Columbanus's Historical assertions relative to the nomination of Bishops verified.

Oh! But Columbanus has denied that the nomination of Bishops is essential to the Pope's Primacy. Yes--he has-and he denies it again and again and he adds that the Irish Bishops were always elected by the Irish Clergy, with the approbation of their Chiefs, and without any interference or even knowledge of Rome, down to the English Invasion in the 12th Century; nor was the confirmation ever asked for, until Henry 11. bartered the Irish liberties for the Pope's consent to his usurpation of Ireland; nor was the Pope's consent or approbation required, even after the English Conquest, in those parts of Ireland to which the English authority did not extend, ( 18 ) The Irish Annals uniformly state that our Bishops were appointed" ar togaidh tuaith acus Eccailsi,' i. e. by the choice of the Chiefs and of the Clergy; and when the Danish Princes of Ireland, were converted by their intercourse with natives, they adopted the native mode of Election, with this only difference, that, fearing any dependence on the Primate of Ireland, they chose rather to have their Bishops consecrated in England, or in Norway, a circumstance of which the Irish Primates, Celsus and Gildas most bitterly complained. (19)

(18) The Pope's Legate's jurisdiction extended in the reign of Edw. 1, only to those parts of Ireland over which the English dominion extended, as in Columbanus No. 2.

(19) Appendix, No. 1.

Does this come new to Irish readers? If it does, then it will follow that they are unacquainted with the most leading facts of their own History So open their eyes on this subject, I refer them to the very form of election, an original Document, which may be seen at the end of these sheets.

But is it necessary to go so far back? Is it not very well known, that the elections by Dean and Chapter, continued down to the reign of Elizabeth; and that she abolished them, as noticed by Hume in his very first chapter of that reign? Is it not very well known that one of the wisest Acts of the General Council of Basil for restraining the unlimited power which was arrogated by the Court of Rome, was the celebrated Act of the 12th Session of that Council, De Electionibus Episcoporum?

The Fathers of that Council had observed that two sorts of abuses had prevailed-1st. that Princes had made themselves masters of those elections, so that they were managed at the pleasure of the Court, and that men were, by court intrigue, promoted, either thro' Simoniacal bargains, or by servile compliance;2dly. that they were purchased by similar intrigues, by provisions from the court of Rome.-Therefore the Council decreed-Sess.--12.-

"That those to whom the right of election belonged, should meet with great previous preparations, and take an oath to God, that they would choose him, whom they thought likely to be the most profitable; and that they "ould not give their voices for any person that had, as

far as they knew, either made any promise or present, or used any entreaties by themselves or others, directly or indirectly, to get themselves to be chosen; and they most earnestly exhorted all Princes and States not to write to the Electors in favour of any that had, either by themselves or by others, made suit for obtaining such letters, and much less should they use any menaces by which the freedom of Election might be restrained."

How then can any man venture in the light of the 19th Century, to pretend, after such a decrce of a general Council, that the Pope's nomination to Bishopricks is essential to the Primacy. I have already stated from Natalis Alexander, and from Bossuet, that nothing is essential to the Pope's Primacy, as head of the Church, but his power of enforcing Canons of revealed faith and general Discipline throughout the whole extent, of the Catholic Church, a power to which no other Bishop can fairly pretend. (20)

Whilst the General Council of Basil was sitting, a National Council of all the Clergy of France assembled at Bourges in 1438, received 37 Articles of reform of Abuses, the 4th of which was the above decree concerning Elections; all were considered, and received without one dissentient voice; and the Dauphin, and the Princes of the Blood, and chief Nobility attending soon after, in the same National assembly of Bourges, there, and then was enacted the famous Pragmatical sanction, of which that 4th Article formed the Basis; nor was any alteration made in it, except with respect to the clause forbidding the recommendation (20) See Columbanus, No. 1, page 80, &c.

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of Princes, which was thus qualified: That it is not reprehensible if the King or the Princes, should use gentle means and intercessions for the promotion of deserving persons, provided they forbear menaces of every sort."- Lewis the 12th, issued a perpetual Edict in favour of this arrangement, or sanction, in 1499.

And now let me ask were those men hereticks? Did they deny the Pope's Supremacy, because they would not allow him to nominate to French Sees? Were the Irish hereticks down to the 12th century, because forsooth they elected and consecrated their own Bishops without any communication whatever with Rome? Countrymen be not governed by Religious cries-they are the folly of the many for the designs of a few.

Religion is not to be governed by cries, but by cool inquiry, calm and deliberate debate.

The first Archbishop of Armagh who was advanced to that See by Papal provision was Eogan mac Gillividir in 1206. The pretext for the Pope's interference was owing to a contested election; a considerable party of the Clergy had declared for Simon Rochfort, Bishop of Meath; another party had declared for Ralph le Petit, Archdeacon of Meath; and a 3d. for Humphrey Tickhul— King John seeing each party claim the election, to put an end to the contest, declared for Tickhull; but the Pope also availed himself of the opportunity and nominated a new Candidate Eogan, to set aside all three. Enraged at this interference the

King sent mandatory letters to the suffragan Bishops, May 23, 1202, forbidding them to acknowledge Eogan. Five years had elapsed before either of the Candidates could get possession, when Eogan went to the Court of England to sue for the King's favour, which he finally obtained in 1207, having paid 300 Marks of Silver and 3 Marks of Gold, for the temporalites of his See.

Henceforth three interests were to be consulted; that of the Electors, which had always existed as a sine qua non; that of the Irish Chiefs, which had now merged in the crown, as far as the English Pale extended; and this new interest claimed by the Pope, which was rather acquiesced in, than acknowledged by the Irish people.

Whenever an Election wes litigated, one party recurred to the King, another to the Pope, and on such occasions the Pope would claim plenitude of power, which however was unknown in Ireland before; and he would often set aside the Canonical elections of the native Clergy, to send his own Creatures, sometimes Foreigners who were ignorant of the language and usages of the Country, and most commonly English-men, to govern Irish Sees!