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rupted my punishment. But I had not hitherto shaken the triangle; હે a display of feeling which it seems was eagerly expected from me. "To accelerate that spectacle, a wire-cat was introduced, armed with' scraps of tin or lead. (I judge from the effect and from the descrip"tion given me.) Whatever were its appendages, I cannot easily forget the power of it. In defiance of shame my waistband was cut for "the finishing strokes of this lacerating instrument. The very first "lash, as it renewed all my pangs, and shot convulsive agony through my entire frame, made me shake the triangle indeed. A second in"fliction of it penetrated my loins, and tore them excruciatingly; the third maintained the tremulous exhibition long enough-the specta"tors were satisfied.

"I should spare you, my lords and gentlemen, the disgusting mi"nuteness of this last detail, but it will be found materially connected "with a most dreadful charge which appears upon the minutes of a "court of inquiry, held to investigate my case the year following in "Youghal, under gen. Graham, by order of the marquis Cornwallis, "Before this court I was not brought; nor any friend of mine sum"moned thither to speak for me. It was even a subject of sarcastic "remark in the prison-ship, that while I stood there among the sailors, "my trial, as they termed it, was going on in Youghal. With the pro"ceedings of that court I am to this day unacquainted. It was ordered "I know, in consequence of a memorial upon my situation, handed to a distinguished nobleman, and by him presented at the castle; I was "not consulted with regard to its contents. Unfortunately for me, it "was penned with more zeal than accuracy; setting forth among "other hardships, that after my punishment, I had been left without "medical assistance (on the report, I presume of a sister-in-law, who "visited me in the interval between the whipping and apothecary's arrival); ; it further stated that I had been whipt and thrown into a dungeon; instead of stating, as it ought to have done, that I had been "thrown into a dungeon and whipt. This inversion was fatal to me. For "the evidence of Mr. Green, apothecary, most plausibly contradicted

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these allegations of the memorial; and that circumstance, when "coupled with the subsequent horrid charges audaciously forged and "foisted into the minutes of the inquiry, excited an almost invincible prejudice in the mind of the merciful lord Cornwallis against me. "For when, after a considerable lapse of time, my professional friend " in Dublin, renewed his efforts to serve me, at the risk of being deemed "importunate and troublesome, he was still graciously honoured with an audience, wherein to preclude all future interference, as quite in"effectual and hopeless, his excellency directed colonel Littlehales to "read these minutes to my patron. They reported that I had freely "avowed to Mr. Benjamin Green, apothecary, while he was dressing r my wounds, at the time I was about to be sent on board the prison"ship, that I deserved all I had suffered and more; for I was privy to "the murders, &c. &c. committed in my parish: that I could account for my conduct in no other way, than by attributing it to the instiga"tion of the devil: and that I deserved to be shot. The cruel edge of "this forged evidence, was still further whetted by subjoining to it, that "this Mr. Green was a Roman Catholic, My respectable intercessór,

EXPLANATION OF THE ENGRAVING.-This cut represents a poor Catholic peasant in the hands of the inquisitors and familiars of the Orange ascendency in Ireland, who, to amuse themselves, when any of these unfortunate creatures were taken upon suspicion, and placed in their hands, would cut the hair of a prismer's head very closely, in form of the cross, and after rubbing gunpowder through the remaining hair, set it on fire. This shocking process was frequently repeated, until every atom of hair that remained could be easily pulled up by the roots, and the head left totally and miserably blistered.-See Mr. Hay's Insurrection of Wexford, in 1798.

"being quite unprepared to meet such an accusation, hung down his "head and withdrew. But he lost no time in communicating this reverse to my ordinary, doctor Coppinger, who was equally astonished at these assertions; but who seized the opportunity, until a refutation "of all could be procured, to point in the interim, to the designing and notorious falsehood of Mr. Green's Catholicity. In a very few days Mr. Green himself spontaneously furnished my bishop with a peremptory denial of the above particulars, under his own hand de

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claring moreover in a written acknowledgment, that no conversa"tion had passed between him and the prisoner, but as between a medical man and his patient. This same gentleman also ingenuously " presented himself at the parish chapel of Ballymacoda, offering to "make oath that he had not given the evidence here attributed to him.

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"Another respectable gentleman is represented in these minutes to "have said, that immediately after my punishment, I acknowledged to " him that I was privy to the murder of two soldiers; that I knew of a gun kept in my parish for the purpose of murder, and remarkable "for the certainty of its aim: he is there beside stated to have said, "that I made this declaration, not under any apprehension of punish"ment, but I seemed rather to speak, as one clergyman would to another "in a moment of contrition: such at least is the substance of this gentle"man's words, as far as my friend in Dublin, to whom the evidence was read, could recollect it. Now from the nature of the commu"nication, which it is here asserted I made, it will be naturally supposed, that the gentleman had a private interview with me after my "punishment: but he himself is thoroughly persuaded that he had "not. I never laid my eyes on him since I saw him at that time, in "the public Ball-alley. During my flagellation he stood opposite me, "close to the triangle, with a paper and a pencil in his hand, noting "down whatever then occurred to him. He asked, did you not know " that fire-arms were taken from my house? My answer was rather too "short, Sir, I heard you say so; but I felt at the moment, by heavier "strokes, the consequence of my impoliteness. I really considered that gentleman, on account of his apparent insensibility at the time, as. "the very reverse of a friend; and while I now positively deny my "having made the acknowledgment above reported, I shall take the "liberty to ask; first, whether it be consistent with likelihood, that "when such a severe punishment and so witnessed by him, was over, "I had selected that very gentleman in order to criminate myself to "such a confident, without any possible advantage? I beg leave to "ask in the second place, if I had made this acknowledgment at the "Ball-alley, why a certain subaltern, declaring that he had power to act as he pleased by me, should take me (naked and bleeding as I was) "into a small room in the corner of the Ball-alley, and sternly tell me that "if I would not now make an avowal of guilt, I should be brought out "to receive a repetition of my punishment; and afterwards to be shot. "And why he should repeat that menace the same evening in the gaol " and still more forcibly the day following. The circumstances of his "exertions on that occasion are too striking to be omitted. After I "had answered him in the corner of the Ball-alley, that I would suffer any death rather than acknowledge a crime whereof I was not "guilty, he told me I should be set at liberty if I would agree to a cer"tain proposal which he then made me; but justice and truth.com"manded me to reject it. When conducted to gaol, after a lapse of "three hours, I was presented with a refreshment: it appeared to be "wine and water, but must have had some other powerful ingredient; "for it speedily brought on a stupor. The same officer soon roused me "from my lethargy, with a renewed effort to extort this avowal from me: he drew his sword; he declared he would never part with me "until it were given in writing; he threatened that I should be forth"with led out again; flogged as before; shot; hanged; my head cut "off to be exposed upon the gaol-top, and my body thrown into "the river: that he would allow me but two minutes to determine.' "Then going to the door, he called for a scrip of paper, while the sen

"tinel swore terribly at the same time, that he would blow my brains "out if I persisted longer in my refusal. Under this impression I "scribbled a note to my brother, which they instantly cried out, was " what they wanted; the precise expressions of it, I do not at this mo"ment recollect; it purported a wish that my brother might no longer "indulge uneasiness upon my account, for I deserved what I got. "The officer withdrew; my sister-in-law then got admittance: she told me, she had just heard the sentinel say, that during my entire punishment, nothing was against me: however that the paper I had just "written would assuredly hang me. I exclaimed that their dreadful "threats had compelled me to write it; which exclamation being car"ried to the officer, he returned the next day: he called me to the gaol window commanding a view of the gallows, whereon two men were hanging: their bodies so bloody that I imagined they wore red "jackets. A third halter remained yet unoccupied, which he declared "was intended for me, should I persist in disclaiming the aforesaid note. "Look, said he, at these men; look at that rope; your treatment shall "be worse than theirs, if you disown what you wrote yesterday: adding "that it was still in my power to get free. I imagined from this that "he wanted money from me; or a favourite mare which I had occasionally lent him. My answer was, if you liberate me you shall always find me thankful; there is nothing in my power that I will not do. Do not then attempt, said he, to exculpate yourself, and so "retired. I now procured paper, whereon I wrote a formal protest against what he had extorted from me as above; that, should I be ex-' ecuted, this protest might appear after my death. I wrote a second, "with the same design; but I left them both after me in the gaol; ap "prehensive, that should they be found in my possession, they might cause me to be treated with additional severity. Neither did I after"wards while in gaol, openly assert my innocence for that very reason. "Now, so little credit seems to have been attached to this paper, in "any subsequent proceeding, that it was never after, to my knowledge, produced against me. Indeed there is reason to imagine that what this gentleman is reported to have advanced in the above minutes, wash "never said by him; because the same audacity which forged a decla "ration for Mr. Green, might be daring enough to forge a similar declaration for this gentleman.'

Such is father O'Neil's account of the system of torturing under ́ "Protestant-ascendency," only twenty-five years ago, and we challenge the "few plain Christians" to produce an authenticated parallel instance of cruelty practised by any of the inquisitors in Catholic foreign countries, from the time of the Albigenses to the present day. We do not see that Fox has any where laid forgery to the charge of the inquisition, but here, in the case of father O'Neil, we find a direct charge made on" the "Protestant-ascendency" inquisitors of forging evidence against the unfortunate prisoner, and in his absence too, for the purpose of having him further punished. The modes of process adopted by the inquisition, according to the account of this Book of Martyrs, are, "1st, To proceed by imputation, or prosecute on common report; 2, "by the information of any indifferent person who chooses to impeach "another; 3, on the information of spies who are retained by the in

"quisition; and, 4, on the confession of the prisoner himself." Very well, admitting this statement to be correct, has not "Protestantascendency" acted upon the self-same modes, from her very birth to the present period? In 1584, Elizabeth issued an ecclesiastical commission, empowering twenty-four members, half clerics and half laics, or any three of them, to visit and reform all errors, heresies and schisms; to regulate all opinions, and to punish every breach of uniformity in the public worship. The jurisdiction of these commissioners extended over the whole kingdom, and their power was despotic, being under no control. They had directions to proceed in which ever way they thought proper, either by the rack, by other species of torture, by fine, or by imprisonment. Suspicion was sufficient to create guilt, and suspected persons were frequently tortured to implicate their relatives. Spies and informers were encouraged and paid to hunt out and impeach the Catholic for following the dictates of his conscience, and the Catholic priest for exercising his ministerial functions. In short, a system of espry was established by the first reformers under " Protestant-ascendency," which has continued ever since, a disgrace to its founders and to the country which tolerates it. We make not this statement upon bare assertion, but refer the reader to Neale's History of the Puritans and Hume's History of England, where a corrobora-a tion of our statement will be found. The "few plain Christians" may say what they please of the tyranny of the pope, and the power of his supremacy, but a reference to the statute-book of England, when England was Catholic and since she has been Protestantized, will demonstratively prove, that the supremacy of Rome was perfect mildness to the ascendency of Protestantism.

On the charge of forgery, which the Rev, Mr. Whitaker, in his Vindication of Mary Queen of Scots, says, is peculiar to Protestantism, we will here notice a case in the Book of Martyrs. More than six pages of this precious mass of lies are occupied with the pretended sufferings of a William Lithgow in Spain, who, it is stated, was a man of a good family and a great traveller. No date is given in the account, but we have now before us a work, published in 1692, and purporting to be the tenth edition of "Lithgow's Nineteen Years Travels through the most eminent places in the World, &c. also an Account of the Torture he suffered under the Spanish Inquisition, by racking, and other "'inhuman usages, for his owning the Protestant Religion. Together. "with his miraculous deliverances from the Cruelties of the Papists, " which far exceeded any of the Heathen countries herein largely de"scribed." Now by the author's own account, he appears to have visited every Catholic country in Italy, without meeting the least molesta-.. tion, and his arrest at Malaga was on suspicion of his being a spy, not on account of his religion. But the period of his travels (if he ever did travel, which we much doubt, and think the work a compilation from other works, written for the purpose of alarming the credu lous puritans of that day against Popery) took place when prejudice ran high against the Catholic faith, and there can be no doubt but it was written to gratify the credulity and prejudices of the English people. It is a beastly composition, abounding with obscenity and false