tures of silk, velvet, paper, and other commodities, flourish? The King of Sardinia will suffer no idle hands in his territories, no beggar to live by the sweat of another's brow; it has even been made penal at Turin, to relieve a strolling beggar. To which I might add, that the person, whose authority will be of the greatest weight with you, even the Pope himself, is at this day endeavouring to put new life into the trade and manufactures of his country.

Though I am in no secret of the court of Rome, yet I will venture to affirm, that neither pope, nor cardinals, will be pleased to hear, that those of their communion are distinguished, above all others, by sloth, dirt, and beggary; or be displeased at your endeavouring to rescue them from the reproach of such an infamous distinction.

The case is as clear as the sun; what we urge is enforced by every motive that can work on a reasonable mind. The good of your country, your own private interest, the duty of your function, the cries and distresses of the poor, do with one voice call for your assistance. And if it is on all hands allowed to be right and just, if agreeable both to reason and religion, if coincident with the views both of your temporal and spiritual superiors, it is to be hoped this address may find a favourable reception, and that a zeal for disputed points will not hinder your concurring to propagate so plain and useful a doctrine, wherein we are all agreed.

When a leak is to be stopped, or a fire extinguished, do not all hands co-operate without distinction of sect or party? Or if I am fallen into a ditch, shall I not suffer a man to help me out, until I have first examined his creed? Or when I am sick, shall I refuse the physic, because my physician doth or doth not believe the pope's supremacy?

Fas est et ab hoste doceri. But, in truth, I am no ene

my to your persons, whatever I may think of your tenets. On the contrary, I am your sincere well-wisher. I consider you as my countrymen, as fellow-subjects, as professing belief in the same Christ. And I do most sincerely wish, there was no other contest between us but Who shall most completely practise the precepts of him by whose name we are called, and whose disciples we all profess to be.

LETTER

TO THE

ROMAN CATHOLICS

OF THE

DIOCESS OF CLOYNE.

PUBLISHED IN THE LATE REBELLION, A. D. 1745.

1

LETTER, &c.

1

MY COUNTRYMEN AND FELLOW-SUBJECTS,

NOTWITHSTANDING the differences of our religious opinions, I should be sorry to be wanting in any instance of humanity or good neighbourhood to any of you. For which reason I find myself strongly inclined, at this critical juncture, to put you in mind, that you have been treated with a truly Christian lenity under the present government; that your persons have been protected, and your properties secured by equal laws; and that it would be highly imprudent as well as ungrateful to forfeit these advantages, by making yourselves tools to the ambition of foreign princes, who fancy it expedient to raise disturbances among us at present, but as soon as their own ends are served, will not fail to abandon you, as they have always done.

Is it not evident, that your true interest consists in lying still, and waiting the event, since Ireland must necessarily follow the fate of England; and that therefore prudence and policy prescribe quiet to the Roman catholics of this kingdom, who in case a change of hands should not succeed, after your attempting to bring it about, must then expect to be on a worse foot than ever?

But we will suppose it succeeds to your wish. What then? Would not this undermine even your own inte