3 p. Centr Consols. 4 p. Cent. Consols. 5 p. Cent. 5 p. Cent Navy Irish nuities. Long An Imperial 3 p.Cent Ditto An nuities. South Seal Stock. India Bonds. Excheq. India Consols for Acc. 1819. Apr. 21 37 72 1 893 104 18 34 35 71 2 90 104 18 35 3-4 724 90 104 18 13 16 31 90 105 18 13-16 2222 723 72 1473 9115 19 2-252 71 2902013 220 72 777 212222-26 012 9021054 902 105 72 2 90 105 2 90105 93105 90105 2 90 1043 72 13 901042 1490105 89 104 | |š། 218 27 713 15237 71 71 72 1 17 Princess of Wales buen 71 71894 105 89 105 18 5-8 89 105 105 10 137 713 72 719 713 IN FOREIGN STATES. that the further they receded from whatever was Papistical, the nearer they [Ordered by the House of Commons to be approached to the truth of Christiani Printed, 25th of June, 1816.] [Concluded from page 652.] If the Policy of Catholic Sovereigns respecting the wily pretences and presumptions of the head of the Catholic (Latin) Church, has been uniformly vigilant and even jealous, if they have been constantly on the watch to discover, and on the alert to counteract, Papal sophistry and devices, there can be no wonder that Protestant Princes should conduct themselves towards his Holiness with a reserve, and suspicion, systematic, to say the least, and occasionally even severe. ty; while others supposed, that in dismissing the corruptions of the Romish system and practice, they carried their principles of Reformation as far as policy permitted, or as duty required. For, it must be recollected, that although the balance of opinion did, on the whole, preponderate in favour of Protestantism, yet it was not then-nor is it now-without a strong and weighty counterbalance, in various connexions, and among many people. The freedom of thought and of enquiry that has subsequently been established by the propagation of Protestant prinThe power as-ciples, the stronger light in which cersumed by the successor of St. Peter to tain things have been since viewed, dethrone kings, at his pleasure, the lan- the increasing convictions, and the guage held by mortal man, "by ME continued experience of later days, Kings reign, and Princes decree jus- are advantages in our favour, which, tice," was too arrogant to be borne; by the very nature of events and circumand the dictates of self-preservation, stances, could not be enjoyed by those the first law of nature, the indispensa- eminent men by whom the Reformable condition of existence,-justified tion was principally promoted. 2 N VOL. IX. No. 58. The liberality of the present day is not | principles is their policy founded? and the work of Popery: there is no prin- what is their practice? The enquiry is ciple admitted, or acknowledged, by instructive; and the instruction will not the Holy See, that might lead to real be lost on the thinking part of the publiberty of spirit, or might relieve the lic. Neither will it be lost on the Caunderstanding from the galling shackles tholics themselves: for, no reason has of superstition, or priestly imposition. yet been assigned by them, why memIt is confessed, with as much pleasure bers of their body in Britain should be as the fact will justify, that Popery placed on a rank more elevated than itself has derived some benefit from the that of their brethren abroad; why they re-action of the Reformation in sundry should here enjoy privileges which there of its parts; the reflection of light has are denied them; and why they should somewhat diminished its darkness; claim under our mixed Government and but, its ruling principles, its conducting limited Monarchy, stations of authority maxims, its pretensions, its insinuations, and influence which the wisdom of its over-bearing assumptions, continue other Sovereigns refuses them. The unchanged. They were originally ad- appeal is made to Foreign States. It vantages taken of ignorance, to render is not influenced by the party spirit of that ignorance subservient to Ecclesias- our own population; by the force of tical Dominion; they continue the prejudice, arising from circumstances same. Can it be the duty of States, peculiar to Britain;-it is made to the and Statesmen to forego all the bles-Policy of the European World, at sings attendant on knowledge, to return large. to blindness, after having enjoyed various degrees of light, after having felt the importance, as well as discerned the advantages of national information, and open inquiry? If this be abhorrent, not endurable, not even admissible in imagination, it is no more than natural to enquire, by what means shall these advantages be secured to those Governments which have obtained them? how shall they be perpetuated? how shall they be most effectually and vigorously improved? If we direct our attention to Prussia, we find that Government availing itself of the services of all its subjects, without exception; for such was the intention of the sagacious and military Frederic:-but, then, it prohibits all intercourse between its subjects and the Court of Rome, except through the channel of the Prussian Government; it prohibits even communications on matters purely spiritual. This Government maintains an Agent at Rome; but, forbids a nuncio of the Pope from the State exert its power, appearing in Prussia. Nay, so far does that "The minister of state at the head of the home department manages the affairs which concern the catholic churches. He appoints the clergymen to the vacant churches. No bull of the Pope, or any other publication whatever, can be admitted without having been previously submitted to the examination and approbation of the minister of the home department, who makes in such bulls or writings, any alteration which he thinks comformable to the general principles of the king's government. Amidst the abundance of British liberty, the well understood privileges of our own land of freedom, opinions will differ, they cannot but differ, more or less, on every subject. It is part of our national constitution; and by habit is become, as it were, part of our personal constitution. But, on the subject of Religion, opinion usually acquires a firmness, and is held with a determination, seldom shaken by opposition; in such cases the judgment of a referee is eminently advantageous. Somewhat in this light we view the question, "How do other Protestant Powers conduct themselves towards Catholics? There is Prussia, there is Den- "The Government is authorised to see mark, there is Sweden, there are Protes-that the Revenues of the Church are protant Cantons among the Swiss-on what perly laid out!" "All catholics are admitted to fill scientific situations. Besides this, it has taken effectual | country, but for which they have not obmeasures to regulate the Monastic Orders, those indefatigable and sworn supporters of the Papacy. "All the convents in the Prussian dominions, such as they existed in 1810 were suppressed in that year, and the State took possession of their property. At present there exist no convents in this kingdom, except some very few, and very smally endowed, in its Polish territory: no persons will be allowed to take the vows in them in future; and they will be incorporated into each other by degrees, as their present members are reduced in number, until they finally expire. The Grey Sisters, the Compassionate Brethren, and the Ursulines, are maintained; and a small portion of the revenues of the suppressed convents have been assigned to them. The two former of these orders devote themselves to the service of the hospitals; and the latter is solely occupied in education. "The members of these orders cannot, at once, bind themselves by religious vows for life. They may, at the age of twenty, take vows for three years; when that time is expired, they may renew them for the like period; at the end of that second period, they may repeat them for a third of equal length: and when this is completed, they are then at liberty to bind themselves by such vows for life. "No insinuation or request has been addressed to this Government, for the revival of the order of the Jesuits, and probably, from the certainty, that it would on no account be listened to." By these regulations, a considerable security is given to parents for the continuance of their children with them, in the state of their family. They cannot easily be deluded into conventual seclusion; a delusion that is by no means uncommon in Catholic countries. The State has also interfered in other domestic connexions : "Catholic priests are bound to communicate the dispensations in cases of marriage, received from their spiritual superiors, to the civil magistrate of the province to which they belong; and if they do not choose to perform the marriage ceremony in a case allowed by the laws of the tained a dispensation from their superiors, they must submit to the marriage act being performed by another clergyman," "In mixed marriages, the baptism of the male children is to be performed by the clergyman of the father's religious profession: that of the female by the clergyman of the mother's side." These are important considerations; and they are considerations which greatly involve the welfare, the peace, and even the existence of families, and of the state itself, also; but they have not been duly canvassed and estimated as parts of the present among us, question. In Denmark the prohibition of Roman Catholics, of Priests and Jesuits, was extremely strict: "According to a fundamental law, his majesty king Christian the Vth, commanded that the Evangelical Lutheran religion, should be solely permitted in the state of Denmark. And he further or dained, that no Roman catholic, or any other from the established religion deviating confessors, must be tolerated in this country, and that no monks, jesuits, and the like papistical persons (who at that time in particular were suspected of endeavouring to subvert the inhabitants of the country from the established religion) must, at the forfeit of their lives come into his majesty's land and dominions, and that those who knowingly housed or af forded them place to exercise their Roman catholic rites, were to be punished like those that house and harbour outlaws. and were acknowledged as such at his "Foreign ministers who resided here, majesty's court, and confessed a foreign religion, were allowed free exercise of religion in their houses, for them and their attendants, however, with this proviso, that no sermon must be preached but in their own language, and that their priests must not preach, distribute the sacrament, or undertake any other office belonging to their religion, to other persons than to the foreign ministers and their attendants, though other persons who wish to partake in divine service were of the same confession. them. "The free exercise of their religion was granted by an ordinance of the 17th Nov. 1786, art. 1st, to all Christians who were inclined to establish themselves at Reikerig in Iceland, though theirs should be different from the established religion. The catholics are therefore at liberty to exercise their religion there, but, up to the present time, they have not availed themselves of it. "The great services which the cheva- | forbidden to do so, by the edict of the 17th lier Hugues de Terlon, ambassador of June, 1707. As the Jesuits made some France, rendered to Christian the Fifth, converts, whom they afterwards sent out determined his majesty, by a letter patent, of the country in 1745, a fine was imdated September 26th, 1761, to grant posed on them of 1,000 crowns, if they him permission to build a residence, with did not bring them back; and they were a church or chapel, in the town of Copen-at the same time informed, that if they hagen, in which he as well as his made any such attempt in future, the successors were to have permission to ex-liberty of worship would be taken from ercise the Roman catholic worship, and also to add a cemetery. But on the other side the ambassador engaged by bond (lettres reversales) that this permission should not be abused by making any processions or any exterior ceremonies used by the Romish church; and that he wonld take care that all catholics who came there were firmly attached to the king of Denmark; and if at any time this should give umbrage, that he should not have recourse to the protection of the king of France, or of any other prince, inasmuch as this favour had been accorded without their intercession, and that it depended solely on the king of Denmark to give such orders as he should judge necessary for his services. The ambassador was at liberty to have four chaplains, either secular or regular; and every catholic inhabitant of Copenhagen had right to attend mass at the French chapel, to receive the sacrament, and to be married by the French clergyman, but on the condition that every such marriage should immediately be declared to the magistrate of the town. "At Copenhagen. A chapel (free from taxes) has been granted to the catholics by a convention with the empress queen Maria Theresa, who in return gave the Danes permission to have a Lutheran chapel at Vienna. This chapel is at present served by two catholic priests, under the protection of the Austrian minister. The service is in the German language. The French catholic chapel, under the protection of the French minister, does not exist any longer. "At Frederica. As every christian obtains by the privilege granted this town, the 11th March 1682, art. 1st. the free exercise of his religion, the catholics availed themselves of it. They built a church, which was served by two Jesuits as long as that order existed; but as they accompanied the exercise of their religion with public ceremonies, they were expressly "The free exercise of their religion is also granted to the catholic inhabitants of and St. John, in the West Indies, by an the Danish isles of St. Croix, St. Thomas, edict dated the 20th Sept. 1754, with the they please, and to name as many priests right of building as many churches as and ecclesiastics as they judge necessary (with an exception against Jesuits, who may not go there). "No catholic proprietor of negroes is at liberty to prevent them from frequenting the protestant churches, or the community of Moravians, unless they are baptised in the catholic religion. "The catholics have had a church at Tranquebar, on the coast of Coromandel, since the the 16th century, and another at Poreirie, a great village in the territory of that town. Catholic missionaries have endeavoured to spread their doctrine amongst the Indians, but they have been surpassed in zeal by the protestant missionaries, brought up at the famous padagogium of Halle, in Germany. "At Altona, the catholics obtained from Frederick III. on the 16th May 1658, the free exercise of their religion, with the exception of grand ceremonies and processions; they obtained at the same time permission to build a church, which in 1768, was declared free from taxes; and also of having a burying ground. On the 17th Dec. 1736, the right was given them of sending for their |