Does not this alone answer every charge in " the "Book of the Church ?" I admire the elegance, the energy of its style, and the many other beauties of composition, with which it abounds; but I find nowhere in it a citation from any work, or any document, like those I have mentioned, which prescribes, or sanctions, or excuses any corrupt doctrine, or any unjustifiable practice. Till such a passage is found, much may be said about our creed, and about our practices: we ourselves should join in much of what may be so said; but every charge, not substantiated in the manner I have mentioned,

"Is but leather and prunella!"

POPE.

15

LETTER I.

GENERAL DIFFUSION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC

RELIGION.

SIR,

THE smallness of the number of the romancatholics in England, compared to that of its general population, is always before the eyes of protestants; and too often prevents them from sufficiently attending to the general diffusion of the roman-catholic religion over the habitable globe; or to the immense numerical superiority of its members over those of any protestant church, and even over those of all protestant churches in the aggregate,

"The catholic," says doctor Milner," is still "the religion of the states of Italy, of most of the "Swiss cantons, of Piedmont, of France, of Spain, "of Portugal, and of the islands of the Medi“terranean; in three parts in four of the Irish, of “far the greater part of the Netherlands, Poland, "Bohemia, Germany, Hungary, and the neighbour"ing provinces; and, in those kingdoms and states, " in which it is not the established religion, its fol"lowers are very numerous, as in Holland, Russia,

Turkey, the Lutheran and Calvinistic states of "Germany and England. Even in Sweden and "Denmark, several catholic congregations, with "their respective pastors, are to be found. The "whole vast continent of South America, inhabited by many millions of converted Indians, as well as

by many Spaniards and Portuguese, may be said "to be catholic. The same may be said of the "empire of Mexico, and the surrounding kingdoms "in North America, including California, Cuba, "Hispaniola, &c. Canada and Louisiana are chiefly "catholic; and throughout the United Provinces, "the catholic religion, with its several establish

66

ments, is completely protected and unboundedly "propagated. To say nothing of the islands of "Africa inhabited by catholies, such as Malta, "Madeira, Cape Verd, the Canaries, the Azores, "Mauritius, Goree, &c. there are numerous "churches of catholics established and organized "under their pastors in Egypt, Ethiopia, Algiers, Tunis, and the other Barbary states on the "northern coast; particularly at Angola and Congo. "Even on the eastern coast, particularly in the kingdom of Zanguebar and Monomotapa, are 66 numerous catholic churches. There are also numerous catholic priests, and many bishops, with numerous flocks, throughout the greater part "of Asia. All the Maronites about Mount Li“banus, with their bishops, priests and monks, are "catholics; and so are many Armenians, Persians "and other christians of the surrounding kingdoms " and provinces. In whatever island or states the "Portuguese or Spanish power does prevail, or has "prevailed, most of the inhabitants, and in some, "all of them, have been converted. The whole "population of the Phillippine Islands, consist

ing of two millions of souls, is all catholic. The "diocese of Goa contains 400,000 catholics. In

"a late parliamentary record, it is stated that in "Travancor and Cochin is a catholic archbishopric, "with two bishoprics; one of which contains 35,000 "communicants. There are numerous catholic "flocks, with their priests, and even bishops, in all "the kingdoms and states beyond the Ganges, par"ticularly in Siam, Cochin-china, Tonquin, and "the different provinces of the Chinese empire."

SUCH IS THE EXTENT OF THE ROMAN-CATHOLIC RELIGION. You describe it, in the last line of your tenth chapter, as "a prodigious structure of imposture "and wickedness." Is it decorous to apply this opprobrious language to areligion professed in such extensive territories? Several of which are in the highest state of intellectual advancement, and abound, as you must acknowledge, with persons, from the very highest to the very lowest condition of life, of the greatest honour, endowments and worth?-If the religion of this large proportion of the christian world really be, "the prodigious structure of im

posture and wickedness" you describe it,—have not the gates of hell, contrary to the most solemn promise of the Son of God, prevailed against his church?

I must also request you to inform me, when "this prodigious structure of imposture and wicked66 ness" was raised. You must be sensible the æras assigned for it by many of your eminent writers are very different and very numerous, and that each is irreconcileable with all the others; so that, when you shall mention the æra, which you have fixed upon, I will most certainly produce, at least, half

a dozen protestant writers of eminence, who contend for some different æra.

But, putting this universal diffusion of the romancatholic religion out of consideration, and confining these observations to the roman-catholic subjects of his Britannic majesty, permit me to observe to you, that the number of these, exceeds the number of any other denomination of his majesty's christian subjects. Surely this entitles them to be treated with the language of decent controversy. Even confining the case to the English catholics, the proportionate number of whom I acknowledge to be small,-even they are entitled to this decency of treatment. We are not the vilia corpora to whom the language, which modern manners has banished from conversation, should be applied. "When I speak," said the late Mr. Wyndham, on presenting the petition of the English romancatholics in 1810, " of the obscurity of the English "roman-catholics, I do not mean that they are des❝titute of hereditary virtues and hereditary digni"ties, that they are not a part of that class which I ought to be denominated Ultimi Romanorum." -(You see, Sir, that this great man thought, that a right to this appellation is honourable.)-" I cannot," he continued, "contemplate a more noble "and affecting spectacle, than an antient roman"catholic gentleman, in the midst of his people,

66

exercising the virtues of beneficence, humanity "and hospitality. If they are obscure, it is because "they are proscribed as aliens in the state; because

they are shut out from this assembly, where many