The Clerical party in Hungary has received a severe blow.
For some reason, to us inexplicable, they not only demand a religions marriage of all faithful Catholics, which is, of course, in accordance with the tenets of their Church, but they refuse to allow civil marriage to be made compulsory, though that is the practice both in France and Italy. So excited were they, and so decided was the action of the Bishops, that it was believed the measure would be defeated ; but on Thursday the Bill was carried by the crashing majority of i81 to 106,—nearly three to one. The Bill has still to pass the Upper House ; but the Emperor stands neutral, and the Hungarian magnates, though very Conservative, have never in history been Ultramontane, as witness the fact that they tolerated M. Tisza as Premier for years, though he was the head of the Protestant Church in Hungary. There is a strong impression among them also that the opposition of the Vatican is not religious, but is intended to embarrass the Emperor in punishment for his adhesion to the Triple Alliance. That may be true, or false ; for while the Papacy can hardly approve the Triple Alliance, the disposition to attribute to the Vatican a policy of finesse is in all countries incurable.
