The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1841-01-19

1
teract, defeat or Illustrate To battle, to disap-
point
Having seen the definition of the word ere
sist," turn to the same authority for the mean
ing of the Wsrd Fexterminate." Webster says
EXTERMINATE. v. t. 1. To destroy utter
ly; to drive away; te extirpate. 2. TO eradi-
cate, to root out; to extirpate. 3. To root out
as plantsj to extirpate.
So much for Bishop England. Now for his
Boston echo:
| "OUTLAWRY." n. Putting man out of
the protection of law, or the process by which
man is deprived Of that protection.
To the CstholicsI would say, that the ques-
ton in issue between Bishop England and my
self has net been fairly stated by him or by the
committee. am charged with threatening you
with determination, and Of wishing to deprive
you of the right to exercise your religious OPT
MONS and your rights of conscience The reverse
of these charges is the truth. l would protect
your persons and secure your rights of con
science. have made no attack upon your rei
! gion. do not propose to controvert your reli
| gious faith. What object to is the conduct
Bishep England in endeavoring to prostitute tie
spiritual influence of the Church to political pur
poses-to blend the Church and State. You
should remember that very large proportisn Of
the people of the United States are Protestants.
That our knowledge of the Church of Rome is
derived from Protestant books; that we read and
believe books which it is not lawful under the
rules of your Church, for you Ia read.
| The well informed Catholics must know that
there is an abiding Jealousy among Protestants
| -, Al. CzAl- Il
exercise of civil power To resist, therefore,
the attempt of Bishop England to exercise undue
influence over Catholic voters, is to protect you
in your civil rights. 1t will not do for him to
say that while he expresses the opinion that the
present administration should be maintained in
power, he leaves the minds of others free to
choose for themselves. We know that his Off
cial station gives him an influence with very
large portion of Catholic voters, mere especially
when his opinions strengthened by an appeal
to their consciences, under the highest authority
knswn to the Church in this country We be
ieve that, with many, such an appeal is conclu--
sive, and regulates their political action. 1t
will not do, therefore, to say that such men are
left free to choose. Their respect for him, their
/
nation and individual preferences, all conspire
to make his viii, thus made knswn, the law of
their actions.
The past history of the Church is full of pre-
cedents illustrating the growth of usurpation by
your clergy. In Catholic countries these usur-
Pations have originated in the conflict between
the stjurisdiction' of the Pope and the local civil
authority BY degrees the local jurisdiction has
become subordinate to the foreign dominion.
The InquisitioD has been the most potent arm of
this foreign influence, and you, as Catholics,
| are no less interested than we are in noting and
resisting the approaches of this dangerous pow
er. Already has Bishop England raised the
| question in this country, and assailed Mr. Ad-
ans the President, and MIR. Clay as the Sc
eretary of State of the United States, charging
them 'ewith having interfered in the concerns Of
the Church, in way in which he neither could
or ought" Indeed, he has gone so far as to OBJ
tain and publish the opinions of two eminent
Catholic Lawyers, to prove that their interior
enee with the ecclesiastical Jurisdiction" of the
Pope in this country was unconstitutional. Do
you not see that the exercise of this stjtnisdic-
ton" may become oppressive to you as Catho-
lies, and that you and your clergy are deeply
interested in asserting and maintaining your
civil rights, free from any undue influence what
soevera The Inquisition has contested the au-
thirty of judges, nobles, kings, emperors, and
even OF the Pope himself. 1t has set at defiance
the power of the people, and its victims have
been protesting Catholics, even the most emf
nently pious, for pure religion, even in the Ca
tholic faith, hath invited persecution and pro-
voked condemnation. Il repeat, that speak
not of the Catholic faith. speak of the abuses
that have been praetised in the name of the Ca
tholic religion, and in Connection with the fact
that there is nothing in the Constitution Of the
General Government, which prevent the
establishment of the Catholic religion by en-
grating it upoa the constitution of any indi;
vidual State, and that it is in the power of
designing men, wherever they control the le-
gislatIon of single state, to establish the Inqu-
sltion as part of its civil polity. You, the Ca
tholics of the United States, as deeply inter
ested as we, the Protestants, in preventing this;
and to discuss how far the purpose Of Bishop
England, in uniting Church and State, foreshad-
/ ows this event, is measure which you should be
theta to condemn. 1t will not do for him to say
that the prejudices, which exists in the minds Of
Protestants unfounded. 1t will not do for
him, in his character of Inquisitor General, to
prescribe all investigation, and to deneunce all
who may question the integrity of his purpose.
We, the Protestant people of the United States,
have opened our doors, and permitted him to
come among us. He is suspected of harbouring |
deep designs against urpeace and your liberties.
1t will not do for him, stranger, whom we have
made welcome, to denouncc us ,when we propose
toenquire into the truth ofthese suspicious. That
he L. sIsreeted he ad I,astoa Of