jected; but so as that the list would not be renewed nor so diminished, as that a sufficient number might not remain for his Holiness to choose from. He then expressed surprise, and some displeasure, that the letter from Genoa had not been published; the bare reading of which, he said, would have considerably allayed the pious alarm and ferment of the people. the Cardinals for his Rescript. He n aged weak man, and is in compassion allowed still to countersign the Rescripts of the Propaganda. "When I told Cardinal Litta the rea sons for which the Deputation to which I was appointed Secretary, declined coming, his Eminence observed, that the Remonstrance itself was sufficient introduction; that from the English Catholic Board of last year came by Post to Mr. Mac Pherson. "Cardinal Litta and Gallessi both tell me, that the proposition contained in the letter from Genoa was rejected by the English Ministers as not sufficient to sa "I then proceeded to point out to his Holiness the destruction of religion in Ireland, which would inevitably follow from the interference of the Government in our religious concerns, &c. &c.; and supported by my two companions, my words seemed to make a considerable im-tisfy the wish of Government. The forpression. His Holiness then remitted my papers, as he had done those of the Bishops, who had their audience five days before, to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Gonsalvi, with whom and Cardinal Litta, his Holiness was to consult. I instantly waited on the former; his Eminence told me, he should have many and long conversations with me on the matter, it being of the highest import ance. "I expected that the business would, according to the regular course, be referred to Cardinal Litta, who is bound by his office to look to the religion of Ireland, and then the Remonstrances could not fail of success. A Regular, of the Dominican Order, high in the confidence of his Holiness, has expressed to me his utter abomination of the measure of a Veto, and I expect most beneficial results from the aid of his influence. "The Prelates are impatient for an answer, and speak of leaving this in a fortnight For my part, knowing the multiplicity of business which occupies the Holy See, and the consequent tardiness in giving her answers, I am determined to remain to the last, until the matter is settled. "Cardinal Litta and the Under Secretaries of Propaganda gave, me the same explanation of the letter from Genoa that his Holiness did. This letter, which I have read, and of which Cardinal Litta promised me a copy, that it might be published, agrees perfectly with this explanation. "If Cardinal Gonsalvi hesitates, I expect to have the subject brought before a Consistory of the Cardinals, in which case the Generals of the religious orders will give considerable assistance. +66 Monsignor Quarantotti has been frequently reprimanded by his Holiness and mer told the Bishops, that an appeal from "I see you have disturbances in Ire land; our enemies begin to play off the same game as in 98-excite disturbances, and break the spirit of the people. "I will write again as soon as I have any interesting news to forward, respect ing the progress of my mission." On Friday the 220, a numerous meeting was held of the Association, which was attended by several gentlemen from different quarters of the country, and a considerable number of clergymen, who had been attracted by the promised communication from Rome.-After the chair was taken, Mr. Mac Donnell stated, that having received a Letter from the Rev. Mr. Hayes, from Rome, together with a Copy of the Letter of Cardinal Litta which had excited so much anxiety, first instance, to the consideration of he felt it his duty to submit it in the the Association, and therefore asked the permission of the meeting to read the Letter and its enclosures. On the question being put from the Chair, Mr. Mac Donnell's motion was unanimous. ly acceded to. He then proceeded to read the Letter from Mr. Hayes, dated Rome, Nov. 18, 1815. "I inclose you a Copy of the Letter from Genoa, with a Translation of my own, which I have drawn up so as to ad-menced, could be fully completed, has, in here as literally as possible to the text, his exceeding prudence, declined to proand express the full sense of every pas-nounce, in a solemn form, his judgment sage, as it is understood here by the com- in a matter of so great moment. posers of the original. The Copy was given me at my own request, hy orders of Cardinal Litta, for the express purpose of publishing it in Ireland, that so, the nation might judge both of its merits and demerits. I have spent this week in banding Copies of the Remonstrance, and enforcing the same with my own arguments to the Cardinals and Theologians who compose the Sacred Congregation for Ecclesiastical affairs, to which I expected the Secretary of State would be ordered to refer this important matter. Accordingly, his Eminence Cardinal Litta informed me yesterday, that directions to that effect had been given by his Holiness, and that I might expect an agreeable result. Eight Cardinals with their respective Theologians, and the learned Fontana as Secretary, compose this Congregation." The letter then proceeds to state, that several of the most distinguished Ecclesiastical Authorities have expressed their total reprobation of any measure of Vetoistical Crown influence in the affairs of the Church, and particularly some of the Cardinals, Members of the Sacred Congregation. Mr. Mac Donnell next referred to the letter of Cardinal Litta, adding that he supposed it would be sufficient to read the translation to the meeting; which being acceded to, he read the following translated COPY OF THE LETTER OF CARDINAL POYNTER. "Most Illustrious and Rt. Rev Lord, "Your Lordship lately informed me of your intended speedy return to England, earnestly requesting me, at the same time, at length to make known to you the sentiments of his Holiness, with regard to the conditions to be acceded to and permitted, in order that the Catho. lics may obtain the desired act of Emancipation from Government. His Holiness, therefore, to whose decision, as was my official duty, I had referred the whole subject, being forced, by the present unexpected change of the times, again to abide far from the city, before the examination thereof, which had long since comORTHOD. JOUR. VOL. III. "He has, however, deigned to declare to me his sentiments, with regard to the conditions which alone, (totally rejecting all others whatsoever hitherto proposed) his beloved children, the Catholics of Great Britain, can with a safe conscience accede to, in case the long hoped for act of their Emancipation be passed; for his Holiness trusts that the august King of Great Britain, and the most serene Prince his son, in their own singular clemency, wisdom and generosity, will most certainly crown with new favours and benefits, those already conferred on the Catholics; especially as they have found the always most faithful and prepared, with the divine assistance, to endure the worst dangers rather than fail in any wise in their duty to their sovereign. "The points, however, that may now come under consideration, and which the aforesaid Government, to secure its own and the state's tranquillity and safety, seems to require on the part of its Catho to be taken by them, the mode of aplic subjects, are, the oath of allegiance pointing Bishops to the vacant Sees, the revision of all Rescripts, Breves, and Constitutions whatsoever of the Sovereign Pontiff, before the same be put in execu tion. himself, that the Government of Great "As to the first, his Holiness flatters Britain would by no means exact from the Catholics, any other oath but such as whilst it gives to the Government itself a still surer pledge of the fidelity of the Catholics, may at the same time neither clash in the least with the principles of the Catholic religion, nor cast any affront upon the same most holy Religion of Christ. be enacted, so as in every respect (om"In case the aforesaid Emancipation mino) to be favourable to the Catholics, that one of the following forms of oath his said Holiness will permit them to take which the Government shall think most adviseable; for each of them seems perfectly calculated to answer both of the above-mentioned ends, and therefore can not but satisfy the Government. "The first is as follows: I swear and promise, upon the Holy Evangelists, obe dience and fidelity to his Royal Majesty George III.; I also promise that I will not hold any communication, be privy to any plot, nor keep any suspicious con 3 Q nexion either at home or abroad to injure | judge, in the Lord, most worthy to govern the vacant Churches. the public peace; and if it shall come to my knowledge, that any thing is projecting, either in my diocese or elsewhere, to the prejudice of the state will reveal the same to Government.' "The second runs thus: I swear and promise that I will continue faithful and entirely subject and obedient to his Royal Majesty George III.; and that I will not, in any wise, disturb the peace and tranquillity of this realm, nor give any aid or assistance to any power, who either directly or indirectly may be an enemy to his Majesty and the present Government of England. "The third, "I swear and promise obedience and true fidelity to our most beloved Lord George III. whom I will, with all my might, defend against all conspiracies, assaults, or attempts whatsoever against his person, crown, and dignity; and if it shall come to my knowledge, that any such are forming against him; I will reveal the same to his aforesaid Majesty. Moreover, I also faithfully swear and promise that I will, with all my night, preserve, support, and defend the succession of the crown in the family of his Majesty, against any person or persons whatsoever, within or without the realm, who may boast or pretend a right to the crown thereof.' "As soon, therefore, as the legislature of Great Britain shall promulgate in due and authentic form its aforesaid act of Emancipation, conformable to the sentiments of his Holiness, as above expressed, with which I presume the British Government is already acquainted, his Holiness will on his part likewise send a timely Brief to all the Catholic Bishops and faithful of Great Britain, in which he will publish to the universe his sense of gratitude towards the clemency and generosity of the most powerful British Government, will exhort the Catholics, especially after this newly received favour, to adhere, with still more fervent loyalty, to their august King, and finally in a solemn form permit them to observe what I have hitherto stated, with regard to the oath and the election of Bishops. "As to the revision of Rescripts, of which mention is made by me, in the head of this letter, or as it is termed the Royal "Exequatur," it cannot becomethe subject even of a discussion. For the same, as your Lordship well knows, be ing essentially injurious to the liberty of that superintendence of the Church which is of divine appointment, it would be truly criminal to allow, or concede it to the lay power, and in fact it has never been per"Hitherto of the oath; now of the elec-mitted to any country; for if some, even tion of Bishops. "With regard to the latter, his Holiness first most earnestly exhorts and absolutely commands those whose custom it is to name to the vacant Sees the persons to be presented and recommended to the Holy See, to use the utmost care and diligence, that those only may be admitted into the number of candidates, who to their other pastoral virtues join the most conspicuous prudence, love of peace and fidelity to his Royal Majesty. Catholic Governments, arrogate such powers to themselves, this is to be attri buted, not to the right exercise of due authority, but to an abuse which, to prevent greater evils, the Holy See is forced, it is true, to endure and tolerate, but can by no means sanction. inde "However, that no injury or danger whatsoever is to be dreaded in Euglaud to the public peace, or his Royal Majesty, from this indispensably necessary pendence of the Supreme Head of the "Moreover, although any one of the Church, in feeding and instructing the proposed forms of oath, to be taken by flock of the Lord, besides other most evithe newly elected Bishops, may be more dent proofs, which it would be tedious to than sufficient to content theGovernment; specify, and which are most notorious, the nevertheless, for the greater satisfaction following circumstance alone should be a of the said Government, his said Holiness sufficient security, viz. that the object in will not hesitate to permit that those, to question is fully provided for, by the very whom it appertains, may exhibit a list of method prescribed to the Bishops and Vi the candidates to the King's Ministers, in cars Apostolic, which is to be found in ar order that Government, if perchance any ticle the first of the "Questionarium," pubof them he disliked or suspected, may im-lished by the Sacred Congregation for the mediately point out the same to have him expunged: but so as that a sufficient number may remain for his Holiness, out of which to elect those whom he may Propagation of the Faith; where they are severely prohibited from inserting in the reports which they are bound to send to the Holy See, touching their respective Churches, any thing that may regard the political state of the country. Hence it is to be confidently hoped, that the Government will by no means persevere in its determination on this head, since the Church cannot yield her right, and the exercise of such a right, as constant experience shews, is in no wise injurious to Govern ment. "To conclude, I have been induced to give you the above statement, from a view that the same may serve as a rule of conduct to your Lordship; whom, in the mean time, I heartily pray, the most bountiful and Almighty God, to bless with a prosperous journey, and abundance of every happiness. "LAURENCE CARDINAL LITTA, Prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. "At Genoa, 26th April, 1815. "To the most Illustrious and Right Rev. W. Poynter, Bishop of Halia, and Vicar Apostolic of the London District." submit their case to each of the three branches of it. "If they do not address the executive, they do not give it the opportunity of ori ginating in the manner the most effectual; the proper measure of relief, namely a government measure. 1 "If the address shall contain a request to the Regent, to recommend the situation of the Catholics to the consideration of Parliament, the Minister will necessa· rily lay such an Address before the Cabinet, for their advice in respect to the answer to be given to it; and in this way,' that portion of the Cabinet, which is favourable to the Catholics, will have an opportunity of exerting their influence in the manner the most likely to prove of the greatest service. The Catholic question will thus become a Cabinet question; all the various considerations which at this moment point out the expediency of a final settlement of it, in the absence of any one reason for further continuing to postpone it, must give great weight to the opinion of those members of the Cabinet, who have already supported it, and may possibly induce the Minister himself to think the time is arrived, when, according to his own acknowledgment, he can himself abandon all further opposition, and give his aid to render the measure of redress as satisfactory as practicable, to those who are to be benefitted by it. 66 After a few observations made by Mr. M'Donnell on the contents of this letter, and paying a high compliment to the zeal and indefatigability of the Rev. Mr. Hayes, Mr. O'Connell said it was his duty to report to the Association, from the Committee appointed to confer with Sir Henry Parnall with respect to the Address to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent. The sentiments of Sir Henry Parnell on that subject were conveyed in a letter conduct of the Catholies during the to one of the Members of the Com-riod he has discharged the duties of the executive; and he may thus learn, that mittee, which he begged leave to read: they have done nothing which ought to "Emo Park, Dec. 20, 1815. deprive them of that protection which he was disposed to give them, when forming a new administration to succeed that of Mr. Perceval. "My Dear Sir, "As I see by the "Chronicle,” that it is intended to submit to the Association a communication from me, I feel anxious that such a communication should be strictly confined to the subject of the proposed address to the Regent; and, in order to avoid any misunderstanding in respect to my opinion of the expediency of that address, I take this opportunity of re-stating the grounds on which I have recommended it. "I think that when a body of the people, forming so large a part of the power and population of these kingdoms, seeks from the Legislature the redress of a grievance of such magnitude as the exclusion from the enjoyment of the most essential rights of the constitution, they ought to Again, if the Address shall contain, as no doubt it will, a spirited but respect. ful appeal to the Regent, it may induce him to reconsider what has been the pe. "If also on the subject of securities, the Address shall explain, that the opposition which the Catholics have made to them has not originated in any perverse or prejudged view of the question, or in any disinclination to conciliate and satisfy adverse opinions; but that it has been the result of an apprehension, that these se curities were to be so framed as to shake the Catholic Religion, and to give the Crown an influence which would be inconsistent with the constitutional rights and liberties of the subject; this expla nation would place the question on such grounds, as would remove much of the repugnance that prevails at this time, even to give the main question of Eman- | any further exposition of the sentiments cipation a calm and dispassionate hear- of the Catholic Boby. ing. There could be no objection to the accompanying such an explanation, with a declaration that the Catholic body can never consent to any conditions, which shall in any way injure their religion or compromise their liberties. "To give to the proposed Address its fullest effect in attaining its object, namely, the favourable reception of the Catholic Petition by Parliament, it is necessary that it should be presented by Delegates, capable of giving to Ministers, and to the leading Parliamentary friends of the Catholics, the most satisfactoty explanations of the extent of what is required to be conceded, and of the best method of framing a Bill of Relief. "Such explanations would remove almost all the difficulties in the way of a Legislative Measure; as there have arisen for the most part, either from the misrepresentations of that class of opponents, who practice every artifice to defeat the object of the Catholics, or from the misapprehensions of those, who have had no opportunity of perfectly comprehending the circumstances as they really are, un der which the Catholics present themselves as claimants upon the justice of the Legislature. "As, in point of fact, the Emancipation has been conceded by the House of Com mons in principle, it appears to me, that the benefit of public discussions has been completely obtained, and that what remains to be done, is more properly the business of private and amicable commu nication, between the heads of the Catholics, and their leading Parliamentary friends. The whole of their efforts conducted in the most cautious and able manner, are wanting, to secure complete success and, therefore, it is more than probable, that every step, which is taken of a different character, will create some new difficulty. "I give this opinion very freely and very decidedly, because the opportunity I have had of weighing all circumstances with great deliberation, and of communication with the best friends of the Catholics, has fully convinced me of its correctness. “The more I have the means of judging of the probable impression, which will be produced by simply confining the measures of the Association to recom mending applications to be made to each branch of the Legislature (to be supported by the assistance of a well selected depu tation,) the more I am satisfied, that such "Having said so much, in compliance a course will, at the same time, most ef with the request which has been made of fectually put down the efforts which are me, to communicate my sentiments to making to defeat its objects, and most the Association, on the measures proper powerfully contribute to induce all the to be adopted, in respect to a new appli- friends of Emancipation to make a great cation to Parliament, I now take the li-exertion in the ensuing Session to carry berty of offering a few remarks on an advertisement I have read to-day in The Dublin Chronicle, of a special meeting of the Association, to take into its consideration a communication from Rome. that ineasure. It is to this conviction I have to refer you, for my apology in so earnestly pressing my opinion, and so strongly opposing that of others, which appears not to coincide with it. Believe me, my dear Sir, your's truly, H. PARNELL." "As this, I find, relates to the letter of Cardinal Litta, I conclude that the discussion which it is intended to have upon Such, said Mr. O'Connell, were it, will be, in point of fact, a new dis- the sentiments of Sir Henry Parnell, cussion of the question of securities. If and his sentiments deserved the highthat is the case, I do not hesitate to express great regret, that it should appear adest respect and attention. He was viseable to stir again that question in any the sincere and unaffected friend of way whatsoever, until it shall be regular religious liberty-anxious upon prin. ly and duly brought forward, (if ever it ciple, and with no other motive than shall be) either by Government or by that of doing good and serving his na some vote of Parliament: because, in the tive country-for the full and unquali first place, any such discussion must in-fied Emancipation of the Catholics of evitably counteract, in a great degree, the tendency of addressing the Regent, to improve the public opinion; and se condly, because after all that has been so often set forth in repeated Resolutions, there can be no necessity whatever, for Ireland. No man understood this question better even amongst them. selves-no other Protestant understood it so well in all its bearings-in the perpetual and irksome oppressions |