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ber of deputies, that the chamber would propose to the king to authorize the return of all exiles, without distinction of classes, gave occasion, in the month of May, to a brief but animated discussion. The commission appointed to report on the subject had voted, by a majority of 5 to 4, for passing to the order of the day. M. Caumartin, one of the minority, then delivered a speech in favor of referring the petitions to the president of the council of ministers. In answer to this, the keeper of the seals declared, that with respect to such of the exiles as had only been sent out of France for such a period as the public safety might require their absence, their treatment might safely be entrusted to the royal clemency. "But for the regicides," added he, "never shall they return; except in such cases of age or weakness as the king may be pleased to consider worthy of indulgence on grounds of common humanity.-I demand the order of the day." The tone of decision thus assumed by the minister was successful: the chamber refused to hear such members of the liberal party as attempted to reply; and the order of the day was carried by a great majority. Soon after, the king was pleased to authorize the return of five out of the 38 political offenders banished by the ordinance of July 24th 1815. Marshal Soult was one of the persons thus restored to his country. Several of the number had been previously recalled, and it was understood that the same favor would gradually be extended to all, except those who had given

their votes for the death of the late king.

Some documents of considerable interest respecting the state of the Catholic church and religion in France, have been made public in the course of the year. The first of these was a letter addressed to the pope, by the cardinals, archbishops and bishops of France, which was published at Rome in French and Latin. It is filled with complaints of the unhappy condition to which the French church has been reduced, emphatically described in the following passage:

"Indeed, most Holy Father, and we cannot make the statement without the most profound sorrow, since the moment when brighter days seemed to have succeeded to the storms by which we were for many years assailed, the state of the church, far from being ameliorated in France, is become, and daily becomes, more deplorable. Not only we have not felt the weight of our sorrows alleviated, but it still bears heavy on us; and the time, perhaps, is not far distant when it will seem impossible to raise up our ruins. The ecclesiastical discipline is relaxed, a great number of dioceses are not sufficiently governed, the faithful wander like "sheep without shepherds," the ecclesiastical establishments languish, the body of the clergy is weakened by losses which the small number of pupils of the sanctuary, often shackled in their vocation, disquieted in their instruction, or discouraged by the aspect of misery and the disgusts which await them in the exercise of the sacred

ministry, never can repair. Re

ligion is attacked on all sides. Her enemies seem to unite all their force against her, and propose to themselves nothing less than her annihilation in this kingdom, formerly so Christian and so faithful. Impious books fly and circulate about, and pernicious doctrines spread like a gangrene. Derision, satire and calumny, are weapons eagerly employed against the apostolic pastors and the missionaries, who, full of zeal, consume themselves in preaching, with a marked success, the return to the faith, and consequently to peace and happiness. To complete our affliction, we have seen the very name of religion publicly banished from the repressive laws, and thus is rejected the corner-stone, without which no social edifice can exist. The bishops who govern the dioceses, those who are destined to the sees actually vacant, cannot act in concert, being subjugated and oppressed under the very regulations which were imposed by a foreign tyrannical domination; reduced to combat singly, they must infallibly be overcome, and in a given time,shorter, perhaps, than that which marked the usurpation, the church of France will fall never to rise again."

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The missionaries here referred to, were a body of zealous ecclesiastics, not ostensibly, at least, employed by the court, who per ambulated the towns and villages of France exerting their utmost efforts to rouze the religious affections of the people in behalf of the ancient faith. It is said, that in the market places of all the towns which they visited, they

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erected large iron crosses, which figures of hearts were engraven, each of them inscribed with the name of one of the faithful. In the town of Brest, a strong disposition was manifested to prepare a rude reception for these emissaries of a faith which had lost the respect of the multitude. The authorities did not at first interfere with energy; but the prefect afterwards made an offer to the bishop to place the public force at his disposal; to which the prelate cautiously replied as follows:

"Sir, I may be permitted to express some surprise, that under the government of the king, who has given a charter that assured liberty of worship, and who has proclaimed the Catholic religion the religion of the state, this religion cannot enjoy this liberty at Brest. I require only the protection of the law, not its severity. It is not for me to dictate to the authorities the manner of causing it to be respected."

The same prelate also addressed a letter to the mayor of Brest, in which he thus expressed himself:

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Having received an assurance from you, and all the members of the Council of the Commune, that it would be impossible to maintain the public tranquillity if the missionaries were permitted to fulfil their function, and in accordance with the wishes expressed by a certain number of fathers of families and of respectable citizens of Brest, assembled at the mayor's house, who shared the same feelings of apprehension, I have thought proper to order the suspension of the mis

sion. I must, however, deplore being obliged to adopt such a determination, and to see the religion of the state prevented from enjoying at Brest the liberty which the charter guarantees to every worship, and this city, always the object of our tender solicitude, deprived of so great a means of salvation. I conceive 1 proved to you, and also to the council general of the commune, that no personal fear could have extorted such a determination from me; but when the magistrates of a town assure me, that they cannot answer for the public tranquillity, I must with sorrow yield to the imperious necessity."

A telegraphic dispatch arrived on the same day. It contained these words "Punish the guilty." But the magistrates had already come to their determination, and the mission was dismissed.

In the month of September a royal ordinance was published, directing the erection of five hundred benefices and chapels of ease in dioceses where the places of worship are found insufficient, and containing various other regulations respecting ecclesiastical affairs. It was preceded by a report from M. de Cazes, in which the minister thus pleads the cause of a suffering and humiliated establishment.

"Your majesty has ordered me to propose the employment of the million of reserve included in the budget for my department, under the head of ecclesiastical expenses. Your majesty's intention has always been, that that sum, as well as the funds, resulting from former reserves which

remain unappropriated, should be distributed this year, in extraordinary succours or in permanent ameliorations, in all the essential branches of the services of religion." The report then states what has already been done for the restoration of religion. It is remarked, that the wounds of the French church have been so deep, that they can only be completely healed along with those of the state; but the time is not far distant when both will disappear under the influence of a paternal and repairing government."

"Religion confined to its duties, which are so many benefits to society, is the support of states, because it is the safeguard of morals and the supplement of laws. Foreign to the exercise of the civil power, it is only connected with it by the assistance which it gives to or receives from it, and which is employed for the advantage of the people alone. Justice and policy require that every thing which is necessary should be granted to it, in order to enable it to fulfil this important and salutary vocation. In a state in which the political powers and the rights of the citizens are regulated by by å constitutional charter, to support religion is to support the unfortunate whom it consoles, morality which it elevates, and virtue which it creates and maintains: this is not indiscreetly augmenting temporal authority, which the enlightened wish of the church does not require; it is merely procuring to that influence, entirely moral and spiritual, which religion employs in the interest of governments, and of which they would vainly

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"Honoured in its misfortunes by the virtues which it has displayed in the midst of persecution, the Church of France needs not great riches in order to be useful and respected; but she has long been oppressed by poverty, contrary even to the interests of the state, which requires that all the parts of which it is composed should enjoy advantages that belong to them, in order that they may be united, and concur equally in the public welfare."

After a detailed statement of the grounds of the royal ordinance, the report concludes as follows:

"Thus, without any new expense, your majesty, by a constant progression, ameliorates the present and fixes the future state of the clergy. Trifling sacrifices for the treasury become great benefits for the church, by strikingly manifesting what public order expects from morality and religion, and what the sovereign wishes to be done, in order to support the clergy honourably in the pious modesty of their wants and wishes. It is in the lower degrees of the clergy, if the sublimity of a vocation every way equally sacred will permit this language to be used, it is among the ecclesiastics placed nearest to the poor, by their situation and their duties, that your majesty causes to be distributed benefits, which, far from detracting from

the dignity of the episcopacy, will furnish the bishops with new means of extending to all the points of their dioceses, that salutary influence by which they participate in the duties of watching over the maintenance of respect for public peace, and the laws of the state."

The concordat still remains in a state of abeyance.

After the summer recess, the chambers were re-opened on November 15th, when the king pronounced the following speech:

Gentlemen,-The first wish of my heart, in appearing again amongst you, is to acknowledge the blessings which Providence has been pleased to bestow upon us, and those which it permits us to expect in future.

My family is increased; and I may hope that my remaining wishes may be accomplished. Fresh supports of my house will form new ties between it and my people.

Our friendly relations with the different states of the two worlds, founded on the intimate union of the sovereigns, and on the principle of a mutual independence, continue to form the pledge of a long peace.

By the happy result of my negotiations with the Holy See, our principal churches are no longer deprived of ministers. The presence of the bishops in their dioceses will establish order in all parts of the ecclesiastical administration; they will there propagate the respect due to our holy religion, and to the laws of the state. We shall preserve untouched the liberties of our church. I shall hear the prayers

of

of the faithful; I shall consult their wants and their resources, before I propose to you the measures which the restoration of the worship of our ancestors may still require.

Two years of abundance have repaired, in part, the evils of scarcity. Agriculture has made a sensible progress; all branches of industry have taken a new spring; the fine arts continue to adorn and illustrate France. I have collected round me their numerous productions; the same advantage has been given to the useful arts. Public admiration has equally encouraged them.

The liberation of our soil, and more favourable times, have permitted us to employ ourselves in the amelioration of our finances. I have ordered that there shall be laid before you the state of the public charges, as well as that of the means of meeting them; and I have the satisfaction to announce to you, that the foresight of the legislature has not been deceived by pressing and accidental wants. No new debt will be created for the next year. Already, considerable relief has been afforded to those who contribute to the public burthens. The reduction of the most heavy taxes will not be retarded longer than the discharge of the extraordinary debts contracted by the state may require. The laws have been every where executed with facility, and in no part has the public tranquillity been materially disturbed. Under these circumstances, and with a view to remove more effectually the recollection of past evils, I have thought that I might multiply the acts of clemency

and reconciliation. I have placed no other barriers against them than those which are interposed by the national feeling and the dignity of the crown.

Still, in the midst of these elements of public prosperity, I must not conceal from you, that just causes of alarm mingle with our hopes, and demand at this time our most serious attention.

A restlessness, vague, but real, possesses all minds: every one now demands pledges of a permanent state of things. The nation has but an imperfect taste of the first fruits of legal rule and of peace; it fears to see them snatched from it by the violence of factions: it is alarmed at their ardour for domination: it is terrified at the open expression of their designs. The fears of all, the wishes of all, point out the necessity of some new guarantee of tranquillity and stability. Pub. lic credit waits for it as the signal to rise; commerce, to extend its speculations. In short, France, in order to be sure of herself, in order to resume among nations the rank which she ought to occupy for her own and their advantage, has need of having her constitution placed out of the reach of those shocks which are the more dangerous the oftener they are repeated.

Under this conviction, I have again turned my attention to those ideas which already I had wished to realize; but which ought to be matured by experience, and to be called for by necessity. The founder of the charter, with which are inseparably connected the destinies of my people and of my family, I

felt

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