"Clause 9. I profess that it is a necessary and sacred duty to read mass for the dead, to give alms, and to pray. "Clause 10. I profess that the Roman Pope has power to change Holy Writ, to add to it, or to take away from it. "Clause 11. I profess that souls are purified after death in Purgatory, and that Holy Mass, duly offered up on their behalf by priests, has power to aid them in compassing salvation. "Clause 12. I profess that it is a good and blessed thing to partake of the Holy Communion in one kind, and that it is a heretical and damnable practice to partake of it in both kinds. "Clause 13. I profess that those partaking of the Holy Communion in one kind take in the whole Christ, flesh and blood, with his divinity; whereas those partaking of it in both kinds eat mere bread and drink mere wine. "Clause 14. I profess that there are seven Sacraments. "Clause 15. I profess that God is fittingly worshipped in images, and by means of them He is rendered intelligible to mankind. "Clause 16. I profess that the Holy Virgin Mary is the Queen of Heaven, that she reigns together with her Son, and that the Son must do as she pleases. "Clause 17. I profess that the Holy Virgin Mary ought to be more highly regarded, both by angels and men, than Christ, the Son of God. "Clause 18. I profess that there is great virtue in the bones of saints, for which reason they ought to be respected and have special chapels erected in their honour. The "Clause 19. I profess that the Roman Catholic faith is the pure, true, divine, and only saving faith; and that Lutheranism, which I abandoned of my own free will, is false, erroneous, blasphemous, accursed, heretic, prejudicial, rebellious, wicked, fictitious, and invented. Roman religion being thus thoroughly good and salutary, I curse all those who have instructed me in that godless and abominable heresy, which recommends the communion in both kinds. I curse my parents who brought me up in the heretic belief. I curse those who represented to me the Roman Catholic belief as doubtful and questionable. I curse those who offered me the accursed cup. Nay, I curse myself, and call myself accursed, for having partaken of that accursed, heretical cup, to drink of which I have no right. "Clause 20. I profess that Holy Writ is imperfect and a dead letter, unless interpreted by the Pope of Rome, and by him given to the laity. "Clause 21. I profess that a Mass offered up for souls by a Roman priest is more effective than a hundred sermons. I therefore curse all the books I have read containing heretical and blasphemous doctrines. I also curse all the works I have done while a heretic, so that they may not be regarded as meritorious, on the day of judgment. "All this I do of my own free will. I also affirm, by public abjuration of the heretical doctrine, in presence of the Rev. Fathers, learned Doctors, and of ladies, young men and women, that the Roman Catholic belief, as set forth in the above clauses, is the only true belief. "I promise that I will never return to the heretical doctrine of Communion in both kinds, although it may be in my power to do so. I likewise promise that while I have a drop of blood in my veins I will keep my son from that accursed doctrine; that I shall not permit him to be brought up in that belief by others, and that I will have him educated in this convent, so that he may be a servant of God. "I swear that I will persecute the accursed Lutheran doctrine openly, secretly, and unreservedly, by word and deed, not shrinking from the use of the sword. "I swear before God and his angels, as also before all those present, that I shall make no alteration in matters worldly or ecclesiastical; that I shall not deviate from the Roman Catholic faith, and that I shall never return to the accursed Protestant heresy. "In confirmation of my oath, I now receive the Holy Communion, and com. mit this my profession of faith, written and signed with my own hand, to the sacred records of the Church. "FRIEDRICH AUGUST, "Elector of Saxony. "Baden, near Vienna, July 2, 1697." This remarkable confession of Frederick Augustus II. was published for the first time in 1770 in the Hamburg Anti-Papistisches Journal, by the Rev. R. Fiedler, once a priest in the Augustine convent of Vienna, and subsequently a Protestant clergyman and deacon of the Lutheran Church in the Duchy of Mecklenburg. The above translation is taken from Forster's well-known work, The Courts and Cabinets of Europe in the Eighteenth Century (Die Hof und Gabinete Europa's im 18ten Jahrhundert, 3 vols., Potsdam, 1836-1839), who reprints from a manuscript in the Royal Library at Berlin. Strange as its contents may appear, it agrees in all points with the profession of faith of Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz, the Silesian articles of abjuration of 1628, and the so-called Hungarian Curse Catalogue. A complete list of these confessions may be found in Mohnike's History of the Professio fidei Tridentina (Geschichte der, etc.), Griefswald, 1823, and in Fiedler's Glaubenslehren der Romischen Kirche, Hamburg, 1771-74." WE heartily commend the subjoined statements to the consideration of our readers :— THE CONNEMARA ORPHANS' NURSERY Was established after the Famine of 1847 to rescue and receive the orphans of Galway and Mayo. It is now open to the whole of Ireland, subject to certain conditions:— 1. The children are to be trained in the principles of the Protestant Church of Ireland, and carefully taught the Holy Scriptures. 2. They must be entire orphans, without father or mother. 3. They cannot be admitted above the age of 12 years. The clergy of Ireland seeking for the admission of orphan children may communicate with the Rev. H. Cory, Rector of Clifden, Co. Galway. Subscriptions will be received by him, or at the office of the Irish Church Missions, 12, D'Olier Street, Dublin; also by Mr. Pasley, 11, Buckingham Street, Adelphi, London, W.C. THE AGRICULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF GALWAY-ROCKFIELD, BALLINAKILL, CONNEMARA. A RARE opportunity now presents itself to the friends of Ireland for doing good by assisting to educate and elevate a portion of the population in the West of that country. By the bequest of a kind friend, an excellent house, capable of accommodating forty boys, and standing on a farm of nearly 500 acres, has been purchased free of rent for ever. The object of the Institution, which is under the patronage of the Lord Bishop of Tuam, the Right Hon. and Rev. Lord Plunket, and Sir Arthur Cotton, and managed by a committee of some of the local clergy and gentry, of which the rector of the parish is chairman, is to give a sound scriptural, secular, and agricultural education to original Protestant and convert boys, and send them forth in life as trained agriculturists or high-class farm-servants, thereby placing them in a position of earning an independent livelihood. The institution has been already started, but to put it in full working order, the comparatively small sum of £300 is urgently required at once, when it is confidently expected that it will become self-supporting, or very nearly so. Subscriptions will be thankfully received, and information given, by Rev. Thos. H. Fleming (chairman of committee), Ballinakill Rectory, Clifden, Co. Galway; or Rev. H. C. Cory (member of committee), The Rectory, Clifden, Co. Galway. MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE. Galway.-Our work has been of much interest of late. One of our oldest agents paid a visit to his native place in Co. Clare, after an absence of over twenty years. He left it a bigoted Roman Catholic, and returned an intelligent Protestant. He was followed from church by a threatening mob; but instead of receiving injury, he was enabled after some time not only to give his reasons for leaving the Church of Rome, but to distribute a large number of distinctive tracts. We hope his visit may not be in vain if a spirit of inquiry is awakened. We have had an extensive Mission of four Vincentian Fathers to Galway. Thousands flocked to hear them and attend confessions. Outside the chief chapel, stalls were erected for the sale of scapulars, beads, books of the mission, etc. "I never saw such a scene before," said a lady; "all the mummery one might expect only in a heathen country." The first answer to one of the Readers-a priest standing by-well illustrates the effect of the Mission. "Visiting the stalls," he says, "I placed my hand on the Roman Catholic Bible, and said, "This is the best book of all, for it is the Holy Bible." A Roman Catholic answered, "Well, it is a very good book, but a dangerous one." So as with Satan of old, every grand truth had some doubt to accompany it. Jesus very good, but Salvation pro cured, heaven opened, eternal life offered, but- Thus terrified and bewildered, the slavery to the omnipotent dispenser of the Church's gifts- -the priest-is secured. Oh, for the Spirit's own presence to awaken to a present salvation. Notwithstanding the eagerness which seemed to be manifested on all sides to crowd the chapels during the stay of the Vincentian Fathers, there appears to be a strong feeling of dissatisfaction left in the minds of two very distinct classes in the community. One is the serious middle class, and the other the humble or lower class. Killery Mission.-The Rev. T. Clesham, the recently-appointed Missionary Incumbent, reports thus-"When I came here as a perfect stranger, the first thing that made an impression upon me was the number of children I found in attendance at the school. The schoolhouse was well filled with about fifty chil was sung with much earnestness and effect. On the following day, having heard that the Rev. H. C. Cory was coming to pay a visit to the school, about sixty children gathered in, and awaited with great patience and expectation his arrival. However, when it was told them he could not come, they seemed very much disappointed indeed; but on hearing that he would lecture in the schoolhouse in the evening, they cheered up, and many were in attendance long before the hour of meeting. I am thankful to say that the Irish Church Missions' teacher here is very painstaking and earnest in his work, and this, in a great measure, keeps up the school. There has been no Romish school here for a considerable time back, and feeling the power of the Mission School, the Romish priest is stirring himself, and is repairing a school for his flock at Leenane, and building a chapel half-way between this and the said place. The next matter of importance is the visiting from house to house, to speak to individuals about their souls, and on the fatal dangers of many of the teachings of the Church of Rome. To do this, in this vast district-taking Aasleagh as a centre, it has its radii seven miles-there is only one Agent of the Mission, and however excellent and earnest he is-and he is both-it is impossible to reach the large bodies of Roman Catholics who, far removed from priestly influence as yet, can be freely spoken to on the subjects relating to everlasting salvation. However, as far as I have been able to accompany your excellent Missionary Agent here, I can thankfully bear testimony to the free access he has amongst the Roman Catholics. He can speak almost to every one within a considerable distance from this place, and scarcely any have I heard say an unkind word to him. One poor man, who thought himself dying, said to him, "I am glad to see you once again before I die, and I give you my blessing for teaching me so much about my soul, and my Saviour." To this sickly Roman Catholic he had free liberty to pour in the oil of the gospel into his wounded spirit. A remarkable case came very recently under my own notice. One evening, as I was walking along the banks of the river Erriff, looking at its rapidly-flowing waters, and admiring the salmon disporting themselves at will, I was disturbed by a young woman driving a horse out of a field near me. In a short time I found her approaching me, and I began speaking to her till I drew her attention to religious subjects. "I think, sir,” she said, "you are the new clergyman of this place. Well, then," she continued, "I can speak my mind freely to you. I have read both Roman Catholic and Protestant Bibles, and I have really come to the conclusion, if the Bible be God's word, that our religion is wrong." I was sur prised at such an open and unexpected declaration, and I said, "Well, why do you go to Mass ?" "I only seldom go, and when I do, I never bow down to the images." She here repeated very accurately the Second Commandment. "The people in the chapel remark me, but I don't care- -God is also remarking me. I do not pray to saints or angels; it's no use; they can't hear us, and there is but one God, and one Mediator," quoting 1 Tim. ii. 5. "Nor do I confess to the priest, for God tells me, if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just," etc., quoting 1 John i. 8, 9. I was really delighted, and I walked along with her, and she told me she learnt the 100 texts long ago. "Then," I said, "you are not a Roman Catholic ?" "Indeed, I am not," she replied; "outwardly I am, but in my beart I am a Protestant, and when I leave this I will attend Protestant worship. I would be afraid to attend your church." I gave her a Bible a few days after, and promised to get her a Prayer-book also, that when she remains at home on Sundays, she can be reading her Bible and Prayer-book. I have had several conversations with her since, as also with her father, who is a man of fair intelligence. I must now conclude this by asking any one who reads the above to remember me and the Killery Mission at the throne of grace, that God may bless us here, and out of our great weakness bring glory to the name of Jesus; also that a few more Agents might be sent here, where Roman Catholics can be spoken to without let or hindrance. The Banner of the Truth in Ireland. APRIL 1, 1875. THE IMPENDING STRUGGLE. "And Great Babylon came in remembrance before GOD."— T is now twenty-six years since the Irish Church Missions commenced their open aggression upon the strongholds of Popery in Ireland. This warfare was commenced in prayer, in faith, and, above all, in love. The man with whom its plan originated was one in whom pre-eminently these three conditions of all true service in Christ's cause were conspicuous. All who knew Alexander Dallas, knew this of him. The position which he assumed was this-that although Popery professes the greater part of gospel truth, that profession is intermixed and overlaid with such perversions of it, that, like as when the sun is obscured by fogs and mists, the daylight is scarcely visible, so the pure transparency of the gospel is hidden beneath the gloom of these errors. And the conclusion to which he came was, that a soul, looking for salvation to those errors, cannot be saved. That the Irish Church Missions have been laid on these lines, and religiously carried out upon them, may be fearlessly proclaimed to the world. The regular readers of THE BANNER will not need to be told this, nor will they need to be assured that the prayer, the faith, and the love of Alexander Dallas, and his coadjutors, have, during these years, effected something. The pages of this humble periodical bear witness to that. The Irish Church Missions have shaken Ireland, however it may suit the politician or the mere polemic to ignore them. It can no longer be denied that the ancient terror of the priest is not what it was, nor can it be concealed that, on all sides, the Roman Catholic who |