. Portrait gallery of eminent men and women of Europe and America : embracing history, statesmanship, naval and military life, philosophy, the drama, science, literature and art, with biographies . ich led him to draw out on paper asystem of political amelioration forthe Papal States. On his return toEurope, he was appointed prelate ofthe household to Pope Leo XII., andpresident of the hospital of St. holding this post his time waschiefly devoted to the education of theyouth of Rome, and certain statedpreaching. In 1829, he was nomina-ted Archbishop of Spoleto, from whichhe was t
. Portrait gallery of eminent men and women of Europe and America : embracing history, statesmanship, naval and military life, philosophy, the drama, science, literature and art, with biographies . ich led him to draw out on paper asystem of political amelioration forthe Papal States. On his return toEurope, he was appointed prelate ofthe household to Pope Leo XII., andpresident of the hospital of St. holding this post his time waschiefly devoted to the education of theyouth of Rome, and certain statedpreaching. In 1829, he was nomina-ted Archbishop of Spoleto, from whichhe was translated in 1832 to the seeof Imola, where his charities to thepoor greatly endeared him to his Ions: afterwards he was sent toNaples as Apostolic Nuncio, and in1840, he Avas raised to the dignity ofa cardinal, and in June 1846, on thedeath of Pope Gregory XVI, he waselevated to the jiapacy. The condition of aifairs in the ^alStates at this time was such as to callfor a large measure of reform. Thenew Pojje found the financial systemon the verge of national bankruptcy;the system of taxation was expensiveand capricious; and high posts of theadministrative and executive depart-. a /?/«/ / / //. PIUS THE NINTH. 559 ments were openly bought and prevailed largely in highquarters ; the army was filled withmercenaries; civilians were excludedfrom official life; and the veiy ideaof representation was unknown. TheStates themselves were under Austrianprotection ; and the Austrian govern-ment, according to its traditionarycustom, was Jealous of all improve-ments, both civil and social. Pius said to have found on his accessionno less than two thousand of his sub-jects in exile or in prison by order ofthe Austrian authorities. Some at-tempts at political reform in thePapal States had been made by hispredecessor, Gregory, but they wereset aside by the civil disturbances of1830 and 1831. The first step of PopePius was to grant an amnesty to allpolitical o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjec, booksubjectportraits
