SECTION A complete toleration of Ca contemplation of James. Rose, p. 83. "not be content, except that power should enable "him to establish the Catholic worship throughout "his dominions." Mr. Rose acknowledges that James's conduct became tholics only in more bold, as he felt his power increase, and observes that the Parliament having not shewn much concern, or jealousy at the King's having gone publicly to mass, or at the disclosure of his brother having died a Catholic, "he thought he might take measures of "a much more decisive nature.' And it is upon contemplation of these measures, and the evidence from the French correspondence, that Mr. Rose finds it impossible to agree with Mr. Fox, and takes upon himself to prove that the earliest intention of James, "after his accession, was to go much further than "to obtain merely a toleration for his own religion." Ib. p. 84. Fox, p. 78. It may be suspected that Mr. Rose has misunderstood the meaning of the expression, used by Mr. Fox, who says, "it is by no means certain that he "had yet thought of obtaining for it" (i. e. the Catholic religion) any thing more than a complete "toleration." For Mr. Rose drops the word complete when he states the proposition he means to disprove. Mr. Fox is speaking of a toleration of religious opinions, unattended with any civil tests, or disqualifications. Mr. Rose may have in contemplation a toleration of SECTION III. a more confined nature, and much of his argument will, then, be irrelevant to the subject in dispute. This observation applies most strongly to the first proof produced, namely, the determination of James to dispense with the penal laws, and give commissions in the army to Catholic officers; for the suspension of those laws was necessary in order to render the toleration of Catholics complete; and therefore without militating against the opinion of Mr. Fox, it may be conceded, that this was one of the objects of James at his accession to the throne. This renders it unnecessary to examine the acts in Acts of James England, or Scotland, enumerated by Mr. Rose; their Scotland. tendency being to shew, that James to shew, that James was struggling only for a complete toleration for the Catholics, and that Mr. Fox is perfectly correct in what he has stated. With respect to the transactions of the King in Ireland, which took place before the Revolution, the same answer may be given; for not one of those manifested a will to change the established religion of the country. Mr. Rose seems not to be aware of this distinction, or not to have recollected that the intention of James, immediately after his accession, cannot be inferred, from measures, to which he fruitlessly had recourse after his abdication, to extricate himself from difficulties, and replace himself upon the in England and In Ireland. SECTION Barillon s correspondence proves James had only in throne. The period, to which Mr. Fox's observation more particularly alludes, is between James's accession, and the execution of Monmouth, after which, intoxicated with success, it may be admitted, that he extended his views to objects, which he had not ventured to contemplate before. With these short remarks, we shall dismiss the consideration of the conduct of the King in England, view a complete Scotland, and Ireland, and the numerous facts detailed by Mr. Rose, upon which, as he says, toleration. Rose, p. 98. "The proof that James's principal object was the firm "establishment of his own religion throughout his "dominions, might safely be rested," and proceed to the correspondence of Barillon, upon which it seems both the contending parties principally rely. Mr. Fox however only refers to it generally; Mr. Rose cites passages out of several letters, which he supposes to contradict Mr. Fox's general inference, and it will, therefore, be most convenient to examine the import of Mr. Rose's quotations, presuming that if they fail to shew its fallacy, Mr. Fox's hypothesis is well founded. But it may be necessary first to observe, that Mr. Rose seems to be misled in the judgment, he has formed of the effect of this correspondence, by his not having attended to the meaning of the French word" êtablissement.' A system of religion is denominated an "establishment," or "an established re "church," when it is selected by the governing power, declared to be the religion of the state, and endowed with exclusive privileges, and revenues, but a toleration, also may be said to be established when it is secured by the legal exercise of the King's prerogative, or an act of the legislative power, And in the course of our examination of the correspondence, it will be apparent that the establishment alluded to on all sides, with reference to the Catholic religion, was not the substitution of it for the national church, but a complete toleration for its professors.* SECTION III. The first letter, of the 19th February, 1685, cited Rose, p. 98. by Mr. Rose, would be alone decisive. It was written immediately after Barillon's first interview with James upon the death of his brother, and James is stated to have said, that "he knew well that he should never "be in safety, unless liberty of conscience for them In this manner the French verb " etablir" was used in the Histoire de l'edit de Nantes, articles agreed upon at Flex in 1580, between the Duke of Anjou, Vol. I. App. P. and the King of Navarre, and deputies of the reformed religion. 55. By the 6th article, the selection of a place," pour y etablir l'ex"ercise de leur dite religion," was submitted under certain conditions to the King. And section the ninth of the Edict of Nantes Ib. p. 66. begins thus. "Nous permettons aussi a ceux de la dite religion, faire "et continuer l'exercise d'icelles en toutes les villes et lieux de notre obeissance, ou il etoit par eux etabli, & fait publiquement, par "plusieurs et diverses fois en l'annee," &c. U SECTION Rose, P. 99. "should be fully established in England, that it was "to that he meant wholly to apply himself, as soon "as he should see a possibility." James had not, at this time, courage to pledge himself to obtain, or even to attempt to obtain liberty of conscience for the Catholics, he doubted the possibility of compassing it, but he was perfectly assured that it was a step necessary for his own safety. Does he feel the love of the Catholic religion as the first motive of action? as the governing principle of his mind? No such thing, his own safety was next his heart, and a toleration of the Catholics so far as to allow them the free exercise of their religion, only an expedient for securing it. In a letter, (from which Mr. Rose has made two short extracts), dated 5th March, a few days after Fox, App. xliv. James had gone for the first time publicly to mass, Barillon says, that some persons were so discontented with the King's having taken that step, as to have entertained great suspicions of what was to happen in future, and feared that a design was formed to ruin the Protestant religion, and tolerate only the Catholic; but this he treats as a project so difficult in the execution, not to say impossible, that sensible people have no apprehensions of it. Having dismissed that supposition as too wild, he ministers as exerting themselves to convince reasonable describes the King and his |