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 MINNESOTA

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MINNESOTA

the Falls of St. Anthony, Bishop Mathias Loras of Dubviquc, uhose iliocese included the entire region now rallfil Minnesota, visited Fort Snelling and the atljacent Swiss settlement in 1S39, and in the following year sent a missionary to Mmnesota, Father Lucien (ialtier. The latter established himself upon the present site of the metropolitan city of St. Paul, and in the following year built a log chapel which he called by the name of the great Apostle of the Gentiles. The gradual increase of population about the chapel, the development of the community into a village and finally into a large city under the name of St. Paul, constitute an imposing material monument to the missionary zeal of Father Galtier, and for ever associ- ate the name and fame of the capital city of Minnesota with the glories of the Catholic Faith. Minnesota was organized as a Federal territory by Act of Congress of 18411, and, on 11 May, 1S58, its territorial existence terminated and it became a state.

Population. — The population of the state has shown a rapid increase. According to the successive census returns the population was: 172,023 in 1860; 2.'i0,099 in 1865; 439,706 in 1870; 780,773 in ISSO; 1,117,798 in 1885; 1,301,826 in 1890; 1,997,912 in 1905. In that year, the population of the five largest cities was: Minneapolis, 261,874; St. Paul, 197,023; Duluth, 64,942; Winona, 20,334; Stillwater, 12,435. The population of Minnesota according to nationali- ties was thus classified by the census of the year 1905:

Native born 366,767

Minnesota born 1,057,566

Germany 119,868

Sweden 126,283

Norway 111,611

Canada 47,211

Ireland 19,531

Denmark 16,266

England 11,598

Bohemia 8,403

Poland 7,881

Finland 19,847

Austria 14,40.3

Russia 8,835

Scotland 4,651

France 1,277

Wales 1,035

All other Countries 18,345

This makes a total foreign born population of 537,041. The inmates of state institutions, and the 10,225 In- dians in the state at the time of taking the census, are not included in the above figures.

The progress of the Catholic Faith in Minnesota has been marvellous. In 1841 the mission of Father Galtier included some twenty families, and in 1851, when Father Joseph Cretin (q. v.) was named first Bishop of St. Paul, the number of Catholics in Minne- sota is estimated to have been about 1000. In 1888 the See of St. Paul was raised to archiepiscopal rank, the dioceses of St. Cloud, Winona, Duluth, Fargo, Sioux Falls, and Lead becoming later its suffragans. As each of these dioceses is treated in a special article, it will be sufficient to quote here some general statistics for the State of Minnesota, which includes the Arch- diocese of St. Paul and the first three of the above- named suffragans: 1 archbishop; 4 bishops; 602 priests (476 secular) ; 406 churches with resident priests; 168 missions with churches ; 67 missions without churches ; 67 chapels; 1 university; 6 orphan asylums; 14 hospi- tals; 32,426 children in parochial schools; 427,027 Catholics. The recently established Diocese of Crooks- ton, separated from Duluth, will constitute an addi- tional suffragan of St. Paul.

Liberty of Conscience. — The Constitution pro- vides expressly for religious liberty by declaring that " the right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience shall never be in-

fringed nor shall any man be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any religious or ecclesiastical ministry, against his con- sent, nor shall any control of or interference with the rights of conscience be permitted or any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship." It further provides: "' No religious test or amount of property shall ever be retiiiirec.l as a qualifi- cation for any office of public trust vnider the State. No religious test or amount of property shall ever be required as a qualification of any voter at any election in this state ; nor shall any person be rendered incom- petent to give evidence in any court- of law or equity in consequence of his opinion upon the subject of re- ligion." This Constitution has been interpreted by the legislature in the most liberal manner, and Minne- sota has led all of the other states in the Union in pro- viding liberty of conscience and the free exercise of re- ligion in favour of the inmates of penal, correctional, and eleemosynary institutions. The general statutes now in force contain these provisions: "Religious In- struction.— Said Board [The State Board of Control] shall provide at least one hour, on the first day of each week, between nine o'clock a. m. and five o'clock p. m., for religious instruction to inmates of all prisons and re- formatories under its control, during which clergymen of good standing in any church or denomination may freely administer and impart religious rites and instruction tothosedesiringthesame. Itshall provide a private room where such instruction can be given by clergymen of the denomination desired by the inmate, or in case of minors, by the parents or guardian, and, in case of sickness, some other day or hour may be designated ; but all sectarian practices are prohibited, and no officer or employee of the institution shall at- tempt to influence the religious belief of any inmate, and none shall be required to attend religious services against his will" (Revised Laws, 1905, chap. 25, sec. 1903). As to the state prison, the laws provide: " Visitors. — Fees. — The members of the state board of control, the governor, lieutenant governor, members of the legislature, state officers, and regularly authorized ministers of the Gospel may visit the prisoners at pleasure, but no other persons, without special per- mission of the warden, under rules prescribed by said board. A moderate fee may be required of visitors, other than those allowed to visit at pleasure. Such fees shall be used to defray the expenses of ushers for conducting such visitors, for the maintenance of the prison library, the prison band, and other entertain- ments of the inmates" (Chap. 105, sec. 5434).

Regulations Concerning Property. — The Con- stitution of Minnesota provides security for private rights in the declaration that " every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the laws for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property or cliaracter; he ought to obtain justice freely and without purchase; completely and without ilenial; promptly and without delay ; conformably to the laws", and by the further provision that, " private property shall not be taken, destroyed or damaged for pub- lic use, without compensation therefor first paid or secured". To prevent any revival of abuses and monopolies such as grew up under the feudal system, the Constitution contained this provision: "All lands within this State are declared to be allodial, and feudal tenures of every description, with all their incidents, are prohibited. Leases and grants of agricultural land for a longer period than twenty-one years, here- after made, in which shall be reserved any rent or ser- vice of any kind, shall be void."

The statutes of Minnesota provide for the free and untrammelled acquisition of real property, and also for abundant security to its possessor. Estates in lands are divided by statute into estates of inheritance, estates for life, estates for years, and estates at will and by sufferance. The decisions of the Supreme Court