TO THE PUBLIC,
&c.
Should a great and commercial People experience an unlooked for reverse of fortune; should a rapid decay of Trade, a long protracted and ruinous War, an expenditure of the Public Money, at once lavish and unnecessary, should even all these causes conspire with an oppressive national debt, in reducing them from opulence and prosperity to the lowest ebb of distress, the consequences must be melancholy and alarming: On one hand, the People, impatient of this calamitous change, will murmur against Government, and proceed to disorderly and tumultuous Insurrections. On the other, Administration, foreseeing danger to its own permanence and safety, will perhaps, adopt coercive measures, not altogether consistent with the liberty of its subjects:—Under these circumstances, every well intentioned mind will be deeply affected with concern, for the welfare of his country; various means will be recommended of healing its disorders, or, at least, of mitigating their virulence; and no one can be reprehensible in proposing a Remedy, or an alteration, even, though the success be doubtful:—Influenced by such considerations, we also appeal to the indulgence of a generous Public, and should the application we offer prove beneficial, the utmost wish of our heart will be gratified, should it, on the contrary, be neglected or derided, the consciousness of an upright intention, must in some measure console us.
An Antidote has been already prescribed by a Revd. Baronet, we presume with the same view; the application of which, however, in our opinion, would tend to cherish the malignancy of the disease, rather than to eradicate its cause:—Wherefore, alarmed for the constitution of the patient, should it be adopted, and at the same time, though we acknowledge and applaud the Revd. Author’s anxiety in this case, suspecting that he would prefer a partial to a complete Restoration, we humbly beg leave to state our reasons for differing in sentiment with a man of his consummate knowledge and experience, together with our objections to his Antidote.
That the present crisis is an alarming one, every man capable of reflection, will readily admit, that, however, every artifice of audacity and craft has been exerted (and with success exerted) to undermine the religious, moral, and political sentiments of the great mass of the manufacturing and agricultural orders of Society in England, seems to require some farther proof, than the mere assertion of the Author, before we can assent to it, with an equal degree of conviction:—Is it probable that, notwithstanding the firmness which has so eminently distinguished the present Administration, such artifices should be resorted to with impunity? Is it possible that success should attend such artifices, notwithstanding the vigilance of Ministers, so unhesitatingly displayed in the removal of Lord Fitzwilliam? Perhaps, the Revd. Author meant obliquely to censure Administration, for overlooking such attempts in the first instance, and subsequently, for not foreseeing and guarding against their pernicious effects, for not suppressing tumultuous assemblies, when, (according to his assertion) the then existing laws, were of sufficient force to stamp the greater part of them with the Seal of illegality.
It is a melancholy consideration, that the Christian Religion, which inculcates universal good will and beneficence, as the peculiar doctrine of its founder, should have been not unfrequently perverted, in consequence of the self-interested and prejudiced views of individuals, into an instrument of cruelty and oppression; and it is probable that this perversion should have an influence, in bringing into disrepute the Religion we profess, (which is meant we presume, by the overthrow of our God) far more prevalent than the effusions of impiety and atheism, however circulated in private, or openly and daringly boasted of;—The pure and simple precepts of Christianity call forth our utmost admiration, the sanctity and beneficence of its founder, excite in us reverence and love, can then these impious and atheistical dogmas (inspiring us but with horror) can these dogmas it may be asked, counteract the influence of the Religion in which we have been educated, which we have been taught, and which we are inclined from its pure morality to respect? It is the abuse of Christianity, its pretended friends, not its open and avowed antagonists, that will ever abridge its permanence or diffusion.
Power, wealth, and consequence, are the prime motives of human exertion, and when once in possession of these objects, men are equally anxious to preserve, as they originally were to acquire them:—the establishment of Hierarchies is of human invention, and of course, must partake in the imperfections of humanity; These Hierarchies vest in the several members composing them, no small share of profit and authority, to retain which, is their common interest; whenever the particular tenets, for the maintenance of which, the establishment was originally formed, are called in question, its members, alarmed at the impending danger, resort to every means in their power, of upholding their own, and of repelling the influence of their assailants, among which, persecution may perhaps appear a ready and effectual mode of quelling all opposition.
The Church of Rome exceeded all other Hierarchies in extent of Dominion, of Power, and of Influence; its exertions, therefore, against all assailants would be proportionably vigorous, its persecutions proportionably extensive:—these assertions are not advanced with the view of vindicating Persecution, they are meant merely to account, in some measure, for its origin;—convinced that the God of Mercy can delight only in Virtue and Integrity, every reflecting mind must abhor and condemn the mistaken zeal of those, who think they promote the service of the Divinity, by torturing and afflicting his creatures:—but have the members of the Protestant Establishment entirely abstained from the exercise of this instrument, to establish or confirm their Power? Are they, altogether, innocent of resorting to this object of their reprehension? For a solution of these questions we may recur to our own domestic annals. Has not the bulk of the Irish Nation been subject to the will and caprice of a few individuals (in comparison with its population) and this, for adhering to the religion of their forefathers?—Have not the ministers of this religion (after being compelled to seek their education in some foreign country) been debarred from the exercise of their sacred functions except by stealth or privacy?—Have not the adherents to this Religion been shackled in every effort to better their condition?—Have they not been rendered incapable of acquiring real property?—If possessed of such property, have they not been subject to its entire forfeiture by information or discovery?—Were not such forfeitures intended to act as allurements for children to inform, even, against their own parents?—Was not every father of a family liable to punishment for educating his children, in that religious persuasion, which he esteemed the only true one?—Were not Catholics ineligible to any office of power or trust?—Were not these Acts in force for nearly a century?—Many other grievances, equally oppressive in addition to these, were inflicted on them in direct violation of the Treaty of Limerick, in which it was stipulated, that the Irish should be admissible to all the Privileges of subjects, upon taking the oath of Allegiance, without being bound to take the oath of Supremacy:—our domestic annals, then, afford a strong presumption that the Protestant Establishment has been no less culpable, in the exercise of persecution, as an instrument to support its power, than the Romish Hierarchy so much inveighed against; whilst its present conduct, in still withholding from the Catholics a full participation in the privileges to which its Protestant Subjects are admitted, is a convincing proof that it continues actuated by a spirit of intolerance;—not to particularize the absurd calumnies, the foul misrepresentations, so vehemently urged against them, and of which some of its ministers (we regret to observe) are too intemperate in the application;—strange inconsistency that there is in mankind, when the very means they severely reprehend, are not frequently applied by themselves.—Can it be supposed, that men of well cultivated understandings, should be so lost to all sense of morality, so destitute of respect for their own characters, as to look upon wilful perjury as a virtue, when resorted to for particular purposes, or particular interests?—Can it be admitted that men, many of them eye witnesses of, and sufferers in the late revolutionary calamities on the Continent, when they return home should, by the most atrocious of crimes, voluntarily endanger the peace and tranquility of their native Country? Their own conduct is a full refutation of the calumnious charges advanced against them, a positive proof that they seriously regard their moral obligations;—they are, not only, peaceable in their own demeanor,—they render the people, of whom they are the pastors, quiet and inoffensive;—were they disposed to estimate wilful perjury as venial, or, in some particular instances, as laudable, they would recommend it to their several flocks, and thus, would the Catholics, by being freed from the restraint of morality, become admissible to all the privileges of subjects; but it is the part, only, of an abandoned profligate, to profess his conformity with the established doctrines, and to violate the most solemn engagements, for the advancement of his own private interest or ambition;—the man of integrity disclaims all compromise with his conscience, he will submit to every privation, and will encounter indigence and obscurity, rather than deserve the imputation of guilt:—the express denial of the Catholic Universities that any earthly power can grant absolution for perjury, the solemn abjuration of such a doctrine by the Priesthood themselves, but above all, the uniform tenor of their conduct, proves that these calumnies are altogether unfounded.
National reflections, it has been observed, are not justified in theory, nor on any general principles;—the same observation will hold good in regard to Sects, Parties, or Professions:—particular individuals may, undoubtedly, be just objects of censure, particular tenets of reprehension, but indiscriminate abuse, is the offspring of prejudice or malevolence, it can never derive its origin from sober reason and impartiality.—To follow the author of the Antidote through his abusive rhapsody against the Schismatics, would, perhaps, engage us too far in scurrility, to examine into the tenets, he attributes to them, will, at least, more usefully employ our attention. A new sect has been lately formed, the constitution of whose church, he says, instructs its adherents that, through belief, they will escape from the guilt and punishment of sin; this proposition, advanced as one of the tenets of the new sect, is scarcely intelligible;—that a due portion of belief will exonerate us from the punishment of sin, may be readily understood, however we may doubt of its truth, but that the commission of sin will not involve us in guilt, is a proposition that cannot without difficulty be comprehended. The Revd. Author may mean perhaps, that they maintain faith to be more meritorious than good works, a doctrine which has been ascribed to many of the sectaries, but, as it is not included by him who founded our Religion, among the immediate requisites for salvation, it ought to be examined with the utmost caution, and, if upon such an examination, it should appear disadvantageous to the interest of society, it ought at once to be rejected—according to this tenet, its adherents are not required to cultivate those good qualities, which are beneficial to mankind; they neglect the occasions of beneficence, they lose even the dispositions of benevolence, in cultivating faith, which quality above all others, will insure their acceptance with God. They expose themselves to the frauds of knaves, or the errors of fanatics, into which frauds and errors however, they dare not examine, as to doubt, is to fail in that essential point, on which they found their future hope;—under the influence likewise of this principle, the tenor of their conduct becomes a matter of no moment, it induces negligence in regard to their duties, as men in a state of society, since active virtue can be of no avail, where faith is esteemed the sole requisite for justification:—a less grave argument also, though upon so serious a subject, may, perhaps, be not inapplicable. Faith depends upon ignorance, of course the less a man knows, the more he has to believe, hence the most ignorant, with a due supply of credulity, will become the most meritorious of christians:—we would moreover, recommend it to the Revd. Author, of the Antidote, to examine more accurately into his own Articles of Belief, as required by law, before he censures this doctrine of the Sectaries.
They hold, moreover, as the Rev. Author informs us, farther, that, if once justified, no outrage they can afterwards commit, no sin (it does not signify of how horrible a nature, they can be guilty of) will deprive them of eternal salvation;—We readily join with Sir Harcourt Lees in reprobating such a tenet, it is absurd and presumptuous;—The determinations of God are impenetrable by man;—his acceptance of our feeble efforts to conciliate his favor, can be discovered only by the Revelation he has communicated.—How then can we become confident in our own justification, during our present state of existence, in which we are unceasingly liable to error? The very supposition involves in it an absurdity;—but to arrogate to ourselves exemption from punishment for all future transgressions, is to assume the peculiar province of the Deity, and is equally impious, as it is presumptuous;—this tenet is also subversive of general Benevolence,—its votaries must, necessarily, look upon themselves as the sole partakers in justification, and the rest of mankind as outcasts from God’s Mercy. They will esteem them, therefore, but little entitled to their consideration and regard;—the conceit of being justified must originate either in actual, or fancied inspiration, but inspiration is a real feeling of the Divine Presence, enthusiasm a false one, and the effects are nearly the same in either case,—how then will they guard themselves from misapprehension? how will they be able to distinguish between Divine Inspiration, and mere mortal enthusiasm?—The former will, we must acknowledge, dissipate all doubt, and confirm them in virtue, but the latter may lead them into errors, which it will be difficult, if not impossible to repair:—may not these tenets however, be somewhat overcharged, I do not mean by design, but through misapprehension.—The consciousness of a scrupulous discharge of their relative duties may, in some instance, give birth to presumption, and leave men to conceive themselves entitled to justification from their own superior merits; but these sectaries strongly impressed with the imperfection of human nature, attributing such conceptions to the arrogance of human reason, regard Faith as an humble acknowledgement of their incompetence to merit the Divine Favor, they rely solely on the Mercy of God for justification;—hence their preference of faith, in comparison with their own exertions for this purpose;—by these means, however, their minds became enervated, their reason less vigorous, they are less inclined to exert it, and more open to the fervor of enthusiasm, which may, not improbably, inspire an opinion, that themselves are favored with a Divine Communication; that hypocrites and imposters will take advantage of this disposition is more than probable, but hypocrites and imposters abound in all persuasions, even in the Established Church, a good mind may be deceived, but it is hoped will not be perverted by them;—the absurdity of such doctrines may be offered to their consideration, convince their reason and they will abjure them, but, if this delusion tends only to sweeten their present enjoyments, and render them confident in future hope, why should they be grossly reviled for their belief?
“But (he proceeds) should these schismatics form a Coalition with the sworn enemies of our Church and constitution, the pious and merciful Papists (as Lord Donoughmore calls them) whose Priests will give them absolution, while the imaginations of the fanatic Enthusiast will justify him, I should be glad to know what would soon be the fate of both Church and King in this great Empire.” Here the Rev’d. Author displays his motives for administering to the public, foreseeing danger from the envenomed shafts of the fanatic, and from those of the Papist, armed with a still more deadly poison, he compounds an Antidote that he may counteract their pernicious effects, he expresses indeed, the most decided contempt for Dr. Dromgoole’s Prophecy, though he evidently apprehends its accomplishment,—but Dr. Dromgoole’s prophecy is as harmless as himself was uninspired; the Protestant Church may defy external violence, her danger proceeds from her own internal system, she cherishes, within her own bosom, a principal of decay, which unless Correctives be applied, must terminate in dissolution: The Clergy of the establishment have been successful in their pursuit, they have possessed themselves of the objects to which they aspired Power, Wealth and Consequence: but in all human affairs, the completion of our desires is generally succeeded by inactivity, after a successful termination of our labours, we sit down to enjoy with ease and tranquility, the good things of this life, so it is with the Clergy of the establishment, their zeal is grown luke warm, their exertions are relaxed; In their Churches, instead of the animated advocate infusing into his audience the love of Religion, with admiration at its excellence, we too frequently find an indolent drone holding forth to a drowsy congregation: In the conventicle, on the contrary, we may be hold the schismatic, ardent in zeal, earnest in his exhortations, vehement, impetuous, and enforcing by his impressive manner, the uninterrupted attention of his auditors: