of affairs which weighed upon it in the interminable Conclave held at Viterbo. The expedient of delegating to a small committee of Cardinals the power which the whole body found itself too much torn by dissension to exercise, has been resorted to on several occasions, and is still considered in Rome as not obsolete. The most memorable instance of its application was furnished when the impossibility for the Cardinals assembled in 1304 to agree on a candidate induced them to intrust the election to a delegation out of their own body, which gave to the Church Pope Clement v. (1305-14), who then transferred to Avignon the Holy See. It is affirmed by the Cavaliere Borgia, in the life he wrote of his uncle, Cardinal Borgia,* that when the Conclave held at Venice, after the decease of Pius VI. (1799), reached the third month, it was contemplated to invest nine Cardinals, amongst whom was his uncle, with the duty of selecting a Pope, and that the idea was not followed up only because at the nick of time the votes of the College happily concurred in creating Pius VII. It is true that here again Consalvi's Memoirs fail in speaking to the correctness of this assertion; but, as we have before remarked, the absence of such confirmation in this quarter does not seem to us of itself necessarily to invalidate its authenticity. Gregory xv. has closely prescribed the forms to be employed for the mode of election, but they are not of his own invention, being only an adaptation of those already contained in an ancient Ritual by Cardinal Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi, to be found in Mabillon's Museum Italicum. The ordinary election by ballot is performed by two processes repeated daily, one in the forenoon, which is a simple ballot; the other in the afternoon, which consists in the process technically called of acceding, whereby an elector, revoking his morning's ballot, transfers his vote to some one whose name had that morning already come out of the ballot-box. Hence the designation of the supplementary ballot, for in it the faculties of electors are strictly limited to the power of adhering to some Cardinal whose name at the early ballot has been drawn. The voting papers are square, and folded down, so as at each end to have a sealed portion, within the upper one of which is written the voter's name, to be opened only under special circumstances; and in the other, sealed with the same seal, some motto from Scripture, which, once adopted, must be the same at all ballots,

*Notizie Biografiche del Card. St. Borgia del ch. Constantino Borgia, 1843.

and serves ordinarily as the means for identification of the vote. In the middle space, which is left open, stands the name of the candidate. Advancing to the altar, after a short prayer in silence, and an oath aloud, wherein the Saviour is called to witness that the vote about to be given is dictated by conscientious convictions, each Cardinal drops his paper in the chalice upon the altar. When all have voted, the examination of the papers is made by the scrutators, three Cardinals selected by lot, who successively hand to each other every paper, which is by the last filed on a pin. Should a candidate come out with just a majority of two-thirds, it then becomes necessary to open the upper folded portions of the ballot-papers, with the view of ascertaining that this majority is not due to the candidate's own vote; it being not lawful for a Pope to be the actual instrument of his own creation. In the case of no adequate majority, these papers are preserved, so as to be able to check, through the mottoes, the votes given in the supplementary ballot, it being, of course, unlawful for a Cardinal to repeat a second vote in behalf of the candidate for whom he had already voted in the morning. The form of tendering this second vote is by writing' Accedo domino Cardinali,’ while those who persist in their morning's choice insert the word 'Nemini.' Should both ballots fail in producing the legal majority, then the papers are burnt, while in all cases the portion containing the voter's name is to be opened by the scrutators only in the event of some suspicion of fraud or of a vote being invalid, through some violation by the elector of the prescribed forms. In the Conclave of 1829 Cardinal Castiglione came out of the ballot with thirty-five votes, against twenty for Cardinal Gregorio, and twelve for Capellari, afterwards Gregory XVI.

On examining the papers, the serutators, however, found two votes dropped into the afternoon ballot with mottoes that did not tally with any amongst the morning's votes. Two Cardinals are named as suspected of having committed this act, probably with the vain hope of defeating Casti glione's election. All it effected was to vitiate the ballot of the day, and on the following morning Castiglione became Pius VIII. by an increased majority. The election of Urban VIII. (1623) was put off for a day by a yet more unworthy trick. When the papers were being looked through one was found wanting, and, although the canonical majority had been secured, the election was nevertheless void-as every Cardinal in Conclave must lodge his vote. Suspicion fell on one of the scrutators, who is believed

to have abstracted the paper from the chalice, and dropped it into his sleeve, solely to prevent an otherwise inevitable result from being arrived at that morning.

The narratives of Conclaves are filled with accounts of election manoeuvres practised by plotting Cardinals with the view of bringing about, by underhand tactics, some preconceived result. The whole system of these proceedings bears the visible impress of that cautious and cunning temperament which never operates but under a mask, and never contemplates to work otherwise than by stratagem. Of these tricks the most common-indeed so common as to be an established feature in Papal elections-is the naming of sham candidates by the rival sections. The general object of this device is to elicit the exercise of the veto vested in certain Catholic sovereigns, and which can be given but once. If it be intended to carry a Cardinal known to be obnoxious to a sovereign possessed of this privilege, then some other Cardinal, also known to be distasteful to him, is started, and pushed to the very verge of the required majority, in the hope of causing the veto to be pronounced, when no obstacle from that quarter can any longer stand in the way of the concealed candidate, who had all along been the real object of predilection. The origin of this privilege of excluding from the Papacy is involved in mystery, but its existence is formally recognised by the Court of Rome, although there has been much dispute about the claims which the Crowns of Portugal and Naples always put forward to its possession.* As regards France, Austria, and Spain, the privilege is, however, absolute; and its exercise is surrounded with all the accurate formality of a publicly admitted right. On the occurrence of a Conclave, the secret determination to protest against particular Cardinals is confided by each Court to some member of the Sacred College, who is trusted with the duty of making this known at the proper moment; or, in the event of a Court having no Cardinal on whose fidelity it can rely, then this knowledge is deposited with the Cardinal Dean. For a protest to have effect it must, however, be lodged before a canonical majority has been actually obtained; for a Pope, once created according to the prescribed forms, cannot be unmade by the intervention of any power. So it is said that in 1823 Leo XII. owed his election to a surprise-the French Cardinals, Clermont and De la Fare, who were instructed to exclude him, having been

outwitted by the stealthy suddenness of the final ballot. The latest instance of exclusion was in 1831, when Cardinal Giustiniani was excluded by Spain, at which Court he had been Nuncio. Moroni gives a detailed account of the proceedings observed on this occasion. The Cardinal was visibly on the verge of election; on the day's ballot he counted twenty-one votes, and it wanted only twenty-nine to secure his triumph, when Cardinal Marco-y-catalan informed Cardinal Odescalchi, nephew to Giustiniani, and the Cardinal Dean Pacca, that he was charged to exclude him by order of the King of Spain. The communication was not expected, and doubt was expressed as to the reality of this expressed intention. Thereupon Cardinal Marco produced a letter from the Spanish Ambassador, Gomez Labrador, dated 24th December 1830, instructing him, 'at the express order of his Catholic Majesty, to exclude his Eminence Cardinal Giustiniani from the pontifical throne.' This despatch the Cardinal Dean then read out to his assembled colleagues before procecding to the morning ballot on the 9th January; after which Cardinal Giustiniani addressed them, expressing ignorance of what he could have done to make the King of Spain take this step, but professing to thank him for the greatest favour he could have bestowed by keeping him from the Papal throne.* Semel exclusus semper exclusus' is a saying not absolutely true; for Clement VIII. had been excluded in three Conclaves by Spain, and Innocent x. was elected with a French exclusion suspended over him. As for the category of Cardinals who have the best chances of gaining the suffrages of their colleagues, there is a Roman proverb which says that three are the streets leading

*At the Conclave of 1824 Austria excluded Car

dinal Severoli through the agency of Cardinal Albani. A despatch of the Sardinian representative in Rome, published in the valuable appendix plomazia Europea in Italia, dell' anno 1814 all'

to the second volume of Bianchi's Storia della Di

anno 1861, gives very curious details of the incidents that marked this proceeding. The veto was so unpopular, that it was sought to be set aside on invested with the formal authority to exercise this the plea of Cardinal Albani's not having been duly privilege on its behalf by the Court of Vienna; so that Severoli continued to poll votes after the pro

scend to Italy.

exclusion (gli da una formale esclusive).'

and Lungara (long street): which is taken to mean that much outward show of devotion, expenditure of money, and an industrious swarming up the ladder of ecclesiastical routine, are the three safest means of reaching the Pope's throne.

In canon law there are no limitations no limitations restricting the selection of Pope within the body of Cardinals. It is true that since Urban vI., in 1378, no one below this rank has mounted the chair of St. Peter, but still it is worthy of note that this now established practice exists in virtue of no higher sanction than custom, and that there is nothing in canon law to render invalid even the choice of a layman for the Papacy.t John XIX. (1024) and Adrian v. (1276) were certainly laymen, and the latter furnishes the conclusive precedent establishing that a Pope acquires all the plenitude of his supreme authority by the simple act of election, for Adrian v. died without taking any orders, aud yet he promulgated decrees modifying the whole system of Papal elections, which by his successors, were held to be invested with all the sacredness of Pontifical utterances. Adrian v. ruled but twenty-nine days, in which interval he repealed of his authority the electoral constitution of Gregory x., which remained in abeyance until Celestine v., after six stormy elections, revived it in 1292. Undoubtedly such cases must be set down as obsolete in the concrete, yet at a critical moment like the present, when the Court of Rome is again imminent ly exposed to transformation, it is well to note remarkable instances of exceptional interventions which have been admitted by it, as at all events not beyond the pale of its principles.

In practice the final ballot is a mere formality. As soon as it is perceived that a canonical majority in favour of a candidate is really commanded, the matter is made. known to the opposite party, so that acquiescing in defeat, its members may join in waiting on the future Pope the evening be

*There are three streets in Rome with these names.

There is indeed a decree by Stephen 11., 769, against the election to the Papacy of any one not an ordained Cardinal, but this decree, which was levelled against the anti-Pope Constantine, who happened to be a layman, has never been invoked on the occasion when the choice of the Sacred College fell on an individual not of their body, nor is there any other pontifical utterance on record in the same sense. Moroni himself admits that John XIX. was a layman when elected, but preserves an ambiguous language in regard to the case of Ad

rian v.

fore proclamation, and when the Cardinals, on the last morning, proceed to ballot, they do so, as a rule, with the perfect knowledge that they are going through a mere formality.

As soon as the ballot has furnished a return with a majority of two-thirds,—the scrutators having satisfied themselves in the event of its being a bare majority, that this is not due to the successful candidate's own vote, and he himself has accepted the choice fallen on him, the Conclave is declared at an end, the doors are thrown open to the world, and in the chapel, where all the canopies are instantly lowered, except that over the newly elected, the Pope receives the homage of the assembled Cardinals, which is called the first act of adoration. Then, from the reopened balcony window, which has been walled up, the Cardinal Dean proclaims the new Pope, whose acclamation by the applauding Roman people is formally attested in a deed drawn up then and there by an appointed notary. Since the Quirinal has become the site for Conclaves, it has been customary to postpone the remaining cere monies till the following day, when the Pope proceeds first to the Sistine Chapel, and afterwards down to St. Peter's, into which he is borne upon the sedes gestatoria to receive the second and third adorations. Seated on a cushion placed upon the high altar, the Pope has his foot and hand kissed in succession by each Cardinal, whom he in return embraces on both cheeks, the Cardinal Dean opening the ceremony and chanting the Te Deum, while his colleagues are performing their parts. This over, the Pope bestows upon the assembled multitude his public benediction; after which he returns to his residence every inch a Pope.* There are indeed two other remarkable cer

*

Qui

Pope is consummated has been accurately discussed The question as to when the creation of a by Catholic writers, and it has been distinctly laid down by the highest authorities that election of itself invests a Pope with plenary powers. eligitur Rom. Pontifex,' says Bellarmine, De Rom. Pont. lib. ii. cap. 22, eo ipso sit Pont. summus Ecclesiæ totius, etsi forte id non exprimant electores.' Clement v. excommunicated those who asserere non verentur quod summus Pontifex ante suæ coronationis insignia se non debet intromittere de provisionibus, reservationibus, dispensationibus et aliis gratiis faciendis;' and Moroni, who enters at length upon the question, and must be considered the organ of the Court of Rome, declares that a Pope must necessarily be in possession of all his power from the instant of election, although he admits that this opinion has prevailed in the Church only since the days of Adrian v., the Pope who died a layman.

emonies of ancient origin connected with the | installation of a Pope which must be noticed; but neither will be found to involve on his part any formula of oath or obligation. At an early day after election, in general on the following Sunday, the Pope is enthroned in St. Peter's, when he is crowned with the celebrated triple crown, the tiara. The ceremonies observed on this occasion are in part marked with a strange symbolism. In the Atrium of St. Peter, opposite the walled-up gate called La Porta Santa, which is opened only in the years of Jubilee, the Pope, seated on a throne, receives first the homage of the archpriest and all the clergy attached to the Basilica. This over, he is carried in procession up the church to the Chapel of St. Gregory, which is converted into a robing-room. On issuing from it a Master of the Ceremonies suddenly steps forward, and arresting the Pope on bent knee holds up to him a silver rod tipped with a bundle of tow, which a clerk sets on fire from a taper in his hand, the former officer singing aloud, Sancte Pater, sic transit gloria mundi.' This curious piece of symbolism is repeated twice. At the high altar the Pope is clothed with the Pallium, and on the termination of mass, during which occurs the homage of clergy of all ranks, the Pope is borne in procession up to the balcony overlooking the piazza of St. Peter, where, in presence of the assembled people, the mitre having been first removed, there is placed on his head the renowned triregnum, by the second senior Cardinal Deacon, who pronounces the words, Accipe tiaram tribus coronis ornatam et scias te esse patrem principum et regum, rectorem orbis, in terrâ vicarium Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, cui est honos et gloria in sæcula sæculorum.' And with this ends the coronation after the giving of the benediction, which always follows every Papal appearance in public.* The other ceremony is the taking possession by the new Pope of the Lateran Basilica, the Metropolitan Church not merely of Rome, but the Universe, as stands written

upon the inscription on its front. On this occasion, the Pope traverses the whole city of Rome in solemn procession, accompanied by all the Cardinals and the representatives of all the ecclesiastical hierarchy connected with the Court of Rome. Down to a very recent time it was customary for the Pope to ride a white steed, and to be escorted by the Sacred College on horseback. When Pius IX. made his progress to the Lateran, he expressed his desire to revive the practice, but the idea was abandoned owing to the remonstrances of the many very aged Cardinals, who protested their incapacity to sit on their horses for so long a ride. was also the custom for the Jews to line the portion of the way between the Arch of Titus and the Coliseum, and there to present in sign of homage a copy of their law to the Pope; but since Pius VI.'s time they have been dispensed from this service. The ceremony in the church itself offers nothing that calls for special observation. It is simply an act of taking possession, unaccompanied by anything which implies a conditional tenure dependent on the observance of any specified and defined vows.

In the controversy waged as to what Pius Ix. should do in regard to recent events, the advocates of a policy of acquiescence in what has befallen his temporal estate, have been freely met by the assertion that as Pope he is bound by oaths which absolutely interdict his doing so. On looking into the matter it will appear however, that this is not correct. Whatever oaths Pius IX. has taken have been sworn to by him freely, and of his own accord, in the plenitude of his authority, and not at all as conditional to his acquisition thereof; as happens with Cardinals who are invested with the berretta only after having repeated a prescribed oath. No Pope is subjected to any oath whatever, on being elevated to his supreme dignity, and if, at a later moment, it has been customary to swear the observance of certain ancient constitutions there is nothing to distinguish between the binding force of this oath and that of other oaths from which Popes are universally held to be able to absolve themselves, and from which, regard to the very points under discussion, they have actually on several occasions dispensed themselves.

Nevertheless it is a received custom for Popes to swear the observance of certain Bulls and Constitutions-amongst which is one having special reference to the preservation free from waste of the endowments of the Church,-but these oaths are taken of their own free will, and in the exercise of their absolute powers, and by no means as necessary to their legitimate acquisition of full