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ledgment of the Pope and the universal church, is equipollent to a decree of a council; and is, in one sense, more than equipollent to it, as the church is the principal, or instituant; the council is its representative, or instituted organ.

Thus, my propositions are proved. You have all You have called for. The Pope and the universal church have acknowledged, as fully and as explicitly as can be done by words or deeds, that they have no authority, human or divine, to absolve the members of the Roman Catholic church from their oaths of allegiance. Their allegiance therefore is valid, and may be depended upon.

"I have heard," said the Earl of Liverpool, in the debate upon the Catholic question in the year 1810," allusions this night to doctrines, "which I do hope, no man now believes the "Catholics to entertain; nor is there any ground "that the question is opposed on any such pre66 tence. THE EXPLANATIONS, WHICH HAVE GIVEN ON THIS HEAD, ARE COMPLETELY SATISFACTORY."

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BEEN

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1.

LETTER X.

VIEW OF THE ROMISH SYSTEM.

EVIDENTLY meant, that what I said upon this subject in "The Book of the Roman Catholic "Church," should not be considered as a theological discussion of the truth of her doctrines: I merely wished to present a succinct account of some which are objected to by Protestants, for the purpose of showing that these contained nothing inconsistent with morality or good government; and that this had been acknowledged, in many instances, by Protestant writers of distinction. Upon this part of my work, You and others have attacked it. Thus the subject is before the public, and to their conclusions upon it I shall leave it.

With some observations, however, I shall now trouble you.

2.-The Roman Catholic religion satisfied the reason of such men as Bossuet, Fénélon, Bourdaloue, Massillon, d'Aguésseau and Pascal. If I deserve what you intimate in this letter, (p. 101, 102), for my belief of her doctrines, may I not comfort myself with the thought, that all you say applies as much to those great men as to me?

In page 107, I find this sentence addressed to me," I omit your sneer at the amount of a proc

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"tor's bill. It was not made with your usual cour"tesy; neither was it relative or necessary. My letter contains no sneer: and I am quite confident, that there is not in the profession even one person, who will believe that any thing I have written contains a sneer at any class of its members, or any individual member of it.-Was your remark relative or necessary?

3. In page 138, You say " You are incorrect "in your assertion, That the Howards and Stour“ tons are excluded from Parliament, merely because of their belief in transubstantiation. They are so excluded, because the assertors of this "doctrine are said to render imperfect allegiance "to their sovereign."

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The allegiance of the Howards and the Stourtons to their sovereign, is perfect. They consider it the grossest of affronts, to be told that it is not. * Allegiance to the Pope is perfect nonsense.

"the

* Addresses of the present writer to the Public, upon "Coronation Oath," and the alleged "Divided Allegiance of "the Roman Catholics," are inserted in the Appendix.

LETTER XI.

RISE OF THE

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REFORMATION.*-THE MENDICANT

ORDERS. PERSECUTION UNDER THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER.

1.—(1.) IN pages 123, 124, and 130, of your work, You thus address me :-" Lamentable indeed, was your error of judgment, when you ventured to repeat the scandal of a former age, and to attri"bute the rise of the Reformation to the general "diffusion of the opinion of Manes."

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(2.)" You ascribe also to the Albigenses, the "doctrines of that notorious heresiarch. The "reader, who is not well acquainted with history, "would conclude from your statement, that the "sentiments of the reformers, in the age of "Cranmer and Luther, and consequently the opi'nions of the Protestants of the church of Eng

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land at present, are the identical errors which are imputed to Manichæus."

(3.)-" No controversialist was ever more un"fortunate in his argument than You have un"wittingly been, in reviving the exploded notion, "that the faith of Protestants was the creed of "Manichæus."

* This is the Title given by Doctor Southey to the Chapter, to which this Letter is an answer; it is therefore prefixed to this Letter.

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(4.)—“ As you only insinuate, that the political opinions of the Manichæans, were the real pre"lude to the doctrines of liberty and equality, so

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frightfully propagated in our own time, I shall "not enter upon that discussion. The design of "the insinuation is obvious, and it is unworthy, "indeed it is unworthy of You."

Each of these sentences convey an heavy accusation against me, and each of these accusations is absolutely groundless.

I have said, and it is certainly true, that both Catholics and Protestants agree, that the opinions and conduct of these religionists "led to Henry's reformation;"* and that Lollardism ↑

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prepared the public mind for the religious in"novations which afterwards took place." But I have not said, what You attribute to me, in the passages which I have cited from your work. (1.)-I have not, in any of my Letters to Dr. Southey, or in any of my works, attributed the rise of the Reformation to the "diffusion of the

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general opinions of Manes." I believe,--and I have always believed the contrary.

(2.)-I have not, in any of my Letters to Doctor Southey, or in any other work, said or insinuated, that "the sentiments of the Reformers, in the age "of Cranmer and Luther, and consequently the

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opinions of the Protestants of the Church of England at present, are the identical errors

* Hist. Mem. Vol I. Ch. x. p. 94.

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