heretic," but "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." Take to them the Council of Trent, (for you may get it in a translation, and you may satisfy them that it is a true one, as it is vouched for by those who are capable of judging,) and read to them its damnatory clauses. Read how it goes on," Cursed is he that denieth this doctrine," "Cursed is he that saith that man's righteousness is not that wrought in him, as well as that imputed to him ; "Cursed is this man ;" and then come from Mount Gerizim, (if we may venture so to say,) come from the awful religion, which Popery would substitute for the gracious and the mild religion of the Gospel, and then open the fifth chapter according to St. Matthew, and read: "Jesus went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." And ask them which is the voice of Jesus-" Cursed, cursed, cursed," or "Blessed, blessed, blessed ?"

So do, my Christian friends, and you may win many. I am well aware, that we labour under a disadvantage, by meetings like these,— that in denouncing Romanism as we hate it, Romanists doubt whether we love themselves, and so we put a stumbling-block in their way. It is a necessary evil. We must rouse the Protestants, and we cannot do so, but by telling them what Popery really is. But show them out of doors, out of the excitement of a crowded meeting, that you love them with all your hearts. I believe at this moment, that if Protestants were to act up to the true Protestant spirit, there would be immense work going on, and Rome would tremble in her own quarters. We hear even now of many instances of conversion from the Church of Rome. The daughter of a distinguished Wesleyan minister, (Rev. Dr. Newton,) who had joined the Church of Rome, has since come back, and I have had the privilege of administering to her the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. She has seen Rome behind the scenes; she has seen the quagmire beneath the green surface, which only serves to deceive the heedless traveller. I shall have the privilege of admitting at my next communion, a young man, holding a situation on one of the railways, who was brought up a Romanist; and his wife is only waiting for further information to join him at the holy table. These are some of the fruits of our feeble efforts in one place; and in Ireland they can shew the fruits of their feeble efforts by tens, and by hundreds. And I have not the least hesitation in saying, with Captain Gordon, that if we but act in the spirit of the Reformation, and endeavour to carry it out, we shall turn the tables, and do like Hannibal, who drew back the Romans from Carthage, to defend their own city and country.

But, my Christian friends, we should do more and better than this. I would give little for mere political Protestants or Romanists, in the proper sense of the word; (there is not much difference between them ;) I would give little to make a man a nominal Churchman, or to make him cease being a nominal Romanist. We do not want to make proselytes:; we do not want to pluck laurels to wreathe around our brow; but we want to pluck "brands from the burning," that they may "grow into trees of righteousness," and that their leaves may be wound around the brow of Him who sitteth upon the throne.

My Christian friends, endeavour to act out what I have said, in the spirit of love and meekness, with zeal and pains-taking, with no conscious superiority, and no political taint of bitterness; and remember that your heart is as "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,”—and, if left to itself, would run into the same excesses-as that of the poor deluded Romanist; and, instead of despising him, it is your duty to pity him, and weep over him, and pray over him, and exhort him.

Beware of harshness, and irony, and ridicule, in the cause of truth. They are unhallowed weapons; they are not our Master's; they do not come from the Bible; your weapon ought to be the simple "sword of the Spirit," anointed with the oil of love. I hate the spirit of the age, so rife with ridicule and contempt; we are becoming a laughing nation, and we could hardly become a worse. I grieve, in travelling, to see the avidity with which our young men, ay, and our grave men, and sometimes our greyheaded men, devour the Pickwicks and the Punches, which are now so plentiful. I am no enemy to wit, and humour, and laughter, in their proper places; but this I do say, that when our Queen on her throne, when our Church, our bishops, our noblest generals, and our wisest senators-from the hero of Waterloo, up to our beloved Queen, (whom may God bless,)— are commonly associated with jokes and gibes, it takes from the dignity of Old England. If a nation's literature is an index to a nation's spirit and tastes, I am afraid we must judge hardly of the present generation, with all its vaunted illumination, and its boasted march of intellect. For my part, I see few men reading good old books, like our fathers and Reformers; I see few men studying a solid production on our constitution and our laws; but I see the multitude reading that which excites a jeer or a laugh; and that about the follies of their fellowcreatures, which ought rather to excite the tear of pity, than the laugh of scorn. It is a bad thing to laugh, where we ought to mourn; it tends to harden the heart.

and

My Christian friends, I will not pursue this train of thought, which to do would be to do injustice to those friends that are to follow. I would simply close, by giving you one cheering piece of information, though, doubtless, you may have heard of it,—but you cannot hear it too often; and I call upon London to do as Manchester has done, and to begin this day. In one solitary year just closed, there have been issued from the Bible Depository at Manchester 96,000 copies of the Word of God, and I believe not one of them has been given away; enough to put a copy in the hands of every family in Manchester and its immediate vicinity. It is a noble fact: "Go and do likewise." Priests and Inquisitions may perhaps stop the voice of the living

preacher; they have done it before; but how will it be possible for all the agents of Rome, united with Infidelity, (as prophecy seems to indicate,) to gather up the 96,000 Bibles, which in one year, and in one place, have been distributed? My Christian friends, take it as an omen for good; go and do likewise ;" thank God, and take

courage.

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The Rev. C. J. GOODHART seconded the Resolution, which was carried.

DR. KALLEY.-The Resolution which I have to propose, is,"That the proceedings at Madeira, whether as regards the treatment of the native Portuguese, or of British subjects, manifest a determination, on the part of Popery, to crush all examination of, or secession from, her erroneous system. And further :- "That whilst this country has granted free license to Popish subjects of foreign States, to sojourn in the British dominions, without molestation, and even to seek the advancement of their religion therein, it ought also, by treaty, to be settled and provided, as between our own and foreign countries, that the same social, religious, and political liberties and immunities be accorded to British subjects in Popish countries, as are accorded to the subjects of Popish States whilst resident in Great Britain."

Once it seemed impossible that such a system as Popery should ever triumph in this land; but among all the changes which take place with so much rapidity on the face of society, there is, perhaps, none more remarkable than the progress of Popery within the last few years.

One great reason for its making such progress is, the prevailing persuasion, that Popery is not now what once she was. It becomes, therefore, necessary, that Popery be tried-fairly tried, that men may know whether or not she is still what she was in past ages. And how is she to be tried? In the court of reason-reason illuminated by revelation from God-and by her own authorized declarations, and systems of theology. When so tried in that court, what do we find ? We find her commanding man to receive that, to believe which he must disbelieve his senses, renounce his reason, and set aside the testimony of his God. We find her approve of trying to convince her own vassals by cruelty, imprisonment, persecution, and even death, and to convert her opponents by similar means. We ask, in the court of reason, what sentence is to be pronounced upon such a system as this?

But the adherents of Popery object to her being tried in such a way. They seek to spread a persuasion that her manifold idolatries are relics of a barbarous age; that her persecuting decrees are,obsolete, and are now no more to be enforced. When we reply that Popery claims infallibility, that she dare not reform her system, nor abolish her persecuting decrees and idolatrous practices, without committing suicide, (as one of her own dignitaries has often told me,) and that, therefore, we may expect a repetition of her former cruelties as soon as she gets power to perpetrate them, then we are styled illiberal, intolerant, and even persecuting opponents of a system, which is, at least, as good as any other." We would, however, be treated as reasonable beings; and seeing that Popery still retains these persecuting decrees in her system of theology, we ask proof, that they are obsolete and abolished. We are referred to the practices of Romanists

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in this country. We object to Popery being tried only by her practices in Britain, 1st, because she dare not here shew the full working of her system; the law forbids it; 2d, because Romanists in England form a very small portion of her community; 3d, because in this country the reflected light of Protestantism tells even upon Popery ; and, 4th, because Popery has an end in view in not displaying her true colours in Britain. For these reasons we cannot consent to Popery being tried merely by the practices of Romanism in this country we demand a fuller investigation. We demand that her present proceedings in Popish countries be examined, in order to ascertain, whether those persecuting decrees and idolatrous practices are abolished, and whether all the abominations which Popery ever directed or authorized, are not yet extant even in this nineteenth century.

Mr. Chairman, I have no power to "stir men's blood," like a reverend gentleman here (Rev. H. Stowell), nor would I seek to do I come merely as a witness in a court of justice, to tell truly and dispassionately what I have seen-to give testimony on the great question,-Is Popery changed, or is she not?

So.

I beg to refer to a document, issued by the highest ecclesiastical authority in Madeira, dated three and a-half years ago, and published from all the pulpits in Madeira. It was issued by Sebastian Casimero Medina e Vasconcellas, Vicar-General of the bishopric of Funchal, in the name of the Bishop Don Januario Vicente Camacho. It was addressed to "all vicars, and curates, public prosecutors, and officers of justice, to all persons, civil and ecclesiastical, of every rank and degree," and " required, and commanded them not to touch, or hold communication with Francisco Pires Soares and Nicolau Tolentino Vieyra," who had dared to leave the communion of Rome, and join the Presbyterian communion at Madeira. These two men were declared to be "excommunicated by the curse of Almighty God, and of the blessed St. Peter and St. Paul, with those of Gomorrah and Sodom, and with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, whom the earth swallowed alive for their disobedience." This document goes on to say,"Let no one give them fire, water, bread, or any other thing that may be necessary for their support. Let no one pay them their debts. Let no one support them in any case which they may bring before a court of justice. Let all put them aside as rotten and excommunicated members, separated from the bosom and union of the Holy Mother Catholic Church, and as rebels and contumacious." It further excom

municated, ipso facto, all who did not comply with these commands,every debtor who should pay these men their just debts, every judge who should dare, in a court of law, to do them justice, every charitable person who should give them water, fire, or any thing necessary to existence; and the excommunication against those who should assist them or do them justice, implies the very same penalty as was imposed upon them.

There is so strong a disinclination in this country to believe any evil of Popery; that, no doubt, we shall be told, that that excommunication was a mere form, and meant nothing. Let it be remembered, however, that from every parish pulpit in Madeira, it was announced, that no man should pay these persons their just debts;

and not only were they authorized not to pay them, but were actually threatened with excommunication if they did. Does this mean nothing?

Let it be known, that the persons who were so excommunicated were obliged to hide themselves from the light of the sun, for months, that they were at last compelled to tear themselves from the bosom of their families, and leave their father-land; and that they are at the present day wanderers in a strange land, one being in the East, and the other in the West Indies. After this let every impartial man judge whether that excommunication was a mere form and meant nothing.

To show that the priest's interference with the law, and malediction against every judge who should do justice to an excommunicated person, is not an unmeaning form, I beg to relate a case which occurred in a court of justice during this present year. Two men were partners as sawyers of wood; one was the owner of two-thirds of the property, and the other of one-third. The former had learned to read, and had received the precious truth, that Christ died for our sins, and that his blood cleanseth from all sin, and had renounced the worship of the host, Virgin, images, and pictures; the other still adhered to these forms. The owner of two-thirds wished to dissolve partnership, and proposed to pay the other his one-third of the property, and retain it all, or that the owner of the one-third should pay him his two-thirds, and retain it. These propositions being refused, he then proposed that the whole of the property should be sold, and the proceeds divided between them: this also being refused, he brought the case before the judge. The owner of the one-third had nothing to advance but that the other had not been at mass or confession for two years, and of this he brought a certificate from the priest of the parish. The judge considered the whole case, especially the priest's certificate, and then he passed sentence, that as the owner of two-thirds had not been at mass or confession for two years, he was virtually excommunicated, and being excommunicated he was incompetent to appear in any court of justice! He, therefore, gave the verdict in favour of the owner of the one-third, leaving him with the property, and sentenced the other to pay all the expenses of the process! and from that sentence there was no appeal. It was published in the Madeira newspapers, in the end of July, 1846.

I cannot, at this late hour, enlarge on the proceedings of Popery in Madeira; I would merely glance for a few moments, at one or two of her atrocities.

On the 31st of May, 1845, a man was tried, for having had a meeting of his relations in his own house for reading the Scriptures and prayer, and for having refused to pay homage to a piece of cloth fixed upon a stick, and called the Holy Ghost. For these crimes he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the jail of Funchal, When I was in jail, in 1843, there was no mass said there, nor had there been for years; but in 1844 there were from twenty to thirty prisoners in the jail, who being convinced that there is a God, and but one, felt assured that a bit of bread is not that God, and whose hearts revolted against paying divine homage to any created thing. When the priests found they had in their power victims whom they hoped to compel to offend their God, it was required that mass should be said in the jail every Sunday and holiday, and that