The Sun.
London, England, 1824-10-08 00:00:00

PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS.

THE SITUATION OP PROTESTANTS IN FRANCE COII-
- WITH THAT ON CATHOLICS IN ENGLAND.

( From the Etuile.)

Thu law in England.' is made for tit mainte.
nance of the Protestant religion. In France, on the contrary,
notwithstanding the small number of Protestants; the hostility
of their principles to all authority, and the novelty of their
existence, the law is equal for all. It is a principle in Eng-
land, that all religions which differ from the religion of the
State, ought to ,be destrOyed. In France, far from being de-
stroyed, they are protected, and even supported, at the expence
of the Public Treasury. In England, Protestants, considered
asthe friends of the new system, are distinguished by the most
eminent prerogatives; and the. Catholics, who form a, third
part of the population, are an outcast people. They are
children diainherited by .their fatheri excluded from all marks
of confidence, and from every. pursuit which leads to honour
and fortune. They bear all the burdens of the State, and share
none of its advantages. •

In France, the twenty-nine-thirtieths of the population attach-
ed to the religion of the State do not enjoy the slightest exclu-
sive privilege. Protestants are admissible to all public offices,
and, in fact, hold them to an extent beyond the proportion of
their number. They are electors, and eligible equally with
Catholics, who frequently return them, without Inquiring.
into their religious faith. There are among them Peers, De-
puties, Generals
,of Division, Prefects, Presidents of tile Royal
Courts, Councillors ofState and of the. First Tribunals:Mayors,
&c. We have even seen, both under the old and the new re-
gime, several Protestants in the French Ministry ; while Eng-
land would be alarmed, and think herself on the brink of ruin,
if a single Catholic were to enter the King's Council or occupy
an important office.

In the British Empire the Protestant clergy lives only upon
the spoils of the ancient church ; they enjoy immense pro-
perty, founded by Catholics and for-Catholics, who little ima-
gined that these benefices, the fruit of their pious donations,
would one day pass into the hands of their enemies, and be
employed against the donors. Besides, the Catholics who haTe
outlived oppression, or who are still tolerated, are'compelled
to support their Bishops and Priests, and to build, at their own
expence, humble chapels by the side of the temples, which have
been taken from them. They are forced too, besides paying
the ecclesiastical tax (tithes) to a clergy foreign
to their
creed, which provides for none .of their spiritual wants,. to
contribute to the building of Anglican churches, which they
never enter, and which are not even frequented by Protestants.
In France, on the contrary, the Catholic clergy,- although
reduced to. a slender hire—a poor compensation of -their
confiscated property—have not-taken a farthing from the Pro.
testants. There are even given to the latter Catholic temples,
and, where there are none, they receive aid to construct new
ones; none of their property has been confiscated.; they enjoy
in peace what they posseesed, and their Ministers receive. a sa-
lary from the Govertiment, although they cannot claim it. 'by
any title of indemnity, and this salary exceeds that of Catholic
Rectors, who are very differently occupied. We will not in.
quire whether this is right or wrong ; we wilt not attempt to de.
cide whether the toleration of a religion which is not that of the
State, or even the protection 'of it in the event' of its being
troubled, ought, in strict propriety, to extend to favours and
direct support ; we will merely report facts, establish a point of
comparison, and show the respective positions oC the Protestants
in France, and the Catholics in England.
Notwithstanding all this, and. the liberty,of the former,
France still passes for fanatical, intolerant, and persecuting ;
and under this view the. English and German Papers are filled
With invectives against her, whilst, notwithstanding the state of
oppression of seven millions of Catholics, England passes in. the
eyes of the multitude for the classical country of toleration and
the generous protector of civil suciroligious liberty.