betray, we turn to the Protestant Electors of the United King. dom. With them, under God's blessing, it rests to say, by their votes at the approaching Election, whether Popery shall be endowed or encouraged by us. To them we say, Your own interests, and those of your children, are at stake: you and yours must suffer if bad laws are made; the more so, as you have the power of returning those who may make good laws. When laws are framed by human authority, not sanctioned by, but opposed to the laws of Him by whom alone kings reign and princes decree justice, they are sure to bring down not a blessing but a curse upon those who make them. We have assisted in replanting the tree of Popery uprooted by our ancestors, and its baneful shadow seems rapidly bringing a blight upon the peace, happiness, and prosperity of the country. Several constituencies have recently avowed their Own conviction of this, and announced their determination to return Protestants faithful to their cause. Why should not other cities and borough towns follow the example of Liverpool, Manchester, Exeter, Reading, Bodmin, &c.? To assist our brother Protestants in carrying out this work the "Protestant Elector" is announced. It is for them we labour, not for ourselves; and if they value the existence of a journal which shall with brevity and faithfulness chronicle passing events, and seek to promote the great cause in hand, they will see the importance of aiding this publication. Let those, then, who approve the object announced-the principles on which we would have the policy of this yet great nation conducted-let them aid us with their best energies,-let them circulate our paper, let them assist us with their literary and pecuniary contributions. The work is great-and the time is short,-the crisis urgent. By prompt, prayerful, united, energetic efforts, much good may yet be done through the Divine blessing, and much evil averted. It has been resolved to publish a Protestant journal three days in a week, for fourteen weeks, with an especial reference to the approaching General Election. Those desirous of aiding in this movement are requested at once to intimate their willingness to do so by becoming Subscribers. It will be obvious that there is no time for delay; and as the amount for the fourteen weeks will be but 10s. 6d., it is hoped that some friends of the cause in every Borough town, County, and division of County, will at once forward their names as Subscribers. Orders to be addressed to the Publisher of "THE PROTESTANT ELECTOR," care of Mr. Macintosh, Great New-street, London. Post Office orders to be made payable in the name of the Publisher, William Macknight, 3, Shoe-lane, Fleet-street, London. SELECTION FROM THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION. Established 1835, for the Defence of the Protestant Institutions of the Empire, in Church and State. following may be had through any BookPost-office order in payment. It is particularly requested, that all Orders may be addressed to the Assistant Secretary, and all Post Office Orders to be made payable in the name of Mr. Arthur William Stone. 8. ENGLAND the FORTRESS of CHRISTIANITY. By the Rev. G. CROLY, LL.D. 45th 1000. 1d., or 7s. per 100. 20. ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION.-Speech of M. T. Sadler, Esq., M.P. for Newark, 17th March, 1829. 3d., or 20s. per 100. 24. The DANGER of ATTENDING POPISH CHAPELS. 19th 1000. 3s. per 100. 28. SETTLEMENT of the CONSTITUTION in 1688. 3s. per 100. 35. BEWARE of POPERY. By the Rev. HUGH STOWELL. 3s. per 100. 36. A WARNING to PROTESTANT PARENTS against sending their children to schools kept by Roman Catholics. By the Rev. B. RICHINGS. Fourth Thousand. 3s. per 100. 38. The CHURCH of ROME proved to have the marks of Antichrist. By the Rev. HUGH M'NEILE, D.D. 3d., or 20s. per 100. 40. The POPE and POPERY EXPOSED in their present Power and Plots against the Religion, Laws, and Liberties of the Empire. A Speech delivered at Exeter Hall, May 10, 1843, by the Rev. R. J. M'GHEE. 4d., or 28s. per 100. 41. SPEECH of VISCOUNT BERNARD, M.P., in the House of Commons, on the IRISH CHURCH. With Notes illustrative of the Early History of the Church in Ireland. 3d., or 20s. per 100. 42. ENGLAND'S CÆSAR. By the Rev. HUGH M'NEILE, D.D. 1 d., or 10s. per 100. 43. POPERY at MADEIRA, or an account of the Persecution and Oppression of Dr. Kalley, and other Protestants, by the Portuguese Authorities of Madeira. By JAMES LORD, Esq. 3d., or 20s. per 100. 46. On the OATHS of ALLEGIANCE to the POPE taken by Romish Ecclesiastics. 3s. per 100. 48. OBSERVATIONS on the MORTMAIN LAWS, Act of Supremacy, or Popery opposed to National Independence and Social Happiness. By JAMES LORD, Esq. 3d., or 20s. per 100. 49. BRIAN SEERY. The CHURCH of ROME: Her Awfully Destructive Principles Practically Carried out and Irrefutably Established and Confirmed by the Canonization of PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION.-SPECIAL Alphonsus Liguori, on Trinity Sunday, 1839. who are friendly to the Protestant Cause are invited to enrol themselves Members of the above Association, or to forward Special Donations to the account of the Treasurer with Messrs. Williams, Deacon, and Co., 20, Birchin-lane; or to the Office, 11, Exeter Hall. It is particularly requested that all Post-office orders may be made payable in the name of the Collector, Arthur William Stone. Subscribers of 10s. a-year are entitled to a copy of the "Protestant Magazine." 50. ADDRESS of the PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION to the ELECTORS of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND. Duties of Protestant Electors. Questions to Candidates. 3s. per 100, or 17. per 1000. 51. CHALLENGE of the Rev. R. J. M'GHEE, to the ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOPS of the FOUR PROVINCES of IRELAND. 3s. per 100. 52. PROTESTANTISM, RELIGIOUS and POLITICAL Speech of the Very Reverend Dean MURRAY. 2d., or 12s. per 100. 53. RELIGIOUS MOTIVES for OPPOSING the CONTEMPLATED ENDOWMENT of the ROMISH PRIESTHOOD in IRELAND, and the continued support of Maynooth College. 3s. per 100, or 17. per 1000. 54. THOUGHTS on the APPROACHING GENERAL ELECTION, seriously addressed to the consideration of all constituents. By Rev. GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B.D. 13d., or 10s. per 100. 55. Letter I.-BRITISH PROTESTANTISM, its present Position, Responsibilities, and Duties. By J. E. GORDON, Esq. 2d., or 14s. per 100 for distribution. By 56. Letter II.-BRITISH PROTESTANTISM the First Step; or the question, "What shall we do?" answered. J. E. GORDON, Esq. 1d., or 10s. per 100. 57. The OATHS TAKEN by PROTESTANT and ROMAN CATHOLIC PEERS and MEMBERS of PARLIAMENT. From "Protestant Magazine," January, 1847. By JAMES LORD, Esq. 3s. per 100, or 11. per 1000. STANDARD PROTESTANT WORKS, 18mo. By Popular Writers, in a cheap and attractive form. The Committee of the Protestant Association have already published, I. HISTORY of the GREAT REFORMATION. By the Rev. J. H. MERLE D'AUBIGNE. 18mo., cloth lettered, with Frontispiece, 4s. II. The DIVINE WARNING to the CHURCH at this TIME; with Information respecting the Present Spread of Infidelity, Lawlessness, and Popery. By the Rev. EDWARD BICKERSTETH. 3s. III. The JESUITS: their Principles and Acts. By Rev. EDWARD DALTON. Cloth lettered, 3s. IV. THOUGHTS on POPERY. By the Rev. Dr. NEVINS. One volume, 2s. V. LIFE of EDWARD VI. By the Rev. R. W. DIBDIN, M.A. One volume, 1s. 6d. VI. SERIOUS DISSUASIVES from POPERY. By Archbishop TILLOTSON, and Bishops HALL and JEREMY TAYLOR. With Introductory Essay, by the Rev. E. NANGLE, M.A. One volume, 3s. VII. On the IDOLATRY of the CHURCH of ROME. By the Rev. A. S. THELWALL, M.A. One volume, 5s. VIII. No PEACE with ROME. By Bishop HALL. With Introductory Essay, by the Rev. E. BICKERSTETH, M.A. One volume, 3s. IX. ACCUSATIONS of HISTORY against the CHURCH of ROME. By the Rev. GEORGE TOWNSEND, Prebendary of Durham. Revised by the Rev. J. E. Cox, M.A. X. MEDE'S APOSTASY. Edited by the Rev. T. R. BIRKS, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Rector of Kelshall. One volume, 3s. XI. The HIDDEN WORKS of DARKNESS; or, the Doings of the Jesuits. By W. OSBURN, Esq. Cloth, 1s. 6d., paper covers, 1s. XII. LETTERS on TRACTARIAN SECESSION to POPERY. By the Rev. GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B.D., Master of Sherburne Hospital, and Prebendary of Salisbury. One volume, 38. We request our subscribers and friends to be very careful in informing our publisher of the exact Christian and surname of the party in whose name Post-office orders are made payable, as otherwise considerable difficulty will arise at the Post-office. INCREASED AND IMMEDIATE CIRCULATION. The object of this journal can only be attained by an increased and immediate circulation. Our friends would greatly aid the object we have in view by ordering down copies for Reading Rooms, Libraries, Mechanics' Institutes, News Rooms, &c. The important topics to which our columns are devoted, will thus be brought under the notice of those whose attention we wish particularly invited to them. This may be done with the greater prospect of good in the borough towns. PROTESTANT LECTURES. ECTURE I.-On THE PROTESTANT CHALecture II.-The ENCROACHMENTS of POPERY and the DUTIES of PROTESTANTS. Price 1s. 6d. Delivered in the Music Hall, Store-street, Bedford-square, London, on Tuesday Evenings April 20, and 27, 1847. By JAMES LORD, of the Inner Temple, Esq., Barrister-at-law. J. P. PLUMPTRE, Esq., M.P., in the Chair. Revised from the Shorthand Writer's notes. A Cheap Edition is now ready. Lecture I.-Price 4d., or 25s. per 100 for distribution. Lecture II.-Price 6d., or 27. per 100 for distribution. In the press, MONTMORENCY; a Roman Catholic Tale. Reprinted from the "Protestant Magazine," with Introduction, by JAMES LORD, Esq. Also, preparing for publication, The VATICAN and ST. JAMES'S. London: Seeley, Burnside, and Seeley, Fleet-street; W. H. Dalton, Cockspur-street. Printed by ALEXANDER MACINTOSH, Printer, of No. 20, Great New-street, London, at his Printing-office at the same place, and published by WILLIAM ADOLPHUS MACKNIGHT, of No. 61, Lambeth-walk, Lambeth, Surrey, at THE PROTESTANT ELECTOR Office, No. 3, Shoe-lane, London, where all communications (pre-paid) and advertisements are received.-London, July 12, 1847. LIVERPOOL ELECTION PROCEEDINGS. Sir Digby Mackworth and Sir Howard Douglas are now fairly in the field for Liverpool. It is well that this the second town in the empire, whose custom duties amount to nearly half as much as those of London, should thus early be in the field on sound Protestant principles. If London knew practically as much of Popery as Liverpool does, or had a ministry as faithful and active in exposing Popery as that town enjoys, Lord John Russell would follow the example of Lord Sandon, and look for some other constituency than the city of London. There are various points which make the result of the Liverpool election of very great importance. The constituency of Liverpool know more of Popery and Ireland than any other constituency in the country. Ireland pours into that great commercial emporium alike her poverty and her riches, the riches which the fertility of a proactive soil supplies, -and the poverty and wretchedness which Popery has produced. We believe the moral, social, temporal, spiritual well-being of the people is blighted wherever the baneful influence of Popery rises in the ascendant. BARON ROTHSCHILD, LONDON, AND It is rumoured that Baron Rothschild is to pay the entire expenses of the City of London election, and that Lord John Russell in return is to exert his Parliamentary influence to the utmost to bring in a Bill, and get the same passed into a law, enabling the Baron and others of the Jewish persuasion to take their seats in the House of Commons, to legislate for a Christian people. We know nothing of the truth of this on dit, but is not the Baron a little wanting in the sagacity and shrewdness which usually characterize his people, in paying for the article so long before it is supplied;-when the possibility is very remoteand the probability is it never will be supplied at all? WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 1847. heard of efforts to buy thrones and Popedoms. We have heard, too, of 100,000l. being spent in a contested election ; and in the grand object of securing for himself and those of his persuasion the privileges he is grasping after, we do not wonder at the Baron's profusion. It is creditable to his generosity and sincerity. Truly the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. Mammon flies readily to help in the cause of Mammon, whilst those who have the cause of truth dear to their hearts, at least ready upon their tongue, too often leave it to itself. [PRICE 3d. The cause of error flourishes in darkness. It would like a perfect silence preserved as to its corruptions. Rome would not have your attention drawn to these points. But, Electors of England, in proportion as statesmen and theologians would side with Rome, it becomes you, as Protestants, to speak out. Truth, like the sun, drives darkness before it, and rejoices in the light it sheds abroad. It seeks investigation, and courts inquiry. We speak to you, as to brother electors who have one common foe to oppose,-it is Popery ;-one common cause to serve, it is that of Protestant What are those doing who have a purer faithBritish laws,-British liberty,-British independa holier cause-a religion-and a country that ence,-British Christianity for the British people! should be endeared to them by a thousand recolThen, it is asked, What will you do with lections? Can it be true that any Englishman-Ireland? We reply, Ireland will be quiet enough, any Protestant Christian-can, Judas-like, make a if Italy is not suffered to interfere. England is not compact for little more than thirty pieces of silver, to be sacrificed to Italy. The question is not an by which his religion shall be betrayed, and Irish one. It is a national one. The question is not Christianity sold to those who deny or blaspheme merely a political, it is supremely a religious one. the holy name whereby we are called? AN ADDRESS TO PROTESTANT It is now plain that Popery is grasping for ascendancy. Will you concede it? We believe you will not. We know you ought not. Certainly you need not. You will not, if aware of the danger, and alive as to the mode of averting it, you resolve to acquit yourselves worthily in discharging your duty to the Queen you honour,-the Constitution you admire, the memory of martyred ancestors you revere,-your children whom you love,and the Protestant religion-the religion of the Bible, the religion of primitive Christianity-to which you owe all that is dear for time,-all that is precious for eternity. There is another rumour of the same wealthy Popery has increased in influence, whether Baron. It is said he is prepared to spend 20,0007. numerically, theologically, or politically considered. to keep Lord Ashley out of Bath, and secure Mr. She has gained political power by dissembling as to Roebuck's return. her objects; by concealing and denying her prinWe cannot vouch for the truth of this, more than ciples; by telling us she was changed when she we can for the former. was not changed; by telling us she wished not for We see nothing improbable in it. Wealth and more than toleration, or equality;-when, in power are two grand objects-after which reality, she was grasping for supremacy,-was worldly ambition, and worldly cupidity are con- taking advantage of the honesty of the English tinually grasping. Power is made use of to acquire people, and seeking the extinction of Protestwealth, and wealth to acquire power. We have antism. The northern part of Ireland, where Protestantism prevails, is quiet-is prosperous. The question at issue, then, is not an Irish question, but a Romish one. Shall the mystic Babylon-the Antichristian power of Rome, be welcomed to our shores? Shall Popery be suffered to make England what Ireland is? Rather let us, by a wise, conciliating, mild, judicious, scriptural policy, seek to make Ireland what England is,-to Protestantize Ireland, instead of Romanizing England. Let us give that longdistracted country, in all its blessedness and fulness, the Gospel of peace and salvation. Let us protect Protestants in their lives and property, and Roman Catholics from denunciation and excommunication, when they exercise liberty of conscience in reading the Scriptures. Lord John Russell would endow the Romish priesthood in Ireland. From that will follow the endowment of the Romish priesthood in England. Protestants of England! let your votes-let your prayers be recorded against it: say, as you canIt shall not be done. Lord John Russell was willing to strip the Irish Church, and to deck Popery with its spoils. Lord Grey is still willing to do so. Lord John Russell and Sir Robert Peel are alike agreed as to giving grants of money for Romish | Listen,-we say, not so much to the accusations | time of his or her taking the said oath (which shall Education. Protestant electors, resolve that you will neither endow the Romish priesthood in Ireland, nor the Romish Bible in England. Lord John Russell would renew our diplomatic relations with Rome. This is at present unlawful, thanks to the dearbought wisdom and experience of our ancestors. Let it continue so. Popery was never a friend to England, and never will be. Diplomatic relations with Rome will make the wheels of Government to revolve round the Vatican as their centre, and the Court of Rome will supersede or overave the Court of St. James. Believe not the assertions as to the liberal policy of Rome-they are no more to be regarded than her truthfulness. The liberal Pope still condemns Bible Societies! The liberal Pope still worships the wafer idol! The liberal Pope still calls on Romanists to join him in offering prayers to the Virgin Mary, and the saints! Therefore, we say, No Popery, No pro-Popery candidates, no pro-Popery representatives. We want not old Popery, nor modern Popery. We want not Italian theology, Italian politics, Italian diplomacy, nor Italian slavery and priestcraft. We want not Popery, whether from the banks of the Cam, the Isis, the Tiber, or the Thames. We want pure Christianity, and will not betray it to its worst foe. Should Popery be endowed, millions of your money will be required, Protestant Electors, to pay for the mummeries and impieties of Popery. Even as it is, you are made to pay for the education of Romish priests to agitate Ireland, and for a police and military to keep it quiet. If you value liberty, oppose Popery which is a system of slavery and bondage. If you regard the liberty of the Press, oppose Popery which would destroy it. If you esteem liberty of conscience a sacred right, oppose Popery which condemns it. If you value the Bible, oppose Popery which would take that Bible from you as a dangerous book. Do you support Bible Societies? oppose Popery which denounces them? Do you aid in missionary efforts, oppose Popery, which would blight and defeat them; which has driven a British subject, Dr. Kalley, from Madeira, destroyed his property, and endangered his life;-has dethroned the Queen of Tahiti, and is no less opposed to the monarch of these realms; and would enslave you. Protestant electors, this is an age of rapid and gigantic movements. As much is now done in a week as formerly in much longer period; the press, steam navigation, railways, and the electric telegraph all facilitate rapid and gigantic changes. Rome is actively at work. She is prepared. Let her not take you by surprise. While you are doubting her designs, she is accomplishing your ruin. a But Protestantism, Roman Catholics tell us, has been the song of England. Such assertions without proof (will not go far with the English people Has Protestantism or Popery, made Italy, Portugal, Spain, Belgium,-what they are? Do not be ridiculed but of your principles. INVISHLOM of Exeter Hall, as to the accusations of history. That time is long enough for you, in each TO THE PROTESTANTS OF THE EMPIRE. POPERY WOULD INVALIDATE THE TITLE OF QUEEN VICTORIA TO THE THRONE OF THESE REALMS. "After so great and glorious a triumph,-after basking for so many years in the light of the Gospel, shall we now go back to the beggarly elements of Popery?" The fatal measure of the year 1829, erroneously termed the "Catholic Emancipation Bill," was passed, as must be well known, in direct violation of the solemn declaration against Transubstantiation, which was subscribed not only by the Sovereign, but by all the Members of both Houses of Parliament, and which declares the Church of Rome to be "SUPERSTITIOUS and IDOLATROUS." That the nation is now but beginning to pay the penalty, as was then predicted, of the treachery of that faithless Legislature, few, who have carefully watched the progress of events, will question. first happen), make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the declaration mentioned in the statute made in the thirtieth year of the reign of King Charles II., intituled, An Act for the more effectual preserving the King's person and Government, by disabling Papists from sitting in either House of Parliament," of which the following is a copy : 30 CHAS. II., ST. 2. "I, A. B., do solemnly and sincerely, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do believe that in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever; And that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other saint, and the sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. And I do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read unto me, as they are commonly understood by English Protestants, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatso ever, and without any dispensation already granted me for this purpose by the Pope, or any other authority, or person whatsoever, or without any hope of any such dispensation from any person or authority whatsoever, or 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 power whatsover, should dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null or void from the beginning." scribed in the presence of God," by QUEEN VIC Such is the solemn declaration, made and sub TORIA. value on the inestimable blessings of the civil and If, then, the people of this great empire set a just religious privileges they as yet possess, and which have been handed down to them, under God, by the blood of their noble ancestors, they will at once arouse themselves as unworthy of those great blessings, resolved, at all hazard, to defend and maintain the laws of their country, and no longer suffer those faithless and treacherous advisers (who, alas! have already, by their perfidious schemes, undermined the constitution, and even threaten its destruction) to wield the power of handing the nation over to the merciless grasp of the superstitious, idolatrous, and persecuting Church of Rome, the curse and scourge of nations. But remember, Protestant brethren, that there yet remains within the United Kingdom a faithful and formidable band of Christians (with whom you are all affectionately entreated to unite), whose watchword is embodied in the ever-memorable lan But far, far different, was the conduct of our forefathers, who had felt the scourge of Papal persecution, and that there could never be any peace with Rome. Let us remember it was by their fidelity, even to the stake, in the defence and vindication of the Gospel, that the dawn of truth and light and liberty arose on England. They therefore resolved (in order to guard future generations from similar evils), that no Papist should ever again ascend or sit upon the throne of these kingdoms, and accordingly passed a law, entitled, " An Act for declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and settling the Succession of the Crown." The fourth clause provides, "That all and every person and persons that is, are, or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with the See of Rome, or shall profess the Popish religion, or shall marry a Papist, shall be excluded, and be for ever inca-guage of the martyred Protestant Prelate Latimer, pable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and minions thereunto belonging, or any part of the Government of this realm, and Ireland, and the dosame, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same; and in realms shall be, and are hereby absolved of their all and every such case or cases the people of these allegiance; and the said crown and Government shall from time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by such person or persons, being Protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons, so reconciled, holding communion or professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead." Hence that the Right Hon. and Noble defender of the Protestant Institutions of his country, the Earl in the most emphatic manner,of Winchelsea and Nottingham, recently proclaimed "For himself he would declare, though the result to him should be the scaffold, that if the members of the house of Brunswick abjured and deserted Protestantism, he would, in the name of God, declare the throne to be vacant." The fifth clause provides, "That every King or Queen of these realms," of the age of twelve years, "shall on the first day of the meeting of the first Parliament next after his or her coming to the Crown," or attaining the age of twelve years, as the case may be, "sitting on his or her throne in the House of Peers, in the presence of the Lords and Commons, therein assembled, or at his or her coronation, before such person or persons who shall administer the coronation oath to him or her, at the when he thus exhorted his fellow-warrior at the stake as the first kindled faggot was laid at his the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by feet:-" Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." A PROTESTANT SENTINEL. WINCHESTER.-Mr. Lord will deliver a lecture here next Wednesday evening, at seven o'clock, to the members and friends of the Winchester Protestant Institute, on the encroachments of Popery, and the duties of Protestants. REPORTED ILLNESS OF THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. We are gratified to be enabled to give a most positive contradiction to the alarming paragraph which appeared in a contemporary yesterday, respecting the health of the Bishop of Winchester. The greatest alarm has been excited among the large circle of friends of the Right Reverend Prelate by the exaggerated details, which have been entirely misunderstood. The Bishop of Winchester is merely labouring under the disagreeable effects of a severe sore throat; and as his Lordship did not feel sufficiently well to officiate at his appointed Ordination on Sunday last, at Farnham, he requested the attendance of his friend, the Bishop of Oxford, to discharge the duties of that particular solemnity of the Church. Such is the simple fact, and we are certain the friends of the Right Rev. Prelate will be relieved when we assure them, on the authority of a very near relative of his Lordship, that the prelate was never in the enjoyment of better bodily health than at the present time. A DIALOGUE BETWEEN PETER SURFACE Peter Surface and John Search had some time ago a conversation as to the endowment of Maynooth College. As they confined their remarks to a moderate space, and kept very much to the point, we here give the substance of their conversation. Many of the same remarks which would apply to the endow ment of Maynooth College in particular, will apply to the endowment of Popery in general. The dialogue, too, may very possibly be continued; indeed, it is highly probable that it will, especially when we consider there are many who, like Peter, have gone no more than surface-deep into the question, leaving it for John Search, and those of a kindred spirit, to go more deeply into the matter. The dialogue commences by some superficial Protestant attacking John Search, as is by no means uncommon, for his consistency. It is as follows: I Peter Surface. Why do you petition Parliament against the annual grant to Maynooth College? John Search.-Because I am a Protestant. protest against Popery as an erroneous system of theology; and I do not like, when I can help it, to support what I believe and know to be wrong. Peter Surface.-The grant in amount is but trifling; one would think you might gladly give it for the sake of peace. John Search. The Roman Catholics are rich enough. Look at all their chapels, and colleges, and convents, and cathedrals, the number of their priests, bishops, vicars apostolic, &c., &c. Why, I suppose they have spent in Great Britain, her possessions and dependencies alone, a few millions of money in the course of the last quarter or half century. I should like to know where all the money comes from. Peter Surface.—If they are at so great expense, they must want larger funds. Your argument makes against you. John Search.-How so?-are we obliged to contribute to our own ruin? If they have money enough to lavish the thousands they do in endeavouring to supplant the faith of this country, surely there is no reason why, on the ground of charity or expediency, we should be called upon to support them. And I object to it on principle. But then you say, do it for the sake of peace. This is building upon very hollow ground, and adopting false and unsound principles of action. What peace, what union can exist between truth and error? True wisdom is "first pure, then peaceable."James iii. 17. You are putting clamour in the place of principle; and yielding to violence, what neither justice, nor reason, nor principle, nor charity, nor humanity, require; and if we are to go on after that rate, we may give up everything;-they have only, like fractious children, or well-dissembling mendicants, to clamour after it, and we must give it, to keep them quiet. But how does the argument make in any way against me? Peter Surface. Why, because you say that their funds are inadequate, and yet propose to diminish them! John Search.-Yes, because they are doing mischief with them. Our Church is doing all the good she can, and wants more funds; and I say that if we cannot get money to support her, and to extend her sphere of usefulness, we ought not to make grants to support the Romish church, and assist her in destroying our own. How much does the Pope give towards the support of the only Protestant place of worship in Rome? Peter Surface.-Nothing, that I ever heard of. Peter Surface.-Well done! That is as brave as Sir Robert Harry Inglis. John Search. They are his very words. Do you know what is taught in Maynooth? Peter Surface.-No;-but have they not a right to teach what they like? John Search.-Certainly not, if it subverts morality, and tends to the destruction of social intercourse and civil government. Peter Surface.-But is it so? John Search.-Yes, clearly. You have only to look into the books they read, study, or refer to there, to be satisfied of this. John Search. And why should we give to May- Peter Surface. You speak of Popery as it was, or rather as it was said to be, 300 years ago; you in England if he could with a good grace prevent it. John Search.-Nothing at all. Why don't the Peter Surface.-Assuredly I do. be such a recreant? Peter Surface.-Well, I am half of your turn of mind. But what is there of so bad a nature in Maynooth? John Search.-I should object to supporting any Popish institution, for I believe Popery to be a system of counterfeit Christianity. Many blindly and ignorantly adopt it, as ignorant people sometimes mistake the false coin for the true. They may both glitter; but all is not gold that glitters, and when tried by the true standard, the counterfeit is instantly detected. Peter Surface. What standard do you allude to? John Search.-THE BIBLE: and Popery is afraid of it, because there is no Popery in the Bible. The Church of Rome knows this; and therefore withholds the Bible from the people. Instead of the pure gold of Scripture, she gives them the alloy of tradition, gilded over with the authoritative teaching of the Church! the unanimous consent of the Fathers!! or something of the kind (though their unanimity is most discordant); instead of feeding her children with "the sincere milk of the word," infuses into the cup a deadly poison, that lulls them to spiritual torpor and death. I don't wish to appear needlessly vehement, but where the judgment is convinced and the heart warm, warm and animated language will be the result, and you remember it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing. (Gal. iv. 18.) For myself, I never will consent to pay a sixpence for teaching as the word of God what I believe to be contrary to that word. John Search.-Changed! Not for the better. You forget she is infallible, and therefore unchangeable; and though, from motives of expediency, she may vary in some respects her external policy, yet in principle she abides the same. Peter Surface. Why should not Popery be tolerated? John Search. I am not contending against toleration, but against the endowment of what is wrong. Popery, in its nature, is opposed to the best interests of men and nations. There is the Confessional, one of the most effective engines of tyranny and debasement ever invented. There the priests of the Church of Rome are required to put such qustions to their penitents, even to married or unmarried females, as might well call up a blush into the cheeks of the most profligate and abandoned-questions upon offences, from the very thought of which the truly noble, pure, and virtuous mind recoils with instinctive horror. Look only into Delahogue and Bailly upon this, both class-books at Maynooth, follow out the principle into their Catechisms, Abridgments of Christian Doctrine, and Books of Devotion, such as The Garden of the Soul!!-mark its operations in daily life, as past or present events testify, upon public or private affairs, and you will perceive that I have sketched you no exaggerated or over-drawn picture. Peter Surface.-I know this is a very awkward and frightful part of the subject. But then do they not give some authority for the private confession into the ears of the priest? John Search.-Yes!-At least they endeavour to do so. They first invent a dogma of faith, and then pervert Scripture to support it; for example, the precept of St. James v. 16-" Confess your faults one to another”— "'—a precept given to all the faithfulthey twist to support the doctrine of auricular confession to a priest! Does it not require the priests to confess to them, as much as it calls on them to confess to the priests? But to pass from this ;-they absolutely instal the priest as God. Peter Surface. No, no, you are going too far now. I know many very good Roman Catholics who do not hold that at all. John Search.-Very likely, but many of them do; the principles of the Church are to that effect, and the Maynooth Class-book teaches the same. It is laid down in Delahogue de Sacramento Peni *John Search is quite right in this; and the language of Dominus Dens, in his Theologia Moralis, is of a nature not less appalling. In vol. vi., p. 218-9, No. 159, he thus writes :"Q. What is the seal of sacramental confession? A. It is the obligation of concealing those things which are learned from sacramental confession. Q. Can a case be given in which it is lawful to break the sacramental seal? A. No, it cannot, though the safety or life of a man, or the ruin of the State, might depend thereon. Q. What answer, then, ought a confessor to make, when asked about a truth which he knows only from sacramental confession? A. He ought to say, he does not know it, and if it be necessary, confirm it with an oath!! Objection:It is in no case lawful to tell a lie, but a confessor so speaking would lie, because he knows the truth: therefore, &c. A. I deny the minor (that is, that the priest would be guilty of a lie). For such a confessor is asked as a man, and he answers as man, but he does not know that truth as man, though he knows it as God!!' says St. Thomas Aquinas; and that meaning is included in the answer, for when he is questioned, or answers, out of confession, he is regarded as man!!" ful results of this monstrous dogma, see publication of Protestant Association, No. 16.) NOTTINGHAM. LECTURE ON THE REFORMATION, IN ITS ASPECT TOWARDS LIBERTY. On Thursday evening, the Rev. R. P. Blakeney, A.B., delivered another of his very powerful lectures. The subject of it was "The Aspect of the Reformation towards Civil and Religious Liberty;" occasioned by the address delivered on Sunday evening, June 20, in the Roman Catholic church of St. Barnabas, in this town, by the Rev. J. Griffin. The time for commencement was half-past seven; but at seven, not only were all the seats filled, but the avenue was so crowded that it was a work of the greatest difficulty to get to the platform; and, before the proceedings commenced, the place was crowded to excess. draw up this pious edict, was already seized with the illness by which God removed him; and said, in sealing it, that after this triumph of the faith, and so fine a monument of the King's piety, he no longer regretted finishing his days. These were his last words, and words worthy to crown so glorious a ministry." 16 Protestants of Nottingham, open your eyes. When the Roman Catholics raise the cry of Religious Liberty" in Nottingham, remember Italy, Spain, and Portugal, where there is no religious liberty. (Cheers.) Look at Spain. Read Borrow's Bible in Spain, and you will see what Popish liberty is. The people are willing to receive the Bible; but they are not allowed by the priests. If I were to hold such a Meeting as this in Spain, I should be in danger of the stiletto. The same things are true of Italy, and of Portugal. Popery has not full power in France; and there is some degree of religious liberty there. But the Church of Rome shews its true spirit in Madeira. When there is an oppor tunity the spirit of medieval Rome still manifests only after the Reformation, and was firmly secured itself in acts. Religious liberty was acknowledged here in 1688, when some thought that Popery was about to be re-established, but when William, of the throne; when the battle of the Boyne was fought, "glorious, pious, and immortal memory," ascended the anniversary of which is on this very day. (Loud cheering.) I have a proposition to make. Is this discussion still to be going on? Are we not to come to the point? (Cheers.) I tell you that I wil! bring them to the point. (Applause.) There is no religious liberty in Portugal, in Spain, in Italy. We must labour to establish religious liberty there. A petition must be sent to the Pope. (Cheers and laughter.) The priests of Nottingham will be asked to sign it; it will demand religious liberty for enslaved Spain and Portugal; for enslaved Italy. Nothing would do my heart so much good as to hold a Protestant meeting in Rome itself. (Applause.) Let us have equal privileges; let Rome not have it all her own way. Rome ought not to have the power to attack our religion here, and we not to have the privilege to make it known in Rome itself. I have taken up this subject, and I intend never to drop it. It is a great point; I will bring it prominently before the world. These nations are in slavery; we will demand for them religious liberty. If there are any Chartists here, let me advise them. You are honest men. I know and admire your honesty, though I do not agree with you; I admire your fearlessness. Will you ally yourselves with Rome, when she maintains despotism wherever her power extends? Chartists! give up that alliance with the Roman Catholic Church. And now as to this petition, let us demand that the priests sign it; that will put their professions of religious liberty to the test. I have worded it in a respectful manner; but, if they do not like it, let them draw one up themselves; only we must see that it goes. This is the petition: tentiæ, 292, 3, that if a priest be asked by the ma- | bread. Mr. Griffin says those were happy days | which he preached, commended Louis XIV for that gistrate concerning those things of which he has for the poor: I say they were happy days for the revocation, expressing his joy that so good a work jolly monks and nuns. (Cheers and laughter.) had been done, and with reference to the Chancellor, knowledge only from confession-he ought to answer Mr. Griffin talks of the "purple and fine linen" of he said:that he does not know them!-even to swear it, and the Establishment; but what shall we think of the "The wise Chancellor who received the order to that too, without any danger of falsehood!-and all state in which Thomas à Becket, whom he adores as a saint, was wont to live? Luxury of all kinds, this because they are taught to believe that the and concubinage, were the characteristics of the priest in the Confessional acts in the place of God! Romish monks of old, who were at length properly suppressed, as a plague to the country. With requatenus Dei vices agit.”* gard to their alleged laziness, Mr. Griffin says that the Romish priests are very active. I know they are now; but it does not follow that when they are endowed they will not sit down in idleness; that, as I said before, our streets will not swarm with lazy, good-for-nothing ecclesiastics. (Cheers.) Every one who has been upon the Continent knows what fine sleek fellows the monks in Belgium and other Roman Catholic countries are. (Cheers.) You, Sir, (turning to the Chairman,) can testify to that. (The Chairman: "I can.") Endow the priests here, and see what they will be then. Mr. Griffin says, "Look at the monks on Charnwood Forest." Yes, that establishment is got up with great caution. It is intended for Protestant eyes. But if you want to know what the monks were in days of yore, go to Newstead Abbey; it will be a pleasant excursion; fish-pond, and all the various provisions for luxury and when you see the building, the gardens, the which it contains, you will know what sort of a life was led by the old gentlemen who possessed it. seeking to show that Protestant principles lead to (For some fright-With respect to liberty of conscience, instead of persecution, Mr. Griffin has only asserted that some of the Reformers were guilty of it. It may be that some of them have persecuted. But because some Christians sin, does Christianity sanction sin? No! He has brought forward no evidence to show that Protestantism sanctions persecution. Persecution is natural to man. Men in their natural state are, as described by the Scriptures, "swift to shed blood." But oh! what an awful case have we against the Church of Rome, if we can prove that she teaches one man to embrue his hands in the blood of another. I defy Mr. Griffin to prove that Protestant principles sanction persecution; our only weapon is free discussion. The Church of Rome has given her sanction to persecution. If some of the Reformers did persecute, it was because they had been brought up on the milk of Rome. (Hear, hear.) If Calvin did cause Servetus to be put to death, it shows the corruption of that religion from which he had emerged. The Protestant, when he persecutes, violates his principles, as he does when he commits sin. The Romanist, when he persecutes, acts in accordance with the spirit and principles of his Church; for that Church is essentially persecuting in its spirit. I deny that there is a single principle in favour of persecution in any Protestant Church. In this controversy, do not accept Mr. Griffin's assertion or mine, as such, but look at the evidence adduced. Of course, he denies that Roman Catholic principles sanction persecution; but I prove it. I appeal to the writings of the Saints, the Popes, and the Doctors, and to the Decrees of Councils, in proof of what I assert. Thomas Aquinas says that heretics may be killed; yet he is a Saint, to whom Roman Catholics pray, and whom they call illustrious and blessed. A gentleman on the platform informs me that at Ratcliffe College they have the class books of Liguori, who taught that fathers must give up their children, and children their parents, to be punished for heresy. Cardinal Bellamine says, "Heretics, when strong, ought to be committed to God; when weak, to the executioner." You "heretics," as you are called, are strong in England, and so the Church of Rome leaves you to God; if you were weak, you would be left to the executioner. (Hear.) De la Hogue says that heretics may be put to death. Benedict XIV. says that bishops are bound to purge out heresy. (Mr. Blakeney quoted similar passages from several others, and proceeded.) Bossuet, the great Roman Catholic divine-who is by some regarded as so pious and liberal, as to be half a Protestant-Bossuet, who is quoted by Mr. Waterworth, and whose works are always regarded as standard works, sanctioned persecution. You have all heard of the revocation of the edict of Nantes. That edict, in 1588, granted liberty of conscience to the Protestants in France. But in 1598, Louis XIV. revoked that edict; the Huguenots were persecuted and tortured, and 800,000 of them fled the country. Bossuet, in a funeral sermon The chair was taken by the Rev. W. Clementson, who gave out a hymn (which was sung with much fervour), read the seventeenth chapter of Revelations; the prayer commencing, " Almighty and most merciful God, who hast made all things, and hatest nothing that thou hast made," the prayer for "Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics;" and the Lord's Prayer. "" a wretch.' Having gone at great length into many points urged against Protestants, Mr. Blakeney proceeded:- France is not properly a Roman Catholic country; Protestantism exists, and is progressing there. Mr. Griffin recommends the history written by Cobbett. What was Cobbett ? He was an infidel. He brought the bones of Paine from America, and buried them. He misrepresented Protestantism. Mr. Griffin allies himself with an infidel-one of those men who, with reverence be it spoken, denounced the blessed Jesus as 66 Thus it is that Popery and Infidelity are allied. I wish Mr. Griffin joy of his company. (Cheers.) Mr. Griffin referred to the Poor-laws, knowing the prejudice there is connected with that subject. But what have the Poor-laws to do with this controversy? If the Poor-laws be wrong, let them be remedied. There are many bad laws, and we are threatened with more, such as the endowment of Roman Catholicism. (Cheers.) But it is your privilege, some of you, to choose the men who make laws; and do you remember, when the time comes, to send men who will make good laws. (Hear.) Mr. Griffin says that thousands of the poor were fed at the monasteries. Yes: the monks had beggared the people, and out of what they had taken from them they might well throw the bones to the poor. (Cheers.) One-fourth of the property in land had fallen into their hands. The monks had 6,000,000l. a-year. The monks cajoled the people out of their money, and reduced them to such a state that they were glad to crawl to the gates of the monasteries, to ask for a drop of broth, or a crumb of It is in vain that we "To his Holiness Pius IX., Pontifex Maximus. "We, the undersigned Bishop and Clergy of the Catholic Church in the Midland Counties, stationed at Nottingham, beg, with profound awe, to address your Holiness upon a subject of great importance to the propagation of the Catholic faith in England. Your Holiness has manifested an ardent desire for the conversion of this benighted land; and therefore we presume that our petition will, at all events, meet with your Holiness's kind consideration. We regret to inform your Holiness that there is a great prejudice against our Church in this country, from the belief that it sanctions persecution. repudiate such principles; for those who entertain such a notion, reply, that where the Catholic Church is fully dominant, there is no freedom of conscience. We therefore humbly, and with the deepest reverence implore, that your Holiness will remove this strumbling-block out of the way; and will take such measures of direct control and advice as will give to Italy, to Spain, to Portugal, and to Austria, liberty to profess and to maintain whatever religious sentiments they please, without incurring any kind of punishment on account of such profession. And we can assure your Holiness, that, when the people of England, to whom freedom of conscience is dearer |