again made to prejudice the public mind against them.

We, therefore, English Romancatholics, whose names are here under-written, beg leave again to solicit the attention of our coun. trymen, and to lay before them the following unanswered and un. answerable documents of the purity and integrity of the religious and cial principles of ALL his majesty's Roman-catholic subjects, in respect to their king and their country.

We entreat you to peruse them; and when you have perused them, to declare" Whether his majesty Roman-catholic subjects maintain a single tenet, inconsistent with the purest loyalty; or interfering in the slightest degree, with any one duty which an Englishman owes his God, his king, or his country?". 1.-The first Document we present to you is, The oath and decla. ration prescribed by the British parliament of the 31st of his present majesty, and which is taken by all English catholics. "I A. B. do hereby declare, that I do profess the Roman-catholic religion.

I A. B. do sincerely promise and swear, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his majesty king George the Third, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all conspiracies and attempts whatsoever that shall be made against his person, crown, or dignity; and I will do my ut. most endeavour to disclose and make known to his majesty, his heirs and successors, all treasons and traitorous conspiracies which may be formed against him or them; and I do faithfully promise to maintain, support, and defend, to the utmost of my power, the sue.

cession of the crown; which succession, by an act, intitled, Ap act for the further limitation of the crown, and better securing the rights and liberties of the subject,' is, and stands fimited to the prin cess Sophia, electress, and duchess dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants; hereby utterly, renouncing and ab. juring any obedience or allegiance unto any other person claiming or pretending a right to the crown of these realms. And I do swear, that I do reject and detest as an unchristian and impious position, that it is lawful to murder or destroy any person or persons what soever, for, or under pretence of, their being heretics or infidels; and also that unchristian and impious principle, that faith is not to be kept with heretics or infidels; and I further declare, that it is not an article of my faith; and that I do renounce, reject, and abjure the opinion, that princes excommunicated by the pope and council, or any authority of the see of Rome, or by any authority whatsoever, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or any person whatsoever and I do promise, that I will not hold, maintain, or abet any such opinion, or any other opinions contrary to what is expressed in this declaration : and I do declare, that I do not believe that the pope of Rome, or any other foreign prince, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or pre-eminence, directly or indirectly, within this realm; and I do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declaration, and Rr4

every

every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words of this qath, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatever, and without any dispen sation already granted by the pope, or any authority of the see of Rome, or any person whatever, and without thinking that I am, or can be, acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration, or any part thereof, although the pope, or any other person or au. thority whatsoever, shall dispense with, or annul the same, or declare that it was null or void.

"So help me God."

II. The next documents we present to you are-The oaths and declarations prescribed by the acts of the Irish parliament to Irish Roman-catholics. The first is the oath of allegiance and declaration, prescribed by the Irish act of the 13th and 14th of his present majesty, and is taken by all Irish Roman-catholics.

"I A. B. do take Almighty God, and his only Son Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, to witness that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to our most gracious sovereign lord king George the Third, and him will defend to the utmost of my power, against all conspiracies and attempts whatsoever that shall be made against his person, crown, and dignity; and I will do my utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to his majesty and his heirs, all treasons and traitorous conspiracies, which may be formed against him or them; and I de faithfully promise to maintain, support, and defend, to the utmost of my power, the succession of the crown in his majesty's family, against any person or persons what

soever; hereby utterly renouncing and abjuring any obedience or alle giance unto the person taking upon himself the stile and title of prince of Wales, in the life-time of his father, and who since his death is said to have assumed the stile and title of king of Great Britain and Ireland, by the name of Charles the Third, and to any other person claiming, or pretending a right to the crown of these realms; and I do swear that I do reject and detest, as unchristian and impious to believe, that it is lawful to murder or destroy any person or persons whatsoever, for or under the pretence of their being heretics; and also that unchristian and impious principle, that no faith is to be kept with heretics: I further declare, that it is no article of my faith, and that I do renounce, reject, and abjure, the opinion that princes excommunicated by the pope and council, or by any authority of the see of Rome, or by any authority whatsoever, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or by any person whatsoever; and I do promise that I will not hold, maintain, or abet, any such opinion, or any other opinion contrary to what is expressed in this declaration; and I do declare that I do not believe that the pope of Rome, or any other foreign prince, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any temporal or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority, or pre-eminence, directly or indirectly, within this realm; and I do solemnly in the presence of God, and of his only Son Jesus Christ, my Re. deemer, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declara. tion, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the

words

words of this oath, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatever, and without any dispensation already granted by the pope, or any authority of the see of Rome, or any person what ever, and without thinking that I am, or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declara tion, or any part thereof, although the pope, or any other person or persons or authority whatsoever, shall dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null and void from the beginning.

"So help me God."

The next is the oath and decla ration prescribed by the Irish act of the 33d of his present majesty, and is taken by all Irish Roman-catholics, wishing to entitle themselves to the benefit of that act :

"I A. B. do hereby declare, that I do profess the Roman-catholic religion."

"I A. B. do swear that I do abjure, condemn, and detest, as unchristian and impious, the prin ciple, that it is lawful to murder, destroy, or any ways injure any persons whatsoever, for or under the pretence of being a heretic; and I do declare solemnly before God, that I believe, that no act in itself unjust, immoral, or wicked, can ever be justified or excused, by or under pretence or colour that it was done either for the good of the church, or in obedience to any ecclesiastical power whatsoever. I also declare, that it is not an article of the catholic faith, neither am I thereby required to believe or profess, that the pope is infallible, or that I am bound to obey any or. der, in its own nature immoral, though the pope, or any ecclesias. tical power, should issue or direct

such order; but, on the contrary, I hold that it would be sinful in me to pay any respect or obedience thereto. I further declare that I do not believe, that any sin committed by me, can be forgiven, at the mere will of any pope, or any priest, or of any person or persons whatsoever, but that sincere sorrow for past sins, a firm and sincere resolution to avoid future guilt, and to atone to God, are previous and indispensable requisites to establish a well-founded expectation of forgiveness; and that any person who receives absolution without these previous requisites, so far from obtaining thereby any remission of his sins, incurs the additional guilt of violating a sacrament; and I do swear that I will defend, to the uttermost of my power, the settlement and arrangement of property in this country, as established by the laws now in being. I do hereby disclaim, disavow, and solemnly abjure, any intention to subvert the present church establishment, for the purpose of substituting a catholic establishment in its stead and I do solemnly swear, that I will not exercise any privilege to which I am, or may become entitled, to disturb and weaken the Protestant religion and Protestant government in this kingdom.

"So help me God."

Such are the principles which his majesty's Roman-catholic subjects have publicly and solemnly declared and professed on oath. There is not, in any of them, a single prin ciple, which every Roman-catholic subject of his majesty does not profess, or which, if his king and country required it, he would not think it his duty to seal with his blood.

In the year 1788, a commit tee of the English catholics waited on Mr. Pitt, respecting their ap. plication for a repeal of the pé. nal laws. He requested to be furnished with authentic evidence of the opinions of the Roman-catholic clergy and the Roman.ca. tholic universities abroad, on

the existence and extent of the 'pope's dispensing power."--Three questions were accordingly fra. med, and sent to the universities of Paris, Louvain, Adcala, Doway, Salamanca, and Valadolid, for their opinions. The questions proposed to them, were,

3. Is there any principle in the tenets of the catholic faith, by which catholics are justified in not keeping faith with heretics, or other persons differing front them in religious opi nions, in any transaction, either of a public or a private nature?

The universities answered unanimously,

1. That the pope, or cardinals, or any body of men, or any indi vidual of the church of Rome, has not any civil authority, power, jurisdiction, or pre-eminence what, soever, within the realm of England, 2. That the pope, or cardinals, or any body of men, or any individual of the church of Rome, cannot ab. solve or dispense his majesty's

subjects from their oath of alle. giance, upon any pretext what

soever.

3. That there is no principle in the tenets of the catholic faith, by which catholics are justified in. not keeping faith with heretics, or other persons differing from them in religious opinions, in any transactions either of a public or a private nature...

As soon as the opinions of the foreign universities were received, they were transmitted to Mr. Pitt; but we earnestly beg of you to observe, that it was for his satisfaction, not ours, that these opinions were taken. Assuredly, his majesty's Roman.catholic subjects did not want the wisdom of foreign uoiversities to inform them, that his ma. jesty is the lawful sovereign of all his Roman-catholic subjects, and that, by every divine and human law, his Roman-catholic subjects owe him true, dutiful,, active, and unreserved allegiance.

Such, then, fellow countrymen and fellow subjects-such being our religious, and civil principles in respect to our king and our country-Let us now again ask you,— Is there in them a single tenet, which is incompatible with the purest loyalty, or which, in the slightest degree, interferes with the duty we owe to God, our king, or our country?

But,-are these principles really instilled into us? Do our actions correspond with them?-In, reply, we ask, Are there not, at this very moment, thousands of his majesty's Roman-catholic subjects, who daily and hourly make the most heroic exertions and sacrifices in those fleets and armies, to whose patient and adventurous courage it