Star.
London, England, 1816-01-31 00:00:00

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übjeillon ; he would only Padua thole Who made t
piwipos4l, that it might happen In this case at it h
penal% music, cosimer *vim were the most shlrssu
to be procured. He had put great conedencein
heart and understanding and was perstiaded. that
though they differed in Minor points from 'Mil Meet-
ing, they agreed with ns perfectly in the substadce
of the question.—Let them meet then—the roomer
the better—they could not but protest against the
atrocities that had been perpetrated—they could loot
but sympathize with the suffering Protestants—tleyl
could not but offer to them such rciiniary relief as
their circumstances required. Very well; this isust
what we *ere going to do ; and by thus joining our
sympathies and our purses, though in different meet-
ings, we might anticipate an excellent result, and
attain the object which we all profess to have in view.
Mr. Thompson then read a series of resolutions, and
moved the Meeting to adopt them.
The Reverend Dr. MiCate seconded the Regain-
lions.—Although unwilling, he soli, to obtrude
himself upon the Meeting, ~e felt so lolly Convinced
of the-propriety of the resolutions, and so deeply in-
terested ou the subject to which they related, Ow he
could not refrain from expressing :is sentiments. Not
could he deny himself the pleasure of paying a me-
rited tribute to the Reverend Gentleman whit) had just
sac down, and who on this occasion had displayed'
his usual ability, decision, and 'independence, egard-
less of the clamour of those who have ascribed all
meetings of this kind to the operation of party spirit.
Besides, those who were decidedly hostile to all decla-
ration of public feeling on the late suffetings of the
French Protestants, there were others who hesitated
its to the propriety of the measure. They were stag-
gered by the contradictory statements that had ap-
peared respecting certain facts. Now, for the great
body of the facts there was unfortunately too good,
evidence; and considering the nature of the case, it
was no matter of wonder that there should 'be a d.s•
crepancy in the accounts of some of the particular cir-
cumstances. In how many instances, during the late
war, had the death of some of our countrymen been
reported, not only in private letters, but els.) in the
official dispatches, and yet it had afterwards turned
out that they were alive. It deserved particular no-
tice, that those Newspapers which had most keenly
opposed public meetings for expressing sympathy
wish the persecuted Protestants of France, had, be-
lore these meetings were held, declared their full be-
lief of the atrocities committed at Nismes and its vi-
cinity, imputed them chiefly to religious bigotry and
tanaticiarn, and excuipatet: the :'‘Jtestants from the
charge of being more attached to Bonaparte than the
Catholics were. In confirmation of this statement,
the Doctor read a variety of extracts from one of the
London journals. He then entered at length into an
examination of the evidence upon which it has been
alleged that the Protestants have suffered on account
of their political principles and -:onduct since the Re-
volteiun. That they took a share in the political
transactions of that period, and that some individuals
among them might be guilty of very improper con-
duet, he did not mean to deny. But be most posi-
tively denied that any evidence had been adduced,
which proved that they as a body had done any thing
to merit the forfeiture of civil or religious privileges,
much less'exposure to pillage and massacre. He ani-
madverted with severity upon a paper which was said
to have been communicated to the Duke of Welling-
ton, and had been extensively circulated in this coun-
try, under the title of " Accurate and Authentic De-
tails relative to the Affairs at Nisnieb;" in which it is
averred, that the Protestants, at the commencement
of the Revolution, massacred and pillaged the Ca-
tholics, and viewed with satisfaction the completion
of the rigicide. The only proof produced for this
was, that they thereby anticipated the speedy accom-
plishment of their favourite project, the establishment
of federal republics, having, in one of their General
Synods, laid down a plan for the division of France
'into 81 Federal Republics. What must. the Meeting
think of this accusation, when they understand that
these Federal Republics were—Presbyteries! In the
tribunal which arraigned and condemned Louis XVI.
were a number of Catholic priests ; in the list of sur-
viving regicides, lately published, were two of this
class, a Bishop and an Abbe ; but nut a single Pro-
testant. In the southern provinces, where the Pro-
testants are most numerous, eloquent protests were
taken against the regicide, while the rest of Dance
either approved of the deed, or was silent. In the
department of Garde, during the bloody reign of
Robespierre, out of one hundred and thirty-six victims
who fell under the strokeof the guillotine. one hundred
and twenty. were Proteitants. The only tie whi:ll at-
tached them as Protestants to the government of Bo-
naparte was, the security which they enjoyed under it
for their religious liberties.. The only consideration
which could indispose them to the restoration of the
Bourbons, when' this came to be contemplated, was
the natural dread that their religious liberties
would be exposed to hazard under them.--When
these fears were removed by the assurances of
that family, guaranteed by the Allied Sovereigns,
they submitted with the greatest alacrity to the
.sceptre of•the descendant cif Henry IV. TO illustra•
tion of the causes which produced alarm in the breasts
of the Protestants, as well as other classes in France,
and which contributed to. the astonishing return of
Bonaparte to the throne, Dr. bliCrie read an extract
from " Paul'; Letters to his Kinsfolk," a work
which had just eadde its appearance, which (he said)
was ascribed to the pen of a celebrated poet of this
city, and evinced no ordinary degsee.of impartiality
upon subjects which had -of late so Much interested
the feelings and the passions of men. The Garde
only received the impulse from•the neighbouring de-
partments. The Magistrates of Nismes, stmounting
to upwards of forty persons, were all Catholics but
two; so that whatever vexations were committed,
during the time that Bonaparte overspread the king-
dom, could not be imputed to the Protestants of that
city. The white flag was displayed by the inhabi-
tants as soon as the troops who kept themin awe had
quitted the town. After an• illustration of this and
similar topic', he concluded that there was nothing
in the conduct of the Protestants io that place which
ought to diminish our sympathy for them, and that
the cruelties which they had suffered proceeded
from the rancour of the bigotted part of the Catho-
lics, and of an Ultra-Royalist faction, whose object
it was to depiive the natioit'of both civil and reli-
gions libtrty. On the subject.of British ioterference
with the Government of France, in behalf of the
Protestants, be made another quotation from the