Before the slow march and
inconveniences of such a trial, the bishop often avoided giving
judgment, and all the more because his verdicts, even when confirmed
by the ecclesiastical court, might be warded off or rendered
ineffective by the lay tribunal; for, from the former to the latter,
there was an appeal under writ of error, and the latter, a jealous
rival of the former, was ill-disposed towards the sacerdotal
authorities;[29] besides, in the latter case, far more than in the
former, the bishop found confronting him not merely the more or less
legal right of his own party, but again the allies and patrons of his
party, corporations and individuals who, according to an accepted
usage, interfered through their solicitations with the judges and
openly placed their credit at the service of their prot?g?. With so
many spokes in the wheels, the working of an administrative machine
was difficult; to give it effective motion, it required the steady
pressure, the constant starting, the watchful and persistent efforts
of a laborious, energetic, and callous hand, while, under the ancient
r?gime, the delicate white hands of a gentleman-prelate were ill-
adapted to this rude business; they were too nicely washed, too soft.
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