The Sun.
London, England, 1827-04-30 00:00:00

tholic priest, denied that such was the fact; and
upon the principle that every man is to be consi-
dered innocent until he is proved to be guilty, he
claimid to be acquitted of this foul accusation.
With equal solemnity did he deny that he was bound
to obey every mandate of the Pope. If any such
mandate were sent to him, requiring him to perform
any act which his conscience as a Christian minister
and his loyalty as an Englishman could not approve,
he would spurn that mandate from him, and cast it
to the winds.—(Applause and hisses.)—With re-
spect to the charge of not suffering the people to
read the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, that also
was unfounded.—(Applause and much hissing.)—
With respect to the charge of divided allegiance, the
Rev. Gentleman challenged his opponents to show a
single instance wherein the Catholics as a body had
not been as obedient to the King as other subjects
were called upon to be. He said as other subjects
were called upon to be, because no Dissenter was
called upon to acknowledge the King tobe head of his
church; and, with this single exception, he defied any
one to mention an instance wherein the Catholics
had not been as obedient to the King as their Pro-
testant fellow-subjects, and wherein the gentleman,
the soldier, and the sailor, was not, each, as for-
ward in the service of his country, as any of his
Protestant brethren.—(Applause.)—Were the Ca-
tholics then to be stigmatised as disloyal, merely
because they did not acknowledge the King to be
the head of their church ?—(Applause and hisses.)
—lf so, the 'same imputation would attach to the
whole body of Protestant Dissenters, including the
entire Scottish people, as well as a great proportion
of the Irish; and the small minority of the esta-
blished church alone would be entitled to the merit
of exclusive loyalty.—(Hisses.)—It had been said
by the Learned Recorder, that the solemn declara-
tions of the Roman Catholic Bishops was not to be
recorded—that it was only put forth for a particular
purpose, and would be violated whenever it became
necessary to do so'. He (Mr. Briggs) would not
condescend to answer any man who should tell him
that he was capable of violating a solemn declara-
tion. Upon his arrival in Chester a few years ago,
he went before the then Recorder at the Sessions,
and took the oath prescribed by the Irish statutes of
13th and 14th George 111. cap. 35, containing the
following passage :
" And I do declare that I do not believe that the Pope of
Rome, or any other Foreign Prince, Prelate, State, or Po-
tentate, hath, or ought to have, any temporal or civil ju-
risdiction, power, superiority, or pre-eminence, directly or
indirectly, within this realm ; and I do solemnly, in the
presence of God and of his son Jesus Christ, my Re-
deemer, profess, testify, and declare, that I make this de-
claration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary
sense of the words, without any mental reservation," &c.
Such was the oath, the Reverend Gentleman conti-
nued, he had taken in open Court, in the presence
of his fellow citizens, and he thought it ought to be
amply sufficient to satisfy every candid mind.—(Ap-
plause and hisses.)—lndeed, there were many en-
lightened Ministers and members of the Established
Church who thought it no small reproach to their
church that it was surrounded by pains and penal-
ties. If that church was founded upon a rock, why
fear it If the doctrines of the Romish Church
were so absurd and ridiculous, so blasphemous and
idolatrous, as the Learned Recorder represented
them to be, why not leave those doctrines to the
good sense and superior intelligence of the British
public ?—( Hisses.)
The RECORDER said that the dissenters had been
artfully mixed up with the present discussion, but
he considered their claims entirely different. The
Learned Gentleman then read some extracts from a
Bull, we believe, of Clement VIII., in which the
Clergymen were desired to call in the secular arm in
aid of their own, to prevent the reading of the
Scriptures, and also, from the same authority, one
granting iudulgencies for incest, for a sum not more
than twelve pence ; but imposing a fine of 100
ducats for reading the Bible. Procuring abortion
was set down at 73. 6d.—(App;ause.)
The Rev. Mr. BR IGGS begged' to ask the Learned
Gentleman whether he gave creeitto-that Staleffie'
—(Great confusion prevailed at this moment.)

The RECORDER, after some hesitation, said, with
great emphasis, " Well, I do believe it."

Mr. HOSTAGE, an attorney, who is a Catholic, re-
quested of the Meeting to be heard.—(There was
considerable impatience manifested when this Gen-
tleman rose.)—He said that after the language which
had been applied to his religion, and to hirny_..lf, as a
Catholic, he hoped for a hearing. He was grossly
insulted and accused of perjury—language, which, if
applied to him in another place, he would not reply
to by argument.
Here a scene of confusion commenced. The cries
of " Turn him out!" resounded through the Hall,
and some of the crowd seemed inclined to put their
threats into execution, Mr. Hostage telling them to
do so if they dared. The interposition of the Mayor
could scarcely restrain the fury of the Meeting, and
Mr. Hostage had to sit down. When silence was
restored,

The Rev. J. TIIORPE said, that whilst he disagreed
with Mr. Hostage in opinion, he, as an Englishman,
thought it disgraceful to the Meeting not to allow
that gentleman a hearing.
Mr. HOSTAGE resumed.---He said that the Catho-
lics were charged with believing in the infallibility
of their Church. He was a Catholic, but he did
not believe in it. And after alluding to one or two
points in the. Recorder's speech, he said, that know-
lug the temper of the Meeting, he did not wish to
provoke it by trespassing on their patience.
The Rev. J. HOSKINS said, that it would appear
from the last speaker, that the object of the Catho-
lics was to bring back the tolerant times of James
the Second. And (addressing himself to the Ca-
tholic Clergyman, he said) that Rev. Gentleman
has told us of the oath he has taken, and he also
says that the Romish Church does not sanction the
Inquisition. I tell him that I believe his oath as
much as I do his assertion.—(Silence of astonish..
ment followed this declaration.)

The Rev. Mr. BRIGGS rose, but the disorder was
so great, that it was difficult to hear him. He said
he disdained making a reply to the last speaker, and
that, with respect to his Church, her practice would
best refute the charges made against her.
The Rev. Mr. THORPE said, that he came to the
Meeting without any intention of speaking; but, as
a dissenting Clergyman, he was bound to say that
there was no connection between the Test and Cor-
poration Oaths and. Catholic Disabilities; and his
aversion to Popery arose not only from the idola-
tries, but from her principles being opposed to civil
and religious liberty.—(Cheers.)

Thanks were moved to the Mayor, and the
Meeting was dissolved.
The Meeting was one scene of uproar, after the
Recorder had first spoken and the petition was read.
The petition was signed by numbers who were
Present, and will remain for signature at the Com-
mercial Rooms.

IMPERATOR.—The learned have been divided
on the exact meaning of the Latin word Impe-
rator, from which we have derived Emperor,
some asserting it merely implied conqueror, and
cite that Cicero was saluted Imperator
.on his
return from his proconsulate. Others affirm it
to he only a title of sovereignty. Both are right
in their affirmation, and wrong in their negation.
Imperator had both those meanings, as is evi-
dent from the inscription on a medal struck
during the reign of .Augustus—imp. Cavan
Divt: A. Augustus Imp. XX. Its precise
meaning may always be ascertained by its posi-
don in the phrase. When it means sovereignty,
it precedes all names and titles ; or, in other
words, begins the phrase : when, on the con-
trary, it designates victories obtained, it is placed
after the name, and generally after every other
title, as in the instance above cited.--Literary
Gazette.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

F,RENCH PAPERS.
(From the Etoile, dated Saturday, April 28.)
PARIS, APRIL 27.—The responsible editor of
the Constilutionnel has been summoned to-day be.
fore M. Desmortiers, the Juge d'lnstruction, to
make known the several testimonies which, accord-
ing to an article inserted in that Journal this very
day, are affirmed to have disclosed the presence of
agents exciting to the commission of disorders
(agens provocateurs) in the scenes of the 18th and
19th of this month."
" CONSTANTINOPLE, MARCH 25.—1 t is said that
the Servians have opposed in arms the introduction
by the Pacha of Belgrade of more than 500 of the
new troops into the fortresses dependent on his.
Government. Three new deputies have been
chosen to go to Constantinople with a secretary.
" The Muhurdar of Kosrew Pacha, the late High
Admiral, had received the two tails as a reward for
his zeal and aptness in learning the new military
exercise.
" The first regiment of new troops, 3,000 strong,
besides 180 horsemen, is gone to join the,army in
Rumelia. It has marched to Daoud Pacha, and
has been reviewed by the Sultan. Another regi-
ment has come from Scutari, to take its place in the
barracks of :Eski Serai. Three thousand men had
previously marched to Larissa. A thousand men of
the 2d Regiment set out on the 22d from Eski
Serai, for Daoud Pacha, with 12 cannon, in the
same order, and with the same ceremonies, as the
preceding. The Greek Patriarch has exiled the
Metropolitans of Ephesus, Heraclea, Demotica, and
Janina. Eight hundred cavalry horses have arrived
from the principalities on the Danube. Nearly an
equal number has been sent to the Government by
different Pachas.
" It is said that funds have been sent to Redsehid
Pacha to mast 10,000 Albanians.
" Ten corvettes and two brigs are at anchor off
the Sultan's summer palace, and will sail with the
first good wind, under the command of Natil Bey,
who is appointed Seraskier of the fleet. It is thought
he will go directly to Syra to land in that island,
which is the entrepot for the commerce and the
supply of the Greeks in the Archipelago.
" On the 23d a fire broke out near the mosque of
Sultan Achmed ; it did not spread far; the new
firemen behaved with great zeal and discipline.
" A deputy of the Servians is already at Pere, and
it is said he has come from St. Petersburgh.
" Six hundred and seventy Armenians who were
married out of Constantinople have been sent to
their families. It is thought that the same measure
is going to be taken with respect to the Greeks."—
Analysis of the Greek .lournals.
" On the 12th of February (N.S.) there was an
action at Stiri : the loss of the Turks was con-
siderable. The Greeks had only two men killed
and six wounded.
" On th,: 18th of February, the army of Omer
Pacha, being surprised at Distomo by Karaiskaki,
took flight. Some escaped to Distomo; others to
Turcokhori. Omer Pacha took the road to .oropo.
About the same time the Turkish garrison of Salons
abandoned the fortress, which fell into the hands of
the Greeks commanded by Panora, ao that all
Western Greece is now free.—Gazette of Egina,
Nos. 27 and 29.
"Letters have been received at Hydra from Ge-
neral Rango, dated the sth of February. He stated
that he had taken possession of Lesini Dragousestre,
and St. Elie, and Acarnania, and forced the Turks
'to retreat as far as Mahalle and Candila.—Journal
Of Hydra, No. 270.
" Tir,l of waiting for the final union of the Ple-
nipotentiaries of Greece, those who had already gone
to Egina wrote on the Ist. of February to the Ple-
nipotentiaries at Hermione, proposing them to choose
a third place for the seat of the National Assem-
bly. They even sent six of the Representatives to
come to an arrangement with them.
" On the 6th of February, the Deputies at Her-
mione answered, that being the most numerous, any
linvtrig fallen-on Milt town
they invited them to come hither as soon as possible.
The others answered that they did not recognize
the majority of the plenipotentiaries at Hermione, as
that was no proof that they were empowered ; they
at the same time protested against all the acts of
that assembly."—Gazette of Egina, Nos. 27 and 28.
" On the 23d the Assembly at Hermione announ-
ced that that the Representatives of the provinces
being finally assembled, it was going to commence
its labours under George Sisini, as President"—
journa,' if Hydra, No. 268.
" The same declaration was made by the plenipo-
tentiaries at Egina, on the 7th of March, under Pa-
noulzo Notara, as President."—Gazette of Egina,
No. 30.
" On the 22d February there was a skirmish at the
Piraeus. Many Turks were killed; the Greeks had
two killed and seven wounded.

" On the 4th March the Ottoman troops attacked
the three towers which General Calierghi had made
himself master of a few days before in the Mums.
Both parties fought desperately from the morning
till the evening. The Turks had 700 killed and
300 wounded. The Greeks had lost 10 killed and
20 wounded. On the 2(1 of March a proclamation
of the Government was published, announcing the
blockade of the ports of Trikeri and Mallo, as well
as the whole island of Euham, with a view to cut
off the supplies of provisions from the besiegers of
Athens. The blockade was intrusted to the Hellas
frigate, commanded by Miaulis; the Perseverance
steam-boat, and the Ipsariot brig the Nelson, com-
manded by Capt. Dimitri-Papa-Nicoli. Some troops
on board were to land at Oropo, where are the ma-
gazines of Redschid Pacha. The expedition was to
be directed by the Bavarian Colonel Chares d'Hei-
deck (Heidegger.)—Gazette of Egina, Nos. 29, 30,
and 31.

" Karaiskaki, after having provided for the de-
fence of Western Greece, had marched towards
Attica. Coletti of Talante had cut off all communi-
cation between Redschid Pacha and Volo, where
the Seraskier has his magazines of wheat.—Journal
of Hydra, No. 270.
(From the Constitutionnel.)
" Lisnos, APRIL 11.—The Ministry, it seems,
have determined for the present not to publish the
decrees of Don Pedro IV., brought by M. Abrantes.
It is even said, that Sir W. A'Court has declared
that he will take upon himself the responsibility of
justifying to his Majesty this resistance. Sir Wm.
A'Court is the same person who, first at Sicily, then
at Naples in the years 1820 and 1821, and in Spain
in the years 1822 and 1823, attended the funeral
ceremonies of all the constitutions.

" The documents, the publication of which has
been refused, are, it is said—l. A proclamation by
Don Pedro to the people of Portugal, which is
stated to contain the following passage :—' If the
rebellion continue, I shall return to Europe, to head
the faithful Portuguese, and make known to the
whole nation the only path which honour and duty
permit to be followed.' 2. A. royal decree, ap-
pointing five new Councillors of State. Dr.
Abrantes, the titular Bishop of Coimbra, Pre-
sident of the Chamber of Deputies; the Archbishop
of Elves, member of the Chamber of Peers ; Gra-
Vito and Philip Fereira, Minister of the Interior
under the former Cortes, all tried patriots, are the
five new councillors. 3. A decree authorising the
Continuance of the Session of the Cortes, to vote
the laws necessary for the carrying the constitution
into effect. 4. A decree creating several new Peers,
chosen among persons who have recently acquired
property and distinction in society, to balance the
exclusive and interested influence of the feudal
aristocracy.

" It is also affirmed, that one of the most import-
ant arrangements determined on by Don Pedro, is
to guarantee the Regency of the Princess Isabella
Maria during the minority of the young Queer), and
to secure a successor for her in case of death, in
order to exclude Don Miguel from the Regency. It
is known that there exists at this moment a formi-
dable intrigue, supported by foreign influence, to de-
feat this arrangement. Finally, it is said that Don
Pedro has addressed a letter to his mother, request-

LONDON,
MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 30, 1827.

The French Papers of Friday, with the Etoile
dated Saturday, have been received. Their
principal contents relate to Greek affairs, which,
upon the whole, are in a prosperous state. The
arrival of Lord COCHRANE must infuse unani-
mity into their councils, and impart some of his
own decisive energy into their warlike operations.
It appears that the Government, after some dissen-
tion as to the place of holding theLegislativeAssem-
bly, are to reside at Hermione, and to commence
their labours under the Presidency of GEORGE
SISINI. It is said that the Turks attacked on
the 4th IVlarch the three towers in the Piraeus,
which the Greeks had taken a few days before :
the contest was maintained with desperate bravery
on both sides from morning till night, when vie-
tory favoured the Greeks, who lost 10 killed and
300 wounded. The loss of the Turks was much
more considerable, being 700 killed and 300
wounded. A proclamation had been published
on the 2d March, by the Greek Government,
declaring the ports of Trikeri and Malmo, as well
as the whole Island of Eubcea, under blockade,
in order to cut off the supplies of provisions from
the Turks besieging Athens. This blockade was
entrusted to the brave Mmums, who went with
the Hellas frigate, the Perseverance steam-boat,
and other vessels. Some troops were taken on
board under the orders of the Bavarian Colonel
CHARES, who was to land them at Oropo, and
attack the magazinerof REDBCHID PACHA.
The news from Lisbon, in the French papers,
state the diplomatic affairs of the Kingdom to be
in great, perplexity,. owing to the arrival of Dr.
ABRANTES with the reported proclamations of
the EMPEROR, but which, if correct, are not yet
published. Until the Executive Government be
sufficiently organised, there can be but little
hope of effective measures being adopted, either
to organise a system of internal order or external
defence. The Portuguese Government is mixed
up_with too much of the old leaven of bigotry
and national prejudice to effect any salutary re-
form. Every thing that trenches on old popular
habits, aristocratical privilege, or priestly power,
must find few admirers, and far less friends. The
people have been so long in leading strings that
they cannot now do without them—their mental
vision has been so deplorably darkened that
they dread the light of knowledge, and it is
the interest of their ghostly advisers to keep up
the delusion, for so long as the people reinain
ignorant so long is the influence of the Priests
perpetuated.
Extracts will be found in another column.

We received, this morning, the Austrian
Observer, of the 18th inst. It contains some
extracts from the Universal Gazette of Greece,
to the 10th of March, but nearly the whole
have been anticipated through other channels!

Colonel FABVI ER was convalescent. The Works[
of Art, at Athens, were in much danger from.
the bombardment of the Turks. A bomb had
fallen on the temple of Erectheus, and de-
stroyed it ; eleven persons of both sexes, one
of whom was GOURAS, were buried under the
ruins. The Parthenon had been previously
destroyed by another bomb ; and the remaining
monuments of antiquity seemed to be threatened
with the same danger.
A more detailed account is given of the battle
of Distomo, in which the Greeks behaVed with

great spirit.
The Universal Gazette of Feb. 28 contains two reports
from Karaiskaki and the Committee of Government. The
first relates the entire defeat of the Turks at Diatom°, in
the night of the 17th of February, where, being attacked
by the Greeks during the night, they abandoned their
camp, with the tents and baggage, and were pursued by
the Greeks. Their loss is stated to be very great, but not
exactly known. The other report relates the evacuation of
the citadel of Salona by the Turkish garrison, in conse-
quence of the dispersion of the army at Distotno. Nothing now
remains to be done, in order to complete the great work,
but to deliver the illustrious city of Athens. "Ins or 6
days," says Karaiskaki, "we shall arrive with all the troops
of the Government, now here to shed the last drop of our
blood for the deliverance of Athens." The reports are
dated Distomo, 19th and 20th February. They are fol-
lowed by a short account of a skirmish between the Pi-
ranis and Athens, the 22d February.

We are enabled to contradict most decidedly
a rumour circulated some time ago, that the
Marquis of WELLESLEY had changed his opi-
nion on the Catholic Question. The enemies
of Emancipation considered the circumstance as
highly favourable to their views, and hailed the
accession of so much talent to their side with a
joy fully authorised by their consciousness of
its previous scarcity. We never believed the
story for a moment, but we have now the
satisfaction of denying it on the autho-
rity of a gentleman thoroughly acquainted
with his Lordship's sentiments, and who says
that there never *as the slightest ground for such
a rumour. The prospects of the Catholics are
altogether so very flattering, that we cannot help
expressing our conviction that the period of their
triumph is not very distant. But we should be
deeply grieved to see these prospects injured, and
bigotry strengthened, by forcing the measure pre-
maturely upon this deluded nation. We repeat
it, that the Catholic Question only wants
fair play, which it never has had hitherto.
The people of England have been panic struck
by the false representations of timid or inte-
rested persons, for if they had not been deceived,
they are too brave and generous to maltreat Ire-
land, for the sake of avoiding dangers purely
ideal, or at best, coming barely within the verge
of possibility. But bigotry will not now be at a
premium, and Orange illiberality will be no
longer the passport to influence and to power.
Conscientious scruples may be respected, while
their existence is regretted ; but there will be
now no bribe to mislead the possessors of Orange
prejudices, as to the intensity with which they
feel them.

It is also very satisfactory to think that
Churchmen in Ireland are not so Anti-Catholic
as in this country_ There are at least four of
the Irish Bishops favourable to Catholic Eman-
cipation, and a great many of their clergy are
known to have similar sentiments. Indeed, a

..j3'
ipht _R_ey. VAthar,--In e.m.. a .tlje...)orioqt...Q.Kggi.
districts, has. lately declared his conviction, that
a great proportion of his clergy agree with him
in wishing for Emancipation, as the best security
for their own church ; and that when a fit op-
portunity occurs, he has no doubt they will
join him in making an open avowal of their
opinions. _

- As to the extent of the reformation now going
on in Ireland, the truth, as in most cases, lies
between the extreme statements of the opposite
parties. The unfair advantage which the Anti-
Catholics wished to derive from the circum-
stance, induced their opponents to ridicule,
and to deny the conversions which undoubtedly
have taken place, and are still in progress.
The distribution of the Scriptures has had
the natural effect of opening the eyes of
the Irish peasantry to the errors of the Catholic
faith, and to the cruelty of witholding from any
of his creatures those momentous truths,
f
It
showed
v.leliediloytt he
oNfvuoerrr
eltlatesi dlkieleoteotmg
preerriayntt
altdonedt
futurity,
ut
the
blreliy;rl
,leioc clearly
ialirrnillteod .ee_nx
tdileeavDouisrpporaeesruomfpEtuveonuts6lyintaoyfiaxpptloieinpt efroirobdriwn•gihilclgh
into the bosom of the Protestant Church the
majority of the Irish nation ; but it is highly
gratifying to know that the spirit of reformation
has been met by an increased zeal in .their
vocation on the part of the Irish Clergy, and
it is a strange fact, that in parts of the country
were Government were blamed for building
Churches without a Protestant population to fill
iat
shnecomffne—gcrteengdoa
congregation
onfialimerramakreeeas
ntihst,se Churches finished,vawas
owingtli an
or bribery, the Catholic aalpiPdP reniaerosatt nsbeyec.ahpnoWeorllihaeciNc'eul this
'
just
tranquillitygro u nd
of
ff
Ireland,com pla complaint, and
tae
rebellions,
ieirotli
nieei
vssv!
an,g
or
rhat t
ratherthe
chieflythe
e betweenexe
rtospoo;
absence of law and justice, we trust they will
still show themselves the friends of Ireland, by
using no undue means to maintain that religion
which they themselves hold to be the true faith,
but which the meanest of their flocks have a per-
fect right to exchange for one which fair argu-
ment convinces them to be better and purer.

In another part of our paper will be found
an article from the Allgemeine Zeitung, pur-
porting to be the Protocol of the conferences of
the 4th April, signed at St. Petersburgh by
Counts NESSELRODE and LIEVEN on the one
part, and the Duke of WELLINGTON on the
other, but we cannot vouch for its authenticity.

Jamaica Papers have been received at the
North and South American Coffee-house, to the
12th of March. The following are extracts:—

" It is stated that in the absence of the Duke of Man-
chester from this Island, Major-General Sir John Kean
will be sworn in as Governor of Jamaica."

" A letter from Port-au-Prince, dated the 19th of
February, says—The Haytian Government has received
their answer from the French, whieh proves unfavourable.
It is said that the Secretary of State for the French Colo-
nies expressed much surprise to learn that any part of the
Ordonnance of Charles the Tenth required explanation as
regards the Salt duties, particularly as the Haytian Go-
vernment had acted upon it.

The communication is said to give a pretty broad hint,
that if Hayti does not fulfil the engagement, France has
the means and will to compel her. The Fleche sloop of
war is momentarily expected from France, and by her
the ultimatum. It appears pretty certain, that this
country is now considered as a French Colony. The
people here are seriously disposed to repulse the French,
should they attempt an invasion.
The arsenal here was entirely destroyed by an explosion,