concession of practical convenience, flowing from the Crown, and leaving the inherent claim to the exercise of the irrevocable prerogative of the " Exequatur," itself,-in statu quo.--And this construction Sir J. H. feels himself authorised to adopt, from a declaration immediately made to himself, at Naples, from very high authority, in relation to this Convention *.

In communicating this corrected copy of the original Statement, to His Holiness,- Sir J. H. thinks himself bound, in candour, to observe, that a Pastoral Letter, addressed, some time since, by the Apostolic Vicar of the Western district in England, has been represented as a dereliction of the opinions heretofore maintained by that venerable Prelate,

[The authority here alluded to, is that of M. de Medici, the Minister and Secretary of State of the King of the two Sicilies, who negotiated the Concordatum with the Cardinal Secretary of State :-since which, a Royal Edict, of the 6th of April, has appeared, of which the following is an extract:

"Da oggi innanzi per la interposizione del Nostro Regio Exequatur, senz' aversi più ricorso a noi per la Real Segreteria, e Ministero di Stato degli Affari Ecclesiastici come finora si è praticato, basterà, che le Bolle, Brevi, ed altre spedizioni della "Corte di Roma, par le quali è stato finore necessario il nostro Regio Exequatur, vengano esibite al nostro supremo Consiglio "di Cancelleria; per la spedizione del detto Regio Exequatur, dirigendosi le demande al nostro ministro Cancelliere."

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An Edict, of the preceding day, also exempts the Royal Jurisdiction of Sicily from the operation of the xx111. Article of the Concordatum, which allowed Appeals to the See of Rome.]

respecting both the original questions discussed in the preceding pages, though this construction seems to be unwarranted. Bishop Collingridge certainly has cautioned his clergy against " assenting to regu"lations respecting the concerns of their religion, on "the mere ground, that similar regulations have,

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occasionally, been made and enforced in foreign "states, many of which (he adds) are, and have been declared by the Bishops of such states, to be "inconsistent with the doctrine and essential discipline of the Catholic Church,"-and further,"that there are many others, which, as they concern "the civil establishment of the Catholic Church, "in other countries, are wholly inapplicable to the state of the Catholic Church in this country."

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It is conceived, that a sufficient answer to these assertions and apprehensions has already been given, but, although that venerable Prelate has thus cautioned his clergy against assenting to such regulations, -it is not to be inferred, that he is thereby inculcating any practical resistance to ordinances which may be enacted by the wisdom of the Legislature. Indeed, on the contrary, the Bishop enjoins his clergy to resort only to "legal and peaceable means to prevent "the insertion of such clauses, in any Parliamentary "Bill, which may be repugnant to the essential discipline of the Church."

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In regard to the essential discipline of the Church of Rome, it is not too much to assume, that the

temper and moderation, which will, necessarily, be manifested in the progress of any legislative measure through its different stages, involving subjects of such deep interest,-aided by the ample evidence which Parliament has now before them-will protect the most scrupulous Catholic against any invasion of the rights of conscience. When the law is once enacted, the virtual assent and obedience of the subject is as clearly indicated.

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In the same Pastoral, Bishop Collingridge observes, that "when, in the year 1810,--a large, and most respectable portion of the Catholics of Great Britain, in the purest spirit of conciliation, de"clared their conviction, that it is possible for the Legislature to make adequate provisions for the "maintenance of the civil and religious establishments of this kingdom, consistently with the "strictest adherence, on their part, to the tenets " and discipline of the Roman Catholic religion,

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they, at the same time, restricted the pledge of "their future grateful acquiescence, or submission "to such arrangements only, as should give them "both satisfaction and security."

Bishop Collingridge has here recited that memorable" Resolution," which has been so often and so much misrepresented, and which has even been assigned, by one of his colleagues in the VicariateBishop Milner-as the principal cause of his own secession from the course he had so long held, in

common, with his Episcopal brethren in England. It is admitted, that the substance of this "Resolu"tion," was originally suggested by two persons of high consideration, both British Peers,-who had long been forward in patronising the petitions of the Catholics in Parliament. The assembly, in which the Resolution" was discussed, is described, by Bishop Collingridge, "to have con"sisted of a large and most respectable portion of "the Catholics of Great Britain."-The Resolution, in fact, was signed by all the Apostolic-Vicars, and their coadjutors, -five Prelates in number,-all, indeed, with the exception of Bishop Milner: — nevertheless, when interrogated by a noble Catholic Peer, then present," whether he might add his "own signature to the Resolution ?" that noble person was, by Bishop Milner, answered in the affirmative*.

In thus adverting to another instance of the vacillating conduct of Bishop Milner,-which, in the estimation of the most steady supporters of the claims of the Catholics, has materially contributed to diminish the number of their Parliamentary adherents, Sir J. H. is actuated by no vindictive or

* The opposition given by Bishop Milner to this specific Resolution, on this occasion, by declining to sign it himself,―is, by a vote of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, somewhat strangely qualified with the description of " Apostolic firmness.”

personal feeling. Bishop Milner must, nevertheless, be conscious, that, long before Sir J. H. had considered it incumbent upon him to resort to the measure of pointedly contrasting the recent conduct of that Prelate, with his recorded anterior acts and declarations,-Sir J. H. had, himself, been assailed, by representations, from the pen of Bishop Milner, of the most injurious nature. But, even on this head, Sir J. H. is disposed to impute to Bishop Milner less personal hostility than the facts, when distinctly stated, may seem to warrant ;-for, in tracing the course of this learned Prelate, as connected with the chief points at issue, it is not difficult to discover motives, though, probably, not so readily admitted by himself, which, well understood, may tend to place his conduct in a less enigmatical point of view, than that in which, it naturally, and at first sight, presents itself.

Until the close of the year 1808,-Bishop Milner had stood forth the firm supporter of those principles and opinions, which produced the Resolutions of the Roman Catholic Prelates of Ireland, in the year 1799. The decided, and unequivocal tenor of his "Letter to a Parish Priest," in 1808,-was in strict conformity with those resolutions.-Bishop Milner was, at this period, in Dublin, and had the advantage of a near and intimate view of the passing events of the times. He could well judge of the feelings of the Irish Catholic Prelates, and the sources of those feelings, he saw the difficulties to which they were