The Federal Council of Switzerland have put forth an exceed-
ingly able Note in reply to the Papal Allocution naming Mon- seigneur Mermillod Vicar Apostolic of Geneva, in which they say they have always claimed the right of determining in conjunction with the authorities of the Roman Church, the limits of the Catholic dioceses in Switzerland,—a matter important for political as well as ecclesiastical reasons,—and that till quite recently the Vatican had at least so far acknowledged this right in principle as to consult with them on the limit of the dioceses, for instance, in the Canton of Ticino. Accordingly, the Federal Council decline to recognise the diocese of Geneva as a separate one tinder a Vicar Apostolic or any other chief, and decline to relieve the Catholics of the Canton of Geneva from their connection with the Episcopate to which they legally belong,—that of Lausanne and Geneva. If it be true that the Pope has hitherto always recognised the consent of the Swiss State as either essential to these changes, or at least by courtesy entitled to deference in the matter, Rome has clearly made a great mistake in deserting the ancient paths on so critical an occasion as this.
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