Those who control the Papacy, among whom Cardinal Rampolla is
for the moment the most prominent, are evi- dently growing furious. The Papal election cannot be far off, and as the aged Pope complains, " several States separated by stretches of territory have declared war upon religion," that is, upon the monastic system, which is now threatened in France, Spain, Portugal, and Austria-Hungary. The desire, ac- cordingly, to secure the future to the Ultramontanes has grown ardent, and as Italians only trust each other, the Pope at a secret Consistory on Monday created twelve new Cardinals, of whom ten are Italians. The Sacred College, therefore, now contains forty Italians to twenty-seven of other nationalities, and the election of a " foreign " Pope becomes almost im- possible. The only reason, indeed, for supposing it conceiv- able is the extreme violence of the precautions taken against it. Whether a " foreign " Pope would be an improvement may be doubtful—he would certainly make the action of the " Congregations " less consistent and more cumbrous— but the steady adherence to Italians helps the tendency of Roman Catholicism to become the creed of the Latin world and of no other.
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