infidels to obscure it. These har** monizing gentlemen flatter themselves, that by paying court to "the powers that be," by servilely flattering the wishes of the ministers, and by meanly succumbing to the insults and reproaches of their oppo nents, they shall be better able to obtain their desires, than by boldly' and openly defending the honour and integrity of their own actions and those of their ancestors. But let me tell them, that such a line of conduct is more likely to produce the disgraceful scenes of Lord George Gordon's time, than effect religious toleration and political free monies of the catholic church and those of the Roman heathens. Such is the candour and impartiality of a protestant editor of "the leading journal of the empire," as VERITAS named it; I should hope undeservedly. This conduct on the part of the Times by no means surprized me, as I have long been witness to its infamy, in spreading the most odious charges against the jesuits and other orders of the catholic clergy, and denying the accused an equal chance of rebutting them through the same channel; but I am astonished at the cowardly apathy of the catholics in this part of the kingdom, in not embracing the op-dom. Is it reasonable to suppose, portunity in their hands, of establish- that when puritanism and bigotry ing an efficient press, upon strict in- are actively employed to incense the dependent and constitutional princi- people against a particular measure, ples, in order to vindicate their own the adoption of that measure is calcharacter, and detect the vile arti. | culated to give them satisfaction ? fices of their adversaries to ruin the Would it not rather have the concause of emancipation, by embitter- trary effect? Surely, then, reason ing the passions of our protestant ought to induce a different mode of fellow-subjects against the supposed proceeding, and stimulate us to reintolerance of our doctrines. When move the groundless fears created by we behold the unceasing energy and wrong impressions, as the surest and activity, the puritannic zeal, the bi- best means to accomplish that releasegotted malignity of the protest- ment from political restraints, for ant press, and view its efforts to | conscience sake, we petition for ; poison the minds of the people, and not indeed by bending to unfounded divert them from seeing the truths of prejudices, but by an unequivocal: the case, as advanced by our advo- avowal and support of our real civil ́ cates, is it not a subject of amaze- and religious sentiments. ment, that, with the exception of my monthly work, not an endeavour is exerted to disabuse the credulous and unthinking, and unmask the perfidious arts of those who labour to deceive them. I know a mistaken opinion prevails in our body, that subjects of controversy only tend to irritate, not to harmonize; to increase our enemies, rather than gain us friends. In this, however, I differ most widely from those who hold it, and must observe,that ifsuch had been the idea of the primitive christians, the gospel of Truth would not have shone so brilliant as it did against the then attempts of pagans and ORGANIZED SYSTEM TO OPPOSE EMANCIPATION. That an organized, conspiracy exists in this country to malign and misrepresent the catholic religion, as well as the words and actions of those who profess it, is an unquestionable fact; and it is not one of the least disgraceful circumstances attending it, that the parties engaged in such uncharitable and unfair doings are not of that class in society generally denominated the illiterate and vulgar, but men of opulent for tune and literary talents. At the dawn of toleration in 1778, when, by famous association are too well known to be repeated here; it was found necessary to restrain their proceedings in the metropolis by military force, and to put the civil laws in execution against some of the pious covenanters, who ended their lives by the ignominious death of felons. Whether these culprits have been registered amongst the protestant martyrs in the latest edi tions of John Fox's lying calendar, I have not had the curiosity to ex as entitled to it as many of the dear saints recorded by this shameless martyrologist no one can deny. In 1791, a farther extension of liberty of conscience was granted to us, and we were permitted to use the press, which had hitherto been forbidden us, in defence of our principles and our conduct. At this time, it should also be observed, the nation became alarmed at the imminent dangers of the Freach revolution, and the fears of popery gave way to the terrors of infidelity, which threatened to sweep every religious creed, and every ecclesiastical establishment, from the face of the earth. While the constituted authorities were thus the benign disposition of our rever- [ cal falsehoods circulated by this ined monarch, the catholics obtained a slight relief from the merciless and bloody statutes, enacted by the enlightened protestant legislators of former times, to persecute and harass them in this land of civil and religious liberty, the meek and christian spirit of JOHN WESLEY and his disciples became alarmed at the "growth of popery," and a crusade was entered into to stem the increase of idolatry and superstition. The crusaders were enrolled under the banners of "THE PROTESTANT As-amine; but that they were equally SOCIATION," and the pious Scotch fanatic, lord George Gordon, was appointed the right honourable president of the holy league. Immediately the press teemed with the most calumnious representations of the principles and character of the papists; nor were the slanderous imputations confined to adults, but the very infants at the breast were taught to abhor a papist, and to look upon him as some monster in human shape, Well can I remember being pointed at and hooted in the streets on my way to school, and saluted by others of my own age with the nick-name of "pope," before I was old enough to know the reason or occasion for such beha-occupied in resisting the progress of viour, as I was not conscious of any ugliness or deformity of my frame. The school in which I was educated was a protestant one, and my juvenile associates of course were protestants too; from them I was obliged to hear such relations of the blood-thirstiness and cruelty of papists as filled me with horror; but every time I studied my catechism, or took up a book of devotion or controversy, or listened to the truly religious, and I hope never-to-beforgotten, instructions of the revered and venerated pastor of my soul, I found the tales of my youthful companions were the inventions of malice, to beguile ignorance. The consequences produced by the diaboli irreligion, the catholic clergy and laity were assiduous and sincere in affording their aid in so good a cause; and they took at the same time an opportunity of repelling the abusive and unchristian insinuations brought against them. The writings of the O'Learys, the Plowdens, the Challoners, the Milners, the Gothers, and other able writers in controversy, soon produced an alteration in the public mind; religious liberality began to beam upon the people, the mists of prejudice faded away, and the protestant association sunk into obscurity. In this happy change in their favour, the catholics were induced to petition for an equal participation of the privileges of the con stitution, in common with those of their fellow subjects who dissented from the established creed, The prayer of their petition, however, was not granted; but the rejection was under such favourable circumstances, that they renewed it from time to time, and each succeeding discussion evinced the progress of their cause. Thus stood matters until the year 1812, when bigotry began to be disturbed at the decline of her empire, and she therefore insinuated herself into the feelings of some wealthy but infatuated devotees, who determined to resist any farther expansion of toleration which might be in contemplation towards the English and Irish catholics. Accordingly, on the 22d of January in the next year, a meeting of protestant GENTLEMEN was held at the Crown and Anchor tavern in the Strand, to consider the claims of the Roman catholics, when it was resolved to form a society, to be entitled," THE PROTESTANT UNION, for the defence and support of the Protestant Religion and the British Constitution, as established at the glorious Revolution, 1688." The late Mr. Granville Sharp was the chairman of this meeting, and the liberality of their sentiments, and the extent of their religious knowledge, will be easily ascertained from the lith section of their official declaration, which I here copy from the English Chronicle of the 26th of the aforesaid month. "That we do not conceive the Roman catholics, with the tenets which they hold, can, with safety to our protestant establishment, be admitted to farther political power. The infallibility of general councils, which may be revived under the influence of our enemy; the power of the Romish church, operating to a most extensive degree upon the authority of the ministers of that religion, both in their appointment and continuance in office; and having the strongest influence upon the minds of their people: the confining of eternal salvation to those within the pale of their own church; and the imputing of the crime of heresy to protestants: for which crime the Romish church claims the right to inflict the heaviest temporal punishment; these tenets, to this hour, strenuously maintained by her highest authorities, operate powerfully upon the body politic, and reader it unsafe to intrust farther political power to those who maintain them. And, bearing in mind, that the very adoption of such principles necessa rily excludes the toleration of other modes of faith, we conceive that the admitting to the higher offices of state, those who conscientiously hold those principles, would greatly endanger, if not totally destroy, our civil and religious liberties." What my protestant readers will think of the wisdom and veracity of these "gentlemen," when I have shewn them that we do not hold these tenets, and that the Romish church never taught them, I am not able to say; but, were any set of catholics, under the pretence of supporting their church, purposely or ignorantly to falsify and abuse the religious and political tenets of their neighbours, I would be the first to hold them up to the execration of every honest mind, and condemn them for their turpitude. The rest of the declaration of these protestant "gen. tlemen" is of the same import; a committee was chosen to conduct the affairs of the Union, a subscription was entered into to defray the expences incurred in promoting its purposes, and a Stephen Cattley, esq. was appointed treasurer. Here we have a regular constituted socie ty to oppose our claims, and that it is now in the full exercise of its power, the state of the press sufficiently proves, and a reference to my number for May last will shew that Mr. Treasurer Cattley presided at a ger neral meeting of the committee of protestants of various denominations on the 6th of that month, at the London ́tavern, for the same benevolent and pious purpose of supporting and defending the "good old church" of various patches from the dangers of popery. SCANDALOUS ARTIFICES RESORTED . means BLED extracts were taken from the Doway and Rheins bible, purporting to exhibit "the genuine princi I have ples of Roman catholics." not a copy of this work by me now, but I well remember that the disingenuity displayed in the quotations given to illustrate our principles, made me blush for the characters and literary probity of the parties concerned. Whether the same individuals have been engaged in the recent notice taken of the Rheims Testament by the British Critic and other periodical publications is not known to me; but this is evident, that the same want of candour, the same degree of hostility, and the same spirit of illiberality, breathes through the one as it does through the other. In the Critic for September last, an article appeared un der the head-"The New Testament, first published by the English' College at Rheims, in 1582, with Annotations, &c. Corrected and re Rev. Dr. Troy, R. C. Arch bishop of Dublin." On the 11th of October, a letter was inserted in the Courier Having clearly established the existence of a combination of bigots, for the specific purpose of opposing the progress of civil and religious toleration in this empire, which is well worthy the consideration of those who are so anxious to regain their civil rights, I now proceed to the sickening task of noticing the shameful and diabolical which are putinto execution, to frustrate the hopes of one-third of the people of this united kingdom, and keep alive the embers of religious jealousy and discord in the other two-vised, and approved of by the Most thirds. In former numbers I have had occasion to dilate on this malignant spirit of bigotry, and to expose the forgeries and falsehoods by which it has been maintained; but in no instance has it displaved itself with such turpitude and malevolence, as well as energy and activity, as in its vile and gross misrepresentations of catholie principles, pretended to be derived from the annotations attached to the Rheims Testament, originally published in 1582, and since republished in Ireland in 1816. The able and most excellent remarks of the truly learned commentators on the controverted points of scripture, are made of such keen and cutting materials, that a bigot can never lay his finger upon the work without wincing at the touch. This was plainly exhibited about four years ago, when a certain "Correspondence on the Roman Catholic Bible Society" was published by Mr. ELAIR, at the end of which GAB. daily paper, under this title :-"Ro man Catholic Principles exemplified, in the republication and solemn sanction of the persecuting Bible annotations, originally printed by Queen Mary's Priests at Rheims," In which an allusion was made to the article in the British Critic, and was in substance a transcript from it." This letter was succeed. ed by a second on the 22d, in the same paper; on the 30th it annouced the disapprobation of Dr. Troy, preceded by the annexed article:"Two very able letters have lately appeared in the Courier, on the subject of the Rheims Testament recently published, with notes of a nature grossly malignant and offensive towards protestants. It having been represented that these notes were sanctioned by the Roman catholic archbishop of Dublin, he has written present instance to the animadversions of the British Critic; nevertheless, it was but justice to give my readers some idea of the activity which prevails among the bigots to darken the hemisphere of truth. се and circulated the following document, in which he not only disclaims the publication in question, but censures it a tone every way worthy of a christian prelate." Then followed a copy of the declaration of Dr. Troy, for which see the last page of I must pass over this month the my preceding number; and for the hypocrisy and impudence of the reply of the nominal publisher of prefatory remarks of the reviewer, the obnoxious work, to this declara- and come direct to the charges tion, refer the reader to the epi- brought against us. "Of the text tome of this, and leave him to form (he observes) we shall at present his own conclusions as to the con- say nothing; of the notes we duct of the parties on this point. "shall only observe, that with every Notwithstanding the satisfacțion good catholic they are of the same thus expressed by the Courier of authority with the text, as they the conduct of Dr. Troy, on the 6th speak the language of the one inof November, a third letter, of three "fallible church. But even if they columns in extent, made its appear- "were not to be considered as of ance in this paper, in which the de- "the same unerring original, they claration of the catholic archbishop “would still have a moral authoriwas considered as ambiguous and "ty, almost the same, since to all evasive, inasmuch as it only censur- "the lower classes, and to many of ed certain expressions, and not the" the higher, who are incapable of principles. It also attempted to "judging for themselves, scripture shew that these annotations were is, as it is interpreted." What a calculated to produce disaffection to pity it is that catholics should be the protesstant government, rebellion such stupid besotted numskulls, as to the same, and persecution of pro- not to be capable of receiving a ray testant people. To give greater cir- of that scriptural light which gladculation to the envenomed calum- dens the heart of a protestant, ex nies, the letters in the Courier have cept when he beholds the monster, been recopied into a pamphlet print- POPERY, with its raw head and ed chiefly for gratuitous distribu- bloody-bones, before him. Could tion, and other hireling vehicles they but once be made sensible of of the press have been put in requi- their degraded and ignorant condisition, to increase the clamour, and tion,-could they but be induced instil a deadly but groundless hatred to become as "enlightened" as proin the breasts of the people of Eng-testants, could they but persuade land towards their catholic brethren of Ireland. To undertake a refutation of the whole of this mass of falsehood and virulence is beyond the power of one individual; nor is it necessary, since the whole hinge upon the ground laid down by "The Protestant Union," in the beforequoted resolution, namely, the claim of infallibility, set up by the church of Rome, and the persecuting principles of her clergy, for its opposition to catholic emancipation. shall therefore confine myself in the I themselves inspired with that sublime spirit of modern liberality, which admits wrong to be right, and right to be wrong, that it is immaterial whether they believe their Redeemer to be the Son of God or only man,-whether there be three distinct persons in God or only one, whether baptism is necessary for salvation or whether it is not, whether the church is the pillar and ground of truth, or whether it is composed of a medley of sects, each anathematizing the other.. In short, if |