the witness and the guardian; the other is variable and accidental, depending upon the conditions of society and of nations. Of the former, the Holy Sacraments, and all that attaches to their administration in form and matter, may be taken as example; of the latter, the laws of benefice and patronage, the forms of tribunals and of procedure. It is obvious that in this latter kind, the last three hundred years have rendered necessary an extensive revision of the Catholic discipline. Benefices, patronage, and tribunals have been swept away in almost every country. The Church has to reorganise itself upon its changeless principles, but in contact with new conditions of society.
Another cause requiring the deliberation of the Church, is the change of its relations, both those of the Holy See, and of the several churches of its communion, to the civil powers of every country. Since the Council of Trent, the revolutions in France, Austria, and Italy have separated the civil powers from the unity of the Church. The nations remain Catholic as before, but many public laws are at variance with the laws of the Church. The old forms of usage and of arrangement need revision, in order to bring into peaceful co-operation the two supreme authorities on which the welfare of society reposes. If the governments of the world know their own highest interests, they will recognise the necessity of entering into loyal and honourable relations of confidence and co-operation with a power
