It does not appear, so far, that either the emphatic vote of the Cham

ber of Deputies or the reprimand they have received from His Holiness is having a very deterrent effect upon the French clergy. But each succes sive defiance of the is being met with sharp reprisals. Tne Archbishop of Aix, who indulged himself in the luxury of a furious political sermon, has been notified that the Government intend to prosecute him. In ordinary circumstances the Archbishop would have appealed to the Pope, but after flouting His Holiness' message in so marked a way, His Grace of Aix probably feels there is little sympathy to be looked for from that quarter. He has, therefore, instead of consulting the Pope, sum moned a counsel of clergy to advise him in his difficulty. The Bishop of Mende, more audacious than his ecclesiastical superior, has issued a violent political pamphlet, for which the Government are about to bang him to account. Several others who wish ior the honours of a cheap martyrdom have vied with these ecclesiastics in their disloyal utterances, but they have been sharply told that the severest penalties will be inflicted upon priests as well as bishops who thus abuse their office for the purpose of sowing sedition broadcast. If the French hierarchy is so infatu ated as to try its strength with the Go vernment, it'is not difficult to forecast the result. The French Government have had many struggles with the clergy, but they have invariably suc ceeded in ultimately opposing their pretensions with success. No doubt, from the clerical standpoint, the Church of France has endured many wrongs. She is but the shadow of the ancient Gallician Church. Divested of nearly all those powers and prerogatives so dear to theecclesiastical heart, Catholicism in France has to endure the hateful spectacle of rival sects subsidised bf the Government and placed on an equal footing with itself. The French Government are prepared to take still more stringent measures than any they have exercised in the past, and have already significantly hinted at dis establishment if the clergy continue refractory. As the whole clerical body i ate pensioners of the State, this places a tremendous weapon in the hands of the Government. 