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25936A

J. S. FOLDS, Printer, 5, Bachelors' Walk,

GREAT PROTESTANT MEETING,

HELD IN

THE GAELIC CHURCH, GLASGOW,
Tuesday, January 26, 1836.

THE Glasgow Protestant Association held another great meeting on Tuesday, 26th, in the West Gaelic Church, Hope-street, which was crowded at an early hour by a most respectable assembly of ladies and gentlemen. The tickets of admission were issued on Monday morning, and so eager was the desire to be present, that all the tickets were disposed of in little more than an hour, and many hundreds of applicants throughout the day were disappointed. The Committee ascended the platform at twelve o'clock, among whom were the Rev. Mr. M'Ghee, Rev. Dr. Stewart of Broughshane, Rev. Dr. M'Gill, Professor of Divinity, Rev. Dr. M'Leod, of St. Columba's Parish, Rev. Dr. Browne of St. John's, Rev. Dr. Smith of St. George's, Rev. Dr. M'Farlan of Greenock, Rev. Dr. Burns of Paisley; Rev. Mr. Routledge, Rev. Mr. Almond, and Rev. Mr. Aitchison, of the English Church; Rev. Mr. Burns of Kilsyth, Rev. Mr. Dempster of Denny, Rev. Mr. M'Nair of Paisley, Rev. Mr. Henderson of St. Enoch's, Rev. Mr. Henderson of Carmunnock, Rev. Mr. Colville of Eaglesham, Rev. Mr. Patterson of St. Andrews, Rev. Mr. Buchanan of the Tron, Rev. Mr. Forbes of Outer High, Rev. Mr. Lorimer of St. David's, Rev. Mr. Brown of Anderston, Rev. Mr. Turner of Gorbals, Rev. Mr. Gibson of College, Rev. Mr. M'Neill, Rev. Mr. Gibson of St. Ann's, Rev. Mr. M'Gilvray, Rev. Mr. Willis of Renfield-st. Rev. Mr. Anderson of Helensburgh, Captain Gordon, Mr. Buchan of Kelloe, Mr. Smith of Carbeth Guthrie, Mr. Smith of Jordanhill, Mr. Smollett of Bonhill, Mr. Hamilton of Cochno, Mr. Dunlop of Craigton, Mr. Brown of Kilmardinny, Mr. Alston of Rosemount, Mr. R. For

VOL. II.

B

rester, Mr. W. Collins, Mr. H. Cogan, Mr. A. M'George, Mr. Kidston, Mr. James Wright, Mr. John Wright, sen., and a number of other clerical and lay gentlemen of the city and neighbourhood.

On the motion of Mr. William Smith, Mr. Henry Dunlop was called to the Chair. The Rev. Dr. Brown opened the proceedings with an impressive prayer.

The Chairman said, it was with considerable diffidence he had consented to preside over this large and most respectable assembly, but it was encouraging to know that his task would be an easy one. He had only to express his hope that the gentlemen who were to address them would receive a patient hearing; and he had now the pleasure of introducing to the meeting a gentleman whose name was familiar to them, from its connexion with the objects they had in viewthe Rev. Mr. M'Ghee. Mr. M'Ghee then spoke as follows:

MR. CHAIRMAN-The vast importance of the Resolutions, which it is my solemn but painful duty to submit this day to this assembly, and the length and variety of those documents by which these Resolutions are to be supported, preclude the necessity of my introducing them with any lengthened prefatory observations. The Resolutions to be submitted to this assembly this day are the most important, the most solemn, that I believe ever were submitted to a Protestant assembly in this country. The documents by which they are to be maintained, are, I believe, as important and as awful as ever were laid before a public meeting. I have only, therefore, to say, that I trust the Spirit of the living God will be amongst us, and direct our understandings, our consciences, and our judgments; I have only to say, that I trust the mercy of our God will respond to the prayer that has been just poured out here at the footstool of his throne this day. I firmly believe the Resolutions that I hold in my hand, or at least their results, will be entered upon the records of the history of this country; therefore I trust that you will, not for the sake of the unworthy individual that has the honour of addressing you, but for the sake of the important subject, for your own sakes, and still more for the sake of those who are the objects of your consideration this day, grant me a patient and attentive hearing. And pray to God individually for your own souls, that his Spirit may so direct you, that when you shall remember your resolutions of this day, you may look back upon them, with the deep conviction that you passed them according to truth, justice, and judgment. The Resolutions are these

Resolved, First-"That the adoption of Dens's Theology, by the Roman Catholic bishops of Ireland, and their commanding three thousand copies of it to be printed in 1808, as containing the most secure guidance for their priesthood,' and that the selection of that same book in 1831, by Dr. Murray, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, and his three provincial bishops, as the Conference Book for the clergy of their province; and the reprinting of the same book in 1832, with an additional volume, under the sanction and approbation of Dr. Murray, as stated in the dedication of the work to himself, are facts which appear to this meeting to have been fully substantiated on incontrovertible evidence."

Resolved, Second-"That the attempts of Dr. Murray, and other Roman Catholic divines, to make the doctrines of intolerance and persecution set forth in Dens's Theology, appear as if they were the private opinions of Dens, or any other individual, are totally vain; for that those doctrines appear identified with the canons of those councils which the Roman Catholic priesthood have sworn to obey, and with the bulls and constitutions of popes, which, as well as those councils, they profess to call infallible; particularly with the Bull Unigenitus, which Dr. Murray has expressly proved to be in force in Ireland, and which has been published under his sanction in the eighth volume. supplemental to Dens."

Resolved, Third-"That it appears from the incontrovertible documents laid before this meeting, that the Roman Catholic hierarchy of Ireland have not only propagated these intolerant and persecuting doctrines among their clergy, but that they have patronized and promoted the propagation of them to a vast extent among the Roman Catholic population of that unhappy country; which too lamentably accounts for the scenes of anarchy, confusion, and bloodshed, which it presents."

Resolved, Fourth-" That from these, and other incontrovertible documents laid before this meeting, they find it their painful but solemn duty to pronounce, that they do not think that the oaths of the Roman Catholic bishops of Ireland, abjuring these doctrines of intolerance and persecution, are worthy of credit by the Protestants of the British empire-that they consider it, therefore, the duty of Protestants of all denominations to co-operate, by every means of united Christian exertion, and still more especially of all ministers of every Protestant church, to labour with all earnest fidelity and zeal to deliver the Roman

Catholics of this empire from the yoke of such an anti-social, antichristian system as that of Popery-to labour to prevent the efforts now made by Jesuits, and other emissaries from Rome, to propagate that system through this country-and to endeavour, by all lawful means, to protect from the invasions of Popish tyranny and persecution, the liberties, the laws, and the institutions of our free and highly favoured Protestant empire."

I trust that there is not an individual who has heard these Resolutions which are to be proposed this day, who does not feel in his heart this objection, "How can I be brought to pass such Resolutions as these? how shall I be brought to pronounce this solemn sentence, that oaths of men who are called teachers, or who ought to be teachers, of the Christian religion, are not worthy of credit?" I trust you feel this it is but the feeling of an honest man-it is but the feeling of a Christian; therefore I warn you to receive with suspicion every document that I lay before you. Do not admit one single conclusion to be drawn from them, that you cannot each lay your hands on your hearts and say before your God, "I do not believe I could come to any other conclusion on the subject."

I. The first of these Resolutions is connected with the adoption of Dens's Theology. The evidence of this fact has been so repeatedly laid before the public-so many detailed statements have been given at different public meetings, that it is unnecessary to trespass on your time with details of evidence on this case. It is only necessary to show the documents themselves. This is the book called Dens's Theology-these are the seven volumes which the Roman Catholic bishops of Ireland, in 1808, selected as the best guide of the ecclesiastics of that country; and besides, ordered three thousand copies to be printed at that time. In 1831, this is the book which Dr. Murray, the Roman Catholic Archbishop, and the three bishops of Leinster, adopted as the guide for the conferences of their clergy; and in consequence of the scarcity of the former edition, a new edition was printed, and this, the eighth volume, was perused, patronized, and sanctioned by Dr. Murray, and added as a supplemental volume. It contains documents of importance, and therefore I particularize it because it is not written by Dens. It is a selection from the works of Benedict XIV., and contains the bulls and constitutions of other popes of Rome, referring to and corroborating Dens. These other books contain the irrefragable evidence of the facts I have stated-

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