THE POPE'S TEMPORAL POWER.
SPEAKING recently to a correspondent of the New York Herald concerning the late demonstrations in Rome in favor of the temporal power of the Pope, Signor Crispi, the Italian Prime Minister, said:— "As well talk of the obsolete Governments of the Middle Ages. The temporal power is now a thing of the past—a toy for dull hours of mimic and would-be statesmen. Italy has no dread of the matter ever being revived au serieux. The Pope, however, is in no danger, so far as the Government is concerned. He has ample guarantee, but on the other hand he stands in great danger if the populace should be over-excited. It is, therefore, as much to the interests of the Vatican as it is to that of the Government of his Majesty, the king of Italy, that the demonstrations of the last two months should be firmly repressed and prevented. These demonstrations are fomented by foreign elements. Italian workmen do not belong to these societies." It will not do to hastily conclude from this that the restoration of the Pope's temporal power is out of the question. Very likely the sentiment of Italy is against it; but public sentiment in the rest of the world, and especially in Europe, is rapidly taking form in favor of the claims of the Papacy; and should the demand be made by the combined powers of the Old World, to say nothing of the sympathy which the Pope will receive from the United States and Canada, Italy would yield. Let us not for one moment deceive ourselves with the idea that the Pope is without political power and influence.