Was St. Peter Ever At Rome

A publio raooting was held in Romo, in February laat, to disouss tho validity of the Papal assuinption that St. Poter was in that oity in tho year of our Lord 12 : that ho held tho pontifieate of Eome twonty-flve yeare, and in tho yoar G6, under tho reign of Neio, died thcre, o inartyr to the faith. Nothing that has happonod, not even tho establishment of a Biblo Society in Eome, better illustrates the marvellous chango which tho politioal events of the past year have wrought iu the metropolis of Christendom. Tho Popo ehouod his scnso of its significanco by prohibiting his clorgy froui continuing the discussion, in which ho originally authorized them to pmticipate, and by ordoring a Bolemn Tritluum to bo culobratad in 8t. Poter's with the view of making amends to the injurod apostlo for tho publio expression " of such outrageous doubts" in the city whore ho had planted his chureh. Tho question of St. Petor's reaidönoo at Home had often been raiaed before, and howevor ably it may havo been treatcd by the respectod disputante in the reeont disoussion, it is hardly possible thatthey oould have added much to the strenglh of either position. The importanoo of their debate, however, at this time, and in the eity of Eome, is not to be moasured by tho novolty or familiarity of tho arguments employed. It is probably the first time that the Catholic public ovor dared to lend its ears to the consideration of Buoh doubts. The secular orín which in the earlior days of the papacy prevonted Buch controversias from Teaching its lay 8ubjeots,-is now stayed ; tho thunders of tho Vatican, if thoy do not sleep, are comparatively innoouous ; and thero are very ïew or no secular prinees loft who are able and willing to servo as Papal in quisitors. Ilundreds and thousunds of Oatholics will be led by this diecussion to look into a question so vital to the church in which thoy have been rearcd, and to read aud weigh a class of argumenta to which their minds would have been quito inaccossible even one short year ago. But tho whole fabric of the Papacy n -sta upon its unqualifiod faith in tho dogma hore again put in oontroversy ; for, if St. Peter was ever at Itome, or was not thcre nndor such conditious of notoriety as must nooeuarily have attached to his ecolesiastical sovereignty, with all its present pontifical prerogatives, then the apostolic chain by which the Papacy claims to descend from Christ, :md through which its present spiritual authority is dorived, laoks tho first link, and every sacceeding link, like tlio flret, must be spurious. Next to tho inspiration of the Bible, there is probably 110 question in controversy among men involving u wider range of consequences t'uan this which has suddenly come to disturb the repose of the venerable incumbont of tho Vatioan. Havo nll tho nations of the eartli for the last eightoen centurios been the victima of a gigantic fruud ? IIus tho Boiuan Catholio world for that period been rulud, and is it still rutad, by i BUOcession of conscious or uucouscious impostors ? Is tho whole theory of Papal Bupremacy a foruery and a f rand? Hns all the blootl spilt in its defer.ee, or in the wars and prosecutions of its provocacation, been wastod ? These ra tions tho agitation of which is no louger to bo confinod to the seclusion of thu cloister or to bo " veiled in tho obscurity of a learned language." They present living, pruotical, vital issues, and iuvolvo consequences ander the mero conception of which the imaginatiOQ stagger?. Jiy the decisión which is now tu be givcii thi.Tii, it is not improbable that the world