The Sun.
London, England, 1812-10-01 00:00:00

ROMAN CATHOLICS

The activity with -Which the Irish Catholic and
their supporters in this 'country exert themselves
in the attenipt to remove every Salegtmrd raised by
our ancestors for the protection of our happy ItistaH
bliShmeut in Church and State, renders it imps-
ricusly netes'Sary fOr the friends of that establish,-
ment to display equal iea; in its defence. If f 6--
Vent and obstinate perseverance on the one side is
ta.be Met only by languid resistance on the 'other,
the, most fat d tousequZnces may be expected, and
the dreadful SeeneS Which history recordS niay he
'acted again. It is in vain to contend that the
RoMan Catholics are not the same that they were
two hundred years ago ; they' pride themselves.;
not only on the: nfallibility of their Church, 'but
on the unchangeable character of their faith; and
hence 'What they have done in the days of their
unContiolled authority, they may be expected to
do again if ever they should have power, which
Heaven forbid.. Though, in their public writings,
the'Roman Catholics think proper to profess libe-
rality towards Protestants, yet, in priVate, they
have no Scruple in describing them as heretics 5
And it is obvious; frOm the ViolenCe with which
Alley maintain their Opinions in private, and the
bitterness with which they revile the Members of
the Established Church, that theti' would
.be no
restraint upon their persecuting Spirit, it ever they
could -regain an aseenddhey in. the State. We,
therefore, deem its a
.duty to, notice every work
that tends to counteract the progresS of POpery,
alld shall occasionally avail ourselves of what pro-
mises to lean admirable depository of the opinions:,
;;:•guincnts, and illustrations Of•thoSe writers vvhi-i
employ their talents and their learning in support
of that Establishment in Church and State, which
has long rendered 'l.ls. the happieit people on earth,
and which will keep us so, if properly defended;
in. spite of all,the artifices of bigotted Papists; in
conjunction wig) pretended patriots... The Work
we allude to is intitled—L“ THE PROTESTANT Mi.-.
voc.iveE,"--;--and we submit the follbwing extracts
from it to our :Readers, that thty may be fully, ap-
prised of its Motives, principles, -and tendency

" At a time when the exertions of the Roman=
Catholics are distinguished by a public activity,
unexampled in the last century, and when a list-
lessness (more apparent, we trust, thaarreal) seems
to pervade the minds of the' Protestants Of these
kingdoms ; when the Roman Catholic Body are
mailing the most strenuous effoks, in every part
'of the United Kingdom, to impress on the Public
thenecessity of attending to the;r claims, and evert
confidently assert a general Willingness 'that they
should be granted, it will appear only a measure
of self-defence that there should be a Protestant
Advocate, to defend'our Establishments in Church
and State, and to 'maintain the general cause 'Of
civil and religious liberty azainst the intolerant
principles of the Roinan Catholics, and their un-
ceasing attempts to obtain possession' of political
power.
" The objects which the Protestant Advocate
will' have more immediately arc, to unite
the exertions of Protestants of all descriptions, in
defence of the liberty, civil and religious, which
is now enjoyed by the
,subjects of these realms ;
to convey such general information as may lay open
the designs of the Roman Catholics ; to expose
the mis-statements, religious and political,. of the
advocates of their cause ; to open the eyes of the
Public to the tenets really professed by the Irish
Roman Catholic Church ; to show that it is not a'
slight, 'but a great and essential difference, which
exists between Popery and Protestantism, and-that!
the-leading doctrines of the fornier religion-are.the
same now as they were at the period of the blessed
Itefarmation ; to'scrutinize the pretensions of the
"Roman Catholics, and to prove the utter hopeless-
ness of conciliating their affections by any thing
short of a surrender of the Constitution ; to point
out the unfairness with which their claims are
brought forward, todisplay their real extent and
their Unavoidable consequences, and to shed What
the effect on the Constitution generally would be,
and what, especially on our invaluable privileges,
as Protestants, and on the cause.Of religion; if
those persons were' again admitted to power in
this kingdom, whose exclusion from power was;
at The time of the Revolution, made a permanent
principle of the Constitution.
" The object, in short, of this publication; is.
one. common 'to all Protestants ; it is to guard the
sacred cams of religious liberty;• it is td defend.
our Prosestant Brethren, in Ireland, especially,
against Roman Catholic ascendancy and eventual
perseeution—against tire doMination of A sect,
which history' has shewn to be invariably hostile.
to all religions. freedom ; it is to preserve, for the
sake of peace and security, that Established Church,
whose principle and practice it is to leave every
man at liberty to worship Gad according to the
dictates of his own conscience.

r By pursui-. g such a course, the Conductors,„
of the Protestant Advocate hope they shall opeik
the eyes of the Public to the vital irap,)r;:nce of
the subject "and that, whether in Parliament or
in Electiont, whether in social intercourse or in
publications, they shall contribute to excite a pro-
per feeling for the maintenance of that Constitu-
tion, which has long been, and which, if we he
true to it, will, we trust, long be the admiration
and the safeguard Of the political,' moral, and re-
ligious world. It will be their endeavour to•point
out in every view and every instance, the duty 'and
real interest of Protestants ; it -will also be their,
`earnest wish to "draw the Roman Catholics to a
SCUSC of their duty and real interest,-4he duty they
owe to their King rather than to the Pope, to their
Country rather than to Ronte,—and to remind,
them of the many acts' of indulgence granted them
during the present rei n. Whatever success may
attend their endeavours, the Conductors .of this
work pledge themselves never to depart from the
principles upon which it :s undertaken. Par theii
minds are indelibly impressed With the truth, that
it is not by yielding principles, and surrendering
institutions, jo the difficulty ortimes, hut only by
maintaining themagainst all opposition; and cling-
ing to them steadily, even through the severest
persecutions, that we. can hope to pass through
the storm of infidelity and anarchy which is za-
thering .around us, unperceived;while our eyes are
dazzled by the glare of a spurious liberality:"

T~ ~~~ir t~ 11
l iIT i~~MIx1 :

(011,1winn. for P.
*liich.was issued br larimi the Flist, is. wei cm_
titled to the notice Of the Constitifent BOdy at the
present peridd :--6
BeeauSe the true' and aficierit institution of
Parliament do require the Lower House, at thii
time if ever, to be compounded of the gravest;
ablest, -arid worthiest members that may be
found: we.do hereby, Out of the care Of the Com:.
ru'on good, wherein themselveS are participant,
"without All prejudice to the freedom Of elections',
admonish all our loving subjects, that votes
in the eleCtion -Or Knights and Burgesses, of these
few points following : -
'"f hat they cast their eyes, upon the worthiest
Men of all sorts, Knights and Gentlemen, that are
lights and guides in their countries, experienced
Parliathent mpri, wise and discreet. .Statesmen;
that have been- practiSed in public affairs, whether
At home-Or abroad, grave and eminent lawyers;
substantial citizens and burgesses; and generally
such as are interested and have portion in the
estate."

. .
. „
" Secondly,That they. make ChOice of such Ls
are well affected in religion, without declining
either on the one hand to blindness and supersti-
tion; or on the other handto schism or turbulent
dispoiition." -

rhirdly, and lastly, That they •be truly sen-
..
ale, not to disvalue or disparage the House with
bankrupts and necessitous persons; that may (It•-,
sire long Parliathenti only for _protection ; lavr.;
yers of mean account and estimation ; young,trien
that are not ripe for grave Consultation.;
dependants upon great. persons, that piay be
thritight: io have - their voices under vnintatidj
and such like obscure and igerior persons ; .stt
that, to conclude, we may Wye the coin Cy.t to see
.before us the very face, of a sufficient and weli-
composed House, such as may he worthy to be a
representative of. a'third estate of our kitigil.nrn,
it to nourish a loving and towfortable meeting
.between us and people, and fit to he a nohli
instrument uni:er-the blessing of Almighty God;
and oar princely care and power, and , with the
loving conjunction kg our Prelates and Peers; far
the settling so great of 'airs.7

MELROS ABBEY.

(FROINS TAE KELSCI IYIAiL.)

the following•partitylars, 'relating tei the dii;
cOvery of a stone coffin and Skeleton in this vele-
rable structure; we have no 'doubt will'be interest-
ing to the majority of our readers, even although.
they should not agree with our worthy corres-:
pomlent, in rygarding these ancient relics as the
very coffin and the .‘ ery bones of Michael Scott,
the wizard. We mike. no apology foi presenting
the cbmnannication of Our correspondent in his
own words, being, as he is, the living chronicle of
the - antiquities of Melrose, and the respectabli.
beadle of its far-famed Abbey ,

"Melrose, sept, 16, 1914.

" SIR, . . .
" I do take the freedom of informing von, that
I: as digging a hole to' pia stones into, in the,
small aisle, next to the aisle where the high altar'
stood in Melrose Abbey, and tcarne upon a-114-
Stone, and by taking it out 1 fo.o iit! more (log,
which did cover eight 'feet ..vf ground ; I tore
them up, and to my astonishment it was built ou
every side with hewn work, forming a coffin , alla,
a place extending one foot and a hair from the
;can to hord the.head. I. digged -till, I came a,
the bones of the dead, and, found the.scull to 1-
of great strength, and the thigh bones which ap-
peared more like a 'creatiire'.l,bones than human,.
for.strength.. The length of the person, by niea-
suring, appeared to be six feef in length ; ana
some few nails I found,' which were crumbling in-
to earth, whose.tops Were like the bigness of a
farthing. He is buried at the side of a font'
.stone, to say mass'for his soul. He is laid in g.
wettisl. -piece of ground, and may be conSitrcd-W
have remained there fer four hundred years in til
earth ; and it is found about the place where 5.:-
chael Scott; the wizard, cloth lie, which isfame-LI '
.'
in the Lay of the Last Minstrel ; it is thought fo
be the Very person, as it answers so exactly to the.
Poem, and IS.within- two yards of the place wbero
Waiter Scott pointed out himself.
"You May put this .sfory in the News, if yott
pleas'e, :ii)i the" desire of several Gentlemen, at'cl,
publish it with other Newsniongers, as a relict a
autignity. .

" Sir, your's, &c.
"Jou BowErt."