The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-01-20
federation in Maryland.
The Famous Act Drawn mp by the Pre-
VinciaI of Jesuits I'm England.

At the meeting of the Maryland His
torical Society January 8, Gen. Bradley
T. johnson read paper on the foundation
of Maryland. The paper recited the three
theories of the origin of religious liberation
in Maryland: First, that it was adopted by
Lord Baltimore to attract settlers. This is
the theory of Lodge and Doyle, the latest
writers on the subject. Second, that he
founded Catholic colony as refuge for
Catholics, and declared freedom of con-
science, moved by the teachings Of the
church This is the theory of Cardinal
Manning and Catholic writer's generally.
Third, that the Protestants were in the
majority, and thus adopted and enforced it
because it was the principle of their religion.
This is the position of Mr.. Gladstone and
Protestant authors. Gen. johnson con-
tended that none of these is correct.
Lord Baltimore, satisfied that free insti-
tutions were about to perish in England in
the reign of Charles l., formed the deliber-
ate purpose of founding state in which all
the rights, liberties and franchises of Eng
lishmen should be enjoyed, secured by all
the guarantees of magma charta. Many
facts made known in 1873 by the publica-
ton of the Records of the English Pro-
vince of the Society of Jesus" preserved
at Stonyhurst, prove this purpose Of Lord
Baltimore.
The original colony was organized by
the appointment of Leonard Calvert COVER
nor and Jerome Hawley councillor, Catho-
lies, and Captain Thomas Cornwallys, Pro-
testant. The colony was largely Protes-
tant, and was undertaken under the advice
of Mutius Vitelleschi, general of the Socie-
ty of Jesus at Rome, and of its provincial,
Father Richard Blount, Of England, who
sent out two Jesuit priests with the expedi-
ton. The emigration of all Christians
was encouraged by the promise of freedom
of conscience by his proclamation in 1884.
Gen. johnson referred to the code of
laws prepared by Lord Baltimore and the
early history of the proprietary government
in support of his proposition. After the
battle of Naseby had decided the fate of
the English monachy, in 1645, Lord Balti
more was obliged to reconcile the condition
of affairs in his colony with that in England.
In July, August and September, 1913, he
counseied with Father Henry More, pro-
vincial of Jesuits in England, as to the
proper measure to be adopted to reconcile
Puritans and Roman Catholics cs-the Je-
suits and his government in Maryland.
Father More was a great grandson OF
Sir Thomas More, Lord High Chancellor
of England, who was martyr for his re-
ligion. He was historian of the Jesuits,
able, pious and learned. He prepared and
proposed to Lord Baltimore the scheme
which he adopted, to-wit: That he should
appoint Protestants to govern the province;
that he should bind them by official oaths
to disturb no one on account of his religion,
especially no Roman Catholic that he
should forbid the Governor asserting to
any law concerning religion that he should
issue new conditions of plantation, entOrc-
ing the statutes of Mortmain, and he pre-
pared code of sixteen laws, which the
proprietary assented to beforehand, and
which he stipulated must be adopted with
in twelve months without amendment or
alteration The first one of these sixteen
laws was the act concerning religion-the
MARYLAND act for religious liberation.
The terms of the settlement were sent to
Maryland. The Assembly in 1649 adopted
seven of these sixteen laws, first among
them the liberation act, and in 1850 adop-
ted the other nine of the proposed acts.
Thus it is shown that the act concerning
religion was but part Of the mature pur-
pose of Lord Baltimore to found the state
on the institutions of magma charta, and it
was drawn up and proposed to him as part
of general scheme of compromise and
settlement for Puritan and Catholic in the
colony by Father Henry More, the provin-
cial of the English province Of the Society
of Jesus.