Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-07-20

nearly died. The result was that the oppo-
sition, which had been excited by the news
of his coming, was killed by the sympathy
which his illness called forth, and when he
rose from his bed he found all the people IA
vorably disposed toward him.
Mgr. Pecci was man who might be de
pended on to make the most of such a state
of affairs. AT the ceremony of laying the
cornerstone of new church in honor of
Our Lady of Graces he had an opportunity
of meeting all classes in the little state.
The gratitude he felt for sympathy extended
to him in his illBess lent an additional
charm to Il Kramer and utterance always
full of courtesy and high breeding. 1t was
natural perhaps that the lawiess element
for the gentle ecclesiastic who in years was
not much more than boy, and whose phys
ical weakness showed itself in the pallor of
his face. The surprise felt at measures
adopted by the new governor was no small
part of the force which gave him the vic
tory.
One of the most dreaded chiefs of the
lawless bands who were smugglers, ban
dts or guerrillas by turns was Pasquale
Colletta He had his center of operations
in the Villa Mascambroni, where, with a
band of II men, each as desperate as HIM
self, he levied blackmail on all about him.
of Benevento saw this man, together with
his whole band, led through the streets in
chains by the pontifical soldiers The gov
ernor was iniexible; no intercession was
sufficient to save those who were convicted
of murder, robbery and rapine.
The execution of Pasquale Colletta struck
terror into the minds of those who had so
long fattened on crime But some offend
ers against the law were those who should
have upheld it. a nobleman of Benevento
was one of the greatest smugGlers in the
land, and when the gendarmes threatened
to search his castle he went in great wrath
to complain to the governor. Vainly did
Mgr. Pecci endeavor to convince his visitor
that law must be obeyed by all The mar
quis told the governor lie would go to Rome
and return with an order of recall for the
young ecclesiastic who was upSett;ng all
the established customs of Benevento. The
governor smiled and esked, Have you
given this matter thought, my lord mar
quis?"
Certainly" was the reply.
II fail to agree with you," replied the
governor. Zone cannot reflect too much
in these matters. shall therefore request
you to remain here as my prisoner for a
time"
That night while the marquis was re-
fecting on the matter his castle was sur
rounded, and . offenders were captured.
The reform of political and social evils
did not take up all the time of the young
governor. He devoted himself to n study
of the economic conditions of his territory
and decided that roads must be built con-
Meeting Benevento with the adjoining prov
inces of MoIise, Terra di Lavoro and Avel-
limo. He made journey to Rome to cor
fer with Gregory XVI and his ministers
and returned with full powers. The roads
were built. More than that, the taxes were
and, brigandage suppressed, agri-
culture revived until commerce sprang
into new life with the opening of new mar
kets. Benevento was transformed-and in
less than three years.
In May, 1881, Mgr. Pecci was recalled
from Beneyento and appointed papal dele
gate to Spoleto. This sent him to Perugia,
one of the hotbeds of the revolutionary so
cieties. and here began a contest between
Joachim Pecci and the organized opposi-
tion to the church, which was to be tie
mans work for many years. The various
secret societies which were born in Italy as
the result of the disturbance following the
Napoieonic invasion had all a common OBJ
ject-the attainment of social and political
liberty. The efforts for greater liberty
made by such societies as the Carbonari
(the charcoal burners) took the form of AN
attack on the church. They believed that
under no circumstances would the church
lend itself to change, and they therefore de-
to destroy it il possible.
Such a man as Mgr. Pecci would natural
ly come to ths front in such a fight. In Pc
rugia, where he now ruled, he found the so
cieties very strong. Welded together and
given form, as these had been, by the genius
of Mazzini, they were powerful and able
enough to demand the greatest ability of
the young ecclesiastic. He began in a thor
oughly characteristic way. The old road
leading up to the city from the plain was
for vehicles, and in 20 days
Mgr. Pecci had built new one. One of the
first to use it was Gregory XVI, who visited
the old city and was received gladly by the
people. The governor followed up the build
ing of the road by personal visit to every
commune. He examined closely into every
detail of administration, informed himself
Of the needs of each locality, corrected
abuses and removed incompetent officials.
While he put down the secret societies
whenever he could, he deprived them of
their power over the people by making the
reforms they talked about. He fostered ag-
riculture and encouraged commerce, he Sc
cured an inexpensive administration of the
laws, and he put down lawlessness with
heavy hand. In one year he had reformed
into ore building, established savings
bank, opened schools for the children and
given new life to the college of Rosi Spello,
of which the pope appointed him the apos-
tolic visitor.
ambassador, Bishop and Cardinal.
Joachim Pecci was in his 33d year when
Gregory XVI appointed him apostolic nun
clio, or papal ambassador, to the kingdom of
Belgium. The ambassador reached Brus-
sells and found that secret societies were
represented there in force. When he ap-
peared at the court of King Leopold, he
produced most favorable impression 1t
was apparent that he was an accomplished
scholar, a well bred man and one who had
not little wit.
In the difficult task which was before him
Archbishop Pecci had the benefit Of the
counsels OF Queen Louisa Maria, who was
most devout Catholic. To protect the Bel
gian Catholics against the opposition to
them in the Belgian parliament was the en-
bassador's first duty, and, as usual, he found
q very practical way of going to work He
began the visitation of the great Catholic
schools and stirred nm these who controlled