the agent was soon after presented by him to some of the leading members of the Cabinet; but being an anonymous unauthenticated document, it was immediately returned with a recommendation to have it signed as speedily as possible by the [R.] Catholic prelates, nobility, aud clergy, of the whole kingdom. Out of thirty expatriated Irish priests then residing in London, twenty-four readily affixed their signatures to it, together with Oliver Darcy [titular] bishop of Dromore; the remaining six refused their assent, alleging that the language employed in the memorial was not sufficiently respectful to the Holy See. In Ireland the Remonstrance and in Ire met with a most unfavourable reception: as soon as it land, had appeared one general outcry was raised against it in almost every diocess of the kingdom; the doctrine which it contained was considered dangerous, false, and already censured by the Church; it was rejected by some with as much abhorrence as the oath of supremacy, and condemned by all for the intemperate and disrespectful terms which pervaded its entire composition."— (p. 205.) [But whatever difficulties may have been raised where it is the laity, but rejected against the document on the part of the papal clergy in favoured by Ireland, the R. Catholic nobility and gentry of the country appeared, as Mr. Brennan observes, "to have been by the Roplaced altogether beyond the influence of such scruples;" mish clergy. so that early in the year 1662, a considerable number of them were found willing to give it the sanction of their Among the clergy however the remonstrants made in the course of the next succeeding years so little progress, that of the number of priests in Ireland in 1665, estimated at 2000, (1200 secular, and 800 regular,) sixty nine only had signed the remonstrance.-(pp. 205, 8, and Walsh's Hist. Rem. pp. 96, &c.)] names. But three Romish bishops in Ireland at this time. Brief ac Synod of the new es in Ireland, A.D. 1666. "There were but three [R.] Catholic bishops at the same period in the whole kingdom; the aged and venerable John Burke, [titr.] Archbp. of Tuam, who having been sixteen years an exile had just then returned from the continent, intending (as he himself expresses it) to have his ashes laid in the tomb of his fathers; Patrick Plunket, [titr.] bp. of Ardagh, who arrived in the same year, and the infirm, suffering, saintly Bishop of Kilmore, Owen Mac Sweeny. The remaining dioceses of Ireland were governed [i. e. usurpative] by Vicars general and capitular; men unexceptionably opposed to the diction of the same formula." (Hist. Rem., P. ii., Tr. i., p. 575.) [At length a national synod of the Roman clergy in count of the Ireland having been appointed to assemble on the 11th of June, 1666, for the discussion of the merits and printablishment ciples of the Remonstrants, met accordingly at the residence of the Roman ecclesiastic who bore the style of "Parish priest of St. Audoen's, Dublin," and "continued its sittings for fifteen days successively, Andrew Lynch ([titular] Bp. of Kilfenora, who had but a few months before returned from exile) being with one voice appointed chairman." On the evening of the third day the titular primate, Edmund O'Reilly, landed in Dublin after four years' absence, to oppose the Remonstrance by his own authority, and the sanction of letters brought with him from foreign ecclesiastics.-(Bren. ii. 209.)] The original Remonstrance is finally rejected. "On the sixth day the synod came to an unanimous determination of formally rejecting the original remonstrance of 1661; a committee was appointed, and a new protestation of allegiance was drawn up, which embodied all the principles of fidelity contained in the former Remonstrance, omitting at the same time those expressions which had been generally considered either ambiguous or disrespectful.". ..[The objectionable passages which had been omitted, were fully supplied according to Mr. Brennan, by the adoption, on the part of the synod, of three of six scholastic propositions on the deposing power, which had already been sanctioned by the faculty of the Sorbonne. The new remonstrance, with these additional propositions, will be found in the Article which next follows in this Appendix.]-(Bren. Ec. Hist., p. 211.) No. LXXIV. REMONSTRANCE OR DECLARATION OF LOYALTY AGREED TO IN THE fess un "To the king's most excellent Majesty. We your The memMajesty's subjects, the Roman Catholic clergy of the bers of this kingdom of Ireland together assembled, do hereby de- synod proclare and solemnly protest before God and his holy an- changeable gels, that we own and acknowledge your Majesty to be allegiance to our true and lawful king, supreme Lord, and undoubted the king; Sovereign, as well of this realm of Ireland as of all other your Majesty's dominions; consequently we confess ourselves bound in conscience to be obedient to your Majesty in all civil and temporal affairs, as any subject ought to be to his prince, and as the laws of God and nature require at our hands. Therefore we promise, that will inviolably bear true allegiance to your Majesty, your lawful heirs and successors; and that no power on earth shall be able to withdraw us from our duty herein; and that we will, even to the loss of our blood if occasion requires, assert your Majesty's rights against any that shall invade the same, or attempt to that the duty of true obedience may be dispensed with, or that private sub jects may lawfully murder a rightful prince. deprive yourself or your lawful heirs and successors of repudiating any part thereof. And to the end this our sincere prothe doctrine testation may more clearly appear, we further declare that it is not our doctrine that subjects may be discharged, absolved, or freed, from the obligation of performing their duty of true obedience and allegiance to their prince; much less may we allow of or pass as tolerable any doctrine that perniciously and against the word of God maintains, that any private subject may lawfully kill or murder the anointed of God, his prince. -Wherefore pursuant to the deep apprehension we have of the abomination and sad consequences of its practice, we do engage ourselves to discover unto your Majesty or some of your ministers any attempt of that kind, rebellion or conspiracy against your Majesty's person, crown or royal authority, that comes to our knowledge, whereby such horrid evils may be prevented. Finally as we hold the premises to be agreeable to good conscience, so we religiously swear the due observance thereof to our utmost, and we will preach and teach the same to our respective flocks. In witness whereof we do hereunto subscribe, this 15th day of June, 1666." This new Remonstrance, with "As soon as this new protestation of loyalty had received the signatures of the entire body, it was intrusted to the care of the [titr.] bishops of Kilfenora and Ardagh, together with the following resolutions or transcript copy of the Sorbonne declarations already admitted and sanctioned :— The assembly consisted of ten ecclesiastics as representatives from each province, together with the provincials of the different orders, to whom a privilege was granted of bringing each two divines or canonists.-Bren. p. 209. Sorbonne "I. We the undersigned do hereby declare, that it is the three not our doctrine, that the Pope hath any authority in Declarations temporal affairs over our Sovereign Lord king Charles annexed, II; yea, we promise that we will still oppose those who shall assume any power, either direct or indirect, over him in civil or temporal affairs. "II. That it is our doctrine, that our gracious king Charles II. is so independent, that he doth not acknowledge nor hath he in civil and temporal affairs any power above him under God; and this to be our constant doctrine, from which we shall never recede. "III. That it is our doctrine, that we subjects owe so natural and just obedience unto our king, that no power under any pretext whatever, can either dispense with or free us from the same. at the Cas "The prelates in whose hands these resolutions and is presented the approved Remonstrance had been placed lost no time to Ormond in executing their commission; that same day they waited tle, on Ormond at the Castle, presented both these documents, but were received unceremoniously, and dismissed with a cool indifferent assurance 'that after he had read and considered on their papers, they should hear further from him.' tory. "On the following Monday, being the 25th of June, but rejected and the 15th day of their meeting, Peter Walsh, by dias altogether unsatisfacrections from Ormond, commands the chairman to dissolve the synod and retire from Dublin; observing at the same time, that neither their remonstrance or resolutions had offered the least satisfaction to his Excellency.'"-(Bren. ii. 212.) nan's view Mr. Brennan's own sentiments on the depos- Mr. Brening power are thus expressed by himself in con- of the deponection with the Oath of K. James: sing power |