One of the most real of the dangers which beset
the Republic in France is the fanatical hostility some Republicans betray to the Catholic priesthood. It has always been asserted that General Chanzy lost a battle because he would not allow his Bretons to confess, and smaller officers constantly betray the same spirit, usually in gibes, which infuriate without weakening the clergy. The Prior of the Dominican Monastery of Carpentras recently complained of the illegal arrest of two of his monks, and was told by the Sub-Prefect, M. Habeneck, that his Order was illegal ; that monks were• scarcely citizens, being exempt from the conscription ; that they constantly broke Art. 291 of the Penal Code, by meeting for religious objects in greater than legal numbers ; that they ought to be subject to the rules regulat- ing inns, as persons strangely clad daily arrived and departed ; and finally, that he had called the attention of the Public Prosecutor to their conduct. As the Dominicans are recognised by law—they being exempted from the conscription on account of their reli- gious character—the letter was only an elaborate insult, which, if addressed to Republicans by Clericals, would have been quoted for months as proof of the petty despotism exercised by priests. Fortunately, M. de Marcere sincerely wishes the Republic to succeed, even if priests are to have the benefit of its liberties, and M. Habeneck has been placed en retraite.
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