Seats are prepared for 850 Bishops at the Council, but the question whether Bishops _in partibus_ are to have decisive votes is not yet decided. Since, however, their admission will not materially affect the relative position of the two parties, they may be left out of the account. To these voting members of the Council must be added 57 Cardinals, and the number might be raised before its opening to 72, by the bestowal of the 15 hats vacant at present. There are thus about 920 decisive votes, including 40 Italian Cardinals, 294 Italian Bishops, 66 Spanish, 22 Portuguese, 90 French,—in all 512 prelates of the Romance race in Europe, to whom must be added 77 Brazilian, Mexican, and South American Bishops, raising the whole Romance representation to 600 votes. From this number about 60 must be deducted for vacant Italian Sees, and some 140 who may presumably be unable to attend. And so about 400 are left, whose votes, with the exception of a number of French Bishops, are counted upon by the _Curia_. The Court also reckons on the votes of 48 from England and Ireland, 52 from North America, 20 from Greece and Turkey, 6 from Belgium, 5 from Holland, and 16 from Canada. If the Polish and Russian Bishops are allowed to come, they too will swell the majority; and so, it is believed, will the Armenian and Uniate Bishops in Austria, Russia, and Bulgaria, numbering about 40. Of the 65 German and Austrian Bishops scarcely half will side with the Opposition. And so, if matters are to be settled by majorities, the _Curia_ is fully assured of its victory. Cardinal Antonelli counts on from 500 to 600 votes of those actually present.