The Pope, it appears, has protested strongly against the visit
of M. Loubet to Rome, apparently on the ground that such a visit by the head of a Roman Catholic State sanctions the Italian " usurpation " of what the Vatican believes to be its inde- feasible right. The incident is important as indicating the political attitude of the new Pope, and also because, if the protest had been treated as a diplomatic document, it must have led to a diplomatic quarrel, which would have ended in a rupture of the relations between Paris and the Vatican. The Government of M. Combes has, however, resolved to treat the protest as nulle et non avenue, and therefore, of course, not requiring any reply. That is, of course, in one way the most offensive of all methods ; but still, it avoids open quarrel, and renders it difficult for the devotees of the Papacy to raise a serious discussion in the Chambers. You cannot well debate about the non-existent. It is curious to observe how rapidly France, which is not in the least Protestant, is drifting towards the old Protestant declaration that the Pope has no authority within this realm. M. Combes would like well to embody that declaration in an Act of the Legis- lature ; but as yet, though the Nationalists have been defeated in the municipal elections, even in Paris, he has not the courage to alienate one-third of the entire electorate. He waits for the next Election, at which Clericalism and Secu- larism will be directly pitted against each other.
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