could only give the evidence of their treachery to one system as a proof of their fidelity to the other.

But, it was not merely upon theological grounds that Roman Catholics were excluded. Their conduct served to discriminate them from Protestants in a way that clearly showed there could be, between the two bodies neither unity of sentiment nor cordiality of cooperation. I need not here load your pages by an enumeration of the atrocities which gave a peculiar character to the former, as it is sufficient merely to allude to the dreadful affairs at Fork Hill, the massacre on Wexford bridge, the burnings at Scullabogue, at Wildgoose Lodge, at the house of the Sheas in Tipperary, and in various other places, to show that the Roman Catholics were distinguished from the Protestants not less by feeling than by principle, and that while the former were under the influence of the baleful bigotry by which they were actuated, the latter never could be expected to associate with them for constitutional objects.

It was, in point of fact, the manifestation of this dreadful spirit that led to the separation between Roman Catholics and Protestants, to which, in a great measure the defeat of the rebellion of 1798 is to be attributed. And if those who were united as rebels, in the cause of treason, could not continue combined, because of the antipathies of Roman Catholics to Protestants as heretics, it is not to be wondered at, that loyal men should have been disinclined to admit them into an association which was only rendered necessary by their known antipathy to the established church, and their scarcely suppressed desire to overthrow British authority in Ireland.

And this leads me naturally to the circumstance which first caused the great spread of Orangeism in the north of Ireland.

It was in Wexford that the spirit of popery most decidedly manifested itself, when in 1798 some little success attended the first outbreak of the rebellion in Ireland; cruelties the most inhuman and remorseless, were perpetrated upon such Protestants as fell into their power, insomuch that many, whose political bias was entirely against the government, and who desired a

severance of British connection, felt that they were but blindly instrumental in erecting a spiritual tyranny, to which, sooner or later, they themselves must fall victims. Affidavits verifying the facts of some of these atrocities, were procured by the late Sir Hardinge Giffard, and their extensive circulation through the north of Ireland, where they were eagerly read, caused such a reaction in favour of loyalty, and so lively a horror of popish perfidy and cruelty, that the disaffected were, in that part of the country, speedily shorn of all their power, and a strong hold of sound conservative principles was erected, as it were, upon the ruins of a den of treasons. The natural manner in which this feeling manifested itself, was by a large accession to the Orange Association; men of rank and property encouraged their tenants and retainers to connect themselves with that body, as the most satisfactory mode of manifesting their attachment to church and state, and the most unequivocal demonstration of their antipathy to Irish traitors. And thus it was that that change was produced in Ulster, which converted it from the focus of sedition which Wolf Tone describes it, in his memorial to the French Directory in 1796, into the peaceable and loyal province which his friend Russel found it in 1803, when he made his insane attempt to rouse the people on the occasion of Emmet's insurrection.

There is nothing which provokes the sneers of liberals more than allusions to those persecuting dogmas of the church of Rome which are to be found in the works of her accredited theologians. These dogmas, they maintain, belong rather to the age when they were invented, than to the churches in which they were received; and any notion that they can be practically revived at the present day, is an absurdity that carries with it its own refutation. It was in allusion to such a notion that Lord Plunket made use of the well-known phrase, that those who adopted it, and grounded their adoption of it upon statements and documents to be found in the works of divines, and in the decrees of councils, treated history as if it were nothing better than an old almanack. Now it has always appeared to me, that, in this particular, our would-be philosophers overshoot

the mark, and make far too little account of the insensible influence of such a system as popery over the great mass of its votaries. In that system it is perfectly clear, that the dogmas above alluded to, were once received, and it is, I believe, equally clear that they never have been rejected. We know the deep veneration with which Roman Catholics are taught and expected to regard the church; and that their religion chiefly consists in giving an unreasoning and unhesitating obedience to its dictates. They, in fact, only know the gospel through the church; whereas, Protestants only know the church through the gospel; a difference too, which must give rise to a corresponding distinction between the classes thus opposed, and cause the former to regard all who desert from their notion of a living infallible authority upon earth, in precisely the same light as the latter regard those who reject revealed religion. Protestants are, in fact, considered in the light of infidels, who have rejected the true faith, but who cannot, by their rejection of it, divest themselves of their baptismal obligations, but still continue, although rebels against the authority, subject to the dominion of the church of Rome, and at any time liable to be reduced to their allegiance. It may be that many of them have never directly traced the inferences from the principles which they maintained-it may be that in many of them the spirit of the age has so far mitigated their principles that no such inference would appear to be fairly deducible from them, or, if shown to be fairly deduced, the principles would be renounced rather than the inferences adopted. All this may be, and much of this, no doubt, is true. It is in fact, from the latter class that the most enlightened converts from popery have recently been made; and it is by such an exposure of the principles of the church of Rome, as may seem to impress upon the minds of that class the real character of the creed which they have adopted, more from accident than conviction, that we must rest our best hopes of the moral regeneration of Ireland. But, allowing everything which can be claimed for superior enlightenment at the present day, and allowing also that the spirit of the age is adverse to the unmitigated intolerance of former times, it will still make a

very great difference to the gross bulk of Irish Romanists, whether the genius of their religion be essentially of a tolerant or a persecuting nature. It may be that, in times of ordinary tranquillity, when no considerable religious excitement prevails, that the worst tenets of popery may be entertained, without any offensive external manifestation; they may, in fact, be rather latent than revealed. Where and when protestantism is latitudinarian and indolent, popery may be sluggish and dormant. But, let different circumstances present themselves, let excitement prevail, let the professors of one creed exhibit an ardour and an interest in the diffusion of what they believe to be the truth, which may provoke a corresponding and antagonist zeal in those to whom they are opposed, and then it will be seen what the principles are by which the latter are in reality actuated; then, it may be, that for the first time, they will become conscious of the influence of these principles themselves.

When I hear Roman Catholics disclaim the persecuting tenets of their church, although I distrust, I do not disbelieve them. On the contrary, I entertain no doubt that they are, at the time, perfectly sincere in their asseverations. When the prophet told the Jewish king that he would, at a future time, commit some great iniquity, the latter indignantly exclaimed, "Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing?" But he did it. Did it, although both the letter and the spirit of his religion were against it; did it, although it was prophetically denounced to him, as he could not but be deeply persuaded that he was thus transgressing the commandments of Almighty God? How much more prone would he have been to the perpetration of it, if he could be persuaded that he was thereby doing God a service--if the spirit of his religion discountenanced it not? but, on the contrary, by various decrees, and precepts and examples, (which, as long as he unhesitatingly received his creed, he could not deny to have great weight, if not paramount authority,) encouraged every project for the humbling of heretics and the exaltation of the church, no matter how opposed to justice and humanity? Now, this is precisely the

case of the Roman Catholics of Ireland. The late exposure of Dens's Theology shows that such are the precepts of their religion; and on every one occasion where their prejudices were inflamed and their passions excited, their conduct has been uniformly conformable thereto. They have shown that neither promises nor oaths could restrain them, when by disregarding promises and oaths the destruction of an heretical church might be accomplished. They have shown that neither gratitude nor honesty could influence them, when by withholding the Protestant pastors' lawful dues, and menacing their lives, a prospect was afforded of their extermination.

I will not stop to instance the crime and the outrages by which this position might be illustrated; suffice it to say, they are most bloody and most atrocious. But, however revolting to humanity, and even contrary to nature, there is not one of them that may not be traced to the dogmas or the influences of the Roman Catholic religion. This may not be seen or felt in times of quiet, when the government is strong, but it will become deplorably manifest whenever the state of the country is such as to encourage turbulence and disorder. There is not an individual engaged in resistance to tithe, who believes that such resistance amounts to robbery, and there is not an assassin whose hands have been embrued in the blood of a Protestant clergyman, who can persuade himself that he thus incurs the guilt of murder. Every evil passion of which their nature is susceptible, is marshalled, as it were, under the sanction of religion. In their most diabolical atrocities they feel as if they were engaged in carrying into effect a sentence pronounced by their church against heretical pravity, and that, instead of adding to their other of fences, their conduct in that particular will operate like charity, and serve to cover a multitude of crimes. Such is the state of feeling now universally prevailing amongst the lower classes of the Roman Catholics of Ireland. They are not like Protestants, who live in the light of the Holy Scriptures, and who possess this security, at least against errors in practice, that the precepts and the conduct of their VOL. IV.

teachers will all be brought to the test of the unerring word of God. No such thing; they only see this word as it pleases its misinterpreters to exhibit it to them; it is converted into a species of lying oracle, only to be consulted when the ends of falsehood are to be attained. The very same kind of jugglery which is practised at Naples upon the blood of St. Januarius, is had recourse to for the purpose of making Holy Scripture bear testimony against itself; texts are parodied and misinterpreted in a manner that makes them give the lie to the context; and even when the truth is exhibited, it falls off upon the eyes of Roman Catholics like light through a discoloured medium, imparting to all surrounding objects the hue of the substance through which it is seen. In short, to them the end of their religion would seem to be the exaltation of their church, while to Protestants the end of the church is the exaltation of religion.

No man can deny the dreadful system of crime at present in operation in this country; no man can deny that both life and property are fearfully insecure. Now, there are very few who have contemplated the characters of our peasantry without perceiving in them much to commend-much to win upon their love and admiration. They are proverbially a kindhearted and affectionate people, with as little of gall or of bitterness in their composition as is to be found in any peasantry upon the face of the earth. How, then, are we to account for the strong contrast to all this which is exhibited in their conduct? how are we to account for the fact, that not only are they given to the perpetration of enor mous crime, but that these crimes are perpetrated with a remorseless barbarity by which the North American savages are outdone, and which could only be paralleled by the familiars of the inquisition? Manifestly only by supposing that they are under the influence of a creed by which the natural conscience is seared as with a red-hot iron, and which imposes upon them the persuasion that oaths are perjuries where their observance would be prejudicial to the church, and that humanity is weakness when it would interpose any obstacles to the extirpation of those who are believed to be

X

the enemies of true religion. This is the only mode of accounting for the present perverted state both of feeling and principle in Ireland. The nature of the people has been changed by their creed; it has been transmuted from good into evil—indeed it might be said of many of them, that "evil has become their good," as there is scarcely any extreme of wickedness which is not considered allowable against the persons and properties of an heretical clergy.

All this being so, is it surprising that Roman Catholics should be excluded from the Orange Association? Indeed the only thing to be wondered at is, that they should have complained of such exclusion. They might as well complain of being excluded, while they continue Roman Catholics, from the rites and the privileges of the established church. To do them justice, I never heard them complain of such exclusion until Mr. Sheil and others of their body made it a specific ground of objection to the Orange bcdy, in the investigation which has been just concluded by a special committee of the House of Commons.

No; it was quite impossible for two bodies so directly opposed in feeling and principle, to have amalgamated for any good purpose. In the case of the Irish rebellion the Protestants and Roman Catholics found it impossible to continue united even for a bad one. The Orange institution was established as a rallying-post for the loyalty of Ireland, and it was quite impossible for its founders to overlook the notorious disloyalty of a class of men who were under influences that must, as long as they continued, have rendered their allegiance precarious. They were excluded, because their exclusion was the only means of preserving the integrity of a confederation rendered necessary by the threatening attitude which they assumed, and without which British connexion must have been endangered. But was not this exclusion calculated to give offence? Was it not calculated to provoke an opposite combination? If it did provoke some combination of Roman Catholics, who took other mode of displaying their loyalty, this, I apprehend, would not be an evil; the two bodies might exist like rivals of the same mistress, and each

some

endeavour to outdo the other in demonstrations of zeal and attachment; and this is the only manner in which the Orange Institution would operate, supposing the Roman Catholic to be as loyal as the Protestant community. Upon the contrary, supposing a different result might take place, and the loyal might, by possibility, give rise to a disloyal confederacy; but in this case it would only quicken, and bring into premature development, the disloyalty that would otherwise be latent. In the first case it is almost certain that the two bodies would ultimately coalesce; in the second, the more widely they were discriminated, the better for the peace and the security of the empire.

In point of fact, it was the disloyal that gave rise to the loyal association. Defenderism at first provoked the Orangemen to combine, and Ribbonism now causes them to continue their combination. It is a matter of perfect certainty, confirmed by the evidence of almost every individual who appeared before the Orange committee, either for that body or against them, that an extensive confederacy exists, comprising, probably, three-fourths of the Roman Catholic peasantry, and having for one of its objects the extirpation of the Protestant religion and Protestant name in Ireland. Mr. O'Connell, when questioned respecting this body before the parliamentary committee in 1825, stated his belief that they were a continuation of the old Defender association; and there is much reason to think that he was right. Every thing that even he says, is not to be rejected. They seem identified in spirit and in principle with that body, and do not sink a single point below them in hatred of the established church and antipathy to British connexion. the year 1796, the reader has seen, from the Memoirs of Wolf Tone, that this body extended over three provinces in Ireland, and was progressing rapidly over the fourth. How far the Riband system extends has not yet been clearly ascertained; but it is perfectly certain that it is most powerful, that it has proved in many cases too strong for the laws, and that there is no security for life or property without some such protective confederacy as is afforded in the Orange Institution.

In

As it is not impossible that the na

ture of this confederacy may yet attract the notice of parliament, I will not compromise the individuals from whom I have had information respecting it by any untimely disclosures. They are bound together by an oath, pledging them to the most ruthless hatred of Protestants, and binding them to be ready at any time to swear falsely in a court of justice, when by so doing the interests of the party may be served. How far the Roman Catholic clergy are identified with or opposed to this body I know not. It is certain that the Ribbonmen look upon them as their friends, and in most instances regard any admonitory language which may be made use of by them when any great atrocities have been perpetrated as language much more of caution than of reproof, and as not intended seriously to militate against their combination. It is a common thing for a defenceless Protestant, in those districts where the Orange system is not strong, to be waylaid and seriously injured, and then to be prosecuted in a court of justice, as though he were the person guilty of the assault, and by the force of perjured testimony to be convicted. I am credibly informed that there are individuals this moment suffering the punishment of imprisonment, only because they were so unfortunate as to have been the victims of aggresssion such as I have described. Now, in this state of things, in which the law, in reality, is powerless, is it possible that the Protestants can exist in security without some combination by which they may be protected? It is, manifestly, impossible. When the power of their enemies is too great for the laws, by the isolated efforts of individuals it never could be resisted, and any measures which would have the effect of severing the bonds of brotherhood by which Orangemen are united to each other for mutual defence and for the preservation of the public peace, would be but the speedy precursors of Protestant extermination.

Does it not seem most extraordinary that the part of Ireland concerning which an inquiry is instituted is that part of the country which alone is tranquil; and that this is done, if not for the purpose, at least with the certainty of directing the attention of the people of England from that part of

the country which alone is disturbe I may not even conjecture what the designs of the Roman Catholic members were in moving for the committee on Orange societies; but they could not have taken a more effectual means of screening the delinquencies of their own partizans, and securing to them a legislative impunity in their transgressions. While murder and rapine and conflagration are proceeding unchecked in one part of the country, the whole attention of government is absorbed in a minute and vindictive criticism of the conduct of men who are, in another part of the country, the strenuous upholders of the law, and the best friends of British connexion. I remember the story of a gentleman who came post haste for a physician to see a man who was represented as being in extreme danger. The physician lost no time in obeying the summons; and, upon reaching the house, was shown into what was called the sick room, but where, to his surprise, he could see no patient. Upon asking his conductor where the sick man lay, "Oh," says he, "you are yourself the sick man! Do you not know that you are very bad? Come, I must prescribe for you!" It is not necessary to proceed with the narrative, or to show how the worthy doctor was ultimately rescued from his insane guide; but, surely, the case of the Orangemen is not very dissimilar, and I only fear that there is too much method in the madness of those by whom they are to be destroyed to afford them any similar chance of escaping from their nauseous and injurious prescriptions.

Much has been said of the evils likely to arise from having Orange lodges in the army. It is strange that there was no one to observe that they have existed in the army a long time, and that no evil has arisen from them. The demagogue declaimed, with great vehemence, upon the abstract possibility that they might interfere with discipline. But one well authenticated fact that they had so interfered would have told more against the institution than all their declamation, and that one authenticated fact could not be found. On the contrary, the Orange Institution has always been found aiding discipline; and if the system were to be judged of by its merits, it is im