Disappointment of the Catholics at the Failure of the Bill for their Relief in the House of Lords :-Proposed renewal of their The Prelacy of the English Catholic Church :-Its Clergy:- and its Charitable Institutions since the Reformation 1. The English Catholic Prelacy - NOTE I. referred to in page 176. The Apologetical Epistle addressed by the Right Reverend Dr. William Poynter, Vicar-apostolic in the Southern Dis- trict of the Catholics of England, to his Eminence Cardinal Litta, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation de Propagandá Fide, against the Charges brought against him and the other Vicars- apostolic in England, by the Right Reverend Dr. John Milner, Bishop of Castabala, Vicar-apostolic of the Midland District of the Catholics of England; translated from the Latin Ori- ginal, by the Author of the Historical Memoirs of the English, NOTE II. referred to in page 179. Address to his Holiness Pope Pius the Seventh, as resolved at a Meeting of the General Board of British Catholics, June 17, 525 Copy of a Letter from Cardinal Litta, Prefect of the Congrega- NOTE VII. referred to in page 403. Chronological Minutes respecting the Roman-catholic Prelates in England and the Dominions of his Majesty in the East and West Indies. Vicars-apostolic with ordinary jurisdiction over the Roman-catholics in England and Scotland 549 SINCE the whole of these Memoirs were printed, the writer has been favoured with the inspection of the ample collections of printed books and manuscripts at Holkham, the magnificent seat of Mr. Coke :-they were made by the late earl of Leicester, the maternal uncle of Mr. Coke's father.-As a catalogue of the manuscript collection is now preparing for publication, under the direction of Mr. Roscoe, the present writer shall not now notice it, except by generally mentioning, that all men of learning, particularly biblical scholars, and those who are engaged in the study of the history or antiquities of this country, will find it extremely interesting, on account both of the number and the value of the articles which it contains. Sic siti lætantur lares, the literary lares are never so well pleased as when they preside over a literary collection so ample, made with so much skill, and communicated with so much liberality. In the printed collection, the writer found many works which he wished he had seen while he was engaged in the composition of these pages. The manuscript collection contains many articles of still greater importance to the history of the period which is the subject of these Memoirs. Four of them he shall specify.-1. An immense collection of Reports made to the see of Rome, by her nuncios and other agents in different parts of Europe; several of these relate, directly or indirectly, to the concerns of these dominions:-2. Among these reports is the Report of Signor Gregorio Panzani, mentioned in a former part of this work *; it places the authenticity of that document 66 beyond controversy:-3. An historical document, "De Hæresis Anglicana intrusione & progressu, & de bello Catholico, ad annum "1641, in Hibernia cæpto, exindeque per aliquot annos gesto, "commentarius," in 7,000 pages in folio. It was compiled by an Irish Roman-catholic priest, from the papers of the nuncio Rinuccini, and consists, like Rushworth's "Historical Collections," of documents introduced or connected by succinct narratives. It is mentioned by Carte, and he praises the compiler for his impartiality.-4. Rinuccini's own Report of his nunciature. This is written in the Latin language, and Mr. Coke has obligingly permitted an English translation of it to be made for the present writer. It is of extreme value to this important part of the Irish history; and the present writer means to publish it, but in what form, he is not yet determined. Holkham abounds in paintings and sculpture by the most celebrated masters. How little these are generally known! This confirms Mr. Gibbon's remark, that if her exquisite monuments of art were, as is the case of most foreign countries, brought into her capitol, England would be astonished at her own treasures. HISTORICAL MEMOIRS OF THE ENGLISH CATHOLICS, &c. SINCE THE REFORMATION. CHAP. LXXXII. THE ACT PASSED IN 1791 FOR THE RELIEF OF THE ENGLISH CATHOLICS. WE E have now to present the reader with a summary account of the principal circumstances which attended the act, passed in 1791, for the relief of the English catholics: I. The formation of the English catholic committee in 1782: II. The formation of the English catholic committee in 1787: III. The memorial presented by the English catholics to Mr. Pitt: IV. The opinions of the foreign universities on the questions presented to them by his direction: V. The bill prepared by the direction of the committee for the relief of the English catholics: VI. The protestation signed by the English |