GENERAL HISTORY. 
Britain and Ireland, and the go- 
vernment; namely, the oath of 
allegiance required; the mode of 
appointing bishops to vacant sees ; 
and the revision of rescripts, &c. 
from Rome. With respect to the 
first, the Pope grants permission 
to take one of three forms of oath 
annexed, each of which solemnly 
engages the juror to obedience 
and fidelity to the King, to the 
disclosure of any plot against the 
Government, and to abstaining 
from any attempt to disturb the 
public tranquillity. As to the 
second, his Holiness, besides an 
earnest exhortation to all who 
have been accustomed tonominate 
bishops, that they should be ex~ 
tremely careful to admit none into 
the number of candidates who 
are not of approved fidelity to the 
King, does not hesitate to permit 
that the list of candidates be exhi- 
bited to the King’s ministers, that 
if any of them be disliked or sus- 
pected, they may be expunged, 
provided a sufficient number be 
left for the Pope to choose from. 
With regard to the point of re- 
vising, sanctioning, or rejecting 
rescripts from Rome, it is affirmed 
to be inadmissible, even as a mat- 
ter of discussion; for although 
that power has been claimed and 
exercised by some Catholic Sove- 
reigns, “it is an abuse which the 
Holy See, to prevent greater 
evils, is forced to endure, but can 
by no means sanction.” Some 
explanations and assurances are, 
however, given in another form, 
which, it is hoped, will be deemed 
satisfactory by the British Go- 
vernment. 
In the result it appeared that 
even the Pope’s allowance of a 
kind of veto respecting the no- 
(143 
mination of bishops, could not 
reconcile the Irish Catholics to 
that measure. An address to the 
Prince Regent was drawn up by 
the Catholic: Prelates of Ireland, 
and transmitted through the me- 
dium of the Lord Lieutenant, in 
which, after their congratulations 
on the success of his Majesty’s 
arms, and their grateful acknow- 
ledgments for the relaxation of 
the penal laws against those of 
their communion in the present 
reign, which they hope will ter- 
minate in a total emancipation, 
they express their surprise and 
alarm, that under the pretence of 
securing the loyalty of their body, 
an intention has been manifested 
of compelling them, in direct op- 
position to the dictates of their 
consciences, on the event of Ca- 
tholic emancipation, to submit to 
the interference of persons of a 
different religious persuasion in 
the appointment of the principal 
ministers of their church. Such 
a measure, they affirm, would 
only substitute for one mode of 
servitude, another still more gall- 
ing and oppressive. This address 
was received by his Royal Highness 
in September. What will be the 
event of this and the intended ap- 
plications to the other branches 
of the legislature, can only be 
known at the ensuing session of 
parliament. In the mean time, 
the Court of Rome appears to be 
in considerable embarrassment on 
the subject; and the Pope has de- 
clined giving an answer to the 
Irish Catholics, till it shall be 
known whether Parliament de- 
signs completely to emancipate 
the Catholics in the next session. 
He has however observed, that 
the letter from Genoa was con- 
