Page 145 - Transcriptions d'actes notariés - Tome 20 - 1682-1686

Lsn~evin, and ~Iireatened the followers of P. Trembla)., the Liberal
eandidaie, with the maledidons of hell and eternal damnation.
In retaliation the Liherals threatened to contest the validity of the eleetion
before the Courts of Jiistiee, aiid they proceeded to do so as soon as
Langevin was eIeeted. F. Laiigelier, one of the best legaC rninds of
French Canada and n profeseor at Laval University, agreed to argue
that the elergy of Charlevoix had been guiIty of influence indue
spirituelle through their intjinidetion 01 the votera. Tarte, eoiild not,
of course, aecept ihe eharge thst to preach, an exereioe of ptimtly duty,
was in effect intimidation; end so the battle began.

Tarte rejeeted Langlier's ss*r~ion thet the der? had taken part
in ~he election in favour of a psrtirulsr perty. He elainied iii his nen.5-
paper that if the Coiiservatives hail preaehd sueh novel nonaense as the
Liberals, the Chureh would not have hesiiated to lise her authotity to
eriish the party. To him the juetiheation for the pariieipation tif the
clergy in politics resiilved ilself in one fundamenial questioii : "Le vtite
est-il uii aete sueceptihle d'ëlre bon ou méehaiit ?" Aiiswering the
qiiestion iii the affirmative, hr wafi able io argile that someone, therefore,
had ~he dut- "d'éclairer les ronseieiiees" when voters were about to
exerciae their prerogative. This duty fell to the Chureh which had been
founded to lead meii to their eternel destinies. This missioii she
aecomplished throiigh her hishiips aiid priests, whoee responsibility it
was to eoiinsel lheir ilock sgaiiist a certaiii course of action, to make
larvs aiid to appl! sanctions. Thiis it was admiesible that a priest had
the right to say to a peiiitent or to preach from the pulpit that certain
acis were sinful. 011 the otlier haiid, no one could serinusly hold that
"le juge civil viendra se poser en face du prêtre et répondre: Vous
miiiistre de Jésiis-Christ, vous qui avez la mission de conduire lcs
c~nscieiiccs~ vous voiis êtes trompé, il n'y a pas péché dans I'aete que
voiis représentez coninie k1 5 cet hnmmc." And since Catholic-Liberalism
and political liberslim were, in his eyes, the same ~hiiig, the cIergy
were perfectly juvtitied in condemniiig it and those who disobeyed
th en^.'^'

Tarte'* srticles became so violent that Langelier threatened to have
him srrested for intimidation of witnesses and eontemrit of court. Tarte
. ...
refusrd to be delerred and answered Langelier with even more violeiit
srt icles. ' Y ' III Aiigiist Laligelier's patience was exhaiisted. On the
twenty-fi~t the Court issued the warrant for Tarte's arrest but on aecount
of the jllness of Jnst ice Roiithier. his ease was delaved until the thirtiei h.
He wes theii seotenced ~o fifteeii days in jail or to a forty-dollar fiiie.
Tarte in~isted oii the iail term. To frieiids who wiehed to Dav the fine.
. ,
he deelared: "Ce n'eat pas une question d'argent, on doit le compren-
dre."'" Hoivever the cold duiigcons of La Malbaie remained closed to
hjm. After a movjng depsrture frorn Quebec he arrived at the place

(7) Le Candien, August 9, 1076.
(8) Ibid.. 3ee ihe ariicle of July 10, 1816.
(0) Ibid., September 1, 1876.