Star.
London, England, 1828-06-10 00:00:00

boon, but claiming as a right the removal of all our
safeguards, without one wood of concession on their past.
They never propose to promote conciliation by the re-
moval of those wicked doctrines, which, notwithstand-
ing their denial, stand this day on what might be
called the statute book of Popery. Was it either
right or expedient to confer on them political poorer
while such abominable doctrines are allowed to 'main?
He was fully convinced these doctrines were at variance
ith every thing ois which the Protestant Church of
this country was built ; and would they place power in
hands that might use it to pull down their Protestant
Establishment? Could any thing be more degrading
than the doctrine of the Church of Rome, which denied
the right of the people to exercise their judgment, and
p-ohitiits their reading the Scriptures, which -were writ-
ten far their instruction:? By the 14th article of a decree
of Pope Pius the Fourth,Catholics were tequited to make
declaration of their obedience in the following terms—
" I do admit the Holy Scriptures in the sense that the
Holy Mother Church doth, whose right it, is to interpret
their true meaning, and I do not admit them in say
other sense." No man in that Church dares put any
other interpretation on the Scriptures than what the
Hoiy Mother Church c.imminds. But what says the
Apos 1e?.." Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they be of (ion;" " Prove all things, hold fast
that which is good;" and St. Peter, whom they pecu-
liarly honoured as the first Pope and Bishop of Rome,
commands "Christians to be ready to give a reason of
the hope that is in them ;" our Blessed LORD iays."Why
even of your own selves judge ye not what is right."—
The cominendation bestowed on the Bereans, "that
they were mote noble than those of The:sale-mica,
in that they searched the Scriptures daily sell ,er
these things were so." All these teats, and
others, proved that the Scriptures were to be read and
searched, and tried by the people. Au ecclesiastic of
great eminence in the Catholic Church in Ireland says,
in his evidence. on the subject of the education of
the people, that there neeued no other stumbling
block to prevent the success of the schools, than
the Bible being read in them without note or com-
ment ; and that it parents sent their children to such
schools they would be denied the Sacraments of the
Church. The celebrated J. K. L. (Dr. Doyle), gloi ied
in the act of a peasant taking a Bible in a pair of tongs,
and burying it in his garden. Another Catholic Pielaie
caused Bibles, which had been. distributed amongst his
people, to be thrown into the river ; and another com-
mitted the New Testament to the flames, as unfit for
the eyes of his Mick. He might he told their objecting'
eras to the Protestant version of the Scrip ties; but it
was to the book itself; for in many schoo:s, to remove
that objection, the Catholic version, the Douay Bible,
was introduced ; but the P. iests objected to that also,
and the parents who sent their children to the schools
were anathematised from the altar, and the Sacrament
which was held essential to their final salvation was
refused them. Soon after he was translated to the
See of Tuam, three Gentlemen waited on him to
solicit subscriptions to a Catholic School ; he told
them he could not contribute to tne support of a
school from which the word of GOD was exc uded;
but he would provide Douay Bibles for the school,
and if the children were permitted to read them,
and take them homelo read them to their parents, he
would become a large subscriber to the school:the con-
sequence of this proposal *as, that he was never after
plied to; but he was told by the master and mistress of
the school that the Bible was prohibited, and he he-
lieved the same was the case in all Carlolic schools ;
be had visited many, and never found the Bible in any
but one. the Right Reverend Prelate here read .a
great number of quotations from the Old and New
Testament, beginning with the books of Moses, going
through the Prophets and Evangelists, and concluded
with the last retie of the Revelations, for the purpose
of proving that the people, from the beginning, were
commanded to read the Set iptures, and that the Church
was forbidden to add Ili or to take boas what they con-
tained. He would ask their Lorchhips, ',could they
give power to a Church t! at, sealed that precious book
from the people? By the 13th article of the decree of
Pius the Fourth, all Catholics are required to declare,
0 I do admit and embrace all apostolic decrees and
traditions." Under this article they must receive what
was not written in the Scriptures. St. Paul says,
" if we or an angel from Heaven preach any other gos-
pel to you, let him be accursed." But was not the sacri-
fice of the mass another gospel ? Was not the fire of
purgatory another gospel? Was not the invocation of
saints another gospel ? In Deuteronomy it. was said,
is Ye shall not add to or take from what is written in
the book of the law ;" and in the book of Revelation it
was said, " That if any man should add to what was
written in that book, GOD Weald add to his portion of
everlasting fire." Was not the indulgences of the
Church of Rome an addition? Was not the single life
of the Ecclesiastics an addition ? and was not taking
away the second commandment, and depriving
the Laity of the cup in the Holy Eucharist, a taking
from what was written and commanded in GOD S
word? Would their Lordships venture to Rive power
to a Church which had done such acts as those?—
He would only trouble their Lordships with a few
words on the doctrine of purgatory, which was a fertile
source of power and of emolument to the Priests of rte
Catholic Church. The doctrine was, that those who
died in a state of unrepented, rot not mortal sin, went
to purgatory, and were delivered over to the power of
the Church. This doctrine strikes at the root of CHRIST'S
atonement. The Holy Scriptures promise full pardon',
through the death of CHRIST, to all who forsake their
evil ways. Both the Old and New Testament were
full of such declarations. The Right Rev. Prelate
quoted a great number from each, and said he could
go on for hours, in proof that the doctrine of Purgatory
was a dream to them, but he would not so far intrude
upon the time of their Lordships. He would say a few
words on public prayer in an unitarian tongue. Car.
dinal Whim* says, the ptiblic prayer offered op by

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