those gentlemen who had signed the latter petition were exhibited in large characters on the door of the Popish Chapel, for what purpose is easily understood !!!

Athy, 17th April, 1813.

VERAX.

Were not Mr. Canning's observations on "An Awful Warning" much in the same spirit?

AN OATH SWORN BY THE POPISH MULTITUDE IN

IRELAND.

Mr. EDITOR ;-I request you will insert in your excellent work the fol lowing oath, with some observations thereon. It is taken by the Threshers, a Popish banditti similar to the Defenders; and the former have, some years past, infested, and committed barbarous outrages in, many parts of Ireland, as the latter did from the beginning of the year 1792, to the year 1798, when a horrid and destructive rebellion exploded, in which they took an active part. An oath, substantially the same, was found in dif. ferent parts of Ireland in the year 1811; which was given in an excellent pamphlet, entitled, "The Proceedings of the General Committee of the Catholics in Ireland, &c."-Printed for J. J. Stockdale, No. 41. Pall Mall.

The Thresher's Oath.

of

I, A. B. do swear in the presence of you my brethren, by the Saint Peter, and of our blessed Lady, that I will aid and support our holy zeligion, by destroying the heretics, as far as my power and property will go, not one shall be excepted; and also that I will assist my brothers in every undertaking against the heretics, so commonly called by our holy fathers. I do further swear, that I will be ready, in 12 hours warning, to put our glorious design in execution, against the heretics of every sect.So help me God, by the of Saint Peter.-Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped-then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall singIsaiah, chapter 35. v. 5 and 6.*"

This oath was found on the person of a man, who said his name was M'Cleland, but whose real name was supposed to be Dick or Dickinson. He enlisted in the Royal Artillery at Strabane, in the county of Donegal, on the 26th of September 1812; but as it was discovered that he was a de

A printed copy of an oath of the same import, called the black or bloody oath, was found on the person of many rebels who were killed in battle in the year 1798.

Serter from the Royal Staff corps, and the 34th foot, he has been com. mitted to the gaol of Lifford.

The extirpation of heretics, that is, of all those who refuse to acknowledge the doctrines of the Church of Rome, is one of its fundamental articles. It is enjoined as a religious duty by the general councils of Lateran, Constance, and Basil, and by the canon law also. By the 3d canon of the 4th Lateran council, a full remission of sins and eternal salvation, are offered to those who shall set about the extirpation of heretics.* The 3d Lateran, cap. 27. grants great indulgences to such persons as shall do so. By the 4th Lateran Council, A. D. 1215, " All Bishops are required diligently to search and enquire for heretics in their respective dioceses, under pain of deprivation, that they may be punished according to the canonical sanctions. The council of Constance, A. D. 1414, requires them to do the like, under the same penalty.§ Now the punishments which must be inflicted on them by various general councils, and by the canon law, are, confiscation of their goods, imprisonment, exile, death.** The council of Trent, held in the year 1545, was the last of the general councils, and it confirmed all preceding ones: it decrees thus: "Be it therefore known to all men, that the most holy canons are to be exactly, and, as far as possible, indiscriminately observed by all." Both the councils of Constance and Basil, ‡‡ reckon the 4th Lateran among those councils, which all Popes must swear to maintain, even to the shedding of their blood; and the council of Trent†t has declared that seed plot of treason and murder not only to be a general council, but has affirmed one of its definitions to be the voice of the whole Church. The general council of Constance decrees," that all heretics, all followers and defenders of them, or partakers with them, shall be excommunicated every Sunday and holy-day."

All Romish Bishops are bound by an oath, sworn before their consecration, to extirpate heretics, which oath contains the following paragraphs :; "The rights, honours, privileges, and authority of the holy Roman Church, and of our Lord the Pope, and his successors, I will be careful to preserve, defend, enlarge, and promote."-" All heretics, schismatics,

* Concil. Later, quart. tom. XI. p. 149, apud Bin. + Concil. Later. 3 cap. 27, Idem. tom. VII. P. 662. Concil. Const. Sess. 45. Bin. tom. VII. p. 1121. Concil. tom. XI. p. 688.

Concil. Const. Sess. 39, Basil. 37.

# Sess. 14. cap. 5.

Concil. tom. XI. p. 152.

** Sess. 25. cap. 27.

Concil. Const. Sess. 45, apud Bin. tom. VII. p. 1125.

and rebels against our said Lord and successors, I will, to the utmost of my power, persecute, and oppose "

Popish Priests also are bound by their canonical oath, not only to pro. fess, but to infuse into their flocks the decrees of the general councils. That oath contains the following paragraphs: "All docuines delivered, defined, and declared by the general councils, and especially by the most holy council of Trent, without the smallest doubt, I receive and profess, and I will be careful that they are held by, taught and preached to, my parishioners, or those, the care of whom shall belong to me in my func tion." Can it be a matter of surprise, then, that the Popish multitude in Ireland are eternally on the tiptoe of rebellion, and ready to massacre their Protestant fellow subjects, when their Clergy are bound by a solemn oath to infuse such sanguinary doctrines into them?* In confirmation of what I have stated, and to prove that the deleterious doctrines of the general councils are regarded as infallible in the Romish Church, I shall give the following extracts from the excellent charge of the learned and venerable Bishop of Lincoln, delivered to his Clergy, in the summer of 1812.

"Nor are proofs wanting, that the doctrines and principles of Papists have undergone no alteration. In a book published by authority, for the "use of the students at Maynooth College, the infallibility of the Romish "Church, is repeatedly and unequivocally maintained; and the work con"cludes with these remarkable words:-" The council of Trent, therefore, is "to be held in the highest estimation, by all Romish Priests, and by those who

are candidates for the priesthood, as it is a compendium of all the preceding general councils, and it may properly be considered as the manual of Priests." "Those therefore, who are at this day educated for the Popish Priesthood, in this kingdom, are not instructed in any new system of theology and mo "rals, purged of all the old obnoxious tenets, but they are taught to set the highest value upon the decrees of the council of Trent, which be sides asserting the former errors and corruptions of Popery, are known ❝ to be in the highest degree hostile to Protestants. And in the Catechism

* The Popish multitude in Ireland are so strongly imbued with the treasonable and sanguinary principles of their religion, from their infancy, in consequence of the zealous exertions of their Priests, (for they are obliged to approach the confession box at six years of age,) that they are ready to rise at the nod of authority from their Clergy, and to massacre their Protestant fellow subjects; which they did on the 23d of July, 1803, when many valuable Protestant lives were lost, and among others, that of the venerable Chief Justice, Lord Kilwarden. It is well known, that during the administration of the Duke of Richmond, the disaffected in Dublin have fixed on different nights, for a renovation of the horrors of the 23d July; and this would have been effected, but for the vigilance of the Government, and the garrison of Dublin.

"taught in the same college, supported as it is by our Protestant Government, "it is expressly asserted, that there is no salvation out of the pale of the Ro"mish Church. In a late publication of Mr. Plowden, called the " Case Sta"ted," it is openly avowed, [in well-known terms] that the very same tenets 66 are maintained by the Papists of these days, which were held by their bre"thren in former times, The Titular Bishop of Dublin, Doctor Troy, in his "letter, published but a few years since, says, "that the religious opin"ions of Roman Catholics being unchangeable, are applicable to all times, " and that the decisions of general councils are of infallible authority, and "absolutely binding upon Roman Catholics, as rules of faith and con"duct." And he particularly quotes with marked approbation the fourth "Lateran Council,* the decrees of which enjoin the utter extirpation of "heretics (that is, of all Christians differing from the Church of Rome), "and the dethronement of heretical sovereigns; and they declare that all engagements entered into with heretics, though sanctioned by an oath, " are nullities in themselves. It seems wonderful, that with the avowal "of these principles before their eyes, and with the certain knowledge "of a variety of facts and events which have taken place in Ireland, in the "last twenty years, in exact conformity with these principles, any person "should imagine, that the grant of the claims now made, would conci"liate the Papists, and make those contented and loyal who would other"wise be turbulent and seditious. The demands of 1793 were made un"der the same promises of peaceable behaviour and zealous exertion in "defence of the country against the common enemy; and also with an assurance, that if they should be granted, the Papists would apply for no further indulgence. All those were then granted; and what was "the consequence? The Papists having thus acquired additional strength, "and having, as they supposed, lulled the government into security by "their promises and professions, formed new conspiracies, prepared for open rebellion, and invited the French to their assistance, for the purpose of accomplishing their real objects, separation from Great Britain, "and Roman Catholic ascendancy." SOMERS.

Melancthon's Sixth Letter is unavoidably postponed.

* In the same page of his Pastoral Letter he quotes as an infallible authority, the Councils of Lyons, 1274, Constance, A. D. 1414, Florence, 1449, and Trent, 1545. In P. 75 of the same, he insists on "the personal infallibility of the Pope, when pronounc ing solemnly, as it is termed, ex cathedra, on points of faith and morals."

Doctor Milner, Vicar Apostolic, in p. 97 of his Ecclesiastical Democracy, insists on the infallibility of the same councils. He says, that the 4th Council of Lateran is called, by way of distinction, the Great Council; and that the Councils of Florence and Trent have declared," that the Pope is the head of the Church, the Doctor of all Christians, the true Vicar of Christ, and the Vicar of God Almighty upon earth.” VOL. I. [Prot. Adv. June, 1813]. 3 T

OBSERVATIONS ON SIR J. C HIPPISLEY'S MOTION AND MR. GRATTAN'S BILL.

WE feel that we cannot,-we ought not, to close this number without some notice of what is doing in Parliament. And here we must begin by that which is always most pleasant to us, doing justice to Su John Coxe Hippisley; for though we still differ completely from him as to his idea of finding any securities, yet we must allow him, at length, to have ac ́ed consistently; and, indeed. he has given a very strong proof of his being sincere, for he has exposed himself to obloquy (and he will have it heaped on him plentifully) from those who have been in the babit of flattering him for the purpose of making him their tool. Upon what ground his motion could be rejected we profess not to see. Mr. Grattan, indeed, (if we are to believe the newspaper reports) thought the House would have acted inconsistently if they had complied with it. That is, "the House having resolved, in substance, that it is expedient to remove the disqualifications now attaching on the Roman Catholics, as far as that can be done consistently with the security of the Protestant Succession, and the Established Church; and, having given leave to bring in a bill upon those grounds, they are never after to pause, for the purpose of better inquiring bow this may be done, and whether the securities propo-ed are effectual; or how far the experience of what has taken place in other countries may supply them with precedents for their guidance; but every proposal to do this is to be treated as a departure from the intentions of the House." This can only be the language of persons who are afraid to look their owa measures in the face. And certainly if the bill be urged through the House with that precipitation which is threatened, we shall be reminded of that class of persons, who, because they know not how fairly to encounter it, shut their eyes that they may not see their danger. Then, according to these same newspaper reports, we have Mr. Canning, who is brought on the stage to crack a certain number of jokes, and to turn Sir John Coxe Hippisley into ridicule, at the same time that he confesses that he has received all his knowledge of theology (what a stock must this be!) from him; who treats us, first with Smelfungus, a delicate personage; and then scares the House with St. Austin, Thomas Aquinas and Bellarmine, none of which, he might be sure, could be brought forward by Sir John Coxe Hippisley; not the first, because (which, it seems, Mr. Canning is yet to learn) he is a doctor of our Church, the great authority

Indeed we should have thought that when the gentlemen, who undertook to prepare the Bill, could not produce it in less than two months, this, of itself, would have shew e necessity of great deliberation after it was brought before the House,