The Sun. — London, England, 1819-04-24 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN. ROMAN CATHOLICS. LETTER V. MR. EDITOR—We come now to consider the foreign allegiance produced by the Supremacy of the Pope, and this I have ever looked upon as a grind and abundant source of opposition to the Roman Catholic Claims. The Supremacy of the Pope is one grounded upon the supposed supremacy of Saint Peter amongst the Apostles ; I shall not stop to expose the fallacy of this claim, but merely consider the effect which the recognition of it must necessarily have amongst Roman Catholics, who live io a Protestant. Country. We may, however, be al lowed to remark, that the Doctrine of the Papal Supremacy was not always holden even in the - Church of Rome ; and that it was never exer cised or claimed until the seventh Century, when it was conceded to the then Bishop of Rome by a tyrannical Usurper. Previous to this period, Rome was regarded by the Christian Church more as an Episcopal than as a Papal See, and bad not assumed to itself the high pre-eminence amongst the Catholic Churches which it now sup poses was given to Saint Peter by our Saviour, and which the Pope now conceives himself en tided to assume as the successor of that Apostle. In the earlier ages of the Chinch, the Priesthood were in subjection to the Imperial Power ; they, indeed, exercised their Divine functions under apostolic sanctions and apostolic successors, but it is clear from the memorable Letter of Pope Gregory I. to the Emperor Manritius, that in his day, the Roman Pontiff was not considered as the general or oecumenical, Bishop. That amiable Prelate (whose election to the See of Rome was confirmed by the Emperor), upon the occasion of the Bishop of Constantinople having assumed the Title of Universal Bishop, in consequence of the removal of a portion of time Roman Authority to that City, says, " It is a blasphemous Title, and none of the Roman Pontiff's hare ever dared to *saltine so singular an one *;" and in another Letter addressed to the Bishop of Constantinople, upon the same occasion, this amiable and learned Prelate says, " What wilt thou say to Christ, the Head of the Universal Church, in the day of judg ment, who thus endeavoured to subject his numbers to thyself by this title of Universal P" It is clear that the Papal supremacy originated in a great measure in the removal of the seat of Empire from Rome to Constantinople ; previous to that event, the Bishops of Rome certainly enjoyed a precedence amongst the Christian Bishops ; but this was merely one of Honour, not of Jurisdiction, stud was similar to the precedence claimed and exercised by our Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, over the other English Bishops. It arose from Rome being the original seat of Impetial Authority. At this period the Empe rors exercised the same controul over the Church which the British Monarch now does over the English branch of it ; but after the removal of the Seat of Empire to Constantinople, the Popes were left in the sole possession of the ancient Ito man Capital, and having no imperial authority to controul them, very soon became entire masters of its territories f. Here then was laid the founda tion of that immense power which it is so much the fashion at the present day to represent as trivial and insignificant ; but which was so far from being so at the period to which we are re ferring, that " it very soon compelled the Em perors to be confirmed by the Popes, instead of the Popes being confirmed (as was the custom before the Seat of Empire was removed) by the Emperors.t" Having thus premised, we shall proceed to the mote immediate object of this Letter. It has been laid clown as a general rule by one of the most powerful advocates for the concession of the Roman Catholic Claims§, " that all tens of the same State are entitled to the same privileges, and that if any,exceptions are deemed requisite, the onus probandi lies on those who pro. pose theirs to slew their necessity." Ido not dispute this axiom in a general point of view ; but surely when any particular class-of persons refuse to take the benefits of a Constitution through the same medium which others do, the onus probandi, why such refusal is made, and what• are the conscientious scruples which give rise - to it, lies upon them. This is precisely the case with the Roman Catholics of the United King don►; and whilst they acknowledge' the supremacy of a foreign See, look up to a foreign Authority• * Greg. Epkt...1ib..11 7 ..ind.. 13, p. 137. • f It is very remarkable that Passin (an Usurper of the French Throne) was the first who aided the Pontiffs in their designs upon Daly; in return for which, he was crowned and anointed as King - of France by a Romish Archbishop; and that Bnonaintrte ;another French" Usurper) should have de prived the Pope of the Italian States, atter the Pontiff had pl , iced the French t'rosn on Head !—" Alelanctboti's Third Letter, Rot. Adv." nistory of rorence,lib. I.—§ Mr. Canning. for direction, and labour under a blind submission to their Priesthood, they cannot well expect to obtain a share in the Government of a Country which possesses a Constitution similar to our own. It is well known that one essential diffetence be tween the Church of England (considered as a re ligious establishment) and the Church of Rome consists in the one Church declaring the King to be its Head, and the other the I'ope. The tight of the King of England to be the Head of the Church of England has been secured to him by a solemn Act of his Legislature, in which Act it is also ex pressly declared that the Bishop of Rome shall have no jurisdiction within these realms*. Here then the Constitution of England and the Papal Supremac'y are at issue. It is observable that the Legislative Statute to which I have just referred is not content with merely declaring the English Sovereign to be the Head of the English Church, but thinks it necessary to go further, and to enact, that '" the Bishop of Rome shall have no jurisdiction within these Realms." The King of England, supported by his Legislature, is here therefore at issue with the Pope of Rome, supported by his Cardinals—the Decrees of ancient Councils—and the Traditions of Fathers. Matters would never have come to this in the United King dom had not the severe Laws against the Roman Catholics been repealed ; but as such Repeal has taken place (and I am far from questioning the propriety of it), the Roman Catholics have been placed in a situation to assert their spiritual alle giance to the Romish See in the face of an Eng lish Parliament, and at the period dutiog which they appear as Petitioners at its Bar. The only question therefore is, which of the two parties are to give way ? Is the King to admit the Roman Catholics into places of Trust and Power, with , out a renunciation being made by them of their allegiance to a Foreign Potentate, and without taking those oaths which other subjects are ob liged to take ; or is he, by admitting them, vir tually to acknowledge their right of allegiance to the Papal Throne, and to give up a proportionate share of his own ? To this standard I would there fore bring the subject, and I shall now proceed to consider the nature of the Supremacy which the Pope claims, and its probable effect upon the Roman Catholics. BRITANNICUS. * Art. 37. FOR THE SUN. THE PAPISTS. LETTER IL MR. EDITOR—TERR/E FILIUS having closed his history of the Roman Catholics with reflections which have given me great satisfaction, and of fered up a kind prayer to turn the hearts of those who maliciously favour their petition, I beg leave to tollow up my last with a thought or two of my OWFI. The great BLACKSTONE, whose book, like OVID and HORACE, will live for ever, assures us that our Sovereign Magistrate is bound to protect the Established Church, and to admit none hut ge nuine members into offices of trust and emolument, which is a matter of favour and discretion. This is sound law ; and if the Roman Catholics could, by any strained meaning of the words, be deemed genuine members, they might become candidates for them. This is impossible, while they com mune with the Romish Church, which is a bitter enemy to the Church established, and cannot as such come into offices of civil and political power underthe State. It would mix friends with foes, and be an irreconcileable contradiction ; one swearing supremacy in a Pope abroad, the other in a King at home. If they say they are friends to the Protestants in all secular affairs, and to the Laws and Constitution of Great Britain and Ireland, they shew a silent indifference to the National Religion, which is an essential part of the Stare, and thence cannot be deemed members under tiny description. .-• Would y..u, as President of a social club, admit any man into it who refused to subscribe to its rules? No ! Consider, then, our empire as a great na tion, to be what in truth it is, one universal public club, governed by rules, civil and religious, in a consolidated body, with an executive power at its head, as indivisibly supreme, would yon, if clothed with that power, admit any man into your political society nizo refused to subscribe them ? No ! In eithWcase von would be un worthy the Throne, and deserve to be hurled from it. This brings the question to a mathematical point. The Roman Catholics pant to be let into places of trust and profit under the State, and to retain their enmity to its Church. What they humbly petition for, they unblushingly demand 5 but while an established Church is necessary to thread of good government here, and happiness hers ter, it must he protected by our Chief Ma gistrate, and its Roman Catholic enemies be kept at a distance. To comply with their petitioning demands, would be like opening a door to wolves for ►he destruction of lambs, and leave them to role paramount. PHILO-BLACKSTONE. BURGLARY AT LORD NORMANToN'B —On Sun- Illy evening last, a' daring gang of villains con trived to burglarionsly ewer the, d‘velling house of Lord NORMANTON, Curzon street, May-fair, and rob the place of various articles of property belonging to his Lordship, of great value, with which they tnAtie off without detection. THE ti UN. SOLESI QUIS DICERE FALSUAI AUDEAT ? LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 1819. We received this morning the Paris Papers of Wednesday last. The following are extracts : " CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, TUESDAY, APRIL .20. The discussion was resumed on Art. 20 of the first projet, respecting the Press Amendment, moved by M. Lai* to extend the privilege of non-liability to prosecution to speeches printed by Deputies, although not delivered in the Chamber. "M. Manuel, at some length, went over the grounds bearing upon the question, observing, on the one hand, that a Member might be de terred from delivering useful truths in the Cham ber, but which it might be highly proper to pub lish ; whilst, on the other hand, a currency throughout France might be given to principles more or less dangerous. He suggested an amend ment upon the amendment, to the effect that such speeches (not spoken) so published, should not be liable to prosecution unless such prosecution should be authorized by the Chamber. " M. envier opposed the amendment, on the ground of its tending to give a privilege to any Member of the Chamber disposed to use it, of creating disturbance in the State, and of calum niating private individuals. "M. Laing de Villevesque supported the amendment, as necessary to the Constitutional independence of the Chamber. ' " M. Laine recurred to the amendment pro posed by himself, still advocating its principle, and contending, that the power possessed by the Chamber of censuring its Members would be sufficient to prevent any evil consequences. " The Keeper of the Seals strenuously oppo sed the amendment, contending, that if it were agreed to, the Members of a minority would be continually appealing to the people against the majority of the Chamber, and that thus t hey would rapidly proceed, not only in the path of disorder, but in the very track of revolu tion. He maintained, that however vicious the formation of the different Representative Assem blies in France, or bad the auspices under which they were convoked, still that the great majority of each was sound. M. de la Bourdonnaye.—What, even the Convention ? The Keeper of the Seals—Yes, Monsieur ; and if the Convention had not acted un der the fear of daggers, France would not have, been afflicted by the crime of Regicide.—(Loud applause on the left side and in the Tribunes.) " The President reprehended the applause from the Tribunes, which was expressly forbidden by the orders of the Chamber. " The Keeper of the Seals proceeded to dwell upon the dangerous power which the inviolability of publication would give to a factious minority of the Chamber. M. Manuel complained of the tone of the Speech of the Keeper of the Seals. He main tained that liberty was more in danger from Revo lutions than from the exercise of power ; and that, therefore, no danger was to be apprehended from the friends of freedom. "M. Royer Collard decidedly opposed the principle of giving an irresponsibility to the Mem bers of the Chamber. " The amendment of M Laine, thus worded, viz. 1 Speeches delivered, and opinions printed and distributed, in the Chambers,' was then put, and was rejected by a large majority. It was sup ported by the extremes of the right and left sides, " lie sub-amen lnient of M. Manuel was re- jected in a similar manner. " Another amendment of M. Manuel, to exempt from all suit the publication of speeches, reports, or other papers, was then put. " This, the President observed, interfered with an additional article proposed by M. Benjamin Constant, to exempt from suit the publication by a third person,either textually or by way of extract, speeches, reports, or other papers, emanating trom either of the Chambers, or either of their mem hers, when the authenticity of such publication was acknowledged by the authors. " After some discussion, the amendment of M. Manuel was rejected, and the discussion of (be additional article, proposed by 118 min Cote twit, was adfixurned till to = morrow. • " PARIS, APRIL 21.—The Ambassadors and Foreign Ministers yesterday paid their respects' t ° the King and Royal Family. " The Persian Ambassador sets out for Lood°9 to-morrow. FIVE PER CENTS. Tuesday . 66 f. 90 C. DRFERR 8D STOCK. 01 the 22d March, 1817, 84 f. 30c. 22d Sept. 1817, e 2 ,1 March, 1819, BO 1. 30 c. 224 i Scpt. 1818, sod March, 1819, 76 f. 50c. " VIENNA, APRIL 9.—lt is said, that the FO P. cess of Wales intends to proceed to Rome , t° f m . e , side there during the stay in that City of th e 11. peror and Empress of Austria. ; t. " AUGSBURG, APRIL 13.—0 n the 10th r 1 se at ten in the evening, a s h oc k o f all Earligl usk e was felt on the banks of the lssar, particul a rlf s Landshut, and in its environs. It was ol s° felt here, though feebly. " NIsMES, APRIL 14.—A tumult took P ltace i n t Vigan on the evening of the 4th instant, i" c° . :„ sequence of a dispute between some worko leg " oi The Gendarmerie were called out, and two P ei ' s° were arrested." Our last accounts from Nova Scotia contain tiler great complaints on the dec a y o f trade, a t". ° matters of great importance to the ColonY' seems to require speedy and particular a ttteti on the part of Government. We understand by the last letters f rom :- O Bahamas, that instructions had been re taile d issue Writs for a new Assembly ; but Ire : e v ; much doubt, if intimations of reconcilem ent " 4 not been received at the same time, whe ther tbeo Writs will not he issued in vain. little THE FUNDS.—Consols have improved a this morning. They commenced at 721, 'lent t 0 72k, but afterwards fell to 72k. Much busioess has been done. The reports are numerous re specting the amount of the Loan. DOVER, APRIL 23.—His Ro ya l Kai Duke of KENT, with th e Duchess and Sui te ' landed here about three o'clock, the Nind cry ing very fresh. Her Royal Highness was c sick. They were landed in the Costal-I°6l boat by the Tide Surveyor, Mr. Paamt , (*ten good style, there being an ugly sea going t'. the Pier. 'f lie Royal Yacht remains in the P a te Blows very fresh at S. E.—Their RoY ai s e t nesses intend sleeping at Payn's Hotel 9 " - off for town by easy stages in the morning' tbs Another Letter.—Their Royal Highnesses rest Duke and Duchess of KENT, w i t h 80 eaten . -- 0 suite, have just landed from the Royal yacht,_less he,' der a Salute and a Guard of Honou r ; to-night at PAYN'S York Hotel, and proceed of London in the morning. d CHARLES RENNETT.—.This Mall, W"°; Sl i m' Readers will recollect, stole th e i n fant St s ' he 11 ton,. was brought to town this day uy t Of' wich coach, in the custody of two l et‘ce knel fleets. He was immediately taken in 6 -sc coach to the Bow-street Office. The Park and Tower guns fired doub le s et tee Salutes yesterday at one o'clock, in consquegi)E. of the commanded observance of the 1 78114c a r g a ea° GENT'S Birth-day, as announced in the — ,:,, z hlic some time since. The standards on the I r d i ea buildings li and church steeples were disP l4 , 4- yrid! I, e occasion. The morning was ushered 11).000 t i .e general ringing of bells, which o ' ll° i th e tituotl.yiriaeri Royal tle t ,rr h (al e adye t s l it a inl y oe . rnn iil l ni n the evening of GLOUCESTER 17 itii t , O li gi ns :V io nt i fi n li i i i. 'e o l c f a v o tD oe r e nt d& B: te ic i t a ni el e : t e si Bii s n. ing : bl ag i Pti g i s i l e o : s rb i. : ei _ e vi g e oe :: ‘ i, s hor. I ° ; 11 " 9 ' r e. the Tl e i l e te c r o a r t t i i l a " ; s e carriages ins , elnls t i t ei ) o t gh t o i t e oisn D esi t , ike and Duchess of fiet"' aairBreieveodufrio'l in iur p st e la r y. r io cs sj A for the al REGENT will not h e riess until the arrival of the Persian Alnh 4ss !, end They are closely kept at a mews in the " 4 'lol of the town, and exercised only at nig ht ' /,, Ot t are beautiful animals, and have pitik-e°ll presented to his Roy' jo r. tails. Leg a lly We regret to state the illness of Lady ..----,,,,ny TBR, whose amiable character is nai ve— 9 0 esteemed. The fine Collection of Pi4"reec't of liberally submitted to public inspection, eautt course be seen for the present. PAP° We copied yesterday from a Morning - et . a paragraph, stating, that Mr. Youso "' 5 P r of forming at Newcastle. This is another aet°o3 the same name. Mr. YOUNG, wher e b e fit, Theatre, is now performing at Bath, to play Macbeth this evening for his own h ei r s o The account of the departure of Dl's' P hy " t he for America is cornradicted from authority in re paper in which the mis-statement o riginal l Y l i r i e peered. That Lady has been engaged for sti t 0 Gort.e of Covent-°r_ ;11 time past to the Manager of Covent- a', e l Throne, and is performing at present, for ilsg nights, at the Aberde en Theatre.---(0°/1 Paper.) • v L THEATRICAL REGISTER. Performed Last Night. THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE.---A Cure for the Heart- Ache : Young Rapid, Mr. Penley; Ellen Vortex, Miss Boyce. After which. The Heroine. THEATRE ROYAL, CovENr-GAttnetc.—Ecadne: Principal Cha racters by Mr. Macteady and Miss O'Neill, After which, Paul and Virginia. Te which was added, Ban Tou. *•• For A Ilatrox, and NIALLEsnAmme, see the First Page. For PARLLOIENTARY PROCEEDINGS, see the Last Page. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS I)AV AT TWELVE c.f.:LOCK. Bank Stock —2501 251 5 per Cent. Navy Ann. 1041 i 3 per Cent. Red 714 k 72k I Bank Long An 18 1::-117tIrsi 3 per Cent. Cons. 72H4i India Bonds, :30s. 335. pr 31 per Cent BOO Each. Bilis. Sc. pr . ' 4 per Cents 9OO, I Cons. for May 72iii MG El WATER AT LONDON BRIUK;IE TOMORROW. Morning', 56 minutes after 3.—Evening, et minutes after 4