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female galleys), also with hard labour, for his wife! Besides this, all the expenses of the trial, and three years of surveillance from the police, after the completion of their punishment. Pasquale Casacci, who denied everything, was acquitted of the criminal charge, but was detained to answer two actions against him by the police, according to the law of April, 1851.

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"That history may render justice to the chief actors in this trial, I will tell you that Nervini was the President of the Court; Cocchi, the interrogating Judge; and Biechierai, the public prosecutor. The trial began on the 4th June, and lasted four days. Rosa (Madame Madiai) was pale, and trembled with emotion on entering; Francesco (her husband) appeared happy to see his wife again, and press her hand. All were surprised and moved with their tranquillity and firmness. Casacci was the picture of an unhappy man, and with all my heart I pity him. At the commencement of the trial, Francesco was asked if he was born in the bosom of the Holy Mother, the Roman Catholic Church. Yes,' he answered; but now I am a Christian according to the Gospel.' 'Who has made you such, and does there exist an act of abjuration amongst those to whom you are united ? ' My convictions have existed for many years, but have acquired strength from the study of the Word of God. It has been a matter between God and my own soul, but which was outwardly manifested when I took the communion in the Swiss Church.' Rosa replied to her interrogator, that she had not changed her religion lightly, nor to please men, as in that case she would have done it when in England (where she lived sixteen or nineteen years): but after having read the Word of God, and contrasted with it the Romish doctrines, she was convinced, and having abandoned that Church, had made a public confession of faith by partaking of the Lord's Supper, at a time when the laws gave and protected religious liberty to the citizens. The audience were struck with the simplicity and sincerity of the Madiais. Then, on the two following days, the witnesses were examined, and the defence was heard (made by the advocate Maggiorani, with much warmth and feeling); and finally, the summing up of the public prosecutor. The fourth day the Court remained long in consultation; the votes were divided, and one vote decided the question,-two being in favour of acquittal, three of condemnation. The Madiais listened to the sentence with the greatest firmness and dignity. The voice of the pre

siding judge, who read it, trembled; the public were indignant at the sentence and the judges, but displayed sympathy for the Madiais and contempt for poor Casacci. The Madiais have the right of appeal to the Court of Cassation, and have been advised by their advocate to make use of it. Perhaps a superior tribunal, having more liberty of action, may acquit them. Signor Landucci, Minister of the Interior, advised that a commutation of the sentence into exile should be immediately applied for."

LETTER FROM MADAME MADIAI TO HER HUSBAND.

The following letter was written from prison on the 7th June, 1852, after the Judge had passed sentence :—

"MY DEAR MADIAI,-You know that I have always loved you; but how much more ought I to love you now that we have been together in the battle of the Great King-that we have been beaten, but not vanquished! I hope that through the merits of Jesus Christ God our Father will have accepted our testimony, and will give us grace to drink, to the last drop, the portion of that bitter cup which is prepared for us, with returning of thanks. My good Madiai, life is only a day, and a day of grief! Yesterday we were young, to-day we are old! Nevertheless, we can say with old Simeon, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.'

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"Courage, my dear; since we know by the Holy Spirit that this Christ, loaded with opprobrium, trodden down and calumniated, is our Saviour; and we, by His holy light and power, are called to defend the holy cross, and Christ who died for us, receiving His reproaches, that we may afterwards participate in His glory. Do not fear if the punishment be hard. God, who made the chains fall from Peter and opened the doors of his prison, will never forget us. Keep in good spirits; let us trust entirely in God. Let me see you cheerful, as I trust, by the same grace, you will see me cheerful. I embrace you with my whole heart.

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At a Meeting of the Managing Committee of the Protestant Alliance, held June 22, 1852, it was resolved,—

"I. That this Committee, having been made acquainted with the trial of Francesco and Rosa Madiai, at Florence, and with the sentence respectively pronounced upon them, of fifty-six months at the galleys with hard labour, and forty-four months at the ergastolo, or female galleys, with hard labour, with three additional years of surveillance by the police, and all the costs of the trial, for the imputed crime of possessing the Bible and leaving the communion of the Romish Church, hereby express their grief and detestation at the iniquity of the charge and the inhumanity of the sentence, and their deep sense of the wrong thereby inflicted upon these really blameless persons; in whose punishment for such a cause not only are justice and humanity violated, but the natural rights and liberties of mankind are trampled under foot, and Christianity itself is outraged, while its sacred name is prostituted to this iniquitous and cruel persecution.

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II. That this Committee have contemplated with unspeakable satisfaction and devout gratitude to God the constant faith and calm dignity of these persecuted fellow-Christians under their severe trials, and the 'good confession' they maintained before the Court of Judicature, at whose bar they were arraigned ;-not doubting that they were strengthened and upheld by the promised grace of the Holy Spirit; and they assure them in this public manner of their most cordial sympathy and fervent prayers while enduring their sufferings for righteousness' sake, and for the Word of God.

"III. That the above Resolutions, with the case on which they are

founded, be transmitted without delay to the various Alliances and Committees in correspondence with this Committee, in order that the matter may be made known to the Protestants of the United Kingdom, in the hope that prayer may be generally offered up for these persecuted members of Christ's Church."

Correspondence.

COLON

MAYNOOTH AND THE COLONIES.

To the Editor of the Protestant Magazine.

Cranbrook, June 28, 1852. SIR,-On opening the "Tablet of Saturday, June 26, this morning, the inclosed caught my attention. It seems to me of vast importance, as acknowledging that from Maynooth missionary priests have been sent forth from its very first establishment until now, and that, as if in defiance of all Protestant Britain, at the Pentecost ordinations two young men have been ordained as colonial missionaries.

I fear it is too late for insertion in the Magazine; I have therefore, to save post and get this away by morning mail, given as condensed an extract as possible.

I do think it should be prominently brought before the public.

The "Record," the "Patriot," the "Christian Times would notice it if sent to them. Would not the "Times "insert a letter from you? It is on page 409, "Tablet," June 26, 1852; headed, " Maynooth and Foreign

Missionaries."

This surely is too bad to be defended. Some have said, If the Irish Roman Catholics must have priests, better have them well educated. The gentlemen who have defended Maynooth upon that ground, will now vote for a reduction in allowance to be consistent. Mr. Bright and Mr. M. Gibson, with their professions of economy, will find it hard to defend the endowment of a College for foreign Popish missionaries. It seems to me this may be an effective weapon it is furnished by the Roman Catholics to our hand,- -are we not bound to use it? In haste, I am, Sir, yours respectfully,

James Lord, Esq.

THOMAS O. Beeman.

P.S.-In the "Tablet" of June 26, is a leading article on "Maynooth and Foreign Missionaries," in which it is distinctly stated, that, while the main object of the College is to provide an efficient clergy for Ireland, still, from the first year of her establishment down to the present, Maynooth has contributed a glorious contingent of priests and bishops to break the Bread of Life from Scotland and England to China and Japan. It proceeds: "At the Pentecost Ordinations in Maynooth there were two of the young gentlemen ordained for the diocese of Melbourne, in Australia.”

PROTESTANTISM IN AUSTRIA.

To the Editor of the Protestant Magazine.

SIR,-Permit me, through the medium of your Magazine, to send a prayer from a far land to those in my native country whose hearts feel a real interest in the spread of Protestant light. I cannot, even were I inclined, use burning words to convey my burning thoughts, otherwise this would never reach you; but will not a simple statement suffice for those who thoughtfully peruse your

pages, not intent upon exciting their fancy and raising a passing emotion, but soberly desirous to inform themselves of the state and progress of Christ's kingdom upon earth, and willing with a steady abiding charity to aid its interests according to their ability. I plead to such for our little Church of Laibach, familiar already to any who may be in the habit of reading the "Evangelical Christendom," where its cause has been presented as far back as January, 1850, as well as during the present year.

In the stirring times of Luther, the province of Carniola in general embraced the Protestant doctrine, and Laibach possessed a numerous community holding the Evangelical faith, when, in 1598, an edict of Ferdinand II. banished the whole body of its pastors, who were peremptorily ordered to quit the town within a few hours.

The reign of the Emperor Joseph bettered the condition of the remnant yet existing but still heavy and grievous lay the burden, and the weak and ignorant dropped away generation after generation. Mixed marriages naturally became frequent, and where no pastor or teacher remained, the result need not be told: later, a law was even passed obliging all such parties to bring up their children as Roman Catholics. Yet, wonderful in many cases was the zeal and faith inherited from father to son, and it seems like listening to romance to hear of the preservation of little bands here and there. The few and highly-prized copies of God's Word were the arsenals whence they drew their weapons of strength, and often upon the death of the immediate owner of a Bible, who should inherit it was the most anxious question when portioning the family fortune; even disputes sometimes arose, which were referred to arbitration, when the decision generally was, that the precious treasure should pass from one to another of the claimants who had a house, being retained by each for three months at a time.

For a space of three hundred years one entire village among the mountains of Styria held fast without any intermixture the primitive Protestant doctrine, though prevented from having any pastor or teacher. Constant attempts were made to introduce Roman Catholic priests, but were as constantly firmly resisted.

So late as the reign of the last Francis, the Protestants of Laibach were denied their prayer for a license to hold a religious service once a-year. This request was often repeated and as often refused, until, about 1845, the Emperor Ferdinand visiting the town, another effort was made, which resulted in a permission being granted to meet for worship twice a-year, but that no Roman Catholics were to be present. So strictly was this condition enforced, that, if a Protestant father or husband brought child or wife who were not of his faith, the soldiers at the door, one within and another without, refused admittance to the Roman Catholic party. These rare religious services were performed by pastors who came all the way from Trieste, a distance of seventy English miles.

The efforts made by many Churches to obtain more liberty during the changes of 1848 were participated in by the Protestants of Laibach, and eager to be up and doing, they began to collect for the building of a church. Although not possessing in their number one single man of wealth or independence, and but very few of even moderate incomes, yet they collected among themselves (and they were not 300 souls) the sum of 1,100 florins (110), and thus begun their work of faith, their labour of love for unborn generations. Their dedicated offerings had amounted, in January, 1850, to 6,000 florins, or 600l., when they sent their first prayer to Protestant England. By dint of an incredibly active zeal and patience they succeeded at last in finishing their pretty little church-the only one in the province of Carniola-the Protestants under the charge of its pastor lying scattered over an extent of more than three thousand square English miles. The congregation of Laibach is composed of men from the Baltic, the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Danube— from England, Switzerland, and almost every province of Germany, many

of whom have preserved through many years of temptation, the love of the doctrine taught them in their fatherland, and are now deeply anxious that their children should abide by the same. In this latter strong desire they are now again applying to those who have formerly aided them, hoping that they may lend a helping hand in the erection of their projected school. Already a circle in England, responding to the zealous appeal of one friend there, F. H. Graham, Esq., of Edmond Castle, near Carlisle, have sent us 126. for this purpose: may this bright example have imitators for how much can one who is willing and earnest perform in rousing others! It was a traveller in this mountain land, who, interesting himself as he passed along, not only for the lovely scenery and the eventful old historical associations of the spot, but also for the present state of his brethren in Christ here dwelling, who first created a sympathy for the little community of Laibach in England, and produced on the Continent another example of England's zeal and liberality. This example has stirred me to thank God for these fruits of faith in my fatherland, and has given me courage to add my prayer also, a prayer which I feel will not wholly be denied: for, as the wife of the pastor of this infant Church, I am interested in its success, and how can I do otherwise than look back upon the riches of England, both temporal and spiritual, and desire and strive that the poor and weak among whom my lot is cast, may have some of the crumbs from her full table!

The historical details of the Protestant Church in Laibach are highly interesting. So early as 1531 Primus Truber, a domherr of the cathedral, preached the doctrines of Luther there publicly, and with great applause he was banished for this in 1547, but the same year another domherr, Paul Winter, followed his example, as also many others. Primus Truber took refuge in Germany, and well employed the time of his exile. He returned to Laibach in 1561, in consequence of the leniency of Ferdinand I., after the petition of the Protestant feudal barons for a free exercise of their religion, and protection of their pastors and teachers. He brought with him the first printer here—John Mandil-and the first Protestant books printed in the Sclavonic and Croatic dialects in Tübingen, being the Gospels, the entire New Testament, the Psalms, and "Luther's Catechism." In 1569 there were twenty-four Protestant pastors in Carniola, protected by the feudal barons; and Valvasor, the Roman Catholic chronist of Carniola, expressly says, that so generally spread were the reformed doctrines, that in his time the "Haüflein der Katholischen gering gewesen sei"-"the small body of Catholics was insignificant." In Laibach alone, taking the average numbers during ten years following 1578, there were 100 baptisms, 60 marriages, and 80 burials.

But dark days followed. The Archduke Ferdinand, afterwards second Emperor of that name, by force ejected the Protestants from the then great German provinces of Austria. In 1579 the peasants had been ordered not to listen to Protestant sermons, but it was on the eventful 13th of September, 1598, that the edict was issued, ordering all the Styrian barons to chase the pastors and teachers within fifteen days, to close the churches, and take all Protestant books and writings.

On the 30th of October of the same year, all the Evangelical pastors and teachers were ordered to quit Laibach before sunset, and to be beyond the country in three days; and in December, still the same year, the same severity was exercised in the third province, Carinthia. In 1599 the Protestant barons in the Assembly of Gratz complained, but in vain; the anti-reformers still gained strength, and in that city ten waggons full of Protestant books were taken from the public libraries, and the churches shut. In Laibach all such books and writings were collected, part being burnt in the public square, and the rest shut up in the Assembly-house, and later taken to the Jesuits' College in 1616. In 1601 all the Protestants in Carniola of every rank received the order to become Roman Catholics, or to sell their goods and property in six weeks and three days-to pay their debts, and the fine to Government of one

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