was confidently reported, as a conceit of his, that talking upon the fubject of Irish bifhops, he once faid, with great pleasure, he hoped to make his w

B—p.

-e a

"He is perfectly fkilled in all the arts of managing at elections, as well as in large baits of pleasure, for making converts of young men of quality, upon their first appearance; in which public fervice, he contracted fuch large debts, that the miniftry in England were forced, out of mere juftice, to leave Ireland at his mercy, where he had only time to fet himfelf right; although the graver heads of his party think him too profligate and abandoned, yet they dare not be afhamed of him: for he is very ufeful in parliament, being a ready speaker, and content to employ his gift upon fuch occafions, where those who conceive they have any remains of reputation or modefty, are afhamed to ap

pear.

"He hath funk his fortune by endeavouring to ruin one kingdom; and hath raifed it by going far in the ruin of another. His adminiftration of Ireland was looked upon as a fufficient ground to impeach him, at leaft for high crimes and mifdemeanors; yet he has gained by the government of that kingdom, under two years, five and forty thousand pounds, by the most favourable computation, half in the regular way, and half in the prudential."

The molt ignominious part of this character was written, and I believe publifhed, about the time of this earl's adminiftration. The dean further adds, "that he has had the honour of much converfation with his lordship, and that he was thoroughly convinced, how indifferent he was to applaufe, and how infenfible of reproach; he is, fays he, without the fenfe of fhame or glory, as fome men are without the fenfe of fmelling, and therefore a good name to him is no more than a precious ointment would be to thefe."

After having exhibited this genuine picture of his excellency and his government of Ireland, as I may fay, from the life, it is but juft, I fhould recite fome part of those distinguished honours which were paid him by

the

the Irish commons, on his paffing this popery act, by which it will plainly appear, how exact a conformity of fentiment and difpofition there was between his lordship and thefe commons.

"Befides gratefully acknowledging her majefty's moft particular care of them, in appointing his excellency their chief governor, and earnestly wishing his long continuance in the government;" they told him, "that they could not, on that occafion, omit mentioning, how acceptable to the whole body of protestants his excellency's endeavours had been in their favour; to which, next to her majefty's royal goodness, they juftly attributed the return of the bill to amend the act to prevent the further growth of popery, in the manner the fame was tranfmitted, notwithstanding the ftrong efforts made against it by the Irish papifts in Great Britain." With which addrefs and acknowledgment his excellency defired the speaker to tell them, that he was extremely well pleafed and fatisfied."

And, in truth, what governor could be better difpofed or qualified than his excellency, as above described, was, to procure a law, which, under the fpecious pretence of preventing the growth of popery in Ireland, has, in reality, more effectually prevented the growth and improvement of every thing that is either useful or ornamental to that kingdom; that instead of promoting true religion, and its genuine effects, public and private virtue, has given birth to more hypocrify, and, under that dangerous difguife, to more of every other species of moral evil, and turpitude, than was before known in this, or any other part of the chriftian world;

a

a

a law,

Of this the legislature itself seemed fenfible when it passed this act, and many years after. For fuch was its diffidence of converts made by it, even in the year 1725, that they then, "refolved, that no perfon that is, or fhall be converted from the popith religion, ought to be elected or admitted to serve as a member of this houfe, for the fpace of feven years next after his converfion; and unless he produces a certificate of having received the facrament, according to the usage of the church of Ireland as by law established, thrice in every year, during the faid term." Com. Jour. vol. v. f. 290.

a law, by which great rewards are occafionally held forth to that vile and detefted race of men, discoverers and informers, who, being thus legally countenanced and encouraged, plunder indifcriminately parents, brethren, kinfmen and friends, in defpite of all the ties of blood, of affection and confidence; in breach of the divine law, and of all former human laws enacted in this or any other country, for the fecurity of property, fince the creation of the world!

CHA P. VIII.

Reafons affigned for making thofe laws.

Two plaufible reafons have been commonly affign

ed for the framing and continuing of thefe laws. First, their tendency to bring the papifts of this kingdom to conformity in religion, and loyalty, with their proteftant fellow-fubjects; and next, their aptitude to weaken and impoverish fuch of them as prove refractory in thefe respects, to fuch a degree as to render both them, and their pofterity utterly incapable of giving any future disturbance to this government. But is it not notorious that hypocrify, and difaffection to the established religion and government, are the natural and constant effects of fuch forced converfions? And even fuppofing that converts thus made might at length become real protestants, and loyal fubjects, " is evil to be done that good may arife therefrom," in this one inftance, when both reason, and religion prohibit and condemn it in other? On the other hand, does not the enacting fuch predatory laws against these people, without their being even accused of any civil crime, and merely to weaken and impoverish them, fuggeft to the mind fomething like the policy of an highway-man, in putting those he has robbed to death, left if they were fuffered to furvive their losses, they might chance to discover and profecute him for the robbery?

every

The

The last of the common objections to the relaxation of these laws, which I fhall confider (and it is the only remaining objection that deferves to be confidered) is, "that the fpirit of perfecution is peculiar and effential to the Roman catholic religion; and therefore that its profeffors ought, in good policy, to be always kept under, and in an absolute incapacity to exert it.” But this objection confutes itself.. It fuppofes, that men may be justified in actually wronging and perfecuting others, for no other reason, but merely to prevent thefe others from ever having the power (however remote and improbable) to injure and perfecute them. The Roman catholics wifh not for a power to persecute; they only implore the justice and mercy of the legislature, to relieve them from perfecution. But how can the spirit of perfecution be deemed peculiar to Roman catholics, when it is notorious, that their very accufers, of every denomination, perfecute both them and one another, whenever they have the power and opportunity of doing it? That fuch a fpirit is far from being effential to their religion, however it may have unhappily poffeffed fome of its bigotted members (and what fect, or communion of chriftians, is free from fuch members ?), is manifest from hence, that all their ablest and most respectable divines, and in particular their last pope, Clement XIV. (who furely must be supposed to have known the effentials of his religion) condemn and renounce it, as unchriftian and inhuman.' "The great misfortune in this cafe," fays that eminently learned and pious prelate," is, that fome people confound religion with her ministers, and make her refponfible for their faults. It never was religion, but falfe zeal pretending to her, that feized fire and fword, to compel heretics to abjure their errors, and Jews to become Chriftians. And what is more dreadful than to see good men fall victims to a zeal displeasing in the fight of God, and condemned by the church, as equally hurtful to religion, and the rights of fociety? The example of Jefus Christ,

Christ, who during his refidence on earth, bore patiently with the Sadducees and Samaritans (the infidels and fchifmatics of thofe times), obliges us to fupport our brethren, of whatever communion they be; to live peaceably with them, and not to torment them on account of any system of belief, which they may have adopted. The power of the church is purely fpi.ritual. Our bleffed Saviour himself, when he prayed for his executioners, taught us how his caufe is to be avenged. Had the minifters of the gofpel been always careful to follow that divine model, the enemies of christianity would not have been able to bring against it the unjuft reproach of favouring perfecution. The church always difavowed those impetuous men, who, stirred up by an indifcreet zeal, treat those who go astray with afperity; and its most holy bishops, at all times, folicited the pardon of apoftates, defiring only their converfion. Men, therefore, ought not to impute to the church thofe exceffes, of which history has preserved the memory, and which are repugnant to the maxims of the gofpel."

CHA P. IX.

Perfecutions in the reign of king George I.

NOTWITH

OTWITHSTANDING the great lenity and general beneficence introduced to the throne of thefe kingdoms, by the acceffion of his majefty George I. the popery laws were ftill rigorously executed, during the greatest part of his reign. Such of them as affected the property of Roman catholics, lay not within the sphere of the royal clemency, because they neceffarily executed themselves. And fome unlucky circumstances in the beginning of it, contributed to enforce the execution of thofe acts, which prohibit the exercise of their religion, under very severe penalties. Among these, the Scottish rebellion in 1715, was the principal; as that rebellion had been raised and car