" AVERAGE PRICE OF CORN, sold in the Maritime Countics of England and Wales, for the Week ended Oct. 23, 1824. * The London Average is always that of the Week preceding. ..62 5....398.7.200 53 6.1.30 10....153: VOL. 52. No. 7.] LONDON, SATURDAY, Nov. 13, 1824. [Price 6d. Published every Saturday Morning, at Seven o'Clock. TO MR. O'CONNELL, On the Affairs of the Catholics of SIR, Kensington, 5th Nov. 1824. London, of which also the "tall bully, that lifts his head and lies," accuses them; we know, in short, that crook-backed CECIL employed his OLIVERS, his CASTLESES, his EDWARDSES, and that, too, for the purpose of paving the way for cruel laws against the Catholics, just as the hired villains that I have here named, were employed I, AT this very moment, hear the to lead ignorant or desperate men boys in the street bawling out to do acts which served as the against Guy Fawkes, the Pope, ground for severe laws against the and the Devil; and, I dare say, Parliamentary Reformers: all this that this trio will, after being regu- you and I, and every person who larly tried and condemned, be is only tolerably well-informed as brought to the stake this evening, to this matter, know very well; and consumed by fire. You, I, but, Sir, the great mass of the peoand every person who is only tole-ple of England do not know it : rably well-informed as to this mat- they have been duped from father ter, know that the gunpowder- to son: let me, then, congratulate plot was hatched by crook-backed you on the fact, that many of them CECIL, whose father had, in the now begin to listen to reason on reign of the "VIRGIN Queen," these subjects; and, let me condeliberately hatched so many plots, gratulate you still more heartily and caused so many murders; we on the much more important fact, know, to a moral certainty, that that though the people of England the Catholics, as a body, were as were, with one accord, still to shut wholly innocent of the powder- their ears against the voice of plot, as they were of the fire in truth, justice and humanity, events LG N Printed and Published by C. CLEMENT, No. 183, Fleet-street : are not far distant which would (who, from a Presbyterian had render their obstinacy unavailing. "turned to the ways of Saint So much by way of introduction WESLEY," whose Life has picked to a Letter, the matter of which presents itself to me under two very distinct heads: that, which it will give me great delight to dwell on; and that which, though a sense of duty calls for it from me, it will give me great pain to communicate to you. I have read with singular pleasure (and with the greater pleasure because in the London Morning Chronicle) an account of the Catholic Meeting at Waterford, at which the "Catholic Bishop of the Diocese" presided. The part, which the Chronicle has given us, relates to the means by which we Protestants became possessed of the contents of the New Testament; and a truly curious matter this is, the plain fact being, that this Testament has been handed down to us by the Catholic Church, through its head, the Pope; and that this is the only authority upon which we can possibly pretend that this Testament is the word of God; and, at the same time, we call this Pope "Anti-Christ, the Man of Sin, and the Scarlet Whore of Babylon," and insist that the doc trines and worship of the Catholic Church are "idolatrous and damnable." So that, here we are, up for turn-coat SOUTHEY some of the odd pennies of the Methodists; this neighbour, though a very honest man, was so zealous in the propagation of "gospel truth, " that he must needs, one day, recommend to me to go to "Chapel," where, he said, I should hear the real gospel preached. He loved disputation, and he had all the familiar cant sayings of cunning Jack Wesley at his fingers' ends. The "real gospel," said I, " what is that?" "Why," said he, "the real word of God, as contained " in the sacred book." " Indeed!" said I, "I should like to see this "real gospel: do you happen to "have a copy of the book in the "house?" After some further talk, in which I pretended not to know what book he meant, he went and brought me a copy of the New Testament. "Oh! is that what you mean,' can," said I; "I "have read that book through half "a dozen times." After a little pause, I asked him what he thought of the good, old-fashioned Catholic religion. "GOOD, do you call it," exclaimed he : "why, "it is the religion taught by Satan "for the ruin of precious souls. I "hope, Sir," added he, " you poor, wretched devils of sin- " are not a Roman Catholic!" ners, with no other word of "No," said I; " but, really, I God, than that which we have "cannot see much harm in it: taken upon trust from the hands "there is my bailiff, DEAN, who of the scarlet whore, who was, is a Roman Catholic, and he is and still is, the head and organ of " a very honest fellow." an "idolatrous and damnable" Somewhat warmed by my coolChurch! Parry that thrust, Jo-ness, he opened the Revelation of SHUA WATSON, Wine and Spirit St. John, and went on to prove to Merchant; but take a bumper of me, that the man of sin, the scaryour best before you attempt it. let whore, the beast, and the heads A neighbour of mine, at Botley, and horns, meant the Pope and : the Catholic Church. He said, rity with which these came to us that, "to the eye of faith," this I took pains to leave no doubt in was all as plain as the nose upon his mind: and, then I concluded his face. He concluded with the by saying, "So, you rest your standing Methodist argument :- hopes of salvation wholly on "Here it is; God has said it, and " promises contained in a book God cannot lie." "No, no," said " handed down to you by the I, "God cannot lie; but how do "beast, the man of sin, the scar you know that God has said this?" "let whore, and anti-Christ! "Why, Sir," said he, "here it is, "wish your poor soul great luck, you see, in God's word." "I see "with all my heart:" and with it in that book," said I, "but how this I left him to muse on the suc "do you know, and what autho-cess of his efforts to convert me "rity have you for saying, that The Morning Chronicle, in its "that book contains the word of remarks on the Waterford Catho "God?" He was puzzled, and, lic Meeting, says, that "much of as is often the case under similar "the arguments used by the circumstances, called up a smile " priests at this meeting admit of of affected pity for my ignorance. "an easy answer." I should "Come, come," said I, " that will like to hear this easy answer. "not do. You must tell me what No Christian can answer at all; "authority you have for calling and, as to the Unitarians and "that book the word of God. I Deists, (if they be not one and " see here some paper, and some the same) where do they find any " ink-marks, and a bit of sheep's- authority for believing in the in"skin, but nothing do I see to mortality of the soul, if they do 66 prove to me that this is the word not resort to that very gospel " of God. Where did you get the which we possess through the "book?" He said he bought it means and on the authority of of Mr. SKELTON, at Southampton. the Catholic Church, and throngh "Well, then," said I, " it is, as no other means and on no other "far as you know, Mr. SKEL-authority whatsoever? "TON'S word. Did he tell you, However, though I am pleased "and give you proof, that it was at this triumph in argument, on "the word of God?" the part of the Catholics, seeing 66 He was, as you will easily be- that they never can be expected lieve, sadly staggered. A few to have zealous friends amongst " leading questions," however, those who believe their religion to brought him to say, that the book be idolatrous and damnable had been handed down to us, by though I am pleased at this tri the Apostles first, and afterwards umph in argument, I am muelt by the faithful in Jesus Christ. more pleased at the posture, if "And this is what you rest your may so call it, of the parties whe hopes of salvation on ?" said I.- had met upon this occasion. Here "Yes," said he. I then explained is the "Right Reverend Bishop of to him how we came in possession the Diocese in the chair. The of the written gospel. I told him speakers call him, "My Lord about the gospels that had been This is all right; it is all true: be rejected; I told him of the autho- is a real Bishop; he has a priest N2 ப் hood under him who do not fight("which an English gentleman battles of SKIBBEREEN; and that "orders to be hanged, or drowned, priesthood has flocks! But, " is looked upon with more comthough it is all right and just, how long is it since it would have consigned the parties to a dungeon, if not to the gibbet? 66 passion, and is, while alive, "treated with greater tenderness "and regard, than the Catholic "labouring man in Ireland is "looked upon and treated with by "the Orange brute who calls him"self a gentleman in Ireland." It was talking with Mr. CURRAN, about twelve years ago; it was the hearing of his eloquent descriptions of the wrongs and the miseries of the Irish people, that first made me take a deep interest When Mr. HUME made his statement, in the House of all houses, relative to the Irish Protestant Church, there were two or three Irish Members to say, that the cause of the misery and degradation of the Irish people LAY DEEPER. In both Houses I have heard the same said five hundred times. But I never in their cause. Observation has heard one of those deep seekers attempt to point out where the mischief began and how it went on! The fact is, that the people of Ireland have been brought to their present state by a long succession of acts of PLUNDER. That is the word, and the only proper word to be applied to the case. And to pronounce this word might not be so very convenient to those who endeavour to whitewash the present rulers by mere loose allusions to what was done in former ages. Not long ago, indeed, a great deal of it: quite lately enough to be accurately described. But, these deep seekers never will tell us any thing about this PLUNDER. I will endeavour to tell them something about it, one of these days. He been constantly adding to this I remember Mr. CURRAN tell-gun at the servant, and KILLED HIM ON THE SPOT. A jury, assembled on their oaths, returned a verdict, " shot in mistake for the LURKING FELLOW!" ing me, that I should have a Dictionary on purpose, when I wrote about Ireland; for, that I deceived my readers, when I, in speaking of Ireland, mentioned labourer, farmer, landowner, people, nobility, gentlemen, and clergy. " Why," said he, " you do not was murder, wilful and premedi"know, that the worthless cur tated tated murder; for, observe, a What need we of any thing.. more than this to make good Mr. CURRAN's statement to me? Here : |
