New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-03-10

Then the chief captain came and said unto him, Tell
me. art thou . Roman He said, Yea. And the chief
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Our readers have had Archbishop
HUeHEs's long expected Lecture on The
Catholic Chapter in the History Of the
United States spread fully and conspicu-
ously before them. They have had time
to study and digest it before looking at our
comments. These must necessarily be brief,
so we will take the bull at once by the horns
without preface or ceremony.
What is the use of all this elaborate
and dexterous culling out and dressing up
of particular facts from American History
to prove that Roman Catholics have as am.
pie rights in this country as anybody, if you
admit the great principles of Civil and Re-
ligious Liberty? Why not 60 at once to
the root Of the matter and say, "GoD has
given US Understanding, Judgment, Con-
science; He has sent His truth ioto
world chOked with the tares Of Ignorance,
Superstition and Error, and has COM
'manded us, on our peril, to recognize and
accept that truth and eschew that errOr.--
BY the facts, then, that Heaven is above
Earth, that God is greater than man, that
the Soul is more than the body, that sal
walton or damnation 10 personal and not
State matter, and quite transcends in i'm
'portance any political interest, we do know
that the State or Civil Power cannot right
fully interpose its authority between the
Conscience and its only Sovereign"
How clear is the right if we seek and
cling to the rock of eternal Principle How
hazy and dubious if we seek to base it on
the ever shifting sands of Expediency and
Circumstance. For another logician as
subtle as the Archbishop might easily Gull
and arrange facts calculated to establish
conclusions the very opposite to his. For
instance, Maryland was founded, indeed, by
Catholic persons, but under a Protestant
King and Nation, who would Of course have
made short work ofany attempt to prescribe
Professionalism in any part of their Colonies.
Freedom Of Religion in Maryland was
therefore equality for the Catholic colonists
with their rulers and masters-a wise and
polite as well as just provision, but of no
remarkable magnanimity, after all. If a
Catholic Colony had been founded under a
Catholic Nation upon the principles of Re-
igious Liberty proclaimed BY Lord Baiti-
more, it would have been white crow re-
ally worth exhibiting.
How easy, too, to state the case in this
way The British Colonies on this Cont
nent in rs were fourteen-thirteen Of them
Overwhelmingly Protestant, and one Cana
'da). Catholic. The Liberties. of all were
'assailed and inperiled by the assumptions
of the British Crown and Parliament.
The thirteen Protestant colonies remon-
strated, resisted, took up arms and over
came. The Catholic Colony, though often
solicited, urged, inplored, refused to do
any thing, but remained from first to last q
footstool and viking instrument Of Dsspo-
'tsm. Hence Catholics, Is such, have
'rightfally no part in the Liberties acquired
by the War of Independence. And 50 on.
But simple assertion Of Principle clears
away all this rubbish. Freedom Of con-
science is the natural birthright Of every