The Sun.
London, England, 1818-01-31 00:00:00

LETrEit Viti.

7 - :17ta. EntToß,-11,iving con.,ideregi several of
ik.mling points in this curious and linPur an'

dorliiiieti.r, it tV3S wiih tresirnss tipoo you

urther than► by a generd review of the re-

as they bear chi ettly

to4il tool►ics under discussion ; but it is almost
impossible to pass over a single sentence of this

uot>ibic. production of " all the Catholic Talents—

without pausing toatltuire its th to twirk

its fallacy, or to retort i s insolence. Yon have
seen, Sir, alreatly,:that having trebled the popu-
lation, or absorbed the ivT►o%e population of Ireland
in the mass of Roman Gitliohes, to make them
appear formidable to ti►eir Protestant Brethren,

tlicy propose, Hs a " simple case," the entire sub-
version of the Constitution, after having declared
it to he " unwise and unjust," and demand equal
Rights, with no other proposed return for this
Gaud Conuter-Revointion in their favour, than

so assurance that they " do not pretend to an
A•ccudancy t"—This modest declaration is fol.

lowed op by 9ontething like a discussion and con-
filiation of the trifling objections which might, they
conceive, by some possibility, be brought against
them. " To such our reasonable 'demands is op-
" posed the assertion that our religious doctrines
" il:sqowlity us for the participation in that Con-
s!itution which our Protestant Countrymen pos-
sess." I would simply draw your attention, with -
on! any comment of my own, to the term of rea-

softable demand•, and to the gentle merging of the
whole oxi,stion at i,soe, together with the Gre4t
Principles of the Revolution in the simple term
‘c A,sERTIoN " " This impeachntetit of Religion

has ever been the plea of persecution in every
" Stare, and equally unwarrantable in each : fur
" he who sustAns it assumes the exercise of a
" controol over the consciences of men which
" God has not granted to ally httinan Government."
Mark the epithet Hu»tan—it is distinctive and
appropriate. The Government of the Church is
another thing, which I shall presently shew.—
They say they do not desire to shelter their Reli-
gion, its Doctrines, or Discipline from scrutiny.
" We are ready (say they), As WELL ON oua owN-
" BEHALF as on hAalf of YOUR klild ova ANCES-

" Totts, to vindicate out: COMIDN FAITH- against
" SUCH IMPUTATIONS !! !" But " hey decline
—it is, hotvever, upon their own ground,
(Teo to us to do what they decline to do—and

to Ascertain, from fActswilich admit Of no ►lisputc,
whether in the first place this Disrlain►et against

pei•serntioi► in heh,►lU of TtIFIR and OUR COMMON

-lures ors is tellable or of any authority, mid se-
coudly, whether this coupling of Ancestors be a
candid ur fair mode of de,ctibiug our rehtive si-

to4tions, considering that for neArly three Cen!u-

ries our AnCestors have NOT been C 0111112012, and

the whole questiou which separates the Papists
("Pun the Pritestants, and di:.7ided the family, is

collet,' rent with the period of their separa-
tion. I confess, Sir, it is difficult- to re-

strain the expression of indn4nAtion which
rtrisus in an ingconons and honest mind at

such a glaring piece of sophistry—or to meet
it with that degree of temper which is neces-
sary in discussing a subject that in itself in-
volves every consideration that can 42 gravely
interesting. to a Protestant and a Briton.

They

not only make the pretence of being the ad-
vocates of Liberty of Conscience, and the abhorrers
of persecution ; but stand forth boldly to
the principle in tie conduct of themselves
and of their Ancestors. With respect to themselves, as
they are at present without POWER in coun-
try, their assertion may be considered " Vox et
preterea nihil ;" but as we have the means of as-
certainine; 'their real sentiments, not tricked out
f.,,t exhibition, or for the purposes of delusion,
but in a regular and digested form, by one of the
most able and learned of their present Divines and
Preachers, we shall, at once, perceive that the
Tale of the Satyr and the Countryman is no fable.
With respect to their Ancestors, we shall, here;
after, have a better opportunity of judging how
far the principles now laid down for The Public
Eye are consistent with their conduct when they pos-
sessed THE powFo of applying them.—" Until the
" Reformation (says Mr. Gandolfy, the great Ro-
marl Catholic Advocate,) the Church of Eng-
f, land e.-as A Limb of the TRUE VINE, and
in in it, brought forth much fruit. She shot
"-her Branchw into every corner of these Islands;
" and every cluster gave delight to the Hits-
" bondman, because he saw that it was his own
Vine, the Vine that HE had planted; but hay-
" ing been once severed by the destructive hand

"of ScHism ; a hateful eye, 1-Is rt-)w views
" the sickly Sprouts which issue from its falica,
" and ernshed, ant broAer Brant hes_! As the
P4anch cannot bear Fruit of itself, ercept it
" abide on THE VINE, so THIS shall wither, and
" they shall gather IT up, and cast IT INTO THE
FIEF., and IT SHALL BURN !"—(Cando/fy,
11. pp:368,-369.)—N0w, Sir, how ever figurative
the language, it must be athni•ted to be perfectly
clear and intelligible, and lest a wandering Papkt
should misa his way in the metaphor, a finger-
po3t is plAced in it'ont to direct him truly, awl the
emphatic directions are eveu rrinted in Italics

.13,1 t, Sir, we have a fact, under the considera-
tion of which even a 1; AI-1-tows-I- :nay quail, if, as
I ant disposed to believe, he is betrayed into his
unepi,:copal Defence of the Roman Catholics by
the mere goodness of his heat!, and a conviction
of Popish Sincerity, 11'it bin these very few years,
a Synod of Irish Roman Catholic Bishops was
hell, which, upon the acceptance of Bilooa-
parte's Concordat by the Pope, pronounced the
Civil Government of the French Clerev to be
"" heretical," " schismati,al,•' a d " impious
.;"
but they declared, at the same time, " that the
" HOLY FATHER, Pius VII. had only yielded by
" the Concordat what the dreadful exigencies of
" the times DLMANDFD of a true Shepherd of' the
Christian Flock, and that, in his measures for
" the Restoration of the CATHOLIC UNITY it;
" France, he had solidly atad agreeably TO TH2
of THE SACRED CAuuNa, excited the
Powers bglougin!; to the dpostolic See ! ! !"
! th, Spirit of the Sacred Canons enables and
jusrifics a Christian Stephen), that is a PLIT, to
give his most solemn assent ..nd sanction o an act
Which he thinks " iarlpkus, heretical, and schisma-
tical," when the exigency of the times (a plea
so professedly abhorrent from the notions of our
present Appellants) detnand it—anti the systa
SPIRIT may absolve him, when the cirri:instances of
the times enable him to do so. Are these things
passing beftire our eyes—and shall fatuity blind
us to the object contemplated, and the means by
which it is. to be atchieved, because a few talking
and eloquent Latitudinarians, or popular Free-
thinkers, exalt their voices to disarm OUR opposi-
tion, or to ridicule our apprehensions ? Is double
dealing, barefaced, and funneled
,upon the sanc-
tions of almost Pagan Religion, to stand thus
exposed to our view, and yet to have no influence
upon our judgment and decisions ?
But I must afford your Readers, Sir, another
illustration of that tolerating principle which the
Appellants reproach us for not entertaining to
the full extent of their hopes ! This same Father
Gandolfy, after appealing against the folly 'and
sin of us Protestants, in goin; to hear the Protes-
tant Bishop of London, and listeniog with equal sa-
tisfaction (this is a curious assumption by the way)
'' to a CATHOLIC PREACHER; does not common sense
" (he continues) suggest that ONE of the Two
" must necessarily be an emissary of the Spirit of
" Darkness, a disciple of the Father of Lies, and an
" advocate .of- error !!" We need not stop to en-
qoire whether the Bishop of London or Father.
Gandolfy be intended by hint for the Devil's Re-.
presentative—thot4:h we cannot - admit that the
suggestion of common candour would necessarily
come to so uncharitable a conclusion in either al-
ternative.

But, Sir, is it to be endured, that
men, rooted in such odious, unchristian, and tyran.
flied princiPles, should dare to appeal to a British
Public, and to appeal in the assumed lam4nage of
Protestant Librrality, to demand equal rights, be-
cause the difference of their religious sentiments
can only be a pretext for persecution, who tell
us they will ted " much disappointment (I quote
" th,ir words) if they do not obtain an nnanimotth
" admission that the pi inciples which they au, in
" common profess to entertain comprehend every
" article of religious and political belief necessary
for the Constitution aml permanency of social
" order, and the protection or protnotion of the
" National Interests of a Christian State."

To shew how tenaciously and steadily these
men adhere to their motto " semper eadern.,"
and how little ,we may expect to benefit by any
accession of liberality in the progress of three
centuries, should we, through the rashness of mitt
Councils, once more arm she Papists with POWER
10 petsecute Heretics, I will give you the senti-
ments expressed in pint by this same Father
Gandolfy, respecting the Mar:yredANmEtt, the
‘ictim of the Bloody Mary awl her Popish Coin-
cils. In discussing the question of !he validity of
Protestant consecrations, he says, " By this
" form (meaning the form of consecration esta,
blished undtr Edward VI.) and THE APOSTATE
" HANDS of the nuPious CuaNmER, some few
" Protestants were advanced to the Episcopacy."
No reflection (however pregnant my feelings
upon the subject) can speak so forcibly us those
which follow from the pen of a Writer, from
whom I have freely extracted these facts, and I
would entreat your readers and the whole British
Public, before they raise their voices to decide
upon this GREAT QUESTION, to read and to di-
gest all that he has said upon the subject. His work
is anonymous, entitled " The dangers with which
" Great Britain and Ireland are now menaced by
" the demands of the Irish Roman Catholics, shewa
" and proved front authentic documents, published
" by Rivingtons in 1817." His reflections upon
this barbarous and anti-christian attack upon the
illostrions CRANMER I cannot withhold.
" Such was the Reverend Prelate to svhom
" England is so much indebted for her pure
" Chnrch,and with it her freeConstittition3 but an
ecclesiastical servant of the Pope now attempts,
" from the press of the Metropolis of England,
" to brand his memory, and ventures to connect
" with his honoured name the shocking epithet
" of Imrrous! The Immous CRANMER ! ! !
" Spirit of gomish Persecution !—Has not his
" cruel death disarmed thy rage ? will not thy
" unrelenting, vengeance rest even over the
" silent grave ? and must thy unhallowed hand
" rake nip the ashes of the MURDERED DEAD ! !"
Titus (this eloquent defender of our Constitu-
tion proceeds,) " Trios have the concessions 01
Protestant Generosity been "rewarded !" And
thus, Sir, will our last concession be rewarded,—
and if rawer be incholed in it, Smithfie!d may
again boast its Marlyrs,—and Apostate Siutesno-n

and Dirines may be found to hail the return of
days vhicl► Ilisto,y has bushed to record fur
nu;trl-si three centuries

Bui,Sir, we have still further light thrown upon
this prafess;:an of abhorrence and detestation of
persecution on the putt of the Appellants, from
one of the first 411(1 Most learned of their-priest.
hood. The work of Father Gandolfy, front which
these extracts are made, and whose mild and an-
persecuting principles have already been in souse
dagree divulged, did not dare publish his work
u ithout the authority of the Pope,—and it is un-
der the sanction and inzprimatur of the Vatican
:hat it comes forth ! It this be no authority for
the present opinions and doctrines of the Roman
Catholics of Great Britain and Ireland, I would
ask where are we to look for it ! This Reverend
Theologian then, Sir, tells ns—and I will give his
own words, " that a Catholic finds not more
difli-
cul:y in assenting to any truth she (that is his
Church or General Councils of her Bishops) pro-
" poses to hint us an article of faith, than he would
" in admitting Tlin ORAL TESTIMONY OF.GOD HIM-
" SELF ! !" Etery Roman Catholic Priest on
takito Order•, signs a declaration or takes au oath,
" that he undoubtedly recei,Jes, believes, and pro-
" fesses ALL things that have been delivezed and
" declared by (ecumenical Councils ! !"
Now, Sir, take one clause as a specimen of these
Decrees —%vhich are as unequivocally admitted
as the oral testimony of God himself. It is a man-
date from the Council of Constance. " IF any
he found by the competent Ecclesiastical Judge,
" only marked or suspected of HERESY, unless ac-
" cording to the ground of the suspicion or qua-
" lity of the person they can shew their inno-
" cence, to the satizfuction of the Judge, and can
" CANONICALLY clear themselves, or it they re-
" fuse obstinately to clear themselves by oath,
" THEY ARE TO BE CONDEMNED AS HERETICS ! ! !"
These are tl:e opinions which the Appellants are
ready to vindicate on the part of themselves al id
their ancestors, against the persecution of their
Protestant Brethren, and in the face of which they
have the boldness to affirm, that they hold all
principles in common with the Protestants, "
cessary for the constitution and permanency of
" social order, and the protection or .promotion
" of the National Interests of a Christian State."
Veaunot conclude without noticing one of the
most disgraceful quibbles which ever stained the
pages even of Jesuitical casuistry—and justly stig-
matized by the Author of the Work I have so
strongly and earnestly recommended to your
Readers. It is contended, that the punishment
inflicted upon I-lERETICS-was not inflicted by the
Church —but by the Secular Government ; that is,
the_ Councils condemned—but the INQUISITION
(which by the way is strenuously defended by this
Learned Doctor, Gandolfy, and asserted to be
• tlre most humane and politic of human institutions),
inflicted the punishment ! !! which might be paro-
died by saying, that the Laws of England do not
condemn a breaker of them to death—but only
find- hint Guilty.—lt iS JACK KETCH who in-
flicts the penalty ! Is it to be endured,higain
ask, Sir, that in the l9thcentury, such trash, such
insulting sophistry,: should be offered to The Pub-
lic Eye—or is it possible that any man, aboVe the•
level of idiotey,canbe found to support the.atlyo-
cateS of it ?—lf the fact, however, were as it Is.:
stated, we might only treat the sophistry with its,
merited contempt—But the fact itself is mistated.
It is not true—for the very Council of Constance,
from which the extract above is made, did on its
own authority, not only condemn as HERETICS,
John Floss and Jerome of Prague—but DELIVER
THEM TO THE FLAMES ! •

" In fact (says the .Reverend Father so often
quoted)," my Brethren, -if we may be permitted
" to judge of the enormity of a crime from its
consequences, there is none before Heaven of a
" BLACKER DIE thin) HERESY h

Of which blackest of all crimes, OUR GRACIOUS
KING, THE LORDS, COMMoNS, AND PEOPLE OF
THIS COUNTRY, sand CONDEMNED before the
Tribunal of TH. Pore—and be it remembered,
Powca alone is wanting to inflict the penalty in-
curred by John. fluss, Jerome of Prague, the
IMPIOUS CRANt,IER, and the•. Host of Sniitlyield
Martyrs, for the same black crime ! That POWER
is claimed, and a single vote of the Imperial Par-
liament must decide the question !!---GoD grant
us a sate deliverance !

LANFRANC.