other Judges who had published a certain document just seventy-three years before that individual Judge misconducted himself? If, indeed, all these Judges had lived at the same period, MR. DALLAS would have some trouble to shew how the personal folly of one of them could impeach the written testimony of the others. But inasmuch as the supposed offender, SIR WILLIAM SCROGGS, was not actually born at the time when his learned brethren gave their information to the public, MR. DALLAS must excuse us for declining to visit by retrospection the sins of SIR WILLIAM upon his predecessors; in other words, for concluding, that, because one man expresses himself with intemperance at one epoch, therefore that other men who had long before been in their graves, are not to be believed.

MR. DALLAS next relieves his attention, after severer studies, by employing three pages of criticism on the following passage in the Brief Account of the Jesuits: "It is fashion"able with many reasoners to treat all history as a fable, and "to set up for themselves in matters of policy, in defiance of "the testimony of antiquity. These persons would assign

the same office to the records of past ages, as they would to "the stern lights of a vessel, which serve only to throw a light "over the path which has been passed, and not over that "which lies before us."

MR. DALLAS, after expressly stating, that he is " at a loss "to conjecture what is meant by the allusion to stern lights," indulges himself, notwithstanding, in several facetious conjectures, on the meaning of the passage, and runs into some reasoning (in which he will not be contradicted), upon the difference between stern lights, and "the moons of carriages."

Such an attempt to evade the force of a very simple pas sage by involving it in obscurity, does not appear to require any particular comment: it may, however, be observed, that there is no defect of vision so difficult to treat as that which is the result of a man's own choice; in plainer (although in homely) terms, " none are so blind as those who will not see."

If, in the utmost exercise of charity, it were possible to believe, that MR. DALLAS could really mistake or misunderstand the meaning of the above passage, nothing indeed would be easier than to put it in different language; but it is to be feared, that unless the charge which the passage contains against those who reject or impeach the evidence of history, could be at the same time withdrawn, it is not a simple alteration in the phraseology which would satisfy MR. DALLAS, whose quarrel, it may be suspected, is not so much with a mere metaphor, as with the offensive truth which it conceals.

In p. 45, we have another complaint, that, "under cover of "attacking the Jesuits, an attack is aimed at CATHOLICS IN "GENERAL;" and we are frequently reminded by MR. DALLAS, that the opponents of the Jesuits are the enemies of THE CA

THOLIC CLAIMS.

In reply to this, it may be right to observe in all frankness,, that the two questions of THE JESUITS and the CATHOLIC CLAIMS certainly do appear to be virtually connected with each other; and that while he who defends the Jesuits, or feels indifferent about them, may be excused for advocating the Catholic claims, or preserving silence respecting them, it is almost impossible for any man, who is convinced that Jesuitism is dangerous to the nation, to imagine that the demands which are at present made by the Catholics can be acceded to, without certain injury and destruction to the Constitution of England.

With regard to the Catholic claims themselves, a part of MR. BARON MASERES's preface to his recent edition of Sir John Temple's History of the Irish Rebellion, conveys the sentiments of many Protestants upon that grave and momentous subject. "The Petition" (says he) "of the Roman Ca"tholics, or Papists, of Great Britain and Ireland, to Parlia “ment, for what they call Catholic Emancipation, is a sub"ject of such great importance to the safety of the present "happy constitution of our government, both in Church and "State, ever since the final settlement of it, by the glorious

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"Revolution, in the year 1688, that it ought to be examined "and considered, with the greatest degree of care and atten❝tion, by the Members of both Houses of Parliament, and " even by the Electors of the Members of the House of Commons, before it is complied with. And, upon this occasion; "it seems highly expedient, that they should look back on "the various events in our own history, relating to the Pro"testant Religion in England, ever since the permanent esta"blishment of it by Queen Elizabeth, which have manifested "the continued and incurable spirit of hostility which the Ro"man Catholics, or Papists, both of England and Ireland, "have always entertained against the government of England, "when administered by Protestant Sovereigns. During the "reign of Queen Elizabeth herself, the Papists, by the in"stigation of their Priests (who were directed by the Pope, ❝and acted in obedience to his spiritual authority), made re66 peated attempts to assassinate that great Princess; and the "Pope himself excommunicated her, and published a Bull ❝ against her, in which he absolved her subjects from their "allegiance to her, and exhorted them to expel her from the "throne."

"And in the next reign, that of King James I. the Papists "entered into a most horrid conspiracy to destroy the whole le"gislative body of the English nation at one stroke, by blow❝ing up the King, the Lords, and the Commons of Eng "land, when assembled together in Parliament, by the sud "den explosion of thirty-six barrels of gunpowder, which "they had secretly conveyed under the Parliament-house, for

that purpose; which conspiracy was very near taking effect; " and the dreadful mischief, intended to be done by it, was "prevented only by a most fortunate discovery, that was "made of it, a few days before it was to have been carried "into execution. And in the following reign of King "Charles I. after Ireland had been reduced to a state of "peace and obedience to the authority of the crown of Eng

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land, by the suppression of two successive, very formidable "rebellions, by the victorious arms of Queen Elizabeth; in consequence of those successes, a numerous colony of Pro"testants from Scotland had, in the first part of King James's ❝reign, received grants of land from the King, in the pro"vince of Ulster, in Ireland (which is the northern province "of that island, and the nearest to Scotland); and had set"tled themselves on the said lands, and cultivated them with great industry and success; in like manner, many Protest→ "ants from England had, about the same time, gone to dif "ferent parts of Ireland; and settled themselves upon several "tracts of land which they obtained there, and had, like the "aforesaid Scottish colonists, cultivated the said lands with "industry and success. Both these sets of colonists had, by "their success in the cultivation of their respective tracts of "land in Ireland, during a space of more than thirty years, greatly increased the riches and civilization of that country, ❝and had, during all the said time, lived upon terms of friend

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ship and familiarity with the native Irish in their several "neighbourhoods (who were, for the most part, Roman Ca“tholics, or Papists), and had intermarried with them, and "let lands to them upon leases, and taken leases of land from "them, and had done, and exchanged, all sorts of offices of

K

good neighbourhood with them; yet after all this peaceable “ and happy intercourse between these Scottish and English "Protestant colonists, and their Popish neighbours, for so many years, the Popish inhabitants of Ireland paid such an "implicit obedience to the wicked suggestions of their Priests, “as to enter into a general conspiracy, that extended over al"most all the island, to massacre, on a certain appointed day, "namely, the 23d day of October, in the year 1641, all ❝ their Protestant neighbours, both Scotch and English, with"out sparing even women and children. And this most abo"minable resolution they did in a great degree execute on the

"terwards, till the Parliament of England sent an army to re❝sist them *"

Such have been the dreadful consequences that have re"sulted to the Protestants of England and Ireland in those "three reigns, of Queen Elizabeth, King James I. and King "Charles I. from the admission of the Spiritual Authority of "the Pope; the renunciation of which, the present Petitioners "for Catholic Emancipation do, nevertheless, not think it proper that the Government should any longer require from "persons holding offices of Power and Magistracy in the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

"It appears from Sir Richard Musgrave's ample and "faithful History of the late Rebellion in Ireland, in the year "1798, that the sentiments of the great body of the common "people of Ireland, who profess the Roman Catholic Reli❝gion, and of the Romish Priests by whom they are impli

It is remarkable, that when the Rebellion of 1641 broke out in Ireland, the Roman Catholics of that country enjoyed all the political power which they now seek in what they term Catholic Emancipation. They were Members of Parliament, Lord Mayors, High Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace, &c.; yet this did not prevent, but forwarded the Rebellion, and enabled them to accomplish their object of a Protestant persecution with so much greater facility. Those who more particularly enjoyed these privileges were among the foremost to rebel, for several Members of the then House of Commons were actually the ringleaders of the Popish murderers. This is the best answer to the arguments of those who contend that the reason why so much discon tent prevails among the Catholics is, that they are deprived of those privileges which their fellow-subjects enjoy; and that, if the restrictions were taken off, they would rebel no longer. The experiment of emancipation has been tried already, and what were its results? If the Catholic Religion is unchanged and unchangeable, what will now be the result of the same experiment? The Irish Catholics now grant and take Leases, as the Protestants: they intermarry: they carry arms: are magistrates: elect members: hold various situations in the revenue de partment: enjoy the free exercise of their religion: build Chapels where they please: and employ schoolmasters without a license from the Diocesan or Quarter Sessions.