GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 47, 21 March 1874, Page 11

GENERAL NEWS.

GERM ANT. Most of the English advocates of a eecu!ar state education are always careful to tell us that thej are not opposed to religious instruction altogether, but they insist that it ehall be given, not in the schools, but in the churches. We should like to know what they think of the latest regulations of the Prussian Minister, of whose aots they hove nvide themselves the apologists. The Archbishop of Posen, having b^en prevented from having religious instruction given as heretofore in the schools, has token measures to have it provided in the Churches. What is the answer of the Government ? It has issued an ordinance, which is to bu put in force in the whole Duchy of Posen, to the effect that all students in State schools who shall attend the religious instruction provided in the Churches shall be immediately. expelled from the school*. And in one case the 'Correspondence de Creative' states— though we hardly like to ciedit it — tha> school children taken by their own parents to such instruction have been flogged by order of the authorities for accompanyin » them thither. These are more " strictly defensive measures" from which "no Roman Catholic subject suffers any inconvenience.'* It is quite true that the Empress Augusta of Prussia is deeply grieved at the persecution of the bishops and clergy throughout the Empire ; she is particularly grieved at what the Bishop of Ermland, fjr whom she has long entertained a strong veneration, has to suffer. Also the persecution of the Archbishop of Posen afflicts her deeplj . It is quite true also that the three Empresses each abstained from appearing at Court whilst the King of Italy was making his visits at Vienna, as well as at Berlin. All this reminds people of what the wife of Pontius Pilate said before the death of our bles3ed Saviour. BWITZEBLAND. The repulsion en masse of the cures of the Bernese Jura has produoed a profound sensation throughout the country, and it is now b? coming plainly evident how deep'y rooted the Catholic faith is in win le district. Father Hyacinthe has replied by a very bold letter to the sentenc of excom nunication issued against him by Mgr. Mermillod. But despite the appeal he has addressed to French Priests, not a single ne* apostasy has taken place. We noticed some month 3 ago the arrest and imprisonment of M Jecker, the cure of Bienne, in Cantori Berne, for fidelity to hia diocesan, and we are glad to see that all the Courts in Switzerland havi not lost their judicial independence. After a trill of seven hours,. < which M. Jecker dafended himself, he ha 3 been triumphantly, t quitted, with costs, of the charges brought against him by the State. The faithful Catholics of Zurich, who have had their church take:* from them for Profess jr Michelis and the Old Catholics, met for Mass on the feast of the Assumption in crowds in the rubbish room of th( theatre; on the same day only seven Old Catholics, — the Catholij population of Zurich is 9000 — attended Michelia in the church. Til) true Catholics have since th?n bought for £3,800 two houses and somo ground near tlio town and will soon have built themselves a church. The pilgrimage of the people of the Bernese Jura, in which 12,000 took part, will form an epoch in the annab of the persecution. The Radicals are fully alive to it, hence tho sneers indu'ged in by tho members of their party, who went to Porrentruy to rid" the p irt of spies upon tho movements of the pilgrims. Apr fessor belonging ti>

the ' Cantonal /sche^rM \s^smssfrp.\ 'e'xclain^d^with a piteo^ity^stin;^ Jhere were so many, fools'ii^^eountryJ 11 "And .ih^Jbhe'whplei.popse ° AJ l ' prkf* slip^ders, ana'lqp^rig:>ith . "#. c VmJ&WJI'Mjm.^Wi c at J 'the. uwwterrwted ittef of which flowed toMQfJfo .ftgifc^ the Jura v not yet>iM,tpV,n'poftacy. •.' ' y . / ' '" V 4"V 4 " ' '! |■ ° • <Th> »ile mifflionane* of.thfd abolical' "lnternation>i * we. plying JF'to^W'&fryWfcfr Wp'ib.us tr»de # .corrupting/the mind . and ' the heart of the.nsirig , generation. 1 .. TheJeMekof"^en* assarts are naturaUy directed /against ihe Catholic, !ftn4 „the hierarchy: of that faith. It is almost impossible to conceive the depths of injfamjf to which their literature is descending. But a few days since a Zurich book«eUer,wsued one o£ theipbtest manifestos, and it actually reeks wittt thVmQBt J hV>riibh} of tHaVpllemous .profanity! .In another of their pamphlets' the rilest of 'outrages are heaped upon the priesthood of the Church; and it concludes! as follows -7-" Yes, the kingdom, of heaven' Will be'established;upori eartK when' it Bhall have been reddened with hecatombs of priesV Such is. the 0 foe"- 'such ''is the, warfare •gainst which Catholictihibn is .to;starid, in array in, this generation. 1 We will leave the Catholic mayors ; an«J Jdeputy-mayors of, ihe Canton of Genera to answer the assertion of, fctie; '• Dailyj News * that j no Catholic citizen of Switzerland 'has anything to complain of. They have put;forth.the following vigorous/document Catholic citizens : in spite of your warnings, in spiie bf Uhe unanimous reprobation of the communeß, in contempt of treaties Snd the most iacred engagements, in contempt of all liberty, tHelaw on, the organis«<ti6n^f Catholic worship is about to be applied in all its arbitrary rigour. This law, which presumes to impose on us a State religibu, is essentially Bchismatical, and subvemve of every Catholic principle!" " ! ' * ' ' , r, t Jr BJB JP ite °£ th ? hate of governments of Europe, Catholicißxn will not oblige them by' dying the death. Our amiable Danish contemporary, the « Correspondent from the Sound,' regales us with a doleiul lamentation on the progreis of Romanismin ithe ultra orthodox Protestant State of Denmark. ' c " The « Correspondent' sees, something foul in Denmark. Why ? Because the Papists within two years, have built two churches, a convent, and a chapel in Copenhagen, and now a wealthy widow— a convert at that— is building a third, which is to be given to carpet-bae Jesuits. Moreover, these gentlemen are shortly to open a college, built for them by the same pious lady. Lastly ire are informed by the came excellent authority 'that "Papacy" haa gained over quite a number of rich and nobfe gentleman and ladies, all of which induces nun to shake hw head m very great doubt. ' B^ain. A correspondent of the 'New York Herald,' who writes from a point hostile to the Carlists, says :— ' „ What Maine is to the United States' as regards population, the old Basque kingdom of Navarre, with its population of a little over 400,000, is to the Spanish peninsula, with its population of nearly 16,000,000. But neither Maine nor all New England together could conquer the rest of the J United States, though the little kingdom of Navarre is very likely to conquer Spain, if things continue here as they are now. Carlism, indeed, never appeared with such bright prospects as to-day. • Fioni all points of the peninsula the telegraph and the post brin« news of Carlist successes, and the Republican troops have been able to do nothing that can be Baid to be encouraging. I could fill column after column of the 'Herald* with Carlist victories and Republican defeats ; and, considering that Carlist generals are not superior to Republican generals, this is wonderful success. ITALY. The ' Osscrratoro Romano ", publishes a rectification of a statement that has found, its, way into the columns of many journals our own amongst others. It was to the effect that Father Secchi had taken up his residence at the College of Mondragone, with the intention of delivering lectures on astronomy there; and that the Italian Government had refused him . the necessary authorisation for his lectures, except on condition of his appearing before the Government board and undergoing an examination. Truth is truth, and it does not appear, in this case that the Italian Government bad the remotest intention of putting any indigni'y on Father Secchi. A peasant of Ascoli has been arrested for the crime of going on a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostles. In the pilgrim's garb the good man had the misfortune to attract tho attention of some street boys who followed him with abuse. Tho police catno up and took the man prisoner. Thus the ukase of the Prefect of Some has been literally carried out, and Catholic pilgrims can no longer enter the Holy City neither in bodies nor separately, unless they dress themselves out as comedians or as tourists. The ' Times ' calls the movement for the erection of the monument to the memory of the infamous Cavour, " the most important manifestation of the people's vow for national unity." Highly poetical this, but sad stuff in presence of a few statistics. Thus, during eleven years, throughout all Italy, only the miserable sum of 19,000 lira (about £760) -was eubscribed for the Cavour statue. Turing the same period one Italian journal alone (' Unita Cattolioa') received offerings from the Holy Father to the amount of four million two hundred thousand francs. The " gerente," or manager of the revolutionary Roman paper, the 'Capitale,' haa made a full recantation on his deathbed, and a declaration of his repentance for all acts which may have rendered him responsible for the impieties of that journal. The work of sacrilege has begun in Italy in all earnest. On the 10th, 23rd, 24th October and the 4th November sales of the property of different Episcopal Sees in the Papal States have been announced to take place. On tho Ist November the Committee of Engineers took up their quarters in the G-esti, the Mother House of the Jesuit Fathers. A protest was made against the Government taking possession.

• s th&ifiirniturey the' Jesuit Fathe'rac leftiin^neir r 3(Wprofeßsa and taken possession of LbyU theltftalian Government, was sold by auction, 'aocbrditig to' advertisements, printed; in. .'the! Official? Gaketti and-bills pasted ori the church;:upon/ Wednesday tHe l£tKiof> Nov on thep'reinhes.iiiThef-futniture was of 'the vimpfest) description icoaiist--ing'of fold beds, tables; chairs, and writing-tables, andt plain' presses of .wood:;';-' f "■; •■ *■ •>"■ ' >■• \- \ ">. .:•;' '.h i:• ii'M c-.iT /.|.j „ j r )t>R - .h: The Holy Father has given audience to .theological students of several colleges, and spoke on the occasion' "nsjonehaviugjauthority." Addressing the German students, ihe -feelingly exhorted thenr-to be as lambs^Jnthe'midsfcofwolTeßof Bismarck; ;i to thY Americans. he spoke of the danger of the spirit of license; .a.nd how Wential it is' for a •people' that aspires to be truly great to distinguish between liberty and its counterfeit. If the world would only listen tithe political Harwell asthe moral wisdom continually proclaimed by. the headoftueChurcb hovrmuclv of its doom' would be averted! .' ..■' •: • I .';.. t ' • Dudley Field, the president of : the American committee for the extension of international right, is hard, at work in Italy, losing his time in the impossible task of-trying to chahgeiGommuhist conspirators of theMazzini and Grteco school into steady-going, shrewd,- peaceable New-Yorkers. • . . ■ v i> i ■>: •. .,! l • ' .>$ '1... Awkward Kevelations.--The 'Conrrier de Paris' learns from Mikurthat Madame Betazzi, widow of *he late; Italian Minister is about to bring out a work containing, a number of historical and nolitical'doeuments, the publication of which would create great sensation. ■It is said that these documents, -which- relate} principally to tho'afiairs of Montana and Aspromqnte, were found among the papers of Ratazzi and that-several persons- of high rank are apparently seriously com' promised by them. Attempts hare- been- made to dissuade Madame Ratazzi from publishing the work, and .even, the Crown Prince Hum* bert is said to have interceded, but without effect. — It is aaid that Madame Batazzi will go to Paris and have, the work published there. ;'; ' As to the stoppage of pilgrims, ; it is stated that even the archperseoutor of the Church, Bismarck, interpellated upon this point declared; shrugging bis shoulders, that ; he could not see curtailed the rights of the Catholics of Germany to repair to Borne and. to be. there respected as the subjects of a great power and of an honored and respected flag. T-he • Italia ' of the 30th November announces that the Begina Cccli Convent is to be used in part as a training school for turnkeys. « Another letter haß been sent by the Pope to the Emperor William but it is stated that his Holiness does not intend publishing it. . * There is a large emigration to America of the small farmers in the Neopolitan provinces of Italy, and the landed proprietors are alarmed. A sew comet has been visible for several nights at the Roman Observatory. It is described as most brilliant, with a tail of extraordinary splendour The brigand Manezi has at length been hunted down, after cost* ing the country the enormous bum of two millions six hundred and three thousand francs. The details of the expenditure are given in the Roman journals, which furthermore represent a large portion of the Italian army to have been for years endeavoring to effect the capture of this one brigand and his small gang. No wonder that the district of the kingdom of Naples so long harried by these miscreants should have broken out into festivities which threatened never to end. But what of the stock calumny against the Papal government, that it encouraged, or at least utterly failed to repress, brigandage ? That lie, for the present, has done its duty and is laid to rest ; but it is instructive to remember the favor it once enjoyed when one hears of Manezi's exploits in a country which the new government has ruled during half a generation. Discoveries are made in the soil under Borne. Scarcely a week passes without bringing to light some work of Greek or Roman antiquity— now a bas relief elegantly carved, again a statue, or the fragments of a statue, exhibiting the high condition to which ancient art had arrived. The latesL discovery of this character has been made on tho Esquiline Hill, whore one of the new quarters of the city is in process of building. The workmen came in the course of their work upon a statue in marble, half life-size, wanting an arm and the lower extremities, half nude, and exhibiting signs of the highest order of wort. It is supposed to be a Venue, before the type of that Roman goddess had become vulgar, but the archaeologists are not agreed upon this point. The forehead ia crowned by a diadem of very charming work, and the whole statue, though mutilated, is a valuable addition (o those already found in that part of the Esquiline, as well as towardß Porfca Pia. la one of the streets — called the Keymakers' street where some work has just been begun, there -was found a very beautiful column of African marble, having a diameter of about three feet. The whole column is not yet disinterred, bo that its length is at present unknown. In this insignificant street, at one time, the houses of the rich and powerful must havestoodr The presence of snob valuable marble is sufficient to indicate that fact. There is scarcely an inch of Rome but overlies valuable treasures of autiquity, but ii is impossible now to seek for them, for houses and churches, almost antique themselves, occupy the parts of auoieat Rome wherein were grand palaces and gorgeous temples. " Respectability " — so said Sydney Smith — " keeps v gig." The witty Canon — were ho alive — would oe surprised to" find "respect-, ability " in modern Italy deprived in due course of Roman civic law, not only of the means of keeping a gig, bat. even of the means of existence. " Probitas laudatur ct alget," it is true, buf, it is a novel thing to find either " probitaa " or " respectability " deliberately turned out of doors by the magistrates of a civilised kingdom. Yet so it happens under the enlightened rule of Victor Emmanuel in Rome, On the 23rd of September, 1873, the Sisters of Mercy and the Brothers were actually expelled from the Orphanages, of which tliey had been the teachers and guardians, and their crime was that of having obeyed " conscientious convictions, which, although incompatible with the dignity of the Commune and with the authority which it must ejjep» cisc over the Institution, are always res-peclqble."