Inclosure in No. 85. Circular addressed by M. Visconti Venosta to Italian Representatives abroad. Monsieur, Florence, le 18 Octobre, 1870. LES populations des provinces Romaines, ayant acquis la liberté d'exprimer solenellement leur volonté, se sont prononcées à la presque unanimité pour l'annexion de Rome et de son territoire à la monarchie constitutionnelle de Victor Emmanuel II et de ses descendants. Cette votation, faite avec toutes les garanties de sincérité et de publicité, est la dernière consécration de l'unité Italienne. C'est au milieu des manifestations de joie de la nation entière que Sa Majesté le Roi a accepté le plébiscite des Romains et qu'il a pu déclarer que l'œuvre commencée par son illustre père, et poursuivie par lui-même avec tant de persévérance et de gloire, est enfin achevée. Pour la première fois, depuis bien des siècles, les Italiens retrouvent dans Rome le centre traditionnel de leur nationalité. Rome est désormais réunie à l'Italie par le droit national qui, exprimé d'abord par le Parlement, a trouvé dans le vote des Romains sa sanction définitive. C'est là un grand fait dont les conséquences, nous sommes les premiers à le reconnaître, s'étendent bien au-delà des frontières de la péninsule, et contribueront efficacement au progrès de la société Catholique. En allant à Rome, l'Italie y trouve une des plus grandes questions des temps modernes. Il s'agit de mettre d'accord le sentiment national et le sentiment religieux, en sauvegardant l'indépendance et l'autorité spirituelle du Saint Siége au milieu des libertés inherentes à la société moderne. Ainsi que vous l'avez vu par la réponse du Roi à la députation Romaine, l'Italie sent toute la grandeur de la responsabilité qu'elle assume en déclarant que le pouvoir temporel du Saint Père a cessé d'exister. Cette responsabilité, nous l'acceptons avec courage, car nous sommes sûrs d'apporter à la solution du problème un esprit impartial et rempli du respect le plus sincère pour les sentiments religieux des populations Catholiques. Appliquer l'idée du droit, dans son acceptation la plus large et la plus élevée, aux rapports de l'Eglise et de l'Etat, telle est la tâche que s'impose l'Italie. Le pouvoir temporel du Saint Siége était le dernier débris des institutions du moyen âge. A une époque où les idées de souveraineté et de propriété n'étaient pas nettement séparées, où la force morale n'avait aucune sanction efficace dans l'opinion publique, la confusion des deux pouvoirs a pu quelquefois ne pas être sans utilité. Mais de nos jours il n'est pas nécessaire de posséder un territoire et d'avoir des sujets pour exercer une grande autorité morale. Une souveraineté politique qui ne repose pas sur le consentement des populations et qui ne puisse pas se transformer selon les exigences sociales, ne peut plus exister. La contrainte en matière de foi, repoussée par tous les Etats modernes, trouvait dans le pouvoir temporel son dernier asile. Désormais, tout appel au glaive séculier doit être supprimé à Rome même, et l'Eglise doit profiter à son tour de la liberté. Dégagée des embarras et des nécessités transitoires de la politique, l'autorité religieuse trouvera dans l'adhésion respectueuse des consciences sa véritable souveraineté. Notre premier devoir, en faisant de Rome la capitale de l'Italie, est donc de déclarer que le monde Catholique ne sera pas menacé dans ses croyances par l'effet de l'achèvement de notre unité. Et d'abord, la grande situation qui appartient personnellement au Saint Père ne sera nullement amoindrie; son caractère de Souverain, sa pré-éminence sur les autres Princes Catholiques, les immunités et la liste civile qui lui appartiennent en cette qualité, lui seront amplement garantis; ses palais et ses résidences auront le privilége de l'extraterritorialité. L'exercice de sa haute mission spirituelle lui sera assuré par un double ordre de garanties; par la libre et incessante communication avec les fidèles, par les nonciatures qu'il continuera d'avoir auprès des Puissances, par les Représentants que les Puissances continueront à accréditer auprès de lui, enfin, et surtout, par la séparation de l'Eglise et de l'Etat que l'Italie a déjà proclamée, et que le Gouvernement du Roi se propose d'appliquer sur son territoire dès que le Parlement aura donné sa sanction aux projets des conseillers de la Couronne. Pour rassurer les fidèles sur nos intentions, pour les convaincre qu'il nous serait impossible d'exercer une pression sur les décisions du Saint Siège et de chercher à faire de la religion un instrument politique, rien ne nous paraît plus efficace que la liberté complète que nous accordons à l'Eglise sur notre territoire. Nous ne nous dissimulons pas que dans les commencements la société civile aura à surmonter beaucoup d'obstacles et de difficultés. Mais nous avons foi dans la liberté; elle saura modérer et prévenir toutes les exagérations, elle sera un correctif suffisant contre le fanatisme. La seule puissance que nous désirons invoquer à Rome, dont les traditions sont si imposantes, est la puissance du droit. Que le sentiment religieux trouve une expansion nouvelle dans une societé à laquelle ne manque d'ailleurs aucune des garanties de la liberté politique, pour nous ce n'est pas un sujet de crainte, mais de satisfaction, car la religion et la liberté sont les deux plus puissants éléments de l'amélioration sociale. Nous avons le ferme espoir que le moment viendra où le Saint Père appréciera les immenses avantages de la liberté que nous offrons à l'Eglise, et qu'il cessera de regretter un pouvoir, dont tous les avantages lui restent, dont il ne perd que les embarras et les dangereuses responsabilités. Vous pourrez, en attendant, Monsieur, assurer le Gouvernement auprès duquel vous êtes accrédité que le Saint Père, qui a eu la bonne inspiration de ne pas s'éloigner du Vatican, est entouré par les autorités Royales et par les populations des égards les plus respectueux. Le jour où le Pape, cédant aux mouvements de son cœur, se rappellera que le drapeau qui flotte à présent à Rome est celui qu'il a béni dans les premiers jours de son pontificat, au milieu des acclamations enthousiastes de l'Europe, le jour où la conciliation entre l'Eglise et l'Etat sera proclamée au Vatican, le monde Catholique reconnaîtra que l'Italie n'a pas fait une œuvre stérile de démolition en allant à Rome, et que le principe de l'autorité sera dans la Ville Eternelle replacé sur la base large et solide de la liberté civile et religieuse. Agréez, &c. (Signé) Translation.) VISCONTI VENOSTA. Sir, Florence, October 18, 1870. THE populations of the Roman Provinces, having acquired the liberty of solemnly expressing their will, have declared, almost unanimously, for the annexation of Rome and its territory to the Constitutional Monarchy of Victor Emmanuel II, and his descendants. This vote, given with every guarantee for sincerity and publicity, is the last consecration of Italian unity. It is in the midst of the manifestations of joy of the whole nation that the King has accepted the plébiscite of the Romans, and that he has been able to declare that the work commenced by his illustrious father, and continued by himself with so much perseverance and glory, is at length accomplished. For the first time in the course of many centuries the Italians again find in Rome the traditional centre of their nationality. Rome henceforth is united to Italy by the national right which, expressed at first by the Parliament, has found in the vote of the Romans its final sanction. This is a great fact, the consequences of which, as we were the first to recognize, extend far beyond the frontiers of the Peninsula, and will contribute effectually to the progress of Catholic society. In going to Rome Italy encounters one of the greatest questions of modern times. It is to reconcile the national and religious sentiment, while protecting the independence and the spiritual authority of the Holy See in the midst of the freedom inherent in modern society. As you have seen by the reply of the King to the Roman deputation, Italy feels all the greatness of the responsibility which she assumes in declaring that the temporal power of the Holy Father has ceased to exist. We accept this responsibility with courage, for we are sure to bring to the solution of the problem an impartial spirit filled with the most sincere respect for the religious sentiments of the Catholic populations. To apply the idea of right, in its widest and highest acceptation, to the relations of the Church to the State, is the task which Italy has undertaken. The temporal power of the Holy See was the last relic of the institutions of the middle ages. At a period in which the ideas of sovereignty and property were not clearly separated, in which moral force had no effectual sanction in public opinion, the confusion of the two Powers may not have been without utility. But in our times it is not necessary to possess a territory and to have subjects in order to exercise a great moral authority. A political sovereignty which rests not on the consent of the populations, and cannot be transformed according to social exigencies, can no longer exist. Compulsion as to matters of faith, rejected by all modern States, found in the temporal power its last asylum. Henceforth, every appeal to the secular sword will be suppressed even at Rome, and the Church will in its turn enjoy freedom. Freed from the embarrassments and the transitory necessities of politics, the religious authority will find in the repectful adhesion of the conciences of men its true sovereignty. Our first duty, therefore, in making Rome the capital of Italy, is to declare that the Catholic world will not be menaced in its beliefs by the effect of the completion of our unity. To begin, the high position which belongs personally to the Holy Father will be in no wise lowered; his character of sovereign, his pre-eminence over the other Catholic Princes, the immunities and civil list which appertain to him in that capacity, will be amply guaranteed to him; his palaces and residences will have the privilege of being extra-territorial. The exercise of his high spiritual mission will be secured to him by a double kind of guarantee, by free and uninterrupted communication with the Faithful, by the Nuncios whom he will continue to accredit to the Powers, by the Representatives which the Powers will continue to send to him,-in short, and above all, by the separation of Church and State which Italy has already proclaimed, and which the King's Government proposes to apply to his territory as soon as Parliament has given its sanction to the projects of the advisers of the Crown. In order to reassure the Faithful as to our intentions, and convince them that it would be impossible for us to exercise a pressure on the decisions of the Holy See, and to try to make of religion a political instrument, nothing seems to us more effective than the entire liberty which we accord to the Church in our territory. We do not disguise from ourselves that at first civil society will have to surmount many obstacles and difficulties. But we have faith in liberty; it will moderate and prevent all excesses, it will be a sufficient corrective against fanaticism. The only power which we desire to invoke at Rome, whose traditions are so imposing, is the power of right. That religious sentiment will assume a new impulse in a society where none of the guarantees of political liberty are wanting is for us a subject not of fear, but of satisfaction; for religion and liberty are the two most powerful elements in social advancement. We entertain a firm hope that the moment will come when the Holy Father will appreciate the immense advantages of the liberty which we offer to the Church, and when he will cease to regret a power, all the advantages of which remain to him, while he only loses its embarrassments and dangerous responsibility. Meanwhile, you can, sir, assure the Government to which you are accredited that the Holy Father, who has had the happy inspiration not to remove from the Vatican, is surrounded by the Royal authorities and by the population with the most respectful consideration. On the day when the Pope, yielding to the promptings of his heart, remembers that the flag which now floats over Rome is that which he blessed in the first days of his Pontificate amid the enthusiastic acclamations of Europe; on the day when conciliation between Church and State is proclaimed at the Vatican,-the Catholic world will admit that Italy has not made a barren work of demolition by going to Rome, and that the principle of authority will be replaced in the Eternal City on the wide and solid basis of civil and religious liberty. Accept, &c. (Signed) No. 86. VISCONTI VENOSTA. (Extract.) Mr. Jervoise to Earl Granville.—(Received November 12.) Rome, November 1, 1870. WITH reference to my despatch of the 31st ultimo, I have the honour to forward herewith, for your Lordship's information, a copy of a further Royal Decree, by the first Article of which additional immunities are given for the freedom of the Press in the service of the Pope, as well as for the publication of Acts emanating from His Holiness or from the Ecclesiastical Congregations and offices established in Rome for the exercise of the Spiritual power. This exceptional legislation has given rise to much discontent, as it places in the hands of the Papal Party a power from which others are debarred. (Translation.) Inclosure in No. 86. Article 1 of the Royal Decree, dated Turin, Oetober 19, 1870. THE Regulations contained in Articles 51 and 53 of the Law for Public Security and of that for the Press, are not applicable to the printing-office employed for the use and service of the Pope, nor to the publication and advertisement, in the customary manner and places, of Acts emanating from the Pontiff, or by his authority from the congregations or ecclesiastical offices dependent on him, and established in Rome for the exercise of the Spiritual power. No. 87. My Lord. Mr. Jervoise to Earl Granville.—(Received November 12.) Rome, November 5, 1870. WITH reference to my despatch of the 26th ultimo, I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship copies of a further correspondence giving information with regard to the British Roman Ecclesiastical Establishments now existing in Rome. I have forwarded to Her Majesty's Minister at Florence copies of the same papers, together with the eight memoranda which accompanied Dr. Kirby's letter of yesterday. So far as I have been able to do so I have endeavoured to present such a case as will admit of a close investigation and clear explanation as to the genuineness of the claims put forward, and on the part of some of the Superiors my inquiries appear to have been thought unnecessarily inquisitorial. I believe that, by seeking the co-operation of the Superiors of the different establishments, I have succeeded in ascertaining the claims of all such as have a right to be exempted from any general measure of confiscation. Sir, The Principals of British Ecclesiastical Establishments at Rome to Mr. Jervoise. Rome, October 26, 1870. WE, the Undersigned, respectfully lay before you the following statement. They further state that the English Benedictine congregation possesses property in Via di Salermi. The Redemptorist Fathers possess the Church of St. Alfonso and other property in the Esquiline. The property possessed by these Establishments is of various kinds 1. The respective Colleges and Churches. 2. Land cultivated for the benefit of these Establishments. 3. Land or houses from which they draw rents varying according to the usual value of such property at the time when the contract for letting it was made. 4. Property leased out for a term of years, for three lives, for ever, &c. 5. Censi, which are the interest of monies lent upon the income or annual value of houses or lands, determinable at the will of the mortgagee, without a right to foreclose on the part of the lender. 6. Money invested in public funds. The Undersigned, therefore, earnestly and confidently claim the potection of the British Government for the aforesaid property, and have, &c., (Signed) H. O'CALLAGHAN, Rector of the English College. A. GRANT, Rector of the Scots College. W. B. CODD, Superior of the College of S. Isidore's. Inclosure 2 in No. 87. Mr. Jervoise to Dr. Kirby. Sir, in Rome. This document purports to give the names of all the British Ecclesiastical Establishments in Rome who consider they have claims to the protection of Her Majesty's Government in the event of any measure of confiscation of ecclesiastical property in Rome being carried out by the Italian Government. It further gives a description of the various kinds of property held by them. With regard to this latter point, I beg to observe that I apprehend it is superfluous, as the Italian authorities are doubtless perfectly well acquainted from other sources with the nature of the tenure of ecclesiastical property. The memorandum, however, does not touch on one point which appears to me to be essential for the object in view, viz., the presentation to the Italian authorities of a clear and complete statement of the several Ecclesiastical communities and of their possessions for which protection can be properly claimed. I have to request, therefore, that I may be furnished with a further statement, in which shall be named, separately, with the localities specified, the different churches, houses, vineyards, farms, &c., belonging to each community. You will observe that I have not included any request for information as to the value of such properties, nor have I asked for proof of the grounds on which the several communities base their claims; still, I think it desirable to state to yourselves that I am of opinion that you should be prepared to give and substantiate such explanations, should they at at any time be asked for. I take the liberty, therefore, of requesting that you will be good enough to communicate the substance of this communication to the Superiors of the Ecclesiastical Establishments who signed the memorandum of the 26th instant, and that you will kindly add that I should be glad to be furnished with this additional information by Tuesday next, the 1st of November, or earlier if possible, in such a form as you may consider most advisable. I am, &c. (Signed) H. CLARKE JERVOISE. Sir, Inclosure 3 in No. 87. Dr. Kirby to Mr. Jervoise. Irish College, Rome, November 4, 1870. I HAVE the honour to send you herewith memorandum of the properties of this College and the other establishments for which the protection of the English Government is claimed, in the event that the Italian authorities should proceed to the confiscation of the ecclesiastical property of Rome. It was the general feeling amongst the principals of these establishments, that this specification of their properties was superfluous, inasmuch as they believed that an intimation to the above-mentioned authorities, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, would have been amply sufficient for all the purposes of the desired protection. They were confirmed in this view of the case by the fact that, even under the Republican Government of 1848, no such specification of their properties was required from themfor, although the confiscation of ecclesiastical property was decreed by that Republic, a clause was inserted in the law which specially excluded foreign establishments from its effects. No specification of the items of their properties was required from them. In your letter of the 28th instant, you say that we should be prepared to substantiate "the grounds upon which the several Communities base their claims." Again, under the Republic of 1848, no such proofs were required from British establishments as to the legitimacy of their titles to their respective properties, or any portion of them. The fact of their being in pacific possession of such properties, of their being always recognized as the legitimate proprietors by the Pontifical authorities, and by all others with whom they held any social relations was accepted as proof sufficient for the purposes of any Government. I say of any Government, for if any individual should believe that he has a just |