one regards the tranfitory affairs of this world-the other the eternal affairs of the world to come. As the catholick faith is a religion preached to all nations, and to all people, fo it is fuitable to all clines, and all forms of government -monarchies or republicks-ariftocracies or democracies. Defpotick or popular governments are not the concerns of the catholick faith. It may well fuit a small fect to regulate its creed and form of worship, according to the shape and form of government of the limited boundaries where that fect arofe, exists, and dies away. Not fo the religion, which the prophet foretold fhould extend from the rifing to the fetting fun, which has been propagated and promu!ged from Peru to China, from the East to the Weft Indies, from Pole to Pole-teaching the fame doctrine-adminiftering the fame facraments, and offering up the adorable facrifice of the redeemer, wherever man is found, and God adored. It is therefore called the catholick, or univerfal religion. It may well fuit the laity of your refpective diftricts, to pursue their temporal concerns, and their temporal politicks, by fuch ways as appear to them fair, peace able, and loyal; and, their paft conduct is a proof that they are incapable of purfuing them by any other means. If their conduct has always been loyal and peaceable, even in the worst of times-if, even when religious penalties made them total ftrangers in their native land-if, when the ruling party, with infolence in their looks, and oppreffion in their hands, ground them down--when fome of the most powerful men in the nation declared in the fenate, that they hoped to fee the day when no catholick would dare fpeak to a proteftant with his hat ‡on-when, even the course of juftice was perverted, and the channels of it dried up, according to the prejudices and party views of the judges who fat on the bench, and were paid for the impartial adminiftration of it, by taxes levied upon the oppreffed fufferers-yet, even in these provoking times, if the body of catholicks remained inflexibly attached to their religion,

He and doctor Troy endeavoured to evince in their paftoral letters, that the popifh religion was weil fuited to a republick, the citablishment of which was the main object of the United Irishmen.

↑ Here he throws a ftigma on the cftablished religion, and predicts its downfall, at the fame time that he here prefents the popith fuperftition as univerfal, and riling on its downfall,

This is a moft infamous felfehood, fabricated to infame the peril multitude.

ligion, and to their king, what have you to dread from their proceedings, when not only the judges are equitable and humane, but also a great part of thefe impolitick religious penalties are removed, and the reft of them in fuch a state of progrefs to be totally removed? That however a JUNTO, for their own interefted, or other finifter views, may raife mobs to try to throw obftacles against the total repeal of them, yet all their efforts must be ufelefs-the vait rock is already detached, from the mountain's brow, and whoever oppofes its defcent and removal must be crushed by his own rash endeavours.* The popery laws are upon the eve of being extinguished for ever; and may no wicked hand ever again attempt to divide this land, by making religious diftinctions a mafk, to divide-to disturb -to opprefs it. †

Make your flock fenfible to the honour of being accounted a member of the Catholick communion-that they are not members of a small fect, limited to that country where the fect itself was formed. They are members of a great church, which has lafted more than 1700 yearswhich flourished in every part of the habitable world.— In omnem terram exivit fonus eorum, & in fines orbis terræ verba corum-and that Chrift has promifed that it will flourish until time fhall be no more. Ufque ad confummationem fæculi-porta inferi non prevalebunt adverfus eam. That confequently, they fhould not be afhamed to belong to a religion, which fo many kings and princes-fo many of the most polished and learned nations of the world, glory in profeffing.

Remind them, that two centuries of perfecution have tried, in vain, to pervert them: That the annals of the church-the hiftory of mankind, does not afford another example like theirs of perfeverance in their religious principles. That we find in the history of every other nation, or people, that a much fhorter time was fufficient, by penal reftrictions of religion, to gain over the people to the religion of the state; but that two centuries of perfecuting laws

According to this prediction, if the king, or any member of the lords or commons, or even the whole of them, should oppofe the repeal of the few reftrictive laws which remained, they would be murdered by the banditti, whe were at that time committing robbery and affaffination.

+ Here he pretends to inculcate chriftian charity and liberality, though the whole of his letter breathes a fanatical fpirit of intolerance.

laws-immenfe fums of money given by parliament to gain over profelytes, and levied upon thofe very people, whofe creeds they thereby endeavoured to purchase, left still the great body of the nation faithful to that fpark which St. Patrick lighted at the great altar of the Catholick church, and fpread over this ifland; and that nine-tenths of the nation at large, and ninety-nine hundredths of this diocefs, are still faithful and fteady catholicks, notwithstanding what they and their ancestors fuffered for their fidelity; and for which they are as unrivalled in the hiftory of the church---as infulated an exception to the prevaricating verfatility of man, as the geographical fituation of the ifland itfelf is to the reft of the world.

That portion of the catholicks of Ireland, which God. has committed to my fpiritual care, I call upon you, very reverend and dearly-beloved brethren, as my coadjutors and affistants, to aid me, by word, and by example, to inftruct, and to feed, with the word of fulvation, and with the bread of angels. It is a laborious, but it is alfo a meritorious, and an honourable employment. It forms the ftrongest bulwark to the ftate, by being the beft fupplement to the laws; which, without morals, are vain. A faithful difcharge of thefe duties will form our crown, and our glory, when, at the laft day, the fupreme paftor will come to judge us, and to judge the world.†

12.

Copy of a paper found in the writing-box of lord Edward Fitzgerald, on the 12th of March, by the officer who went that day to arreft him under a charge of treafon.

IF ever any unfortunate caufe fhould put our city, with the other parts of the country, into the poffeffion of a cruel and tyrannical enemy, whofe government, by repeated oppreffions, might drive us into the laft ftage of defperate refiftance, our conduct then should be regulated in a manner best calculated for obtaining victory.

The

This is notoriously falfe, as the Roman catholicks to the proteftants are not three to one. In the town of Clonmell alone in that diocels there are above two thousand proteftants.

During the allizes, the doctor preached two fernions in Waterford of a most inflammatory tendency; and fome time before, he said, in a fermon preached in a chapel in Dublin, "You may talk of liberality as much as you will; but you may be fure of this, that no perfon can be saved out of your church,"

The following thoughts are humbly offered for the inspection of every real Irishman:

It is fuppofed that the enemy have a well-appointed and difciplined standing army.→

In fuch a cafe, every man ought to confider how that army could be attacked or repelled, and what advantage their difcipline and numbers might give them in a populous city, acting in concert with the adjoining counties.

It is well known that an officer of any ikill in his profeffion, would be very cautious of bringing the beft-disciplined troops into a large city in a ftate of infurrection, for the following reafons :

His troops, by the breadth of the streets, are obliged to have a very narrow front; and however numerous, only three men deep can be brought into action, which, in the wideft of our streets, cannot be more than fixty men, as a fpace must be left on each fide or flank for the men who difcharge to retreat to the rear, that their places may be occupied by the next in fucceflion, who are loaded; fo, though there are a thousand men in a street, not more than fixty can act at one tine; and fhould they be attacked by an irregular body armed with pikes, or fuch bold weapons, if the fixty men in front were defeated, the whole body, however numerous, are unable to affift, and immediately become a fmall mob in uniform, from the inferiority of number in comparison to the people, and eafily difpofed of.

Another inconvenience might destroy the order of this army. Perhaps at the fame moment, they may be dreadfully galled from the house tops, by fhowers of bricks, coping-tones, &c. which may be at hand, without imitating the women of Paris, who carried the ftones of the unpaved streets to the windows and tops of the houses in their aprons.

Another disadvantage on the part of the foldiers would be, as they are regulated by the word of command, or ftroke of the drum, they muft be left to their individual diferction, as fuch communications must be drowned in the noife and clamour of a popular tumult.

In the next place, that part of the populace, who could not get into the engagement, would be employed in unpaving the ftreets, fo as to impede the movements of horse or

artillery ;

artillery; and in the avenues where the army were likely to pass, numbers would be engaged in forming barriers of hogfheads, carts, cars, counters, doors, &c. the forcing of which barriers by the army would be difputed, while like ones were forming at every twenty or thirty yards, or any convenient diftances fituation might require: Should fuch precautions be well obferved, the progrefs of an army through one street, or over one bridge, would be very tedious, and attended with great lofs, if it would not be destroyed; at the fame time the neighbouring counties might rife in a mass, and difpofe of the troops feattered in their vicinity, and prevent a junction or a paffage of any army intended for the city; they would tear up the roads and barricade every convenient diftance with trees, timber, implements of hufbandry, &c.; at the fame time lining the hedges, walls, ditches and houfes, with men armed with mufkets, who would keep up a well-directed fire.

However well exercifed ftanding armies are fuppofed to be, by frequent reviews, and sham battles, they are never prepared for broken roads, or enclofed fields, in a country like ours, covered with innumerable and continued interfections of ditches and hedges, every one of which are an advantage to an irregular body, and may with advantage be disputed against an army, as fo many fortifications and

entrenchments

The people in the city would have an advantage, by be ing armed with pikes or fuch weapons; the first attack, if poffible, thould be made by men whofe pikes were nine or ten feet long, by that means they could act in ranks deeper than the foldiery, whofe arms are much shorter; then the deep files of the pikemen, by being weightier, must eafily break the thin order of the army.

The charge of the pikemen fhould be made in a smart trot; on the flank or extremity of every rank; there fhould be intrepid men placed to keep the fronts even, that at clofing every point fhould tell together; they fhould have at the fame time, two or three like bodies at convenient distances in the rear, who would be brought up, if wanting, to fupport the front, which would give confidence to their brothers in action, as it would tend to difcourage the enemy; at the fame time, there fhould be in the rear of each divifion fome men of fpirit, to keep the ranks as clofe as poffible.

The