On perusing Sir John C. Hippisley's pamphlet, we were convinced that the leading positions in it were obtained from Doctor Milner, not only because similar ones are to be found in his History of Winchester, and in his Ecclesiastical Democracy Detected; but because the Honourable Baronet frequently panegyrises him, boasts of his intimacy, and calls him his loyal friend, and the Doctor repays him, with an abundance of flattery. He even goes so far, in p. 50, as to defend his "Case of Conscience solved," written by his pious and learned preceptor. Sir John says, in p. 48, "the bull of Pius V. never was received or considered as binding on the consciences of the Queen's (Elizabeth's) catholic subjects. It was founded on no principle of doctrine, or admissible principle of the Romish church. The Queen's catholic subjects defended her person and throne, and the thunders of the Vatican were spent in air." "Gregory XIIIth, his successor, expressly declared it was not binding on the English catholics." Doctor Milner in p. 248 of his Ecclesiastical Democracy, says: "For I have demonstrated, that the whole catholic body adhered to their allegiance, and that the Jesuits and seminary priests, no less than those of Mary's reign, on the scaffold itself, acknowledged the Queen's titles, in opposition to the bull of Pius V. which relating to a civil concern*, they were at liberty to disobey; and that even their instructions from Rome itself were, not to concern themselves with this or with any political affair." In p. 193 of this work, the Doctor says the same, and "that at the request of Allen and the first Jesuits, the bull was virtually recalled by the succeeding pontiff, Gregory XIII." Of the various treasonable conspiracies and assassination plots, which were produced by that bull against the government and the life of that princess, we shall adduce but the following, to prove how egregiously the Honourable Baronet has been deceived by his pious preceptor. Pius V. published this bull against Elizabeth in the year 1569, in which he excommunicated her, declared her title to the crown void, and absolved her subjects from their oaths of allegiancet. We defy Dr. Milner, or his disciple, to prove, that this pope sent any instructions to his votaries, in order to abate the treasonable and sanguinary orders contained in that bull, or requiring them not to interfere in any political concern. On the contrary, we shall incontestibly demonstrate, from the *We request the reader will observe, that Dr. M. declares excommunicating the Queen, pronouncing her deposed, absolving her subjects from their allegiance, and invoking them to rise in arms against her, a civil concern. + Camden, p. 427. NO, CXXVI. VOL. XXXI. 24 writers of this pope's life*, that he studiously endeavoured, as soon as he was seated in the pontifical chair, to have her deposed and murdered. In the year 1568, he persuaded one Roberto Ridolphit, a Florentine by birth, who had lived some years in London, as a merchant, to stir up the English papists to rebel against the Queen, for the purpose of propagating the popish religion. He also promised to defray the expenses of the war, and advanced him one hundred thousand crowns for promoting that design. All this was done before any papist had been called in question on account of religion, since her accession to the throne. This was confirmed by Bzovius their champion, who acknowledged, that no persons suffered during her reign, but those who maintained the pope's power to depose kings. Next year, viz. 1569, the better to effect his designs, he sent Nicholas Morton, D. D. into England, to fan the flame of rebellion, which was on the point of breaking out, and for that purpose to absolve her subjects from their allegiance, and to denounce her as an excommunicated heretic. This negociation had the desired effect; for the same year a dreadful rebellion was raised by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, at the head of 600 horse and 4000 infantry, and who declared that the object of their rising was the restoring the religion of their ancestors, and the removal of evil counsellors. The two earls having by letters announced to the pope the zeal with which they were proceeding to propagate their religion, he, elate at the intelligence, publicly declared, that, if necessary, he would go in person to assist in the rebellion, and would in that service engage all the goods of the apostolic see S. Thuanus, a Roman catholic historiant, of great veracity, acknowledges that long before this, Pius V. had been secretly plotting against Elizabeth; but finding that all his malignant schemes,hitherto conducted with secrecy, had been discovered, he the same year, boldly and without disguise, published his famous bull, Damnatio et Excommunicatio Eliza.; and a desperate fanatic of the name of Felton, posted it up at the Bishop of London's * De medio tollere cogitab. Anto. Gabutius Vita Pii V. lib. 3, c. 9. + Camden, p. 146; Udall's History of Mary Queen of Scotland, p. 119 and 69; V. Girolamo Catona Vita del Pio V. p. 113. Secular Priests important Considerations, London, 1675, p. 57, V. G. Catena, p. 116. Idem, p, 53. Abr. Bzovius, de Rom. Pontif. c. 46, p. 621. Saaders de Visib. Eccl. Monarch. Wittisburgi, 1502, p. 706. If Chapter 46. palace, for which he suffered capitally. When brought to his trial, he avowed this nefarious action, defended it as meritorious, and embraced the crown of martyrdom, for which he appears to have had a violent ambition. He suffered in the 12th year of her reign; and as he is the first pious martyr* whom the Romish pretended martyrologists put down as having devoted his life for the good of the holy catholic faith, the reader may deduce from it the mildness of the government in their proceedings against popish traitors and rebels. While the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland were in open rebellion, Pius V. wrote them a letter †, to encourage them to persevere, dated the 20th of February, 1570. In p. 288 of our 28th volume, we gave a copious extract from that epistle, which completely refutes Doctor M.'s assertions that the English papists opposed the bull, and that they received instructions from Rome itself, not to interfere with any political concern. In the same page of that volume we also proved, that Gregory XIII. instead of denying that the bull of his predecessor Pius V. was binding on the English catholics, virtually confirmed it, by granting them a dispensation for a rigid observance of it; but he granted it only till they were powerful enough to rise and rebel against her t. Besides, he issued a bull dated the 13th of May, 1580, in substance the same as that published by Pius V. addressed to the Queen's Irish subjects. In 1571 the Duke of Norfolk entered into a new conspiracy, for which he suffered. This, and a former one, in which he engaged, were made in concert with the Duke of Alva, the Spanish governor of the Low Countries, and were to have been supported by an invasion from that quarter. Alva was at that time exercising dreadful cruelties in these provinces, by which he drove their inhabitants into rebellion; and when he quitted that government in 1579, he boasted that he had delivered eighteen thousand heretics into the hands of the executioner. The execrable massacre at Paris took place in 1572; and it appeared that the great catholic powers of Europe had entered into a conspiracy for extirpating the protestant religion§; and as Elizabeth was regarded at that time as the bulwark of it, she was the peculiar object of their enmity. Throckmorton's conspiracy, *Foulis's Hist. p. 418. Pio V. Epist. Apost, p. 290. Antwerp. 1640, ex officina Plantiniana, ed. F. Gaubou. It is remarkable, that in this letter he bids them imitate the example of (that early rebel) Thomas a Becket, and neither for menace or dangers to desist. Speed, 871. Davila, lib. iii. p. 163. Lond. ed. concerted with Spain, was discovered in 1584; and Parry's against the Queen's life in 1585. This last was encouraged by Palmio a Jesuit, Campeggio a nuncio, Como a cardinal, and pope Gregory XIII * Babington's conspiracy against the Queen's life took place in 1586. John Paynet, a priest, formed a conspiracy to assassinate the Queen, in which he was to have been assisted by fifty bravoes. Speed observes on this, "These and such are the men that are made martyrs on the pope's bead-roll." Great numbers of Jesuits and other missionaries were constantly sent into England, to inspire the Queen's subjects with detestation of her as a heretic, devoted to perdition, and to encourage them to execute the papal sentence against her. In 1588, Philip equipped his invincible armada, and Sextus V. seconded the enterprise with all his spiritual authority. He renewed the bulls of Pius V. and Gregory XIII. against Elizabeth: he excommunicated her, dethroned her, absolved her subjects from their allegiance, published a crusade against her, and granted plenary indulgence to all those who should contribute to its success. Although pope Clement VIII. published another bull against her, in the year 1600, of much the same tenor, and though the popes, his predecessors, issued a great number of them, from the 11th to the 17th century, tending to promote treason and rebellion, assassinations and massacres, of which we gave many instances in p. 282 of our 28th volume, Sir John C. H. in p. 48 of his pamphlet, says of the bull of Pius V., “it was merely the assumption of an intemperate and misjudging individual, acted upon, the animosity of the Queen's inveterate enemy, the King of Spain.” The Doctor, in page 181 of his Ecclesiastical Democracy, says thus of Queen Elizabeth: " as the celebrated Camden, who Speed, page 873. + Idem, page 871. The Pope's absolution was found on his per son. ‡ Doctor Milner, in his History of Winchester, Vol. ii. note 1. p. 387, assures us, that "the body of the English catholics, instead of receiving the papal bull of excommunication and dethronement, positively rejected it. They knew how to acknow. ledge the spiritual supremacy of the bishop of Rome, without ascribing to him one atom of temporal authority." In page 17 of his defence of Sir John C. H.'s pamphlet, Dr. Milner says: "No subjects of any other description ever displayed such firm and heroic loyalty, as the British catholics did, during the whole of Elizabeth's reign; particularly at her taking possession of the throne, at Northumberland's revolt, at the publication of the bull, and when the nation was threatened by the Spanish armada.” wrote the history of her life, remarks, she was made sensible at the beginning of her reign, that it was all over with her, if the power of the pope who had twice decided on the illegiti macy of her birth, was admitted to remain in any shape whatsoever:" and this the Doctor observes was the reason of her having the oath of supremacy passed. Independent of the conduct of the popes for some centuries, in denouncing and raising rebellions against sovereign princes, who did not acknowledge their supremacy, she had a strong proof of what she was to expect from the holy see. Paul IV. at that time filled the pontifical chair, who, as Father Paul tells us, "never talked to ambassadors, without thundering in their ears, that he was superior to all princes; that he would admit none of them to a footing of familiarity with him; that it was in his power to change kingdoms; and that he was successor of those who deposed kings and emperors." Con. Trent, lib. v. p. 384. When her ambassador notified her accession to this furious old pontiff, he told him, "that England was a fief of the holy see, that being illegitimate, she could not inherit it; that it was an act of high audacity in her, to assume the title and government without his consent; that he could not annul the decisions of Clement VII. and Paul III. on that subject: that she did not deserve any regard from him to her pretensions; but that if she renounced them, and submitted her case entirely to him, he would do every thing that could be done, consistently with the dignity of the apostolic see." Ibid. lib. v. p. 398. On this Elizabeth recalled her ambassador, and, without regarding this arrogant pontiff, proceeded to settle her government. Doctor Milner, in p. 178 of his Ecclesiastical Democracy, Detected, speaks thus of the traitors who suffered for high treason in Elizabeth's reign," those holy men, no less than constant martyrs, whom catholics, in every part of the church, have looked upon with such high veneration;" and in p. 184 he calls them," saint-like personages." In p. 185 of the same, he speaks thus of them and the government who punished them: "It is true, that their persecutors, in imitation of the apostate Julian, used all their artifices to obscure the cause of these martyrs' death, by alleging that they suffered not on account of their religion, but for treason." He then subjoins, the following blasphemous note, indicating, that those traitors, like the primitive Christians, suffered for the sake of their redeemer. "Hoc unum apostata studet, vim facere, et fuisse videri nolle ut qui Christo moriebantur, tanquam facinerosi pluti et puniri videntur." St. Greg. Nazi. contra Jul. We shall show the reader the grounds on which Doctor |