THE CRISIS IN BELGIUM.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 73, 19 September 1874, Page 8

THE CRISIS IN BELGIUM.

(From a correspondent of the ' London Tablet.) Withijt the last few day's Catholic Belgium has passed through an all-important crisis. The agitation here has been inteuse, and I veiy much doubt whether the importance of the interests at stake has been, as jet appreciated by our Catholic brethren in .England. According to the Belgiau Constitution, one half of the Parliament had to offer itself for re-election this yenr, aud on the result of this election depended tlio fate of the present Catholic Ministry, and therefore, of the welfare of the Catholic body of Belgium. Within the last few yeara the Liberal pavty have been making Herculean efforts ; in many ways they had vastly improved their forces and their positions and th-?re was the greatest fear in many minds of their ultimate success. The (catholics, of course, could not behindhand, and every nerve has been B<ra ; ned, every human means that seemed possible has been developed in order to secure the victory. The excitement has been steadily growing for the lust few months. Not only the scenes in the Chamber, but still more, perhaps, the exertions of the newspapers on both sides hare borne witness to this. To the ' Bien Pubic of G-hent-. p.v&ry praise is due for its untiring drilling of the Catholic electors. ludeed, the press, in. one shape or another, plays the chief parts in these contests. Newspapers, placards, letters are constantly being issued, and | on the eve ot an election all available hands are set to work, even on the mechanical part of the business. lam told, for instance, that at Ghent the Catholic students devote themselves at such a time to turning the rollers, cutting, folding, and whatever other duties are connected with the mysteries of printing. Indeed, the G-hent eloction has been the central point of the whole campaign, and on Ghent depended in the long run the wholo chain of results. The city itself would decidedly be a thoroughly uuCatholic constituency, but. it is the Catholic peasanty .of the surrounding district who alter tho face of affairs. This makes the struggle difficult for us, because tho poor Catholic peasantry have to be instructed, drillod, and protected, not only for sophistry, but even. from open violence. For the study burghers have lost nono of the warlike and turbulent spirit which made them famous for several centuries, since the time when they defeated Edward I. of England with his 25,000 men in the 13th century, and held their own against

•the Countof Flanders and the French King under the Van Arteveldes in the 14th. In fact, the elections in that town are almoat invariably the ecenei of groat rioting, and the Catholics, even when victorious, cften come off badly in the matter of broken windows, or even more eerioua damage. On this present occasion almost anything was -anticipated. On Saturday, the ' Bien Public ' Btrove to fortify its readers by the example of the Irish Catholics under O'Oonnell, and -occupied its first page with yivid sketches of the " Liberator " and his agitation. On Sunday, the " Veni Creator " was ordered to be sung in all the churches for the success of the Catholic cause. The same •day happening to be the Sunday within the Octave of Corpus Christi, the grand annual procession of the Blessed Sacrament took place through the town. The procession was a marvellous success, attended by the cavalry and infantry, as well as by a vast body of religious, ■prie-ts and laics, altogether making a procession, it id said, of some $0,000 people. Strange to say, no di-turbance took place, though gra»e fears were entertained. I, myself, was in Ghent thab day, and found the town strangely quiet- On Monday, the Catholic organ' made its final appeal to the Catholic votm. " Vote for the Liberals, •and you will have a Liberal Ministry. With a Liberal Ministry, Bisanarek is already at the gates of Brnssels ! " Yesterday (Tuesday) the different elections took pince ; of course the various results are anxiously received here in Lorraine. A large body of the University ■students and others assembled at the station in the afternoon, waiting for the telegraphic announcements, and all the favorable despatches 'vreve welcomed with cries of applause. At last the telegram came from Ghent. The facteur or telegraph employe rushed forward, and readout: "Gand; victoire complete des Catholiques ! " The enthusiasm of the Btudents knew no bounds ; with loud cries of Vive les Catholiques ! and even Vive les Culottes 1 (»i nickname of the priests jind clerics, who wear the ecclesiastical knee-breeches) they rushed "forward, seized the facteur, hoisted him on their shoulders, and curried him about in triumph. Thus the Catholic cause has been successful, "for all the members returned by Ghent are Catholic ; and, as before remarked, the Ghent election decides the whole campaign. In anticipation of serious rioting large forces of both cavalry and infantry had been sent from various paits to the turbulent city ; but fortunately, though there were some commotions and a certain amount of rough Tvork, no very grave disturbance occurred ; a result probably owing to the precautions taken.