other excellencies to the sagacity of other critics, I have only commended his zeal and industry. The former, I hope, will be allowed by catholics themselves, after due perusal of his quarto; and of the latter, I think, his volume is a weighty (I do not say heavy) proof. I apprehend that it is already beginning to sink by its own weight into oblivion. Another is that I have apologised for orange-men, and that I consequently must be an orange-man myself. I certainly

never have been, nor ever intend to be, an orange-man, since, having eight times taken the oath of allegiance, and being fully sensible. that the support of my family depended on the continuance of the established government, I could not conceive any mode by which I could be more firmly attached to it; but I have been repeatedly assured by several orange-men, of undoubted veracity, and by my own sons, who are orange-men, that their system is purely defensive, and that to give even the sinallest insult to any person on account of a difference in religion is contrary to their oaths. I mean not to palliate the excesses of the lower or higher orders of orange-men, more than of any other denominations of men. Those among them who have infringed the laws of heaven and of their country, must be regarded as degrading the majesty of the monarch, and the sanctity of the religion which they have pretended to maintain. to maintain. Another

objection is, that I have advised the protestants of Ireland never to coalesce with their Roman catholic countrymen. Many sayings have been fabricated and reported to have been written by me, of which I am ignorant. Perhaps the following words in page 340, may have been absurdly misconceived in the above sense. "Since, from experienee of this event, civil "wars in any part of Ireland, except some "northern counties, must, from whatever causes excited, be justly expected to assume a reli'gious complexion of the most bloody hue, "Irish protestants ought to be convinced, that "the political separation of their country from "Britain by a popular insurrection, must involve "their extinction, and consequently an infran

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gibly determined adherence to their British "connexion is necessary for their safety." This is only an advice to them not to join in rebellion against the British government. I have elsewhere advised both protestants and catholics to cultivate mutual friendship; but for this I expected, as I have received, no thanks from either — in fact the opposite of thanks from both.

The principal objection is, that I have, under the insidiously assumed mask of candour and impartiality, made the most artfully malicious insinuations against the catholics of Ireland, and that thus my book is, beyond all comparison,

1

more injurious to their interests than that of Sir Richard Musgrave; which, on account of its unqualified aspersions, nobody, they say, believes. This and many other objections I understand to have been first made and propagated by a catholic gentleman, who wrote a pamphlet in answer to Veridicus, and another against Doctor Duigenan's State of Ireland. To Veridicus, perhaps this gentleman may be a suitable antagonist, but, I imagine, if he knew himself, he would hardly ever again appear in the lists against Doctor Duigenan, since the figure, which he there makes, resembles that of a buffoon in a court of justice, using only grimaces and monkey tricks to excite the laughter of the spectators, in opposition to the well connected and forcible arguments of an accomplished pleader. This gentleman says, that I first have taken all possible pains in my narration to inflame the animosity of the protestants against the catholics, and then jesuitically (this is not his word) pretend to exhort the protestants to a Christian conciliation and amity with their catholic fellow-subjects. He also says that a spirit hostile to the catholic religion is evident in all the volumes as yet published of my Terraquea..

Some catholic ladies, of education much above the vulgar, have sent me by message the proposal of two questions. First; whether I have not, from the beginning to the end of my book,

written in such a spirit as to represent the protestant religion as more liberal than the catholic? And secondly; if that be the case, whether this is liberality?

To all such questions and objections I answer, that in writing this history I had no hypothesis to maintain, no system to support except merely the recording of the truth of facts, so far as my discernment could reach, without partiality to sect or party. If I have fallen into errors, let fairly-obtained and clear proofs be produced, and I shall be found as ready to acknowledge them as any person can wish. But since, to say no worse, I am charged with gross illiberality to Roman catholics, I shall take the liberty of asking a few questions in my turn. No fact is more certain than that the common people of the catholic persuasion, in all parts at least of the county of Wexford, whenever they had hopes of success in the rebellion, uniformly declared that no other form of worship than their own must ever be permitted, and that God had never intended that any other should have place. I ask, whence have they learned this doctrine? If they have learned it from their spiritual teachers, and have not been discouraged in it by their gentry, is this liberality? If a catholic happens to go, even once in his life, and even from mere curiosity, to a protestant place of worship, is he not punished by penance or otherwise, for this as a

sin, while no such restraint is laid on protestants with respect to catholic places of worship? Is this liberality?

I know that some catholics of superior intellect take the liberty to emancipate themselves from this thraldom; but the instances of its inforcement on the lower classes are numerous. One lately occured at Wexford. A charitable school has there been established, where a large number of young girls, protestants and catholics promiscuously, were taught to read and write, and were employed in various works of industry, for the productions of which they were paid the full value, beside gratuities. A charitable sermou was preached by Dean Butson for the assistance of the institution, and a collection made of fiftyone pounds. Most of the catholic girls went with their associates to hear the sermon, for which they were severely reprimanded by their priest, and have since been all removed by their parents, who were threatened with excommunication. The priest has published a defence of his conduct, which I shall give in another publication, as he there avows the doctrine here mentioned. As the conduct of this gentleman in the rebellion was highly meritorious, I am very far from intending any personal reflexion against him. I know also that some priests in the county of Wexford, not all of them indeed, have, in conversation among themselves, insisted