2. That by pretext or colour of that Bull or Brief, he was constituted Vicar-General of the See of Rome, and took upon him the style and title of Vicar-General in the said several dioceses.

3. That he did exercise ecclesiastical jurisdiction as Vicar-General of the See of Rome, by instituting divers persons to benefices with cure of souls, by granting dispensations in causes matrimonial, by pronouncing sentences of divorce between divers married persons, and by doing all other acts and things pertaining to episcopal jurisdiction, within the said several dioceses, against our sovereign Lord the King, his crown and dignity royal, and in contempt of his Majesty, and disherison of his crown, and contrary to the form and effect of the statute, &c.

To this indictment Lalor pleaded, not guilty; and when the issue was to be tried, the name and reputation of the man, and the nature of the cause, drew all the principal gentlemen both of the pale and provinces, that were in town, to the hearing of the matter. At which time, a substantial jury of the city of Dublin being sworn for the trial, and the points of the indictment being opened and set forth by the King's Serjeant; the Attorney-General thought it not impertinent, but very necessary, before he descended to the particular evidence against the prisoner, to inform and satisfy the hearers in two points.

“1. What reason moved us to ground this indictment upon the old statute of 16 Rich. 2, rather than

The true

upon some other later law made since the time of King Henry 8.

"2. What were the true causes of the making of this law of 16 Rich., and other formal laws against provisors, and such as did appeal to the Court of Rome in those times, when both the prince and people of England did for the most part acknowledge the Pope to be the thirteenth apostle, and only oracle in matters of religion, and did follow his doctrine in most of those points wherein we now dissent from him.

"1. For the first point we did purposely forbear to proceed against him upon any latter law, to the end that such as were ignorant might be informed, that long before King Henry 8 was born, divers laws were made against the usurpation of the Bishop of Rome upon the rights of the Crown of England, well nigh as sharp and severe as any statutes which have been made in later times; and that therefore we made choice to proceed upon a law made more than 200 years past, when the King, the Lords and Commons, which made the laws, and the Judges which did interpret the laws, did for the most part follow the same opinions in religion, which were taught and held in the Court of Rome.

"2. For the second point, the causes that moved, cause of mak- and almost enforced the English nation to make this,

ing the stat.

16 Rich. 2. and other statutes of the same nature, were of the

and other sta

tutes against greatest importance that could possibly arise in any provisors. state. For these laws were made to uphold and maintain the sovereignty of the King, the liberty of

the people, the common law, and the commonweal, which otherwise had been undermined and utterly ruined by the usurpation of the Bishop of Rome."

The Attorney-General thus proceeds:

:

the Romish

religion.

Now, Master Lalor, what think you of these things? Did you believe that such laws as these had been made against the Pope 200, 250, 300 years since ? Was King Henry 8 the first prince that opposed the Pope's usurped authority? Were our Protestants the first subjects that ever complained of the Court of Rome? Of what religion, think you, were the propounders and enacters of these laws? Were they These laws made by such good Catholics or good subjects? or what were they? as did profess You will not say they were Protestants, for you will not admit the reformed religion to be so ancient as those times; neither can you say they were undutiful, for they strove to uphold their liege Lord's sovereignty. Doubtless the people in those days did generally embrace the vulgar errors and superstitions of the Romish Church, and in that respect were Papists as well as you: but they had not learned the new doctrine of the Pope's supremacy, and transcendant authority over Kings; they did not believe he had power to depose princes, and discharge subjects of their allegiance, to abrogate the fundamental laws of kingdoms, and to impose his canons as binding laws upon all nations, without their consents; they thought it a good point of religion to be good subjects, to honour their King, to love their country, and to maintain the laws and liberties thereof, how

Statute Law.

soever in other points they did err and were misled with the Church of Rome.

"So as now, Master Lalor, you have no excuse, no evasion, but your conscience must condemn you as well as the law; since the law-makers in all ages, and all religious Papists and Protestants, do condemn you; unless you think yourself wiser than all the Bishops that were then in England, or all the Judges, who in those days were learned in the civil and canon laws as well as in the common laws of England."

We come to the statute law; and here I have no doubt that amidst all the bitter disappointments which he has experienced since wearing his cardinalitial hat, Dr. Wiseman has often laughed heartily at our expense, and chuckled at the way in which "honest John Bull" has been "gulled," and suffered himself to be led by the nose, and every statute either to be repealed or deprived of those portions which could make it very effective against acts of Papal usurpation.

Well, we would not have had it so. pluck safety from disappointment.

But we may

The common law remains; some statutory provisions still remain; and there still remains the spirit of the British nation, which will not suffer itself to be cajoled out of its liberties, independence, and religion by those who have said one thing, but meant another, and uttered promises never to be performed.

I had gone far in preparing for publication a work on the Statute Law of England, from Magna Charta

to the present time, on the subject of Papal interference with British rights and liberties, whether in matters civil or ecclesiastical. In that work it would have been my object to show that even in Romish times our ancestors protested against the tyranny of Papal usurpation; and why ;-and what portions of such laws are applicable to the present day. Some portions of it have already appeared in the columns of the "Morning Herald.”

To search out those acts which bear upon the question is a work of time and labour; while, to decide what are in force, and what portions, if any, have been repealed, is a work of yet greater magnitude; too great, indeed, to come within the compass of an introductory chapter. One of these letters is given post, Appendix K., p. 163.

It need not be a matter of wonder that Lord John Russell required on behalf of his Government time to have the law looked into, and that in his celebrated letter he should thus express himself :

"Upon this subject, then, I will only say that the present state of the law shall be carefully examined, and the propriety of adopting any proceedings with reference to the recent assumption of power deliberately considered."

There has been such a tampering with constitutional enactments and provisions; such a nibbling at these various statutes, session after session, by piecemeal legislation, that the cords which were meant to restrain Popery are well nigh gnawed