"You do not indeed defend the transaction: --but you endeavour to palliate it, by a plea, which "almost tempts me to the charge of illiberality, "in declaring my belief in all the accusations of "Protestants against the fairness and candour of "the Church of Rome. I could almost accuse

you of insidious Jesuitism, when you venture to "observe, that the submission of John took place, "under a national apprehension of a French "invasion, and omit to tell us, that the Pope was "the cause of the danger."

My expression is not only unobjectionable, but critically accurate.

Pope Innocent's transfer of the sovereignty of England to Philip of France, is an event, which I am confident was known to every person who has perused my letters to Doctor Southey. This circumstance alone vindicates me against your charge: But it is not all: Rapin, Hume, and all other historians inform us, that, before the ceremony was agreed to, a complete division of interests had taken place between the pontiff and Philip. The former had become jealous of the latter, as, "after such mighty "acquisitions he might," to use the words of Hume, "become too haughty to be bound in spiritual "chains;" and had therefore sent Randolph on a secret mission to John, "offering to take him “into his protection against the French monarch's 66 arms, if he would consent to hold his kingdom "from him in vassalage." This placed the

monarch" between two precipices, equally dan-
gerous; he was under a necessity of casting him-
"self down one or the other," These are the words
of Rapin,* If the monarch refused the offers of the
pontiff, he must have surrendered his kingdom
absolutely and without reserve to the French
monarch; if he submitted to the pontiff, he would
retain his kingdom,-shorn it is true, of its beams,
—but still, one of the most powerful kingdoms of
Europe:-The monarch and the barons preferred
the latter. From this time, their contest was not
with the Pope, or with the French monarch, acting
under or executing the commands of the Pope,
but, with the French monarch, acting independently
of the Pope, and in the most direct opposition to
him. All historians agree in describing the rage,
the resentment and the hostilities of Philip.
: My expression therefore is justified.

IX. 2.

Your charge, that the third canon of the Fourth Council of Lateran, is an article of the faith of Roman Catholics-that it declares the Pope's divine right to Temporal Dominion; and that the disclaimer of it by the Roman Catholics, is not valid and cannot be depended upon, in consequence of their acknowledgment of the paramount authority of the Council.

This disclaimer You contend, is "unsatisfactory;" and You proclaim that "it will be un"justifiable in Protestants to rely upon it, till the "Pope and his government shall formally dis

* Fol. Edit. Vol. i. p. 272.

H

"claim the right of the Pope to temporal domi"nion beyond his own temporal territories." I collect that the following is an out-line of Your reasoning upon this subject:

1. The creed of Pius IV. contains an article, by which the subscribers of the creed recognize and declare their belief of all the doctrines of the general councils :

2. The fourth Council of Lateran was a general council, and was confirmed by the Council of Trent, also a general council :

3. The third canon of the fourth Council of Lateran enjoins the deposition of heretical princes:

4. It is therefore an article of the faith of Roman Catholics, that it is their duty, or, at least, that it is lawful for them to depose heretical princes:

5. By this tenet, they recognize the temporal dominion of the Pope in all Christian states, to be an article of their faith :.

6. It is true, that this doctrine has been disclaimed by the English, Irish and Scottish Catholics upon oath :

7. But, it is also true, that their oaths on this subject cannot be relied upon, because they are necessarily taken with the reserve of the obedience due by Catholics to the canons of general councils,—and consequently, with the reserve of the obedience due by them to the third canon of the fourth Council of Lateran,-if the Pope should require their obedience to it:

8. Hence their oaths and declaimers are not absolutely valid:

9. And nothing can give them absolute validity, or that validity which it is justifiable for a Protestant to rely upon, except a declaration of as high authority as that which enacted the canon.

I have endeavoured to express your sentiments accurately: I trust I have succeeded.

! I shall discuss them separately.

But before I proceed,-I must protest against the great impropriety of requiring from Roman Catholics, any thing like argument or proof, to show that their oaths, or even their mere declarations, are to be relied upon. When such a body as the British and Irish clergy, nobility and gentry, solemnly deny their belief or disbelief of a particular doctrine,-to put them to the proof of the truth of this belief or disbelief, is to insult the Broad-Stone of honour: Every gentleman feels they should be believed without parlance.

But since proof is called for,-humbling as it is, -let us produce it :

IX. 3.

Discussion of the Charge.

1.-I shall first transcribe the Article in the Creed of Pius IV.

"I also profess, and undoubtedly receive, all "other things delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred canons, and general councils, and particularly by the Holy Council of Trent; and "likewise, I also condemn, reject and anathema"tize all things contrary thereto, and all heresies "whatsoever, condemned and anathematized by "the Church."

Here, allow me to make two observations, which, in the present discussion, and in every discussion of the same nature, should always be kept in mind:-1. That the councils mentioned in this article of the creed of Pope Pius IV. are general or œcumenical councils, and none other :

2. And that the decrees, even of these councils, are only articles of faith, when they propound doctrines to be believed as articles of faith by the universal church. All doctrines propounded by particular councils, or even propounded by general or œcumenical councils, but not proposed by these to be articles of faith, a Roman Catholic may disbelieve, without ceasing to be a Roman Catholic. This, in discussions like the present, should never be forgotten.

2.-I shall now briefly state the formation of the fourth Council of Lateran.