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About The American. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1891)
B THE AMERICAN A cut respondent of (lii) Inler Ocean of Sepl, I, I hi I linn (hi to say Apropos of Catholic toleration lit I ln Manhunt Colony, the following lilt o history from the lion. H. W, Thomp son' woC,, I'lio iiaimey nml the chll power," will Im foiiinl lo Im ex ccedlnly liilerosllrgi IMerrlng to "Historical Tract," collected and printed ly Peter Force Washington 'It v. IhIIh, thn nullior (Thompson) on page oHj, ct so , say "After speaking of Him seizure it in eotillsenllon of vessel belonging to tin) VlrgluUn, who had been trading with thn native of Maryland for a number of year, uiiiler proper niul legal tin Ihoiily derived from their colon In government, and the Invalidity of the Maryland chitrter, which It wn nllegoi Lord Hiiltiinore IiikI obtained by falsely representing the country a unsettled it thus hMnkt of the Koman Ciitholl colonists, "Ami professing ft n establishment of the Komiwi religion only, they sop presiod ilio poor Protestant among them, and carried on tlio whole fntnie of their government In the Lord Pro priotary' name; nil their proceeding, Judicature, trial niul warrant In hi mtuie, power it rid dignity, and from him only; not the least mention of the sovereign authority of Kngland In nil their government; to l lint purpose fort bly Imposing mtlh (Judged Illegal In a report nruln by ft committee of the found! of Stale, Iui2) lo tiiiiliiliiln hltt royal jurisdiction, prerogatives, ami dominions, fit absolute Lord and I'ro nietiiry, to protect chiefly tho Komnn Cathollo religion In tlxt free exercise thereof; and all done by yearly Instruc tlou from him out of Knglund, it If he had been absolute I'l l nee and King. (Kxtraot from I'eter Force' Historical Tritct, p, o,) "There Ik no difllcully In seeing the object pml precise nal'.rre of the oath prescribed by Lurd llaltlmoro for nil ollieor and citizen, when It Im con sldcrod that both by the law of Flig hted mid those existing In the colony nt the time of hi Mettlcment, the F.ng Jlsh Fplsoopal wa the established church Ami while the practice of religion toleration wa compulsory, being provided for in the charter, It I undiMibtedly trim that therm oath were especially delgne( to give undue pref erence to tlie Ho m a ii Catholic colonist -a preference destructive of the equal ily which the charkr wa diwlgnert to establish, Thl i on of the require merit: "And I do further swear 1 will not by myelf, nor any other peron direct ly, trouble, molest, or discountenance any peron whatsoever In the afd prov ince profcdrg to belle vo In Jeu Christ, ami In particular no Komnn Catholic, for or In respect of hi or her religion, or hi or her free exorcise thereof within the ald province, o they be not iinfiilthful to hi ald lord ship, or molest or conspire against (lie civil government established under Irliii.1 (Hef, to "Historical Tract, pp, 2.', 24. !!.) "Wfl must necessarily look to tho character of thn civil government es tablishcd by lord Ilaltlrnore in order to uncertain the obligation lmpoed by thi oath, I hit oath of fidelity to him reijnii ed t hit he should be nek how ltd,pi Mo b I he trim Hint absolute lord aiu1 propiloliry of thn polony; that Mm f ft II tt thotilit be relnlereil to hi ll All hi heir, niul that hi Hud their'rlghl lllle, inlerenl, privilege, royal Jui'U ilietlnii, prerogntlve, propriety and do minion over' thn colony houhl bo maiiitnlned. (Kef. Ibid, p. V) Hero wa inanlfeKt nltempl to uliKllluti) hi own royal power for that of the King, to whom nil theorlglnal ooloiil! wcru ready and willing lo pity obed leticu. Hut the anin I further nhown by thn commlion writ, ami proce im that wern iuei. The law of F.ng laud reipilred all lhoe to Ihhiio in tlie name of the 'Keeter of thn Liberty of Kngland;1 but, in dUobeilienco of thl requirement, they were ImmuhI In hi name - a clear iiurpatlon of royal juri diction and dominion. (Kef. to "IIIh torioal Tract," p. 10.) Tho plan of government constructed by mean of tli(.'Hi) iiHiirped )owor ami prerogative became hiicIi that thn l'rotctaiit Inhab itant of tho colony who wero loyal to Kngland could not (!onclentIoiily take thl oath, became it Impound the obli gation of violating tho law of the moth er country. Whether that law wa right or wrong ll U not now nccenHiiry to Im inquired Into; It wa In accord nnco with the npirll of that, though not of tho priwent age. It prescribed tlie lino of duty for all F,ngllli citl.en, whether at homo or in thn colonic, and llicxe Maryland coloultM by violating It would hnvo been objected to prose. culioim for sedition and treason, All thl lliiltlmom knew perfectly well, and thcrcfirn prescribed an oath of lldellty to himself of hiicIi a nature that a loyal Protestant could not take It, being well assured, nt the sumo time, that tho Hu man Catholic would a'l do ho. And to show thn liUlo favor he wa disposed to exhibit toward those who should re fuseIf Indeed ho did not design to drive out tho I'rolestant entirely he caused n proclamation to bo Issued to thn cflect 'that all such person so re fusing shall be forever debarred from aof right or claim to the land t'my now enjoy and live on;' that Is, their iropcrty should bo confiscated; and hi jordshlp'n Coventor wa Instructed 'to musn the said land to bo entered, and seized upon to hls'Lordshlp'n use,' (Hef, Historical Trad." p, ,15.) "A might well bo supposed, tho re- suit wern Just what Lord Ilaltimore designed they should bo, und are fully set forth In thl tract, Papist ami priest and Jesuit flocked into thn colony, Papist Coventor und coun selor dedicated to St, Jgnatlu, tilled thn olllee. The Protestant were 'ml erably dUturbed In the exercise of tlu lr religion A number of 'Illegal execu tion mid murlhcr' occurred. Thero were 'Imprisonments, confiscation of many men' estate, and of widow and orphan,' to tho destruction of many families.' Those who would not take the oath wero dUarmod and plundered. Popish oflleer' wern appointed, 'out ing those' who were previously In ofllco, Land and plantation' wero seized and confiscated. And It can not fall to arrest Attention that all these perse- in lion were vlslled upon Protestant, while not one Hunan Cat hollo nufl'erod from them, (Hef, 'Historical Tract p. 12, LI, IK, ,'10, 81.) A for these, till J Wirr 0 frtVnttd I hat If Hill' tlieiH was railed 'V)Uh priest, Jesiilte Ji'Milted pMiM,' etc,, the oilViidir for fitlled n penally of 'i'lo.' (Ki f. 'Hi torlcal Tract ,' p. !J7.) "Thn Inferior position occupied by layman In thosn de) should relieve them fioni any responsibility for these measures. Thn civil Authority of the oniony wa entirely In thn hand of those appointed by Lord Italtlmore, who, a It appears, selected Human Catholic agent exclusively. At that time, In F.uglntid, thn papist were chlelly under (ho Inlluonco of tho Jesuits whoso vlgll.ir.co wa loo sleepless to permit thl opportunity of planting their micloty In tho New World to e capo them. How far thoy had tho sympathy ami support of Lord Haiti more i of course not known; but It I undoubtedly true that they wero tho authors of nil those measures In the Maryland colony, ond that they had pretty much their own way thero. This appear from a narrallvo preserved In the Jesuit college nt Homo, which I also found among tho "Historical Tracts" above referred to. It was pro- pared by tho Jesuit father appointed by tho superior general of tho order nt Home, to superintend the first emigra tion of Ho in an Catholic colonist who left Kngland in tho fall of Kl.'tri, Thoy went, a It I declared, to 'carry tho light of tho gospel and of truth where t ha been found out that hitherto no knowledge of the true Cod ha shown' -that Is, where neither the pope nor lopery had been hoard of. History has amply shown the kind of light they throw upon the pathway of nation b well a Individuals, and thn event in thn Maryland colony show that they acted there, a eveiywhere else, under nstnietlonifroni Home. 'Hull', letter, etc., from tho popo and Homo' that I from tho pope and the general of the Jesuit became familiar to the colon ist. (Hef. to 'Historical Tracts;' p. Hy moan of these the Jesuit be came omnipotent In the colony, mid In thn tract last named they show how un successfully they exercised their power. Then, as now, tho first object of tho order wa tho ncipiisl'lon of wealth with tho right to govern and control their property without any reference or obedience to tho law of the country In which they reside, On thl subject Father White, one of tho Jenlts, re port that when thoy set up thl claim In Maryland they were met by those who Insisted that the law of Kngland, which bound the colony, forbade It; and he spcalc of them a those 'who, too Intent upon their own nfl'alr, have not feared lo violate tho Immunities of tho church by using their endeavor that law of thl kind forrnely passed In F.ngUinl mol unjustly observed tltero may obtain like force lure, to wli That It shall not be lawful for miy per son or poninuinlly, rven ceelesUslioal, In nnr wise, pvni hv Kin. lo no'iuue or ' :..... ..... ....... -i possess, nil j imiu, illness in i'i-mii. slon of the civil magistrate llrst Im oh tallied; which thing, when our people declared It to be repugnant to the law of thn church, two priest were sent from Knglnnd who might teach the contrary.' Ami then, In order to show s superior what ndnilrabln succes he had In resisting thi uiijusl Knglish law and how all-powerful tho order had al ready become In America ho continues; 'Hut the reverso of what wa expected happened; for our reason being heard and the thing Itself being more clearly understood, they easily full In with our opinion, and tho billy In like manner generally.' (Kef. to Father Andrew White,' etc) And thus the Jesuit won their first triumph In the United States, Tho two priests sent over fromJKngland to demonstrate the necessity of obey ing the Uritlsh law, wa easily convert ed, the laity wero unresisting; tho law wa trampled under their feet; and they wero allowed to acquire, hold, and govern their own property wlthlmpun- ly, and without tiny responsibility to the civil power. -Thl I precisely the claim now set up by tlie American hier archy nt the Second National Council at Ilaltimore,, who have again revived, and upon tho same soil, tho obi Jesuit demand of nearly two centuries and n '1.4.1 II gO. "Whatsoever, then, wn done in tlie !olony of Maryland in favor of rellg ou toleration wa doito only In ohid-""" enco to tho charter, and against the Iw.umi firtl nlmlilv tiill'V lullll lit flin church of Homo mid tho Jesuits." North Sixteenth Street, SAKCKNT, For Hoot rind Shoes. 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