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Christ, who during his refidence on earth, bore patiently with the Sadducees and Samaritans (the infidels and fchifmatics of those 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 fpiritual. Our bleffed Saviour himself, when he prayed for his executioners, taught us how his caufe is to be avenged. Had the minifters of the gospel been always careful to follow that divine model, the enemies of chriftianity would not have been able to bring against it the unjust reproach of favouring perfecution. The church always difavowed those impetuous men, who, stirred up by an indifcreet zeal, treat those who go aftray 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 those exceffes, of which history has preserved the memory, and which are repugnant to the maxims of the gofpel."

СНАР.

IX.

Perfecutions in the reign of king George I.

NOTWITHSTANDING the great lenity and ge

neral beneficence introduced to the throne of these 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 fevere penalties. Among these, the Scottish rebellion in 1715, was the principal; as that rebellion had been raised and car

ried on in favour of a popifh pretender; though all the acting rebels, almoft to a man, were Scottish prefbyterians; and none of the catholics in Ireland were known to be any way connected with them. Yet fuch was the government's affected fear, or real hatred, of thefe catholics, that the penalties for the exercife of their religion, were then generally inflicted. Their chapels were fhut up; their priests dragged from their hiding places; fometimes from the very altars, in the midst of divine fervice, hurried into loathsome prifons, and from thence banifhed for ever from their native country. This perfecution was the obvious, and but the natural, effect of a refolution of the commons at that juncture: " that it was the indispensable duty of all magiftrates, to put the laws in immediate execution against popifh priests; and that fuch of them as neglected to do fo, fhould be looked upon as enemies of the conftitution." And although this rebellion of the prefbyterians in Scotland, was the sole pretence for this feverity; and the very fame law which banishes popish priests, prohibits alfo diffenters to accept of or act by, a commiffion in the militia or array; yet so partial were the resolutions of that parliament, that, at the fame time that they ordered the former to be rigorously profecuted, they refolved unanimously," that any perfon, who fhould commence a prosecution against any of the latter, who had accepted, or fhould accept of, a commiffion in the array or militia, was an enemy to king George and the protestant interest." Thus of the only two main objects of the fame law, its execution against one of them was judged highly meritorious; but it was deemed equally culpable, even to attempt it against the other; though the law itself makes no difference between them. Such was the juftice and confiftency of our legiflators of that period.

The frequent exertions of this particular prejudice against the Roman catholic clergy of Ireland, feem not to have been the effects of any new or fudden provocation, arifing occafionally from their mifconduct, with respect to the government; but appear to

have

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have been owing to a spirit of intolerance, on account of their religion only; and to have been uniformly carried on, upon principle, for many years after ; until they were at length heightened to fuch a degree of wanton cruelty, as rather difhonours the religion it was intended to ferve. For in the year 1723, it having been again unanimoufly refolved in parliament, "that it was the indifpenfable duty of all magiftrates to put the laws in immediate execution against popifh priests and that the neglect of feveral magiftrates, in executing the laws against papifts, did greatly contribute to the growth of popery." Leave was given to bring in heads of a bill, for explaining and amending the two acts before mentioned, to prevent the growth of popery. Upon which occafion, one of the moft zealous promoters of that bill, having gravely taken notice, in a long and laboured fpeech, that of all the countries wherein the reformed religion had prevailed, Sweden was freest from those secret, but irreconcilable, enemies of all proteftant governments, popish ecclefiaftics; which, he faid, was vifibly owing to the great wisdom of their laws, inflicting the penalty of caftration on all fuch dangerous intruders into that kingdom. He seriously moved, that this gothic and inhuman penalty might be added as a claufe to the bill before them to which the house, after a fhort debate, agreed; and ordered it to be laid before his grace the lord lieutenant, to be tranfmitted into England, with this remarkable requeft on their part, that he would re

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a Dean Swift, in his Plea of Prefbyterian Merit, after taking notice, that the Roman catholics of Ireland" abhorred the Jacobites and high-flyers above all other men, on account of feverities against their priests in queen Anne's reign, when that party was in power;" adds, " this I was convinced of fome years ago, by a long journey into the fouthern parts (of Ireland), where I had the curiofity to fend for many priefts of the parishes I paffed through, and, to my great fatisfaction, found them every where abounding in profeffions of loyalty to the late king George; for which they gave me the reasons above-mentioned; at the fame time complaining bitterly of the hardships they suffered under the queen's last ministry." Works, Dubl. edit. vol. iii. p. 274.

commend the fame, in the most effectual manner to his majefty." To which his grace was pleafed to answer, "that as he had so much at heart a matter, which he had recommended to the confideration of parliament, at the beginning of the feffion; they might depend upon a due regard, on his part, to what was defired."

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The bill was accordingly tranfmitted to England; but rejected there, by means of the humane and earneft interpofition of Cardinal Fleury with Mr. Walpole, whose great power and intereft at that juncture, were then univerfally known. His grace the lord lieutenant, in his fpeech to that parliament, at the clofe of the feffion, in order to confole them for the lofs of their favourite bill, gave them to understand," that it miscarried meerly by its not having been brought into the house, before the feffion was fo far advanced." And after earnestly recommending to them, in their several stations, the care and preservation of the public peace; he added, " that, in his opinion, that would be greatly promoted, by the vigorous execution of the laws against popish priests; and that he would contribute his part towards the prevention of that growing evil, by giving proper directions, that fuch perfons only should be put into the commiffion of the peace, as had diftinguished themselves by their steady adherence to the proteftant intereft." These general words, "proteftant intereft," feem to carry with them a vague and indefinite meaning; but if the proteftant religion is here, in any respect, fignified by them, I will venture to affirm, that in no other age or nation, has religion ever been attempted to be ferved or promoted, by fo shameful and cruel an expedient, as that propofed in this rejected bill.

CHA P.

CHA P. X.

The catholics addrefs his majesty king George II.

THE Roman catholics of Ireland still smarting under the lash of the popery laws, after the acceffion of George I. and recollecting that the two last, and severest of them, were faid to have been enacted as a punishment for their neglect in not having addressed her late majefty queen Anne, on her acceffion to the throne, were induced to think that they ought to avoid giving the like occafion of offence on that happy event, and therefore, fome of the principal among them, refolved to present an humble congratulatory address to his majefty on that occafion. But the before-mentioned rebellion in favour of a popish pretender, having then broken out in Scotland and England, fo unjuft and general a clamour was raised against them on that account, and fuch virulent invectives and mifreprefentations of both their civil and religious principles, daily iffued from the pulpit and the prefs, as occafioned them to change their refolution, and to think it more prudent and fafe at that period of jealousy and distrust, to remain filent in that refpect; and by ftill perfevering in their wonted dutiful behaviour, to give more fubftantial proofs of their loyalty, and of the falfehood and cruelty of these invectives and mifreprefentations, than could poffibly be conveyed by their most fubmiffive and zealous profeffions of fidelity in a formal address; and in truth, that the behaviour of these people was uniformly and unquestionably fuch, during that whole reign, these very enemies have been fince obliged to confefs.

The conscioufnefs of this behaviour, together with their reasonable hope, that it had fomewhat abated the former prejudices of their enemies, emboldened them to draw up an humble addrefs to his majefty George II. on his acceffion; which was prefented with all due

respect

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