80 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. [Junk. 



decorated the front of his house 

 with the usual hangings, during 

 the procession of the host on 

 Corpus Christi day. This prose- 

 cution appears to us a manifest 

 violation of the 5th article of the 

 Charter ; but what appears more 

 surprising still are, the arguments 

 employed by the public ministry 

 (the law officers of the Crown) 

 who demanded the condemna- 

 tion. They rested these argu- 

 ments on a regulation of 1757, 

 which they cited at the audience 

 as their authority, and which you 

 will observe renewed the rigour 

 of the persecutions against the 

 Protestants, the exile of their 

 pastors, interdiction of their 

 assemblies, the annulling of their 

 marriages, the declaration of 

 bastardy on their infants, &c. 

 What must we think, in the age 

 in which we live, of seeing such 

 atrocities dug up from their grave ? 

 No attempt is made, it is true, to 

 bring them again into exercise 

 at the present moment, and the 

 attempt could not succeed though 

 made; but it might be expected 

 that shame would restrain them 

 from recalling those barbarous 

 decrees, especially as by so doing 

 they violate existing laws, and 

 aim a direct blow at rights con- 

 secrated by the charter. 



Article 5 of the charter is thus 

 expressed: — " Every man pro- 

 fesses his religion with equal 

 freedom, and obtains for his wor- 

 ship the same protection." It is 

 evident that, if the Protestants 

 can be compelled to put out 

 hangings, then to bend the knee, 

 &c., acts prohibited by their 

 conscience, there is no longer 

 any toleration in religion, and by 



degrees we may expect the revival 

 of former abuses. Attempts of 

 the same kind appear to have 

 been made in the whole of the 

 Sodth. We know of energetic 

 representations made, addressed 

 to the government by divers con- 

 sistories, and we think it necessary 

 to display zeal and firmness in 

 the delicate circumstances in 

 which we are with regard to the 

 Concordat. The Concordat pre- 

 sented to the Chambers, but not 

 discussed, threatens us with a 

 revival of all the laws of the 

 Church, and you are not ignorant 

 what the ultra-montane paity 

 mean by these expressions. I 

 know that some of the provisions 

 of this charter may be amended, 

 but is it not deplorable that the 

 idea of proposing them should 

 have been entertained ? If we 

 show weakness or indifference, 

 can we tell how far our supine- 

 ness or want of energy may be 

 abused in the discussions of the 

 approaching session of the Cham- 

 bers, to extort from them conces- 

 sions which may endanger our 

 liberty of conscience ? 



A peculiar system of manage- 

 ment appears to be adopted by 

 those who move in these affairs. 

 They appear to act in concert, as 

 the same attempts have been 

 made in different places. The 

 condemned have demanded signed 

 copies of their sentences ; they 

 have not received them, and pro- 

 bably never will. This mode of 

 proceeding appears a tacit con- 

 fession on the part of the Autho- 

 rities that their decisions are not 

 founded on law. It is to be 

 remarked likewise, that though 

 several Protestants resisted a 

 compliance 



