Popery burning, blazing, whizzing, and devastating this whole land, and
in place of cutting a ditch, or throwing up such a barrier as will check
its further advance, they go by a sort of retro-progressive movement,
back to Italy, to begin this work. Pardon me, fellow-citizens. Though
I disapprove of the course of your proceedings in trying to prevent the
further spread of Popery, I am willing to acknowledge that in talents,
zeal, piety, and general learning, you infinitely excel me; but I
believe I am not vain in saying that in the knowledge of Popery and
Jesuit intrigue, I am not inferior to you. You are evidently in the dark
in practical acquaintance with Popery, and I hesitate not to tell
you now, that until you unite with me heart and hand in my efforts to
extirpate it from this country, you will be laughed at by every Romish
priest and Bishop in the United States; well knowing, as they do,
that while you are converting one Italian to Protestantism, they are
converting five hundred Americans to Popery; and that while you are
distributing one little tract, which one Italian in a thousand,--even
if he could, would not read,--they are building one hundred colleges,
nunneries, and monk houses, in your very midst, and at your very doors.
You will find, by-and-by, that this very country of yours, this very
land of freedom, will supply even Italy with Jesuits and priests enough
to drive you, your Bibles and tracts, beyond their boundaries. Stand
upon your own soil; let Americans never engage in any foreign religious
or political war. You have not now the moral power to wage an offensive
religious war; that day is gone by. I warned you of it twenty-five years
ago, but you heeded me not; you were deaf. You have quite enough to do
now to defend your own soil, and much more, I fear, than you will be
able to accomplish, with all your zeal and talents.
One of the members of the Christian League, at its late convention in
Boston, has stated, if I am not mistaken, that the Pope read one of its
tracts, and looked very sad. For the word sad, should be substituted
glad. If he read the tract at all, which I doubt, it must have been
extremely gratifying to him. It showed him clearly that he had succeeded
in humbugging Americans even farther than he expected; and with due
deference to each and every member of the League, I must say, that this
is the only inference which any man, versed in a knowledge of Popery, or
even of human nature, would or could draw from that circumstance.
The Romish church has a vast interest in this country; an interest so
deep that no line can sound it; an interest of such magnitude, that the
power of numbers can scarcely calculate it, and of such altitude, that it
scarcely admits of a measurement; and the Pope's object is to divert the
attention of the Christian League, and all other American Protestants,
from this country to Italy, which, if given to us with all its relics,
Jesuits, monks and nuns, would not enrich us much in a pecuniary point
of view, and would be only the means of flooding us with infidelity and
immorality.
It is sound policy in the Pope, to attract the attention of American
Protestants to Italy. He knows well, that the citadel of our liberties
can never be taken, without this or some other similar plot. Let him
but succeed in turning the eyes of Americans from the altar of our own
liberty, on which the God of freedom sits enthroned, to Italy, and
pour in upon us his vassals at the rate of two thousand in forty-eight
hours,--we are told was done in New York, last week,--and freedom's God
will soon be dishonored, and the image of some Popish vagabond, called
saint, will be seated in its place.
The whole country must form itself into one Protestant alliance, and
swear upon the altar of freedom, that no man shall be admitted to
the rights of an American citizen, until he forswears all allegiance,
spiritual and temporal, civil and religious, without mental reservation
or equivocation, to the Pope of Rome Every appeal to the Pope of Rome,
from the citizens of this country, or from any man living within its
limits, for the purpose of settling any difficulties between them about
church rights, civil rights, or any other rights whatever, should be
considered treason; and the individual or individuals who shall make
such appeals, whether a Popish archbishop, bishop, priests, Jesuits,
or laymen, should be prosecuted as felons, and subjected to the most
ignominious punishment known to our laws.
This, and this alone, can effectually arrest the progress of Popery in
these United States. No Papists can complain of this, and no honest man
will object to it. Such a law is not at variance with our constitution;
it prevents no man from worshipping God according to the dictates of his
own conscience. On the contrary, it only guaranties even to the Papist,
in still stronger terms than our constitution now does, the right of
worshipping God as he pleases, and relieves him from the degrading
obligation of being obliged to worship him according to the dictates of
the conscience of a foreign tyrant, the Pope of Rome, and his insolent
minions in this country.
I believe there is not even an Irish Catholic in this country who will
not support such a law. A little reflection will satisfy them that
nearly all the evils they suffer, and have borne patiently for centuries
back, have been brought upon them by the Church of Rome. They will soon
perceive, if they only take the trouble of examining the question, that
there is not, and never was, such a system of general, permanent, and
unlimited slavery, as that to which the Romish church has reduced them.
It is irreconcilable with happiness, good order, public and private
tranquillity; and there cannot possibly exist a more singular anomaly,
than to see a whole people willing to Submit to such a system, and
preferring it to the rational freedom which they enjoy in this country.
Far be it from me, and foreign indeed is it from ray thoughts, to say,
or do, or write anything that may injure the true welfare of the
poor Irish Catholics. I would serve them, and, in the full flow of my
affection for them, I would beg of them to pause and look seriously into
their condition. The year before last, 1843, the Irish people paid to
O'Connell twenty-eight thousand pounds. This was called the O'Connell
tribute. In the same year, they paid _repeal rent_, amounting to the
enormous sum of seventy-eight thousand five hundred pounds sterling;
amounting in all, to one hundred and six thousand five hundred pounds
British money. The above, I take from the accounts and estimates of the
repeal journals. Let us add to the above sum the amount which the Irish
in the United States have sent over to Ireland, and some idea may be
formed of the grinding tyranny which the Romish church and her agents
exercise over their deluded victims here and elsewhere.
Under these circumstances, is it not my duty, is it not the duty of
every friend of humanity, to appeal to the good sense of the Irish,
to their "sober second thought," and ask them, why submit to such
imposition as this? Why not resist these tyrannical exactions of the
Church of Rome? For they know well, that it is not _Irish repeal_ or
American repeal, that the Pope and his priests have in view; but church
repeal. What have the Irish received in exchange for the vast sums which
they have given, and the blood which they have shed, to effect this
Irish, or rather church repeal, and the loss of that confidence and
esteem, which they might otherwise have from Americans? Nothing.
Emphatically nothing. Suppose they succeeded in overthrowing the
constitution; suppose they reduced to sad reality the words of their
daring and treasonable motto, "Americans shan't rule us" and the
American constitution were trampled under their feet; suppose the
"Protestant heretics of the United States" were extirpated and
exterminated, _qui bono_, whose advantage would it be? Would it be
yours, poor, warm-hearted, but deluded Irish Catholics? Would your new
Popish rulers give you a better constitution? Would your new Popish
signers to your constitution be men of more piety, liberality, or
patriotism, than the signers of the Declaration of the Independence
of these United States? Let the civilized world answer the question. I
shall not record it. It should be registered only in heaven.
Poor Papists! You are not only slaves, but you are denied the privilege
of choosing your own master. Your task-master, the Pope, and his
overseers the bishops, will not even allow you to choose your own
teachers, or have priests of your choice. They will not even give you
a voice in the choice of your pastors. Do you call this freedom of
conscience? A bishop, some insolent tool of the pope, tells you to build
a church; puts his hand in your pockets, takes out the last dollar some
of you have, builds a magnificent chapel, and when you want a priest,
whom you believe most competent to instruct yourselves and your
children, you cannot have him; and if you insist upon your just right
to choose him, you are told by your tyrant overseer, the bishop, to
be silent, or he will lock up the church, and curse you, and every one
belonging to you. Call you this freedom of conscience? Call you this
the right of worshipping God according to the dictates of your own
conscience? Yes. Such is your infatuation. I ask you, Irish Papists,
whether I am exaggerating or even discoloring the truth, in what I here
state?
About the year 1818, the Roman Catholics of Norfolk, Virginia, had for
their priest a man supposed by them to be among the best of the order.
They wished him continued among them; but their bishop would not allow
it; and when they murmured, he threatened to curse them; they sent a
remonstrance to the Pope of Rome, but he did not deign to notice it;
they had to submit. Here was liberty of conscience with a vengeance! The
Roman Catholics of Philadelphia, New Orleans, Charleston, and New York,
sent similar remonstrances to his royal holiness, the Pope; but in place
of redress, he reprimanded them for their insolence, and threatened to
curse them, if they exhibited any further symptoms of contumacy; and
they crouched like so many whipped spaniels, perfectly content with the
privilege of paying out their money and building magnificent churches
for the Pope's agents.
A similar case occurred in this city of Boston, if I am correctly
informed, only a short time ago. A large majority of one of the most
respectable Roman Catholic congregations in this city, wished to have
x for their pastor, a priest whom they believed to be a man of talents;
but their Bishop, Fenwick,--a practical Jesuit, with talents below
mediocrity, but possessing all the craft, cunning and intrigue of his
order,--had the unparalleled assurance to tell them that _they should
not have the pastor of their choice; that they had no voice in the
matter_; that he was the church within the limits of his diocese;
that they who did not hear the church "were worse than heathens and
publicans;" and that if they did not shut up their mouths, he would shut
up their church at once, and curse them if they became contumacious. Is
this freedom of conscience? And yet we hear this very majority,--this
insulted, downtrodden majority,--talk of the right of worshipping God
according to the dictates of their own conscience. Shameful proceedings
these, in a free country! Base tyranny over a generous people! Why not
say to this would-be despot, Fenwick, we acknowledge you our bishop; we
will hear to any objections which you have to make against the pastor of
our choice; but if you have none to make, we shall have him; the church
is our property; and you and your interdicts, curses and all such
"raw-heads and bloody-bones," may go to Rome; we want you not in a
free-country. No longer shall we submit in blind obedience to you, or to
a foreign Pope.
The great mass, of Irish Catholics, on whom the arts of delusion and
chicanery are chiefly practised, do not understand the meaning of the
word freedom. They are taught by priest and Jesuits in the confessional,
to misapply that term altogether. Freedom or liberty means in its
true sense, a faithful and conscientious adherence to law and the
constitution of the country in which we live, and of which we are
members. It is the obedience of duty, and anticipates compulsion. It is
not a blind obedience, such as that taught by Popish priests, and which
favors the extension of their power. Priests and bishops would, if they
could, limit the comprehensive term, liberty, to the privilege of
bowing to his holiness the Pope, and building churches for him. But even
Papists are beginning to doubt the legitimacy of this application of the
term, and I am much mistaken if there are not, even now, thousands of
them in the city of Boston, New York, and elsewhere, who will unite with
Americans in petitioning Congress to pass a law, making it treason, in
any man in the United States, whether native or foreigner, to hold any
correspondence, or to avow any allegiance of any kind or under any name
or title, spiritual or temporal, with the Pope of Rome, knowing as they
do that he is a temporal potentate. Let the whole people, Christian
League, Natives, Odd-fellows, Freemasons, Whigs, Democrats,
Conservatives, and all unite in one great, national petition to the
Congress of the United States, and in one fervent and loud prayer to the
God of mercy, that he may give the said Congress a correct view of
their duty, and cause them to hear and grant our prayer. This, with such
improvements as wiser heads may suggest, is the course I would advise to
be pursued in the present posture of our national and moral condition.
The time seems propitious; our executive is said to be a Christian. God
send he may prove so, and that the blandishments of office may not blind
him to a sense of his duty to God and his country!
DESTRUCTION OF THE INQUISITION IN SPAIN.
In 1809, Col. Lehmanowsky was attached to the part of Napoleon's army
which was stationed in Madrid. And while in that city, said Col. L., I
used to speak freely among the people what I thought of the Priests
and Jesuits, and of the Inquisition. It had been decreed by the Emperor
Napoleon that the Inquisition and Monasteries should be suppressed, but
the decree, he said, like some of the laws enacted in this country, was
not executed. Months had passed away, and the prisons of the Inquisition
had not been opened. One night, about 10 or 11 o'clock, as he was
walking one of the streets of Madrid, two armed men sprang upon him from
an alley, and made a furious attack. He instantly drew his sword, put
himself in a posture of defence, and while struggling with them, he saw
at a distance, the lights of the patroles,--French soldiers mounted, who
carried lanterns, and who rode through the streets of the city at all
hours of the night, to preserve order. He called to them in French, and,
as they hastened to his assistance, the assailants took to their heels
and escaped, not however before he saw by their dress that they belonged
to the guards of the Inquisition.
He went immediately to Marshal Soult, then Governor of Madrid, told him
what had taken place, and reminded him of the decree to suppress this
institution. Marshal Soult replied that he might go and destroy it. Col.
L. told him that his regiment (the 9th of the Polish Lancers) was not
sufficient for such a service, but if he would give him two additional
regiments,--the 117th, and another, which he named, he would undertake
the work. The 117th regiment was under the command of Col. De Lile,
who is now, like Col. L., a minister of the gospel, and pastor of an
evangelical church in Marseilles, France. The troops required were
granted, and I proceeded (said Col. L.) to the Inquisition, which was
situated about five miles from the city. It was surrounded with a
wall of great strength, and defended by a company of soldiers. When we
arrived at the walls, I addressed one of the sentinels, and summoned the
holy fathers to surrender to the imperial army, and open the gates of
the Inquisition. The sentinel, who was standing on the wall, appeared to
enter into conversation for a moment with some one within, at the close
of which he presented his musket, and shot one of my men. This was
the signal of attack, and I ordered my troops to fire upon those who
appeared on the walls.
It was soon obvious that it was an unequal warfare. The walls of the
Inquisition were covered with the soldiers of the holy office; there was
also a breast work upon the wall, behind which they partially exposed
themselves as they discharged their muskets. Our troops were in the open
plain, and exposed to a destructive fire. We had no cannon, nor could
we scale the walls, and the gates successfully resisted all attempts at
forcing them. I could not retire and send for cannon to break through
the walls without giving them time to lay a train for blowing us up.
I saw that it was necessary to change the mode of attack, and directed
some trees to be cut down and trimmed, to be used as battering rams. Two
of these were taken up by detachments of men, as numerous as could work
to advantage, and brought to bear upon the walls with all the power
which they could exert, while the troops kept up a fire to protect them
from the fire poured upon them from the walls. Presently the walls began
to tremble, a breach was made, and the imperial troops rushed into the
Inquisition. Here we met with an incident, which nothing but Jesuitical
effrontery is equal to. The inquisitor general, followed by the father
confessors in their priestly robes, all came out of their rooms, as we
were making our way into the interior of the Inquisition, and with long
faces, and their arms crossed over their breasts, their fingers resting
on their shoulders, as though they had been deaf to all the noise of
the attack and defence, and had just learned what was going on, they
addressed themselves in the language of rebuke to their own soldiers,
saying, "_Why do you fight our friends, the French?_"
Their intention, no doubt, was to make us think that this defence was
wholly unauthorized by them, hoping, if they could make us believe
that they were friendly, they should have a better opportunity, in the
confusion of the moment, to escape. Their artifice was too shallow, and
did not succeed. I caused them to be placed under guard, and all
the soldiers of the Inquisition to be secured as prisoners. We then
proceeded to examine all the rooms of the stately edifice. We passed
through room after room; found all perfectly in order, richly furnished,
with altars and crucifixes, and wax candles in abundance, but could
discover no evidences of iniquity being practised there, nothing of
those peculiar features which we expected to find in an Inquisition.
We found splendid paintings, and a rich and extensive library. Here was
beauty and splendor, and the most perfect order on which my eyes had
ever rested. The architecture, the proportions were perfect. The ceiling
and floors of wood were scoured and highly polished. The marble floors
were arranged with a strict regard to order. There was everything to
please the eye and gratify a cultivated taste; but where were those
horrid instruments of torture of which we had been told, and where those
dungeons in which human beings were said to be buried alive? We searched
in vain. The holy father assured us that they had been belied; that we
had seen all; and I was prepared to give up the search, convinced that
this Inquisition was different from others of which I had heard.
But Col. De Lile was not so ready as myself to give up the search, and
said to me, "Colonel, you are commander to-day, and as you say, so it
must be; but if you will be advised by me, let this marble floor be
examined. Let water be brought and poured upon it, and we will watch
and see if there is any place through which it passes more freely than
others." I replied to him, "Do as you please, colonel," and ordered
water to be brought accordingly. The slabs of marble were large and
beautifully polished. When the water had been poured over the floor,
much to the dissatisfaction of the inquisitors, a careful examination
was made of every seam in the floor, to see if the water passed through.
Presently Col. De Lile exclaimed that he had found it. By the side of
one of these marble slabs the water passed through fast, as though
there was an opening beneath. All hands were now at work for further
discovery; the officers with their swords, and the soldiers with their
bayonets, seeking to clear out the seam and pry up the slab; others with
the butts of their muskets striking the slab with all their might to
break it, while the priests remonstrated against our desecrating
their holy and beautiful house. While thus engaged, a soldier, who was
striking with the butt of his musket, struck a spring, and the marble
slab flew up. Then the faces of the inquisitors grew pale as Belshazzar,
when the handwriting appeared on the wall; they trembled all over.
Beneath the marble slab, now partly up, there was a stair-case. I
stepped to the altar, and took from the candlestick one of the candles
four feet in length, which was burning, that I might explore the room
below. As I was doing this, I was arrested by one of the inquisitors,
who laid his hand gently on my arm, and with a very demure and holy look
said, "My son, you must not take those lights with your bloody hands,
they are holy."--"Well," I said, "I will take a holy thing to shed light
on iniquity; I will bear the responsibility!" I took the candle, and
proceeded down the staircase. As we reached the foot of the stairs we
entered a large square room, which was called the Hall of Judgment. In
the centre of it was a large block, and a chain fastened to it. On this
they had been accustomed to place the accused, chained to his seat.
On one side of the room was one elevated seat called the Throne of
Judgment. This the Inquisitor General occupied, and on either side were
seats less elevated, for the holy fathers when engaged in the solemn
business of the Holy Inquisition.
From this room we proceeded to the right, and obtained access to small
cells, extending the entire length of the edifice; and here such sights
were presented as we hoped never to see again.
These cells were places of solitary confinement, where the wretched
objects of inquisitorial hate were confined year after year, till
death released them from their sufferings, and there their bodies were
suffered to remain until they were entirely decayed, and the rooms had
become fit for others to occupy. To prevent this being offensive to
those who occupied the inquisition, there were flues or tubes extending
to the open air, sufficiently capacious to carry off the odor. In these
cells we found the remains of some who had paid the debt of nature;
some of them had been dead apparently but a short time, while of others
nothing remained but their bones, still chained to the floor of their
dungeon.
In other cells we found living sufferers of both sexes and of every age,
from three score years and ten down to fourteen or fifteen years--all
naked as when born into the world! and all in chains! Here were old men
and aged women, who had been shut up for many years. Here, too, were the
middle aged, and the young man and the maiden of fourteen years old. The
soldiers immediately went to work to release these captives from
their chains, and took from their knapsacks their overcoats and
other clothing, which they gave to cover their nakedness. They were
exceedingly anxious to bring them out to the light of day; but Col.
L., aware of the danger, had food given them, and then brought them
gradually to the light, as they were able to bear it.