This answer of the commons needs no commentary; the former part of it evidently exhibits nothing else but downright mockery, and a public insult to national faith. And by the latter, besides the notorious falsehood of it, a maxim seems to be adopted, that tends to destroy all trust and confidence among men, viz. that the most solemn engagements between parties may be violated or set aside by either of them, upon a feigned or groundless apprehension of danger from the other, by keeping it. I call the apprehension of danger, in this case, feigned or groundless; because I think, I may venture to challenge the ablest and most zealous sticklers for this law, to produce even one instance of such misconduct of the Roman catholics of Ireland, from the year 1691, when the articles of Limerick were signed, to the year 1704, when this first act to prevent the further growth of popery was passed, as could occasion in the government any apprehension of danger or dis turbance from them. That no such instance could be then produced, appears from hence, that one of the principal objec tions to their conduct was, "their not having congratulated her majesty queen Anne, by a dutiful address, on her accession to the throne, as her protestant subjects had done;" which, as it may be reasonably accounted for, from their distressed, persecuted, and desponding condition at that juncture; so, had they actually addressed her majesty on that occasion, in the most humble and dutiful manner that could be devised, most probable it is, that their very accusers would have considered and represented it, as the meer effect of adulation and hypocrisy; if not of insolence and presumption in them.

Thus on the 4th of March, 1704, the royal assent was given to an act, which, besides its being a violation of national faith, has been hitherto productive of every species of private, as well as public injury; by stripping men of their property, for not parting with their integrity; by fining and imprisoning them, for conscientious dissent from settled forms of worship; or for holding tenets merely spiritual, and totally foreign from

• "We agree," says Dean Swift, speaking of the catholics, "with our fellow dissenters, that persecution, merely for conscience sake, is against the genius of the gospel. And so likewise, is any law for depriving men of their natural and civil rights which they claim as men. We are also ready enough to allow, that the smallest negative discouragements for

any interference with the civil government of the state. So that our courts of justice and equity resembled, in these respects, the Roman tribunal punishing the primitive christians for not disavowing the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and embracing that of human institution,

Soon after this act was passed, the commons entered into such wild and intemperate resolutions, concerning the execution of it, and of other penal statutes which it revives and confirms, as shew them to have been as little influenced and directed by the dictates of common sense, as they were by those of common humanity. On the 17th of March, 1704, "they resolved unanimously, that all magistrates, and other persons whatsoever, who neglected or omitted to put them in due execution, were betrayers of the liberties of the kingdom." In June, 1705, they "resolved, that the saying or hearing of mass, by persons who had not taken the oath of abjuration, tended to advance the interest of the pretender." And that such judges and ma gistrates, as wilfully neglected to make diligent enquiry into, and discover such wicked practices, ought to be looked upon as enemies to her majesty's government." And least the judges, if not the inferior magistrates, should be somewhat ashamed of executing this new office of enquiring into, and discovering these wicked practices of saying and hearing mass, on account of that infamy which is commonly annexed to the trade of

4 Com. Jour. vol. iii. f. 289,

5 Ib. f. 319.

uniformity's sake, are so many persecutions. Because, it cannot be denied, that the scratch of a pin is in some degree a real wound, as much as a stab through the heart. In like manner, an incapacity by law for any man to be made a judge, a colonel, or justice of peace, merely on point of conscience, is a negative discouragement, and consequently a real persecution. For, in this case, the author of a pamphlet [Reasons for the repeal of the Sacramental Test], puts a very pertinent and powerful question : That if God be the sole Lord of the conscience, why should the rights of conscience be subject to human jurisdiction? Now to apply this to the catholics: The belief of transubstantiation is a matter purely of religion and conscience which doth not affect the political interest of society as such. Therefore, why should the rights of conscience, whereof Gon is the sole LORD, be subject to human jurisdiction? And why should GoD be deprived of this right over a catholic's conscience, any more than over that of any other dissenter."-Swift's Workɛ, vel, viii, p. 56.

priest-catchers, discoverers, and informers, these commons had before taken care to resolve unanimously," "that the prosecuting and informing against papists, was an honorable service to the government." Such was the good faith, good sense, and avowed honor of those bigotted times!

How very different from this, has been the state and condition of the protestants in Germany, ever since the famous treaty of Munster, in 1648? which was concluded with them by the emperor Ferdinand, for liberty of religious worship; and guaranteed by their most christian and catholic majesties, and other Roman catholic princes and states in Italy and Germany. "By this treaty," not only all their immunities, lands, territories, and dignities, together with the absolutely free and uncontrouled exercise of their religion, but also power to bear offices, and enjoy church livings, even bishoprics and archbishoprics were granted, and for ever secured to these protestants."

"From hence, it appears," to use the words of the same writer, 8 ,"how unstudied those men are in the great book of the world, who think that popish princes will not go on in the course of their politics, though the pope should assume a temporal jurisdiction to obstruct them." Yet some there are, presuming to call themselves the only truet protestants, who, not Com. Jour.f. $19. 7 Sir Peter Pet's Happy Future State of Engl. Pref.

8 Ib.

* "Informers (says a distinguished Law Lord in the British House of Peers) are an infamous and odious set of people; and in fact, the Irish popery laws, and the construction put upon them by the Irish lawyers and courts of justice, are a confused heap of oppression and nonsense, and have very much contributed to corrupt the morals of the people of that country."

"And whereas another author among our brethren the dissenters, hath very justly complained, that by this persecuting test act, great numbers of true protestants have been forced to leave the kingdom, and fly to the plantations, rather than stand here branded with an incapacity for civil and military employments. We do affirm, that the catholics can bring many more instances of the same kind; some thousands of their religion having been forced by the sacramental test, to retire into other countries, rather than live here under the incapacity of wearing swords, sitting in parliament, and getting that share of power and profit which belongs to them as fellow christians, whereof they are deprived merely upon account of conscience, which would not allow them to take the sacrament after the

content with Roman catholics abjuring all civil power and temporal jurisdiction in popes over other princes, insist that it is absolutely necessary for the safety of every protestant govern, ment, under which they are suffered to live, that they should also renounce the pope's spiritual supremacy (the belief of which is an essential article of their religion, and has not the least connexion with, or relation to the temporal dominion of other princes); at the same time that those men, under a false notion of their christian liberty, and a strange presumption that they are authorised to interpret the scriptures in their own private sense, and to square their conduct accordingly, even in the highest political affairs, have themselves often usurped a spiritual authority (not controulable by any earthly power, as imagined to be founded on sacred writ), in virtue of which they have often excited, and afterwards justified, the most dangerous tumults and commotions; I may say, the subversion of government, civil and ecclesiastical.

CHAP. VI.

Persecution of the catholics in the reign of queen Anne.

DURING all queen Anne's reign, the inferior civil officers, by order of the government, were incessantly hampering the Roman catholics with oaths, imprisonments, and forfeitures, without any other visible cause, but that of their religious profession; but the conduct of these people was still found so blameless, that it sometimes made their very persecutors ashamed of their severity. In the year 1708, on the bare rumour of an intended invasion of Scotland by the pretender,* manner prescribed in the liturgy. Hence it clearly follows, in the words of the same author [Reasons against the Test], that if we catholics are incapable of employments, we are punished for our dissent, that is, for our conscience, which wholly turns upon political considerations.”—Swift's Works, vol. viii. p. 56-7.

* This persecution of the catholics of Ireland, had no other foundation but the pretender's being of the same religion with them; at the same time that the Irish presbyterians were highly favored by government; although it appears from Mr. Hook's authentic nemoirs, that "the pre-byterians in the western and southern counties (of Scotland), namely, in

"no fewer than forty-one Roman catholic noblemen and gentlemen were imprisoned in the castle of Dublin." And when they were afterwards set at liberty, " because they had acted nothing against the government," the state was so sensible of the wrong done them by their long and irksome confinement, "that it remitted their fees, though they amounted to eight hundred and odd pounds."

What pitiful occasions were then taken, from every trifling circumstance of their religion, to persecute the persons of these unhappy people, appears, among numberless other instances, from the following passage; which, however inconsiderable in itself, has acquired some weight and importance from the remarkable notice taken of it by the Irish commons. It seems there is a place of pilgrimage with them in the county of Meath, called St. John's well, which had been frequented every summer from time immemorial, by infirm men, women, and children of that persuasion, in hopes of being relieved from their several disorders, by performing certain acts of devotion and penance there. This the Irish commons deemed an object worthy of their most serious consideration, and at matter of the greatest national concern; and accordingly pas. sed a vote, that these sickly devotees, "were assembled in that place to the great hazard and danger of the public peace, and safety of the kingdom." In consequence of which, fines, im. prisonments, and whipping were made the penalties of "such Clydesdale, Nithsdale, Galloway, Air, Kirkudbright, with those of the provinces of Tiviotdale, Tweedale, and the Forest, were (at that juncture) resolved to take arms, and declare for the king (the pretender), and to raise 13,000 men, whom they were in a condition to be able to maintain; that they were ready to join themselves to the friends of the king, whether catholics or episcopals; that they would begin, and thereby give an opportunity to the rest to rise; and that they would put the strong castle of Dunbarton, on the river Clyde, into the hands of the person named by the king; that they had a correspondence with the north of Ireland, and were certain that the Scots who inhabit that province, would declare for them; that they were ready to declare unanimously for king James; that all they asked was liberty of conscience for themselves, as well as the catholics."-Hook's Mem. p. 40, 41, 42.

They are certain, that the inhabitants alone of the north of Ireland, who are Scots, will directly furnish 20,000 men, completely armed, under commander of great reputation among them, who has thereto engaged himself." Id. ib. p. 4.