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he appears to have aided in the conspiracy. Nor ought we to forget Dr. Hussey's (another bishop too) threats of the vast rock just detached from the mountains' brow, which should crush all the opposers of popery. Pastoral Letter, 1796. In vol. ii. p. 455. We have a letter from a loyal priest, complaining that because he would take no part in the rebellion of 1798, he was silenced by his bishop, whom he accuses of distributing, previous to the insurrection, ready made absolutions for murders to be committed. Neither were all the priests taken or killed in arms of the lowest order, or worst education among them. However loyal then, Lord Fingall and other noblemen of that persuasion truly were, it is not the character of Roman Catholics in Ireland, neither is it the doctrine of their decrees, councils, and rules. But as to the egregious charge of intolerance and bigotry in the Irish government, made by the British Observer, I shall simply answer, that during the last 60 years, many laws have been enacted favourable, but not one injurious to the Roman Catho-lics. They are at present restrained from nothing but power. Why that is sought requires no dipus to conjecture.—Yours, C. R.- -April 22, 1804.

milar subject, in the year 1768, declaring | from page 402, Vol. I. and other passages, that the doctrines of no faith to be kept with Heretics, and that princes deprived by the pope, may be deposed and murdered by their subjects; are doctrines defended and contended for, by most Catholic nations; and the Holy See has frequently followed them in its practice. Which is very true. For what Protestant does not recollect, or what Papist dares deny, that the then Pope commanded a triumphant jubilee, and solemn thanks to Almighty God for the bloody, treacherous, and accursed deeds of St. Bartholomew's day; when, in despite of the most solemn oaths, at Paris alone 10,000 men were butchered in cold blood, because they were Protestants. Neither hath this diabolical spirit yet evaporated, as the History of Irish rebellions too strongly prove. It will be sufficient to detail a few facts in the last, taken from the 3d edition of Sir R. Musgrave's History. The truth of whose account is now fully ascertained, not only by the best evidence which such subjects admit, but by his having voluntarily altered, in the last editions, whatever was shewn to have been erroneous. The unbounded influence of the priests over their congregations, appears from innumerable instances, but from none more strongly,than that at their instance these semi-barbarians left off the use of whiskey, lest in a moment of drunkenness they should betray their secrets. Neither do I recollect an instance of any person being killed, who could produce a written protec tion from a priest. Except the propensity of the Irish to treason and murder be stronger than that of thirst, surely the influence which allayed the one might have restrained the other. If we add to this, that the Irish were in the constant habits of confession, that in the South where the rebellion was most successful, the priests were generally engaged in it; that several condeinned papists declared they were persuaded to rebel by their priests, and therefore, refused their assistance when going to be executed; the only conclusion which can be drawn is evident. Of the superior clergy the conduct of some was actually treasonable, of others very dubious, of none actively loyal. What ecclesiastical censures have been inflicted on any whom the lenity of government passed by? I would particularly call your attention to the conduct of Caulfield, a popish prelate, during the massacres at Wexford, Whenever he appeared in the streets the multitude fell on their knees before him, yet did he never attempt to stem their murderous fury, which a Christian in his situation ought to bave done at the hazard of his life. Nay,

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TO LORD REDESDALE,

MY LORD,-The sentiments, which pervade your letters to Lord Fingall, fill my mind with surprise and astonishment, as often as I turn to that singular correspondence. Attached, from motives of gratitude, to the party that promoted you to the high rank, which you now hold, you have entered into their views, with the distinguished ardour of a proselyte; you have tortured your ingenuity, to render the catholics of Ireland unpo. pular; but, unfortunately for your purpose, you have counteracted your own designs and those of your friends. They appear to view your conduct with silent shame; for when ever it has been incidentally the subject of discussion, not a word has been offered in extenuation of your proceedings. In fact, your statements have been proved to be er roneous, your positions false or unmeaning, and your reasoning inconclusive. The only argument, if it can be so called, which you have produced, in order to affix a charge of disloyalty on the catholics, is drawn from your own incorrect and uncandid represen tation of a doctrine which you have yourself sworn to support. It is unnecessary to exhort your lordship, whenever you should be again disposed to turn divine, to acquire a previous knowledge of the established res

ligion, of which you are an official protector. The compassion, which the grossest ignorance of the 39 articles, and of the ho milies and canons of the church of England, has secured you, will scarcely encourage you in future attempts of this nature.-If I carry my observations still farther, on this unpleasant subject, how will your lordship be surprised, when, after shewing you that your systematic charge against the catholics of Ireland, is destroyed not only by your own principles, as a member of the established church, but by the avowed doctrine and practice of catholics throughout the world, I proceed to prove, that it stands refuted by hourly experience, and the evidence of facts. You are pleased to assert, that the professions of loyalty, made by catholics, deserve little regard, and are given to the winds, as long as the priests of the see of Rome, refuse to consider those who dissent from them, as members of the chur. h of Christ. To judge, from your lordship's representation, of the practical effects of the exclusive doctrine on the conduct of catholics, without any other knowledge of the question, I should suppose, that his Majesty's subjects of this persuasion, amounting in the whole united kingdom, at least to four millions, are rebels and traitors by principle, and incapable of maintaining those relations by which human society is supported; and that they should be destroyed by fire and faggot. Truly, my lord, this is the natural and direct tendency of your lordship's statement; for if catholics cannot be loyal to a protestant government, they deserve not an existence in a protestant country. Are you prepared to support the consequences of your own statement? Or do you, for a moment, think your representation agreeable to truth? Suffer me to say, without ceremony, that the least reflection will convince you of the fallacy of your reasoning. Your own ob servation, however inattentive, your knowledge of history, however scanty, must satisfy you, that your fine theory must yield to the weight of contrary experience. The catholics have been, my lord, and are still loyal; consequently the possibility of catholic loyalty is placed beyond a doubt. This mode of reasoning I should suppose to be conclusive, unless your lordship, after framing a system contradicted by your own religious doctrines, and the observations of mankind, should be disposed to question the old axiom of the schools, ab acte ad potentiam valet consecutio, and deny that the actual existence of an object-imports its possibility. As to the proof of catholic loyalty, I beg your lordship to take a view of the

different states of Europe, in which the catholic religion abounds with professors, with out being the religion of the rulers. Look to Russia, to Sweden, to Denmark, to some states of Germany, and to Holland. In those countries you will find catholics, and persons of other persuasions, living in the utmost harmony and peace, and equally partaking of the emoluments of the state. The ambassador of his Danish majesty, at this day at the court of Madrid, is a catholic, and he has been employed by that sovereign, cn different embassies, for a long period, with the greatest credit to his character. Your lordship will find, on a cursory examination, that the catholics of those countries, though differing from their rulers in religious belief, are distinguished by a spirit of loyalty, which reflects the highest honour on the religion they profess. In all my communications with the continent of Europe, I have not yet heard, that any lord high chancellor has thought it necessary to read to them lectures on loyalty, or to induce them to sacrifice any part of their religious code to the safety of the state.--If your lordship will direct your view to the transactions of our own country, you will find such a display of catholic loyalty, as scarcely any age or nation can exhibit. Examine, my lord, the con duct of catholics under the most trying cir cumstances, and in the most critical periods of our history: scrutinize their behaviour in the days of Elizabeth, on the prospect of invasion by a catholic sovereign, the most formidable at that time in Europe.-Even bigotry and incredulity have done justice to the excellence of their conduct on that occasion. Review their behaviour through every successive period to the present time; see their acts not in the partial accounts of prejudiced enemies of that persuasion, but in the authentic documents of historical information; weigh the conduct of the whole body, and take an enlarged view of the subject, without being blinded by a mist of prejudice, with which the preachers of the 5th of November, in their elegant rhapsodies, never fail to cover that much-injured race of men; do this, my lord, and I affirm, without the smallest fear of contradiction, that you will be filled with admiration, at an unexampled, and an unbroken display of loyalty. If your lordship will take the trouble to inspect the actions of the great body of the Irish catholics for a century past, from the treaty of Limerick. for instance, to the present time, you will find, that under a frightful series of pains, penalties and disabilities, under the severest barden of oppressive and persecuting laws,

they have displayed innumerable instances of the most distinguished loyalty. Their conduct is a most satisfactory refutation of the sophistry, by which you have, in vain, attempted to prove, that catholics cannot be loyal to a protestant government-Suffer me here, my lord, to repeat my astonishment at the extraordinary and unparalleled conduct of your lordship. That a Lord High Chancellor should seriously produce a charge of disloyalty against the catholics of Ireland, in a series of letters to a respectable noble man of that persuasion, a charge which af fects the catholics of the whole united kingdom, as well as every catholic in the universe; that he should ground this charge on a speculative article of doctrine, which he holds in common with the catholics; that he should obstinately persist in it in defiance of hourly experience, and the evidence of facts, is an event, which, replete as the present age is with wonderful occurrences, I did not expect to witness. The more I reflect on the subject, my astonishment is increased.—I am well assured, my lord, from unequivocal appearances, that your conduct is repugnant to the feelings of the British nation, and to that noble and generous spirit, by which this country has been long distinguished. To revive religious animosities is deemed ungenerous, and, under the present circumstances, is attended with peculiar danger. It is now a favourite and prevailing maxim, that all animosities arising from a difference of religious belief, should be buried in oblivion; that universal forbearance and charity should prevail, and that fresh zeal and vigour in maintaining our dearest rights should be infused into every breast. Whoever adopts a contrary conduct, whoever renews the exploded outcry against popery, and thus rouses the resentment of four millions of his Majesty's subjects, whoever wantonly questions the loyalty of onefourth of the population of the United Kingdom, that man, whatever be his rank, must expect to meet with the censure of his fellow subjects. Hic niger est, hunc tu Romane caveto. I cannot refrain from noticing an insinuation against the loyalty of the catho lics contained in your last letter to Lord Fingall. You represent the pope, at least as a temporal prince, as a vassal of France, the avowed enemy of this country; and under such a circumstance, you cannot be lieve, that any honest and conscientious endeavours will be used by the catholic clergy, to diffuse among the people sentiments of loyalty to a protestant government. Such an insulting declaration I should never have believed that one nobleman could transmit

to another. Have you yet to learn, my lord, that the obedience, which catholics show to the head of their church, relates to spiritual concerns only? and that their loyalty to their sovereign, is wholly unconnected with the temporal power of the pope? Under every vicissitude of this power, they have maintained firm and unshaken their fidelity to their sovereign and what possible ground can you allege for such a charge? Is not the known conduct of Dr. Troy, Dr. Moylen, Dr. Coppinger, Dr. Dillon, and the rest of that respectable class of catholics, an explicit and actual disavowal of such an accusation Had I been the author of this unjust insinuation, I must confess, I never should, after such an occurrence, have lifted up my head in the presence of a catholic clergyman-Permit me now, my lord, to take my final leave of your lordship for ever. I have examined your letters, with at least as much attention as they deserve; I have corrected your mis statements, I have refuted your reasonings. I hope I have afforded you such a lesson for your future conduct, as will prevent you from recurring to a similar proceeding; and I trust shall never have again to perform so unpleasant a task. -THE BRITISH OBSERVER, dated 26th April, 1804.

EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS AT A GENERAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF SHIP OWNERS OF GREAT BRITAIN, HELD AT THE LONDON TAVERN, ON THURSDAY THE 22D DAY OF MARCH, 1804.

ROBERT CURLING, Esq. in the Chair→ The Secretary read the report of the Committee, stating, "That the Committee deemed it necessary to request the attention of the meeting to the several objects which had been noticed by them since their appointment. The Society, it was to be observed, was instituted in 1802, in consequence of the depreciated state of the shipping interest, and the various inconveniencies to which Ship Owners were then liable. Their first and most important object had been to endeavour to convince the King's ministers of the impolicy of imposing any direct tax on shipping and they are satisfied, that in case an investigation into the actual state of the navigation of the country had taken place, and which was so earnestly desired by them, much of the distress which is continued to be felt by the shipping interest would have been avoided; their statements would have been found correct, and not fallacious or exaggerated, as they were so industriously represented to be; and the coun

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try would not at the present time have had to regret the injurious operation of the application of so new a principle of taxation in a maritime country, the continued suspension of the Navigation Act, and the emigra tion of many brave native seamen, who are either now in the employment of America, or in the service of the enemy. This object the Committee had not been able completely to attain: they, however, hope, that the frequent recurrence to these points, and the repeated intimations which have been given to many of the members of the legislature on the subject, will occasion, at no distant day, a parliamentary inquiry into the actual state of the navigation of Great-Britain. The Committee forbear at present commenting further on these most important objects to the country, or to expatiate more fully on the present depressed state of the shipping interest and the causes which bave occasioned it; they are too obvious to need enumeration, and the ultimate ruinous consequences to be expected from them can only be averted by a strict adherence to the provisions of the Navigation Act, which our ancestors considered so essentially requisite to the glory and welfare of the empire, and by affording to British Ship Owners such facilities as will at least enable them to navigate their ships upon an equal footing with foreigners. The other subjects which had come before the Committee were the following, viz.-1st. The serious inconvenience many Ship Owners have felt, and still continue to feel, from being obliged to take out licenses and give bonds to the Commissioners of his Majesty's Customs, from the particular construction and build of their ships. The subject was considered of so much consequence, that it had been referred to a sub-committee to take the same into their consideration, and point out not only the several inconveniences resulting from the regulation, but the means by which they might be remedied, without any injury whatever to the revenue; and to report the same to the Committee: accordingly a memorial had been presented to the Lords Committee of Trade on the subject; but the Committee are sorry to observe, that their lordships have refused to make any alteration in the regulations of the Commissioners of the Customs.-2dly. The next subject which had been submitted to the consideration of the Committee, was the claim recently set up by the Trustees of Ramsgate Harbour for payment of the harbour dues on colliers returning in ballast coastwise, and from Guernsey or Jersey: and the Committee had, at the request of

the Ship Owners at Sunderland and Scarborough, taken the opinion of a very eminent lawyer on the subject; and it appeared by that opinion, that the Trustees were not warranted by the act in demanding the har bour dues on colliers returning in ballast coastwise, or from Guernsey or Jersey, as before stated. In consequence of that opinion, a case had been by consent submitted to the consideration of two of the Judges, and now remained for a second argument.

3dly. Another important subject which had been submitted to the Committee, was the rates of pilotage from the Downs to Gravesend, and from thence to London: and as the several acts respecting the pilotage from the Downs and Orfordness to London will shortly expire, a Sub-committee had appointed to take the same into consideration, and to report to the Committee what, in conjunction with the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and the Elder Brethren of the Trinity-house, they may think will be most proper to be done in that respect 4th. Another subject of the greatest magnitude to the Ship Owners in the Port of London, which had engaged the most serious and anxious attention of the Committee, was the disputes in the autumn of 1802, between the Ship Builders and their workmen; and in consequence of the manner in which those diferences had been adjusted by the builders who had applied to the Committee on the subject, the Society had at a general meeting entered into some resolutions ex pressive of their disapprobation of the motives of the Ship Builders which appeared to them to have led to the conclusion of those disputes.--5th. The Committee had, during the last session of Parliament, deemed it expedient, from motives of public duty, to oppose the duties which were attempted by the Bell Rock Light house Bill to be imposed on all ships passing the line of the latitude of Bell Rock, on which a lighthouse was proposed to be erected, so far as such duties would have affected the Baltic trade; and it appears that the duties which were to have been charged, would have produced upwards of £10,000 per annum to that light-house, but for the timely in terference of this Committee.--6th. The Committee had likewise obtained, in the last session of Parliament, an exemption from the payment of the duties (usually called dock dues) imposed on all ships entering inwards or clearing outwards from the port of London in ballast, by the Act for the Improve ment of the Port of London, which, with the fees, &c. amounted to upwards of £4,000 per annum. -In addition to the objects

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before stated, many other matters had been incidentally submitted to the consideration of the Committee, who had not been inmindful either of the peculiar situation of many Ship Owners, whose masters had inadvertently lost or mislaid their Mediterrapean passes; or the many inconveniences which had arisen from several of the regulations adopted at the West-India Docks, but which, from the explanations recently given by the directors, they were led to believe will be in future avoided.- The Committee flattered themselves, that the shipping interest of the country will be most materially benefited by the permanent establishment of the society; its principal object being to give effect to the old maritime principles of the country, and the establishments which have arisen out of them. The Committee have not thought it necessary to notice particularly the various papers and documents which they had printed relative to the Tonnage Duty; but beg leave to refer to them, and again to declare," that their "investigation of the several subjects which "had been submitted to their consideration "since the establishment of the Society, "had been conducted with the greatest "impartiality, and that they had not been "on any occasion influenced by private "views or party feeling; and, that their

anxiety to give permanency to the esta"blishment of the Society, arises from no "other motive than a due sense of justice to their country and to themselves-a high sentiment of the national importance of the shipping interest, and the re"membrance that to it is to be attributed "the glory and greatness of the British Em

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pire." Resolved unanimously, That the Report of the Committee be confirmed.

ARTILLERY OFFICERS.

SIR,In the numberless letters inserted in your Register, there has not been the slightest notice taken of the Ordnance. The artillery which forms so important a part of the interior strength of the empire lies, I know not why, completely in the back ground, compared to the high estimation other countries hold theirs in. It surely ought to be a matter of regret, that an ar tillery officer in our service, after devoting the early part of his life to the study of his profession, should, when he attains a perfect knowledge of it, be thrown aside. Yet, except in some very rare instances, the fact is strictly true. A young gentleman after receiving a classical education, is entered a Cadet at Woolwich Acaden.y, about the age of fourteen; before he receives his commis

sion, he must go through a tedious and laborious course of mathematics and fortification, he must be thoroughly acquainted with the French language, with drawing, fencing, and every liberal art that adorns the gentleman, and forms the true military character. With all these qualifications, and uniting a perfect knowledge of infantry movements with his own professional skill, the artillery officer when he arrives to the rank of second colonel, about thirty years experience and service, in nearly the prime of his age, and with all his faculties in full vigour, is thrown aside as useless, and incapable of further duty. The rank of colonel of a battalion is a decided death-blow to his military hopes; and, when in other countries, generals who have been brought up to the study of artillery and engineering, are preferred in consequence of their scientific skill; here, when that rank is obtained, it obliges the possessor to put on a brown coat, a round hat, and to sit down the remainder of his days as well as the disappointment of his dearest hopes will allow him.—I am, Sir, yours, &c.-MILES.

SIC ITUR AD ASTRA.

MR. COBBETT,-I, who now address you from the Oxford Coffee-house, Strand, have been settled for some years on a college living, about ninety miles west of the metropolis, where I keep constant and canonical residence, except that I generally contrive an elopement to town for a week or two in the spring, to take my seat very soberly at a concert or an oratorio. I can do this without much difficulty, as being, to my misfortune, an old bachelor; but I have a friend, the incumbent of a parish adjacent to mine, who, amidst the cares and pleasures of domestic life, has been for these fifteen or twenty years, rivetted to his little abode in the country-which he would not have quitted now, but that he found it impossible to obtain, otherwise than at the fountain head, a satisfactory answer to some queries he had to submit to the Commissioners under the Property Act, respecting a sum of money which he holds in the funds, partly for himself, and partly in trust for others. The case, which is by no means intricate or complicated, might possibly interest your readers, were I to give them an abridgment of it. I think I might compress the question into six or eight columns of your next Register-Extraordinary, if you would grant me the privilege of your smallest type. Well, Sir, at my worthy friend's request, I agreed that we should come to London as fellow-travellers. I anticipated

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