F
ºt TIHE
TRUTH UNVEILED;
CALM AND IMPARTIAL ExPOSITION
:-
OF THE
ORIGIN AND IMMEDIATE CAUSE
OF THE
TERRIBLE RIOTS AND REBELLION
IN PHILADELPHIA,
IN MAY AND JULY, A. D. 1844.
*, *.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*…*&^**
IBY A PROTESTANT AND NATIVE PHILADELPHIAN.
B A. L TIM O R F.
METROPOLITAN TRACT SOCIETY.
ONE SHEET PERIODICAL,
TO THE
PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
AND CHRISTIANS OF ALL DENOMINATIONS.
In a country, the sovereignty of which is placed in the laws
enacted by its people, and under the benignant operation of a Con-
stitution, which extends to all the most precious and inalienable
rights, that liberty of conscience, which is the holiest privilege of
man, together with those sacred principles of equal and exact jus-
tice insured to the most abject and lowly, have been boldly outraged
and violated! In a land, where heretofore the oppressed found a
sanctuary, and the unfortunate a sure asylum—where the stranger
from afar was welcomed as a brother, and the adventurer was
protected in every lawful enterprize, a crusade, as sanguinary as
it is unrelenting, and cruel as it is unjust, has been commenced
against a portion of our population, whose sin is that, which Pro-
vidence entailed upon them in their birth, and whose crying ini-
quity is, that they cling in dying embrace to the faith of their fond
and devoted hearts. Whilst reposing under institutions, which
are the admiration, and that have called forth the reverence and
homage of a united world for the equity which founded them, and
the benevolent spirit that pervades their every part, in a commu-
nity among whom the religion of a meek Redeemer has its pro-
fessed votaries in untold numbers, and in a city, once proverbial
for its social order and public morals, the lives of our fellow beings
have been taken by ruthless violence, our streets stained with
human gore, the Temples of the living God been desecrated and
burnt, the homes of hundreds razed to the dust, and the quiet re-
treat of unoffending women, devoted to that heavenly Charity
which a Saviour enforced, been barbarously fired! Humanity
still weeps, and will long weep, over the terrific events which a
frenzied madness has caused within our borders: and Religion
clothed in the garments of mourning and grief, now sits among the
desolations, which her own people have made in her holy name!
3
Calmly and in truth, to detail the causes which urged on this
community to the sacrifice of so many lives, the destruction of
consecrated buildings, and the ruin of families and individuals, is
the purpose of the writer. He gives his opinions with frankness;
but yet without partiality or prejudice. He is a Protestant by
birth, by attachment and principle; and he too, is a Native Phila-
delphian of the third generation, whose ancestors have done the
State some serviee. From Catholics he has nothing to hope nor
expect; for with that body of Christians, he has no sympathies,
save those of equal intensity with all others, who confess the faith.
“once delivered to the saints,” and for which saints have ever
died in courageous faithfulness to one, Common Crucified Lord and
Master! . As a native of the city however, which has been dis-
graced by the recent terrible outrages, he will firmly express the
convictions which his own observations have supplied; and if
offence be given, it will be that which truth must always expect
when unveiling the doings of fanaticism or bigotry. But offence
or not, it will still be truth; and truth in its pure essence: in its full
integrity. .
He asks then from a Christian public, a passing attention to the
observations which follow. If they merit it, he begs that they
may be seriously weighed and considered. It is in the cause of
truth, of Religion, of good morals, of social harmony and public
happiness, that he writes. He would, by directing your notice to
facts, point out how to avoid for the future a recurrence of scenes
of horror which have chilled the heart’s-blood of the spectator,
made Religion mourn in deepest sadness, and the patriot doubt
the perpetuity of our boasted institutions. He would raise his
humble voice in behalf of the supremacy of the laws, and the eter-
nal and unchanging principles of equal justice; and in the present
calm, which has succeeded the late awful tempests of man’s wrath,
and terrible vengeance, would warn brethren of the same family
and citizens of the same country, against that spirit of licentious-
ness and sectarian intolerance, which will be satisfied only with
the upturning of holy altars, and the final ruin of all our blessed
civil establishments;–establishments which have cost the precious
blood, and the heart's convulsive throes of the best and purest
men of olden times!' * .
• ORIGIN OF THE RIOTS.
THE VIOLENCE AND PERMANENCE OF FANATICAL
PREJUDICE. . PROTESTANT ENTOLERANCE IN REFE-
RENCE TO CATHOLICISM. INSTANCES OF ITS EX-
. . ERCISE. BISHOP HUGHES’ ACTION IN RESPECT TO
THE BIBLE AND THE COMMON SCHOOLS IN NEW
YORK. PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION IN PHILADEL-
PHIA, &c. &c.
IF “religious controversies never die,” neither are the animosi-
ties and hatreds which they call up, nor the contentions and strifes
they excite, entirely forgotten or eradicated. Time, which, in
other matters, even in those of the strongest feelings and affections
of the heart, will often weaken their force, and heal the sorest
wounds that may have been inflicted, has however, no power
over the remembrance of sectarian feuds. It would seem that
these are never to be covered with oblivion's pall; for throughout
the longest age, they will be recurred to with freshened passion,
and be fought over with renewed vigor.
It is painful to note this remaining corruption in natures, sup-
posed to be subdued by the mild spirit of the everlasting Gospel.
Yet ecclesiastical history every where confirms the melancholy
truth! That history is emphatically the record of strife and con-
ention: the narrative of successive, violent struggles among those,
who profess to worship the same Almighty Creator, to seek sal-
vation at the hands of a common Redeemer, and to be influenced
by the quickening motions of the same Divine Spirit. Philosophy
may pronounce, that as the subject of religion is one, that seizes,
or which ought to seize, upon the whole soul of man, it must ne-
cessarily awaken the strongest sensibilities and passions in the
breast: Christianity however will decide, that her first principles
have never been understood nor received into the breasts of such
militants, nor her holy spirit been permitted to exercise its con-
verting energy. - . . . . .
Passing over the intervening period between the advent of the
Saviour and the XVI century, the era of the Reformation, and
the few centuries which have since elapsed, contain much bitter
food for reflection, both for the philanthropist and Christian. The
thirty years war, which that event occasioned, was far from being
elosed by the victory of Gustavus; for again and again has it burst
out afresh: and although not extending to the same limits, nor at
all times marked by the same results, yet there has always been
*
J
seen the same indomitable purpose of contention and strife; the
unconquered resolution to war with carnal weapons in a matter
wholly spiritual. |
That in the other Hemisphere such should have been the case,
is not so much a matter of astonishment, as it has ever been one
of grief with the disciples of the Prince of Peace. Religion there
has ever been too much an affair of state policy; and the altar
and the throne have alike been subjeet to the vicissitudes of civil
government and the struggles of ambitious rulers. But on this
continent, and especially in these United States, it was an autho-
rised hope that sectarian strife and violence would for ever be un-
known. Blessed with a Constitution, which grants, unto the
greatest verge, religious liberty to all, and demands no subscription
to creeds, nor compliance with any form of worship, it was right
to expect that social harmony and fellowship would abound from
one end of our land to the other, among men, who themselves re-
joicing in their individual privileges, would never essay an attempt
to wrest them from others. The occasion having been removed
by our institutions, the distressing results of fanaticism and bigotry,
it was supposed would never have to be apprehended; but on the
contrary that peace would reign in our borders; that each would
sit under his own vine and fig-tree, and ithat none would make
him afraid. 4.
But this reasonable hope of the Christian, and friend of public.
order has been destroyed! Amid circumstances peculiarly op-
pressing to the heart, and painfully bitter and mortifying to his
feelings as an American citizen, the writer now prepares this ex-
position. Within his view, are the blackened ruins of what were
recently the venerable walls of a Temple of the Living Jehovah!
Stripped of their glory by the torch of an incendiary mob, they no
longer enclose the altar, before which the humble worshipper was
wont to kneel in penitence and prayer. The desolation which is
now beheld, even from its very silence, tells the awful tale of dese-
cration and sacrilege, perpetrated by those who, discarding all
reverence for that which man holds most dear, and frenzied with
impious rage, destroyed the sanctuary of the Christian’s God!
Nor are these ruins the only memorials the of outrages, committed
by lawless violence! Within a short distance, another House of
Prayer has shared the same fate of destruction; and migh it are
the tottering remains of the retreat of unoffending women, who
had recorded their vows in Heaven to relieve the suffering children
of men on earth, and to bear to misery the oil and balsam of con-
solation. Around these are domestic hearths of onee happy fami-
14
6
lies, now bare by the hand of wilful destruction, which was made
to fall in frenzied madness, by the spirit of blinded prejudice.
Some of those, who once had their places around their firesides,
are among the slaughtered victims of ruthless force; and their low-
ly graves point to the solemn lesson, that civil strifes lead to the
most melancholy results; since marked as ever they are, by mul-
tiplied atrocities, no claim is heeded, no principles, however holy,
are reverenced, and no sex nor age is spared. •
But the riots in May, with all their awful results, were not the
conclusion of the dreadful tragedy f They formed but the first act
of the dark drama. The blood that had been shed was yet fresh,_
the ruins of sanctuaries, and of the homes of hundreds were yet
Smoking, death and destruction were yet at hand,-the ill-temper
of controversy, as it would now seem, had not yet subsided, when
Humanity was again called to weep in yet deeper sadness, and
religion to mourn again in the spirit of heaviness over still greater
atrocities, against her hallowed cause and eternal interests. With
in a few days, the unconquered spirit of revolt against human anº
divine law, of hostility against all that is holy, and of determined
opposition to all authority of God or the State, has been fearfully
exhibited. Horrible rebellion, armed with the murderous weapon,
and urged on with demoniac rage, has risen in our midst; and the
conservators of public peace, the rightful ministers of justice, and
the commissioned servants of constituted authority, have been
cruelly slaughtered. Civil war, with all its cruelties, and treason
with all its far-spread evils have raged in our once peaceful city:
and the stillness of a Sabbath-night has been broken by the terri-
ble echoes from the engines of destruction, which were dealing
war and death around them. Riot and anarchy, determined to
conquer over law and order, have almost triumphed; and the
melancholy results of the unnatural conflict, have appalled the
Christian's heart, and made the patriot tremblingly fear that the
doom of his beloved country is sealed to ruin and destruction.
It is not designed to detail the terrible doings of the armed rioters
in Southwark, on the 7th of July. Enough of the dreadful issue
is known to every one. Nor at present will the more immediate
cause which led to it, be considered. The object now will be to
attempt to show how a portion of the public mind has been brought
to that state, which would allow it even to contemplate as proba-
ble, the occurrence of such events as every good citizen, every
friend of his species and humanity now mourns over. It is to
trace to its origin this spirit of riot, of outrage, and bold opposition
to civil law and social order, that attention is invoked; whilst the
7.
assurance is given that with a sincere desire after truth, no preju-
dice will be allowed to influence, or no partiality, to warp the
judgment. - .
. Is it enquired, what was the origin of these atrocities? The
assertion is boldly made, that it is to be placed wholly to the
account of that wild course of fanaticism and bigotry which has been
pursued by certain Protestants in our country against the Catholic
Church. The writer is aware that the reason which he gives and
which he is well conscious contains a grave accusation, will
startle many of that body to which himself belongs, and with
whom, God giving him grace, he will remain until death. But,
sorrowful as it is to him to bear witness against a portion of his
brethren, he cannot and he will not, for he dares not, disguise
the truth. He writes to expose the mistaken, furious, and in this
instance, the death-dooming zeal of professing Christians; but
yet he writes that their grievous error may be avoided for the
the future; that in the time to come, persecution for opinion’s sake
may by them be viewed as a sin of no common dye; as committed
against that awful Being, who has declared that vengeance is
His, and that He alone will repay. - - - . . .
In confirmation of the assertion that to the proscriptive mea-
sures set in action by certain Protestants against the Catholic
population in this country, the source of the outrages is to be
traced, it will be necessary to recur to transactions which have
occurred within the last fifteen years. The first in order which
shall be mentioned is the burning in 1834 of the Ursuline Convent
in Charlestown, Massachusetts; an act which was the outbreak
of a population, that had been excited to violence by the impas-
sioned harangues of known Protestant clergymen, and the publi-
cation of inflammatory works. The time that has elapsed since
this disgraceful occurrence is more than ample for the finding of
a verdict in reference to it; and this is the season, when the
question can be asked, what was the crime of the inmates of this
house of religious retirement;-what offence had they committed
among themselves, or against the laws, or society? Why was it
that helpless women were made to fly from the retreat to which
they had devoted their remaining existence, amid the flames,
which an infuriated mob had kindled, and through the yelling
ranks of which, they had to escape, with scarcely enough of
needed raiment? Let the accusation be brought, if one exists;
for as yet, none has been heard, even from the most rabid fanatic:
Let the mob themselves speak, or they who urged them on to
the work tell, in what was the offence of the harmless tenants of
8.
*.
a house, that savages themselves would have reverenced Or
shall the public voice be heard, and confession be forced from the
lip, that their sin,_the sin that called for vengeance at the hands of
fellow-Christians-zealous—God-fearing and God-loving Christians,
was that they too were Christians, but of another name? But is
this Protestantism, American Protestantism? Heaven, save the
land then and the cause of our holy religion!—It is not Christi-
anity, however; and the holy Gospel of Man’s Saviour will show
that it is not Christianity; and the decision of Him, who in the
oracles of that Christianity has announced a final Inquisition for
all men, will pronounce that, it is not according to the Divine
Faith, which He promulged on earth. . . . . -
But it was a part and parcel of the system of operations, set on
foot by misguided and over-heated zealots. They had in this
land beeome tired of loving their brethren, and they went sturdily
to work to hate them; and to show how well they could do so,
no means were left untried to procure capital for their undertaking.
In addition to series of discourses upon discourses of the most
exciting character against Catholics, heard from pulpits throughout
the length and breadth of the land;—besides the daily lessons of
pious nurses to their charges, never to mention the “Lady of
Babylon.” but with horror, -in addition to the weekly, routine of
lessons for certain Sunday Schools, which inculcated uncompro-
mising war against the “Pope and his degraded and slavish
subjects,” and “ the man of sin,” and “the great apostacy,”—a re-
sort was had to publications, too vile and too obscene to give even
their titles here; which the most depraved and dissolute parent
would not dare to bring into his family, and which the abandoned
and outcast, such as may be found in the purlieus of a second
Sodom, would regard as a contamination. But it was one of the
tactics of this systematic warfare; and the self-exciting belligerents
know it to have been so. They know, that to their discomfiture,
after the wicked falsehoods of one of these productions had been
exposed by a respectable Protestant committee, and that the book
would no longer be saleable, that the parties, and among thcm, a
clergyman, now resident in the city of New York, differed about
the division of spoils, which an abused public had supplied, as
well as about the honor of its paternity.
The Convent at Charlestown was burnt; and the amiable and
pure minded and modest and truth-telling Maria Monk, was
brought upon the arena, to prove as far as she could, that it was
the very essence of modern Protestantism to “do God service”
“by calling lightning down from heaven” upon Catholics and
Q.
their property, even though it should have been religiously devoted!
Besides, it was “a PROTESTANT country,” according to these fa-
natical champions of a more pure faith, and of a more evangelical
system of religion! As if in the Constitution of the land, or in all
the statutes which are in force, one jot or one tittle authorizes such
a declaration. On the contrary, do not all the legal enactments of
our country in the most substantive, absolute manner, declare, not
..a toleration, but entire, perfect liberty of conscience in religious
matters, inviting free and full discussion in respect to them, and
promising protection and defence against the slightest violence and
persecution for opinion’s sake? A Protestant country? Where
is it written;-upon what page of our statutes, in what decision.
of our courts, in what journal of the legislature, is it declared.
that this is a Protestant country? Is it to be found in the charter
of Charles II granted to William Penn? Is it seen in one of the
three Constitutions that have been adopted by this Commonwealth?
Is it discovered in our Bill of Rights, or in that attached to the
Constitution of the United States? Is it told in the charter given
to Lord Baltimore; or is it derived from any ordinance, which that
Catholic nobleman issued as Proprietary of Maryland? Is it even
to be discovered in the Constitution of Massachusetts; in which
State the first dreadful persecution began for religion’s sake, by
Protestant against Protestant; where Quakers and Baptists were
hung by the Pilgrim Fathers, as they are wont to be termed by
their admiring descendants, and hung too, because they were Pro-
testants? . * 4
Or is it meant that it is a Protestant land, because there is a ma-
jority of this faith to be found in it? . And will Protestants risk an
argument for the purity of their doctrines by referring to this ma-.
jority? As one Protestant, the writer protests against such an
appeal: and did he stand alone, he would ever protest. Is prin-
ciple to be tested by numbers? Is the verity of our faith, its ac-
cordance with the divine word, its excellence or its reasonableness
to be tried by majorities? One individual may be right, when
thousands around him are wrong!'. The twelve apostles of our
Saviour had a knowledge of divine truth, while a whole world
was engulphed in Egyptian darkness! The Protestant commu-
nion throughout Christendom is a handful to that of the Catholic;
yet is the Protestant willing to submit to the conclusion to which
his own reasoning would bring him 7 Christianity cannot com-
pete, as respects numbers, with Heathenism; and will the Christian
surrender his holy religion to the Gentile, because the latter is the
stronger? . . . . t .
1()
Or is it implied that because it is a Protestant country, that all
must become so, or tamely submit to the dicta of Protestant sec-
tarianism, be they ever so proscriptive and oppressive? And,
have the minority no rights; especially in matters of conscience,
and spiritual concern? Is that minority to be ridden over rough-
shod, or ground to powder, for no other reason but because they
are a minority? For whom, and for whose protection and defence
are constitutions made and statutes ordained, if not for the weak.
or the few? The many stand not in need of legislation, but to be
restrained. The majority have the power, and they can take care
of themselves. It is the minority that requires the aid of civil
governments; the minority that looks up for the covering of the
shield of authority!. Besides, may there be no Christians, good
and sincere and true Christians among them? And with our noble
Constitution, with our just and equitable laws in their hands, or
with freedom of conscience on their tongues, is the majority, mere-
ly because it is a majority, to proscribe and persecute and defame
the smaller number? Shame for such Protestantism,_shame for
such Christianity, shame for such Americanism! We talk about
the Inquisition and its cruelties; and yet to what shall such a policy
and such principles be compared ? JAMEs GRUET, an erudite
scholar of the XVI century, but a heretic as to the Five Points of a
certain system of Theology, was beheaded for his opinions! SERVE-
TUs, who was obliged to flee from Vienne to avoid persecution,
and who naturally would seek protection in a Protestant state,
after the manifesto of its great Protestant magnate, who was,
relatively speaking, a solitary individual in Geneva, at the time,
and who came prepared to “bow down and do reverence” to the
Jupiter Tonans of that age, was burnt in a Protestant city, and his
very execution was directed by the Protestant CALVIN! CASTALIo
too, a learned man and author of a translation of the Bible into
Latin, was banished by this same Calvin, because he did not em-
brace all of the above items of the Genevan orthodoxy, nor ac-
knowledge the infallibility of a self-constituted Protestant Pope.
But why refer to Protestant Europe, and to far-gone times?
Who knows not the deeds that have been done in our own youth-
ful land? Who knows not what has been enacted by Protestant
majorities, in this same Protestant country? Protestant Quakers
and Baptists were once, and still may be a minority in Protestant
Boston; and they were hung by Protestants! Roger Williams
was a Protestant; and he had to flee from Protestant Massachu-
setts! And who were the executioners? Men, Christian men,
Protestant Puritans—who came to this wilderness land, as they
I
said, to avoid persecution for religion's sake! Yet now, in this our
day, we are told that they came to a Protestant land,-that after
having driven away savage hordes, they made it a pure, Protestant
country, that they are a majority, and as such, par excellence,
they had the right to take the lives of the few, who would not
bend their consciences to the beck of numbers! - -
Let it not be thought that the citing of the above few cases from
authentic history, partakes of any thing in the least approaching a
severe judgment. It is conceded that the actors in the above deeds,
were men, partaking of all the imperfections and weaknesses of
men,_-carried away in evil moments by influences and passions,
apart from a religion of love and charity. But then, let not the
converse of the ease be lost sight of! Let it be remembered, that
these men, these Protestant leaders came out before Christendom,
and proclaimed a purer faith and a more tolerant religion than that
of Catholics. They appeared with heralds before them, as Re-
formers, they declaimed “in season and out of season,” against
“a persecuting and blood-stained Hierarchy”—and yet themselves
flung away their professions and their principles, and became as
intolerant as the wildest fanatic in any age or any land, be it Pagan
or Jewish, Mahommedan or Christian'? • -
It is treason, rank foul treason, to our Religion; it is treason to.
the very spirit of our institutions,—the American is a traitor to his
country, who talks about this being a Protestant land, in order to
justify his religious intolerance and proscription of others. Let
him hug the opinion as closely as he will, that political majorities
are always right, let him, if he will, contend that in popular go-
vernments, the voice of the people is the voice of God, and few
will be willing to attempt to reason him out of his notions. But
that holy thing which is from God, that divine religion of Jesus
we profess, cannot and must not be measured by human judgment,
mor worldly maxims, much less by numbers. It was true, though
Paul stood alone on the hill of Mars before a multitude of scoffers.
It was true, eternally true, although the Redeemer of man, was
led to the cross by legions of Jews and Gentiles. It will be true,
throughout endless ages, and it will remain in all its hallowed in-
tegrity, although the “gates of hell,” combined with a whole
world, should press their united force against a mere remnant of
Christian believers. -
Away then with the exclusiveness of a doctrine such as that of
the United States being a Protestant country; and being such that
we are called to preserve it “for untold generations,” at the ex-
12
pense of Christian charity. It has heretofore been thought by the
wisest and best of the land, and it is known that it was the inten-
tion of those patriots who moulded our form of government, that
this was a land, in which men had guarded for them the right,
the full and equal liberty to worship God as they think proper.
It may be a land of PROTESTANT AscENDANCY, of a PROTETTANT
MAJoRITY, but it does not follow that it is one of CATHolic subor-
pINATIon, nor that the Catholic exercises his sacred privileges by
Toleration. This is a word, which no American recognises; it is
not found in his vocabulary, when used in connexion with reli-
gious creeds, or discipline, or worship. He feels himself to be ac-
countable only to his Great Judge for the opinions he may hold, or
the mode he may adopt in rendering to Him the service which is
His due. He knows nothing of majorities, of Protestant majori-
ties. He is a man, a responsible man, and he is too deeply con-
scious of his soul's responsibilities to bow to any presuming body
of fellow-beings, be they many or few. He may be in a weak
minority, but he has rights, rights so sacred, so directly derived
from God himself, that they cannot be infringed in one iota, in the
minutest particular, without an insult to the majesty of High
Heaven! And this much the Constitution of his country, and
her institutions, and all her statutes, and wide and far-spread pub-
lic decision, have taught him. He may be in a minority, the altar
before which he bows in penitence or devotion, may have no other
prostrate creature before it besides himself. . But although solitary
and alone, his individual right is that of those who are in a
thronged temple. Because he is one, shall he be disregarded, or
if noticed, driven by the lash of some presumptuous bigot, into
the ranks of the many, and made to respond to this formulary, or
subscribe to that dogma” Has he not additional claims from his
very weakness for protection? It is in reference to the few, that
measures for safety and defence in their rights, their dearest
privileges, should be sedulously prosecuted. •
But if this be a Protestant country, from the fact that the greater
portion of its people are Protestants, what have Protestants then
to fear? The “Papal power” which has been the theme of cer-
tain pulpits for so long a time past, together with the “grasping,
greedy spirit of the Papal hierarchy,” will not be transferred to a
region, where it cannot find support or countenance; it will not
be removed from its present seat of dominion, to a land swarming
with its sturdy opponents. What Philadelphian, who for one
moment will reflect, without prejudice, but in calm judgment, can
13
feel alarm as a Protestant, in regard to the body of Christians to
which he belongs, when he only remembers that out of an aggre-
gate of one hundred and seventeen places of public worship, the
Catholics two months since had only ten churches for their use,
throughout the entire district! The odds are vastly too great to
justify any, or the least of the active persecutions, that have been
directed against this smaller portion of Christians among us; and
the proportion is alike throughout the land. . . .
Yet the delusive and false issue that this is a Protestant country,
has been insisted upon by those who for purposes that are now
beginning to be perceived, have reiterated the assumption. Well,
suppose then, for the sake of argument, and through mere conces-
sion, that it is a Protestant country, that Catholics, native or ſo-
reign, enjoy their religious privileges only through sufferance, are
we prepared to snatch them away from them now, and force the n
to become Protestants, or to have no religion, no altar, no God?
Because they are few, does it necessarily follow that the many are
right? Or, because they are few, shall the many crush them, and
trample upon them, and treat them as the savage Heathen has
often treated the captive Christian? A few years since, the Jews
in Damascus were oppressed to death by the fierce Mussulman;
but then the Jews were in the Mussulman's country. Within only
a few months, the Nestorian Christians were massacred in the
East, by the barbarous Gentile, but the Nestorians were in the
minority, and they were in a Gentile country ! Shall the illustra-
tion, of the falsity, may more, the wickedness of such reasoning.
and such assumptions, be carried out still further, and shall it be
observed that for years, has a certain denomination been villified
and abused throughout the length and breadth of the land,-and
that finally, their churches have been burnt; and that the justify-
ing argument is, that this is a Protestant country, and the Catho-
lies were in a minority, and that being so, they had no rights,
when the majority willed their submission? •
It is to be hoped that the cry of this being a Protestant country
may be silenced. It would be wrong to raise a similar one by
either of the great political parties among us, in respect to their
principles; for however true it might be on the part of that in the
ascendant at the time, yet the mere assertion of the claim, for
such is human nature, would indicate a disposition to oppress
their opponents. In respect to religion, we are all Christians, or,
profess to be so; and whatever may be the shades of difference, it is
no stretch of charity to believe, that these differences are honestly
and sincerely entertained. But however great they may be, there
O
eº
14
is only ONE, the Great God of Heaven and Earth, who is to pro-
nounce them right or wrong, -no majorities, however vast, and
however bold in presumption, or arrogant in their demands for
exclusive dominion over conscience. - - . . . . .
# This claim has been dwelt upon, because it was the standing
argument—the constant justification for the attacks upon Catho-
lics. It was the main one that was brought forward against
Bishop Hughes' course in the well-known Bible question in
New York. And here, the writer would remark, that he writes
with a far different purpose, than to defend the Rt. Rev. gentle-
man: on the contrary, he has always thought, that under the
circumstances and at the time, his measure was impolitic, and
the line of proceeding. improper. Besides, Bishop Hughes
and himself hold views, which are greatly variant and opposite,
on points involving grave and solemn interests. The writer is a
Protestant, decided and firm in his principles, devoted and warm
in his attachment to them. He believes that Bishop Hughes is
equally so in all those respects which distinguish him as a
Catholic. In uttering his views, therefore, the former cannot be
prejudiced in favor of the Rt. Rev. gentleman, nor his faith. But
he hopes that he can do justice to him, and justice to principle,
be it found where and with whom it may. About what then is
an opinion to be rendered? “About the very cause of all their
difficulties, the movement of Bishop Hughes, his attempt to
thrust the Bible out of the Public Schools in New York,” is the
reply of the zealous Protestant! º - -
But was this movement the first origin of this sectarian war-
fare? Have we not seen, that for years before, it was carried on,
at least by one party? Know we not that ten years since, the
Convent at Charlestown was burnt, that infamous and vile pub-
lications against Catholics were issued, thick as autumnal leaves,
that throughout every city, and village, and hamlet, the burden
of most sermons has been the “Pope,” and “Antichrist and
Babylon,”—the warning has been, to beware of the “Man of
Sin?” Who need be reminded that a combined organized
assault, on the part of a large number of Protestant clergymen,
has been warmly made upon the Catholic Church, and that the
most inflammatory language, in many instances unbecoming the
sacred desk, has been employed against her members for a long
time in this city? The very news-boys have sold their sheets, by
announcing the contents to be articles against this communion;
and for an extended period, the very secular papers, in many
cases, have lent themselves to this crusade. º -
15
When then Bishop Hughes began the agitation of the subject
of the use of the Bible in the Public Schools, it was at a season,
when the popular mind had been already exercised by long and
previous attacks upon his communion. The time was indeed
unpropitous; but the question at issue had no concern as to
time. The right, which he claimed, in his view no doubt, was
to be granted upon other considerations than expediency, or even
the propriety of the course that might be pursued. It was a case
of conscience with hitā; and as such, it became his duty to act in
the premises. And what was his action,--what did he require,
what claim did he present in behalf of his Church? ‘Let us calmly
and honestly, as Christian people, examine the matter before we
presume to judge.
To avoid prolixity, the whole case is resolved into the follow-
ing brief statement. Bishop Hughes addressed the School Com-
missioners of New York, and requested as the guardian of the
faith of Catholic children, that the Bible of one denomination of
Christians should not be imposed on any other denomination, without
their consent. This is a fair, honest statement of the request.
Bishop Hughes did not ask that the Catholic Bible (the Douay)
should be introduced instead of King James'. He never inti-
mated such a thing. He asked that his children might not be
compelled to listen to the reading of a version of the Bible which
he considered incorrect; he did not require that the Vulgate
should be used, but he presented the request above stated: and
which embraced the whole essence and bearing of his grievous sin.
This communication of the Rt. Rev. gentleman, fanned into a
more furious flame the war which had already been waged
against the Catholics. The School Commissioners declined
granting the prayer of the Bishop, although Catholics were
equally taxed for the support of the educational system of New
York, and were equally entitled to all religious privileges and
immunities, and it was finally referred to the decision of the
ballot boxes, or a popular election. And now began the strife,
the bitter strife of polemical belligerents “Protestantism and No.
Popery’ became arrayed against “Catholicism and Bishop
Hughes,” and the struggle was warm and animated. It was
bringing those forces into action, that had long before exhibited
hostile demonstrations: and the spirit shewn in the warfare,
would well have suited any battle-field of contending veterans.
The above is a rapid, yet faithful account of this vexed matter.
No comment will be made upon it. Every one who reads it, is
capable of judging the merits of the case; and no difficulty will
16
be experienced in seeking a decision, if all will imagine them-
selves in the place of Bishop Hughes, or if every Protestant will
honestly ask himself, if he were a tax-payer in a Catholic coun-
try, if he had to contribute towards a Public School, whether he
could submit to have his children taught out of the Douay Bible?
This question will resolve the difficulty; for, after all, it is the
hinge upon which the whole matter turns. The writer asks his
Protestant brethren to divest themselves of prejudices, to disabuse
their minds of previous impressions, to #: a righteous judg-
ment, and he is sure that their moral sense of what is equitable,
will enable them promptly to decide. -
In the writer, the Bishop has no advocate nor defender, except
in that which man is called by the voice of the Eternal to render
to all his fellow-men. Whilst then upon this subject, he will
notice two charges against the Rt. Rev. gentleman, which have
been again and again reiterated by his opponents. One of them
is, that in his action he has treated harshly the version of King
James. No one regards with more admiration and reverence this
same version than he who now addresses you. He believes it
to be a faithful interpretation of the original; and he is convinced
that even in view of the great amount of erudition and learning
which now could be gathered for the purposes no body of men, .
brought from all parts of the world, wonld be able to present a
version more faithful, more perfect, and less faulty. Bishop
Hughes, however, may think differently, and prefers another.
But is Bishop Hughes or his Church alone in this preference?
Have not Protestants themselves pronounced their Bible defective
in parts, and needing revision? A Mr. Wellbeloved, in England,
some years since, gave the world the advantage of his superior
wisdom in a new text. The Unitarians have an improved ver-
sion of the New Testament. Noah Webster in this country, has
issued, per se, with no imprimatur but his own ridiculous vanity,
a new translation. Our Baptist brethren have in a body seceded
from the American Bible Society, and formed among themselves
exclusively a National Association, which, as it is said, will pub-
lish the Scriptures in such a form as to give the legitimate, critical
meaning of certain contested words or phrases. And who knows
not, that the notorious leader of the Mormons gave even a supple-
ment to the Word of God, as set forth by the translators of the
Protestant Bible? If these things be so, and with grief are they
mentioned, how can Protestants complain that their Book is not
reverenced by Catholics?
Another charge brought against Bishop Hughes is, that forget-
17
ting the sacredness of his station, and its high elevated rank, he
has descended into the arena of political strife and brought his fol-
lowers to the polls to obey his beck. If the Bishop has done so
more than once, let him be condemned, and let the voice of public
censure be loudly raised against him. But what American,
what Protestant will presume to censure him, when on the one
occasion which will be referred to, he thus acted ? The Bible
question was to be decided at the polls' There, and there only,
was the contest to be engaged in, in order to secure an issue.
Bishop Hughes did not select the hustings nor the polls, nor the
modeof warfare. The laws did this for him, and imposed upon him
the necessity of this course, and manner, and place, for the political
battle. And now, is there a Christian breathing, is there one Pro-
testant in this land, who will condemn the Bishop for doing what
he was compelled to do; for struggling as it was his duty, his
sacred duty to struggle for obtaining, in the only way open for
him, and as far as in him lay, the rights which he claimed? His
was a matter of conscience; of religious principle; and who is
he, that for conscience and religious principle would not do
this much, aye more, if need be, even unto the death? He asked
for a certain privilege, and he was told you must go to the polls,
for only there can the decision be had. He did go there, for in no
other way could he reach his object. And is he to be condemned
for this? Protestants were there also, and did they do right, and
he alone do wrong? #
But if it were a fault in Bishop Hughes to attend the polls of a
popular election, equally so was it in the late revered and faithful
man of God, the Rt. Rev. Bishop White: who on occasions was
present even at ward elections, and gave his vote. And who ever
dared to raise his voice against this pure, apostolic servant of his
Lord—this meek and amiable and holy minister of a Holy Gospell
Were they, who are bruiting the interference of Bishop Hughes
in a popular election to come to Philadelphia, they would see, and
hear certain Protestant Clergymen at meetings of the Native
Americans, and mark them as amongst the most active, the loud-
est in their inflammatory denunciations, the longest on the stands
in their violent addresses to the passions of their hearers—the most
bitter against those, whom the same Creator formed with them-
selves, out of the same earth and dust. It is all right and proper
for these clerical gentlemen: it is a crying sin in all others who
differ from them. *
At a season, when the feelings of the religious public, were ex-
cited to the highest pitch; when Catholics were “every where
2 *
18
spoken against;” when prejudices had settled in the minds of the
people, and were as firm as our Alleghanies, a new measure of
hostility was set on foot. This was the formation of the Protestant
Association in the City of Philadelphia; the seat of its central
action. Good men, and Christian men were astonished at the
boldness of this eombination of certain sects against a single indi-
vidual body of Christians,—of this union of the many against one.
Even those who were not known to be under the influence of reli-
gious impressions enquired ewi bono, what good can be reached
by such a bold and belligerent course, that will in any way com-
pensate for the bitterness and animosity which will assuredly
result? Believers in the Gospel, those with whom the faith of the
Prince of Peace was precious and dear, mourned over the delu-
sions, which, in fanatical and bigoted blindriess had seized upon
their brethren, and in the gloom of which, they had set at nought
the golden principles of their religion, and struck at its very spirit,
as well as that of our free and equitable institutions. The forma-
tion of such a society was regarded by all, who dared to think
upon matters with reference to their results, as the war-cry for
Protestants to take the field against Catholies; for the summons to
renew the battle, in which Christian was to be seen contending
with Christian, and the very altars of God were to be desecrated
by their priests; who instead of bringing upon them the offerings
of broken hearts and contrite spirits, cast there the sharpened
sword without its scabbard—the weapons for bloody strife, that
were dedicated to the work of religious or rather sectarian perse-
cution.
And well did the zealous though mistaken leaders of this Asso-
ciation come up to its design. Congregations instead of being
taught from the pulpit to adorn their profession by all the lovely
graces of the Gospel, by kind and affectionate bearing in the world.
by earnest and ever active endeavors to secure for themselves and
others, the blessings of peace, were annoyed with inflammatory
harangues upon the “great Apostacy,” and upon the “ abomina-
tions of the Roman Church.” “The Pope, and the Pope, and
the Pope,” was the beginning and the end of sermons in certain
churches; and women and children were frightened with the de-
tails of the wicked doings of “ him of Rome;” whilst they who
were of the stature of men, were held breathless captives when
they were addressed by these orators upon the subject of Papal
usurpations, and the ecclesiastical domination contemplated by
“ anti-Christ” in America. They were told that there was not a
Catholic Church that had not underneath it, prepared cells for
19
Protestant heretics; that every priest was a Jesuit in disguise,
that the Pope was coming to this country with an army of cas-
socked followers, and that each would be trebly armed with wea-
pons, concealed under the folds of his “Babylonish robes.”
Never did Titus Oates detail more horrid conspiracies, in virtue of
his station as informer-general, than did these clerical sentinels;
and all that was wanting was the power, and such a judge as
Jeffries, to make every Catholic expiate his “abominable heresy”
upon the scaffold, or amid the flames.
It was a melancholy state of affairs, which the prosecution of
the object of this Association brought about in this city, once
known and acknowledged to be the foremost in social harmony
and order. It was such a state. as gave the most positive denial
to every claim- of an Evangelical influence. The peace of the
community was disturbed; families were made to break asunder
the bonds of fellowship; Protestants were warned against associa-
tions with Catholics for any purpose, and from almost every desk,
on the day consecrated to holy rest, even from the agitation of hu-
man passions, intemperate declamations against the “evils of Ro-
manism,” was sure to be heard. Charity, the Evangelical virtue
of a divine creed—that Gospel charity which is to survive the faith
and hope of the believer, and which is to glow brighter and warmer
and holier, age after age, throughout an endless eternity—this
charity was forgotten: and “no compromise with Rome,” and no
peace to her “degraded subjects,” were the watchwords of these
Protestant crusaders. All former dissensions among themselves
were now hushed. No croaking from this heretical sect, and no
angry disputation from that schismatic, were now heard. The
passions of differing Christians were stilled for the season, to be
concentrated upon one object, with increased energy and force.
That the citizens of the United States, and that Christians of all
denominations throughout the world may understand the principles
under which this Association was formed, the writer will refer to
the Salutatory Address, issued immediately subsequent to its for-
mation. In that document, which has all the merit of a reverence
for antiquity, since there is not one idea, but what has been reiter-
ated again and again, there is a marginal note in the following
language:–
“The secular papers frequently appeal to their readers to aid in sup-
porting Catholic Orphan Asylums. An orphan is an object of sympathy
to every feeling heart: but are’we really doing these helpless children a
kindness by assisting to bring them up in the errors of Popery? and are
20
not these very children to be hereafter employed as priests and nuns in
disseminating Romanism f* *
It is not asked that a strict interpretation be given to the weight
of these words. Take them as they are and in their primary sig-
nification, and what is their amount? Is it not that the sins of thf.
parents are to be visited upon the children: not by God himself
who has reserved this exercise of fearful justice, but by the
wretched though presuming creatures of his hand? Orphans
made so by the ordination of High Heaven, the poor pitiable objects
of sympathy with all that beas the form of manhood, be they Chris-
tian or Heathen,_fatherless children, wretched and weak, home-
less and wandering, are forbidden to be relieved; are to be denied
the “ cup of cold water,” or the hard crust which may keep from
starvation and death, at the suggestion of these ‘‘anointed of the
Lord :”—these meek and peaceful and humane followers of the
Lamb! Orphans are to perish and rot on the highway, or to be-
come the inmates of lazar-houses and penitentiaries, and no relief
is to be extended; because the daughter of early sorrow, may be-
come the inmate of a convent; the son of early grief, may in the
course of Providence, become a Catholic priest! As if the reli-
gion of the Catholic, truly possessed of all its abominations, which
its opponents bring against it, is not better than no religion; is not
better than profligacy and crime. As if it would be more humane
that these orphans become the tenants of the hovels of misery,
through the want of common charity, than the devoted residents
of cloisters, or the ministering servants of Christian sanctuaries.
It is not known by the writer, who is the author of this Ad-
dress; and therefore no personal motives can be supposed to be
operative. The paper is taken, without any or the least reference
to its individual source of production; and the question is there-
fore boldly put forth, not what Christian, but what human being,
not totally lost to shame, will dare to acknowledge that he has
penned it? Who would confess in this age, that he has presumed
to direct the channel, or limit the bounds of human sensibilities
and charitable feelings? What Christian man is that, who has
ever read that the exercise of those heaven-derived sympathies of
the heart, especially of the renewed converted heart, shall place
the benevolent subject of them at the right hand of the Eternal
Judge, because he “took the stranger in,” because he ministered,
though even a Samaritan, to the Jew in his aſſliction,-will come
* From information it appears. that since the establishment of the Female Orphan
Asylum, a period of thirty-five years, onby one of the orphans has become a Sister of
Charity—not one has become a Nun
21
forth and say that he can justify this outrage against Religion,
against humanity, against decency 2 If the writer, whoever he
may be, can do this,although with quivering lips and blanched
cheeks, then he is a meet companion for the reprobate spirits that
fired the temples of the mighty and merciful Jehovah.
It is distressing to the heart to note this cruel admonition of
Protestant leaders to their followers, in respect to the objects of a
discriminating charity, this restricting of a virtue, which in its
exercise, is to know no arbitrary, much less any sectarian regu-
lations. But how additionally distressing is it to the Protestant
observer, to refer to the conduct of Catholics in the very same city,
which bears the imprint of the address of the Protestant Associa-
tion! When the dreadful, and death-dealing pestilence, the
ASIATIC CHOLERA, appeared in Philadelphia in the year 1832, the
writer knows, that amid the alarm and terror, which the awful
Scourge occasioned among the people, the active exertions of at
least one Catholic priest, became the theme of praise and honor
upon every lip. That servant of a Divine Master has now been
called to his account; and in his tomb he cannot heed this memo-
rial of his evangelical work of love and mercy! But it should be
told now; for his communion is now systematically assaulted,
and pronounced to be anti-Christian. It must be told now, and
indeed for ever;-aye, so long indeed as genuine religion, as pure
charity, as Gospel benevolence can claim a single admirer; or so
long as there be one son or daughter of misery, that needs protec-
tion or a friend. -
With confusion of face, yet with impartial justice before men
and angels, the writer will state that in the season of the above
terrible scourge, the Rev. JMr. Hurley, Priest of St. Augustine's
converted the Rectory, then in his occupancy into a Cholera Hos-
pital, and placed it under the control of the proper authorities.
The doors of his quiet home were thrown wide open; and, un-
mindful of the inconvenience to which such an act subjected him,
he not only invited the guardians of the City’s health to deposit
the victims of the pestilence in his house, but himself was em-
ployed without intermission in seeking out the wretched creatures
upon whom the dreadful disease had fallen! Every room in his
mansion was appropriated to this divine work;-his own chamber
was given to the dying, and that study, where he had learned his
Master's will, was made the practical commentary of the judg-
ment, he had formed of it. Out of three hundred and sixty-seven
patients which had been received in this private Asylum of a
Theavenly charity, forty-eight only were Catholics, the remainder
$22
were professing Protestants. The appeal is now made, not to the
judgments nor the preferences of sectaries and bigots, but it is
addressed to Christians, who are so because they have read their
Bibles and are governed by them and not by creeds of this or that
denomination—the appeal is made to such; can you hesitate in
awarding justice for such a noble, such a truly religious act, to its
performer, be he called by whatever name he may ? When the
question is tendered, then go to that Rectory, and mark that it is
now in ruins,—that the very Hospital has been burnt by mis-
creants, who dared to profane the name of Protestantism, when
they applied the torch to the home of Catholic priests.
In that same year of pestilence and woe, the Sisters of Charity,
unsought and unbidden, left their retirement and healthy residence
in Emmettsburg, Maryland, and came to this afflicted City.
They came, on what was truly a mission of charity; a genuine
Gospel charity. They tendered their valuable services, which the
public authorities gladly accepted. With their lives in their hands,
they were incessant in their labors of love and mercy. No danger
affrighted them; no toil ever caused them to pause in their devoted
exertions. The community that they had immeasurably benefit-
ted, were deeply sensible of their services; and our civic officers,
not only expressed their gratitude, but offered any recompense to
themselves and their order. Their reply was worthy of Christians;
and none but sincere, faithful Christians could have rendered such
a one. They labored, they said, in the cause of religion; in be-
half of their suffering fellow creatures and in obedience to their
engagements. They had done no more than their duty, and even
that imperfectly. Their reward was to be apportioned by the God
whom they had endeavored to serve, by benefitting His creatures,
and under no circumstances could they accept for themselves, or
their Church, or their order, any recompense!
And how has this work of charity been repaid, in the very city
that a few years since was loud in its praise and acknowledgments
towards these ladies? How has Philadelphia requited their deeds
of mercy, their labors of love? Such singleness of motive, such
purity of action, and such an amount of good, which they were
enabled to perform, it should seem would disarm the most mad-
dened bigot; would demand an exercise of charity, even to the
utmost, towards errors of doctrine held by these faithful creatures
of a merciful God. Even to deny to them the meed of praise
would have been the ungrateful task of the most reprobate, infidel
heart; and he who might attempt to depreciate their services,
23
would deservedly be regarded, as lost to all gratitude, to the
sense of shame, and all of respect for any of the virtues of the heart.
But more than this has been done? The very retreat of these
Sisters of Charity has been fired, and it now lies in ruins! Its
blackened walls tell the tale, at which the heathen himself would
shudder. There they are; the monument of our infamy, the evi-
dence of our ingratitude; the damning proof of our injustice and
cruelty. There they stand, the mournful evidence of the influence
over unregenerate hearts, which principles, such as those set forth
by the Protestant Association, can exercise. Orphans, that the
roaming savage would compassionate, are not to be relieved,
though they cry for help, because you may be instrumental in
gathering them from the highways and hedges to become servants
of a benevolent and kind and holy Redeemer; and the dwellings
of helpless women, consecrated to the work of mercy; who are
by sacred vows, the companions to the sick, and the visitors
to the pallet of suffering, are to be burnt, because they pronounce
not the Shibboleth of a sectſ - • * : -
Of this association, this Protestant Association, of this proscrip-
tive measure, of the spirit of religious persecution which ani-
mates them, the writer with difficulty refrains from mentioning
important facts and evidence. He leaves it for the present; but in
in due time the Christian public shall be made acquainted with
the means and course pursued by its leaders, in order that they
may understand its object. What that object is, “he who runs’’
can easily comprehend. If it can be sanctioned, by the calm and
considerate portion of the Christian public, then indeed has the
design of the ever blessed Gospel of Christ been overlooked. If
one body of Christians can band together, to give united opposition
to a single communion of fellow Christians, and proclaim their
purpose, to war with them until they desert what these presuming
judges would pronounce, grievous errors;–if this can be done
without exciting censure from all who “are of Christ,” then may
we well lament the weakening of the bonds of sacred fellowship,
and bitterly mourn over the want of that love towards our brethren,
which is the very bond of perfection. Well may the unbeliever
then scoff, and the gain sayer ridicule both our profession and
practice; and well too may the enemies of the faith of Jesus point
to the professing disciples of the meek and lowly Saviour, and
ask, is this the Christianity of which you vauntº . -
IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF THE RIOTS AND REBELLION.
THE BIBLE QUESTION IN PHILADELPHIA. FALSE IM-
PRESSIONS WHICH PREVAIL AS TO THE ACTION OF
A CERTAIN DENOMINATION OF CHRISTIANS IN RE-
SPECT TO IT'S USE IN THE PUBLIG SCHOOLS. DOCU-
MENTS, WHICH PROVE THE FALSITY OF THE
CHARGES. NATIVE AMERICAN PARTY, ITS ORIGIN
AND SECTARIAN CHARACTER. CHURCH AND STATE,
&c. &c.
IF It be a matter of sincere regret, that the Holy Book, which has
God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any error for
its doctrine,—which was designed by Him who graciously bestowed it,
to “be a lamp to our feet, and a guide to our way,”—should, through
the perversity, and pride, and haughtiness of men's hearts, be the occa-
sion of bitter and endless strife, and contentions, equally astonishing is
it, that in zeal for its cause, its fundamental principles should be lost
sight of . That cause is a great and glorious one; and he would think
lightly of it, who would attempt to stop its progress in the world and
consequently interfere with the happiness of man in this and an eternal
world. It is the foundation of all his hopes, the authority for his faith,
the rock of his assurance, and “ committed,” as it has been, “to faithful
men,” it is the anchor upon which he rests in confiding trust, the desti-
nies of his imperishable part in time and eternity, in this probationary
scene, and that which is spread far beyond its bounds.
But with its pure practical precepts, which most concern us, and
which are widely opened before our eyes, the subjects of this gracious
dispensation, have too often lost sight of the obedience which is to be
rendered to their authority. Ever and exclusively interested in matters
of controversial belief, how many are there, whose lives are spent in
that “which profiteth not,” and which to them, ersonally, are truly
“broken cisterns.” . They will argue, as if the º depended upon the
decision of the north or north-west side of a hair in polemics; or as if
the head, and not the heart, was most to be engaged in so solemn a mat-
ter. Accordingly, Christendom has ever been convulsed with sectarian
controversy—the more bitter, because those engaged in it, have been
chiefly among the most ignorant, as to its essential truths.
It was reserved, however, for our day, to have exhibited before us,
the course of a class of men, who, professing to be its exclusive friends
and most zealous guardians, have used this precious book to the most
worldly purposes; and with loud declarations of reverence, actually to
desecrate it, in the furthering of their culpable designs. We have been
called to see the Bible held aloft in the van of a mass of men, who had
conspired to reach the seat of power, by making it the signal, around
which deluded thousands were to assemble, and follow in blind obedi-
95
ence their hypocritical leaders. We have heard, echoed from one end of
the land to the other, the watchword, “the Bible, the open Bible;” we
have seen it to be the legend upon the banners of a political party, when
parading our streets; and the press and the pulpit have proclaimed that
the Word of God was denied to Protestants, after it had been irreverent-
ly trampled upon by the “impious Papists | * The public mind was
inflamed with the unfounded—and many who made them, knew them
to be so—the unfounded assertions that it was the fixed design of a cer-
tain denomination to expel the Scriptures from the Public Schools alto-
gether, and that our children were to be denied the use of that book,
which could alone make them “wise unto salvation.” Public meetings
were held, which were addressed by clergymen in the extreme of vid
lent haranguing; misrepresentations, artfully worded, so as to produce
the greatest excitement and indignation, were made by the emissaries
of those who were anxious to raise a whirlwind of fury among their
fellow-citizens. A stern, determined hostility against “Papists” urged
on these leaders in the unrighteous crusade; and men were found, fully
acquainted with the whole truth of the matter, who participated in the
violent measures, and in the unhallowed cause of falsehood and perse-
cution.
Perhaps no conspiracy—for it was a conspiracy, not a sudden, hasty
movement on the part of those who were its prime, though secret
movers—perhaps no conspiracy against not only social order and the
supremacy of our equitable and impartial laws, but against Religion
itself, was ever entered upon with a greater disregard to truth an ’ jus-
tice, than that of designing injury and wrong to a particular bºy of
Christians, through falsified representations in regard to the Divine
Volume. The doctrines and ritual of worship among Catholics, were
legitimate subjects of proper discussion; their º of Church govern-
ment, their claims for a venerable antiquity, their hierarchy of conse-
crated fulers, all presented matters for examination, when pursued in a
becoming spirit. And if these claims could be weakened i. calm rea-
son and correct judgment of the mind, it would be proper to point out
the errors in respect to them. This, common justice would allow, and
Christianity does not forbid. But if the “ Church of Rome * is to be
attacked by unſounded yet heated prejudice,—if the fiery passions of a
community are to be invoked in the assaults upon her walls, if she
is to be assailed by designed misrepresentations, iſ the Holy Bible is to
be irreverently brought forth, as a desecrated instrument of power over
the perverted minds of the multitude—then indeed have we “fallen
upon evil times; ”—then may the true “Bible Christian?’ fear that a
proper love for it and its eternal truths has departed from the breasts of
its professed, yet noisy friends.
To show how unjustly the above body of Christians have been accused
of an attempt to remove the Bible from our Public Schools, and how
wrongly the public mind has been directed in the matter, the following
documents are submitted. They are presented, with the earnest request
that they be most rigidly examined, and impartially weighed. The
citizens of a government such as ours, and the disciples of a Righteous
Lord, are called upon to do so. It has been told in unblushing boldness
by the very ministers of your religion, that Catholics would deprive you
and your children of your Bibles, and the community has been swayed
and rocked, and shaken, with the tidings; until at length your ſearful
anger has burst forth, in mistaken, though terrible vengeance. That
vengeance has left behind it, carnage and death, sacrilege and arson,
rebellion and treason, woe and misery, and lamentation and mourning !
Q
26
The first document P. will be the resolutions adopted by the
Board of Controllers of the Public Schools in the year 1833, long before
the agitation of the present exciting question. Would to God that the
truly Christian and just principles which they embody had been opera-
tive, had been followed out; far, far different now would be the state of
public feeling? º
“CHAMBER of The CoNTRoLLERs of PUBLIC Schools,
FIRST ScHool, DISTRICT of PENNsylvania.
Resolutions passed December 9th, 1834.
WHEREAs, The Controllers have noticed, that the p. exists in some of the
Schools of introducing religious exercises, and books of a religious character, which
have not been recommended or adopted by this Board in the fessons prepared for the
use of the Scholars, and believing the use of such exercises or books may have a ten-
dency to produce an influence in the Schools of a sectarian character.
Ir is Resolved, That this Board, as conservators of the rights of parents or
guardians of children, committed to the care of teachers, employed according to
law, º: the purpose of public education, are bound to preserve those rights unim-
paired.
Resolven, That the Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania, which has pro-
vided for the establishment of Public Schools, has also wisely guaranteed the right
of all to worship according to the dictates of their conscience; and as the parents of
children have both by law and mature the guardianship of them during their minority,
so, they alone are responsible for the effects of such guardianship; and their right to
impress the minds of their children with such views of a religious nature as they may
think most important, ought not to be interfered with, especially by a body exercising
its authority by virtue of the laws of the Commonwealth.
Resolved, That as all sects contribute in the payment of taxes to the support of
Public Schools, the introduction of any religious or sectarian forms as part of the dis-
cipline of the Schools, must have a tendency to impair the rights of some—and that
whilst this Board is convinced of the utter impossibility of adopting a system of reli-
gious instruction that should meet the approbation of all religious societies, they are
equally satisfied no injury need result to the pupils from confining the instruction in
our Schools to the ordinary branches of elementary education; inasmuch as ample
facilities for religious improvement are presented for the choice of parents or guar-
dians, in Sabbath Schools, and other establishments for that purpose, which are or-
ganized and supported by various religious communions,
Resolved, That the ground of universal benevolence is one on which all sects or
parties may meet; and it must be on this ground alone, that our Public Schools can
be continued as a public good; and in prohibiting the introduction of religious forms
in them, this Board will invade the rights of mone, but on the contrary, by so doing, it
will maintain the rights of all, and therefore
Resolved, That this Board cannot but consider the introduction or use of any re-
ligious exercises, books, or lessons into the Public Schools, which have not been
opted by the Board, as contrary to law; and the use of any such religious exer-
cises, books or lessons, is hereby directed to be discontinued.”

The just and constitutional, and truly Christian principles embodied
in the above Recital and Resolutions, received the full, unanimous ap-
probation of the whole community. They were adopted at a time
when the public mind was in that serene state which permitted an
equitable and righteous decision to be reached in respect to an all-im-
portant subject, and it was arrived at in a proper spirit, and under a
roper influence. It was a legislation for no majority, but for all alike;
it respected the conscientious claims of the most humble and weak; it
was governed in its results by the Bible of the Christian and the Consti-
tution of the American. •
A violation of the express provision of the above regulations for the
protection of the rights of conscience, in certain instances, called for a
respectful representation from Bishop Kenrick of the Catholic Church;
the children of which in attendance in the Public Schools, he considered
as aggrieved by inattention to the positive instructions of the Board of
27
Control. He accordingly addressed the following communication to the
above body:
“To THE BoARD or Conrrollers of THE PUBLIC Schools IN THE CITY AND
County of PHILADELPHIA.
GENTLEMEN, -Sympathy for a respectable lady who has been deprived for many
months past of her only means of support, for following the dictates of her conscience,
and a solemn sense of duty to the Catholic community, whose religious interests are
intrusted to my guardianship, prompt me to submit respectfully to your consideration
ºcienuous objections of Catholics to the actual regulations of the Public
Schools.
Among them I am informed one is, that the teachers shall read, aud cause to be
read, the Bible; by which is understood the version published by command of King
James. To this regulation we are forced to object, inasmuch as Catholic children
are thus led to view as authoritative, a version which is rejected by the Church. It
is not expected that I should state in detail the reasons of this rejection. I shall only
say, that we are persuaded that several books of Divine Scripture are wanted in that
version, and that the meaning of the original text is not faithfully expressed. It is
not incumbent on us to prove either position, since we do not ask you to adopt the
Cutholic version for general use; but we feel warranted in claiming that our consci-
entious scruples to recognise or use the other, be respected. In Baltimore, the Di-
rectors of the Public Schools have thought it their duty to provide Catholic children
with the Catholic version. Is it too much for us to expect the same measure of
justice:
The consciences of Catholics are also embarrassed by the mode of opening and
closing the School exercises, which I understand is by the singing of some hymn, or
by prayer. It is not consistent with the laws and discipline of the Catholic Church
for their members to unite in religious exercises with those who are not of her com-
munion. We offer up prayers and supplications to God for all men; we embrace all
in the sincerity of Christian affection; but we confine the marks of religious brother-
hood to those who are of the household of the faith. Under the influence of this
conscientious scruple, we ask that Catholic children be not required to join in the
singing of hymns or other religious exercises. *
I have been assured that several of the books used in the Public Schools, and still
more those contained in the libraries attached to them, contain misrepresentations of
our tenets, and statements to our prejudice, equally groundless and injurious. It is
but just to expect that the books used in the Schools shall contain no offensive mat-
ter, and that books decidcdly hostile to our faith shall not, under any pretext, be
placed in the hands of Catholic children.
The School law, which provides that ‘ the religious predilections of the parents
shall be respected,” was evidently framed in the spirit of our Constitution, which
holds the rights of conscience to be inviolable. Public education should be conduct-
ed on principles which will afford its advantages to all classes of the community,
without detriment to their religious convictions. Religious liberty must be especially
guarded in children, who, of themselves. are unable to guard against the wiles or
assaults of others. I appeal, then, gentlemen, with confidence, to your justice, that
the regulations of the Schools may be modified so as to give to Catholic pupils and
teachers equal rights without wounding tender consciences.
Fof my interposition in this matter, besides the responsibility of my station, I have
specially to plead the assurances I have received from a respectable source, that
some desire had been expressed to know distinctly from me, what modifications
Catholics desire in the School system. It was also suggested that an appeal of this
kind would receive every just consideration from the Board; and would anticipate
effectually, the danger of public excitement on a point on which the community is
justly sensitive—the sacred rights of conscience.
With great respect, I remain, gentlemen, your obedient servant,
+ FRANCIS PATRICK, Bishop of Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA, 14th November, 1842.”
On a consideration of the letter, the Controllers adopted the Resolu-
tions found below. They were no more than the plainest principles of
common justice demanded, and to which none but the violent and bigot-
ed sectarian, would refuse a cordial assent. It is true that the second
resolution is a virtual nullity, since there is no Catholic version of the
Scriptures that has not, more or less, some notes or comments; but as
no remonstrance against this provision has been presented, it still
remains in force.
28
**
* Resolved, That no children be required to attend or unite in the reading of the
Bible in the Public Schools, whose parents are conscientiously opposed thereto.
“Resolved, That those children whose parents conscientiously prefer and desire
any particular version of the Bible, without note or comment, be furnished with the
Same.” * *
In the question of the use of the Bible—the version set forth by autho-
rity of King James—as presented thus far, who will have the effrontery
to declare, that any attempt was made to exclude the Sacred Scriptures
from the Common Schools? Yet the cry was raised in the face of the
above documents, which are too plain to be misunderstood, that such
was the demand of our Catholic population. Carried away by the cla-
mor, or influenced by their own feelings of attachment to their respec-
tive sects, certain teachers, with the connivance of some of the Directors
of the Public Schools, presumed to disobey the positive regulations that
had been adopted. A respectſul remonstrance from Catholic laymen
was addressed to the Controllers against the infringement of the rights
of conscience, and this aggrieving of the Catholic children in their privi-
leges,"in direct opposition to the regulations adopted. The response
was in the following action of the Board:
FIRST ScHool, District of PENNsy LVANIA,
Philadelphia, March 13th, 1844.
At a meeting of the Board of Controllers of the Public Schools of the First School
District of Pennsylvania, held at the Controllers’ Chamber, on Tuesday, the 12th day
of March, 1844, the following Resolutions were adopted:
REsolved, That the Secretary of this Board be instructed to furnish each of the
Sectional Boards, and the Principal Teachers of the Schools in the First School
District, with copies of the Resolutions adopted by the Board of Controllers on De-
cember 9th, 1834, and January 10th, 1843.
REsolvep, That any infringement of the Resolutions of this Board, by the Teachers
of the Sectional Boards will virtually disqualify such Teachers from receiving pay-
ment for their services from this Board.
Extract from the minutes, º
THOMAS B. FLORENCE, Secretary.”
** CHAMBER OF THE CONTROLLERS OF PUBLIC ;...";
In order to inform the public mind as to the true state of the case, and
to explain what were the real views of Catholics in relation to the matter,
which then, and since, has swayed in dreadful rockings, the feelings of
this community, Bishop Kenrick, at this time, published a letter in all
the public papers of the city, from which the following paragraphs have
been extracted:
“Catholics have not asked that the Bible be excluded from the Public Schools.
They have merely desired for their children the liberty of using the Catholic version
in case the reading of the Bible be prescribed by the Controllers or Directors of the
Schools. They only desire to enjoy the benefit of the Constitution of the State of
Pennsylvania, which guarantees the rights of conscience, and precludes any prefer-
ence of sectarian modes of worship. They ask that the School laws be faithfully
executed, and that “ the religious predilections of the parents be respected.” They
ask that the regulations of the Controllers of the Public Schools, adopted in Decem-
ber, 1834, be followed up, and that the resolutions of the same body adopted in Janu-
ary, 1843, be adhered to. They desire that the Public Schools be preserved from all
sectarian influence, and that education be conducted in a way that may enable all
citizens equally to share in its benefits, without any violence being offered to their
religious convictions,”
Notwithstanding, however, such proceedings and such documents,
speaking so plainly and loudly that all must hear, save those who are
purposely deaf, the watch-word of “excluding the Bible,” was passed
from lip to lip, from one end of our Commonwealth to the other, and
throughout the length and breadth of the State. The above respectful,
29
and mild, and correct, and indeed, Christian course of the Catholics in
respect to a matter, which ought to have been any thing but exciting,
was seized upon by certain sectaries to attack the communion of the
former. Exaggerated statements in the ecclesiastical and sec jour-
nals were made, and certain pulpits were shaken with the very violence
of their heated occupants, when detailing the dreadful conspiracy against
the Word of God. The minds of the people were filled with the sub-
ject, and their feelings were so wrought upon, that it is no wonder with
any one, that these feelings and impressions led to riot, to sacrilege, to
arson, to treason and murder!
To show how prejudiced the º mind had become, and how cruel-
ly unjust were its conclusions through false statements, two instances
will be given. The Grand Jury inquiring into the causes of the riots in
Kensington, with every opportunity, and the most ample means” for
reaching a correct decision as to the matter, made the following present-
ment to the Court. No comment will be ventured upon it. #ère it is ;
and having been spread before the public for revision, let that public,
after reading the documents which are to follow, pronounce as to its
correctness.
“The Jury have been instructed by the Court, to inquire into the origin
and cause which led to the recent gross violations of law, and to present the
first and last aggressors, if possible. Upon this branch of inquiry, from
all the facts which came under their notice, they have come to the following
conclusions:
“Second—To the efforts of a portion of the community to exclude the
Bible from our Public Schools,” &c. &c.
The other instance is that derived from the succeeding article, pub-
lished in the CHRISTIAN OBSERVER, of May 17th, 1844, a religious pa-
K. of this city, and which is the organ of a large body of Christians.
either here will there be offered upon it, any remarks; but it will not
be refused, that there be some passing regret expressed for that blind,
bigoted attachment to sectarian creeds, which will allow a Christian
editor of a Christian journal to make statements such as the following,
in a reckless spirit of rank injustice. He is speaking of the riots in
Kensington.
“...At six o'clock the rioters proceeded to the corner of Fourth and Master
streets, and demolished the houses of Alderman Hugh Clark, police magis-
trate of the district, and that of his brother, Patrick Clark, tavern-keeper,
adjoining, destroying all the furniture, and all the official documents of the
alderman, &c. Hugh Clark, it is said, had displayed great zeal in sup-
pressing the Bible in one of the Public Schools—had ordered a female
teacher to throw the Bible out of the window. On her refusing to obey him,
He caught it from her and threw it into the street.”
After this rendering of the Grand Inquest of the County, and the
above statement of the “Christian Observer,” it will now be shown that
the Catholics, either as a body, or as individuals, made no attempt to
exclude the Bible from the Public Schools. All that is now asked, is
that it be remembered that such was, and still is the charge, and that
thousands upon thousands at present are justifying in their zeal for the
sacred writings, but through absurd impressions, the horrible outrages
among us. The Grand Jury has said that the riots were owing to this
cause; and a Christian journal has given the minute particulars of an
insult to the Bible. Let Alderman Clark be heard however.
30
“stareMENT of ALDERMAN CLARK, ONE OF THE DIRECTORS or Tlie PUBLIC
SCHOOLS IN KENSINGTON DISTRICT.
In the ºrly part of the present year, I accompanied my friend Dr. Winslow to
the Public School in Master street, Kensington, to afford hum an Opportunity of ob-
serving its course of operations. Whilst in the room of Miss Bedford, I enquired of
her how she was getting along with her charges, and she replied that she could not
say very well—that the reading of the Scriptures had been the occasion of some dif-
ficulty, and that on that very inorning considerable confusion had been caused, on
account of the withdrawal of the Catholic children at the commencement of the ex-
ercises, and the removal of some from the ante-room into which they had retired.
After further remarks, from the lady, who declared that she knew not any mode by
which to put an end to the drfficulty, I observed that it would perhaps be the better
course to desist for a season from having the Bible read; and as I had been very
much annoyed by constant complaints by Catholic parents in respect to the matter,
to end the difficulties until some action of the Board of Direetors, I would assume
the fesponsibility of having the exercises omitted.
This is the whole substance of the conversation between Miss Bedford and myself,
and the entire action on my part in relation to the Bible. , I made no disparaging re-
marks about the Protestant version, and much less offered any indignity to it. In the
course of Iny remarks, I observed that the Douay Bible might as well be read, and
that the resolutions of the Beard of Control would justify its introduction; but I did
not even Intimate a wish that it should be thus employed.
Subsequently the matter was brought before the Board of Directors, and my action
in the case was sustained, as their minutes will testify. Applications have been ad-
dressed, as I amderstand, to their ScCretary for a certified copy, but so far have not
been received, and to this time I have been debarred from the opportunity of defend-
ing myself against cruel misrepresentations. In addition I will state that on May
6th, the very day of the first recent riots, an order was adopted for the giving pub.
licity to the whole proceedings in the case, but as yet they have not appeared.
Signed, HUGII CLARK.32
But the statement of the Alderman will not be taken by itself. Be-
low are extracts from the statements of Miss Bedford herself, of some of
the teachers and one of the Directors, made before a Committee of the
Board, appointed by them, to investigate the matter,
“MTSS BED FORD’s TrºstIMONY.
* * * * ºn a few minutes after, Mr. Clark came in with a gentleman, D.
Winslow. He asked nie if any thing new had happened that day. As this occur-
rence had taken place, l could not conscientiously say “nothing,” and I told him an
occurrence had taken place in reference to our Bible. I related the circumstance
to him as nearly as I could recollect. He spoke about the propriety of reading the
Bible in the School. 1 cannot remrember the words. 1 referred him to the Comunit-
tee on the School. I do not recollect whether he said the use of the Bible ought to
be dispensed with, rather than have such lows. *
I asked Mr. Chark what he thought my motives were in reading the Bible. IIe
said he never questioned them, and considered them horrest and upright. I under-
stood him to desire k should dispense with reading the Bible, because it was unplea-
sant to the Catholic children, and caused them to leave the room. He did not wish
me to discontinue the use of the Bible thaf day or unmediately. I said it would be
better to see the Committee, and I referred Mr. Clark to them. Mr. Clark said he
would see them and then left the Sehoof. I understood Mr. Clark to say, before I
referred him to the Committee, that he would take the responsibility of discontinuing
the use of the Bible in the School. I understood him to give as a reason, that he had
been annoyed or troubled constantly by complaints made to him in the streets by
Catholics, about the reading of the Bible. The whole of this conversation had refe-
rence to the disputes among the children in the School. I remarked to him that I
had been in the habit of reading the Bible a long tume withont any difficulty.
* * * * Perhaps Mr. Clark did say that it would be better to dispense with read-
ing the Bible, than have these disturbances continually among the children, but I
can’t recollect all that was said.
* * * * Mr. Clark and Mr. Moore called the next day. Mr. Clark appeared
to be more excited than he was the day before, and I supposed he had been spoken
to by some one. He said I dropped a word the day before, which led him to suppose
I wished to insist on reading the Bible through all opposition; and I asked him to
state what it was. He said he could not then recollect, but would let me know if it
31
recurred to him. Mr. Clark said that he would be willing to take the responsibility
of discontinuing the readings. He did not, as I recollect, fix any time for the discon-
tinuance. I then said to Mr. Moore, Mr. Clark is willing to take this responsibility.
I don’t recollect that Mr. Moore said I might discontinue the tise of the Bible, if Mr.
Clark would take the responsibility. Mr. Clark did not wish or directºmre to discon-
tinue the readings then. Two ladies came in and the gentfemien eſt. . . .
* * * * I was speaking to Mr. Clark, and told him. I had always been in the
habit of reading the Bible in the School, and I said it was strange I shot:ld how be
required to lay it aside. I said I supposed I was censured by the Cathoffcs for so
doing. Mr. Clark said I might be by some, but the more intelligent Catholics would
not censure me. * - . : . . . . .
* * * * I don’t recollect thât I said it would be hetter that the reading of the
Bible should be dispensed with rather than have the disttirbances among the ehil-
dren, but if Mr. Moore and Mr. Clark say that I said so, I have nothing to say against
it. I don’t say so, I did not say so. - -
Here"Mr. Moore, by request, stated that when Mr. Clark said that he would as-
sume the responsibility of dispensing with the readings; he gave as a reason that it
was better the readings should be suspended thau such distºrbances should be con-
tiuned. Miss Bedford said she was satisfied that it should be dispensed with, if it
could not be done in peace, - . -
The statement of Mr. Moore, the gentleman above referred to, will now be given,
It was made to the Committee of Investigation, heretofore named.
-. MR MooRE's TESTIMONY,
Mr. Mbore “stated when Alderman Clark and I came up to Miss Bedford's room
after the subject was introduced concerning the reading of the Bible, she inentioned
to the Alderman, “Mr. Clark you told me that if I would dispense with reading the
Bible; you wotild take the responsibility upon yotirseh.” He replied, “I did ; and if
the Bible is continued to be read in the Schooº; I will have the other Bible introduced,
according to the Resolutions of the Board of Control, and that I never want to do.
He said, I never wish to see confusion in the Schools. He then said to her, would
you not rather dispense with the reading of the Bible in the Sehoof; than have such
confusion. She replied, Oh yes! but I have always been in the practice of reading
the Bible, and; tıntil lately, without any manifest dissatisfaction. The Alderman told
lier he had beef, very much perplexed by the application of parents concerning their
children being required to listen to the Bible being read in the Schools. I observed.
to Miss Bedford, I want it distinctly understood between you and the Alderman, that
if you decline reading the Bible, that it will be upon your aird the Alderman's respon-
sibility; that I do not feel at liberty; myself, to authorize you to depart from your
usual custom of reading the Bible. - - - - - . . .
I state by way of explanation how Alderman Clark and I came into Miss Bed-
ford’s room. I asked Miss Bedford if she had any objection to my bringing Alder-
inau Clark with me into her room; she said she would not, and I then went down
and brought him up. - . . . . . -
... I understood Miss Bedford to say, that she would rather dispense with the use of
the Bible than have such confusion,” . . . . . . .
FURTHER STATEMENT or Miss BEDforf.
Miss Bedford recalled,—The difficialty coimplained of occurred between 8 and 9
o'clock, before the School was opened. It decurred in the largest class room, I
think. I was not present, but the children usually go into that room before the open-
ing. Mrs. Riley was, as funderstand, dusting the large School-roorii; but she had
been in the class room. This difficulty occurred as I was informed, while Mrs. Riley
was so employed in the large School-room. I had not them arrived at the School,
and was not informed of it until after I had read the Bible. I did not understand that
any violencc hād been used among the children, one to another. Rebecca Jackson,
apologized to both the Assistant Teachers; and said she was sorry if she had wounded
their feelings, by sending the children out of the class room.
Mr. Clark did not say I should discontinue the reading gº the Bibie, but he said if I
would do so he would take the responsibility. He told me not to dispense with the
reading then, during the excitement, but to do it gradually,

Miss GrbBon’s TESTIMONY.
Miss Mary Gibbon.—On Thursday or Friday morning, February last, Miss Brady
and I retired to the class room, and we were told by the children, that Miss Jaekson
32
had insisted on their leaving that room. They said they had made known to her
their objectious to remaining in the large room while the Bible was being read, aud
that she had then told them not to come out of the class room while the Bible was
read, as it might kill them : Two or three children did complain that Miss Jackson
tised force to put them öut of the class room. Miss Jackson denied that she had laid
hold of them, but admitted that she had used the language to them, that if they heard
the Bible read it would kill them, Miss Jackson sent an apology to Miss Brady and
myself, saying that she did not know why the children assembled in the class room
every morning-when the Bible was read. The children were in the habit of retiring
to the class room during the reading of the Bible, before I became teacher in this
room. There never was any objection to the children retiring. I did not eommence
leaving the room until after last vacation. I taught in the School a short time before
vacation.”
Another paper, and the last upon this particular case, out of which
owever has grown the terrible doings in our midst, will now be pre-
sented. . It is signed by six of the Principals of the Common Schools,
in Kensington District, and was voluntarily rendered as an act of justice
to Alderman Clark, and in vindication of truth.
** C1ERTIFICATE OF TEACHERS IN KENSINGTON,
Kensington, May 21, 1844.
The undersigned, Principal Teachers in the Public Schools of the #j. Section,
First School District of Pennsylvania, comprising the District of Kensington, take
pleasure in stating that Alderman Hugh Clark, one of the Directors of the Schools of
this section, has never ordered, directed, or instructed either or any of us, to dis-
pense with the reading of the Bible in our Schools, or interposed any obstruction
to that exercise, as pursued by us under the instructions of the Board of Controllers
of the Public Schools of the City and County of Philadelphia.”
With all these facts and statements before you, fellow-Christians and
countrymen, must you not deplore that passion, maddened into frenzy,
by the designing and wicked—for let their professions be what they
may, they are wicked,—has urged so many on to acts, at which you
shudder. But what shall be the fate here and hereafter of those, who
knowing, or who might, easily have known, all the facts in the case,
for the part they have taken in abusing your minds, and inflaming your
breasts to fury, and maddened riot, and carnage of your fellow-men.
Dreadful is their responsibility,+awful, if not averted by dººr abase-
ment and penitence, must be their doom in that world, where the
covered hearts of all shall be laid bare. They have sown the wind, can
they escape from the terrors and sweeping destruction of the whirlwind?
In the conclusion of this point one more document is presented. It
is final, covering with its very narrow limits the whole ground. It is
a testimony which cannot be impeached, and at which all must bow,
in acknowledgment of its unquestioned value. It is an extract from
the 26th ANNUAL REPORT of THE ContRo1.LERs of THE PUBLIc
Schools, adopted at a recent meeting of the Board.
“NO ATTEMPT THEREFORE HAS EVER BEEN MADE
BY ANY ONE INe THIS BOARD, NQR HAVE THE CON-
TROLLERS EVER BEEN ASKED BY ANY SECT, PER—
SON, OR PERSONS, TO EXCLUDE THE BIBLE FROM
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS l’’
Such is the true statement of the matter of the Bible. It cannot be read
without pain and regret at the wicked perversion of facts, and at the
33
awful results, which the belief in their existence, has occasioned.
Dreadful, tremendously. So, is the responsibility, which attaches itself
to those who have abused the public ear, and driven their fellow-creatures
on to murder and arson and sacrilege?
It becomes necessary now that attention be directed to the Native
American faction; and an extract from the JPresentment of the Grand
Jury of the last May Term is given, to show its origin,
—“To the efforts of a portion of the community to exclude the Bible
from our Public Schools—the Jury are of opinion, THAT THESE EFFoRTs
tn S07me measure GAVE RISE TO THE FORMATION OF A NEW PARTY,
which called and held public meetings in the District of Kensington, in the
peaceful eacercise of the sacred rights and privileges guaranteed to every
citizen by the Constitution and laws of our State and country.”
Assuming the statements to be correct, it is found that NATIVISM
was called into existence on the occasion of an attempt “to exclude
the Bible from our Public Schools,”—an attempt, however, which was
never made, as has been undeniably proven in the preceding #.
It then has existed for a period hardly reaching five months, and in that
time of its being, what has been seen 2. Two Catholic Churches burnt,
one thrice fired and desecrated, a Catholic Seminary and retreat con-
sumed by the torches of an incendiary mob, two rectories and a most
valuable º destroyed, forty dwellings in ruins, about forty human
lives sacrificed, and sixty of our fellow-citizens wounded; riot, and
rebellion, and treason rampant on two occasions in our midst, the laws
boldly set at defiance, and peace and order, prostrated by ruffian vio-
lence . . These are the horrid events which have taken place among us
since the organization; and they are mentioned for no other purpose,
than that reflection be entered º; by the community, which has been
so immeasurably disgraced by these terrible acts.
And the Grand Inquest too have proclaimed the sectarian character
of the above party. Had they not done so, however, still would the
principles and aims of that party be palpably evident. They have
shown them on every occasion; and whether their violent proscription
of Catholics, and especially Irish Catholics, which has been heard from
all their orators, Reverend and lay, or read in their violent organs, be
considered, or whether they are seen palpably traced on their banners,
still are they as clear as if written with a sun-beam. The organiza-
tion is not for political purposes, so far as the leaders are concerned!
There is a deeper object in view, or else.the crying sin of impiety
must lie at their door; since the Holy Bible has been brought out, the
means and appliances for success of political demagogues, and party
tacticians. This issue cannot be avoided, it must be made.
Protestants as such, have banded themselves against Catholics for
being so; and the cry of the Bible has been raised as the tallying word,
since the universal reverence for it would beget a cheering response
from thousands. There is then an organized religious party in our
country by their own admission; with the determined boasting pur-
pose of active, hostile action against a communion, enjoying from God,
the Gospel of Christ, the demands of conscience, and the Constitution
of their country, the guaranteed “rights and privileges of every citi-
zen.” And is not this fact sufficient to awaken and rouse the attention
and to excite the fears of the American people? To what must an
amalgamation such as this inevitably tend; to what, but to an UNEoN of
34
CHURCH AND STATE * The conspiracy may not have reached the ripe-
ness yet, which will permit an honest avowal of the purpose; but º:
are the firm convictions of thousands, that such a design exists, wi
not a few ecclesiastics among us. It is not an ungrounded fear that
our religious liberties are in danger, when the late proceedings of cer-
tain sectarians are considered; and it behooves all and every of us,
who would transmit to posterity the great and precious privileges we
now enjoy, to watch with jealousy, and guard with extreme caution,
the birth-right of freemen. *
Let it not be supposed impossible that such a wish or design is enter-
tained by any portion of the Protestant body. That body is composed
of the same men that constitute the Catholic communion,-men of like
passions, like aims, like feelings. The same ambition that prompts
one party, operates in the breasts of the other, and whether these
breasts are covered with purple, or with humble serge, aspiring after
power, or rank, or station, or distinction, are to be found there. They
are found in the pulsations of the heart of him who is clothed in the
“scarlet robes of the Churchman,” as well as of him with unwashed
linen, who is the shepherd of some conventicle. In intensity and de-
gree they are the same; the nature of the object, or aim of their desires
makes the only difference. But let facts and experience be allowed to
speak in respect to the same hankering of Protestants for power, which
is charged against Catholics. In the Protestant countries of Europe,
the union of Church and State is beheld existing with the same circum-
stances as in Rome or Spain. In England, in Scotland, in Germany, in
Sweden, and other governments, it is seen and felt too! and the seeptre
and sword have been raised not unfrequently to the effectual .#
of those who presumed to oppose the ecclesiastical tyranny of a partia
legislation. Even in our country, the boasted land of freedom from all
restraints of conscicnce, we have had and still have this winion of Church
and State. For, what else will that be called, which existed in
Massachusetts, Protestant Massachusetts, the land of the Pilgrim
Fathers, who went there, as they proclaimed to the world, for the
very purpose of getting clear of this alliance, and of evading perse-
cution? "Was it not a union of Church Yand State, which caused
Quakers and Baptists to be led to the scaffold, to expiate their abomi-
nable crimes of daring to differ from the established faith of Puritan-
ism? Was it not an union of Church and State that exiled Roger
Williams? When not many years since, a Protestant clergyman in
Philadelphia, discoursing about the American Sunday School Union,
.# that in a short time, “we would have a religious party in
the country,” did he not speak as plainly as he could in j} of this
Union of Church and Ståte Was not that a union of Church and
State which the provision of the Constitution of North Carolina, for-
bidding any Catholic from holding an office of trust, or profit, or
honor established? ... And through whose exertions was this odious fea-
ture removed, but through those of the great and good GAston ; him-
self a Catholic, and a Christian too, without reproach. Does there not
exist at this very time a union of Church and State in New Jersey and
New Hampshire, since such requisitions as the following are contained
in their Constitutions.
* EXTRACTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
* Provided nevertheless, that no person shall be capable of being elected a Senator,
who is not of the PROTESTANT RELIGION, and seized of a freehold in his owns
right of the value of two hundred pounds,”
^.
35
On page 14, we find the following proviso, in speaking of those who
shall be eligible to the office of Governor: *.
“And no person shall be eligible to this office, unless at the time of his election, he
shāli have been an inhabitant of this State for seven years next preceding, and unless
he shall be of the age of thirty years, and wnless he at the same time have an estate of
the value of five hwndred powtuds, one-half of which shall consist of a freehold in his
§§ sight within this State, and unless he shall be of the PROTESTANT RELI-
The State of New Hampshire has a board of five controllors, for advi-
sing the Governor in the exclusive part of the government. On page
17, of the Constitution, the following sentence occurs:
* And the qualifications of Counseliors shall be the same as Senators.”
It will not be said that such a union of Church and State is not as
dangerous as that found in Catholic countries. In Massachusetts it de-
rived Quakers and Baptists of their lives; could it do more ? It ex-
iled hundreds, and branded with infamy those who did not square their
creed, by that of the Pilgrims. In North Carolina, it forbade the Catho-
lics holding any civil or military station, and in New Jersey and New
Hampshire, at this very hour, no Catholic can aspire to office. Say
not, in defence of these abominable acts of Protestants, that they have
not created, as yet, a Hierarchy such as that of Rome. , No, they have
not; and a good reason could be rendered, why they have not. But
Popes, and Cardinals, and Bishops, and Priests, are not the only tyrants
in this same world of ours. The triple crown of the “father of the
faithful,” has covered the brows of ambitious and bad men, and so has
a Genevan skull-cap, and the steeple-hat of English Independents, and
and Cämmeronian bonnet. What matters it whether the accessories of
power are gilded with fine gold, or bedaubed with the mud of the ken-
nel 2 . The attributes of that power are the same; these are the essen-
tial virtues in the view of the aspiring, and whether the hand grasps a
º: or a willow-wand, it matters not, provided rule and dominion
e enioved.
T. Hºment, then of the “Native Americans” should be consi-
dered and reflected upon by all. It has been seen that a certain bod
of Christiaus has been assailed by them, solely on account of their reli-
gious belief–their Churches desecrated and burnt, and their lives
taken. It has been seen, that the Bible has been made the emblem of
their party, with what sincerity and for what purpose can easily be
comprehended. It is known that notwithstanding their exclusive prin-
ciples as to foreigners, that their warm sympathies are in favor of Irish
Orangemen and Irish Protestants; and that one of the latter, not many
years in our country, was in the Temple of Liberty, during its progress
through the city on the day of the "... ‘It is known that hardly
any others but Irish Catholics, of all the foreigners among us, have been ,
proscribed and persecuted; and that sectarian intolerance has (fallen
most heavily upon them, through the violence of bitter harangues of
certain clergymen from the pulpit, and even at the meetings of the
above party. The very interest taken by these reverend gentlemen in
the progress of “Nativism,” is the strongest evidence that religion, or
rathér sectarianism, is at the bottom of the whole affair, and that as long
as it exists among us, there can be but little hope that our community
will be at peace. * - -
If the “Native Americans” had formed a political party, not one
word would be spent upon them nor their principles, however right or
wrong. But they have not done so. It is a party of religionists, and
36
as such should be met and opposed in this land of liberty, where con-
science is as free, or should be, as free as air. The mass of it may in-
deed be honest and sincere in endeavoring to secure a political mea-
sure; but there are among them those who are using them for a dis-
ised purpose. That purpose is virtually a union of Church and State,
änd it behooves all closely to watch their proceedings. The “Bible,”
“an open Bible,” “a universal Bible,” is the cry of to-day; let the
American citizen see to it, that to-morrow, he will not be required to
subscribe to some formulary of faith, pretended to be derived from that
Bible, and which will be offered to him at the point of the sword of the
magistrate. We should not be indifferent to what is going on around
us; and if we sleep now, we may hereaſter wake to a consciousness
that our dearest and most sacred principles have been wrested from us,
and our children. “To your tents then, O Israel,” and planting your-
selves before the Constitution, before the Gospel of man's Redeemer,
who, is your only Judge and Master, guard them with devotion and a
purpose unto the death, to crush every attempt which bigoted sectaries
of any name, or creed, or complexion may to make take them from you.
IN concluding this exposition,--which has caused sincere pain to the
writer, since he has been compelled to censure the cause of his religious
brethren, he would º in all earnestness to the ministers of that
blessed Religion, which on the first page of its revelation records the
herald-song of Peace, that angels sung at the birth of a common Saviour,
to exert their influence to stop the further increase of the spirit of per-
secution, this exhibition of intolerance. They owe it to themselves
and their holy calling, they owe it to the sacred causes which they
have vowed to promote and further, they owe it to their people, to their
country and their own immortal souls, to that God by whom they are
to be judged, and that adorable Redeemer in whose service they labor—
to spend and be spent in the work of “drawing back the waters of
strife.” LET PULPITs No MoRE RING witH TERMs of REPRoAcH
AND BITTER ASPERITY. LET RELIGIOUS PERIODIcArls ABATE THEIR
FIERCE CONTROVERSIES, AND LET TIME conDUCTORs of THE SECU-
LAR PRESS BE SILENT on THE SUBJECT of Poll:MICs | Let Chris-
tians no more cast odious and irritating terms of reproach against fellow
Christians: no vulgar epithets against brethren, how far soever removed
from them in doctiinal faith. Enough of violence and bitterness has
been dealt out; time is it that they he arrested. Their employment can
never do good; already what tremendous evil, have they not done 2
Long, very long will be the day, before their melancholy consequences
are unfelt; long, before their disgrace can be wiped out. Let all then
band together with the solemn determination, that there shall be an end
to revilings and persecutions, to bigotry and intolerance in religious
matters; and that we will live together as brethren of one great family,
as fellow-citizens of a country of equal laws, as children of the same
God, and joint heirs of the same gracious privileges made known to us
in the Gospel of IIis Son! Then will Philadelphia be again what she
once was, and then too will her favored citizens have the respect and
esteemed which they enjoyed from all, before they resorted to brute
force for the redress of imaginary evils.