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cal power to separate the Catholics of Geneva from the diocese to which they legally belong, and request Mgr. Agnozzi to inform the Holy See that the confederation will only recognize, in the future, as in the past, the diocese of Lausanne and Geneva; that it denies all official character to the apostolic vicar appointed by the brief of January 16; and that it will oppose the exercise by him of the functions which have been conferred upon him by the Holy See, illegally, without the previous assent of the political authorities.

On the same day the Federal Council transmitted a copy of this note to the government of Geneva, accompanying it with a letter stating that they had seen with satisfaction that the purpose of the government of Geneva, like their own, was to oppose energetically the encroachments of the Holy See, and requesting the Genevese authorities to give official notice to the titulary nominated by the Holy See to the apostolic vicarate of the note addressed by the Federal Council to the papal chargé d'affaires, and to invite him, within a specified period, to signify to the government of Geneva whether, in the face of the opposition raised by the federal and cantonal authorities against the dismemberment of the diocese of Lausanne and Geneva, he intended to continue to exercise the functions of apostolic vicar. In case of an affirmative response, or of his failing to give a categorical answer, the letter declared that the Federal Council, acting in virtue of the authority given it by clauses 8 and 10 of article 90 of the federal constitution, would take, in union with the council of state of Geneva, suitable measures to prevent a representative of the Holy See from carrying out a mission which was contrary to the will of the authorities of the country and to the state of things legally estab lished.

The notice was promptly served upon M. Mermillod. He was allowed until noon on Saturday, the 15th instant, to prepare his answer. At the appointed time he forwarded a long letter to the council of state, which was at once transmitted to the Federal Council. In it he asserts that the Holy See adopted the course of appointing him to fill the office of apostolic vicar at Geneva, because the Church has no longer any spiritual head there, (a situation, I should here mention, which was prepared by the resignation, a few months since, by the bishop of Lausanne and Geneva, of his functions, so far as the canton of Geneva is concerned ;) that the creation of an apostolic vicariate is in nowise identical with the erection of an episcopal see; that the measure is provisional and temporary in its nature; that by it nothing is attempted against the rights of the state; that the authority of the apostolic vicar is purely spiritual, he is only a missionary of the Church, asking neither favor, privilege, nor compensation from the state; that the only practical solution of the problem presented by the relations between the Church and the state lies in a sincere and complete liberty assured to the Church, a pacific agreement in the nature of a concordat or oppression. In conclusion, he declares that he cannot abandon his purely spiritual functions without betraying the evangelical mission and the holy apostolate with which he had been invested by the head of the Church.

Upon the receipt of this response, the Federal Council, on the 17th instant, issued a decree which, after reciting the circumstances, prohibits the sojourn of M. Mermillod within the territory of Switzerland until he shall "expressly renounce the functions conferred upon him by the Holy See contrary to the decisions of the federal and cantonal authorities," this prohibition to cease from the day that he may renounce the aforesaid functions.

The council of state of Geneva was charged with the execution of

this decree. By its direction a commissary of the police, on yesterday, waited upon M. Mermillod and conveyed him in a carriage to the French frontier. No popular demonstration of any kind occurred, the city remaining perfectly tranquil. For the present the exiled ecclesiastic has taken up his abode with the curé of Fernex.

It is reported that M. Mermillod declared that he would only yield to force, and requested the commissary of police to lay his hands upon him in token that force was employed. The commissary, however, insisted that it was sufficient to exhibit his official mandate, and M. Mermillod consented to this compromise. He declined to intimate the point of the frontier to which he preferred to be conveyed, but at once accepted the proposition to be taken in the direction of Fernex, asking only to make some slight preparations for his journey and to write a protest addressed to the council of state. This was conceded. The protest is already published. In it M. Mermillod, after recounting his several titles of bishop and apostolic vicar, protests, in the name of the rights of the Catholic Church and the liberty of Catholic consciences, violated in his person, and in the name of his rights as a free citizen of the Helvetian Republic, against the decree of banishment issued against him, without his being heard in person, without any judgment, and without any violation of the laws on his part. He further declares that he remains the apostolic vicar of Geneva and spiritual chief of the Catholic Church of the canton. He gives his blessing to the clergy and to those who persecute him, and closes by asseverating that he yields only to force.

There has not as yet been time for any general expression by the press of the country upon the action of the government in this affair. It will probably be approved by the great majority of the Protestant population and by the Liberal Catholics. I hear, however, in private circles, from persons who have no affiliation or sympathy with the Catholic Church, expressions of doubt as to its wisdom, and regret that the republic of Switzerland, distinguished for its tolerance in most regards, should, in this instance, have adopted a procedure so analogous to the methods of arbitrary government.

The discussions upon the bill regulating the organization of the Catholic Church in the canton of Geneva, and providing for the election of curés by the congregations, have not yet closed. The proposition for a complete separation of church and state was rejected, receiving only fifteen votes in a body consisting of one hundred and ten members. I have, &c.,

HORACE RUBLEE.

No. 124.]

No. 440.

Mr. Rublee to Mr. Fish.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,

Berne, February 20, 1873. (Received March 15.)

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a translation of the material part of an article on the Mermillod affair, which appeared in the Bund of this city on the 18th instant. The Bund is regarded as the semi-official organ of the government, and in defending the expulsion of M. Mermillod, and explaining the motives upon which that measure was based, it doubtless utters the views of the Federal Council. As such a semi-official exposi tion you may find its article of some interest.

I have, &c.,

HORACE RUBLEE.

[Inclosure-Translation.]

The expulsion of Mermillod.

[From the Bund, February 18.]

The action of the Federal Council in expelling Mermillod has occasioned surprise in some quarters, and persons are not wanting who, regarding it as the banishment of a Swiss citizen, hold that an unconstitutional punishment has been inflicted. This view is, in several respects, incorrect. The expulsion of Mermillod is not a punishment; it is rather a political measure of prevention, adopted to avoid the de facto establishment within the territory of the confederation of a foreign authority unrecognized by the government of the country. The measure was not directed against Mermillod as a Genyese or Swiss citizen, but against the plenipotentiary and representative of the Holy See, in so far as he would establish in the canton of Geneva, by evading the proper state authorities, the authority of the Roman curia. The decree of expulsion has no punitory effect upon the person of Mermillod. From the moment that he renounces his pretensions, founded upon the papal brief of the 16th of January, issued in violation of the rights of the authorities of the country, he is at perfect liberty to return to Geneva. But the honor and dignity of the state require that the Federal Council should insist upon such a renunciation. If Mermillod cannot consent, to this recognition of the authority of the government of the country overits own territory, he cannot complain if he is prevented from offering it further defiance within its own sovereign domain. Looked at and judged from this point of view, no unprejudiced mind can avoid the conclusion that the Federal Council is fully justified in the action it has taken, and that the so-called martyrdom of Mermillod is of a very cheap quality.

It is an error, also, to allege that the expulsion of a Swiss citizen is in no case constitutional. There is nothing in the constitution to warrant such an opinion. Indeed the constitution, in the interests of public order and religious peace, prohibits the order of Jesuits and all affiliated societies within the limits of the confederation, making no distinction between Swiss citizens and foreigners. The Swiss citizen who is a Jesuit is forbidden to sojourn in Switzerland. The analogy between this constitutional provision and the measure of the Federal Council expelling Mermil lod is sufficiently apparent. There can be, then, no question as to the constitutionality of the action of the Federal Council. It is not the Swiss citizen Mermillod who is banished; he can return to his native country whenever he will promise to respect the laws of the land and abstain from representing a foreign power in our country. It does not well become a Swiss citizen who, against the laws of the repub lic, places himself in relations with a foreign authority, to parade his Swiss citizenship, for he is practically a foreigner. The quality of a Swiss citizen is not designed to serve as a hypocritical shield, from behind which to bid defiance to the sovereignty and laws of the country.

There are others who assert that Mermillod should have had a trial before a court of justice; that an expulsion by an administrative order, without a judicial sentence, is unwarrantable. Such persons overlook the fact that in the Mermillod affair it is not a question of individual offense, of a violation of the penal code, but rather of a collision between two public powers, (öffentliche Gerwalten,) upon one and the same state jurisdiction, making it necessary for the state, from motives of self-preservation, to set aside the conflicting power of the Church. Mermillod is not, personally, a criminal; he has not committed any offense which subjects him to prosecution before the court for violating the provisions of the penal code; but his longer continuance in the canton of Geneva as apostolic vicar, after the papal brief of January 16 has been pronounced null and void by the government, is inconsistent with the dignity of the Swiss state. The whole controversy rests upon diplomatic and political grounds, and, in this domain, the state cannot recognize the authority of the courts as superior to its own. The Federal Council, therefore, cannot submit to the decision of any court whatever the question whether, upon the territory of the confederation or in the representation of Switzerland abroad, its own authority shall or shall not have the preference to that of a spiritual dignitary, commissioned by the Pope and unaccepted by the federal government.

The Federal Council has, moreover, directed the expulsion of Mermillod with the full consciousness of its responsibility to the Federal Assembly, and will be fully abie to justify the proceeding before the confederate councils.

No. 125.]

No. 441.

Mr. Rublee to Mr. Fish.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,

Berne, February 26, 1873. (Received March 21.) SIR: The conflict between church and state, at Geneva, and in the cantons composing the diocese of Basle, continues to form the principal subject of public interest in Switzerland.

The expulsion of Mgr. Mermillod is generally approved by the press of the country not avowedly Catholic. The exceptions are certain journals devoted to the interests of the party opposed to a revision of the federal constitution. By the Catholic journals, the expulsion is denounced as a despotic and unconstitutional exercise of power, and Mgr. Mermillod is represented as an unoffending victim of persecution, in whose person the rights of the Church and the rights of a Swiss citizen have alike been ruthlessly violated. He remains at Fernex, within three miles of his late episcopal residence, the recipient of continued attentions and ovations from his admirers and followers, and, without doubt, wielding a wider and more effective influence over the Catholic population of Geneva than when actually officiating as apostolic vicar within the canton. The Pope has sent him a letter of encouragement and benediction, and the clergy of France, Belgium, and Switzerland are showering upon him the expressions of their sympathy and regard as a sufferer for the cause of truth and righteousness.

The bill proposing a modification of the constitution of the canton of Geneva in relation to the Catholic Church finally passed the grand council last week by a vote of 76 to 8. Among its supporters were a considerable number of Catholic members. It will be submitted for ratification by a popular vote on the 23d of March. The bill provides that the curés and vicars, whose salaries are paid by the Church, shall be elected by the Catholic citizens inscribed on the list of cantonal electors. Their appointments will be revocable. Only the diocesan bishop recognized by the state shall have episcopal jurisdiction; he may appoint a substitute with the assent of the council of state; the latter, however, may at any time withdraw its consent. The Catholic parishes of the canton must form part of a Swiss diocese, but the seat of the bishop shall not be established in the canton of Geneva. The number and limits of parishes, the election of curés and vicars, the oath required of them on entering office, the circumstances compelling revocation, &c., will be regulated by law.

Prior to the passage of this bill a remonstrance, signed by the mayors of the Catholic communes of the canton, was read in the grand council. These functionaries alleged that the measure proposing to re-organize the Catholic Church, without the consent of the Catholics, was highly popular, and that, instead of allaying, it would only serve to increase the unfortunate dissensions already existing, and would never be accepted by their communes.

In the diocese of Basle the difference between Mgr. Lachat and the governments of five of the seven cantons comprised in it are becoming more and more pronounced and irreconcilable. I have detailed in my dispatch No. 122, of February 4, the action of the diocesan conference declaring the bishop's seat vacant and inviting a chapter to name a substitute ad interim. In compliance with this invitation the chapter held a meeting, but decided that the action of the conference was inadmissible, that no vacancy existed, and that Mgr. Lachat remained

the rightful bishop. At the same time Mgr. Lachat issued an elab. orate protest again the action of the conference, in which he denied that he had in any ma mer transcended the proper limits of his authority or violated the civil or canon laws. Another meeting of the conference was held on the 14th and 15th of the present month, at which it was resolved, in view of the refusal of the chapter, that the conference itself would appoint a substitute for the temporary administration of the diocese. At this meeting the cantons of Zug and Lucerne were not represented in the conference. The appointment of a substitute by the conference has not yet been announced. In the mean time the five cantonal governments have caused notice to be served upon the Catholic clergy forbidding them to recognize Mgr. Lachat as bishop or to hold any official relation with him. In the canton of Soleure the clergy have formally replied that they will continue to recognize Mgr. Lachat as their rightful bishop, and that, while loving their fatherland and respecting its authorities and laws, their veneration and esteem are equally due to the authorities and laws of the Holy Catholic Church; that the deposition of a bishop by the secular power is a thing unheard of hitherto, and that whoever recognizes such a decision excommunicates himself. In Thurgovie the clergy have taken a similar attitude, and out of 4,759 Catholic voters 4,339 have signed an address remonstrating against the action of the diocesan conference, declaring that they still recog nize Mgr. Lachat the rightful bishop, and protesting against the order forbidding the clergy to continue relations with him.

Much irritation and excitement is reported to exist among the people, especially in the canton of Soleure, and the cantonal government, on yesterday, ordered two battalions of infantry and a company of sharpshooters to hold themselves in readiness in case their services should be required for the maintenance of order.

The Federal Council have been engaged in considering measures for the adjustment of the conflict, but have not as yet arrived at a definite decision. Their intervention in the affair will, however, in all probability, occur within a few days.

There is little doubt in my judgment that the futility of measures like the expulsion of Mgr. Mermillod for the accomplishment of any good and desirable results will be sufficiently apparent before the present dissensions have terminated. They inflame, instead of allaying, sectarian animosities. Instead of diminishing, they increase and fortify the influence of the clergy. Among the Protestant population there is an under-current of doubt and distrust as to the wisdom and good policy of measures which, although they may be within the limits of legality, have so much the aspect of intolerance and oppression. These sentiments will increase and manifest themselves more openly as the consequences of such procedure develop and their inefficacy to correct the evils against which they are directed is demonstrated.

I am, &c.,

HORACE RUBLEE.

No. 128.]

No. 442.

Mr. Rublee to Mr. Fish.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES,

Berne, March 26, 1873. (Received April 16.)

SIR: The amendment to the constitution of the canton of Geneva, providing that the curés and vicars of the Catholic Church, whose sala

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