Newspapers / North Carolina sentinel. / Nov. 4, 1835, edition 1 / Page 1
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lr , vi"r ; " w S J2) S 4 . . v. ' ----v ' r-.il-w. ' BV T HO 31 AS WA ':r - "'."iTrniifa Three dollars per aiinunijjpayiiTjlei 1 dvance ESI JrojntAe Raleigh ReeislerJ STATE bpNVEfm A '1 t 4 in nFRiTpl. 0-V r THIRTY-SECOXD ATTtCLE. .'-'.'-! J.: ! . ; v, i t ' Judge Gaston's Spccch,cvml .aed.f It is not vithout hesitation,! Mr Chairman, that I can bring myself to adrert V? ome ob servations which have been thrown $ut in the course of the debate, in relation til the tenets, pr supposed t-nets of Roman Cathprs. The reat battle of religious freedom sJjpi Jd not be ifooglit on such narrow ground aLhe .eG'" sion of aay one jsect from, or its ain.jssion to, a .participVtion of political power. ; Whether the charge brought be true oflfl?-l the de cision on tHis question should stiHbqi same Some of j these charges arc. so ab'Ord, thai H seems like vielding thenr too mc 7, inonor fo si- rib.tice them at all, bu-t Ut pass th ; by in lencc, might be considered as a U acquies lowance cence in their truth.! Besides. muci ought to be made for ignorance. e Catho- Jics in- this State are very few.anl ose ho ng them have had no opportunity of kn personal! jr. and have learned theiif?pets oply 1 through' jthe medium of their jeneraj canppt be much blamed for crediting the pslridicu lous falsehoods. It has been ask tl whether the allegiance of Catholics to (the I jp be Spir itual only, .and the learned -gen , p an from Halifax has unquestionably: shoifr, Lbt they do Pi.t owe him civil allegiance. - I object r in toko .to tbe term allegianceas chA: Icterising' the -connection between! -the Catrf lip and the hief Bishop of jhis Cburchuf" I i .vfe no alle giance to any uian or set of men 01; ;prtb aiave only to Jthe Stale of orth-Caro?iiW imj so; far cs shehas parted yvith her sovereignly, to the States of America, t! The charge tht' Catholics owe allegia nee to th e Pope, i is vtolly false. Spread over the whole arth-:'spe1Ktag d lifer ent tongues -subjects or cUifcensl4udifferent Tacesi and com)Jectio'ns--rrthey aj-iVtmnerted by a spiritual tie, the;, tje of one .83 same faith, which.1 constitutes iiiem Wi'fepi ritual fantily or Church- ! For the rguVtin af this wide spread Church, au EclfsiastraJ or Spir itual, Government is indispensalif-i This is 1) mainly confided to the Bishops nflflc. several Dioceses, a of these, the first! jrank and jurisdiction- is the Bishop ofRomi J To Jim, suLJftht to well defined laws and wel .1 tcertained iisnrp. is committee! the chief adthtr.tstration. To himj and to jlhem an! tip evj spiritual ar 'ecclesiastical teacher, actizi&itii: Ihis prop rr .where, resnect and obedience sit due. But no man -owk to him; or tbemi'-oV'n Aof them ': ftlve duty implied bv the tetm,alUjt iance , the lAWitiatidn of nefs'o.rval Udelitii. the ;p) gatiori of defence, s an equivalent for the lyjU frt ofpro lection. ;Shau!d the Cbiel ishot:l the pre tended exercise 0 bis ccclesiast Hl powers, (for in the Church he is IcnoMrjonly bf f 11 Eccle siastical ; punerior, attempt to enllcach upon the jurisdiction of the other Jatcrs of the , Church j j who claim their j)ower frpMtb.e same ' source from whihliisis derived, taiflghnot to the' sam extent ; the principles ttfCatholics teach that such usurpation (shoUd 5e firmly and zealously resisted.- Such usurtat oiis have been attempted, and ; the History of phristen dom ibcws that upon no poin,t'hatl ere been a mrc jealous vigilance upon the. itr , not on lv of the Catholic Prelates, but of ihi catholic 'People, to prevent and repel tnem. tllis authorf- tv.J is spiritual onlyha no on section with ' .civil duties anu is eniorceu uuiuyispiriiuai censures tie nas not, aim iiui. au more right to interfere with a maai obligation to his country or his fellow roen.' tail civil ru lers bavV to interleref w,Uh-i mm spiritual concerns; Catholics perem.ptorilr Jeny that the Church has any temporal psver or: any right to interpose 'the regulation) o Govern ment, and hold themselves bound t( esist, even until': death! ' as' tvt ahftical ' usurpil 6nl all at tempts at such interference AsJe this their doctrine was well knjr the, moment when for political pi have been most tyrannically trett Hulers. let me mention one extra! roof that , even at ses they by their J nary 00 (en KUza- currence recorded tin History K beth of England hail quarrelled wlljhe Pope, and but recently put out of the pin fof Catho lic communion; '.vhett she -was 1MB ayowed champion of Potestanism, and aged in a tremendous war I with, the -CathojLMonarch. iphiUp ofs Spain, the brother of tog deceased -sister in the very moment pfhejjtjuost peril she committed the cWeX comd ofihat small and gallant fleet which wtd opposed to the invincible Armada, into; thej i ands Tof a known and exemplary Catholic, Ur J Howard, "'of Effingham. And nobly, wes' th op.nue.nce requitied. - She&hew, and his conJ t shewed, .that j he ,tecognizea no nuvcicigu fireiom of his Country, and that the Sov religious resolved 1 principles rendered him buUhe to discharge iaithfully! bis duties. a subject. Itiias ! been asked whetner t.air believe in the power of the iPope l with the Wblifratiohs'of an oath. - S f ics do not 1 dispense .0 prevent cehsurers ieaViU (if indeed th'i' cavils ofmplicHjfcj can be preyentedj let me stats ac'k nction be atween oaths.) Usually, oath are f Apt more binding! obligations wh p en to ren-manxon- tracts with his fellow man or witff c comma I ; to tes i- nitv. He swears to fulfil hispron - - . . . Mm.W . 10 execute a mij , e fend the vanv .with the! No power V flnmmlinitV 1 V. a. ika initn : 10 execute a umr m i m Constitution of his country, f Cat ff ts main, tain, neither the Pope, nor Bishoji, ior ftll nor V b I mm m - ; . mm obligation 10 oDserve 5UQ;?insoatn,-rr on eann cr.cjifc j j; ?cso to wnomineenag' jr nusmaae Vcan freej him. (fPW p obhioi & - even if an oath had not been superadded. The effrontery with which the contrary is asserted does not at all prevent it from being a downright calumny. : There.- are others besides " factious politicians, who, in their zeal to vilify their foes disregard that awful command of God, Thou shah not bear false witness Against thy neigh bor. There is another class of baths called yows--soIemn promises made to God in which no i third party is concerned, unless it may be he Church itself which may have exacted them. In thesei when a fit case is presented or believ ed to be "presented a dispensation;; from the vow I may be given. This is ndi the occasion nor the place to. vindicate, it is my purpose on ly.to state the doctrine. It is a question of nice casuistry to dele? mine under what extraordina ry circumstances such an obligation may be re leased, but it is impossible not to admit that there are cases in which a compliance with a vjow ought not to be enforced and it is safer that the individual should not himself be the judge in his own case Perhaps the history of Jeptha may furnish an apt illustration where a vow ought not to have been kept. In the course of its discipline the Church requires that the dispensers of Usrniysteries should devote themss;v'PS,by a solemn vow,; to a life of per petual celibacy'. Extraordinary instances have occurred, in which it has been thought justifi able to release or dispense itb this vow. Op- pressors in all ages and in all coimtries set up pretexts for oppression, and among the excuses under which the exclusion of Irish Catholics yfrom a share of political power was sought to be justified, the calumnies that Catholics owe a for eign allegiance atid admit a dispensing power from oaths, were almost impudently insisted on. I he late Mr. I'itt, as fnme Minister ot England, contemplating an act of justice to these abused men, olemjrily proposed! a set of inter rogatories to these charges to several of the most celebrated Catholic I heological Univer sities in Europe. Suffer me to call your at tention to some of these, and to their answers. The following questions were proposed, : First IIas; the Pope, or have'the Cardinals, or any body ofi en, or has any individual of the Church of Rome,,citiZ authority, power, juris diction, or preemixien.ee whatever, wilhin the realm j of England. Second, dan the Pope, Cardinals, or any body of jnen, .or any individ ual of the Church of Rome, absolve or dispense his. Majesty's subjects frpm thejr oath .of allegji ahc.ev jjpon jany prjetence whatever ? Third, Is there any: principle i n the tenets of the Cath olic faith, by which Catholics are justified in pot keeping faith with Heretics or other per sons differing from beoi in Religious opipj.ons, in; any transactions either of, a public or pri vate nature To these questions, .the Univer sities fat Paris, Louvain, Alcala, Salamanca, and Valadolid, after expressing their astonish ment 1 hat :U-could be thaughi necessary at the close of the 18th century, and in a uniry so enlightened I as England, to propose such en quiries, severally nnd unanimously-answered : 1st; That the Pope.'or Carflinals, or any body of men, or any tndividu.1 .of t.he Church of Rome, lias not end haye not any civil authority, power, jurisdiction, or preeminence whatever, within the Realm of England. 2dly, That the Pope, or Cardinals, or any body of men, or any individual of the Church of Rome, cannot ab solve pr-dispense his Majesty's subjects from their oath of allegiance upon any pretext what soever Valid 3dly, Tpat there is no principle in inAni nf thf Catholic Faith, bv which Catholics are justified in not keeping faith with Heretics, or other persons differing from them in religious opinions in aji transactions either of a public or a private nature. It has .also been asked, whetherCatholics do not believe that they can procure forgiveness of any sin, s.irpply by confessing it to a Pries t ? At times, sir, 1 acknowledge that I have been irritated, but far oftner have I been amused, at the strange notions entertained and the strange inquiries made about Catholic doctrines. That it should enter into the head of any man, that the great body of the Christian world, -embracing many of the : wisest, most intelligent and most pious followers of t the Redeemer, could for one moment admit so impioys, so foolish a doctrine, I could riot have believed, if I were not compelled to do so by what I have actual ly witnessed. What notions can fucJi an en quirei entertain of a Catholic ? Does he take him-rl don't ask for a Cbristiaa bu t for a rational being ? A friend of mine, with whom in early life! spent many pleasant hours, and whom the tide o.f emigration has carried to the I West, was accustomed ito relate an 3ncident .which hadActuajly occurred to.Jvim, as illustra tive of the ignorance arid prejudice o.a por tion of the people in relation to Federalism. He had represented one of the counties of this State for several years in the General Assem bly, and after quitting public Jife, Ji ad occasion to pass through it on an election day. Stop ping at a public hovse, he met with some' o'd acquaintances, well-meaning but uniformed men, who soon entered into conversation on the subject of the business of the day. " Of course," said my friend, addressing himself to ope of them, you all go for Major A. here, you used to support him, tooth and nail, :in old times." A Why, no, sir," answered the good man, " we are not so mighty much for him as we used to be." 4And how lias that happened ?. What has occasioned such a .change !" ' Why haven't you heard,"sir ? Why, they say he's turned a, Fetfieralp Turned a JFVtAeraZ " exclaimed my friend- " is it possible ! and pray what is a Fetheral?" " I don't exactly know, sir, (he rejoined) but. I allow t4iint a human ! "Such surely must be the .conjecture, which these querists .enter tain of jthe strange animal called a Papist. If quite candid, they will admit that the first time they saw one, they peered in his face for the horns which should decorate his brow, then turned their eyes down to examine his cloven feet and finally cast a sly glance behind to get & peep at the whbLery and. pendulous orna rr mental which Ithey had been accustomed tcj re gard !as the appropriate appendage of the Imps of Saltan. It cannot be expected; that I s! uuld enter into a' detailed , explaiiitjon of th Ca tholic tenets on the subject of Confession It is eriugh for pae to say, that it is settled dob Irihehf the .Catholic Church, that . pardon . for sin is not to e obtained but by faith, thoipugh and incere repentance, q firm purpose by God's he lp not to sin again, a resolution, Xwiere the crim s has been injurious to others, to xiake complete recompense for the wrong, ana an application of the merits of the Rede.emr to the oul of the penitent. Confession ispart of an ordinance, which Caihotcs believe to have been instituted by the Saviour, whici they term the Sacrament of Pepancej and in vhich is demanded '. from the penitent,' ah outward profesi( n of that contrition by which hp is in ternajjy lenetrated. AH piactical Catholics Popes, Prelates and Priests, Emprors,!Kings, Nobles, learned, unlearned, grijat and small, rich' and poor, who feel their consciences' - op pressed with a sense of guilt, are required hum bly to accuse themselves of theii offences and to specify the m It js enough tnait they shall confess that they have done the tliings which they ough not to have done, and 1 eft undone the things which thev ought to hate'donei but they 'are bound to admit themselves guilty in the sight of God, of having violated this com mand, and of having omitted fActfjduty. And no pardon iijj pronounced, promisd; invoiked, expecte or asked, but on the express condi tion of full repentance and future reformation. The eiivj tliry is; not here, whether this belief is orthodox bdt whether this practicefdisqualifies them for the honest discharge of the duties of a citizen, i Sir. mv testimony mat be of little avail, but I owe it to the cause of tpth, an i will therefore give -it without hesitation' have mihuled intimatelv with Clristians of every denomination, but of all the religious observances :with which I am acquainted as practised by any sect, none so j effectually as this, compels self-examinatioriv keeps down pride of heart, checks progressj'iji crime or restrainsi irregular appetite and fpassio n. Voltaire, who hated the Christian,' arid above all, the Catholic Religion vvith intense ha tred, hat; yet left on record his "opinion that the wit at man never could devis a happier security for human morals. Let those Chris tians whio reject the practice as one too humi liating ttr b1? borne and who depy that it. -has sufficient warrantor its introduction into the Church, calmly, resolutely and couscie.ntjpus ly! oppose l ie Catholic faith by argument. jBut they ought not, and sti'ch of the'm as are in- deed Christai.ns will not misrepresent or tra- uuce it. , -.. - 7 Put it has been objected, ihatlie .Cathiplic iteiigiop is uniav l0?.?, n ith npuUi$.ntitutin incompalible4w Ingenioiis speculations on-such matters are worth little!, and prove slill lees. Let mek who obtained' the great charter of English freedom, but the Catholic Preltes.aod Barons at Rnnriymede T iThe Voidest the purestde-j riiocracy on earth, is the littla Calholicliepub- lie of St. Marino,; rjot ,a day's journeyiom Rome. It has existed now for fourteen hun- dred years, er, that the and is so jealous of arbitrary pbw Executive - authority is divided! be tween two Governors, who are elected every three months. Was William Tell, the found er of Swiss Liberty a Royalist? j Are .the Catholics of the Swiss Cantons, in1 love with tyranny? Arc the Irish Catholics rfendsj i to passive obedience arid non-rpsistance f Was La Fayette1, Pulaski, Kpsciusko, a foe to (jjvil Freedom? I Was Charles Carroll, of Carroll ton, unwilling to jeopard fortupe in the cause of liberty f Let me give you Wwever the testimony J of George Washing oi. On his accession to the Presidency, he. v as addressed by the 'American Catholics, who adverting to the resirictions on their worship then xis ing in some of the States, exprei themse ves thus " The prospect of natior. il prosperity is peculiarly pleasing to ,us pi, another ac count : because, while oir qoui tky preserves her freedoiti and independenee weishall lve a we.U-fjunded .title to claim frr n her jusjice the rights of citizenship, jcls ih price of ur, blood spilt under your eye, ani of our com' mbn exertions for her defence, der your 'mis? picious conayct. 1 n.is great man, wno was utterly incapable of flattery and peceit .utters in answer the following sentirienj,s which give in his! own words; " As miRind oecome more liheral, they will be more apt to al pw that all those who ' conduct themselves i as L . - . . . 1.4 t S worthy itiemhers of the copmunitv. hre equally .entitled to the protiqri of Civil uovernment. 1 nope ever uois see America the foremost nations! in examples .1 . among of justice and liberality; antl I presume jEhat your fellow-citizens will not j irget the pa triotic part which you. took in V c accomplish ment of their: Revolution and tht establishment of their Government, ov the inportatit assis tance which they received fron a nation, in which the: Roman Catholic faitl is professed.' Bye th bye, SSi.r, wuld paus for a moment to cajl theattentioii of this Com nittee to some of the names subscribed to this addres4. Among them are those of John (arroll, the first R. Catholic Bishop of the Uaited States. Charles Carroll-of Carrolllon and Thomas litz simmon s-j-4br the character of these distin guished men, if they needed vouchers, I would confidently call on the yenerabje President of this Convention. Bishop- Carroll Hvas onle of the best of men, and most humble and devout of Christians. I shall never forget a tribute to his memory paid by the good and venerable Protestant Bishop While, when contrasting the piety With which the Christian Carroll -met death, with the Cold trifling that characterized the last I knew orable moments- of the sceptical David II dnoe. iiot whether the tribute was more Jjpn tri ; the nietv of the dead, or to 1 the charity of the living Prelate. - Charles Carroll oCarrOltonjtho hpt f urvivor 'othe signers of uicricun Anuepenaence at whose death bdlti Houses of the Legislature of North CJarroliM unanimously testified their srrief as ata natiolnl m Mi am. a - . - ---.-?-' . - i --.tflAB C1 ' . ..1.1' i " . I al bereavement ! Thomas Fiti of the illustrious Convention that framed the Constitution of the United States, and for seve ral years uhe Representative in Congress Tot the City of Philadelphia. Were these, and Tsuch as these; foes tofreedom and unfit for Re publicans f Would it be dangerous to permit such men to be Sheriffs or Constables in the land. Read the funeral Eulogium of Charles Carroll, delivered, at Rome by Bishop! England one of the greatest ornaments of the Ameri can Catholic Church a foreigner indeed by birth, but an American by adoption, and who, on' becoming an American, solemnly abiured all allelsiance to everv fbreiorri,KinorJ PririP and Potentate whatever that Eulogium which was so much carped at by English Royalists and English Tories arid I think you will find it democratic enough to. suit the taste and find an echo in the hart of the sternest Republican amongst us. Catholics are of all countries? of all governments of all political creeijs. In all theV are taught, that the kingdom jpf Christ is'not of this world and that it is their duty to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and junto Godvthe thihgs that are God's. " , 'j! f But Sir, the genllemnn from Martin lins tiold 11s with ihe air of one who firmly believed ibat he was announcing a triuU of mighty import, that he had heard somebody say, that he had heard a man, who called himself a Catholic,- say, tijiat he no more minded taking an oath n a Pi thnn on a Spelling Book. . j !e imr. Cooper begged leave to corrrct the geiiiloman from Craven ; he had saiJ ihc; Testa ment riot the Bible. I Judg. e Gaston proceeded : 1 beg the gonjiJe- man s pardon Tor the mistake. 1 As, this is jlhe only argument which has been yet put forth in defence of ihe proscription contained or snppo sod to be contaiid, in tbe 32d Ariicle.it is richt that it should bo stated with precision. I thank him for the correction,' and assure - him that fthe inisiaKe was one .01 inaavertence not 01 desfgn. ! Straws indicate whence the wind blows nn.d this nrgumtrt shows whence arises the Anti-Popery clamour;. 1 1 may .be thought idle to treat it ! se riously -but . if that gentleman be in earnest, find I am bound to suppose he is, I am stirn that fk at least will take kindly the explanation which I am. about to give him. It isthe doctiine, of pa tholics that an oath is a. solemn appeal to God-rand that such an Appeal, in whatever fnrpi mlde, is binding on man's conscience. The ! Catholic Church prescribes no . form for ari 'oath, but leaves that to be regulated by the usages or llitvs of every couhtryi 1 The invocatiPn of the God of IT P9 -flfI! Upr',1n V JJIlfl crkJorhnli" nc tUn A ii thor ofTruth and the avenger of Falsehood, con Vtitutes tlie baiJl.' th nncient ' t;me5,beV,reh discoyery of Piinting, and when Bbles Wre rare, tl 1 er most usua 1 cero m 0 ny acc ompaninsf the patlrwasissing the Cross as the embleiri of m ajnVsa(va t ion, an dj h & iysxe t C, h r ? 1 n n t o n ; m g sacrifice. In several Catholic countries, jkhis mode vf t prevails. In others, it has been stic- ceeded by the ceremony of kissing the book of God's holy Gospel In others, by the outstretch ed arm, raised towards Heaven. In all countries, and in all sects, there are ignorant and v iqked men who attach importance to the form in which an oath is administered and disregard its sub stance, flo who has been accustomed to see it always taken in one prescribed manner, may think it not obligatory when otherwise tendered. Just as I have seen, and every professional pian in North Carolina of extensive practice has sen, miserable fools and knaves here who thought to escape the guilt of perj-'ry, if.they were careful not to bring the Testament into actual contact witli their lips. ; . " ' j i Another gentleman Gen Speight who lias a great reverence for Religion, but is not as Reli gious as he could wisb to he, and has a great tole i.itioo for all Religions, but for some unexplain ed cause, will vote for retaining the 32d section as 11 is, nas uiougnt proper to read two extracts from n controversial work F berV. difficulties of onianisrtT ItJis manifest that the; geiitle- roan had resolved how to vote and had resolved lso to speak, before ho found the book wpich was to furnish the cliief materials of his speech. The selections were made in haste, and there fore turn out to bo unsuited for the purposes which they were brought forwaid to answeL The iirst passage gives a form of profession of faith, in which the declarant is pad"; to saV,!jt!hat he rejects, condemns and anathematises as here sy, whatever the Church by any genet al Coun cil has decreed ought to be rejected, condcipin- ed and anathematised, as heresy. This , I pre sume is quoted as an instance of :n:olerant per secutiou. I suppose that no man can be revjird ed as a member of a Church who rrjeetiiAe areejl'oi that Church, and that of course he; ;re- gard those doctrines as errpneous, wlucl the creed of his Church pronounces to be erroneous. Catholics believe that the unity of faith can only be maintained by preserving as a sacred depbsii, the doctrines originally revealed from Heavjjn that the'Pastors of the Church form the tribunal to testify in every place and in every age not opinions, nut tne laci 01 tins original communi cation -that when doubts or disnutes arise on matters of faith, these witnesses are summoned j ..... from all parts of the world to declare what; has been handed down to them as tion that when they concur the doctrine i has or has not that commuhica in ' declaring that been delivered to them as nart of the orieinal deposit of faith the members of the Ciiurch then have ceitainvi dence and . certain knowledge of the truth.- . fjThis is what is meant by tbe infallibility of ihe Church not the infallibility of the Pope this is no part of Catholic Faith but tbe infallibility of the Ca tholic Church V hat it has authoritatively! de elded to be truth, must be received as trot by all. her children.- What it has thus decided to be error, they mnst also pronounce to be errors) - If they choose to set up their individual opinion in opposition, not to the opinion, but to the testimo-i ny oT the Church; with thj reeard to the fart of a revelation they can do so. But then thev "P"1 " "er couirnunton, and tQ uoq it must he left to pronounce how far such so para lion has proceeded from innocent mistakeJor guilty pride. Kut does any man infer, because the dottrihe which the Church denounces as er4 roneoiis, the nicmbers of that -Church also de nounce as crroneottis, that (hereforfl th Church or its members are to jpunish with civil penalties- to persecute with degradation pecuniary mulcrs torturp or death the persons who profess' theso. erroneous doctrines.' I can only say that if so; he reasons most illogically. j His conclusion is a plain non sequiter. . Connected with this mis take or misrepresentation is another, which t have heard of, although it has not been mention ed here. It is said that the Catholic Bishops actually take an oa t h t o persecute' heretics! Whether this charge originated in misapprehen sion or in calumny it; ii equally false. They' pledge themselves diligently to search out, fol low after and remove all false doctrines, which may spring hp nrrinng iheir,flock?The latin term " prosequor" to follow outjr rt follow af ter, from which has coriie the well-known terni prosecution the carrying on of an enquiry or investigation has been changed into pcrsccrtfe1; the doctrines haVe been changed into the W sons who profess ihem, and by this slight nlterir Urtn of phrases, s(noljliation, perfectly .Chrisliari in its chararter, has been converted into an inhu man and ahli-Chiistiap yow of persecution But the gentleman Jviis ! solicitous to shew how inhuman Catholics had actually been in the per secution of Protestants and for that avowed pur; pose produced the' other selection from Faber; In a note to Faber, a statement is given of a fe-. Vocioiis engagement entered into by the Repre sentatives of. many Princes and Ecclesiastics who had attended vthej Council of Luteran for hunt i i" out ami reducing to servitude a set ot Heretics whom they designate by several oppro brions, names." It is not easy at this time to as certain how far these unfortunate beings deserved) l'.iJ 'I .!.L .t.i: Lij ?:.. 1. . . a ine uaircu which iiiey nau mcurrea, out 11 IS llTM possible not to reVolt avjhe criielties denounced against them. ?t- is rather ludicrous, howeverj to call this a persecution of Protestants since it took place about three hundred & forty years be-! fore Protestants and Protestantism w ere heard 0$. t hapheried in the year U89. If the gentieman! had more fully eiamined the subject, he would have riiet with little difficulty in findihg more np- propria to instances to establish upon atholu: the charge of having persecuted Protestants, 4 Had he examined info the history of religious' persecution extensively, he would haye found as little difficulty j ih shewing that Protestants had not been one whit. behind in .persecuting'Catho- lick s n r in persecuting ea c h other. But w hy '& this humiliating and disustinguojecr.raKeo:.nn an ' exhlbired V:. ?Is itriW purpose t)f awaken.t - ing ancient animosiiics-j of crentinp Oad feelings,. of blowing into a flame the sleeping embers of vTrath-.malire and uncharitablehbss? .This does ni-B-r-m n very liomane, wise"orrliberal purpbsisv Alas I I tear that even now wer arc deserving; ol the reproach ol the cynical Swift we have jus religion enough to hate, and not enough to lov each other. Further eettion's to Increase thTs nriii-christian disposition would -Seem to Jb.e.jjj: least unnecessary. The history of persecution may however be properly referred to for anothef and a very1: diuWnt:-purp chiefs which necessarily fbilovufrom making rel ligionari aflfair of State and giving a ; political! predominance to any sect to demonstrate th Calvert, .Williams and Penn acted with the e'f nevolence of Christians' and the wisdom of Statesmen, in making! all ;sects equal before the law to invite us to follow in their footsteps ancjl 10 pursue their principles) out j to their full and legitirriatij extent by obliterating from tho consti tutional law of North Carolina every vestige of tho spirit of persecution jfor conscience sakclr ' every! trace of disqualification and proscription because of religious principles. I hope and trusj,' that this will be done, and that North CarolloU. will snake1 off tho reproach pf lagging behind tlio other j States of the Union, bchjnd the lately fin lightened States of Europe and behind even the spirit of the age, by incorporating into her funda- mental institutions the principle of perfect rtlbz giotisjfreedo.m. I protest against all partial end mitigated teformsof the; doctrine of intolerance. Of course, I must accept the most that can be' pbtaincd, hut I shall ; not, bo, content with any thing short of the total a hr Pga t io n o f ReJigifc Tests. ' J jV - l. -j: -!'"" So far as the question has been discussed here, there has been in effect no contest. Tho ca,us of Intolerance has been left undefended. Gen tleman haye had too much pf ide too much serfse of character, to undertake before this enlightened Assembly, to vindicate this, proscriptivfe A'rticlo in our Constituiidn. They have argued 'about and around the true question, and have suggested diflerjpnt consideration for declining to act upon the subject but they have not ventured to come? out openly and insist that the article is a wise and salutary protision. The cause of intolerance hpi been undefended,- because it is indefensible. The advocates of freedom might confidently liens one would thinks calculate tint the result will bio auspicious even to their utmost hopes. But, alas, sir, i by no means follows, that the decision of ' this body will be an exact expression of it's con viction. There are many external forces 10 dis turb lour judgement, and cause it to swerve from its propriety, f Would that the noble sentiment, which we yesterday heard, as it came with uch truth and feeling from the lips of yduthful and fer-' virj eloquence, (Mr. Rayner) "Dare do right and trust the consequences to God," were tho governing principle , upon every-question here ? Not a doubt could then be entertained of the re sult.! In the sincerity of my soul, I believe therp are not twenty and I doubt whether there be tf p members of the Convention, who would not. bo well pleased to have the section utterly oblitea- ted; 1 But gentleii en deciaro tneroseives airnMj, .uma '"'!" itinv should five a fshock to Uff it'i 1 r t . i 1 i
Nov. 4, 1835, edition 1
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