,,two ,,addresses3 ,,one1 ,,to ,,the ,,gentlemen ,,of ,,whitby1 ,,who ,,signed ,,the ,,requisition1 ,,calling ,a ,,meeting ,,to ,,address ,,the ,,queen1 ,,on ,,the ,,late 7,,so ,,called7 ,,aggression ,,of ,,the ,,pope3 ,,and ,,the ,,other1 ,,to ,,the ,,protestant ,,clergy4 ,,by ,the ,catholic ,priest of ,ugthorp4 ,i would you had been there to see ,how the light blazed up so gloriously4 ,and then in naked majesty1 ,with brow serene1 and beaming placid light1 ,came truth4 ,,whitby3 ,,printed ,,and ,,published ,,by ,,horne ,,and ,,richardson3 ,,sold ,,by ,,richardson ,,sons1 ,,london ,,and ,,derby4 ,,one ,,shilling4 #ahea4 ,,dedication4 ,the following pages are humbly1 and gratefully ,dedicated1 to the ,catholic ,noblemen and ,gentlemen of ,yorkshire1 by the ,catholic ,priest at ,ugthorp4 ,,noblemen ,,and ,,gentlemen1 ,many of you1 lately appeared boldly1 and manfully on the platform at ,york1 in defence of our holy religion4 ,conscious of the justice and innocence of our cause1 you feared neither the sneers1 nor the insults1 nor the shouts1 nor the threats of its enemies1 but1 like your illustrious ancestors1 shewed that you considered your religion1 as your best inheritance1 and held it more dear than life itself2 whilst1 on the other hand1 like your illustrious ancestors1 you shewed that you yielded to none1 in your loyal allegiance to your temporal sovereign1 and to the state4 ,now it would be ungrateful1 nay even base1 in us ,catholic clergymen1 not to second your manly1 and zealous exertions in defence of our ancient1 and holy faith4 ,to you1 therefore1 ,i most humbly1 and gratefully dedicate the following pages4 ,i hope you will find1 that ,i have not advanced in them1 anything that is inconsistent with the principles of truth1 of justice1 and of honour4 ,to have acted otherwise1 would1 ,i am sure 7for ,i have the honour to be personally acquainted with most of you71 be most insulting to your noble1 and liberal feelings1 and would only have served1 to confirm the hostility of the ,protestant1 and to loosen the attachment of the ,catholic1 to that cause1 which ,i had undertaken to defend4 ,noblemen1 and ,gentlemen1 when the ,catholic looks back on the past1 he will learn to hope well of the future4 ,he will observe1 that the irritating objections of former times1 are now almost shamed out of ,parliament1 and can hardly support their credit1 even among the most suspicious1 and least informed ,protestants4 ,he will see1 that our opponents have uniformly been compelled1 to shift their ground from position to position1 and after pertinaciously defending each1 have ended by abandoning it1 and retreating to another4 ,at first1 the ,catholics were accused of favouring the claims of the ,stuarts1 but the extinction of that family1 has put an end to that charge4 ,we were then told1 that the ,catholics1 could not be bound by oath1 though oaths1 had been wisely devised as the best safeguards1 against their supposed perfidy4 ,next1 the fathers of the great ,council of ,latern1 were marshalled against us2 as if men were to be punished at the present day1 because ,protestants will not understand the regulations of feudal ,princes1 and feudal ,prelates six centuries ago4 ,afterwards1 we were reproached with the deposing powers1 and temporal pretensions of the ,pope2 these were set at rest at that time 7and we had hoped for ever17 by the answers of the foreign ,universities4 ,lastly1 came the ,coronation ,oath1 men1 however1 could not be persuaded that the ,sovereign1 by promising to maintain the liberties of the ,protestant ,church1 was bound to deprive of their civil rights all those1 who might dissent from the spiritual creed of that ,church4 ,each of these arguments in its day1 was deemed unanswerable1 but each has yielded to discussion4 ,past advantages1 therefore1 ,noblemen and ,gentlemen1 are an earnest to the ,catholic of future success2 and after the hour of the late excitement1 about the ,pope's temporal and spiritual power1 has passed away1 ,i am sure1 all sensible1 and unbiassed ,englishmen will see1 that the late hubbub1 has been an ignus fatuus of imaginations distorted with fear1 and alarm1 which had well nigh1 misled the whole nation1 into a quagmire of inconsistency1 illiberality and revolution4 ,catholic ,chapel ,house1 ,ugthorp1 near ,whitby1 ,january #bast1 #ahea4 ,,to ,,the ,,reader4 ,reader1 that you may the better understand the two following addresses1 you ought first1 to read the copy of the requisition for the meeting1 c41 which is placed before these two addresses1 and you ought also1 to read the little address which here follows1 and which ,i published to announce1 that the following pages would shortly appear in print4 ,in the notice of the requisition for the public meeting1 c41 you will find these words1 extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the part of the ,pope4 ,now1 reader1 you must remember1 that these memorable words are my grand text1 in the two following addresses4 ,i here beg to offer my sincere thanks to the gentlemen1 who signed the requisition1 for ,i am sure1 if they had studied from the deluge until now1 they could not have given me1 a more suitable text for the ,catholic cause1 and a more destructive one to the ,protestant ,church4 ,but1 reader1 you will be able to judge of this yourself1 after reading the following pages4 ,read first then1 the following little address1 and then read the notice calling the public meeting4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the press1 and in the course of a few weeks will be published1 an ,address to the ,gentlemen who signed the late ,requisition to the ,magistrates of ,whitby1 to call a ,public ,meeting to address the ,queen on the late extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the part of the ,bishop of ,rome4 ,,to ,,the ,,inhabitants ,,of ,,whitby ,,and ,,of ,,the ,,neighbourhood4 ,,inhabitants1 ,i have been lately often asked1 why ,i did not attend the above meeting8 ,i reply1 read my address when it is published1 and you will there find an answer to your question4 ,it is a common observation of sailors1 only give the ship plenty of sea-room in a storm1 and then she will live4 ,now1 inhabitants of ,whitby1 and of the neighbourhood1 if you will give the ,catholic ,church 7or1 if you please1 the ,roman ,catholic ,church7 only the sea-room of fair play1 you will1 perhaps1 find that the bottom and sides of this spiritual ship1 are well coppered with the solid1 and impenetrable metal of good reasons1 and solid arguments1 and that1 full rigged as she is1 with the sails of truth1 of justice1 and of honour1 she can gallantly brave the hurricanes of her enemies1 and ride triumphantly1 amid the storms of spiritual and temporal agitation1 which have lately threatened to shipwreck1 and to sink her4 ,when my address appears1 ,i hope you will find in it1 nothing that is inconsistent with principles of truth1 of justice1 and of honour4 ,to have used any other weapons of defence would1 in my humble opinion1 have served only to strengthen the ,protestant hostility1 and to loosen the ,catholic attachment1 to that cause1 which ,i had undertaken to defend4 ,you will1 of course1 expect a little of the comic1 as coming from my pen1 well1 as the poet says1 ,ridentum dicere verum ,quid vetat8 ,or1 that ,i may not speak in a foreign tongue1 ,what forbids us to tell the truth1 with a smile8 ,of course you will perhaps expect a little innocent stir1 among the ,reverends in my address1 and perhaps1 you may not be mistaken4 ,if you remember1 an illuminated ,cambridge ,divine1 some years ago1 came to ,lythe1 to make an extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the consciences of us ,romanists1 7as he politely styled us71 and learnedly informed us1 that we ,romanists1 were a set of spiritual chickens just hatching1 and that he came to break our spiritual shells1 that he might save the young birds1 from being thrown into the scorching flames of ,purgatory in the next world1 but while the courteous ,clerk1 was performing this charitable office1 to the benighted ,romanists1 he1 himself1 unfortunately1 even in this world1 fell into the flames of purgatory1 which on this side the grave are made to burn1 for those who bear false witness1 against their neighbour2 and it is generally believed1 that he has never as yet been able to raise1 from public opinion1 as much money as will free him1 from those torturing purgatorial flames4 ,oh1 but you will naturally say1 this is an old song1 what has it to do with the present subject8 ,why1 it has a great deal to do with it4 ,certain ,reverends have been lately telling you1 that the ,pope of ,rome1 has just made a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 on the ,protestants of ,england4 ,now you will perhaps find1 from my ,address1 when published1 that even these very ,reverends themselves have been making1 for a long time1 a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the pockets and on the intellects of ,englishmen2 and have thus1 like the illuminated ,cambridge divine1 unfortunately fallen into the very pit1 which they have been so very charitably1 and officiously digging for the poor ,pope4 ,sensible ,englishmen1 when these ,reverends1 would uncharitably excite you against your long much injured1 and unjustly abused ,catholic fellow creatures1 just say to them1 ,reverend gentlemen1 you tell us that the ,scripture 7the book of eternal life and of truth71 teaches ,,charity ,,to ,,all ,,men6 why1 therefore1 should you wish us to exclude the ,catholics from a share of that universal ,charity8 ,and in the next place tell them1 the ,pope and all his spiritual crew are either from ,god or not3 if they are not from ,god1 all their human1 and popish inventions will come of themselves to naught1 and why1 therefore1 should you wish us ,protestants1 to break our charitable heads about them4 ,but if they are from ,god1 how can either you or we fight against them1 unless you arrogantly presume1 that you can conquer the ,almighty6 ,at least1 so teaches the sacred ,scripture1 for does it not thus plainly1 and emphatically say1 ',and now therefore ,i say to you1 refrain from these men1 and let them alone1 for if this counsel or this work be of men1 it will come to naught2 but if it be of ,god1 you cannot overthrow it1 lest perhaps you be found even to fight against ,god4' 7,acts v4 #ch1 #ci47 ,as ,i have been obliged to range in my address1 over an extensive spiritual and temporal moor1 and as ,i have had to bring down1 and bag so much black game1 of course my ,address1 will be of rather an extensive nature4 ,it is1 indeed1 now in the press1 but of course its appearance will1 in some measure1 depend upon the expedition of the printer1 but ,i will promise you1 that it shall be got out of the printer's hands as soon as possible1 and then1 it must appeal to the judgments of sensible and unbiassed minds1 as to its merits1 and demerits4 ,in the mean time1 as ,englishmen always wish to know the text1 ,i will give you the two texts1 which ,i have chosen for the titlepage of my ,address4 ,i would you had been there to see ,how the light blazed up so gloriously4 ,and then in naked ,majesty1 ,with brow serene1 and beaming placid light1 ,came truth4 ,inhabitants1 in conclusion1 ,i confidently appeal to you1 if you ever knew me do an ungenteel act to any ,protestant in point of religion4 ,i have always wished equal rights and equal justice for all1 both for ,protestants and ,dissenters2 ,i have always wished to live in peace and charity with all2 in short1 ,i have always endeavoured to observe1 as far as my human weakness would allow1 that heavenly precept of our divine ,saviour1 ,by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples1 if ye have love for one another2 and ,i can confidently appeal to the public1 if this has not always been the tenor of my conduct4 ,i assure you1 that it is very contrary to my wishes1 to have to appear before you1 with my pen on these occasions4 ,among the ,protestants ,i have many sincere friends1 and of course1 what ,i shall have to advance in my ,address1 may not be very agreeable to their feelings4 ,but as ,i really know1 and conscientiously believe1 that the ,church1 of which ,i have the honour to be a minister1 is really the true ,church of ,christ1 to shrink from its defence for the sake of private feelings1 and private interests1 would1 in my ideas1 be a most base and an unchristian act on my part4 ,i exclaim with the poet1 ,a day1 an hour of virtuous liberty1 ,is worth a whole eternity in bondage4 ,farewell1 inhabitants1 for the present1 and if1 when my ,address appears before the public1 you would like to have a little innocent merriment1 and to hear some plain homely truths1 ,i hope you will not be disappointed if you purchase my ,address4 ,catholic ,chapel1 ,ugthorp1 ,dec4 #bast1 #ahej4 ,,copy ,,of ,a ,,notice ,to the ,worshipful the ,magistrates for the ,division of ,whitby1 in the ,north ,riding of the ,county of ,york4 ,we1 the undersigned ,inhabitants of the ,town and ,neighbourhood of ,whitby1 feeling deeply the propriety of presenting an address to ,her ,majesty1 on the late extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the part of the ,bishop of ,rome1 and expressive of our loyalty and attachment to ,her ,majesty's person1 authority1 and government1 do request that you will be pleased to convene a ,meeting for these purposes1 to be held at an early day1 in some convenient place in the town of ,whitby4 ,dated1 ,november #bast1 #ahej4 ,james ,davidson1 ,minister1 ,john ,fox1 ,minister1 ,joseph ,hughes1 ,minister1 ,francis ,simpson1 ,john ,cass ,potter1 ,independent ,minister1 ,henry ,belcher1 ,william ,john ,bullivant1 ,wesleyan ,minister1 ,thomas ,william ,belcher1 ,thomas ,richardson1 ,john ,blanchard1 ,appleton ,stephenson1 ,james ,walker1 ,john ,chapman1 ,g4 ,h4 ,holtby1 ,gideon ,smales1 ,william ,jameson1 ,henry ,barrick1 ,henry ,simpson1 ,john ,brewster1 ,john ,rickinson1 ,george ,clarkson1 ,james ,wilkinson1 ,charles ,fisher1 ,churchwardens ,william ,frankland1 ,thomas ,broderick ,simpson1 ,henry ,simpson1 ,william ,cavalier1 ,john ,corner1 jun4 ,james ,brown1 ,charles ,prudom1 ,john ,brown ,nicholson1 ,r4 ,m4 ,woodwark1 ,william ,taylor1 ,francis ,kildale ,robinson1 ,robert ,kirby1 ,robert ,swales1 ,john ,green1 ,charles ,bartindale1 ,william ,clarkson1 ,john ,gaskell1 ,william ,frankland1 jun4 ,we1 the undersigned ,magistrates1 present at a ,petty ,session1 held at the ,justice ,room1 ,whitby1 this #bcrd day of ,november1 #ahej1 do hereby give notice1 that a ,public ,meeting of the ,inhabitants of the ,town and ,neighbourhood of ,whitby1 will be held1 in compliance with the above ,requisition1 in the ,town ,hall1 at ,whitby1 on ,thursday1 the #bhth instant1 at ,twelve o'clock at noon4 ,,john ,,chapman1 ,,christopher ,,richardson1 ,new ,buildings4 ,,the ,,address4 ,,gentlemen1 ,the copy of a notice on the preceding page1 shows that you thought proper to call a public meeting1 for the purposes expressed in that bill4 ,now do not suppose for one moment1 that ,i wish to question either the right1 or the propriety of calling such a meeting4 ,if our ,protestant countrymen choose to call1 and hold meetings for the purpose of expressing their sentiments on any public question1 they have certainly1 a right to do so1 and also a right to the free expression of their sentiments on those occasions4 ,but1 gentlemen1 have not we ,catholics also an equal right1 to express our sentiments on those subjects4 ,that a regular opposition to the ,catholics1 has been lately organized1 must be evident to the most inattentive observer4 ,the clergy1 and the head of the government1 have been placed in the front of the battle1 and with cry of danger to the ,church1 has been coupled that of danger to the ,constitution4 ,in aid of these efforts1 the press also1 has been put in requisition1 and the labours of anti-catholic journalists1 and the diffusion of anti-catholic tracts1 published in every shape1 and adapted to every understanding1 bear ample testimony to the zeal1 and activity of those1 who assume the lead in this anti-catholic crusade4 ,we are doomed to hear daily1 our religion traduced1 our spiritual but illustrious ,head1 bespattered with the most vile abuse1 our civil liberty menaced1 our ,clergy threatened with pains1 and penalties1 our most sacred rites most contumaciously designated by the first minister of the ,crown as mummeries1 and the ,lord ,high ,chancellor vaunting his readiness to trample1 on the mitres of our bishops4 ,gentlemen1 ,i think it cannot be expected that we ,catholics1 should remain silent1 and humble our heads before this whirlwind of ,protestant intolerance1 and that1 imitating the stupidity of the ,ostrich1 we should endeavour to escape our hunters1 by concealing our heads4 ,but1 gentlemen1 you may perhaps ask1 why did you not attend our public meeting8 ,i reply1 ,i did not hear of your meeting until a day after it had been held1 but if ,i had heard of it before1 ,i should not have attended for the following reasons4 ,meetings that are convened by one party1 are generally packed meetings1 called under the excitement of the moment1 and the audience in general are unwilling to listen to fair play1 or to the arguments of their opponents4 ,this was evident from your meeting1 for had it not been for the honest1 and liberal conduct of your chairman1 ,christopher ,richardson1 ,esq41 ,mr4 ,taylerson1 though not a ,catholic1 would not have obtained a hearing1 and how were his sensible questions answered8 ,by shouts1 and hisses4 ,but1 gentlemen1 ,i have another reason for not attending4 ,each nation1 like each individual1 has a certain character1 and temperament4 ,now1 whoever will deliberately consider the character1 and temperament of ,englishmen1 will find1 that when they are once roused1 and excited1 they are then unwilling to listen1 either to reason or argumentation1 but let the heat of excitement pass away1 and let the cooler moments of reflection return1 and then1 you may appeal to them with propriety1 and advantage4 ,it is very imprudent and foolish for a wife to expostulate1 and argue with her drunken husband1 but let the moments of sobriety return1 and then1 her reasonable1 and prudent expostulations1 may be attended with salutary effects4 ,for these reasons1 gentlemen1 ,i did not attend your public meeting4 ,but you will say1 why do you address us in particular8 ,why1 gentlemen1 ,i cannot for a moment suppose that when you are cool1 and unexcited1 you are so wedded to your own opinions1 and so deaf to the claims of fair play1 as to be unwilling to listen to the arguments of the accused4 ,surely you do not wish to trample down the accused1 unheard6 ,if you do1 ,i really think it is a very extraordinary1 and presumptuous movement on your part1 and ,i am sure every sensible and honest ,englishman will think the same4 ,well1 then1 gentlemen1 let us now come to the point in question4 ,i begin by asking the very sensible1 and rational question1 which ,mr4 ,taylerson put to your meeting4 ,what aggression have the ,pope and ,dr4 ,wiseman committed8 ,what ,english ,law have they transgressed8 ,if any1 why not let the law be calmly and quietly enforced against them8 ,but if they have broken no law1 why all this fury1 and tirade against them as if they had8 ,oh1 but1 replied a certain influential gentleman1 at your meeting1 ,if there is not a law1 there must be one made4 ,i answer1 that the principle of self-defence will1 in cases of real danger1 authorize the adoption of lawful precautions1 ,i am not disposed to deny2 but1 then1 those precautions must be founded on equity2 they must be such as reason will justify1 or necessity excuse4 ,you are not to invade the rights or privileges of others1 on the bare suspicion of future danger or the mere possibility of a possibility4 ,you are not to cane a man at ,lady-day1 because he may affront you at ,midsummer4 ,if you think the contrary1 ,i must1 gentlemen1 candidly tell you1 it is a very extraordinary1 and presumptuous movement on your part1 against the rights and privileges of your fellow creatures1 and if any ,magistrate1 were to advance such extraordinary opinions1 in a court of justice1 ,i feel confident1 every sensible and honest ,englishman would deeply feel the propriety1 of presenting an address to ,her ,majesty1 or to ,her ,ministers1 on so extraordinary1 and presumptuous a movement on the part of that ,magistrate1 against the rights and privileges of ,her ,majesty's subjects4 ,gentlemen1 before we proceed any further1 ,i think it requisite to call your attention to two points4 ,first1 that your ,protestant ancestors1 really did to our ,catholic ancestors1 what you now merely fancy1 without any grounds1 that the ,catholics of the present day1 are wishful to do to you4 ,now1 upon this point1 ,i shall thus argue3 ,your ,protestant ancestors did these things either justly1 or unjustly to our ,catholic ancestors4 ,if your ,protestant ancestors did these things justly1 why should you ,protestants make such a row1 at the mere shadow of these things being done again8 ,but if your ,protestant ancestors1 did these things unjustly1 then you must acknowledge1 that the ,church of ,england1 owes its first foundation to acts of injustice4 ,the second point which ,i wish to settle1 before ,i proceed any further1 is that the spiritual members of the ,church of ,rome1 have the most just1 and the only claim1 to the honourable name of ,catholic4 ,let us now hasten to the first of these points4 ,gentlemen1 the following facts1 as historical facts1 are undeniable1 and whoever has the temerity to deny them as historical facts1 ,i certainly envy not his knowledge of1 nor his veracity for1 historical testimony4 ,,mark ,,well1 ,i am not going to talk about the soundness1 or unsoundness of the following opinions1 but ,i merely wish you to bear it in mind1 that it is an indisputable historical fact1 that these opinions were really1 and conscientiously believed by the ,christian world in former ages4 ,well1 then1 the following are undeniable historical facts3 ,that1 in former ages1 the ,christian world believed that the ,catholic ,church1 was the first ,christian ,church1 and began with our ,saviour1 that ,st4 ,peter was appointed1 by divine authority1 to be the ,head of this ,church1 that the ,popes of ,rome were the true successors of ,st4 ,peter1 by divine authority1 and that they were always considered1 the one ,shepherd1 to whom all ,christendom owed spiritual obedience4 ,all ,christendom1 in former ages1 with here and there an exception1 held these opinions1 and when the ,christian religion1 was introduced into ,england 7which was effectually done about six hundred years after our ,saviour71 these opinions prevailed in ,england1 as well as in all other ,christian countries4 ,the ,pope was the ,spiritual ,head of the ,church here1 as well as in all the ,christian world4 ,he exercised ,his ,spiritual authority1 without any co-partnership with1 or dependence upon the ,state4 ,the ,catholic ,church then also claimed to hold its possessions in the most independent manner1 it claimed a prescriptive right to all its possessions2 in short1 it claimed to hold these possessions as firmly1 and as justly1 as a man claims the rightful possession of his life1 and his free will4 ,now1 mark well1 ,i am not talking1 as ,i just now observed1 about the soundness or unsoundness of these opinions1 all that ,i am contending for at present1 is1 that it is an indisputable historical fact1 that these opinions then prevailed in all ,christian countries1 and that they prevailed in ,england1 for at least nine hundred years1 for ,england was1 at the very least1 nine hundred years a ,catholic nation4 ,during the prevalence of these opinions in ,england1 arose churches1 parishes1 cathedrals1 and bishops' sees1 monasteries1 and many of our universities1 and colleges1 then ,catholic1 but now ,protestant4 ,now1 it is an historical fact recorded in the ,english ,statute ,book1 that your ,protestant ancestors took from the ,pope1 his spiritual power in ,england 7for he never had any temporal power here1 as these pages will shortly prove to you71 and your ,protestant ancestors took from the ,catholics all the rich possessions which belonged1 in their estimation1 by the strongest titles1 to the ,catholic ,church2 and1 mind1 they did this after the ,pope had exercised his spiritual power in ,england1 for at least nine hundred years1 and after the ,catholics had held this church property for at least nine hundred years4 ,but1 oh1 you will reply1 our ,protestant ancestors did this by ,act of ,parliament6 ,i grant it1 and surely you will not think it unjust in me1 to judge you now by your own acknowledgments4 ,now1 your ,protestant ancestors did this justly1 or unjustly4 ,if they did it justly1 by act of ,parliament1 why cannot the same thing be done again justly1 by ,act of ,parliament8 ,divide the population of ,england into two parts1 and if you number accurately1 you will find1 that the ,catholics and the ,dissenters form1 in my humble opinion1 the greater half4 ,should1 therefore1 the ,catholics and ,dissenters1 obtain an ,act of ,parliament1 to take this church property from you ,protestants1 what reasonable arguments could you advance against it8 ,turn the question up1 or down1 you could not possibly escape4 ,if you allege that you have had possession for three hundred years1 the ,catholics and ,dissenters will reply1 the ,catholics had held it for at least nine hundred years4 ,if you argue it was given by ,act of ,parliament to your ,protestant ,church1 the ,catholics and ,dissenters will reply1 the ,catholics held it1 by the sanction of ,government1 for nine hundred years at least4 ,in short1 turn the argument as you please1 you are in a regular fix4 ,oh1 what a powerful1 and unanswerable argument1 have you forced me to put into the mouths of the ,dissenters1 against your church property1 even if you got it justly6 ,allow me then to ask you1 why all this tirade and fury about the mere fancy of a thing being done to you1 which you assert1 your ancestors did justly to the ,catholics4 ,but if you took this property unjustly from the ,catholics1 then it is as plain as the noon-day sun1 that the ,protestant ,church1 was first founded upon acts of injustice4 ,but some will perhaps imagine1 we really wish to take the church property from the ,protestants4 ,in the ,catholic times of ,england1 the church property was divided into three parts1 one was for the support of the clergy1 another was for the repair of the churches1 and the third was for the support of the poor1 and this third was always administered to the poor with the most scrupulous exactness4,a ,hence1 among all the barefaced calumnies1 which have been uttered against the ,catholics1 even her bitterest enemies1 could never say that she was unjust to the poor4 ,but the ,protestant reformed ,church thought it would be the least trouble1 to put these three parts into one whole sum1 and apply the whole of that sum to themselves1 and then1 leave the nation to supply the other two parts1 by ,church rates1 and ,poor rates4 ,now1 let the ,protestant ,church1 only give back to the poor1 that part which she unjustly took from them1 and as for the rest1 ,i can only say1 ,god speed them with it1 and long may they enjoy it4 ,some of you gentlemen certainly appear1 to be worthy descendents of your ,protestant ancestors1 for they took from us our church possessions1 you are now enjoying these church possessions1 but not content with our possessions1 you wish to deprive us1 even of our very name2 for you are endeavouring1 by every artifice1 to deceive the people1 and make them believe--you and not we are the real ,catholics4 ,you remind me of the words of the ,poet1 ,who steals my purse1 steals trash1 ',twas mine1 tis his1 and has been slave to thousands2 ,but he who filches from me my good name1 ,robs me of that which not enriches him1 but makes me poor indeed4 ,you tell the people we ,papists are ,roman ,catholics1 but you ,protestants1 are the real ,catholics4 ,let us then1 take up the ,dictionary1 and see what is the real meaning of the word1 ,catholic4 ,according to the ,dictionary1 the word 7,catholic7 means universal4 ,of course1 then1 when the word 7,catholic7 is applied to a ,church1 it must mean the ,universal ,church4 ,let us then now see which is the ,universal ,christian ,church1 and then we shall be able to judge1 who have the greatest right to the honourable name of ,catholic4 ,the testimony which ,i shall cite to prove1 that we are the most numerous body of ,christians1 is that of ,macaulay1 a celebrated ,protestant historian of the present day1 and whose historical pages have been quoted against us1 in many of the late public meetings1 that have been held4 ,of course1 if his testimony is worthy of belief when against1 it must also be so when for us4 ,speaking of the great body of the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 ,macaulay says1 ,the numbers of her communion are certainly not fewer than #aej1jjj1jjj1 and it will be difficult to shew that all the other ,christian sects united amount to #abj1jjj1jjj4;,b 7,ed4 ,rev41 ,oct4 #ahdj1 p4 #bbh47 ,you here see1 that ,macaulay tells you1 that the ,roman ,catholics amount to at least #aej1jjj1jjj1 whilst all other ,christian sects united into one body1 scarcely form #abj1jjj1jjj4 ,as therefore the ,roman ,catholics form the greatest body of ,christians1 they must be the ,universal ,church4 ,but the ,dictionary tells us1 that the word ,catholic means ,universal1 therefore the ,church of ,rome is alone both ,universal and ,catholic1 and consequently has the most just and only claim to the ancient and honourable name of ,catholic4 ,i thought1 gentlemen1 before we proceeded to the main subjects in discussion1 we had better settle the two above points4 ,for after you had seen1 that your ,protestant ancestors had really and actually done to the ,catholics1 what you merely fancy the ,pope and the ,catholics are wishful at present to do to you1 you would not think it unreasonable in us1 to claim your attention1 whilst we shewed you the unreasonable grounds of your present fears and alarms1 and that1 after you had seen1 that we have the only just claim to the honourable name of ,catholic1,c you would not be startled1 at hearing so often in these pages1 that ancient name applied to the ,spiritual members of the ,pope in these realms4 ,let us now1 gentlemen1 proceed to the subject which has so lately alarmed you1 and many other ,englishmen4 ,there is nothing1 that shews a man to be so little1 as to bluster1 and talk about a subject1 which he does not understand4 ,now1 gentlemen1 had you been asked at the meeting1 what the ,pope's ,bull was8 or1 what the ,catholic ,hierarchy meant8 what a poser it would have been to the limbs of the law1 or even to the limbs of the ,church1 who attended your meeting2 for they either understood these subjects1 or they did not4 ,if they really understood them1 ,i am sure these pages will shew every sensible person1 they had no reason to consider the conduct of the ,pope1 either extraordinary or presumptuous1 and if they did not understand them1 ,i really think it a very extraordinary and presumptuous movement on their part1 to talk against their fellow ,christians on subjects1 of which they were ignorant4 ,had ,i done so1 would they not have been tempted to apply to me the words of the ,poet8 ,a shallow brain beyond a serious mask1 ,an ,oracle within an empty cask4 ,for your information therefore1 ,i will state in short1 what we ,catholics mean by the ,hierarchy1 and the ,pope's ,bull4 ,we all know1 that good temporal government1 consists in having all the various rights of its members1 properly understood1 and justly protected4 ,thus the ,queen1 the ,peers1 the ,commoners1 the ,magistrates1 in short1 the higher classes1 the middle classes1 and the lower classes1 have all their rights properly defined1 and their several interests justly attended to in a good temporal government4 ,now reason tells us1 that this ought to be the case in a good spiritual government1 and we ,catholics maintain1 that these objects are best attained by the means of a spiritual ,hierarchy2 and1 at the same time we believe1 that this spiritual ,hierarchy1 can be established only by the spiritual power of the ,pope4 ,when the ,pope therefore thinks1 that either the number of his spiritual members1 or their spiritual necessities1 require the establishment of the ,hierarchy1 in any part of the world1 he issues his spiritual ,bull1 or decrees to that effect2 and all the ,archbishops1 and ,bishops1 and ,clergy1 and laity1 to whom this spiritual government is extended1 receive it as a spiritual boon1 and fully understand and believe1 that it has regard only to spiritual matters4 ,they all know1 and believe1 that it has nothing to do with any temporal matters whatever1 in any shape or form1 directly or indirectly1 and if any person1 after this explanation1 was so impudent as to maintain1 that the ,hierarchy1 or the ,pope's ,bull1 had any reference to any temporal matters1 either directly1 or indirectly1 affecting the temporal power of ,her ,majesty1 over ,her ,catholic subjects1 and the temporal allegiance which they owe to ,her ,majesty1 my loyalty for our gracious ,queen1 and my feelings of honour1 would tempt me to address him in the words of the ,poet1 ,a lie1 an odious lie1 ,upon my word1 a lie1 a wicked lie4 ,gentlemen1 after this short explanation of the ,hierarchy1 and of the ,pope's ,bull1 ,i appeal to you as free-born ,englishmen1 whether there can be any ,english law1 or statute against it8 ,if there be1 where is our vaunted boast1 of liberty of conscience to all8 ,now ,,mark1 whether there be any law in the ,statute ,book against it1 ,i do not pretend to have sufficient of the lawyer in me to determine1 but this1 ,i will shew you1 that the acts of the ,pope1 in establishing the spiritual ,hierarchy in this kingdom1 by his ,bull1 or spiritual decrees1 are in keeping with the spirit1 upon which the ,english law has acted during these late years4 ,by the spirit of the ,english law1 we1 ,catholics1 are allowed to maintain the ,pope's supremacy in ecclesiastical1 and religious matters2 we are also allowed to be governed by ,catholic ,bishops1 and of course1 we are allowed to be governed by them1 according to the proper and perfect form of ,episcopal government1 and there is no ,english law1 to prevent these ,catholic ,bishops from taking the titles of any place1 provided they are not titles of places1 held by the ,anglican ,hierarchy4 ,now1 these conditions have been observed1 in the late establishment of the ,catholic ,hierarchy in these realms4 ,and that it is in keeping with the spirit of the ,english ,law1 ,lord ,john ,russell's own words1 will convince you4 ,in the ,house of ,commons1 ,august #fth1 #ahdf1 he said1 ,there is another offence of introducing a ,bull of the ,pope into the country1 the question is1 whether it is desirable to keep up that1 or any other penalty1 for such an offence4 ,it does appear to me1 that we cannot possibly attempt1 to prevent the introduction of the ,pope's ,bulls into this country4 ,there are certain ,bulls of the ,pope1 which are absolutely necessary1 for the appointment of ,bishops and ,pastors1 belonging to the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,it would be quite impossible1 to prevent the introduction of such ,bulls4 7,hansard1 vol4 lxxxviii41 p4 #cfb47 ,again1 what said ,lord ,lyndhurst1 speaking1 in the ,house of ,lords4 ,you tolerate the ,catholic ,prelates1 and you know1 that these ,prelates cannot carry on1 their ,church ,establishment1 without holding communication with the ,pope of ,rome4 ,if the laws allow the doctrine1 and discipline of the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 it 7the ,roman ,catholic ,church7 ought to be permitted1 to be carried on perfectly and properly4 7,hansard1 vol4 lxxxv41 p4 #abfa47 ,so you see1 that this ,noble ,lord proclaims1 that to pretend to tolerate the ,catholic ,religion as we do2 and yet1 prevent the ,catholics from holding free communication with the ,pope1 would be a mere nullity4 ,the ,catholics1 says he1 should be allowed to carry out the organization of their ,church perfectly and properly4 ,now1 this cannot be done without the ,hierarchy4 ,accordingly1 all the penal laws in question were1 then and there1 torn from the statute book4 ,also ,joseph ,hume1 ,esq41 who may be justly styled1 the father of the present ,house of ,commons1 and who1 in that ,house1 has been so long the promoter1 the pillar1 and the bulwark of civil and religious liberty1 honourably1 and openly1 tells the world1 that the ,pope is warranted1 in all he has done1 by the proceedings of ,sir ,robert ,peel's government4 ,these are the words of the noble champion of civil and religious liberty--,your view of the subject1 will be adopted as soon as the thinking part of the public1 get their eyes opened to the real merits of the alleged innovation4 ,i say alleged1 because ,mr4 ,c4 ,c4 ,grenville has shewn1 that the ,pope is warranted in all he has done1 by the proceedings of ,sir ,robert ,peel's government1 which were not at the time objected to by any person1 except by ,sir ,robert ,inglis1 and his limited class4--7,joseph ,hume1 to the ,editor of the ,hull ,advertiser1 ,nov4 #ahth1 #ahej47 ,there was a time1 when the ,protestant ,bishops were excluded1 for some time1 from the ,house of ,lords4 ,in #affa1 a motion was made to restore these ,protestant ,prelates to their seats1 and mind1 six and twenty ,catholic ,peers voted in favour of these ,protestant ,bishops4 ,but such is the illiberality of the present time1 that now1 the ,catholics find the most determined and eager opposition on the ,bishop's bench4 ,there are1 however1 exceptions2 few1 indeed1 but on that account1 more entitled to our gratitude4 ,long will the name of the late ,bishop of ,norwich1 be cherished in the remembrance of every sincere ,catholic4 ,and happy am ,i to observe1 another ,protestant ,prelate1 willing to walk in his charitable footsteps4 ,i mean the sensible1 the pious1 and the learned present ,protestant ,bishop of ,st4 ,davids4 ,this illustrious ,protestant ,prelate1 liberally and candidly1 told the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 that in his humble opinion1 the provision cited from the ,act of ,elizabeth1 has been virtually repealed by the ,roman ,catholic ,relief ,act 99 99 99 99 ,and it was equally set 'at defiance1' by the appointment of ,vicars ,apostolic1 who have so long exercised their functions without complaint or molestation4 ,and it seems unreasonable1 to charge the ,pope with defying a law which1 has been so long permitted to sleep4 ,for these and other reasons1 this most liberal minded ,protestant ,prelate1 lately refused to sign the address of the other ,protestant ,bishops to the ,queen4 7,bishop of ,st4 ,davids to the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 ,nov4 #bfth1 #ahej47 ,well ,i cannot but gratefully1 address this generous ,prelate in the words of the poet-- ----,i quit you now1 ,but peradventure ,i may come again6 ,your bounteous kindness ne'er shall be forgot1 ,while beats this warm heart within my bosom4 ,certainly1 you will say1 these are high1 and weighty authorities on the ,catholic side1 and clearly demonstrate1 that there can be nothing wrong1 on the ,pope's sending his ,bulls1 into this country4 ,but1 perhaps1 the greatest grievance lies in this1 that the ,catholic ,bishops1 have assumed ,english titles1 calling themselves ,bishops of ,hexham1 of ,beverley1 c4 ,this1 you hear it said1 is contrary to all law and decency4 ,now1 mark1 gentlemen1 how soon ,i shall prove to you1 that it is neither against law1 nor decency4 ,i observe that the law as it regards ,catholics1 forbids only one thing1 it forbids ,catholic ,bishops1 to assume the titles of ,protestant sees4 ,thus it forbids us1 to have an ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 or a ,bishop of ,london1 of ,durham1 c4 ,and why so8 ,because there are ,protestant ,bishops of these places4 ,but it manifestly allows us to take the titles of those places1 in which1 there are no ,protestant ,bishops4 ,for1 if the law meant1 to exclude us from all places and all titles whatsoever1 why did it not say so8 ,but1 it says no such thing4 ,it excludes us only from places where there are ,protestant ,bishops4 ,well1 this restrictive law1 the only law1 that there is upon the question1 has been most scrupulously observed in every instance by the ,catholics4 ,not one of their ,bishops1 has assumed the title of any ,protestant see4 ,for who ever heard of a ,protestant ,bishop of ,hexham1 of ,beverley1 or of ,liverpool4 ,how then can it be contrary to law8 ,but ,i have yet1 more to say on this subject4 ,lord ,john ,russell is an advocate for the repeal of even this restrictive law1 which he considers1 an absurdity in a land of religious liberty4 ,nay1 he considers it childish to hold the ,catholics under such restrictions4 ,i believe1 said he 7in ,july #aith1 #ahde1 speaking in the ,house of ,commons17 ,i believe we may repeal1 those insulting clauses1 which prevent a ,roman ,catholic assuming a title held1 by a ,bishop of the ,established ,church4 ,i can conceive no good grounds1 for the continuance of this restriction4 7,hansard1 vol4 lxxxii41 p4 #bij47 ,and again on ,february #e1 #ahdf1 as to preventing persons assuming particular titles1 nothing can be more absurd and puerile1 than to keep up such a distinction4 7,hansard1 vol4 lxxxiii41 p4 #ejb47 ,now1 gentlemen1 this was spoken in the ,house of ,commons1 and by the first ,minister of the ,crown4 ,you see1 he vindicates for the ,catholics1 greater liberty than they have either exercised1 or demanded2 the liberty to have ,catholic ,bishops1 side by side1 with the ,protestant ,bishops throughout the land4 ,and yet1 let me ask1 did the then ,member for ,whitby1 or indeed any1 of the thirty and more members1 who represent this great county of ,york1 raise a voice against these opinions and views8 ,did they cry out1 that this1 would be an innovation of the ,royal prerogative1 and an encroachment upon the spiritual1 or civil liberties of this realm4 ,no1 not they1 not one of them4 ,both the ,parliament and the ,public heard all this1 either with approbation1 or with indifference4 ,judge1 then1 with what scorn the ,catholics1 hear themselves charged with insidiousness1 and aggression4 ,insidiousness6 ,why1 the leaders of the two great portions1 in the state 7for who stood higher with the ,tories than ,lord ,lyndhurst1 and among the ,whigs1 than ,lord ,john ,russell71 and yet1 these two leaders1 actually encouraged1 and invited the ,catholics to do1 what they have done4 ,i repeat1 they not only claimed for the ,catholics the right to do them1 but encouraged them to do them4 ,after the ,catholics had thus been encouraged1 and backed by two of the first leaders1 one of the ,whigs1 and one of the ,tories1 after they had received the sanction of the public by its silence1 or indifference on these points1 the ,catholics at last received the ,hierarchy from the ,pope's hands2 when lo6 ,lord ,john ,russell1 immediately writes a flaming philippic on the subject1 suddenly and unjustly rouses the indignation of the people2 and the ,protestant clergy immediately head the crusade against the ,catholics1 for doing1 what they had been encouraged1 and invited to do by two of the first ministers of the land1 and for doing1 what the ,english public had already sanctioned1 by its silence1 or by its indifference4 ,really1 gentlemen1 was not this a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the rights of your ,catholic fellow subjects8 ,and1 this1 in the nineteenth century1 when the march of intellect1 and of civil1 and religious liberty1 have been making such rapid progress in the ,british ,empire4 ,but what have ,i to say to ,lord ,john ,russell's late letter8 ,i answer1 it is not my business to reconcile ,lord ,john ,russell's former declarations1 with his present late proceedings1 they are as marvellous and unaccountable in the eyes of the public1 as they are in mine4 ,he will shortly have to give an account of his stewardship1 before the ,parliament1 in whose presence1 he made the declarations1 which ,i have quoted4 ,if he means to continue a ,champion of civil and religious liberty1 he must retrace his steps--but if he chooses to abandon the sacred cause1 then1 he will dwindle into a most insignificant1 and contemptible statesman3 and will not be permitted long to direct the government of a free and liberal people4 ,thus you see1 gentlemen1 that the words of ,lord ,john ,russell1 and of ,lord ,lyndhurst1 the opinion of ,joseph ,hume1 ,esq41 and that of the learned ,protestant ,bishop of ,st4 ,davids1 plainly shew1 that the late acts of the ,pope1 have been in keeping1 with the present spirit of the ,english law4 ,hence in ,ireland1 the ,catholic ,hierarchy1 has not only been recognised1 but royally honoured2 and the same form of ,ecclesiastical ,government1 has been gradually extended1 to the greater part of our ,colonies4 ,australia was the first1 which obtained this spiritual advantage1 and this was openly done1 and was publicly known1 and yet1 no remonstrance was ever made against it4 ,the ,catholic ,prelates of ,australia1 in every document1 are addressed by their titles1 and are acknowledged1 and salaried1 as ,archbishops and ,bishops1 respectively1 and this not by one1 but by successive ,english governments4 ,our ,north ,american possessions1 were the next1 to receive this spiritual government1 ,kingston1 ,byetown1 ,toronto1 and ,halifax1 have been erected into dioceses by the ,holy ,see1 and the titles of their respective ,bishops1 are acknowledged by their local governments4 ,the ,holy ,see1 has also formed a new ecclesiastical province in the ,west ,indies1 where several ,vicars ,apostolic1 have been appointed with titles1 and with all the spiritual powers1 allowed by the ,hierarchy4 ,now1 gentlemen1 if the ,catholics of ,ireland1 and the ,catholics of our ,english ,colonies1 are thus allowed by ,government1 to enjoy the spiritual benefits of the ,hierarchy1 do you not think it unreasonable1 that the ,catholics of ,england1 should be refused the same spiritual blessings8 ,do not the ,dissenters also1 enjoy in ,england1 the free exercise of their spiritual powers8 ,dr4 ,dillon1 assumed the power1 and ordained1 what he called ,presbyters1 and no ,englishman thought proper1 to call him to account1 for assuming those spiritual powers4 ,the ,moravians1 and the ,irvinites or the ,apostolicals1 have their ,bishops in ,england1 and yet1 they are not taxed with illegality4 ,the ,scotch ,kirk1 the ,baptists1 the ,methodists1 the ,quakers1 the ,independents1 the ,presbyterians1 and all other ,dissenters1 appoint their ,ministers for themselves1 and mark the limits of the separate districts1 in which they are to exercise their spiritual authority1 and yet1 no one has the presumption1 to question the legality of their exercising such authority in ,england4 ,if therefore1 all these various dissenting sects are allowed these spiritual privileges1 why should the ,english free-born ,catholics1 be debarred from them8 ,her present ,majesty was advised to erect1 and did erect1 7#e ,vic4 cap4 #f47 a ,bishopric of ,jerusalem1 and assigned to it a diocese1 in which the three great ,patriarchates of ,antioch1 ,jerusalem1 and ,alexandria1 were formed into one ,see1 which had episcopal jurisdiction over ,syria1 ,chaldea1 ,egypt1 and ,abyssinia1 and subject to further limitations1 or alterations at the ,royal ,will4 ,now do any of these possessions belong to ,her ,majesty8 ,no4 ,but you may reply1 there are in some1 and may be in others1 ,british ,protestants1 and therefore1 the ,queen thought proper1 to extend ,her spiritual blessings to them4 ,granted4 ,why therefore1 has not the ,pope1 an equal right to extend his spiritual blessings to the ,catholics of ,england8 ,it is plain then1 that the ,irish ,catholics1 and the ,catholics of many of our ,colonies1 are allowed to exercise their spiritual rights unmolested1 it is plain that all other dissenting sects1 are allowed to enjoy in ,england the same spiritual privileges1 and it is plain likewise1 that the ,queen assumes and exercises abroad1 in the most independent manner1 ,her spiritual powers1 tell me then1 in the name of common sense1 by what law1 either human1 or divine1 you wish to deprive the ,english ,catholics of the free exercise of their spiritual rights8 ,oh1 but you will object1 the ,pope has assumed a right over us ,protestants1 he has parcelled out the land of ,england1 he has named ,archbishops and ,bishops1 and appointed them to rule over us1 whom he impudently styles heretics4 ,to this objection1 gentlemen1 ,i reply1 ,do the ,catholics in ,england acknowledge the ,queen's supremacy in spiritual matters8 ,do the ,dissenters of ,england acknowledge ,her supremacy in spiritual matters8 ,no4 ,now divide the ,english population into two parts1 and if you calculate accurately1 you will find1 that the greater half of the ,english population1 consists of ,catholics and ,dissenters1 who do not acknowledge the ,queen's spiritual supremacy4 ,but when the ,queen issues ,her ,spiritual ,instruments1 or if you please1 ,bulls1 does she not parcel out the land of ,england8 ,does she not name ,archbishops1 and ,bishops1 and apparently appoint them to rule over us ,catholics and ,dissenters1 in short1 does ,she not in those ,spiritual ,instruments1 or ,bulls1 apparently assume over us ,catholics and ,dissenters1 the very same spiritual power1 which the ,pope appears to assume1 in ,his ,bulls1 over ,protestant ,englishmen8 ,but do you ever hear of us ,catholics1 or ,dissenters1 styling this an extraordinary movement on the part of the ,queen8 ,no4 ,because we have the common sense to know1 that such parcelling out of the land1 and such extension of ,her ,spiritual ,authority to her ,archbishops1 and ,bishops1 regard only the real ,protestants of the land1 and that they have no more to do with us and the ,dissenters1 in a spiritual point of view1 than they have with the inhabitants of ,turkey4 ,if you would likewise ask some of the limbs of the law1 who attended your meeting1 they would inform you1 that in ,acts of ,parliament1 that in deeds1 and in the drawing up almost all the various instruments of the law1 there are certain forms1 which to us appear most ridiculous1 and outrageous1 and if you questioned them on these points1 and asked them1 about all this strange rigmarole of words and of phraseology1 they would tell you1 it is only a certain necessary form in law1 and that although it may appear strange to other people1 still1 it is perfectly understood by all1 who are versed in the laws of the land4,d ,why cannot these gentlemen1 therefore1 have the good sense to extend this explanation to the ,pope's ,bull1 and then they would find this parcelling out the land by the ,pope's ,bull1 and this delegation of spiritual power1 of ,archbishops1 and ,bishops1 as if extending to ,protestants1 was a mere phantom of their own imagination1 and that in reality1 it regarded none1 but the spiritual subjects of the ,pope in this kingdom1 and that it did not regard even them1 only in a spiritual1 and not in a temporal point of view1 either directly or indirectly4 ,i observe1 in your public notice for your meeting1 two ,dissenting ,ministers1 put their names to the requisition4 ,now1 although the ,protestant ,church may honour these gentlemen1 with the name of ,reverend1 does it consider them to be ministers8 ,it certainly does not4,e ,and ,i will prove it to you4 ,if these ,ministers were to go over to the ,protestant ,church1 it would ordain them1 and by that act1 tell them that before1 they were mere phantoms of ,ministers1 and that they had never had any spiritual power1 or jurisdiction whatever4 ,if therefore the orthodox ,protestant gentleman1 whose name stands so conspicuously between these two ,dissenting ,reverends1 were to be asked1 why he styled them ,reverends1 when his own ,church1 considers them as mere phantoms of ,ministers1 what would he say8 ,of course he would tell us1 it was a mere matter of courtesy1 for he was obliged to agree with his ,church1 that they were mere phantoms of ,ministers4 ,now1 gentlemen1 just apply this to the ,pope's ,bull in your regard4 ,you read the ,pope's ,bull1 and erroneously imagine that the spiritual powers1 which it asserts1 really regards 7or is to regard7 you ,protestants4 ,whereas you ought to consider it1 as a mere phantom of spiritual power in your regard1 and ,i moreover add1 you ought to consider it1 as a mere phantom in any temporal point of view1 even as it regards the ,catholics4 ,do this1 gentlemen1 and then1 you will perceive1 that the idea of it extending to you ,protestants1 either in any spiritual1 or temporal point of view1 whatever1 is a mere chimera of your own imaginations4 ,but after all1 ,i know many of you will still urge1 that the ,pope may gradually extend his spiritual power over you1 and then1 by degrees extend his temporal power over you1 until at last1 he has completely established over you his spiritual and temporal domination4 ,gentlemen1 ,i will answer this argument shortly indeed1 but ,i hope satisfactorily1 and ,i feel confident that1 unless you are as the poet says1 ,convince a man against his will1 ,he'll hold the same opinion still1 you will be convinced1 from what ,i shall advance1 that the above objection1 is another chimera of your own imaginations4 ,true and genuine religion1 must be founded on the free1 and spontaneous consent of the heart4 ,if therefore1 you ,protestants ever allow the ,pope1 to extend his spiritual power over you1 without having first sincerely1 and deliberately considered the real grounds of the ,catholic ,faith1 and of the ,pope's title to spiritual supremacy1 and without your having first given your free1 and spontaneous consent to them1 ,i hope you will forgive me1 if ,i politely tell you1 ,i should consider you as a set of religious donkeys1 and that you ought not to be allowed to bray in this free country4 ,but you will object1 it will be you ,catholics headed by the ,pope1 that will make us renounce the ,protestant1 and embrace the ,catholic faith4 ,to this objection ,i answer4 ,first1 the ,catholics of ,england have promised to maintain1 support1 and defend1 to the utmost of their power1 the succession to the crown4 ,now1 this succession1 by an act entitled1 an act for the further limitation of the crown1 is1 and stands limited to the ,princess ,sophia1 ,electress1 ,duchess ,dowager of ,hanover1 and to the heirs of her ,body1 being ,protestants4 ,such are the very terms of the oath1 which we ,catholics have taken2 as long therefore1 as the ,established ,church is secure of having a ,protestant ,sovereign1 it cannot be in any danger of subversion4 ,secondly4 ,the ,irish ,catholics have gone still further1 and to silence even the predictions of their enemies1 have disclaimed1 disavowed1 and solemnly abjured every intention1 to subvert the present ,church ,establishment1 for the purpose of substituting a ,catholic ,establishment in its stead1 and have solemnly sworn1 that they will not exercise any privilege1 to which they are1 or may be entitled1 to disturb1 or weaken the ,protestant religion in that kingdom4 ,thirdly4 ,but ,i will suppose for a moment1 that the ,catholics were at last to determine to perjure themselves1 and to violate the promises1 to which they are so solemnly pledged1 let us see the obstacles1 they would have to surmount4 ,first1 there would be the ,sovereign1 the head of the ,protestant ,church1 with the immense patronage of the ,crown at her 7or his7 disposal2 secondly1 there would be all the spiritual ,peers1 and with the exception of a few ,catholics1 all the temporal ,peers2 thirdly1 there would be the great majority in the ,house of ,commons1 in proportion to at least1 ten ,protestants to one ,catholic4 ,now1 by what spirit of magic1 are a few ,catholic ,peers1 to become the majority of the ,house of ,lords1 or is one ,catholic ,commoner1 to outvote ten ,protestants4 ,by what miracle1 is the ,queen 7or ,king7 to abandon the defence of that ,church1 of which she 7or he7 is by conviction a member1 and by law1 supreme head8 ,by what manoeuvres1 are the ,catholics so to blind the confidence of the ,sovereign1 as to worm themselves into the possession of all places1 of power1 and trust8 ,before the ,catholics can aid the ,pope to extend his temporal or spiritual power over you ,protestants1 they will have to surmount all the above obstacles4 ,but by what human power can they ever surmount the above obstacles8 ,really1 gentlemen1 is it not childish to talk either about ,catholics forcing you to become ,catholics1 or their wishing to aid the ,pope1 to extend his spiritual or temporal domination over you ,protestants1 with all the above obstacles staring you in the face4 ,but1 gentlemen1 if on the other hand1 you should think proper to seriously1 and conscientiously1 examine the real grounds of the ,catholic religion1 and if you should think proper1 to examine seriously1 and conscientiously1 whether the ,pope1 is the real successor of ,saint ,peter1 and of course in that case1 the real spiritual head of ,christ's ,church1 if you should ask yourselves the reason1 why the ,catholic ,faith1 has been the belief of the most extensive1 and enlightened nations of ,europe1 and of the most illustrious characters1 that ever did honour to the name of man1,f if upon careful investigation1 you should find that the ,catholic ,faith1 was the faith of those1 who built our ,cathedrals1 who erected our ,universities1 who laid the foundation of our envied ,constitution1 and who secured the great charter of our rights at ,runnymede1 in short1 if you should find that the members of this creed1 have in every age1 stood forth the champions of liberty1 and at the same time remained faithful worshippers of ,god1 if after the most careful1 and impartial investigation1 you should find all these things to be real1 and undeniable facts1 then ,i would address you in the words1 with which ,st4 ,paul addressed ,king ,agrippa1 ,i would to ,god1 that both in little1 and in much1 not only thou1 but also1 all that hear me this day1 should become such as ,i also am1 except these bonds4 7,acts1 ch4 xxvi41 v4 #bh47 ,yes1 gentlemen1 ,i repeat it1 if after the most serious1 and minute investigation1 you should find the above things real1 and undeniable facts1 then1 gentlemen1 the sincere wish of my heart would be1 that you might all become ,catholics1 and the spiritual children of the head of our ,church1 but1 mind1 without our bonds1 that is1 without having to suffer1 what our ,catholic ancestors had to suffer for their faith1,g a faith1 which they conscientiously held as their best inheritance1 and which1 they held more dear1 than life itself4 ,i would also address you in the words1 in which ,gamaliel1 a doctor of the law1 addressed the ,jewish ,council respecting the ,apostles1 who were unjustly cast into prison4 ,and now1 therefore1 ,i say to you1 refrain from these men1 and let them alone3 for if this counsel1 or this work1 be of men1 it will come to nought2 but if it be of ,god1 you cannot overthrow it1 lest perhaps1 even you be found to fight against ,god4 7,acts1 ch4 #e1 v4 #ch1 #ci47 ,gentlemen1 if the ,catholic ,faith1 be an invention of human counsel1 and a work of human policy1 rest assured1 it will of itself crumble into nought1 but if it be of ,god1 and if it be the will of ,god1 that ,england should return to her ancient faith1 you cannot overthrow it1 and you cannot fight against ,god1 for as the wise man says1 there is no wisdom1 there is no prudence1 there is no counsel against the ,lord4 7,prov4 ch4 xxi41 v4 #cj47 ,gentlemen1 ,i think you must acknowledge1 that ,i have answered1 shortly indeed1 but ,i hope satisfactorily1 your objection1 as to the ,pope's gradually extending his spiritual1 and temporal domination over you ,protestants4 ,gentlemen1 ,i am not aware1 that any one at your meeting1 was so uncourteous as to throw in the face of ,catholics1 either the ,gunpowder1 or ,oates' plots4 ,still1 you are aware1 that it has been done at many of the late meetings1 and in many places of ,england1 to the injustice of ,catholics4 ,allow me1 to solicit your attention1 whilst ,i say a few words respecting each of these plots1 and whilst ,i show you1 it is most unjust to throw those diabolical plots in the face of ,catholics1 either of the present1 or of former ages4 ,the ,guy ,fawkes plot1 or as it is usually termed1 the ,gunpowder ,plot1 is often sneeringly1 and insultingly thrown in the face of ,catholics4 ,now let it be remembered1 that the original conspirators were only eight in number1 that they were also of the most abandoned character1 and that some of them1 years before1 had abjured the ,catholic faith1 and let it also be remembered1 that this plot was disclosed even by a ,catholic1 ,lord ,monteagle1 and that the ,pope in a letter expressed his detestation of it1 and ordered the ,catholic clergy1 to prevent by all means in their power1 all similar conspiracies1 and to exhort the people to patience and obedience4 ,now ,i ask1 is it reasonable1 that the wicked deeds of these few and abandoned conspirators1 should be thrown in the face of the whole body of ,catholics2 as well might you upbraid our ,saviour with the crimes of ,judas4 ,the plot was unknown to all good ,catholics1 they had nothing whatever to do with it1 and it1 and all other plotting whatever1 were condemned and forbidden in the most severe manner1 by the ,clergy and the ,pope4 ,what could ,catholics do more8 ,why1 therefore1 are the ,catholics of the present times to be condemned for a plot with which they had no more to do1 than the ,protestants of the present day8 ,but ,i will suppose for a moment1 this diabolical plot was concocted by real ,catholics4 ,can it be unreasonably urged1 against the ,catholics of the present day8 ,if you answer1 yes1 ,i will then prove that the ,ministers who attended your meeting1 were cursers1 murderers1 and deserters of ,christ4 ,for if you ask each of them1 if he is a minister of ,christ1 he will answer1 certainly4 ,well1 then1 one of the ,apostles betrayed our ,saviour1 another by oaths and curses1 denied him1 and all deserted him on the night of his passion4 ,now1 if the above line of argumentation1 against ,catholics be valid1 then ,i may conclude1 that the ,ministers who attended your meeting1 were murderers1 cursers1 deniers1 and deserters of ,christ4 ,really1 if ,i were to adopt this mode of argumentation against them1 you would think1 and justly1 the upper stories of my intellect were of a very strange structure4 ,how can persons1 therefore1 have the barefacedness to apply such reasoning to the ,catholics of the present day1 respecting the ,gunpowder ,plot4 ,whoever will read the history of ,titus ,oates's ,plot1 will find that it was concocted against the ,catholics1 by some of the brightest characters for rascality1 and perjury1 and infamy1 and cruelty1 that the world ever beheld4 ,oates' plot consisted in this1 that he accused the ,catholics1 and ,jesuits in particular1 of a plot1 to murder ,king ,charles the ,,ii41 7#afgh71 to transfer the sovereignty of the realm to the ,pope1 and to extirpate the ,protestant religion from the land4 ,but was not ,titus ,oates himself a ,jesuit1 or at least1 a ,catholic8 ,you shall hear who ,titus ,oates was1 from the pen of ,protestant ,historians4 ,oates1 the former of this dreadful plot1 was himself the most infamous of mankind4 ,he was the son of an ,anabaptist preacher1 took orders in the ,church of ,england1 became chaplain on board the fleet1 and was dismissed for some unnatural practices1 not fit to be named4 7,see ,hume's ,history47 ,you shall hear too1 who his accomplices were2 ,bedloe1 a man1 if possible1 more infamous than ,oates himself2 7,see ,hume's ,history47 ,and these were soon backed by others4 ,a wretch1 named ,carstairs led the way1 and soon1 from all the brothels1 gambling houses1 and spunging houses of ,london1 false witnesses poured in1 to swear away the lives of ,roman ,catholics4 7,see ,macaulay's ,history of ,england47 ,and yet1 on the barefaced testimony1 of these abandoned1 and infamous wretches1 the ,catholic ,noblemen and ,gentlemen1 were1 with the exception of the ,duke of ,york1 expelled from their seats in ,parliament4 ,some of them1 7although as innocent of the crimes of which they were accused1 as the new-born babe71 were tried1 and executed on the false1 and contradictory evidence1 of these base wretches4 ,all of them1 died protesting their innocence2 and many of them1 embraced the opportunity to declare their abhorrence1 of the doctrines so commonly1 but so unjustly1 attributed to ,catholics4 ,their speeches at the place of execution1 are still on record4 7,see ,a ,remonstrance of ,piety and ,innocence1 #afhc4 ,dodd's ,history1 vol4 iii41 p4 #cef47 ,and if ever a man1 may be believed to speak with sincerity1 it is when1 in the full possession of his senses1 he stands on the brink of eternity1 and expects the next moment1 to be presented before an ,omniscient ,judge4 ,one of them1 ,lord ,stafford1 referred the ,peers1 at his trial1 for an account of his religious creed1 to a small tract1 entitled ,catholic ,principles4 ,this small tract has often been printed1 and was then1 and is still1 considered to convey an accurate notion of the ,catholic faith4 ,well may ,hume say1 that this ,popish plot1 is an incident1 which1 for the credit of the nation1 it were better to bury in eternal oblivion1 but which it is necessary to perpetuate1 both for the truth of history1 and to warn1 if possible1 their posterity1 and all mankind1 never again to fall into so shameful1 so barbarous a delusion4 7,see ,hume's ,history47 ,and yet ,oates was rewarded with appointments in the ,royal ,palace1 and had ,l#abjj a year assigned him1 as the wages of his iniquity1 and ,bedloe ,l#ejj3 and ,oates was called the ,saviour of the nation4 ,but how did these wretches come off at last8 ,you shall hear again1 from ,mr4 ,macaulay4 ,about seven years later1 when the madness1 and the delusion of the people1 had passed away1 it was resolved1 to bring these wretches1 who had spilled so much blood1 to their own trial4 ,some of the wretches1 7says ,macaulay7 were already beyond the reach of justice4 ,bedloe had died in his wickedness1 without one sign of remorse or shame4 ,dugdale had followed him to the grave1 driven mad by the furies of an evil conscience1 and with loud shrieks1 imploring those1 who stood around his bed1 to take away ,lord ,stafford4 7,a ,catholic ,lord1 whose life he had sworn away1 seven years ago47 ,carstairs1 too1 was gone4 ,his end1 was all horror1 and despair1 and with his last breath1 he told his attendants to throw him into a ditch1 like a dog1 for that he was not fit1 to sleep in ,christian burial ground4 ,mr4 ,macaulay thus describes ,oates' appearance1 at his trial4 ,a few years earlier1 his short neck1 his legs uneven1 as those of a badger1 his forehead low1 as that of a baboon1 his purple cheeks1 and monstrous length of chin1 had been familiar to all1 who frequented the courts of law4 ,he had been the idol of the nation--men had uncovered their heads to him1 and called him1 the deliverer of his country4 ,they now shuddered at the sight of the hideous features1 on which villany seemed to be written1 by the hand of ,god4 7,see ,macaulay's ,history of ,england47 ,horrible as were the sufferings of ,oates1 they did not equal his crimes4 ,such1 gentlemen1 is a short1 but true account of ,titus ,oates's ,plot1 and of his abandoned1 and perjured accomplices4 ,and yet1 some have the audacity to throw this infamous plot1 in the face of the ,catholics1 even at the present day4 ,to such ,i would say1 you are either ignorant of history1 or not2 if you are ignorant of history1 it is the part of a simpleton1 to talk on subjects which he does not understand4 ,but if you are acquainted with history1 ,i beg to address you in the words of the poet-- ,a moral1 sensible1 and well bred man1 ,will not offend me1 and no other can4 ,gentlemen1 ,i now appeal to you1 if it is not evident from what ,i have advanced in the preceding pages1 that the late crusade against ,catholics1 has been most unjust1 and most cruel4 ,if you will seriously1 and coolly1 and impartially consider what has been advanced1 you must be convinced1 that all your alarms1 and those of many other ,englishmen1 are mere chimeras of your own imaginations4 ,but if1 to some of you1 the above reasoning does not appear satisfactory1 ,i am sure it will to every sensible and unbiased ,englishman4 ,englishmen1 indeed1 like all other nations1 have their faults1 and their perfections4 ,in times of general excitement1 and of public panic1 nothing is too absurd1 for their credulity4 ,in the hour of excitement1 and of public panic1 pigmies1 appear giants to them1 and mole-hills1 swell into mountains4 ,witness the late railway mania4 ,this mania1 spread like wildfire1 through the higher1 the middle1 and even the lower classes1 and threw the whole nation1 into a fever of excitement4 ,before their excited imaginations1 rose the golden dreams of their six1 and eight1 and ten per cent41 of railways1 as the best and surest investment for their property1 in short1 as the easiest and most direct means1 of turning their mole-hills of money into mountains of gold4 ,in vain1 were ,englishmen warned1 and cautioned by sensible1 and thinking persons1 against these golden prospects of their excited imaginations4 ,convinced1 they either would not1 or could not be4 ,but lo6 the mighty bubble burst1 and then1 to their loss1 and sorrow1 they both saw1 and acknowledged the folly of their former excitement1 of their railway golden dreams4 ,again1 ,i say1 when ,englishmen return to their cooler moments1 and seriously reflect1 on all the late hubbub1 about ,pope's ,bulls1 and ,guy ,fawkes1 and ,gunpowder ,plots1 and ,catholic ,mummeries and ,superstitions1 ,i feel confident1 they will verify the words of ,dr4 ,hughes1 the ,catholic ,prelate of ,new ,york1 who lately preached in ,london1 on his way to ,rome4 ,i am sure 7says this distinguished ,prelate17 that this great1 and liberal nation1 7,england7 will1 after this temporary excitement is over1 be ashamed of their present conduct1 and will be astonished1 how they could ever think1 of proposing any steps1 which tended to abridge1 the liberty of any portion1 of their countrymen1 and violate that freedom in religion1 which is their boast4 ,the 7,english7 ,ministry cannot go one step back1 upon the track of persecutions1 if they make but one step1 in that direction1 they will be condemned1 by every liberal minded man1 and will be looked upon1 with contempt by the rest of the nations of the world4 7,dr4 ,hughes' ,sermon4 ,london1 ,december #ast1 #ahej47 ,hence we find1 that most1 of the great and enlightened statesmen of ,england1 always boldly1 and freely1 advocated the freedom1 and liberties of the ,catholics4 ,as long1 as we retain any respect for genius1 and discernment1 for ,parliamentary eloquence1 and political wisdom1 the names of ,pitt1 and of ,fox1 of ,burke1 and of ,windham1 of ,canning1 and of ,peel1 will stand foremost1 in the public estimation4 ,these eminent statesmen1 however they might differ on other subjects1 concurred in supporting the cause of the ,catholics4 ,their's was the conviction of liberal1 and enlightened minds1 who forgot the distinctions of party1 in their zeal1 to serve the cause of justice1 and of freedom4 ,yes1 they well knew1 that the ,british ,constitution1 was not a constitution of restraints1 and penalties1 that it was framed to preserve the rights of freemen1 that it was formed1 for the whole1 not for a part1 and that it was destined1 like the sun1 to shed its benign influence upon all4 ,and hence1 they knew1 that they could not better consult its prosperity and stability1 than by fearlessly1 and manfully battling1 for equal rights1 and equal justice to all4 ,gentlemen1 ,i must now beg leave to retire1 as my presence is required1 in a more august assembly4 ,you know1 your address to the ,magistrates for calling a meeting1 c41 was headed by certain ,protestant ,ministers1 and you know also1 that most of their fellow labourers in the vineyard1 of the ,protestant ,church1 have been most active1 and zealous in the late crusade against the ,catholics4 ,now1 to pass over these reverend gentlemen with silent contempt1 would be1 in my humble opinion1 an act of great incivility1 and disrespect on my part2 and which1 they might perhaps consider1 a most extraordinary1 and presumptuous movement1 on my part2 ,i beg leave1 gentlemen1 therefore1 to adjourn to this august assembly1 and as ,i shall have to show these reverend gentlemen1 what an extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 their ,protestant ,church1 has been making1 for a long time1 on the pockets1 and on the intellects of ,englishmen1 ,i shall be very glad1 if you will accompany me1 and see verified the poetical words of my two texts1 annexed to my first little address to you-- ,i would you had been there to see ,how the light blazed up so gloriously4 ,and then in naked majesty1 ,with brow serene1 and beaming placid light1 ,came truth4 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,lingard's ,anglo-,saxon1 vol4 #a1 p4 #ahi1 #aij4 ,b ,macaulay1 tells us1 that the number of ,roman ,catholics is not fewer than #aej1jjj1jjj1 and that it would be difficult to shew that all the other ,christian sects united1 amount1 to #abj1jjj1jjj4 ,i quite agree with his words1 not fewer1 and it would be difficult to shew2 for upon an accurate calculation1 it would be found that the ,catholics amount nearer to #bjj1jjj1jjj1 than to #aej1jjj1jjj1 and that all the other ,christian sects1 united into one body1 are nearer #ajj1jjj1jjj1 than #abj1jjj1jjj4 ,however1 ,macaulay's statement is quite sufficient to prove what we have cited it for1 viz3--that the ,roman ,catholics are the greatest body of ,christians1 and therefore have the best title to the ancient and honourable name of ,catholic4 ,c ,in the ,apostle's ,creed1 we all profess to believe in the ,holy ,catholic ,church4 ,now1 if this is not our ,church1 ,i would ask1 what ,church is it8 ,is it the collection of sects which have sprung from the ,reformation8 ,but1 then1 it would not be ,catholic1 for as they are the smaller number1 they cannot claim universality4 ,is it the ,theological hodge-podge1 the farrago of all the religions1 which believe in the ,gospel8 ,then it cannot be ,holy1 for we should form the principal part of it1 and you know1 the immaculate ,church of ,england tells us1 our doctrines are idolatrous4 ,i really think1 people had better leave us in the quiet possession of our old inheritance1 the honourable and ancient name of ,catholic1 and then they would avoid the above ridiculous consequences4 ,d ,i have sometimes been asked1 and the question has sometimes been slyly popped to me1 and to others1 by certain limbs of the law1 if ,i was a ,jesuit8 ,i answer first1 that ,i have not the honour to belong to that learned1 and much calumniated body1 the ,jesuits4 ,i answer secondly1 ,i perfectly understood the sly drift of these questions1 and inuendoes4 ,it was as good as to say1 ,jesuitism is a strange compound of all kinds of tricks and quirks1 and of mental reservations1 and deceptions4 ,now this little spectacle fellow1 is one of them1 and therefore1 he is up to all the ,jesuitical trade1 and is a perfect specimen of it4 ,nay1 ,i believe1 that he could slyly board us with his ,jesuitical tricks1 even while we were looking on4 ,well1 one good turn certainly deserves another4 ,and now1 ,i must as politely as ,i can1 tell these limbs of the law1 that if ,i am to judge of the law from the little1 that ,i have really seen1 and know about them1 and that if ,jesuitism be really1 what they imagine it is1 and if the whole of ,england ever became ,catholic1 and then1 from ,catholicism jumped to ,jesuitism1 in this case1 ,i certainly think that these limbs of the law1 will not have to study1 the celestial arts of ,jesuitism1 as pourtrayed in their own imagination2 for they will be already1 perfectly dubbed masters of ,israel in that art1 and they will certainly occupy distinguished places1 in the various departments of mental reservations1 pious frauds1 and charitable tricks and quirks upon their neighbour's pockets4 ,really this reminds me of ,paddy1 who had just arrived from ,ireland1 and was sneeringly asked by a busy ,englishman1 what kind of a crop of ,murphies1 they had had in ,ireland8 ,pat had a shillalah in his hand1 he up with it1 knocked down the ,englishman1 and said2 ,and sure your honour1 we have had a very good crop of ,murphies1 and you may know it by the feel1 for that is the stalk of one4 ,now1 ,i hope these limbs of the law1 will not be offended at me for taking up my spectacle shillalah1 and just politely flooring them1 for their ,jesuitical inuendoes and mental reservations in my regard4 ,i hope they will not be offended1 at my defending myself1 for their own profession will teach them1 that every one is allowed fair play1 whether he be a metamorphosed calumniated ,jesuit1 or a limb of the law in the body of a man's pocket4 ,but far be it from me to adopt their extensive1 and sweeping mode of argumentation1 viz41 the law of the land is a heap of deceptions1 and tricks1 now such a man is a lawyer1 therefore he must be a sleight-of-hand gentleman in that art4 ,before ,i make this sweeping conclusion1 ,i ought first1 to examine seriously1 and carefully1 if the law really is1 this strange compound of deceptions1 and ,i ought then1 to examine and really know1 that this lawyer has really acted according to this deception1 ,i ought to do this1 before ,i condemn him personally1 or open the flood-gates of condemnation on the whole respectable body of lawyers4 ,this is the argumentation which reason and justice tell me ,i ought to adopt4 ,now just let these limbs of the law1 adopt this line of argumentation with regard to ,jesuitism and ,jesuits1 and then1 they will be both limbs of the law1 and limbs of fair play4 ,e ,but some one will perhaps inquire1 does the ,protestant ,church consider your ,catholic ,ministers really ordained8 ,i reply she does1 for were any ,catholic ,priest to go over to the ,protestant ,church1 she would not ordain him4 ,and why8 ,because the ,protestant ,church got her ordinations 7if she has any7 from us1 and to question our ordination1 would be to strike at the foundation of her own4 ,f ,catholicity1 which has been this night1 the subject of so much abuse1 has been the belief of the most extensive1 and enlightened nations in ,europe1 and of the most illustrious characters1 that ever did honour to the name of man4--7,speech of ,lord ,hutchinson in the ,house of ,lords1 ,may #ajth1 #ahje47 ,g ,the following are the words of ,mr4 ,cobbett1 a protestant1 writer respecting the introduction of the ,protestant religion into these realms4 ,the ,queen 7,elizabeth7 reigned for forty five years1 and these forty-five years1 were spent in deeds of such cruelty1 as the world had never heard of1 or read of before2 and all for the purpose of compelling her people1 to submit to this established 7,protestant7 ,church4 ,with regard to the cruelties of this monster1 in woman's shape1 her butcherings1 her rippings up1 her tearing out of the bowels of her subjects1 her torments of every description1 in which she was always cordially supported1 by the lawgiving makers of the 7,protestant7 prayer book1 ,i must refer the reader1 to my history of the ,protestant reformation2 suffice it to say 7here71 that in these forty-five years1 which were employed in the establishing of this ,church1 there were more cruelty1 more bloodshed1 more suffering1 than ever were witnessed in the world1 in any other country in a like period of time4 7,cobbett's ,legacy to ,parsons1 p4 #ch47 ,,an ,,address ,,to ,,the ,,clergymen ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england4 ,a marvellous project1 7is7 i'faith1 and a merry jest withal6 ,,most ,,reverend ,,gentlemen1 ,you cannot be surprised1 that ,i have not taken my text from the ,scripture1 for many of you tell the people1 that we ,catholic ,clergymen wish to conceal from the people that sacred volume4 ,to have1 therefore1 taken my text from the ,scripture for the sake of the people1 would be like falsifying your words1 and to have quoted it for your instructions1 would have been most presumptuous on my part1 as every one knows you are masters of ,israel1 both in word and deed1 in the knowledge of that sacred volume4 ,had ,i1 therefore1 been so presumptuous as to have quoted ,scripture for your information1 you might have perhaps addressed me in the words of the ,poet-- ,ye ,popish blockheads1 mitred ,cambridge cries1 ,begone2 ,i and my friends alone are wise1 ,rich with the spoils of ,babylon1 'tis fit ,that we should claim monopoly of wit4 ,well1 among the great diffusion of biblical knowledge1 which has been so gloriously spread among the people by your ,scriptural ,church1 as by ,law established1 ,i happened one day fortunately to hear1 that you ,reverends often told the people1 that there was a golden and heavenly rule in the ,scriptures1 viz43--that they were never to do unto others1 what they would not wish others to do unto them4 ,now we cannot for a moment suppose1 that like spiritual guide-posts1 you would wish to inculcate this golden rule to others1 and not follow it yourselves4 ,well then1 you have been lately trying to arouse the indignation of the people1 by informing them in the most dignified manner1 that the ,pope of ,rome has just made a most extraordinary1 and presumptuous movement on the ,protestants of ,england4 ,now what shall we say1 if it turn out1 that you and your ,reverend ,protestant ancestors1 have for a long time been making a most extraordinary1 and presumptuous movement on the pockets1 and on the intellects of ,englishmen8 ,let us then proceed to examine coolly1 and calmly1 the above points4 ,i will endeavour1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 to discuss these points with as much temper1 and forbearance as ,i possibly can4 ,but1 you must remember1 that you and many of your ,reverend body1 have been endeavouring to convict1 without ceremony1 the numerous and respectable ,catholic body of ,england1 of the crimes of wishing to extend their popish spiritual and temporal domination over the ,protestants of ,england4 ,for this purpose1 your zealous and ,reverend body have1 with pious industry1 raked together the filth of ancient controversy1 and poured it without mercy on the heads of ,catholics1 and on that ,church1 of which it is my pride to be a minister4 ,now1 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 you1 who deal so copiously in hard words1 certainly ought not to complain1 if you should happen sometimes1 to meet with them in return4 ,if you demand respect from others1 you ought certainly to respect a more numerous body of ,christians1 7,i mean the ,catholic ,christian world17 who have no reason to think themselves1 your inferiors in talent1 learning1 or judgment4 ,well then1 let us now proceed to the discussion of the above two points4 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 in a book 7but mind not the ,scripture7 called the extraordinary ,black ,book1 published in ,london in the year #ahca1 by ,effingham ,wilson1 ,royal ,exchange1 ,i find the following statement of the income of the ,church of ,england as by ,law established4 ,of course1 ,i am aware1 that certain changes have been made by ,government 7since the publication of the above book7 as to the amount of individual incomes1 but the aggregate sum is still absorbed by the ,protestant ,church1 as by ,law established4 ,well then1 in the above-mentioned1 extraordinary ,black ,book1 ,i find the various incomes of the ,church of ,england there stated1 and would you believe it6 they form a sum of money1 ,,to ,,the ,,tune of nine millions1 four hundred and fifty-two thousands1 five hundred and sixty-five pounds per annum4 ,now let us see1 how well the ,bishops1 and ,archbishops of the ,reformation1 have thriven on the above spiritual food4 ,the following is an extract from the probate duty returns1 and of course1 must be real testimony as to the worth of these poor in spirit children1 when they awoke in that undiscovered country1 from whose bourne no traveller returns4 ,,extract ,,from ,,probate ,,of ,,wills4 ,l ,stopford1 ,bishop of ,cork1 left his family #be1jjj ,percy1 ,bishop of ,dromore #dj1jjj ,cleaver1 ,bishop of ,ferns #ej1jjj ,bernard1 ,bishop of ,limerick #fj1jjj ,knox1 ,bishop of ,killaloe #ajj1jjj ,fowler1 ,archbishop of ,dublin #aej1jjj ,beresford1 ,archbishop of ,tuam #bej1jjj ,porter1 ,bishop of ,clogher #bej1jjj ,hawkins1 ,bishop of ,raphoe #bej1jjj ,agur1 ,archbishop of ,cashel #djj1jjj ,bishop ,warburton #ejj1jjj ,now just add up the above items1 and then1 you will see that these ,protestant ,bishops and ,archbishops1 after maintaining themselves1 their wives and families1 left behind them1 according to the probate duty returns1 no less than the enormous sum of two millions and seventy-five thousand pounds sterling4 ,really1 when these mammon-godly souls entered the gates of heaven1 with all these paraphernalia of gold1 how amazed must the celestial inmates have been6 ,they would wonder whence these golden spirits came1 but of this they would be convinced1 that they must have come from the land of the living1 and had certainly piously reformed the words of the ,scripture1 ,blessed are the poor in spirit1 and really verified the words of my text1 ,what a marvellous project is faith1 and a merry jest withal6 ,so far1 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i think the people will begin to conclude1 that your ,reverend body has1 for some time1 been making a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the pockets of ,englishmen1 and would to heaven6 ,i could stop here4 ,but ,i must now show the people of ,england1 that your ,protestant ,church as by ,law established1 is receiving more money by four hundred and fifty-three thousands1 five hundred and sixty-five pounds1 than all the other ,christian churches in the whole world4 ,the above extraordinary ,black ,book1 gives a scale of the comparative expenses of the ,church of ,england1 and of all the other ,christian churches in the whole world4 ,now by this scale1 it is shown that the total income of all the ,christian churches in the various parts of the world1 is eight millions nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand pounds2 and the above scale shows1 that the income of the ,church of ,england1 is nine millions1 four hundred and fifty-two thousands1 five hundred and sixty-five pounds4 ,now1 if you will just place the smaller of these under the larger number1 and subtract the one from the other1 you will see that the income of the ,protestant ,church in ,england1 exceeds the total income of all the other ,christian churches in the whole world1 by four hundred and fifty-three thousands1 five hundred and sixty-five pounds4 ,oh1 mighty ,england6 thou boastest1 and justly1 that thy majestic fleet rides on the waves1 the triumphant mistress of the seas2 and thou mayest also as truly1 but not so justly1 boast1 that thy ,scriptural ,church1 as by ,law established1 rides triumphant on the golden waves of mammon1 and that she is really mistress of the world1 in point of mammon2 she is truly the grand and golden emporium of clerical incomes4 ,oh1 how justly may the ministers of this ,church1 address her1 as their golden calf1 in these words of the ,scripture1 ,where thou goest1 ,i will go2 and where thou lodgest1 ,i will lodge2 and thy people shall be my people4 7,ruth i4 #af47 ,yea6 and we will kill the fatted calf1 and slay the rams1 and make merry4 7,prov4 v4 #i47 ,but you will reply1 we got all this money from you papists4 ,yes1 courteous clerks1 to the honour of the ,catholic ,church be it said1 that all this money was left by our charitable ancestors2 and ,i will now judge you from your own mouths4 ,mind and mark it well1 that in the ,catholic times of old ,england1 the above sums of money were divided into three parts3 one for the maintenance of the clergy1 the second for the repair of the churches1 and the third for the support of the poor4 ,in those good old ,catholic times1 there were no church-rates1 nor poor-rates4 ,but your god-like church as by law established1 thought it more just1 or at least convenient1 to pocket herself the whole of the above sum1 and to leave to the public the charitable office1 of providing for the other two purposes4 ,really1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i candidly appeal to you1 if this was not a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement of your clerical ancestors on the pockets of the people2 and really1 must not people of the present day think it a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the part of you ,reverend ,gentlemen1 to continue these pious frauds1 and godly practices of your ancestors8 ,in this1 at least1 you fully observe the commands of the ,scripture1 ,remove not the landmark of thy forefathers4 ,oh ye poor6 7whom ,i sincerely love for the sake of my ,saviour17 when ,i enter your hovels1 where sickness1 misery1 and want meet together1 and witness the scenes of distress that are passing there2--when ,i see a few handfuls of dying embers1 that are calculated rather to starve you1 than afford you the necessary comforts of warmth2--when ,i see the bed of wretchedness1 on which you cast your wearied limbs2--when ,i view the tattered clothes1 which scarcely cover you decently1 much less protect you from the inclemency of the weather2--when ,i behold your pale and sickly countenances1 that bespeak the poorness and scarcity of your food2--when ,i view your poor little children1 begging in vain1 with tears of artless innocence1 a morsel of bread to satisfy the cravings of hunger2--when ,i witness scenes of this heart-rending description1 7scenes which are not very uncommon now-a-days71 the charity of our ,catholic ancestors1 and the inhumanity of your ,church as by law established1 rush vividly on my mind1 and call to my recollection the words of our ,saviour1 ,come1 ye blessed of ,my ,father1 possess ye the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world4 ,for ,i was hungry1 and you gave me to eat2 ,i was thirsty1 and you gave me to drink4 ,i was a stranger1 and you took me in2 naked1 and you covered me2 sick1 and you visited me2 ,i was in prison1 and you came to me4 ,then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand3 ,depart from me1 ye cursed1 into everlasting fire1 which was prepared for the devil1 and his angels4 ,for ,i was hungry1 and you gave me not to eat2 ,i was thirsty1 and you gave me not to drink4 ,i was a stranger1 and you took me not in2 naked1 and you covered me not2 sick and in prison1 and you did not visit me4 ,then they also shall answer him1 saying3 ,lord1 when did we see thee hungry1 or thirsty1 or a stranger1 or naked1 or sick1 or in prison1 and did not minister to thee8 ,then he shall answer them1 saying3 ,amen ,i say to you1 as long as you did it not to one of these least1 7namely the poor71 neither did you do it to me4 7,st4 ,matt4 xxv4 #cd to #de47 ,oh how strikingly does the first part of this sacred passage apply to our charitable ,catholic ancestors8 ,but shall ,i apply the second part to you1 or your ,protestant ancestors8 ,oh6 heaven forbid ,i should6 ,i say with the great ,st4 ,paul1 ,i judge no man2 but charity for you1 and the poor1 induce me to entreat of you1 and to ask of ,god to give you ,his grace1 to commence a real reform in your church property1 for the sake of the poor1 and to restore to the poor1 what your ,protestant ancestors so unjustly took from them4 ,but you will perhaps reply1 that all this church property1 has been justly given to your ,protestant ,church1 by the law of the land2 for as the law of the land1 justly secures to the landlord1 his rents1 so the law of the land1 justly secures to your church1 the tithes4 ,i answer1 in the first place1 that by no law1 either human1 or divine1 can property be justly applied to any other purpose1 than to that for which the intention of the testator left it4 ,now one-third of this church property1 was left by our ,catholic ancestors1 for the support of the poor2 and as long as this property1 was in the hands of the ,catholic ,church1 the poor always received their just share4 ,hence1 among all the calumnies against the ,catholic ,church1 even her basest enemies1 could never accuse her of injustice to the poor4 ,i answer secondly1 the law of the land1 as to landlords1 is a good law1 because the landlord gives to his tenant value 7viz41 the use of the land7 for what he 7the landlord7 receives2 whereas the law of tithes is a bad law1 because it often exacts tithes1 where the payer has never received1 one farthing of value from the parson4 ,now in this case1 it does appear to me 7and ,i am sure it must to many others7 most unjust to demand it from persons1 who never received a pin's-worth of good1 from your ministry in their lives4 ,nay1 perhaps the only return they got1 for the payment of their tithes was1 to hear their religion abused1 and to be held up before the public1 as guilty of those very crimes1 which these reverends themselves were really committing1 either by their robbing the poor of their just share1 or by unjustly exacting from others money1 for which the payers had never received one farthing of value4,h ,and now1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i must just let the people see1 how you contrive to blind them1 by throwing popish dust into their eyes4 ,all the noise1 which you make1 about the pope's bulls1 and about popish spiritual and temporal domination1 is a mere ruse de guerre of many of you1 7some of you indeed1 ,i believe1 are sincere in your motives1 and actions17 to divert public attention1 from the great temporalities of the established ,church4 ,you call1 and hold your public and glorious meetings4 ,with upturned hands and eyes1 with high-souled strains of devotional eloquence1 with cordial community of feeling1 got up between the established ,church1 and those whom you indeed honour with your lips by the title of reverends1 but whom1 in your hearts1 you deem mere phantoms of ministers1 with silvery tones1 and well-turned periods1 of rag-tag and bob-tail inspirations2 you excite the breathless attention of your audience1 and profess the most sanctified attachment to your godly ,church1 and to your glorious ,constitution1 under the protection of whose wing1 you are slyly basking in the sunshine of godly mammon1 and worldly wealth4 ,should any poor ,catholic1 or charitable dissenter1 7who wishes you to do to others as you would be done by17 obtrude himself on the notice of your meeting1 a thundering philippic is instantly raised against popery1 and gaining strength and speed1 and loudness in its progress1 rumbles onward1 until at last1 it bursts forth into a tremendous elemental roar1 increased by the zealous acclamations of an enraptured and fanatical audience4 ,oh1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 this is really a glorious1 and very profitable humbug4 ,as long as you can manage1 to keep the people in this feverish state of excitement1 the gulls will think more of discussing pope's bulls1 ,guy ,fawkes's1 and ,gunpowder ,plots1 than of questioning the moral basis of the law1 which entitles you to take from the poor1 their just share of ,church property1 left by our charitable ancestors1 and of exacting tithes and ,church-rates from those1 who do not belong to your flock1 and for whom you do nothing in return4 ,thus1 you successfully stave off the discussion of ,church property1 professing all the while1 the most devotional concern for the spiritual welfare of the gulls1 on whose pockets1 you are making a most 'extraordinary1 and presumptuous movement4' ,thus you reap the profits1 and laugh at the fools1 who are cajoled by your grand displays4 ,really1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 this extraordinary and presumptuous conduct1 does1 in my humble opinion1 beat all the powers of impudence4,i ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i have now proved the extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 which your scriptural ,church as by law established1 has been making for a long time on the pockets of ,englishmen4 ,i must now proceed to show1 what a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement she has been making for a long time1 on the intellects of ,englishmen4 ,would to ,god that occasion had never been given to me to touch on this subject6 ,but remember1 that many of your reverend body1 have been publicly advancing the most pretty1 and polite things against us ,catholics4 ,the newspapers1 will bear ample testimony to the strange1 and horrid things1 which many of your reverends1 have lately uttered against the ,catholic ,church4 ,now1 what they have in general uttered against us1 is1 unfortunately1 not founded on truth2 but mind1 what ,i shall advance is really true1 although most awful1 nay almost incredible1 had not your ,protestant testimonies borne ample witness to it4 ,remember1 also1 that although ,our ,saviour was the most meek1 and kind creature that the world ever beheld1 still1 when the honour of ,his ,heavenly ,father was insulted and outraged1 ,he cast the buyers and sellers out of the ,temple4 ,now1 some of your reverend body1 have1 in my ideas1 lately used all their endeavours to insult1 and outrage the ,catholic ,church1 which1 ,i consider1 the ,temple of ,god4 ,pardon me1 therefore1 if ,i should with the spiritual arms of truth1 7and ,i hope of charity17 cast them out of that temple1 and show the world1 they had better have been in their own temple1 and have tried to have reformed it1 before they had endeavoured to turn masters of ,israel1 in their neighbours' temple4 ,but this1 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i must say1 that if the ,catholic ,church1 had no better foundation than declamation against the ,protestant ,church1 ,i would not be either a minister1 or a member of it for a single day4 ,but mind1 the ,catholic ,church has both a good foundation1 and can also show the flimsy texture of the ,protestant ,church1 when ,protestant ministers are so imprudent as to attack her4 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i can only say1 had you remained quiet1 ,i should have been innocent of the disagreeable task1 of having to state the following awful facts4 ,but as you have not1 ,i can only add1 ,i am innocent of the consequences1 look you to them4 ,i will not indeed exclaim1 with the ,scripture1 ,its blood be upon you1 and upon your children2 but ,i will rather say1 in the spirit of charity1 may it bring you1 and your followers1 to a serious consideration1 and to a sense of duty4 ,but some of you reverends will perhaps infer1 from the awful truths which ,i shall advance1 that ,i must believe that all1 who are not of our communion1 must go to hell4 ,appalling sentence6 ,christ certainly has said1 that he that will not hear the ,church1 is to be to us as a heathen and a publican 7that is1 excluded from our spiritual communion47 ,but ,christ does not say1 he will go to hell1 much less1 therefore1 ought ,i to rashly condemn him4 ,st4 ,paul1 also1 warns us to judge no man1 for this good reason1 because we1 also shall have to stand before the tribunal of ,christ4 ,far1 therefore1 be it from me to open the flood-gates of damnation1 even on a single individual1 much less on the whole body of our ,protestant brethren4 ,although1 therefore1 ,i shall shortly advance truths1 most awful1 and almost incredible1 still1 let no one imagine1 ,i mean anything ,,personal4 ,oh1 no1 ,i will say with the poet-- ,let not this weak unknowing hand1 ,presume thy bolts to throw1 ,or deal damnation round the land1 ,on all ,i judge thy foe4 ,well1 then1 let it be remembered1 that ,i shall advance only undeniable facts1 without intending to deal damnation on you1 or on the whole ,protestant body4 ,i 7shall7 only speak right on1 ,yes1 as you know me all1 a plain blunt man1 ,that love my friends1 and that they know full well1 ,who gave me public cause to speak the truth4 ,i'll tell you that1 which you yourselves might know4 ,a certain ,spanish chemist1 thought that ,god's formation of his master1 had not been executed in the most perfect1 and durable manner2 and this chemist had the audacious presumption to imagine1 that if he demolished his master1 he could raise him to life again1 to a more perfect1 and durable specimen of workmanship1 than he was1 when ,god first made him4 ,for this purpose1 this audacious chemist cut his master into pieces1 and put the various parts into his sublimatory glass1 with the design of raising his master again1 by chemical operation1 to a more durable1 and perfect state of life than he was1 when he was the handiwork of ,god's formation4 ,now1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i will not apply this to your ,church1 but this ,i will do1 ,i will show you what the ,church was1 and is1 which the fathers of the ,reformation wished first to demolish1 on account of her imperfections1 and then1 to raise her again to a more perfect specimen of spiritual life2 ,i will show the characters of these spiritual chemists2 ,i will show you the wonderful works of their spiritual chemistry1 and the wonderful spiritual works of their scriptural hands2 and then1 ,i will leave you1 and others to judge1 whether these first reformers1 and these new soul menders1 did1 or did not1 really imitate the strange1 and presumptuous conduct of this ,spanish chemist4 ,when ,god first created man1 ,he imprinted on his heart the light of reason1 which 7whether aided by revelation or not1 it is not necessary here to enquire7 taught him his duty to his ,god1 to his neighbour1 and to himself4 ,this light was also imprinted on the hearts of his descendants2 but as man fell from ,god by sin1 the light of this natural law was greatly impaired1 both in the hearts of our first parents1 and of all their descendants4 ,the light of this natural law1 though much impaired by ,adam's fall1 is1 and ever has been1 imprinted on the hearts of all1 and is1 and ever has been1 the foundation of all moral rectitude4 ,the imperfection of this natural law was1 before our ,saviour came1 supplied by the aid of revelation1 which ,almighty ,god communicated to mankind1 at various times1 through ,his chosen servants4 ,but at last1 the ,almighty was pleased to send ,his only ,son from heaven to earth1 to supply the deficiency of this natural law1 and to teach mankind1 in the most perfect manner1 their duty to ,god1 to their neighbour1 and to themselves4 ,hence our ,saviour beautifully says1 ,he came not to destroy the law1 but to fulfil it1 that is1 ,he came to supply the imperfections of the natural law1 caused by ,adam's fall1 and to teach us1 in the most perfect manner1 our duty to our ,god1 to our neighbour1 and to ourselves4 ,hence1 for this purpose ,he became man1 and united our humanity to ,his divinity4 ,in this ,god-man1 were concentrated all the treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge2 and to this ,god-man1 were given all power in heaven1 and on earth4 ,it is plain1 therefore1 as our ,saviour beautifully says1 ,he came to be the way1 the truth1 and the life to all mankind2 that is1 ,he came to be the way1 by showing us the true way of heaven1 which had been darkened1 and obscured by the sin of our first parents2 ,he came to be the truth1 by revealing to us those supernatural truths1 which the natural law did not reveal1 and by revealing to us more clearly those truths1 which the natural law revealed only obscurely2 and lastly1 ,he came to be our life1 by communicating to mankind ,his graces1 by which they were enabled to practise the truths1 which this divine law taught1 and thus1 by the knowledge1 and faithful practice of this divine law1 to arrive at last at the kingdom of heaven4 ,hence1 fully sensible of this truth1 the ,apostles are continually in the ,scriptures reminding us1 on the one hand1 of man's fall1 and the sad consequences of that fall2 and on the other hand1 of our liberation from sin1 and of the abundant blessings we have received1 by redemption through ,jesus ,christ4 ,now1 that mankind in every age1 might be partakers of these abundant1 and spiritual blessings1 ,jesus ,christ was pleased to found a ,church1 and to invest this ,church with the same spiritual powers1 which ,he had received from ,his heavenly ,father4 ,this ,church1 through ,jesus ,christ1 was to be the infallible source of all spiritual knowledge1 and of all spiritual grace2 in short1 it was to be the visible1 the infallible1 and the incorruptible ,church of all ages1 with the world for its boundaries1 and time for its duration4 ,i will now1 give you a short description of this ,church of ,christ2 attend1 and ,i will tell you1 in as few words as ,i can1 what this ,church always was1 and really is4 ,catholicity1 or ,christ's ,church1 began with our ,saviour1 received her mission1 her powers1 and her doctrine1 from ,jesus ,christ4 ,she has been distinguished in every age1 for the unity of her faith1 and the sanctity of her doctrine1 for the universality of her extent1 and the apostolicity of her origin4 ,no earthly consideration1 could ever induce her1 to swerve one iota from the sacred deposit1 and unity of faith1 delivered to her by ,jesus ,christ4 ,hence1 whenever she found any in her communion1 either layman1 priest1 or bishop1 or even a whole nation1 wishing to change1 or add to1 or diminish one tittle of the faith1 delivered by her heavenly founder1 she at first1 like a tender mother1 expostulated with them1 appealed to the grounds and truth of her faith1 and traced it to the mouth1 either of our ,saviour or ,his ,apostles2 but if they disregarded her tender expostulations1 she then1 as ,st4 ,paul did the incestuous ,corinthian1 cut them off from her communion1 and showed them1 when her faith was at stake1 she feared neither the frowns of individuals1 nor the strength of nations4 ,every article of her faith is so holy in itself1 and so conducive to true holiness1 that she challenges her greatest adversaries1 to show the smallest stain in any part of what she really teaches1 and the most convincing proof of their being unable to do so1 is1 that not daring to attack her true doctrine1 they1 by calumny and misrepresentation1 lay things to her charge which she even detests and condemns4,j ,and then1 after combating a phantom of their own creation1 exult in an easy and decisive victory4 ,from the dawn of ,christianity to the present day1 there has not been a nation converted to ,christianity1 but what was converted by her zealous exertions1 nor is there a religion under the sun except hers1 that can prove that any of her members1 were ever honoured on account of their virtues1 and sanctity1 with the name of saint4 ,she can look back through eighteen centuries1 and shew that the unity and sanctity of her doctrine1 are the very same in the nineteenth century1 as they were in the first century4 ,she can trace a long succession of popes1 even to the first pope1 who was ,st4 ,peter4 ,she can present you a long catalogue of learned and polite nations1 of scholars1 philosophers1 and divines1 of generals1 statesmen1 and princes1 of saints1 martyrs1 and confessors1 who looked upon her faith as their best inheritance1 a treasure which they held more dear than life itself4 ,in short1 she can prove1 that she is now that ,church1 which our ,saviour first founded on a rock1 against which1 ,he promised1 that the gates of hell should never prevail1 and that ,he1 and ,his ,holy ,spirit1 should remain with it1 teaching it all truth1 until the end of the world4 ,hence1 she has passed through the stormy trials of eighteen centuries1 which would have long since shivered any human institution into atoms1 and now stands forth1 ever fresh and vigorous1 in all her pristine strength1 but silvered with the venerable hoar of ages4 ,this is a short description of the visible1 infallible1 and incorruptible ,catholic ,church of ,christ2 ,i will now show you how this ,church was formed1 and how it was to be perpetuated1 from age to age1 with the world for its boundaries1 and time for its duration4 ,the ,prophet ,daniel foresaw this ,church1 when he said 7,dan4 c4 ii471 ,the ,god of heaven should set up a kingdom1 which should never be destroyed4 ,and our ,saviour 7,matt4 xvi47 informs us1 that ,he is the maker and builder of this ,church4 ,hence ,he assures us1 that as ,he ,himself was sent by ,his ,heavenly ,father to preach the ,gospel 7,luke iv4 #ah471 so ,he1 also1 sent ,his ,apostles3 as ,my ,father hath sent ,me1 ,i also send you4 7,john xx4 #ba47 ,for this purpose ,he revealed to ,his ,apostles all the divine truths which ,he had received4 ,all things1 says ,he1 whatsoever ,i have heard of ,my ,father1 ,i have made known to you4 7,john xv4 #ae47 ,he then gave them a commission1 to teach all these truths to all nations4 ,all power1 says ,he1 is given to me in heaven and on earth3 go ye1 therefore1 and teach all nations1 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever ,i have commanded you2 and behold ,i am with you all days1 even to the end of the world4 7,matt4 xxviii4 #ai1 #bj47 ,but when our ,saviour gave these commands to ,his ,apostles1 ,he at the same time1 imposed upon mankind a strict obligation1 to hear and learn ,his gospel from the ,apostles4 ,hence ,he says to ,his ,apostles1 ,he that heareth you1 heareth ,me1 and he that despiseth you1 despiseth ,me1 and he that despiseth ,me1 despiseth ,him that sent me4 7,luke x4 #af47 ,but whilst our ,saviour1 imposes upon mankind the necessity of hearing ,his ,apostles1 he pledged ,his infallible word1 that they should never lead the people astray1 or teach any false doctrine4 ,for this reason1 ,he promises that ,he will send down ,his ,holy ,spirit upon the ,apostles1 to teach them all truth1 that ,he and ,his ,holy ,spirit will remain with them for ever1 teaching them all truth1 and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against them4 7,john xv4 ,matt4 xvi47 ,that this absolute1 and infallible authority of preaching and teaching1 was not to be limited merely to the persons of the ,apostles1 nor merely to the period of their ministry1 but was also to extend to their successors in office1 and to all future ages1 ,i will now prove4 ,our ,saviour tells ,his ,apostles1 that they are to go1 and teach all nations1 and that ,he will be with them1 even until the end of the world2 and that the ,spirit of truth1 shall remain with them for ever4 ,now1 as the ,apostles1 did not teach all nations1 in their own persons1 and were not to continue on earth1 until the end of the world1 it was manifest1 that the commission was not to be confined to their persons1 but was to be given to their office1 that is1 to them and their successors in office1 who shall continue until the end of the world1 to complete the great work of teaching all nations1 which the ,apostles first began4 ,that this was actually the intention of our divine ,saviour1 we learn in positive1 and distinct terms1 from these words of ,st4 ,paul3 ,and ,he gave some apostles1 and some prophets1 and other some pastors1 and doctors for the perfecting of the saints1 for the work of the ministry1 for the edifying of the body of ,christ4 ,that henceforth we may be no more children1 tossed to and fro1 and carried about with every wind of doctrine1 by the wickedness of men1 by cunning craftiness1 by which they lie in wait to deceive4 7iv4 #aa1 #ad47 ,such is1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 and such always was1 the visible1 the infallible1 and incorruptible ,church of ,christ1 which was to be perpetuated from age to age1 with time for its duration1 and the world for its boundaries4 ,oh1 but you will reply1 this ,church once fell into error1 at least so say the first ,reformers4 ,if1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i were to assert that you all once committed murder1 you would very sharply ask1 when1 where1 and how8 ,and if ,i could not prove when1 where1 and how1 ,i think you would deem me 7and justly too7 a very near relation to the father of lies4 ,now1 your first ,reformers said1 indeed1 that the ,catholic ,church once fell1 but most unfortunately1 they forgot to prove when1 where1 and how4 ,as1 therefore1 these first ,reformers1 forgot to prove these most essential circumstances1 you must excuse us ,catholics1 if we prefer ,god's infallible word1 to the mere ipse dixit of these first celestial lights of the ,reformation4 ,you know ,god says1 heaven and earth1 shall pass away1 but ,his word shall not pass away4 ,but you will1 perhaps1 answer1 really they must have been strange beings to have asserted1 that ,god's infallible ,church had fallen1 and not to have been able1 or at least to have forgotten1 to prove such a bold assertion4 ,do you know1 ,i was just thinking the same2 and1 therefore1 ,i beg to introduce a few of these beings to your notice3 and ,i know none1 that has a greater claim to our first notice1 than ,martin ,luther1 both for the originality of his spiritual doctrines1 and for the sublimity of the celestial revelations1 with which he was honoured4 ,and mind1 had not ,luther and his disciples1 left the most incontestible testimony of what ,i am about to advance1 it would really have outraged and defied all credibility4 ,well1 then1 know1 and never forget1 that ,martin ,luther1 the first luminary of the ,reformation1 had a conference with the devil1 in which ,martin assures us1 that he was convinced by the devil's powerful argumentation1 that the ,popish ,mass was a heap of idolatry4 ,the following are the words of this angel of light on this subject3 ,being awakened at midnight1 the devil began to dispute with me1 according to his custom4 ,listen to me1 ,master ,doctor1 said he3 do you consider that1 for fifteen years1 you have said mass almost every day8 ,what1 if all this while1 you have been guilty of idolatry1 and1 instead of adoring the body and blood of ,christ1 have adored only bread and wine8 ,i answered him1 that ,i was a priest lawfully ordained by the bishop2 and that having1 from a principle of obedience1 discharged my ministry with a sincere intention of consecrating1 ,i saw no reason to doubt the validity of the consecration4 ,true1 replied ,satan2 but in the ,churches of ,turks and ,heathens1 is not everything done in an orderly manner1 and in the spirit of obedience8 ,does that authorize their worship as orthodox1 and perfectly correct8 ,what1 if your ordination were null1 and your consecration as vain and useless as that of ,turkish priests1 in the exercise of their ministry1 or of the false prophets under ,jeroboam8 ,here 7adds ,luther7 ,i was seized with a violent sweat1 and my heart began to beat in a strange manner4 ,the devil is very artful in adjusting his reasoning1 and he also pushes his arguments with great force2 he has a voice1 strong and rough1 and is so pressing in his objections1 one after another1 as scarcely to allow you time to breathe4 ,hence1 ,i can conceive1 how it has repeatedly happened1 that persons have1 in the morning1 been found dead in their beds4 ,in the first place1 he may suffocate them2 he may also1 by his method of disputing1 cause such a trouble in the soul as to render her unable to make any further resistance1 and thus she may be compelled instantly to leave the body2 which has nearly been my own case1 more than once4 ,after this preface1 ,luther mentions five reasons which the devil alleged against the sacrifice of the mass2 reasons extremely frivolous in themselves1 but which ,luther considered of sufficient weight to justify his yielding to them1 saying to those who might blame his conduct1 that if they had heard the devil reasoning in the same forcible manner as he had done1 they would take care not to appeal from his arguments to the practice of the ,church1 and the usages of antiquity1 which would never satisfy them4 ,this conference may be seen in three different editions of ,luther's works1 printed by the care of his disciples1 viz41 7,wittemberg1 ,t4 #g1 p4 #dgi4 ,jenae1 ,ed4 ,germ4 per ,thomas1 p4 #hb4 ,attenberg1 ,t4 #f4 p4 #hf47 ,really1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 this is a very strange history4 ,certain1 however1 it is1 that ,luther omits nothing to persuade us of its truth3 for he mentions the very words which the devil used1 the tone of his voice1 the nature of his arguments1 the impression which the conference made on his body and soul1 which sometimes follow from debating with this king of the lower regions4 ,after the death of ,luther1 his disciples1 and especially ,melancton1 took care to insert the conference in the collection of ,luther's works1 printed in ,latin at ,wittemberg1 and the writers of the ,luthern and ,calvinistic party agree1 that it was certainly the production of ,luther4,k 7,hospinian1 par4 #b4 ,hist4 ,sacramentariae1 p4 #bf1 et4 p4 #aca47 ,now ,luther either had or had not this conference with the master of lies4 ,if he really had1 ,luther ought to have known1 that such a master was not very likely1 to teach him anything very good1 and that he was not a very fit person1 to convince him of the idolatry of the mass4 ,for if the mass1 had really been idolatry1 ,i think the devil1 would rather have encouraged1 than tried to overturn it4 ,but if ,luther had not this conference1 then the ambition of ,luther1 for having wished to appear connected with so bad a master1 indicates so strange and exotic a genius1 so depraved and bad a taste1 that it reflects almost as much dishonour on ,luther1 as if this conference had really taken place4 ,you will perhaps object that ,luther is nothing to us4 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i have not quoted him to insult you1 or to throw any disrespect on you2 for you are certainly not to be answerable for ,luther's deeds4 ,but ,i have quoted him to let you see1 what kind of a genius1 this father of the ,reformation was1 and ,i must now candidly ask1 if you think he was a fit person1 to reform ,christ's ,church4 ,had he indeed begun1 by endeavouring to reform the devil himself1 we might have pardoned his religious enthusiasm2 but for him to tell us1 that the infallible ,church of ,christ1 had fallen into error1 and that he had come to reform it1 under the instructions1 and guidance of the master of lies1 is really most outrageous1 and cannot be equalled by any thing1 that ,i have either heard1 or read on this side the grave4 ,that the human mind1 should be capable of falling into such dreadful delusion1 would appear almost incredible1 had not the ,holy ,ghost assured us1 that ,god abandons to a reprobate sense1 those who wish to change truth into falsehood4 7,romans i4 #be-bf47 ,zuinglius1 another bright son of the ,reformation1 professes to have learnt his main argument against the ,real ,presence from a spirit1 which appeared to him in the night1 but whether it was a black1 or white spirit he does not remember4 ,however1 he made great account1 of this nightly instruction of his unknown friend2 read the place of ,exodus1 which had been pointed out to him by his unknown friend1 and afterwards preached before the whole congregation1 on the subject of this wonderful discovery4 7,hosp4 ii4 p4 #be-bf47 ,luther was positive and sure1 that the devil1 whom ,oecolampadius1 7another reformer17 employed1 strangled him during the night in his bed4 ,this is the excellent master1 continues ,luther1 who taught ,oecolampadius that there are contradictions in the ,scripture4 ,see1 says ,luther1 to what satan brings learned men4 7,de ,miss4 ,priv4 ,luth47 ,such were the nocturnal revelations1 with which some of the first reformers were honoured1 and ,i think now1 you will not be surprised at the following character1 which is given them1 and the other reformers1 even by ,protestant testimony4 ,zanchius1 the celebrated ,protestant professor1 thus complains of the conduct of his reforming ,protestant colleagues3 ,i am indignant1 when ,i consider the manner1 in which most of us defend our cause4 ,the true state of the question we often1 on set purpose1 involve in darkness1 that it may not be understood2 we have the impudence1 to deny things the most evident3 we assert what is visibly false3 the most impious doctrines1 we force on the people as the first principles of faith1 and orthodox 7true7 opinions1 we condemn as heretical3 we torture the ,scriptures1 until they agree with our own fancies1 and boast of being the disciples of the fathers1 while we refuse to follow their doctrines3 to deceive1 to calumniate1 to abuse1 is our familiar practice3 nor do we care for anything1 provided we can defend our cause1 good or bad1 right or wrong4 ,oh what times6 what manners6 7,zanchius ad ,stormium1 tome viii4 col4 #hbh47 ,but forgery--,i blush for the honour of ,protestantism while ,i write it--seems to have been peculiar to the reformed 99 99 99 and ,i look in vain1 for one of these accursed outrages of imposition1 among the disciples of ,popery4 ,but forgery1 appears to have been the peculiar disease of ,protestantism4--7,vindication of ,mary1 ,queen of ,scots1 vol4 iii4 p4 #b and #ec4 ,by the ,rev4 ,john ,whitaker1 ,b4,d41 ,rector of ,ruan ,langhorne1 ,cornwall47 ,you have now seen1 who was the instructor of some of the first ,reformers1 and the two above passages 7mind1 from ,protestants17 must convince you1 that they and their reforming ,protestant colleagues1 appear to have been apt scholars of this master of lies4 ,well1 ,i have shown you now1 the character of the spiritual chemists of the ,reformation4 ,i will now show you1 some of the wonderful spiritual works1 of some of their supernatural1 and chemical hands4 ,among these1 ,i must rank as first and foremost1 the wonderful spiritual deeds1 of your ,scriptural ,church as by ,law established4 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,the ,thirty-nine ,articles1 are the fundamental ,articles of your ,protestant ,creed4 ,now1 in the ,thirty-fifth of those ,articles1 ,i find1 that your ,scriptural ,church professes to believe1 in the ,protestant homilies there named4 ,among which ,i find the second is1 against peril of idolatry4 ,now1 the following1 are the words of your ,protestant homily against idolatry4 ,its words are these3 ,the preaching of ,god's word1 most sincere in the beginning1 by process of time became less and less pure1 and afterwards corrupt1 and last of all1 altogether laid down and left off1 c4 ,not only the unlearned and simple1 but the learned and wise2 not the people only1 but the bishops2 not the sheep1 but also the shepherds themselves1 being blinded by the bewitchery of images1 as blind guides of the blind1 fell both into the pit of damnable idolatry2 in which all the world1 as it were drowned1 continued unto our age for the space of eight hundred years2 unspoken against in a manner1 so that laity and clergy1 learned and unlearned1 of all ages and sexes and degrees1 of men and women and children of whole ,christendom1 7an horrible thing to think17 have been at once drowned in abominable idolatry1 of all other vices most detested by ,god1 and damnable to men1 and that for the space of eight hundred years together4 ,and to this end has come that beginning of setting up of images in churches1 then judged harmless1 in experience proved not only harmful1 but exitious and pestilential1 and to the destruction of all good religion universally4 ,thus far1 your ,protestant homily4 ,really1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 if in my comments on the above passage1 ,i have often to use the word damnable1 you must really pardon me1 for you see1 ,i have just been taught this pretty word1 by your ,scriptural ,church1 and you know1 she is master in ,israel4 ,pray1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 where was your ,protestant ,scriptural ,church1 during this eight hundred years of damnable idolatry8 ,if it was a member of no ,church1 then1 it was not a member1 or part of ,christ's ,church4 ,but if it was a member1 or part of any one ,church in all ,christendom1 then1 it was utterly drowned in abominable1 and damnable idolatry4 ,i wonder how your ,scriptural ,church1 can extricate herself out of this spiritual labyrinth4 ,well1 then1 here we have1 according to your ,scriptural ,church1 a universal apostacy4 ,the true ,church decayed1 the whole of ,christendom drowned in damnable idolatry1 and all good religion destroyed universally1 and that1 for eight hundred years2 and we have also your ,scriptural ,church either not existing1 or buried in this universal spiritual destruction4 ,really1 your ,scriptural ,church1 ,sampson-like1 not only demolished the whole spiritual fabric of ,christendom1 but also perished herself under the ruins of this universal spiritual destruction2 but the strangest thing of all is1 whilst with one hand1 she was endeavouring with her spiritual power1 to hurl the ,catholic ,church1 into the vortex of this universal spiritual destruction1 she1 with the other hand1 charitably saves us ,catholics 7as ,moses was saved from the waters7 from this deluge of universal spiritual idolatry2 and ,i will now show you how2 for your ,scriptural ,church1 in her sixth article of the ,thirty-nine ,articles1 teaches that1 ,holy ,scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation4 ,now1 this very ,scripture1 7the book of salvation17 declares 7as ,i have already shown in my above description of the ,catholic ,church17 that1 the ,catholic ,church should never err1 and of course1 could never fall into idolatry4 ,and1 therefore1 in obedience to your ,scriptural ,church1 and to the ,scripture itself1 we believe that the ,catholic ,church1 never has fallen1 and never will fall into idolatry4 ,for the ,scripture says1 ,heaven and earth shall pass away1 but ,god's word1 shall not pass away4 ,really1 your ,scriptural ,church1 is very kind to us in this respect1 and ,i almost begin to think1 she must be a worthy descendant of ,pharo's daughter1 who saved ,moses from the waters of the ,nile4 ,well1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 you see your scriptural ,church1 has now hurled the whole of ,christendom1 into the vortex of universal1 abominable1 and damnable idolatry1 and either involved herself1 in this sweeping deluge of abominations1 or committed suicidical destruction on herself2 but1 strange to say1 she has charitably saved us benighted ,papists1 from these abominable1 and universal waters of idolatry1 as ,pharo's daughter1 kindly saved ,moses from the waters of the ,nile4 ,now1 how your scriptural ,church as by law established will contrive to gather together again1 and unite all the various parts of this universal1 spiritual edifice1 just destroyed by her hands1 ,i am at a loss to determine4 ,if she really can collect1 unite1 and form these various spiritual parts1 into a more perfect1 and durable edifice1 than ,god ,himself had made it1 ,i shall then begin to think1 that she is invested with powers1 which even ,god ,himself does not possess4 ,but by what spiritual art of chemistry1 is she to perform this wonderful1 and superhuman operation8 ,if she has recourse to the ,scriptures1 she will there learn1 that ,god had built this spiritual edifice on an imperishable1 infallible1 and incorruptible foundation4 ,and surely1 for her sake1 ,god will not contradict ,himself2 and if she has recourse to her thirty-nine articles1 they have already annihilated her4 ,o poor scriptural ,church6 thou hast often made sad work with other ,churches2 but at last1 alas6 thou art in sad straits thyself4 ,o6 how thou remindest me of the man1 who ,halting on crutches of unequal size1-- ,one leg by truth supported1 one by lies1 ,thus saddled to the goal1 with awkward pace1 ,secure of nothing but to lose the race4 ,well1 but you will say1 this immense spiritual edifice must for the sake of the salvation of mankind1 be re-built4 ,should ,i offer my officious services1 to assist in this pious work of reconstruction1 your scriptural ,church might perhaps say1 ,i destroyed more than ,i built4 ,well1 she could not1 even then1 justly complain of this2 for she has just cut into pieces1 demolished1 and annihilated the whole of ,christendom1 with her destructive weapons of universal1 abominable1 and damnable idolatry4 ,in all material edifices1 it is considered of the greatest importance that the foundation should be firm1 safe1 and substantial4 ,of course1 we have reason to expect these requisites in the foundation of all spiritual edifices2 and of course1 we may naturally expect them1 in the new erection of ,god's work which your ,church has just destroyed1 but which she is now going to re-construct into a more perfect and durable form than ,god had made it4 ,now1 upon what foundation will your ,church reconstruct this demolished spiritual edifice8 ,in her twenty-first article of her thirty-nine articles1 7and mind1 she has sworn to these articles as ,god's truth17 ,i find the following words3 ,general councils may not be gathered together without the commandment1 and will of princes4 ,and when they be gathered together1 7forasmuch as they be an assembly of men1 whereof all be not governed by the ,spirit1 and word of ,god17 they may err1 and sometimes have erred1 even in things pertaining unto ,god4 ,now1 please tell me1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 of what is your new spiritual ,church to be built8 ,surely not of brick and mortar6 but of course1 it is to be erected1 on the testimony of man1 or of some body of men4 ,but your article says1 men may err1 and have erred1 even in things pertaining to ,god4 ,therefore1 your council1 or councils1 of your new ,church may err1 and therefore1 how will you build upon these fallible men an infallible foundation8 ,but you will indignantly reply1 the article intimates1 that they may err unless governed by the ,spirit1 and word of ,god4 ,well1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 is it likely ,god will give them his ,spirit1 and unerring word to reconstruct a new ,church1 when they have just destroyed the infallible1 and beautiful work of ,god's own hands8 ,is it in the nature of things1 that ,god should contradict ,himself1 to second the ,,babel ideas1 of your scriptural ,church1 yet to be formed8 ,really1 ,sir1 some of you ,reverends will exclaim1 how you are garbling that twenty-first article6 ,why have you slyly omitted to quote the last part of that article8--,well1 as you have called1 for the last part of this article1 ,i will now quote it2 and as your ,church 7first1 indeed1 unfortunately destroying herself7 has just so charitably saved us1 benighted papists1 from the waters of idolatry1 ,i do sincerely hope this last part of your article1 may enable you1 to rebuild a godly and spiritual edifice4 ,well1 then1 now for the last part of this twenty-first article1 which you say1 ,i have slyly omitted4 ,it runs thus verbatim3 ,wherefore1 things ordained by them1 as necessary to salvation1 have neither strength nor authority1 unless it may be declared1 that they be taken out of ,holy ,scripture4 ,now1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 as you have just asked me a question1 allow me to ask you another4 ,if any of you1 were wishful to purchase an estate1 would you not first1 have the title deeds of that estate1 carefully examined by some eminent and respectable lawyers1 to be sure that the title deeds1 were perfectly good1 and satisfactory1 before you advanced the money8 ,now we have just learnt1 from the last part of your twenty-first article1 that the ,scriptures1 properly speaking1 are the deeds of a ,christian1 by which he is to obtain a good title to salvation4 ,of course1 therefore1 we may naturally suppose1 that your scriptural ,church would hand down to her followers the ,scriptures1 in the most perfect and unmutilated state4 ,well1 we will now see whether she has done this1 and then we shall be able to determine1 if she can rebuild her godly1 and spiritual edifice on so heavenly a foundation4 ,we will now consider how she got the sacred ,scriptures1 after her shipwreck amid the perils of idolatry1 and whether1 after she got them1 she handed them down to her followers in the perfect and unmutilated state1 in which she first received them from the ,catholic ,church4 ,luther1 the father of the ,reformation1 even after he had left the ,catholic ,church1 candidly says1 in his ,commentary on the #afth chapter of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel3 ,we are obliged to yield many things to the ,papists1 that with them is the word of ,god1 which we received from them1 otherwise we should have known nothing at all about it4 ,and1 in his book against the ,anabaptists1 he makes the following confession3 ,under ,papacy are many good things1 yea1 everything that is good in ,christianity4 ,i say moreover1 continues he1 under ,papacy is true ,christianity1 even the very kernel of ,christianity4 ,from these two passages of ,luther1 it is evident1 that your scriptural ,church1 first received the ,scriptures from the hand of the ,catholic ,church1 and that she received them1 in a perfect and unmutilated state2 otherwise1 how could ,luther's words be true1 7and mind1 he uttered these words after he had left the ,catholic ,church7 when he assures us1 that under ,papacy is true ,christianity1 yea1 everything that is good in ,christianity1 nay1 the very kernel of ,christianity4 ,now let us see how your scriptural ,church1 corrupted and mutilated the sacred volumes which she had received from the ,catholic ,church in a perfect and unmutilated state4 ,luther was the first1 after the ,reformation1 who put out a ,protestant translation of the ,scriptures1 which was immediately condemned by ,osiander1 ,rickerman1 and ,zuinglius4 ,of this translation of ,luther1 ,zuinglius says1 7,lib4 de ,sacra47 ,luther was a foul corrupter1 and horrible falsifier of ,god's word4 ,one1 who followed the ,marcionites and ,arians1 that razed out such places of ,holy ,writ1 as were against him4 ,thou dost1 says he to ,luther1 corrupt the word of ,god4 ,thou art seen to be a manifest1 and common corrupter1 and perverter of the holy ,scriptures4 ,how much are we ashamed of thee1 who have hitherto esteemed thee6 ,but ,luther not only falsified1 but he also added1 to the texts of the ,scripture4 ,i know well1 says ,luther1 that this word1 alone1 7which he added to ,st4 ,paul's words1 ,rom4 iii47 is not found in the text of ,st4 ,paul1 but should a ,papist1 annoy you upon it1 tell him at once1 without hesitation1 that ,dr4 ,martin ,luther1 would have it so1 and that a papist1 and an ass1 are synonymous4 7,tom4 #e1 ,jena ,edit4 p4 #ada1 #add47 ,but ,luther1 soon had an opportunity of retaliating1 on his disciple ,zuinglius4 ,when ,proscheverus1 the ,zuinglian printer of ,zurich1 sent him a copy of the ,zuinglian translation1 ,luther rejected it1 and sent it back to him1 calling at the same time the ,zuinglian divines1 in matters of divinity1 fools1 asses1 anti-christs1 deceivers1 and of an ass-like understanding4 7,see ,zuing4 tom4 #b1 ad ,luth4 ,lib4 de ,sacr4 fol4 #cch47 ,of the translation set forth by ,oecolampadius1 ,beza says1 that it is in many places wicked1 and altogether differing from the mind of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,and he also condemns that of ,castalio1 as being sacrilegious1 wicked1 and heathenish4 7,in ,respons4 ad ,defens4 and ,respons4 ,castal47 ,we should naturally expect that ,beza1 after thus reproving the translations of ,oecolampadius and of ,castalio1 would himself have produced an immaculate one2 but the learned ,molineus observes of his translation1 that he 7,beza7 actually changes the text1 of which ,molineus gives several instances4 7,in sua ,translat4 ,nov4 ,testi4 part #bj47 ,castalio wrote a whole book against ,beza's corruptions of the ,scriptures1 and yet1 he adds1 ,i will not note all his 7,beza's7 corruptions1 for that would require too large a volume4 7,in ,defens4 ,transl47 ,of ,calvin's translation the learned ,molinaeus thus speaks3 ,calvin1 in his harmony1 makes the text of the ,gospel to leap up and down4 ,he uses violence to the letter of the ,gospel2 and besides this1 adds to the text4 7,in sua ,translat4 ,nov4 ,test4 part #ab47 ,here1 then1 you have ,zuinglius and others against ,luther's translation1 and ,luther against ,zuinglius's translation1 ,beza against ,oecolampadius and ,castilio's translation1 and ,castilio against ,beza's translation1 and ,molinaeus against ,calvin's translation4 ,now1 which of all these false translations was your scriptural ,church to adopt as her only rule of faith and for that of the people8 ,why1 you ,reverends will reply1 she was to adopt her own ,english translations4 ,well1 then we had better examine1 and see whether they were any better than any of the above translations1 ,carlile1 in his treatise on ,christ's descent into hell1 says of the ,english translators1 that they have depraved the sense1 obscured the sense1 obscured the truth1 and deceived the ignorant2 that in many places1 they do detort the scriptures from the right sense1 and that they show themselves to love darkness more than light1 falsehood more than truth4 ,and in an abridgment which the ministers of the diocese of ,lincoln delivered to ,king ,james1 they denominated the ,english translation1 ,a translation that taketh away from the text1 that addeth to the text1 and that sometime to the changing1 or obscuring of the meaning of the ,holy ,ghost2 a translation which is absurd and senseless1 perverting1 in many places1 the meaning of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,burges1 in his ,apology1 sec4 #f1 exclaims1 ,how shall ,i approve under my hand a translation1 which hath so many omissions1 many additions1 which sometimes obscures1 sometimes perverts the sense1 being sometimes senseless1 sometimes contrary8 ,and ,broughton1 in his letter to the ,lords of the ,council1 gives this reason for requiring a new translation without delay1 that ,that which is now in ,england is full of errors4 ,and1 in his ,advertisement of ,corruptions1 he tells the bishops1 ,that their public translations of ,scriptures into ,english is such1 as that it perverts the texts of the ,old ,testament1 in eight hundred and forty-eight places2 and that it causes millions of millions to reject the ,new ,testament1 and to run to eternal flames4 ,but some of you ,reverends may reply1 those were the ,protestant translations of earlier times2 but we have got better translations now4 ,well1 then we must now examine the truth of your assertion4 ,in ,november1 #ahbb1 the ,irish ,protestant ,society passed the following condemnatory resolution of the ,irish translators3 ,resolved1 that1 after a full enquiry1 the members of this society feel satisfied1 that material and very numerous errors1 exist in the version of the ,new ,testament1 edited by the ,british and ,foreign ,bible ,society4 ,according to ,mr4 ,platt1 thirty-five variations were discovered in the first ten pages1 of which seven were considered to be material4 ,this proportion in a ,testament of four hundred pages1 says the ,hon4 and ,rev4 ,mr4 ,percival1 gives fourteen hundred variations1 and two hundred and eighty material errors in a single volume4 ,we find in the ,monthly ,london ,review1 page #bbj1 ,that in ,april1 #ahcb1 a memorial was addressed on the subject1 to the vice-chancellors of the ,universities of ,cambridge and of ,oxford1 and the other delegates of the ,clarendon press4 ,it was signed by the following gentlemen3 ,t4 ,bennet1 ,d4,d4 ,t4 ,blackburn4 ,george ,collinson4 ,f4 ,a4 ,cox1 ,l4,l4,d4 ,thomas ,curtis4 ,t4 ,fletcher1 ,d4,d4 ,e4 ,henderson4 ,j4 ,p4 ,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,t4 ,townley1 ,d4,d4 ,r4 ,winter1 ,d4,d4 ,the names1 attached to this memorial1 are too respectable not to communicate a great degree of importance1 to any statement to which they are affixed4 ,this memorial states1 ,that the modern ,bibles1 issued from the press of the ,university of ,oxford1 abounded with deviations from the authorized version of ,king ,james the ,first4 ,that1 though some of these errors were merely typographical1 yet of those that were intentional1 the number was of a serious amount4 ,that in the ,book of ,genesis1 there were upwards of eight hundred errors2 in the ,psalms1 six hundred2 in the ,gospel of ,st4 ,matthew1 four hundred and sixteen2 and in about the fourth part of the ,bible1 an aggregate of two thousand1 nine hundred and thirty-one4 ,the same ,monthly ,london ,review1 for ,february1 #ahcc1 speaking of the pamphlet of ,thomas ,curtis1 of ,grove ,house1 ,islington1 on his discoveries of the falsification of the ,bible1 says3 ,in this comparatively brief pamphlet1 we find the exposition of one of the most singular deceptions1 to which the world has yet been exposed4 ,the imposition1 is nothing short of a downright falsification of the text of ,scripture4 ,need we add a syllable more1 to rouse the attention of the thinking community8 ,in the same pamphlet ,mr4 ,curtis remarks3 ,about twenty years ago1 an intelligent reader at one of the printing offices1 where the ,bible was in a course of printing1 took the trouble of drawing up a specification of a number of gross errors1 which he found in the very copy1 that had been selected by the proper authorities1 as the standard of correctness to which he was to adhere4 ,the errors pointed out by the penetrating reader1 amounted to no less1 than seven hundred and thirty-one1 and these occurred in the various chapters1 from the beginning of ,genesis1 to the end of ,jeremiah4 ,well1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 it is plain from what ,i have stated 7and where is the person who can contradict what ,i have stated71 that the first ,protestant foreign ,reformers1 corrupted and falsified the sacred ,scriptures1 that your ,english ,protestant ,reformers1 did also the same1 and that even at the present day1 your ,english ,protestant translations of that sacred volume1 are in a most awful and corrupt state4 ,and would to heaven ,i could stop here6 ,but what will the ,english people say1 when they learn1 that your ,protestant scriptural ,church1 has not only falsified and corrupted the ,scriptures1 but that she has had the audacity1 to expunge from the canon of the ,scripture many books1 which are as much canonical 7that is1 as much the inspired word of ,god7 as those1 which she still retains in her present ,protestant canon4 ,i will now prove this4 ,the ,protestant ,church1 received at first 7as ,luther truly informs us7 the ,scriptures from the ,catholic ,church4 ,the ,catholic ,church1 therefore1 must be good authority in this respect1 otherwise how can the ,protestant ,church be1 sure that her first ,scriptures1 were the real word of ,god8 ,now1 the ,catholic ,church has ranked1 for at least fourteen hundred years1 many books as canonical1 which your ,protestant ,church rejects as uncanonical4 ,in the year #cig1 a ,catholic council was held at ,carthage1 at which the learned and pious ,st4 ,augustine assisted4 ,in that council1 the canon of the ,scripture1 was satisfactorily determined2 and in that very council1 many books were declared to be canonical 7that is1 the inspired word of ,god17 which your ,church1 has had the audacity to tell the people1 are not canonical1 that is1 they are not to be considered the inspired word of ,god4 ,but what reason had your scriptural ,church1 to assume the audacious power1 to condemn as uncanonical1 books1 which were declared by this illustrious1 numerous1 and learned body of ,christians1 to be canonical1 7that is1 the inspired word of ,god87 ,i ask you1 what reason had your scriptural ,church for this audacious step8 ,i answer1 none4 ,o but ,i fancy ,i hear some of your reverends exclaiming1 ,you are wrong for once1 old papish botheration4 ,look at the passage in the sixth of our articles1 between our canonical and uncanonical books1 and there you will find a good reason for your popish question4 ,thank you1 courteous clerks2 ,i will now quote the passage1 and give your scriptural ,church the benefit of it4 ,and the other books 7as ,hierome saith7 the ,church doth read1 for example of life1 and instruction of manners1 but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine4 7,art4 #f1 ,ch4 ,eng4 ,p4 ,book47 ,well1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 truth and falsehood are in this passage1 mixed up together to a nicety4 ,in the first part1 your scriptural ,church tells the people that she1 like ,hierom 7and mind1 ,st4 ,hierom was a great ,catholic ,saint71 reads her uncanonical books1 for example of life and instruction of manners4 ,well1 her object for reading these books1 as far as it goes1 is very good2 but then1 your scriptural ,church slyly adds1 but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine3 an artful inuendo that ,st4 ,hierom did the same4 ,now ,st4 ,hierom wished1 indeed1 the ,catholic ,church to read these books1 for example of life1 and instruction of manners2 but ,st4 ,hierom1 at the same time1 included in the ,catholic canon all the books1 which had been ranked in the ,catholic canon by antiquity4 ,now1 if your scriptural ,church1 quoted ,st4 ,hierom's authority in confirmation of the first part of this passage1 why does she slyly intimate1 to follow him in the second part1 where she contradicts ,st4 ,hierom1 by asserting that certain books of the ,scripture1 are uncanonical1 which ,st4 ,hierom believed1 and taught were really canonical8 ,come1 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 your ,church must have had some sly reason1 for this contradictory conduct4 ,now1 do tell us what this reason was4 ,well1 if you will not tell1 ,i must4 ,you have seen1 how the first reformers falsified the ,scriptures1 to make the sacred text1 harmonize with their reformed ideas2 but what puzzled them most was1 they found there were certain books1 which they could not possibly tune to their new ideas4 ,they durst not indeed1 entirely reject these sacred books2 for they knew in what veneration1 they had been always held by antiquity2 but on the other hand1 they durst not admit them as canonical2 for then1 the testimony of these books1 would upset their new-fangled ideas2 they thought1 therefore1 the most convenient method1 was to make flesh and fish of them1 and then1 they could either admit1 or contradict them1 according to their own spiritual convenience4 ,and that ,i am speaking the truth1 ,i will give you one single instance1 and from this one1 you will be able to judge of the rest1 of their sly method1 of squaring the scripture to their new1 and reforming ideas4 ,of all the tenets of the ,catholic creed1 there is none1 that has been more lustily inveighed against1 and accordingly1 none that sound so awfully1 to an ,english ,protestant ear1 as ,purgatory1 and ,prayers for the dead4 7,o keep your seats1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i am not going to put you into ,purgatory1 although you may imagine it smells very strongly of it on this side the grave47,l ,well1 mind this doctrine of ,purgatory1 and of ,prayers for the dead1 was the belief of the ,jews1 and of all the first ,christians1 and continued even to the time of the ,reformation4 ,now in the book of ,machabees1 this doctrine is so plainly laid down1 that no man in his senses1 can contradict it4 ,read the following passage1 and tell me1 if ,i am not speaking the truth4 ,and making a gathering1 he 7,judas ,machabeus7 sent #abjj drachms of silver to ,jerusalem for sacrifice1 to be offered for the sins of the dead1 thinking well1 and religiously1 concerning their resurrection4 7,for if he had not hoped that they that were slain1 should rise again1 it would have seemed superfluous1 and vain to pray for the dead47 ,and1 because1 he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness1 had great grace laid up for them4 ,it is1 therefore1 a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead1 that they may be loosed from sins4 ,,ii4 ,mac4 xii4 #dc-df4 ,now this passage was so clear1 and positive a proof of purgatory1 and of prayers for the dead1 that the first ,reformers found1 that they could not get rid of it1 without denying the divine authority of the book4 ,accordingly1 these new soul-menders1 told the people that the two ,books of ,machabees1 were not included in the ,jewish ,canon1 but unfortunately1 they forgot to tell the world the reason1 7viz417 because the ,jewish ,canon was compiled by ,esdras1 long before the ,books of ,machabees were written4 ,and now1 you may understand the sly words of your sixth article1 but yet it doth not apply them 7these books7 to establish any doctrine1 viz41 to establish the ,catholic doctrine1 and to overturn their new-fangled ideas4 ,now1 ,gentlemen1 is it not plain that your ,church1 hath both corrupted the ,scriptures1 and expunged from her ,protestant ,canon1 many of the inspired books of those sacred volumes8 ,and now1 allow me to quote the first part of the sixth ,article of your ,church1 and then1 tell me what the people are to do1 to save their souls1 and how your ,scriptural ,church1 is ever to be raised again1 to a new spiritual life4 ,holy ,scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation3 so that1 whatsoever is not read therein1 nor may be approved thereby1 is not to be required of any man1 that it should be believed as an ,article of the ,faith1 or to be thought requisite or necessary to salvation4 ,in the name of the ,holy ,scripture1 we do understand those ,canonical ,books of the ,old and ,new ,testament1 of whose authority was never any doubt in the ,church4 ,now this part of your ,article1 assures us1 in the strongest manner1 that the ,holy ,scriptures1 contain all things necessary for salvation1 that they are the sure palladium of a ,christian1 and his title-deeds to eternal life2 and it also says1 that in this sacred volume1 are to be included all the books of whose authority1 was never any doubt in the ,church4 ,now1 it is also plain from what ,i have advanced1 7and find me a person who can overturn by solid argument what ,i have advanced17 it is plain1 ,i repeat it1 that your ,church has both falsified the text of the ,scripture1 and expunged from her ,protestant ,canon1 many books1 whose authority and divine inspiration1 were held by antiquity in the greatest veneration4 ,now1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 do tell me what the people are to do4 ,on the one hand1 your ,church tells the people1 there is no salvation without the ,scripture3 and on the other hand1 your ,church has falsified the text1 and also expunged from her ,protestant ,canon1 many inspired ,books of the ,scripture4 ,really1 can you obtain the possession of property by corrupt and mutilated title-deeds8 ,certainly not4 ,how1 then1 are your people to obtain eternal life by your false1 and mutilated title-deeds of the ,scripture8 ,really1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 if the prejudices of my popish education do not strongly deceive me1 your ,protestant mutilation of the ,scripture1 and your ,sixth ,article1 are pregnant with the most paradoxical consequences4 ,o how justly may ,i apply to your ,scriptural ,church1 the observations which a distinguished minister of the ,church of ,england1 applied to the operations of the ,bible ,society2 these are his words3 ,surely1 it is enough to make a ,christian's blood run cold1 to think of the sacrilegious presumption of a ,society1 which dares thus to tamper1 and trifle with the revelation of the ,almighty1 and dares publish to the heathen1 and attempt to pawn upon its credulous supporters1 these schoolboy exercises of its agents1 as the ,sacred ,word of ,god6 ,it is the circulation of such translations as these1 that1 more than once1 at the meetings of this ,society1 have been blasphemously compared to the miraculous gift of tongues4 ,and such a system is supported1 and such comparisons applauded by many1 who1 on other occasions1 lay claim1 and justly1 to the characters of piety and intelligence4,m ,o how justly might he have applied these observations to his own ,church4,n ,we have now seen1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 the falsification1 and mutilation of the ,sacred ,scriptures1 by the ,protestant ,reformers4 ,your ,sixth ,article tells the people1 that the ,scriptures are the only means of salvation2 but of course1 she must mean correct copies1 and authenticated translations of those sacred volumes4 ,now1 what are the people to do for eternal life1 placed as they are1 on the one hand1 between your falsified1 corrupt1 and mutilated ,scriptures1 and on the other hand1 the absolute necessity 7according to your ,sixth ,article7 of culling their religion from the ,scriptures8 ,but1 as there is no hope of salvation1 for the people in this awful fix1 do you think1 you could raise a church for the people1 instead of these falsified scriptures8 ,but then1 it is evident1 that you cannot raise that church1 on the frail foundation of these falsified1 and mutilated scriptures4 ,really ,i am sorry1 that ,i declined the assistance of the ,spanish chemist1 as he might1 perhaps1 have thrown some new light1 on this subject by his wonderful chemical operations4 ,o6 but a very bright idea1 has just popped into my mind1 that your ,protestant prayer-book1 was first made 'by the aid of the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god4' ,surely1 we shall now succeed1 by the aid of the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the noble object of ,god's honour4 ,well1 then1 we will now see1 how this prayer-book1 was first made by men1 'aided by the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god2' we will then see1 how these very men who at first declare1 that this prayer-book1 which was made by the aid of the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god1 afterwards most solemnly swear1 that all these inspirations of the ,holy ,ghost were heretical1 and contrary to true religion1 and then1 how they bring back this prayer-book1 and enact the most severe penalties on all1 who will not adopt its use4 ,in the reign of ,henry the ,eighth1 the faith of ,protestantism1 and defection from the ,catholic faith1 first partially began4 ,in the reign of his son1 ,edward ,,vi41 ,protestantism1 made a-head1 and ,catholicism1 rapidly declined4 ,it was in the reign of this youth ,edward ,,vi41 7only eleven years of age17 that the ,protestant prayer-book1 was made by ,act of ,parliament4 ,in the preamble of this ,act 7i4 ii4 ,edward ,,vi47 we are informed that ,edward 7only eleven years of age7 appointed the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 and others1 who1 aided by the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god1 made this prayer-book4 ,take notice that this ,act 7i4 ii4 ,edward ,,vi47 declares1 that this ,protestant prayer-book1 was made by these men1 aided by the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god4 ,this ,act of ,parliament1 provided also1 that if any clergyman1 refused to use this prayer-book1 in the public service1 he should1 for the first offence1 forfeit to the ,king one year's income of his benefice1 and be imprisoned for six months2 for the second1 he should be deprived of the whole of his benefice1 and be imprisoned for one year2 and for the third offence1 he should be imprisoned for his whole life4 ,but this ,act1 was not confined merely to the clergy1 it extended also to the laity4 ,it enacted1 that if any layman1 should by interludes1 plays1 songs1 rhymes1 or by other open words1 declare1 or speak anything to the derogation of the said common prayer-book1 penalty after penalty1 was to follow1 until he had forfeited all his goods1 and chattels to the ,king1 and to be imprisoned for life4 ,such1 was the first formation1 of your ,protestant prayer-book1 as the ,act of ,parliament1 7i4 ii4 ,edward ,,vi47 plainly shews4 ,now1 let us see the result1 in the next reign4 ,edward died seven years afterwards1 and was succeeded by his sister1 ,mary1 who was a ,catholic4 ,almost1 as soon as ,mary had ascended the throne1 the very men repeal the whole of the famous ,act1 for making the common prayer-book1 and that too1 on the grounds that this prayer-book1 was contrary to true religion1 although1 in the former reign1 they had solemnly declared1 they had been assisted1 by the ,holy ,ghost in the making of this prayer-book2 they also abolished all the pains1 and penalties1 which they had enacted1 in the former reign1 against the clergy1 and laity1 for not using this common prayer-book1 and this too1 on the express ground1 that they had been for years1 wandering in error1 and schism1 although1 they had had the barefacedness to assert1 in the previous reign1 that the ,holy ,ghost1 had assisted them in the formation of this common prayer-book4 ,well1 ,mary died about five years afterwards1 and was succeeded by her sister ,elizabeth1 who was at first a ,catholic1 but shortly turned ,protestant4 ,now the second ,act of this ,queen1 7i4 ,eliz4 chap4 #b47 brought back again1 this prayer-book4 ,in ,mary's reign these very men1 had abolished this very prayer-book1 as schismatical1 they now recall this common prayer-book1 and inflict the most severe penalties1 upon all1 who will not use it1 in the public service4 ,for the first offence1 it was now enacted1 the clergy were to forfeit a year's income1 and be imprisoned for a year2 for the second offence1 they were to forfeit all their incomes1 and be imprisoned for life1 for refusing to use this common prayer-book1 in the public service4 ,the people also1 were compelled on ,sundays1 and holydays1 to attend the ,church1 and to use this common prayer-book1 under various penalties1 and in failure of paying these penalties1 they were to be imprisoned4 ,bishops1 ,archdeacons1 and other ,ordinaries1 were to have power1 to inflict these punishments4 ,really the conduct of these men1 is1 so inconsistent and monstrous1 that if we had not ,acts of ,parliament for it1 ,i should have been afraid to state it1 upon any other authority4 ,in the reign of ,edward1 these very men make the common prayer-book1 and declare it a work of the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god2 then1 in about seven years afterwards1 in the reign of ,mary1 they declare this book to be schismatical1 and contrary to true religion1 although in the former reign1 they had asserted1 it was a work of the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god2 and then in about five years afterwards1 these very men recant again1 recall this prayer-book1 and inflict the most severe pains1 and penalties1 both on clergy and laity1 who refuse the use of it4 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 may ,i ask you1 what kind of a prayer-book1 must that be1 which was made by these inconsistent1 and monstrous men8 and yet1 such is your ,protestant prayer-book1 of the ,church of ,england as by ,law established4 ,but some of you reverends1 will perhaps reply1 really1 ,sir1 it is too bad of you1 thus to lower our ,protestant ,prayer-book1 for we ,protestants all know1 how many beautiful1 and admirable parts there are in that ,church ,prayer-book4 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 before ,i answer this objection1 we must quietly trace back our steps to the ,spanish chemist4 ,of course1 ,i have forbidden myself the application of his wonderful1 chemical operations to your ,church4 ,but then1 you yourselves can apply them1 and judge whether there really is1 any analogy or not1 between his chemical operations1 and the spiritual works of your scriptural ,church4 ,well1 then1 ,i have shewn you1 what a beautiful ,church ,god and ,jesus ,christ first built2 and ,i have shown you the sure1 and infallible foundation of that ,church1 which was to be perpetuated from age to age1 with the world for its boundaries1 and time for its duration4 ,i have shewn you1 how1 in the sixteenth century1 arose a body of men1 the most audacious1 and strange spiritual chemists1 that the world ever beheld1 whether you consider the spiritual instructor of some of them1 or whether you consider the strange doctrines they advanced1 and the barefaced manner1 in which they defended1 and propagated their new-fangled ideas4 ,i have shewn you1 how these strange spiritual chemists1 wished to demolish ,god's infallible ,church1 how they cut it into pieces of universal and damnable idolatry1 how then1 they put these various parts into the sublimatory glass of falsification1 and mutilation of ,god's word4 ,you then saw1 how these spiritual chemists1 and their followers1 have been trying in vain1 for these three hundred years at least1 to collect1 and unite1 and form these various parts of ,christ's ,church 7which according to their bare assertion1 had fallen into error71 into a more perfect1 and durable form1 than that which ,god had first given it4 ,you have seen1 how these ,protestant children of the ,reformation1 honoured ,england with a ,protestant ,prayer-book1 the formation of which1 almost defies all the power of credibility2 and were there not ,acts of ,parliament to show this1 it would be an insult to any ,englishman1 to assert such a thing in his presence4 ,now with all these facts before you1 is there not a great analogy1 between the outrageous conduct of your ,church1 and that of the ,spanish chemist1 who destroyed his master1 with the design of raising him1 to a more perfect and durable state1 than that which ,god had first given him8 ,i ask you1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 with all these awful and incontestible facts before you1 will your ,protestant ,church1 ever be able to raise ,christ's ,church1 to as perfect and as durable a state1 as she is now1 and was then1 when you withdrew from her8 ,your ,protestant ,church has been trying her hand1 at this work of reformation1 for more than three hundred years1 and still she is something like the ,irishman's wife3 ,pat got married1 and in about three months after1 went to the priest1 and said1 ,plaise your reverince1 you didn't marry me and my wife rightly4 ,well1 asked the clergyman1 how did ,i marry you wrongly8 ,plaise your reverince1 didn't you say1 ,i was to take my wife for better1 and for worse8 ,certainly1 replied the priest4 ,now1 plaise your reverince1 she's all worse1 and no better4 ,really1 how justly may we apply this to your ,church of ,england as by law established4 ,in short1 this country1 the wonder of the world in commerce1 in the arts and sciences1 in the extent of her navy1 and the power of her army1 this wonderful nation1 presents1 in point of religion1 a confused medley of every sort1 and of every form of worship1 a perfect chaos of doctrines1 in which every one plunges1 and tosses1 dogmatizing as fancy or feeling directs4 ,in consequence of this confusion of religious opinions1 men know not1 to whom to listen1 what to believe1 or what to do4 ,this confusion of religious opinions1 and doctrines1 commenced with the ,reformation1 and has continued1 and daily increased ever since4 ,o how justly did a chief of the savages1 address1 near ,boston1 a missionary1 who had gone with his ,bible1 to convert the pagans of that country4 ,how1 asked this chief1 can your religion be the true one1 since you white men do not all profess the same8 ,agree among yourselves in this point1 and then we will attend to you4 7,phil4 ,gaz4 ,nov4 #ahag47 ,but some of you reverends1 will ask again3 ,really1 sir1 do you pretend to assert1 that our ,common ,prayer-book1 and that our ,protestant ,church1 do not contain any spiritual treasures8 ,i answer1 that in all counterfeit coin1 which is well executed1 the gold is often laid on the base metal rather thickly1 and with great ingenuity4 ,now1 this is the case with your counterfeit prayer-book1 and with your counterfeit religion4 ,whoever will take the pains to examine carefully1 the strange mixture of good1 and of evil1 which is to be found in your ,protestant ,prayer-book1 and in your ,protestant religion1 will1 at first1 stand astonished1 but his astonishment will soon cease1 when he finds that the little good which is in them1 flows from the ,church of ,jesus ,christ1 which you formerly left1 and that the evils with which they abound1 flow from the inventions and the ingenuity of man4 ,allow me to give you a few instances of this4 ,in the ,apostles' creed 7and in your ,thirty-nine ,articles you admit this creed as the word of ,god71 you profess to believe1 in the ,holy ,catholic ,church4 ,now1 this is the real word of ,god1 which your ,church admits2 but then1 you also solemnly declare1 that you believe in your hearts1 and from your soul1 that the doctrine of the ,roman ,catholic ,church is idolatrous4 ,now this is the mere human invention of your ,protestant ,church4 ,now when these two doctrines1 the one from ,god1 and the other from man1 are brought in contact1 let us see what sad consequences they make with you1 and your scriptural ,church4 ,you profess to believe1 in the ,catholic ,church2 but ,catholic1 means universal1 and as the ,roman ,catholics form the greatest body of ,christians1 their ,church only1 can be the ,catholic1 or universal ,church2 for ,catholic1 and universal1 mean the same thing4 ,but mind1 you destroy this ,catholic or universal ,church4 ,how8 ,why you swear1 that her doctrine is idolatrous4 ,how1 then1 can she be holy8 ,thus1 you see1 by joining in religion the word of ,god1 with the inventions of man1 you destroy 7though perhaps without intending it7 the holy ,catholic ,church1 in which you profess to believe4 ,i will now give you another instance4 ,at the end of the ,communion ,service of your ,common ,prayer-book1 ,i find these words3 ,it is hereby declared1 that thereby no adoration is intended1 or ought to be done1 either unto the sacramental bread or wine1 there bodily received1 or to any corporal presence of ,christ's natural flesh and blood4 ,for the sacramental bread and wine1 remain still in their very natural substances1 and therefore1 may not be adored1 for that were idolatry1 to be abhorred of all faithful ,christians4 ,of course1 the plain meaning of these words is1 that ,jesus ,christ is not present in the ,lord's ,supper1 and therefore1 it would be a great crime to there adore him4 ,but1 what does your ,church ,catechism 7which is in your prayer-book7 teach children on this subject8 ,why1 it asks them1 ,what is the inward part1 or the thing signified8 ,your ,church ,catechism answers3 ,the ,body and ,blood of ,christ1 which are verily and indeed taken1 and received by the faithful1 in the ,lord's ,supper4 ,now this declares1 that our ,saviour1 is really present in the ,lord's ,supper1 for how can you really1 and indeed take ,him1 and receive ,him1 if ,he is not really there8 ,thus1 in one part of your prayer-book1 you solemnly declare1 that our ,saviour is not present1 in the ,lord's ,supper1 and therefore it would be idolatry there to adore him2 but in another part of the same prayer-book1 you teach children that ,he is present2 and that they verily and indeed take ,him and receive ,him in the ,lord's ,supper4 ,the ,act of ,parliament of ,edward ,,vi41 for the making of this ,common ,prayer-book1 declares it to be a work of the ,holy ,ghost2 but ,i hope you will excuse me for saying1 that ,i think it was a very curious ,holy ,ghost1 and whether it was black1 or white1 really ,i have not sufficient of the prophet in me to divine4 ,but how was this manifest contradiction1 introduced into your prayer-book8 ,why1 ,i will tell you2 the doctrine of the real presence of our ,saviour in the ,blessed ,sacrament1 had been believed by the great body of ,christians1 ever since the time of our ,saviour1 until the ,reformation4 ,luther and ,zuinglius1 indeed1 as you know1 were convinced by the devil1 that our ,saviour was not present in the ,blessed ,sacrament1 and that1 therefore1 it would be idolatry to believe it2 but then1 how were they to manage to substitute their new-fangled opinions1 for the constant belief of all former christian ages8 ,why1 they made flesh and fish of them2 they mixed together again the word of ,god with the inventions of man1 and then1 thought that the people's orthodox stomachs1 would swallow better their new-fangled religious ideas4 ,but1 what has often amused me the most1 in your scriptural ,church1 is this2 you solemnly declare1 that the doctrine of ,catholics1 is idolatrous2 but1 should any of these poor ,catholic sinners1 condescend to lay their idolatrous bones1 in any of your churchyards2 what do you then declare8 ,why1 that you commit to the dust1 this ,catholic1 7who according to you during life has been a most idolatrous sinner17 in the sure1 and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life1 through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ2 for you would thus pray3 ,o merciful ,god1 we meekly beseech ,thee1 that when we shall depart this life1 we may rest in ,him 7,christ7 as our hope is1 this our brother doth4 ,thus you tell us1 that during life1 we ,catholics live in the horrible sin of idolatry1 and then1 after death1 you are willing to commit us1 for a comfortable fee1 to the dust1 in the sure1 and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life1 through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,again1 you often warn the people1 against the idolatrous practice of praying to the ,saints1 and assure the people1 there is only one mediator1 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,and yet1 on ,sundays1 you have no difficulty1 in recommending the sick1 to the prayers of the faithful4 ,but1 why should you do this1 when according to you1 there is only one mediator1 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,if you can thus ask the prayers of the faithful1 without injuring the mediation of our ,saviour2 why cannot the ,catholic1 ask the prayers of the ,saints1 without injuring the mediation of ,jesus ,christ8 ,o6 but you will say1 the ,saints1 and ,angels cannot hear our prayers4 ,well but does not the ,scripture tell us1 that the devil goes about1 like a roaring lion1 seeking whom he may devour1 and does not our ,saviour say1 there is more joy in heaven1 over one sinner doing penance1 than over ninety-nine just8 ,it appears1 therefore1 the devils know1 and hear what is passing upon earth1 and why should not the saints and angels of ,god8 ,nay1 it is evident1 they must know and hear things1 which are passing upon earth1 otherwise how could they rejoice in heaven1 on the conversion of sinners on earth8 ,but1 as you boast so much of the admirable1 spiritual treasures of your prayer-book1 and of your scriptural ,church1 just tell me1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 why they have never yet1 been able to produce a single saint8 ,the ,scripture1 tells us1 that a tree1 may be known from its fruit4 ,and yet1 among all the rich spiritual treasures1 of your prayer-book1 and of your scriptural ,church1 for these three hundred years1 you have never yet produced a person1 who1 on account of his virtue and piety1 has been honoured by posterity with the name of saint4 ,nay1 so great is your poverty in this respect1 that your ,church1 has been obliged to steal ,catholic ,saints1 and barefacedly insert them1 in your ,protestant calendar4 ,really most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 your scriptural ,church1 is of a very strange texture4 ,i have shewn you above1 how remarkable she has always been for forgery2 ,i have also shewn you1 how she unjustly robbed the poor of their just rights1 and how1 she has endeavoured1 by all means possible1 to rob us of the honourable name of ,catholic2 and how1 she has stolen many of our great ,catholic ,saints1 and presumptuously inserted them in her ,protestant calendar4 ,really1 ,gentlemen1 may ,i not exclaim with the poet-- ,can such things be1 ,and overcome us like a summer's cloud1 ,without our special wonder6 ,but1 ,sir1 if the ,protestant prayer-book1 and the ,protestant religion1 be such a monstrous compound of inconsistencies and errors1 as you would fain lead us to suppose1 pray tell us1 why ,england1 was so foolish1 as to renounce the ,catholic1 and embrace the ,protestant faith8 ,the answer to this objection ,i would most willingly waive1 as it would lead me into a field of persecution1 and cruelty1 over which my feelings would not wish to travel4 ,but as the answer to the above objection1 has been so ably given1 by a ,protestant member of ,parliament1 to a ,protestant ,lord1 ,i think ,i cannot do better1 than give it in his own words4 ,and mind1 when you read this letter1 you must not imagine1 that you are reading the mere opinions of this writer2 no1 the opinions which he there states1 are incontestible facts1 which stand1 almost as large as life1 in our ,english ,statute-,book2 and are there1 recorded so plainly1 that no man in his senses1 can have the presumption to deny them4 ,i beg leave1 therefore1 to lay before you1 the following letter1 of a ,protestant member of ,parliament1 to a ,protestant lord1 on the present subject2 and ,i am sure1 that the incontestible facts1 facts of our own ,english ,statute-book1 there stated1 will convince you1 how ,england once ,catholic1 was brought over to ,protestantism4 ,a ,,letter ,,to ,,lord ,,tenterden1 ,,lord ,,chief ,,justice ,,of ,,england4 ,april #fth1 #ahbi4 ,,my ,,lord1 ,i have read the report of your ,lordship's speech1 made on the #dth instant1 on the second reading of the ,catholic ,bill1 and there is one passage of it on which ,i think it my duty thus publicly to remark4 ,the passage to which ,i allude relates to the character of the ,law-established ,church1 and also to the probable fate that will1 in consequence of this bill1 attend her in ,ireland4,o ,now1 with very sincere respect for your ,lordship1 ,i do think it my duty to the people of this country1 to show that the character which you have given to the ,church of ,england as by law established1 is not correct2 to show that she is not1 and never has been1 tolerant in matters of religion2 and is not1 and never has been1 favourable to civil liberty4 ,in short1 with most sincere respect for your ,lordship1 with greater respect for you than ,i have ever had for any public functionary in ,england1 and with the greatest admiration of your conduct in your high and important office1 with all these1 ,i think it my duty flatly to contradict your ,lordship with regard to the character of this ,church1 and especially in the two particulars mentioned by you4 ,i do not charge you with insincerity3 for why should you not be in error as to this matter1 when ,i know that twenty or thirty years ago ,i myself should1 in a similar case1 have said just what you have now said on this subject8 ,nevertheless1 it being error1 and gross error too1 and ,i knowing it to be error1 ,i am bound1 in duty to my readers1 to expose the error2 and ,i am the more strictly bound1 because this error coming from you1 is the more likely to be widely spread4 ,first1 then1 my ,lord1 let us take your proposition1 'that there is no ,church so tolerant as this4' ,i am sure your ,lordship has never read her history2 ,i am sure you have not2 if you had1 you never would have uttered these words4 ,not being content to deal in general terms1 ,i will not say that she has been1 and was from her outset1 the most intolerant ,church that the world ever saw2 that she started at first1 armed with halters1 ripping-knives1 axes1 and racks2 that her footsteps were marked with the blood1 while her back bent under the plunder of her innumerable innocent victims2 and that for refinement in cruelty1 and extent of rapacity1 she never had an equal1 whether corporate or sole4 ,i will not thus speak of her in general terms1 but will lay before your ,lordship some historical facts1 to make good that contradiction which ,i have given to your words4 ,i assert that this ,,law-,,church is the most ,,intolerant ,church ,i ever read or heard of2 and this assertion ,i now proceed to make good4 ,this ,church began to exist in #aedg1 and in the reign of ,edward ,,vi4 ,until now the religion of the country had been for several years under the tyrant ,henry ,,viii4 a sort of mongrel2 but now it became wholly ,protestant by ,,law4 ,the ,articles of ,religion and the ,common ,prayer-book were now drawn up1 and were established by ,acts of ,parliament4 ,the ,catholic altars were pulled down in all the ,churches2 the priests1 on pain of ouster and fine1 were compelled to teach the new religion1 that is to say1 to be apostates2 and the people who had been born and bred ,catholics were not only punished if they heard mass1 but were also punished if they did not go to hear the new parsons2 that is to say1 if they refused to become apostates4 ,the people1 smarting under this tyranny1 rose in insurrection in several parts1 and1 indeed1 all over the country4 ,they complained that they had been robbed of their religion1 and of the relief to the poor which the old ,church gave2 and they demanded that the mass and the monasteries should be restored1 and that the priests should not be allowed to marry4 ,and how were they answered8 ,the bullet and bayonet at the hand of ,german troops slaughtered a part1 caused another part to be hanged1 another part to be imprisoned and flogged1 and the remainder to submit1 outwardly at least1 to the ,,law-,,church2 7and now mark this tolerant and merciful ,church17 many of the old monastics and priests1 who had been expelled from their convents and livings1 were compelled to beg their bread about the country1 and they thus found subsistence among the pious ,catholics4 ,this was an eye-sore to the ,,law-,,church1 who deemed the very existence of these men who had refused to apostatize1 a libel on her4 ,therefore1 in company1 actually in company with the law that founded the new ,church1 came forth a law to punish beggars1 by burning them in the face with a red-hot iron1 and by making them slaves for two years1 with power in their masters to make them wear an iron collar4 ,your ,lordship must have read this ,act of ,parliament1 passed in the first year of the first ,protestant reign1 and coming forth in company with the ,common ,prayer-book4 ,this was tolerant work1 to be sure2 and fine proof we have here of this ,church being favourable to civil and religious liberty4 ,not content with stripping these faithful ,catholic priests of their livings2 not content with turning them out upon the wide world1 this tolerant ,church must cause them to perish with hunger1 or to be branded slaves4 ,such was the tolerant spirit of this ,church when she was young4 ,as to her burnings under ,cranmer 7who made the ,prayer-book71 they are hardly worthy of particular notice1 when we have before us the sweeping cruelties of this first ,protestant reign1 during which1 short as it was1 the people of ,england suffered so much that the suffering actually thinned their numbers2 it was a people partly destroyed1 and that too in the space of about six years2 and this is acknowledged even in ,acts of ,parliament of that day4 ,but this ,,law-,,church was established in reality during the reign of ,old ,bess1 which lasted forty-five years2 that is1 from #aeeh to #afjc2 and though this ,church has always kept up its character1 even to the present day1 its deeds during this long reign are the most remarkable4 ,bess 7the shorter the name the better71 established what she called a court of high commission1 consisting chiefly of bishops of your ,lordship's 'most tolerant ,church1' in order to punish all who did not conform to her religious creed1 she being 'the head of the ,church4' ,this commission were empowered to have control over the opinions of all men1 and to punish all men according to their discretion short of death4 ,they had power to extort evidence by the prison or by the rack4 ,they had power to compel a man 7on oath7 to reveal his thoughts1 and to accuse himself1 his friend1 brother1 parent1 wife1 or child2 and this1 too1 on pain of death4 ,these monsters1 in order to discover priests1 and to crush the old religion1 fined1 imprisoned1 racked1 and did such things as would have made ,nero shudder to think of4 ,they sent hundreds to the rack in order to get from them confessions1 on which confessions many of them were put to death4 ,i have not room to make even an enumeration of the deeds of religious persecution of this long and bloody reign2 but ,i will state a few of them4 #a4 ,it was death to make a new ,catholic priest within the kingdom4--#b4 ,it was death for a ,catholic priest to come into the kingdom from abroad4--#c4 ,it was death to harbour a ,catholic priest coming from abroad4--#d4 ,it was death to confess to such a priest4--#e4 ,it was death for any priest to say mass4 #f4 ,it was death for any one to hear mass4 #g4 ,it was death to deny or not to swear1 if called on1 that this woman was the head of the ,church of ,christ4--#h4 ,it was an offence 7punishable by heavy fine7 not to go to the ,protestant ,church4 ,this fine was ,l#bj a lunar month1 or ,l#bej a-year1 and of our present money1 ,l#c1bej a year4 ,thousands upon thousands refused to go to the ,law-,church2 and thus the head of the ,church sacked thousands upon thousands of estates6 ,the poor conscientious ,catholics who refused to go to the 'most tolerant' ,church1 and who had no money to pay fines1 were crammed into the gaols1 until the counties petitioned to be relieved from the expense of keeping them4 ,they were then discharged1 being first publicly whipped1 and having their ears bored with a red-hot iron4 ,but this very great 'toleration' not answering the purpose1 an act was passed to banish for life all these non-goers to ,church1 if they were not worth twenty pounds2 and1 in case of return1 they were to be punished with death4 ,i am1 my ,lord1 not making loose assertions here2 ,i am all along stating from ,acts of ,parliament1 and the above form a small sample of the whole2 and this your ,lordship must know well4 ,i am not declaiming1 but relating undeniable facts2 and with facts of the same character1 with a bare list1 made in the above manner1 ,i could fill a considerable volume4 ,the names of the persons put to death merely for being ,catholics1 during this long and bloody reign1 would1 especially if it were to include ,ireland1 form a list ten times as long as that of our army and navy1 both taken together4 ,the usual mode of inflicting death was to hang the victim for a short time1 just to benumb his or her faculties2 then cut down and instantly rip open the belly1 and tear out the heart1 and hold it up1 fling the bowels into a fire1 then chop off the head1 and cut the body into quarters1 then boil the head and quarters1 and then hang them up at the gates of cities1 or other conspicuous places4 ,this was done1 including ,ireland1 to many hundreds of persons1 merely for adhering to the ,church in which they had been born and bred4 ,there were ,,one ,,hundred ,,and ,,eighty-,,seven ripped up and boiled in ,england in the years from #aegg to #afjc2 that is to say1 in the last twenty-six years of ,bess's reign2 and these might all have been spared if they would have agreed to go to ,church and hear the ,common ,prayer6 ,all1 or nearly all1 of them were racked before they were put to death2 and the cruelties in prison1 and the manner of execution1 were the most horrible that can be conceived4 ,they were flung into dungeons1 and kept in their filth1 and fed on bullock's liver1 boiled but unwashed tripe1 and such things as dogs are fed upon4 ,edward ,genings1 a priest1 detected in saying mass in ,holborn1 was after sentence of death offered his pardon if he would go to ,church1 but having refused to do this1 and having at the place of execution boldly said1 that he would die a thousand deaths rather than acknowledge the ,queen to be the spiritual head of the ,church1 ,topliffe1 the attorney-general1 ordered the rope to be cut the moment the victim was turned off1 'so that' 7says the historian7 'the priest1 being little or nothing stunned1 stood on his feet1 casting his eyes towards heaven1 till the hangman tripped up his heels1 and flung him on the block1 where he was ripped up and quartered4' ,he was so much alive1 even after the bowelling1 that he cried with a loud voice1 ',oh6 it smarts6' ,and then he exclaimed1 ',sancte ,gregorie1 ora pro me3' while the hangman having sworn a most wicked oath1 cried1 ',zounds6 his heart is in my hand1 and yet ,gregory is in his mouth6' ,the tolerance of the ,law-,church was shown towards women as well as towards men4 ,there was a ,mrs4 ,ward1 who1 for assisting a priest to escape from prison 7the crime of that priest being saying mass71 was imprisoned1 flogged1 racked1 and finally hanged1 ripped up1 and quartered4 ,she was executed at ,tyburn1 on the #cjth of ,august1 #aehh4 ,at her trial the judges asked if she had done the thing laid to her charge4 ,she said ',yes6' and that she was happy to reflect that she had been the means of 'delivering that innocent lamb from the hands of those bloody wolves4' ,they in vain endeavoured to terrify her into a confession relative to the place whither the priest was gone2 and when they found threats unavailing1 they promised her pardon if she would go to ,church2 but she answered1 that she would lose many lives if she had them1 rather than acknowledge the heretical ,church4 ,they1 therefore1 treated her very savagely1 ripped her up while in her senses1 and made a mockery of her naked quarters4 ,there was a ,mrs4 ,clithero pressed to death at ,york1 in the year #aehf4 ,she was a lady of good family1 and her crime was relieving and harbouring priests4 ,she refused to plead1 that she might not tell a lie1 nor expose others to danger4 ,she was1 therefore1 pressed to death1 in the following manner4 ,she was laid on the floor1 on her back4 ,her hands and feet were bound down as close as possible4 ,then a great door was laid upon her1 and many hundred weights placed upon that door4 ,sharp stones were put under her back1 and the weights pressing upon her body1 first broke her ribs1 and finally1 though by no means quickly1 extinguished life4 ,before she was laid on the floor1 ,fawcett1 the sheriff1 commanded her to be stripped naked1 when she1 with four women who accompanied her1 requested him1 on their knees1 for the honour of womanhood1 that this might be dispensed with2 but he refused4 ,her husband was forced to flee the country2 her little children who wept for their dear and good mother1 were taken up1 and being questioned concerning their religious belief1 and answering as they had been taught by her1 were severely whipped1 and the eldest1 who was but twelve years old1 was cast into prison4 ,need ,i go on1 my ,lord8 ,twenty large volumes1 allotting only one page to each case1 would not1 if we were to include ,ireland1 contain an account of those who have fallen victims to their refusal to conform to this 'most tolerant ,church in the world4' ,nay1 a hundred volumes1 each volume being #ejj pages1 and one page allowed to each victim1 would not suffice for the holding of this bloody record4 ,short of death by ripping up1 there were1 death by martial law1 death in prison1 and this in cases without number1 banishment and loss of estate4 ,doctor ,bridgewater1 in a table published by him at the end of the ,concertatio ,ecclesiae ,catholicae1 gives the names of about twelve hundred who had suffered in this way1 before the year #aehh2 that is to say1 before the great heat of the 'tolerance4' ,in this list there are #ba bishops1 #abj monastics1 #ac deans1 #ad archdeacons1 #fj prebendaries1 #ecj priests1 #di doctors of divinity1 #ah doctors of law1 #ae masters of colleges1 #h earls1 #aj barons1 #bf knights1 #cbf gentlemen1 #fj ladies and gentlewomen4 ,many of all those1 and1 indeed1 the greater part of them1 died in prison1 and several of them died while under sentence of death4 ,there1 my ,lord1 ,i do not think that you will question the truth of this statement3 and if you cannot1 ,i hope you will allow1 that no lover of truth and justice ought to be silent while reports of speeches are circulating1 calling this 'the most tolerant ,church in the world4' ,but1 my ,lord1 why need ,i1 in addressing myself to you on this subject1 do more than refer you to the cruel1 the savage1 the bloody penal code8 ,leaving poor half-murdered ,ireland out of the question1 what have ,i to do1 in answer to your praises of this ,church1 and your assertion as to its tolerance1 but to request you to remember the enactments in the following ,acts of ,old ,bess1 the head and the establisher of this ,church8 ,stat4 i4 chap4 #a and #b2 ,stat4 v4 chap4 #a2 ,stat4 xii4 chap4 #b2 ,stat4 xxiii4 chap4 #a2 ,stat4 xxvii4 chap4 #b2 ,stat4 xxix4 chap4 #f2 ,stat4 xxxv4 chap4 #a2 ,stat4 xxxv4 chap4 #b8 ,what have ,i to do1 my ,lord1 but to request you to look at1 or rather to call to mind those laws of plunder and of blood2 fine1 fine1 fine2 banish1 banish1 banish2 or death1 death1 death in every line8 ,your ,lordship knows that this is true3 you know that all these horrors1 all this hellish tyranny1 that the whole arose out of a desire to make this ,protestant ,church predominant4 ,how1 then1 can this ,protestant ,church be called 'the most tolerant in the world8' ,i have here given a mere sample of the doings of this ,law-,church4 ,i have not taken your ,lordship to ,ireland1 half-murdered ,ireland2 nor have ,i even hinted at many acts done in ,england during ,bess's reign1 each of which would have excited the indignation of every virtuous man on earth2 but ,i must not omit to mention two traits of tolerance in this ,church3 ,,first1 ,edward ,,vi4 was advised to bring his sister ,mary to trial1 and1 of course to punishment1 for not conforming to the ,law-,church2 and she was saved only by the menaces of her cousin1 the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 ,,second1 when ,mary1 ,queen of ,scotland1 had been condemned to die1 she1 though she earnestly sued for it1 ,,was ,,not ,,allowed ,,to ,,have ,a ,,priest ,,to ,,perform ,,the ,,religious ,,offices ,,deemed ,,so ,,necessary ,,in ,,such ,,cases4 ,they brought the ,protestant ,dean of ,peterborough to pray by or with her2 but she would not hear him4 ,when her head fell from the block the ,dean exclaimed1 ',so let our ,queen's enemies perish6' ,and the ,earl of ,kent responded ',amen4' ,baker in his ,chronicle1 p4 #bgc1 says1 that the death of this ,queen was earnestly desired1 because 'that if she lived1 the religion received in ,england could not subsist4' ,this ,church has been no changeling2 she has been of the same character from the day of her establishment to the present hour2 in ,ireland her deeds have surpassed those of ,mahomet2 but it would take a large volume to put down a bare list of her intolerant deeds4 ,she at last1 however1 seems to be nearly at the end of her tether2 the nation has always been making sacrifices to her haughty predominance4 ,boulogne and ,calais were the first sacrifices2 poor-rates1 and an enormous debt1 and a standing army1 and a civil list have followed2 all1 yea all1 to be ascribed to the predominance of this ,church1 and her haughty spirit of ascendancy4 ,but now the nation has made so many and such great sacrifices to her1 that it can make no more4 ,it cannot venture on another civil war 7about the twentieth71 in order to support the ascendancy of this ,church2 and be you assured1 my ,lord1 that that hierarchy in ,ireland1 to uphold which you seem so very anxious1 is not much longer to be upheld by any power on earth1 seeing that all the miseries of ,ireland1 all of them1 without a single exception1 are to be traced directly to that hierarchy3 and in these miseries ,england sees terrific danger4 ,the case is very plain4 ,the opponents of the ,catholic ,bill say1 ,we dislike it1 because it exposes the ,church1 and especially the ,irish ,church1 to imminent danger4 ,the answer of the ,duke is1 ,i cannot prevent this danger without risking a civil war2 and the ,state cannot afford that4 ,the ,law-,church might reply1 ,why there have been many1 many civil wars carried on for the purpose of upholding my ascendancy2 but to that the ,duke might rejoin1 ,very true2 but we have now a paper-money-system 7also made to uphold you7 which cannot live in civil war1 and the death of which may produce that of the ,state itself2 and1 therefore1 you must be now left to support your ascendancy by your talents1 piety1 zeal1 charity1 humility1 and sound doctrine4 ,this is the true state of the case1 my ,lord1 and1 therefore1 unless the ,church can support itself by these means1 it is manifestly destined to fall4 ,i am your ,lordship's most humble and most obedient ,servant1 ,,wm4 ,,cobbett4 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 after reading the above letter1 7and mind1 the writer informs you1 that what he there asserts1 is proved by acts of parliament17 after reading the above letter1 can it for a moment be thought strange1 that ,england should have left the ,catholic1 and embraced the ,protestant faith8 ,nay1 is it not more strange1 with all the above incontestible facts before us1 is it not1 ,i repeat1 more strange1 that there should have been left1 a single ,catholic1 or a single fibre of ,catholicity1 in this country8 ,and had it not been for the providence of ,god1 this would certainly have been the case2 but the ,scripture beautifully informs us1 that to them1 who love ,god1 all things work together unto good4 7,rom4 viii41 #bh47 ,but1 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i have ranged over so much spiritual ground1 and have been so busily occupied in bagging black game1 that ,i have nearly forgotten the famous text1 extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 which your meeting were so kind as to give me to preach from4 ,really1 ,i must not forget my text1 otherwise you will begin to conclude1 ,i must be a very bungling preacher4 ,let us1 then1 now return to my famous text4 ,i think1 that you must have been already convinced1 from what ,i have stated1 in the first part of this address to you ,clergy1 that your scriptural ,church1 has been for a long time1 making a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 on the pockets of ,englishmen4 ,by now recapitulating what ,i have just said in the latter part of this address1 ,i think it will be also plain1 that your ,church has been making1 for a long time1 a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the intellects of ,englishmen4 ,i have shown you1 as above1 what a beautiful ,church ,christ built1 which1 erected on an infallible and imperishable foundation1 was to be the ,church of all ages1 with the world for its boundaries1 and time for its duration4 ,i have shown you1 how your first ,reformers1 and your ,protestant scriptural ,church1 had the barefacedness to assert1 that this ,church of ,christ once fell into error1 although ,god had pledged his solemn word1 that this ,church never should err2 ,i have also shown you1 how this assertion of ,christ's ,church falling into error1 was the mere ipse dixit of the first ,reformers1 and of your scriptural ,church2 and that they had both unfortunately forgotten to prove1 when1 where1 and how1 this infallible ,church of ,christ had fallen into error4 ,now1 ,i appeal to you1 if this was not1 a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 of your scriptural ,church1 on the intellects of ,englishmen4 ,i have also shown you1 the characters of the first ,reformers1 who the spiritual instructor of some of them was1 and what strange1 paradoxical1 and new ideas1 they advanced1 and how1 by forgery and lies1 they contrived to palm their new-fangled religious ideas1 on the minds of the people4 ,really1 ,gentlemen1 was not this1 a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 of these ,reformers1 and of your scriptural ,church1 on the intellects of ,englishmen8 ,i have likewise shown you1 how your scriptural ,church1 assures her people1 in her ,thirty-nine ,articles1 that the ,scriptures are the only means of their salvation2 and ,i have also shown you1 how the first ,reformers and your scriptural ,church1 have falsified1 and mutilated1 those sacred volumes4 ,on the one hand1 it is declared1 that the ,scriptures are the only means of salvation1 and on the other hand1 it is plain1 that these sacred volumes1 have been falsified1 and mutilated4 ,what1 then1 are the people to do in this awful fix8 ,really1 ,gentlemen1 is not this1 another most extraordinary and presumptuous movement of your scriptural ,church1 on the intellects of ,englishmen8 ,i have shown you1 also1 with what kind of a book of ,common ,prayer1 your ,church honoured the people4 ,i have shown you1 how1 at first it was declared1 to be the work of the ,holy ,ghost2 how then1 it is declared not to be the work of the ,holy ,ghost1 but the work of schism2 how it is then recalled1 and adopted1 as a most fit means of devotion for the people4 ,i have shown you1 how artfully ,god's holy ,word1 and man's human inventions1 are there mixed up together2 and that1 when they come in contact with each other1 in what strange and paradoxical situations they place your scriptural ,church4 ,really1 ,gentlemen1 is not this also a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement of your scriptural ,church1 on the intellects of ,englishmen8 ,our ,saviour declared1 that his kingdom was not of this world2 and hence1 neither he1 nor his apostles1 endeavoured to propagate1 and support his doctrine1 by force1 cruelty1 and persecution4 ,but does not the above letter1 and do not acts of ,parliament prove1 that it was by bribery among the great ones1 and by force1 and cruelty1 and persecution1 and death1 on the middle and lower classes1 that your scriptural ,reformation was introduced1 and forced on ,england8 ,really1 ,gentlemen1 was not this1 a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement of your scriptural ,church1 on the consciences1 and on the intellects of ,englishmen8 ,now1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 you and many of your reverend body1 have been lately calling public meetings1 in which you have unjustly endeavoured1 to rouse the indignation of the people1 against the ,pope for making1 an extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the ,protestants of ,england4 ,now ,i have plainly proved1 in my first address1 that the ,pope has not made an extraordinary and presumptuous movement on the ,protestants of ,england2 for1 by the spirit of the ,english law1 as ,i have shown1 the ,pope is perfectly justified in all he has done4 ,but ,gentlemen1 is your ,protestant ,church1 justified in all the extraordinary and presumptuous movements1 which1 ,i have shown1 she has been making so long on the pockets1 and on the intellects of ,englishmen8 ,certainly not4 ,thus you see1 you have unfortunately thrown your ,scriptural ,church 7which feeds you so well with more than nine millions a-year7 into the very grave1 which you have been so charitably1 and officiously1 unjustly digging for the poor ,pope4 ,really1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i think every one1 will conclude1 that this is a most extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 of you and your reverend body1 on your good1 and kind mother the ,church4 ,may they not justly apply to you1 the words of the old proverb1 ,physicians1 cure yourselves8 ,most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 to those clergymen1 who have adopted the above inconsistent conduct1 ,i can only say1 ,i may applaud their intentions1 but ,i must condemn their bigotry4 ,they may indeed1 be friends to their ,church in their hearts1 but their mouths1 and pens1 are her most dangerous enemies4 ,before ,i conclude1 ,i beg leave to say a few words about the ,puseyites1 a few words to the dissenters1 and a few words to the ,english people2 and then1 ,i must drop the curtain1 and beg leave to retire for the present4 ,there is a circumstance1 connected with the ,whitby meeting1 upon which ,i have as yet made no remark4 ,you came together1 on that occasion1 both ministers and people1 obedient to the trumpet call of ,lord ,john ,russell4 ,now1 that trumpet blew two blasts1 which gave no uncertain sound4 ,the first1 was to denounce the papal aggression2 the second1 was to warn you of a danger1 which alarmed him 7,lord ,john ,russell7 much more than any aggression of a foreign sovereign2 alarmed him more1 than ,pope and ,cardinal ,archbishop1 and territorial titles put together1 more than the hierarchy1 with all its mapping1 and parcelling out of the land1 nay1 more to be dreaded1 than an invasion of ,england1 by the fleets and armies of any earthly power6 ,in the name of all that is terrible1 what is this danger1 that is impending over us8 ,he says that it is a danger1 already within the gates4 ,what does he mean8 ,why1 ,gentlemen1 he means 7and you all know it7 ,puseyism1 and ,popery1 which have long been spreading1 in the very bosom of the ,protestant ,church of ,england4 ,lord ,john proclaims to you1 this latter danger1 even more loudly than the former2 and yet1 upon this latter extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 you were silent at your meeting1 each and all2 you heard him proclaiming1 that the abomination of desolation1 had got possession of the holy place2 and that the bewitching fascination1 of the ,harlot of ,rome1 had reduced even some of the ,protestant ,bishops1 into dalliance with her2 and yet1 not one word1 from any minister among you1 ,protestant1 ,independent1 or ,wesleyan1 not one word either to deny the existence of the danger1 or to propose means to ward it off4 ,you readily flocked together1 to repel the lesser danger1 but1 the much more alarming danger1 7according to ,lord ,john7 the danger within the gates1 it seemed touched you not at all4 ,really1 in this you appear1 to be worthy disciples of ,lord ,john ,russell1 who sat nearly seven years1 under the ,rev4 ,mr4 ,bennett1 with all this danger staring him in the face1 and yet1 blew not then a single blast of his warning trumpet4 ,really1 ,gentlemen1 what was the cause of your silence1 on this occasion8 ,was it lack of zeal1 or lack of courage on your part8 ,we shall1 perhaps1 be better able to judge of this1 when ,i have told you1 what sort of ,puseyite enormities1 ,lord ,john has detected in the ,church1 and how1 he takes upon himself1 to chastise and correct them4 ,never1 since the days of ,cromwell1 the ,vicar-,general of ,henry ,,viii41 has any layman1 or churchman either1 dared to play such tricks1 or brandish such a rod1 in the face of the ,church of ,england1 as this imperious minister has done6 ,mark1 how this leader of the ,house of ,commons1 this lay ,metropolitan of all ,england1 superseding both ,york and ,canterbury1 see1 how he calls to account his venerable brother1 the ,bishop of ,durham4 ,clergymen of our ,church1 who have subscribed the thirty-nine articles1 and acknowledged the ,queen's supremacy1 have been the most forward1 to lead their flocks1 step by step1 to the very verge of the precipice4 ,well1 sad shepherds these1 to lead their flocks1 to the very verge of the precipice1 and sadder still1 that one thousand1 eight hundred of these ,church of ,england ,clergymen1 have signed a protest1 against the ,queen's supremacy as recently exercised2 thus rebelling1 against the acknowledged1 and sworn head of their ,church4 ,well1 ,lord ,john thus describes the danger1 within the gates4 7#a47 ,the honour paid to saints2 7#b47 the claim of infallibility for the ,church2 7#c47 the superstitious use of the sign of the cross2 7#d47 the muttering of the liturgy1 so as to disguise the language1 in which it is written2 7#e47 the recommendation of auricular confession2 7#f47 the administration of penance1 and 7#g47 absolution4 ,all these things1 are pointed out by certain clergymen of the ,church of ,england1 as worthy of adoption6 ,here1 according to ,lord ,john ,russell1 is the enemy within the gates4 ,here1 are seven enormous errors1 pointed out by a layman1 as corrupting1 and disfiguring the pure1 the ,scriptural1 the reformed ,church of ,england4 ,i will make a few remarks on each1 marking the number of each1 as ,i proceed4 7#ast4 ,the honour paid to saints47 ,so certain ,reverend ,gentlemen of the ,church of ,england1 are no longer to honour the saints1 as they have done2 the ,whig prime minister1 will not permit it4 ,but can it be1 that ,lord ,john here intimates1 that these ,protestant ,clergymen1 have been paying divine honour to the saints8 ,why1 this would be idolatry6 ,thou that abhorrest idols1 dost thou commit sacrilege8 ,catholics1 indeed1 honour the saints1 but a true ,catholic1 would sooner die1 than give divine honour to any saint1 or to all the saints in bliss4 ,but1 whether you ,reverend ,protestant ,gentlemen1 are to honour them at all1 or with what sort of honour1 or with what degree of it2 all this you will learn1 perhaps1 from ,lord ,john ,russell1 or from some of his ,bishops4 ,in the meantime1 you had better observe the ,protestant ,church doctrine1 as to holy angels1 laid down in your ,protestant collect1 on the feast of ,st4 ,michael1 where your scriptural ,church1 prays1 that the holy angels1 may1 by ,god's appointment1 succour and defend us on earth4 7,coll4 of ,st4 ,mich4 ,ch4 ,eng4 ,prayer ,book47 ,surely1 this doctrine of your ,church of ,england prayer book1 will not alarm ,lord ,john ,russell1 and surely1 the ,bishop of ,london1 will not openly reprehend this1 in his next charge1 to the clergy of his diocese2 although1 in my humble opinion1 it smells very strongly of the popish doctrine of angels1 and saints1 and looks very like1 leading the people1 step by step1 to the very verge of that precipice4 7#bndly4 ,the claim of infallibility for the ,church47 ,it seems1 some of you1 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 have had the temerity to preach up1 the infallibility of the ,church4 ,this1 is to be put down4 ,you are not to claim infallibility for your ,church4 ,infallibility belongs to the ,catholic ,church1 which is built upon a rock1 which is the pillar and ground of truth1 formed upon the prophets1 and apostles1 having ,christ for its chief corner stone1 with which ,church ,christ has promised1 to abide all days1 even to the end of the world4 ,such is the ,catholic ,church1 according to the ,scriptures4 ,but1 as regards your ,church1 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 you are to be diligent in teaching1 that your ,church is not infallible1 is not built upon a rock1 not founded upon the prophets and apostles1--has not ,christ for its chief corner stone1--for if she had1 she would assuredly be infallible4 ,but above all1 you are to teach1 either that ,christ did not promise1 to be always with ,his ,church1 or that1 even his abiding presence1 with the ,church1 is not sufficient to make her infallible2 at all events1 you are to teach 7if you teach anything7 that your ,church1 has no claims to infallibility1 and that she may be involved in the grossest errors1 and may be altogether1 misleading and deluding1 both you and your flocks4 ,this shows1 what a cuckoo cry1 that was1 which the vicar of ,leeds1 was sometime ago1 sounding with such iteration1 from the housetops1 crying1 ,,hear ,,the ,,church4 ,this cry1 has died away1 and ,i suspect1 ,dr4 ,hook will not renew it1 with the return of spring4 ,for why1 in the name of common sense1 should we hear1 or follow the guidance of this ,church of ,england1 which does not pretend1 to be a sure and infallible guide8 ,or where indeed1 shall we find the ,church8 ,in convocation8 that has been extinguished4 ,in synod8 ,she is not permitted to hold one4 ,on the bench of ,bishops8 ,the ,bishops1 are notoriously at sixes and sevens1 all over the land1 both on matters of faith1 discipline1 and ceremonies4 ,yours1 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 is a hard lot6 ,i know nothing to equal to it4 ,you glory in liberty of conscience1 and are the bound slaves of a fallible ,church1 as if she were infallible4 ,the ,bible1 and the ,bible alone1 is your rule of faith1 and yet1 you are remorselessly compelled1 to subscribe to the thirty-nine ,articles1 which have been added to the ,scriptures1 and which are in part self-contradictory1 and in part1 impossible to be understood4,p ,you exult in freedom of thought1 and in the privilege of private interpretation1 but if you dare to exercise either1 you are dragged to the ecclesiastical courts1 to answer for your temerity1 at the bar of a ,lay ,judge4 ,ah6 ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,cranmer1 and ,latimer1 and ,ridley1 did an evil thing2 they bowed their own necks1 and prepared for your necks1 a galling yoke1 when to rid themselves of the supremacy1 of the divinely appointed head of the ,church1 they cried out1 we have no king but ,caesar4 ,from that day to this1 ,parliament1 and ,parliamentary leaders1 have lorded it1 over your inheritance1 both spiritual and temporal4 ,you must either submit to ,lay tribunals1 or there are no loaves and fishes for you4 ,how beautifully is your ,church thus described by the poet1-- ,for she was of that stubborn crew ,of errant saints1 whom all men grant1 ,to be the true ,church militant3 ,such as do build their faith upon1 ,the holy text of pike and gun2 ,decide all controversies by ,infallible artillery2 ,and prove their doctrines orthodox ,by apostolic blows and knocks2 ,which always must be going on1 ,and still be doing1 never done3 ,as if religion were intended1 ,for nothing else1 but to be mended4 7#crdly4 ,the superstitious use of the sign of the cross47 ,the true ,catholic1 knows that the ,son of ,god1 obtained the salvation of the world1 by dying on a cross1 for all mankind2 and hence1 like the great ,st4 ,paul1 he glories in the cross of ,christ1 and frequently crosses himself1 with this holy sign1 to remind himself of ,jesus ,christ1 who obtained so many spiritual blessings for mankind1 by the great sacrifice1 which he once consummated on the cross4 ,hence the ,catholic ,church1 keeps the cross1 as the sign of the pledge of our redemption1 in all her churches1 and chapels1 and by this holy sign1 reminds the faithful1 that all the blessings1 that they either have received1 or can receive1 must come through the merits of ,jesus ,christ4 ,hence1 in the oblation of her holy sacrifice1 in the administration of her sacraments1 and in all her sacred rites1 and ceremonies1 she is continually using this holy sign1 to remind both herself1 and the faithful1 that it is by the cross1 that is1 by the merits of our ,saviour's death1 and passion1 that she1 and all other faithful1 are to triumph over the world1 the flesh1 and the devil4 ,hence1 this sign was used by antiquity with the greatest veneration4 ,thus1 ,tertullian beautifully says1 ,we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross1 on the forehead1 whenever we go from home1 or return1 when we put on our clothes1 or our shoes1 when we go to the bath1 or sit down to meat1 when we light our candles1 when we lie down1 and when we sit4 ,but it appears1 that the superstitious use of the sign of the cross1 is offensive to ,lord ,john1 and1 that it may lead people1 step by step1 to the very verge of the precipice2 and therefore1 you clergymen1 must not make use of the sign of the cross1 but you must keep the lion1 and the unicorn1 in your churches1 to remind the people1 that your church is the church of men1 as by ,law established4 ,you may indeed1 bow at the name of ,jesus1 and kiss the ,bible1 before you swear by it1 in a court of justice1 but1 in the house of ,god1 you had better omit the superstitious use of the sign of the cross1 although1 if one of the popish ceremonies be superstitious1 it is manifest that the other two ceremonies1 must be also superstitious4 7#dthly4 ,the muttering of the liturgy1 so as to disguise the language1 in which it is written47 ,now1 what this sentence really means1 ,i am at a loss to divine2 whether1 it refers to the indistinct utterance1 of the clergyman's enunciation1 or it means1 that some of these ,protestant clergymen1 have been performing certain parts1 of the ,church of ,england liturgy1 like ,catholics1 in the ,latin tongue1 ,i am at a loss to determine4 ,it is a pity1 when ,lord ,john is finding fault1 about muttering1 so as to disguise the language1 7and of course the meaning17 of his ,church liturgy1 it is really a pity1 ,lord ,john did not express himself1 in more intelligible terms2 but1 perhaps1 the obscurity of ,lord ,john's meaning1 may be owing to the blunt acumen of my popish understanding4 ,i am rather1 however1 inclined to think1 that ,lord ,john1 is here warning his clergy1 against the use of the ,latin tongue1 in the ,church liturgy1 and if so1 he is perfectly right4 ,for the ,english ,protestant ,church1 is a modern church1 its language1 therefore1 should be modern1 that its liturgy1 may announce to posterity the period1 in which it was formed4 ,but the ,church of ,rome1 is an ancient ,church1 and therefore1 she preserves her ancient liturgy1 the language of which1 remounts to the origin of ,christianity4 ,i do not believe1 that history1 can furnish an instance of a people1 who ever changed the language of their liturgy1 and who did not1 at the same time1 change their religion4 ,but are the ,catholics of the ,latin ,church1 singular in the use of an ancient tongue1 in their service8 ,certainly not4 ,the ,greeks1 ,russians1 ,armenians1 ,syrians1 ,copts1 ,ethiopians1 ,georgians1 and the other ,christians of the ,east1 all retain the liturgies1 which they received from the fathers of their faith1 and which are written in languages1 unintelligible to the common people4 ,the same1 was the discipline of the ,jews1 after their captivity2 and we do not find1 that it was ever blamed by ,our ,saviour4 ,but is it true1 that the modern ,church of ,england1 has always held in such abhorrence1 the celebration of her liturgy1 in an unknown tongue8 certainly not3 for1 in the year #aefj1 an act was passed1 for the introduction of the ,english ,protestant ,common ,prayer ,book1 among the natives of ,ireland1 who were compelled1 by the severest penalties1 to assist at the celebration of the ,english liturgy2 though these poor ,irish1 were utterly unacquainted1 with the ,english language4 ,hence1 ,dr4 ,heylin1 in his ,history of the ,protestant ,reformation1 7,eliz4 p4 #abh47 says1 ,the people1 by that statute1 are required under severe penalties1 to frequent their churches1 and to be frequent1 at the reading of the ,english liturgy1 which they understand1 no more than they do the ,mass4 99 99 99 ,by which1 continues this ,protestant writer1 we have furnished the ,papists1 with an excellent argument against ourselves1 for having the divine service celebrated in such a language1 as the people do not understand4 ,but is the adoption of the ,latin tongue1 peculiar only to some of the ,protestant ,clergymen1 of the present day8 ,i answer no2 for in the ,act of ,uniformity1 the ,protestant minister in ,ireland1 if he could not read the ,english1 was permitted to read a ,latin translation1 which was1 no doubt1 equally unintelligible to the most of his parishioners4 7,see ,dr4 ,heylin's ,hist41 as above47 ,in the same year1 the ,universities of ,oxford1 and ,cambridge1 and the ,colleges of ,eton1 and ,winchester1 obtained permission from the head of their ,church1 to perform the divine service in the language of ,rome4 7,wilk4 ,conc4 ,tom4 iv41 p4 #bag47 ,thus you see1 that the muttering of the ,liturgy1 so as to disguise the language1 in which it was written1 is not 7if ,i understand rightly ,lord ,john's meaning17 is not peculiar only to some of you ,protestant ministers of the present day2 for it was claimed and exercised by some of your ,protestant ancestors4 ,but then1 we all know1 ,lord ,john is a consistent and straight-forward man1 and therefore1 he may perhaps wish you1 to adopt in your ,liturgy1 a modern language1 significant of the modern origin of your ,church1 and therefore1 he may perhaps wish you to show1 by the language of your ,liturgy1 that your ,church1 is so many hundred years too late1 to be the ,church of ,christ4 ,but if the muttering of the ,liturgy1 c41 by the ,clergy1 be a great crime1 is it not a far greater crime1 for the ,protestant ,bishops1 and clergymen1 so to mutter the tenets of their creed1 as to disguise the language1 and the meaning of them1 by their perpetual disunions1 and contradictions8 ,is it not a notorious fact1 that in one ,protestant ,church1 you are taught to believe in ecclesiastical infallibility1 in another1 in the all-sufficiency of the ,scriptures2 in one ,protestant parish1 you have a sacrificial1 mediatorial priest1 in another1 one of an opposite1 and contrary opinion2 in one ,protestant ,church1 you have an altar1 in another1 you have a communion table2 in one ,bishop's ,see1 the ,protestant prelate rigorously insists1 on the necessity of spiritual regeneration by baptism1 in another ,bishop's ,see1 it is acknowledged to be an unnecessary act of religion2 in ,pimlico ,protestant ,church1 you have auricular confession insisted on1 in a ,liverpool ,protestant ,church1 you have the punishment of death1 recommended as a penalty for such a practice2 in short1 is it not notorious 7as ,i said before7 that the ,protestant ,bishops1 and ,clergymen1 are at sixes1 and sevens1 all over the land1 about their articles of faith1 matters of discipline and ceremonies8 ,really1 what are the people to do1 amidst all this disunion1 and dissension about their religion1 so as to disguise1 and confound the sense1 and meaning of its tenets8 ,had not ,lord ,john ,russell1 better have called his bishops1 and ,clergy to an account1 on this ,babel muttering of religion1 before he chastised them1 for the muttering of the ,liturgy8 ,the building of the mighty tower of ,babel1 was arrested1 and demolished by the confusion of tongues2 and be assured1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 unless your ,scriptural ,church1 changes this muttering1 and confusion of tongues1 of her weathercock1 and ,babel faith1 and doctrines1 she must also be demolished4 ,for does not the ,scripture1 plainly tell us1 that a house divided against itself1 cannot stand8 and the rains 7of fallibility1 and of muttering the ,liturgy1 c47 fell1 and the floods 7of clerical protestant dissensions7 came1 and the winds 7of disunion among the bishops1 about the necessity of baptismal regeneration7 blew2 and they beat upon that house1 7the ,protestant1 fallible1 ,babel1 ,church17 and it fell2 and great was the golden fall thereof1 for it was built1 not upon the rock of ,god's infallible word1 but upon the mere fallible inventions1 and pecuniary conveniences of men4 7#eth4 ,the recommendation of ,auricular ,confession1 to which1 ,i beg to add 7the #gth7 ,absolution47 ,every well-instructed ,catholic1 knows that no man1 as man1 can forgive sins2 but at the same time1 he knows1 that ,god can forgive sins1 and that ,god1 can give that power to man2 for the ,apostles were men1 and yet1 ,jesus ,christ 7as ,i shall shortly shew7 gave his ,apostles1 a power to forgive sins4 ,you know1 that our ,saviour1 was both ,god and man1 and that he acted1 sometimes as ,god1 and sometimes1 as man4 ,now1 if you will read the ninth chapter of ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel1 you will find1 that our ,saviour worked a miracle1 to prove that ,he as man1 7but mind assisted by his heavenly ,father7 had power to forgive sins1 even on earth4 ,now1 he gave this power1 also to his ,apostles1 for we read in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 7chap4 xx4 #bb17 ,he breathed upon them1 and said1 ,receive ye the ,holy ,ghost3 whose sins1 you shall forgive1 they are forgiven2 and whose sins you shall retain1 they are retained4 ,now1 why was not this power of forgiving sins1 to extend also to future ages8 ,are not ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ1 as good and as kind1 now1 as they were1 in the time of the ,apostles2 and are there not1 as many sinners now1 as there were then8 ,if therefore1 ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ1 in their infinite mercy1 gave this power of forgiving sins1 to the ,apostles1 for the good of mankind then1 and if there are1 as many sinners now1 as there were then1 in the name of common sense1 why was not this power of ,god1 given to the ,apostles for the benefit of mankind then1 why was it not1 to extend also to all future ages1 for the benefit of mankind afterwards8 ,no such things1 cries out the ,lay ,metropolitan of ,england4 ,such doctrine1 would lead the people1 step by step1 to the very verge of the precipice4 ,but of what precipice8 ,would you believe it8 to the recommendation of ,auricular ,confession1 and ,absolution1 as laid down1 in the ,church of ,england ,prayer-book4 ,in the ,church of ,england form of ,ordination1 the ,bishop says1 to the candidate for the priesthood3 ,receive ye the ,holy ,ghost3 whose sins ye shall forgive1 they are forgiven1 and whose sins ye shall retain1 they are retained4 ,these words1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 were said over each of you1 by your ,bishops1 when you presented yourselves candidates1 for ordination4 ,now1 did you receive any spiritual power1 or was this a mere form8 ,if you answer1 it was a mere form1 you then have no more power1 in this respect1 than a mere layman2 but if you answer1 you did receive a power1 it must have been1 either a declaratory1 or a judicial power to forgive sins2 if it was only a declaratory power1 viz41 to declare1 that the sinner1 would obtain forgiveness if he truly repented1 then1 any layman1 possesses this power without ordination2 for any layman1 can confidently declare1 that penitent sinners are pardoned2 but if you received a judicial power1 to forgive sins1 then1 this is popish doctrine1 and this would lead you1 and your flock1 step by step1 to the very verge of the precipice4 ,but to the verge of what precipice8 ,why your ,protestant common prayer-book1 shall now tell you4 ,really1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 ,i am afraid of quoting this passage1 from your prayer-book2 for it will not merely lead you to the verge1 but it will hurl you1 all headlong1 down the precipice of the popish doctrine1 of ,auricular ,confession1 and ,absolution4 ,but we had better1 go step by step1 and therefore1 ,i will quote a choice piece1 that occurs in your ,protestant common prayer-book1 just before the recommendation of ,auricular ,confession1 and ,absolution4 ,your godly prayer-book1 says1 in the visitation of the sick1 the ministers shall not omit1 earnestly to move1 such sick persons1 as are of ability1 to be liberal to the poor4 ,it is a pity1 ,o godly ,church1 that thou didst not give this advice to thyself1 at the ,reformation1 when thou stolest1 so much money from the poor1 and then1 made the nation make up1 by church-rates and poor-rates1 for what thou hadst stolen4 ,thou art really a very disinterested spiritual physician1 for thou art most solicitous about thy children1 practising the virtue of charity themselves1 but as for thyself1 thou will practise charity1 as soon as it is convenient1 or as soon as the spirit moves thee1 or the nation makes thee4 ,but what comes next1 in your godly prayer-book8 ,why1 rank1 and downright ,popish doctrine1 of auricular confession1 and absolution4 ,in the visitation of the sick1 your prayer-book thus says2 ,here shall the sick person be moved to make a ,,special confession of his sins1 if he feel his conscience1 troubled with any weighty matter4 ,after which confession1 the ,priest shall absolve him 7if he humbly and earnestly desire it7 after this sort3 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 who hath left power to ,his ,church1 to absolve all sinners1 who truly repent1 and believe in ,him2 of ,his great mercy1 forgive thee thine offences3 and by ,his authority ,,committed ,,to ,,me1 ,i absolve thee from all thy sins1 in the name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,amen4 ,really1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 if all this1 is not rank popish1 auricular confession1 and absolution1 ,i know not what is2 and mind1 standing as large as life1 in your ,church of ,england1 ,common ,prayer-book1 which was made by act of parliament1 by the aid of the ,holy ,ghost1 and for the honour of ,god4 ,really1 what are you1 and ,lord ,john ,russell to do now1 when your ,protestant godly ,prayer-book1 has not only led you to the verge1 but hurled you all headlong down to the very bottom1 of popish ,auricular ,confession1 and absolution8 ,why1 you must either renounce your ,protestant prayer-book1 and declare1 it is not a work of the ,holy ,ghost1 nor made for the honour of ,god2 or your orthodox stomachs1 must swallow1 by wholesale1 this abomination of desolation1 of popish auricular confession1 and absolution2 and thus1 allow the dreadful enemy1 to remain within your gates1 an enemy more terrible than an hostile invasion by foreign powers4 7#fth4 ,the administration of ,penance47 ,this1 most ,reverend ,gentlemen1 is the sixth error1 in ,lord ,john ,russell's catalogue1 of seven errors1 but the last1 which ,i have to answer1 as ,i have already1 included the seventh1 in the fifth error4 ,if ,lord ,john1 wishes to intimate1 that ,catholics teach works of penance1 to be of themselves a sufficient compensation for sin1 ,lord ,john has yet1 to learn1 the first rudiments of the ,catholic creed2 but if he means1 that ,catholics consider the works of penance1 as one of the conditions1 on which our ,saviour1 is willing to communicate the merits of ,his death and passion1 to the soul of the sinner1 ,lord ,john's meaning is just4 ,but does ,lord ,john1 seriously condemn this doctrine1 founded1 as it is1 on the plainest evidence of scripture1 and confirmed by the practice of the earliest ages8 ,if ,i understand ,lord ,john rightly1 he certainly does4 ,lord ,john1 is perhaps the zealous champion of the all-sufficiency of ,christ1 and in his opinion1 to do penance for sin1 after the great sacrifice consummated on the cross1 is to lead the people1 step by step1 to the verge of an awful precipice4 ,if this1 is ,lord ,john's creed1 it must1 at least1 be a very consoling one4 ,indulge your passions1 it exclaims1 to the sinner1 indulge your passions1 and cease to sin1 when you can sin no longer2 fear not the rigours of penance2 to weep and pray1 to fast and give alms1 to repent in sackcloth and ashes1 are external ceremonies1 which are confined to the popish creed2 but to practise them1 in our new dispensation of free grace1 as by law established1 would be1 to lead the people1 to the very verge of the popish precipice4 ,it is curious to observe1 how ,lord ,john's liberation from penance 7if ,i understand him rightly17 has improved1 on the rough sketch1 which was delivered by our forefathers4 ,st4 ,paul1 was accustomed to keep under his body1 and to bring it under subjection by acts of penance2 and ,i have no doubt1 he thought he was acting in a manner1 pleasing to ,christ1 and yet1 we learn from ,lord ,john's doctrine1 7if ,i understand it rightly17 this great apostle1 was leading the people1 step by step1 to the very verge1 of the awful precipice of penance4 ,the penitents in ancient times1 often spent whole years in works of penance2 they fasted and prayed1 they lay prostrate at the porch of the ,church1 they solicited the intercession of their less guilty brethren4 ,by these penitential austerities1 they hoped1 they were fulfilling the will of the ,redeemer1 and yet1 alas6 according to ,lord ,john's doctrine 7if ,i understand it rightly7 they were going1 step by step1 to the very verge of the awful precipice of penance4 ,even the learned men1 who compiled the ,church of ,england1 ,common ,prayer-book1 appear to have been involved in this awful error4 ,there was formerly1 they tell us1 a godly discipline1 that at the beginning of ,lent1 such persons1 as stood convicted of notorious sins1 were put to open penance1 and punished here1 that their souls1 might be saved at the day of the ,lord2 and it were much to be wished1 that this said discipline1 may be restored4 7,church ,eng4 ,com4 ,pray4 book47 ,little did they imagine1 that this godly discipline of penance1 by means of which the souls of sinners1 were to be saved in the day of the ,lord1 would be reproved by a ,protestant layman1 as an error1 which would lead people1 step by step1 to the verge of an awful precipice4 ,yet so 7if ,i understand his meaning7 says ,lord ,john ,russell1 and he is lay ,metropolitan of all ,england4 ,i think ,i cannot better take leave of ,lord ,john1 than by addressing him in the words of the ,reverend ,mr4 ,bennett1 under whose ,puseyite teaching1 he sat for some time4 ,if my course was insidious1 7,lord ,john71 why did you take part in that course8 ,if ,i so muttered the liturgy1 as to disguise its language1 why did you join in so glaring a profaneness1 for nearly seven years8 ,if ,i practised 'mummeries and superstition1' why did you1 come to join in them1 for nearly seven years8 ,why did you so far and so deeply join1 as to receive at my hands1 so late as ,ash ,wednesday1 #ahdi1 the holy ,eucharist1 yourself and your family8 ,if ,i were one1 of those designated in your letter1 as bringing a greater danger1 than the ,pope1 why then1 my lord1 was it1 that you said not all this before8 7,rev4 ,mr4 ,bennett's ,letter to ,lord ,john ,russell47 ,in conclusion1 ,i can only say1 that ,i am afraid ,lord ,john ,russell's letter1 has been a most unfortunate one for himself2 and as such1 ,i regret it exceedingly4 ,it has certainly placed him1 in the opinion of sensible ,englishmen1 in a very ridiculous point of view2 and how it will be received by future ages1 it is not for me to divine4 ,my dissenting ,brethren1 to you who have honourably come forward1 and assisted us ,catholics1 in the late hurricane of bigotry1 and of insults1 ,i return you my mead of sincere thanks4 ,your conduct shows1 that you have acted the part of consistent men1 that you are true supporters of civil and religious liberty1 and that you have not forgotten the former noble1 and disinterested exertions of the late ,daniel ,o',connell1 in your cause4 ,you cannot but remember1 that the late ,daniel ,o',connell1 nobly and disinterestedly1 battled for your rights and privileges1 on the field of civil and religious liberty1 even before he had gained those rights1 either for the ,english ,catholics1 or for his dear country1 poor ,ireland4,q ,but what shall ,i say of those dissenters1 who have joined with the ,protestant ,church1 in the late fury and tirade against us ,catholics8 ,can ,i call them consistent men8 ,consistent men indeed6 ,do not all the dissenters1 the ,presbyterians1 ,methodists1 ,independents1 ,baptists1 ,unitarians1 and ,quakers1 do not all these dissenters deny1 as well as we ,catholics1 the spiritual supremacy of the ,queen8 ,nay1 do not all these dissenters1 claim their spiritual rights and authority1 independent of the ,queen8 ,why1 therefore1 will you refuse the exercise of their spiritual rights1 to your ,catholic fellow creatures8 ,why will you unjustly deprive them of those privileges1 which are the birth-right of every ,englishman2 nay1 of every human creature in the world8 ,does not the scripture1 which you so often extol1 tell you1 that you ought not to do unto others1 that which you do not wish others to do unto you8 ,what1 then1 are we to say of those dissenting ministers1 or minister1 who on one day are seen claiming the power to give spiritual ordination to others1 then1 shortly after1 attending an ,anti-,protestant ,church meeting2 and1 lastly1 see them or him1 arranged by the side of the ,protestant ,church1 for the express purpose1 of refusing to the ,catholic ,church1 the exercise of those spiritual rights1 which they1 or he1 had not long before deemed it their1 or his right to assume8 ,nay1 what is still worse1 he had even wished to refuse them the rights of a base criminal1 viz41 that a charitable dissenter should not be allowed to speak1 or merely ask a question1 in defence of the ,pope1 and of the benighted papists4 ,really1 was not this1 a most inconsistent1 extraordinary and presumptuous movement1 of this dissenting minister8 ,well1 ,i can only say1 if the religious creed of this minister1 be not more consistent than his political creed1 ,i really envy him not the possession of it1 and ,i think ,i cannot do better1 than address him in the words of the poet3 ,his notions fitted things so well ,that1 which was which1 he could not tell1 ,but oftentimes1 mistook the one ,for t'other1 as great clerks have done4 ,i must now say a few words to the ,english1 in general1 and make a few remarks on the unjust manner1 in which the ,catholic religion1 has in general been hitherto1 treated and abused4 ,that you may the better understand this1 ,i will make use of the following supposition4 ,let us suppose1 for a moment1 that we were in a court of justice1 that a person was going to be tried1 that some of you were witnesses against him1 that the rest of you1 were to form the jury1 and that ,i was to be the judge4 ,now1 if we were to examine1 only the witnesses who were against the accused1 and not allow a single individual to speak for him1 if we were not1 to allow the poor man to speak a word in his own defence1 and were the jury1 and the judge1 then to pronounce him guilty1 do you think1 we should treat that man fairly8 ,however innocent he might be1 he was sure to be brought in guilty4 ,and why8 ,because the witnesses were against him1 the jury was against him1 and the judge was against him2 and not a single word was allowed to be spoken in his defence4 ,now1 ye honest men of ,england1 would you not think that man was treated very unfairly8 ,would you not feel for such a man8 ,and would you not pity his case8 ,i am sure you would1 and all with one voice exclaim1 ,let the poor man have fair play1 and let us 'do to him1 as we would be done by4' ,now1 my friends1 let us apply this example1 to the ,catholic religion4 ,have you not read books1 that gave you the most horrible account of the ,catholic religion1 have you not heard people1 tell the most infamous things against this religion1 and have you not1 even in places of worship1 heard this religion1 most cruelly called1 and abused8 ,but did you ever ask yourselves1 whether all that you then read or heard1 was really true8 ,did you consider1 that abuse1 is no argument1 declamation1 no evidence1 accusation1 no verdict8 ,did you examine the witnesses on the other side8 ,did you read any ,catholic book1 or consult any well-instructed ,catholic layman1 or minister on these subjects8 ,did you not condemn the poor ,catholics1 unheard1 and without giving them a fair trial8 ,but mind1 ,i am not blaming you1 nor the public in general1 for this ignorance of our religion1 nor am ,i surprised at it4 ,no1 considering what has been the state of things1 ,i cannot conceive how it could have been otherwise4 ,for these misrepresentations1 and false statements against our religion1 have been often made by very respectable persons1 and often repeated to the people1 either from the pulpit1 where nothing but the truth1 should be spoken1 or in tracts1 and books1 which either are1 or profess to be written by learned and sincere members of society4 ,thus hearing these statements1 and accusations1 from these sources1 the people very natural enough conclude1 that all that is said against the poor benighted ,papists1 must be true4 ,but my friends1 ,i beg of you that in future1 you will always remember1 that the law of ,england1 strictly forbids any one1 even the basest criminal1 to be condemned before1 he has had a fair trial1 that it is an excellent maxim in life1 hear both sides before you judge1 and the ,scripture expressly says3 ,thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour4 ,why should not then the same principles1 be adopted in judging of the ,catholic religion8 ,when then1 in future your hear any abuse1 or accusation against the ,catholic religion1 ,i beg of you to ask yourselves two questions3 ,first1 am ,i certain that the ,catholic ,church maintains such doctrine8 and secondly1 if it does1 have ,i heard the proofs1 which may be advanced1 in confirmation of that doctrine8 ,oh6 would only all ,englishmen1 grant the ,catholics this common boon of justice6 how soon would that dark1 and heavy cloud of prejudice and misrepresentation1 which has so long hung over our religion1 immediately burst1 and as the sun1 after having been shrouded in clouded majesty1 amidst the terrific storm1 bursts forth with more transcendent brightness1 so would the ,catholic faith1 after having been so long darkened with the mist of false representation1 burst forth1 with a lustre and brightness1 which could not help attracting the eye of every sensible1 and thinking mind4 ,one or two more remarks to you ,englishmen1 and then1 ,i really must for the present bid you farewell4 ,you cannot be ignorant of the many ,protestant clergyman1 who1 are either returning in many respects to the ,catholic faith1 or who have already1 publicly renounced the ,protestant1 and embraced the ,catholic faith4 ,now1 with all these venerable examples before you1 ought not you laity1 to begin to think1 that you also1 have a right1 nay1 that it is your duty1 to examine how religious affairs1 stand in ,england8 ,you cannot read1 without feelings of interest1 and surprise1 the account of the numerous conversions1 of these ,protestant clergymen1 to the ancient ,catholic4 ,although you may condemn the change1 still you cannot but admire the singleness of their purpose1 and the strength of their minds4 ,the ,catholic ,church1 has no earthly treasures 7for the ,protestant ,church got all these long since7 to offer these ministers for the great sacrifice of wealth1 of friendship1 and other worldly interests1 which they have to forfeit1 for renouncing the ,protestant1 and embracing the ,catholic faith4 ,on the other hand1 your rich1 but poor in spirit ,church1 lays before them golden prospects1 some of the best1 and highest preferments of your ,church4 ,but1 they have turned their backs upon them all1 either to accept the lowly charge of a ,catholic ,priest1 or to sink into some despised1 and humble situation in life4 ,to many of you1 these sacrifices may appear folly2 but remember these converts1 have lately studied in the school of ,st4 ,paul1 who suffered the loss of all things1 and accounted them as dung1 that he might gain ,christ4 7,phil4 iii47 ,thus1 they have cheerfully renounced the riches1 and honours of this world1 to associate themselves in faith1 and worship1 with those holy1 and illustrious members of the ,catholic faith1 who1 in every age1 and clime1 have made it their aim1 and glory1 to bring their dear1 but erring brethren1 to this one fold1 of the one ,shepherd1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,i can only say it appears to me strange1 passing strange1 that if ,catholicity be such a monster1 as some would gladly persuade the world1 it appears very strange1 that there should be such an inclination in ,england1 of late years1 to return to this ancient faith4 ,every one must acknowledge1 that the march of intellect in ,england1 during these late years1 has been immense2 but if ,catholicity be such a monster1 as our enemies charitably represent it1 what is the reason1 so many are beginning to enter into its fold1 and what is the reason1 ,catholicity in ,england is so much in the increase8 ,this great increase1 is acknowledged even by our enemies4 ,one would reasonably think1 that if ,catholicity be such a monster1 the march of intellect would have naturally guarded the people against it4 ,it surely will not be said1 that the people have not been sufficiently warned against it4 ,what6 not sufficiently warned against it6 ,have they not been warned against it1 these three hundred years at least8 ,have they not been warned against it1 in books of all descriptions1 from the large folio to the penny tract8 ,have they not been warned against it1 in almost every pulpit 7except ,catholic7 in ,england8 ,have they not been warned against it1 again1 and again1 in the ,house of ,lords and ,commons8 ,have they not been warned against it1 in almost every rank of society8 ,in short1 have they not been warned against it by every means1 that human ingenuity could devise8 ,but surely1 we shall not be told1 that this inclination to ,catholicity1 is owing to the want of scriptural knowledge in ,england8 ,want of scriptural knowledge indeed in ,england6 ,have not millions of money1 been subscribed for the printing of the scriptures1 have not millions of bibles1 been printed and circulated in ,england8 ,in short has not almost every one a bible1 to which he confidently appeals as his word of life8 ,and yet notwithstanding all this warning against ,catholicity1 notwithstanding this immense diffusion of bibles in ,england1 ,catholicity is rapidly increasing1 to the great dismay and horrification of our enemies4 ,what then1 can be the reason of this late increase of ,catholicity in ,england8 ,why1 ,i will tell you1 the people of ,england1 can now most of them read1 and the march of intellect is abroad1 and by these means the people begin to find out1 that their ,catholic fellow creatures1 have been long1 an unjustly abused1 a shamefully treated1 and basely calumniated body of ,christians4 ,the people1 therefore1 naturally begin to feel for them1 and are now unwilling to be deceived1 by the idle rant of those misinformed1 but positive writers and preachers1 who ,without the care of knowing right from wrong1 ,always appear1 decisive1 clear1 and strong1 ,where others1 toil with philosophic force1 ,their nimble nonsense1 takes a shorter course1 ,flings at your head1 conviction in a lump1 ,and gains remote conclusions at a jump4 ,it is related in the ,anglo-,saxon history1 that when the ,catholic missionaries came from abroad1 to announce the truths of the ,gospel to our pagan ,anglo-,saxon ancestors1 it is related that an aged and venerable1 but unconverted ,thane thus addressed his pagan prince on the subject4 ,when1 said he1 ,o ,king1 you and your ministers are seated at table in the depth of winter1 and the cheerful fire blazes on the hearth in the middle of the hall1 a sparrow perhaps1 chased by the wind and snow1 enters at one door of the apartment1 and escapes by the other4 ,during the moment of its passage1 it enjoys the warmth2 when it is once departed1 it is seen no more4 ,such is the nature of man4 ,during a few years his existence is visible3 but what has preceded1 or what will follow it1 is concealed from the view of mortals4 ,if the new religion1 offer any information on subjects so mysterious and important1 it must be worthy of our attention4 7,ling4 ,his4 ,anglo-,sax4 vol4 i4 pp4 #bi-cj47 ,happy shall ,i consider myself1 ,o ,englishmen1 if in the above pages1 ,i have advanced anything1 that may be thought worthy of your attention on the subject of religion4 ,our lives1 as this pagan1 but aged and venerable ,thane justly observes1 are beautifully pictured by the short flight of a sparrow1 flying through the narrow space of a hall1 with a door open at each end4 ,but after this short passage of life1 there is something most awful1 and mysterious awaiting us1 and the true religion of ,god1 only can unfold to us1 how we may best prepare ourselves for the revelation of those awful moments1 when time shall end1 and eternity begin4 ,surely then1 the sincere search after the true religion1 must be a subject worthy of your information1 of your attention1 and of your frequent consideration4 ,happy1 again ,i repeat it1 shall ,i consider myself1 if anything that ,i may have said1 shall tend to assist you in the above important1 and essential investigation4 ,refer1 however1 the glory and honour1 not to me1 but to the holy ,catholic ,church1 under whose guidance ,i have been instructed4 ,o holy ,church1 the pillar of truth and the child of ,jesus ,christ1 if ,i stray from thine unerring word1 ,i shall soon 7a weak and frail child of ,adam7 fall down the awful precipice of spiritual inconsistencies1 contradictions1 and errors4 ,should ,i have advanced anything contrary to any article of thy holy faith1 ,i am ready publicly to recall it4 ,under the safe shelter of thy unerring authority1 ,i will fix my resting-place1 and there1 fear neither the scoffs of the infidel1 nor the flimsy reasoning of those1 who have unfortunately strayed from thy secure paths4 ,o ,englishmen1 if you would only seriously1 and conscientiously examine the real merits of the ,catholic ,church1 you would soon find that she is built upon the pillar of truth1 and that she is the admirable work of that wise builder1 ,jesus ,christ1 who built ,his house upon a firm foundation4 ,and the rains fell1 and the floods came1 and the winds blew1 and they beat on that house1 but it fell not1 for it was founded upon a rock4 7,st4 ,matt4 vii4 #be47 ,,errata4 ,,first ,,address4 ,page #a1 line #bc1 for rights read rites4 #h1 note line #f1 for ,gospels read ,gospel4 ,,printed ,,by ,,richardson ,,and ,,son1 ,,derby4 ,,footnotes3 ,h ,in the preceding pages1 ,i have asserted1 that the ,protestant ,church1 is unjust1 in taking from the poor their portion of church property1 which was left them by our charitable ,catholic ancestors2 nay1 that it is also unjust1 to exact tithes from those1 who do not belong to the ,protestant ,church of ,england4 ,now this bold assertion against the ,protestant ,church1 certainly requires a little explanation4 ,a law may be considered in two points of view1 as a law of the land1 and as a law of ,god4 ,now as the law of tithes in the ,protestant ,church1 is sanctioned by act of parliament1 of course the ,protestant ,church1 is justified in exacting these tithes1 for it has the law of the land at its back in this respect4 ,but then1 the ,protestant law of tithes1 considered in a moral point of view1 is certainly an unjust law4 ,and why8 ,because it takes from the poor1 what was justly left them by our charitable ancestors1 and it exacts money from the ,catholics and dissenters1 without doing any thing to them in return for this money4 ,thus you see1 that the law of man and the law of ,god1 sometimes contradict each other2 and this is often the case1 in your scriptural ,church as by law established4 ,but is not ,god always above man8 ,certainly2 and therefore the law of ,god1 ought always to have the preference to the law of man4 ,but this subject of ,church tithes1 reminds me of the famous ,dr4 ,hook of ,leeds1 who is often writing against the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 but slyly never condescends to answer any of her replies4 ,now1 mark well1 ,i am going to prove1 even to a demonstration1 from the words of ,dr4 ,hook1 that the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 is really the true ,church of ,christ in these realms4 ,well1 you will say1 if you can do that1 ,dr4 ,hook must be a very strange and inconsistent doctor of our ,church4 ,really1 do you know1 ,i was just thinking the same4 ,in the year #ahcb1 the ,somerset ,county ,gazette informed the public1 that ,dr4 ,hook1 in a sermon which he preached before the ,queen1 uttered the following remarkable words3 ,were all connection between church and state1 at this very moment to cease1 the church 7that is1 the ,protestant ,church7 would remain precisely as she now is2 that is to say1 our bishops1 though deprived of temporal rank1 would still exercise all those spiritual functions which1 conferred by higher than human authority1 no human authority can take away2 still to vacant sees they would consecrate new bishops1 still ordain the clergy1 still confirm the baptized1 still govern the church4 ,such are the famous words of ,dr4 ,hook1 in his sermon before the ,queen4 ,now let us see how nicely1 they prove the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 to be the true ,church of ,christ in these realms4 ,whether this prophecy of ,dr4 ,hook respecting the ,protestant ,church1 would be really verified1 were his church to be separated from the state1 ,i will not here enquire2 but this ,i will say1 it has been already really verified with regard to the ,catholic ,church in ,england4 ,for although at the ,reformation1 the ,catholic ,church was deprived of all aid from the state1 although she was unjustly spoiled of those temporal riches left by her charitable children1 and although the exercise of her faith1 subjected her followers to the most severe pains and penalties1 7which must be for ever a disgrace to this country71 still1 ,catholicity could not be extinguished in these kingdoms2 for her bishops still continued to exercise all those spiritual functions1 which1 conferred by higher than human authority1 no human authority can take away1 still1 to vacant sees1 they consecrated new bishops1 still ordained the clergy1 still confirmed the baptized1 still governed the church4 ,and hence this ,catholic ,church1 notwithstanding all the stormy trials1 which she has undergone in ,england1 exists now1 and is exactly the same in spiritual power1 as she was before the time of the ,reformation4 ,if1 therefore1 ,dr4 ,hook considers that this would be a mark of the true ,church of ,christ1 were it to be verified with regard to his ,protestant ,church1 we may justly infer1 according to the ,doctor's principle1 that the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 is the true ,church of ,christ in these realms4 ,and why8 ,because the doctor's principle1 has been already really verified1 with regard to this church in these kingdoms4 ,really1 ,i begin to think that the famous ,dr4 ,hook of ,leeds1 must be some relation to ,martin ,luther2 for ,martin1 even after he had left the ,catholic ,church1 proves1 in the following words1 that the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 was the true ,church of ,christ4 ,in his book against the ,anabaptists1 he makes the following candid confession3 ,under ,papacy are many good things2 yea1 everything that is good in ,christianity4 ,i say1 moreover1 continues he1 under ,papacy is true christianity even the very kernel of christianity4 ,here we have two doctors of the ,protestant ,church1 leaving1 even after they had strained every nerve to overturn this ,catholic ,church1 we have1 ,i repeat1 these two ,protestant doctors1 leaving in their writings to posterity1 one by his line of argumentation1 and the other by his own words1 the most incontestible proofs that the ,roman ,catholic ,church1 is really the true ,church of ,christ1 and that her fabric1 is adorned with all the rich treasures of christianity4 ,o how true is the declaration of the wise man6 7,prov4 xxi4 #cj17 there is no wisdom1 there is no prudence1 there is no counsel against the ,lord4 ,i ,joseph ,hume1 ,esq41 is1 or nearly ,i believe1 the oldest member of the present ,house of ,commons1 and it may be truly said1 that1 perhaps1 no one in that ,house has acted with greater consistency1 and more disinterested zeal1 for the promotion of the welfare of his country4 ,he has always been a staunch advocate for reform1 a patriot for the rights of the poor1 and a manly defender of civil1 and religious liberty to all4 ,hence1 poor ,dan4 ,o',connell1 was sensible of the distinguished political merits of this great1 and consistent statesman2 and hence1 when an ,english constituency rejected this worthy member from a seat in the ,house1 ,dan4 honourably obtained in ,ireland a seat for this useful and consistent member4 ,now1 ,i am glad to find1 that the remarks which ,i have just made1 agree with the opinion of this eminent statesman1 respecting the loaves and fishes of the protestant clergy4 ,the following1 are the words which ,joseph ,hume1 ,esq4 has just uttered on this subject3 but their zeal 7that is1 the zeal of the protestant clergy17 against the ,catholics1 looks to me1 to originate from fear of the loaves and fishes1 which they now so largely enjoy for doing little1 and in many cases nothing of public duty4 7,joseph ,hume's1 ,esq41 letter to ,w4 ,j4 ,cole1 ,esq41 ,lechdale1 ,gloucestershire1 #bdth ,dec41 #ahej47 ,j ,i cannot help relating here a circumstance 7,i hope it is not foreign to the purpose7 that happened to one of my acquaintance4 ,he was travelling in a coach1 in which were three other respectable passengers4 ,among other subjects1 the conversation 7as is often the case7 turned on ,catholics4 ,one of the gentlemen1 immediately commenced a philippic against the ,catholics1 and called them idolaters1 superstitious1 murderers1 and many other pretty names4 ,my acquaintance allowed the gentleman1 to pour out his abuse for some time without interruption1 and appeared much amused by his bold assertions1 and flaming descriptions of the poor deluded papists4 ,during the conversation1 a person in liquor1 rode up to the coach window1 and began to annoy the passengers1 by his yells and impertinent behaviour4 ,my acquaintance immediately said to the gentleman1 who was telling such pretty things about the ,catholics1 let us have this drunken man taken up1 he has murdered two or three people4 ,the gentleman replied1 ,are you1 ,sir1 certain that he has murdered two or three people8 ,can you prove it8 ,because it would be very unjust to take the man up1 unless you could prove the crimes which you mention4 ,no1 answered my acquaintance1 ,i am not certain4 ,and let me ask you1 if you are certain1 that all the charges1 which you have just brought against the ,catholics are true8 ,i am a ,catholic1 and must tell you they are false1 and if you would only follow the advice1 which you have just given me about this man1 you would find the truth of what ,i say4 ,if you would not wish me to accuse this man of a crime1 which ,i am not certain he has committed1 ,i beg that you1 for the future1 will never accuse the ,catholics of charges1 which you cannot prove to be true1 and which1 if you would only take the trouble to examine1 you would find to be absolutely false4 ,the gentleman looked much perplexed1 and was so ashamed of himself1 that he never spoke another word until they parted4 ,the other two gentlemen enjoyed the joke wonderfully1 and laughed most heartily4 ,k ,we read of the ancient prophets1 whom ,god sent to reform the ,jews that they began their prophecies by admonishing the people1 that the ,lord had spoken to them3 ,hear1 ,o ye heavens1 and give ear1 ,o earth1 for the ,lord hath spoken4 ,isai1 c4 i4 v4 #b4 ,whereas ,god has permitted that the doctrine of the ,reformation1 should have been originally announced to the world1 by a man of insupportable pride1 who disclaimed the authority1 and doctrine of all ,churches then upon the earth2 who made no difficulty of acknowledging1 that it was from the devil1 he learned one of the principal articles of the ,reformation1 and who might therefore1 have said to his followers1 ,hear1 ,o ye heavens1 and give ear1 ,o earth1 for the devil hath spoken4 ,l ,but some will perhaps ask1 why did the first reformers inveigh so much against ,purgatory and ,prayers for the dead8 ,why the first reformers liked spiritual commerce1 without duty if they could only contrive it4 ,now1 as a remuneration for ,prayers for the dead1 our charitable ancestors had left certain handsome sums of money2 now these reformers liked the money1 but not the obligation of the ,prayers2 and1 therefore1 they inveighed right lustily against the ,prayers1 but took care to slyly pocket the money4 ,but when this spiritual commerce could not be carried on unless the duty was performed1 they very kindly retained the popish practice1 and thus secured the money2 witness the tolling of the bell for persons just dead1 the churching of females1 and of burying the dead4 ,these and other are in reality the remnants of popish ceremonies1 and the performance of them inspire on the ,catholic mind devotional feelings2 but by ,protestants are1 in general1 looked upon very lightly1 in a spiritual point of view4 ,but then take away these popish ceremonies1 and off flies the fee4 ,will the fee for baptism be now demanded1 as baptism has been lately declared to be an unnecessary act of religion in the ,protestant ,church8 ,our ,saviour said to ,his ,apostles1 ,go1 teach all nations1 baptizing them1 7that is1 all nations17 but the ,protestant ,church says to her ministers1 ,go teach all nations1 but as to the absolute necessity of baptism1 our ,saviour must have been wrong1 and1 therefore1 go please yourselves about it4 ,m ,appendix to ,reasons why ,i am not a member of the ,bible ,society4 ,by the ,hon4 ,arthur ,philip ,percival1 ,b4,c4,l4 ,chaplain in ,ordinary to ,his ,majesty4--,fifth ,edition4 ,n ,would my ,lord ,harewood1 who lately figured so conspicuously on the platform in ,york1 as the advocate for the pure and unadulterated ,word of ,god1 without note or comment1 point out to the people the sure guide1 which they are to follow1 amidst this awful ,protestant falsification1 and mutilation of the ,sacred ,scriptures8 ,the ,spanish chemist 7as related above7 cut his master into pieces1 and put the pieces into his sublimatory glass1 with the hope of raising his master1 to a more perfect state than he enjoyed1 when ,god made him4 ,now1 my ,lord1 from what ,i have said above1 has not the ,protestant ,church1 cut the ,scriptures into pieces1 and put them into the sublimatory glass of falsification and mutilation8 but1 my ,lord1 will she be ever able to raise them again1 to as perfect a state as they were in1 when ,god made them1 or when your ,protestant ,church received them1 from the hands of the ,catholic ,church8 ,i am sure1 my ,lord1 she will be here at fault4 ,another remark or two1 my ,lord1 and ,i have done4 ,the man1 who embraces a religious opinion from conviction1 has undoubtedly the right to maintain it by argument4 ,but truth will be his first and principal object1 and the champion of truth1 will disdain the petty artifices of substituting assertion for truth1 and misrepresentation for fact4 ,he will never condescend to swell the crowd of idle disputants1 whose ingenuity first1 frames a creed for the ,church of ,rome1 and then1 after combatting a phantom of its own creation1 exults in an easy and a decisive victory4 ,my ,lord1 just adopt this advice in all your future observations on the creed of ,catholics1 and then1 you will escape two ridiculous consequences2 of exalting the ,scriptures on the one hand1 and of transgressing on the other1 one of the golden precepts of that sacred volume1 ,thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour4 ,but far be it from me1 my ,lord1 to assert that you have already done this4 ,i merely wish to guard your ,lordship1 against the above ridiculous consequences4 ,now1 as your ideas1 with regard to the ,catholic doctrine on the ,scriptures1 appear to be rather vague1 ,i will just state1 in short1 our doctrine on that subject4 ,our ,saviour commanded his apostles to go and preach his gospel1 and after they had done this for a certain time1 he then inspired some of them to write certain books1 for the fuller instruction of those persons on certain points1 which they either did not perfectly understand1 or of which they were ignorant4 ,for1 as the apostles were absent from these persons1 7for twelve men could not be in many places at the same time17 they found it necessary to communicate by their pens1 certain instructions which these persons required4 ,now1 as what the apostles wrote1 as well as what they preached1 was equally the inspired ,word of ,god1 the ,catholic ,church1 afterwards1 carefully collected those sacred books1 which were written by some of these inspired men1 gave to the whole of these sacred books thus collected1 the name of the ,new ,testament1 and presented this volume to the people as the inspired ,word of ,god1 and has handed it down as such to her faithful in every age1 in as perfect a manner as possible4 ,and in the distribution of it to her faithful in every age1 she has followed the example of the apostles4 ,for she orders her ministers to go first1 to preach and teach the gospel to the people1 and afterwards1 for their further instruction1 she puts the sacred ,scriptures into the hands of the faithful4 ,but mind1 as your ,protestant ,reformers have shamefully corrupted and mutilated the sacred ,scriptures1 she rejects your human and metamorphosed translations1 forbids the use of your incorrect1 corrupt1 and mutilated translations1 and puts into their hands1 well-authenticated copies of that sacred volume4 ,hence1 on account of her great anxiety1 for the distribution of correct1 and well-authenticated copies among her faithful1 certain ,protestants have the audacity to assert1 that the ,catholic ,church1 forbids the use of the ,scripture to her people1 or at least1 will not let them read the pure word of ,god without note or comment4 ,do ,i impeach the veracity of these ,protestants6 ,of some indeed ,i do1 but not of all4 ,but this ,i will say1 most of them might know better1 if they would only seek information from proper sources4 ,i hope1 this short explanation of the ,catholic doctrine on the ,scripture1 will satisfy ,lord ,harewood1 and caution him never to speak on matters1 which essentially concern his neighbour's interest1 unless he first perfectly understands them4 ,one word more1 and ,i have done4 ,i once heard1 that a ,noble ,lord1 attending a great ,county ,meeting1 in the ,york ,castle-yard1 had achieved for himself a lasting notoriety1 by declaring1 that in his opinion1 the ,bible ought to be read by all men1 and women1 and children1 and even idiots4 ,and scarcely had the merriment excited by this memorable burst of sound sense subsided1 before his ,lordship was heard thus resuming his exhilarating eloquence4 ,yes1 even by idiots4 ,i myself have derived great advantage from that book4 ,the effect upon the meeting was electric4 ,the noble advocate of the unfortunate idiots1 had so completely identified himself with his clients1 that laughter became irresistible1 and to what class of intelligent beings1 his ,lordship belonged1 most evident4 ,i believe this is the only instance on record1 of a ,noble ,earl1 establishing his religious opinions1 at the expense of his understanding4 ,o ,here follows a long extract from ,lord ,tenterden's ,speech1 which it is unnecessary to reprint4 ,p ,by the fundamental rule of ,protestantism1 every individual1 possesses the right of private judgment1 and of course1 is allowed to interpret the ,bible1 as his reason1 or his feelings1 suggest2 and yet1 mark the contradiction1 he is not allowed1 to interpret the thirty-nine ,articles4 ,for in the declaration prefixed to this singular code1 it is said3 ,his ,majesty1 prohibits his loving subjects1 the least difference from them1 or putting their own sense upon them2 but requires them1 to be taken in their literal1 and grammatical sense4 ,now1 ,dr4 ,paley says1 that the ,thirty-nine ,articles1 will be found1 on dissection1 to contain about two hundred and forty distinct1 and independent propositions2 many of them1 inconsistent with each other4 ,in fact1 few of the ,english ,clergy subscribe the articles in the literal1 and grammatical sense2 and ,burnet says1 that in his own times1 the greater part of the clergy1 subscribed the ,articles1 without examining them1 and that others do it1 because they must do it1 though they can hardly satisfy their consciences1 about some things in them4 ,dr4 ,balguy says1 that the ,thirty-nine ,articles impose upon us doctrines of dark1 and ignorant ages4 ,how just1 then1 must the observation of ,gibbon be1 that the great body of the ,english ,clergy1 sign the ,thirty-nine ,articles1 with a sigh1 or a smile4 ,really1 to require that men1 should take these ,articles1 in their literal1 and grammatical sense1 whilst many of them1 have no literal1 or grammatical sense1 nay1 moreover1 to oblige men1 to swear that they believe them1 is1 in my humble opinion1 a violation of common sense1 and of decency4 ,in all this1 there may be some degree of political wisdom1 but it is surely1 an act of very gross1 religious inconsistency4 ,q ,the name of ,ireland1 brings to my mind1 the great ,o',connell1 the pride of his country1 the wonder of ,england1 and the admiration of the world4 ,when ,i read the direful grievances of that ill-treated nation1 ,i wish1 for the sake of ,england1 7which ,i dearly love7 that those grievances had never been written1 either on the pages of history1 or on the records of heaven4 ,oh1 ,ireland1 how thou remindest me of the sufferings of my ,saviour6 a man of sorrow1 and the outcast of the people4 ,had not his divine example been continually before thy eyes1 thou never couldst have endured thy load of miseries1 of sorrows1 and of persecution1 and so nobly have proved thy loyal allegiance to thy sovereign1 even amidst a deluge of insults1 and of wrongs1 and of injustices1 that would have maddened any other nation1 into a whirlwind of fury1 and revenge1 and rebellion2 but thou rememberedst the words of thy ,saviour1 love your enemies1 do good to them that hate you1 and persecute you4 ,but thy days of sufferings and of sorrow are1 ,i hope1 hastening to a close2 but perhaps1 the time of retribution for ,england has yet to come4 ,oh1 may ,heaven avert this dreadful day of reckoning for my dear country6 ,but1 ,oh1 ,ireland1 ,i must not forget the pride of thy heart--the great ,o',connell--the much-abused and calumniated ,dan4 ,he is now1 indeed1 beyond this land of misery2 but alas1 he died a beggar6 ,yes1 ,,he whom the newspapers formerly held up1 as a most base knave1 a deceiver1 and a money-hunter1 even he at last1 died a beggar1 for the love of his country4 ,he nobly sacrificed his1 from ten to fourteen thousand a year1 which he was making by his profession1 and in lieu1 accepted the comparatively small and precarious offerings of his countrymen1 every farthing of which he spent in promoting their welfare2 he blasted all the patrimonial prospects of his own family1 and at last1 died a martyr and a beggar1 for his country2 and yet1 there is not one ,english ,protestant newspaper to do him common justice1 by even hinting at these heroic actions4 ,oh1 how justly may ,i address them in the severe words of the poet3 ,you all did hate him once1 but without cause1 ,what cause withholds you1 then1 to mourn for him8 ,oh1 judgment6 thou art fled to brutish beasts6 ,and men have lost their reason4 ,but1 ,oh immortal ,dan6 their praises or censures to thee are equally worthless1 for thy colossal deeds during life1 and thy heroic death1 have immortalized thy name4 ,but of all thy sorrows1 the stab that burst thy generous soul1 was the unkindest cut of all2 for when some of thy countrymen1 whom thou hadst raised and honoured1 wished to take into their hands the maddening weapons of injustice1 revenge1 and rebellion1 and wished to bury thy dear country in the ruins of bloodshed and revolution1 thou1 ,then rushing out of doors1 to be resolved1 ,if these men so unkindly knocked1 or no1 ,ingratitude1 more strong than traitors' arms1 ,quite vanquished thee1 then burst thy noble heart6 ,on which was engraved1 in vivid characters1 love for thy religion1 patriotism for thy country1 loyal and sincere allegiance to thy ,queen1 and a burning desire for civil and religious liberty for all mankind4 ,oh1 how justly may we apply to thee1 the words of the poet1 ,thou art the ruins1 of the noblest man1 ,that ever lived1 in the tide of times4 ,i1 formerly1 like many other ,englishmen1 thought only very lightly of thy actions2 but thy noble deeds convinced me of my rash judgment2 and as some little retribution1 ,i have paid this small tribute to thy memory4 ,oh1 may ,god forgive me for my rash judgments1 and may thy colossal soul rest in peace4 ,but can ,i here forget the finest ,protestant 7as the immortal ,dan4 justly observed7 that ,ireland ever saw8 ,o no6 ,i know indeed1 some will sneer at it1 and call it the voice of flattery1 but in the eyes of poor ,ireland1 it will be regarded as a just act of gratitude1 to remember the liberal1 the high-minded1 and chivalrous nobleman1 the ,marquis of ,normanby4 ,when this kind hearted1 and enlightened statesman1 first placed his foot on the shores of ,ireland1 the cauldron 7of political discords7 as ,lord ,plunkett had said1 was boiling over1 and the polemic 7religious7 contest was thrown in as an ingredient4 ,but as soon as the ,marquis of ,normanby1 hoisted in ,ireland his political flag of truth1 of justice1 and of honour1 then the cauldron 7of political discord17 gradually cooled1 and the polemic 7religious7 contest gradually subsided1 into the more congenial calm of peace1 of union1 and of charity4 ,hence1 might be seen the noble ,marquis of ,normanby1 and his charitable marchioness1 gracing1 and gladdening by their presence the streets of ,dublin1 unattended by military escorts1 but safely guarded1 by the generous hearts1 and faithful loyalty of a grateful people4 ,to have touched even a single hair of their heads1 or to have offered the least insult to these noble1 and generous creatures1 would have instantly brought down on the base offender1 the indignation and fury of the people4 ,there the noble ,marquis1 without any detriment to his political dignity1 walked without guards1 surrounded by the hearts of the people1 an honour to ,england1 a just representative of our most gracious1 liberal1 and well-beloved ,queen1 the idol of the people1 and the saviour of ,ireland4 ,but why mention merely ,ireland8 ,his whole political career1 has been a consistent course of truth1 of justice1 and of honour4 ,when only young1 the golden prospect of ,tory promotion1 the inheritance of his noble father's political influence1 a seat in ,parliament already obtained by a ,tory constituency1 were all laid before him2 when lo6 his penetrating though youthful mind1 saw that his dear country required reform1 and therefore1 sacrificing all the above golden prospects1 he disinterestedly ranked himself1 under the banner of reform4 ,afterwards a sinecure1 but profitable office under ,government1 was offered him by the ,whig ministry2 but his political creed1 was reform and consistency1 and therefore1 he politely declined the tempting offer4 ,he is afterwards honoured with the government of ,jamaica1 and there shews himself the sincere friend of the slave1 and on one occasion1 generously and manfully exposed even his own life1 to vindicate and obtain their just rights3 and how dearly he was there beloved1 the sorrowful and sincere lamentations1 that bade him the last farewell1 can best tell4 ,he is honoured also1 with the government of ,ireland1 and gradually peace1 contentment1 and union1 begun to smile on that long agitated1 and mis-ruled land4 ,but in all his political promotions1 to his honour be it remembered1 that he never solicits nor asks of ,government any places of office for his relations4 ,such has been the consistent and even tenor of his political career4 ,long1 will the name of ,normanby1 be dearly cherished1 in the heart of every sincere ,catholic1 of every grateful ,irishman1 and of every true ,english reformer2 and he will be handed down to posterity1 as a worthy descendant of the ,mulgrave family1 whose character has always been distinguished1 for their acts of justice1 liberality1 and charity to all1 without any distinction of religious creeds4 ,well then might the immortal ,dan declare1 that ,the ,marquis of ,normanby1 was the finest ,protestant1 that ,ireland ever saw4 ,,transcribers' ,,notes ,introduction ,page iv3 ,latern as in the original ,first address ,page #a3 goverment corrected to government after ,the clergy1 and the head of the ,page #b3 intolerence corrected to intolerance after before this whirlwind of ,protestant ,page #f3 descendents as in the original ,page #i3 addres corrected to address after would tempt me to ,page #ab3 te corrected to to after ,but it manifestly allows us ,page #ab3 added before as to preventing persons ,page #ad3 ,torento corrected to ,toronto after ,kingston1 ,byetown1 ,page #ad3 ,irvinites as in the original ,page #ae3 freeborn standardised to free-born ,page #ae3 diocess corrected to diocese after and assigned to it a ,page #ae3 ,caldea corrected to ,chaldea after jurisdiction over ,syria1 ,page #ah3 ,portestant corrected to ,protestant after ,if therefore the orthodox ,page #ai3 added after limitation of the crown ,page #ba3 ancesters corrected to ancestors after having to suffer1 what our ,catholic ,page #be3 villany as in the original ,page #bf3 distintinguished corrected to distinguished after ,i am sure 7says this ,footnote ,a3 ,anglo ,saxon corrected to ,anglo-,saxon ,footnote ,d3 pourtrayed as in the original ,footnote ,d3 shillalah as in the original ,footnote ,d3 floodgates standardised to flood-gates ,second address ,page #i3 phillippic corrected to philippic after meeting1 a thundering ,page #ad3 he standardised to ,he after mankind2 that is1 ,page #ai3 ' changed to after prophets under ,jeroboam8 ,page #bj3 ,luthern as in the original ,page #bc3 apostacy as in the original ,page #bd3 ,pharo's as in the original ,page #bd3 suicidical as in the original ,page #bh1 #bi3 variable spelling of ,molineus_/,molinaeus as in original ,page #bi3 7 added before ,in ,defens4 ,transl47 ,page #bi3 detort as in the original ,page #cj3 added after delegates of the ,clarendon press4 ,page #ca3 added after to the end of ,jeremiah4 ,page #db3 4 added after ,gaz ,page #ef3 heirarchy corrected to hierarchy after put together1 more than the ,page #ef3 added after of any earthly power6 ,page #ff3 added after liberal to the poor4 ,footnote ,h3 removed before our bishops1 though deprived ,footnote ,j3 phillippic corrected to philippic after immediately commenced a ,footnote ,n3 added after and even idiots4 ,footnote ,q3 collossal corrected to colossal after rash judgments1 and may thy ,general3 ,errata applied to text4 ,general3 ,spelling of inuendo1 inuendoes as in the original