Sir—It is with much regret that I am obliged again to come before the
public on the subject of the Testament which was burnt in London
’Prentice-street, in this town, by the Rev. W. Molloy, a Priest of
the Church of Rome, but the cause of truth demands it of me. It is
stated in the apology put forth by that Rev. Gentleman and his
coadjutors, “that the act was regretted afterwards by the Clergyman
by whom it was done, and strongly disapproved of by his brother
Clergy as soon as known,” and that it was “under the excitement of
the moment that the act, which it is not attempted to justify, was
done.”
Now Sir, I ask you, as I ask the public, are these statements
consistent with the following facts:—The Testament was burnt on
Thursday, Nov. 16, about two o’clock p.m., and it was not till the
following Saturday, about midday, that I had any conversation with
the Priest upon the subject.
Being in London ’Prentice-street on the Saturday, Mr. Molloy sent for
me to the house where he had burnt the Testament, to ask if I
supposed that the woman to whose daughter the book had been given was
a Protestant, because he had heard that I had visited her the day
before. It was upon that occasion that I enquired of him whether or
not he had burnt the Testament; he told me that he had, and would
burn every Bible and Tract he found in the houses of his people. I
warned him that I should make his words public, and he told me I was
perfectly welcome to do so. I further remember saying that I had
often been told that I had unjustly charged the Romish Priests with
denying the Bible to their people, and his reply was to this
effect—“You have stated the truth, and are perfectly welcome to state
it when you will; you are furthering our objects by doing so.” There
are several other points in the apology on which I should much like
to dwell, but I think it best simply to state facts, and leave the
public to judge for themselves whether the apology that this act was
done in the excitement of the moment can apply to Mr. Molloy, who,
after the reflection of two days, threatened to repeat the act again
and again.