Happy House of Commons! what an era of chaste and classic eloquence has dawned upon the senate since the honourable gentleman has graced that august assembly! Happy senate! happy, thrice happy country! if her statesmen were only governed by such principles, and her orators fashioned on so chaste and finished a model! But I have one piece of intelligence to convey to the meeting, which I have no doubt will be humbly and thankfully received. The honourable gentleman, though he declines coming here to-day, condescends to say to the meeting, Accept, I beg of you, my full consent to your drawing up and passing any resolutions you please.' I trust you are deeply sensible of this condescension. How long Protestant freemen may be at liberty to stand in public, and in the spirit of British and Christian truth, to maintain the cause of God's eternal Word against the superstitions of the Church of Rome, it is not for me to calculate. But this I say, that since we have the permission of the honourable and learned member for Kilkenny, we shall proceed to enjoy it." Mr. M'Ghee then presented a resolution respecting Dens' Theology, with proofs that twenty-three of the twentyfour Romish bishops in Ireland were concerned in the adoption of this notorious work as a text-book for their theological students. He afterwards presented the second resolution, which was as follows: "Resolved-That from the facts and documents laid before this meeting it is clearly established that the Bible, containing the Rhemish notes, which had been published in Dublin in 1816, and which Protestants were led to believe was totally disclaimed by the Roman Catholic bishops, was again reprinted at Cork, under their patronage, in 1818, and that it has been for eighteen years privately circulated among the Roman Catholics of Ireland, and that this Bible establishes the fact that the doctrines of intolerance, cruelty, and persecution (contained in 'Dens' Theology,') so far from being obsolete, or the mere opinions of an individual, are not only held by the Roman Catholic bishops and priests, in their private conferences, but that they have been by them propagated and inculcated on the Roman Catholic population as the authoritative and infallible principles of their church, and that these notes and principles so taught to the people are of themselves sufficient to account for all the convulsions and crimes that have disorganized the frame of society in Ireland." "This Resolution," remarked Mr. M'Ghee, "divides itself into three heads; first, that the Bible, with these Rhemish notes, was published in 1816, and that the Protestants were led to believe that it was disclaimed by the Roman Catholie hierarchy; second, that the same Bible was reprinted at Cork, under their patronage, in 1818; and thirdly, as to the value and effects of the doctrines contained in this Bible, you will observe that' you are called on to consider facts and documents, and that you cannot be charged with being misled by vague, or senseless, or fanatical declamation; but when your judgment is affirmed, as I trust it will be, you can conscientiously say to yourselves, you can tell it to your friends, you can tell it to your children, that the judgment you pronounced was pronounced on facts and documents which were laid before your eyes. "The first point is, that this Bible with the Rhemish notes was published in 1816. This is a question undisputed; no person has ventured to question the fact. It was published by Coyne, in Dublin, in 1816. The Protestants were led to suppose that it was totally disclaimed by the Roman Catholic bishops and priests of Ireland. There are some points connected with the subject which it is important to state. This Bible was intended, although the fact has been hitherto unknown, to be circulated privatelynot to be published, but to be printed and circulated only among Roman Catholic subscribers. This is proved by documents which I will show to you. Here is a book entitled Letters from Mr. Blair to Mr. Wilberforce, on the Revival of Popery,' published in London in 1819. This gentleman lays before the public some facts connected with this Bible. He says that the editor mentions that this work was published by Macnamara in 1813, and that its exterior title-page was as follows: "The Holy Catholic New Testament, patronised by his Grace the MosT REV. DR. O'REILLY, Roman Catholic Lord Primate of all Ireland, and Archbishop of Armagh; his Grace the MOST REV. DR. TROY, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin; his Grace the Most REV. DR. MURRAY, R. C. Coad. Archbishop of Dublin, and President of the Royal College of St. Patrick, Maynooth; the RIGHT REV. DR. MOYLAN, Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork; the RIGHT REV. DR. POWER, Roman Catholic Bishop of Waterford; the RIGHT REV. DR. RYAN, Roman Catholic Coad. Bishop of Ferns; the RIGHT REV. DR. DELANY, Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin; the RIGHT REV. DR. O'REILLY, Roman Catholic Bishop of Kilmore; the RIGHT REV. DR. MANSFIELD, V. C. of Ossory; the MOST REV. DR. BODKIN, Roman Catholic Warden of Galway; the Rev. DR. JOHN MURPHY, Archdeacon of Cork; the REV. DR. M'CARTHY, Dean of Cork; and nearly three hundred Roman Catholic clergymen in different parts of Ireland.'" "It is a singular fact that this original advertisement has been providentially preserved, and there it is on the cover of that Testament (holding it up). There are the names, printed on the external cover of that Testament; and, still more singular, it is a Testament of 1818. But there are the names and there is the date, 1813-which establishes this fact-that Macnamara, the publisher of this Bible in 1818, was engaged with these very same prelates in printing this former edition, which came out in 1813; and he, having in his possession some of the advertisements which remained from the former edition, put them on the external cover of the second edition, because the principles and names were precisely the same that were contained in both. I said that this Bible was intended not to be Bible, or that the Protestant printer might be likely to betray the secret, so that the Bible could not be kept concealed or confined only to subscribers, I cannot tell; all I know is, that the fact was made public as to the printing of this Bible; and some notes, of which you shall learn, were brought forward by the British Critic.' You will now hear the reason which Protestants had to believe that these notes were completely disclaimed by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. You will, perhaps, permit me to rest awhile, and my Rev. friend, Mr. Thelwall, will read to you from this book—1st, the declaration of Dr. Troy, denouncing the notes to this Bible, abjuring them, and forbidding that they should be received by any of the clergy in his diocese; and, secondly, a letter from Mr. Coyne, the bookseller, to Dr. Troy; for Coyne's character was called in question, as in the title-page of the book it was stated to have been approved of by Dr. Troy; and, in vindication of his character, he was obliged to write a letter to Dr. Troy, from which we find that this book, which he abjures, was the one which he had himself approved, and that it was printed under his patronage.' Having seen a new edition of the Rhemish Testament, with Annotations, published by Coyne, Dublin, and Keating and Co., London, 1816, said to be revised, corrected, and approved by me, I think it necessary to declare, that I never approved, nor meant to approve, published, but to be circulated privately, of any edition of the Old or New Testament and here we have a proof in this adver tisement. It is said here-One number will be published every fortnight, and sold to subscribers only at 1s. 8d. each.' Here we see it is limited to subscribers only; and how were they to be furnished with it? We see here on the next page of the cover, PROPER people will be appointed in each town throughout Ireland to leave the numbers and parts as soon as published at the respective houses of each subscriber.' This Bible gained publicity. Macnamara engaged a Protestant to print his book, in Dublin. Now, whether it was that when this was found out, it was discovered that the proper use could not be made of that which was not entirely conformable, as well in the notes as in the text, to that which was edited by R. Cross, Dublin, 1791, containing the usual and prescribed formula of my approbation, and which has served as an exemplar to the several editions that have since been published with my sanction. As in the said new edition the notes vary essentially from those of the last-mentioned editions, which exclusively I have sanctioned for publication, I should think that circumstance alone fully sufficient to induce me to withhold every kind of approbation from it; but having read, and now for the first time considered, these notes, I not only do not sanction them, but solemnly declare that I utterly reject them generally, as harsh and irritating in expression, some of them as false and absurd in reasoning, and many of them as uncharitable in sentiment. They further appear to coun tenance opinions and doctrines which, in common with the other Roman Catholics of the empire, I have solemnly disclaimed upon oath. "Under these circumstances, and with these impressions on my mind, I feel it an imperious duty to admonish that portion of the Catholic body which is entrusted to my charge, of the danger of reading or paying attention to the notes or comments of said new edition of the Testament; and I enjoin the Roman Catholic Clergy of this diocese to discourage and prevent, by every means in their power, the circulation amongst Catholics of a work tending to lead the faithful astray, and much better fitted to promote and engender among Christians hostility, bitterness, and strife, than (what should be the object of every such production) to cultivate the genuine spirit of the Gospel-that is, the spirit of meekness, charity, and peace. "Dublin, 24th Oct., 1817." "J. T. TROY. The following is Mr. Coyne's answer: "Parliament-street, Oct. 26th, 1817. "Most Honoured Lord,—It is with pain and difficulty that I am obliged to controvert, for a moment, any statement coming from your Grace; but the character which I have earned and maintained, these fifteen years, unsullied, in the opinions of the Catholic clergy and hierarchy of Ireland, as the only publisher and bookseller in the kingdom, of works exclusively Catholic, puts me under the indispensable necessity of addressing your grace in public. The declaration which your Grace has published, leaves no alternative, but that of either submitting to the imputation which it fastens upon me, or of giving, as I now do, a simple statement of facts, for the truth of which I appeal to your Grace's candour, and which shall, I trust, substantially remove the impression which your Grace's declaration is calculated to produce on the public mind with regard to me. On Monday, the 13th instant, your Grace sent me a message, by your servant, requesting to see me at Cavendishrow, at the hour of two o'clock. I had scarcely entered your Grace's apartment, when the Very Rev. Dr. Hamill, your Grace's Vicargeneral, and the Rev. Mr. Kenny, of Clongowes College, appeared. Your Grace then produced and read a paper, purporting to be an extract from the British Critic,' and containing animadversions on the notes of a late edition of the Catholic Bible, bearing in the title-page the approbation of your Grace. You then observed, that you were sure that I had no bad intention in putting your Grace's name to the work, but that very bad consequences had followed-that finding its way into England it had armed our enemies against us, and this at a time when we were seeking emancipation. Upon these remarks, I asked, Did not your Grace approve and sanction the pub lication of a Bible by a Mr. Macnamara, of Cork-your Grace replied, 'I did. I then asked, 'Did not your grace depute the Rev. P. A. Walsh, of Denmark-street Chapel, to revise, correct, and approve for publication in your Grace's name, the said Bible of Macnamara?'-your Grace answered, 'I did.' 'Then, my Lord,' said I, that is the Bible now in your hand.' I never authorized,' replied your Grace, the Rev. Mr. Walsh to approve a Bible with the Rhemish notes.' 'Of any private understanding,' said I, 'between your Grace and Mr. Walsh I know nothing; but this I know, that Mr. Walsh is accountable for your Grace's approbation, which is now in the title-page.'-But,' said your Grace, are not you the person that published this Bible?it bears your name. No, my Lord,' said I, I am neither the printer nor publisher, and I shall now relate to your Grace how it bears my name. Mr. Macnamara, the publisher of the work to which your Grace gave your sanction, became a bankrupt before the work was completed. Mr. John Cumming, of Ormondquay, assignee to the bankrupt, purchased the unfinished work, and, to cover his own losses, resolved upon perfecting the publication. Having called upon me, and requested of me to allow him to put my name to the work, I refused, except on the condition that the clergyman deputed by your Grace continued to correct the unfinished part. This I did without any interest whatever in the transaction. Mr. Cumming accordingly applied to the Rev. Mr. Walsh, to whom he paid 207. on completing the revision of the work, and took his receipt for the amount.' When I had finished this narrative, your Grace, in the most unequivocal terms, in the presence of Dr. Hamill and the Rev. Mr. Kenny, acquitted me of having any thing to do with the publication. I then remarked that your Grace having in different conversations disclaimed your approbation, and certain individuals having in consequence denounced me as the forger of it, I should in my own defence publish the whole transaction; upon which your Grace promised me to take every opportunity of disabusing those to whom you had spoken on the subject. For the truth of what I have now related, touching the interview of Monday, the 13th inst., I appeal to your Grace, to Dr. Hamill, and to the Rev. Mr. Kenny. Did I not afterwards send your Grace the numbers of this said Rhemish Testament, on the covers of which are printed these words?—Now publishing, by Macnamara, the Catholic Bible. To render it the more complete, the elegant, copious, and instructive notes or annotations of the Rhemish Testament will be inserted, by permission of his Grace Dr. T. Troy, Catholic Lord Primate of Ireland. This work is carefully revising by the Rev. P. A. Walsh, Denmark-hill, Dublin. Printed by Cumming.' Moreover, did I not accompany these numbers with a letter, calling on your Grace to make good your promise of clearing my character from the imputations it had lain under, through your Grace's misconception of the facts? This letter, my Lord, I suppress, from the same motives of delicacy which have kept me silent, until your Grace's declaration forced me thus to state the facts; nor shall I add one single comment, but leave the public to draw their own conclusions. I am, most honoured Lord, your Grace's very humble and obedient servant, "RICHARD COYNE." The Rev. Mr. M'Ghee then resumed, as follows:-"This disclaimer on the part of Dr. Troy was enough, I think, to convince the minds of the Protestants, who are not accustomed to such frauds, that Dr. Troy was sincere; and that, on the part of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Bible was abjured. Let us now turn from the hierarchy to the laity. Here I have the proceedings of the Roman Catholic Board, on the 1st and 4th of December, 1817; they are taken from the 'Dublin Evening Post,'-a paper always in the interest of the Roman Catholics. Here is the speech of Mr. O'Connell. "These notes,' said Mr. O'Connell, 'were of English growth-they were written in agitated times, when the title of Elizabeth was questioned on the ground of legitimacy. Party spirit was then extremely violent, politics mixed with religion, and, of course, disgraced it. Mary Queen of Scotland had active partisans who thought it would forward their purposes to translate the Bible and add to it those obnoxious notes; but very shortly after the establishment of the College of Douay, the Rhemish edition was condemned by all the doctors of that Institution, who, at the same time, called for and received the aid of the Scotch and Irish Colleges. "The book was thus suppressed, and an edition of the Bible, with notes, was published at Douay, which has been ever since adopted by the Catholic Church; so that they had not only condemned and suppressed the Rhemish edition, but they published an edition with notes, to which no objection has been or could be urged. From that period there have been but two editions of the Rhemish Testament, and the late one was published by a very ignorant printer in Cork, a man of the name of Mac namara, who was not capable of distinguishing between the Rhemish and any other edition of the Bible. He meant to publish a Catholic Bible, and having put his hand on the Rhemish edition, he commenced to print it in numbers. He subsequently became a bankrupt, and his property in this transaction was vested in a Mr. Cumming, a respectable seller in this city. He is either a Pres byterian or a Protestant; but he carried on the work like Macnamara, merely to make money of it as a commercial speculation. And yet,' said Mr. O'Connell, 'our enemies have taken it up with avidity; they have asserted that the sentiments of these notes are cherished by the Catholics in this country. He would not be surprised to read speeches in the next parliament on this subject,' &c. "Again, at a meeting on the 1st of December, Mr. O'Connell is represented thatto have observed, "He had been informed that a number of commercial gentlemen could not conveniently detained on 'Change. He submitted the proattend the meeting this day, as they had been priety of adjournment to Thursday next, as matters of considerable interest and importance were likely to come under discussion. He would, in the mean time, give notice, that on the next day of meeting he would move that a sub-committee might be appointed, to draw up a disavowal of the bigoted, uncharitable, and intolerant doctrines contained in the notes to the Rhemish Testament. Considerable efforts, it appeared, had been made, to impute these doctrines to the Catholic body, even by men who knew the Catholics held them in utter detestation. It was necessary that they should refute the calumny. The disavowal might be made somewhat comprehensive, and the curious history of the Rhemish Testament might be stated, for it is an historical fact, that in angry times in England these notes were written by English clergymen, but were never countenanced by any of the divines of the Catholic Church in Ireland.' Pray recollect," said Mr. M'Ghee, "this list of bishops of 1813, and mark, 'never countenanced by any of the divines of the Catholic Church in Ireland! They were always denounced, and at the present day no Catholic in the country would peruse them without disgust.' Far be it from me to impute those sentiments to any individual who will denounce them, unless I can prove that the denunciation is false; and yet,' continues Mr. O'Connell, those corrupt and interested enemies do not hesitate to say that those doctrines are entertained by the Irish people. The calumny has gone abroad, and under the circumstances he thought it would be wiser to refute it-he would therefore give notice that on Thursday next, a committee he appointed to draw up a disavowal of these doctrines.' Mr. Eneas M'Donnell said that the words of Mr. O'Connell's motion appeared to him too general-some of the notes of the Rhemish Testament were bad enough, but this would go to condemn the entire. Mr. O'Connell rose and observed, that it would be soon enough to discuss the motion when it should have been made; he was now merely giving notice of a proposition he intended to submit. He remarked, how ever, that the denunciation of these intolerant notes by the Archbishop of Dublin, was general. It was his intention that the disavowal should be framed in such a way, that a copy of it could be forwarded to every member of both houses of Parliament. When he came to make his motion, he would recommend that the committee be instructed to introduce a short history of these obnoxious notes with the document they should prepare. He again stated, that the Rhemish notes had been originally written by English clergymen, immediately after the Reformation; men who had just been deprived of valuable livings, who fled from England, who were smarting under their recent losses, and were irritated by personal injury, and inflated by religious rancour. Through the Rhemish notes they gave vent to their feelings, and these notes were immediately disclaimed by the church. They had lately been surreptitiously put into circulation again; and that they had been again denounced, was matter of public notoriety.' Surreptitiously put into circulation! Look at the list of prelates in this advertisement on the cover of the Bible, and mark'surreptitiously!' I shall now read the proceedings on the 4th of December : "A remarkably full meeting of the Catholic Board took place on Thursday, pursuant to adjournment, Owen O'Connor, Esq., in the Chair. After some preliminary business, Mr. O'Connell rose to make his promised motion for the appointment of a committee to prepare a denunciation of the intolerant doctrines contained in the Rhemish notes; he dwelt upon the injurious effects of these abominable notes in prejudicing the public mind against Catholic emancipation, and urged the consequent necessity of an immediate, explicit, authentic and public disavowal of them by every Catholic in this country. He had recently been in England himself; and personal and accurate information, acquired upon the spot, enabled him to state, that if these notes were not de nounced, the member of Parliament who should be hardy enough to support emancipation in the next session of Parliament, would run a very considerable risk of losing his seat in the House of Commons on the approaching election. If they were suffered to remain without a disavowal, the Catholics would have to encounter in the new Parliament a more determined hostility than had been arrayed against the Union; nor would the evil be delayed even till the assembling of a new House of Commons. But powerful as these reasons were, there were others, of equal weight, though of a different nature, which made him urge this disavowal more anxiously. He owed it to his religion as a Catholic and a Christian, to his country as an Irishman, to his feelings as a human being, to utterly denounce the damnable doctrines contained in the notes to the Rhemish Testament. He was a Catholic lic, from a conviction that it was the best form upon principle; a steadfast and sincere Cathoof religion; but he would not remain one an hour longer, if he thought it essential to the profession of the Catholic faith to believe that it was lawful to murder Protestants, or that faith might be conveniently broken with heretics. Yet such were the doctrines laid down in the notes to the Rhemish Testament. Mr. O'Connell concluded an eloquent and sensible speech, by moving that a committee of five be forthwith appointed to prepare a denunciation of the Rhemish notes. He said he would also move that the denunciation so prepared be transmitted to every member of the Houses of Peers and Commons, to all the dignitaries of the Established Church, to the members of the Church of Scotland, and to the Synod of Ulster. It would be for the subsequent con sideration of the Board, whether it might not be expedient to call an aggregate meeting, to which a recommendation should be made of pronouncing a similar denunciation.' "The committee was accordingly appointed. You have heard the denunciation of the Rhemish notes by the member for Kilkenny; you have heard how they were disclaimed, not only on public grounds, lest they should incense the English people against the civil rights of the Roman Catholics, but you have heard them disclaimed from a higher motiveAs a Catholic, as a Christian, as a debt due to his country as an Irishman, and a debt due to his feelings as a human being.' What were the weighty conse quences which resulted from these denunciations by Mr. O'Connell? how did this disclaimer come forward from the committee of which this gentleman, with all the board at his back, was appointed a member?-what was the result, as re |