THE POPE'S SUCCESSOR.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 86, 24 October 1877, Page 2

THE POPE'S SUCCESSOR.

Tlie.ow.n .correspondent of &* Sydney JVlornJße.- Herald, writing from Homo under date Ist August, affords the following interesting particulars in connection with feiieJPootifk'al ebuir :,— • : ~ , 'I Lie P,-6pe's Episcopal ,Jubilee — during 'w-hicbt inmddition to the Bnorm;o.us num-- :- her, of costly offerings presented, an obofo, amo'untrng »lto^etlier to. no less a sum than 14,000,000 of francs- was laid at the foot of the Pontifical tht'ooe — way be said to have closed with the eresttion of three new cardinals, .and an extraordinary meeting of the Sacirett College m- the rooms of Cardinal Simeoni, Pontifical Secretary of btate. 'Thebbject'of this meeting was to. d«ljb_erate upon no lesf important a mat;tpv. tlian the ne.xJ, conckve when Pius .'IXV's- successor, will be clectod. It is asubjeflt upon which, it is. known that thedimoulties which, until lately, at least, it was supposed would' certainly arise when the dame, deep consideration liks. been, for long, given at the Tafcican to the course it might be wisest, or most pru--dent, or even possible, to pursue ; : and the necessity for coming- to. some- determine— tjbn, ivas specially felt at the time, when, last spring,, the Pope's health seemed to be breaking; dow-n'" so completely ito all appearances, the besrmning of the end hadt commenced. As I. informed you in. ono of my last letters, it was deetued advisable to complete tlie formalities connected with the creation of Cardinals, by .imposing the Hat upon all those who > have been raised- to the pirple since 1870 {a .portion of the coretuoma! which had been omitted), lest any question should arise a.fter the election of the nest Pope | las to wheihor they have been fully qualifipd to vote and doubt bo thrown upon the validity of the election. As in order to rereive the Hat it whs necessity lot the Oardiual tv n'yair to Koine, anJas

it was also certain that many others would 1 come to offer their congratulations to the Pope, arrangements wero made in order that as many as. possible might time their' arrivals or their stay so as lo permit of alarge majority being here early in June;, and in. fact,, by the time : appointed, nofewer than fifty-Four of the 1 sixty.six. members of which the Sacred College was then composed were present in Borne. On the 26th the meeting was held in Cardinal Simeoni's apartment at tho Vatican,, but, of the number in Home, four were prevented by illness from attending, and twelve othorg abstained. Why they did so it would be very interesting to. know.. i&utjto a certaiu. extent the urgency for th&meeting had. paiseiF" away- Though unableany lnnggr to use his legs, tLe Pope's health had, gradually improved — had almost seemed: to. benefit daily by the fatigue of receiving: thepilgrims, until it was comparatively.reestablished ;. and further,, the perfect security with which those many thousand! pilgrims have been, able to- assemble in Rome, especially to honor the Pope,.and< ! demonstrate in favor of the- temporal, power, without the slightest incident occurring to interfere" with their proceedings, any more than it Home had been their own, had proved beyond question that there is no reasonable ground tor doubting that wheu Pius IX. dies., tho .. conclave may assemble here in- perfeut security and take as long a time m it pleases to elect his successor. J3ut theelection of the nexu Pope bein^ no lunger*' imminent— tor Pius IX, may still live-for years — and the question of whether^ it: ' would be necessary to go away from Rome to hold it— and, if so, where — having. ! been, settled by that powerful resblver of most questions— time — in favor of thekternal City, the busiuesaof. the meeting, became restricted almost entirely to tumor matters connected with the formalities tobe fulfilled. Eome being in the hands of what the clerical party are pleased to consider as a hostile power, it will no longer— or for the present at least — be practicable to carry out those detaili of external ceremonial formerly observed. Sotne of these, as ( little essential to the valid election of the Pope as the cele— brated procession wJth the men iv armour along Cheapside is to the validielection of the Lord Mayor of London, were pronounced unnecessary; and, as regards* others, such alterations were- made as . would ' permit of their being fulfilled within the limits of the Vatican. Ar«rangements were decided upon as. to ihebest means for communicating the new*, .of the Popes-d eath to each cardinal and for summoQißg binj.to the conclave with-, out taking the public into their confidence fat the ..same tiiue,.and, in fact, ail those'preparations for. the election of the nest Pontiff completed., which the changed, condition of . the Papacy have madenecessary. These thing done, that point was mooted which, twelve months-ago, or ev-eu last spring, before the greaJt test of the Jubilee was added to the many which, have gone before,, would have been one of. considerable importance — which of thethree recognised? forms of election might it be well to adopt ?. election by scrutiny, by. 'acciamatioH,. or by compromise, or,. j rather,. which 6£ the first two, for election, by compromise, as iv name implies, is merely ameans adopted for thesolection of I some Oardiual who may be acceptable to. both parties whenthe Sacred College, split into two factions, .has each its favorite it cannot succeed in returning. Election by seru-tiny is the ordinary course of votingI by sealed pnpers,.each containing a name,, and which voting* is. repeated every day until there is the- majority required in-fiivor-of anyone. Election by "Cclamation is that- mode by rsLirli at times, whelk particular Cardinals hare occupied sucll a prominence in the estimation of the College that their rtgjjt or supreme: fitness t,o%wexr the tiara was. felt by ..all^sottt* member of thn College,.the momeDt|tliej?; were, assembled, has. stood up andproposed him, and has met with free, and instantaneous acceptance,. Among ofcherPopeS elected iv this manner was the celebrated Gisgor/ VIC : There. is reason to believe chat when in the spring theCarJibals were invited to-be present ia. Home at the beginning of June, the intent tioh W£s..to arrive, If possibl«vat an agrees ment upon some parti«-u!ar Cardinal who could he acclaimed tho uvi'neiu Ems I'iC had breathed his-, last. Kaui >urs harebeen beard from.time to time that Pirn IXIhad decided upon, his sniH-ssor, that hisname would be re ealed in a special document to be opened when the timecame,, and other simtUr statements. 1 HePope, however, possesses no power by tfhich he can make testamentary dispositions of this kind, and leave the tiara, as. it were, iblegacy to-the Cardinal he-pre*-fersi. or think* most tilting ;; but if he oould get,the ; Cbllege to. agree beforehand^ '. upon acclaiming some Cardiual, he would. \ succeed in^accomplishina exactly the same- ; thing inanotheivway perfectly legal. One i would.nob be far- wrong then \o conclud'i in<r that the rumours were the outcommg. of the discussions. wi'tliin the Vatican as. to hnw far this would be possible, and theimitation of the Cardinals to assembleearly last 3une, the evidence of a decision, to carry the intention, if practicable, into effect. When, however*, the- cardinals, assembled at Cardinal Simeoni's, had resolved the- difficulties connected with, the ceremonial, formalities, and ritual of the nest conclave,, and the- preliminary question was- put as to whether it would .not be well to- consider the mode of elec- , tion to be observed > an almost unanimous, reply that it was nofc opportune was. given, and the matter of course ended there.. I need scarcely say that had thesubject been entered upon, and had eleation by acclamation been approved* it w.ould have been requisite to have-decide* on the spot who should, be acclaimed, it. is rather curious that among thu- twelve* cardinals who refrained fromi attending themeeting were those upoo one or otherof whom it is. believed the- choice would have fallen. I have said it would be .mt teresting 1 to know why those twelve di* not attendr-to those few,, anyone of theni. Vas likely; to-be chosen, no doubt a mut w-as given, that it would- be more convenient if they, were not present, and tne others, knowing that it was to*be propo-j sed, and. thinking, probablx* they had cbancos, stayed away for, the samereason, The attempt, however, was a complete failure the only, result being to show that, unless something should occur of a nature it is impossible to anticipate, tho conclave will meet peacefully enough, at the Vatican when Pius IX. expires,, and elect his successor in the ordinary wny, only with somewhat less fuss ex.*. terually than in past times.