Intelligence.-Persecution of the French Protestants. Gospel, and arising out of the spirit which it breathes, that all men possess an equal right to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience. Resolved, That influenced by these convictions, we have learned with deep heartfelt concern, that persecutions have arisen against the Protestants residing in the South of France; where the persons of many hundreds of innocent and useful members of society have been ill-treated and murdered, their property pillaged and destroyed, their families deprived of the means of support, their houses of worship shut up or demolished; and that under the influence of fear, thousands have fled from the pursuit of the persecutors, and are now suffering wretchedness and want amongst the mountains of the Ce. vennes and in other parts of the French territory. Resolved, That we should ill deserve the advantages by which we are distinguished, if we did not make a public avowal of our abhorrence of the spirit which has actuated the Catholics in the South of France, and the violence to which that spirit has led them, and our determination to employ whatever influence we may possess to remove the miseries of the persecuted Protestants, and restore to them peace and security. Resolved, That it affords us much pleasure to learn that his Majesty's ministers have declared their disapprobation and regret, of measures, which must fill every benevolent heart with sorrow, and we do express our hope that they will continue to use all their influence with the Court of France, to stop the present cruel proceedings, and prevent the recurrence of similar violence and misery. Resolved, That with these views, copies of these Resolutions be respectfully transmitted to the Earl of Liverpool, his Majesty's first Lord of the Treasury, to the Lord Bishop of Exeter, to the Lord Lieutenant and Members for the County of Devon, and to the Members for this Borough, entreating them to embrace every opportunity which may present itself to them, both in and out of Parliament, to promote in France and in all other countries, as far as they consistently can, the full enjoyment of liberty of conscience, and a free exercise of religious worship. 57 Resolved, That a subscription be immediately set on foot, and books to receive the names of subscribers opened at the Banks in this town, and at the Guild-hall, for the purpose of affording relief to the unhappy sufferers; that Mr John Tingcombe be requested to be Treasurer for the same, and that the Mayor, together with the Gentlemen who signed the requisition, ' form a Committee, to see that the money which is raised, be properly applied. Resolved, That these Resolutions be signed by the Chairman, and published in the Plymouth Chronicle, the Plymouth and Dock Telegraph, and in the Courier and Morning Chronicle Newspapers. Resolved, That the Thanks of this Meeting be given to Mr. William Prance for bringing forward these Resolutions, and for the able manner in which he has supported them. WILLIAM LOCKYER, Mayor. The Mayor having quitted the Chair, Resolved, That the Thanks of this Meeting be given to him for his readiness in convening it, and for his great attention to the business thereof. The Prefect of the Department of M. LE MAYOR, I doubt not that if insinuations of this kind have reached you, you have pointed out their falsehood, knowing as you do that the king never transmits orders or makes known his will except through the medium of his ministers and magistrates charged with assisting in the administration of the state. If in unfortunate times the true friends of the king have been sometimes obliged to envelope their proceedings in secrecy, those times are at length past, and every individual who without an express mission recognized by the government seeks to intermeddle in its operations, 58 Intelligence.Duke of Wellington's Letter. is no other than a factious person who wishes to deceive and seduce you. Every secret association, although even its members should be actuated by good sentiments, is dangerous on account of the facilities which it affords for disturbing the public tranquillity. Upon these grounds the king or ders that every secret association, whatever may be its apparent or presumed object, shall be immediately dissolved, and his Majesty prohibits the organization of any of that description. I enjoin you specially, M. le Mayor, and on your personal responsibility, to look to the execution of this formal order. If the persons already initiated in associations of this description, or disposed to be so, are truly attached and faithful to the king, they will be eager to obey; but if, notwithstanding your injunctions, they should be contumacious, they will become factious persons, whom you will immediately denounce to me, that I may proceed against them with the just severity of the law. I rely, M. le Mayor, on all your zeal to conform exactly to these instructions, and to render me precise account of what you shall have done in this respect. It is indispensably necessary that I should receive this Report before the 30th of the present month. I have the honour to be, &c. The Prefect of l'Isere, Count de MoNTLIVAULT. The following has been handed to us as an extract of a letter from France relative to the Protestants of the South. We hope the highly laudable exertions of the friends of humanity in this country have at length had their intended effect in compelling the French government to adopt effectual measures for restoring the persecuted Protestants to all their former privileges. negligence in this respect; he therefore invited and even enjoined them to re-open their temples, assuring them of every protection, but added, that the Roman Catholics, seeing with dissatisfaction that these temples were before the Revolution, Catholic Churches, it was agreed, in order that there might be no pretext for disturbance, that there should be new temples. The city would give the land for building them on: one to be situated to the North and to the South, and to cost 110,000 francs, towards which, he informed them, the Duke d'Angouleme would give 15,000 francs. The proposition has been accepted, and the work is about to be commenced. The temples will be without the city, and until they are finished the Protestants will have peaceable possession of the present temples."-M. Chron. Jan. 3. The Prefect of the Department of Gard having invited to his house two ministers of the Protestant communion, and two members of the Consistory, with the Mayor of the city of Nismes and his adjunct, informed them that the French government took the greatest interest in the opening of the temples, and seemed even to accuse him, the Prefect, of The Lancasterian System of Education had commenced in France un der the happiest auspices; but its great end, universal education, is defeated. The Directors, the mouth pieces of superior power, have refused to admit PROTESTANT CHILDREN. The affairs at Nismes was not an isolated act, but essentially connected with the religious policy of that horde of bigots who dictate to the crown. My next will convey further particu lars.-M. Chron. Dec. 26. Duke of Wellington's Letter. I have had the honour of receiving your letter of the 24th inst. and I take the earliest opportunity of replying to it. I have every reason to believe that the public, and the society, of which you are the secretaries, have been misinformed regarding what is passing in the South of France. It is natural that there should be violent contests in a country in which the people are divided, not only by a dif ference of religion, but likewise by a difference of political opinion, and that the religion of every individual is in general the sign of the political party to which he belongs, and at a moment of peculiar political interest, and of weakness in the government on account of the mutiny of the army, that Intelligence.-Mons. Marron's Letter. the weaker party should suffer, and that much injustice and violence should be committed by individuals of the more numerous preponderating party. But as far as I have any knowledge acquired during my residence at this court last year, and since the entry of the allies into Paris, the government have done every thing in their power to put an end to the disturbances which have prevailed in the South of France, and to protect all his Majesty's subjects, in conformity with his Majesty's promise in his Royal Charter, in the exercise of their religious duties according to their several persuasions, and in the enjoyment of their several privileges, what ever may be their religious persuasions. In a recent instance, an officer, General La Garde, was sent down to Nismes, specially by government, to inquire into the state of affairs in that country, and upon his first report he had orders to open the Protestant Churches, which, in the course of the contest between the parties, had been closed. He was severely wounded when in the execution of these orders; and I have been informed by good authority, that his Royal Highness the Duc d'Angouleme has since marched at the head of a body of troops against those who had opposed themselves to the execution, by General La Garde, of the orders of the government. I enclose the copy of the King's Ordonnance, issued in consequence of this event which sufficiently shews the views and intentions of government. I have further to inform you, that it is not true that the salaries of the Protestant ministers have been discontinued by the King of France. I trust that what I have above stated will convince the society of which you are the Secretaries, that the King of France's government, at least, are not to blame on account of the unfortunate circumstances which have occurred in the South of France. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) WELLINGTON. Mr. J. Wilks and Mr. T. Pellatt, Secretaries to the Protestant Society for the Protection of Religious Liberty. 59 tory at Paris, and addressed to M. M. of the Committee for the Affairs of the French Protestants. GENTLEMEN, Paris, Dec. 7. I have made it a duty to oppose every proposition tending to foreign interference in the affairs of the French Protestants. I cannot, therefore, see with satisfaction what passes in England on this subject, and I cannot concur in it. If the zeal of your fraternal love edifies and affects me, it appears to me, nevertheless, to go beyond the line of true prudence, and even the spirit of true charity. It is not thus that the latter virtue proclaims its assistance, especially when it may have reason to dread, that by such a conduct it may compromise the very interests of the cause which it undertakes to support and defend. I am far from admitting that there can be, as you imagine, any thing hostile in the conduct or in the intentions of the French government, with regard to the Protestants. The suf ferings at Nismes are great, doubtless, but they are local; and local causes, however unfounded, may have contributed to provoke them and to prolong their duration. The French government laments them as much as you or I. The king has pronounced, in the most unequivocal manner, his displeasure, his horror at the late events. His wishes and his efforts to remedy the evil, to calm the lamentable exasperation of public feeling are attested by the Royal Ordonnance, by what the Duc d'Anguouleme said to the deputation of the Consistory, and by the flattering distinction with which one of the pastors of the Cevennes (M. Malines) was lately honoured, in receiving the decoration of the Legion of Honour. Copy of a Letter written by M. Marron, I do not know, gentlemen, who could take it upon him to excite your commiseration for the delay which the ministers of the reformed religion experience in the payment of their stipends. What we experience in this respect, we only participate with all other public functionaries. They do not impute it, any more than ourselves, to any other cause than to the deplorable situation into which we have been thrown. We ought rather to bless the government for what it has done, than blame it for 60 Mr. Travers's Resignation of the Pastoral Office. what it has not done; and I must again solemnly disavow here, every appeal to foreign commiseration. I beseech you, therefore, to write to me no more in the style in which you have now done. I respect, I honour the signatures of your letter; I render justice to the motives of all; and I dare hope that you will not be offended on your part with my frank disapprobation. None can subscribe themselves with more fraternal regards, Yours, &c. see I am greatly concerned to inform you, that in consequence of a severe fit of sickness, with which it has pleased Almighty God to visit me; no prospect of being able to resume the honourable and important office of your Minister. But great as my regret is, upon the present occasion, it would be infinitely increased if I thought that this event would put a stop to the pure and rational worship of God in Southampton, which I have much at heart, for which we have exerted ourselves so zealously, and upon which we have abundant reason earnestly to implore and expect the divine blessing. Let us not, therefore, be discouraged on account of this calamity, but let us redouble our efforts, for "greater is He who is with us, than he who is against us." And be assured my Christian friends, that "in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Let me recommend you boldly to look your situation in the face, and not suffer yourselves to be needlessly cast down; only consider what it was a twelvemonth ago, and what it now is! Our debts then were about 500l., at present they don't much exceed 100l., such have been our exertions and success; and the little loan of 851. which is against us, I am well persuaded will be kindly continued, until we are able to pay it off. If it had pleased God to have preserved me in health, but a few months longer, it was my intention to have solicited the assistance of our 'zealous and liberalminded brethren, in those parts of the country which I have not yet visited, to enable us to liquidate this remaining incumbrance; and from what I have already experienced of the zeal and fellow-feeling of a large proportion of our Society, I am confident I must have been successful-but the divine Being has ordered it otherwise, and it becomes us to be resigned to his supremely wise and kind disposals. I consider this spot to be an important part of the Christian vineyard in England, which we have in some measure cleared of what I conceive to be the corruptions of Christianity; and it never can be imagined for a moment, that the respectable and wealthy body of Unitarians, throughout the kingdom, would be backward in strengthening our hands as our necessities might require. To them, therefore, we may confidently look for co-operation and support. Mr. Coates, one of the trustees of the Re gium donum, upon whom I called when I was in London, very properly considered us entitled to relief, and assisted us accordingly, and I am warranted to believe, from what passed between us, that this assistance would be annually continued. It would give me great pleasure to add an annual subscription on my own account, but the expenses attendant upon my present infirm state of health, forbid my making any positive engagements. I will, however, do what lies in my power, to enable you to make good your necessary annual out-goings. And in particular, I will write to Mr. Christie, (with whom I am intimately acquainted,) who is the Treasurer of the Unitarian Fund, stating to him our situation, and requesting him to lay it before the Committee, that they may immediately take such steps, as may be necessary, to prevent the extinction of our interest in these parts, by affording us, from time to time, all necessary assistance and supplies. may not be improper also to mention in this place, for the information of the Society, that an Association of It State of Public Affairs. Unitarian Christians, has been formed within the last six months, in this department, one of whose objects is, the support of those congregations which may require its assistance, of which the Rev. Mr. Fox, of Chichester is Secretary, and to whom I shall make a point of writing an early letter for our succour and relief, and I have no doubt it will be cheerfully granted. Under these circumstances, let me conjure you not to think of parting with the chapel, until we have strained every nerve to retain it, and find from experience, that it is utterly out of our power so to do. It would be a calamity which could never sufficiently be regretted, to see our pretty chapel trodden under foot by those who have departed from the simplicity of the gospel. May we not hope that in a little time it may please God, provided we are patient and united among ourselves, to raise up for us a gentleman of popular and respectable talents, and irreproachable character, whose circumstances are independent, and who may be fired with equal zeal and ardour with myself, in the diffusion of Christian truth 61 and liberty. I shall take care to make such a call through the channel of the Monthly Repository, and should we be so fortunate, as to meet with such a person, it may tend greatly to enlarge and strengthen our interest. In the mean time, I should strongly recommend your meeting together, once every Sabbath-day, and by means of religious exercises, such as reading, prayer, conversation and singing the praises of God, to comfort, edify and strengthen each other. If my life should be spared, it is my intention in the course of three months, to quit my present situation, and sit down within ten or twenty miles of the metropolis, for the sake of being nearer to my immediate relatives and friends, who have kindly expressed their wishes to this effect; but wherever I am, I shall be rejoiced to hear of your increasing prosperity, shall be happy to promote it in every way that lies in my power, and shall never cease to pray, that the divine blessing may ever accompany you and yours. I am, my dear friends, Yours very sincerely, B. TRAVERS. MONTHLY RETROSPECT OF PUBLIC OR, OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS The Christian's Survey of the Political World. HE persecution of the Proteslast given rise to very important discussions. The question, originally taken up by the Dissenting Ministers of London, and the Protestant Society, has been investigated in various parts of England, and made such an impression, that its effects have been felt through France, and even their cabinet has been compelled to take various steps to remove the odium, that has been excited against the principal agents in the nefarious transactions at Nismes. The attempts to stifle the inquiries into these wicked transactions have been of a very extraordinary nature; and that paper, which, if Buonaparte had committed the hundredth part of the atrocities, that have taken place in the South of France, would have made all Europe resound with the bitterness of its in vilest calumnies against those, who have nobly stood forward to assist the oppressed and the persecuted. The Morning Chronicle, however, remained firm in the cause which it undertook; and has produced such proofs of the existence of the evils complained of, that none but the wilfully blind can doubt that there has been much suffering at Nismes and its neighbourhood solely on account of religion. But what need have we of many proofs. The facts allowed by all parties speak for themselves. No one can deny, that the Protestant places of worship have been shut up: for they have been re-opened by authority. No one can deny that a bitter spirit of persecution has been excited |