The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1909-02-27

aS pdEbiCuldE4J 40lIo W o6SH0A pA4S
question about the ringing of the
church bells, which was the signal
agreed upon in the beginning of the
massacre.
Now, we should not allow person
alities to confuse the issues when We
are discussing an historical fact.
What is thought of me by ssSociety OF
the Holy Spirit, or what is thought
of him by me, is matter of no conse.
quence whatever. What we are en-
deavoring to do is to fix the respon-
sibility for one of the greatest crimes
that ever polluted the records OF the
human race. You have said that the
Catholic church was an accomrlice in
the horrible massacre of ST. Barthol-
omew. | undertook to furnish you with
some evidence sustaining that conten-
tion. HSociety of the Holy Spirit''
asserts that the clergy took no part IN
the butchery, and that the Catholic
church neither instigated it, took part
in it, nor endorsed it. Now, let US
briefly examine the facts.
At that time, the Protestants were in
the ascendant. The queen-mother,
Catherine de Medici, h ad recently
made compact with them, from which
they derived such advantages as put
them in the best of humor, but which
filed the Catholics with fury. There
fore, the motive for an outbreak was
to be found not among the Protestants
but among the Catholics. The fact that
Admiral Coligny, the leader of the
Protestants, was acting as the conf
Dental advisor of the young kine
Charles TX, and his mother, was q
fact which wrought the Catholics up to
a state of fanatical indignation. Never
theless, the king and his mother per-.
sisted in the policy Of reconciliation.
and to emph asize this, q marriage had
been arranged between the kings sis
ter, Marget of Valois, and the young
king of Navarro, who afterwards be.
came known to history as Henry w.
To be present at the celebration of the
nuptials OF this Catholic princess and
Protestant king, the leading members
Of the reform party throughout France
had been invited to Paris by the king,
who promised them royal protection.
Accordingly they had trooped in great
numbers to Paris, where they were
expecting no trouble, where they were
taking nc precautions, and where
they we're trusting implicitly to the
word of the king. To impute to them,
under those circumstances, a conspi-
racy whose purpose was the murder OF
the king, who at that time was being
guided by the strong hand of the Prot
estant chief, Co1igny, is to do violence
TO common sense and to the undisputed
facts.
To form a just conclusion of what
happened on that terrible Sunday,
August "a, 1914, one should bear in
mind some OF the events which had
gone before. So far back as 1865,
Charles TX and Catherine de Medici
had an interview at Bayonne With the
Duke of Alva, representative of the
Spanish king, Philip Fl, for the pur-
pose of agreeing upon the best plan OF
delivering France from the beretics.
According to Adriani, continuer OF the
historian Guicciardini, the opinion of
King Philip was that this great bless
ing could not be brought about save
by the death OF ali of the chiefs of the
Huguenots. He thought that the Prot
estants should be massaered after the
manner of the Sicilian Vespers. where
it is we'll known that priests not only
butchered some OF the men who were
slain upon that occasion, but cut the
throass of women who were their own
penitents. II is we'll known that Cath
crime de Medici instructed Cardinal
Santa Croce to assure Pope Plus v
that she and her son had nothing more
at heart than to get the Admiral (Co-
lignyl and all OF his conddants to.
gether some day and make a massacre
of them, but, as she said, the matter
was so difficult that there was no pos
sibt1ity Of promising to do it at any
particular time. Corroborating the
statement of Adriani concerning the
meeting at Bayonne is the testimony
of La Noue and De Thou. 1t should
also be remembered tha the nobleman
who led the hands Of butchers Oh the
sunday of ST. Bartholomew was the
same that massaered the Protestant
Worshippers at Valley a short while
before.
Now let us review the circumstances
attending the beginning and the pros,
scutiou of the massacre. In the first
olace, one of the sacred days Of the
Catholic church was chosen, day
apon which the religious enthusiasm
IF the followers OF that creed could
he more easily De Influenced to deeds
If madness. Ia the second place, the
signal TO be sounded was the ringing
of the church bells. which = 1uld have
he tendency to appeal to the religious