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fice. Hanover being under the same sovereign who rules over this kingdom, we shall begin with that country; and the reader will be amused with the "loving" situation of the professors of the two creeds in the former nation, compared with that exhibited in our own.

HANOVER.

"The lutheran is the privileged religion of the country, and sanctioned and secured as such by a regular compact; but the lutherans do not possess an exclusive right to all the offices of the state.

"In a few places only the roman catholics enjoy the free exercise of public worship; they are not permitted to apply to the pope or to any archbishop for dispensations in marriage, but to the lutheran consistory at Hanover.

"In the parish of Goldenstedt, in the county of Diepholz, where lutheran and catholic inhabitants are mixed, they celebrate their public worship on the Sunday morning in the same church, and at the same time, but in the afternoon, and on week days, the catholics worship alone. At the commencement of the service, catholics and lutherans, who are seated promiscuously, are besprinkled by the catholic priest with holy water, and during mass, the protestant clerk sings with the congregation lutheran hymns, which must cease when the host is lifted up, and when the mass is ended; then the catholics sing, and afterwards again the lutherans, and thus they take their turns several times during the service. The catholic priest sometimes in one part of the parish performs the marriage ceremony and baptism for protestants.

"Both persuasions have the same -burial ground, and at all burials the roman catholic priest and the protestant cleik attend, and the former offers the prayers. All fees, except thuse for burials, are paid by the lu

theran inhabitants to the clergyment of the adjoining protestant parishes. The building of the church, though belonging to both parties, is kept in repair by the catholics only; the protestants.contribute to the repairs of the steeple. The revenues attached to the church are administered by each party separately, the poor fund only is common to both. The catholic priest stands (or stood formerly) under the bishop of Munster, the protestant clerk under the jurisdiction of the elector of Hanover.

"In the city of Hanover, the catholics have enjoyed free exercise of their religion since the reign of John Frederick; but no priest belonging to a monastic order is permitted to officiate in their church. Out of the church, no catholic worship or procession may be performed, nor mass be read, except in private with the sick or dying.

"The catholic priest is prohibited from baptizing a child, unless the father be a catholic, or a legal marriage compact has fixed the mode of education of the children; he may not marry, unless the male at least be a catholic, and the female have agreed to enter the catholic church; all natural children must be educated as lutherans.

"Catholic children may be sent to protestant schools, but not vice versa. "Catholics may possess the right of citizens, and exercise every trade.

"Catholic priests enjoy the same exemption from taxes as the protestant clergy. The fees must be paid to the profestant clergy, who must certify the payment of them, before the catholic priest has a right to perform any of the acts for which they are paid.

In other towns of the electorate, e. g. in Zell, the free exercise of the roman catholic, religion is only tolerated, and its continuance depends upon the will of the elector. The priests are neither allowed to baptise

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army excepted) who is not a pro. testant. The catholics are not allowed to possess landed property, nor to have divine service performed any where but in private chapels." Such was the state of catholics in this country, when Staudlin wrote his work; but, by the peace of Posen 1807, the catholics are now in the peaceable enjoyment of the same rights as the protestants, without any complaints from the latter, so that there have been since that period two roman catholics appointed ministers of state, others employed in the public offices of government, and several admitted to be burgesses.

LUSATIA.

"At Budissin, or Bautzen, the dean of the chapter of St. Peter is bishop in partibus, and exercises episcopal rights over the catholics of Upper Lusatia. Catholics and lutherans keep divine service in the same church at different times, and use different pulpits, altars, &c.”. HAMBURGH.

"The landgrave is a lutheran.In the duchy of Westphalia belonging to Hessia, where the inhabi- The preamble to the act of toletants are catholics, the ecclesiastical ration issued by the senate of this affairs are conducted by a court, con- free imperial city, says, " in the full sisting of roman catholics, with the conviction that the toleration of readdition of one protestant member."ligion, as far as it is suitable with GRAND DUCHY OF BADEN. the nature of every state, is as well "The roman catholics enjoy consistent with the spirit of true equal rights with the protestants.christianity, as it is useful to the welTheir ecclesiastical affairs are con- fare of the commonwealth," the ducted by catholic superiours; but burghers, therefore, have concluded, no regulation must be published that all those who profess the roman without the sanction of government," catholic religion shall enjoy the free and uninterrupted private exercise thereof, subject to certain conditions, one of which is, that the priests "must forbear all controversies and poignancies, especially against the evangelic lutheran religion and its professors, in sermons and writings, and to abstain from all conversions."-The choice of the clergy and all other persons requisite for the keeping divine service, is left entirely to themselves, subject.

KINGDOM OF SAXONY. "When, in 1697, the elector espoused the roman catholic religion, he secured, by a formal treaty, the rights and privileges of the protestants, which is renewed at every diet; thereby he resigns all power over the lutheran church and schools to his privy council, whom he, at the same time, grants full liberty to act with out responsibility to him. No person can fill an office in the state (the

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Mr. G. H. Rose, the British minister at Berlin, in a letter to Lord Castlereagh, dated June 8, 1816, gives the following account of the affairs of the catholic church in this kingdom :- "In those provinces, constituting part of the German empire, which belonged to the Prussian monarchy before the acquisition of Silesia, the sovereign's rights in ecclesiastical affairs of the roman catholics were, and, as far as the question regards right and public law, are still regulated by the peace of Westphalia. In them the old catholic bishoprics have been totally abolished, nor do, as far as I know, any titular bishops or archbishops of Magdeburgh, Minden, Lebus, &c. exist. In some particular places roman catholic communities are maintained, as having existed in the annus normalis.

"East Prussia, although not a member of the German empire, is precisely upon the same footing, the reformation having been adopted throughout the whole country; so that whatever catholic communities exist, they have been formed by foreigners settling in the larger towns. "In Silesia, the king of Prussia exercises the same rights with respect to the church, which the house of Austria possessed before the conquest; these were regulated by the German concordats of the emperor Sigismund.

cal public law; but from the mode in which they were obtained, it appears to be the general wish, both of the protestants and of the roman catholics, that they should be abolished.

"The provinces upon the left bank of the Rhine formed part of France at the time of the concordat of 1802; new dioceses were at that time established in them, by a joint act of the pope and of the French government. The pope has practically recognized in other cases the devolution of rights, resulting from concordats made by him with catholic sovereigns to the king of Prussia; and this government has very strong grounds for maintaining that the powers recognized by the pope as residing in that of France, have devolved to the sovereign who has obtained those provinces.

"In East Prussia, and in the older provinces, catholic episcopacy is tototally abolished. The bishops of Breslau and Ermeland are elected by the chapters, upon the king's recommendation, and confirmed by the king. The bishops of Culm and Posen, and the archbishop of Gnesen, are nominated by the king.-The same would be the case with regard to Cologne and Treves, if the French concordats were acknowledged by the pope to be valid with regard to the present sovereign.-At Munster, Paderborn, and Corvey, the bishops would be chosen by their chapters, and confirmed by the king.The pope's confirmation, and in many canonical cases, such as want of qualification, &c. his special leave, are indispensable for the elected bishops.

"No kind of communication between either the bishops or indivi"In those German catholic pro- duals with the court of Rome can vinces situated upon the right bank take place, lawfully, unless through of the Rhine, which have been ac- the medium of the Prussian governquired by Prussia since the peace of ment, to whom the petitions, reWestphalia, these same concordats ports, &c. of the clergy must be denecessarily constitute the ecclesiasti-livered, to be forwarded to Rome,

and to which government the answers are returned thence, to be communicated to them. The mixed ma nagement of the religious affairs of the roman catholic subjects of his Prussian majesty, as .exercised by this court and that of Rome, is carried on through an agent of the former resident at the latter. There exists no concordat between Prussia and the pope, although the king of Prussia, as sovereign of roman catholic German provinces, is, in fact, regulated by the German concordats, and, as sovereign of West Prussia and Posen, by the Polish concordats, as far as relates to the written law; but custom has introduced an infinite number of deviations, tacitly acceded to by the court of Rome.

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It is, I apprehend, in contemplation to negociate a concordat with the pope, or at any rate to en deavour to come to an understanding with him, on certain points which require to be regulated."

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So far the British minister; what follows is extracted from a printed book of Prussian laws, and the " Ec clesiastical Geography" of Staudlin.

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Every inhabitant of the Prussian dominion enjoys perfect liberty of conscience, and is neither to be dis turbed in, nor called to account respecting, his religious principles or opinions. The state only then requires of the subject a declaration to what religious party he professes himself, when the validity of certain civil acts depends upon it. The state cannot permit principles to be propagated, which are injurious to a due reverence to God, to the allegiance of the state, and to morality; and reserves to itself the right of deciding which principles have such a tendency.-The state, therefore, requires to be informed of the principles of every religious society; it regulates feasts, and grants permission to build churches.-Catholic priests are bound to communicate the dispensations in cases of marriage, received from their spiritual supe

In a subsequent letter to Lord Castlereagh, dated the 18th of the same month, Mr. Rose says, "In the Prussian monarchy there were for merly two ministers of state, for the superintendance of all ecclesiastical matters within it; the one a calvinist, over those of the calvinists, and the other a lutheran, over those of the lutherans; and under the latter were also placed those of the roman catholics. All ecclesiastical matters are now under the control of the minister of the interior, who is at present a lutheran; but it is not necessary that he should be such: heriours, to the civil magistrate of the is assisted in all matters relating to school and ecclesiastical affairs by three counsellors, one of whom is a roman catholic. It was found necessary about ten years since to take, as one of these counsellors, a person of that religion, that he might give the necessary information for the guiding performed by another clergyman. ance of the minister in matters relating to it. These counsellors have

province to which they belong; and if they do not choose to perform the marriage ceremony in a case allowed by the laws of the country, but for which they have not obtained a dispensation from their superiours, they must submit to the marriage act be

In mixed marriages, the baptism of the male children is to be performed

by the clergyman of the father's religious profession; that of the female children by the clergyman of the mother's side.

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not be questioned as to the import of such confession, without the approbation of the person who has intrusted it to him.

"All employments under the state may be attained by roman catholics."

PRUSSIAN SILESIA.

The bishop of Breslau is immediately dependent on the pope.-Protestan's and catholics enjoy a perfect equality of rights.

WIRTEMBERG.

"The ecclesiastical affairs of the roman catholics are to be superintended by bishops, whose diocesan rights consist of the following:On their approbation depends the admission of candidates to the ecclesiastical dignity.-They have the right of inspection over the clergy, who owe them obedience and respect. They are entitled to make A note on the state of the catholic "In visitations. To them belong the religion in this kingdom says, church discipline and punishments, the kingdom of Wirtemberg, there consisting either in ecclesiastical is as yet neither any bishop appointpenitential exercises, or in penalties ed by the state, nor any apostolic vinot exceeding 25 dollars, or in imcar delegated by the holy see; but prisonment, not exceeding the space the prince of Hohenlohe, who has of one month.-Gross misdemea- been ordained bishop, of Tempe, and nours, as also private actions origi- who is, of course, merely bishop in nating in the exercise of ecclesiasti-partibus, considering, to use a law cal functions, belong to the ecclesi-term, the urgency of necessity and astical forum. Long imprisonment, and other corporal punishments, fall under the criminal jurisdiction. Their jurisdiction may be also exercised in temporal affairs, if that pri vilege be expressly granted them by

the state.

"Chapters, monasteries, and spiritual orders, have the same rights as other corporations.-Those only are to be considered as members of a roman catholic chapter, who, at the same time, have a living; and the bishop himself is subject to this regulation. Wherever the appointment or nomination of the bishop has not been reserved to the crown, the chapter has the right of election. The particular rights and duties of a catholic priest, with regard to his spiritual official functions, are determined by the regulations of the canou law. A clergyman is bound to keep secret whatever is entrusted to him under seal of confession, or of the secrecy imposed on him by his spiritual functions, under pain of losing his office.-A clergyman can

charity, in the present state of ecclesiastical affairs, when many German bishoprics have expired, and all access to the pope is extremely difficult, nay, hardly possible, discharges the functions of a vicar general both in pontificalibus and in spiritualibus, in those parts of the kingdom which were formerly subject to the bishops of Augsburgh and Wurtzburgh, not long since deceased. Other bishops besides, viz. the bishops of Constance, of Worms, and of Spire, who hitherto exercised episcopal rights in some parts of the kingdom attached to their respective dioceses, enjoy even now a spiritual jurisdiction, until there be new bishoprics erected in the kingdom, and solid order established in ecclesiastial concerns." BAVARIA.

The present king of Bavaria is a roman catholic; he has granted equality of rights to persons of every persuasion; allowed intermarriages without any restrictions; and protestants are admitted to all offices in the state. (To be continued.)

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