Pilgrimage from the Alps to the Tiber : $b or, The influence of Romanism on trade, justice, and knowledgeWylie, J. A. (James Aitken)
History
Pilgrimage from the Alps to the Tiber : $b or, The influence of Romanism on trade, justice, and knowledge
Wylie, J. A. (James Aitken)
Catholic Church -- Italy; Italy -- Description and travel
There is a tribunal of appeal for the Romagnias, another for the
Marshes, and a third for the Capitol. Besides these, there are tribunals
of the third class throughout the States. The tribunal of appeal for the
Capitol is the ROMAN ROTA. Before this court our own Henry, and the
other kings of Europe, carried their causes, in those days when the Pope
was really a grand authority, and ruled Christendom. Having now little
business as regards monarchs and the international quarrels of kingdoms,
it has been converted into a tribunal for private suits. It still
shrouds itself in its mediaeval secresy, which, if it robs its decisions
of public confidence, at least screens the ignorance of its judges from
public contempt. There are, besides, the tribunals of the _Signatura_
and of _Cassation_, in which partiality examines, incompetence
pronounces judgment, delays exhaust the patience and the money of the
suitors, and the decent veil of a dead language wraps up the illegality.
Besides these, there are the _exceptional_ tribunals, which are very
numerous. Among them the chief is the _ecclesiastical_ jurisdiction, so
extensive, that it is sufficient that some very trifling interest of a
priest, or of some charity fund, or even of a Jew or a recent convert,
is concerned, to transfer the cause to the bar of the privileged
tribunal. The jurisdiction of the exceptional tribunal is exercised in
the provinces by the vicar-general of the bishop; and in Rome the suits
are laid before the private auditors of the cardinal-vicar, and of the
bishop _in partibus_, his assistant. The auditors pronounce judgment in
the name of the cardinal or the bishop, who signs it without any
examination on his part. The suits which concern the public finances are
decided by the exceptional tribunal, and a tribunal called the "_Plena
Camera_" (full chamber); and any private person who might chance to gain
his cause is condemned, as an invariable maxim, to pay the costs.
Exceptional tribunals are to be found in very many parochial places,
especially in those parishes near Rome where the judges are named by,
and are removable at the will of, the baron. It can easily be imagined
what sort of a chance any one may have who should have a suit with the
baron. Besides all these, we must not omit the _Reverend Apostolical
Chamber_, always on the brink of bankruptcy, which has been in the habit
of exacting contributions, that they may sell to speculators the
revenues of succeeding years. Thus private families, invested with
iniquitous privileges, extort money from the unfortunate labourers, by
royal authority and the help of the bailiff.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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