discussion of this nature, reason and common sense were in its favour, was not deterred from entering upon it by any fears of the intrigues of the Old Spaniards, the prejudices of the people, or the supposed infallibility of the Pope. The Bull was communicated to the nation at large, as soon as received, in the Government Gazette; and there was certainly nothing that savoured either of bigotry, or superstition, in the notes by which it was accompanied. They contained no affectation of humility, no expressions of an eager desire to be reconciled to the Holy See, but entered boldly into the question of the Pope's Spiritual and Temporal Sovereignty; declared the two to be incompatible; and even hinted, very distinctly, that any farther attempt, on the part of his Holiness, to exercise authority in the affairs of this world, would not only prove unsuccessful, but must lead to the loss of his Spiritual jurisdiction likewise. This manly stand, on the part of the Government, against the encroachments of the Holy See, was received with universal approbation. The Legislatures of the States, the Bishops, and the Cathedral Chapters, all expressed their concurrence in the doctrines laid down in the Circular of the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs: Pastorals were addressed by them, upon the subject, to their respective flocks; and as the influence of the Government and the Church were thus thrown into the same scale, the Enciclica not only failed in creating the desired impression, but produced an
