wicked practices of faying and hearing mafs, on account of that infamy which is commonly annexed to the trade of priest-catchers, discoverers, and informers, these commons had before taken care to resolve unanimoufly, "that the profecuting and informing againft papifts, was an honourable fervice to the government." Such was the good faith, good fenfe, and avowed honour of those bigotted times!

b

6

How very different from this, has been the state and condition of the proteftants in Germany, ever fince 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 chriftian and catholic majefties, 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 abfolutely 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 fecured to these proteftants."

"From hence it appears," to use the words of the fame writer," "how unftudied thofe men are in the great book of the world, who think that popifh princes will not go on in the courfe of their politics, though the pope fhould affume a temporal jurifdiction to obftruct them." Yet fome there are, prefuming to call themselves the only true proteftants, who, not conVOL. II.

• Ib.

R.

tent

7 Sir Peter Pet's Happy Future State of Engl. Pref.

& Ib.

Informers (fays a diftinguifhed Law Lord in the British Houfe of Peers) are an infamous and odious fet of people; and in fact, the Irish popery laws, and the conftruction put upon them by the Irish lawyers and courts of justice, are a confused heap of oppreffion and nonfenfe, and have very much contributed to corrupt the morals of the people of that country."

"And whereas another author among our brethren the diffenters, hath very juftly complained, that by this perfecuting test act, great numbers of true proteftants have been forced to leave the kingdom, and fly to the plantations, rather than

ftand

tent with Roman catholics abjuring all civil power and temporal jurifdiction in popes over other princes, infift that it is abfolutely neceffary for the fafety of every proteftant government, under which they are fuffered to live, that they fhould alfo renounce the pope's fpiritual fupremacy (the belief of which is an effential article of their religion, and has not the leaft connexion with, or relation to the temporal dominion of other princes); at the fame time that those men, under a false notion of their christian liberty, and a strange prefumption that they are authorised to interpret the scriptures in their own private sense, and to fquare their conduct accordingly, even in the highest political affairs, have themselves often ufurped a fpiritual authority (not controulable by any earthly power, as imagined to be founded on facred writ), in virtue of which they have often excited, and afterwards juftified, the most dangerous tumults and commotions; I may fay, the subverfion of government, civil and ecclefiaftical.

CHAP.

ftand here branded with an incapacity for civil and military employments. We do affirm, that the catholics can bring many more inftances of the fame kind; fome thousands of their religion having been forced by the facramental teft, to retire into other countries, rather than live here under the incapacity of wearing fwords, fitting in parliament, and getting that share of power and profit which belongs to them as fellow chriftians, whereof they are deprived merely upon account of conscience, which would not allow them to take the facrament after the manner prescribed in the liturgy. Hence it clearly follows, in the words of the fame author [Reasons against the Teft], that if we catholics are incapable of employments, we are punished for our diffent, that is, for our confcience, which wholly turns upon political confiderations." Swift's Works, vol. viii. P. 56-7.

Perfecution of the catholics in the reign of queen Anne.

DURING

URING all queen Anne's reign, the inferior civil officers, by order of the government, were inceffantly hampering the Roman catholics with oaths, imprisonments, and forfeitures, without any other vifible caufe, but that of their religious profeffion; but the conduct of these people was ftill found fo blameless, that it fometimes made their very perfecutors afhamed of their feverity. In the year 1708, on the bare rumour of an intended invafion of Scotland by the pretender," " fewer than forty-one Roman catholic noblemen and gentlemen were imprifoned in the caftle of Dublin." R 2

66

no

And

This perfecution of the catholics of Ireland, had no other foundation but the pretender's being of the fame religion with them; at the fame time that the Irish presbyterians were highly favoured by government; although it appears from Mr. Hook's authentic Memoirs, that "the prefbyterians in the western and fouthern counties (of Scotland), namely, in Clydefdale, Nithfdale, Galloway, Air, Kirkudbright, with those of the provinces of Tiviotdale, Tweedale, and the Foreft, were (at that juncture) refolved 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 epifcopals; that they would begin, and thereby give an opportunity to the reft to rife; and that they would put the ftrong caftle of Dunbarton, on the river Clyde, into the hands of the perfon 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 unanimoufly for king James; that all they asked was liberty of confcience 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, compleatly armed, under a commander of great reputation among them, who has thereto engaged himself." Id. ib. p. 4.

"be

And when they were afterwards fet at liberty, cause they had acted nothing against the government,' the state was fo fenfible 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 occafions were then taken, from every trifling circumstance of their religion, to perfecute the perfons of these unhappy people, appears, among numberlefs other inftances, from the following paffage; which, however inconfiderable in itself, has acquired fome weight and importance from the remarkable notice taken of it by the Irish commons. It feems there is a place of pilgrimage with them in the county of Meath, called St. John's well, which had been frequented every fummer from time immemorial, by infirm men, women, and children of that perfuafion, in hopes of being relieved from their feveral disorders, by performing certain acts, of devotion and penance there. This the Irish commons deemed an object worthy of their most serious confideration, and a matter of the greatest national concern; and accordingly paffed a vote, that these fickly devotees, were affembled in that place to the great hazard and danger of the public peace, and fafety of the kingdom." In confequence of which, fines, imprisonments, and whipping were made the penalties of "fuch dangerous and tumultuous affemblies." A penance much more fevere than, probably, these poor people intended to inflict on themfelves; and from which they could hardly obtain any other cure of their diforders, but that never-failing one, death; which, in those times of religious rancour, frequently happened, by the extreme rigour of their punishment.

The scheme of the original framers of this law feems to have been, to drive the Roman catholic natives out of the kingdom' (which effect it certainly produced on great numbers),

And even fuch of the Roman catholic natives, as were afterwards willing to return, were not permitted. For in 1713,

the

numbers), and to introduce foreign proteftants in their room. Accordingly, in the year 1709, at the request of the lords and others of the council, eight hundred and twenty-one proteftant Palatine families were brought over to Ireland, and the fum of twenty-four thousand eight hundred and fifty pounds, five fhilings and fixpence, appointed for their maintenance, out of the revenue, on a refolution of the commons, "that it would much contribute to the fecurity of the kingdom, if the faid Palatines were encouraged and fettled therein." But the error of that policy was foon after difcovered; for the lords, in their address to the queen, in 1711, thankfully acknowledge, "that her majesty's early care had even prevented their own endeavours to free the nation of that load of debt, which the bringing over numbers of useless and indigent Palatines had brought upon them." It is remarkable that only four, out of this great number of proteftant ftrangers brought over for the fecurity of the kingdom, enlifted in her majefty's army, though fhe was then actually engaged in a war with France.

c

CHA P.

the commons ordered, that "an address should be made to her majefty, to defire her, that he would be pleased not to grant licences to papifts to return into the kingdom." Com. Journ.

vol. iii.

It was even dangerous for them to attempt, or endeavour to hear, what paffed in the house of commons concerning themfelves. For in the fame year, an order was made there," that the ferjeant at arms fhould take into custody all papists, that were or fhould prefume to come into the galleries." Ib. f. 976.

In the fame year the house of commons in England, fays Burnet, 66 came to a fudden vote, that those who had encouraged, and brought over the Palatines, were enemies to the nation. They even repealed a bill for the naturalization of all proteftants, which had paffed two years before, pretending that it gave the encouragement to the Palatines to come over." Hift. of his own Times, vol. ii. f. 338.