PRUSSIA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 79, 31 October 1874, Page 11

PRUSSIA.

(From the Berlin Correspondent of the Tablet.) Beelix, August 5, 1874. The Government here are hunting up the Catholic Unions, aud'themeasures taken in accordance with Bismarck's orders for the suppression of Catholicism have had a tremendous success, but not precisely in the way desired by the Government. The late tyrannical proceedings against the Catholics have obliged them to stand together. Their motto now is, "Right Forward! " defence by all lawful means. A new manner of fight is to be adopted, a manner which is neither against conscience nor law, but very puzzling for those who think they can attain every purpose by arbitrary violence. The firstmeasurehas been the establishment of a general Catholic Society here in Berlin, to which, every faithful Catholic should belong ; then the Catholic nobility areto retire from every public office save the new society. Ladies and. genllemen are neither to show themselves at Court nor in any other public place during the time that the persecution is carried on by the. Government ; no balls, no festivities will be attended by them nor by any other Catholics whatever, and this course will bs adopted throughout the whole kingdom, nay, throughout the German Empire. Kaiser William's pride will suffer by this as it has deserved to do. Iv Ministerial circles the news has already produced a sensation and not a little anger, and the more so as neither by law nor by force can they oppose such tactics. Now a letter takes thirty-six: hour 3 from the time it is posted afc Kissingen to its delivery here, and yet the orders and instructions for the authorities of the whole kingdom were made, printed, aud sent off by the Prussian Home Office on the evening of the 15th. How is. this possible ? It ought also to be recorded that all our official and semi-official newspapers, even the royal ' Staals-Anzeiger,' reported, that the letters whicli Bismarck seat by post the day after the attempt arrived later than usual at Berlin. I know for certain, and have stated in a former letter, that soon after the telegraph brought the first news from Kissengen a Cabinet Council took place, but I know with equal certainty that the instructions from Kissingen only arrived on the afternoon of the 15th, being written in Bismarck's own handwriting. These facts seem clearly to show that either the Ministers are conjurors, or that all was got ready beforehand. At Posen our Governuenfc has been caught, as in a trap, by its own law. The Governor of that province, according to orders from the Ministry, sent notice to the Chapters of Gnesen and Po3eu to order the clergy of the diocese to say during Mass a prayer of thanks far the happy accouchment of the Princess Albrecht of Prussia. The Chapters answered that they could not obey the order, because as the See was not vacant according to Canon Law they were not entitled to act without the jurisdiction of the Bishop. Upon th> . the same commands were sent to the different deans, but with no better success. The deans replied they could not comply with this command without orders of their ecclesiastical superiors. To excite the "laugh-muscles" of your readers I subjoin another fact quite characteristic of Prussian Protestant intelligoace! Bismarck's " Press- bureaux " published yesterday a letter from certain workiugmen to the Prince, stating how much excitement the " Ultramontane doijigs " had produced. The letter added the assurance that every future bullet fired at Bismarck will cost tlie life of one Catholic Bishop ; a bullet which hits him the lives of two, and if he should be killed, the life of the Pope ! Two working-meu are suspected of having written the letrer, they were seen several times ia conversation with persons known to be in the pay ofHerr Aegidi, the head of the " Pressbureaux," and in the service of the secret police; likowise it was observed that thase workmen have lately 3pent a good deal more moaey than usual, and more than honest wages would have enabled them, to | spend.