not exchange for any allurements, or abandon for any profferred interests. Mr. Jones was selected, and officially employed to direct them in such duties as were deemed of importance by securing their fi delity and exercising their zeal. Mr. Jones was eminently qualified for the design of his mission, and the interests of the government, he spoke with fluency the language of the natives aud all the different dialects of the tribes living in the British dominions, as necessary qualifications in any Priest, who could obtain the privilege of exercising the duties of his profession, such as serving out such rations of food, proportions of ammunition, and arms, and settling such misunderstandings as frequently occur between these poor people and the

settlers.

For the Indians of Nova Scotia, and such as live within the British lines, depend for their subsistence, either by receiving food, or by arms to use in hunting, to the British government they are extremely useful, in tracing the fugitives who attempt to escape from the British armies to the United States; for every one of these wretches they secure they are allowed a certain reward, and so skilfully do they perform their busines whenever a deserter is known to be out, that one out of ten who attempt desertion scarcely succeed in his design.

Mr. Jones was succeeded, in the year 1801 by the Rev. Mr. Burke, a gentleman eminently qualified for the laborious employment.

Avery handsome Catholic church was finished in 1802, in Halifax, ornamented with an elegant and lofty steeple and spire, the congregation is summoned to prayers by bells, which are the gift of Sir Charles Whitworth the governor,

these formerly belonged to the Church of St. Pierre, and were carried off by the British force that took that island.

To the piety of an Irish gen, tleman, settled in Halifax, of the name of Heffernan, is owing the spirited nndertaking of erecting the church in Halifax, The remains of this good man are deposited in the burial ground, and a monument of his worth erected to his memory.

Catholic Faith in the United States.

His holiness has been pleased to appoint five Bishops, to manage the affairs of the growing Catholic church in the United States of America. The progress of true religion, in those free regions, has been as rapid, since the revolution, since the birth of liberty in America, as it has happily been under the fierceness of persecution, Charter Schools, and legislative restrictions in Ireland.

Free and unembarrassed discussion, will always tend to the investigation of truth and the detection of error, and the good sense of the American people, has discovered the absurdity, of the religious errors of fanaticism, of unrestrained ignorance, of unlettered proselyteism. The mechanical appeal to the passions, and the licentious liberty with which sensual and libertine innovators, disgraced the christian dispensation, have submitted to the holy unerring restrictions, which the true church had wisely bound on the disordered intemper ance of natural man.

The Apostolic See has wisely named among the acknowledged pastors for the Western hemisphere, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Carrol, of Balti

more.

more. Religion, learning and piety must be considerably advanced, by the example, and labour of this venerable prelate; for more than forty years, he has, with the vigiJance of a good shepherd watched over his numerous flock, and by an exampled life of austerity, of public preaching, and private admonition, held them together, asi living members of the church of Christ, called many hundreds from the wandering follies of those stupid, and disgustful absurditidies, which so much abound in the American States.

The American revolution has contributed considerably to this happy event; for, prior to it, all the savage horrors of persecution were indulged, at the expense of every attribute of humanity, a Catholic preacher was described, by the British agents, governors and other parasites, in such studied colours of atrocity that he frequently suffered every insult and often death from the hands of an infuriated rabble, cheered and rewarded by the savage proconsuls.

During this degraded period of American political bondage, and religious infatuation, other sects suffered little less from the privileged barbarians. The peaceable character of the Quakers was protection against the political and religious ferocity of the people in power, laws were enacted against this people, and several suffered death, in the province of Massachusets. The laws expressly said, that any quaker, if a man, after the first conviction, was to lose an ear, for the second offence another, and if a woman to be severely whip ped, and the third time whether man or woman, to have their tongues bored through with a red hot iron.

In the year 1662, Charles the second, wrote a letter signed with his own hand, to the Colony of Massachusets highly approving of this horrid persecution. We are not much surprised at this act of a profligate monarch, who, guaranteed the estates of the Irish Catholics to the murderers of his father. In Connecticut, in 1658, the assembly en acted a law of which the following is the preamble. "Whereas there is a cursed sect of hereticks lately sprung up in the world called Quákers, who take upon them that, they are immediately sent from God, and infallibly assisted by the spirit, who yet speak and writę blasphemous opinions, despise go vernment, and the order of God in church and commonwealth, speaking evil of dignities, &c.

-

Ordered, That whosoever shall bring, or cause to be brought, any known Quaker, or Quakers, or other blasphemous Hereticks, shall forfeit the sum of £50.

Also, If any Quaker, come into this jurisdiction on civil business, the time of his stay shall be limited by the civil authority, and he shall not use any means to corrupt or seduce others. On his first arrival, he shall appear before a magistrate, ad from him have license to pass on his business. And (for the better prevention of hurt to the people) have one or more, to attend them at their charge, &c. The penalties, in case of disobed ence, were whipping, imprisonment, labour, and deprivation of all con verse with any person.

For the second offence, the person was to be branded in the hand with the letter H, to suffer imprisonment, and to be put to labour. For the third, to be branded in the other hand, &c. as before. For the

fourth,

fourth, the offender was to have his fongue bered through with a red hot iron, imprisonment and kept to hard labour. These shocking laws have been repealed by the expul sion of the English, who enacted them. Saratago, and York town, have done more for civilization, than all the statutes ever manufaced in Westminster. Bishop Carroll who is named by his holiness among the American Bishops, is à native of Maryland, and of the Carrolls of the Eastern shore of Kent Island in the Chesepeake bay. The Carrolls, are the most ancient of the European settlers in Maryland, and the leading family for commercial and political consequence in the State. They are all Catholics originally from Ireland, from which they emigrated with Lord Baltimore in the year 1632, to enjoy in the woods of America that liberty of conscience, and security of property, denied them in their own county.

the following Paragraph under the head of Kilkenny."

March, 28, 1792. Last week Mr. Philip FitzGibbon aged 81 years, died at his lodgings in Chapel-Lane: Mr. FitzGibbon was

ac

supposed to possess a more curate and extensive knowledge of the Irish language than any other person living, and his latter years were employed in compiling an Irish Dictionary, which he left completed except the letter S and that he appears to have forgotten. The Dictionary is contained in about 400 quarto pages; and it is a remarkable instance of patient literary perseverance, that every word is written in Roman or Italic charactersto imitate printing. This with many other curious manuscripts all in Irish, he has willed to the Rev. Mr. O'Donnell.

Now, Sir, through the medium of your Magazine, I beg to call on Mr. O'Donnell, if he be, still alive or any of his relatives, for in formation concerning those curious manuscripts and the Dictionary men tioned. Mr. O'Donnell must have been acquainted with the old Irish scholar, whose life I make no doubt would be interesting, should this Rev. Gentleman condescend to give it to the public It will however be a loss to Irish literature, now gaining some ground and classically taught at the College of Maynooth. If those curious MSS. and the other work should be lost. I am Sir, Yours, L. P.

Thoughts on Charity.

DURING a visit on which I lately was at a friend's house in a western district of this country, I happened

happened in one of my morning walks for the purpose of enhaling the fresh air, to meet on the ave nue, leading to the mansion house, a female going thither to sue for charity, surrounded by a group of children covered with rags; they all shewed they were as ill fed as clad, in addition to the want that appeared depicted in the countenance of the female who appeared to be the mother of the group, she seemed to be consuming by infirmity. I felt my curiosity so far excited as to enquire into the cause of her wretched condition, she told me her simple story as follow.

Her husband was a cottager on a neighbouring estate, while in good health, his labour, together with a pig fattened on potatoes, and a calf sold at the next market town, as well as a little yarn spun from some flax, were all the funds they possessed to discharge the landlord's rent for their potatoe soil, flax seed soil, and grass for their cow, at the same time, they were the only funds they had to supply the necessary little wants of their family. Unfortunately her husband for upwards of a year has been prevented from assisting his poor family by his labours, and now lies in his cabbin, destitute of every support, except what he finds in the humanity of two ladies Arrears growing and wants pressing in every directions, the landlord at their own instance sold the cow, and what remained of the price, after discharging the arrears, was soon spent, the wretched mother unable any longer to procure food for her offspring in her cabbin, was obliged to go out to roam about, soliciting charity, to silence the cravings of hunger, and abandon her husband to his fate. I then asked her was the poor in general

in that part of the country so wretched, as she represented her own situation, previous to her husbands illness; she replied they were, because the price of labour there was so low, and the rent of lands high; lastly, I asked her did she labour under any particular complaint, she answered, she did "but (added she) I shall soon, I hope, be relieved," how continued I "by the hand of death" Ejacu lated she, throwing up her eyes to Heaven; here the words of Lear occured to me, "Take physic pomp." I walked away after having given her some change I had in my pocket, deeply impressed with her last words; how ungrateful is man to his Creator even for the favour he has distinguished him from the rest of his fellow-creature, many possess an unnecessary portion of wealth, while thousands like the poor woman just mentioned, are perishing through want of medical aid to restore, or sustenance to support life, who have no hope but in the friendly hand of death, and no asylum but the grave to look to for a termination of their sufferings here.

There is no precept more impe ratively enjoined than that of cha rity, nor is that strange inequality of rank as well as inequality of property must necessarily exist in soci ety; if opulence and competence fall to the lot of some classes of mankind, poverty is the portion of a great bulk of our fellow crea

poverty and all its concomitant wants, unless we suppose that he has made a provision for them in some manner, this provision he has placed in the hands of the wealthy. God has appointed the rich the agents of their own superfluities, as a provision to supply the wants of the poor, and after deducting from their revenues the expenditures for rank, situation, and the establishment of their family, the residue is the portion alloted to the relief of the indigent; nor in this allotment to be made by the arbitrary decision of vanity, pride, or ambition, ought to be regulated by the views of providence towards suffering humanity; where there is great wealth much is expected, where there is only competence, the claims of poverty are moderate.

Other precepts make war on our depraved appetities and vicious propensities, to comply with them we must use violence with our nature. But so intent was the author of nature on rendering the precept of charity effective, that to facilitate the practice of it, he has acommodated it to our natural propensities, and while religion enforces charity by precept, our compassion becomes its advocate, and thus pity leagues itself with a sense of duty in favour of our wretched fellow creatures.

Memoirs of John Nelson, Priest. (Continued from Page 236.)

WHEN he was brought forth of the prison, and laid upon the hurdle, some of the officers exhorted him to ask the queen's majesty whom he had highly offended, for giveness: he answered, I will ask her no pardon, for I never offended

her. At which words the people that stood about him raged, saying, then he should be hanged like a traitor as he was. Well, said he, God's will be done; I perceive that I must die, and surely I am ready to die with a good-will; for better is it to abide all punishment, be it ever so grievous, here, than to suf fer the eternal torments of hell fire.

Being come to the place of exe. cution, and put into the cart, the first words he spoke were, in tuos Domine, &c Then he besought such of the standers by as were ca. tholics,, to pray with him, and for him, saying, either in Latin, or in English, the pater ave and creed, which he himself said in Latin, ad. ding thereto the confiteor, and the psalms miserere & de profundis which being finished, turning himself to all the people, he spoke to them in this sort, I call you all this day to witness, that I die in the unity of the catholic church; and for that unity do now most wil. lingly suffer my blood to be shed; and therefore I beseech God, and request you all to pray for the same that it would please God of his great mercy, to make you and all others that are not such already, true catholic men; and both to live and die in the unity of our holy mother the catholic Roman church. At which words the people cried out, away with thee and catholic Romish faith: but this notwithstanding, he repeateth the same prayer again.

Then he requested to be forgiven of all men, as well absent as present if he had offended any; protesting that he forgave all his enemies and persecuters, desiring God also to forgive them. Here again he was willed to ask the queen forgiveness; which he refused to do for a while; at last he said if I have offended

her,