nor run the rifque of eternal death for a little honey.Were it otherwife, in three weeks time they could all read their recantations, and be on a level with the reft of their fellow-fubjects: they could imitate that philofopher who had two religions,-one for himself, and another for his country. Yet the archives of national justice can prove, that Catholics, reduced to the neceffity of difcovering against themfelves, preferred the lofs of their eftates to the guilt of perjury, when a falfe oath could have fecured them in their property. Notwithstanding this imputed creed, they prefer the smarting afflictions of the body to the stinging remorfes of the foul; and when worldly profperities ftand in competition with confcience, they rather choofe to be its martyrs than exe

cutioners.

Gentlemen, reconcile, if you can, perjurers from principle, with fufferers from delicacy of confcience, and I fhall ftyle you the children. of the great Apollo. But are not the Catholics: a fet of paffive machines, veering at the breath: of the Pope, who can difpenfe with them in any thing?" Or what fecurity, can they give "to Proteftant governors, whilft they acknow"ledge his fpiritual power?" If this be any objection to their loyalty, Catholic kings should banifh their Catholic fubjects, and introduce Proteftants

Proteftants in their flead: for, as the Roman Catholic faith is the fame all over the world, and that France and Spain are more convenient to the Pope than the Britannic islands, he would have more machines to move, more votaries to obey his mandates, and more facility in compafling his defigns. In England and Ireland all the Proteftants would oppofe him; whereas in Catholic kingdoms, if his power has fuch an unlimited fway over the confcience of man, as Mr. Wefley afferts, every subject, nay, kings themselves, would be bound to obey him. But Catholic fubjects know, that if God must have his own, Cæfar must have his due. In his quality of pontiff, they are ready to kiss the pope's feet: but if he assume the title of conqueror, they are ready to bind his hands. The very ecclefiaftical benefices, which are more in the fpiritual line, are not at his difpofal. When England had more to dread from him than now, a Catholic parliament paffed the ftatute of premunire; the bishops and mitred abbots preferred their own temporal intereft to that of the pope, and referve the benefices to themselves, and the clergy under their jurifdiction. Charity begins at home, and I do not believe any Catholic fo divested of it, as to prefer fifty pounds a year under the pope's government, to an hundred under that of a Proteftant king. Queen Mary,

fo devoted to the pope's caufe, both on account of her religion, and the juftice done to her mother by the inflexible refolution of the fovereign pontiff, ftill would not cede her temporal rights, nor those of her fubjects, in compliment to his spiritual power. After the reconciliation of her kingdom to the apoftolical fee, a ftatute was paffed, enacting, that the pope's bulls, briefs, &c. fhould be meerly confined to fpirituals, without interfering with the independence of her kingdom, or the rights of her fubjects. The hiftory of Europe proclaims aloud, that the Roman Catholics are not palive engines. in the hands of popes, and that they confine his power within the narrow limits of his fpiritual province. They have often taken his cities, and oppofed Paul's fword to Peter's keys, and filenced the thunders of the vatican with the noife of the cannon. They know that Peter was a fisherman when kings swayed the fceptre, and that the fubfequent grandeur of his fucceffors could never authorife him to alter the primitive inftitution that commands fubjects to obey their rulers, and to give Cæfar his due.

With regard to his fpiritual power, you will be surprised, Gentlemen, when I tell you, that, from Lodowic Muggleton down to John Wefley, thofe who have inftituted new fects

amongst

amongst the Chriftians, have affumed more power than the pope dare to affume over the Catholics.

They may add or diminish: but, with regard to the pope, the landmarks are erected, and we would never permit him to remove them. If he attempted to preach up five facraments instead of feven, we would immediately depofe him. Mr. Wesley may alter his faith as often as he pleafes, and prevail on others to do the fame, but the pope can never alter ours: we acknowledged him, indeed, as head of the church,-for every fociety must have a link of union, to guard against confufion and anarchy; and, without annexing any infallibility to his perfon, we acknowledge his title to precedence and pre-eminence. But, in acknowledging him as the first pilot to fleer the veffel, we acknowledge a compafs by which he is to direct his course. He is to preferve the veffel, but never to expofe it to fhipwreck. Any deviation from the laws of God, the rights of nature, or the faith of our fathers, would be the fatal rock on which the pope himfelf would split. In a word, the pope is our firft paftor; he may feed, but cannot poifon us: we acknowledge no power in him, either to alter our faith, or to corrupt our morals.

If the pope's power were then rightly underftood, his fpiritual fupremacy would give no more umbrage to the king of Great Britain, than the jurifdiction of a diocefan bishop. But deeprooted prejudices can scarcely be removed; and little can be expected from the generality, when the learned themselves are hurried by the tide of popular error.

From want of rightly understanding the cafe, and attention to the difcriminating line drawn by the Catholics between the pope's fpiritual and temporal power, fir William Blackftone himfelf gave into the fnare of vulgar delufion. This learned expofitor of England's common law, declares the Roman Catholics as well entitled to every legal indulgence as the other diffenters from the eftablished religion, maugre their real prefence, purgatory, confeffions, &c. But ftill the pope's ghoft haunts him to fuch a degree, that he would fain have the Catholics abjure his fpiritual fupremacy. But fir William, who has expofed himself to the cenfure of Mr. Sheridan, in establishing the formidable right of conqueft over Ireland, and to the animadverfions of the divines, by declaring that "an act of parlia"ment can alter the religion of the land," (as if, by act of parliament, we should all become Turks, be circumcifed, and expect an earthly Paradife}