WATSON. 



endure the thought of a Catholic legiflator. The principle 

 may be the little comparative influence of a Catholic legifla- 

 tor, and his abjuration of temporal tenets formerly pro- 

 feffed by Catholics. 6. The progrefs of fcience lias fubdued 

 the bigotry formerly too apparent not only in the church of 

 Rome, but in all the reformed churches : and it will never 

 be able, till a ftate of ignorance and barbarifm recurs, to 

 rear up its head again. There is no probability of intole- 

 ; ranee and fuperftition ever more pervading Europe ; and 

 the Cacliolic religion will continue to derive light from the 

 labour of learning. Tlie learned Catholics are beginning 

 I every where to foften the afperities of their religious tenets, 

 and to apologize for what they cannot excufe. The Irilh 

 gentry partake of the illumination of the age ; and the pea- 

 fantry will imitate the example of their fuperiors. 7. It 

 may be faid that the church of Rome has not formally re- 

 nounced any of the doctrines maintained at the council of 

 .Trent, and that the court of Rome has not abandoned any 

 of its pretenfions to temporal dominion; yet Catholic, as 

 well as Proteftant, Hates have every where fpurned thefe 

 pretenfions; and fomething very like a formal renunciation 

 of one of the moll dangerous tenets of that church took 

 •place in Ruflia more than twenty years ago. The emprefs 

 I Catharine gave permiiTion to the Roman Catholics in her 

 dominions merely to exercife their religion ; and to have 

 •bifhops of their own perfuafion for the government of their 

 jchurch. She was prefent at the confecration of the firft 

 Catholic archbifhop. When the ceremony had proceeded 

 ■to the adminiftration of the oath ufiially taken by the bifhops 

 of that church, the archbifhop (that was to be) refufed to 

 repeat the claufe " Hoereticos Ichifmaticos et rebelles domino 

 Jnoftro papae pro polTe perfequar et impugnato." On this 

 ;|refufal, the ceremony was ended, frcfli inllruftions were re- 

 i'quired from Rome, and the then pope ordered the claufe to 

 !be omitted ; and it has been lince omitted, by the authority 

 of the pope, in the oath taken by the Irifh bifhops." 



" My great objeftion," fays Watibn, " to the church of 

 Rome is the uncharitable principle of the infalvability of per- 

 il fons out of its pale ; for this principle produces a perfe- 

 iiCUting principle, and I muft ever deteft every fpecies of 

 iperfecution. I cannot however believe that Catholic eman- 

 ;cipation will tend to theincreafe of the number of Catholics, 

 leitherin Ireland or in England ; on the contrary, I think the 

 :numberwould,by fuch a meafure,be leffened. Nothingunites 

 , men fo much as any degree of perfecution. Individuals, 

 jotherwife of no confequence, cither from talents or fortune, 

 .become confpicuous, and acquire a degree of weight, when 

 ^conneftcd with a party. Men claim merit from what they 

 call their fufferings, who would have no ground for claiming 

 ■it on anv other fpecies of defert." 



I In fubfequent letters aildrcffod to lord Grenville in 1 8 10, 

 I and to fir John Cox Hippiflcy in 18 1 2, he gives the fullow- 

 |ing opinion of the -veto: " the appointment of the Irilh Ca- 

 , tholic bifhops ought to be in the king, if they are to be paid 

 ' by the ftate ; and if they are to be paid by the Catholics 

 [themfelvcs, it ought to be in them ; but exclufive of all 

 foreign influence, recommendation, or confirmation. If 

 they do not accede to this, or to fomething fimilar to this, 

 they will aft on di principle which I did not sxpcS, nor can ap- 

 frove." In a letter to lord Hardwicke, dated April 2, 

 1812, he fays, " I make no fecret of my opinion ; a cordial 

 reception of Catholics and Dilfenters into the bofom of the 

 conftitution, by the extinftion of all difqualifications, is be- 

 come neceffary to fecure the independence of the empire, 

 and the fafety of the country." 



In confequence of an imputation of want of orthodoxy, 

 partly occafioned by a fermon pubhflied by the bifhop, and 



entitled « A Second Defence of revealed Religion," he 

 makes the following refleftions on the ground of this charge. 

 " What is this thing called orthodoxy, which mars the for- 

 tunes of honeft men, mifleads the judgment of princes, and 

 occafionally endangers the liability of thrones ? In the true 

 meaning of the term, it is a facred thing, to which every 

 denomination of Chriftians lays an arrogant and exclufive 

 claim, but to which no man, no affembly of men, fince the 

 apoftolic age, can prove a title. It is frequently, amono- 

 individuals of the fame feft, nothing better than felf-fuffit 

 ciency of opinion, and pharifaical pride, by which each 

 manefleems himfelf more righteous than his neighbours. It 

 may, perhaps, be ufeful in cementing what is called the 

 alliance between the church and ftate ; but if fuch an alliance 

 obftrufts candid difcuflions, if it invades the right of pri- 

 vate judgment, if it generates bigotry in churchmen, or in- 

 tolerance in ftatefmen, it not only becomes inconfiftent with 

 the general principles of Proteftantifm, but it impedes the 

 progrefs of the kingdom of Chrift, which we all know is 

 not of this world." 



The next public occafion on which our biftiop diftin- 

 guilhed himfelf was on the debate which took place in the 

 houfe of lords, March 23, 1807, concerning the abolitioa 

 of the flave-trade. For the affirmative of this queftion he 

 delivered a fpeech, abounding with hiftorical information and 

 found argument. When the adminiftration that had been 

 formed on the deatli of Mr. Pitt was difmifled, he exprefled 

 in ftrong terms his difapprobation of tlie oftenfible reafofi 

 alleged for its difmiffion, which was the king's diflike of a 

 meafure which had been brought forward in parliament re- 

 fpedling the Irifh Catholic officers ; and the requifition on 

 the part of his majefty of a pledge that this adminiftration 

 would never more bring forward the queftion of granting 

 farther indulgence to the Irifh CathoUcs. This requifition 

 was confidered by many as having a tendency dangerous to 

 the conftitution ; and to Dr. W. it appeared " to be not in 

 words, but in fad, a declaration of s.fic volo." On occa- 

 fion of the difmifiion of this " half Whig, and half Tory 

 adminiftration," as he calls it, he communicated to lord 

 Grenville a refolution, which he conceived to be fit to be in- 

 troduced in the houfe of lords, whenever the fubjeft fhoiild 

 be brought forward, and which lord Grenville aftually 

 adopted in loto, as better in his opinion than any thing which 

 had occurred either to himfelf or to his friends. The refo- 

 tion was as follows : " Refolved, that whoever has advifed, 

 or fhall in future adyife, his majefl:y to require from his con- 

 fidential fervants a pledge, that they will, on any occafion, 

 abflain from fubmitting to his confidcration any meafure of 

 government which they, in their confcionces, believe to be 

 conducive to the public weal, is and ought by this houfe to 

 be declared to be an enemy to the conftitution of this coun- 

 try." Soon afterwards lie fent to the duke of Grafton a 

 lefs firm refolution, which he thought might be more ac- 

 ceptable to the then houfe of lords. Neither of thefe refo- 

 hitions, however, was ultimately adopted ; but the refolu- 

 tio[i that was aftually propofed was, after a debate which 

 lafted till 7 o'clock in the morning, negatived by a great 

 majority. A violent alarm againll Popery and of the 

 church's danger prevailed, during which the bifhop declared 

 his opinion, " that it was both juft, and in the ftate of Buo- 

 naparte's ftrength and temper towards us, highly expedient, 

 to receive both Cathohcs and DifTenters into the bolom of the 

 conftitution", but that it was improper to prefs any innova- 

 tion till the people were prepared to receive it ; and that" 

 (in his opinion) " the time was not yet come for the general 

 adoption of fuch a pohtical and equitable principle of go- 

 vernment. Toleration was in every man's jsouth ; but do- 

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