By the 32a Article of the Concordat of King Pedro Io it appears, that the Pope having complained of a refusal to admit his apostolic letters without a royal beneplacitum, and having required the abrogation of this pretension on the part of the Portuguese monarch, the latter replied, ▾ That such letters must be exhibited to him, that he must examine them, and that then, he would cause them to be published in proper form. » From the 824 article of the Concordat of King John I° it is also evident, that the Pope having renewed this complaint, the King declared, as his final answer. « That « in this matter he had not introduced any innovation; « that he had merely followed the invariable example of « his predecessors, who, apprehending that letters or mandates injurious to the interests of the crown might be published, had determined to take this precaution; and that « for his part, he was resolwed that the practice should « still continue and be preserved inviolate. » In the same manner, Egidio Martius, and Pedro di Valasco, the Ambassador of John I° at the Council of Constance, protested formally, at the 22a session of that council, against the attempt which was then made to establish the claim of introducing papal mandates into Portugal without the consent of the crown. Afterwards, Affonço Vo published a law (of which a translation is annexed), entitled, Concerning Letters from the Court of Rome, or from the Grand Master, which are not to be promulgated without the King's letters, permetting such promulgation. In this law three possible cases are stated, in which the crown would be justified in withholding its consent to the publication of papal rescripts. The third of these cases is that of the letters or re« scripts being contrary to the King's rights, contrary to his jurisdiction, or contrary to the good of the Kingdom and to "that of the natives of it, or of the King's subjects in general. » « Although the right of the crown to interfere in the publication of letters from Rome, had thus become as it were an essential part of the Portuguese constitution, King John II. thought proper, in 1486, to give it up, in compliance with the desire of Innocent VIII, and for the purpose as well of ingratiating himself with the clergy, whose junction with the mal-contents in Portugal he had every reason to apprehend, as of obtaining from the Pope his consent to an impost of one-tenth upon ecclesiastical property. A passage from the admirable chronicles of Garcia Resende, containing an account of this affair, is translated and enclosed herewith. However, the crown lawyers, and the principal jurisconsults of the Kingdom, made strong representations to the King against the impolicy and danger of this concession, and in the following reigns the ancient custom of the Kingdom was restored, and a new law, reviving the royal prerogative as set forth in the ordinance of Affonço V. and proclaiming it in terms of no ordinary force, was promulgated by King Sebastian. It is remarkable, that neither the ordinance of Affonço, nor the new law of Sebastian, is tho be found in the Philippine code, published after the usurpation of the Portuguese throne by Philip of Spain. The circumstance of the history of that period, and of Philip' relations with Rome, will sufficiently explain this omission. After the restoration of the house of Bragança, the sovereigns of Portugal renewed with energy the exercise of their right to subject to examination all mandates coming from Rome. Various new regulations were also made respecting the admission of nuncios from the Papal See; their letters facultative were rendered liable to revision by the ministers of the crown, and the powers granted in those letters were occasionally retrenched, as occurred particularly in the case of the nuncio, Lucas Tempi, in 1744, and in that of Felippe Accioli, in 1754. But the most memorable exercise of this restrictive privilege on the part of the crown took place in the reign of King Joseph Io who refused, in various instances, to suffer the publication of papal rescripts within his dominions. By a law dated on the second of April 1768, the famous bull, denominated Coena Domini, was prohibited, together with rescripts, relating to Indices Expurgatorii; by another law, dated on the thirtieth of the same month, and in the same year, the apostolic letters, excommunicating the Duke of Parma, were rejected; and by a decree of August the twenty-eighth, likewise of that the year, bull called Animarum Saluti experienced similar treatment. The law of May the sixth 1765, proclaims anew the right of the sovereign to refuse the admission of papal mandates ; ad it is, a curious fact, that the principal circumstance which led to the promulgation of this law was the capture of a Spanish frigate (the Hermione), by an English line-. of-battle ship, on the coast of Algarve. A box of papers, relating to ecclesiastical matters, found on board the prize, was given by the English captain to the Marquis de Louriçal, govornor of Algarve. Among those papers were discovered various documents, of a tendency so alarming to the temporal interests of the crown of Portugal, that the King's procurador, or attorney-general, incorporated them into the celebrated memorial which he presented to the King, datedon the of May, and which formed the basis of the law above-mentioned. Notwithstanding the jealousy of the Kings of Portugal, in rendering the authority of the Pope within their dominions entirely secondary to their own, I do not beliove that there exists any law in Portugal rostraining the powers of the inquisition. On the contrary, it is expressly stated (in the Ordens do Reino, Tit. 6, Liv. II.) that the sentences of the inquisition are to be executed without any previous examination whatever. I add a translation of this document, which proceeds on the principle, that the inquisition is not an organ for the publication of doctrines, but a tribunal taking cognizance of offences. Since the removal of the court to Brazil, I do not conceive that any changes hawe taken place in the Portuguese laws affecting the power of the Papal See. It is true that the board for « direction of the affairs of Rome » has been abolished; but the duties of this board merely regarded the forms of soliciting and registering briefs and dispensations, and its functions are now performed by the Desembargo do Paço. It is also to be observed, that previously to the arrival of the nuncio, the bishops established beyond the seas (os do Ultramar) exercised powers which those of Portugal must have solicited from Rome. Dispensations were granted, and mariages celebrated, which the nuncio afterwards endeavoured to sed aside, an attempt in which he was opposed by the authority of the crown. The court of Brazil has lately interfered, in a very peremptory manner, and under the usual pretext of pro bono pacis, in the violent dispute which took place between the nuncio and the abbot of S. Bento. It dit not, however, pretend to determine the question at issue, and confined itself merely to a positive prohibition of all further discussion. The great diminution which has occured in the number of Portuguese bishops, and the impossibility of applying to Rome for bulls of consecration, will undoubtedly oblige this court, sooner or later, to have recourse to the expedient of a national council, with the intent of reviving the ancient discipline» of the church. presume, however, that the influence of the nuncio will be sufficient to prevent the adoption of this plan, at least during the probably short remainder of his life. With respect to the second question to which your letter refers, I have to observe that, since the extinction of the Jesuits, there does not exist in Portugal any regular ecclesiastical corporation receiving orders from generals or chiefs established in foreign countries: and even if such corporations did exist, I should suppose that mandates addressed to them from abroad would come under the provisions either of the law made by Affonço V. or of the Ordonnaçoes do Reino. Liv. II. Tit. 14. §. 1. which enact, that mandates coming from the rectors or heads of foreign universities shall be subject to revision, and must obtain the royal beneplacitum, previously to admission or publication. I have the honour to be, Sir Your most obedient humble Servant N.o VIII. A. Decreto della Imperatrice delle Russie Catherina II. Concernente li catholici Romani del suo Impero inviato al Senato, il di 17 Gennaro 1782. 1 Nostri antenati, e noi avendo accordato il libero esercizio delle differenti religioni el nostro impero, altre quella della chiesa Romana; e.trovandosi un gran numero di persone, che ne seguono i dogmi ne' differenti siti delle Russie anche i più rimoti, abbiano giudicato necessario nel 1773, di creare per esse un Vescovo fra nostri sudditi, ed abbiamo scelto per una tale dignità il Vescovo Stanislas Tsches Tschersovisch, il quale per le prove non equivoche dateci da lungo tempo del suo ossequio per la nostra persona, per il zelo per la sua chiesa, per la saggezza con cui ha condotto il gregge affidatogli, e per le sue diligenze per il ben publico s'era reso degno della nostra benevolenza. Attualmente rinnovando le nostre cure verso i nostri sudditi fedeli della religione Romana, dopo di aver prese le misure necessarie per la |