there
also sobriety. industry, thrift ard every
other moral and economic virtue pre-
walls. For sixty years. under the tcler-
alton enjoyed by the Edict of Nantes.
the Ilugucnots prospered as no other
inhabitants in France prospered. Car
dnal Richcleu, and after him Cardinal
MaZarin. each the absolute ruler of
France in his day, both saw the value
to the kingdom of such citizens as the
Hugucnois were and protected them in
dtll illtt4i 4hhA9 Nilh'i .iiE tNlNt' tNNtHs
those that connic;cd with the supreme
authority of the state. From Il COM
muniou Of about 1000, 900 members they
became a communion of 10000 mem
bcrs In Languedoc and the Cevennes
and IN Bearn. once the home of Henry
of Navarro, their lands were covered
with grain and vines. and their hill
sides with sheep. In other parts they
devoted themselves to manufactures.
In, nd ia
finest Velvets. the handsomest ribbons,
the richest brocades to be found in Eu-
rope. In Normandy they produced lin
en- OF equal repute. In Auvergne they
produced paper, and had 500 paper mills
in that one province alone. In Nantes;
in bordeaux, in Rochelle. in Rouen,
the whole foreign commerce OF the