On the restoration of the Bourbons in 1814, the Catholic clergy hailed the change with enthusiasm; but the public, at least the great majority of the middling classes, soon showed a marked distinction between their cause and that of the king. The con- • duct of Louis, in regard to the clergy, has been marked by moderation and judgment. Religious himself, be has sought to revive similar impressions among his subjects, to enforce the observance of the Lord's day, and to relieve from indigence the des servants, or country curates. But he has placed no clergymen in political situations, nor made any at tempt to give the bishops or archbishops seats in the House of Peers. The error of the King, or rather of the Church, consists in not abrogating the super stitious and puerile part of the Romish ceremonial. Processions still take place along the streets, accom panied by the throwing up of incense, the strewing of flowers, and the unmeaning practice of hanging folds of linen for many hundred yards along the front of the houses. Another and more serious injury to productive labour is the observance of saints' days, an observance which, though not enforced by penal ties, is enjoined by the precepts of the clergy, and the practice of government.
A Concordat, or compact between the pope and the king, is a transaction of high importance in a Catholic country, where the public are impressed with the belief, that, in all that relates to religion, reference ought to be had to the court of Rome, and that their temporal sovereign possesses authority in such affairs only, as far as it is delegated by the Ho ly Father. The object of a Concordat is to define the respective powers of the Pope and King. In France the aim of the executive government has long been to secure the patronage of the church, and to stipulate that no bulls, briefs, decrees, or other acts of a nature to agitate the public mind, should be promulgated without the royal sanction. Three centuries ago, when the alarm of the Refor mation, and some urgent political considerations, made it of importance to the court of Rome to at tach to its cause the reigning sovereign of France, there was passed between Leo X. and Francis I. a Concordat, declaring that the power of nominating the archbishops and bishops of France resided in the crown, the sanction of the pope being required only for their inauguration (institution canonique). This compact was considered a kind of charter, or stand ard document, in the long discussions which after ward ensued about the independence of the Gallican church, until the whole sunk into insignificance be fore the storm of the Revolution. During the fer ment of that convulsion, the Jacobins, and even the Directory, made no proposition for accommodation with the Holy See, and bade, or affected to bid, it defiance. Bonaparte, more politic, concluded a Con
cordat, which, though it reinstated only 50 of the 130 Sees existing before the Revolution, stamped him, in some measure, a restorer of the church. That he did not afterwards augment their number is to be ac counted for solely by a dread of alarming the revo lutionists. The Bourbons, on their restoration, ap pear to have felt all the delicacy of such a measure ; and nothing favours the probability of the charge of their intending to restore the lands, the tithes, or temporal influence of the clergy. Negotiations for a Concordat were early begun with the court of Rome, but its conclusion was delayed till 1817, and the interest with which it was received in France can be comprehended only by persons resident among a people still agitated by political division, and dread ing the influence of the clergy, as an engine for the revival of all past abuses. From this, and from di& ferences with the court of Rome that are foreign to our subject, the execution of the new Concordat has been very tardy. Of the 42 additional Sees appoint ed by it, a considerable part are still vacant.
The prelates of the church of France are as fol lows : The next in rank are the vicars-general, to the number of more than 100 ; and the chanoines or canons, who also exceed 100; after which come the cure's or established curates, in number nearly 3000, and divided into three classes (first, second, and third), with incomes of only L.40, or L.60. but with certain emoluments, from surplus feel, which vary according to the population of their respective districts. Lastly come the desservants or acting curates, of whom there is one in almost every coun try commune or parish in the kingdom, amounting, in all, to above 23,000, but with incomes of only between L.20 and L.30 a year ; a pittance equal to about L. 40 in England, but still too small to provide for even the limited wants of a state of celibacy. There are also a number of succursales, or chapels, appended to large parishes ; but of these a consider able number (at present about 2000) are vacant from want of funds, bad repairs of the building, and other causes. These various appointments are all paid out of the public treasury. The expence of the Catholic church to the nation is (Budget 1819) L. 1,100,000 Sterling a year, but as there are other heads of disbursement, particularly salaries to Pro testant ministers, the total ecclesiastical charge Is about L.1,300,000.