Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-04-09
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.
BnrrIsu House Of Commons, FEBRUARY II, is

BRIrIsH House Commons, FEBRUARY IL, 1858.
Mr., kISSAIRD, in a speech Of considerable length,
called the attention Of the House to the of Maa
which he said not isolated case the result of an &C.
cesiasca league down Professionalism wherever and
whenever it practicable to do so. He reminded the
House that in the Constitution granted to Tuscany In
1915 every existing form of religious worship was not
only tolerated but promoted yet since that time this
privilege had been VIGOROUSLY dsregarded and now cases
of oppression becoming and more frequent.
lie mentioned several instances already more or less
known to the public of individual cases OF persecution OF
similar character to that of the Madia Under those
circumstances he asked the House to call upon the Gov
eminent to unite with the Protestant princes of Europe in
remonstrance not of menacing character but in the
name OF religion and humanity, against great grev
ance An alliance of the Protestant princes OF Europe
in the defence of their religion not without precedent
and there were many examples in history which he quoted
for interference of the nature proposed He concluded
by moving for address her Majesty the subject
Lord d. STUART seconded the motion, reinforcing the
arguments of Mr. Kinnaird with considerable ervor He
was for justice both Sides although it true Catho
hes had been prosecuted in this country much ms Pro-
tesants in Others still that injustice longer existed
and he claimed similar tolerance at the hands of foreign
nations.
Mr.. LUCAS glad the question had been brought
before the House, in order that it might undergo
fair discussion He could agree with the resolution,
which, he contended did not exhibit the in its true
light, even as shown by papers upon the table The
Maai had been found guilty not OF reading the Scrip
ures but of proselytsm-that is of acting under the
guidance Of foreign agency, meeting in conyentices,
and so on all forbidden by the Tuscan law. The mo-
ton was tantamount to converting the English Para-
ment into Court of Appeal from the decisions of the
courts of justice in Tuscany. Mr.. Lucas commented in
strong terms upon the different attitude assumed by the
English Government, when Protestants concerned
to that which they took up when Roman Catholics
concerned All the world had heard of the celies per-
petrated by the Emperor of Russia upon the nuns OF
Minsk but who ever heard of remonstrance by the
Protestant Government of England the Russian poten
ate in favor of these unfortunate women That case
sad Mr. Lucas excited great deal of public feeling in
this country but he Lucas had never heard that the
Secretary for Foreign Affairs instructed Ambas
sador at ST. Petersburgh to demonstrate the subject to
that mighty potentate the contrary he treated him
with great deal consideration than had been shown
the humble and miserable Grand Duke in the North of
Italy Hear, hear Who had ever heard Of the Secre-
ary of Foreign Affairs demonstrating with the Emperor
of Russia, telling him that it contrary to the law
of nations and the enlightenment of his age to prosecute
and nct the extremity of punishment upon Roman
Catholic nunss Hear, hear The sutferings of these
greater in arocty than any thing which the
license of had stated to have taken
place in Tuscany but the prudence discretion and good
taste of her Maess ministers ut that time thought that
it would be better to allow the to be tortured than
to hazard word of remonsrance with great poten-
tate the Emperor of Russia Hear, hear.
From the speeches of the mover and seconder of the
resolution he gathered that in their opinion it the
duty of that House to demonstrate whenever Protesans
suffered persecution The noble lord the Secretary for
Foreign Affairs had stated in his despatch of the 9th Of
October included in the papers before the House, that
foreign Governments might intercede with another on
behalf OF those who protested the State religion of the
ntercedng nation; and that moreover it their
raj duty Protestant Ministers of Protestant Sove-
reign employ their good Offices in the of persons
whose only crime their adherence to those views of
the doctrines of christianity which maintained with
the church OF England and which shared, with
greater lesser shades of difference by the proper
ton of the human race He did not know whether the
House prepared to adopt that limited theory the
subject He for certainly not The practice of
the Foreign Office had been not merely negatively but
positively in accordance with this theory. If he
looking for advocate Of the highest authority in that
House defend the conduct of the Grand Duke he should
be inclined to request the noble lord, the Secretary
of State for the Home Department to undertake the
A laugh The House would recolect the transactions
which took place in l641 with respect to the expulsion of
the Jesuits from Switzerland The noble lord took
active part in those transactions, and the voice of the
able advocate Of liberation for the church of England
then heard in favor of the expulsion Of the Jesus guilty
of no crime. l0h oh, and hear hear In despatch
from Lord Pamerston the Marquis of Normandy, of
November 10, 1S47 the noble lord said 1t appears
her Maestys Government that the objections which the
Diet makes to the continuance Of Jesuts in Switzerland
destitute of good and reasonable foundation The
Society of the Jesuits must be looked at both in rei
gious and in political point of view" Hear hear
In its religious character this society seeks make
upon the Protestant religion. A laugh.
What wonder, then, that in small country like Swift
zerland where two thirds OF the population Proes-
tans the introduction of such society should give rise
to distinctions between Catholics and Professionals and
should be viewed with aversion by the majority of the
people, [hear Upon that ground it that the noble
lord in effect advised the Diet to extermnate the Jesuts
from Switzerland But the Jesuits be established
in Catholic cantons and in strict accordance with the
policy and opinions Of the majority of the inhabitants
The noble lord in fact recommended that the lay Catho-
lies Of the canton of Lucerne should be shot, and
waged upon them because they advocated among them
selves the maintenance of body of emssares to make
against Professionalism. The Grand Duke of Tusca-
said that the cmissares of Professionalism really
emssaries of revolution and taking the ground
the noble lord the then Secretary for Foreign Affairs he
decided that these persons ought be punished in Tus
cany Just ms the noble lord had decided that the Jesuts
other opinions Of the noble lord which also quail
fed him for the post Of defender Of the Duke Of Tuscany
and those opinions would be found embodied in the
respondence between himself and the Rev. Mr. Consul
Pritchard of Tahiti The facts connected with this
were that after aborng from 1897 down to the year
1885, the Independent missionaries found themselves at
the head Of community less hourishing in the
South Seas the members of which had been converted
the abors of the missionaries from the worst form Of
Paganism description of Christianity The Rev.
Mr.. Pritchard whose name had obtained worldwide
celebrity was appointed consul Of the island In the
year 1885 certain Roman Catholic missionaries went 10
the island just in the foreign agents had
gone Tuscany for the purpose of yng the peo-
pie to the Catholic religion. The vessels in which the
missionaries had scarcely castanchors when the Rev.
Consul went on board, and when told that there
Popish priests in the vessel he departed abruptly stat
ing that the Queen would not allow them to land and
they were compelled to return to South America.
In the following year several priests landed, their
dwellings attacked tn cir lives placed in jeopardy,
and ultimately they compelled by main force to
leave the island The priests however found French
vessel sailing in those seas and they claimed the protec
ton Of the forces Of their country Mr.. Pritchard
accordingly applied for advice to the Foreign Office and