RECORD OF FACTS CONCERNING THE PERSECUTIONS AT MADEIRA IN 1843 AND 1846: THE FLIGHT OF A THOUSAND CONVERTS TO THE WEST INDIA ISLANDS; AND ALSO, THE SUFFERINGS OF THOSE WHO ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES. BY REV. HERMAN NORTON, Corresponding Secretary of the American Protestant Society. NEW-YORK: PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN PROTESTANT SOCIETY, 150 NASSAU- STREET. Stereotyped and Printed by D. Fansbaw, cor. of Nassau and Ann streets. 1849. \ OUR ENGRAVINGS. The group in the frontispiece are three of the sufferers. On the 1 eft hand is F. De Vaeconcellas, with his wife in the back ground. They wore rudely seized by the soldiers and bound, and hurried to prison. His hands being tied with a strong leather strap, his wrists became per- fectly black by the pressure. They were in prison about two years. See pagp 135. On the right is Joaquine F. Somelino, who suffered, witli much patient endurance, three years' imprisonment. See page 130 2. Nicolao T. Vieira is the man whose history is found on pages 119-130. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by Edward Vernon, for the American Protestant Society, in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Southern District of New-York. CONTENTS. Page Preface. ..... ," ''" 7 SECTION I. Madeira. Mental darkness for centuries. Dr. Kalley's visit. Learns Portuguese. Schools opened. Results. Bible read. Proscribed by the priests. Dr. Kalley's letter to Scotland. Schools suspended. Bible-readers imprisoned. Dr. Kalley in prison by a law of the Inqui- sition of 1603. Dr. Kalley's address before London Protestant Association. Sentence of excommunication. Increase of Bible-readers, &c. &c. ... 11 SECTION II. Sentence of death on Mrs. Maria Joaquina Alves. Peti- tion to the Queen. Appeal to the court at Lisbon. Sin- gular decision. Mrs. Alves in prison two or three years. Now in Trinidad. Children in New- York. . . 38 SECTION III. Renewal of persecution. New governor. Jesuit at the head of the mob. Areenio Nicos Da Silva insulted. Escapes. Misses Rutherfurd's house attacked. Con- verts beaten. British protestants flee to vessels. La- dies in the Bay. Portuguese houses mobbed and plun- dered. Converts flee to the mountains. . . 45 4 CONTENTS. SECTION IV. Page- Lawless state of the island. Threats against Dr. Kalley and others. Dr. Kalley's letter to the police magistrate. To the civil governor. To British consul. Treacherous guard. Attack on Dr. Kalley's house. Dr. Kalley es- capes in the night, carried in a hammock in lady's dress to British vessel. Mrs. Kalley follows him. Con- sul and mob on shore. Protest of British ambassador at Portugal. Queen appoints a commission. Govern- ment at Madeira changed. Mock-trial. Results. 56 SECTION V. Barbarous treatment of native converts. Bibles burnt and hid. Converts flee to the mountains. Houses and fur- niture destroyed. Portuguese flee to foreign vessels. Gratitude. Prayer for enemies. Narrow escapes. Boy twelve years old knocked down. Aged woman beaten and left for dead. A man murdered. Thousand con- verts flee to the West India Islands. State of those left at Madeira. Petition to Queen of Portugal for the ex- pulsion of all protestants. The bishop's pastoral, &c. 82 SECTION VI. State of Portuguese refugees in Trinidad. Report of Rsv. Mr. Hewitson, of Scotland. . . . 101 SECTION VII. The American Protestant Society send Rev. M. J. Gon- salves to Trinidad. Letter of Rev. Arsenio Nicos Da Silva to the Society. Letter of Rev. Alexander Ken- nedy. Appeal for the Portuguese. Sublime object of benevolence 116 CONTENTS. 6 SECTION VIII. Page. Arrival of sixty or seventy Portuguese in New- York, under care of American Protestant Society. Appeal for clothing and provisions. Response. Character of these exiles. Instances of personal suffering. Impri- sonment. Escape. Colony at the West. . . 116 SECTION IX. Rev. Arsenio Nicos Da Silva, his father's family, be- comes merchant, marriage, only daughter's health Dr. Kalley invited as physician ; hears Dr. Kalley'8 preach. Contrast with priests. Receives a Bible from Dr. Kalley, searches it, Peter's epistle, conver- sion. Associates with converts, insulted by priests. Escapes the mob, his life in danger, separation from his family, flight to Lisbon, &c. &c. Trinidad, or- dained pastor of six hundred exiles, his labors and let- ters to American Protestant Society. Arrival at New- York, sickness, death, funeral, his life and cha- racter. Letter of Rev- Mr Hewitson, &c. . . 137 SECTION X. Providence of God in providing a home for the exiles. Lo- cation. Plan of settlement. Expense of transporta- tion. Appeal for aid. Colony of six hundred expatri- ated Portuguese. Moral influence. . . . 182 SECTION XI. Islands of the sea in the nineteenth century. Revival of primitive mode of spreading the Gospel. Spirit of the Roman church unchanged. Remonstrance of civilized world against this outrage on the rights of conscience. 6 CONTENTS. Page. Faith of Christians. The same in all ages. Priceless worth of civil and religious liberty. . '. . 191 APPENDIX. Testimony of living witnesses. '. ' V ; '''.' .207 Letter of Dr. Kalley from Malta to the Portuguese at New- York. . . Civv . . . .214 Correspondence of Dr. Kalley and Mr. Da Silva. .' 221 PREFACE. The recent violent persecution in Madeira has burst upon the Christian world like a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky. Amid the light and refinement, and espe- cially the humane feeling of the 19th century, neither the church nor the world were prepared for such a demonstra- tion of the unchangeable and barbarous spirit of Rome as is presented in this persecution. The origin, severity and extent of it, in connection with the work of God in pro- gress among the Portuguese in Madeira, are too important to be omitted in the history of this century. We chronicle the events for the benefit of the present and of succeed- ing ages. The high moral lessons they teach should be written with " a pen of iron, and with the point of a dia- mond," on the hearts of all men. Having been brought into familiar intercourse with our persecuted brethren, and become personally acquainted with their sufferings for the sake of the Gospel, there may be some propriety (not to say an obligation) on the part of the writer to collect and spread out before the church and the world, the' facts of their liistory and the nature of their trials. The record of these may have a tendency to awaken more active sympathy for the sufferers, and at the same tune to raise the standard of vital piety in the chris- 8 PREFACE. tian church. They may also open the eyes of all to see that the system of Romanism is essentially a system of persecution. This is now questioned by many in our coun- try. They appeal to the state of things in the United States, and to the kind feelings exhibited by Romanists here, and then confidently affirm that the Roman Catholic church would not persecute in this day. But we object to the trial of popery on our soil at present for various reasons. 1. Because she dare not now act out her system she dare not now out- rage our laws and our opinions. 2. Because Romanists are, as yet, the minority of the population in the United States. 3. Because the restraining and conservative influ- ence of protestantism is felt on the system of popery among us. Finally, because the hierarchy of the Roman church could never consummate their plans in our coun- try, should they come forth in their true colors. For these, and other considerations, we say that this country is not at present the best place for the trial of po- pery. But we must visit other countries where we may see the operation of her system, removed from the effec- tive influence of protestantism. Such a view is presented to us by the facts in this volume. As these facts are un- questionable, they furnisli an infallible test of the charac- ter of popery at the present time. May the lessons they teach not be lost upon our country and the world. May they hasten the return of the church of Christ to the pri- mitive standard of piety. In this narrative we have quoted from Dr. Kalley, who PREFACE. 9 has been the principal agent that the great Head of the church has been pleased to employ in promoting the glo- rious and powerful work of the Spirit and the truth in Madeira. We have also quoted largely from Captain J. Roddam Tate, of the Royal British Navy. Captain Tate personally witnessed the sufferings, the patience, the un- shaken and triumphant faith of the converts who endured bonds and imprisonment and death for their adherence to the word of God. The statements of Captain Tate are re- ceived as worthy of all confidence by the European, es- pecially the religious press, and they are entitled to the highest credence, whether we regard him as a gentleman or a Christian. This unprovoked persecution, in this age, for the sim- ple reading and belief of the primitive doctrines of Chris- tianity, we think should command the attention of the civilized world. Protestant governments and protestant churches should remonstrate against it. They should lift their earnest and united voice for LIBERTY of conscience FREEDOM to worship God FREEDOM to circulate and to read the BIBLE in every COUNTRY. Such a remonstrance against PERSECUTION, and such a demand for RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, would have a powerful influence in this day on every despotic government. Let this be done witlwut delay. Should this volume contribute in any measure to the various results to which reference has been made, the de- sign of its publication will be answered. PERSECUTIONS AT MADEIRA, SECTION I. Madeira Mental darkness for centuries Dr. Kallcy's visit Learns Portuguese Schools opened Results Bible read Proscribed by the Priests Dr. Kallcy's letter to Scotland Schools suspended Bible-readers imprisoned Dr. Kalley in prison by a Law of the Inquisition of 1603 Dr. Kalley' s Address before London Protestant Association Sentence of Excommunication Increase of Bible-readers, , or get notice of it any way, health and poace for ever in Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the true remedy and salvation of- all. I make known to you, that, having proceeded to an examination of witnesses, as compe- tent to my office, it was proved by them, and con- firmed by my sentence, that Francisco Pires Soares, married, and Nicolau Tolentino Vieyra, bachelor, both of this bishopric, residing in the parish of Santa Lu- 36 PERSECUTIONS OF THE zia, near the parish church, apostatized from the union and bosom of the Holy Mother Roman Catho- lic Church, and became sectaries of the Presbyterian communion, incurring by this ecclesiastical censure and canonical punishment of the greater excommu- nication. The censures requiring to be aggravated, I ordered this present letter to be written, by which I require and command, under pain of the greater ex- communication, all ecclesiastics, ministers and officers of justice, and others above-mentioned, as soon as they shall have notice of it, not to touch or hold communication with those who are excommunicated by the curse of Almighty God, and of the blessed St. Peter and St. Paul, with those of Gomorrah and of Sodom, Dathan and Abiram, whom the earth swallowed alive for their great sins and disobedience. Let none give them fire, water, bread, or any other thing that may be necessary to them for their sup- port. Let none pay them their debts. Let none support them in any case which they may bring ju- dicially. Let all put them aside as rotten and ex- communicated members, separated from the bosom and union of the Holy Mother Catholic Church, and as rebels and contumacious, for if any do the contra- ry, which God forbid, I lay, and consider as laid, upon their persons, the penalty of the greater ex- communication. Therefore were their names and surnames expressly declared ; and that all may know this, I order the reverend parish priests to publish this at the meeting on the first Sabbath or holy day, and to affix it on the door of the church, from which let no man take or tear it under pain of excommuni- cation, until, by making satisfaction for all, they merit the benefit for absolution. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 37 Given in Funchal, under the seal of the vicar- general and my signature, on the 27th of April, 1843. Jacinto Monteiro Cabrae, Writer to the Ecclesiastical Council, wrote this. SEBASTIO CAZEMIRO MEDINA K VAS. It is worthy of remark, that neither the thunders of excommunication, nor the sufferings inflicted on the Bible-readers, arrested the work of conversion. The friends and readers of the Bible increased. Even when Dr. Kalley, and many of the converts were in prison, the work of God, in the conversion of the Portuguese, went forward. New converts, not inti- midated by the sufferings of their brethren, avowed their faith in the word of God, and their purpose to read and obey it, whatever might be the sacrifice. Thus did God cause the wrath of man to praise him, and the purposes and violence of the wicked to aid the cause they sought to destroy. Month after month, and year after year, these Bible-readers suffered " bonds and imprisonments ;" " but the word of God was not bound." True, it was torn in pieces, it was thrown into the fire it was interdicted from the people, yet free and pure as the atmos- phere of heaven ; its influence was far more powerful and effective than all the efforts of its enemies. We will now leave these sufferers, in the prison with the common criminals of the country ; there they are, annoyed both day and night with the vile songs of those wicked men, while they are forbidden 4 88 PERSECUTIONS OF THE to sing any hymn of praise to God. In the midst of these abandoned men we leave them, while we call your attention to the history of one of their number. SECTION II. Mrs. Maria Joaquina Alves tried, condemned and sentenced to be executed, fyc. 1844. " JOSE PERREIRA LEITO PITTA ORTEGUEIRA NEGRAO, judge, &c." CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 41 Such is the sentence, and such it must be to the end of time. The faithful records of history will perpetuate it through every generation. Let the reader remember that this is not the sentence of the dark ages, when Hildebrand, or some other prodigy of wickedness, was at the head of the Roman Catholic Church. It was passed within six years of the middle of this century. It was at the very time when the Romish hierarchy in the United States were so strongly advocating charity and libe- rality when their papers were filled with denuncia- tions against the bigotry and persecuting spirit of protestants. Let it also be noted that Mrs. Alves was not condemned for murder, or treason, or any other crime to which the death penalty is annexed. It was simply and only because she would not say that a piece of bread, or wafer, in the hands of the priest, is the real body and real blood of Jesus Christ. Because she would not declare before the court what she knew to be false and absurd, therefore she was condemned to die. The. subsequent history will prove that this sen- tence was something more than a mere formality. Immediately after it was passed she was remanded to prison, there to await the time of execution. The British subjects then on the island resolved to make an effort to save the life of this excellent woman, so unjustly doomed to die. They drew up a petition to the Queen of Portugal, praying that the 42 PERSECUTIONS OF THE sentence might be reversed, and this Christian lady be acquitted. At the same time an appeal was taken from the decision of the court in Madeira, and carried over to the higher court of Relacao, at Lisbon. Mrs. Alves was kept in prison during the tedious process consequent on this appeal. It was taken to Lisbon in May, 1844, but the decision of the court did not reach Madeira until April, 1845. The decision of the court of Relacao was of a very peculiar character. In the first place, " the court confirmed the sentence appealed from, that is, the sentence of death for blasphemy, heresy and apostacy. But the defendant had been tried only on the charge of blasphemy. She could not be com- petently condemned for heresy and apostacy. And, therefore, they commuted the sentence, and thus plainly declaring that if she had been indicted or tried for the other crimes, they would have confirmed the sentence in all its horrible extent." From this it appears that her life was saved in consequence of an error in the court below in the opinion of the court at Lisbon, and not on the ground that she did not deserve to die. In this case the court commuted the punishment of death to impri- sonment. In consideration of the great length of time she had been in prison, the sentence was impri- sonment for three months from the date of the sen- tence, with a fine of six dollars. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 43 The time defined by this decision was not to ter minate her sufferings. When the three months were expired she was kept in prison to pay the expenses of her prosecution and imprisonment. Month after month she was there. She was actually detained there twenty-three months on the sentence of three months' imprisonment. In all, this excellent Christian lady was shut up in that dismal prison between two and a-half and three years. And for what was all this suffering inflicted ? Dr. Kalley, in writing to London, says : " Maria Joa- quina, wife of Manuel Alves, who had been in prison a year or more was condemned to death. Yes, con- demned to death in 1844, for denying the absurd dogma of transubstantiation, refusing to participate in the idolatry of worshipping the wafer idol, and (in the words if the accusation ' blaspheming against the images of Christ and the mother of God ;') in plain language, refusing to give that worship to senseless blocks of wood and stone which is due only to God." Mrs. Alves, and her sister, who was also confined with her, were finally released from prison, and she was restored to her family after this long and painful separation. She, with her husband, children and sister, fled from Madeira to Trinidad. Some of her children are among the Portuguese exiles now in New-York. From them we have heard the sad nar- rative of her sufferings, and also of the agony of her family, when they were daily anticipating her exe- cution. This beloved family are now looking for a home in our country. God grant that they may here find rest from the violence of persecution, and may go down peacefully to the grave with the heaven-inspir- ing hope of the resurrection from the dead and of an eternal inheritance in heaven. Mrs. Alves may be regarded as a living martyr, for she has given the strongest evidence of her wil- lingness to sacrifice her life for the faith of the Gos- pel. She is also a living witness, whose testimony, worthy of all confidence, clearly proves that popery, whfcre she has the power, will put to death those who dare disbelieve the absurd dogma of transub- stantiation. As popery is now waning we hope that no other chapter like this will be among the things yet to be written. This barbarous sentence, with the other violent acts at Madeira, are, we trust, the death struggles of that power under whose cruel inflictions millions have suffered. Of the family of Mrs. Alves, now with us, is a daughter sixteen years of age, a son nineteen, and a married daughter whose husband has been confined three years in the prison because he read the Bible in his family, and would not believe that the wafer is the real body and real blood of Jesus Christ. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 45 SECTION III. Renewal of Persecutions New Governor Jesuit at the head of the mob Arsenio Nicos De Silva insulted Escapet the mob Misses Rutherford's house violently assaulted Converts beaten British Protestants flee to the vessels- Lady died in the Bay Houses of Portuguese converts mobbed and plundered Inmates flee to the mountains. The violence of the storm seemed to abate after the outrages we have described, but it had not yet passed away. Other and darker clouds were gather- ing in the horizon, and preparing to discharge their destructive elements on all the Bible-readers with tenfold vengeance. The converts were kept in pris- on and a constant warfare was continued on the part of the priests against protestant Christians. They were annoyed and persecuted in the various forms that ingenuity and malice could invent. At last a favorable opportunity presented for openly renewing the work of persecution. A new governor was appointed. Before his ap- pointment as governor of the island he had said that if he ever filled that office he would not rest until Dr. Kalley was driven from the island and this work was put down. No sooner was he inducted into his highly responsible office than the work of persecu- tion began with increased vigor and severity. Before we speak of the violent treatment of Dr, 46 PERSECUTIONS OP THE Kalley, we invite attention to the course adopted to drive other protestants from Madeira. The Misses Rutherfords were English ladies, residing in a place called " Quinta das Angustias." These ladies were known to be protestants, who were the friends of the Bible-readers. They had permitted some of the Por- tuguese females to come and read the Bible in their house. Hence the purpose of the priests to compel them to leave the island. The chief agent in this disgraceful work of persecuting innocent females was Conego Telles, a Jesuit of high standing in the Roman church. This man had the distinguished honor, or rather the shameful distinction of leading the mob in an attack upon the house of defenceless ladies. As Capt. Tate was an eye-witness of these events we prefer that he should describe them in his own language : " Conego Telles, a dignitary of the church of Rome and a Jesuit, educated in England, was the first to excite the mob to open violence. This he did on the 2d of Au- gust, 1846, on the occasion of Miss Rutherford giving per- mission to a Portuguese gentleman to meet a few friends in the " Quinta das Angustias," which she was occupying with her sisters, as a summer residence. The object of the meeting was prayer, praise, reading the sacred Scrip- tures, and the perusal of a letter from a common friend in England. Between thirty and forty came together for these ends, on the morning of the 2d of August, and at half-past twelve the meeting separated. On Senhor Arse- nio reaching the outer gate of the grounds, he met Con- ego Telles and u younger priest in canonicals, with a mob of people. The canon stood in his way, and thrust an image in his face, bidding him to 'kiss it,' and ' adore his CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 47 God.' Senhor Arsenio calmly replied, 'why do you inter- fere with a peaceable citizen?' The priest then called him ' heretic,' ' renegade,' ' apostate,' with other irritating expressions, which failed, however, in calling forth any similar ones in return, for ' when he was reviled, he revil- ed not again.'* The next act of the canon was a direct breacli of the peace. He violently knocked off" Senhor Ar- seuio's hat, and by his gestures and action excited and urged on the mob to similar conduct. At length, after much ill treatment, the gentleman escaped through the mob, together with three or four others who ventured to follow. Shortly afterwards, a young man, attempting to leave, was brutally attacked, and with difficulty retreated again within the gates. The rest were compelled, for per- sonal safety, to remain, and it was not the will, nor could it have been in the heart of an English or a Christian lady, to force them from the premises, to experience the certain cruelty of a mob, led on and exasperated by a priest and canon of their cathedral church. The whole day the gate was besieged, and the most threatening language used against the Misses Rutherfurd and the people under their roof. During the afternoon Dr. Kalley, who was profes- sionally attending Miss Ruthcrfurd's invalid sister, but was unaware of any disturbance, till near the house, rode up to the gate ; and, as he had heard that the patient was not so well on the previous evening, felt that, though it might offend the mob, it was his duty to enter. The mob hooted him, and used many insulting threats as he went in ; and to these, threatening actions were added as he came out. They seized and violently beat his groom, declaring they would kill him if he dared to follow his master. He ac- cordingly ran home, trembling and aghast, to Santa Luzia, with the report that he had left his master in the midst of a murderous mob. The doctor himself rode through the mob unhurt, some even taking off their hats to him, and one or two muttering their disapprobation of ' such a re- ward for doing good.' The mob would no doubt have re- * 1 Peter, 2 : 23 48 PERSECUTIONS OF THE tired before night, and dispersed, had they not been urged to remain by the unholy example of the canon, who, in- stead of leaving the neighborhood, continued with other priests to go about among the crowd till night. It is also worthy of remark, that though the police were on the spot during the afternoon, they did not disperse the mob, nor was even an attempt made to do so before leaving the ground at sunset ! There was no patrol during the night ! no police kept in readiness to repress any outbreak on the part of the people. " Having heard, late in the afternoon, of the painful si- tuation in which the Misses Rutherfurd were placed by the threatening attitude of the mob I rode down to the Angustias, with a view to afford them any protection, counsel or comfort in my power, as well as to watch the further motions of the people. I arrived at half-past six, when I found that the police had been withdrawn. The canon, however, with various other priests, was on the ground, and an unusual number of persons were walking and talking in the neighborhood. I accordingly resolved upon returning at ten, and remaining in the house during the night, should my presence be required by the ladies under the circumstances in which they were placed. Soon after ten I returned, at which time Conego Telles was seen in the road, with a crowd of people talking in groups around the gate. Through them I was permitted to ride in quietly, but not, as we afterwards discovered, without much consultation on the subject amongst the ringleaders of the mob. Being out on the balcony about eleven o'clock, when the silvery moon was shining peacefully through the trellis of the verandah, and all nature quietly reposing in the solemn stillness of the night, the sound of human voices warned us that the mob had come within the gates. We now perceived a number of men armed with bludgeons standing at the front door, and at once warned them off the grounds. Miss Rutherfurd addressed them in Portuguese, using every argument to induce them to retire. She reminded them that their appearance there CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 49 at such an hour, and in such an attitude, was contrary to all law. while their conduct was seriously endangering the life of an invalid lady. She cautioned them to beware of illegal proceedings ; she told them that they might sur- round the house and wait for daylight, or send for the po- lice if they suspected there was any criminal within, for to the police, with a legal warrant, she would open the door the instant the sun was up. The people were at the same time assured that the case would be represented in the morning to her Britannic majesty's representative at Fun- chal. To this they replied that ' they did not care for the English consul ' ' there was no law for the Calvinists ' and ' tliey could appeal to the governor?* ' They had a right, they said, ' to do what they liked, and all the Portu- guese in that house should die.' They then insisted on immediate entrance, or that the Portuguese should be de- livered up to their vengeance. ' Both were, of course, re- fused, when they declared their intention to force their way ; with the threat that if they did so every soul they found within should die. A low whistle was given by the ringleaders, which was immediately answered by a further rush of men, who now amounted to fifty or sixty, armed with clubs and bludgeons. Seeing all remonstrance vain, that the people were partially intoxicated by liquor, and were now planting their comrades in all directions round the Quinta, we retired from the balcony into the house, shutting and bolting the windows as wo went. Having done this we repaired to the chamber of the invalid, and committed ourselves unreservedly to the care of Him who alone could overrule the will of His enemies, and make the wrath of man to praise him. " In a short time the smashing of the windows, and crash of the bludgeons on the door, announced that the money and liquor of the enemy were fearfully doing their * The subsequent conduct of the governor fully confirmed the ideas the ruffians had been led to form of him. 50 PERSECUTIONS OF THE work.* Amidst the yells of the mob, the cry was still heard for admittance ; when Miss Rutherfurd again ad- dressed them in that calm, gentle, temperate, yet firm and dignified manner which distinguished her conduct through the night. One of the ringleaders desired her to speak in English, but she answered that ' she spoke not for his ear only, but for those of all that were present.' She then, in the most courteous way begged them to withdraw, urging the danger they were incurring by so acting in violation of the law. ' Nao ha leis pelos Calvinistas,' (there are no laws for Cahinists,') was the instant reply, (showing that the impression produced by the long preceding course of authorized persecution was, that Christians were outlawed by the fact of being readers of the Word of God,) with a further threat, that if the doors were not immediately opened they would burn the house to the ground ! Another smash of windows followed, and one of the mob called out aloud ' he wilhor a senhora retirar, en vou MATALLA,' (you had belter retire, Fll kill you.) Miss Rutherfurd sprang back, and a huge stone fell upon the spot which she had occu- pied but the moment before. The smashing at the door was now resumed with fearful violence, and repeated at short intervals. As each blow fell upon the windows and door, and resounded through the house, a shudder passed over the invalid's weakly frame. And though I am sure there was hardly a thought of self within her, yet so deep was the sympathy evinced for her suffering sisters in Christ, that we expected every moment would have severed the spirit from the body, and called it from a stormy world to ' where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary * The money paid on this occasion was in small sums of 3 bits (fifteen pence) and upwards. This I have from relatives of those who actually received payment. That paid to the ring- leaders on the occasion of the outrage on Dr. Kalley's residence was in much greater sums large subscriptions having, I was given to understand, been raised among the priests and men of property. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 51 are at rest' Job, 3:17. Each crash seemed like an elec- tric shock, pervading every nerve ; so true is it that ' we, being many, are ONE body in Christ, and every one mem- bers one of another.' Rom. 12 : 5. Thus when 'one mem- ber suffers, all the others suffer with it 1 1 Cor. 12 : 26. Meanwhile Miss Rutherfurd and Clarke, her English maid, were exerting themselves to conceal the poor Christians from the anticipated murderous attack. They consisted almost exclusively of women ; of harmless, quiet, inoffen- sive females ! But they were protestants they had not been to mass, nor had they lately paid the fees of confes- sion.* And so their sex was no protection from the blud- geon of the ruffian ! They were marked out by the priest- hood for vengeance, and the end was to justify the means. For their greater security they were hurried into the kitch- en, at the remote end of the house ; that being the apart- ment likely to be last reached by the assailants, and from which there was a stair-door down to the garden. All but a poor blind man were shut in here, and he, perhaps the happiest of the party, was put under a bed in a spare room, over which some dresses were carelessly thrown to con- ceal him from view. He was told that there was no help but in his God, and that he must plead with him to put out his arm and save him. We also commended the whole of our parly to the care of our heavenly Father, praying that he would be to each of us individually a very present help in this our time of trouble ; that he would teach us to pray, that he would help our unbelief and confirm our faith ; and above all, that he would uphold us, so that not * A few weeks before this outrage a poor man attending confession, tendered to the priest a bit and a half, (or seven- pence halfpenny,') which he had with some difficulty reserved from his daily earnings, when the priest tumed round with an "oath, and "hoped he might turn as black as his hat if he would ever confess a man for less than a pistoreen (or ten- pence .'") The man returned with the additional half-bit, but declared it should be his last attendance at confession. 62 PERSECUTIONS OF THE one of ournumber,/or anypains of death, should fall from him. The seats were then removed from the room in which the meeting had been held. Bibles and bonnets were put out of the way, so that no additional cause for excitement might inflame the rabble as they entered. Still crash succeeded crash, and blow succeeded blow ! what a contrast, thought I, between those without and those with- in the house ! Here was peace and confidence ; there vio- lence and hatred. Here was the voice of Him who is LOVE itself, and who had permitted the storm to rise, whispering into each one's ear, ' It is I: be not afraid, my grace is suf- ficient for thee ;' there was the voice of Satan urging on his slaves to deeds of darkness and of blood. HERE, in a word, was CHRIST ; THERE was ANTI-CHRIST. Here the seed of the woman ; there the seed of the serpent. Alas, how true ! it was not against their countrymen as men that their hatred, their rage, their violence had been raised, for many of those had come from the country, and were personally unknown. It was not against them, but against ' Christ IN them.' It was Jesus whom they persecuted. After a few more crushing blows, the door of the house flew open. Still none dared enter. Portuguese coward ice, ready enough to attack the helpless aged female, and the blind, shrank from encountering an unknown danger in the dark. The ruffians sent for lights, which they made ' little boys ' carry in their front ! ! They then searched every room in the lower part of the house, but in vain. Their victims were not there. " Soon after midnight, just as arrangements were com- pleted above, lights were distinguished on the staircase, and almost immediately they entered the drawing-room. Off this room was the invalid's chamber, and thither the rioters directed their course. Six or eight of the ruffians, preceded by boys carrying lights, flashing in their faces, daringly entered the room and demanded the Portuguese; placing, by this act of reckless cruelty, the life of a de- fenceless invalid lady, guiltless of crime, in the most im- minent danger. They were informed that the Portuguese CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 53 were not there, and would not be given up ; and desired, moreover, not to come farther jnto the sick lady's room. They whispered together for a few minutes, (every mo- ment of which must have been an agony to the ladies,) and then went grumbling and muttering away. A guard being left in the drawing-room they proceeded in search >f their victims ; a rather tedious process by the way, in a ouse with twenty bedrooms and six sitting rooms, besides a chapel and closets of all kinds. At length we heard the yell of triumph. The victims had been found. Resistance was not thought of, but they were all on their knees in prayer to God. One was seized his head laid open to the bone and himself thrown over the bannisters to the ground. Here the mob were beating him with clubs and dragging him out to be murdered in the garden, ' for it is a less crime,' said they ' to kill him there.' At the very moment of opening the door by which to drag out their intended victim the police and soldiers entered, thus catching them in the very act of outrage, AND fNTENDED MURDER in a Bri- tish subject's house. The mob were asked by what autho- rity they had entered that house, to which they replied that ' they did not care for authority or law? Two of the ruffians were then secured, marched off and lodged in jail. The rest fled through the house, making the ladies fancy for a moment that either the poor victims were rushing to us for shelter, or that the villains were returning to add us to the number of their prey. We soon discovered that the police were in possession of the kitchen, and taking our party under their charge, they conducted them in safety to their homes. No sooner had the invalid heard of the safety of Christ's little flock, than nature showed herself com- pletely exhausted. The spirit indeed was strong, but the flesh was weak. She fell into a state of complete insen- sibility, from which she had not recovered when I left the house in the morning. The noise had, it appeared, been heard in the town, but no force was in readiness to quell disturbance ; or in ten minutes they might have reached the Angustias. The two policemen who heard the noise 6* 64 PERSECUTIONS OF THE were insufficient to face a mob ; they hurried off, there- fore, for military aid. Thus, not the foresight of the ma- gistrate, nor the vigilance of the government, but the length of time spent in searching the house, and the native cowardice of the Portuguese, were instrumental in the hands of an all-wise and all-merciful Providence, towards bringing deliverance to his persecuted, but not forsaken ones. " In the morning, at the request of Miss Rutherfurd, I officially reported the outrage to the consul ' in order that he might take such steps as he might be pleased to think the case demanded as representative of the British crown.' I also begged him to adopt such measures as might be ne- cessary to protect British life and property from any repe- tition of violence, the door being so smashed in that any one could enter the premises at pleasure. This letter I delivered in person, but soon found how little we had to expect either in sympathy or assistance at the hands of the representative of British majesty. The subject was treated with the greatest coldness and indifference. More regret was expressed at the meeting of a few protestants for prayer and praise in the morning than indignation at the violation of British rights and honor, and the danger to which the lives of British subjects were exposed at the hands of a lawless mob at night. Although I looked, and still look at the outrage as an affair to be judged of wholly irrespective of the meeting or any other circumstance what- ever, I ventured to assure the consul that not a word had, at that meeting of friends, been uttered against the religion of the state, which alone, according to Portuguese inter- pretation of the law could make such a meeting illegal. Besides, I added, had all the laws of Portugal been broken Miss Rutherfurd was amenable to those laws, and to those laws only, and till tried and condemned by them, was surely entitled to protection from her country. She should not be given over to the tender mercies of a Romish priest and his reckless mob. The consul admitted that the outrage was unjustifiable ; and he ' hoped,' and ' trusted,' and ' felt CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 55 assured ' that the offenders would be punished. I suggest- ed that in my humble opinion the British government, in a case of such gross violation of British property. &c. was entitled to demand that active measures should be taken by the authorities for the arrest of the offenders ; or, at least, that due punishment should be ensured to the two persons captured on the previous night under circumstan- ces that could admit of no kind of doubt as to their guilt. So far, however, from this being likely to follow, I told him that no authority of any kind had been near the scene of outrage ; nor so far as I could see, were any steps what- ever being taken for the furtherance of the ends of justice. The consul stated, in reply, that it was a case for the courts of law, and not for him to interfere in ! I then asked the consul as to the protection which the Misses Ruther- furd might expect to their lives and property during the night ; when (will the reader believe me when I sny) the representative of Great Britain referred them to the office of police ! ' The head of police would, he had no doubt, provide them with a sufficient force!'" Such outrages were committed on the 2d of Au- gust, 1846. Neither the British consxil nor the Por- tuguese authorities made any efforts to present their repetition. The leaders of the mob well understood the disposition of the authorities, and were encouraged in their work. " These acts terminated not on the 2d of August, but continued from day to day, and from one degree of out- rage to another, till two British residents' houses were broken open, and one of them plundered ! One British family was driven from the island at a moment's notice ! Another British subject's house was openly attacked ! The British consul was insulted in the public streets, and the very consulate invndcd by a crowd of ruffians ! Three Bri- tish families were obliged to seek personal safety onboard 56 PERSECUTIONS OF THE a British ship ! and two others in the British consulate ! No fewer than eleven British families were threatened by the populace ! And yet another Britisli subject (said to have been obnoxious on account of emigration transac- tions) was soon afterwards obliged to leave the island un- der threats of assassination ! One British lady too, having sought refuge afloat, died in the bay, hurried through their violence to the grave, and others were brought to the very verge of dissolution ! While hundreds of Portuguese pro- testantswere driven from their homes, their houses broken into and plundered, and themselves hunted down, each, as David of old, like a partridge in the mountains ! One at least was barbarously murdered ; while act succeeded act of such outrageous cruelty as would make the ears of English Christians to tingle. Such, I may add, were some of the consequences directly arising from the breach of the peace by a canon of the cathedral church of Funchal, Carlos TELLES de Menezes, A DIGNITARY OF THE CHURCH OF ROME ! ! !" SECTION IV. Lawless state of the Island Threats against Dr. Kalley and others Dr. Kalley's letter to the police magistrate To the civil governor To the British consul Treache- rous guard Attack on Dr. Kalley's house Library burnt Dr. Kalley escapes in the night Carried in a hammock in the dress of a lady to a British vessel Mrs. Kalley fol- lows Consul and leaders of the mob, Dr. Kalley having appealed to the police magis- trate and the governor in vain, now addressed a let- ter to the consul, requesting his prompt action to preserve the property and lives of British residents. This letter will give the reader a full view of the state of things at this crisis. " I enclose for your information copies of a corres- pondence which I have had with his excellency the civil governor. " I beg to call your attention to the strong expres- sions, ' mistrust and disgust,' which his excellency employs in describing the feelings entertained towards British sub- jects in Madeira. " The most degraded of the people exhibit these feel- ings in the public streets by the most hideous vocifera- tions, fearful yells and threats, and not one of the servants of the local government has ever appeared to make the slightest attempt to suppress them. " The working of the same feelings, along with con- tempt for your interference, with which the rioters were threatened, was exhibited in the proceedings which took place in the Quinta das Angustias on the night of the 2nd instant, as is related in my letter to his excellency, dated the 6th instant " I must further beg you to combine these expressions and facts with the circumstances, that not only has none of the authorities, either British or Portuguese, taken any apparent step towards the recognition of the crime, or punishment of the offenders: but those actually arrested ' in flagrante delicto,' by the police, were in the course of the same day set at liberty. " At the present moment the arrest and exemplary punishment of a few of the ring-leaders, coupled with * decided declaration from the government, of its determi nation to put an end to such proceedings, would suffice tc prevent all disturbance. But if energetic measures be 6* 66 PERSECUTIONS OF THE not adopted, no one acquainted with the history of mobs, set free from the restraints of law and justice, can doubt that those who committed such an outrage as that of the 2nd current, will soon, if allowed to taste blood and plun- der, acquire such strength that it will not be in the power of this feeble government to restrain them. " The rioters must feel that the conduct of all the authorities implies an approbation of their proceedings, inferior only to the issuing of an edict, or the offering of a reward for their perpetration; and they are accordingly becoming daily bolder, so that on the night of the 5th instant, and last night, their threats were such that from sixty to eighty individuals felt themselves obliged to flee from their houses for their lives, and spend the night in the mountains. " I have received warning from various Portuguese gen- tlemen, that the rioters threaten to attack my house, and two or more otherBritish houses within the next eight days; and as your inattention, with respect to Miss Rutherfurd'a case has favored the presumption that our government will not interfere, whatever atrocities be committed upon us, it seems highly probable that an attack will be made. " From the conduct displayed towards the Misses Rutherfurd, (who had broken no laws, and, if they had, should have been tried by the law, and not left to the mercy of an infuriated mob,) and towards the rioters; it is impossible to regard the authorities otherwise than as, at the very least, conniving at the outrage, and therefore responsible for all the results. " If you, in your official capacity, do not demand the adoption of such measures as shall effectually secure British subjects against the repetition of such atrocities, I am convinced that my life and property will be in dan- ger; and if, from your non-interference, similar atrocities be again perpetrated, our country will justly look to you as responsible for them all. " I believe it is intended that an attack shall be made on other places, at the same time as upon my house, so CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 67 as to afford a pretence for not sending aid, under the plea that the police were occupied elsewhere. " You are well aware of the position in which my business with the Portuguese government was left by her majesty's minister for foreign affairs, in consequence of my letter to Lord Howard de Walden, dated llth of February, 1845; and as representative of her majesty's government here, you have doubtless made inquiries as to my procedure since, and are competent to testify that I have not given any just cause of offence to the Portuguese authorities. But if I had broken all the laws of Portugal, I should still be entitled to protection from our own govern- ment, till tried by the law; and if a foreign government, un- der any circumstances whatever, connive at a lawless mob committing outrages on British persons or property, our government will, I have no doubt, for its own honor, de- mand ample redress. It is, however, much easier to pre- vent than repair injuries, and therefore I lay these matters before you, in expectation of efficient protection, and bejj to know if I may confidently rely upon its being given. " P. S. 8th of August. For several days the vocife- rations, threats and abuse uttered by the lower orders, when passing my house, have been incessant ; and of such a nature as to be disgraceful to a country professing to be civilized. They are never interfered with. Every one who goes out, or in my house, is assailed with a volley of abuse, whatever be their religious opinions; and during the last night my family was repeatedly alarmed by par- ties battering on my door with sticks. " 2nd P. S. Noon. I enclose an anonymous letter just put into my hands, which I beg you will return to me.* I must repeat that I am fully convinced that this comes of liberating the prisoners, and other conduct of the autho- rities ; and if energetic measures be not instantly adopted, * " The anonymous letter, which was enclosed, contained correct programme of the following day's atrocities, of all which the consul was thus fully forewarned. 68 PERSECUTIONS OP THE I shall feel myself obliged to deliver up the key of my property to you for protection, as I cannot, with a couple of servants, defend it against a mob." Besides these letters written by Dr. Kalley, Cap; Tate and Dr. Miller, who resided at Madeira, called upon the governor and reminded him of the necessity of vigorous measures for the protection of Misses Rutherfurd and Dr. Kalley. They assured him "that all British subjects were anxious to obey the laws of Portugal and if any broke them, they were ready to answer for the breach." To this his excellency replied (and mark it reader, for it is an important admission) that " he knew this perfectly well." The governor and the consul had been notified that an attack would be made on Dr. Kalley's house on Sabbath the 9th of August. Let us now look at the results. "About six o'clock on Saturday evening ten or twelve eoldiers marched up as a guard to Dr. Kalley's house, and were posted in a cottage at ihe entrance of the grounds. For several hours previously two ruffians, dressed as towns- men, had been stationed at the door, watching all that passed. On the soldiers' arrival, Dr. Kalley asked the guard if they knew the cause of all these threats against him, and was told that ' they fancied it was because he was opposed to the saints !' This, the doctor said was quite a mistake, for instead of being opposed to the saints, it was his greatest aim and wish to be one of the happy number. The person in charge of the guari then added, ) Well, I don't know, but the AUTHORITIES think that these things have lasted long enough, and they are determined to put an end to them ! .'' From these ominous words, and from preceding events, the doctor felt assured that the CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 69 authorities would be in no hurry to come to his protection, and, therefore, returned to finish the barricading of the house by every additional means that he could contrive. In the mean time five or six of the soldiers kept watch at the gates, whilst their comrades remained in the cottage. At ten o'clock, a friend of Dr. Kalley's accidentally met a boy returning from Santa Luzia, with a load of iron bolts, which he knew had been ordered for the barricading of his house. He accordingly stopped the lad, and on inquiring the reason of his not delivering them at the Doctor's house, was told, ' that he could not gain admittance, and thai the soldiers had said they were not required /' The doctor's friend then accompanied the boy back to the house, and assisted the doctor in completing his work. " About two in the morning, all had been done that seemed possible in the way of defence, and as Dr. Kalley's friend was leaving, the doctor accompanied him to the outer gate. Providentially, on reaching it, they overheard the guard in a familiar conversation with men, either masked, or with their faces blackened; one of whom was sharpening a large knife on the door lintel, preparatory, as he said in Portuguese, to the ' killing on the morrow /' When several had gathered together, they further heard them consulting as to whether they should go in then the soldiers being still in their company. One said, ' No, there will be plenty of time for all to-morrow.' Another, ' Nay, but let us go in now ;' and the gate moved a lillle on its hinges. Now this had been left shut, so that it could not have been opened but from within ; and when found open, it was evident that the soldiers were traitors,* and had come from tlie cottage " * The soldiers were well aware that what was about to hap- pcn was both agreeable to the government, and encouraged by the priests ; and, therefore their present conduct and bearing to the leaders of the mob. Hud they been called upon to act on the morrow by their officers or that night instructed by theif superiors to do their duty, I cannot doubt that, as soldiers, they would unhesitatingly have done so. 70 PERSECUTIONS OF THE and opened it. A female servant was near, and when she saw it move, she instantly shut it with all her force ; and having the key with him, the doctor locked it. Convinced of the treachery of his guard, and that he had now no longer any security to his life, he returned with his friend into the house, to consult as to what should be done. After committing themselves to God in prayer, and casting all their care upon Him, who ' careth' for his people, they felt satisfied that the most prudent course was to withdraw from the house. Dr. Kalley therefore disguised himself, as hurriedly as possible, in the country dress of a peasant, and stealthily and silently withdrew. " It was a glorious moonlight night, too clear to be favorable for his escape, but there was no time for delay. He passed through his own grounds as cautiously as if he had been a thief, and fearing as much to meet a ruffian there, as, in other circumstances, a ruffian would have been to to meet the rightful owner! Having reached the boundary, he looked carefully round; but seeing no watch on thia side of his property, he descended the wall, to creep along the vineyards in his front. What a spectacle was here presented ! The best and kindest friend that had ever visited Maderia he that had spent eight long years in active exertions to benefit her people who had been by night and by day ministering to their wants, at the bedside of their sick and their dying, and had been the means, under Providence, of restoring thousands of them to health and strength; lie was now leaving his home, at dead of night, unattended and alone : He was fleeing for his life ! The stars were shining in beauty above the mountains rising in noble grandeur on his right; rich vineyards lay before him, and on his left appeared, over the city, the calm, placid, silvery ocean. All was still. The winds were hushed. It was the Lord's day morning. No sound broke the sacred stillness of that hour. All contrasted fearfully with the tempest which the demons of superstition and persecution had raised in the hearts of some of that delud- ed people ! Having descended a little way, the sound of CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 71 voices broke upon his ear, and fearing it might be a watch of enemies, he turned aside. But after a few more alarms, especially from meeting people in the way, and from the watch-dogs of the peasants, he reached the Pinheiros in safety, the Quinta in which I was residing with my invalid sister, and mother. This was a little after three o'clock. He leapt the wall, gently tapped, and was received by those within with fervent gratitude for his escape from the assas- sins who sought his life. With deep anxiety had the at- tention of all in the Pinheiros been directed, for nights past, to the residence which he had now been compelled to desert; and our eyes had been intently fixed on the >pot, almost to the moment when Dr. Kalley made his appearance in person.* "In the home which he had left there were hearts beating anxiously for him ; and we lost not a moment in exhibiting the appointed signal of his safe arrival. This being seen, the rest of the inmates of the house consulted for their personal safety. An old and faithful servant bu- ried the silver plate a few important documents were secured, and they left the dwelling, where the ignorant had been instructed, the mourner comforted, the sick attended, and anxious trembling sinners directed to the blood that 'cleanseth from all sin,' but against which the leaders of the misguided people had now threatened to direct their rage. While the family escaped by the back way, through vineyards and fields, as the doctor had done before, the friend who had been with them during the night returned through the front door, leaving, as it would seem to the treacherous guard, the whole party quietly within. It was now near the break of day, and crowds were pouring up the mount road to the Festa, which had just begun. Soon ' * Our cook had visited Santa Luzia early in the evening, and ne had reported the very suspicious appearance of a number of " bad men " in the neighborhood of the doctor's house. The threats, too, were so open, that we were continually dreading an attack. 72 PERSECUTIONS OF THE after daylight I was up, and not a little startled at the sight of the doctor's groom, who, remembering probably the military outrage at the Serra, had lied from his master's house as soon as the guard appeared, and taken refuge in our stable. Fearing that his being seen would serve to throw suspicion on his master's retreat, I asked him a few questions as to the time and circumstances of his leaving on the previous evening. And having thus lulled the sus- picions of our own servants, if any existed, I recommend- ed him quickly to seek a place of safety, which he at once consented to do.* Thus was Dr. Kalley in a place of slicker, unknown to a single native in the island. " It was now high time for Dr. Miller (Dr. Kalley's brother-in-law) and myself to be acting. We felt assured that the threatened attack would take place at the appoint- ed hour ; but were thankful that we had a British consul and a British flag that must be degraded and trampled upon, ere a British subject's residence, rendered sacred by treaty, could be openly outraged under the Sabbath's noon-day sun. We hastened, therefore, to the consulate for the purpose of reporting the events of the night, and requesting the consul to hoist the union of England over the property of Dr. Kalley. The reader may imagine our utter amazement when we found that in spite of all the warnings he had received, all the details of the plot with which he had been furnished, the xery hour of the attack being known to him, the British consul had actually gone away to his country-seat, without any probability of his return to Funchal ! !" " The Quinta dos Pinheiros, to which the doctor fled, commands an excellent view of Santa Luzia, his residence. Dr. Kalley had, therefore, an opportunity of watching from the windows the motions of the people below ; and who can tell with what thrilling anxiety he must have gazed * He returned, however, as I afterwards discovered, to the stable, and I subsequently took him off in a hammock to the " William," of Glasgow, disguised as a woman. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 73 in the direction of his now deserted residence ? Ten o'clock came, and all was quiet : the soldiers kept watch, and the intending assailants, who had their spies in all quarters of the town, thought that their victims were safe within. Half-past ten struck ; still no unhallowed sound was heard reverberating there. It was a glorious Sabbath morning. The sun had risen, and was shining in a blaze of golden light; the sky was cloudless the earth lovely, every vineyard around us being clustered with grapes, scattered by a heavenly Friend. But though the wild roar of furious men was not yet heard, they were gathering from among these vineyards to perpetrate, in the name of that God, a God of love, justice, and truth, outrage, cruelty, and it might be murder ! The only subject of conversation in the streets seemed to be the intended proceedings of the day ; and Mrs. Kalley, when escaping in disguise, overheard persons say ' Those icho are in that house, would need, to- day, to be sure of salvation' " Eleven o'clock struck, and still there was a pause. Then was heard a rocket hissing through the air. A little pause, and a second followed ; and there began a hum of human voices, which soon rose into wild bursts, like ocean's billows in their angriest mood. It sounded nearer and nearer ; still the Quinta and grounds were quiet. Another moment and a dense mass of human beings emerged from among the trees, and were seen surrounding the house. There was one wild roar and then a silence. They retreat- ed, and a faint hope arose that the soldiers would do their duty. But no : the silence was again broken ; the people were not mistaken, the approval of the authorities was in- deed real, and the work of the instigator of the riots, who had, I understand, himself enjoyed the charitable advice and medicines of Dr. Kalley, was commenced in earnest. " Sledge-hammers and clubs were soon in requisition. The ruffians worked hard, and the door was forced. A tremendous yell arose, then disappointment and confusion. They had expected that the doctor would be dragged out to satiate their infuriated passions. But no ; be was not 7 74 PERSECUTIONS OF THE found ! During all this time the governor and the police- magistrate were present, with a guard of soldiers ; and there they remained while the house was being attacked, broken into, and ransacked ; seemingly, as was remarked by a gentleman.who passed at the time, more as a guard to see the work of devastation well done than for anything else. The consul arrived in the midst of the work of de- struction, and seeing that nothing but force could restrain the mob, pressed the governor to ' fire, as it was a case where it was necessary to sacrifice life.' But this the go- vernor refused to do. Guns were, indeed, heard in the dis- tance ; but it was at the festival of ' Our Lady.' The corps of country-police, which had, on former occasions, been called out to prevent people from going to the doctor's house to listen to the sacred Scriptures, were not now called out to sarve his life. The militia, though called to attend, and fire in honor of the Festa of ' Our Lady of the Mount' were not in requisition when the lives and property of British subjects were in danger. Nothing effectual was at- tempted by the governor, who had at his command all the force of the island. Who, then, can fail to see that the presence of that functionary and the military, at Dr. Kal- ley's house, was a most pitiful farce ? Nay, it was more than a farce it was an insult to the British nation. " Disappointed of human sacrifices, the ruffians seized upon the doctor's valuable library, manuscripts, and other papers ; and those which were not reserved for their priestly employers, were, amidst fiendish yells of delight, cast into the road in front of the house, thrashed with clubs, and afterwards burnt. The sacred Scriptures were the objects of especial hatred, and were all consigned, without reserve, to the clubs and to the flames." As there was now no security either for property or life, Dr. Kalley's friends resolved to convey him secretly and in disguise to a British vessel. For this purpose, a hammock was obtained, but they had much difficulty in securing bearers. Finally they succeeded. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 75 " Dr. Kalley was quickly disguised in female attire, put into the hammock, and covered over (as invalid ladies are when being carried in Madeira) with a linen sheet. Soon we had fairly started on our perilous journey, not waver- ing in doubt, but strong in faith and prayer; knowing that He that was for us was greater than any host that might be arrayed against us. At first one of the bearers refused to carry any one whose face he did not previously see ; but his objections was fortunately overruled by the ser- t vant of the consul. About a hundred yards from the en- trance of the Pinheiros two men were on the watch at that point of the road which is crossed by the Levado, and from which our course diverged to the left. 'This was the first danger we encountered ; but, putting on a bold face, we advanced towards the spies. A suspicious glance was di- rected at myself, the bearers, and the hammock ; but as we appeared to be going away from those parts that would have led them to suspect the hammock's contents, we were allowed to pass on without molestation. " Before we had gone far the end of the sheet was lifted by one of the bearers and an inquisitive look direct- ed within. I then handed into the hammock a bottle of eau-de-cologne, which I carried in my hand to dispel sus- picion. .In a little time expressions were heard indicative that ' it was no lady they were carrying.' 1 Still we proceed- ed on our long, circuitous journey, passing, ever and anon, little groups of curious people, talking over the affairs of the day and gazing on t!i3 dense column of smoke rising from Dr. Kalley's burning library, &c. the papers from which were falling around us. By and by we descended towards the town, and the bearer who had lifted the sheet exclaimed (It was hell for him) ' 1 cannot go any farther ;' and he Stopped and laid down the hammock. The moment was a critical one ; but as the weather was truly oppres- "sive (for we had come under a burning sun) even to one unencumbered with the weight of a hammock, I did not oppose their resting awhile. I then gently pressed them to proceed, and in a few minutes we were passing the 76 PERSECUTIONS OF THE deanery. Three several times did they thus lay dovm, and as often were they induced to resume their burden, each time pressing earnestly to know WHITHER they were going. This was a question that could be answered only at the risk of our lives. I mentioned, therefore, the name of a street close to the pier from which we were to embark, and by which it was necessary to pass. We were now fairly in the heart of the town, and expressions were more than once heard ' It is he.' We passed the convent of Santa Clara, and the consul's servant declared he could not go a step further and would not. It was a trying posi- tion, and things were becoming imminent, for the mob, having failed in obtaining possession of Dr. Kalley's per- son at Santa Luzia, had assembled in front of the consu- late, where as I have already said his wife and brother-in- law's family had previously taken refuge. Here they in- sisted that Dr. Kalley was secreted, and loudly demanded his person. While thus engaged in insulting the British flag, and on the very point of breaking into the official re- sidence of our consul, a party of soldiers sent by Colonel Teixeira was drawn up in front of the consulate. " From the steps of St. Peter's another bearer was procured, but the cry had just been raised 'There's the consuTs servant ; that must be Dr. Kalley.' We hurried past the franciscan convent and the castle onwards to the beach, while the cry of ' Kalley!' ' Kalley!' was being car- ried from street to street till it reached the British consu- late. Three loud fiendish cheers, and the living mass swept impetuously towards the pier, diverted from the siege of the consulate to the far more exciting search for the doctor's person. At length we reached the pier, the boat was in readiness, the hammock put on board and we were launch- ed upon the ocean. I turned round and the whole beach teemed with living beings. What a change had a moment produced ! In our condition and in theirs ! But a moment earlier and we had surely been sacrificed to the fury of the mob. We were now out of danger we were beyond the murderer's grasp ! CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 7Y " Once afloat we rapidly neared the steamer. From other boats inquiries were heard in angry tones as to who was in the hammock, but the boatman replied (ignorantly or wilfully, I know not which) that ' it was a sick lady who was going to the West Indies by the steamer.' Ar- rived alongside I mounted the side of the Forth. The hammock was reported and Captain Chapman made his appearance. At first visions of quarantine passed before his eyes then followed sundry misgivings, and he hesi- tated for a moment before a stranger's mysterious story. It was, however, but for a moment. A little explanation drew forth the hearty welcome, true generosity, and ge- nuine hospitality of the English character." Soon after this Mrs. Kalley, with a native female servant was carried on board the vessel. Immediately the consul, who had returned from his country-seat, came down to the shore with some of the leaders of the mob. The consul requested Dr. Kalley to show himself on the deck in order to appease the fury of the mob. Dr. Kalley regarded this as a humiliating position for him, but as it might save the li ves of some who were dear to him, he presented himself on deck. Thus unprotected by any human government, and in peril of his life, was driven from Madeira the best friend of the people that ever landed on her shores, the man who had consecrated time, talent, property and life itself to promote their best tempo- ral and spiritual welfare. Not only he and his family were obliged to flee, but his library, valued at $10,000, was reduced to ashes. On the next day, Monday the 10th, Capt. Tate, Dr. Miller, the Misses Rutherfurd, in all three men 7* 78 PERSECUTIONS OF THE and ten females were obliged to fly and seek shelter on board a vessel. An English lady died in the flight. There was no protection for protestants on shore. A placard was put on the governor's palace demand- ing that protestants should leave the island on that week, and stating that four thousand men would come for the answer of .the government on next Sabbath. Such was the state of things when Dr. Kalley left Madeira : " The civil governor and police magistrate were present at the work of destruction ! The officer of the guard fre- quently asked permission of the head of police to disperse the mob, but was told- on no account to do so ! Colonel Teixeira, the military commandant, knowing what was go- ing on at Dr. Kalley's house, and having received no requi- sition for more troops than a small guard, proceeded in person to the scene of plunder, told the civil authorities that he had field pieces and plenty of troops ready for ac- tion, and asked permission to bring them up. He was in- formed there was no need whatever for them .'" How clear is the evidence in view of the above facts, that the government were in collusion with the mob, and that the lawless rioters believed their course would be approved by the public authorities. The priests, who were violently opposed to the circu- lation and reading of the Bible, excited the govern- ment to commence this persecution against the best inhabitants of Madeira, and the government, in order to evade the responsibility of open and authorised violence, secretly employed or countenanced the mob in the destruction of property and of life. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 79 The most marvellous thing in all these move- ments is, that the British consul seemed to be per- fectly indifferent, and entered no protest against the inexcusable and treasonable conduct of the govern- ment at Madeira. He saw that this was a flagrant and unprovoked persecution against the Bible-read- ers, and he knew it was an open violation of the treaty between England and Portugal so far as Bri- tish residents were concerned ; and yet, with all this knowledge of the facts, he made no efforts in his offi- cial character to arrest it. The severity of the British press, especially the North British Review, when speaking of the conduct of the consul, is justly me- rited. " The conduct of the British consul, a Mr. Stoddart, was the most extraordinary of all. He was appealed to again and again for protection by British subjects, but in vain. Miss Rutherfurd, Dr. Kalley, Mr. Tate pointed out to him their danger ; showed him how a word from him, the least show of firmness and decision would have pre- vented all the outrages. But their remonstrances might as well have been addressed to the waves. He ' hoped,' and 'trusted,' and ' felt assured' that the authorities would do their duty; and when the outrages had been committed, when British property was consumed in the flames, British residences entered and plundered in violation of treaty, and British subjects were obliged to fly to the sea for their lives, still the British consul, their appointed protector, ' hoped ' and ' trusted ' and ' felt assured ' that the authori- ties would punish the offenders. The consul was fore- warned of the intended attack on Dr. Kalley's house, and immediately on receiving notice of it he set off for his country house, that he might be away from the scene of outrage ! His pusillanimity encouraged the mob to be- 80 PERSECUTIONS OF THE siege the consulate, threatening to burn it to the ground. They were prevented by Captain Chapman, whose pre- sence effected what that of any resolute determined man in uniform, and this in apparent authority, would have done before. " The British consul throughout the day appeared in a sai- lor's round jacket ! The consular uniform did not suffer the indignities to which the person of the consul was exposed at the hands of the people. The flag, too, of England, instead of flying triumphant over the heads of the English, lay furled in the lockers of the consulate ! While insults were thus accu- mulating the consul returned from Santa Luzia, and address- ing the people, assured them that Dr. Kalley had embarked in the steamer. But this was not believed. Further indignities must be borne by the English. The representative of the crown of Great Britain must accompany the ringleaders to the ship and gratify the rabble by ocular demonstration. And he did so. Dr. Kalley, in order to save those dearest to him from being burned alive in the consulate, consented to this indignity. The doctor showed himself, and the consul returned.'-; Tate, p. 56. " No wonder our author should indignantly exclaim 'Englishmen must blush for the honor of their country when they see the flag of England lowered in peace which was not lowered in war lowered to the rabble of Portu- gal, which was not lowered to the armies of France.' " When the tidings of these outrages reached Por- tugal the British ambassador there, more faithful to his trust than the consul at Madeira, entered his so- lemn protest against these reckless and unrighteous proceedings. The Queen of Portugal was compelled by this act to appoint and send a royal commission to investigate the affairs at Madeira, especially with reference to the treatment of British subjects. This commission came and made their investiga- tions. In their view, the conduct of the govern- CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 81 ment at Madeira was so unjustifiable that they re- quested the administration to resign. They all re- signed except the administrador do concelho. His dismission was immediately sent from Portu- gal. A new governor was appointed at Madeira. In this change there was a show of disapprobation on the part of the queen against those who had encou- raged and sanctioned this persecution by their silence and inaction. Whether this change was made by the queen with a conviction of wrong doing on the part of the authorities at Madeira, or whether it was ef- fected through fear of British cannon, may be a question. There was also the external form of a trial of some of those who had been the most active and the most savage in this persecution. The result of this appear- ance of justice was the acquittal of all the rioters. Even those who were arrested, in the very act of mur- dering the Bible-readers, were acquitted. When the evidence of their guilt was too obvious to be denied, no penalty was inflicted. The leaders of the mob, such as Canon Telles, were not subjected even to the form of a trial. The painful conclusion to which we are driven by these facts is, that the civil government and the courts of justice connived at these. enormous crimes, and that the whole form of trial was a solemn mockery or a farce. The result of such proceedings (to say noth- ing of their injustice) must sooner or later be disas- 82 PERSECUTIONS OF THE trous on the government, and on the administration of justice : and if there is, as we verily believe, a retribution for nations and governments in this world, then the government of Madeira may yet anticipate fearful things hi the wondrous developments of God's dispensations. The immediate results of these unrighteous do- ings, as God has overruled them, is the establishment of the converts in the truth and the faith of the Gos- pel, and the conviction in the minds of many of the inhabitants that the converts were right and the go- vernment were wrong. SECTION V. Barbarous treatment of native converts Bibles burnt and hid Converts flee to the mountains Houses and furniture destroyed Portuguese flee to foreign vessels Gratitude Prayer for enemies Narrow escapes Boy twelve years old knocked down Aged women beaten and left for dead A man murdered 1000 converts flee to West India Islands State of those left at Madeira Petition to the Queen oj Portugal The Bishops pastoral. If foreign protestants were driven by violence from the island, we may readily suppose that the state of the Portuguese Bible-readers was perilous and ter- CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 83 rific. They were persecuted on every side. Their neighbors, who still adhered to the Roman church, the priests and the police were constantly on the alert to arrest them. They were forbidden ? to read the Scripture's, or to pray together in their own dwellings. Every copy of the word of God on which the priests could lay their hands was immediately committed to the flames. But thanks be to God, the Bibles were not all destroyed, some enclosed their Bibles in small boxes and buried them in the earth. Others opened a place in the stone wall of the house, put in the Bible, and then plastered over it. Arid others wrap- ped them in cloth and hung them in trees of very thick foliage. In such ways as ingenuity and piety could suggest, we are assured by those who know, that at least 50 Bibles and 300 New Testaments were pre- served from the destroyer and are now on the island. From time to time there has been a resurrection of those Bibles that were buried during the violence of the persecution. The fruits of " the seed of the king- dom " will, we trust, yet be seen in Madeira. The most fearful threatenings had been uttered against the Portuguese converts. These, as we shall see, were not idle words, uttered merely for effect. These inoffensive Christians, who desired " to lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty," were made to feel the full import of these terrible threatenings. " At length a series of attacks was commenced, and 84 PERSECUTIONS OF THE carried on without opposition, upon the houses of all the Portuguese families who had left the Church of Rome. Every night we heard of some new instance of violence and cruelty, till at last they felt themselves under the neces- sity of seeking safety in flight. On the evening of the 5th many houses were plundered by bands of -marauding ruf- fkns, and sixty or eighty of the converts were compelled to leave their homes, and pass the night in the mountains. Night after night these bands continued to repeat their desolating work ; and in greater and greater numbers were the believers driven from their houses : till, on the Sun- day, many hundreds of Potuguese subjects, obnoxious to the priests, only on account of their adherence to the Gos- pel truth, had fled for their lives. The mob had broken open their doors, and destroyed their windows, furniture, and other property ; trampling under foot the grapes and corn of those who possessed vineyards and gardens. When the work of destruction was done in the town and neigh- borhood, the ruthless persecutors followed the scattered flock to the mountains, hunting them down like beasts of prey. Those that loved Christ were hated by man. For them there was no security no law. They were pilgrims in a land that was their own. Heirs of heaven, they were STRANGERS in their native Isle. Had they remained quietly in their houses, who can tell the scenes of bloodshed and murder that would have resulted ? But these they had left, and were praising their God in the mountains 1 They had fled to the dens and caves of the earth, and were they for- gotten or deserted there 1 Reader, ' can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee,' Isaiah, 49 : 15, saith the LORD. Though they had lost their earthly all, Christ was still their own. They were sorely tried, and vexed, and troubled, but none could rob them of that precious promise, ' Lo ! I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. Matthew, 28 : 20." This was truly "persecution for righteousness CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 85 sake," and hence the sufferers might expect the con- solation to be found in these words of the Saviour, " Blessed are ye." They trusted in HIM who is the God of the mountains as well as of the valleys. On the mountains they realized that they were under the shadow of his wings. There they could say, " God is our refuge and strength, a present help in time of trouble." They committed themselves into the hands of that Saviour who spent the whole night on the mountains in importunate prayer to God for his dis- ciples. They trusted only hi Jesus Christ for deliver- ance. " By thus confiding in Jesus, they experienced a sense of peace and security, and rejoiced in the mountain wilds with a joy more real and precious than any that the world can know. Nor were they disappointed in their hopes. They soon heard that the ship William had received on board those who sympathized in their cruel sufferings. And the very first night after we embarked, several oi the poor persecuted ones were safely treading the deck of the William. It was a truly interesting sight to see the boat sweep along side, doubtful at the moment whom it might contain ; then to see one after another mounting the side of the ship casting a wistful eye around, lest perchance they might have missed the looked-for vessel ; to witness the affectionate meeting, as they caught the eye, fcnd afterwards the hand, of a well-known sympathiz- ing friend. It was most affecting to see the tear of joy, the look of gratitude, that beamed in the face of each poor sufferer as he first set foot upon an English deck, and once more breathed the air of freedom and of liberty. It rejoiced the heart to see the tear of gladness to hear the prayer of intercession for their enemies, and the hymns of praise and gratitude from night to iu>ht, as 8 86 PERSECUTIONS OF THE their numbers increased, and they now flocked in crowds to seek amongst strangers that shelter which their coun- trymen refused them. Old and young, strong and infirm girls, and women with children at their breasts all hur- ried to the William, knowing that here were hearts beat- ing with tender affection for Christ's suffering flock. " I wish I could recount the marvellous escapes of some through the brushwood of the mountains, while their enemies were in full pursuit the hair-breadth escape of others, who left their homes at midnight, and never were permitted to enter them again who left them to the rob- ber and the plunderer, and never found shelter more, till they found it in the William of Glasgow. I have a letter before me from one who, writing from Trinidad, speaks thus of her wanderings in the mountains of Madeira; I cannot narrate in writing the afflictions we suffered, nor even by word of mouth could I tell them. I can only say we fled from our home on Saturday night, and wan- dered fugitives for thirteen days. But God in his mercy sent us a ship one day after the sad 9th of August, to deliver his children from the fangs of their enemies, and from the snares of the devil. We cannot give the thanks due to God for his mercy towards us. God fulfilled his word: " When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee ; when thou f walkest through the fire, thou shah nnt be burned, neither shall thejlame kindle upon thee."*' Every night added to the list of native converts rescued from the assassins' grasp. But all did not escape so well. On the morning of the 9th, the day of attack of Dr. Kal- ley's house, the nephew of a poor woman, who had just been obliged to fly from the house, was found at the door, as the ruffians came to attack ft. He was but twelve years old, but his youth was no protection. He was knocked down and violently beaten, receiving a dreadful blow in the head, which for a considerable time * Isaiah, 43: 2. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 87 confined him to the hospital. On the same day a poor old woman was dreadfully beaten, and the mob, supposing her dead, dragged the body to the spot where two of the converts had been buried on the public road.* There they laid her upon the grave. She remained in this state a considerable time, and was then carried to the hospital ; but having refused to attend confession, on which terms only she was offered her life, she was cast out to perish. She was afterwards taken in again, and notwithstanding one arm was broken, and her whole body a mass of bruises, recovered, and sailed in the Lord Seaton for Trinidad. Poor Mariasinha ! hers was one of the most fiery of all the trials of those stormy days. Canon Telles attacked her again and again, and the most fearful threatenings were employed to force her to confession. She was five weeks alone amongst her enemies; speaking of which time subsequently to a Christian friend, she shuddered, as she thought of the blasphemies she had heard from the lips of the other invalids, and from the attendants. May her patience, and her strong and simple faith have been blessed as a lesson to some one among them ! It is inte- resting to tell how this poor one of the flock, weak both in mind and body, was made strong to witness a good profession in the hour of trial. During this conversation, which the English lady declared to be a solemn lesson to * " As if it was not sufficient for the church of Rome to be continually persecuting the converts to Gospel truth, she de- nies, in direct violation of the laws of Portugal, their very bo- dies sepulture in the only legal cemetery, and decrees that they be buried in the public roads. Scarcely twelve months since the authorities of Madeira, not content with ordering a protestant's body to be thus buried in the public road, insisted on its being buried in front of his own door, in order that the family might daily step over it. Happily the rock prevented the accomplishment of this iniquitous design, and he now lies on one side of the door. Verily ' the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart.' Isaiah, 57: 1." 88 PERSECUTIONS OF THE her, she said : ' much had been forgiven her, and truly she loved much.' Another woman was treated in a similar way some days later, and shortly after, a man was barba- rously murdered in open day by five or six ruffians, who, not content wi.th having murdered him, jumped and stamped, like fiends, over the mutilated remains. For this murder four men were committed to prison, and dur- ing the week a jail delivery was everywhere spoken of, as the work of the coming Sunday. On the Saturday preceding, being the eve of the great Mount Festa, the city was filled with strangers. At intervals during the day two English ships, lying next to us, fired their guns, to show the people, as the captains remarked, that afloat, at least, the English could and would protect themselves. This, I believe, gave great offence to the Portuguese authorities ; but there is no doubt the effect on the peo- ple was good. " The military officers, ashamed of the scandalous affair ' of last Sunday, met together in their quarters, and re- solved amongst themselves to put down all attempts at disturbance, independantly of any requisition from the civil authorities ; ' seeing,' as they said, ' that the administrator do concelho had lost the public confidence, and had been the promoter (as they were ready to prove, if the inquiry were proceeded with) of all the disorders, in concert with, the Canon Telles and other priests ;' and a message to this effect was sent to the governor. Throughout the week some very clever and ludicrous squibs were posted in dif- ferent parts of the town, and it was the constant work ot the police to search them out, and pull them down. Some caricatures also appeared, in which certain public charac- ters were by no means spared.* On Sunday, the 16th of August, a good many boats were pulling and sailing * Some wag fixed, among other papers, on the door of the British consulate " To let, with immediate possession" " Furniture for sale, the occupier being about to leave the Island" tj-c. CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 80 about our vessel, with insulting parties on board, singing songs against the Calvini stas, and in one we recognized the boys who held the lights before the ruffians on the night of the Angustias outrage, as they entered the inva- lid's chamber. Crowds of people were in the town from all parts of the Island. Upwards of two hundred assem- bled, as on the previous Sunday, in the neighborhood of the cathedral, armed with bludgeons; but on hearing of the determination of the military, and not meeting with their friend the police magistrate, as they had done before, dis- persed, or rather went in search of the native converts in the country, fearing that an attack of the jail would only meet with certain defeat and loss. The two neighbor- ing ships continued firing their guns at intervals through- out the- day, for which, I believe, they incurred the penal- ty of a consular reprimand. " The William had now received on board all the con- verts she could accommodate, and, as it was impossible for these poor persecuted ones, either to appear on shore, or to satisfy the priests' demands, it was necessary that some- thing should be done to remove the difficulties of procuring their passports. A deputation accordingly waited on the governor, and obtained from him a dispensation as to per- sonal application, and also as to the certificates of church attendance, which are always insisted on before a passport is given. So glad were the authorities at this time to sacrifice any consideration to allay the fever which they had themselves excited." Thus did the great Head of the Church prepare the way for the flight of his people from their native country ! What a company was this ! What a spec- tacle for the 19th century! Parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, are sepa- rated from each other. Among thtse tender, natural and social relations, some are persecutors on shore, and others are fugitives on the vessel. Who can tell 8* 90 PERSECUTIONS OF THE the agony of these persecuted disciples about to leave their country and friends for everl What were their feelings, when they thought of the dark- ness, delusion and bigotry in which their relatives were involved; when they anticipated that their next meeting would be at the judgment-seat of Christ, and especially when they thought of the des- tiny of those who persecute the children of God? The day of their departure arrived. What a day for them ! Alas ! What a day for Madeira ! It seems as though the Gospel was to be taken away from that infatuated people : it looks like the departure of the Saviour from their coasts : it reminds us of his declaration to the bigoted priests and Pharisees who despised and rejected him : " I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins ; whither I go, ye cannot come." But our prayer is, that they may not be abandoned to their delusions. May the light of the glorious Gospel yet shine upon them, and may they yet rejoice in that light. "On Sunday, the 23rd of August, the William loosed her sails, and slowly and beautifully glided out of the Bay Funchal. There was something of deep solemnity about of every motion carrying, as she was, two hundred chris- tians from the land of their fathers, to seek a refuge in a land of strangers. Most of this large party had left their homes at night, and could not, without risking their lives, return to their ruined cottages to collect any little property that might be left. Many of them came on board with nothing but the clothes they had on, and these in tatters from their wanderings in the Serras. Yet during the days we sojourned among them in that ark of refuge, not a word CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 91 of repining reached our ears, except from one or two un- converted members of large families, who had not yet learn- ed to love the cause for which the rest rejoiced to suffer. The language of all the others was that of joy and thank- fulness to Him who had called them ' out of darkness into his marvellous light ;' Peter, 2:9; and who had now in his mercy delivered them from their enemies on every side, and gathered them together in one family, and into one refuge. The more that was seen of this persecuted flock, in circumstances the most trying, the higher did their Christian principle rise in the estimation of all. Those only who know the general character of the Portuguese can form a just estimate of the total change that must have passed on these converts. They had become ' new creatures' indeed. In the distribution of clothes to the necessitous, Matthew, 5 : 44, it was most gratifying to witness the good feeling shown by all on the occasion to see not merely their willingness to share with one another the bounty of their Christian friends, but their eagerness to tell of the wants of others more destitute than tttemselves. And in no one instance was there an attempt to deceive, by any concealment of what they possessed. The mate and steward both repeatedly remarked, l ihat they had never seen folk love one another as these folk did.' Among the two hundred and eleven passengers of the William, there was one Romanist family, who had long persecuted the converts, and was now seeking a passage to Trinidad as emigrants. Their extreme poverty excited the lively com- passion of those around them. After the converts had each received from the hand of charity their small supply of clothing, some of them came aft to their benefactors on the poop, and begged to know if they might now con- sider it as their own property, and act accordingly. They were asked the reason of the question, when they said, it was their wish to obey the Lord's command ' Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and prayfor them which despitefully use you, and per- secute you.' They were cheerfully assured that they might, 02 PERSECUTIONS OF THE and it was pleasing to see them share their scanty store with their former enemies ; thus affording a most beautiful specimen of the spirit by which they were animated. " Their conduct throughout was such that the Roman- ists openly expressed their wonder and astonishment. They saw those who had little properties, (and there were both land and householders in the William's band of Christians,) parting with their houses and land, and all they possessed, for the smallest trifle, counting ' all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesua our Lord.' Philippians, 3 : 8. One Portuguese gentleman, talking on the subject, wound up by saying, that ' if he were called upon to choose a religion suddenly, and with- out further thought, he believed he should fix upon that of these people, because lie saw them suffer without com' plaining.' " As was their conduct under persecution on shore, so was their conduct afloat. They had chosen Christ, and the only subject of their glorying was the Lord Jesus. They looked not back upon the world, with all its pleasures. From it, and from self, they had been weaned by the Spi- rit of that God, who had been their friend through evil report, and through good report; who had been more than a brother to them, in sorrow and in joy, by day and by night, at all seasons, and in all circumstances. They knew that He, who had thus watched over them would not desert them in the land to which they were now being driven before the persecuting hand of man. Christ, when on earth, said to his disciples, ' When they persecute you in this city,^Zee ye into another.'* The Christian's kingdom * " Matthew, 10 : 23. After reading, in the simplicity of their faith, the words ' if they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you,' John, 15 : 20, and ' when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another,' they felt that they must suffer persecution, as God had said so. And after talking to- gether on the subject, they applied to a Christian friend as to what they should do when persecution came, for they could not flee to other cities, unless God were to opeu a way for them CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 93 is not of this world : his kingdom is a kingdom set up by the God of heaven. It is a kingdom which shall, in God's own good time, break in pieces and consume 'all other kingdoms, but shall itself stand for ever.' Dan. 2 : 44. Rather than sacrifice one's inheritance in that kingdom, it were well to flee, during a whole lifetime, from city to city, or from one land to another, however severe the trials, however great the earthly losses, however cruel the personal sufferings. ' The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple to be as his master, and the servant as his lord.' Matt. 10 : 24, 25. ' If we suffer, WE SHALL ALSO REIGN WITH HIM.' 2 Tim. 2 : 12. "And now why was all this grievous persecution carried on against that little flock ? Were they traitors to their country ? There were none more loyal. Were they dis- turbers of the peace ? None were more peaceful. Never, perhaps were the members of any church more ' likemind- ed one toward another, according to Christ Jesus,' Rom. 15: 5, than the little flock at Madeira. Never was there simpler faith, simpler hope, simpler love. Shining as lights 'in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,' they held 'forth the word of life;' Phil. 2: 15, 16; con- stantly provoking each other to love and good works. Their humility, gentleness, guileless simplicity, and burn- ing love, were seen and acknowledged by their most bitter enemies. Like the meek, who shall inherit the earth, they would fain have been suffered quietly to delight themselves in the abundance of peace. As fol- lowers of the Prince of Peace, they were peaceable and peacemakers. They desired peace with God, peace with man, peace at home, peace abroad. But peace was not to be purchased at the expense of principle. 'The through the sea. His answer, delivered four years before, they now called to mind, ' if persecution should come to Madeira, God would also send ships to deliver those who keep his word, as surely as he delivered the Israelites from the power of Pharaoh." 94 PERSECUTIONS OF THE wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable.' James, 3:17. To appease the enemies of Jesus, they would not cease to read and obey the word of God. AND THIS WAS THE SUM AND GROUND OF THEIR OFFENCE. They would obey the injunction of their Saviour, to " search the Sciptures," John 5 : 39, and learn of Him, Matt. 1 1 : 29, instead of subjecting their minds and will to the gui- dance and thraldom of their fellow sinners, who in vain were serving God, ' teaching for doctrines the command- ments of men.' Mark, 7 : 7." In the ship William there were about two hundred of these exiles, and soon after this, the Lord Seaton took about the same number. Besides these 400 souls, others fled to the various vessels, and sailed for the West India Islands. About one hundred landed at Demerara, and about the same number fled to St. Vincent, and also to St. Kitts. Between 600 and 700 went to Trinidad, while others landed at other islands. We do not know the precise number of those who have fled from Madeira. We have recently heard of refugees from Madeira, in British Guiana. Others are yet to be heard from. But we know of ONE THOUSAND on the islands we have named. These have sacrificed their country, property, relatives, friends, and all on earth for the sake of their attach- ment to the Gospel. Some made efforts to sell their property, when they were about to leave, that they might have some means for their voyage. But no one would buy only at an immense sacrifice. One man whose pro- CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 95 perty was worth $1500 sold it for $100, &c. Those who had a large and valuable property could not sell at all. Those who had small possessions, worth $400, or $500, could get nothing for them. These converts, flying for their lives, could not take their property with them, and an attempt to recover it after they left Madeira, was hopeless. Hence all they had of this world's goods, was sacri- ficed. Some brought only the clothes they wore, and some fled in their night dresses. The state of those who remained at Madeira is very uncomfortable and painful. A brief extract from the narrative of Capt. Tate will give the reader a sad view of their condition. " There are still many protestant prisoners confined in the jail of Funchal, some of whose cases are hard and distressing in the extreme. The following is the case of six now in the jail, and given in the Defensor, one of the public newspapers, dated the 30th May, 1846 the editor of which, it may be here remarked, was threatened with murder in August last. ' On the 20th of the current month, there was tried in open court a cause of impor- tance, because involving one of the most serious constitu- tional questions. In November of last year several per- sons of the parish of Santo Antonio having met one Lord's day evening, in their own house, to listen to the Bible, several police officers, and persons whom they called to aid them, went thither and summoned those individuals to surrender themselves prisoners; and entering into their house, against their will, one of the police wounded the owner of the house ; they did not, however, succeed in arresting him till next day, when soldiers went thither from 06 PERSECUTIONS OF THE the city for that end. The public prosecutor accused them of the crime of resistance of justice. Dr. Barradas defend- ed the accused. The police and their assistants were wit- nesses for the prosecution. All of them concealed the fact of their having entered the house, but this was proved by the declaration of one of themselves at a previous ex- amination, and by a witness for the defence. " In vain did the advocate show that there was no case of disobedience or resistance, for they were not charged with any crime, on account of which the police could legally have sought to arrest them. They were only charged with re- sisting the police; except in cases of delktum flagrans no one can be arrested without the written order of a legal authority, and the police had gone without any such order; the house of a citizen is an inviolable asylum, into which no one can effect a violent entrance therefore the police and their assistants were guilty of assault; where law ends, tyranny begins, and it is the right and duty of every citizen to resist it. In vain, with these and many other arguments, whose evidence no sensible and impartial man could resist^ did he demonstrate that in the facts imputed to the defendants there was no crime, but the legitimate exercise of a constitutional right. Notwithstanding all, the jury found in these facts the crime of resistance proved ; and some jurymen, I am informed, lamented that there were not more counts against them, for they would have declared them all proved. " When the jury, the natural guard 'of constitutional privileges, sanction, by their decisions, arbitrary acts which violate their privileges, alas for liberty ! To-morrow they may be the victims of the same illegal acts which they sanction to-day. Who will then regard their cry ? Ty- ranny is like fire ; vires acquirit eundo.' " These prisoners were condemned to ten months' im- prisonment, counting from the date of their arrest, and though these ten months were completed on the 1 6th of September last, they were retained in jail, and were still there in tlie end of December, without any prospect of release, CHRISTIANS AT MADEIRA. 97 because the public prosecutor had appealed against the sentence as not sufficiently severe ! Appeals are sometimes unanswered for years ! ! "The widowed mother of two of the prisoners had been arrested along with them, but was released without trial. Her store-house was burnt to the ground, and her dwel- ling set on fire by incendiaries, onthe 2nd of January, 1846, since which time, having been obliged by the persecution to flee to the West Indies, she has fallen a victim to fever. Her husband was buried in the public road in 1845 on account of his adherence to Gospel truth." To show more fully the state of the converts on the island, we refer to the action of the public offi- cers, priests,