the mass of the population has groaned, did we not give some sketch of this system. Hundreds of thousands of pages have been written and printed, in discussing the question, Who and what is Antichrist, the beast with seven heads and ten horns? Various solutions have been given to the world. We are not very learned in this kind of lore; but flatter ourselves that we have made the discovery, which we freely communicate:—we are convinced that religious persecution is the real and genuine Antichrist. There is nothing of the wickedness of man so opposite to the spirit displayed in the words and actions of Jesus Christ. Antichrist obtained a glorious triumph over the spirit of Jesus, when the Inquisition was established at Madrid, at Lisbon, at Goa, and elsewhere and his reign has been coeval with the existence of those execrable tribunals. He reigned at Paris, in full splendour, at the massacre of St. Bartholomew's; in England, under the reign of Mary; and he has reigned throughout all Christendom, from the commencement of the Christian era, in the persecutions, more or less severe, of the unfortunate Jews.* *It is inexpressibly painful to state, that an attempt to meliorate the condition of the Jews, has, to the disgrace and opprobrium of our common country, and of the age, recently failed, in the state of Maryland!! So powerful is inveterate prejudice, so slow the progress of illumination, and so much easier is it to rivet chains than to knock them off! Nothing, however, but gross ignorance and bigotry, can suppose that the reign of the Antichrist of persecution has been confined to Madrid, Lisbon, Goa, Paris, or the other places usually allotted to him. The most superficial glance at history must evince the egregious folly of such an opinion. Antichrist reigned in Geneva, when Calvin sanctioned the death of Servetus; in London, when Henry VIII. and Elizabeth erected their gibbets, to immolate those opposed to their opinions; in Scotland, when the Covenanters were shot down in the fields; in Holland, when the Remonstrants were plundered, and banished, and immolated, for their dissent from the established creed; in Boston, when the Quakers were persecuted and hanged; and he exercised a most rigorous sway in Ireland, for above a century, during the operation of the barbarous code "to prevent the growth of Popery." We stand pledged to trace, at a future day, the progress of Antichrist in various parts of Christendom.* At present, the nature of this work confines us to his proceedings in Ireland. We assume this position as undeniable :Every man has a sacred and indefeasible right to worship God according to his judgment, provided such worship do not tend to any breach of the fundamental laws of morality. Corollaries from this maxim are,― *In the Religious Olive Branch. I. Every disqualification, on account of religious opinions or worship, is tyranny and oppres sion ; II. Every pecuniary penalty is robbery; and Let us, by these principles, test the code in question; and we shall be satisfied that it was one unvarying tissue of oppression, robbery, and murder. It awarded capital punishments, as will appear by the subsequent detail, against about twenty different acts, all of them innocent, and many absolutely meritorious. The strength of the term, murder, may startle some readers: but we hold the position self-evident,-that those who suffer death, for acts not only not immoral or unjust, but absolutely laudable, are murdered, though their execution be sanctioned by all the legislatures and all the pretended courts of justice in the world. All Roman Catholic archbishops, bishops, vicars general, deans, or any other persons of that religion, exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, were liable to imprisonment and transportation; and, in case of returning, were guilty of high treason, and were to be punished accordingly.* "All Popish archbishops, bishops, vicars general, deans, Jesuits, monks, friars, and all other regular Popish clergy, and all Papists exercising any ecclesiastical jurisdiction, shall depart this kingdom before the 1st of May, 1698. And if any of them shall be, at any time after the said day, in this king In the year 1704, a law was passed, ordering all the Roman Catholic priests in Ireland to register themselves in the parishes to which they respectively belonged; and to give security for their good behaviour, and for their non-removal from the county where they then resided.* When a priest officiated in any other parish than the one wherein he was registered, he was liable to transportation; and, in case of return, to be hanged without benefit of clergy.t dom, they shall be imprisoned and remain there without bail till they be transported beyond the seas, out of the king's dominion, wherever the king, his heirs or successors, or chief governors of this kingdom shall think fit; and if any so transported shall return again into this kingdom, then to be guilty of high treason, and to suffer accordingly." 11562 * "Every Popish priest, who is now in this kingdom, shall, at the next Quarter Sessions, to be held in the several counties, or counties of cities or towns, next after the feast of St. John the Baptist, 1704, return his name and place he resides, together with his age, the parish of which he pretends to be Popish priest, the time and place of his receiving Popish orders, and from whom; and shall then enter into recognizance, with two sufficient sureties, each of the penalty of fifty pounds, to be of peaceable behaviour, and not remove out of such county where his abode is, into any other part of this kingdom."'563 "No Popish priest shall exercise the function or office of a Popish priest, but in the parish where the said Popish priest did officiate at the time of registering the Popish clergy, and for which parish also he was registered, and in no other parish whatsoever, under the penalties as any Popish regular convict is liable unto."564 562 Robins, 451. 563 Idem, 458. 564 Idem, 464. Every Roman Catholic clergyman in the kingdom not registered ;* every one afterwards coming into it from abroad;† every one who kept a curate or assistant ; and every such curate or assistant, was also liable to transportation, and eventually to the gallows, if he returned. Two justices might summon any Roman Catholic, sixteen years old, to appear before them, to give testimony when and where he heard mass; who were present, and who celebrated it; and all such other matters and things, touching the priest, as might be necessary to his conviction. In case of refusal, he was subject to a fine of twenty pounds, or imprisonment for one year. 565 * "Every person whatsoever, exercising the office or function of a Popish priest, found in this kingdom, after the 24th of June, 1705, other than such as are registered pursuant to the above act, shall be liable to such penalties, forfeitures, and punishments, as are imposed on Popish archbishops, bishops, &c.566 "Every Popish clergyman coming into this kingdom after the 1st of January, 1703, shall be liable to such penalties, forfeitures and punishments as are imposed on Popish archbishops and bishops."567 "Every Popish parish priest, that shall keep any Popish curate, assistant, or coadjutor, shall lose the benefit of having been registered, and shall incur all the penalties of a Popish regular, and shall be prosecuted as such; § and every such Popish curate, assistant, or coadjutor shall be deemed as a Popish regular, and prosecuted as such."568 565 Robins, 462. 567 Idem, 453. 500 Idem, 459. 568 Idem, 462. |
