communion pay a yearly sum for the privilege of worshipping according to their rules, to the treasurers of the Reformed Churches respectively, where they reside.

They who have the care of the catholic poor in the cities of Amsterdam, Haerlem, Hoorn, Delft, Rotterdam, and Medenblik, have the liberty of using for the benefit of said poor, all property which is devised to them for that purpose.

The Roman Catholics are excluded from all public offices, excepting in the army, where they may hold any place, but that of field-marshal. In consequence of representations made from some of the barrier towns, and other frontier places, in 1738, it was decreed by the States General, that every military officer, who at the time of his appointment professed to belong to the Reformed Church, but afterwards embraced the catholic faith, or married a catholic wife, should forfeit his commission.

The catholics in the United Provinces, are divided into those who reject the papal bull Unigenitus**, and those who receive it, or as they call themselves, Jansenists and Jesuits, of which the latter are by far the most numeroust. The difference between these two has arisen to such a height that they hold no christian communion with each other, nor attend mass, when not celebrated by a priest of their own sect. They give each other the name of Schismatics; but the Jansenists, the most moderate of the two, declare that they unwillingly withhold communion from the others. They consider themselves as members of the Catholic Church, and the Pope as

* For an account of this bull, and of Jansenius, see Mosheim, Vol. v. p. 204-299. and Buck's Theological Dictionary, under the head Jansenius.

† Mosheim states the Jansenists to be the most numerHis translator, however, corrects his mistake.

ous.

their visible ministerial head, and the chief bishop or pastor of the faithful upon earth. Yet they do not consider him entitled to a blind obedience, inasmuch as he is fallible, and his solemn decisions subject to the test of scripture, and the rules of the church. The Jesuits, on the other hand, consider these decisions of the pope as entitled to unqualified obedience, and therefore, do not commune with the Jansenists.

The government have ever declined interfering in the disputes between these two parties, and exerting its authority to make the Jansenists obey the pope, though solicited by Roman Catholic powers, especially the Venetians. The answer they gave to the latter is worthy of being noticed. In all matters pertaining to worship and ecclesiastical discipline, they said, Conscience must be free, without the least violent restraint. Every person has a perfect right in religion, to choose or reject what he judges to promote, or hinder his salvation. We judge our religion to be the best, and we wish all our subjects embraced it but we will not attempt to force any one to do so. Every one professes that religion which he thinks best; provided he conducts himself as a good and faithful subject. On this footing we tolerate the Roman Catholics, without troubling ourselves about their particular differences. We cannot exercise our authority, according to the unalterable laws of our commonwealth, to decide these differences. Much less can we suffer a foreign authority to be exerted, to oblige any one to forsake his own opinions, or blindly subject himself to him who calls himself supreme bishop. We are bound to defend the one and other party from persecution; and never can we consent that the Roman hierarchy should exercise an unlimited power in these states.' In the seven United Provinces, there are three

hundred and fifty churches of the Romish persuasion, which are served by about four hundred priests. In Dutch Flanders there are also a great number of Romish churches and priests. Of the churches in the seven provinces, fifty-one, which are served by seventy-four priests, are of the Jansenist party. The rest have embraced the opinions of the Jesuits. In most churches there is but one priest-in some, two or more, in proportion to the number of their members. The priests are chiefly secular, but there are at least a hundred regular ones*, as minorites, preaching friars, jesuits, augustines, franciscans, benedictines, &c.; of these last description, the minorites and preaching friars, are the most numerous. Of the priests who have received the bull Unigenitus, fifty have the title of arch-priest. Among the Jansenites there is one arch-deacon from the archbishopric of Utrecht, and five arch-priests.

- In Gelderland, among forty churches and as many priests, there is but one church and priest who are Jansenists. In Holland, among two hundred and fifty churches and two hundred and thirty-five priests, forty churches and sixty priests are Jansenists. In Zealand, there are three churches and four priests, who have all received the papal bull. In Utrecht, among thirty churches and forty-five priests, eight churches and twelve priests are Jansenists. In Friesland, among twenty-four churches, and thirty-one priests, but one church is Jansenist, which is served by two priests. In Overyssel, there are twentyseven churches, and thirty priests, all of whom have

* The clergy of the church of Rome are divided into regular and secular. The regular consists of those monks or religious who have taken upon them the Holy Orders of the priesthood, in their respective monasteries. The secular are those who are not of any religious order, and have the care and direction of parishes.

received the papal bull. In Groningen, and the Low Countries, there are ten churches, which are served by thirty priests, who have also received the above-mentioned bull. It is calculated that the Roman catholics constitute one-third of the whole number of the inhabitants of the United Provinces.

The priests who have received the papal bull, are generally appointed by the Pope's nuncios, with the approbation of the nominal chapter of Haerlem. There are yet eight priests who call themselves canons of the said chapter; and one has the title of Dean of the chapter. The existence of such a chapter, however, is denied by some of the friends of the above bull. The priests thus appointed, are obliged to sign a formula, by which they subject themselves to the bulls of Innocent X. and Alexander VII. which condemn the sentiments of the Jansenists, and the bull of Clement XI. called Unigenitus, which requires the above bulls to be received with respectful silence; and also promise perpetual obedience to the Roman hierarchy, the papal vicar, and the internuncios. They moreover engage, that they will hold no fellowship with such as do not submit to the Roman see, and will report to the vicar or internuncius at Brussels, all such as do not obey the abovementioned bulls. They abominate all such who, in spiritual matters, have recourse at any time to civil magistracy, or in any degree protest against the authority of the see of Rome. The priests of North-Holland, who are approved by the chapter of Haerlem, simply adopt the bull Unigenitus, and promise to take care that their congregations adopt it also. To make this adoption more general, the university of Louvain, where many catholics prepare themselves for priests in this country, in the year 1730, determined to give no degree to any student until he had adopted the bulls already mentioned.

This accounts for the fact, that those who have adopted the papal bulls are the most numerous.

At the head of the Jansenists is the nominal archbishop of Utrecht. In the vacant bishopric of Haerlem, is a vicar of the same party, who possesses his spiritual jurisdiction, and receives no spiritual authority from the archbishop. These two fill the churches as they become vacant, with priests of their own denomination. The nominal chapter of Utrecht, by whom the archbishop is chosen, consists of nine canons, including the archbishop and dean. Among the canons is one who fills the office of Secretary, and another that of Censor, of books. The other Roman Catholics insist, that the chapter of Utrecht, since the separation of the country from Spain, is become extinct, because the places of the canons are filled by the Reformed. The Jansenists, on the contrary, with great zeal defend the legality of the chapter against their opponents.

(To be continued.)