Rome will sanction a measure against | persecution in the South of France,

that liberty of conscience is the unalienable right of all; did not the speaker know that when this farfamed Protestant scriptual knowledge began to spread, it occasioned one of the royal race of Stuarts to be brought to the block, and our Catholic ancestors to be deprived of their temporal privileges for "conscience sake?" If Mr. Silvertop will look into the history of his own country, he will find that Protestant persecution and scriptural knowledge went hand in hand during the reigns Elizabeth, the Stuarts, the Commonwealth, and the Whig Sovereign William, particularly when enforced against Papists. But the most curious observation of the speaker is that wherein he terms the doing as we would be done unto a NATURAL precept.-That it is a valuable precept I admit, but that it is a natural one I think the course of nature evidently contradicts.- Had the orator stated it to have been a DI, VINE mandate, he would have come much nearer to the truth; and this will account for its being so little practised among mankind in the present depraved and irreligious state of the

5th, it appears that Mr. Silvertop favoured the meeting with a long prefatory speech in proposing the resolutions, which contained a great deal of sophistry, a sufficient quantity of vanity, great professions of loyalty, but nothing of that solid sterling virtue, consistency of principle, which should always adorn the effusions of a Catholic orator.-The Hon. Gentleman set out with condemning the conduct of his Catholic brethren in France, on the partial evidence of their most inveterate enemies, and expressing his ❝ anxious and sincere hope that education, and science, and scriptural knowledge might spread themselves over the regions of the earth, and that mankind might learn from such inestimable resources, that liberty of conscience is the inalienable right of all, and that to do to our neighbour as we wish our neighbour to do unto us, is among the most natural, as it is among the most valuable of precepts."-Really, had I not been told that this was a meeting of Catholics, I should have judged that the assembly consisted of some of the unfortunately afflicted Bible-maniacs, and the orator a self-taught scriptural pro-world. Mr. Silvertop further enter. fessor. One would have supposed that Mr. Silvertop, in the course of his visits to the ancient and hospitable seats of his wealthy Catholic'acquaintances, could not fail of being reminded that some of the sciences at least flourished and were spread, previous to the commencement of the pretended Reformation, in a much greater degree by their ancestors,than they were, during the progress of that event, by the disciples of innovation? And could he not recollect that to the Apostles and their successors we are solely indebted for the spread of scriptural knowledge, while, on the contrary, the opponents of Catholicity are only rendering the true perception of the holy word more obscure by the fanciful interpretations which every individual is allowed to put upon it?-And as to mankind learning from these "inestimable resources" ORMIOD. Jota. Vol. IV.

tained his hearers with a few instances of the temporal grievances and insults which many of the representatives of the ancient Catholic families had suffered in the effervescense of their loyalty during the progress of the late revolutionary war, but did not offer to touch upon the religious vexations which we are obliged to undergo in this age of liberty and libe rality, and concluded with passing a high encomium upon the Ex-Emperor Napoleon, whom he extolled as the friend of religious freedom, when it is well known he had been a persecu, tor of that church which the orator professes to believe in; and kept the venerable and illustrious head of it in a long and cruel captivity, for no other reason than because the Holy Father would not violate his conscience, by yielding up the spiritual independence of the religion of Christ to forward

с

66

-

reasonable? No; he repeated the observation, and he left them to their choice of either believing or disbelieving him; but he did not consider himself guilty of injustice or oppression in making it imperative in the Jews to submit their reason to his words under the penalty of exclusion from eternal life. Nay, do not the gospels of the evangelists in the New Testament inform us, that Christ com

the ambitious views which the lawless | they eat the flesh of the Son of Man they tyrant had in contemplation. But it should have no life in him. Upon this is time to notice the Resolutions of the Jews began to exercise their judgthis meeting, and the effect whichment upon the reasonableness of this they are likely to have upon the in- saying, and they observed one to anotegrity of Catholic principles, and the ther, How can this man give us his honour of our cause. In the first flesh to eat? The matter was, not they say, That attached as we are within the comprehension of their reato the faith of the Catholic Church, son; but did the Redeemer of manwe do maintain the right of every in-kind make his saying more plain or dividual, in every age, and in every country, to judge of the reasonable ness of his belief; and we do moreover maintain that no man can be deprived of this sacred, inalienable right, without injustice or oppression."― This, reader, is a most sweeping resolution, and I do sincerely hope, that these gentlemen were not aware of the extent of the opinions which they here so positively and so publicly maintain. Now, I would ask these sil-missioned his apostles to go unto all vertopped Catholics, if they can adhere to this resolution, and still be at tached to the Roman Catholic faith? Is it not contrary to the doctrines of the church? Does not their catechism say that all Catholics are bound to believe the truths which God has taught them through the church? If then we are bound by the laws of God to believe what he teaches, how can we inherit a right to judge of the reasonableness of what we believe? And do not these gentlemen accuse the sovereign Creator of mankind of injustice and oppression, by advancing this position, when they must know that he has commanded us not to judge but to believe? But, further; these glittering Catholics maintain, in the face of their Protestant brethren, who boast of their superior tactics in "spiritual knowledge" the inalien-lutioners accuse the apostles of injus, able right of every individual to exercise his private judgment. Now, I maintain, that the principle here laid down by these gentlemen is falsethren that enlightened ideas are not and erroneous, and in direct opposi- exclusively their property, and that tion to that scripture which the pro- we are not so wickedly uncharitaposer of the resolution is so anxious ble as they would make the world be to have spread over the regions of the lieve, By all means, let them do so; carth. When our blessed Saviour was but then let it not be by a sacrifice on earth be told the Jews, that unless of principle. Let them not hold out

nations (in every succeeding age and in every country) teaching the people to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them, and assured them that those who did not believe their words were to be considered as heathens or publicans.-The apostles according did go forth, preaching the mysteries of the Blessed Trinity, the Incarnation of our divine Saviour, the doctrine of transubstantiation, and other incomprehensible doctrines; but can these silvertopped Catholics inform us in what age, and in what country, the apostles and their successors permitted the people to exercise their right of judgment as to the reasona. bleness of the doctrines which they taught? Were they not commanded to subject their reason to the gift of FAITH? And will our Northern reso❤

tice or oppression? Oh! but, say they, we only wish to be liberal; we only wish to shew our dissenting bre

6

deceitful and delusive resolutions for held their first public Political Meetthat purpose. Let them not pro- ing. It took place at Newcastle on fess one thing, and maintain ano. the 27th ult. and the 8th Resolution ther. Had they declared that Liber- says, they had that day assembled ty of Conscience was the right of together for the first time in their every individual, and that man was not lives. It is of importance to know answerable to the civil authorities, the proceedings of such a body, for but only to God, for the errors of his the first time met together.The prefaith, they would not have violated the tence, rather than the object of this principles of their Church, nor im- Meeting was the supposed persecuposed upon their neighbours by at- tions of the Protestants at Nismes. tempting to chime in with the liberal The Resolutions are published in The ideas of the present enlightened ge- Morning Chronicle of the 3d instant, heration. To have been consistent, and an account of the Meeting, partithese gentlemen should boldly have cularly of the Chairman's speech, apmaintained at once the favourite Pro- pears in that paper on Friday last. testant project of private judgment, From the Chairman's speech, of which than thus to assert what they knew the Resolutions are in substance an could not be true, that every indivi- echo, we have extracted all that related dual had a right to judge of the reato the affairs of Nismes. The extracts sonableness of his creed.-lle has a are curious in the extreme. They right to exercise his reason as to amount to this:-That the disturwhich Church possesses the promises bances at Nismes have risen less from of Christ; but having convinced him- religious than political hatred (these self of that, he must then submit his are the words of the 3d Resolution); reason to the precepts of that church, that the Catholics at Nismes incline which can neither add nor diminish to Royalism and the Bourbons-the to the truths communicated to her by Protestants to Republicanism and the Holy Spirit. I am almost ashamed Buonaparte; the Protestants have purof having dwelt so long upon this sub-chased largely of Church and Emiject; but I hope my remarks will not be considered useless, and I cannot but regret the occasion which gave rise to them. It is most painful to see men who should be an example to the body to which they profess to belong, conducting themselves with such inconsistency and duplicity.-It is painful in the extreme to be obligedumphed in their turn. The battle of to bear the taunts of our opponents, to have ourselves accused of principles which our Church condemns, and then to see those individuals who pretend to be our leaders, conducting themselves in such a method as indirectly to sanction in a public way the accusations alledged against us. That such as the case, the following observations on the purport of the resolutions respecting the French Protest-testants by the Catholics at Nismes on ants by the Editor of The Courier paper, published on the 10th inst. most evidently evinces :-"The Roman Catholics in the North of England have

grant Property, unjustly and wickedly confiscated during the revolution (a fact which cannot be denied); and the Catholics hooted them, mobbed them, when the Bourbons returned. For their ill-got estates they trembled; but when Buonaparte came from Elba, they exulted, they tri

Waterloo again changed the scene, and the Catholics retaliated. Religious opinions are the signs of the parties, undoubtedly; but politics are as undoubtedly the cause of the disturbances, and the only cause of them. It is advantageous to establish these facts upon the testimony of our opponents. A meeting takes place to complain of the persecutions of the Pro

account of religious opinions, and what is the result? The meeting establishes and acknowledges the fact that the disturbances have arisen less

from religious than political opinions! | titled to practise, falsehood, as no

faith is to be kept with heretics, and that it is virtuous to practice it for the good of their Church, which readily gives absolution. Unfortunately, the Catholics of the North have given countenance to that opinion, by their double dealing at the first public po litical meeting they have ever held. This is a contemptible beginning.→→→ Obstinate error may command respect, but obvious shuffling is always despised.”

To these observations nothing need be added; the force of them will be sufficiently felt by the reader, and the blush of honest indignation will glow in the cheek of every upright Catholic, whilst he peruses them, for the scandal these men have brought upon his religion. Nor are they less con tradictory in their political creed to the primeval principles of the British constitution, than in their religious sentiments to the doctrines of the Catholic faith. In the eighth resolution, these silverheaded Catholic gentle men make the following declaration :

-And yet that meeting, particularly the Charman, declaims against perse cution as vehemently as if they had established instead of having removed the grounds of complaint at Nismes which professedly called them toge ther! It is melancholy to see the descendants of many great and eminent families 'in the North of England assembling to adopt measures of so much obliquity. Under pretence of persecutions at Nismes, à cry is attempted to be raised by some dissentérs in England, having for its object the expression of hatred against the Bourbons, whose re-establishment is likely to stop the further progress of revolution in Europe, particularly in England. The real object, is a revolution which may level church establishments as well as other institutions. For these views Buonaparte was of course the favourite, while the Bourbons are obstacles to be removed by any means. Behold how the Chairman of the Catholics in the North of England praises Buonaparte for his liberality on religious affairs, Buona-That we feel it a duty we owe to parte, who, it is notorious, had no religion, and who of course indulged any sectaries who would assist in the support of his political power. Execrate the Catholic persecutors at Nis. mes, but worship the atrocious perse-empire, who will swear allegiance to cution of the Pope! This is the lesson inculcated by the Catholics of the North of England! They shew that politics, not religion, is their motive as well as the cause of the disturb. ances at Nismes. They would join in the cry of the dissenters, and yet they do it with so bad a grace, that they mar more than serve the cause. They shew they are adopting ostensible measures of a tendency directly contrary to the secret and avowed facts. This they do, that as a sect of Dissenters, they may co-operate with the general body. This is not only moral obliquity, but hypocrisy; it is false hood, and must degrade, disgrace their character. A general opinion prevails that Papists think themselves en

ourselves, to our fellow-citizens, and to our posterity, to state candidly and openly, and honestly our objects and our wishes. They are these:That every inhabitant of this united

our King and to his Country, who is equally taxed with his fellow citizens, and who is willing to risk his life and to shed his blood in defence of his King and Country, should be equally entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and privileges of the British Constitu tion."-Here then we have the poli tical creed of the Northern Catholics, candidly, openly, and honestly stated; and for this we ought to be exceeding ly thankful to them.-But, pray gentlemen, as you would not admit of any restrictions on a man's right to judge of the reasonableness of his religious belief, in every age and in every coun try, why are you willing to allow of exclusions to the privileges of a British citizen, in consequence of a differ