Are the Irish Bishops more learned than the whole College of Cardinals were, at a time when there was more solid learning centred in that College than ever was before, and perhaps than ever will be again? and that too, when there is actually so much less learning amongst the Irish Bishops than ever was known before, that feeling themselves unequal to the task of refuting Columbanus, they are compelled to hire an Advocato del diavolo, hoping peradventure, that he may chance to give some colour of justice, if possible, to the novelty of their usurpations!

13. Countrymen, if ever any end is to be put to the unhappy Religious Dissentions, which so often, and so fatally, interrupt the tranquility, and impede the prosperity of our native land,

of his sycophant brother. Hist. Eccl. t. 3, p. 118, and proves from the 14th and 15th Canons of Antioch, the 3d, 4th, and 7th of Sardis, and hundreds of others, that Episcopal jurisdiction must be exercised Canonically, or be null and void.

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it must be by some equitable, charitable, and rational method, such as the Canonical rules of church government, which I thus venture to submit to you, so manifestly prescribe. Such a desirable object can never be attained by blind submission to the will of an individual, who aims at governing Millions by Imperial Caprice; that was the species of government which overturned the established religion of Europe in the 15th century; it was the government of the Borgias, of Alexander VI, and of Julius II. It shook the whole system of Europe in the Medicean Pontificates of the 16th century. Be assured that it will not, it cannot do in the 19th.

14. If ever England and Scotland are to be united in one faith, it must be by restoring to the College of Priests, the Deans and Chapters, their original rights, in due canonical subordination to Episcopacy.-If this were done, is it to be supposed that such a plodding, such a thinking people as the Scotch, could object to have Bishops at the head of their Presbyteries, instead of temporal Moderators and

Chairmen, who exercise the Episcopal power, under another appellation ?*

15. It may be objected, indeed, that Priests being inferiors, ought not to vote in Councils where Bishops are accused.--But this objection vanishes, when we consider that Bishops are tried in Provincial Councils, which are composed of the first and second order, where the Metropolitan has a casting voice; and that therefore they are not put on their trial before any inferior Tribunal.

• "Moderate Episcopacy, says Hammond, with a standing "assistant Presbytery, as it will satisfy the desires of those "whose pretensions are regular and moderate, so it will be

that, which all parties can best tolerate." Treatise on the power of the Keys.-King Charles I, who was a steady friend to Episcopacy, after declaring his firm conviction that it is of Divine origin, in his Pourtraicture, § 171, adds-" not that "I am against the managing of this presidency and authority "in one Man, by the joint counsel and consent of many Pres"byters. I have offered to restore that, as a fit means to "avoid those errors, corruptions, and partialities, which are "incident to any one Man; also to avoid Tyranny, which becomes no Christians, least of all Churchmen. Besides it "will be a means to take away that burden and odium of "affairs, which may lie too heavy for one Man's shoulders, as "I think it formerly did on Bishops here." Compare his Eikon Bas. Hague 1648, p. 141, 166,

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Of a Synod of 90 Bishops, where Privatus a Bishop was condemned, and of another where Jovinus, Maximus, and Fortunatus, were also condemned, S. Cyprian expressly says, "if we

compute the numbers of those who past "judgment upon them last year, with the "Priests and Deacons, there were more present "at that judgment, than now seem to be in "their whole party." Other instances may be seen below.*

The truth is, that the subordination which every Priest owes to his Bishop, has been misinterpreted into an absolute subjection, which is repugnant to the spirit, and hostile to the most venerable laws of the Christian church.

* "Si eorum, qui de illis priore anno judicaverunt, numerus "cum Presbyteris et Diaconis computetur, plures tunc affu"erunt judicio et cognitioni, quam sunt iidem isti, qui cum "Fortunato nunc videntur esse conjuncti." S. Cypr. Ep. 55.

Matthew of Westminster calls the council of Winchester convened against A. Bishop Stigand, in 1070, " a Council of the whole Church of England." So does Rudborn. Abbots and diverse orders attended in the Council of Windsor 1072, also in S. Lanfranc's of 1075-6, in that of 1125, 1129, in all of which Bishops were put on their trials. See the Stowe MS. of Saxon Councils, Spelman, and Wilkins.

The councils which order Priests to be subordinate to Bishops, order Bishops to be subordinate to Metropolitans; but does it follow from the superiority of Metropolitans over Suffragans, that Suffragans cannot sit in councils, or discuss, judge, and decide on articles of faith or Discipline? and if it does not, how can an argument, which is so defective in point of form and of fact, be tolerated with respect to the second order, which cannot be borne with respect to the first ?*-I beg leave to refer to Dupin's words in a subsequent note page 103, where the doctrine of the Galican Church on this subject is satisfactorily explained.

May the spirit of God, instead of the spirit of dominion, govern those, who, having it now in their power to give good example--by restoring the Discipline of Christianity-can contribute to restore to us Irish our National Church; adopting a model of Church

See Dupin, du Gouvernement des Dioceses en commun, par les Eveques et les Cures.. Biblioth. des Auteurs du 18me. Siecle t. 1, p. 415, a Paris 1736.