The Southern watchman. (Athens, Ga.) 1854-1882, June 07, 1855, Image 1

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1 f'UBLIStlED WEEKLY. by john h. cSnns'p i ,;'jl^ < fc&g : , n soir«« a*d rsorerrrox. 1 ngein '—Term* of Subscription. V TWO HOLLARS lierunuin, if paid strictly in «J anco. otherwise, THREE DOLLARS will.becharted qbrln urdcr that the price bfihe papei rauf 1 nut be in the way of a larre circulation, Clubs will be supplied *«t the following low rate*. ’> ; ' SIX COPIES for - for JKr^ser exist. “They uberiued. in tlie'hidti ndinissiou- (nib ISe’S^W guny/whcu tl»f so dtewred tlnrOtonfuloBceot At tksse'low rata, (Ac Cask muat accompany tie order.. Rates of Advertising. Tranaieut advertisements will be inserted »C One TJallarpor square fur the first, and Fifty Cents per square for e ich subsequent inserti-n. begat and yearly advertisements at fhJ usual rates Candidates will he charged M fur annenncemenle, and nhitutry nvUicrsetecenlngslx lines in length will advertisement, it will Ue published till ITirbid. and ehtireed tfeeordihiSty. SMITH’S SPEECH. wnviuwr unaiJiJ Mtcj wiuu- JWftfc ^4tilf0*|u4towe hundred years ago. the remains of.which sUU SPEECH OF MB. SMITH, (Ocmecratlc Representative from Ala > Di li erred in the U., S. House of Representa tives, on the 15fA of January, 1855. (Concluded.) Sir, this is a brief sketch of the power of the General of this order. Was ever any thing so tyrannical! Was ever despotism so -complete t You must remember too, that this General, with all this power over the ■members of the order, had himself taken a vow of implicit obedience to the Pope—so that all this despotism centred in the. Pope, Let us now see how this power was exer cised. It not only extended to the monks shut up in the monasteries, but it reached to ■every corner of the Catholic world. By what ingenuity do you suppose this General ciuld manage this wide-sprcudsociety I Tlio ojrder had divided its lnbors by establishing what is called : 1. Professed Houses; 2. Houses of Approbation: 3. Residences; 4. Colleges; 5 Boarding Schools; 6. Missions, Seminaries, and Provincials. It was carefully provided that the General should bo prefect ly informed •with respect to the character and ability of his subjects. The provincials and heads of ten several house# were obliged to transmit to the General, regular, frequent, and minute reports concerning the members under their 'inspection. These reports were digested and arranged ill registers, hv which the General might, at a glance, easily survey the state'of society in every coiner of the earth, observe the qualifications of its members, and select the proper instruments for any necessary ser vice. The General also received IrequentTp- ports from his comptrollers as to the tiscal affairs of the society. And all these reports were so completely made out, that he had constantly before bis eye full information con cerning the transactions of nearly every pro vince and State in the world. This General had nearly as many ministers as the Presi dent uf the United States!. He had five min isters, (heads of departments of Italy, Prance, Spain, Germany, and Portugal,) to liropnre matters.belonging to their respective assist* ancles, and to put them iu methodical and disposable shape. Let us pause a moment and contemplate tliis vast power I How ingenuiously devised ! Blew skillfully exerted l Behoid, in Some gorgeous chamber—I bay gorgeous, for every thing Roman Catholic is gorgeous, except the •tells of its lousy monks, and the dark cloisters of its lock-shorn uuns—behold, in some gor- igeous chamber, this General l this almost im perial master of a society whose amis reach Iran sea to sea—from continent to continent Behold him in the midst of the images of idolatry, clothed as a Cardinal, with hundreds of clerks at his biddiug l Behold him, with his ingenious and learned minions, quick to Mlbsurve, eloquent to teach, and rapid to exe cute ! Behold him, turniug oyer the paged of ithcse carefully compiled registers, in whose •cabalistic leaves are noted the strength of .every State’s army: the amount of: every •prince’s fortune; the size and position of eve ry monarch’s fleet; the secrets of every king’s •bed chamber; the inclinations and passions •of every man and woman of power, rank, and character. Behold him, with the lines of communication by sea and- land, lying open before him. Behold him, as if standing upon a tall cliff, which ovorlooks the universe, with bis eyes reaching the institutions of evc^y country, and scrutinizing the policy of every p rincc. Behold this Richelieu, leaving his messenger the alternative of success or death in the rapid and safe execution of a trust. See all this! and more—if jour imagination can enlarge itself upon the subject of this vast ■organization—and ask yourself, is not this'll fearful power I A power everted not for the free, not for liberty, not to disenthral man; kind, but to sustain the chums dfhfe'e Pope to be supreme in temporal and spiritual affairs! Well! You have seen the. Cardipal in hi? gorgeous chamber, his council house, sur rounded by hug waiting emissaries, his willing messengers! , r oii have seen this great pen trai power—now, let us-look upon it'as it di verges upon the thousand channels of commm ■mention, both by seti midland. Who iathat splendid chevalier, dashing by with the vapid, ity of lightning, with relays of fleet, b«rscsj awaiting him at every point j he moves like'a bearer of despatches; he flics to't lie I Pope 1 j Behold that dusty traveller winding his stow way along this purlieus of a city, keeping in the- backgpuwi, sluggish and lazy to Kll dUt' ward appoiinmcC' hut with a bright eye, and a face blazing with a secret! who is lie 1—lie .too, is going ou « mission to.the priitcijiil of eopic fur d’stant monastery, with a < •cation frortt the General of the Jestv dmld that anxious emigrant creeping from the bunk of soine lately arrived ship, casting his glad and mysterious glances along tHtrfrtsh epasts, aim opening-Li» ears tp tluf^liberty, •cl uniting hills of America! Behold him with his greasy sack euterinsr the lanes ntwf are ones of die unwallcd cities of the free!. is that emigrant! W no but an cmmissary pf «hat central power—the potent Cardinal! ■ Sir, the Jesuit comes iu all shqpep, iu form#; They are spread alt over the United States. They are men of the highest order hi ‘ intellect, education, and learning. Thipy educated diplomats, skiltei 3 in all die arts •contrivances wbidi tend to the couteutraticxi of power in the Pope, and to the diminution of pow.er in the people. Thev.hava chafga of nearly all the Roman ‘ Cafhonc 1 cbHfegfes, nun neries, seminaries and churches in the United Ntates. Having sworn obedience to the j*ppe, they swear no allegiance—except witb mental / **ihrrations—to the Constitution oP the Unit ed States. 'die* Po|b?trMhiy fetwadevsk vtiX? of thastity'^nd^am'vewy,- >>t&'W'a»<t>/»MttT \vti<> uunttil^l V’l* 'UifW(>-n^Jwyj|S M *^* v .I K *=' tjmtit t|'nr , A u«t jflAyr again, tiny arc restored ,lq the bosom o.film church, enjoying ns Common, the fullest confidence ’of tho Pime. ‘Tliey have rifbtiilt fhV 'ChuVeh. The oriiori has been-guilty of every-crime and enormi ty which could'degrade and dis grace mankind! History proves, the truth oi these charges. There is ahnqduhf.'evitleucc to show that the Jesuits, in mahy ports ortho earth, have carried out the pledge, upon dis pensation, “ to assume tiny religion hereti cal," iu order, to propagate the Mother Clmrch." One of the‘moist remarkable in stances is recorded in the ciircer of Rrcci, the Jesuit, who established Romanism in Chino. “IJe persuaded the, Chinese thut the doc trines of Confucius and those of the Gospel were nut essentially ^different; aud that Jesus Christ had been khown anti worshipped in their nation many years before. He allowed tlio Chinese converts to retain their profaue ciistuuis aud die absurd rites of their l’agnu ancestors.” And Pope Alexander VII. after investiga tion, by solemn bull, -granted the Climes.- (bis indulgence. .< ; . •. • This, sir, is lbe secret organization which strikes,'not only at'our liberty, hut at the liberty of all free nation*. This is the secret organization against whom the' American parly has taken its stand. These atd lbe ■■— — ’"rr ' 1 Mw-wiwuiuiwn'fii me Uqited States is no oath qt all, when;iit con IficU with their duty to the Pope or to his bishops. 1; - ■•’ , *h Qbe main end proposed by ^hif order, is t,( gain converts to the Roman Church • with this view theytH&qmkemmVm in 'every country and natjoti, - and with amazing jmlus- try and address, pursue the end of their insti- tution. No difhculty so great that they can-1 present, it 1ms, o not ^urnmiut; no dangcr^so imminent that I slightest excepti divine absolve ju l#w.. _ is syuopymous- With sovereignty iu a mou- . .Ip C6&. Wftgn ttic emperor'Constnns went ' v’ttfisttutf pvwciplAfe,” sitys’BedHais-j to'Rmne,fOTPtfjJh’wenloumux mites with arch. r T tre, “ that sovereignty comes from-Gp^.” T mdetihiin, anaattended him, lord-aud ra^s- nnd Louis of leygavO'him them, «»eof the reins of his briffle, walked cie to God, angels, and men, and'such as had never before Jbcen exhibited to the world.” Aboiirt this period, Wg.in th • ’ serious dis- UllKini* of J2uglaud;and ; ^#^abirt)ie|d^A^i«iM<<*iCbecoines :t s\e- cessary couseqiteuce of spmpremacy.” \lbid, 4.) *' He who would have a right to say to the Pope.that he was wrong, would also; on the same ground, have a right to disobey him,’Which w’onld eutifely do away with su premacy, or infallibility." “ Every divinely instituted society supposes’ infallibility.”- (ibid, 1.) This same distinguished* Catholic writersavs : “ But there is nothmg nete in the church, iind it will uever believe what it has no) always believed." . Had be lived a little longer, this phrase would have sorely troubled him, since the Pope has lately pro claimed/ as an article uf faith, (belief,) the Immaculate Conception of the Vjrgin Mary. Bcllnrmino says': “The Pope cannot err, as a Pope ;” “ the decrees of the council are infallible.” . Bishop England says: “We believe that a general council is infallible in doctrinal decisions;” priests (many of them) who arc^thc keepers uf ttic secrets of their congregations ;. whose ears arc the only speaking trumpets through which an audience is to bo asked or secured iu Ileuvcu ! - So much, then, .Mr. Clinirmnn, iu defence of tlio secrecy of the American party. The justification is complute. If I bud 'but five words to s’peAk to' this party,- I would say. Preserve your secrecy! Remember the fate of Samson. ' Let no Delilah, delude you. Suin- sou was a giant, invincible us long Ok lie kept his secret. iVlien that was suriemU-retl, “ The Philistines took him and put out his eyes, aud bound him with fetters of brass. THE aU.KGF.D OATH OF THK NEW ORDER. The American party is charged with tak ing o.itlis. What if they do? For the sake of tlic argrfr.ient, let this be admitted. They are nntive Americans; they arc educated to ullegiunce. It is nut to be supposed that they could swear to anything which would ho inconsisteitt with that allegiance. I know iii.it we are commanded to “swear not at all i” bnt ages and sum —♦'•verr- ‘••'Ve to ducover utay other panrifieator. to all tlic- Courts of Christ udoin.llio bath is the onlj* test of veracity. The feebleness of mankind makes it necessary; the custom of the world makes it honorable. An' oath, solemnly taken, is an clement of putity. But this order finds its,, justification in the practice of its adversaries' The two most distinguished adversaries of this. order are the, eloquent statesman of Virginia, and the learned gen tleman from Pennsylvania, (Air. Chandler.) Mr. Wise jiimsclf; after assniliBg the order for its test caths, utters in bis' letter, this sol emn sentiment. : Oh! mycountvj'men.did not that* pledge’ hiud .them and. us, their heirs, forever, .to faith and hope,in (God and to charity! (ur each other—to tolerance in' reljgiou, and tp ’ niiir tnulity’in polirieiil freedom ? Down, down, with 'any bFgatiization, tlieA. -whfch •de nounces’ a ‘ separnlion’ between- Prfetesiunt Virginia and Cafliojic Matyl lnd—between the children of Cutlioiic Carroll and Protest ant George Wythe. There the names stand together among, the ‘ signatures,’ and I will redeem meir • inninal’ pledges with my 4 file,’ my 4 fortaa^.j and piy ’ *<6rpd honor.’ so fur us in me lies—so help me Almighty God J” De Maistre says: “I do not pretend to raise the least-doubt in regard to tire infalli bility of. a geueral council,” Further;'“I firmly believe that God has preserved the truly cocuraenical council: from all error- con trary to sound, doctrine.” I liegmy hearers (and readers) to remem- ■her.these authorities; we shall need*them as >vc advance in the argumout; aud let me siiy. once for all; that on this grand subject I have not relied upon Protestant -writers. I Lave taken nothing front report, rumor, or ncws|mpers. I have - consulted the' purest .sources of information ; and I pledge mV sell to the country that my facts are taken from •the mottl authentic writers—most of them professed and obedieut Roman Catholics. EARLY Ul'iltUTT OF THE noMAX CATHOLIC BISH- ors.' lit the earlier history of the Roman Catho lic Church, the bishops wetc meek and low ly men. after tho fashibh-of Peter -and Paul, the fisherman and tent-makqr. . They pro fessed to be the servaiil of screauts. For six or seven centuries they preserve l their char acter for Christian humility.. I here quote from Bowers, the author of an elaborate work —the Lives of the Popes. He was a Catholic himself when he began (be work,; but. be came a Protestant in the course of liis inves tigations. He wait not oiily a Catholic, but a counsellor of the inquisition at: Nacerata. He sayr: ■w du iint eniaia duLtlu Pupu design ed, arfirst, to nth those lengths, or carry the Papal prerogative to that extravagant height they afterwards did. The. success that at tended them in the. pursuit of one claim en- fiburaged them 1 to set up and pursue another. Of tl)is no one can doubt who pernscs, with tbe.least attention, the' records of those ages, and compares the Popes in the beginning of the seventh century with the. Popes in the latter ena of (be eleventh. \Ve shall find them, iu the first mentioned period of time, submitting, with all humility, to princes, claiming no kind of authority or jurisdiction whatsoever, but m virtue of the canons -of councils,or. the rescripts qf Emperors; glo rying, or pretendiug to glory, iu the bumble title of servants of servants; acknowledg ing themselves subjects and vassals of the Emperors, and patiently, waiting the will Aud pleasure of their leige lords, to take up on them the Episcopal dignity, or exCfcise the ’functions of that office. Snch were the Bishops of Rone in the beginning of the tth century. How different from those iu the latter end of tfie eleventh ! They were then Vested with the plenitude of all power, both splritaal and temporal above councils, and tlie'clergr, VhicTi liftd Thfe oath of life liouorablo gentleman freui: uncontrolled by their canons; the fountain Pennsylvania is mo less golem u. Mr CHANULER. Do I uodersiuud the gentleman from Alabamans ranking me with the opposers qf (be. Kuow-Nothiug partyi Mr. SMITH. Certainly. Iheardthcgcii- tk-ifian’s apoeefei.;: .. ,1 Mr. CHANDLER. I would scam to op pose a pdrty of which iio gentleman in the flense has admitted- hiidself a member.— (.Laughter.] .... Mr. SillTH. This remark of tho gentle- man frem PciiAsylvaniu is nut :tnore fail Of Jesuitism, thnu, is his whole speech. . The bnly retiiliatidn l Irave to make to tnut vtne- rahie l ge.nd««» ,a, » * 8 r to condemn him in .read his own speeclf, so fresh from his lips, aud tlien for him to «ay again that he would scorn to oppose Jho Know-Noihiugs," and ti. inquire of JninseH, against whom did I ntake thbaOvituperiitiVoiphrasca? ’ - . But thH have its Jesi uieffomi etulwiion’s interruption shall not igAed effect; it shall not divert iding liis: oath.- Here it is. “ )Vitji my hand upon my. heart, and ■ riiy i-ye on Ileaven, 1 call'this House, auu (I speak with reverertbe,) 1 dall my Gad io Wifi ness the truth of albhe nssvrlion*, made from mV 1 on‘n ootivferfoniraitfl WmwiilSge)aSd Jay eiilite cqafideiioq in the credibility, of all the te'stiiuony winch I liave adduced from oth- ■• ~ : i. •>'■ :i ' : «« ' JJgw. sir,, it is nut,very, coinnma for a nm.n. uor oi Congress "to sweiir to bis speech; Ijut 1 udnnL'hji: ,has;airiglit:*d<ji *<*.■ GeiieiVil T--- »■"«• ‘*By tha.Eternal.” Cicero W. VVIm Mri mv God to jticksmi swore, 44 By tin rtta ‘“tfrt ’dfi iftiiiio swore,. .'.S“ help,Wi Aitaighty God.” ■ j, ChandlcV swears, "With my hqnd upon heart, uijd niy eye on Heaven, ! I call Go< !sow, sir,' of these bafhs. which is the most sohmaf Hiinuilml, at his father’s knees, ten honorable geitU#mau frbm : Pen»yW»«m 1 do not ee-nsaro the gentleman far swearine He has the undoubted right; but I deny that sue?; anil improper for tho Know-Nothings to nuideofaHestatum and nssoverttion under the Mas. Then, air. awuy with tliis objection. The native American is tho keeper of his own cbofsctCiice. He will never surrender it to a priest—1»« will uever apply for absolution af jujrjuty. He knows his duty. Ho t will ;iot T SqaXCe OF THE IlOltAX CATaOUq OflPRCB. uow approach, Mr. Chairman, tho most delicate ti nd important subject that has engrossed the atletition of the American peo ple. It ts my doty to proclaim to my couu- trymen the dangerous UMdbuAV of the Roman Catholic religion. From its first days to the ou all occasions, wlaiout the of all pastpral jurisdietiou and authority; and, by Divine sanction, empowered to enact, establish,* abrogate, vuspCud, all ecclesiastical laws and constitutions: they we'e teen be come lords and masters.—the ; most haughty and imperious lords, the most severe masters mankind had ever groaned under. They uo more begged, but dispensed titles, boasting a power of setting up Kings, and puUiug them down At pleasure ^ of calling them to au account, absolving thefr subjects from tbeir allegiance, divesting them of their do minions, and treating; in every respect, as their slaves aud vassals, those whom. one of their best predecessors ' fetid acknowledg ed superior to all men, and thought himself in duty bound to qbey;. The plenitude of power, as they style if, was pot acquired at ouce, but by degrees, some of the Popes be ing more and some less active, crafty; and as piring. But what is very remarkable of the one hundred and fourteen Popes between Bonifaee III, diio laid the foundation of Pa- jial graBdeitri and ( \US-M P'V inch of grouud f.is e at first been gradual, were now become so ra pid aud had mounted to such a height that the contest between the regal aud pontifical, was really arrived at a crisis in England, and it became necessary to determine whether the Kings or the Priests, particularly the Archbishop *f Canterbury, should be sove reign of (lie kingdum.” THE WAR 1 BETWEEN THOS. A SECRET AND HENRY IT. The memorable history of -jliis . struggle cannot fail tobe interesting; as well as profit- tible, in this investigation. Henry liad ap- (>ointed Bccket Archbishop of Canterbury. Becket fti'ul made hitnself a'favorite with the king as well as write the people. The pomp ofhis retinue, the sumptnons- hess of his furniture, the luxury of his table, tbc munificence of his preseuts, exceeded anything that England liad ever before seen in any subject. “ But no soouer was . Becket installed in this high dignity which rendered him, for life, the second person in ilia kingdom, witb sopc pretensions of aspiriug to be the first, than be totally altered nis demeanor and con. duct, and endeavored to acquire Umcharacter of sanctity. He wore sack-cloth next his skin, which; by his affected care to cbtaceal it, was necessarily the more .remarked bv all the world. Hechanged so seldom 'that it was filled-with dirt aud.vermin. His usnal diet was bread, his driuk water, He tore his back with the frequent discipline which he inflicted on it; he 'daily ,• op bis knees,, wash ed, in imitation of Christ, the feet of thirteen beggars, whom lie afterwards dismissed, with presents; he gaiued the .affections of the nnmks by 'Iris frequent charities to ‘the convents and hospitals;’.oad all men of pene tration plainly saw that he was meditating some great design, and that the ambition mid ostentation ofliis character had turned itself towards a new and more dungcrous ob ject. ' '*"''' “Becket waited ntit till ileury should com mence those projects against the ecclesiasti- cnl pmver which-he knew had beeu formed by that priuce. He was himself the aggres, spr^^anil endeavored to overawe the King by the Ttitrepiditj* and bpidaesa Of his enter prises. .. - . _ “The ecclesiastics, >n that age, had' re- nounced all immediate Subordination to the magistrate. They openly pretended to an Coemption. j n criminal accusations from a trial before -courts qf jn»iio<> t end wore gr.idU'ftltyfnrrtdttcingU lHth exemption in civil causes; spiritual penalties alone could be inflicted^on their offences; and; as tbc clergy.had extremely multiplied in England, iind many of them were, consequently, ol very-low character; crimes of the deepest dye, murders, robberies, adulteries, rapes, were daily committed with impunity, by ec clesiastics. It hud been found, for iustunce, on inquiry, that, no less than .a hundred murders hail.- since the King's accession, been perpetrated by men of that profession, who had never been called to account for these offences ; and - holy orders were be come a full.protection for all enormities.’'— Hume. Such was the condition of things at that flwjiwltiws A* -• .■;■«; Inn* et “ A clerk in- .Worcestcfshire bavin" de bauched a gentleman's, daughter, had, at this time, proceeded to mnruer tlie_ father; aud the general indignation against this crime, moved the Ring to attempt the re medy of an abuse which was become so palpable, and to require that the clerk sli6nld.be'delivered up, and receive con dign punishment from the magistrate. Bi c- ket insisted.op the, privileges of the church; confined the criminal in the 'bishop’s pris on, lest he soqld be seized by tee King’s officers; maintained that no greater puu- ishment could be inflicted on him than de gradation ; : nnd when the King demanded that, immediately after he was degraded, he should be tried by the oivil power, the prifiucte asserted that it was iniquitous to try a-tnan twice upon the same accusation, ami for the same offence." “Henry, laying hold of so plausible a pretence, resolved to push the clergy, with regard, to all their privileges; which they had raised to an en ormous height,, : and to determine, at f ace, those controversies, which .daily multiplied, between the civil and ecclesiastical juris- diction. He summoned an assembly of all the pVglates of Ensjand, aud he put to them this, concise and decisive question,, whether pr .not they,were willing to submit to the ancient laws aud customs of the kingdom! The hushops unanimous'y replied that they rc willing, saving their own order,”— itrhe/ church labored. He took it for granted, as ■ “ Four barons swore, along with the King, to a point Incontestable, that his cause was the ! the obseremee of this ignominious treaty." causo ol.GoikotewasaMaprittlra ehferactor of! “But the ignomy of the King was not yet Champion for. the patrimony- of the Divinity; carried to its lull height. Pandolf, the le- he pretenied to be the spiritual father of the gate, required him, as the first trial of obe- King, andalF'tee people of England. He dience, to rrsiyn his Kingdom to the Church." even told Henry tkat, Kiiigb reigticd solely “ John, being under the- agonies of present by the,authority of. the Church. That pre- terror, made no scrVple of submitting to this iale.'instigatcd by revenge, and animated by condition’. lie passed a churter, in which he the:present, glory. t attending his situatio n said, that not co»'tr :ined by fear, but of his pushed matters to a decision, aud issued a free will, he liad, for theretitusien of his own «eti> urc, exeondmunicating the ■ King's chief sins, and those of his family, resigned Eng- mrnistei by name, and comprehending,' in land and Ire! and to God, #. Peter, and at. general, nil those who'/atwed) air obeyed the Paul, audio Pope Innocent, and hie successors constitutions of Claretidonj These cousti- in-the Apostolic Chair, lie agreed to hold tutions he abrogated and annulled.; lie ab- these dominions as feudatory of the Church of solved all men from'the oaths they had la- Rome; and ho stipulated that if he or his ken to observe thorn; and he suspended the successors should ever presume to revoke or fn- spiritual thunder over Henry, only, that the fringe this charter, they should instantly/or- VrinCe'Tuight nvbid fhC blow by a’timely-YC- , yw; all right to their dominions?' lb coiise- peutance.”—Hume, i: * i.. :■ ,Yfii‘ . -? .Li But it is fruitless, and a waste of time, to give all the details of this quarrel; yet it crea.od more intense interest, and excite ment in Europe than had ever, or has ever been felt in any of those groat wars, in which armies annihilated each other !— Finally.pienipotentiaries^n both sides Were appointed, to negotiate a treaty of pence! And the King had to surrender his preten sions, in order to relieve his Miuisters troin the scnteuce of exoommunication, which Becket, even in his exile, had thundered against them! Here is a history of the terms of the treaty: “ Becket was not required to give up any rights of the church, or resign any of those pretensions, which bad been, the original ground of the controversy. Becket and. his adherents were to bo restored to all their livings, and eveu the possessors of such benefices, as. had been filled during, the primate's absendc, should be expelled and Bccket havo liberty to supply the vacancies. In return for concessions which entrenched so deeply oh the honor and dignity of the Crown, Henry reaped only the advantage of seeing his ministers absolved frqm the sentence of ex-communication, and of pre venting the interdict wl.ich,if these bard conditions had pot been complied, Vas rea dy to be laid on all his dominions. So anx ious was Henry to accommodate all differ ences, and to reconcile himself fully with Bccket, that he took the most extraordina ry steps to flatter his vanity, and even on one occasion, humiliated himself so fur as to % highest, pitch, nqt one evpr lost an ground f. is predecessor had gained. A-hd'tfius. by c^hstaritra'keqbSitife'itnfl h'6v- er parting with wbat^Cbey ddlAirad/: and by tying thetequds .of theijr «ucocdson .by the irreverrible entail of Divine Came tlie sole spiritual lords, and had al- tiiost made therjisclvcs the greatest tempo ral ioikts of tbq whole-of the Christian world.” URADUAL RISE OF tue rojun catholic church. For seven hundred years, as I have stated, the bishops were meek and lowly men. I was in the dark ages, when ignorance an sUperstMou overshadowed the world, when the Popes advanced to power And it wit# not uutil the days of Gregory VII, in the eleventh century,.that <i Pope had the au- dacity W say to a monarch. “ You have for feited yotri kingdom; and your subjects are absolved from their oath of fealty." In the case «f Henry IV, the Pope' declared, that the Y Emperor was.amenable to the Papal court of judicature.? before .which he was Summoned. He was next deprived of bis throne, nnd liis subjects were absolved from their oath of allegiance l The Pope claimed the right,jtp] dispose of Henry’s empire, with absolute authority, as a fief of St. Pe ter ! This case was referred to and detailed nnd justified by the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Chandler.) The same gentlemau admits:-;i: ;iiiq i . irf^n 44 Undoubtedly, the Pope has proceeded to dethrone Kings, and thus to release subjects. History declares that more than one monarch has been made to descend from his throne by the edict of the Popo. and that allegiance of bis -objects has been transferred, bv that edict, to a succeeding monarch.”, ’ ^ - This is an admission—the argument would be quite sufficient for onr purpose. But be fore I proceed to reply to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, I propose to establish the historical fact that for 6ix or seven hundred Henry, e howcvcr?Jiierse(ere(l; until be pro- tory'over nil ihe Engl cept the invincible Backet, who refused obe dieucr jbalicicQu4<Sthti6iis of'tflarendon, un til, abandoned by all. t-iq world,; be was Obliged to sobtriit/and to promise “legAUy, with g<lod £ttith r .«nd without fraud or re- serve.” But Henry was still- baffled. He sent his ! ct>nstitut1ons of Clarendon to Pope Alexander;, “and required that Pontiffs ra tification of them: bujt Alexander condemn ed them in the strbti^est terms—abrogated, anuuUed, anil, rejected them.” Becket then repented of his consent; '■ and endeavored to engage all tho other Bishops in a confederacy to adhere to their ecclesiastical privileges: Henry,' informed of Beckct’s present dispositions, applied io the Pope that he should grant tho commis- sion of le^ate ih'fels dotninionsi'lnrt Alex ander, as politic as lie, though ho granted tlie commission, annexed a clause that it should not empower the legate to. execute any act in prejudice to the Archbishop of Canterbury.”' 1’Ke Kin", however, perse vered until he triumphed over. Becket, for the primate was “condemned of a contempt of the King’s Court, and as wanting in the fealty which he had sworn to his sovereign ; all his goods and chattels were confiscated.” But this war still raged between the King and Becket. The Primate defied the King. “He put himself and his See under the protection of the Supreme Pontiff.”— About this time Bccket fled from the king dom, and was received by the Pope with the greatest marks of distinction. Ho was not idlo in his banishment. ^ m , , “ In order to forward this event, ho fillod all placcB with exclamation nguinst tlio vio lence which he h id suffered. lie compared himself with Christ, who had been condemn ed by a lay tribunal, and was cruoified anew hold the'.stirrup of that haughty prelate, while he mounted." HeVe you see, sir, in the twelfth century, a shiuiug instance of the complete triumph of the power of tho Pope over the haugh tiest and most powerful monarch in Europe. And the supreme autocracy of the arch-, bishops is strikingly illustrated in the'fact that, no sooner had Bccket returned to his diocese, than he began thundering his ex? communications against his 'enemies, so lately “the King s friends and coadjutors.’’ What is an excommunication? The ex communication of a king—the interdict of a kingdom is illustrated in the history of King John, the son of Henry II. The power and authority which the Archbishop of Canter* bury had acquired, by Becket’s triumph over Henry, snovVs itself in John’s reign, and teeming Siitf* BteRdoWnffMErflldtitl aiie placed under interdict, the effect of which may be seen by the following historical ac count of it: - “ The nution was, qf a Aidden, deprived of all exterior exercise of fts religion ;* the altars were despoiled of their ornaments; the crosses, the reliques, the images, the statues of the saints, were laid on the ground, nnd. aB if the air was profaned, and might pollute them by itsconsact, the priests carefully covered them up, even from their own approach and veneration. The use of bells entirely erased in all .the churches; the bells themselves were removed from the steeples and laid on the ground, with the other sacred utensils; mass was celebra ted with shut doors, and none tut the priests were admitted to that holy institution. The laity partook of uo religious rite, except baptism to newly-born infants, and the com munion to the dying. The dead were not in terred in consecrated grouud; they were thrown into ditcbes,or interred in common fields; and their obsequies were not attend ed with prayers, or any hallowed ceremony. Marriages were celebrated in tho church yard; and, tliat every action of life might bear the marks of this dreadful situation, the people were prohibited the use of meat, as iu lent, or times of the highest penance; were de barred from all pleasures and entertain ments, and even to , salute each other, or so much as to shave their beards end give any decent attention to their personal apparel. Every circumstance carried symptoms of tho deepest distress, and of the most immediate nppi chcnsions of divine vengeance and in dignation Such is tho force and power of an inter dict; it can be better imagined than de scribed; Let us here add, for the information of our friends, the form of a pcisonal excommuni cation : , “ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and of our blessed and most holy Lady Mary; also, by the power of the angels, archangels. &c..|wc separate M. N. from the bosom pf the Holy Mother Church, niid condemn them with the anathema of d perpetual malediction.— And may they be cursed in the city, cursed in the field, cursed be their bam, and cursed be their store—chased ate the fruit of theiit womb, and the fruit of their land—cursed be their edmifig itt and their going out; Let them bo cursed in the house, and fugitive 1 * iu the field; and let all the curses come up on them which tho Lord, by Moses, threa tened to bring on.the people who forsook the divine law; and let them be anathema marnntha—that is. let them perish at the second coming of the Lord. Let no Chris tian say an Ave to them. Let no priest pre sume to celebrate mass with them, or give them the holy communion, Let them be bu ried with tho burial bf an ass, and be dung upon the face of the earth/, This is the simple cxcommuuication of an individual. But much more terrible, indeed, is the excommunication of a King or .Queen, as we may readily see from the opening of an excommuuication of Queen Elizabeth, by Pius. It opens thus: “ The damnation and excommunication of Elizabeth, the pretended Queen of England and her adherents.” xceptiou, been adverse to liberty, I years, the Bishops of Rome (the Popes,)havo ' in the present oppression, under which the quence of this agreement, John did homage to Pandolf, en the Pope’s legate, with all • the submissive rites which the feudal liiw requir ed of vassals before their leige lord. He came disarmed into the. legate’s presence, who was seated ou a throne. He flung him self on his knees before hint; he lifted up his joined hands, auu put them within those ol Pandolf; he swore fealty to the Pope.” Here, sir. in this picture, you see a King of England on his kuees before the legate of the Pope! Here you see the legate of tho Pope; elated by the triumph of sacerdotal power, exultiag over a cru.-hed King! Here you see the successors of St. Peter acknowledged to fie supreme in temporal as well as spiritu al affairs!—aud that, too, in a countiy the most enlightened of the age! and by a King in whose veins was the blood of William the Conqueror. In fact, sir, from the period of the death of Thomas a Bccket in England, to the triumph of the Reformers, the Archbishop of Canterbury was greater in England thnu the King himself. INTERDICT AGAINST LIBERTY. Not only did tlie papal power presume to hurl its tlrunders of cxcoiumui.ication against individuals and Kings—but against assem blages of people, for whatsoever purposes met together. It .is interesting to note, in tbc same reign of John, that after the dis grace of the King, the Barons met and adop ted “• Magna Charta” But the Pope (Iuno- cent) “ considering himself as feudal lord of the kiugdom,” issued a bull, iu which, from the plenitude of his Apostolic power, and from the “authority which God had commit ted to him, to build and destroy kingdoms, to plant and overthrow,” he annulled and abrogated the whole charier, and pronounced a general excommunication against every one who shoiild persevere in maintaining such treasonable and iniquitous pretensions! These historical facts show, not only the grasping and aspiring inclinations of the Pope, but prove the absolute supremacy of his temporal power as it existed in the thir teenth century. 6imilar scenes nnd similar strvggles to those already described in Eng land, werc ofcoutinual occurrence in all the countries-in which, at that day, the Roman Church had foothold! It ueedod but little—a slight offence was sufficient to cause this arro gant Pontiff to turn loose bis anathemalic bull l and the furious animal, blinded with a thousand curses, rushed madly amid the in discriminate masses of mankind! Ic seems strange to us of this ago-*-nay p sir, we are astounded*—when we look through the telescope of centuries, and behold afar off in a dim chamber, a feeble old inan, alone as it were, bolding bis court amid the desert ed ruins of an ancient city, without an army, without a fleet, without a sword, weighing hi the hollow of his hand the mighty empires of the world: coivqueriug mankind with no weapon but arrogance. With no power but the all-ill vincible superstitions which surrounded his throne 1 And. to uphold, this arrogance, he had his faces of brass, and his arms of iron, in every nation; and to spread this superstition he bad his cowled emissaries prowling all over the face of the enrth. And these cowled emissaries 1 who are they t History, with, its burning scroll, de clares them to have been the most degraded and degrading of mankind, given to all the sins and iniquities that human flvth, in its weakness, is given to. downfall ok the council. But it is said there is no metre danger of the encroachment of Popery. The Reformation redeemed men and kingdoms. The nntions of the earth are freed from the chains of su perstition ; and the Pope is now but a sort of innocent father confessor to the priests. Sir, be not deceived. When tec lion sleeps, who so foolish as to approach him in his slumbers I A mouse has too much sagacity to npproach a snoring cat, as if in its small cranium could be crowded the grand idea “ eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” The Reformers pre vailed. Tbe Pope surrendered nothing. He retired, in sullen silence, to the gloomy re cesses of the Vatican, to brood over his fallen fortunes; to frame new forms of curses; to learn to damn with more immense gusto, and to mingle the wiue of the Sacraments in the iuk with which ho wrote his anathemas, in imitation of one of his infallible predecessors. No; sir, the Pope was not dead; “ the snake was scotched, not killed.” His auathcmaticnl bull was only turned out to grass: “ I who was once as great as Caisar, Am now reduced to Nebuchadnezzar ; '■ And from as famed a conqucrof As ever took degree in war, Or did his exercise in battle,. Have been turned out to grnzo with cat tle.” True it is, sir, that tne ” thunders of the Vatican” no longer shook tlie corners of the earth. The Pope sat in his quiet, court, seem ingly feeble in every respect, as if waiting for a gentle and immortalizing martyrdom. He who yesterday had beetv tee builder of king doras, the maker of monarch#, and the desfrov er of constitutions, was now the meekest of mankind. But we find him shaking bis puny arm over Henry the Eighth, and grinding his teeth at Queen’Elizabeth. Impotent old man ! He could find but one person in England who had the temerity to circulate his excommunication of Elizabeth. temporal supremacy fully Proved. At the risk of being tedious, I have collect ed these historical facts, aud I will add an illustrious Roman Catholic authority, from whom I shall quote a few observations upon the claims and power ol the Popo to interfere john resigning his crown to the pope. w j t |j an[ j d e p 0se mouarchs, and to absolve In the excommunication of a King, all his their subjects. Tlie illustrious DeMaistre, (as adherents are included. John was excommu- ! jj e ; 8 called by the Roman Catholics,) in bis Seated; and the sentence proceeded to a&-j tr „iy elaborate and able performance, in a solve all John's^ subjects from the oath of ji~ ] e g H j treatise upon the various powers of the delity and allegiance, and to declare every Pope, thus argues in reference to tho above one e xcommunicated who had any commerce „ ucst ] on 5 with him, either in public or in private l In . ' , , , . . , vain did King John attempt to hold out “ As they had at the r command, moreover against the Pope, and he was finally driven fU*® science of those Umes, tbe very force of to subscribe to all the conditions which tbe Idnogs gave them an undisputed title to that Pope was pleased to impose upon him : superiority which at the time was todispeosa “Thai he would submit himself entirely We. The true principle, that sovereignty to the judgmont of tho Popo; that lie would comes from God, strengthened besides those restore all the exiled clergy and laity who ancient ideas, and thore came to be formed an had been banished; that he would make opinion, almost universal, which attributed full restitution of their goods, and compensa- to the Popes a certain jurisdiction oyer ques tion for all damages; and that every one tious in which sovereigns ware concerned Princes in the exprcue <>f tbeir function#; still less did they disturb the order of the succes sion of Sovereigns.su long as things were con ducted according to the ordinary and Luowti rule*; it was only when there; was great abuse, great criminality, or much doubt, that the Sovereign Pontiff*inter|*osoii." “ And it matter# little whether the Popo he'd this primacy by Divine.or human right, provided it be clear that during several ages he exercised throughout the West, with univer sal consent and approbation,;! power assured ly most extensive.” “ The theory alone, therefore, would he im movable. But what can be said agaiust farts, which are everything in questions of politics and government I “None doubted—Sovereigns themselves did not doubt iteia'pDWsr of tlie* Popes; uuu Leibnitz observes with' much truth and deli cacy, as is his custom, that the Emperor Fred erick, in saying ter Pope Alexander WL, *tu.r to. you but'to Peter,’ confessed tbe Pontiff over Kings, aud only contested its abuse. “ This observation may bo;generalized.— Princes, struck by the anathema of the JVpe. disputed only its justice, so that they w ere constantly ready to make use of it against their enemies, which they could not do with out obviously acknowledging the logitinumy of the power. , '/ :- 4 * Voltaire, after having related, t» Li* own fashion, the excommuiueatUui of Robert of France, remarks, ‘thatthe EmperorOtlio III. was himself present at the couucil in which the sentence of excommunication was pro nounced. The Emperor, therefi re. acknowl edged the authority of the Pope ; and it very singular thing lluft moderu critics will not see the manifest contradiction into which they fall, in observing, as they all do, with admirable unanimity, ‘that what was nvwt deplorable in those great judgments, was the blindness of the princes who disputed nut their legitimacy, auu who themselves often begged to have recourse to them.’ -But if tee princes were agreed, the rest «>t mankind were so likewise, aud there is no lon ger question but as to abuses, which exi.-t everywhere.” This great writer concludes: Thus the authority of the Pope was con tested only by those against whom it was levelled. There was never, therefore, a more -legitimate power, as there never was a power so little contested.”—[De Mats tre’* Pope, 18#. ] But the honorable gentleman from Pennsyl vania disclaims for lrimself, atid fur certain colleges and councils, that the Pope claims any power to depose or interfere with mou- nrchs. or to absolve their subjects. His per sonal disclaimer can amount to nothing except so far as the gentlemau lrimself is concerned. Tbe disclaiming of tlie colleges and councils amount to nothing except 60 far as tlie indi viduals are couesrned who compose the col leges and couuctls. Besides, being in the face of the historical acts of the Romish Church for six or eight centuries, they are positively contradicted by the legal Catholic book et De Maistre, which T have above quo ted. . . . The Ertglit-h editor of Dc Maistre S proicuud work claim* “The temporal throne as tbe patrimony of tee Galilean fisherman.”. (St. Peter.) , The bull which excomniunited Henry IV, claims the power expressly “ ex parte omnip otent]* dci. The bull of excommunication aga'nst King John, the interdict laid upon England and Magna Ciiarta, expressly claim, by words, the power as given by God to St. Peter, “ to build and pull down kingdoms." (Hume, i9f.) If the power is given by_ God, what rigkl has the l’ope to surrender it 1 lie would be faithless to surrender it. “He is infallible,” says the Church. Therefore he cannot err. Therefore be cannot surrender a divine right-. Therefore ho has not surrendered it. There fore the proposition of the honorable gentle man from Massachusetts, [Mr.. Banks,] “ tli.it the Roman Pontiff has never, in any authori tative form, disclaimed the right.” remain* still to be answered, notwithstanding tlie com placency of the geutlcmau from Pet.n>ylva- Thc colleges may be allowed to publish what they please, so long as they stick to the interest of the Church, for the time belng, and so long a* they promote tbe interest of the Church in the particular place where quu- tioiis may be discussed. The Pope wfll not call tbctn to accoutit, until the interest of the Church should make it necessary to doi.ounce tbeir heresies. When that becomes necessa ry, the Pope will act and denounce their col leges, and excommunicate and dan. u ull who presume to utter such doctrines. This would l c in accordance with the history of the Romb h Churcli. The councils of tlie Ryniish Clm.-cb are in the habit of condemning the doctrines and decrees of the preceding councils. W kal can bo considered as stable iii tbstt CkQfciq sir, which does not struplc to condemn its own Pope as a heretic tong ufief he is deed! A general council, which Bishop England, iu a letter read by the gentleman from Pennsyl vania, declares to ba “infallible in doctrinal decrees,” condemned Pope J/onorious as a her etic !•—and some of his doctrines as bereti -ai! If they can condemn a dead Pope ns a diet etic, what may they not do With persons, col leges, and bishops? Honorious as a Pope, being infallible, must have gone to heaven upon his death. The Rotnish Church incul cates the idea that the Pope is bound to go to heaven. Bat, sir, in tec <;u.-e of li.«uwius, the council pronounced him a heretic, ( while he was in heaven,) and as a heretic cannot goto heaven, the couucil, of cousr*, pulj.:m in purgatory, by their decree of comk mnation ! and this counsel, by their decree, virlurd'y denies the power* of Jesus Christ to k' cp thU heretical Popo in heaven. S-ir, bow long will it be before St. Peter shall be condcmTitd ter his old sin of denyiughis Master ? llc-w long is St. Peter safe in the bosom ol his 1-umI ? He will never be safe, sir, so long as the Bu rnish Church shall presume. I have no doubt he is alive to serious appreb.-nsiens. I have no doubt that since the condemnation of iiu- norius, his immortal spirit is jrerci c>.:y time the cock crow*. There are many notable coatradictiors in tho speech of the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. Chandler.] In one part of his speech he says, in the most po.-ith t- un.l emphatic terms: “ The Roman Catholic Church f.tithi r holds nor inculcates a doctrine of power in its head to interfere in the affairs Of temporal govern ments, to disturb the monarch, or release the subject. It never has held ur.y such doc trine.” In another sentence he says; in cn curlier part of his speech ; “No Where is the right to such power, as if divine right, claimed'by the Catholic Church.” This admits that tee right to such power is claimed, but vM cis d mrim right, and present < the above positiva outlawed or imprisoned for his adherence to the Pope, should immediately be received into grace and favor. This opinion was quite sound, and certainly , far better than all our sophistry. Tho Popes I did not at all interfere so as to embarrass wise palpable contradiction to denial: . •• -. u..: • In another part he says: “ The most disunguisliei exercise of the Papal monarch, is that by G who excommunicated and ror, Henry IV.” How could the right be being claimed ? How l!l»1 t'lUl