to, the bottomless pit. Enveloped in the grossest darkness, absorbed in the profoundest ignorance, the poor papist looks up to this pretended saviour, but real destroyer of his soul, as to God's vicegerent upon earth, for direction and salvation. Placing implicit confidence in the fidelity, wisdom, and divine authority, of his deceitful guide, the dupe of popish knavery, is ready to sacrifice his life in a blind obedience to the dictates of his crafty counsellor. He knows no law but the will of his priest; will obey no command, but his priest's orders; and can have no idea of any religion but that direful system of delusion and hypocrisy, at whose shrine so many millions of souls have been immolated to the prince of darkness, and to which thousands are still annually sacrificed. So wretched, so deluded, so ignorant, and so enslaved a creature, is not to be found in civilized Europe, as the Irish Papist; while the means of instruction and illumination are carefully withheld from him, and even prohibited under the severest penalties. Should he, at any time, chance to look into a book, or even hold a conversation with a Protestant, in which any insinuations were thrown out against the immaculate purity of the Mother of Harlots, this sin must be confessed to the keeper of his conscience; and before absolution can be granted, a penance adequate to the offence must be done or suffered, at the discretion of the priest. Thus every avenue to illumination and emancipation is closed, and fortified by the anathemas of a church, whose reign, founded in oppression, is maintained by the united efforts of ignorance, superstition, and absurdity. a religious and political nature-and which are inseparably connected in the church of Rome-principles utterly subversive of all civil and religious freedom, are dictated by the priests, and implicitly embraced by the people. It is in vain for papists, or their advocates and apologists, to deny the existence of their principles, merely because they cannot at present bring them into action: yet this is the only mode of defence set up by your correspondent for them. He condemns, indeed, their former principles, and their former practices; but be is now forcing upon them a reformation of both, which they themselves reject with disdain, as insulting and degrading in the highest degree. What, improve absolute perfection! Correct the principles of God's vicegerents! Amend the practices of the fountain of purity and holiness! Rob the church of its infallibility; and the Pope and the Priest of the only foundation of their authority! Deceive the very elect, and introduce heresy into the very sanctuary of the Deity! Sir, if your correspondent takes a trip to Italy, and there propagates his heretical notions, he will be taught a better lesson; though he might probably pay the forfeit of his life for learning it. Now, Sir, among the authorized principles of Popery, we find the following, laid down and established by Pope Gregory VII. 66 1. That the Bishop of Rome alone is universal Bishop. 2. That all Princes ought to kiss his foot, in token of submission. 3. That he has power to depose Emperors and Kings. 4. That the Roman Church never did, and never can, err. 5. That the Pope can absolve the subjects of any prince from their allegiance.". This being, though but a faint, yet, as far as it goes, a true and accurate | sketch of the actual state of some millions of our deluded countrymen, Nor are these mere theoretic principrofessing the Popish religion, at once ples in the Church of Rome. Greconfutes the bold, but unfounded as-gory himself acted upon them; as well sertion of your correspondent, that "This thraldom of the human mind in the civilized countries of Europe, no longer exists; it inquires and decides for itself." No, Sir, the very reverse of this is the lamentable fact. In Ireland, (certainly a civilized country,) as far as it is subject to popery, the mind can neither inquire, nor does it attempt to decide for itself. On the most important of all concerns, those of both as many of his successors in the Holy See. Gregory, by his sole authority, deposed and anathematized the emperor Henry IV.; excommunicated him from the rites of the church, and absolved all his subjects from their allegiance to him! Now, Sir, no papist has any choice between admitting the above principles to be unalterably those of his infallible church; or condemning that church, and its sovereign head, as guilty of falsehood, usurpation, and treason! But every papist when put to the trial, will embrace the former of those alternatives; consequently, by his own confession, he is unworthy and unfit to be entrusted with any civil authority in a Protestant nation, and particularly so in Great Britain; for his principles are avowedly subversive of all civil and religious liberty, which constitutes the basis of the British Constitution. And as every man who sustains an office in the Romish Church, is sworn | to maintain and defend the principles of that church; so he is, as I asserted in my former essay, the sworn enemy of all liberty," whether civil or religious; and I repeat my assertion, Sir, that such persons are not, nor ever can be, constitutionally eligible to enact and administer laws for the Protestant Empire of Great Britain. 66 But, Sir, notwithstanding the atrocity of these principles, and the consequent disqualification of their professors to legislate for, and govern the British nation; I do not imagine, nor did I ever say, that papists are incapable of reformation. All our ancestors were once enslaved by the same disgraceful yoke. Reason and Revelation were the instruments of their emancipation; and could these divine sources of truth, find their way into the minds of our deluded and degraded countrymen, who still groan under the same bondage, their speedy deliverance might be naturally hoped for and expected. This is the only species of emancipation they are capable of receiving, or that the British government can with any shadow of consistency bestow upon them. All the penal statutes enacted against their worship, superstitious, degrading, and destructive of men's souls as it clearly is, are long since repealed. They have the same liberty of conscience as far as the legislature can give it to them, as the Protestant subjects of the British empire; but their political disqualifications are not the work of government; nor has government the power to remove them. They exist in their own breasts, and they themselves, and their priests, are alone competent to their removal. The three Estates of the nation could indeed bend the Constitution to meet the prejudices and superstitions of Popery; but in doing this they would betray the sacred trust reposed in them, and violate the principles of that Constitution they have sworn to maintain in its purity. I confess, I should not like to see the three Estates of the realm, all exposing themselves to a charge of perjury,* for the sake of admitting papists into the government of the country. I know of no enemy to "Catholic Emancipation," as it is called, but the Popish Priests. They are its only opposers. And it is the imperative duty of the British government, and especially of the Monarch, as the head of the Church, and the guardian of his people's privileges, and of their persons, of their bodies and souls; to do their utmost to rescue British subjects from all foreign jurisdiction, whether of a spiritual or temporal nature; and especially of that which can absolve them from their allegiance to their natural sovereign. Indeed, no such jurisdiction ought to be suffered to exist. Government has a right to insist, and it is incumbent upon it to do so,-that the sacred ties and engagements by which British subjects are united with, or bound to, foreign powers, should be made public, and laid before parliament. And the government should interpose its power, to dissolve and annihilate all that pernicious influence, which arrogates to itself undue authority over the powers of the human mind; making ignorance the basis of a disgraceful subjugation of body, soul, and property, to the tyrannical sway of designing priests, who, under the false pretences of absolution from guilt and redemption from purgatory, lay the whole body of papists under continual contributions for the maintenance of idleness and vice. I have never said, Sir," that any cultivated people are incapable of enjoying the blessings of civil liberty, as soon as its principles are well understood." I should have been ashamed to advance a position so manifestly absurd and false. But I am of opinion, that an uncultivated people, who do not well understand the true principles of liberty, may be incapable of duly appreciating its value; and their minds being debased by cruelty and oppression, they may so far become the slaves of despotism, as to lend their physical as well as pecuniary aid to its support; and the consequent destruction of liberty. And this, I fear, is the case with almost every professor, and some of the friends, of Popery. If such persons are the real dupes of that complication of absurdity and iniquity, they are to be pitied; but if they countenance and support it, well knowing its moral turpitude, they clearly become partners in its guilt, and are liable to be partakers of its punishment. The obvious duty of the British Legislature, in my humble opinion, is not to violate the fundamental principles of the Constitution, by admitting persons disqualified by law into parliament, and into high official situations in the State; but to endeavour to enlighten their dark minds; to remove the deplorable ignorance under which they labour; and to instil into their minds principles congenial to the government they are under, and the happy constitution they partake of. It surely would be more proper that they should bend to the constitution, than that the constitution should yield to their superstitions and prejudices. If the laws and constitution of the country are agreeable to Protestants, who are the natural subjects of the empire, I do not see any reason why they should be altered to please the Papists, whose loyalty and attachment to the constitution, are at best very doubtful, Your correspondent says, "The triumph of Truth and Reason is generally the result of inquiry and investigation." Granted! - and let us then, in the name of the God of Truth and Reason, bring the errors of Popery to this tribunal. Instead of taking it, with all its catalogue of unpurged crimes upon its head, into our bosoms, let us arraign it at the bar of Reason and Revelation; institute an inquiry and investigation" into its principles and practices, and try if we cannot, by the conversion of its advocates, banish this pest of society, this scourge of human nature, this disgrace of mankind, from the British islands. This, 66 indeed, would be an act worthy of the united efforts of Church and State: an act which would insure the blessing of heaven upon the nation, and transmit to posterity a lasting benefit, in gratitude for which, our children to the remotest ages would rise up and call us blessed! I confess, that in my estimation it adds but little to the reputation of those great statesmen, Pitt and Fox, to say that the result of their investigation of Popish claims, was a conviction of the propriety of admitting the subjects of Popery to legislate and govern in the British dominions. Yet this is not so much to be wondered at, when we consider the astonishing weakness of Mr. Pitt, in applying for, and relying upon, the testimony of the Popish Universities of Europe, repecting their own principles. Those gentlemen would doubtless give themselves an excellent character, while they smiled at the simplicity which suggested the application. Information drawn from such a source might satisfy Mr. Pitt; but I confess I should prefer that evidence which is drawn from the authentic page of history, and which rests upon the most indubitable matters of fact for its support. Your correspondent asserts, that "The tranquillity of Ireland, the happiness of millions in that country, and perhaps the ultimate prosperity of the empire, depend in a great measure on conceding to them their Claims." All this, Sir, is mere declamation. Persons of discernment and impartiality on the spot, and who are well acquainted with the character and disposition of the Irish Papists, firmly believe the very reverse of this to be the truth. They know that concession only inflames their ambition, which, in fact, is insatiable, except by the possession of supreme and absolute power. There are possibly from two to three millions of Papists in Ireland, instead of six millions, as asserted by their orators. Out of these, probably, one thousand might become competitors for the honours of the State to which they aspire. Now, admitting that 300 of these should ultimately attain their object in one generation; I ask, how does happiness of millions" depend on the circumstance of those 300 obtaining the 66 the gratification of their ambition? | self below the character of a man; What spiritual or temporal benefit and demonstrates that he is utterly is the multitude to derive from the unworthy of being entrusted with, as elevation to power of a few of their he is totally incapable of protecting, religious friends? Temporal benefit the interests and liberties of British they can derive none that I am aware Protestants. What, Sir, entrust the of; the Protestant legislature of the guardianship of my liberties to a man empire, having already extended to who has not the wisdom to take care them every advantage of the laws of his own! What a consummate made for the protection of persons and fool I must be, before I can be capaproperty, for inheritance and succes- ble of such an abandonment of all sion, possessed by other religious de- principle! Suppose, after the man nominations. If under these circum- had got the disposal of my best and stances they are disposed to disturb dearest interests into his power, his the public tranquillity," the injured priest threatens him with a thousand laws of the country must be enforced years' lodgment in purgatory, if he against them, and they must be coerced does not betray them into the hands into subjection. of the church; what security have I for my trust? Why, probably a papist's oath; and this sworn upon an heretical bible! Very well; but what is the price of absolution from that engagement? Pay five shillings, or five pounds, if you please. Well, and what is the boon for breaking the oath? Why, redemption from purgatory for one thousand years. Do we imagine there would be any difficulty in closing this bargain? The only prospect the great bulk of the Popish population of Ireland could have, of any advantage to be derived from the exaltation of their leaders to situations of power, dignity, and wealth, in the state, army, or navy, of Great Britain, would be the extension of their religion, and of the influence of their priesthood; from which they might hope, eventually, to see Popery once more triumphantly swaying the British sceptre, and presiding in British councils. If, as your correspondent suggests, the happiness of millions of Irish Papists is suspended upon their attainment of this object, I am satisfied it is the true policy of the British government to allow them to enjoy their misery, until they learn to seek happiness in the lawful pursuits of life; the full and free benefit of which, is guarantied to them by the liberality and equity of the government they want to usurp and overturn. Your correspondent laments the present degradation of his friends the Irish Papists. He cannot lament it more sincerely than I do; but we differ materially in our views of that degradation, as well as of its authors. He ascribes it to the British government, which has been continually exalting them for the last 50 years; whereas I ascribe it to their own priests, who keep them about one step above the rank of the beasts of the field! A papist is a being who has neither conscience, will, nor understanding, of his own; by a voluntary surrender of those noble faculties with which his Maker endowdowed him, to a man who is often an abandoned profligate, he sinks him It is impossible, Sir, to read, without a smile of surprise, mingled with pity, what your correspondent says about the poor Papists of Ireland, 66 rising higher in the scale of intellectual knowledge ;" and thereby "increasing in liberality and charitable feelings towards other Christian sects!" He may export these fine sentiments to the Cape of Good-Hope, for the use of the Hottentots and Caffres of Southern Africa, if he pleases; for there is some prospect of their civilization; but in the present state of besotted ignorance and abject slavery, in which the priests keep the bulk of Irish Papists, he may as well send Newton's Principia to the cows and hogs of Ireland, as talk to those wretched beings about "rising higher in the scale of intellectual knowledge, liberality, and charitable felings!" It is true, there are some Papists in the higher ranks of life in Ireland, whose minds are well informed on other subjects; and who, being in respectable circumstances, have receiv ed the benefits of a liberal education, as far as science and literature usually bestow cultivation on the human mind; but it is a melancholy fact, that on the subject of religion, these persons are in general as blind, as ignorant, as bigoted, and as vindictive, as the poorest and most illiterate people in the kingdom. Satisfied of the infallibility of their church, and of the authority of the priest to grant them absolution of all their sins, they will neither read nor hear any thing which has a tendency to shake the rotten foundation of their hopes, or disturb the fatal dream of security, into which their flesh-pleasing system has lulled them. From this, nothing can awaken them but the power of God, or the awful realities of eternity. But any attempt to illuminate their minds, to detect and expose the gross errors and palpable absurdities of their system, would be resented as the greatest insult and most unpardonable injury, that could be offered to them; and would not fail to mark out the author, as the sure victim of revenge at a proper opportunity With these people," the Pope has not lost his power, nor the priest his influence," as your correspondent asserts, and erroneously imagines. And notwithstanding he affects to treat Dr. Dromgoole's prognostications as mere "rhetorical flourishes," and accompanied with no real danger of accomplishment, you, Sir, and the whole British nation, may rely upon it, the Doctor spoke the genuine sentiments, and expressed the ardent wishes, of every Papist's heart in Ireland, and doubtless in England also, when he so pathetically predicted the rapid approach of the period which should again give to the British Empire Catholic King, a Catholic Parliament, and a Catholic Church!" 66 a It is, Sir, the hope of accelerating the arrival of that period alone, that stimulates the Papists of Ireland in their present ardent pursuit of power and influence in the kingdom. Without this feeling, proudly predominant above every other consideration, they could not be true Catholics;" to it they would most conscientiously sacrifice every other interest and attachment under heaven. And who can blame them for it? With their views and prejudices, they would be traitors without it:-traitors to their Church, to their God, to the Holy See, to themselves, and to their posterity! And can we imagine they will incur all this accumulation of guilt and treason, merely for the sake of supporting and aggrandizing an heretical establishment, to the downfall of which they are taught to look as the only means, for their own restoration to that wealth, power, and dignity, of which the reformation in England, and the Protestant conquests, and Protestant ascendancy in Ireland, have deprived them? Ignorant indeed must that man be, not only of the deadly principles of Popery, but also of the common principles which govern human actions, that is weak enough to calculate upon the fidelity of Papists to a Protestant government, under such circumstances. I am, Sir, as great an enemy to all persecution, coercion, and compulsion, in religious matters, as your correspondent of St. Austell, or any other man. Hence, I deprecate the approach of Popery; I well know, that having no support from either Revelation or Reason, its votaries, burning with zeal for its propagation, have no means but those of torture, whereby to force its preposterous absurdities upon the human mind. I dare not give my vote for arming such people with power, thus to propagate such a religion. My detestation of persecution forbids it. Nor can I conceive a greater anomaly in religion or politics, than for an advocate of Popery to rail at religious persecution, as your correspondent at St. Austell does. In the same breath, he pleads for power and influence to be given to those principles which the next moment he deprecates and abhors! My regard for the sacred rights of conscience, would induce me to tolerate even the destructive principles of Popery; but heaven forbid that I should countenance, and much less caress them. Neither charity, nor piety, requires this; yea, it would be a breach of both, to cherish the enemy of God and man in my bosom. I neither understand, nor approve of this undiscriminating liberality, so fashionable in the present day; the philanthropy which makes no distinction between the doves and the serpents of the human race;-the benevolence which blends all principles into one general mass of confusion; or attempts a cordial coalition between light and darkness, truth and error, Christ and Belial! Neither Christ nor his Apostles have taught us this lesson. We shall not learn it in |