rors, falsehoods, and inconsistencies. Others better qualified for the task, either have undertaken, or as far as may be necessary, will I am confident undertake it, I merely, as one of the simple lay gentz. as the lawyers once designated all, who were not clerical, or of the learned profession, shall avail myself of the liberty of the press, to notice some few out of numerous inaccuracies, untruths, and repugnancies, contained in your four letters, under the fastidiously assumed title of Columbanus. The sum total of my pretensions, views, and wishes in writing this letter, is to prove to the impartial reader not only, that your want of accuracy, impartiality and independence will for ever disqualify you from being an accredited historian of Ireland, but utterly discredit you, when wantonly, unwarrantably, and maliciously, you impeach the candour and veracity of other writers. My desultory remarks will correspond with your desultory observations. I can trace neither reasoning, argument, nor conclusion in any one of them. But mistake me not. There is much truth in them. They comprize nearer eight than seven hundred octavo pages and it would be passing strange, if the man, who has the monopoly of the best collection of materials for Irish History in Europe, should not mix up a predominant and, efficient portion of their truth in the birdlime, with which he attempts to entangle the more volatile and less steady of his countrymen in falsehood, error and schism. I am far from being L2 inattentive General na ture of Co mission to divide his Countrymen. inattentive to the truths you have written; and I shall by preference quote from you, in order to shew the more distinctly, how you have misapplied truth to the most unworthy purposes. I shall often use your own words of truth to contradict your falsehoods, refute your errors, and counteract your malice. Again I disclaim every idea of entering into a polemical contest upon theological matter. The subject cannot be quite new to him, who from conviction sacrifices his wordly interest in the election of a religion,which excludes him him from the best rights of a citizen, and renders him discredited by his superiors, hated by his equals, and trampled on by his inferiors. It remains for me to repel your attacks upon me, and to account for and justify what I have said of you, since you have become a professed author, A. D. 1810. On the valuable shelves of Stowe your Reverence Jumbanus's may not be at a loss to discover historical evidence, which will bear me out in the following reflections upon your mission to evangelize your countrymen, under the assumed name of Columbanus. Since the reformation, the Catholic religion (or Popery as in the style of the court it is usually termed) has been the unceasing ground or pretext for oppressing and persecuting the population of Ireland. It long has been an insidious (though now hacknied) art of her enemies to select some ambitious agitator and intriguer from amongst the Catholics, in order to sow and feed feed dissention in their body. The more religion could be worked up with politics, the more powerful the effects of schism, the more important the triumph. One spirit, one motive, one principle, actuated a Strafford, an Ormond, and each of their modern emulators. It is the peculiarity of the Catholic Church (a badge of her unity) to require from each of her children unequivocal submission to every point essential to her faith and church government. The obstinate rejection of one necessary arti cle, or the open adoption of one heterodox opinion upon either, directly opens the door to schism. These boutfeus consequently use all the arts of fascination, loudly to discant upon some favourite, popular, uncontroverted topic, or point of necessary faith or discipline, with zeal and enthusiam, that they may, by insensible gradation, lead their followers from truism, to doubt, obscurity, and error. The sublime functions and exalted character of the Priesthood, to which the Irish have, from time immemorial, paid the most respectful deference, have been generally resorted to by those enemies of Catholicity, as the most efficient wedges for splitting and dividing their body. Detection of the treachery, must be followed by detestation of the traitor. Permit me, Rev. and most erudite Doctor, not for purposes of my own, but for the sake of your countrymen, honestly and above board, to repeat your own assertion, in which I lament there is but too much truth:-the writer is a schismatic Spirit of Ormond's days. schismatic, perhaps an occult heretic, a degenerate Quo ferrea primum Desinet, ac toto surget gens aurea mundo. Saturnian times Roll round again: and mighty years begu Dryd. Virg. 4th Past. * 2 Col. p. 37. Columbanus after all his boast of having washed off the paint, cried down the credit of his grandfather, and cast his own well intentioned labours in search of truth into the poddle, is not altogether indifferent to the judgment of Of Ormond and Ormondians we differ toto cælo. I consider the unfortunate days, which witnessed their unnatural efforts to divorce their countrymen from their religion Fæcunda culpæ sæcula, nuptias Primum inquinavere, & genus & domus ; In patriam populumque fluxit. Fruitful of crimes, this age first stained O'er Rome, and o'er the nation spread. Little did I expect in my old age to be sent on a wild goose chase. But in throwing back my thoughts to my juvenile observations, it recurs to my memory, that whenever that species of gagglers attempted to soar into a more sublime element, than that of their dabbling departments below, one forward bird headed the tribe, and led and marshalled the flock through their airy wanderings; which after exposing themselves to the view and dangers of the enemy, generally 66 his countrymen. (4 Col. 40). "That base insinuations can never affect me, except with those, with whom I have no "personal acquaintance, are matters of such notoriety, whereI am known, that I would scorn to allude to them, did "I not feel it an imperious duty to uphold my character with my countrymen." ver |