followed it; and should attempt to identify them with the actual doctrines of the established church? By parity of reason, may not a roman-catholic justly complain, when a protestant brings forward the miserable story of St. Dunstan pinching the devil's nose, and other tales of this sort; and represents them as forming part of the faith or doetrines of the catholic church?

Surely it is time that this kind of contention should cease. If there must be controversy between catholics and protestants, let it always be the controversy of scholars and gentlemen :-such controversy as was waged between Laud and Fisher; between Chillingworth and Knott:- such as we find in thé elegant letters of father Scheffmacher; and the learned treatise of doctor Isaac Barrow. Such, in fine, as we meet with in doctor Milner's "Letters "to a Prebendary," and in his "End of Contro"versy:" I have greatly availed of these in the letters which I now have the honour to address to you. I particularly recommend the perusal of them to you and every protestant, who sincerely wishes to be informed of our religious tenets, of the arguments by which we support them, and of the history of the English roman-catholics since the Reformation.

E

THIS is an important chapter. A romancatholic will peruse with pleasure the ample tribute of commendation which you pay, in parts of it, to the conduct of the roman missionaries; to the doctrine which they preached; and to the manner in which they preached it. Still you are sometimes unjust to them. On these parts of the chapter I shall offer some observations: I shall attempt to show,—I. That the conduct of the missionaries was, under Providence, the chief cause of their success in preaching the gospel:-11. I shall notice an unfounded charge brought by you, in this chapter, against the Anglo-Saxon clergy:-And III. examine your assertion, that the faith of the Welch was purer than that taught by St. Augustine to the Anglo-Saxons.

IV. 1.

The Conduct of the Missionaries was, under Providence, the chief Cause of their Success.

You ask,-why "christianity should have been "established so early, and with such little struggle "in England, seeing that its introduction into "heathen countries has, in later centuries, been "found so exceedingly difficult, as at one time to be

generally considered hopeless, and almost impos"sible, without a miracle?" You assign for its

early and quiet establishment among the AngloSaxons several natural causes. I coincide with you in opinion, that all the causes you mention were favourable to the introduction and propagation of christianity in England.

Several natural causes had, in like manner, been favourable to its introduction and propagation in the Roman world. All history shows, that the wisdom of Providence frequently uses the circumstances of mankind as instruments for its purposes; and thus frequently accomplishes its designs, partially at least, by human means.

But was not the success of the Anglo-Saxon apostles principally owing, under Providence, to their correspondence with the graces and gifts, which it pleased the Almighty to bestow upon them? None of the circumstances mentioned by you to have been favourable to the introduction and extension of the gospel among the Anglo-Saxons, existed in some of the countries in which it was preached by St. Augustine's disciples; yet the success of the disciples was every where equal to the success of their Master. Should it not, therefore, be chiefly attributed to their having possessed the same virtues?

In how many portions of the habitable globe have roman-catholic missions, even under the most discouraging circumstances, been attended with equal success? In opposition to the ruling powers, and often under severe persecutions, countless conversions have been made by roman-catholic mis

sionaries in Madeira, Cochin-china, Tonquin, the empire of China, the peninsula of Corea; among the Hurons, Miamis, Illinois, and other tribes of North America; among the savages of Paraguay, Uraguay and Panama; among the wild Moxos, Chiquits and Canizians. All these countries have been watered with the blood of roman-catholic missionaries; and, to use the well-known expression of Tertullian," their blood became the seed of the church."

IV. 2.

Unfounded Charge brought in this Chapter against the Anglo-Saxon Clergy.

TOWARDS the middle of this chapter*, you broadly describe the missionaries, as "politic in " contrivance; little scrupulous concerning the measures which they employed, because they

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were persuaded that any measures were justifiable, "if they conduced to bring about the good end "which was their aim."

You must admit, that the principle which you impute in this place to the Anglo-Saxon missionaries is most nefarious, and fraught with the worst consequences. You must also admit, that a charge of this nature, when it is brought against an individual, can only be proved by producing either his own acknowledgment of it, or else such facts as establish it by just inference; and that, when it is

* Vol. 1, p. 55, 56.

brought against a body of men, it can only be proved by producing a multiplicity of such acknowledgments, or a multiplicity of such facts. But in the present case, where are these acknowledgments? Where are these facts?

IV. 3.

Alleged purer Faith of the Welch.

"THE Saxons," you inform us, "received chris"tianity with its latest ceremonials, additions, and "doctrinal corruptions. The Welch were possessed "of a purer faith."

But can the slightest evidence of their purer faith be produced? Gildas, who was himself a Welchman, and a contemporary with St. Augustine, censures, in the strongest terms, the morals of the clergy of Wales, and their neglect of clerical duty. Is it then likely, that their faith should have been purer than that of St. Augustine? Add to this, that one of St. Augustine's demands of the Welch was, that they should join him, and his companions, in preaching the word of God to the pagans*: Would he have made this demand if there had not been the strictest unity of faith between himself and the clergy of Wales? His only other demands were, that they should adopt the Roman ritual in the administration of baptism; observe the computation of Easter, used in every other part of Christendom; and submit to the metropolitan juris

• Doctor Lingard's Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church,

p. 2.