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whatever, and without thinking that I am, or can be, acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration, or any part thereof, although the Pope, or any other person or authority whatsoever, shall dispense with, or annul the same, or declare that it was null or void.

So help me God."

II. The next documents we present to you are, the Oaths and Declarations prescribed by the Acts of the Irish Parliament to Irish Roman Catholics:

The first is the oath of allegiance and declaration, prescribed by the Irish act of the 13th and 14th of his present Majesty; and is taken by all Irish Roman Catholics.

"I A. B. do take Almighty God, and his only Son Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, to witness, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to our most gracious sovereign Lord King George the Third, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all conspiracies and attempts whatsoever, that shall be made against his person, crown, and dignity; and I will do my utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to His Majesty, and his heirs, all treasons and traitorous conspiracies, which may be formed against him or them; and I do faithfully promise to maintain, support, and defend, to the utmost of

my power, the succession of the crown in His Majesty's family, against any person or persons whatsoever, hereby utterly renouncing and abjuring any obedience or allegiance unto the person taking upon himself the style and title of Prince of Wales, in the life-time of his father, and who, since his death, is said to have assumed the style and title of King of Great Britain and Ireland, by the name of Charles the Third, and to any other person claiming, or pretending a right to the crown of these realms; and I do swear that I do reject and detest, as unchristian and impious to believe, that it is lawful to murder or destroy any person or persons whatsoever, for or under pretence of their being heretics, and also that unchristian and impious principle that no faith is to be kept with heretics: I further declare, that it is no article of my faith, and that I do renounce, reject, and abjure, the opinion that princes excommunicated by the Pope and Council, or by any authority of the see of Rome, or by any authority whatsoever, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or by any person whatsoever; and I do promise, that I will not hold, maintain, or abet, any such opinion, or any other opinion, contrary to what is expressed in this declaration: and I do declare, that I do not believe that the Pope of Rome, or any other foreign Prince, Prelate, State, or Potentate, hath, or ought to have, any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or preeminence, directly or indirectly, within this

realm; and I do solemnly in the presence of God, and of his only Son Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words of this oath, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatever, and without any dispensation already granted by the Pope, or any authority of the see of Rome, or any person whatever, and without thinking that I am, or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this Declaration, or any part thereof, although the Pope, or any other person or persons or authority whatsoever, shall dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null and void from the beginning.

So help me God."

The next is the Oath and Declaration prescribed by the Irish Act of the 33d of His present Majesty, and is taken by all Irish Roman Catholics, wishing to entitle themselves to the benefit of that Act.

"I A. B. do hereby declare, that I do profess the Roman Catholic Religion."

"I A. B. do swear that I do abjure, condemn and detest, as unchristian and impious, the principle that it is lawful to murder, destroy, or any ways injure any persons whatsoever, for or under the pretence of being a heretic: And I do

declare solemnly before God, that I believe that no act in itself unjust, immoral, or wicked, can ever be justified or excused, by or under pretence or colour that it was done either for the good of the Church, or in obedience to any ecclesiastical power whatsoever: I also declare, that it is not an Article of the Catholic Faith, neither am I thereby required to believe or profess that the Pope is infallible, or that I am bound to obey any order, in its own nature immoral, though the Pope, or any ecclesiastical power, should issue or direct such order, but on the contrary, I hold that it would be sinful in me to pay any respect or obedience thereto: 1 further declare, that I do not believe that any sin whatever committed by me, can be forgiven, at the mere will of any pope, or any priest, or of any person or persons whatsoever, but that sincere sorrow for past sins, a firm and sincere resolution to avoid future guilt, and to atone to God, are previous and indispensable requisites to establish a well-founded expectation of forgiveness, and that any person who receives absolution without these previous requisites, so far from obtaining thereby any remission of his sins, incurs the additional guilt of violating a sacrament: And I do swear that I will defend, to the uttermost of my power, the settlement and arrangement of property in this country, as established by the laws now in being: I do hereby disclaim, disavow, and solemnly abjure, any intention to subvert the present Church Establishment, for

the purpose of substituting a Catholic Establishment in its stead: And I do solemnly swear, that I will not exercise any privilege to which I am or may become entitled, to disturb and weaken the Protestant Religion and Protestant Government in this Kingdom.

"So help me God."

Such are the principles which His Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects have publicly and solemnly declared and professed on oath. There is not, in any of them, a single principle, which every Roman Catholic subject of His Majesty does not profess, or which, if his King and Country required it, he would not think it his duty to seal with his blood.

III. In the year 1788, a Committee of the English Catholics waited on Mr. Pitt, respecting their application for a repeal of the Penal Laws. He requested to be furnished with authentic evidence of the opinions of the Roman Catholic clergy and the Roman Catholic universities abroad," on the existence and extent of the Pope's dispensing power."-Three questions were accordingly framed, and sent to the Universities of Paris, Louvain, Alcala, Doway, Salamanca, and Valadolid, for their opinions. The questions proposed to them were, 1. Has the Pope or Cardinals, or any body of men, or any individual of the Church of Rome, any civil authority, power, jurisdiction, or pre-eminence

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