not suffer themselves to be the tools | against the combined strength of the world, which sometimes appeared favourable; at other times, with lowering aspect seemed to threaten with annihilation, your kingdom, your subjects, and your throne; in which almost every town in Europe, has to lament the loss of its best citizens, every plain has trembled under the thunder of cannon, and rivers have been turned into blood by the slaughter of our fellow creatures; the orient sun of peace, has at of his party; and he does not even deign to notice their struggles to regain the liberty they have lost, except it is to sneer at their proceedings. While, on the other hand, he is endeavouring to rouse the public hatred against the measures of the Sovereign of Spain, over whose conduct neither he, nor the nation at large, can have any legal right or power, by pretended snivelling accounts from that country of the unhappy state of its people.-length dispelled the dark forebodings -So much for the patriotism and liberality of the English Press-the reviewer may talk of its pages being polluted by Jesuitism, but it is morally impossible for this instrument to be more completely occupied in the work of CALUMNY and CORRUPTION, SLANDER and HYPOCRISY, than at the present day. The editors thrive by falsehood, and therefore they hate truth; but I would have such as are Bible-readers reflect, that St. Paul hased, as the only reward of their valour said, that neither liars nor slanderers can enter the kingdom of heaven-if they are Church of England-men, their Catechism exhorts them to keep from evil speaking, lying, and slandering; and, above all, let them observe that one of the Commandments of God expressly says-THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOUR. WM. EUSEBIUS ANDREWS. To his Royal Highness the -We are decreed, of the storm, and almost every breast exults with joy at the prospect of its long and happy reign: I have said almost, not all. There is still one class of your subjects, Sire, who, after the most valiant and heroic exploits, the most astonishing acts of determined bravery, and the prodigal sacrifice of their wealth, their blood, and their lives, in defence of your kingdom, your person and your throne, are still doom : and exertions, to terminate their existence in a state of unmerited contempt and unparalleled degradation. I speak of your Royal Highness's Irish Roman Catholic subjects. 'Tis ungrateful in a generous nation to con→ temn such merit. 'Tis hard, Sire, for the Irish Catholic, while you read in the scars of his breast, your past preservation, an irrefragable testimony of his loyalty, and a pledge of your future protection, to disregard his petition, and tell him it contains a heart that cannot be trusted for by the laws of this country, he is suspended to the world as the outcast of the human race, and an advocate for tenets and principles hostile to its government, and repugnant to the peace and welfare of society in general. A rebel, a traitor, an idolater, a person who has forfeited his fealty to his king, is the character given of him in the diurnal effusions of of a licentious press. His character is falsified; his religion is misrepresented. He is held forth to the world as disloyal, and that in consequence of his being a member of the Roman Catholic religion. Bat if we revert to ty, is to deny the existence of truth, If we descend from Catholics in general, to your Royal Highness's Irish Catholic subjects in particular, we shall there find the most irrefragable testimony of this doctrine, that is, perhaps, to be found in the history of the world. After ages of refined and lingering persecution, on account of his faith, although compelled at one time, to seek refuge on the summit of the mountain, at another, an asylum in the dark recess of the wood, or in the deep caverns of the rock; although he the annals of the first ages of christianity, prior to the time of Constantine-to those ages when the christians were hunted as wild beasts, when racks, Scourges, and gridirons, and every infernal instrument that a perverted ingenuity could devise to make them abandon their God, was enforced against them, and almost every street in the empire was washed with the blood of its best citizens; still we find the Catholics at those times, firm and loyal to their sovereigns. History records not an instance to the contrary. The only arms they made use of were huis held forth by a code 'of sanguinary mility, obedience, and prayer. To be submissive to, to pray for, and to defend their sovereign, though an idolater, is the duty of every Catholic. -He knows it, and performs it. If we revert to our own country, during the reign of the remorseless Elizabeth, that sister of Nero in cruelty, while she was sacrilegiously averting their altars, profaning the sanctuary, demolishing their temples, condemning them to perpetual exile, hanging, drawing, and quartering their priests, and tearing out the palpitating hearts of the Lord's anointed, by her sanguinary edicts. Yet then, when the kingdom was threatened by a foreign foe, did her Catholic subjects extravagantly proffer their money and their lives in her defence; so much so, that herself declared they were her most loyal subjects. Such, Sire, is the testimony of their most inveterate enemies. The most ungrateful and unnatural rebellion of your American Protestant states, as also the loyalty and fidelity of Canada, on the same trying occasion, the only one that was Catholic, is fresh in the memory of all; and it must be observed, that the latter was colonized from a country, which had always been the most terrible and inveterate foe to your kingdom and throne; whereas, the former were peopled and cradled by this their mother country. These facts, Sire, place the loyalty of Catholics beyond suspicion, and must strike with Conviction, every rational breast. To accuse Catholics, therefore, of disloyal statutes, as the outcast of human nature, and every avenue to public renown is closed against him, yet, give but a single call, and put into his hand even that sword which has drunk the blood of his forefathers; and like the proto type of his worship, he will forget the pangs which he suffered but yesterday; and with a loyal avidity, and a heart that never knew fear, he will grasp it in defence of his country and his king. With a mind which no vicissitudes of fortune could ever break, no degree of misery ever damp, he bids farewell to the land of his birth, and cheerfully marches through pathless deserts, and over snow-capped mountains, patiently enduring all the variety of heat and cold, of hunger and fatigue, without the hope of gain, without the expectation of a reward. Whenever the imperial standard of Great Britain has been planted in any country, however distant, 'twas to lead Irishmen to battle; whenever it was unfurled, Irishmen bled to defend it. See the plains of Spain and Portugal, purpled and furrowed with the torrents of uoble Irish blood, yet smoaking, and which was poured out in defence of your kingdom, and your throne. It may be said, that the deluge of their noble and youthful blood, has borne up the ark of your throne above the roeks and shoals, against which, almost every other throne in Europe has been dashed to pieces. Yet, these are the men who are daily represented in this country, as faithlees and disloyal. It has always been the wish of to their native soil are dissolved, and, in despair, they determine to seek that asylum and protection in a foreign land which is denied them in their native soil, Hence the numberless emigrations to America and other parts of the world. To transplant the flower, the genius, and valour of Ireland, to the soil of America, is a dangerous experiment. In half a century, with such an acquisition, it may bid defiance to all the wealth and prowess of Great Britain. America is represented as a growing lion, and we should remember, that the whelp in its prime, may become too powerful for its mother in her de this country to compel them to change their faith; had England done so but half a century ago, she might have washed up the stones of her streets with the blood of her citizens, but she would not now have possessed Ireland. Both their fidelity to their God, and their loyalty to the king, have been tried and proved. Keep them what they are, and I hesitate not to affirm, that if the vicissitudes of human existence should ever place your Royal Highness in circumstances similar to one of your illustrious predecessors, the last battle in defence of your person, your kingdom, and your throne, will be fought by her sons on the fair plains of Erin. Open then, Sire, the pale of the Con-clining age. stitution to your Roman Catholic sub- I cannot do better than humbly beg jects; 'tis their birth right: they par- leave to close these observations, with ticipate in all the burdens of the state; the words of the Emperor Aurelius they contribute to its taxes; they step to the Roman senate, on account of forward in its exigencies; they fight the preservation of the army by the its battles: justice then, requires that thundering legion. Among other things, they should participate in its honours. he says, "We have hitherto been If we turn our eyes abroad, we there taught to look upon the Christians as see Catholic sovereigns rewarding Pro- an impious sect; We have been detestant valour,and Protestant sovereigns ceived: wherefore my will is, that rewarding Catholic fidelity. The pros- their religion be no longer considered trate Tyrant of Gaul was never in- as a crime in them. On the account of sensible to worth. No; merit, and not religion, therefore, let none of them perjury, as in this country, was the be henceforth accused, punished, or avenue to the highest honours, and molested. My will likewise is, that most gorgeous titles of the empire. the senate inmediately form a decree, The childish question, "Is he a Catho-to this effect: that the said decree be lic or a Protestant?" was never asked; but, "Is he a good soldier?-Let him fight, and 1 will reward him.” To refuse, therefore, to the Catholic admission into the Constitution, because he will not relinquish his faith, is like to the Algerine corsair, rivetting the chains of slavery on the hands of the Christian, because he will not abandon his God. The degraded and ignominious state in which your Royal Highness's Irish Catholic subjects are held up to the world, entails upon them the contempt and hatred of their fellow citizens; a reciprocal dislike is generated in their breasts, their affections are alienated from the Government, which should protect them, the very ties of nature ORTHOD. JOUR. VOL. III. fixed up in the forum, and a copy of March 6, 1815. MANDATORY LETTER the Deliverance of the Pope. John, by Divine Mercy, and the fa your of the Holy Apostolic See, Archbishop of Baltimore, to our dear brethren, the faithful of our diocese, health and benediction in our Lord Jesus Christ. Dearly beloved brethren, during the tedious years the holy Catholic church has mourned over the captivity and sufferings of its visible head, the successor of St. Peter, and the vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth, every day, in the august sacrifice of the Mass, we offered to the Almighty our humble prayers for the deliverance of his servant Pius VII, and that it might please his divine Majesty to open a free communication between the holy father and the Christian pecple committed to his paternal care. Re-united again on Sundays, we repeated our humble prayers with more fervour, and with a firm confidence that the divine bounty would deign at length to place the chief pastor in a situation where he could be permitted to nourish his flock with the bread of doctrine, and to instruct them in the knowledge of salvation, as well as to edify them in continuing to give bright examples of patience, resignation, magnanimity, and unbounded confidence, made to that church which had been purchased by the blood of the Son of God. Nevertheless, the rigour of the captivity of the head of the church was sharpened. New obstacles intercepted all correspondence between his Holiness and those who sought to have recourse to him, and to be guided by the wisdom of his counsels. Peovinces, and whole countries were destitute of pastors. The integrity of the Catholic doctrine, and the maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline, were exposed to violence, exposed to the attacks of their declared enemies, and in danger of sinking beneath the artifices of wicked seducers. Incredulity raised her head: already did she dare to predict, she believed herself sufficient to effect the downfall of the apostolic chair of the see of St. Peter, and the extinction of those bright luminaries, which, since the birth of Christianity, to the present time, have lighted and directed the sincere friends of evangelical truths; have pointed out to them the path of salvation, and ate tached them to that church, of which it has been said, "that the spirit of truth will always remain with her, even to the consummation of the world." (Math. xxviii.) This assurance, and the numerous promises coming from the mouth of Infallibility itself, were our support and consolation during those tempests with which the back of Peter was assailed: these were the stability of the first episcopacy, and that mystic rock on which the church has been built. How often have we been witnesses of the proud boastings of impiety? How often have we heard it said, by the enemies of the Gospel, that the true Pontiff, seated on the chair of Peter, should be the last successor of the Prince of the Apostles; that the faith which they had preached, the Catholic faith, the object of so many attacks, of so many calumnies, and bitter sarcasms, would at length be effaced from the minds of men? Permit me, nevertheless, my beloved brethren, to rejoice with you, at your firmness and your steady reliance on the words of Jesus Christ to St. Peter: "I have prayed for you, to the end, that your faith may not fail, and when you shall be converted, have a care to confirm your brethren." (Luke xxii.) The eternal Wisdom, for reasons im penetrable to human understanding, and perhaps to display his divine goodness, gave the wicked power to accomplish these sacriligious designs. Fanaticism, ever void of reason, and Infidelity, under the mask of reason and philosophy, vainly boasted that free from the slavery of laws, and released from the yoke of religion, they would deliver mankind from the terrors of a pretended revelation, dissipate the darkness of prejudice, and of antiquated errors; expose to the contempt of men all those foolish illusions and (for this is what they also dared to express) to discover the idolatry in the doctrine and worship of the church of Rome. It was natural that they should be favoured, in their criminal enterprizes, by the passions of those who wished to abandon themselves with impunity, and without remorse. It must be said, that the civil authority was joined with the infidels. That of the church, which only operates on the conscience, no longer inspired fear, for the voice of conscience was not heard.-Every facility was rendered to insure the success of irreligion, and to place in the most favourable light the pretended advantages of a superiority of sense, learning, talent, and reason. They mutilated and altered the monuments of past ages, they falsified history, sacred and profane, to revile the church of God, and to helie the life and sacred character of the vicar of Jesus Christ: they tortured the texts of the sacred books, to find in them contradictions and absurdities, that they might render an object of contempt and degradation, that ancient religion, the only one which, by the uniform and uninterrupted testimony in favour of their divine authority, has established an incontestable right to our most high veneration. After all these efforts of fanatacism and impiety, so violently levelled at the Catholic Church, has she yielded? Has it effected any change or variation in her belief? Has she accommodated her doctrine to human politics, by making the slightest sacrifice of the independence which she held from Jesus Christ? Has she subjected her tenets, her worship, any one essential point of her discipline, to the caprices and changeable interests of worldly authority? Has any one (Catholic) to reproach himself with the crime of being withdrawn from the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, when he was despoiled of his temporal prerogatives, toru from his see, led captive into a strange country, in the vain and guilty expectation that the respect inspired by his high character would be stifled beneath the humiliations with which his oppressors loaded him? Has not the contrary happened, and is not the veneration for his person increased? By the grace of God, and the aid of the divine Spirit, the faithful disciples of our Saviour have not ceased to acknowledge the Holy Father for the first and chief pastor, not on account of the splendour which formerly attended his sublime functions, but because the Son of God had invested him, as the successor of St. Peter, with the supremacy of honour and jurisdiction over the whole church. Not in any doctrinal point has he conceded to human power, or the ter rer with which it was armed. Neither insults or oppression, injustice, spoliation, the rigours of his captivity, threats or promises, have had power over the faithful vicar of Jesus Christ or his venerable predecessor. Perhaps since the first and astonishing propagation of Christianity, and its rapid progress in all the countries of the known world, since the days of the apostles, no era has offered any thing so extraordinary, any circumstance so well calculated to support the wavering faith, or to strengthen the timid Christian, and to confirm all men in a firm belief and unbounded confidence in the promises of our Saviour. The remembrance of former times would enable us to foresee the issue of this struggle between faith and irreligion, between virtue and impiety, although she was enveloped in uncertainty, and could not discover the manner in which this was to be accomplished. The fury and blind hatred with which the enemies of the Gospel were inflamed, caused them to renew the bloody scenes of former Christian ages. Venerable bishops, priests of the sanctuary, the ministers of the altars, Christian virgins, were torn from their holy retreats, and from prayer; the servants of God of all rauks and conditions confessed the faith at the peril of their lives; and if the scenes were not every where equally bloody, and the martyrs so numerous, there are but few Catholic countries which have not, more or less, consented to banish or despise their most respectable |