The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-29 00:00:00

The Rev. RICIID. BURGESS moved the second reso-
lution : " That the recent movements of the Romish priest-
hood throughout continental Europe, templed with their
late aggressive proceedings in England, prove the existence
of a settled purpose to overthrow religious freedom ; while
their success in France, in prosecutions for the Kale of con-
troversial tracts, and in preventing the circulation of the
Holy Scriptures, shows to what an extent that freedom may
be curtailed, even under a constitution framed to secure
both civil and religious liberty. That this meeting there-
fore approves of the purpose of the committee of the Pro-
testent Alliance to interpose, whenever practicable, in be-
half of those suffering wrong at the hands of that priest-
hood ; and it cads upon the protestants of all countries. and
especially upon those in the United States of America, to
unite with the people of Great Britain in defence of those
principles of the glorious Reformation for which our ances-
tors laboured and suffered." (Cheers.) The rev. gentle-
man commenced by observing that lie had attended this
meeting without any compromise of his conscience, having
seen net one sentiment or syllable in the resolutions of
which he could not heartily approve. lie had been placed
prominently forward on 0113 occasion togive his experiences
attic system of the Roman catholic church in France ; and
this part of the subject was one of particular delicacy. It
was. however, not the fault of protestants that the question
of the Roman catholic church was entangled in politics.
Popery bad two characters. Not only was it a secret con-
federacy against the religious liberty of men, but it was also
• political conspiracy against civil rights; and having that
twofold aspect, it was difficult to speak of popery, and to
minflue the comment to the religious question. (Rear.)
L France the political and the religious questions had been
peculiarly complicated. In France at this moment was to
be seen an anomaly unparalleled in the history of the
world. France was a republic, based on universal suffrage,
professing to lay liberty on wider foundations than had
ever before been known in modern Europe ; and yet at nu
time was the power of Rome in France more rampant than
at this moment. (Hear, lacer.) This was explained in one
sentence. The political power of Rome was always great et
when the civil government was weakest. (Bear, hear.)
This proposition was true as applied to the whole history of
Europe. It was specially correct as regarded France.
Before Feb., ISIS, they saw the priesthood of France
restrained within somewhat legitimate bounds by the
government of Louis Philippe. The government of Louis
Philippe had found it necessary to its very existence to keep
down the priests, and that governntent had the courige to
drive back the Jesuits into the shade from which they had
prematurely crept. The government of Louis Philippe was
bold and strong enough to resist the demands of the bishops
that education should be placed in their heeds. But in
February, Pile, all changed. The priests embraced
the republic that they might turn it to their own
purposes. The priests headed the insurgent multi-
tudes in Paris, and blasphemously assimilated the tree
of liberty to the cross of Calvary. hoe the priest of Rome
was a monarchist to-day, a republican to-morrow, just an he
saw the best chance of governing men. (Cheers.) The
people believed the priests, and accepted their leadership ;
and thee., who would have derided the ceremony of a coro-
nation by an Archbishop of Rheims carried their arms to be
blessed by the priests in the Place de la Concorde. And the
priests had gained all the advantages of the course they had
I taken—the republic had passed into their hands. (Hear.)
Not a railway was now opened, not a machine set us mo-
tion, not a pillar set on owl, not a piece of canvass spread
fur a tent, but the priest was called in, and his blessing
implored. (Bear, hear.) Let the material resources of the
papacy in Frauce he looked to. There were SO episcopal
sees, each one with a bishop or an arelibishop. There ware
upwards of 10,000 pri.ets and clergy; and these bishops,
and priests received out of the public treasury, or did in
WO, the sum of 1,600,000 t, so direst payment, in the chaise
of salaries. There were 240 diocesan buildings, all niain-
tained by the butte in the charucter of public works; and
throughout France the traveller might now see hundrtsls
of workmen engaged in repniring old abbeys, cathedrals,
and other ecclesiastical buildings., which hail seen falling
into ruins, neglected and uncared for, since the time of
Louis Quaturze. There were 38,000 churches, and more
than that number of private religious houses, all maintained
at the expense of the state, or of the municiealities. This
sum, for maintaiaance, would amount toes much as was paid
direct to the church in salaries; and thus, in the republic ot
France, at this moment, three millions sterling per annum
were paid to the papacy out of the public treasury. Besides
all this—and others had made higher estimates—there were
the surplice fees. These could nut be easily ascertained—
perhaps they were hard to get at at home—(laughter)—
but they probably amounted to 200,0001. a year. Was it
not overwhelming to contemplate the wealth derived by the

Homan catholiesln France tiront the taxation of the peiiple ?
(Hear, hear.) Then there were the 2,500 religious houses
and the seminariet lrem whie:i the noviciate priests

issued, ready and trained for Roman rebellion.
All this vast army was under the single direction of the
bishops, and the bishops again were under the guidance of
the Pope. The Pope, therefore, was a generalissimo even
more powerful than the Minister of War, with his 100,000
troops at hi. conunaud. (Hear.) The French priests were
mere tools in the hands of their superiors. The largo muss
of them, the rural clergy, hail no independent, civil, or po-
litical existence whatever. This was in that France which
in these days inscribed on her banners, Frater-
nitt Egolite." (Hear, hear.) The resolution assorted
that the position of the Homan Catholic Church, as it was
found in France, was irreconcilable with constitutional
liberty ; and he was prepared to prove that. The priests
in France had got entire and effectual possession of four
things, that was to say, their power woo such as to interfere
with the even course of civil justice; they hail got pusses-
sion of the schools • they had invaded the provincial justice
seats; they had subdued the press to their purposes; and
they had command of the tribune. All this he would show.
The law of ilstruction in France was very explicit. The 9:h
artieleof the constitution declared that instruction was free;
and the fact was a mockery of that declarition. Instruc-
tion was under one supreme board, who had the controul of
the whole education of France ; and the composition of
that board was such as to give an easy predominance to the
Homan catholic bishops. The priests had also invaded the
provincial judgment scat ; and this might readily be shown.
(The rev. gentleman at some length detailed cases, in illus-
tration of this assertion, in which the sous-prefects and
other magistrates had interfered, at the suggestion of the
priests, with the preachings of protestant pastors and Mii-
. . .

ion:tries, and with the circulation of protestant
tracts.) The; priests had likes ise subdued the moos.
For proof of this, he referred to the present
aspect of the French newspapers. In Louis Philippe's time
a principal feature of the t rench journal was the fettilleton;
which was usually a novel or romance, and which generally
was nothing more than a vehement attack upon the Jesuit..
[Eugene Sue's books were all published in that way.
Some of these attacks being marked by blasphemy and
obscenity. The feuilleton had now disappeared. All the
journalists, except Emile do Girardin in the Presse, had
cringed to the Jesuits, and they had now to exclude all
such things lest they should lose their circulation.
Here, at this point of his observations, he
could not forbear his tribute of admiration to
the glorious press of this country. lie did not say but that
there might be occasions in which individuals had to com-
plain, but as regarded that portion of the press which had
the largest circulation, he might safely say that they, in
England, were in far happier circumstances then people in
France. (Cheers.) In England subjects were treated
without fear or favour. If a bishop did wrong he was told
so ; and if a nonconformist became a little too violent be
was corrected. (Cheers.) When, indeed, he took up our
papers and considered the wonderful productions which
day after day they gave the world, he was overwhelmed
with astonishment at the power brought to hear upon them.
(Loud cheers) Ile had now detailed all the resources of
the papacy in France. They were truly gigantic. But he
was far from despairing, The papacy might have political
power; but its moral power was daily decreasing, and its
religious power was going to. (Cheers.) Ile knew of
what was doing for protestantiam in France, and he knew
what ought to be done ; and he said without hesitation,
that as soon as the military coercion was removed, one-half
of France would ha members of the protestant faith.
(Loud cheers.) Over all Europe the papacy was now con-
spiring against the liberties of mankind. But he believed
its days were numbered. (Loud cheers.) It was said the
other day by a remarkable foreigner who had visited our
shores, that Russia was the rock against which every sigh
for freedom broke. He would adopt somewhat of that
beautiful metaphor; and he would say that he hoped Eng-
land would be the bulwark against which every wave of
papal tyranny would roll in vain. (The rev. speaker re-
sinned 114 scat amid great applause.)
The Rev. W. CHALMERS seconded the resolution. Ho
appeared there
an as
representative
ttaotitveen of
fr
the
hearty bcria
Ts and
co-operation. He believed that the battle of European pro-
' testantism was to be fought in England. Englund was the
Therinopylm in this campaign, and he did not doubt ,
that Englishmen would worthily bold that pass. (Cheers.)
The resolution was put and unanimously agreed to.
Sir CtiLLINO E. EAItDLEY rose to move: "That
this meeting desires to express its sense of the contrast
afforded to this retrograde movement in France and else-
where, by the protection recently given by the government
of Piedmont to the ancient church of the Waldenses, and
by the firmness with which that government has withstood
the arrogant pretensions of the papal priesthood. It trusts
that the house of Savoy may have the honour of carrying on
to completion the work of liberty of conscience, the surest
guarantee of civil freedom and national prosperity. And it
desires to express its firm conviction that, in maintaining
the independence of the Sardieban crown against the aggres-
sive claims of Rome, the Piedmonteac government may rely
on the warmest sympathy of the people of Great Britain ;"
and in so doing he had the permission of the chair to say a
few words on the previous resolution. One fact he wished
to mention was, that the tract of M. Rouraet, which had
circulated freely in France during the reign of Louis
Philippe, had been recently seised by the officer of the re-
public, and the publisher thrown into prison. One of the lust
acts of Leon Faucher was to issue a circular commanding
that the protestant version of the scriptures should not
be eofporte by the colporteurs of France. Last Friday, he
had waited on the father-in-law of their noble chairman,
Lord Palmerston, on behalf of Dr. Marriott, who hail pub-
lished and circulated a tract against the Jesuits in the
protestant city of Carlsruhe, and by its protestant duke had
been thrown into prison. Another fact. Not a fortnight
since Field-Marshal Radetski had marched into the pro-
; testant church at Milan, and turned out all the cunarega-
, thin, alleging that a committee they had appointed to
regulate their affairs was a socialist club. (Laughter.) In
Florence two persons had been sent to prison for merely
contemplating the reading of the Scriptures. (Hear.)
There was an agreeable contrast to suck a state of things
is the conduct of the present government of Piedmont.
One remarkable feature in the government of Marchese
d'Azeglio was, that ho gave perfect freedom to the
Waldenses, and sanctioned the erection in Turin of an
Italian protestant church. (Cheers.) They all knew the
circumstances attending the death of Santa Rosa, who had