Daily National Intelligencer

CATHOLICS VINDICATED.

FROM THE STAR OF FEDERALISM.

Mr. Editor—I saw in one of your late papers an extract from a Portsmouth, (Eng.) paper, wherein is related a story called very singular, though not singular except on account of its malicious fabrication.

I should leave unnoticed such a palpable story, had I not seen it circulated in a great number of newspapers, and heard many uncharitable reflections on the Catholics by the generality of people: it is true that such a story is refuted by itself among thinking and unprejudiced people, as it has no other authenticity than an anonymous letter received in England from Brest in France: no name of the priest, nor of the man that requested to be visited in his last sickness; no time, besides, when it happened; still the story is colored with a kind of appearing publicity; as the prefect had all these men safely in prison, (says the story); but the generality of people are not upon their guard against such fabrications written in English newspapers; and in a great many English writers, such as Hume, Robertson, &c. who are wonderful in fabricating similar or worse stories on the Catholics for more than 200 years, misrepresenting thus their religious tenets, in order to find motives of persecution. The famous and malicious gunpowder plot is one among many others more remarkable for its deep malice; it is now generally admitted among unprejudiced and intelligent people to be a mere fabrication of the wicked Cecil, minister of James the first. Many learned protestant writers are candid enough to acknowledge it, with Catholics; gunpowder plot, says Rev. Higgons, was hammered in the forge of Cecil, who intended to have produced it in the time of Elizabeth; (short view of English history): see Osborne's history of James the first; See also the Political Grammar. Many Catholic priests and laity have been put to death on that account; and what is worse is that the English nation even rejoiced every year on the 5th of November, and Catholics were stamped from the pulpit all through the kingdom as traitors, and with every kind of bitter accusation, poisoning by this means the mind of the people against Catholics, on a fact that never existed but in the contrivance of the minister of the king; still no newspaper dared to refute these malicious stories. In Scotland similar tricks were used against Mary in the beginning of the reformation; (see Whittaker's Vindication and other protestant writers, Goodall, Stewart, Tytler.)—In process of time some one or other story has been renewed till our days, to keep up their persecution, and to continue the bitter prejudices against Catholics, (see Milner's letters to D. Sturges, chaplain to the king of England) We see, unfortunately, too many of their friends in this free country, who, (through information not correct, and not by malice I hope) are zealous to circulate such stories against Catholics, and make their comments on them; but we hope that newspapers of this independent country will be more liberal than in England; and if we are misrepresented or abused falsely in public print, therein will also appear our rectification, when the matter requires,

A CATHOLIC.