soon permitted to enjoy repose, while it is known to live in its effect and operation, at the same time that its origin and authority (I believe I might almost say its authenticity,) appear in form so questionable; when the whole proceeding is enveloped in a cloud of mystery; and, above all, when we attentively observe the ulterior tendency of the measure, and the consequences conpected with it. I write not, Sir, from pique or prejudice, for the sake of easing a dissatisfied mind, or giving vent to invective. I have no party to serve, I am retained by none; I have no private interest in view; I desire not to give offence to any one: but I love and honour the religion which I profess from fullest conviction, I should therefore be ashamed to betray it; and, if tired of its restraints, and negligent of its precepts, I would rather renounce the name of Catholic myself, than under that name bring shame and vexation on those who are Catholics in reality. Now, Sir, I own that from this order I see cause to apprehend danger threatening the whole Catholic body in this kingdom; because, from the issuing of such an order, I fear that whatever may be required of us, in regard of our religion, if it bear but the name of SECURITY, will be conceded; and that whatever measures the honourable Houses of Parliament shall, in their wisdom and BENIGNITY DEEM EXPEDIENT, will be embraced with content and gratitude, (as Monsgr. Q. expresses it) provided a good prospect of temporal honour and emolument be held out as inducements. I write, Sir, with an earnest wish to co-operate with you, as far as my slender abilities will support me, in the endeavour, in dispelling the mists which obscure the vision of many of our communion, in rousing the indifferent to a proper attachment to that religion, which is their best, their most valuable, possession; and, if it be possible, in bringing to a better sense, and better sentiment, those amongst us, who, to speak the truth, care not what they lose in regard of religion, solely intent upon what is to be gained in the way of self-aggrandizement and earthly riches. But, Sir, to proceed to this Order, this Notice, or this what you will; you tell us, (p. 481,) that some persons, whom you style Vetoists, declare it to be a forgery. With you, Sir, I sincerely wish it were so; and these gentlemen, whoever they be, would, by proving it to be a forgery, do a real service, not only to the religious ladies, who are so deeply concerned, but to all Catholics, who know their religion, and venerate those institutions which exclusively belong to it; which conduct to the sublimity of Christian perfection, and serve, in great measure, to establish the claim of the Church of Rome to that characteristic mark of the true church, HOLINESS.-But it appears to me impossible that it should be a forgery. You inform us (and I dare say you are confident in what you assert), that the ladies in question have acted in conformity with the printed order; of course, they must have received some notification, varying, perhaps, in language from that which you have published in your EPITOME, but corresponding with it in substance and signification. This notification must have been sent to them; and it can never be for a moment supposed that it was a mere hoax played upon these ber, many reports have been circulated, im* Since the publication of the last numpeaching the veracity of the order alluded to. As I have no other desire than that of strictly adhering to truth, I was anxious to ascertain the correctness of the reports, and I am assured that the words, 66 now governor of the London district," were inadver tently added by the person who was desired to transmit the order from London to convent, and form the only part of it that the he was not instructed to make. This ex mory of Dr. Rigby, has closed his earthly career, and is gone to receive the bours on the mission have earned for him. reward which thirty years indefatigable laEDITOR. planation I deem ho to the me respectable females, by some unthink-verty, they can judge of the merit and admire the heroism of those who have. They condemn, in the name of their Master, an attachment to worldly riches, even when entertained by those whose situation necessarily involves them in much worldly care and soli❤ citude; and are well persuaded that a love of money, and a desire to amass it, is a species of idolatry doubly sacriligious in the ministers of the altar.* ing or malicious persons or person. But even so; if there be pity in the heart of man, some one or other having it in his power to undeceive them, would long ago have relieved them from their disquietude on this head. It is no way material whether the instruction was given in writing, or by oral communication; whether it was, or was not, accompanied by the motives we find attached to it in your Journal; its effect would be precisely the same in either case; for the mode of delivering the order is of no consequence, and the motives, whether true or false, whether sent with the order or not, form no part of it, and therefore neither strengthen nor invalidate its efficacy. Neither will it differ in its effect, whether it originated in the civil government, or the spiritual superior; in the government, or the governor; in the Prince Regent of the united kingdom, or the ecclesiastical regent of the London district. It was, I take it for granted, sent to the convents through the medium of their Catholic superiors, and enforced by their authority. To be sure, it would be doubly alarming, could it be suspected to have emanated, in the first place, from the spiritual superiors of the London district. In the supposition that they received their cue from Ministers, we have only to lament their ductility and obsequiousness; whereas, if they were the contrivers of the measure, they would prove their hostility to these sacred institutes, and exhibit themselves, not the supporters, but the avowed enemies of religious orders, which the last General Council, no less than the voice of ages, has unequivocally sanctioned and approved.--Themselves in holy orders, they are pledged to the observance of one of the Evangelical Counsels, by an obligation equivalent to a solemn vow; obedience to their bishops they promised at the time of their ordination; and though they have made no vow of voluntary po But I think there cannot be a sha dow of doubt on the subject; it ap pears self-evident that it was in conformity with the wish, possibly with the intimation, of Ministers, or of some of them, that the religious were required to relinquish the costumes of their respective orders or institutes; and the motives that have been assigned, (for I must not overlook them), while they at once prove that they were not of Catholic origin, should, as you, Sir, very justly observe, make us more attached to these institutions. I mean here to be understood, of those Catholics only, who are such in reality, thoroughly con vinced of the divine origin of their religion, and loving it in the core of their hearts: as to some others, as I said in my last, I believe they are so insensible to the advantages they possess in their faith, that whatever might happen to religion or its professors, they would be quite unconcerned, and would presently consent to renounce and abjure it, if they had a sufficient number of associates in the deed, to remove from it the stigma of singularity.The motives' assigned for these good ladies, the boast and glory of their sex, to lay * St. Thomas of Villanova, Archbishop of Valentia, was accustomed to say, that whenever he heard of a dignitary of the church, who, dying, was found to be pos cern and sorrow, as if he had been told that sessed of great wealth, he felt the same con he had expired by the side of a barlot! As for himself, such was his contempt of riches, his love of poverty, and his charity to the given as an alms, and afterwards borrowed poor, that the bed on which he lay had been as a temporary accommodation. aside their habits, are, ce first, on account of Catholic education in convents:-Secondly, on account of the danger of conversions to the Catholic church."I do not, I confess, perceive what influence the wearing of a plain decent dress can have upon the education of children. None, productive of evil consequences, "I am persuaded. But not being much acquainted with religious houses, I may betray my ignorance; for, possibly, those religious, who are selected to superintend the education of youth, may be very differently arrayed from the rest of the community; may, like university-professors, wear some par- The convent-education, so far from ticular gown or mantle, some particu- being blamed, ought to be highly lar sort of cap, some particular badge prized by Catholics: as in convents or ornament, which may elicit respect the young female is solid ly grounded and awe from their young pupils, and in her religion, and well instructed in which may at once mark the rank of her several duties to God, to her each, and distinguish those attached neighbour, and to herself: and I may to the literary staff, and belonging to assert, with a celebrated writer of our the professorial department, from the communion, that the Catholic ladies, rest of the community. Still I can who have received their education in discover no distinction in the order, our convents, even while these were as it is printed in your Journal, and established on the Continent, "stand I pretend to no better information. unrivalled as wives, mothers, citizens, All are equally required to lay aside and Christians." From the high enthe religious habit; nor this alone, comiums which this writer paid to our but all other marks of their being re- religious communities thirty years ligious. This appears very hard, in- ago, and the qualifications he attrideed, if it be not an immoral injunc-butes to them, for higher occupations tion. What is to be inferred from it? than that of mere juvenile instruction, I have frequently heard it remarked it might have been reasonably expectand lamented, that in the most cele-ed that he would have appeared brated seminaries in this kingdom, amongst the foremost in defence of very little attention was paid to reli- our persecuted religious sisters. gious instruction, that even the most dare to say he has had no cause to accomplished elèves were seldom dis- alter his opinion respecting them; for tinguished for their religious habits, the probably unintentional slight he and seldom exhibited marks of their received from the Lady Abbess of being religious. The fact is, that," Paraclet's white walls," must have agreeably to the genius of the times, the exterior is principally attended to in the education of females: to please and captivate are thought to be the most valuable acquirements for the young lady; and when this is the avowed object in the mode of education, must not artfulness and dissimulation, affectation and vanity, be, at least, indirectly inculcated? As these are evidently in opposition to the maxims and precepts of religion, they can never be successfully taught, or attempted to be taught, where the instructors are the sincere followers of true religion. Where genuine virtue prevails in the heart, its professors will neither ostentatiously display, nor affectedly conceal, the religious character and disposition: and, on the other hand, wherever the marks of religion and piety are laid aside by the tutor, every exhortation to the practice of religion will generally prove ineffectual in regard of the pu pil. long ago been pardoned and forgotten. But if our convents deserved praise for their successful endeavours in the education of youth while on the Continent, I will take upon me to assert, that, since they have resided in this country, their system of education has been considerably improved. In our convents is taught, exclusively of the great science, the science of sal I vation, all that is necessary for the ac- to acquire and practise, living and complished female, in whatever situa-moving examples for their imitation. tion she may be placed, in whatever circle she may be destined to move. I speak of such as are allowed to complete their education. In our convents are taught, and by those who are fully competent to teach them, the grammar of the English language, writing, arithmetic, geography with the use of the globes, history both sacred and profane, chronology, the elements, at least, of natural philosophy and astronomy. Though I have acknowledged that I am not extensively acquainted with our English communities, yet I have obtained so much knowledge of their schools, as to be enabled to assert with confidence all that I have said in their favour: and this too I know, in proof of my assertion, that, in some instances, the mental endowments and literary acquirements of certain of their fair pupils, have won the affection, and excited the admiration of men distinguished in the ranks of literature, no less than the unblemished purity of their manners and the charms of their Such is the education that persons. is received in these religious houses, that many of our conceited scholiasts, who dissertate with such familiar ease on the opera and the ball, many of our sparks of fashion, with all the fascinating graces of an Adonis, and the self-enamoured vanity of a Narcissus, might, notwithstanding the current flippancy with which they affect to ridicule and despise, Nuns and Nunneries, sit down, without any violence offered to their humility, on the juvenile forms of these schools, and derive knowledge and improvement from the females who preside in them.-As to religious instruction, I will only say that, while sincere piety and genuine devotion to Almighty God, as well as docility and deference to superiors, kindness to equals, affability and condescension to all, are impressively inculcated, the young pupils have ever before their eyes models of the virtues they are exhorted Shall then these ladies, so fit to superintend the education of the youth of their sex, be required to lay aside their religious habits and every mark of their being religious? If the requisition be complied with in the fullest extent, parents who wish to have their daughters religiously educated, may justly withdraw them from these places of instruction, and the ladies of these communities may shut up their schools, as well as their con vents. The other motive assigned for requiring that these virtuous recluses should put off their religious uniform, is the danger of conversions to the Catholic faith. This motive can never have influenced a Catholic: it must have been assigned, not by the Governor of the district, but by the Government. Unless perhaps suspicion should fall on those, of whom you say, 66 that they care neither for religion, nor country, nor public opinion, provided they can gain the ends for which they are struggling." I wish, Sir, it were in my power to prove you a calumniator! I will not attempt it. It would require more than the small remainder of the sheet of paper on which I am writing, to bring some of them off with any tolerable colour; and, alas! this narrow space is more than sufficiently ample to contain all the arguments my dull invention could furnish in their vindication. But with regard to the alledged motive, the persons who first conceived it, must have a still higher notion of the talents of these ladies, than the Author above alluded to, if they imagine that, immured as they are, both night and day; seldom visited, and not at all ambitious of being visited; conversing little with the world, and desirous of conversing still less, if possible, danger is to be feared from them.-How shall the danger of conversions to the Catholic faith be caused by them, unless their hands, uplifted to God in prayer, obtain victory for the combatants? They sap lopped of some of its noblest branches, has still continued vigorous and firm. Its enemies, taught by experience that open persecution had tended only to root it more firmly, seem lately to have adopted the plan of stopping the that nourishes the tree, in the hope of first checking its growth, and then feasting their eyes on its gradually decaying branches and withering trunk. But the experiment was first to be tried at a distance, and Catholic Canada was to be the scene of the first essay of this new scheme of anti-catholic bigotry. Is it possible that any one who has read the instructions sent out to the Governor of Canada, can doubt either of the intent with which those Instructions were issued, or of the dispositions towards Catholicity of the persons by whom they were is sued? If there be such a one, let him give a few moments to a perusal of the remarks on those Instructions which have appeared in your Journal, from your own pen, and the observations of your learned and respectable correspondent, who signs himself" An English Catholic," and, either his doubts will be removed, or his claim to common sense must be forfeited. That the Canadian Instructions, and the Unclothing Order, to the Nuns, were engendered in the same brain, and form a part of the same system of hostility to the Catholic religion, there is no room for doubting. Both these measures bear the same stamp; both were issued from the same mint. But in putting the Canadian Instructions into execution, Ministers employed their own tools for the work of infamy. They were too well convinced of the honest integrity, the stern virtue, and the unbending religious attachment of the Catholics of Canada, to look among them for the instruments of their bigotry. At home, I blush for the honour of the name in mentioning it, Catholics are at any time to be found, who, without waiting for the word of command, anticipate the wishes of the very worst enemies of their religion, and are ready to lend a hand in the pious work of sapping its foundations, and pulling down its strongest props, in this country. How low, how contemptible, must be the opinion which the anticatholic part of Ministers entertain of a certain set of Catholics, known for their friendly intercourse with them, when they see them, in their hunt after temporal emoluments, cringing before them, and offering their services to bring about the accomplishuent of their anti-catholic. designs! I am well aware, Mr. Editor, that among the class of Catholics to whom I allude, there are some who will cry out that the order in question relates to so trivial a point, that it is not deserving of notice. I know, too, that the same description of persons hold a similar language, in speaking of many of the practices and ceremonies of the Catholic church, with a view of appearing liberal, as they term it, in the eyes of Protestants, and, consequently, of promoting their own favourite object, the throwing open of the path to temporal honour and preferment. Their number, I hope, is small; and I an convinced they would soon sink into harmless insignificance, could the respectable real Catholics, who are connected with them, from political motives, be induced to think and act for themselves, and to follow the dictates of their own uncorrupted minds, acting in union with the great body of Irish Catholics, and not obsequiously walking in the train of any individual, however distinguished for his rank, fortune, or professional abilities. But, to come to the point, is the Order in question a trivial one?~~~ Can it be said, with truth, that it relates to a matter of trifling consequence? Let us consult the feelings and sentiments of those holy and amiable persons, who are immediately affected by it, and we shall be convinced, that to them it is far from being a matter of trivial importance. The religious, living in community, form one of the fairest portions of the Church of Christ, and |