before the members of each house began to assail the throne with addresses against the increase and toleration of popery, the employment of papists in the offices of state, the relaxation of the penal laws enacted against papists, and the insolencies of the jesuists and those who were popishly affected. And they prayed his majesty, in remedy of this "outrageous and dangerous disease," among other things, that he would, in the exercise of his prerogative, provide that the youth of the realm be carefully educated by able and religions schoolmasters, and that they be enjoined to catechise and instruct their scholars in the grounds and principles of true religion. That special care be taken to enlarge the word of God, throughout all the parts of his majesty's dominions, as being the most powerful means for planting of true religion, and rooting out of the contrary. That he would cause strict provision against trans

the beginning of his regality, as the first act of his reign, namely, his marriage with the daughter of Henry LV. of France, is considered by historians as the basis of all the misfortunes which afterwards befel him. The celebrated Mr. Cobbett, in a complimentary Address to the Men of Norwich," published in his political register of the 18th of January last, who, to my own knowledge, are in general as corrupt in political matters as the most venal borough voters in the kingdom, Mr. Cobbett tells these gentlemen, that Charles had the misfortune to be married to a Bourbon wife! The spleen and rancour displayed by this writer towards the reigning family of France is unworthy his great talents, and shews how hard it is even in enlightened minds to divest themselves of the prejudices imbibed in their early education, and to cull the truth in their riper years from the misreports of our historical penmen. No, reader, it was not the marry-porting of English children to the ing a "Bourbon," but a CATHOLIC princess, which laid the foundation of the series of ill-luck experienced by Charles, till he ended his inauspicious days upon the scaffold.

seminaries in foreign parts; that he would recal such as were already sent to those places of education, and punish all those who supported or maintained either the teachers or the scholars. That no popish recusant be permitted to come within the purlieus of the king's court. That all the laws standing in force against jesuits, seminary priests, and others, be put in due execution; that all such papists, jesuits, and recusants, who are or shall be imprisoned for recusancy, may be so strictly restrained, as that none shall have con

Had the virtuous and faithful Henrietta Maria been a protestant instead of a catholic, her being a "Bourbon" would never have been reckoned a misfortune to her royal and affectionate consort, either by his own factious people, or the partizans of reform in these times. That it was religious principles, and not family connexions, which raised such discontent in the public mindference with them, thereby to avoid at this marriage is recorded both by the contagion of their corrupt reliEchard and Rapin, the former of gion; and that no man that shall be whom says, 66 almost all the protest- suspected of popery be suffered to be ants took the alarm, as if the mar a keeper of any of his maj sty's pririage had been only made to intro- sons. That his majesty would be duce the catholic religion." This pleased strictly to command all the bigotted jealousy was soon made ap-judges and ministers of justice, eccleparent, for the first parliament call-siastical and temporal, to see the laws ed by this king had scarcely met, of this realm against popish recusants

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to be duly executed; and namely nign, the merciful, the liberal meathat the censure of EXCOMMU- sures recommended by the ancesNICATION be declared and certi- tors of our Bourbon and inquisified against them, and they be not tion-haters t orepress the growth of ABSOLVED upon public satisfac popery, and establish what they and tion by yielding to conformity. their more blind and stupid descenThat all such persons as are either dants call "religious liberty.”popish recusants, or justly suspected Mr. Cobbett and his compeers may to be such, be removed from places knash and foam at the pope and the of authority and government. That Bourbons, at the jesuits and the all popish recusants be disarmed, ba- inquisition, bnt can they produce an nished from the metropolis, and con- instance of such cold blooded tyfined within five miles of their place ranny on the part of catholic states, of residence. That all natural-born as these sanguinary bigots were desubjects be restrained from repairing sirous should be inflicted on their to hear mass or other superstitious fellow subjects, for merely following service at the chapels or houses of the dictates of their conscience; and foreign ambassadors, or in any other this too under the sacred name of places whatsoever. That all SUCH" liberty," and the pretence of supINSOLENCIES, as any that are porting civil and religious freedom? popishly affected, have lately com--The reader will also remark the mitted, or shall hereafter commit, similarity of the leading remedies to the dishonour of the protestant here proposed with the recent schemes religion, or to the wrong of the true of schools for all, bible societies, professors thereof, be exemplarily Irish catholic schools where cathopunished. That the statute of 1st lic instruction is excluded, and other Eliz. for the payment of twelve- institutions established and supportpence every Sunday, without a law-ed by the zealots of our own days ful excuse, may be put in due execu- to effect the decrease of popery. tion, the rather for that the penalty Charles returned a gracious answer by law is given to the poor, and to his parliament, which Rapin says, therefore not to be dispensed withal. in the language of chagrin and disAnd lastly, that his majesty would appointment," wanted only__the be pleased to extend his princely performance of his promises." --Thus care also over the kingdom of Ire- the monarch who is called in these land, that the like courses may be day's a tyrant and oppressor, is centhere taken for the restoring and es-sured by a hugonot writer, because tablishing of true religion" And he would not become the executioner thus, most gracious sovereign, (the of his parliament's barbarous and senators conclude,) according to our mercenary desire of punishing his duty and zeal to God and religion, subjects with imprisonment and the to your majesty and your safety, to halter, for the base and heinous the church and commonwealth, and crime of worshiping God according their peace and prosperity, we have to their conscience and the mode made a faithful declaration of the practised by their forefathers for uppresent estate, the causes and reme- wards of ten centuries. Finding dies of this increasing disease of po- the members more occupied with pery, humbly offering the same to matters of religion than points of your princely care and wisdom." civil polity, and perceiving them not Such, reader, is the substance of likely to grant him any subsidies to the first act of the first parlia-carry on the exigencies of the state, ment of Charles; such are the be- the king dissolved the bigotted as

sembly after it had sat about two | crueth to the popish party; but that months, resolving to try some other according to his wisdom, goodness means to raise supplies. and piety, he would command the parties named, and all such others. to be put out of such commissions and places of authority Here then we have an incontestable fact, that catholics were not considered by the protestant monarchs of these realms, in the infancy of the established church, as the sworn enemies of that institution or the state, else it is evi

The year following (1626,) the king however called another parliament, which was not long assembled before the same intolerance towards the professors of popery became manifest, by the presentation of another petition by the commons, complaining of the non-fulfilment of his majesty's promises to remove from all places of authority and govern-dent they would not have been emment, all such persons as are either ployed. No doubt can exist in the popish recusants or justly to be sus- mind of any candid man that Charles pected, which they considered as a was firmly and conscientiously atgreat and principle cause of the in-tached to the doctrine and discipline crease of popery." Not having," therefore, say they, "received so full redress therein as may conduce to the peace of this church, and safety of this regal state, we hold it our duty once more to resort to your sacred majesty, humbly to inform you, that upon examination, we find the persons under-written, to be either recusants, papists, or justly suspected according to the former acts of state, who now do, or, since the sitting of the parliament, did remain in places of government and authority, and trust, in your several counties of this your realm of England and dominion of Wales.". Then followed, writes Rapin, a list of fifty-nine recusants and suspected papists, who were in places of trust and authority in several counties; among whom, it is stated in a note, were the earl of Rutland, the viscounts Montague and Dunbar, the lords Eure, Abergavenny, Tenham, Wotton, Morley, Mordant, St. John of Basing, and Scroop; the rest were commoners. The petition concluded by humbly beseeching his majesty not to suffer his loving subjects to continue any longer discouraged, by the apparent sense of that increase both in number and power, which by the favour and countenance of - such like ill-affected governors ac

of the church of England, nor does it appear by any action of his life, that this monarch was a favourer of popery.-But Charles had no sanguinary propensities to gratify; he was not desirous of rivalling a Nero, a Diocletian, a Henry, or an Elizabeth; he wished to soften the rigour of the penal code enacted in the preceding reigns against the catholics; to employ those whom he considered trust worthy, without regard to their religious professions; and he was solicitous to restore that solemnity and splendour to public worship, which the puritan zeal and avaricious impiety of ignorant and barbarous innovators had deprived it of. These measures, undoubtedly laudable and commendable in themselves, were however attempted to be enforced in virtue of the royal perogative, instead of the joint consent of the three estates; and this gave the popular party an advantage over the sovereign with the people, which they did not fail to make the most of. How far the king was justifiable in these proceedings, I shall touch on hereafter; but nothing I am persuaded can be produced in extenuation of the conduct of the parliament leaders, for the unfeeling and successive petitions and remonstrances they voted, expressly to urge

present laws? These are no ordinary times in which we live. "Infidelity is rapidly spreading its deadly poison, and we are informed by the gravest authority in the land, that the most blasphemous expressions and doctrines are openly and repeatedly advanced at the meetings of the people, and the most infiammatory topics introduced under the form of profane aud indecent parodies of the liturgy and the holy scripture.-How nearly then are we approaching to the seditious and turbulent proceedings of the early part of Charles's reign-Then as now, the people were divided into innumerable sects, all fired with religious zeal and hatred to popery; then as now, the ignorant multitude were

presentations of the principles of papists, and the cruelty of the inquisition and the jesuits; then as now, the public mind was agitated with the

the monarch to sacrifice the blood of his subjects, and afterwards taking away his life because he would not comply to the full extent of their wishes on this head.-Here it may not be amiss to draw a slight comparison between our own times and those of Charles's days. At this moment the public mind is violently agitated with the discussion of grievances, and the catholics are petitioning for a restoration of their civil rights, and their eligibility to civil offices. The opposers of this just demand on the part of the catholics, who assume to themselves a superior attachment to the v nerable fabrick of the constitution, and the established church, than those who are willing to comply with the prayer of the petitioners, resist the conces-inflamed with false and malignant resion principally on the ground that it would be dangerous to both church and state to allow catholics to sit in parliament or hold offices. Just so was the complaint of the "no-popular cry of redress of national popery" men of the seventeenth cen- grievances; and the only difference tury. Under pretence of loyalty between the two periods is, that then and affection to the king's person the catholics were subject to the inand government, they cloaked the fliction of heavy and severe penalmost uncharitable malignity towards ties affecting life and limb, from the catholics. This hatred they al- which they were occasionally screenways coupled with professions of ed by the executive, and sometimes fidelity to the constitution and de- imployed in affairs of state, but now, votedness to the true reformed though relieved from the sanguinary religion in the same manner as the part of the penal code, by a legisorange-men of the present day; yet lative enac ment, they are subject to a short time only elapsed before proscription and exclusion from civil these loyal-hearted patriots, these offices and employments. Then the champions of civil liberty and reli- restless spirit of infuriate bigots, gious freedom, subverted both the animated with intolerant zeal and constitution and the church, while the fired with enthusiastic notions of catholics whom they represented as reforming religion, brought a monthe secret foes to both, lavished their arch to the block, and raised a form blood and property in support of of government of the most odious them. Surely the experience of past and tyrannical nature, on the ruins ages ought to have some weight with of an admirable but dilapidated conthose who now manage the concerns stitution; now this constitution we of the nation, and induce them to are told is threatened with destrucweigh the consequences of continu-tion by the visionary schemes of a -ing the hateful proscriptions forcou- set of Spencean philosophers, whilst sciencence sake, which disgrace our the church is menaced by the fast

Nay, so far did they carry this tyrannical spirit of intolerance, that some of the individuals included in this docu ment were acknowledged to be exemplary members of the true church, but because they were united by the ties of affection and kindred to those who venerated the sign of the cross, and made use of holy water, it was considered an enormous national grievance, and called loudly for re dress. As it will be amusing to the reader to know the rank and dignity of some of the offenders, I shall here enumerate a few of the names and offices, with the grievous misde meanours they were accused of.

"John Preston, esquire, bowbearer for his majesty in Westmore land forest, a recusant.

"Thomas Colvill, esquire, jailor,

spreading venom of irreligion, aid- | required to punish them. ed by the indiscriminate diffusion of bibles among the most ignorant and illiterate classes of society. And would it not then be a measure of prudence and wisdom to call in the assistance of men, whose attachment to religion and the state has been proved by the testimony of past ages? To say the church is in greater danger from the catholics than from the methodists, or other sectaries, is to say the thing which is not; and besides, the catholics have solemnly declared in their recent petition, as well as upon oath, that they will not exercise any privilege, to which they are or may become entitled to disturb or weaken the religious establishment of the country, which is more than can be said of any body of dissenters. The loyalty of a catholic who adheres to the pre-justice of the peace and quorum, his cepts of his church is firm and steady, daughter, a recusant, married. as the subsequent case of Goodman indubitably proves; and this, because it is fixed on the immutable principles of a religion, which inculcates obedience to the laws of the state, as an indispensible duty to God, our sovereign, and our country, yet, at the same time, deprecates corruption and peculation. The loyalty of a bigot or an orangeman, on the contrary, is selfish and unsound; governed by the most sordid passions, and regulated by the basest motives. This is incontestably demonstrated by the presentation of the before-mentioned petition to Charles, in which the only crime imputed to the individuals who had incurred the wrath of our famous liberty-of-conscience men was purely that of being recusants or sus pected of being such. Not a single offence against the state is urged in their disfavour; there is no accusation of peculation or maleadministra tion in their offices; no conspiracies or plots engaged in, but the sole charge is of a spiritual, not a political, nature, for which the king was

"Edward Rigby, esquire, clerk of the crown, justice of the peace, himself a good communicant, but his wife and daughter popish recu sants."

This short list is sufficient to demonstrate the bigotted spirit which then prevailed, not amongst the vulgarand illiterate members of the com munity, but the leaders of that body which is supposed to contain the wisdom of the nation; nor was this disgraceful and uncharitable dispo sition confined to the mere removal from office, since the two houses of parliament did not think it beneath their dignity, nor contrary to the spirit of christianity, to petition the king to put to death six catholic clergymen, to whom Charles, in the clemency of his heart, was desirous of extending the royal prerogative of mercy. This circumstance, with the case of Mr. Goodman, is so feelingly detailed by Mr. Brown, in the 39th note to his Historical Account of the Laws against Catholics, that I cannot refrain from giving the detail