Year: 1874




London Times writes under date Berlin,
April A;


In consequence of the arrest Of two
more German bishops, one-third of the
whole number are disposed Of Of the
remaining eight, two are likely to follow
suit before long, when half the number
will have been practically removed from
office. All of them being sent to prison
for the considerable fines they refuse to
pay, it is probable that the new ecelesi-
astical court will have time to declare
their sees forfeited long before they can
hope to regain liberty. However, there
is no intention to keep them in prison
for an indefinite space of time. As
soon as Parliament has passed the new
bill enabling the government to intern
or expol priests who have incurred pen
alties under the new ecclesiastical laws,
the imprisoned monsignores must expect
to be sent across the frontier. With the
exception of the purely clerical papers,
there is hardly an organ of public opin-
ion in the country which does not ap-
prove the action of the government and
of the principles guiding them. Even
in the exclusively Catholic districts, all
the leading journals indorse the meas
ures taken. Cologne, Munich, Augs,
burg and Breslau on this head are in
perfect accord with Berlin, Stuttgart,
Konigsburg and Hamburg. 1t is neces-
sary to remember this notable fact in
forming an opinion upon current events
in this country.


Beyond slight stir in the streets, the
arrest of the. bishops of Cologne and
Treves has produced no visible effect
upon the inhabitants of their diocesan
towns. Both knowing they had refused
to pay the large sums forfeited to the
State, we're in hourly expectation Of
arrest long before the event actually oc-
Cured. At Treves everything went off
very quietly, the town being too small
to admit OF any large concourse OF peo-
pie. 1t was somewhat different at CO.
logne, where the size Of the place and
the zeal of the lower classes combined
to give the incident some eclat On the
3lst of March, at 4:30 am, Herr Dew
ems, the chief of the Cologne police, at
tended by two subordinates, made his
appearance in the Episcopal palace.
The archbishop Immediately got up, and
when informed Of the officers errand,
begged to be allowed twenty-four hours
to arrange his affairs. The officers re-
GREETED not being able to comply with
this request, but gave him two hours TO
prepare. They then left the palace and
returned at 8 o'clock. By that time the
house was full Of priests, the streets be-
ing occupied by large and noisy crowd.
When the officers entered the room in
which the archbishop was, they found
him taking leave of the principal eocle
siastics Of the diocese. The ceremony
took so long that he was at last
reminded that they had better 90.
To this the archbishop replied
that he did not intend to quit his
house of his own free will at ALL He
would only yield to force. Hearing this,
the principal officer quickly answered
that the archbishop having uttered his
determination to yield only to force, this
might be regarded as tantamount to his
having really made resistance. He
would therefore be obliged by the arch.
bishop following him without any more
ado. No sir, said the archbishop.
you will have to take me bodily out of
the room if you wish me to go with you.
Upon this at sign from the principal
officer, one of the two subordinates took
hold of the archbishops arms, and lead
ing him to the door, requested him to
proceed alone. But the archbishop
Lagain protested that he would not leave
1.-THE house unless they forced him out Of
it, so that the police officer was obliged
once more to touch his arm and lead
him out On the stairs the Ike scene
was again gone through, the police being
evidently reluctant to face the mob out
side with an official grip fastened upon
the archbishop. When they appeared
at the door, which was guarded with six
policemen, the crowd vented their feel
| ings in violent exclamations. The pri-
soner and his three custodians entered
the private carriage of Herr Devens, and
amid the cries Of the populace, who,
however, made no attempt to hinder their
progress, drove to the prison. There
the archbishop had assigned to him two
newly-papered and furnished rooms. BE
is, of course, allowed to provide his own
viands, and may receive visitors in the
presence Of an officer. The last words
he uttered before being locked up we're
Dec GrdtiGs. They use force.) FiRis
uoSfer pictOrid EccleSiOe,"