The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-05-04 00:00:00

and, in some parts of Europe, the revival of the I
Inquisition ! These, he it remembered, are •
the argiimeuts urged, not against individuals, but
age list the whole body of the Roman Catholics.
If such r,taiemeots werr received as evidence,
the Ji.dge who suffered them t eo to thr Jury
ought to be impeached—and the Jury who act-
ed on them would deverve to he attended.
Suppose, no the other hand, Comore% on the pint
of the Defendant to offer, in evidence, the oaths
which. tit your requst, the Roman Catholin now
tuke—the answer or six Universities (the best au-
thorities that ran lie oolduced), acquitting them
of all the offences with which they have been
chareed—the lists of the killed and wounded, who
hive &red in the general emote—the thanks of
Parhament to the Roman Catlinlics—(that is, to
those regiments which were principally comptheil
•or persons of that persuasion)—on recount of the
courage they had displayed, and the many victo.
sirs they had schteved. What answer would he
made to such testimony as this? Rut, suppose the
Counsel who supported the objection called the at-
•trotion of the Court to the nomination of Bishops
h} the Pope. This. it would he observed, was the
only point. with respect to the Catholics, on which
the Court bid a right to inquire—the only matter
to the consideration of which the jurisdiction of
the Conn extended. But, if the Defendant's
'Counsel produced the letter of ('ordinal Lilts,
and stated, that, in refusing the offer which
it (rotitained, those who did so, alike refused the
security of the subject, and the establishing mole
-firmly the liberties of the Constitution—the Judge
would then say, ' It is iiiii ereessary to trouble the
Jury. beraise sio case has been made out on the
other side.' Here then, I would state (not ques-
tioning, in any degree. the power of Parliament to
disqualify—not advancing. on the part tif the
C.itholics. any chimerical or fantastic claim)—first,
that •the Roman Catholic had, at least till you took
it away, a common law right of eligibility—second,
that you, the Parliament, had no right whatever,
in justice, in cell on him to abjure his religion—
third, that Popery. or more properly speaking
it not evidence either of ,perfidy or
vermin—and lastly, that you continue to disqualify
hem fer the things which be has abjured. and call
nu lion to abjure that which does not come.within
the reach of human jurisiliction.—( Hear, hear.)—
To sum up all, that, in thus proceeding, we do that
for the performance of which • Judge would be
impeached. sad a Jury would be attainted.—
Hear. hear.)—We deprive the Roman Catholic,
on eccomest of his tenets. of the. common low right
of eligibilitp—and we thereby shake the foundation
of our own faith, and disobey the dictates of natural
and of revealed religion.—(l ewe. Acar.)—When
we maintain that the Roman Catholic religion is
incapable of feeling the emend obligation of an oath,
when we declare that it is hostile to the duty of
allegiance. we assert that the Roman Catholic reli-
g iiiii is pot do ins. Saying that, we argue, that
Christianity hat not made its way new France,
iy, Spam, Portugal, rind a great part of lierinany.
Tilts is *nut wr say. Are we aware of the effect of
such .in nseerlion ? Do we not thereby express our
belief 'hut the Christian religiou has not advanc-
ed ? And, by on stetiog, do we not positit- ly des
ps ire it of one great proof of its divine oature ?
for., Liar, hear.)—D. we not say, that the
Pope has litt.ll SllCCeb`rus in introducing a re-
liginit of lii• own—not nee Christian religion—
that a mto has conquered the A mighty—except
where a :VW perstnis preserved themselves against
the torte of his authority ? The philosopher, or
the Deist, or the Atheist, hears tin., and approves
of the doctrine ; and, instead of stopping short at
this phut, we shall Fresetitly see where it lesds to.
Ve now come to a propositioe, which I totally
dissent front—a proposition which 1 recite with a
degree of horror—namely. that the result of re-
laxation has been to produce disaffection, dis-
loyalty, and perfidy, amongst the Catholics. We
must. therefore. either give up our argument, or
abandon our religion. The fact is,' we have
contended v ith one another with such an ar-
dent zeal, that, in the contest, we have for-
gotten the Gospel. In the conflict, we have
forgotten
.the Godhead, and substituted, in his
place. a sort of negative religion—a religion which
teaches us to hste a Papist—and which, at the
same moment, obliterates from our remembrance
the Sitviour and the Gospel. It is the tiaturtil end
of such controversies, that, when men violently
enlaced on religious smitten—when they suffer
themselvre to be hurried away by their passions,
in eliscas•ing • religious question—they forget the
greatest authority of all, and merely think of their
sintegorrist—of the person who is opposed to them !
I have said. that. by continuing In this course, we
have shaken, in some degree, the strength of our
own religion--and certainly we do very much
neglect, or entirely disobey, the prime order of
rotund and of revealed religion. The prime order
of natural religion is the love of our fellow-creatures.
You caimot serve God otherwise than by cherishing
this principle. Adoration is not sufficient ! Prayer
not sufficient ! You can only serve God by lov-
ing one asiother—.by assisting, with our best powers,
to assimilate every part of his divine system ! The
Gospel is the same amongst all descriptions of
•Christiasis. The great Redeemer came to enforce
mid propagate amongst the human race that heaven-
ly principle, the love of each other. He came, the
advocate of two great principles—the love of God,
and die love of man—supported by miracles, sup-
ported by policy, supported by the trauscendant ex-
cellence of tier Christian Religion. We, instead of
cherishing both these principles, reject tins letter
und stigmatise our fellow-creature as an idolater,
is a perfidious being, unworthy of credit or regard.
Accordingly as we reject the claims of our fellow-
creature, by perpetuating his disqualification. and
pronounce to the greater part of Europe that his
irligion is his crime, we cast a shade on our own
generation ; unless the tenets of the Gospel are to
be outfitted to one sect—unless public blessings,
ilia blessiegs of the Constitution. are to be consi-
dered, not as meant for the general good, but as
merely intended to be dealt oist in the manner of
alms and chanty. when caprice unctions the boon—
sinker these two ponds can he preved, the disqualifi-
cation of the ROOM Catholics is indefensible. When
the country was Omitted in atonal war, we were told,
that. as • matter of necessity, the subject could riot
be prudently Entertained. Two great points. one,
the blessing. of the Constitinton—the other, the
duty which the Gospel (+Med, were evaded on