The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-10-10

thew condemned themselves to life Of hardships,
exiles, privauons, and suferngs Of every kind.
They died with the consolation Of having consumed
their strength and their life in sustaining the sacred
rights Of religion and humanity. The lives OF those
great poniifIs have been written by Protestants--
such as Weight, Rancke, and Hurter. The latter
has SINCE IL is true embraced the Catholic faith;
but he was a Protestant at the time he wrote Let
"a Marylander" read their works. and he will per
haps be more cautious in his assertions concerning
the popes.
One word mere on this subject of slavery. "a
Marylander" is aware, perhaps, that slavery
! not such one he sees around him now, but
slavery of white men--was a prevalent practice OF
mankind, and carried to an abominable excess
among the Greeks and Romans. Let him now ex-
plain how slavery died natural DEATH and how
such glorious reformation was effected without
those revolutions and wars which characterized
another reformation. II was owing to the perseye-
ring efforts, and to the humane and benevolent
policy, of the popes. Let me point out TO him
Alexander Ill as the one who cut off the head of
that hydra Of the human race.
have no words to express my establishment at
this sweeping charge, ''that Pagan Rome was sur
passed by Christian Rome in crimes that debased
humanity for centuries" What does the writer
mean? Is he, or am i, in mesmeric Sleep What
crimes does he alude tor One might expect from
"a Marylander" list of prescriptions and SAN
gulnary deeds from the popes, similar to those OF
'A.'iaSD 'SJho, SoHSua, hNCto, DoIhtiuu, VIZ, w.
Indeed, what strange visions people will have when
they look at things with bigoted eyes, But we
mistake. Christian Rome did see crimes equal to
those of the worst days of the republic. II was
when Protestant army, in 1927, took and pill
LACED that city; for then it was abandoned for two
months to licentious and infuriate sodery aud it
suffered more from them, than it had formerly suf
fered from the Goths and the VrndaIs.
After his ffghtfu description of the tyranny prac-
tsed by Rome upon mankind, the author of the
communication insists upon the golden ege brought
again to the world by the efforts of the Puritans.
The following passage is explicit enough
England cut loose from the Pope and established her
own church But to her church too servile ma-
ton Of Rome, England little emancipa
spiritual tyranny and nothing for the security Of civil lin
erty But from her own bosom sprung forth the Purtans
Taking the Bible as their rule this sect utterly dsat
forms and ceremonies especially in its power
they viewed as closely resembling Romanism and at
variance with The beautiful simplicity Of Christianity
the prerogaves OF the Crown. Repfessed for time by
the high spirit Of Elizabeth they gained strength in the
reign oil James brought the question 10 decision with
Charles l. and then liked English liberty mmovabe
foundation in the bill Of rights ITO the Puritans, says
Hume. 1--WE owe all the freedom Of our constitution
The fact is the Puritans never understood civil
or religious liberty As long as they were perse-
cuted, they raised loud complaints, and preached
liberty and equality;--but the liberty they were
aiming at was that of trampling under foot their
opponents of having themselves the direction
and control of all civil and religious events-that of
imprlsoning and killing all those who did not co.
ncide in views with them-al those who, taking
also the Bible as their rule of faith happened to un-
derstand it differently from them. As proof of
this, will mention only two facts. "When the
Puritans brought The question to decision with
Charles i,"to u5e the words of our writer, did
they grant civil and religious liberty? Did thew al.
low every one to folew his conscience Did they
annul all those barbarous laws which weighed upon
dlssenterg Did they abolish all those penalties TO
which the Catholics were ablei Did they break
asunder the chains under which great part of the
Kingdom had been groanings Did they set Ireland
free? NO! "a Marysndern should know that
the reign of the Purtans was the reign Of bigorv
and wild fanatltism; and hence the unbounded ioy
OF The English nation at the restoration of Charles
IL: 1t ID true that, after his restoration, the
reign OF that monarch was marked by much
OF tyranny and immortality; but still the peo-
pie of England were thankful on almost anv
terms, to free themselves from the domination Of
the ''roundheads" The barbarous code of Eng
| land, IN spite of that liberty conquered by the
Puriians, and extolled by Hume, has subsisted to
the present century-even to within our own DAYS
lhe removal of religious disqualification for civil
offices has been exceedingly tardy; the nnaeaypa-
ton of the Catholics has Boen late act of Justice,
and 1t is even yet question whether this emanci-
patton has been sincere and complete. Hume man.
ifestly did not understand liberty, when he passed
his enlogum on the Purtans; for he lived at a time
when the barbarous English laws agains, dissent
ers were still enforced and under such laws he had
the heart to consider England as free Indeed some
consider themselves free only when they have the
unmoested privilege of prosecuting others
The other fact shall adduce to prove that the
"Puritans" never understood religious or civil lib
erty, IS that Of the settlement Of the New England
colonies. There II was that the "pious pilgrims ~
had an opportunity to show in its purity the spirit
which animated them. They were in new world
under no foreign influence. Masters of the whele
land, and the trainers Of their own laws and mode
of government, it was then they could have shown
that tolerance, forbearance, and complete religious
liberty, which was to set all truly free, by respecting
the rights of all. What happened, however, No
sooner were they established in New England,
than, forgetbl Of the prosecutions they had Them
seivea endured in the Old World, they began to
| prosecute those who differed in creed from them
| the Quakers chiefly. II was then that they esteb.
llshed that system of legislation which ID an UNI
heard-of compound of theocncy and democracy
and which, in point Of cruelty fanaticism, and
| gloomy bgotry, has perhaps no parallel i'm any
other code, alude to the "blue lawsn Of the New
| England States. Let our admirer of puritanica
liberty peruse few of these laws, which will
transcrbe for him, and he must excIam, s'Ifthat be
liberty, may Heaven preserve us from it ~
None shall be admitted reemen free bugesses with
IN THIS or any part Of Il but such planters
England one or ,bs II ae @
such church members have any vote in any elections
rms court, thus framed, shall FIRST all
diligence from time to time provide the maintenance
the purity Of religion and suppress the contrary according
to their best light and directions from the word God
whatsoever shall profane the Lords day by doing un
necessary ssrvile work, by unnecessary travelling by
sports and recrenons he they SO shall
forfeit for such default forty shilngs be ptbci
phPPed; but If 1t clearly appear that sin proudly pre
sumptuousy and with high hand committed against the
known command and authority Of the blessed Cod such
therein despng and reproachng the Lord shall be
p 70 death or grievousy punished at the discretion the
court
mo priest shall abide in this dominion he shall be ban.
shed and suffer death his return Priests may be seized
by any without warrant (The Blue Laws Of the New
Haven Colony, &c Hartford 1888 PIP l42 l4b 9o6 l2)
must stop here; for this article would swell to
an unwarrantable length, if all the Objectionable
matter contained in the communication of"A Mary
lander" were taken up. To sum up all in one word,
the piece of composition which is now under notice
Is the most deectable pot-pousri of ignorance and
bgotry which have for some time; and. in
conclusion, permit me to indulge the hope, that il
the author has any more such lucubrations of which
he wishes to deliver himself he will adopt for that
purpose such channel as the taste of his readers
may approve.