The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-08-09

/ I-itlt ti All \ t'i ti0t-t NJ ttA'It - t'ttti
written ON the present status of sela-
lions between the Spanish government
and the Vatican, most Of it uufavorabIe
to the Catholic church. Of course the
cable reports Of the large news agencies
are biased. as usual. Owing to the in
{ huenees governing these. we Catholics
have to look to other sources for Just
aud fair reports when our religion is
| concerned,
For the enlightenment Of those who
desire to know the truth and Judge ac-
cordingly, l would present the follow
ing facts:
IN 1881 solemn treaty, or concordat,
was entered into between Spain and the
Vatican by which the Catholic church
was recognized officially as the state
church. 1t was certain provisions of
this treaty that the Canalejas ministry
abruptly anuulled while negotiations
respecting it were going on with the
Vatican. \ man who breaks his word
is called a liar. Nations stand on the
same par. The Spanish concordat may
be amended or abrogated, but while it
exists it should be respected as the
plighted word Of d nation.
The Spanish ministry knew that the
Vatican was willing, for the sake Of
| peace, to make certain concessions, but
| they wanted to give the outside world
! the impression that they had forced
| these from an unwilling Vatican.
! Much stress has been placed on the
| decree of June llth, permitting non
! Catholic churches to display publicly
the emblem of their faith. AS "a matter
/ OF fact, these emblems have been dis
| played without interference OF any
| kind, and Protestants have had full
! liberty to practice their religion III
! Spain. However, as the Catholic rehg.
| ion had been recognized as the state
| religion by d solemn treaty, the Nati
! can could not approve this decree, about
which it had not been properly consult
/ ed, without granting to the Spanish
ministry the right to destroy piecemeaI
! the concordat wehenver they felt SC
| disposed. Remember, SO far as the
! Vatican is concerned, this whole Span
ish question is simply matter OF the
| sanctity OF treaties. You know the
view history takes of a broken treaty
! Another subtertuge to hide the real
| object OF the Spanish ministry is the
| cry that Spain is ''priest ridden.
/ What are the figures? Religious orders
| congregations OF men. II, H.; cOngrega-
| tions Of women. 1906; secular and
parochial clergy, ,303. Certainly not
too many i'll a population Of 1o,oO0,0OO
| The doctor Of the soul Is as important
as the physician OF the body, and as
worthy of his hire.
| Some seem to think if the pope was
! left to his own desires and not guided
| by the counsel of his advisers he would
| grant all concessions. | believe no one
| will contend that the Pope has yet
! entered his second childhood. What
would we Americans say of President
! Taft should he sacrifice the treaty
! rights Of the United States ''for the
sake of harmony2'
Remember the proposed measures Of
the Spanish ministry contain no pro
vision of compensation for the property
to be taken from religious orders, II
case they are dissolved or suppressed
and that the Constitution OF Spain, un
/ like our Constitution, CONTAINS no pro
vision prohibiting this. 1t is to bt
blank contiscation, just as 1t was II
| France.
No, my friends, it is not too mucl
| clericalism that is bothering Spain. i
is industrial depression. With the eN
ception Of Guipiscoa and Catalonia, the
country is industrially dead. Its few
enterprises are financed with Ger
man. French and Flemish capital
With rich mines everywhere, no attemp
is made TO work them. Agriculture /
neglected. and the crops which nette'
six hundred and fourteen millions o
pesetas in 1903 yielded only five hun
bred and ninety millions in 1905. Ac
cording to the Economists, the farm
lands have deprecated five hundre'
million pcsetas in five years, and tn
peasants are focking to the towns 0
fleeing to America.
Lack of bread breeds revolution
Those who have followed events l
Spain viii have noted that the troop
are being massed in the mining an
manufacturing districts. The letter 0
the Spanish bishops to the prime mini:
ter states the matter we'll They poin
out that there is no popular demand fo
the present anti-Catholic Legislation
Speaking as Spanish patriots desirou