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with Heretics, surely, we ought to be upon our guard, and not suffer in difference to overpower our faculties; or liberality, falsely so called, to get the better of our prudence, at this alarming crisis. Shall we suffer the mounds to be destroyed, which have so long, and so safely defended the citadel of Protestantism? Remove but the remaining restrictions from the Romanists, and you level with your own hands the existing defences of the established religion. But this must not come to pass without a virtuous struggle to prevent it. Sir, I consider every mite that is now thrown into the literary treasury, for the maintenance of our religion, to be of service not only to the cause which I am now maintaing; but as adding to the safe ty of our Protestant Sovereign, and contributing to the support of our ex cellent constitution. I also consider this a contention worthy of every member of the Established Church, as well as every Protestant Dissenter, for we are equally interested in the event. No faith need be kept with Heretics ! Shall we then make a base surrender of our religious privileges, and suffer them to be borne away in the torrent of Catholic Emancipation? God for bid! Let the sophistical Papist issue, from his repository, his ebullitions of superstition in defence of his cause, which never yet could resist the force of argument; and let the Protestant partizans of Popery, read what has emanated from such a source, and they must see, that abuse has been substituted for argument; and assertion in the room of fact. Perhaps, Sir, not many of your readers have had an opportunity of witnessing the absurd and ridiculous ceremonies of the Papists, and the tyranny which the Priests exercise over the consciences of the laity, as I have, in more countries than one; and my opposition to Roman Catholic emancipation is not only founded upon ocular demonstration, but from a conviction, that if we give them unlimited power, we arm them with deadly weapons against ourselves. They look upon us as a class of men at enmity with God, out of the pale of salvation, unworthy of credit, and not entitled to the recipro city of good faith. God forbid that red hats should ever have the ascendancy in our religious world! and it must be consolatory to every sin cere Protestant, that only one instance of active Protestant prelatical interference, can be produced in favour of Roman Catholic emancipation. Qui capit ille facit. When the enemy is thundering at the gate, the garri son must neither slumber nor sleep. Whilst the Catholic abettors are in motion, the advocates of Protestantism must buckle on the armour of self-defence. If, Sir, I shall not obtrude upon superior communication, I will endeavour to furnish your readers with a few original anecdotes of Catbolic gratitude in return for Protestant kindness which happened within the sphere of my own observation. Whatever may be the result of this struggle, I shall be found at my post, and on the alert. No exertions Of

mine shall be wanting to convince Protestants of all denominations, that, in order to preserve their religion inviolate, they must unite together in a firm band, and strenuously endeavour to put an end to further concessions to the Papists.

I am, Sir,

Your faithful humble servant,

G. B.

Warley, Nov. 271b 1812.

P. S. I am proud to inform you, that you certainly have more than one friend at Warley. [See p. 104]

PROTESTATION OF SEVERAL OF THE IRISH PRELATES, IN A. D. 1826, AGAINST THE ESTABLISHMENT OF POPERY IN IRELAND,

To the Editor of the Protestant Advocate.

SIR,-The following literary curiosity, so remarkably analogous to the present times, may, perhaps, not be deemed unworthy of a place in your valuable miscellany. It will probably excite the surprise of many uninformed Protestants, in this over-liberal age of parliamentary concession to Romish claims; and may repress the cry of bigotry, from the partizans of Popery. It is given in the celebrated Archbishop Usher's life, prefixed to the folio collection of his letters, in 1686, p. 28; and copied in Leland's History of Ireland, vol. 11, p. 482.

Ireland, Dec. 15, 1812.,

Yours, &c.

INSPECTOR

In the year 1626, the Irish Papists having applied to Government for fuller toleration of their religion, the Lord Deputy, Falkland, summoned a national assembly of the Papists and Protestants, to be held in the great hall of the Castle of Dublin, in order to take their petition into consideration. Previously to the meeting, (he Lord Primate Usher, and several of the Bishops, unanimously drew up and subscribed the following Protestation, entituled, "The Judgment of divers of the Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland, concerning Toleration of Religion."

"The religion of the Papists is superstitious and idolatrous; their faith and doctrine erroneous and heretical; their Church, in respect of both, apostolical. To give them, therefore, a toleration, or to consent that they may freely exercise their religion, and profess their faith and doctrine, is a grievous sin, and that in two respects: for, VOL. I. [Prot. Adv. Mar, 1813.]

2 U ...

"1. It is to make ourselves accessary, not only to their superstitions, idolatries, and heresies, and, in a word, to all the abominations of Popery; but also (which is a consequent of the former) to the perdition of the seduced people, which perish in the deluge of our Catholic apostacy.

"2. To grant them toleration in respect of any money to be given, or contribution to be made by them *, is to set religion to sale, and with it the souls of the people, whom CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR hath redeemed with his most precious blood. And, as it is a great sin, so also, a matter of most dangerous consequence: the consideration whereof we commit to the wise and judicious; beseeching THE GOD OF TRUTH to make them who are in authority, zealous of GOD'S GLORY, and of the advancement of TRUE RELI. GION: zealous, resolute, and courageous against all Popery, superstition, and idolatry. Amen.

James Armachanus.

Mal, Casellen.

Anth. Medensis.

Tho. Ferns et Leighlin.
Rob. Dunensis.
George Derensis.

Richard Cork, Cloyne, Ross.

Andr. Alachodens.

Tho. Kilmore and Ardagh.
Theo. Dromore.

Michael Waterford et Lysmore.
Fran. Lymerick."

The protestation of the bishops, Dr. Downham, Lord Bishop of Derry, at the next meeting of the assembly, April 23, 1627, published at Christ Church, before the Lord Deputy and Council, in the midst of his sermon ; wherein he spake much against men's subordinating religion, and the keeping of a good conscience to outward and worldly respects, and [not] to set their souls to sale for the gain of earthly matters, &c. The Lord Primate, the next Lord's Day, preached before the same auditory, the text was, Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world, 1 John, 5, 15. when he made the like application with the bishop, rebuking such, who for worldly ends, like Judas, would sell CHRIST for thirty pieces of silver.

Such was the undaunted zeal, resolution, and courage of the best and wisest heads of the church in their turbulent days. May their bright example be followed by their successors in the present! Amen.

The Popish party gave Lord Falkland assurances that if some indulgencies were granted to those of their religion, a voluntary contribution might be obtained for the maintenance of the army; and they offered large contributions to purchase security to their lands, and a suspension of the penal statutes. Lord Falkland did not discourage their overtures, but advised them to apply to the king for relief. LELAND.

PROTESTANT INTELLIGENCE.

ONE great object of the PROTESTANT ADVOCATE has been to convey information, concerning the Roman Catholic Question, to the minds of the people in general, A large proportion of the public had fallen into the error of supposing that the religion of Rome had altogether changed its nature; that its obnoxious decrees and canons had become obsolere; that its intolerant principles had been ameliorated, either by the operation of Christian charity, or in consequence of the liberal spirit which is the distinguishing characteristic of these enlightened days; that the Pope had lost his power, or at least that his Holiness had ceased to exert it in foreign countries, to the prejudice of independent princes, and the subduction of a moiety of their subjects' allegiance; and that, therefore, the time was arrived when all restraints should be abolished, and all distinctions done away; and that as an identity of principle pervaded all bosoms, those barriers erected by our forefathers against Popery, might be levelled with the ground, and the Papists might be admitted into our Parliaments and our councils, if not within the rails enclosing our communion-tables; and allowed to command our fleets and armies, to distribute justice from our supreme tribunals, to pronounce the law of equity, to keep the conscience of a Protestant King, nay, even to be seated on the throne once abdicated by a Popish monarch.-The eyes of the good Protestants of this United Kingdom are now open to the dange's which surround them. The false pretences, and the hollow promises of Papists have been exposed. The Question is now better understood. The people are no longer in danger of being "destroyed for lack of knowledge." The Editor of the PROTESTANT ADVOCATE has received many letters congratulating him on the success of his endeavours, and encouraging him to unabating exertion by many most cheering commendations. He knows how short his performance has fallen of the views which he had formed; how easy it is to plan, how difficult to execute; he is fully aware how little he has yet been able to accomplish, and how much remains to be done. He fondly hoped that, in the space of six months, this publication might have embraced every topic, and have put his fellow-countrymen, generally, in possession of all the main points, at issue between Papists and Protestants. He once was extravagant enough to imagine (before experience corrected his sanguine suppositions), that he should be able to detail the substance of each interesting work on the subject, as soon as it issued from the press. Here he has suffered grievous disappointment. Incessant reading, noting, writing, consulting of authorities, verifying of quotations, resorting to libraries, tumbling over bulky volumes, and

all the toil of a practical scholar, in defiance all the while of alarming symptoms of ill health, and a great deal of professional labour at an advanced period of life,-have not enabled him to realize the expectations which he formed in September last.-Still he has had a great consolation in the midst of his anxieties-and this is, that the chief cause of all his solicitudes has been the abundance of Protestant publications. That has happened again which took place in the reign of James II. The learned have employed their acquirements in giving information to their brethren; multitudes of small tracts have appeared; and the Question has been discussed with as much zeal, and ability, as much temper and discretion, and as much spirit and vigour as adorned the period which he has mentioned, and of which Burnet speaks in such high terms.-The Editor begs leave, therefore, to mention some pamphlets of great impor tance, which have been recently published, and to refer his readers to them for such information as he has not yet found either time or room to communicate. And here he most earnestly begs to be understood, that in mentioning some tracts, he means not to insinuate that those which are unmentioned are of small worth. He selects the titles of many excellent works, without much regard to date, without any idea of flattering the authors, whatever rank they may hold either in the Church or State, or in the republic of letters; whether they have often appeared before the world, or whether the spur of the present occasion has stimu lated them to brave, for the first time, the criticisms of some, in the hope of instructing orhers.

1. "Letters on the religious and political Tenets of the Roman Hierarchy, addressed to the Rev. Dr. Troy, titular Archbishop of Dublin, by the Rev. IV. Hales, D.D." &c.

In this publication the reader will see a stupendous display of erudition, combined with a thorough knowledge of the present controversy. Dr. Hales writes with a liveliness peculiar to himself and has a most happy talent at exploding fallacies, and counteracting the various arts of "those who lye in wait to deceive." His general knowledge of history, and his particular acquaintance with that of Ireland in all ages, gives him vast advantage over his antagonists. His personal knowledge of the leading agitators in the Sister Kingdom is of excellent use to him. These Letters are here collected together in one publication from the several numbers of the Anti-Jacobin, where they originally drew the attention, and commanded the approbation, and convinced the understandings of all unprejudiced readers.

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