The Press.
London, England, 1854-08-19 00:00:00

784

IC ittraturt.

Evenings with the Romanists. By the Rev.
M. Hobart Seymour, M.A. Loudon : See-

leys.
Tuts volume contains the substance of several
oral controversies with Romanists on the lead-
ing points of difference between Protestants
and Papists. Its author appears to have
officiated as a clergyman in Ireland, but he
does not tell the name of the parish where he
laboured, or where the reported conversations
took place. He dedicates the work to Lord
Palmerston in a flattering letter dated from
Bath ; and we could have wished that the
author had been more particular, by giving
the locality and dates of his missionary exer-
tions. It is written with considerable clever
ness. A popular manner is preserved through-
out, and difficult questions elucidated with
much perspicuity. One of its greatest merits
is that the author does not understate the
case of his Papal antagonist, but candidly
puts the argument for him in full force.
The most important point of the volume,
however, is the preliminary chapter, discuss-
ing the " Moral Results of Romanism," which
contains some very remarkable statistics. Mr.
Seymour appeals to undisputable evidences
to show that the crimes and vices of Romanist
countries far exceed those of lands where
Protestantism prevails. He thus explains
his motive for entering on the investiga-
tion:—
That the amount of crime in this country is too high,
and the spread of immorality too extensive, is the lament
of every good man.
It has been suggested that new means should be tried
to keep down the surging of crime and restrain the deluge
of immorality, and—in the subtle spirit of a certain party
among us—it is argued, that convents, and nunneries, and
confessionals, so long banished from among us, should
again be introduced, at least in some modified form, on
the principle that, as the restraints and motives which our
Protestant Christianity imposes upon crime and immorality
have confessedly failed, there ought now to be trial made
of the restraints and motives which are supplied by the
institutions of the Church of Rome.
He then proceeds to inquire whether con-
vents, nunneries, and confessionals have suc-
ceeded in keeping down crime and vice as
well as Protestantism ? He shows, by refe-
rence to the parliamentary reports, that for
ten years in England and Wales the total of
committals for murders was 718, giving an
average of 72 committals and 18 convictions
for each year. He assumes that in England
and in the continental countries the commit-
tals, and not the convictions, are to be taken
as the amount to be considered in the statis-
tics of crime—an assumption which, though
often adopted, is of very doubtful propriety.
Taking the population of England and Wales
at 17,927,609, he averages the murders to be
at the rate of four to each million. He then
takes the cases respectively of Roman Catholic
countries abroad, and has recourse to the
most authentic official statistics that can be
procured. The result as to the crime of mur-
der stands thus :
Roman Catholic Ireland
- Belglum
Bel • •
- France
- Austria
- Bavaria • •
- Sardinia • •
- Lombardy • •
Tuscany • •
The Papal States ..
Roman Catholic Naples
Protestant England ..
This table is a very remarkable one,
though open to some critical strictures. Some
of the countries tabulated above have been
recently in civil war, and the integrity of their
police cannot be trusted. Internecine feuds
and the malignity of ascendant faction may
• have contributed to swell the foregoing
statement to its tragical character. Upon the
fact, however, that there is a vast and plainly-
appreciable difference between the morality of
Protestant and Roman Catholic communities
we entertain no doubt. Our own ocular ob-
servation, as well as other evidence, have
long satisfied us upon that question. It
is attempted by the Papal apologists to
contend that the crimes and vices of Romanist
countries are to be attributed to their bad
Governments and defective institutions ; but,

19 to the million.
18

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