The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-03-11

nrsnted The meeting was meeting Of the friends
of religious liberty" to which Roman Catholics and
all Others invited, and they and all the world
understood the matter Your Grace knows enough
of such things to be convinced that such meeting
was not likely TO be gotten up and carried on without
some plan. And you know well, that II you ana
your Roman Catholic friends were to get up pubic
meeting Of any nature you would view a. an intruder
any man who would come in and claim the right OF
speaking without an invitation; ard most certainly
it is hard to conceive how your friend, the editor
referred to, could expect to speak at the meeting
in question after all the abuse which he had heaped
on the poor Madai in the columns ofhis paper. But
he and you my good Archbishop, have 1t in your
power to hold another public meeting, and set forth
your views OF religious liberty and denounce pere-
cution in Tuscany and everywhere else as much as
you please and Protestans will be there to hear you
You are kind enough to say that you, too, would
denounce the conduct of the Grand Duke Of Tuscany
ii you could only believe that the Madiai have been
imprisoned and made to suffer for reading their
Bibles You cannot believe that this is the only
cause of their being thus treated. Well the case Is
very simple one. These people read their Bibles,
Diodats version, . Protestant one, translation
from the original Hebrew and Greek, made by q
scholar, better one than Martini's or any other
Romsh version in the Italian language-and in doing
so they discovered the true Gospel and abandoned
the errors of Rome; they read the Bible to others and
impaired their convictions to their minds, and they,
too, turned away from the Romish Church. This was
the head and front Of their offence. This was con-
idered treason. Because they could not believe that
the Virgin Mary is the mother of God they were
charged with basphemy They were tried and con.
demned on these grounds alone, and which two Of
their judges (out of ve and some Of the ablest adj
vocates in Florence, did not believe to be valid, even
by the laws under which their condemnation was
sought. Archbishop Hughes, do you believe-can
you make this nation beleve-that these people were
Justly condemned You affect not to know anything
about the circumstances of this case. Well, if you
will look into the Journal Of Commerce Of February
IA, 1862, you will find the accusation brought against
these people at the time of their first imprisonment,
% kvHI frv<ha
have to say that we have sent for copy of the
proceedings at the trial published in Italian and
when 1t arrives, we will appoint one competent
man, and you shall be invited to appoint an
other. and these two shall appoint third,
and this committee shall determine whether these
Msdiai were condemned for political offence or for
that which have stated: the reading OF their Bible,
aud endeavorDg TO inpart their convictions on the
subject OF religion to othersnot guilty OF any po-
ltical or civil or moral offence against the laws of the
land. You speak Of their being condemned as If 1t
were police affair. Yes il was just such an az
fair Of the police that which put the Apostles in
prison in Jerusalem, and which they expressly de-
cared they would not, could not obey. 1t was Just
such police regulation rs Prators enforced at the
bidding Of their imperial masters at Rome, and
which ten times deluged the empire with innocent
Christian blood during the first three centuries.
You have given il as one reason why you cannot
believe that the Madiai have been condemned for
reading the Bible, that they have been allowed to
read their Bible since their imprisonment; and yon
lowed to continue their work of crime in prison after
their condemnation Mr.. Moran Roman Catholic
priest in Newark N. j. has asserted the same thing,
and also that that they are allowed the visits OF an
ecclesiastic. But what the facts! They are not
allowed to have their own Protestant Bible, (Dlo-
datis their Protestant religious books and tracts,
(although their confinement has been solitary most
Of the time,) but the Romish version OF the Bible
and Ronish tracts are alone placed before them; and
to the ecclesiastic who Is allowed to visit them
regularly, he is Capuchin monk
Your Grace goes on to argue that your Church
cannot behas never been-opposed to the reading Of
the Bible because she has been from the 6rst en-
trusted with the precious boen or at least the New
Testament, which is, in fact her exclusive inheri.
lance This is very wonderful. Just as If the canon
OF sacred scripture not settled, and every book
of the sacred volume translated into almost all the
important languages of Europe, western Asia, and
Northern Africa, long before the supremacy OF the
bishops Of Rome was established, or the Roman
Catholic Church heard of ! Just as if the Greek
Church, from the middle Of the ninth century and
the five other Oriental Churches had not the scrip
tures in their respective languages, and did not
watch over them, and see to it that Rome did not
corrupt them There were other eyes than those of
Rome and other hands than hers that cared for the
precious treasure. well know that after the art Of
printing was invented the Bible was published, not
only in the original Hebrew and Greek, but also in
the vernacular languages of Italy Germany, Hol-
land, France and England but have yet to learn
that this not rather the work OF "learned men,
than the result of the zeal OF Rome and her P0peS,
her Cardinals, her Archbishops and her Bishops In
deed, some of the men who were engaged in this
good work had hard time of it,. Even in the. If
reenth century, the era Of which | am speaking,
Rome had departed too far from the truth contained
in the written Word to have any relish for the ga
cred volume. The Reformation came, and it gave
the Bible, in something like abundance to the peo-
pie, inasmueh as the Protestants regarded it as
aGods Book for the People," But as to Rome-I
mean the Roma : tholic Church, or hierarchy
rather-she has no. much. Into what languages
of the heather, among whom her missionaries have
abored these last two centuries has the Bible been
translated In what has it been printed by those
missionaries Not many fear not one-l mean
the whole Bible?
And where is there in all the world Roman Catho
lie Bible society," If you know OF one, pray tell me,
my good Archbishop-tsll me Of one. You say that
an Archbishop of Florence, Monsigneur Martini
translated the Bible into Italian in the year l775.
knowit. have circulated many copy OF his New
Testament, though think it not equal to Diodatis
by great deal. have done 20 on the principle
that inferior translation is better than none The
British and Foreign Bible Society have printed both
Diodati's and hartnis TRANSACTIONS OF the entire
Bible, as well as the New Testament by itself.
Mr. Moran, Roman Catholic priest, in Newark,
New jersey already referred to, has recently az
rmed that the Bible has not only been published in
Italy but that more than forty editions Of Martins
TRANSLATION have been issued since ii was first pub
lshed and that il is TO be in the bookstores in
every village In Italy, from one end OF the peninsula
to the other. If this were 20, one would think that
far more than forty or fifty editions would have been
Dec1eu. Dut IL Is not uuc KNOW sOtnctuluR VI
Italy; have been there several times during the
last sixteen years. Until the revolution Of ls4s
opened the way for the Bible societies TO print the
Bible at Rome Florence Turin and Venice, the book
was only TO be seen in few bookstores in the chief
cities, and then In an edition Of several octave
volumes with copioue notes and costing several dol
lars. 1t is IN vain to talk about the Bible being
cessble to the people of Italy whilst published in
cieties did good deal in Rome and Florence, yet
as soon as the Pope and the Grand Duke had been
restored from their fight by French and Austrian
bayonets, everything Of the sort was stopped. In
Rome every house has been searched for the
conhscatsd and destroyed, both at Rome and
at Florence. This is Romes way Of taking an
interest in having the people TO possess and read
was confscated in these cities And what Of that
It was good verson, and set forth the truth with
great fidelity but then it had not the authorized