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deavours to continue the tax; but, to the surprise of every one, when the question came to a decision, they were left in a minority, the majority exceeding it by thirty-seven. Thus was an end put to this odious tax, which offended all the principles of just and equitable taxation, and could be maintained only on the same principles, that in a town besieged every man must part with his property of any kind according to the state of the place. One great objection to the tax was the advantage given to the landholder above the person who gained his livelihood by the sweat of his brow. Both were made to pay out of the same annual income the same sum to government, though their situations were materially different, and this advantage was given exactly contrary to true principles: for the landholder ought not to obtain an advantage over his countrymen, inasmuch as his security is so much the greater. But the world, and this country in particular, has much to learn on the subject of taxation, which when duly considered will introduce among the

higher classes better principles of morality than they at present possess.

A strange infatuation now pervades the country. Formerly peace and plenty were considered as blessings, for which we could not be sufficiently thankful to Divine Providence. Different principles are now promulgated, and long faces are seen because corn is cheap. A smile covers them on the rise of the markets. These inconsiderate persons do not reflect, that plenty carries with it blessings on all classes. Could they raise the markets to the importation standard, the coun. try would not be a gainer, and the only points would be to enable the landholder to keep up his war-rents and to increase the poor-rates. But the subject is of great extent. We shall continue to be thankful to God for plentiful harvests; and, notwithstanding all that we hear to the coutrary, hope that the backward spring will be followed by a kindly summer, being persuaded that cheap corn is equally advantageous to the consumer and to the farmer.

NEW PUBLICATIONS IN THEOLOGY AND GENERAL LITERATURE.

Resignation to the will of God Illustrated and Enforced by the Example of Jesus Christ. A Sermon, preached at the Unitarian Chapel, Reading, Berks, on Sunday Evening, March 24, 1816, on occasion of the Death of Mr. James Drover. With an Appendix, containing some Thoughts on the Support and Consolations which the Unitarian System furnishes in seasons of affliction and trouble, and especially in the hour of death. By Robert Aspland, Pastor of the Unitarian Church, Hackney. 8vo. 1s. 6d.

Observations on the State and Changes in the Presbyterian Societies of England during the last Half Century: Also, on the Manufactures of Great Britain; which have been for the most part established and supported by the Protestant Dissenters; tending to illustrate the Importance of Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry to the Welfare and Prosperity of a People. Preceded by a Sermon on the Death of the Rev. Dr. Joshua Toulmin, in which his character as a

Member of Civil Society is attempted to be improved, By Israel Worsley. 12mo. Ss. boards.

Remarks on the Rev. J. Harries's Treatise on the "Proper Deity of Christ," and the Doctrine of "Three distinct Persons in God." In a Letter to the Anthor. By a Layman. (John Rees, Swansea.) 8vo. 9d.

An Address to the Committee of the Isle of Sheppey Auxiliary Bible Society, containing Animadversions on their Conduct; with a Copy of the Correspondence which took place on the Occasion, for having rejected a Donation. By M. Harding. 8vo. 8d.

Illustrations of the Divine Government : tending to shew that every Thing is under the Direction of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness, and will terminate in the Production of Universal Purity and Happiness. By T. Southwood Smith. 12mo, extra boards. 6s.

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Memoir relative to the Vaudois: communicated by Rev. T. Morgan. Williams's Library, April, 1816.

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SIR,

SEND you some extracts from a Memoir relative to the Vaudois, delivered to me by a friend who was educated among them, and with whose family I have been acquainted many years. It is dated at Turin, Jan. 20th, 1816, and has been translated by me with difficulty from the French language, adulterated with the Patois of the valleys. Considered as supplemental to the Memoir respecting the Waldenses in the Monthly Repository for March last, (p. 129,) your readers, perhaps, will not think it unworthy of an admission into your pages.

I am, yours sincerely,
THOMAS MORGAN.

"The Vaudois, foreseeing by the events of, 1814 what was likely to be their situation, thought it necessary to depute M. Paul Appia, then Judge of the Peace, and M. Peyran, Pastor of Pramol, to wait on his Excellency Lord Bentinck, Commander of the British Forces at Genoa, for the purpose of requesting that he would take us under his high protection, and recommend us to the king on his retarn from Sardinia, that we might receive the same good treatment from him with his other subjects. The king arrived at Genoa while the Vaudois deputies were in that city, and Lord Bentinck had indeed the goodness to speak concerning us to our sovereign, and to recommend us to his favour. This was about the 18th of May. Victor Emanuel arrived at Turin on the 20th; and on the 21st he published a manifesto, by which he put in force all the edicts which his predecessors had issued. The inhabitants of St. John, availing themselves of the liberty which the French go

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vernment granted them, had at length built a church in the centre of their commune. By the patents of Sept. 30, 1814, among other things, the king ordered the Intendant of the Province to compel us to shut up the church of St. John, as built beyond the strict boundaries to which we had ' been confined. This took place in consequence of a letter from that magistrate to the Moderator on the 25th Nov. 1814. Of such moment did Victor Emanuel consider the recommendation of Lord Bentinck, the representative of a great and generous nation, which had replaced him on the throne of his ancestors! chose rather to be influenced by the perfidious insinuations of his ministers, or his fanatical confessors, than to comply with the request of Lord Bentinck.

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Immediately after the return of the king to his dominions, the Vaudois were deprived of all their employments, such as receiverships of the contributions, the places of saltmakers, secretaries of the communes, judges, &c. and their young men of merit, who had served with honour in France, were refused. permission to enter the army, with the declaration that no Protestant officers would be received among the king's forces. About the beginning of May, 1794, the French had made themselves masters of the fort of Mireboue, situated at the extremity of the valley of Luzerne, and the Vaudois were accused of having been concerned in its surrender, though there was not one of them in the fort. But the fanatical Piedmontese laid hold of this accusation as a pretence for planning a second St. Bartholomew, to be carried into execution in the communes of St. John and La Tour, on the night of the 14th or 15th of May, 1794, by the murder of the old men, the women and the children who were left

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behind in the villages, while all the Vaudois who were able to bear arms were on the mountains, to oppose the invasion of the French troops. The venerable Curé of Luzerne, Don Briansa, was the first to put the Vaudois upon their guard; and a M. Odette, a captain of militia, and a rich person in the neighbourhood, repaired to Paul Vertu at La Tour, declaring that he would shed the last drop of his blood in their defence. Towards the night of the 14th of May, the house of the Cure of La Tour, the church, the convent of Recollects, and some Catholic houses were filled with assassins. While the fatal moment was approaching, seventeen expresses had been sent to general Godin, who commanded in the valley, and then had his head quarters five miles above La Tour, to give him information of these circumstances; but he could not believe that such horrors were in contemplation. At length, some persons of distinction having thrown themselves at the feet of the general, and entreated him to send some companies of Vaudois militia to La Tour, he entertained no further doubts on the sub ́ject, but complied with their request, and prepared to retreat with the rest of the army. The troops arrived at La Tour at the commencement of the night, when the rain was pouring in torrents, which, doubtless, had retarded the projected massacre. The assassins now took to flight; and after their departure, a list of the conspirators was discovered, which was sent to the Duke of Aosta, our present king. Not one of them, however, was either punished or sought after. Is not this evidence that the court did not disapprove of their execrable design? The brave general Godin was disgraced, without receiving any recompence for his long services, and retired to Nyon, in Switzerland, where he died.

"Charles Emanuel III., who called us his good and faithful Vaudois, would not revoke one of the oppressive edicts, and we could not have any physicians or advocates of our religion, nor any military promotion above the rank of serjeant, except in the militia; whilst under the last (French) go vernment, three attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, two or three that of major, and more those of chief of battalion, captain, lieutenant, and many received decorations. If they are

dismissed from the service of France, what shall they do, having no other resource than their military talents which the king will not value at all in Protestants? The Vaudois avow their having favoured the principles of liberty of conscience, and of breaking the chains by which they had been bound for ages. Posterity will judge whether this be a crime before God, or even before men. They had rendered services, most powerfully enjoined by humanity, to their deliverers (and masters), the commune of Bobbi alone having furnished, on the application of their very worthy pastor, the late M. Rostan, volunteers, who carried three hundred sick and wounded soldiers over the heights of the Alps. For this service they received the acknowledgements of the grand army of Italy, by an Order of the Day dated 3rd Prim. An. 8, (24th Dec. 1799,) and signed by Suchet, General of Division, &c. This humane conduct was represented by the priests and other cruel enemies of the Vandois, to have been the natural effect of their political opinions, notwithstanding that the Russians and Austrians met with a similar reception from them (never in the least interrupting their perfect liberty of conscience), as appears by the testimonials received from Marshal Suwarrow and Prince Bagration (who shewed the greatest favour), of Prince Kevenhuller, General Niemsell and, above all, the brave Count Nieper, who constantly interested himself on behalf of the Vaudois, and was respected by them as their benefactor,-at whose suggestion they sent to Count Bubna a short list of their requests, of which we give the substance :--

"1. That they may have secured to them a perfect liberty of conscience, and of situation, in common with the other subjects of his Sardinian majes ty.

"2. That their religion may be na obstacle to their employment in civil and military offices, according to the scale of promotion.

"3. That they may keep the property acquired beyond the limits to which they were confined, and that they may be permitted to make further acquisitions, should they meet with a fair opportunity.

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4. That they may be permitted to settle in any of his Sardinian má

Memoir relative to the Vaudois.

jesty's dominions, where they may find it their interest so to do.

5. That the support of their pastors may be established by the enjoyment of the property granted them by the French government (the salary of 1000 franks to each of the thirteen pastors), or in such mode as shall please his Sardinian majesty.

"6. That they may be permitted to keep open the temple built at St. John's, beyond the ancient limits, as well as to build others, and to keep schools where it shall be found necessary for the pastors to reside.

7. That they may have liberty to print, within the dominions of his Sardinian majesty, such books as are necessary for conducting their public worship, or to bring them from abroad.

"8. That persons educated in their religion may have perfect liberty to practise as physicians, apothecaries, surgeons, advocates and notaries.

"9. That in forming the municipal councils, regard be paid in each commune to the proportion of the mixed population, and that strangers to the communes do not receive appointments, or indigent Catholics, without their consent.

10. That they may be permitted to inclose their burial places within walls, and to repair or build edifices adapted to public worship or instruc

tion.

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11. That children, under fifteen years of age, may not, under whatever pretence, be compelled or persuaded to change their religion.

12. That they may not be under the necessity of observing the festivals pointed out in the Almanack, which may render them idle, or seduce them to debauchery.

13. Finally, That they may wholly, and in every respect, partake of the privileges of the Catholic subjects of his majesty, in the same manner as they enjoyed them after the Revolution, until the restoration of his Sardinian majesty to the throne of his ancestors by English generosity!! Let the Status-quo of January 1813, be established with respect to whatever relates to the Vaudois.

"M. Count Bubna was not succes:ful, any more than the English envoy, Mr. Hill, who, at the request of a deputation of Vaudois, (consisting of ALM. Meille, Pegran and Roy

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taing, ministers, Brezzi and I. P. D. Vertu,) promised to take an active part on our behalf, but whose application appears to have been coldly received by the ministers, under the pretence that our situation was not worse than before the Revolution, without reflecting that our slavery could not in effect be worse than at that time. The king, also, received the deputation of the Vaudois; but he did not promise them any relief, and in truth granted them none, doubtless by the advice of his confessor. The Vaudois entertained hopes that the ' arrival of the queen would prove a favourable event for them, and the same deputation was appointed to wait on her majesty; but she would not deign to admit them to an audience, notwithstanding the positive assurance to the contrary of the Minister of the Interior, Count Vidua. The government has not made any public declaration respecting the purchases of national property and churches; and since opinions are divided on this subject, the state of uncertainty is fatal to those, whose pressing necessities. render them desirous of parting with what they bought. Neither has any declaration been published respecting the Vaudois officers returned from France, and who have no other resource than their military talents. The following is a sketch of the population of the Vaudois communes, which measures are taking to render more exact :—

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150 ed by the cabinet of London, the most powerful of all."

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"In this number are not comprised about 50 Protestant families of different nations, settled at Turin, who have no other pastor than the chaplain either of the English or Prussian envoy. The communes marked P. have Protestant churches; the others are obliged to attend the nearest church. But the church of St. John being shut up, the inhabitants are compelled to go to their ancient church (almost destroyed by an earthquake) in the commune of Angrogne, which has consequently two in its district. To the more distant parts of the country, and those seated among the summits of the mountains, the ministers can only go to exercise their functions once or twice a year, in the most favourable weather, and then preach in the open air. In order to reestablish the very small catholic parish of Bobbi, they compelled two poor widows of pastors who had an asylum in the house of the ancient curé, to quit their situation without notice in the middle of December, notwithstanding that all possible solicitations were made for a temporary indulgence, and the complaints which the writer of this paper preferred to Mr. Hill.

This exposé, which has been drawn up in haste, contains only indisputable truths, as may be proved to conviction to those who will apply to M. Geymet, a pastor, and chaplain to Mr. Hill, English envoy at Turin (formerly moderator of the Vaudois churches) and the Ex-Sub-Prefect of Pignerol, of which all the Vaudois communes are dependencies. It is necessary to state that M. the pastor Bert of La Tour, is at this time engaged in drawing up another account of the situation of the Vaudois, which cannot but confirm the contents of this, of which he has no knowledge. The Vaudois persuade themselves, that not only all the Protestant powers will favourably consider their case, but also the magnanimous emperors Alexander and Francis, and the other illustrious princes, if inform

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Turin, Jan. 20th, 1816." Raynerus Sacco, an inquisitor, has published a book against the Vaudois, in which he gives them the name of Leonists, from one of their ancient leaders called Leon, who lived towards the end of the third century. You may also see the blasphemy of the church of Rome against the Vaudois in Gretzer's Bibliotheque, written against that people. Many writers pretend that the name Vaudois is derived from Peter Valdo, whose adherents, persecuted in France during the twelfth century, fled for refuge into the retreats of the obscure inhabitants of our valleys who they knew professed the same religion with themselves. They were known by this name, however, eighty years before the time of Valdo, as ap pears from a poem written in the Patois of the country: illidison quel es Vaudose, e degne de morir. This poem is entitled La nobla Leiçon de 1100; and it is said to exist in M. S. at Cambridge. The ancient history of the Vaudois appears like a dream to those who have no knowledge of the warlike valour of this small people, who have suffered persecutions, the recital of which must strike us with horror. The following is a list of the historians of this unhap py people. Boyer's (an Englishman's) short History of the Vaudois, 12mo, Perrin's History of the Vaudois and Albigenses, 8vo. Leger's General History of the Vaudois, folio. Giles's short History of the same people, 4to, Brez' Abridgment of the History of the Vaudois, 8vo. Maranda's Picture of Piedmont, imperfect.

The situation of the pastors is truly deplorable. For the government have condeinned Messrs. Vertu and Brezzi (who rented from the Protestant ministers the property granted by the French government of the value of 1000 franks each) to reimburse the sum of about ten thousand franks, advanced by them to the Protestant ministers, as they were authorized to do, and to claim the same from the pastors, who are positively compelled to borrow the means of existence, and of course find it impossible to satisfy such a claim.

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