Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-10-02

whom they have found so many good quailtieS,
could be prosecutors Of innocent people: there
must, they think, have been something bad,
and Of sufficient Grim nalty in the Catholics oil
that day TO have provoked this oppression =
Let the practical error be only once IN exist
ence. Let men of a certain standing-in society
be in the habit of oppression, and it becomes a
necessary consequence that the most amlaole
portion of society becomes unconsciousIy the
preserver Of prejudice and indirectly the advo-
cate of oppression This has enabled me often
to excuse what lamen,ed, and solve what
would be otherwise insoluble.
| Another great source of prejudice aris-
ses from religious feeling. Every mind not ac-
tualy infidel, views with more or less reverence
the edifce for public worship, and generally
| the mind is prepared to receive with scarcely
suspicion of falsehood, every statement made
in this sacred place by the man who is'said and
believed to bear the divine &C nmission TO an
nounce saving truths TO the world. In land
where the law prevented the existence Of a Ca
tholc, the public teacher of religion created
upon the assumption that the Catholic religion
was grossly erroneous, might safely indulge in
what statements he thought proper, and na,u-
rally he would be expected occasionally to IN
Weigh against those tenets, to destroy whose
prevalence was the object of his ministry, and
to his declaration there would be no reply:
that such was The fact there exists the most su-
perabundant evidence Ii wa, not only natural
that the evils which were said to spring from
those tehets should be pointed out and emilia
zoned, but we have proof that they were. When
! a century had thus passed away in repeated in
| quotations of this description by the ministers
of God in his holy place, TO religious people,
can we wonder at the existence OF strong prelu
dice in the minds CT that people, not only a
gainst the tenets, but also against those who
held them? Religious pre- udice IS perhaps
stronger than hat of family affection; either is
| very powerful but what must be that prejudice
which is combination, and sublimation OF
10th
Had those holy men contented themselves
with the mere statement Of facts and argued
fairly from those facts, we should have had no
reason TO complain. But such was not the
case.-That which was ola dubious or equlvo-
cal appearance was against every rule Of chart
" exhibited in the worst manner TO which any
forced construction could drag it: and when
there were not sufficient facts to make out the
case, the defect was supplied by fiction. do
not charge all the sacred functionaries with will
full misconstruction and with fabrication, be-
cause there were some VINO did not stoop TO
those means, others had pre- judice and were
misled they believed what they taught, others
cared not for its truth or falsehood, but did
what was in the routine of their duty; SO that
am far from charging the body a, large as fab
ricalors, though they made extensive use of fab
rications. Thus Misrepresentation was super
added to prejudice; and all obtained the name
Of religious truth Thus the more Of religious
zeal existed, the more extensively was pre- ju-
dice against the Catholic spread abroad. Be-
fore close this series Of letters, shall exhi-
bit to you sucn authentic facts 10 support my
several assertions, as shall we'll warrant every
conclusion that draw.
Not only then were affection and religion, the
two finest sources Of human feeling, poisoned
against US, out history was outraged, and the
unbiased judgment was fagrantly misled
here make an assertion, Which, if shall not
succeed in proving to its full extent, l consent
that all which shall address TO you in vindica
ton of our character to our feow-citizens,
shall be vslueless No nation ever was so gull
ty Of a systematic destruction of the truth of
history for any purpose, as was the English ma
ton, in order to create prejudice against the
Catholics. would be content to put myself
upon trial for life and death, upon the issue
Of truth or falsehood of the following PROPOSE
ton, after should have had the opportunity
of proving its truth before an impartial, honest
American Jury 'The British Protestant ma
ton has been almost continually employed in
destroying the truth Of history, for the purpose
of bringing obloquy upon the Catholics! The
Government aided in this work, and the Catho-
lie was not allowed 10 answer, nor allowed the
means OF refutation, Thus a new source Of
prejudice was added. From the most voluni-
nous histories to the mere chronological tables
from the College to the Nursery the labor was
10 create and to perpetuate prejudice: and this
has continued during centuries. The Drinci-
Pile having been adopted soon after the discove-
ry of the ART of printing, those distortions of
of facts have the appearance of being the ORR
ginal and authentic statement of what occurred,
and the press having been in the hands of only
the opponents of Catholics, no counter state
ments could be sent forward.
Besides the distortion of history, the sciences
have been by the British nation, employed a.
gainst us Her teachers of logic, in their ee-
mentary trea,ises assume falseheods as facts, to
give as examples of sophsms what they state
10 be our mode of reasoning, when in truth we
do not SO mock reason. In their metaphysics,
every oDDortunity is taken by many of their