Apostolic; in other words, that the authority of the Pope under the system of Vicars Apostolic was quite a distinct authority, both in principle and in practice from that which was claimed and used before 1 Eliz. c. 1., and which was declared in 1846, by 9 & 10 Vict. c. 59., to be subject to the same considerations of law which attached to it in 1558 by the statute of Elizabeth.

The nature of the power claimed by the Pope before the Reformation, and which it is still contrary to law in England to maintain and defend, is the power asserted by implication in the present Brief—" to dispense with all human laws, uses, and customs of all realms in all causes which be called spiritual." The Brief, for instance, specially abolishes all rights and privileges of the ancient Sees of England, and of all Churches whatsoever in England, by whatever security established.

Dr. Wiseman very justly observes, every official document has its proper forms, and had those who blame the tenor of this, taken any pains to examine those of Papal documents, they would have found nothing unusual in this." But it is precisely because this Brief runs in the usual form in which Papal Briefs were used to run in England before 25 Hen. VIII., and in which they still run in those countries where the Exequatur of the Crown is a preliminary condition of their publication, that the Brief is not admissible within the realms of England, and it is precisely because the Pope exercises the power which was usurped and practised by his predecessors of dispensing with all human laws within this realm, that it is unlawful for a subject of her Majesty to obey the Brief.

The Pope, for instance, creates a See of Menevia, or St. David's, and creates Dr. Brown, late Bishop of

Apollonia in partibus, Bishop of St. David's. The law of the land, however, has declared, that it is a misdemeanour for Dr. Brown to take the name, style, and title of Bishop of St. David's, not being authorised by law so to do. The Pope, on the other hand, has dispensed with all the rights of the ancient Sees, by whatever security established; and Dr. Brown puts the Brief into execution by taking the title of the See, in defiance of the law of the land. Now let it be always kept in mind, that the Pope did not give to the Bishops of the English Church their temporalities when he issued his Briefs before the reign of Henry VIII. to confirm their election. The temporalities were a civil accident of the Sees, into which they were put in possession by an act of the Crown, after their consecration had taken place at the hands of the Metropolitan in England. Neither did the Pope give to the Archbishops their temporalities when he sent them the pallium. The Crown in their case also was the fountain of temporal wealth. It was not therefore in any way by reason of temporalities being connected with the Sees of the English Bishops, over whom the Pope exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction before the Reformation, that the Pope was held to claim and use an usurped authority; it was not in temporal matters, but in causes which be called spiritual, that his power to dispense with the laws of the realm was disputed by the Crown of England, and ultimately declared to be unlawful.

The statute concerning Peter-pence and dispensations (25 Hen. 8. c. 21.) recites, that the Pope was to be blamed not merely for the premises recited in the preamble, but "for his abusing and beguiling your subjects, pretending and persuading them that he hath power to dispense with all human laws, uses,

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and customs of all realms in all causes which be called spiritual, which matter hath been usurped and tised by him and his predecessors for many years in great derogation of your Imperial Crown and authority royal, contrary to right and conscience."

We have here a clear exposition of the usurped authority of the Pope as it had been practised before this Statute that he claimed to dispense with the laws of the realm in all causes which be called spiritual. It is now contended, that the erection of Sees for Bishops is "an integral and essential part of the exercise of the Pope's spiritual authority." Let Mr. Bowyer's statement pass current for argument's sake. The Brief therefore is issued "in a cause which is called spiritual," and it claims to dispense with the law of the land with regard to the title of Bishop of St. David's. If this be not that power of the Pope which her Majesty's subjects on their allegiance are bound not to maintain, it is difficult to understand what is the power which 9 & 10 Vict. c. 59. declares to be still forbidden, as used of old by the Pope before the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

For the Pope has placed himself in this dilemma : the erection of a Bishop's See is either a spiritual matter, as Roman Catholic writers contend, or a temporal matter, as English lawyers say. If it be a temporal matter, the Pope clearly cannot execute it within the realm of an independent sovereign without the consent of that sovereign; if, on the other hand, it is a spiritual matter, he claims to exercise a power to dispense with a law of the realm "in causes which be called spiritual," and that power is expressly declared to be unlawful for the Roman Catholic subjects of her Majesty to carry into effect within her Majesty's dominions.

It will be seen, on referring to the Appendix, that

the Briefs by which the offices of Archpriest and Vicar Apostolic are instituted, were addressed to the individual Roman Catholic priests upon whom the offices were respectively bestowed; that in the Brief addressed to the Archpriest there was a special provision, that it should cease to be valid after the kingdom of England should have returned to the unity of the Roman Church and been publicly and duly reconciled. There was thus, no pretension in this Brief on the part of the Holy See to deal with the realm of England as an integral part of the Roman Church.

Further, in the Briefs, which were addressed to Dr. Bishop and Dr. Richard Smith, there was a special reference to the faculties granted to the Archpriests, and an express declaration that the Vicars Apostolic were removable at the pleasure of the Holy See. Again, the Apostolicum Ministerium of Benedict XIV. was addressed to the Vicars Apostolic, the Secular and Regular Priests, the Apostolic Missionaries of the Anglican Missions.

On the present occasion, we find that a Brief has been issued "ad perpetuam rei memoriam," reuniting the kingdom of England to the Holy See, and reestablishing in that kingdom "according to the Common Law of the Church, a Hierarchy of Ordinary Bishops, deriving their titles from Sees constituted by the present Letters ;" and it is formally recited, "that it has been granted* to the insufficient merits of the Pope, to renew episcopal Sees in England precisely as St. Gregory the Great in his age accom

"Nobis etiam meritis adeo imparibus datum nunc est episcopales Sedes in Anglia renovare, prout ille cum summa Ecclesiæ utilitate ætate sua perfecit." All annalists agree, that the express consent of King Ethelbert was obtained by Augustine, as a preliminary measure.

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plished it." The Roman Catholic mission in England is thus brought to an end, and the "form of ecclesiastical government has been restored in England after the mode in which it freely exists amongst other nations where there is no peculiar cause why they should be ruled by the extraordinary ministry of Vicars Apostolic."

Let us for a moment consider the aspect which an analogous proceeding in civil matters would present. The subjects of the Christian powers of Europe, who are resident in the Ottoman dominions, are, for the most part, under the temporal authority and control of the respective Chiefs of the Missions, or the Consular agents of their respective Governments, resident in various parts of the Ottoman dominions, as the case may be, who exercise a permissive jurisdiction over them in civil matters; the law of the land being held to be inapplicable to the settlement of many questions which may from time to time arise amongst Christians. Let us suppose that one of the sovereigns of Europe who claim to inherit the Crown of Jerusalem and there are not fewer than five crowned heads who bear the title of King of Jerusalem on their coins were to issue a Commission to the effect, that, as the number of his subjects was increasing daily in Judæa, he had thought that the time was come when the form of governing them through the extraordinary ministry of the Mission should cease, and the form of ordinary civil government according to the common Law of their own country should be established. Let us suppose still further, that, in accordance with this commission, a Viceroy of Jerusalem, with an army of executive officers, should be sent forth; that they should land in the country, and issue proclamations announcing that Judæa was once more restored to Christendom, and that they had