* ' "4.
THE LIF
OF THE
f
0p
BISHOP OF CASTABALA,
VICAR APOSTOLIC OF THE MIDLAND DISTRICT OF ENGLAND,
F.S.A. LONDON, AND CATH. ACAD. ROME.
BY
F. C. HUSENBETH, D.D., V.G.,
of |toribampton.
A0ANA2IO2 TJ/JUV ews irap^v, 6 2TTAO5 TT}? EKK\T)ffias.
Atlumasius, while he wai with ut, wot the pillar of the Church.
8. GRBO. NAZ., Orat. de S. Athan.
DUBLIN:
JAMES DUFFY, WELLINGTON-QUAY;
LONDON: 22, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1862.
DUBLIN :
||rinitbf bg Ipoon anb Dj
2, CRA31PTON-QUAY.
PREFACE,
THE author of this biography did not engage in it
till after many solicitations. He strongly felt the
difficulty and delicacy of the undertaking ; and as
strongly, his own inability for its accomplishment. But
at length he considered that he ought no longer to
resist the importunities of those, to whom he owed
respect and deference, and from whom he was sure to
receive aid and encouragement. DR. MILNER'S con
temporaries had nearly all passed away : the author
alone seemed left to write his history : and it was
strongly urged upon him as most important, that the
features of his character should be caught from one of
the few remaining who had known him intimately,
before it should be too late.
Some, however, may think that it is even now too
early to write his life impartially, and estimate dis
passionately the peculiar transactions in which he was
involved. But DR. MILNER has himself answered this
objection by anticipation. Writing in the year 1818,
he did indeed deprecate a too early publication of any
detailed memoirs of Catholic affairs which had occupied
the previous thirty years ; but at the same time, he ob-
VI PREFACE.
served that after the lapse of thirty years more, it might
be done safely ; for by that time, " the passions of all
persons immediately concerned in them would have
cooled in the grave."* Now, more than forty years
have elapsed since that time ; and MILNER himself
would not now deem it too early to write his history,
and record the transactions inseparable from it. It
has been the writer's study, however, in this biography
to confine himself to fact, and refrain from sentiment ;
and while recording transactions, to leave the reader to
draw his own conclusions.
It is a proverb that " old men and travellers lie by
authority ;" but the writer has never claimed his pri
vilege on either ground. He has penned nothing in
these pages but what either he himself could vouch
for, or what rested on indisputable authority. Wher
ever it was practicable, he has enlivened the history
with pleasant narratives ; and has preserved in the
last three chapters many anecdotes, adventures, say
ings and doings of DR. MILNER, which could not
appropriately have found place in the body of the
work.
The writer has always considered that justice has
never yet been done to the character of the great MIL
NER. But to render that justice, it was only necessary
to exhibit him in his native simplicity and worthiness.
If in this the author has succeeded even in some small
degree, he may well thank God for sparing him to
" Orthodox Journal," 1818, p. 220.
PREFACE. Vll
become the humble instrument of setting forth the
merits of one, to whom every Catholic in this kingdom
owes a deep debt of gratitude ; and of thus repaying
some little of his own obligations to the memory of the
revered Prelate, the honoured father and the beloved
friend of his early years.
He gladly embraces this occasion to record his deep
sense of the kindness of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ullathorne,
Bishop of Birmingham, and of the Rev. Henry
Campbell of Grafton, who both generously placed in
his hands various publications and papers, without
which this biography could not have been compiled.
THE LIFE
OF
CHAPTER FIRST.
-
BISHOP MILKER, A GREAT MAN RAISED UP FOR GREAT PURPOSES.
HIS BIRTH EDUCATION AT EDGE ASTON AND SEDGLEY PARK
SCHOOLS AND DOUAY COLLEGE. HIS ORDINATION AND RETURN
TO ENGLAND. REMOVES FROM LONDON TO WINCHESTER.
FIRST CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL. LORD GEORGE GORDON^ RIOTS.
FUNERAL DISCOURSE ON BISHOP CHALLONER.
IF biography is more valuable than history, its com
position is confessedly more difficult. The historian
has chiefly to deal with facts and events ; and these,
from having generally occurred long before, can seldom
be given in detail, and have often lost much of their
interest. But the biographer has the arduous task of
delineating character, and discriminating motives: he
has to relate events circumstantially which are usually
of more recent occurrence ; and to hold the steady
balance of impartiality on questions of deep interest ;
perhaps even during the lifetime of some who were
concerned in them. The task of the historian makes
but little demand upon the powers of imagination ;
while the biographer must exercise every mental
faculty in his multifarious labours. His undertaking
2 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
will be more difficult, in proportion as the subject of
his biography was more distinguished, and the affairs
in which he was concerned were more important.
Formidable, then, would be the work now attempted,
even to a skilful and practised biographer : how much
more must it be so to the feeble hand that now under
takes it.
The Life of MILNER is the biography of a man of no
ordinary character. He was a man of great abilities,
of powerful mind and energetic action ; he was a
prelate of great zeal, extensive learning, undaunted
courage, and noble independence : his was a genius of
bold conception and spirited execution, which no dif
ficulties could dishearten, no opposition could intimi
date, and no labour could subdue: he was a great
scholar, a profound divine, a powerful controvertist, a
learned antiquarian, a distinguished historian ; but,
above all, a fervent Christian, a most devout Catholic,
and a holy and exemplary Bishop of God's Church.
Such a man appears only at long intervals in the
world, and is usually raised up for some special
exigency. No one who considers the times in which
MILNER lived, with reference to the Catholic religion
in England, can doubt that he was given for the
peculiar necessities of those times. Catholics had
suffered for ages from proscription and persecution,
and the time for their emancipation was drawing near ;
but they needed a safe and steady guide to secure to
them political and religious freedom, without the
sacrifice of religious principle. MILNER was their
Moses in their days of bondage, and in their weari
some passage through the desert. He defended them
from open foes, and defeated and checked the mur-
murings and weaknesses of timid and false brethren
CHAPTER FIRST. 3
within their camp. He was never discouraged, but
kept on his faithful career under all opposition ; vigi
lant, zealous, firm, and unflinching, steadily keeping in
view the one grand object, and pursuing it with indo
mitable perseverance. It was not indeed permitted
to this Moses to see the promised land ; yet he died in
sight of it: for Catholic Emancipation followed only
three years after he had ceased at once to labour and
to live.
But this was not the only purpose for which we
needed the immortal MILNER. Our holy religion
required for its defence a bolder champion and a
wider field than it had before possessed. Our old
controvertists had bravely 'combated, and done all
that could be accomplished in their straitened position.
Sarjeant, Mumford, Gother, Manning and Challoner
had ably and successfully defended the Catholic Faith ;
but their works were of necessity published secretly,
and circulated stealthily. The time had hardly
arrived, even during the lifetime of Bishop Challoner,
for Catholic works to come forth in full freedom.
That venerable Bishop too, had gone to his reward,
some years before MILNER wrote a line of controversy ;
his first publication having been his funeral discourse
on that lamented prelate. It was the critical time
when a skilful and fearless controvertist was called for
among us ; there was an ample field, and a giant stepped
forth into it to challenge the enemies of our Faith :
there was a great door and evident opened unto him,
and many adversaries ;* and he boldly passed
through it, and bid them all defiance.
A trial yet more severe fell upon the Church but a
* 1 Cor. xvi. 9.
4 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1752"
few years after MILNER began to labour in this portion
of it. The horrors of the French Revolution had
broken up our. foreign establishments for the education
of clergy ; and it needed all the prudence and energy
of our disconsolate prelates to provide means for an
adequate supply of pastors for our poor and scattered
flocks. Here again was the goodness of Divine Pro
vidence conspicuous in raising up for us in our need a
man like MILNER. Under his paternal care, and by
his wise, active and persevering exertions, a body of
exemplary clergy were trained up, and the great work
went on without intermission ; nay more, the zealous
labours of those exemplary men soon caused a rapid
increase in the numbers added to the one fold of the
One Shepherd.
Thus, it is evident, that God was pleased to visit his
people in a remarkable manner, and in a time of extra
ordinary need, by raising up a faithful priest who
should do according to his heart and soul* for his
little Church in this kingdom, the distinguished pre
late, whose life and labours will be developed in the
following pages. It is now more than a century since
the birth of JOHN MILNER. He was born on the 14th
of October, 1752, in London, and baptized on the
same day by the Rev. William Errington, who after
wards became the first president of Sedgley Park
School. Bishop Challoner was at that time the Vicar
Apostolic of the London District, and resident in
London, and Mr. Errington lived with him as his
chaplain ; of whom Bishop MILNER informs us, in his
Life of Bishop Challoner, that he was the friend and
constant companion of that venerable bishop. The
* 1 Kings, ii. 35.
AGE l.J CHAPTER FIRST. 5
following is a copy of his Baptismal Register : " Anno
Domini, 1752, die 14 Octob., baptizatus fuit Johan
nes Miller, filius Josephi ct Helena* Miller, conjugum.
Patrini fuerunt Jacobus Brown et Anna Marsland.
A me Gul. Enington, Miss. Apostolico."
His family were originally from Lancashire. His
father was a respectable tradesman, a tailor, but
became deranged, and so continued till his death.
It is evident from the Baptismal Register that his
proper name was Miller. When he exchanged it for
MILNER does not appear. It has been supposed that
he took that name when he first went to school ; he
was certainly entered by it in the books at Sedgley
Park School ; and, perhaps, the unfortunate malady
under which his father had died, led him to adopt a
change of name, which, after all, was very slight. He
was always remarkable, however, for his peculiar taste
about names. He prevailed on Mr. Strongitharm,
whose name was Solomon, to drop that name, " for,"
said he, " I cannot bear that any of my clergy should
bear the name of a man whose salvation is so doubtful
as that of King Solomon." In compliance with this
wish, Mr. Strongitharm always signed with his Con
firmation name Laurence. Soon after Bishop MILNER
objected to his surname, alleging that it ought to be
Armstrong, and wished him to exchange it accord
ingly. But when Mr. Strongitharm objected to alter
ing his surname out of respect for his family, the
Bishop did not press him, but goodnaturedly said,
that " as he had already obliged him by giving up his
first name, he could not expect him to do more. In
the same way he insisted that Dr. Weedall's name
ought to be Udall, which he said was a well known
6 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
English name, meaning a yew tree ; and he used fre
quently to call him Mr. Udall.
Young MILNER was first sent to school at Edgbaston,
near Birmingham. This school had been begun at
Osmotherly, in Yorkshire, about the year 1672, and
seems to have been removed to Edgbaston soon after
the year 1723. The Rev. James Hawley was a boy
with MILNER at this school, which was the principal
nursery of the English Franciscans. Mr. Hawley
became a Franciscan, and was the assistant of the Rev.
J. Nutt, who was the pastor of the congregation and
head of the school at Edgbaston in 1786. Mr. Nutt
soon after built St. Peter's chapel in Birmingham, to
which he removed with his congregation, and died
there September 27, 1799- Mr. Hawley became the
pastor in 1803. The school continued at Edgbaston
till the year 1792, when it was transferred to Baddes-
ley Green.
From Edgbaston MILNER removed, in his thirteenth
year, to the school at Sedgley Park, which had been
opened in 1763. He arrived there April 22, 1765,
and brought with him a Douay Catechism, two Prayer
Books, a Dictionary, and the Douay " Introduction to
the Latin Language," which, for some unaccountable
reason, was always called the " Figures." This was
the whole library of a youth who was to become so
distinguished for learning in after years. He used to
relate of himself that when a child he was very timid.
When he first went to school he did not get on well,
but appeared dull and stupid, and said his lessons
very indifferently. One day, however, when he hap
pened to do well, his master was so pleased with him
that he gave him a coloured print as a reward and
AGE 18.] CHAPTER FIRST. 7
encouragement. This, he used to say, was the turn
ing point of his school career ; he felt fresh ani
mation and confidence, and ever after studied with
success, and improved to the satisfaction of his
masters.
It is not improbable that Bishop Challoner was
mainly instrumental in his going to Sedgley Park. It-
was through his exhortation and encouragement that
the school was begun by the Eev. William Errington ;
and the good bishop afforded the infant establishment
all the assistance in his power. In fact he has ever
been considered its real founder. Several children
were paid for entirely by Dr. Challoner, and others,
whose parents could not pay the whole pension, were
assisted by him. DR. MILNER gratefully acknow
ledged that he had experienced protection and assist
ance from Dr. Challoner in the early part of his life,
and that he was indebted to him for the invaluable
benefit of receiving early impressions of piety.* This
points evidently to his having received his education
chiefly by the assistance of the saintly bishop, of whom
he always used to speak with reverence and gratitude.
In his Life of Bishop Challoner he also mentions his
having " been brought up, in his early years, almost
under the eye of the deceased, attending his public
sermons, and frequenting his house for private instruc
tions ; having also, at a later period, exercised the
sacred ministry under his directions, and assisted at
his conferences."!
He remained only one year at Sedgley Park, leaving
it on the 27th of April, 1766. Being intended for the
* See his " Funeral Discourse on Bishop Challoner, p. 6.
t Life of Dr. Challoner, p. 2.
8 LIFE OF BISHOP MILXER. [1777.
ecclesiastical state, it was time for him to enter a
regular seminary, and he was accordingly sent to the
English College at Douay, in August, 1766, at the
recommendation of Bishop Challoner. The president
at that time was Dr. William Green, who was suc
ceeded in 1770 by the Key. Henry Tichborne Blount.
He studied there with several who became afterwards
distinguished ornaments of the priesthood on the
English mission, as well as with some noted laymen,
among whom was Charles, Duke of Norfolk, and John
Kemble. He used to say, when speaking of Kemble,
that he was not remarkable at Douay for rhetorical
powers, and he added : " I was thought quite as good
a speaker as he was." Little has been handed down
of his career at Douay, though he remained there
eleven years ; yet, those who were cotemporary with
him, always testified to his great application and
industry ; and the superior learning and science which
he displayed on his return to England, are proofs that
he must have pursued his studies at college with
extraordinary ardour and perseverance. His fellow-
students gave him "the name of Jupiter, a tribute not
only to his powerful frame and bodily strength, but to
his superior genius and commanding abilities. He
seems to have had two familiar names ; for though his
contemporaries always said that he was called Jupiter,
he himself told a reverend gentleman, still living, that
at Douay he was called Apollo. Yet it has been
observed that he had no opportunities at Douay for
any brilliant display of talents : he never taught in
the schools, nor made any public defensions during his
course of philosophy or divinity. But he was all the
while assiduously cultivating his talents, and quietly
laying up that valuable store of erudition, from which
AGE 25.] CHAPTER FIRST. 9
in his subsequent career he drew so copiously, and so
beneficially to himself and the public.
MILNER was promoted to the holy order of priest
hood in the year 1777, and returned in May to labour
in his native land. He resided at first in London, in
Gray's Inn ; he had no regular mission, but served
different places occasionally, being, as he once ex
pressed it himself to the writer, what was called fami
liarly among the clergy, " a jobber." From the time
of his coming over till the death of his venerated
bishop and patron, Dr. Challoner, he often saw and
conversed with that great and holy man, which he
ever esteemed as a singular favour granted him by the
Almighty. He also received from him a copy of his
last edition of the Old and New Testaments. It
speaks highly for his literary attainments, that, young
as he was, he was entrusted with the care of the
library, which belonged to the venerable old English
Chapter, conjointly with the secular clergy of the
London District. The duties of a Catholic priest in
those days were hazardous as well as laborious ; but
MILNER had wisdom and discretion as well as zeal, and
his ministry drew upon him neither obloquy nor per
secution.
This ardent and zealous missioner had not laboured
in London two years, when he was called to Win
chester, upon an occasion well worthy of his heroic
charity. There were many French prisoners confined
in the Ring's House in that city ; and a malignant
fever had broken out among them, which, in its
ravages, carried off many hundreds of them, with most
of the medical attendants, keepers, and others, in
cluding the Eev. Mr. Nolan, the missioner at Win
chester. With the approbation of his bishop, MR.
10 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1779.
MILNER hastened to afford the aids and consolations of
his ministry to the unhappy sufferers. The King's
House had been converted into a prison of war in the
reign of George II. The ardent zeal and charity
which he displayed were, doubtless, strong recom
mendations of him as a fit pastor for the congrega
tion at Winchester ; and he was duly appointed to
that charge in October of the same year, 1779. The
congregation were at first dissatisfied, complaining that
the bishop had sent them a boy ; but they very soon
changed their sentiments. The next year was re
markable for the dreadful disturbances in London and
other places, known as Lord George Gordon's riots,
from the name of their fanatical leader. The first act
for the relief of his Majesty's Catholic subjects was
passed in 1778. " What rendered it more remark
able," says Bishop MILNER, u it took place without
opposition in Parliament, or dissension among the
Catholics themselves. The latter circumstance was
chiefly owing to the proper conduct of the Catholic
leaders, in timely submitting the religious part of the
bill to the judgment of their prelates, and to the
religious, honourable, and straightforward conduct of
William Sheldon, Esq., a gentleman of ancient family,
who acted as secretary on the occasion."* But this
wise and just measure of relief excited the envy of the
Dissenters, who formed what was termed a Protestant
Association, inviting every one to join them for the
protection of the Protestant religion against the Popish
tendencies of the King and Parliament, which threat
ened to overthrow their religion in these kingdoms.
MILNER considered Wesley as the chief author of
* " Supplementary Memoirs of English Catholics," p. 42.
AGE 27.] CHAPTER FIRST. 11
the riots that followed.* They represented the
Catholics as enemies to all Protestant governments,
and that they were not to be relied upon, although
they had taken the new oath of allegiance^ because
they could get a dispensation from the Pope, even
after having sworn that he had no power to absolve
them. They presented a monster petition to Parlia
ment, signed by nearly 120,000 persons, for the repeal
of the new relief act, which was carried on a man's
head ; and immediately after its presentation on
Friday, June 2nd, 1780, the mob paraded in different
divisions, and committed great excesses and depreda
tions in the Catholic chapels of the Sardinian and
Bavarian embassies, and also in and about Moorfields.
At first, the chapels and houses of Catholics only were
attacked and demolished ; but soon the prisons to
which rioters had been committed, and the houses
of the magistrates who had committed them, under
went the same fate. Then the rioters were proceed
ing to destroy all other prisons, to attack the Bank,
public offices, and dwellings of the higher classes.
Horror and consternation pev ailed everywhere, and
these excesses only went on increasing, till on the 9th
of June, the King issued a proclamation, authorizing
the military at once to repress the rioters. This was
effectual ; government resumed its proper power, and
peace and order were at length restored. But the
insurrection had extended all over England, and one
Catholic chapel had been burnt at Bath, and another
at Hull, and Catholics were everywhere threatened
with destruction.
The aged and venerable Bishop Challoner survived
* See his " Letters from Ireland," Letter II., note.
12 LIFE OF BISHOP MILKER. [1781.
this storm ; but the anxiety which he had suffered
during the riots, and the affliction which he felt to see
the chapels demolished, and so many Catholics
deprived of the means of public worship and spiritual
instruction, and even the place where he himself used
to preach burned to the ground, preyed upon the
spirits of one now so far advanced in years, and
greatly contributed to accelerate his death, which took
place on the 12th of January in the following
year, 1?81, in the 90th year of his age. MILNER
on the following Sunday, which was the 14th of
January, pronounced in his chapel at Winchester
a funeral discourse on the venerable deceased prelate,
from a few notes which he hastily penned over-night.
It is a glowing panegyric on the saintly bishop, not,
however, intended so much to excite admiration as
imitation. It dwells, therefore, upon the principal
virtues of the deceased, his charity, zeal, fidelity in all
pastoral duties, patience in suffering, assiduity in
prayer, love of holy poverty, humility, and meekness.
" I know," says the preacher, " that it is very usual to
magnify the merits of the deceased, as usual as it is to
detract from them when living, and I very much fear
that, after death, we often canonize those in our
discourse, on whom God has decided in a very dif
ferent manner ; but when I say that Bishop Challoner
was a model of Christian virtue, every breast glows
with a conviction of this truth ; whatever I can allege
in his commendation will barely answer the idea you
have already formed of him ; and when on every
occasion I represent Bishop Challoner as a saint, I say
no more of him now after his death, than all who knew
him have said of him during his life."
In one part of this excellent discourse there is
AGE 29.] CHAPTER FIRST. 13
an allusion to the strange places to which Catholics
were compelled to resort in those times of persecution,
to hear their holy bishop. " I must not omit his
assiduity in preaching the word of God, a duty he
never omitted in the worst of times, while an obscure
retreat was to be found to shelter his poor audience ;
and indeed to such obscure retreats has he, at certain
times, been driven to comply with this essential
obligation, that the catacombs where the ancient
Christians held their assemblies in times of persecution,
were elegant and commodious compared with them.
But to conceive the force arid emotion with which he
announced this sacred word, or to form an idea of the
fire, which, through all the frost of age, then darted
from his countenance, and animated his weak and
emaciated frame, you must, my brethren, have seen
him and heard him on those occasions." MILNER, in
fact, had often seen and heard him on those occasions,
and used to relate that these sermons were delivered
in a cockpit, liired for the purpose. He used also
to tell us that Bishop Challoner occasionally held
meetings of his clergy, from necessity, at some obscure
inn or public-house, where each one present had his
pipe, and sat with a pot of beer before him, to obviate
all suspicion of the real character of the guests, and
the purpose of their assembly. Thus, the celebrated
preacher, Dr. Archer, began his preaching at a public-
house, near Lincoln's Inn Fields, at which the Catholics
assembled on Sunday evenings to hear the word of
God, in a large club-room in Turn Style ; and the
Rev. Henry Peach, uncle of the worthy missioner of
St. Chad's, Birmingham, preached in a room in Cock
pit-alley, Drury-lane. To these meetings MILNER evi-
14 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1781.
dently alludes in the above extract : he had often been
present at them.
This discourse was the first composition which
MILNER published. It is full of unction and practical
instruction, forcible rather than eloquent, but the
language is easy, natural, and correct. As a composi
tion it is superior to the usual productions of the
clergy of that time. Their foreign education had a
bad effect upon their English, and often subjected
them to unpleasant criticism. DR. MILNER used to
relate, that soon after his coming on the English mis
sion, he was on a visit to a Catholic gentleman in the
country, and when evening came, was requested to say
prayers for the family. A young lady brought him a
prayer book, and Bishop Challoner's Meditations, and
supposing him to be no better a proficient in his own
language than some other Douay priests whom she
had known, said very flippantly, as she pointed out the
meditation : " There, Sir, when you have finished the
prayers, read that, if you can! 1 He used to say that
he felt very indignant at this, and exerted himself to
read the lesson well ; and he so far succeeded that the
young lady made an apology for her rudeness, and
praised his reading. This, however, determined him
to perfect himself in elocution : for which purpose he
took lessons of the celebrated rhetorician, Mr. John
Walker, who was a convert to the Catholic Faith.
DR. MILNER always held him in high estimation, and
used to speak of him as his friend, "Mr. Walker,
whom I have the happiness to call my friend."* In
his " Letters from Ireland" he praises him in high
* Life of Bishop Challoner, p. 41.
AGE 29.J CHAPTER SECOND. 15
terms, as follows : " My lamented friend, the late
worthy, upright, and pious John Walker, author of the
Pronouncing Dictionary, Elements of Elocution, the
Ehetorical Grammar, Deism Disarmed, &c. This
ingenious author may in truth be called the Guido
d'Arezzo of elocution, having discovered the scale of
speaking sounds, by which reading and delivery are
now reduced to a system."* He always inculcated to
his clergy the importance of becoming good readers ;
and sometimes related the above anecdote of himself,
to enforce his exhortations the more effectually.
CHAPTER SECOND.
MILNER ON THE MISSION AT WINCHESTER. THE AFFAIR OF
SAINSBURY. MILNER'S AFFABILITY AND LOVE OF CHILDREN.
HIS EARLY PUBLICATIONS. SERMON ON THE KING'S RECO
VERY. SKETCH OF CATHOLIC AFFAIRS. FIRST CATHOLIC
COMMITTEE. SECOND COMMITTEE. MEMORIAL TO MR. PITT.
THE PROTESTATION. THE NEW OATH. ITS CONDEMNATION.
THE BLUE BOOKS. "MEDITATIONS OF ST. TERESA." DEATH
OF TWO BISHOPS. THREE LETTERS OF A LAYMAN. MILNER'S
ANSWER APPOINTMENT OF TWO NEW BISHOPS. FRESH CON
DEMNATION OF THE OATH. THE SCHISMATICAL PROTEST.
RELIEF BILL MILNER'S "STATEMENT OF FACTS." IRISH OATH
ADOPTED. BILL PASSED.
PERHAPS no priest ever entered upon his sacred mi
nistry with a deeper sense of its responsibilities, than
the subject of this biography. No one was more alive
to the obligation of striving to be perfect, so well
* Letter IT., Note at the end.
16 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1788.
expressed in these words of St. Ambrose : " Vita
sacerdotis preponderare debet, slcut preponderat
gratia."* MILNER was, indeed, the model of a mis-
sioner ; and his zeal, charity, and self-devotedness were
unbounded.
When he came to Winchester, in 1779, he found
among the members of his flock, a youth of great
promise, John Lingard, then in his ninth year, having
been born at Winchester, February 5, 1771. This
interesting boy had been already recommended by
MILNER'S predecessor, the Rev. J. Nolan, to Bishop
Challoner, to be educated for the ecclesiastical state.
MILNER approved of the choice, and, to use his own
words, he was by him " singled out from a crowd of his
companions, and provided, by his zeal and laborious
efforts, with those means of cultivating his superior
talents, which now do such ample justice to the bishop's
discernment." t This does not allude to pecuniary
means, for of this young Lingard did not stand in
need ; but to the efforts of MILNER to forward his
education, and procure his being sent to Douay College
by Bishop James Talbot, for which college he left
Winchester in 1782, accompanied to the coach by Mrs.
Cave, then his play-fellow, and of about his own age.
He entered Douay College, September 30, 1782 : his
subsequent career needs no panegyric in these pages.
A remarkable instance of the zeal and charity of
MR. MILNER deserves a special record. In March, 1788,
a man named Sainsbury, a ratcatcher, was condemned
to death and executed at Winchester, on a charge of
* The life of a priest should outweigh the lives of others, even
as grace preponderates in him. St. Amb., L. iii. Ep. 23.
f " Orthodox Journal," vol. vii. p. 304.
AGE 36.] CHAPTER SECOND. 17
having robbed the house of a Mr. Amyatt, at Free-
mantle, in the New Forest, on the 15th of the previous
January. MILNER was sent for to attend this poor
man, at his own request, though he was not a Catholic,
and MILNER had known nothing of the man before.
He declared that he went " with a sinking heart, and
with unwilling steps," to pay his first visit to this
man after his condemnation ; for he then considered
him, not as any common criminal, but an execrable
wretch ; and he said that if he could not bring him to
an open acknowledgment of his crime, he could do
him no good, and should abandon him to his fate.
After making every exertion for this end, but all to no
purpose, he began to think that there might be some
mistake in the affair. He therefore made many
inquiries to ascertain the exact truth, and finally
became convinced of the man's innocence, but not
till it was too late. The man was executed, and
MILNER attended him to the gallows. He afterwards
wrote three Letters in the local papers, the Hampshire
Chronicle of April 7th and 14th, and the Salisbury
and Winchester Journal of May 19th, 1788, to prove
the innocence of Sainsbury, which indeed was after
wards fully admitted. He procured, as he says in
one of these Letters, " a body of positive evidence, with
the names and places of abode of the several vouchers,
which, when referred to, must at once have overturned
those proofs in the minds of the most prejudiced."
The following fine passage in his second Letter is
worthy of the immortal MILNER:
" It is said with confidence that he died hardened
and impenitent. Great God ! I exclaimed, at that
awful moment of his execution, how contemptible
is the judgment of mankind, since it is often so
c
18 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEK. [1789,
diametrically opposite to thine ! /' . . . . . Is it
then by the equivocal mark of sighs and tears, or by
dispositions of the heart, that these persons judge of
true conversion ? In fact the poor creature prayed,
and prayed unremittingly, from the day of his condem
nation. He gave his life cheerfully to atone for his
real crimes, as he publicly declared. He begged of
the Almighty that his vengeance might neither in this
world, nor the next, fall upon the heads of the wretches
who had sworn his life away. Now such dispositions
as these form the very heroism of Christianity.
Methinks I see the scornful dimple sit on the full fed
cheek of some modern Pharisee, at this panegyric on a
poacher and poultry stealer. But, too rigid moralist,
look to thyself, and trace that story of thy own
misdeeds, written with the finger of the All-seeing
Judge, ere thou venturest to cast a stone at the poor
sinner before thee."
MR. MILNEE was not only respected and beloved for
his zealous and faithful discharge of his pastoral duties
at Winchester, but for his great affability and kindness
to every one. He was remarkable for his condescension,
and simplicity of manners, by which he made himself
all to all. He was always a favourite with children,
whom he delighted to amuse by a variety of ingenious
tricks and performances, such as making a card fly out
of the pack, cutting out paper figures of animals and
dolls, and making them move about the table. On one
occasion, to please a little boy, he purchased a lamb,
and brought it home on his horse before him, to the
great amusement of passers by in the streets.
In 1785, appeared his second publication : " A
Letter to the Author of a Book called, ' A Candid
and impartial Sketch of the Life and Government
AGE 37.] CHAPTER SECOND. 1 9
of Pope Clement XIV. London'" In 1789, a Day
of General Thanksgiving was observed, and very
appropriately on the feast of St. George, the patron
of England, and the saint of the King's name, for the
recovery of George III. from the first visitation of that
malady, which so painfully clouded the latter years of
his life. On that occasion, the King went publicly to
return thanks at St. Paul's Cathedral. A Sermon was
delivered by MR. MILNER at Winchester, which he
published in a quarto pamphlet of 34 pages, with notes
historical and explanatory. A direct and severe attack
had been publicly and pointedly levelled at him a short
time before by a Protestant clergyman at Winchester ;
and one object which he had in this Discourse, was to
vindicate his religion, and " lay down his political
creed, and the touchstone of his past and future
conduct."* He gives a vivid description of the effects
of the late affliction of the monarch.
" Can we forget the favour Heaven has conferred on
us also, in restoring health to our Sovereign ? Call to
mind the grief and consternation that seized on all
orders and all denominations of people, when it was
pronounced in the highest assembly of the nation, that
we were no longer under the personal government of
George III. Eepresent to yourselves the perplexity
and confusion of the wisest statesmen in that new
situation, unenlightened by law or precedent, in which
they found themselves standing ; however melancholy
the scene was of public affairs, the prospect was still
more gloomy. Call to mind, I say, this public cala
mity in which we were but so lately involved, in order
to judge how much we are indebted, on our own
* Preface, p. i.
20 LIFE OF BISHOP MILKER. [1790.
account, to the Divine Providence, for giving back to
our ardent prayers, and that sooner even than we
dared to hope, a Prince, whose amiable qualities we
had so long experienced, but the extent of whose
worth we never knew till we were on the point of
being deprived of it."*
The Discourse has three divisions. In the first, the
preacher treats of charity as the essential virtue of
Christianity, and complains of the uncharitableness of
the recent accusations against Catholics, of systemati
cally cherishing a hatred of other Christians. He
proceeds to answer distinctly the three principal
charges of uncharitableness, sedition, and perjury,
brought against our holy religion. In the second
division, " emerging," as he says, " from the turbid sea
of controversy," he enters upon the more pleasing sub
ject of loyalty, and the particular motives for attach
ment to the reigning sovereign from his benevolent
character, and mild and just government. In the third
division, he points out the duties resulting from loyalty
to our sovereign, and particularly those of attachment
to his person and family, support of his government,
the avoidance of party spirit, the due observance of
the laws, and constant prayers for the safety of his
Majesty's person, family, and government, and par
ticularly on that day of thanksgiving.
" During the late indisposition of his Majesty you
know with what fervour and importunity we called
upon the Lord to remember David and all his cle
mency. Now, then, that the Almighty has graciously
heard our prayers, and those of the nation, on this day
appointed for returning thanks for the same, on this
* Page 2.
AGE 38.] CHAPTER SECOND. 21
day of his Majesty's Patron Saint, and that of the
kingdom ; on this day, which I can consider in no
other light than as a second coronation day of a king
according to the people's heart, and according to God's
own heart; judge with what redoubled fervour we
ought to sing with the same Royal Prophet : Lord in
thy strength shall the King rejoice, and in the safety
thou hast wrought for him shall he exult greatly, fyc"
The whole Discourse is in MILNER'S accustomed
style, nervous, learned, and argumentative, solid
but not brilliant, and without any display of oratory.
In the year 1790, MR. MILNER first came forth in
print on those questions which had begun to cause
serious dissensions among the Catholics, by publishing
" The Clergyman's Answer to the Layman's Letter
on the Appointment of Bishops' 1 To explain the
occasion and purport of this publication, it will be
necessary to go back to the commencement of these
dissensions. In 1783, a few years after the act for the
relief of Catholics, which had passed in 1778, a Com
mittee was appointed at a meeting of certain Catholics,
which was to consist of five persons, and to continue
for five years. These were to attend to, and promote
the affairs of the Roman Catholics in England : " and
here," observes DR. MILNER, "properly begins that
system of lay-interference and domination in the
ecclesiastical affairs of the English Catholics, which
,^ v . . has perpetuated disorder, divisions, and irre-
ligion among too many of them for near the last forty
years."* The chief measure contemplated by this
Committee was a plan for procuring the appointment
of Bishops in ordinary, instead of Vicars Apostolic.
* ** Supplementary Memoirs of English Catholics," 1820, p. 47.
22 LITE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1790.
They drew up a paper, dated May 24, 1783, which
contained some assertions injurious to the spiritual
government of the Vicars Apostolic ; but when the
five years of their appointment had expired, they had
proceeded no farther with their proposed plan. They,
however, addressed a Letter to the Catholics of Eng
land, dated April 10, 1787, which, as DR. MILNER
observed, " might pass for a speech of Mirabeau in the
French National Assembly, particularly where it in
sinuates that the people have an equal authority with
their pastors in regulating every part of Church
discipline -, and that they are competent to make what
ever changes they please, in conformity with the laws
of the state, without either Pope or Council."*
A nobleman, one of these five members of the
Committee, acted so conspicuous a part in the Catholic
body, and had been till then so remarkable for his
religious sentiments and conduct, that the Prince of
Wales, afterwards George IV., used to say seriously :
" My father is the head of the Protestant Church, and
Lord is the head of the Catholic Church." This
Committee was succeeded by another, formed in ] 787,
consisting often lay members, to whom were added in
the year following three ecclesiastics, Dr. James
Talbot, the Vicar- Apostolic of the London District, Dr.
Charles Berington, coadjutor of Dr. Thomas Talbot
V.A. of the Midland District, and the Eev. Joseph
Wilks, a Benedictine monk, on the mission at Bath.
The secretary of this, as well as of the first Committee,
was Mr. Charles Butler of Lincoln's Inn. The first
act of the new Committee was the presentation of a
memorial to Mr. Pitt, setting forth the grievances
* Supp. Memoirs," p. 49.
AGE 38.] CHAPTER SECOND. 23
under which the Catholics laboured, and expressing a
hope for his support in their intended application for
redress. This was favourably received ; but the
minister desired to be furnished with the opinions of
the Catholic clergy and universities on the existence,
or extent, of the Pope's dispensing power ; while he
assured the Committee that Government seriously
wished to grant that relief to the Catholics which
in prudence could be adopted. The six Catholic
Universities of Louvain, Douay, Paris, Alcala, Valla-
dolid, and Salamanca all returned satisfactory answers
to Mr. Pitt's three questions, and unanimously replied
that neither Pope, Cardinals, nor any body of men, or
any individual of the Church of Rome, has, or have,
any civil authority, power, jurisdiction, or pre-eminence
within the realm of England, nor can absolve or dis
pense with his Majesty's subjects from their oath of
allegiance ; and that there is no principle of Catholic
faith, by which Catholics are justified in not keeping
faith with heretics in any transactions.
The Committee next resolved, on the 19th of April,
1788, that their secretary, Mr. C. Butler, should pre
pare a bill for the repeal of the laws against the
English Catholics. This was accompanied by a
declaration of Catholic principles, known as the
Protestation, which DK. MILNER describes as " drawn
up in ungrammatical language, with inconclusive
reasoning and erroneous theology," and expressly
contrived to deceive both Protestants and Catholics.*
This Protestation was transmitted to the Vicars
Apostolic, all of whom at first made some difficulties
about signing it.f They did indeed afterwards sign
* " Supp. Memoirs," p. 54.
f Mr. C. Butler, in his " Bed Book," fol. 14.
24 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1790.
it ; but Bishop Walmesley, Y.A. of the Western
District, complained that he was surprised into his
signature, and withdrew it. Bishop Matthew Gibson,
V.A., of the Northern District, directed that if his
name was absolutely necessary, it should be affixed
by Bishop James Talbot, in sensu Catholico. The
clergy generally felt the same repugnance as their
superiors : " but," says DR. MILNER, " what with the
explanations, assurances, and promises of the different
agents of the Committee,"* they and their flocks were
mostly induced to subscribe it ; many from the posi
tive assurance given that the Protestation would not
be followed by any new oath. The total number of
signatures was 1523.
The Committee, however, notwithstanding the as
surance given, soon framed a new Oath, containing a
new Profession of Faith, in which they adopted the
extraordinary name of Protesting Catholic Dissenters.
This Oath was formally condemned, and declared
unlawful to be taken, by the unanimous decision of
the four Vicars Apostolic, Bishops Walmesley, James
and Thomas Talbot, and Matthew Gibson, at a
meeting which they held at Hammersmith, October
19, 178 ( J. At this meeting were also present Dr.
Wm. Sharrock, coadjutor of Bishop Walmesley, Dr.
Charles Berington, coadjutor of Bishop Thomas
Talbot, with the Eev. Eobert Bannister, and the
subject of this biography, the EEV. JOHN MILNER.
" Thus," writes the last mentioned, " through the
mercy of God, and the vigilance and firmness of these
truly Apostolic Prelates, were schism and heresy
detected and repressed among English Catholics at
* " Supp. Memoirs," p. 55.
AGE 38.] CHAPTER SECOND. 25
their first appearance."* The Vicars Apostolic pub
lished their condemnation of the Oath in an "Encyclical
Letter" to all the faithful, in which they also declare
that no oath ought to be taken, or any new instrument
affecting religion subscribed, without the previous
approbation of the Bishops ; and they conclude in
these words : " To these determinations, therefore, we
require your submission."
In face of this solemn condemnation by the four
Bishops in England, the Secretary, Mr. Charles Butler,
wrote a long Appeal of eight closely printed quarto
pages, addressed to the Catholics of England, dated
November 25, 1789, in defence of the Protestation and
Oath; which Appeal was signed by two clerical and five
lay members of the Committee. To this were appended
the heads of the proposed Bill, with the condemned
Oath. Next came a long Letter to the four Vicars
Apostolic, remonstrating against their censure, and in
which, says DR. MILNER, both " they and the Holy See
are grossly insulted and calumniated." This was
signed by the same persons as the Appeal ; and these
papers form the contents of the First of the three
famous Blue Books, so called from being stitched up in
blue, or rather purple covers. The author has seen
several copies of them, and DR. MILNER' s copies, with
notes in his own hand, are now lying before him.
In the midst of these affairs, MR. MILNER found
nourishment for his piety in translating the " Medita
tions of St. Teresa after Communion." He published
his translation with the following title : " The Ex
clamations of the Soul to God: or the Meditations
of St. Teresa after Communion. Newly translated ;
* " Supp. Memoirs," p. 66.
26 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1790.
together with an Introductory Dedication to a Reve
rend Prioress. By the Rev. John Milner, F.S.A.,
1790." He was attracted to this work of St. Teresa, by
the high encomium passed upon it by the Rev. Alban
Butler, in his Life of the Saint. The translation,
however, was made from a French version, and not
from the Spanish original ; and the translator aimed at
little beyond preserving the sense of the original.
The Introductory Dedication was to the Eeverend
Mother Mary Augustina More, Prioress of the English
Canonesses of the Order of St. Augustine, at Bruges,
who was a lineal descendant from the illustrious Sir
Thomas More. It was a general defence of religious
vows ; and the author particularly asserted the utility
and even necessity of Religious Houses for the proper
education of female youth ; in the course of which he
exposed the inconsistent and paradoxical language of
the Rev. Joseph Berington, who, in his " State and
Behaviour of the English Catholics" had first acknow
ledged that the Catholic ladies who had been educated
in convents, stood unrivalled as wives, mothers, citizens
and Christians ; and then proclaimed that nuns were
ill adapted to the business of educating them. The
writer, says MILNER, " perhaps sometimes deals in
paradox, in order to exercise the powers of his eloquence
in rendering it plausible, and certainly possesses a
brilliancy of talents sufficient to enliven the gravest
subjects, without those sallies of levity, and sometimes
irreligion, with which he disgraces them." Mr. Be
rington retorted in very unbecoming language in the
Preface to his " Memoirs of Panzani" in which he
even ridiculed the portrait of St. Teresa, prefixed to
MR. MILNER'S translation ; and descended to scurrility
and sarcasm against another work of MILNER'S on St.
George.
AGE 38.] CHAPTER SECOND. 27
Two of the Vicars Apostolic died soon after the
condemnation of the Oath, Dr. James Talbot, on the
26th of January, 1790, and Dr. Matthew Gibson on
the 19th of May following. ' These deaths led to
active intrigues on the part of the Committee to pro
cure the appointment of two successors, who might
favour their views ; and they were particularly anxious
to have Dr. Charles Berington appointed to the
London District ; who was a member of the Com
mittee, and had all along acted with it. Various
publications appeared, the object of which was to
persuade the clergy and laity that they had a right to
choose their own bishops, and to procure their con
secration by any bishop, without reference to the
Pope. One of the Committee, John Throckmorton,
Esq., afterwards Baronet, published three pamphlets
with this object, the first of which called forth MR.
MILNER'S Reply, alluded to above, which was entitled:
" The Clergyman's Reply to the Layman's Letter
on the Appointment of Bishops" This appeared in
1790, and was followed by a Second Letter from
Mr. Throckmorton, which MILNER answered by his
" Divine Right of Episcopacy, addressed to the
Catholic Laity of England, in answer to the Lay-
maris Second Letter to the Catholic Clergy of
England, with Remarks on the Oaths of Supremacy
and Allegiance" A third pamphlet appeared from the
Layman, now Sir John Throckmorton, being a second
edition of his Letter, with " Further Considerations
on the same Subject, fyc." Three other priests had
written in refutation of the Layman's Letter, the Rev.
Charles Plowden, Rev. Dr. Strickland, and Rev.
William Pilling ; and the appearance of four answers
within a few weeks after the Layman's first Letter
28 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1790.
shows the alarm caused by what MILNER denounced
as " the open attempt that was made to separate the
clergy from the faith and communion of the Church."
MILNER alone, however, followed up his exposure and
refutation of this dangerous writer ; and after the Lay
man had published his second edition, with " Further
Considerations" he gave the finishing stroke to the
controversy by his " Ecclesiastical Democracy de
tected ; being a Review of the Controversy between
the Layman and the Clergyman concerning the
Appointment of Bishops^ fyc" 1793.
It was, indeed, of the utmost importance to refute
at once the false principles, and expose the pernicious
tendency of these publications. It is probable that
the Layman was not aware at first of the real charac
ter and tendency of his system ; and he little expected
the burst of indignation with which it would be
received ; but, in truth, as MILNER observed, the
matter in question involved the very life and existence
of our religion. It tended to break that chain of
authority which unites each pastor with the Apostles,
with Jesus Christ, and with his heavenly Father ; it
tended to degrade our religion from a divine to a mere
human system of spiritual government, to deprive
the pastors of their only authority in teaching and
governing, and the faithful of their only comfort in
hearing and obeying.* The Layman's grand object
was to procure the appointment of Dr. Charles Be-
rington to the vacant Vicariate of the London District ;
and this he hoped to effect by calling upon the clergy
to assemble, and in conjunction with the laity, to
appoint their bishops without any reference to the
* " Ecclesiastical Democracy Detected," Preface.
AGE 38.] CHAPTER SECOND. 29
Holy See. His writings, however, produced no effect;
they were ably refuted, and his schemes entirely
frustrated.
In the latter part of the year 1790, Dr. William
Gibson was regularly appointed to the Northern Dis
trict, and Dr. John Douglass to the London. It must
be recorded to the credit of Dr. Charles Berington,
that he wrote and circulated a Letter, dated Oscott,
November 4, 1790, to all the clergy of the London
District, to the members of the Committee, and to
such of the laity, as had most advocated his own
appointment, which Letter, after declaring his great
satisfaction at the appointment of Dr. Douglass, and
speaking of him in high terms, he thus concluded :
" I must, therefore, beg leave to entreat you by all
that is dear to you, by your well known zeal for reli
gion, by your desire of promoting peace and concord,
&c., &c., &c., to grant him that same hearty concur
rence and generous support, which you so liberally
promised to, Gentlemen,
" Your most obedient, humble servant,
" CHARLES BERINGTON."
Strong efforts, however, were still made by some
in favour of Dr. Berington, particularly by Mr. Henry
Clifford, the barrister, in a pamphlet entitled: " Re
flections on the Appointment of a Catholic Bishop to
the London District" But the two Bishops elect were
consecrated at Lulworth ; Dr. W. Gibson on the 5th,
and Dr. Douglass on the 19th of December. The
consecration sermon for Dr. Gibson was preached by
MR. MILNER, and published with the following title :
" A Discourse delivered at the Consecration of the
Right Rev. William Gibson, Bishop of Acanthos,
V. A. N., in the Chapel of Lulworth Castle, on
30 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1790.
Sunday, the 5th of December, 1790; together with
an Introductory Account of the Consecration, fyc.
By the Rev. John Miner, F.S.A."
The Introduction, after briefly defending the cano
nical appointment of the two new prelates, in confor
mity with the rules established on the first formation
of the four Districts in England, gives a brief outline
of the character and qualifications of Dr. Wm. Gibson,
and some interesting particulars of the consecration
in Mr. Weld's beautiful chapel at Lulworth Castle.
" Its rich sacerdotal habits received an addition from
the princely sacristy of Wardour Castle, and the har
monious organ and choir were tuned to inspire suitable
sentiments of reverence and devotion. Besides the
two prelates, the consecrator and the elect, there were
five other officiating clergymen in rich vestments, and
seven inferior ministers in clerical ornaments, amongst
whom were the four eldest sons of the religious patron.
He himself, like another David, before the ark, led the
oand of sacred singers, choosing, in the sentiment of
that holy king, for himself and for his children rather
to be the least in God's house, than to dwell in the
tabernacles of sinners. Ps. Ixxxiii. The other per
sons of note, besides the family of the castle, and the
stated congregation, were the Eight Honorable Lord
Arundell, the Honorable Mr. Clifford and lady, Mr.
Eaymund Arundell, Major O'Brien and lady, the
Eight Eev. John Douglass, Bishop elect, who arrived
too late to acquire the necessary liability for bearing
part in the august ceremony."
The text chosen was Thou art Peter, $c. ; and
the truths deduced from it, which formed the sub
stance of a very learned and powerful discourse, were,
first, that we are taught to venerate the Church, and
AGE 38.] CHAPTER SECOND. 31
trust to the Almighty's protection of her ; and second,
that we learn to venerate the sacred hierarchy, to the
perpetuity of which the august ceremonial of that day
was subordinate. The whole Discourse was one of
superior excellence, and would well repay perusal even
at this distance of time. One passage, however, con
veying a well-merited eulogy on Lulworth, may be
here transcribed : "I speak within walls equally known
to, equally respected, and that have been equally
honoured by Pius VI. and by George III. On this
spot I can proclaim the spiritual prerogatives of the
successor of St. Peter, without exciting the jealousy of
the British sovereign ; and I can equally inculcate the
allegiance due to the monarch of Britain, without any
apprehension of censure, nay, with an absolute confi
dence of approbation from the Head of the Church.
As his Holiness knows that this is not the seat of
irreligion or heterodoxy, so his Majesty is convinced
that it is not a harbour for sedition or disloyalty."
In conjunction with the Vicar Apostolic of the
Western District, Dr. Walmesley, the two new Bishops
at once proceeded to publish a fresh condemnation of
the proposed Oath, in an " Encyclical Letter," agreed
upon at Lulworth. The V. A. of the Midland District,
Dr. Thomas Talbot, was then too much embarrassed
with bad health and other difficulties, to meet his
brethren in council. In this Letter, the Bishops
referred to the previous condemnation of the Oath
by the four Vicars Apostolic, which had been also
confirmed by the Holy See : they declared that the
altered Oath had not received their approbation, and
therefore could not be taken by the faithful ; and that
they totally disapproved of the appellation of Protesting
Catholic Dissenters. They concluded with declaring
32 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1791.
that some recent publications were schismatical,
scandalous, and insulting to the supreme Head of the
Church, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. This " Encyclical
Letter" is dated London, Jan. 19, 1791.
The temper and spirit of the Committee may be
estimated by the cool and contemptuous acknowledg
ment of their Secretary that this fresh condemnation
of the Oath by episcopal authority, " did not withhold
the Committee from continuing their exertions to obtain
the passing of the Bill, or induce them to take any
step for obtaining an alteration of the Oath."* No,
they only became furious, and within a fortnight
published a Protest against the " Encyclical Letter"
of their lawful superiors, which was unequalled for
its scandalous complication of profaneness, rebellion,
schism, and blasphemy. Would it be believed that
those very persons, who had addressed their Bishops in
these words : " Thus, your Lordships see the extreme
deference and attention, which, throughout the whole
course of this business, we have paid to the Apostolic
Vicars,"f could have gone soon after to the scandalous
length of issuing the following schismatical Protest ?
" Therefore, my Lord Bishop of Eama, V. A. of the
Western District ; my Lord Bishop of Acanthos, V.A.
of the Northern District ; my Lord Bishop of Centurise,
V.A. of the Southern District ; your Lordships
having brought matters to this point : convinced that
we have not been misled by our clergy ; convinced
that we have not departed from the principles of our
ancestors ; convinced that we have not violated any
article of Catholic faith or communion : We, the
* "Hist. Memoirs of English Catholics," by C.Butler, Esq.,
vol. w. p. 34, 3rd Edit., 1822.
| Second Blue Book," p. 3.
AGE 39.] CHAPTER SECOND. 33
Catholic Committee, whose names are here under
written, for ourselves, and for those in whose trust we
have acted, do hereby before God, solemnly protest,
and call upon God to witness our protest against your
Lordships' Encyclical Letters of the 19th day of
October, 1789, and the 21st day of October last, and
every clause, article, determination, matter, and thing
therein respectively contained, as imprudent, arbitrary,
and unjust ; as a total misrepresentation of the nature
of the Bills to which they respectively refer, and the
Oaths therein respectively contained ; and our conduct
relating thereto respectively ; as encroaching on our
natural, civil, and religious rights ; inculcating prin
ciples hostile to society and government, and the con
stitution and laws of the British empire ; as derogatory
from the allegiance we owe to the state and the settle
ment of the crown ; and as tending to continue,
increase, and confirm the prejudices against the faith
and moral character of the Catholics, and the scandal
and oppression under which they labour in this
kingdom. In the same manner we do here solemnly
protest, and call upon God to witness this our solemn
Protest against all proceedings had, or hereafter to be
had, in consequence of, or grounded upon your Lord
ships' Encyclical Letters, or either of them, or any
representation of the Bills or Oath therein respectively
referred to, given or to be given by your Lord
ships, or any of you. And from your Lordships'
said Encyclical Letters, and all proceedings had, or
hereafter to be had, in consequence of, or grounded
upon the same, or either of them ; or in consequence
of, or grounded upon any representation of the said
Bills or Oaths or either of them, given or to be given,
by your Lordships, or any of you ; we do hereby appeal
34 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1791.
and call on God to witness our appeal, for the purity
and integrity of our religious principles, to all the
Catholic Churches in the universe, and especially to the
first of Catholic Churches, the Apostolic See, rightly
informed.
CHARLES BERINGTON. STOUETON.
Jos. WILKS. PETRE.
HENRY CHAS. ENGLEFIELD.
JOHN LAWSON.
JOHN THROCKMORTON.
WILLIAM FERMOR.
JOHN TOWNELEY.
THOMAS HORNYOLD."
It was well observed by Mr. Francis Plowden that
" the unwillingness of the Committee to abandon any
one of their own fond conceits, their obstinacy in
maintaining the admissibility of the Oath, against the
express condemnation of it by their lawful superiors,
their actual opposition to the attempts and efforts of
their Bishops, and the greatest number of their
brethren, to procure the same advantages they were
aiming at, and to prevent the evils of a schism in the
body prove to conviction, that their views, wishes,
and efforts, were now directed to other ends than the
real welfare and interest of the body/'*
The above scandalous Protest occurs at the end of
a Letter of eighteen quarto pages, addressed to Bishops
Walmesley, Gibson, and Douglass, and written by the
Rev. Joseph Wilks ; though the Protest itself was
evidently drawn up by Mr. C. Butler. This Letter,
and one preceding it of eleven quarto pages, addressed
by the Committee to Bishop Douglass, dated Feb. 2,
1791, complaining of the "Encyclical Letter" of the
* " The Case Stated," by Francis Plowden, Esq., Conveyancer
of the Middle Temple. 1791.
AGE 39.] CHAPTER SECOND. 35
Vicars Apostolic, and written by Mr. C. Butler, make
up the second Blue Book.
The Committee pushed on the Bill which they
had prepared, containing the condemned Oath ;
and entrusted it to Mr. Mitford, afterwards Lord
Redesdale ; to be presented to the House of Commons.
MR. MILNER had been commissioned by the two new
Bishops to act as their agent. He was introduced by
Burke to Fox and Windham. He also saw Dundas
and Pitt, and was made acquainted with three Pro
testant Bishops, as also with Wilberforce, Wm. Smith,
and other Members of Parliament, all of whom listened
to him most kindly, and were satisfied with his
objections to the Oath. When the Bill was brought
into the House of Commons, MR. MILNER was present
as he himself described it, " amidst a crowd of
exulting adversaries, while his friends were on their
knees at home, praying to God to protect his own
cause."* The gallery was so crowded, that he was
obliged to sit all the time upon the floor.
He had previously drawn up a paper, which he
entitled : "Facts relating to the Contest among the
Roman Catholics of this Kingdom, concerning the
Bill to be introduced into Parliament for their Relief."
In this, he exposed the impropriety of the newly
assumed name of Protesting Catholic Dissenters ;
objected to qualifying the deposing doctrine as hereti
cal ; denounced the meaning assigned by the Com
mittee to certain passages in the Oath, relating to the
jurisdiction of the pastors of the Church with refer
ence to indirect interference in temporal aiFairs ; and
objected to the clause that no ecclesiastical power can
* Supp. Memoirs," p. 78.
36 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1791.
dispense with any oath whatever. He proposed that
the Oath already taken by the Irish Catholics should
be substituted for the condemned Oath ; and in con
clusion pledged his readiness to answer for all his
assertions, by whomsoever called upon, and to prove
that he spoke the sense of the Catholic clergy in
general, and of many thousands of his Majesty's loyal
subjects.
This Statement of Facts, MR. MILNER caused to be
distributed among the members of Parliament ; and
when, in the course of the debate, attention was drawn
to it by Sir Archibald Macdonald, the Attorney- Gene
ral, Mr. Pitt among others was induced to consider the
matter in a new light, and soon after expressed him
self thus : " We have been deceived in the great out
lines of the business ; and either the Papists shall be
relieved, or the Protestant Catholic Dissenters shall
not gain their ends." In proof of Mr. Pitt's slender
acquaintance with the real belief of Catholics, he was
seen one day, about this time, to go into the shop of
Coghlan, the Catholic bookseller, and purchase a little
catechism, which he read attentively as he walked
away down the street. This incident, however, proves
at the same time an honest desire on his part to learn
our real principles, which was greatly to the credit of
that able statesman. If, indeed, -the Bill had passed,
in the form urged by the Committee, it would have
relieved those only who sided with them, and were
content to be called Protesting Catholic Dissenter^ ;
and the great body of Catholics would have been left
precisely as they were before. It attempted, as DR.
MILNER has so well observed, " a twofold deception ;
that of cheating Catholics out of a portion of their
religion, and that of swindling the legislature out of
AGE 39.] CHAPTER SECOND. 37
concessions which it had not an idea of granting ;
namely, by our ' slipping,' as the Secretary terms it,
4 from under the operation of the laws, unheeded and
unobserved.' "*
The Secretary, finding it impossible to refute MR.
MILNER'S arguments in the above Statement 'of Facts,
procured a paper to be presented to him, dated March
9th, 1791, and signed by twenty-six persons, requiring
proof of his authority to act in the concerns of Catho
lics. He answered by proving that the great body of
Catholics looked to their Bishops to procure for them
an unobjectionable Oath, that two-thirds of the clergy
in London, and fifty-three in Lancashire had called
upon them to that effect, testifying also that very few
of the laity would take the Oath of the Committee.
He also produced the formal testimony, in writing, of
Bishops Gibson, Walmesley, and Douglass, that he was
commissioned by them to act as their agent. The
original paper is now before the writer.
The Secretary next put forth " A Letter addressed
to the Catholics of England, by the Catholic Com
mittee" purporting to be a short view of the past and
present state of Catholics in this kingdom, dated Lin
coln's Inn, April 21, 1792. This, with some Appen
dixes, consisting of the Memorial to Mr. Pitt, the
Address to the King in 1778, C. Butler's Draft of a
Eelief Bill in 1788, the Protestation of 1789, with
1644 signatures, the Petition to the Commons, pre
sented May 7th, 1789, the Case of the "English
Catholic Dissenters," the State of the Laws respect
ing Presentations by R. Catholics to Ecclesiastical
Benefices, State of Facts by the Committee of " Eng-
* " Supp. Memoirs," p. 80. These words occur in the second
" Blue Book," p. 4.
38 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1791.
lish Catholics," Letter from Bp. Walmesley to the
Committee, Oct. 23, 1789, and a Memoir of a Meet
ing of some of the Clergy, held Feb. 2, 1790, on the
Protestation, are the contents of the Third Blue Book,
published in 1792.
Soon after the first of March, 1791, when the Bill
was introduced, the ministry obliged the Committee to
drop their new appellation, and they resumed their
proper name of Roman Catholics. MR. MILNER, be
sides his " Statement of Facts" printed another docu
ment entitled : " Certain Considerations on Behalf
of the Roman Catholics who have conscientious
objections to changing their Name, and to the Form
of Words in which certain Passages appear in the
Oath contained in Mr. Mitfords Bill, modestly sub
mitted to the Hon. Committee of the House of Com
mons, March 7, 1791. By the Rev. J. Milner"
The condemned Oath was discarded by Parliament,
and the Irish Oath of 1778 was substituted for it, as
the Bishops had petitioned. The Bill passed on the
7th of June, 1791 : and thus, mainly by the unceasing
vigilance of the intrepid MILNER, the Catholic body
were saved from all the dreaded consequences which
must have followed, if the insidious and schismatical
proceedings of the Committee had been successful.
Yet his honest and meritorious exertions drew upon
him much obloquy. " I was in so much disgrace," he
said, " with a great part of those of my communion in
London, that they nicknamed me Lord George Gordon,
and would not speak to me in the streets for that very
conduct for which they are now obliged to me, namely,
for being instrumental in preserving for them their
family name, and their unchangeable creed. In a
word, Sir, I have not the smallest doubt that the very
AGE 39.] CHAPTER THIRD. 39
individuals who have lately disavowed my writings
and conduct, not only will hereafter, but that they
actually do now in their hearts, approve of them.
In fact, some of those who have been the most active
in censuring me, have already confessed this to me."*
Many years after these transactions, he characterised
the proposal to give us the objectionable new name,
very felicitously in the following epigram :
" No longer prate on huge Briareus,
Or monstrous triple bodied Geryon ;
For I have seen a real trifarious
Protesting Catholic Presbyterian !"
CHAPTER THIED.
MEETING AT THE CROWN AND ANCHOR CASE OF REV. JOSEPH
WILKS, AND THE " STAFFORDSHIRE CLERGY." MILNER's " AUDI
ALTERAM PARTEM." HE IS MADE F.S.A. HIS WORK ON ST.
GEORGE. BUILDS HIS CHAPEL AT WINCHESTER. CONVERSION
OF MR. HUBBARD. THE ATTEMPTED MEDIATION. TRANS
LATION OF THE PASTORALS OF THE BISHOP OF LEON.
MILNER'S SERMON ON LOUIS xvi. HIS DESCRIPTION OF THE
GLASTONBURY CUP. ACCOUNTS OF OUR RELIGIOUS COMMUNI
TIES ABROAD. THE NUNS AT WINCHESTER. HIS REPLY TO
THE CISALPINE CLUB. CONDUCT AND DEATH OF BISHOP
BERINGTON.
Two days after the Bill had passed, a meeting was
held at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, when a vote
of thanks to the Committee having been proposed, an
amendment was moved by the Eev. James Barnard,
* Letter IV. to the Editor of the " Statesman" June 16, 1810.
40 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1791.
the Vicar-General of Bishop Douglass, and seconded
by the KEY. JOHN MILNEK, the purport of it being that
the Committee should be thanked for procuring the
civic benefits of the Act, but that the Bishops should
also be thanked for their vigilant zeal in obtaining for
us an orthodox form of Oath. Contrary to rule, the
amendment was not proposed first, nor even put to the
votes at all. Its proposers were silenced by unre
strained clamour, and the meeting became a disorderly
cabal, not entitled to any respect.
It has been already mentioned that the Eev. Joseph
Wilks was a member of the Committee. Having con
curred with them in all their proceedings, having
written, conjointly with Mr. C. Butler, the Letter to
three of the Vicars Apostolic in the Second Blue
Book, which ends with the schismatical Protest, which
he also signed, against all past and future proceedings
of the Bishops, one of whom was his own episcopal
superior, Dr. Walmesley ; he was suspended by his
Lordship, who sent him the following Letter, dated
Bath, Saturday, Feb. 19, 1791.
" As you have evidently refused submission to the
ordinances of the Apostolic Vicars ; if, before, or on
Sunday next, the 26th instant, you do not make to me
satisfactory submission, I declare you suspended from
the exercise of all missionary faculties, and all eccle
siastical functions in my District.
" Let this one admonition suffice for all.
" ^ CAROLUS RAMATEN., Vicar Apostolic."
The case of Mr. Wilks was brought forward at the
Meeting at the Crown and Anchor ; and the agent of
Bishop Walmesley being called upon to declare for
what canonical fault he had been suspended, read the
following from a letter of the Bishop, dated
AGE 39.] CHAPTER THIRD. 4 1
1st, 1791 : " Because Mr. Wilks has rebelled and
protested against the divine established government of
the Church by Bishops and their authority ; a crime
not less than schism." It was then moved that a letter
be read from fourteen of the clergy of Staffordshire, in
which, after lamenting the suspension of Mr. Wilks,
they " pledge themselves to make his cause their own,
and doubt not but they shall receive such cooperation
from all the clergy of England, as shall insure success
to their endeavours, in restoring to their delegate the
good will of his Bishop, and the exercise of his eccle
siastical functions."
This letter was most probably composed by the
Rev. Joseph Berington, and in consequence of an appli
cation made to him ; and it appeared with the signa
tures of thirteen of the clergy of Staffordshire, besides
his own.* The names of these priests were sub
sequently signed to other reprehensible documents,
and one more joined them, making the whole number
fifteen : and they were known as the " Staffordshire
Clergy." But DR. MILNER observes that the sig
natures of some were made without any knowledge,
and by the rest with only an imperfect knowledge of
the cause ; and were a source of uneasiness to them
for several years, till, by the grace of God, they all,
either in health, or on their death-beds, retracted
them.f As for Mr. Wilks, having acknowledged his
fault, and complied with the conditions required by
Bishop Walmesley, he was released from suspension,
and restored to his functions. But a few weeks after,
he wrote a very objectionable letter to Thomas Clif-
* < See Letter to a Roman Catholic Clergyman," by Rev. Ro
bert PI owden, 1795, p. 141.
f " Supp. Memoirs," p. 93.
42 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEK. [1792.
ford, Esq., dated Sept. 28th, which caused the Bishop
to withdraw his faculties in the Western District.
The first sentence pronounced upon him in February,
1791, was one of censure and suspension ; the second
in September following, was simply a withdrawal of
the faculties granted him in the Western District. It
had been asserted that the Bishop had acted uncanoni-
cally ; which led MR. MILNER to print, in 1792, on a
fly-leaf a very clear and satisfactory defence of Dr.
Walmesley, which he entitled: "Audi alter am partem?
He proves in that paper that the Bishop was fully
justified in both sentences, adducing the authority of
well-known canonists, such as Cabassutius and Van
Espen ; and showing that the second sentence con
veyed no canonical censure, but simply recalled those
faculties, which all priests, whose power is delegated,
and not annexed to their office, hold at the discretion of
the delegating superior. He adds that Mr. Wilks was
admonished, at the desire of the Bishop, by his religious
superior, in the most forcible manner, previously to the
sentence of September ; and was deprived of the faculties
which he had held, on account of his degrading his
Bishop in the eyes of the public, and explaining away
the submission which he had made to him. This paper
is dated May lst,l 792 ; and in that month Mr. Wilks
quitted England, and never returned. He died May
19th, 1829. at St. Edmund's College, Douay, and at
his death gave great edification.
MILNER had already become conspicuous, not only
as a theologian, but as an ardent lover and pursuer of
antiquarian studies. On the recommendation of the
celebrated topographer, Mr. E. Gough, he was intro
duced to the Society of Antiquaries, and admitted a
Fellow of that Society on the 8th of March, 1790. In
AGE 40.] CHAPTER THIRD. 43
1792, he addressed to the Earl of Leicester, its
President, his " Historical and Critical Inquiry into
the Existence and Character of St. George, Patron of
England, of the Order of the Garter, and of the
Antiquarian Society ; in which the assertions of
Edward Gibbon, Esq., ch. 23, Hist, of Decline and
Fall, fyc., and of certain other Modern Writers
concerning this Saint, are discussed; in a Letter to
the Right Hon. George Earl of Leicester, President
of the Antiquarian Society, by the Rev. J. Milner,
F.S.A. 1792." In his sermon on the recovery of
George III., which he delivered in 1789, he had spoken
of St. George as an illustrious saint. This induced
Dr. Percy, the Protestant Bishop of Dromore, to call
upon him for proofs that St. George ever had any
actual existence; which caused MR. MILNER to publish
this work, in which he demonstrated from the most
ancient and authentic monuments, that there was such
a saint, and that he was not the infamous George of
Cappadocia, as Gibbon pretended. In some curious
and interesting notes in this work, MILNER explains the
origin of certain emblems attributed to some of the
saints ; such as the divine Infant carried on the
shoulders of St. Christopher, the pig and bell of St.
Anthony, and the organ pipes of St. Cecily. The last
is the most extraordinary application, as it supposes the
saint to have been skilled in music, whereas the only
passage in her acts, which speaks of music, merely says
that while music was playing in preparation for her
nuptials, the saint being averse to her proposed
marriage, was praying to be saved from it : " Can-
tantibus organis, Caecilia in corde suo decantabat :
fiat Domine cor meum immaculatum ante te."
In the year 1792, MR. MILNER resolved upon
44 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1792,
erecting a new chapel at Winchester. There had been
a chapel there, either in the priest's house, called " St.
Peter's House," or in the garden behind it, from the
latter part of the 17th century ; but the edifice had
become so inconvenient and insecure, that it was quite
necessary to rebuild it. " This measure being resolved
upon," says DR. MILNER, " instead of following the
modern style of building churches and chapels, which
are in general square chambers, with small sash
windows and fashionable decorations, hardly to be
distinguished, when the altars and benches are removed,
from common assembly rooms ; it was concluded upon
to imitate the models in this kind, which have been left
us by our religious ancestors, who applied themselves
with such ardor and unrivalled success to the cultivation
and perfection of ecclesiastical architecture."* He
himself gave the general idea of the intended edifice ;
but it was reduced to more correct order by the
eminent architect, Mr, John Carter. His drawings,
however, were not entirely followed ; sometimes
through the inattention of the workmen, but more
frequently from considerations of economy.
To take DR. MILNER'S own description of his chapel,
it is "a light Gothic building, coated with stucco,
resembling freestone ; with mullioned windows,
shelving buttresses, a parapet with open quatrefoils,
and crocketed pinnacles, terminating in gilt crosses."
The total length is 75 feet outside; the height to the
top of the cornice, 24 feet, and to the top of the
pinnacles, 35 feet. He has given a minute description
of every part of his chapel, inside and outside, with all
its fittings and decorations. It was dedicated to St.
* " History of Winchester," P. II. ch.
xn.
AGE 40.] CHAPTER THIRD. 45
Birinus, and consecrated by Bishop Douglass, Vicar
Apostolic of the London District, on the 6th December,
1792. MILNEK was justly proud of it, as being the
first chapel in the Gothic style erected in England,
since that deplorable event, which robbed us- of the
glorious cathedrals and other churches erected by our
Catholic forefathers.
While at Winchester, MB. MILNER began a mission
at Southampton, with nine pounds a year ; and also,
during his residence there, he was the happy instru
ment of the conversion of Mr. Eichard Hubbard, who
afterwards became an edifying priest under him in the
Midland District. Mr. Hubbard used to relate that
when he presented himself to make his profession of
faith, MR. MILNER was busy writing. While he waited
for a few minutes, his courage began to fail, and he
proposed several times to call another day. But the
experienced missioner understood what prompted this
polite offer, and at once proceeded to receive Mr.
Hubbard' s profession of Catholic faith, in which that
good man steadily persevered, notwithstanding that a
considerable worldly sacrifice was inseparable from his
conversion. MILNER had the satisfaction to ordain
him priest, in November, 1811, and after an ex
emplary missionary life, be died May 23rd, 1836.
Meantime, MILNER was busy with his pen, and never
relaxed his exertions in the sacred cause of religion,
which he always had so much at heart. It has been
already mentioned that he printed in this year, 1792,
his argument in the case of Mr. Wilks, entitled: Audi
alter am Par tern. In April, three Catholic gentle
men, John Webbe Weston, Esq., Francis Eyre, Esq.,
and William Sheldon, Esq., undertook the charitable
office of mediating between the Committee and the
46 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1792.
Bishops, in the hope of peace being restored among
the Catholic body in general. The grievances of
which the Committee complained were not such, how
ever, as the Bishops could redress so as to satisfy the
unreasonable expectations of the Committee. They
required First, that faculties should be restored to Mr.
Wilks ; but to this Dr. Walmesley replied that the
withdrawal of those faculties was a spiritual affair
between Mr. Wilks and himself, not belonging to any
other persons ; and that while Mr. Wilks persisted
in his principles and disobedience, he must refuse all
interference with him. They required Secondly, that
the " Answer to the Second Blue Book, by the Rev.
Charles Plowden" should be disavowed by the Vicars
Apostolic. To this their lordships replied that they had
indeed requested Mr. Plowden to write that Answer;
but had left the method and manner to him, and,
therefore, were not answerable for its language. They,
in the third place, expressed a hope that the Vicars
Apostolic would procure such a change in the ecclesi
astical government of the Bishops, as that the clergy
should possess the rights of parochial clergy: to which
their lordships answered that they would give the
subject their serious attention ; though they feared
that such a measure was not practicable in present
circumstances. Thus the mediators found that their
good offices were ineffectual. They published a report
of their endeavours in a quarto pamphlet, which, from
the colour of its wrapper, was called " The Buff
Book." It was entitled: "A Letter from J. Webbe
Weston, Francis Eyre, and William Sheldon,
Esqrs., to the Gentlemen at whose desire they
accepted the Office of Mediators between the Vicars
Apostolic and the Gentlemen of the late Catholic
AGE 40.] CHAPTER THIRD. 47
Committee. London, 1792." It extended to 26 pages,
and contained all the letters and papers of any conse
quence, which came into the hands of the mediators
during the negociation. It is worthy of note that the
Committee, in their correspondence with the mediators,
declared their continued adherence to the schismatical
" Protest," and denied to the Vicars Apostolic the
right to condemn an Oath, or any other measure,
which they the W.AA. might declare to be of a
spiritual nature, without showing the grounds of their
censure ; and they repeated their determination " to re
sist any ecclesiastical interference which might militate
against the freedom of English Catholics."* With
such sentiments still obstinately adhered to by the
Committee, it will cause no surprise that the good
offices of the mediators produced no effect.
The Committee having run out its term of five years,
had now formed itself into a new society, called " The
Cisalpine Club" the professed objects of which were
adherence to the "Protestation," and schismatical
" Protest," and opposition to the alleged usurpation of
the Pope, and tyranny of the Vicars Apostolic. Be
sides the members of the old Committee, this club con
tained many others ; though several were unacquainted
with its real history and objects, and little thought that
they pledged themselves to the continued approval of
the condemned Oath, the three Slue Books, and the
schismatical Protest. The writer saw the circular
announcing its dissolution, which was sent to a noble
man, who had very unsuspectingly been a member of
the club, though he had taken no part in its pro
ceedings.
At the end of the year 1792, a distinguished prelate
* "Buff Book," pp. 22, 23.
48 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1793.
among the French emigrant clergy, the Bishop of
Leon, published an admirable letter in French, ad
dressed to the French clerical refugees ; and MR,
MILNER translated it into English, and printed his
translation early in 1793, but without his own name.
The letter is full of fervent gratitude for the generous
hospitality and liberal succours afforded to the French
clergy in England. Some passages well merit ex
tracting.
" May the God of mercies shower down his chosen
blessings on a people who seem chosen by Heaven to
vindicate the violated laws of nature and humanity!
In the days of French power and glory, England often
disputed the field of battle, and her efforts were often
crowned with success in asserting her right to the
dominion of both seas. But she offers to us a more
glorious spectacle, a triumph of a higher nature. She
has opened her ports to you, she considers you not as
strangers ; she sees you are unhappy, and she em
braces you as brethren and friends. The English are
not startled at your numbers ; they think the best use
they can make of their great opulence is to afford
succour to a greater number of persons in distress."
(Pp. 6-7.)
" If our memory could recall the many proofs of
benevolence of which we were the objects, what an
affecting picture would it present ! In the sea-ports,
in cities, in villages, in the isles and the capital, what
an eagerness to prevent (anticipate) or to relieve our
wants ! Citizens of every rank pressing forward to
welcome a colony of unfortunate exiles with a brotherly
affection, more happy in the offer of their services, than
you could feel obliged by receiving them. Anxious
to conceal the hand that administered, to your wants
AGE 41.] CHAPTER THIRD. 49
and hurt only by the reserve which hid them. These
attentions, this liberality, were not confined to any
particular description of men, but common to the whole
nation, and to every class that composes it, to the cor
porations, to its houses in town, to its chapters, its
universities and its colleges, to the palaces of the rich
and the humble cottages of the poor." (P. 9.)
" If from the different parts of the British empire,
we turn our eyes towards the throne, we there find a
prince as distinguished by his munificence towards us
as he has ever been by the love of his people. Under
his government the ports are open to us, we are ad
mitted into his dominions, and we enjoy the protection
of the laws. This beneficent King has granted one of
his royal palaces for the reception of our brethren.
His benevolent heart has suggested to him that the
palaces of kings acquire an additional value by afford
ing shelter to the wretched and unhappy." (P. 12.)
MR. MILNER published his translation, under the fol
lowing title : " Letter of the Eight Rev. John
Francis de la Marche, Bishop of Leon, addressed
to the French Clergymen Refugees in England.
Translated into English from the original French.
London: J. P. Coghlan, $c." 1793.
In the beginning of 1793, the unfortunate King of
France, Louis XVI, perished on the scaffold; and the
French clergy, who were generously lodged in the
King's House at Winchester, to the number of 1000,
were desirous of performing a more decent and solemn
service for their late beloved sovereign, than could be
celebrated in their own little chapel there. They
accordingly requested and obtained the use of MR.
MILNER'S new chapel ; and begged him to deliver a
funeral oration on the occasion in English. He re-
E
50 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEK. [1793.
sisted their repeated solicitations for some time, in
hopes that some one of their number might be induced
to express their feelings in their native tongue. He
yielded, however, at length, and delivered a Discourse
which he afterwards published with this title: " The
Funeral Oration of his late most Christian Majesty,
Louis XVI., pronounced at the funeral Service per
formed by the French Clergy of the King's House,
Winchester, at St. Peter's Chapel, in the said city,
April 12, 1793. By the Rev. John Milner, F. S. A.
London : J. P. Coghlan" The Discourse is very
long, and much in the style of French funeral
orations. The text is from 1 Tim. iv. 8. Godli
ness is profitable to all things, having promise of the
life that now is, and of that which is to come. It
does not seem well chosen, being neither striking nor
apposite ; but the preacher's object was to exhibit the
virtues of Louis, to show that his cause, and that of
religion, were identical, and in accounting for the
King's heroic conduct under his severe trials, to
demonstrate the efficacy of religion, and prove that
godliness is profitable to all things. The Sermon is
in two parts. The first is argumentative, rather .than
eloquent. It is a sketch of the life of the murdered
monarch, exhibiting him as the father of his people,
and showing that the Revolution was not owing to
tyranny on his part, but to the licentiousness and irre-
ligion of his subj ects. " Frenchmen ! " said the preacher,
addressing the laymen among them, " if Divine Pro
vidence, satisfied, as I hope it is, with the severe chas
tisement you have undergone, should permit you soon
to return to your native homes, carry back with you a
sense of the necessity of religion, in order to prevent a
return of the same calamities: show your respect for
AGE 41.] CHAPTER THIRD. 51
its doctrine and its exercises, and take care that the
irreligion of your country be no longer proverbial.
Englishmen! let the fatal example of your neighbours
guard you against the spreading evil, whether it comes
to you under the mantle of philosophic infidelity, or
under the mask of deistical Socinianism. Yes, the
belief in Jesus Christ, the consubstantial Son of the
most high God, is the corner-stone of the morality, as
well as of the faith of the Gospel: remove that stone
from its requisite position, and the whole fabric falls
to the ground."
The Second Part of the Discourse is a very inte
resting enumeration of the virtues and estimable quali
ties of the unfortunate monarch, and more particularly
displays his devotedness to religion, and the support
which he derived from it in his last terrible trial. " It
is acknowledged that the chief defect in the King's
character was a certain irresolution and timidity, which
had more than once occasioned him to compromise his
authority, and thereby had given signal advantage to
his own and the nation's enemies. Hence, his faithful
adherents trembled for the consequences of the fiery
ordeal he underwent in his close confinement in the
Temple, deprived as he was of all comfort and advice;
they, in particular, dreaded the arrival of that day,
when he was to be brought before those impious and
artful rebels, who panted for nothing so much as that
he might publicly disgrace himself, either by his natu
ral timidity, or the confusion incident to so new a
situation. But how much were they astonished to
observe that calm dignity, that unaffected firmness,
that Christian heroism, which, though taken unawares,
marked his countenance, his language, and his whole
behaviour! Had he sunk under his misfortunes, had
52 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1793.
he bewailed the loss of his dignity and personal liberty,
had he crouched to the tyranny of his enemies, or
seemed afraid of dying, they would have had cause
to triumph, and Louis would have been wretched
indeed. But he had digested in the school of wisdom,
that is of affliction, the excellent lessons of the Gospel,
he had learned that blessed are they who mourn, who
are persecuted and reviled, he was now thoroughly
convinced that it was a misfortune to wear a crown.*
Hence, neither regretting what he had lost, nor fearing
what he had cause to look for, he conducted himself
with that happy firmness and composure which made
him superior to the malice of his assassins, and ena
bled him to meet death in its most disgraceful and
odious shape, that of a public execution, not only with
constancy, but even with joy."
On this mournful occasion, a cenotaph was raised in
the chapel, before the altar, adorned with escutcheons,
with crowns and fleurs de lys, surrounded with wax
candles, and surmounted with the crown, sword and
sceptre. Six mutes were seated about the cenotaph.
Chandeliers and escutcheons were fixed to the pillars of
the chapel, which was crowded with the French clergy
and many respectable English families. A select
number of the French clergy officiated at the Office and
Mass of Requiem, with great devotion and solemnity,
and eight others, within the sanctuary, contributed to
the impressive character of the mournful service.
The sermon was translated into French by one of the
French priests, and published soon after, accompanied
by a " Note essentielle sur Marie Antoinette."
In February of the same year, 1793, ME. MILNER
* Testament of Louis XVI.
AGE 41.] CHAPTEK THIRD. 53
wrote a very interesting account of the famous Glas-
tonbury Cup, or Peg Tankard, for the " Archceological
Journal" where it appeared, with an engraving, in
vol. xi., p. 411. The cup is supposed to be as old as
the time of King Edgar, who reigned from 959 to
975: but the carving on the lid, and the characters
employed in the inscriptions, point to a much more
recent date. This cup has been for centuries in the
possession of the Lords Arundell of Wardour Castle,
where the present writer has often seen it. It is made
of heart of oak, and holds four quarts, wine measure.
It is stated erroneously, in MR. MILNER'S description,
to hold only two quarts : he has also given the number
of pegs incorrectly, making them eight; but there were
originally only six, four of which remain perfect, the
other two being broken off. There is carved on the
outside of the cover, the Crucifixion, with the Blessed
Virgin and St. John. The Apostles are carved round
the cup; but as St. Paul and Judas are introduced,
St. Mathias is omitted. Only three bear emblems ;
St. Peter has a large key, St. John a cup, and Judas
a money bag. Each of the others holds an open book.
A bunch of grapes projects above the handle. The
name of each Apostle appears beneath his figure, and
the names are mostly given in Latin; but St. Peter is
called Peder. Round the foot are curious representa
tions of birds and quadrupeds: a goose, eagle, horse,
stag, swan and pelican. Below these are serpents or
dolphins, in pairs, facing each other. The cup rests
upon three lions. " These peg tankards," says MR.
MILNER, " were introduced in the reign of Edgar, the
Saxon king, who, to restrain the prevailing habit of
drunkenness, made a law that each person should
54 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1794.
empty the space between peg and peg ; but that he
who drank below the proper mark should be punished.' 1
The French Kevolution had by this time made most
dreadful havoc among our collegiate and conventual
establishments in France and the Low 'Countries; and
Mr. MILNER drew up some valuable accounts full of
painful interest, of the " Communities of British sub-
jects, who, in consequence of the decrees of the
French National Convention against all such sub
jects, have suffered the confiscation of their houses
and property, and the severest rigours of imprison
ment and want, with a total seclusion of all commu
nication by letter with their friends, under pain of
death." These accounts appeared in the Directories
for 1795 and 1796. In that for 1797, he added such
particulars as he had been able to collect, either from
original registers, or other authentic documents, con
cerning the three other communities of the Fosse S.
Victor, and the Blue Nuns of the Conception at Paris,
as also of the Poor Clares of Aire, who still continued
in France, amidst alarms and sufferings. Papers on
the same subjects in the Directories for 1798, 1799
and 1800, were also probably written by him. These
are precious documents, and will be perused, even
at this distance of time, with admiration and gratitude
for the pious and learned compiler.
Among the Communities thus ejected was that of
the Benedictine nuns of Brussels, who, on the advance
of the French army, were obliged to fly from their
convent, where the community had been settled since
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. They quitted it June
22, 1794; and were kindly received in London, where
they remained three days. Thence they proceeded to
AGE 42.] CHAPTER THIRD. 55
Winchester, to a house offered them by Dr. Douglass,
the Vicar Apostolic of the London District. At Win
chester they were received by MR. MILNER with the
greatest kindness and attention. He spared no exer
tion, and shrunk from no sacrifice for their assistance
and comfort; and made them dine at his own house
for some days. He supplied them with blankets, and
even sent his own bed for the use of some of the aged
nuns, as they were all in a house quite unfurnished.
His housekeeper, the excellent Mrs. Bloodworth, who
continued with him afterwards at Long Birch and
Wolverhampton, remonstrated and complained that he
did too much ; but all in vain. He interested all his
friends, Catholic and Protestant, in their favour. He
procured the aid of a very charitable lady in London,
Mrs. Dorothy Silburn, the great benefactress of the
clergy and religious, towards fitting up their house;
and also the kind assistance of the Marchioness of
Buckingham, who was secretly a Catholic, as also of
Lady Stourton, Lady Clifford and others, to forward
the arrangement of their chapel and schools. He
superintended the decoration of their chapel, and
had the patron saint of each nun painted over her stall
in the choir. He used every exertion to procure
scholars for them, and succeeded in securing a large
number.
When the bill for the suppression of nunneries was
thrown out, MR. MILNER came to the convent and
made the nuns go at once to the chapel, and sing a Te
Deum. He often paid them a visit at the hours of
recreation, and delighted them with his cheerful con
versation. Sometimes, however, fits of abstraction
would come over him, and he would sit silent and
thoughtful, and then suddenly start up, saying, " I must
56 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1795.
be off," and he would go home and write for hours.
He continued to be their extraordinary confessor after
he became Bishop, and used to visit them every year
till the last two of his life. They removed to East
Bergholt, June 23, 1857, where the present com
munity hold his memory in benediction, and keep
his anniversary as that of a great friend and bene
factor.
The Cisalpine Club continued its proceedings. The
meeting at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, in 1791,
had voted that the Protestation, though defeated,
should be deposited in the British Museum ; but this
was not done till the 30th of December following ; and
then it was not the original of 1789, but a new copy
of it that was deposited. Mr. MILNER having cast
some imputations on the authenticity of this copy so
deposited, was called to account by certain members of
the Club in a first Report sent to him February 28,
1795, and in a Further Report of May 12 following.
He answered by a publication entitled: "A Reply to
the Report published by the Cisalpine Club, on the
Authenticity of the Protestation at the Museum, in
which the spuriousness of that Deed is detected.
London, 1795."
The Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, the
Hon. and Eight Rev. Thomas Talbot, Bishop of
Aeon in partibus, died at Bristol, on the 24th of Fe
bruary in this year, 1795. His coadjutor was Dr.
Charles Berington, Bishop of Hiero-Csesarea in parti-
bus. He was elected a member of the Committee, by
the laymen who composed it, May 15, 1788 ; he had
concurred with them in all their proceedings, and by
signing the Protest " had first commenced the opposi
tion made to the mandates of the three Apostolical
AGE 42.] CHAPTEB THIRD. 57
Vicars, and his example kept up the contest."* He
now succeeded as Vicar Apostolic of the Midland
District ; but before he could obtain the extraordinary
faculties necessary for a Vicar Apostolic, it was
required of him by the Holy See, that he should
renounce the condemned Oath and the Blue Books,
and retract his subscription to them. But neither the
exhortations of the Holy See, nor the entreaties of his
episcopal brethren, could prevail upon him to make the
required submission, for nearly three years ; so power
fully was he influenced by those laymen with whom he
had so long acted. He had indeed sent letters to Rome
from time to time, explanatory of his conduct ; but
they were not quite satisfactory. At one time, the
submission which he offered appeared only conditional ;
and at another, he revoked only what might be con
tained (" contineantur"} of an objectionable character,
but not what is contained (" continentur") ; and it
was signified to him that the Oath and the Blue Books
having been condemned at Rome, nothing short of an
absolute revocation on his part could be accepted.
" What makes to the point," said Cardinal Gerdil, " and
what in an affair of so great importance is to be carefully
secured, is particularly that there should remain no
ambiguity, which might again give occasion or cause of
scandal to the wise or even the unwise, to whom we are
debtors. There has arisen scandal even by the
acknowledgment of the Right Rev. Prelate himself,
from his subscription, as in itself indicative of appro
bation of the doctrine contained in these hateful (Blue)
Books. 1 What then is more just, than that the scandal,
which was occasioned by the approbation testified by
* "Letter of Rev. Robert Plowden," p. 154, note.
58 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1797.
the subscription, should be removed by a contrary con
demnation equally testified by revoking the subscrip
tion?"*
When chosen coadjutor to Bp. T. Talbot, in 1786,
Dr. Berington was appointed in the usual form, with
right of succession ; and received with his Brief of
appointment the ordinary faculties, granted, as usual,
for the term of six years. When these expired in
1792, they were renewed for another term of six years.
On his becoming Vicar Apostolic, the Prefect of
Propaganda, Cardinal Gerdil, not being aware that Dr.
Berington's ordinary faculties had been renewed, em
powered Bishop Douglass to allow him ordinary facul
ties, but signified that the extraordinary powers of a
Vicar Apostolic, which must come directly from the
Pope, would be withheld until the formulary sent for
Bp. Berington's signature should have been returned
to Rome duly signed, and should have been approved
by the Congregation of Propaganda. Bishop Berington
administered Confirmation at Sedgley Park, in the au
tumn of 1795 ; and two of his Pastorals are now
lying before the writer, for the Lents of 1797 and
1798. They are long and able compositions ; the
latter, if not both, is understood to have been written
* " Quod ad rem facit, quodque in re tanti moment! sedulo provi-
dendum est unum id est maxime, ne quid ambiguitatis resideat, quod
vel sapientibus, vel etiam insipientibus, quibus debitores sumus
offensionis occasionem aut causam prsebere iterum valeat. Nata
est, et quidem fatente ipsomet Reverendissimo Praesule, offensio ex
subscriptione utpote qua3 indicium prae se fert approbationis doc-
trinse in illis invisis libellis contents. Quse ergo per approbationem
subscriptione testatam inducta est offensio, quid sequius quam ut per
contrariam improbationem subscriptionis revocatione ex a3quo
testatum tollatur ?" Letter from Rev. Robert Smelt to Bishop Bering-
ton, March 11, 1797.
AGE 45.] CHAPTER THIRD. 59
by Mr. Wilks. It is remarkable that in both, flesh
meat is allowed on Mondays, as well as Sundays,
Tuesdays, and Thursdays, which was quite an unheard
of permission in those days.
In 1797, Cardinal Gerdil signified to the Senior Vi
car Apostolic, Dr. Walmesley, that if it met the appro
bation of the Vicars Apostolic, he would recommend
MR. MILNER to be coadjutor to Dr. Berington, that he
might exercise those faculties, which were withheld
from that Bishop, owing to his still refusing the required
retractation. One of the Vicars Apostolic objected to
this proposal, because he still hoped that Dr. Berington
would yield. At length he was induced by his Vicar
General, Dr. Bew, to sign the form of retractation sent
him from Eome, which he did at Wolverhampton,
October llth, 1797. His signature, however, was
preceded by a preamble, intimating that he signed
" Salva fidelitate Regies majestati" Nor did he
even after this, act up entirely to the spirit of his retrac
tation. For Bishops Walmesley and Gibson required
of the party known as the Staffordshire Clergy, that
they should disavow various errors and heretical doc
trine contained in their " Appeal to the Catholics of
England" above referred to, before they could be
allowed to exercise any ecclesiastical functions in the
Western or Northern Districts ; and when Bishop
Berington learned that Dr. Sharrock, who had suc
ceeded Bishop Walmesley on his decease, November
25th, 1797, intended to enforce the same, he wrote to
each of these Vicars Apostolic, only a month before
his own death, in which he defended the Staffordshire
Clergy. In his letter to Dr. Gibson, he thus expressed
himself: " I declare myself completely satisfied with
the faith and moral conduct of the gentlemen in
60 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. ['798.
question.* How his Lordship could make such a
declaration, when Dr. Walmesley, in conjunction with
ME. MILNER, and Mr. Eobert Plowden, had plainly
shown that the Appeal contained even heresy ; and
when but a short time before, he had himself signed a
renunciation of the condemned Oath and the Blue
Books, appears inconceivable. For these Staffordshire
Clergy had made, and continued to make common
cause with Mr. Wilks, who remained without spiritual
faculties, on account of his participation in those affairs:
and thus, by declaring himself satisfied with their faith
and moral conduct, he directly sanctioned heretical
doctrine, as well as rebellious opposition to the lawful
authority of the Vicars Apostolic, and of the Holy See
itself.
As, however, his signing the form of retractation
had removed the difficulty, the agent at Eome, the
Eev Robert Smelt, wrote to him in March, 1798, that
his affair was finished ; and as soon as the sanction of
the three Commissioners, to whom the Pope had
entrusted his powers, was given, papers were sent to
England, containing the ordinary and extraordinary
faculties for Dr. Berington. His ordinary powers had
expired on the 23rd May. These papers were to be
delivered either to Dr. Berington, or if that should be
inconvenient, to Dr. Douglass, the V. A. of the Lon
don District, who was to forward them to Dr. Berington
immediately. Dr. Douglass received the papers on the
5th of June, 1798 ; but on the 8th, Dr. Berington
died suddenly, without having received them.
He had dined on that day at Sedgley Park, and was
returning in the afternoon, on horseback, with his secre-
* " Short and plain Statement of Facts." Wolverhampton, 1798.
AGE 46.] CHAPTER THIKD. 61
tary, the Eev. John Kirk, to his residence at Long
Birch, seven miles distant from the Park, when, after
passing through Wolverhampton, as they were riding
down the first hill on the Stafford road, Mr. Kirk
perceived that the Bishop had stopped his horse, and
was some way behind. He at once rode back, and
found him dismounted, and leaning against his horse.
He led him to the bank on the road-side, but had only
time to give him Absolution, before he expired. Dr.
Morrison, a physician of Wolverhampton, accidentally
came up at the moment, and attempted to bleed him,
but life was extinct. " Endowed," says BISHOP
MILNEK, " with superior talents and the sweetest
temper, he wanted the firmness requisite for the
episcopal character in these times, to stem the tide of
irreligious novelty and lay influence, and so lent his
name and authority to the Oath and the Blue Books,
and every other measure which his fellow Committee
men deemed these might serve."*
* Supp. Mem." p. 94.
62 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEK. [179G.
CHAPTER FOURTH.
MILKER CONVERTS FOUR JAVESE CRIMINALS. HIS " SERIOUS
EXPOSTULATION WITH REV. JOS. BERINGTON." HIS " HISTORY
OF WINCHESTER." "LIFE OF BP. CHALLONER." "LETTERS
TO A PREBENDARY." STRICTURES ON HOADLYISM. WORKS
ON GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. HIS " CASE OF CONSCIENCE
SOLVED." CONCORDAT OF PIUS VII. FOR THE CHURCH IN
FRANCE THE BLANCHARDIST SCHISM.
ME. MILNEE, while at Winchester, among other
proofs of his zeal and character, gave that remarkable
one, of which he himself has left an account in the
Supplement to his " Letters to a Prebendary? Four
Lascars from Java were condemned to death at Win
chester for the murder of one of their companions.
ME. MILNEE, finding that no attempt was made to
convert these poor creatures, obtained leave to visit
them, and received the thanks of the under sheriff for
his offer and services. For three days that re
mained before the execution of these men, he was
much with them ; and by signs and a few words of
English, he succeeded in conveying to their minds just
notions of the essential mysteries of Eeligion ; and
they received Baptism at his hands with visible devo
tion and consolation. They became so fond of him,
that they clung to his knees, and kissed his feet.
When they came to the place of execution, they
pointed to heaven, and died with evident faith and
great resignation. He gave each of them a small print
of our Saviour on the cross. He rode on horseback
behind the cart which conveyed them ; but was so
AGE 44.] CHAPTER FOURTH. 63
much affected by the execution, that he rode out of
the city immediately after it, away from all his friends.
He made the following entry of their Baptism :
"Hsec die 7 Martii an. 1796. Ego infrascriptus
baptizavi in carcere hujus civitatis quatuor Indos
Orientales ex Insula Java oriundos, cujus (sic) patrinus
erat Michael Le Scelleur. Horum nomina erant Sarak,
set. circa 40, Eaboo, set. circa 24, Eabone, set. circa 20,
et Chumoo, set. circa 18, quibus nomina sunt imposita
Matthsei, Marci, Lucse et Joannis.
" JOANNES MILNER, Miss. Ap., Past. Win.
" N.E. Eodem die suspendio ad patibulum sunt
necati."
In the same year, 1796, and in the year following, a
series of miraculous events occurred at Rome. The
Eev. Joseph Berington wrote in his usual style against
these well attested facts " An Examination of
Events termed miraculous, as reported in Letters
from Italy, 1796." He was answered by MILNER,
who entitled his work : "A serious Expostulation
with the Rev. Joseph Berington, upon his Theologi
cal Errors, concerning Miracles and other subjects.
London, 1797." Thus was this pastor ever indefati
gable, ever vigilant in detecting erroneous doctrines
and dangerous innovations, ever ready to combat error
and defend truth, ever active and exemplary in the
duties of his sacred calling and sublime ministry. To
his watchfulness and active exertions, the Catholics of
England were mainly indebted for the preservation of
their old Oath of allegiance and their venerable name
of Catholics, and for their escape from the impending
horrors of Schism.
While discharging faithfully the duties of a zealous
pastor at Winchester, MR. MILNER found in that city a
wide field for the pursuit of those Antiquarian studies,
64 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1798.
for which he had great talents, as well as inclination.
He was already known as an antiquary, and the city
and cathedral of Winchester brought out his learning,
taste, and abilities more and more conspicuously.
After continuing his studies and researches assiduously
for ten years in that city, he published in 1798 the
great work which at once established his fame as
an ecclesiologist, historian, architect and antiquary:
" The History, Civil and Ecclesiastical, and Survey
of the Antiquities of Winchester, by the Rev. John
Milner, F.S.A" This work, however, was not
actually commenced, or even projected by its learned
author, much more than a twelvemonth before it was
given to the public. He was applied to by a respect
able bookseller in Winchester, to furnish him with
some account of that city. This led him to examine
the previous histories and descriptions of Winchester ;
and he found these so incorrect and defective, that he
considered it due to the ancient city, as well as to the
public, to draw up a genuine account of Winchester
and its antiquities. This we learn from his Preface,
in which he observes that Winchester is entitled to a
separate history and description, from its having been
until within a few centuries, the capital of the West,
and sometime of the whole kingdom, and from its still
containing monuments of most important events in
Saxon and Norman times.*
This valuable work is comprised in two volumes :
the first being devoted to the ecclesiastical and civil
History of Winchester, and the second to the Survey
of its Antiquities. In the first part, beginning from
the first foundation of the city by the Britons, he traces
* Preface to First Edition.
AGE 46.] CHAPTER EOUKTH. 65
it on, through the dominion of the Komans ana Saxons
to the Norman Conquest, and the reign of each suc
cessive monarch down to the very year of the publica
tion of his work. In the course of this historical
investigation, he found favourable opportunities of
correcting the many mistakes and misrepresentations
of Protestant historians, on subjects connected with
the Catholic religion. Thus he establishes the facts
of the conversion of King Lucius, and of his procuring
Bishops from Rome ; he gives the true account of
St. Birinus, and of his converting the West Saxons,
and especially the King and the inhabitants of Win
chester ; he exposes and corrects the shameful
misrepresentations of the historians Carte, Hume,
Guthrie, Eapin, &c., with respect to the history of St.
Dunstan, and the licentious young King Edwy ; he
introduces a succinct and correct statement of the
dispute between King Henry II. and St. Thomas
of Canterbury ; he gives a most interesting and
edifying account of the celebrated Bishop of Win
chester, William of Wykeham, and corrects the mis
representations of historians concerning that period.
When he comes to speak of Cardinal Wolsey as Bishop
of Winchester, he gives a masterly account, brief but
pointed, of the Reformation and its consequences,
particularly the suppression of monasteries in Win
chester. He gives an impartial account of Bishop
Gardiner ; and without attempting to justify the per
secutions under Queen Mary, he dwells at some length
upon them, for the purpose of establishing four very
important positions, which should always be kept in
view, in connexion with those sanguinary measures
These are, First, that Mary did not persecute from any
tenet of her religion ; Secondly, that she did not
66 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEK. [1798.
persecute till she had received many provocations ;
Thirdly, that the most eminent Protestant divines
taught and practised persecution, in those days,
equally with Catholics ; and Lastly, that Fox's Acts
and Monuments, from which all succeeding writers
have borrowed their accounts, have been proved to be
a tissue of falsehood, misrepresentation, and absurdity.
When he comes to the reign of James II., he shows
impartially what James really did, and his motives for
it; comparing his conduct, not with that of succeeding,
but preceding monarchs, and judging of it, not by
later laws and customs, but by the principles and
practice of his predecessors. " The event proved,"
he says, " that in prosecuting his favourite scheme of
uniting an established church with universal religious
liberty, he built too much on his civil prerogative ; too
much on his ecclesiastical supremacy, as the legal head
of the Church of England ; and too much on the
avowed doctrine of that Church, concerning passive
obedience and non-resistance. But, in all these points
he was deceived by the judges, the divines and the
ministers whom he employed. In short, he en
deavoured to enforce his famous declaration of liberty
of conscience, and he lost his crown, for himself and
for the house of Stuart, by the attempt. To fall in
such a cause was worthy of a king."*
Though the author of this comprehensive history
confines himself principally to the record of the events
which concerned the city of Winchester and its neigh
bourhood, his narrative becomes in great measure a
history of England, as there are few occurrences of
national and general interest which he does not intro-
* Hist, of Winchester," P. I., cli. xiii.
AGE 46.] CHAPTER FOURTH, 67
duce in the course of his review of the civil history of
the city. This observation applies almost equally to
the second Part of the work, which is devoted to a
Survey of the Antiquities of Winchester. It begins
of course with the cathedral, of which the author says
that " this sacred edifice is, perhaps, the most vene
rable and interesting model of antiquity within the
compass of the Island, now that Glastonbury is de
stroyed : whether we consider the antiquity of its
foundation, the importance of the scenes which have
been transacted in it, or the character of the personages
with whose mortal remains it is enriched and hal
lowed."* He frequently visited the cathedral, and on
the feasts of St. Swithin and St. Birinus it was
his custom to recite the Rosary, walking up and
down that venerable edifice, in honour of those
saints whose relics repose in the cathedral.
Winchester Cathedral, though defective in uni
formity, from having been upwards of four centuries
in building, has this advantage from that very circum
stance, that it affords the opportunity of studying the
various styles of architecture which succeeded each
other from the Norman Conquest to the unhappy
change of religion in the sixteenth century. The
spectator " will discover in this single pile, the rise,
progress and perfection of the pointed or Gothic archi
tecture : there not being a single stage of that remark
able and interesting species of building, and hardly an
ornament made use of in it, which may not be traced
in some part or other of Winchester Cathedral."t
Every part of the venerable edifice comes successively
under examination. The learned author takes occa-
* " Hist, of Winchester," P. II., ch. i. f Ibid.
68 LIFE X)F BISHOP MILNER. C 1 ? 98 -
sion to proclaim the far greater solemnity and majestic
appearance of the choir and sanctuary than are pre
sented by most other cathedrals, arising from Win
chester Cathedral having been less altered than most
others by the presumption of modern builders, "who
have attempted to improve what they did not even
understand." After describing the choir, stalls, pulpit,
and monuments, he gives an account of the stone
screen and painted glass, with the chapels and
chantries; he examines and refutes the supposition
that the remains found in what is called St. Swithin's
grave were the relics of the saint. Perhaps the most
interesting part of this portion of the work is his^expla-
nation of the ancient cathedral front, that Crux
Antiquariorum, which no one before had been able to
make out. It had been supposed by the Society of
Antiquaries to represent the history of St. Birinus.
But MILNER, better versed in the lives of the Saints,
cleared up the mystery, by showing that the sculptures
on the south and west sides of the front represent the
history and miracles of St. Nicholas of Myra.
A chapter was introduced in the second edition,
by the author, devoted to the examination of the
modern monuments of the cathedral ; which fully
bears out the concluding observation, that " the general
fault of all these mural monuments is, that however
beautiful in themselves, being universally of Grecian
architecture, they cannot possibly assimilate with the
general style of the venerable fabric in which they are
placed ; and on the contrary, that they necessarily
cover some of its appropriate and essential ornaments."*
The author proceeds to examine the environs of the
* Hist, of Win." P. II. ch. iii.
AGE 46. J
CHAPTER FOURTH. 69
cathedral, and the priory and chapter-house ; and the
description of the conventual buildings led him to an
admirable and most interesting account of the institu
tion, object and daily exercises of a monastic life. In
the chapter which treats of the ancient Grammar
School, and of the College of William of Wykeham,
and its chapel, the author introduces the well-known
song of Dulce Domum, which is sung by the scholars
before the Midsummer vacation, and which DR. MILNER
always enjoyed hearing on the like occasion, at his own
College of St. Mary's at Oscott, in after years.
After describing Wolvesey Castle and St. Elizabeth's
College, he dwells upon the venerable Hospital of St.
Cross, the decayed state of which institution he thus
describes : " The present establishment of St. Cross
is but the wreck of two ancient institutions ; having
been severely fleeced, though not quite destroyed, like
so many other hospitals, at the Reformation. Instead
of 70 residents, as well clergy as laity, who were here
entirely supported, besides 100 out-members, who
daily received their meat and drink ; the charity
consists at present but of ten residing brethren, and
three out-pensioners, exclusive of one chaplain and the
master. It is true, however, that certain doles of bread
continue to be distributed to the poor of the neighbour
hood ; and, what is perhaps the only vestige left in
the kingdom of the simplicity and hospitality of an
cient times, the porter is daily furnished with a certain
quantity of good bread and beer, of which every
traveller or other person whatsover, that knocks at the
lodge and calls for relief, is entitled to partake gratis.*
The rest of this learned and valuable work is devoted
* Hist, of Win." P. II. ch. vii.
70 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1798.
to a survey of the Castle and the several churches,
convents, hospitals and other remarkable buildings of
Winchester, ending with the account of the Catholic
chapel already mentioned.
Li this year, 1798, MR. MILNER, at a very brief
notice, wrote a short Life of the venerable Bishop
Challoner, to be prefixed to a new edition of that
prelate's favourite work of controversy, " The Grounds
of the Old Religion" He compiled it partly from
the account given him by a person residing in Winches
ter, who had passed several of her early years with
Bishop Challoner's mother, partly from the Bishop's
own works, and those of some others, partly from
some manuscript notes which had been put into his
hands, and from anecdotes related to him by some who
had long been intimate with the Bishop, and partly also
from his own recollections of him. This is a per
formance so admirable and of so great interest, that it
is to be regretted that it is so short occupying only
about fifty duodecimo pages and that it has not been
reprinted. It would be read at the present day with
the greatest attraction and attention. It is delightfully
written, full of unction and piety, and comprises a
great deal of valuable information within its small
compass. The limits of the present biography will not
allow of many extracts from the work, but a few
cannot fail to be acceptable. Speaking of Dr. Chal
loner's great pains to inspire his clergy with the true
spirit of their vocation, he says :
" Though a man of first-rate talents and learning
himself, yet he made little account of these in the choice
of his missionaries, compared with the edification of
their lives and their zeal for saving souls. He had
the same sentiments with respect to the discharge of
AGE 46.J CHAPTER FOURTH. 71
that part of the sacred ministry which seems most of
all to depend upon talents ; he preferred the preacher
of ordinary talents, with a great share of piety, to
another of the most commanding eloquence, who was
less inflamed with devotion and the love of God ; and,
in particular, he severely censured all studied orna
ments, either of language or of delivery, on this sacred
occasion, as a sacrilegious usurpation on the part of
God's minister, and an attempt to gain glory for
himself, rather than for his heavenly Master." (P. 26.)
The following particulars of Courayer will be new
to many readers.
" One of the most noted amongst the clerical apos
tates was Father Courayer, a canon regular of the order
of St. Genevieve at Paris, who having first signalised
himself as a disciple of F. Paschasius Quesnel, in op
position to the Bull Unigenitus, and thereby drawn
upon himself the censures of the Church in his own
country, and being desirous of securing friends to
himself in this, into which he had resolved to with
draw himself, wrote a treatise in defence of the validity
of the English ordinations. This, though refuted by
many able pens, and by that of our prelate amongst
others in the following treatise of The Grounds of the
old Religion, yet fully answered the author's expecta
tions, as he was protected and almost idolized here by
the clergy, who placed his picture in the Bodleian
Library, and by some of the nobility, who supported
him in the most affluent and honourable manner.
This notorious Jansenist and fugitive religious still
maintained that he was in the bosom of the Catholic
Church, and that he had been guilty of no crime what
ever ; and, therefore, was accustomed to present him
self in the Catholic chapels, which he frequented, at
72 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. 1.1798.
the altar, in order to receive the Holy Communion ;
but our zealous prelate was inflexible in requiring a
retractation of his errors, as public as his profession of
them had been, and likewise his return to religious
obedience, before he would admit him to the partici
pation of the sacraments ; and by his orders Father
Courayer was always publicly passed over by the offi
ciating priest when he presented himself, amongst
others, at the altar rail. He died as he had lived, in
1774." (P. 28.)
The author introduces in a note, at page 31, an
amusing pleasantry of the merry monarch. "King
Charles II., when he heard his prelates congratulating
each other on the acquisition of a brother, namely,
any fallen priest who had conformed, was accustomed
significantly to answer, If you have a new brother,
you will not be long without having a new sister"
But no portion of this Life of Dr. Challoner is
more interesting and touching, than the description of
his preaching in the most obscure places for the sake
of security.
" In general, he left the more splendid audiences to
other preachers, and chose for his own part to preach
to the poor and to persons in the middle rank of life,
where there was less temptation to vanity for himself,
and a more ample harvest to be reaped of his neigh
bours' souls. As far back as the writer's recollection
can trace the ministry of this holy prelate, about the
years 1756 and 1757, the times being troublesome,
and privacy necessary, he was accustomed to hold his
pious assembly and preach, every Sunday evening, at
a miserable and ruinous apartment hired for this pur
pose, near Clare Market. Hence they removed to
another, almost as wretched, amongst the stables in
AGE 46.] CHAPTER FOURTH. 73
Whetstone's Park, Gate-street, Lincoln's-Inn Fields ;
and lastly, after the Bishop had preached for a few
weeks in the Sardinian Chapel, until he was silenced
by the ambassador, at the instance of ministry, the
said society removed to a place rather more commo
dious in Turnstyle, Holborn. This society consisted
of certain reputable tradesmen, whose first object was
to defray the hire and other expenses of the large
apartment in which they assembled to hear their pas
tor's sermons, and which was regularly filled by a great
multitude of the poorest sort of Catholics, together
with themselves. In the second place, by means of
stated and regular contributions, they formed a fund
for relieving the sick, who were in indigent circum
stances, as likewise poor widows, neglected orphans, or
reduced families, which came within their own know
ledge, or were recommended to them." (P. 36.)
The title of this excellent little biography is as
follows : " A brief Account of the Life of the late
R. Rev. Richard Challoner^D.D., Bishop of Debra,
and Apostolical Vicar of the Southern District. By
the Rev. John Milner, F.S.A. London: J.P.
Coghlan. 1798." It has prefixed to it a medallion
portrait of the venerable Bishop, finely engraved by J.
Nagle.
It will be readily imagined that a work like MILNER'S
History of Winchester made a great sensation imme
diately on its appearance. Nothing equal to it, or at
all like it, had before been published ; and that such a
production should come from a Catholic, excited great
admiration in some, and violent opposition on the part
of others. " The work was admitted," says the vene
rable author, " even by its professed enemies to have
answered its intended design, and to have brought to
74 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1800.
light a fund of hidden information relative to former
times ; but these persons complained that it presented
details too favourable to the religion of our ancestors,
and that it exhibited the alterations which took place
in respect of it, between two and three centuries ago,
in odious colours."* It was, therefore, not likely to
escape some criticisms and animadversions in print.
One passage in particular, in which the author observed
of Bishop Hoadly, that, " both living and dying, he
undermined the Church of which he was a prelate,"f
brought out, in a few months, a professed answer to
the work, from Dr. Sturges, Prebendary and Chan
cellor of Winchester, who owed his preferments to
Hoadly, entitled " Reflections on Popery" This was
the work of an able writer and respectable man ; but
while it professed to be an answer to MILNER'S book,
it mentioned scarcely a dozen articles in it, and those
of comparatively small importance. It was a vague
and general misrepresentation of Catholic doctrine
and practice. It was not to be supposed, however,
that MILNER would be silent under its charges ; and
in 1800 he published his immortal work, Letters to a
Prebendary, which attempts indeed were made to
suppress, but never to answer. It astonished all par
ties. Its display of history, its extensive erudition,
its theological acumen, its controversial power and
penetration, and its fearless defence of that religion,
which till then had rarely found an open vindication,
created a sensation which Catholics had never before
witnessed. The work was the subject of discussion,
even in Parliament. It was assailed by the Chancellor,
* Letters to a Prebendary." Preface to Second Edition,
t " History of Winchester," P. I. ch. ii.
AGE 48.] CHAPTER FOURTH. 75
Lord Loughborough, but generously defended and
highly extolled by Dr. Horsley, then Bishop of Roches
ter.* The work had evidently caused serious alarm
in high quarters, and certain powerful personages
expressed an earnest wish for the termination of the
controversy. With this view it was proposed to
silence MILNER by a pension ; and a Catholic gentle
man of name was commissioned to sound him upon
the proposal. Little, however, did they who enter
tained such an idea know of the conscientious firm
ness and noble independence of that great man. His
friend, Dr. Horsley, judged more wisely : he was con
fident that he would never accept even the ample
pension proposed to bribe him to silence ; and he took
a more effectual method, by requesting MILNER, as a
return for his advocacy and defence of him in Parlia
ment, to discontinue his controversy with Dr. Sturges.
This appeal had the desired success, and induced the
indefatigable MILNER to withhold a triumphant work,
which he.had written in the latter part of 1801, and
the beginning of 1802, that famous " End of Contro
versy? which was not published till sixteen years
afterwards. Dr. Sturges, instead of attempting to
answer the " Letters to a Prebendary" merely gave
a second edition of his own book, with a dishonourable
repetition of the charges which MILNER had proved to
be calumnious, prefixing an Advertisement, with a few
trifling and unimportant discussions.
It was to be expected that as MILNER'S censure of
Bishop Hoadly had chiefly given offence, and pro
voked Dr. Sturges to write his " Reflections on
* He was successively Bishop of St. David's, Kochester, and St.
Asaph, and died in 1806.
76 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1800.
Popery" our able author would not pass by that sub
ject in his u Letters to a Prebendary." He devoted
about a hundred pages to it in the last Letter of the
book, under the title of " Hoadlyism" As the work
of Dr. Sturges led him, MILNER followed in the first
seven Letters of his immortal work, pursuing his
adversary step by step, and discussing his facts and
his reasoning on the several subjects of Supremacy,
Religious Observances, Persecution, The Refor
mation, Vindication of the English Catholics under
Elizabeth, and their Subsequent History to the time
of writing his book. These seven Letters form a
mass of most valuable information, and a repertory
of Catholic doctrine and Catholic history more valu
able than could be found in any other production.
As a work of controversy, it has always ranked very
high, and equally so as a work of history. It was the
first attempt to clear us from the odious and hackneyed
accusations heaped upon us for centuries ; and the
attempt was decidedly and permanently successful.
The Letter VIII., on Hoadly ism, is by no means
the least important, or least interesting. The author
had said of Bishop Hoadly, in his History of Win
chester, that " both living and dying he undermined
the Church of which he was a prelate." He proceeds
to substantiate the charge, by contrasting the plain
doctrines of the Establishment with those of Hoadly's
system, on the 'following points : The Nature and
Form of the Church, the Sacraments, the Christian
Mysteries, and the assent and subscription required to
the Thirty-nine Articles and the Book of Common
Prayer. Together with Bishop Hoadly, MILNER brings
forward his- late disciple, Dr. Thomas Balguy, and
shows that he even goes beyond his master in latitu-
AGE 48. J
CHAPTER FOURTH. 77
dinarianism and erastian principles. Under each head
he quotes from the published writings of these two
dignitaries of the Establishment, and proves how
widely they differ from the doctrines of the Church
whose emoluments they enjoyed, and whose tenets
they were bound to uphold. On the nature and
foundation of Church government, he introduces an
anecdote, which will exhibit at once the extent of Dr.
Balguy's latitudinarianism. MILNER says : " Having
once had occasion to discuss this subject with him, in
the presence of Lord Hervey, Bishop of Derry, and
others, I asked him, whether, if he had accepted of
the bishopric,* and the King had sent to him a known,
professing and unbaptized Jew, to be consecrated a
bishop of the Church of England, he would consecrate
him, or not ? His answer was Yes, I would."
MILNER shows that the sentiments of Dr. Sturges
are conformable throughout to those of Hoadly and
Balguy. He proves that these men alike deprive the
two admitted sacraments of the Church of England of
all efficacy, reducing them to mere positive rites,
containing no mystery, or efficacious grace. In fact,
he proves that their opinions were no better than bare
Socinianism ; and that Dr. Balguy lays down a gene
ral maxim on mysteries, which at once cuts them all
up by the root, and destroys not only the mysteries
of the Trinity and Incarnation, but also those of the
Sacraments and Original Sin, as likewise the atonement
of Christ, the necessity of Divine Grace, and all other
truths of religion which we do not clearly understand.
The system indeed was that Rationalism, which was then
beginning to pullulate, and has since been so fearfully
* Dr. Balguy had refused a bishopric.
78 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1800.
developed, especially in the schools of Germany ; and
whoever will attentively read this Letter VIII. of the
Letters to a Prebendary, will find there a very clear
exposition of its nature and its danger. " I think, Sir,"
says MILNER, at the end of his masterly exposure,
"that I have now demonstratively vindicated that
expression, which has proved so offensive to you and
to several of your friends, and has probably given
occasion to the present controversy, namely, that
Bishop Hoadly has, by his doctrines, undermined the
Church of which he was a prelate. / . . Never
theless, it has not been so much for the sake of
vindicating the expression, as of refuting the system
itself, and of stopping the course of the prevailing
incredulity and irreligion, which I am convinced are
the natural growth of it, that I have entered into
the present discussion." The penetration of MILNER
foresaw the consequences, which our generation has
lived to witness and lament ; and who is not convinced
that Hoadly, Balguy and Sturges, were they now
living, would be foremost to contribute their aid to
" Essays and Reviews," and add three more to the
Seven Champions of anti-Christendom ? It was,
however, a bold and hazardous venture in those days
to stand forth, as MILNER did, so fearlessly in defence
of religion ; but he knew no fear in the cause of his
divine Master. " If," said he, " in tracing, at an
humble distance, the steps of the great Athanasius,
it should be my lot to drink still deeper of his cup of
persecution on this account than I have done, I
am content, provided I may share with him the
approbation of the Judge to come whose cause I
defend."*
* P.S. to Letter VIII.
AGE 48.] CHAPTER FOURTH. 79
Dr. Sturges died in 1807 ; DR. MILNER heard, of
his death while his Letters from Ireland were print
ing, and immediately added in a note to Letter I. of
the Appendix, the following generous tribute to the
memory of his old opponent : " Whilst this work is
in the press, I hear with infinite regret of the death of
that respected and learned gentleman.
*' * Spargite flores, etc.
His saltern accumulem donis et fungar inani
Munere.' "
Indeed he had always kept on easy and friendly terms
with the Dean and Canons. Soon after his consecra
tion, meeting with the Dean, he said : u Here we are
then, you still a rich Dean, and I now a poor Bishop."
In the Second Part of his HISTORY OF WINCHESTER,
MILNER had laid down his own system on the rise and
progress of Gothic architecture ; and his learned and
acute observations excited great attention. In the
same year, 1798, MILNER published the " Dissertation
on the Modern Style of altering Ancient Cathedrals,
exemplified in that of Salisbury ;" and two years
after a further elucidation of his system, entitled :
" Observations on the means necessary for the further
illustrating the Ecclesiastical Architecture of the
Middle Ages, in a Letter from the Rev. John
Milner, M.A., F.S.A., to Mr. Taylor. Winchester,
1800." The style of architecture commonly known
as the Gothic or Pointed, has been thoroughly investi
gated since ; but was only imperfectly understood,
and beginning to be appreciated at that time. Mr.
John Carter was considered the architect best
acquainted with it in the kingdom. " I know one man,
indeed," says MILNER, " who is eminently qualified to
direct any work of this nature, and who, without either
80 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
an original or a copy to look at, could sit down and
make pure and perfect drawings for any kind of
buildings in the pointed style, from a monument to a
cathedral, according to any one of its different periods :
but this architect ... is so inflexibly strict in adhering
to ancient rules and practice, that he would not build
for a prince who should require the slightest deviation
from them. . . . With the most enthusiastic
passion for the pointed architecture, his whole life has
been devoted to the study of it, from its great prin
ciples down to its minutest ornaments."*
DR. MILNER became acquainted with Mr. Carter by
mere accident. He found him one day in Winches
ter Cathedral, copying some mural paintings recently
brought to light upon its walls. DR. MILNER asked
if he could explain them, and he replied : " If you,
Sir, will explain them for me, you will render me the
greatest favour in the world." The explanation was
given him in writing, and an acquaintance was at once
formed between the parties, which continued till Mr.
Carter's death. He, on every occasion, declared his
belief in the Catholic religion, and was at length
received into its communion by DR. MILNER, while
resident in Winchester. But it was reserved for
MILNER himself to define more clearly the several
styles and periods of Gothic architecture ; and he
also assisted Mr. Carter in completing his work on the
ancient architecture of England.
In the year 1801, appeared from his pen." The
Case of Conscience Solved ; or the Catholic Claims
proved to be compatible with the Coronation Oath, in
* " An Inquiry into certain Vulgar Opinions, &c./' Appendix,
Letter II.
AGE 49.] . CHAPTER FOURTH. 81
a Letter from a Divine in the Country to his Friend
in Town. With a Supplement, in Answer to Con
siderations on the Coronation Oath, by J. Reeves,
Esqr. By the Rev. J. Milner, F.S.A., $c." This
was written in consequence of the scruples of
George III., and his unwillingness to grant Eman
cipation, on account of the oath which he had taken
at his coronation. DR. MILNER was in possession
of a letter from Mr. Pitt, stating that the King had
read his treatise, and that it had entirely satisfied his
mind, and removed his difficulty. The work was
dedicated to Mr. Windham : it was extolled by
eminent men in Parliament, and spoken of in high
terms of commendation by the Monthly and Critical
Reviews.
But MILNER was ready to respond to every call
for his able and zealous advocacy of truth and justice.
Watchful as he was over the interests of the Catholic
Church in his own country, he was no indifferent spec
tator of the terrible events which had been passing for
some years in France. The clergy of that nation,
after suffering a series of frightful persecutions, beheld
at length the restoration of peace on the return of
Buonaparte from Egypt, when he was declared First
Consul of the French Republic, in November, 1799-
The persecution of the clergy ceased, those who had
been imprisoned were set at liberty, those who had lain
hid came forth, and those in exile were permitted to
return. Buonaparte, considering that to restore peace
to the Church would be most important for the public
tranquillity, sought to enter into a concordat with the
new Pope, Pius VII. , who had been by a special
intervention of Providence elected at Venice, on the
14th March, 1800, and had made his solemn entry into
G
82 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1802.
Eome on the 3rd of July following. The Pope
cordially entered into a proposal so desirable for the
re-establishment of peace and order in the Church in
France ; and a Concordat was agreed to at Paris, July
15, 1801, and confirmed by the Pope, August 15th
following, by his Bull, Ecclesia Christi. For the
execution of its provisions, his Holiness addressed a
Circular on the same day to all the French Bishops,
requesting them all, for the sake of peace, to resign
their bishoprics into his hands, preparatory to a new
circumscription of dioceses, and the new erection of
episcopal sees throughout France. There were only
eighty-one Bishops then left, of whom forty-five
immediately sent in the resignation of their sees, while
the remaining thirty-six for various reasons respectfully
declined. Pius VII., however, in the exercise of that
supreme power which the extreme necessity of the
Church in France justified him in employing, proceeded
to suppress all the bishoprics in France, and to create
sixty new sees, ten of which were archbishoprics. The
bishops who had refused to resign their sees, had done
so nevertheless with the utmost reverence for the Pope ;
those who returned to France held communion with
the newly appointed clergy, and finally all, except one,
gave in their resignation in the year 1817, and were
appointed to some of the new bishoprics. Even that
unhappy one, formerly Bishop of Blois, retracted be
fore his death.
Several priests, however, opposed the Concordat, and
strove to alienate the faithful from their new pastors ;
maintaining that Pius VII. had not observed the facms
prescribed by the Canons, and had exceeded his
powers. By far the greater part of the French emi
grant clergy had returned to their own country ; but
AGE 50.J CHAPTER FOURTH. 83
several of those who remained in England joined in this
opposition, and were encouraged by some of the emi
grant Bishops in England. Monsignor Erskine, after
wards Cardinal, who had heen several years in England,
was commissioned to induce the French emigrant
Bishops to comply with the wish of his Holiness, by
resigning their sees, which four of them did, and he
engaged MR. MILNER to employ his powerful pen in
the cause. Perceiving the dangerous errors of the
party, he accordingly published " An Elucidation of
the Conduct of his Holiness P. Pius VII., with
respect to the Bishops and Ecclesiastical Affairs of
France, in a Letter to a Country Gentleman , with a
new translation of the late Briefs ; the one addressed
to the Catholic Prelates, the other to the Arch
bishop of Corinth, relative to the Schismatical Pre
lates of that Country. By the Rev. J. Milner, M.A.,
F.S.A. 1802." This schismatical party were styled
in France La petite Eglise ; but they were occa
sionally called Clementins, from the Abbe Clement,
an able defender of their cause. In England they
have been generally known by the name of Blanchar-
dists, from the Abbe Blanchard, who made himself
conspicuous in their defence in this country. It will
be necessary, however, to revert to the state of
Catholic affairs from the death of Bishop Berington,
in 1 798, before continuing the account of the schis
matical Blanchardists.
84 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEE. [1802.
CHAPTER FIFTH.
DR. BEW'S CLAIM TO JURISDICTION SET ASIDE. DR. STAPLETON
MADE BISHOP AND VICAR APOSTOLIC OF THE MIDLAND DISTRICT.
HIS DEATH. MILNER APPOINTED HIS SUCCESSOR HIS
RELUCTANCE TO ACCEPT THE CHARGE I FINAL ACQUIESCENCE.
CONSECRATION OF BISHOP MILNER. MEETING OF THE FOUR
VICARS APOSTOLIC. DR. MILNER TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS
DISTRICT. ITS EXTENT, NUMBER OF ITS CHAPELS AND CLERGY.
TERMINATION OF THE OPPOSITION OF THE STAFFORDSHIRE
CLERG. DETAILS OF CHAPELS OF THE MIDLAND DISTRICT.
THE death of Bishop Berington, which occurred sud
denly, as already related, on the 8th of June, 1798,
did not put an end to the Blue Book contests, nor to
the hostility of the party known as the Staffordshire
Clergy. The Eev. Dr. Bew, who had been the late
Bishop's Vicar-General, claimed the exercise of spiri
tual jurisdiction, till a new Vicar Apostolic should be
appointed. This, however, rightfully belonged to the
Senior Vicar Apostolic, Bishop William Gibson, who
of course claimed to exercise it, and his claim was
approved and admitted by the new Pope, in a letter
from Venice, dated April 23, 1800. But the great
question now was who should succeed as Vicar Apos
tolic in the Midland District. The Cisalpine Club
were very anxious to procure the appointment of one,
whose sentiments were congenial with their own ; but
on the 7th of November, 1800, the Kev. Gregory
Stapleton was appointed Bishop of Hierocsesarea in
partibus, and Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District.
"Dr. Stapleton," says Dr. MILNER, "was a gentleman
AGE 50.] CHAPTER FIFTH. 85
of ancient family, and unimpeachable orthodoxy and
morality." He was president of St. Edmund's College,
Old Hall Green, when he was made Bishop ; and had
been previously president of St. Omer's College, when
its inmates were imprisoned at Arras and Dourlens.
When they were restored to liberty, he returned with
them to England, and settled with them at Old Hall
Green. In the Letter from Cardinal Borgia, the Pro-
Prefect of Propaganda, dated November 4th, 1800,
which announced to him his appointment to the epis
copal see of Hierocsesarea in partibus, and to the
Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District, he was
exhorted to accept the burthen imposed upon him, for
the present at least, out of reverence for the Holy See,
with the assurance that if after settling the affairs of
the District, he should prefer becoming coadjutor to
Bishop Douglass, who had petitioned for him, he
would be allowed to make the exchange, as soon as
a fit person should be found to take his place. Dr.
Stapleton was consecrated on the 8th of March, 1801,
by Bishop Douglass ; and when he took possession of
the episcopal residence at Long Birch, he brought
with him his friend Eev. Thomas Walsh, then in
deacon's orders, to reside with him as his secretary.
He ordained him priest there, and gave him the charge
of the congregation. At his decease, he bequeathed
to him his valuable library, his watch, and some other
articles.
Dr. Stapleton's exertions to restore peace in his
District were crowned with success ; but it did not
long continue. He governed the District only a year
and a-half, and died while on a visit at his old resi
dence, St. Omer's, May 23, 1802. His death was the
signal for fresh dissensions and intrigues among the
86 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
members of the Cisalpine Club. The latter again en
deavoured to procure a Bishop of their own choice :
others were busy in recommending various persons.
Thus the two Grand Vicars of the Midland District,
Messrs. Beeston and Beaumont, recommended Dr.
Bew, adding also the names of Messrs. Rigby and
Come. But the Senior Vicar Apostolic, Dr. William
Gibson, claimed his undoubted right of presenting to
the Holy See a fit person for the vacant District. It
was mentioned in the last chapter that six years before,
when Bishop Berington could not obtain the extraor^
dinary faculties of a Vicar Apostolic, there was a pro
posal made by the Cardinal Prefect of the Propaganda
to appoint MR. MILNER coadjutor to that Bishop ; but
that the appointment did not take place, because hopes
were still cherished by one of the Vicars Apostolic
that the Bishop would comply with what the Holy See
required. On his death, MILNER had been regularly
presented to the Holy See as a fit person to succeed
as Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District ; but he
humbly tells us that " the superior merit of Dr. Sta-
pleton caused him to be preferred."*
Now, however, the Midland District was again
vacant, and the eyes of all who were zealous for order
and peace, and the real interests of religion, were
anxiously turned upon MILNER to fill the vacancy.
No man certainly was better qualified for it than the
subject of this biography. For six and twenty years
he had had experience on the mission, and had dis
charged with remarkable zeal, fidelity and success the
functions and laborious duties of the priesthood. He
had shown unwearied energy in defending the sacred
* " Supp. Mem./' p. 109. Note.
AGE 51.] CHAPTER FIFTH. 87
cause of faith against the enemies without, and the
cause of ecclesiastical order and discipline against
insidious foes in the very household. His talents
were of the first order, and had already made him
very conspicuous ; and with the peculiar difficulties
of the time, and especially of the District then vacant,
he was evidently the man best qualified to contend.
He was therefore again presented to the Holy See, and
strongly supported by His Eminence, Cardinal Erskine.
By the joint influence of that Cardinal, and of the
Senior Vicar Apostolic, Dr. William Gibson, with
whom the other two Bishops, Douglass and Sharrock
concurred, the EEV. JOHN MILNER was appointed
Bishop of Castabala in partibus* and Vicar Apostolic
of the Midland District, by a Brief of Pope Pius VII.,
dated March 1, 1803.
MILNER, however, was very reluctant to accept the
dignity and weighty charge proposed for him. So far
from considering it his duty to acquiesce, the humble
missioner of Winchester " conceived it his duty," as he
himself has informed us, " to decline such a promotion
altogether. "f He was influenced principally by a sense
of his own unworthiness, for a man of real humility
can never recognise his own merits ; but together
with this, another important reason weighed upon
his mind, and made him for a long time withhold con
sent to his appointment. The Midland District, to
which he was nominated, had been involved in the
disedifying contest connected with the Catholic Com-
* An Apostolic See, mentioned by St. Ignatius of Antioch, the
Bishop of which sat in the first Council of Nice. DR. MILNER
used to mention that it was famous for a breed of mastiffs, the
Scriptural emblems of faithful pastors.
f " Supp. Mem.," p. 109-
88 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1803.
mittee, Mr. Wilks and the Blue Books, and had long
continued in opposition to the other Districts. We
have his own assurance that "he had the strongest
antipathy to a residence in that country, where he saw
he must reside, in case he accepted" the appointment.*
He consulted his friends, but could not bring himself
to a decision, till the representations of a sincere and
enlightened friend convinced him of the line of duty
which he ought to follow. This friend was the Bev.
James Sharrock, younger brother of Bishop Sharrock,
who had succeeded Bishop Walmesley as V. A. of
the Western District. James was Prior of the Bene
dictine establishment at Acton Burnell ; and he
fortunately succeeded in convincing MILNER that he
ought to accept the charge proposed for him, because if
he refused, some other might be chosen for the office,
who would perpetuate those dissensions and innova
tions, to which the District had been so long subject.
His reluctance was thus happily overcome, and he
consented to undertake the important charge to which
he was called.
To prepare for the solemn ceremonial of his con
secration, he repaired to the monastery at Lulworth
where the monks of La Trappe had found an asylum
when driven from France. They were located in some
farm buildings near the Castle, by Thomas Weld, Esq.,
father of His late Eminence Cardinal Weld. Here the
Bishop elect made a devout preparation for the grace
of the Holy Order of Episcopacy, by a fervent spiritual
retreat in the silence and solitude of this humble Cis
tercian monastery. He went through all the religious
exercises of the community, and from long standing,
* "Supp. Memoirs," p. 110,
AGE 51. J CHAPTER FIFTH. 89
the blood gushed from his legs. But he came forth
from this rigorous preparation, strengthened in spirit,
rejoicing as a giant to run the way* and ready to
take up his formidable burthen, trusting that He who
imposed it would strengthen him to support it. It was
natural that he should choose bis own beautiful chapel
at Winchester for the place of his consecration : it was
his own erection, he had long ministered in it, he was
beloved by the flock attached to it, and he was about
to endure a painful and final separation from it. He
would therefore take his leave by the solemn and
imposing farewell of his episcopal consecration. This
important event took place on Sunday within the
Octave of the Ascension, the 22nd of May, 1803.
The consecrating Bishop was Dr. Douglass, Vicar
Apostolic of the London District, who was assisted by
the other two Vicars Apostolic, Drs. Gibson and
Sharrock. A coadjutor had been granted to Dr.
Douglass, in the person of Dr. William Poynter, who
had been appointed Bishop of Halia, in partibus, and
who was also present on this memorable occasion.
There were also assembled the Eev. Thomas White,
who succeeded some time after to the mission of Win
chester, and who preached the Consecration Sermon
from the text, " Thou art Peter, fyc.;" the Eev. John
Perry, the new Bishop's Vicar-General ; Rev. Eichard
South worth, S.T.P. ; the Eev. Messrs. Hodgson, Grif
fiths, Lingard, Walmesley, and Grafton ; the Eev. F.
John Baptist, Prior of La Trappe, and the Ven. Abbe
Carron. After the ceremony the Bishops and clergy
dined in the refectory of Ijie convent. The pectoral
cross and ring for his consecration were presented to
* Ps. xviii. 6.
90 LIFE OF BISHOP MIL-NEB. [1803
him by the nuns at Winchester ; and at his death were
returned to them by his express directions. On the
Sunday following, being Whitsunday, the 29th of
May, Dr. Poynter was consecrated in the Chapel of
St. Edmund's College, Old Hall Green ; and on
that occasion BISHOP MILNEK delivered an excellent
discourse, which unfortunately has not been pre
served.
The four Yicars Apostolic and the coadjutor of
Dr. Douglass being thus assembled together, embraced
the opportunity of holding a meeting, in which they
considered the chief grievances under which the
Catholics then laboured in England, the want of free
liberty for those in the army and navy to practise their
religion; the invalidity of our marriages in law; and
the insecurity of the property of our chapels and
schools. Many other matters regarding religion were
settled by their Lordships at this meeting with perfect
unanimity : and the " Monita" or instructions to the
clergy, were agreed upon, which were afterwards printed
for their use.
And now the new Bishop went forth to take charge
of the Midland District. He continued, however, for
many years to be the extraordinary director of the
nuns at Winchester, and, in consequence, spent some
time there every year. He had been a priest twenty-
six years, and his career in the holy ministry was
almost equally divided between the priesthood and the
episcopacy, for he was Bishop three and twenty years.
St. Gregory the Great says, that humility is not of
itself sufficient qualification /or a Bishop, without light
and knowledge; but that those are qualified who know
how to do themselves what God commands, and
wisely to command others : " Qui et facere jussa
AGE 51.] CHAPTER FIFTH. Ql
sciant, et quse facienda sunt sapienter jubeant."* DR.
MILNER possessed these qualifications in an eminent
degree, as the whole of his episcopal course fully
attested and exemplified. The District over which
he was to preside required, indeed, a Bishop who
would know how to govern wisely. The utmost pru
dence and forbearance were needed ; but they were
found in the character of DR. MILNER ; and the bene
ficial results expected from his episcopacy were
abundantly realised. The Midland District comprised
fifteen counties: Shropshire, Worcestershire, Warwick
shire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire,
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Hunt
ingdonshire, Kutlandshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridge
shire, Norfolk and Suffolk. It is not easy, in the
absence of all records, which in those days were either
not kept at all, or made very imperfectly, to estimate
the number of Catholics in the District. It certainly
extended very widely; and when it was once ob
served to DR. MILNER that his District was very
extensive, he replied, " Yes, Sir, it's a long way from
Ipswich to Oswestry." But in some of its counties
there was not a single known Catholic ; and in some
others there were very few. The greatest numbers
were in Staffordshire and Warwickshire. The total
number of Catholics in England and Wales appears
by the returns made to the House of Lords in 1780,
to have been 69,376. In twenty-three years, up to
the year 1803, they may have increased to more than
70,000. Nearly half of this number were included in
the Northern District alone,, as the Catholics in Lanca
shire far outnumbered those in every other county.
* S. Greg. Magn. in 1 Reg. xvi. 8.
LITE OF BISHOP MILNEB.
[1803.
The London District ranked next in numbers, and
the remainder were distributed through the Mid-
land and Western Districts in unequal proportions, as
the Midland contained far more than the Western.
A tolerable idea may be formed, however, of the
Catholic population of the Midland District, by the
number of chapels which it then contained. The
Catholic reader will be interested in the following
account of chapels and clergy in the Midland Dis
trict in 1803, which the present writer gives chiefly
from his own recollections, with some little aid from
scattered and scanty records. He does not vouch for
its perfect accuracy or completeness, but he believes
it to be as correct as it could now be made :
Black Ladies,
Bloxwich, ...
Cresswell, ...
Lichfield,
Long Birch,
Moseley,
Oscott,
Sedgley, ...
Swinnerton, . . .
Sedgley Park,
Stafford, ...
Aston,
Tixall,
Cobridge, ...
Wolverhampton,
Yoxall,
Ashley,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
... Rev. John Roe.
... Eev. James Norman.
... Rev. James Tasker.
Rev. John Kirk.
... Rev- Thomas Walsh.
... Rev. Joseph Birch.
... Rev. John Bew, D.D., and
Rev. Thomas Potts.
... Rev. John Perry.
... Rev. Tindal.
... Rev. James Simkiss and Rev.
Thomas Southworth.
... Rev. John Corne.
... Rev. Thomas Price.
. . . Vacant.
... Rev. Gaspar Bricknall.
Rev. De Laistre.
AGE 51.]
CHAPTER FIFTH.
93
Baddesley Green,
Birmingham,
Foxcote,
Brailes,
Wapenbury,...
Coughton, . . .
Coventry, ...
Wooton Waven
Acton Burnel,
Linley,
Madeley,
Mawley,
Newport,
Shrewsbury,...
Blackmore Park,
Grafton,
Harvington, . . .
Spetchley ...
Worcester, *..
Derby,
Glossop,
Hassop,
Hathersage,
Wingerworth,
WARWICKSHIRE.
. . . Eev. Chas. McDonnell, O.S.F.
... Rev. James Hawley, O.S.F.
Rev. . Planquette.
Rev. Thomas Barr, O.S.B.
SHROPSHIRE.
.. Kev. Jas. Sharrock, O.S.B.
.. Rev. George Johnson, O.S.B.
.. Rev. John Reeves.
.. Rev. Jas. Apple ton.
.. Rev. George Howe.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
... Eev. Clement Weetman.
... Rev. Richard Cornthwaite.
... Rev. Andrew Robinson.
DERBYSHIRE.
... Rev. Thomas Bloodworth.
... Rev. Thomas Martin.
... Rev. Edward Eyre.
... Rev. Joseph Johnson.
94
LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
[1803.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
Eastwell, Eev. Kobert Beeston.
Holt,
Husband's Bosworth, Eev. Edward Peach.
Stonor Park,
Hardwicke, ...
Britwell,
Enstone,
Kiddington, ..
Oxford,
Maple Durham,
Nottingham,
Worksop, .
Brigg,
Irnham,
Lincoln,
Louth,
Osgodby,
Sixhills,
OXFORDSHIRE.
... Rev. Samuel Corbishley.
... Rev. Francis Bishop.
... Rev. Samuel Rock,
... Rev. Chas. Leslie.
... Rev. Le Febre.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE*
... Rev. P. Demasures.
... Rev* Richard Fish wick.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
... Rev. Fromentin.
... Rev. John Howard.
... Rev. Beaumont.
... Rev. L. Bertrand.
Rev. William Harris.
... Rev. James Hawley.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
King's Cliffe, ... Rev. Dr. O'Brien.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
Sawston Hall,
AGE 51.] CHAPTER FIFTH. 95
NORFOLK.
Buckenham, .*. Kev. John Paterson.
Cossey, Eev. William Hayes.
Lynn, Rev. Le Goff.
Norwich St. John's, Eev. Edward Beaumont.
St. Swithin's, Rev. James Lane.
Oxborough, Rev. John Sanderson.
SUFFOLK.
Bury St. Edmund's,... Rev. Thomas Angier.
Coldham, Rev. Dennett.
Flixton, Rev. Jos. Scott, O.S.B.
Haughley Park, ... Rev. J. B. Fountain.
Gifford's Hall, ... Rev. Blase Morey.
Ipswich, ... ... Rev. L. Simon.
DR. MILKER found that the Midland District, in
common with the other three Districts of England,
had begun to feel the sad effects of the breaking up of
our colleges on the Continent, in consequence of the
French Revolution. Several priests, too, had died very
recently ; so that some missions were without pastors ;
while others were imperfectly supplied by French emi
grant priests, full of zeal and piety indeed, but very
imperfectly acquainted with our language, which was
a formidable drawback, for some time, to their general
usefulness on the English Mission. Yet here we can
not but admire and bless the mysterious dispensation
of Divine Providence in our favour. For just at that
critical time when our seminaries had failed, and no
prospect appeared of our being able for a long time to
come to complete the education of our clergy, with our
very limited means at home, a large number of those
96 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1803.
French priests who had been driven as exiles upon our
shores, had remained in England, and preferred to
labour as best they could, in our poor missions, rather
than return to their own country. Gladly did our
Bishops welcome these worthy men, and employ them
in the work of the holy ministry. They were zealous
and exemplary ; and incalculable was the good which
they effected in this country. Many converts were
made by their prudent and enlightened teaching ;
many chapels were built, and missions established in
every part of the kingdom ; and many a congregation
now large and respectable, owes its beginning to the
humble, but persevering labours of some poor French
priest, generously giving his time, his toil, and his
hard-earned savings to the great work of the salvation
of souls in a strange land. That band of noble la
bourers in our vineyard must never be forgotten by
English Catholics ; nor must we ever cease to thank
God for thus marvellously providing for the spiritual
wants of our poor scattered flocks, and the conversion
of countless souls to his holy faith. The conduct of
the French priests in England was so edifying, and the
circumstances of their coming among us excited so
much sympathy, that the prejudices of our countrymen
against our religion and our priesthood were very
remarkably softened and dissipated, and the way was
prepared far that rapid progress of the Catholic faith,
which we have so happily witnessed in succeeding
years.
It has been already observed that DR. MILNER long
hesitated to accept the charge of the Midland District,
principally from the apprehension of the peculiar dif
ficulties attending it. It had been the stronghold of
the Blue Book party, and the Staffordshire Clergy
AGE 51.] CHAPTER FIFTH. 97
had brought upon themselves a disedifying notoriety.
The leaven had continued to work till the time of
Bishop Stapleton ; but when DR. MILNER came to
reside in Staffordshire, it had entirely subsided. Of
the fifteen priests who were known as the Stafford
shire Clergy, eight were already dead ; their leader,
Rev. Jos. Berington, had left the District, and given
satisfaction to Bishop Douglass, and another, Rev.
John Perry, had so completely secured the confidence
of DR. MILNER, that he appointed him his Vicar-
General, and he continued so to the end of his life.
So that only five of the number remained, and these
gave the new Bishop no trouble, having already made
full retractation two years before. Indeed, so happy
an effect was produced in the District by the appear
ance of BISHOP MILNER, and the charity and prudence
with which he commenced his episcopal administra
tion, that it might truly have been said to him then,
with respect to his District, as it was a few years later,
with reference to his College at Oscott :
" Instar veris enim vultus ubi tuus
Affulsit, populo gratior it dies,
Et soles melius nitent."*
From the above tabular view of the Midland District
in 1803, it will be seen that there were only about
fifty chapels in the fifteen counties which it com
prised. Of these, some were without pastors ; and as
several were served by Benedictines, Ex-Jesuits and
French priests, the number of English secular clergy
* For where thy countenance, like spring, gives light,
The day's more joyous, and the sun more bright.
HOR., Carm. iv., Ode iv., ad Augustum.
See Preface to new edition of the Douay Latin Grammar, by
Rev. Thomas Potts. 1810.
H
98 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1803.
in the District was not much above thirty. The cha
pels were for the most part very humble and inconve
nient. The best was decidedly the one at Wolver-
hampton, which had been built about the year 1743,
and decorated by Bishop Horny old in 1765, with very
elegant Italian plaster work. St. Peter's chapel, the
only one then in Birmingham, was very respectable,
and the chapel at Oscott, built by Rev. Pierce Parry
soon after 1778, was also in very good taste, and of
good dimensions for the time. A few other neat and
convenient chapels existed, such as those at Stafford,
Tixall, Bury St. Edmund's, built by Rev. John Gage,
S. J., St. John's at Norwich, and the Jesuits' chapel
in the same city. The Rev. John Kirk completed
his chapel at Lichfield in November, 1803. Several
were only private chapels in the mansions of the nobi
lity and gentry ; and others were mere rooms or garrets
in obscure buildings. The chapel at Black Ladies,
however, deserves a particular record. It was the very
same venerable chapel which had belonged to a small
community of Benedictine nuns in Catholic times, and
hence the name of Black Ladies. It was a low
building, half timber, with a ceiling of oak, and some
remains of an old tesselated pavement, and had a
gallery at the West end, and another on one side. It
was served at that time, and for many years after, by
the Rev. John Roe, till his death, June 28, 1838, at the
age of eighty-one ; and was closed in 1844, when the
new Catholic church was built at Brewood.
The reader will be curious to know what sort of
chapel the Bishop himself had. His residence at first
was at Long Birch, near Wolverhampton, where he
arrived on the 22nd of June, 1803. The Bishops had
lived there since Dr. Horny old, who was the pastor of
AGE 51.] CHAPTER FIFTH. 99
the congregation there, and when made Bishop in 1752,
continued to reside at Long Birch. The chapel was
merely a room in the house, about twenty feet long,
and the Bishop's sitting-room adjoined it. This was
indeed a poor exchange for DR. MILNER'S handsome
chapel at Winchester, his own creation, to which he
was naturally so much attached ; but he did not remain
many months in a place so little suited to his tastes,
habits, and talents. In the year following he removed
to Wolverhampton.
As the chapels in the District were mostly poor
buildings, so were they in general very scantily provided
with means of support for the clergy, and requisites for
the ceremonial of divine worship. This indeed was
not peculiar to that District: it was common to all parts
of England. There were few chapels, out of London,
in which High Mass was ever celebrated : in the Mid
land District there was not one. It was only in pri
vate chapels that rich vestments were found ; though
a few others possessed one or two venerable old vest
ments preserved from Catholic times. It has been
supposed that not a single cope was to be found
in the District ; but DR. MILNER certainly had one,
which the writer well remembers : but he hardly
ever wore it. Having so lately emerged from their
depressed condition under the penal laws, when
they dared not even be seen making their way
to their poor places of worship, the Catholics natu
rally retained much timidity in all things relating
to the practice of their religion. Hence they never
spoke of hearing Mass, but used the word Prayers
instead. This habit was retained by most of the
old priests down to a very late period; and it
may be seen constantly exemplified in the old
100 LITE OF BISHOP MILNER. ("1803.
Directories, where at such or such a chapel it is
mentioned that " Prayers are said at 10 o'clock,"
meaning in reality Mass. The clergy had but recently
ventured to dress in black, having been obliged to wear
coloured clothes for concealment, which were generally
brown. The Rev. Joseph Berington was the first
priest who appeared in black ; and he was blamed by
some of the regular clergy for exposing priests to perse
cution. Mr. Gother alludes to the former necessity in
his lesson on St. Eusebius, June 21, in these words :
" By this holy prelate's disguise for the service of his
flock, thou must learn to put a favorable construction
on those who are under the same necessity."
CHAPTER SIXTH.
LONG BIRCH, THE EPISCOPAL RESIDENCE. DR. MILNER's EARLY
VISITS TO SEDGLEY PARK. PASTORAL ADDRESS TO HIS
CLERGY. HIS "EXERCISE FOR SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS."
CHANCERY SUIT AGAINST DR. MILNER BROUGHT BY TAYLOR.
HIS LETTER TO THE ABBESS OF WINCHESTER ON THE
THEATRE. HIS CHURCH STUDENTS. REMOVES FROM LONG
BIRCH TO WOLVERHAMPTON. CONFIRMATIONS AT SEDGLEY
PARK, AND IN THE EASTERN COUNTIES. MIRACULOUS CURE
OF WINEFRID WHITE. DR. MILNER's PAMPHLET UPON IT.
ORDINATION OF REV. F. MARTYN.
DR. MILNEK, as already mentioned, had taken up his
abode at first at Long Birch, which had been the resi
dence of his predecessors, Bishops Hornyold, Talbot,
Berington, and Stapleton. Bishop Stonor, who pre
ceded Bishop Hornyold, lived in Oxfordshire, first at
Watlington Park, and afterwards at Old Heythrop. Dr.
AGE 51.] CHAPTER SIXTH. 101
Hornyold had been the missioner at Grantham ; but
Mr. Giffard of Chillington, having married a Miss
Thimbleby of Irnham, and died in 1718, his widow
retired to her jointure house at Long Birch. Mr.
Hornyold became her chaplain there in 1739. In
1752, he was appointed Bishop of Philomelia in
partibus, and coadjutor to Dr. Stonor ; on whose death,
in 1756, he succeeded as Vicar Apostolic of the
Midland District. He continued to reside at Long
Birch to the end of his life. It was about seven miles
from Sedgley Park, where DK. MILNER had been at
school before he went to Douay College, and to which
he was ever strongly attached. He has written of it
as " that most useful school," and used to call it " that
nursery of the English priesthood." He naturally
paid it a very early visit ; and the writer well recollects
his first appearance there. He came mounted on his
favourite black horse " Farmer," which he had brought
with him from Winchester.* He was fond of this
animal, though it was in reality a very vicious brute.
It nearly threw him more than once ; and at the
earnest persuasion of the Kev. John Perry and others,
he parted with it soon after, out of regard for his
own safety, though he himself hardly knew what fear
was. As he came up to Sedgley Park, he rode at a
brisk pace along the road leading to the stables, and we
crowded down at the rails of the Park " Bounds" to
pay our respects, but quite as much to gratify our
curiosity to see the new Bishop, whose fame had
preceded him. He was now fifty years of age, in full
health and undiminished strength, with a florid counte-
* The writer, in his Hist, of Sedgley Park," stated by mistake
that Dr. Milner rode on his " grey charger," but he did not procure
that horse till after parting with " Farmer."
102 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1803.
nance and of robust make. He was above the middle
stature, and his black hair was only just beginning to
turn grey. The first time that he administered the
Sacrament of Confirmation was in the chapel at
Sedgley Park, on the 24th of June, a month after his
consecration. We were much struck with his com
manding voice and energetic delivery in the addresses
which he made to those who were to be confirmed,
both before and after administering that Sacrament.
In September he visited the greater part of Suffolk
and Norfolk, and afterwards Lincolnshire and Derby
shire. In October he purchased for his own use, and
with his own money, a cottage in Park Lane, near
Chillington and Long Birch, with six acres of copy
hold land, for the sum of 340, with a fine of 30
to the lord of the manor, of a Mr. Fr. South wick.
Following the excellent example of his predecessors,
DR. MILNEE was anxious to issue a pastoral address
to his clergy as early as possible. But he did not
publish this till December 27th, because he waited for
it to accompany a new and improved edition of those
Rules for the English Clergy, which came forth in the
joint names of the four Vicars Apostolic, and are well
known by the name of the Observanda. These were
stitched up with the Pastoral, and were generally pre
ceded by the form of missionary faculties, which used
to be granted at that time, and down to the restoration
of our hierarchy. The Pastoral is an admirable docu
ment, quite the model of an address from a Bishop to.
his clergy. DE. MILNEE begins by announcing officially
the fact, and congratulating his clergy upon it, that error
and insubordination have ceased, and the clergy of his
extensive District become now again happily an united
body, in consequence of all those still living, whose
AGE 51.] CHAPTER SIXTH. 103
publications had given offence to their ecclesiastical
superiors, having given ample satisfaction by signing
a form of retractation, in which they said: " Eenounc-
ing every expression in the said publications disres
pectful to, or derogatory from, the superior rights of
the episcopal order, to which we profess the most
sincere and respectful submission. And we condemn
or retract the bad, noxious, or dangerous doctrines
contained in the writings or publications signed or
approved by us." This retractation was dated August
20, 1801. " How honorable," continues the holy
pastor, " is this Christian victory of piety and humility
to the parties concerned, who thereby emulate the
palms of a Fenelon and a St. Augustine! How edify
ing must it prove to the Church at large! how consol
ing to the supreme Head upon earth ! how acceptable
to its Invisible Head in heaven!"
The Bishop then invites his clergy to u gather
wisdom from past misfortunes," and inculcates the
duty of respect and submission to the authority which
God has placed over us. He warns them against
" the latitudinarian spirit of teaching, or even tolerating
certain errors or deviations from the Church's doc
trine, under pretence that they are slight and unim
portant," and reminds them that the Church will
never permit any change in her ecclesiastical discipline
to be attempted by private individuals, or allow them
to censure her ordinances or practices : and he reasons
the same with respect to many exercises of devotion
and self-denial, which, without being enjoined by the
Church, are countenanced by her, and have been
practised by the most eminent saints. He proceeds
to give admirable practical instructions to his clergy on
their several duties. When exhorting them to keep up
104 LIFE OF BISHOP MILKER. [1803
their theological science, he recommends them to
study approved divines, such as Antoine and Collet,
and names also their " Theological Dictates," meaning
that sound Epitome of Theology, usually called the
" Douay Dictates," a most valuable body of divinity,
which was never printed, and has now unfortunately
become very scarce, and almost forgotten. It is, how
ever, a precious work, and the writer preserves a copy
transcribed by his own hand, with due appreciation.
When speaking of the important duty of preaching,
the Bishop adverts to those peculiar circumstances of
the English mission, which rendered it sometimes
necessary or expedient to substitute a lecture for a
sermon, and mentions a number of books which he
recommends for the use of his District, as containing
throughout pure and unexceptionable doctrine. He
gives the titles of all these, which include the works
of Bishop Challoner, Manning, Gother, Gobinet,
Bishops Hay and Hornyold, Boudrand, Bourdaloue,
Alban Butler, Baker, Appleton, Reeve, &c., works of
sterling value, but for the most part too little regarded
in our days. Among other important portions of this
Address, must be noticed the zealous prelate's earnest
appeal in behalf of the education of clergy, which may
be profitably placed before the reader from its appli
cability to our own times.
" As almost all those seminaries and other places of
education, from which the ministry has been hereto
fore recruited, have now sunk under the calamities of
the times, we cannot fail of exerting every means in
our power, and all the influence we possess over
others, to supply this terrible deficiency. O let not
that sacred cause fail in our hands, through irreligious
indifference, which our Catholic ancestors and pre-
AGE 51 CHAPTER SIXTH. 105
decessors supported for so long a time at the expense
of their blood. Few pastors, indeed, can assist it
immediately with their purses, but it is conceived that
several of them may contribute to it as eifectually by
laying the foundation in one or more youths whom
God calls to that state, thus abridging the time of
their regular studies, as if they subscribed consider
able sums for that purpose. I shall add no more on
this subject, than that the Yicars Apostolic have
unanimously decided, that to support a succession of
the sacred ministry, by contributing to the education
of ecclesiastical students, is, among all the different
works of piety and charity, the most excellent and
meritorious at the present day."
The enlightened prelate concludes with pointing
out how the true spirit of an ecclesiastic is to be
acquired. This he does solidly and practically by
recommending his clergy to labour earnestly in their
own sanctification, using every precaution against sin,
and renouncing all incentives to vice, assiduity in
prayer, special devotion to our Blessed Lady, the
daily practice of meditation, spiritual retreats, spiritual
reading, for which he specially recommends among
modern books the " Pensees Ecclesiastiques" of the
saintly Abbe Carron, the " Modele or Miroir du
Clerge," and the " Memoriale Vitae Sacerdotalis ;" and
above all, assiduity in offering up the Great Sacrifice
of the Mass. This first Pastoral Address of DR.
MILNER to his clergy is worthy of ancient times, and
quite in the spirit of the holy Fathers. It has no
ornament, no studied nicety of language, but is
expressed in plain words and apostolic simplicity.
Still there is about it, as we find in all DR. MILNER'S
compositions, an admirable power, and an impressiveness
not easily attained.
106 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEK. [1804.
In 1803, Francis Plowden, Esq., published his
" Historical View of the State of Ireland ;" and
received highly congratulatory letters upon it from
Earl Fitzwilliam and Mr. Grattan ; the one from the
latter is alluded to in the following letter addressed to
Mr. Plowden by DK. MILNER.
" Longbirch, 1st March, 1804.
"DEAR SIB,
" I was honoured with your letter of 26th
ult., but three or four hours after I had received your
Postliminious Preface, I had, however, by that time
completely devoured it : for both the matter and
manner were of so high a relish to my appetite, that I
could not leave off, till I had made an end of it. I
make no doubt but it will produce a great impression
upon the public mind, if it be sufficiently known,
and hasten the downfall of the weakest, as well as the
most mischievous Administration this country was ever
afflicted with. You have reason to be delighted
with the commendations of such a man as Grattan ;
and I have reason to thank you for bringing me
acquainted with the most sublime and touching pieces
of eloquence that modern, or even ancient times afford.
For such, I am fully persuaded, are the speeches of
Henry Grattan. His approbation, however, was the
natural consequence of having perused your work.
He has a mind formed to relish Truth, and a spirit to
avow his feelings.
" Messrs. Keating may have informed you, that I
have, with great difficulty, restrained my pen from
dipping into Irish affairs. Twice I resolved on
writing a Pamphlet, and even prepared memorandums
for the purpose ; and as often was called off to other
business more immediately belonging to my profession.
You have anticipated the subject, and some of the
AGE 52.] CHAPTER SIXTH. 107
matter of my intended publication, in what you have
said concerning the correspondence between the Lords
Eedesdale and Fingall. You have, moreover, only
skimmed the subject, and I am clearly of opinion, that
if you would write a Review of the said correspon
dence, including that of Mr. Coppinger with the Chan
cellor and O'Neill's Eemonstrance, in the manner in
which you reviewed the famous Protest in the second
Blue Book, you might, with very little trouble to your
self, make a very interesting and saleable Is. 6d. or
2s. 6d. Pamphlet. The ignorance as well as the
arrogance of the Irish Chancellor, his illogical, as well
as inconsistent (I mean with respect to his former
character) mode of arguments, his impolicy in telling
the Catholics that they cannot be good subjects, and
their clergy, that it is in vain for them to publish any
more exhortations to loyalty, his impolicy, I say, as
well as his bitterness ; but most of all his paltry,
sneaking excuses, when confronted by the modest and
patient O'Neill, and the firm, as well as the decent
Coppinger, would furnish an ample theme for your
poignant and searching pen, and secure you at the same
time an easy triumph over our common enemies. You
need not, in a work of that size, be under apprehen
sions of ministers suppressing the effusions of your
genius.
" I sometimes hear from Drs. Troy and Moylan,
who of late have talked in a desponding style, as if
they dreaded actual persecution. In return I have
hinted to them, that they crouch too much to ministry,
which takes occasion from their servility to insult and
afflict them the more. I have often considered whe
ther Mr. Mitford (that was) spoke his genuine senti
ments in 1791 at the passing of our Act; or whether
108 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1804.
he acted professionally (though in Parliament), and
was paid for his trouble. The knowledge of this cir
cumstance might help us in forming an opinion of his
past and present conduct. This much I know, that
for these last two or three years (long before he crossed
the channel), he has been decidedly hostile to us.
When Mr. Weld bought Pilewell, he set a certain
friend of his to frighten him, and almost force him to
relinquish his bargain. You would be astonished to
hear the idle and malicious stories that this great man
furnished his agent with for this purpose. I cannot con
clude without complimenting you upon that ingenious,
sagacious and almost prophetic Paper, which it seems
you put into the hands of Mr. Pitt so early as 1792. I
recollect perfectly well hearing you remark, about that
period, that if measures were not changed in Ireland,
the consequences would be fatal. But I little thought
that you were so well informed on that subject, as it
appears you were.
" I remain, with high esteem,
" Dear Sir,
" Your most faithful and obedient Servant,
"*-J. MlLNER."
A few years after his appointment to the mission at
Winchester. DR. MILNER had drawn up an " Exercise
for sanctifying Sundays and Holidays, and for
preparing to assist at Mass profitably.'" This was
repeatedly revised by due authority, and was constantly
recited by him in his chapel, though never published.
He judged it a fit time now, in the year 1804, to pub
lish this " Exercise" for the Midland District, without,
however, enjoining its use, or prohibiting any other ap
proved formulary of English Prayers. " The practice
of reciting certain English prayers before Mass on
AGE 52.] CHAPTEK SIXTH. 109
Sundays and days of obligation," he says in the
Preface, " has been declared by ecclesiastical authority
to be, in our circumstances, generally expedient." The
Prayers used almost everywhere in the District were
those printed in old editions of the " Garden of the
Soul," but they at first contained only one Litany for
Sundays, which was that for the Autumn Quarter,
chiefly composed from the " Universal Prayer." In
the year 1800, a book was published at Wolverhamp-
ton, compiled from the works of Gother, and contain
ing his Prayers for Sundays and Festivals, varied and
rendered more attractive by answers throughout to be
made by the congregation. It was compiled by the
Rev. Joseph Berington, at the request of Bishop Bering-
ton ; and now published by the Rev. John Kirk. It
was for Sunday afternoons, and chiefly for the use
of such as could not attend chapel. An appendix,
however, was added, containing the usual Prayers
before Mass, diversified with three new Litanies, two
of them taken from Gother, and the other from that
venerable old Catholic Prayer Book, the Manual. This
book from its shape went by the familiar name of the
Flat Book. DR. MILNER did not disapprove of the
Sunday Prayers so long in use ; and he regarded
Gother's Prayers as " deservedly esteemed for the
correctness of their morality, style and reasoning."
But he considered that their peculiar style made them
unsuited for general use. " Certain it is," he says, "that
the length and intricacy of the sentences is frequently
such as to exhaust the voice of the most impressive
readers, and that too much scope is given to the
reasoning part of these devotions, at the expense
of the affective part. Hence they partake more of
110 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1804.
the nature of pious soliloquy or instruction, than of
prayer."*
His own description of the proper style for public
prayers is admirably drawn, and well deserves atten
tion. " There is, perhaps," he says, " no species of
composition so difficult as that of public prayer. The
style of it ought to be simple, without being familiar;
connected, without being argumentative ; elevated,
without being inflated ; finally, devout, without
being extravagant." With notions so correct of
the requisites for such composition, the Bishop was
well qualified to draw up a formulary for public
prayers ; and he succeeded perfectly. His " Exercise' 1
is judiciously compiled, and happily worded, full of
unction and very devotional. One other remark in
his Preface deserves attention. In the beginning of a
Litany " the supplications, Lord have mercy on us,
Christ have mercy on us, Lord have mercy on us,
ought to be separately repeated, both by the priest and
the people, and not made answers to one another."
Much confusion would be avoided if this were pro
perly observed. It must be owned, however, that
DR. MILNER'S " Exercise" however excellent, is much
too long for most chapels, especially where the Mass is
sung, or accompanied by singing; and probably on
this account it has not been generally adopted. It
was so little relished at first by the congregation at
Wolverhampton, that several of the old women used
to bring the Flat Book slyly under their cloaks, and
read the old prayers to gratify their own taste and
devotion. DR. MILNER did not approve of singing in
* Preface to " Exercise, &c."
AGE 52.] CHAPTER SIXTH. Ill
English in the public service. In a note in his
"Exercise? he says: "This Psalm (the 11 6th), by
way of relief to the priest and people, may be sung
but in the Latin language where singing is in use."
" When men hear sacred song," says St. Thomas,
although they may not understand the words which
are sung, yet they understand for what purpose they
are sung, namely, to praise God, and this is sufficient
to excite devotion."*
At the end of November of this year, 1804, DR.
MILNER went to London, and stayed there about three
weeks, to answer a Chancery Bill filed against him by
Mr. James Taylor, a builder of Islington. This gentle
man had proposed marriage to a young lady, named
Gabb, a niece of the Rev. Thomas Gabb, of Work-
sop, well known for his Finis Pyramidis, and other
learned treatises. Miss Gabb was an orphan, one of
two sisters, who had been long under the joint guar
dianship of DR. MILNER and the Rev. Mr. Wheeler.
They encouraged the addresses of Mr. Taylor, who was
a Catholic, and a man of good character and competent
fortune. But on the very evening before the in
tended marriage, DR. MILNER discovered some under
hand dealing on the part of the suitor, which led to
some inquiries, and these resulted in very positive
evidence of his being at the same time engaged to
another lady in London, a Miss Pike. The suitor
was informed of the charge, but the answers received
from him chiefly consisted in threats of prosecution.
Bills in Chancery were filed against Miss Gabb, the
Bishop and Mr. Wheeler ; and they were also indicted
for a conspiracy in making those inquiries, which
* Serm. 2,2, 9, 91, art. 2.
112 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1804.
honour and duty required them to make for the pro
tection of their ward. This latter cause was tried two
years after, as will be detailed later on in its proper
place.
In this year, 1804, DR. MILNER was consulted by
the Abbess of the Convent at Winchester, on the
lawfulness of theatrical amusements, for her own
guidance with regard to the young ladies under her
care, at the school conducted by her community. He
answered in an admirable Letter, which was published
many years afterwards in the Orthodox Journal for
1816. It well deserves an attentive perusal through
out; but its leading points only can be given here.
The zealous and pious Bishop observes, that " if there
were no sin whatever, but barely the danger of sin, or
merely a hindrance to sanctification and perfection
in frequenting plays," still it would be a crime in the
clergy, and a betraying of their sacred ministry to
expose souls to the danger of sin by any way counte
nancing theatrical amusements, which are acknow
ledged by all divines to be " exceedingly dissipating
and full of sinful danger." He goes on to say that
" every one knows that actors and actresses, by the
laws of the Church, and the particular constitutions of
our mission, are considered as habitual sinners, and in
a state of damnation, to whom, therefore, the Sacra
ments are to be denied. Setting aside, then, all other
considerations, can any Christian think it lawful, by
his or' her presence and money, to assist in keeping
these wretches in such a state? What are the
opinions, the taste, the conduct, and, in a word, the
lessons which are inculcated by the theatre ? I say,
then, that the very best of modern tragedies exhibit
and recommend that pride, ambition, vainglory, im-
AGE 52.] CHAPTER SIXTH. 113
patience, anger, and revenge, which are the very
reverse of our Divine Master's morality, inculcated in
the eight beatitudes. They most of them terminate
in murder or suicide. And with respect to all the
comedies, together with almost all the tragedies, they
are made up of the sentiments, the intrigues, and the
gratification of the concupiscence of the flesh, under
the specious and all-meaning name of Love. Alas! if
the battles of a Christian, with this particular enemy,
are so dangerous, and the victories so rare ; if our only
safety be in flight, as the holy Doctors uniformly assure
us, what can be expected from him, or her, who volun
tarily seeks this foul enemy, when armed with all those
powerful weapons, which have been described above?"
The prelate answers the objection that the love
exhibited on the stage is virtuous and connubial love,
by showing that a Christian is bound to banish all
such ideas from his imagination, for, when once ex
cited, they will seek gratification in whatever way
they can; and he continues in clear and convincing
language to enforce the truth, that " a bad lesson, or a
dangerous passion, that is insensibly instilled into the
breast, and fixed there by all the powerful engines of
the theatre, is calculated to undermine and lay in ruins
the whole fabric of morality."
In his Pastoral for the following Lent of 1805, the
watchful prelate took occasion to warn his flock in
these strong terms against theatrical amusements.
" How dissipating, dangerous, expensive, and ruinous
to fortunes as well as to souls, are many of the amuse
ments of the present day ! How universal is the pas
sion for theatrical entertainments ! and how fatal are
the effects of them upon the general morals of the
community, no less than upon the consciences of very
i
114 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1804.
many innocent and virtuous individuals ! Again, how
pertinaciously are these defended, as free from all
moral danger, in spite of reason and experience to the
contrary; and in opposition to the concurring testi
mony of the holy Fathers, and of the Doctors of the
Church in modern, as well as in ancient times, who
term them the ruin of virtue and morality, and the
very pest of souls /"
The good Bishop was most anxious for means to
keep up a supply of clergy for his extensive District,
which had begun to feel the sad effects of the loss
of Douay college and other establishments on the Con
tinent. The only ecclesiastical students whom he had
at college in England were Francis Martyn and
Eobert Richmond, who had been transferred from
Sedgley Park to the college at Oscott, on the Assump
tion, in 1796. That college was not yet under the
immediate care and control of DR. MILNEB. Anxious,
however, to forward the education of other youths in
succession for the priesthood, he sent to Oscott in
this year, from Sedgley Park, Henry Weedall and
Mark John M'Neal, who entered that college on the
llth of June. M'Neal soon gave up, and left Oscott;
but it is well known what Henry Weedall became, and
how justly he was ever prized by the discernment of
BISHOP MILNEB. At this time then, he had only three
church students at Oscott College, though some other
youths of great promise, but younger, and less ad
vanced, were studying at Sedgley Park for the eccle
siastical state. He paid a visit to the college, July 16,
1804, and made some salutary regulations. He
directed that the sanctuary of the chapel should not be
occupied by any one but the priest and the acolyth who
served: that a Litany and the Examination of con-
AGE 52,] CHAPTER SIXTH. 115
science, with a meditation, or similar lecture, should he
used at night prayers: that a Litany should be said
hefore Mass : that the boys should go to confes
sion once a month: that the ceremonies of Blessed
Ashes and Palms and of Holy Week should be per
formed ; and, finally, that the ecclesiastical students
should practise meditation for an hour daily, and not
be drilled, or wear military uniform.
DR. MILNER had been long accustomed to reside in
a town, and his active mind and habits could not be
reconciled to the quiet retirement and obscurity of the
old mansion at Long Birch. There were other rea
sons which more directly influenced him in removing,
which he himself has thus mentioned in his Journal.
"Long Birch became an episcopal residence about
fifty years ago (written in 1804), in consequence of
Mr. Hornyold's being chosen Bishop, who had before
resided there as chaplain to old Mrs. Giffard, of the
Thimbleby family. He was succeeded by Bishop
Thomas Talbot, who understood farming, and had a
fortune to pursue it. Each of these Bishops made
purchases of copyhold, or freehold land, for the bene
fit of their successors, to the extent in all of 35 acres.
Bishop Berington and Bishop Stapleton found out that
it did not answer to keep a farm in their own hands,
and seem to have resolved on quitting Long Birch.
Indeed the expense of keeping a gentleman's farm
as is unavoidable in the situation of a Bishop and
entertaining all visitors, with their horses, must make
it a losing concern to any Bishop, who has not a plen
tiful fortune of his own; not to speak of the remote
ness of the situation, and the difficulty of procuring
letters, victuals, &c. Hence I came to a resolution of
quitting Long Birch, which I effected about Michael-
116 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1804.
mas, giving up Mr. Giffard's land to Mr. Southworth
for the benefit of the Park School, and agreeing with
him on a rent for the Bishop's land." He accordingly
took possession of Giffard House, at Wolverhampton,
about Michaelmas, 1804. The Eev. Thomas Walsh,
afterwards his coadjutor and successor, had remained
with him at Long Birch, in the double capacity of
chaplain and missioner, as he had previously been with
Bishop Stapleton. DR. MILNER justly considered Mr.
Walsh as particularly qualified for the charge of spiri
tual director at Sedgley Park. He accordingly ap
pointed the Eev. James Simkiss, who had been for the
last two years at that establishment, to the mission
of Sixhills in Lincolnshire, and placed Mr. Walsh in
his situation at Sedgley Park at the beginning of Octo
ber. The mansion to which DR. MILNER removed,
and which he continued to inhabit till his death, was
called Giffard House, and also the Great House.
It was erected about the year 1743, and called Giffard
House, partly from having been built in the name, and
under the protection of Peter Giffard, Esq., of Chil-
lington, and partly because it was built on land pur
chased from Mr. Edward Giffard, an apothecary at
Worcester. It was a large, respectable house, fronting
the street, but some way back from it, with grass plats
and shrubs in front. It was originally intended as a
residence for the priest, and a boarding-house for
respectable Catholics. It had been occupied by seve
ral such persons in succession, who wished for a retired
life, with the convenience of the chapel, which formed
the back part of the house ; but it did not fully
answer in this respect, and had been some time unoc
cupied when DR. MILNER went to reside there. The
missioner at Wolverhampton at that time was the
AGE 52. J CHAPTER SIXTH. 11?
Rev. Morgan D'Arcy, who had succeeded the Rev.
John Carter in November, 1803, after an interval of
eight months, Mr. Carter having died in March. But
Mr. D'Arcy was recalled from the English mission by
the Irish prelates, to become president of the lay
college at Maynooth; and was succeeded at Wolver-
hampton, about Christmas, 1804, by the Rev. Walter
Blount. As Giffard House had ample accommoda
tion, a very pious and respectable widow came to
board there, soon after the Bishop made it his own
residence. This was Mrs. Jane Wheble, relict of
James Wheble, Esq., who had died at Kensington,
June 9, 1801, at the age of seventy-four. This good
lady remained till after DR. MILNER'S death, and con
tinued to reside there with his successor, Dr. Walsh,
till her decease. She was very charitable, and often
assisted both DR. MILNER and DR. WALSH with sums
for religious purposes.
In the course of the year 1804, DR. MILNER con
firmed at Black Ladies and Long Birch, and visited
StaiFord, Cresswell, Cobridge, and Aston. He con
firmed also at Wooton, Coughton, and Worcester.
In the next year, 1805, he gave Confirmation again
at Sedgley Park ; on which occasion he invited Mr.
Jones and two of his sons, Clement and ; James, to
come up to the chapel, to add to the solemnity by
singing the Litany of Loretto and one or two other
appropriate pieces, which was quite a novelty in the
humble ceremonial of the Park chapel. As he was so
much attached to the school, and lived so near, he
frequently paid a visit to Sedgley Park, and sometimes
preached to the boys on a Sunday. Thus he gave a
striking sermon there on one occasion, upon the Gospel
for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost, which treats of
118 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1805.
the unmerciful creditor, and inculcates the forgiveness
of injuries. This sermon and the emphatic manner
of its delivery the writer well remembers.
After Low Sunday the Bishop went to London, at
the request of the Irish prelates, to forward the
Catholic petition, and remained there six weeks.
While there, he attended a Meeting of the four Vicars
Apostolic. On his return home, he visited Shrews
bury, Acton Burn el, and Linley. On the 25th of
June, he set out on a Visitation to Lichfield, Derby,
Nottingham, Newark, and Lincoln. At the last place
he gave Confirmation, also at Sixhills, Louth, Irnham,
Eastwell, and Leicester, and returned home July 9.
But the indefatigable Bishop would complete the Visita
tion of his extensive district, and accordingly set out
again July 14, and confirmed at Husband's Bosworth,
Holt, King's Cliife, Lynn, Oxburgh, Bodney, Cossey,
Norwich, Ipswich, Gifford's Hall, Bury St. Edmunds,
Haughley Park, Stonor, Britwell, and Maple Durham ;
and visited Oxford, Kiddington and Heythrop. While
he was in Suffolk, he heard from Wolverhampton that
an evident miracle had been wrought on a young
woman named Winefred White, a resident in Wol
verhampton, by bathing in St. Winefred's Well at
Holywell in Flintshire. He considered it his duty, in
conformity with the decrees of the Council of Trent,
to investigate this matter, and publish the result.*
Accordingly on his return to Wolverhampton, he
proceeded to examine into it thoroughly. Winefred
* " Statuit Sancta Synodus nulla admittenda esse nova mi-
racula, nisi recognoscente et approbante Episcopo, qui, simul atque
de iis aliquid compertum habuerit, adhibitis in consilium Theologis
et aliis viris piis, ea faciat quae veritati et pietati consentanea
judicaverit." Concil. Trid. Sess. xxv. De Invoc. SS.
AGE 53.] CHAPTER SIXTH. 119
White, twenty-six years of age, had suffered for more
than three years from a severe affection of the left
hip and the back bone, apparently a paralysis from a
curvature of the spine, which had reduced her to a
state so helpless, that she was only able to walk at all
by the help of a crutch under her right arm, and used
to drag on her whole left side as if it had been dead.
The writer of these lines well recollects seeing her
in this distressing state ; for she used to crawl up to
the chapel at Sedgley Park on a Sunday morning with
great pain, and receive the Holy Communion at the
early Mass. She went to the famous Well, called St.
Winefrid's, and on bathing in it, received an instanta
neous and perfect cure. She was able to walk, run, or
work as well as ever. DR. MILNER interrogated this
young woman, and took down her deposition ; he also
obtained the testimony of Mr. Stubbs the surgeon, and
Dr. Underhill the physician, who had attended her.
The surgeon declared himself unable to account for a
change so extraordinary, and performed in so short a
time, upon any principle of medicine with which he
was acquainted ; and the physician, after detailing the
young woman's case, declared that all his medicines
had been ineffectual, and that he had deemed her case
totally incurable. DR. MILNER went to Holy well, and
received the depositions of three persons who were
with her at the tune of her cure, of the landlady of
the Inn where she lodged, and of several other wit
nesses, including the priest at Holywell, Kev. Edward
Wright. All these, on his return home, DR. MILNER
published in a very interesting pamphlet, in which he
expatiates on the proofs of an evident miracle having
been wrought, and carefully . answers all objections
made, or likely to be made to this particular miracle,
120 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1805.
and to the arguments of Dr. Middleton and others
against miracles in general. The pamphlet he enti
tled " Authentic Documents relative to the miracu
lous Cure of Winefrid White, of the Town of
Wolverhampton, at Holywell, in Flintshire, on the
28th of June, 1805: with Observations thereon, by
J M , D.D., V.A., $c. London, 1805."
It was dated October 29th, four months after the cure,
and he states that during all that time, she had " con
tinued well, active and strong. She has walked six
miles at a time, and carried half-a-hundred weight on
her left side." DE. MILNER introduced this miraculous
cure among the examples of divine attestations of
sanctity in the Catholic Church, in his subsequent
publication, the "End of Religious Controversy"
testifying that Winefrid White had then continued in
the same state of good health for twelve years. The
present writer remembers her coming up on a Sunday
morning to Sedgley Park soon after her cure ; and
with what astonishment she was seen walking briskly
along, so that one could scarcely believe it was the
same person whom we used to see crawling up with so
great pain and difficulty. He can also testify that she
continued the same till her death, which took place at
Wolverhampton January 13, 1823, at the age of forty-
four. The holy Bishop thus finely concludes his
pamphlet. " Every known miracle is the voice of God
proclaiming to men his infinite power, goodness and
providence in their regard. It therefore calls for a
renewal of our profound homage, of our ardent love,
and of our entire confidence in him, under all accidents
and sufferings that we do, or may experience. Every
niiracle is moreover a divine sanction of the religious
worship, or devout practices, for the sake of which, or
AGE 53.] CHAPTER SIXTH. 121
by means of which, such supernatural communication
with man has taken place. Hence the present miracu
lous cure, obtained of Almighty God by the prayers
of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of St. Winefrid, who
had been invoked for this purpose, at a place conse
crated to the memory of the latter more than a thousand
years ago, ought to confirm us in our faith, and
particularly in that article of it which declares, that
4 the Saints reigning with Christ offer up their prayers
for mankind.' '
Let it not, however, be supposed that BISHOP MILNER
was over-credulous, hasty, or enthusiastic on the sub
ject of miracles. On the contrary, he was extremely
cautious and prudent. When the present writer,
several years after, consulted him upon a cure which
had taken place at St. Walstan's Well, at Babur, in
Norfolk, he acknowledged that it bore evident marks
of being miraculous, but declined to investigate it
juridically, saying " I wish to confine myself to a very
few cases of miracles."
In September, 1805, DR. MILNER went to Stony-
hurst College ; where by permission of the Northern
Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Gibson, he ordained on the
21st the Eev. Clement Weetman, priest, and the Rev.
J. Morris sub-deacon, and on the following day ordained
the latter, and also the Eev. Thomas Tilbury, deacons,
and confirmed nearly 100 persons, partly of the college,
and partlyof the congregation of Stonyhurst. While he
was at Stonyhurst, the latelamented Dr. Oliver, then a
divine at the college, being even at that early period
fond of antiquarian pursuits, like DR. MILNER himself,
had the honor of being his companion, and riding with
him to explore together the Abbey of Whalley ; and
when later the Bishop prepared for the Archaeological
122 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1805.
Society his Dissertation on St. John's Gospel, which
once belonged to St. Cuthbert, Mr. Oliver had to
collate it word for word with the Vulgate, and furnish
DR. MILNER with his observations.
On the 21st of December, 1805, DR. MILNER had
the consolation to ordain his first priest. This was the
Eev. Francis Martyn, who had been educated at
Sedgley Park and Oscott College, and was the first
priest sent out from that College. He was ordained at
Wolverhampton, and said his first Mass in the chapel
at Sedgley Park.
CHAPTER SEVENTH.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE "VETO" QUESTION. DR. MILNER
CONSULTS THE HOLY SEE UPON IT. VISITS OSCOTT COLLEGE.
APOSTATE PRIESTS. TRIAL AT WESTMINSTER HALL.
ORDAINS REV. ROBT. RICHMOND VISITS TO SEDGLEY PARK
AT THE EXAMINATIONS. HIS LOVE OF CHILDREN. PROPOSED
EXCHANGE FOR DR. MILNER TO THE LONDON DISTRICT. HIS
LETTER TO REV. JOHN JONES. NEW BUILDING AT SEDGLEY
PARK. BREAKS UP THE BOYS' REGIMENT OF SOLDIERS
SECOND EDITION OF HIS CASE OF CONSCIENCE SOLVED.
LETTERS ON ARTICLES IN THE ANTI- JACOBIN REVIEW. HIS
TOUR IN IRELAND.
" BRETHREN," said St. Bernard to the clergy and monks,
44 let us reverence Bishops, but let us fear their labours :
if we weigh well their labours, we shall not desire their
honors : nor let us watch them, but honor them.
For it would be cruel to find fault with the works of
those, from whose burthens you fly If he who
is safe in his monastery, should sometimes detect him
AGE 53.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 123
who is occupied in public acting somewhat incorrectly, or
less circumspectly, let him not at once venture to judge
him."* This admonition appears remarkably applicable
to the labours of the exemplary prelate DR. MILNER, in
the arduous contests in which he was so much engaged
during his episcopal career, and which wih 1 now claim
the reader's attention more frequently. For now began
those long disputes on the question of allowing a royal
Veto of some kind upon the nomination of Catholic
Bishops, which after years of agitation and dissension,
in which the independence of the Catholic episcopacy
was seriously threatened, happily ended, like so many
other imminent evils, in being abandoned and ignored
altogether by the government, when Catholic Emancipa
tion was at length nobly conceded in 1829.
The project of a royal Veto, as Lord Grenville him
self declared, formed part of the plans of Mr. Pitt,
intended to be brought forward at the period of the
Union with Ireland. Ten of the Irish Catholic Bi
shops, who had assembled in Dublin in 1799, on the
affairs of Maynooth College, of which they were trus
tees, were consulted by the Irish Secretary, Lord Cas-
tlereagh, on the project of a state provision for the
Catholic clergy, and of a government interference in
the appointment of Catholic Bishops. These prelates
answered approvingly of the interference of govern
ment in the election of Bishops so far as was neces-
* ll Fratres, revereamus Episcopos, sed vereamur labores eorum.
Si labores pensamus, non affectamus honores nee observemus
eos, sed honoremus. Inhumane nempe eorum redarguis opera,
quorum onera refugis Si is qui de claustro est, eum qui
versatur in populo, interdum minus districte minusve circumspecte
sese agere deprehenderit ; non adjudicandum confestim
prosiliat." S. BERNARD. Super Cantica Serm. xii.
124 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1805.
sary for ascertaining the loyalty of the candidates,
but no farther ; and they stipulated at the same time
for their own just influence and for the consent of
the Pope. "Agreeably," they said, "to the discipline of
the Eoman Catholic Church, these regulations can
have no effect without the sanction of the Holy See."
But these answers were never referred to in Parlia
ment in the subsequent debate on the Veto question,
in 1808. Dr. Moylan, Bishop of Cork, was one of
these ten prelates ; but he afterwards frequently and
solemnly declared that those Bishops never contem
plated the possibility of the advantage which was
afterwards taken of that document, or the construction
since put upon their resolutions. He felt very indig
nant at the attempts afterwards made to bring forward
these answers in support of what he was accustomed to
call the odious, abominable, and destructive measure
of securities.
DR. MILNER published in 1 805, his " Short View of
the Arguments against the Catholic Petition now be
fore Parliament, and of Answers to them, in a Letter
to a Member of the House of Commons." In this he
answered various objections to Catholic Emancipation ;
and it was quoted by Mr. Fox in the House of
Commons. Being often consulted by influential
Protestants favourably disposed towards Catholic
Emancipation, on the best means which they could
employ to promote it, and finding them of opinion
that some alteration would be required in the mode of
appointing Catholic Bishops, DR. MILNER communi
cated the various plans which they proposed to his
episcopal brethren, and also consulted the Holy See
on the subject. He received an answer from Rome,
dated September 7, 1805, which strongly deprecated
AGE 53.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 125
state pensions to our Bishops, declared that no
power could be conceded to any Protestant sovereign
to nominate Catholic Bishops, admitted that a mere
negative power of objecting to candidates for the
episcopacy had fewer difficulties, but still strongly
asserted that if this was ever conceded, effectual pre
cautions must be taken to prevent the negative from
growing into a positive power. It became the more
necessary for DR. MILNER to be on the watch, and to
fortify himself with this decision from Eome, as a
pamphlet had been put forth by a leading Catholic
Baronet, entitled " Considerations on the Catholic
Debate q/*1805," in which he took upon himself to
make this extraordinary declaration : " If Government
wishes to have the appointment of our Bishops, it has
but to signify its intention, in order to its being
complied with." Some other lay Catholics had most
unwarrantably made the same offer to the government.
The mischief which these presumptuous men effected
by such proposals was so great, that several Protes
tant writers and speakers did not hesitate to say that
the English Catholics were quite ready to vest in the
sovereign the appointment of their Bishops.* How
ever, nothing farther was done, nor did any active
agitation of the subject occur, till the question of
Emancipation came on in Parliament three years after
wards.
DR MILNER meantime was ever active and zealous
in every duty of his sublime and arduous ministry.
In May, 1806, he published a third edition of his
u Authentic Documents relative to the miraculous
Cure of Winefrid White;' in the Advertisement to
* "Suppl. Mem,," p. 119,
126 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1806.
which he says : "The former edition of this work
being exhausted, as well as a second, given at Dublin,
and a new edition of it being called for, the author has
the satisfaction of here declaring, that he has not met
with, nor heard of a reader of any description, who has
controverted either the facts or the reasoning con
tained in it ; and that the mode he has pursued in
making his inquiries, and the present publication, has
met with the approbation of his R. R. Brethren." He
observes also that the facts and reasonings in this little
work " decide that weighty question which was so long
and so warmly contested amongst the learned half a
century ago, and clearly point out that body of
Christians, amongst the rival communions, which the
Divine Founder of Christianity sanctions."
He visited the College at Oscott, and sent for the
ecclesiastical students whom he had there. Among
other imporant admonitions which he gave them, he ex
horted them especially to persevere in the holy exercise
of meditation. Among those whom he summoned was
one, who at that time had thoughts of studying for the
Church, but afterwards adopted the medical profes
sion. The Bishop, however, told him, that whatever
might be his future destination, he would find the
benefit of meditation the longest day that he lived.
The Bishop gave Confirmation at Linley, in Shrop
shire, in April, and thence proceeded to visit Wor
cester, Spetchley, and Churchill, where the Poor
Clares, from Dunkirk, had found an asylum, by the
bounty of Mr. Berkeley of Spetchley. He also visited
Salford, Foxcote, and Brailes. There was at Wor
cester a French priest, Rev. James Quesnel, living in a
very scandalous way, which had obliged DR. MILNER
to suspend him, Feb. 2, 1804. On his visit to Wor-
AGE 54.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 127
cester this time, he charitably endeavoured to reclaim
him, but in vain. In 1811, this unhappy man dropped
down dead in the street at Worcester. DE. MILNER
in his private Journal, and in his printed works, men
tions several scandalous and apostate priests, who had
met with untimely deaths. One named Smith dropped
down dead in Canterbury Cathedral, about the year
1780. About the same time, another in Staffordshire,
of the name of Taylor, died as he was about to step
into a stage coach. Dr. Geddes, who became an
infidel, used to send for the helps of the Church when
he was ill, and deride them when he recovered. But
God is not mocked, and the priest who went to recon
cile him at last found that he had unexpectedly ex
pired. A Benedictine monk, named Lewis, was found
dead in his bed, at Bridgenorth, by the miserable
woman who lived with him. Holmes of Essex, and
Rogier, or Rogers, of Birmingham, who were well over
night, were both found dead in the morning. Rev.
James Nolan dropped down dead in the street in
London. Another named Doran blew out his brains
near Newbury. The Rev. J. Hawkins, O. S. B., an
apostate priest, died impenitent. There was also an
unhappy Ex-Jesuit, named Billinge, who had been
chaplain to Mr. Whitgreave, at Moseley, whose passion
for the violin led him much into company, and es
tranged him from his duty. He abandoned his reli
gion, and preached his recantation Sermon in Lichfield
Cathedral. He took a wife of course, but never
obtained any preferment in the Protestant Church, and
could only earn a scanty subsistence for himself and
his numerous family by teaching French in Wolver-
hampton, and doing duty occasionally in the neigh-
128 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. 1806.]
bouring church at Wombourn. The present writer
has often seen him passing by the play-ground at
Sedgley Park, where the boys used to salute him in a
manner not very complimentary :
" Old Parson Billings (Billinge)
Sold his religion for five shillings \ n
The miserable state of his mind may be judged of by
the fact of his having purchased one of the sealed pass
ports to heaven, which used to be sold for half a guinea
by the notorious impostor, Joanna Southcote. Dr.
MILNEK obtained this of his wife after his death ; it is
signed with three seals, one with the morning star for
our Saviour, and another the evening star for Joanna
herself, and signed by her own hand. This he pre
sented to Oscott College, where it is preserved. This
miserable Billinge died at Wolverhampton, about
Christmas, 1805, a very horrible death. He sunk
into despair, agitated and tormented by the most
frightful forebodings of his future fate, starting con
tinually and exclaiming : " I am a lost man ! I dream of
nothing but of hell fire !" It was said that he got out of
bed, threw up the window, and called out for a priest ;
but that he was forced back to his bed, as one raving
and delirious. This the writer remembers hearing at
the time, but cannot vouch for its accuracy. The
previous account of his despair and horrid dreams,
however, was related by his miserable wife. These
are, indeed, terrible examples of the Divine vengeance
in those deplorable cases where the salt of the earth
loses its savour.
Mention was made in the last chapter of an indict
ment on the part of Mr. James Taylor of Islington
AGE 54.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 1 29
against the Rev. Mr. Wheeler and DR. MILNEE, for an
alleged conspiracy against him, in order to break off
his proposed marriage with Miss Gabb, of whom they
were joint guardians. The case came on before Lord
Chief Justice Ellenborough on the 4th of July, 1806,
at Westminster Hall. The other young lady, Miss
Pike, to whom Taylor was engaged, was in attendance,
with her father and his numerous family. On the
plaintiff Taylor's being examined the first and only
witness he became so agitated, that he begged to
have an orange, which was granted, for he needed
support under the searching examination of Sir Vicary
Gibbs. When asked why he had broken his promise
to Miss Pike, he answered that he thought she had a
propensity to drinking. " What do you mean," said
Lord Ellenborough, " by a propensity to drink ? We
all have propensities : what proof have you that she
indulged in such propensity?" The witness, in telling
his own story, so completely destroyed his own accusa
tion, that upon a remark to this effect from the Chief
Justice, the trial was at once put an end to. Sir
Vicary Gibbs with much feeling put both his hands on
the shoulders of the Rev. Mr. Wheeler, and said to
the Chief Justice: u My Lord, the only thing I regret
is that I have not had the opportunity of doing justice
to this worthy man." DR. MILKER'S counsel was
Henry Clifford, Esq., who also represented the hardship
of the defendants not having had the opportunity
of bringing forward their defence : on which Lord
Ellenborough observed, that whatever charge had been
brought must be considered as unfounded, and that the
characters of the defendants stood clearly vindicated.
On the 8th of July, DR. MILNER circulated an Address
130 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1806.
to the Faithful of his District, to correct the false
reports in the newspapers, and prevent any scandal
being taken, where none indeed had been given.
A meeting was held every three years of the secular
clergy of the four counties of StaiFord, Worcester,
Derby, and Salop, who were subscribers to a common
fund for the relief of aged and disabled members ; and
it was held this year on the 29th of July. There
were twenty-five priests present ; and it was agreed
that the clergy of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire should
be admitted to become subscribers to the fund. In the
beginning of August, the Bishop visited Harvington,
Grafton, and Worcester, and confirmed at Blackmore
Park. He then visited Wooler's Hall, Farm-Coomb,
Foxcote and Brailes ; at the last place he administered
Confirmation. In August and September he visited
Ashbourne and Spinkhill, confirming at the latter place.
He also visited Holbech, Worksop, and Wingerworth.
On the 7th of September he confirmed at Hassop, and
afterwards visited Keddlestone Hall. In the same
month he confirmed at Lichfield. At the end of
October he set out for Coventry and Wark worth, and
confirmed at Tusmore. On All Saints he confirmed
at Kiddington, and the next day at Heythrop.
It was mentioned in the last chapter that a student
named Kobert Richmond had been transferred to the
college at Oscott, with Francis Martyn, in the year
1796. Mr. Richmond's studies had been interrupted,
and his promotion to Holy Orders delayed, by a great
weakness in his eyes. This, however, had happily
amended so considerably, that DR. MILNER, anxious
to avail himself of the services on the mission of
one so worthy and edifying, ordained him priest in
AGE 54.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 131
his chapel at Wolverhampton on the 14th of March,
1807.
DE. MILKER was accustomed to come up to the
school at Sedgley Park at the half-yearly examinations
of the students, but particularly at those held imme
diately before Christmas. He was always remarkable
for his love of children, with the true spirit of the
Apostle, becoming a little one in the midst of them, as
if a nurse should cherish her children* He examined
them familiarly, and with great kindness, in the different
branches of their education, and on those occasions,
besides questioning them in catechism in the chapel, he
would often explain to them portions of English history
connected with our holy religion, pointing out the mis
representations of Protestant historians, and giving
clear and correct accounts of such remarkable events
as the martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the
reign of Queen Mary, and the Gunpowder Plot. At
the conclusion of the examinations there was an exhibi
tion, consisting of single speeches and dialogues
delivered by some of the boys, at which the Bishop
presided. The examination of each " Study" con
cluded with a distribution of premiums at Midsummer,
and medals at Christmas, which the most deserving
often had the honor to receive from the hand of his
Lordship. But the good Bishop loved to amuse, as well
as instruct the children; and he occasionally showed
them interesting experiments in electricity, and was
delighted to witness how they enjoyed the electrical
shocks, making them join hands all round the large
garden at the back of the house at Sedgley Park, and
sending the shock round the circle. The pleasure
* 1 Thess., ii. 7.
132 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1807.
that he showed, and his honest hearty laugh were
proofs of the kindness and genuine simplicity which
distinguished him amid all his greatness of mind,
extensive learning and superior abilities.
The Bishop's Pastoral for Lent, 1807, was dated
from Oxford, January 28. On May 24, he confirmed
at Black Ladies, and on Corpus Christi, being May
28th, at Sedgley Park, when the writer had the happi
ness to be confirmed by him. On June 22, he con
firmed at Oscott, and August 13th at Grafton. In
the course of the year he gave Confirmation also at
Sedgley, Mawley, Yoxal, and Coventry, at the last of
which he blessed the newly built chapel on the 8th of
December. He also confirmed at Baddesley Green,
December 10th.
DR. MILNER enjoyed the full confidence of the
entire hierarchy of Ireland ; and had been requested
by them to act as their agent in England. Some of
the leading Bishops among them, considering the
great advantage of their agent being near the seat of
government, proposed to him to fix his residence in
London ; and undertook for this purpose to bring
about an exchange between him and Dr. Poynter,
the coadjutor of the London Vicar Apostolic, Dr.
Douglass. The Prefect, and Secretary of Propaganda
at first approved the proposal. Dr. Sharrock, the
V. A. of the Western District, was extremely desirous
that DR. MILNER should be settled in, or near London.
DR. DOUGLASS himself, upon being informed of it, on
the first opportunity, by DR. MILNER, appeared very
far from being displeased with it ; indeed he had
talked to DR. MILNER of becoming his coadjutor be
fore DR. M. was made a Vicar Apostolic. He now
asked his consent to consult Dr. Poynter and
AGE 55.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 133
Mr. Hodgson, his Yicar General, upon this proposal.
It is believed that the latter only was consulted, but
soon after Dr. Douglass declared strongly against
it, which was a great relief to DR. MILNER'S mind.
The Pope, nevertheless, granted to him, under
his own hand, a dispensation from the obligation of
residence in his own District, and permission to fix
his abode in London, if he should deem it advis
able.
This affair was made a regular charge against
DR. MILNER by Dr. Poynter in one of his Letters to
Dr. Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, dated November 7,
1811. But DR. MILNER ably defended himself in his
" Explanation with Dr. Poynter" page 81, declar
ing that, " considering their respective situations, he
conceived himself to be making a very great sacrifice
to religion, and doing Dr. P. a great honour and
service." Certainly it would have elevated Dr.
Poynter, and proved a step down for DR. MILNER.
But for the flat negative put by Dr. Douglass on the
business, DR. MILNER says to Dr. Poynter : " I heartily
thank God, from a thorough conviction that I am des
titute of the qualifications necessary for the situation
in question, and which it is my daily prayer that you
may possess."
This proposal, however, being variously represented,
as it usually happens, caused much dissatisfaction and
many threats of opposition among the London clergy.
As DR. MILNER heard vague rumours of a strong
party being adverse to him, he consulted a friend,
the Eev. John Jones, afterwards so well known at
Warwick-street Chapel, on the matter, in the following
letter:
134 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1807-
"DEAB SIR,
" It being your profession and calling to render
assistance to all mankind who stand in need of it, in
imitation of Him, qui pertransiit benefaciendo, I make
no apology for requesting you to do that for a friend,
which, I am sure, you would not hesitate to do for a
stranger.
" It seems to be the will of Providence that I should
always have some horrid calumny either to combat
with, or endure. I have hardly got rid of the per
secution of Taylor, when another attacks me in a more
sensible part, as tending to set the Catholic body, and
particularly, the clergy (who in the former instance
kindly took up my cause as their own), in the present
instance against me. To make short of the business,
I must inform you that two days ago I received a
letter from a most respectable friend in the west, of
which the following passage forms a part: ' A storm
is gathering around you. Petitions against your Lord
ship will probably be presented to Bishop Douglass and
to Eome, signed by clergy and laity. One secular
gentleman told me that you had solicited honours and
a jurisdiction paramount to all the prelacy of the
United Kingdom.' 'That there are persons disposed
to set on foot memorials against me, and others who
may be persuaded or imposed upon to sign them, was
proved in 1791, when the object of my enemies was to
induce Parliament to believe that I was the only indi
vidual who objected to the heterodox oath, or to
the schismatical denomination of Protesting Catholic
Dissenters. That original memorial is now before
me, and the consequences of it are seen in Appendix
No. VIII. to the Third Blue Book. I make little
doubt that the present memorial may be traced up to
AGE 55.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 135
the same source. Be that as it may, I assure you, Sir,
that there is not an atom of truth in the above men
tioned charge. I have no more thought of any such
situation as that described, than of becoming the
Great Lama of Tibet, or the Mufti of Constantinople ;
nor have I any reason to think that any other person
has thought of it for me. It is true, as probably you
have heard, that the Irish Bishops, thinking it would
be greatly for the advantage of religion to have an
agent of the episcopal character, and who had a good
reputation with ministers, at or near the seat of
government, wished me to undertake the office, and
repeatedly solicited that I might be placed in it. And,
I own, that in my opinion, what is now going forward,
both in Parliament and in Ireland, fully justifies their
general sentiment, as well as many other occurrences
which I can point out. But, Sir, be pleased to take
notice, that, according to two different schemes which
were proposed for this purpose, I was to have lost dig
nity and jurisdiction, instead of gaining any.
" The above quoted passage contains all the infor
mation I have received of this strange and mysterious
business ; but it comes from such authority that I
cannot imagine there is the least falsehood or uncer
tainty in it. The service, then, dear Sir, that I have
to request at your hands is to communicate the con
tents of this letter, not only to Bishop Douglass, but
also to those of the clergy and laity (and to those
only), whom you find to have heard any thing of it, in
order that they may not rashly sign their names to a
paper of a calumnious nature, and wish in vain to with
draw them, when it is too late, as was the case with
some of those who signed the former memorial against
me. I hope to be in town soon after Easter, when I
136 LITE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1807.
shall be willing to give an account of myself, and
answer all objections against me, to every clergyman
at least calling upon me for this purpose ; except one,
who, as you have witnessed, on every occasion tries to
bear me down with clamour and persiflage.*
" I remain, with great esteem and regard,
" Dear Sir,
" Your most faithful and obedient Servant,
"J. MILNER.
" Wolverhampton, March 19, 1807.
" I beg you will let me know all you can hear of
this business."
"Rev. Mr. Jones (of St. Patrick's),
" To the care of Mrs. Silburn,
" No, 10, Queen Street, Bloomsbury,
" London' 1
To this, Mr. Jones replied as follows:
"April Q, 1807.
" MY LORD,
"I should have replied to the contents of your
esteemed favour at a more early period, had I been
able to communicate anything satisfactory to your
Lordship, on the business. As your communication to
me was on a subject with which I was totally un
acquainted, and of which I had heard no mention made
in London, it appeared to me that the best method I
could adopt for obtaining information on the subject,
would be to state your Lordship's application at the
monthly meeting of our Brethren, which was held
yesterday. I accordingly did so. and discovered that
most of them were unacquainted with the transaction,
which had taken place between your Lordship and the
Irish Bishops: but that there was no question of a
* He alludes most probably to the Rev. James Archer.
AGE 55.]
CHAPTER SEVENTH. 137
storm gathering round your Lord ship from this quarter,
nor of anything in the shape of an instrument open
for signatures to proceed against your Lordship's
measures. In the event, however, of your Lordship's
residing in London, as episcopal agent of the Irish
Church, you may well conceive that curiosity was
raised with respect to what capacity you were at the
same time to reside in with relation to Bishop Douglass
and the missionaries of his District. Your Lordship
mentioned in your esteemed favor to me, that there
were two plans, or cases, proposed for the furtherance
of the intentions of the Irish Bishops, in either of which,
had these intentions been realised, you would rather
have lost, than have gained dignity and jurisdiction.
As your Lordship did not specify what these plans, or
cases were, it is impossible for me to speak to them.
But I, and many others may have conjectured that one
of these cases, in which your Lordship would rather
have lost than gained jurisdiction, might have been
the removal of Dr. Poynter to the Midland District,
and your Lordship's acceptance of the coadjutorship to
Bishop Douglass. Now your Lordship will permit me
to say candidly, that such a measure, whether it were
first put in motion by your Lordship, or with your
knowledge and acquiescence by the Irish Bishops, would
never meet the approbation of the London clergy, and
I do really believe, from their temper on this business,
that they would, to a man, make no difficulty in sub
scribing an instrument to defeat the measure. Your
Lordship knows best whether such a measure was ever
thought on, and I am convinced that were you to make
it evident that no such thing was ever moved, or per
mitted to be moved by your Lordship, you would have
nothing to apprehend from this quarter. At all events,
138 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEK. [1807-
in case this measure had been tried, it seems not to
hav>e succeeded, and of course your Lordship can have
no reason to expect resistance where the ground for it
has been totally removed. I am apprehensive your
Lordship has taken unnecessary alarm, and in a moment
of anxiety has rather imputed intentions to the London
clergy with which themselves are quite unacquainted.
From all I have been able to gather, they seem to have
observed a scrupulous silence on the whole of the
business, and therefore am led to believe that the
raising of a storm round your Lordship is a circum
stance as very distant from their mind as from
that of
" My Lord,
" Your Lordship's faithful and obedient Servant,
"J. JONES.
" The Rt. Rev. Dr. Miner,
" Wolverhampton"
The reader will perceive that the tone of the above
letter is not that of one very friendly to DK. MILNER.
In fact Mr. Jones was opposed to him then, but much
more so afterwards. It must be recorded, however, to
his credit, that he finally became the Bishop's admirer ;
and on one occasion he thus expressed himself to a
prelate and a dignitary of the Church, both still living,
in these words : " I am now convinced that had it
not been for BISHOP MILNER, we should have had
now no Catholic Church in England."
During his frequent visits to Sedgley Park, it had
occurred to DR. MILNER that he might erect a plain,
useful building there, which would afford greater ac
commodation for educating students for the Church.
Accordingly in the Summer of this year, 1807, such
a building was commenced, and formed a wing to the
AGE 55.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 139
house, extending into the garden at the west end.
Two stories of it were built entirely at his own, ex
pense, and contained on the ground floor a large room,
afterwards used for examinations, music, library, and
other purposes, and also a laundry. On the second
floor was a good room for a master or superior, and six
small rooms for students, with a little chapel at the
end, which he had neatly decorated with plaster
work, and with stained glass in its window. These
were all the rooms which he contemplated, but the
venerable president of the school, the Rev. Thomas
Southworth, was glad to avail himself of the favourable
opportunity of obtaining an additional dormitory, as
the number of boys had much increased, and at his
expense a large airy room for that purpose was built
over the rest, with a small bedroom for a master.
The building was finished and opened in the year
following.
A little incident occurred at this time, which may be
mentioned here as indicating the extreme aversion
which DR. MILNER felt for everything that breathed
of war and military tactics. The horrors of the French
Revolution were too fresh in his mind to allow of his
beholding anything which recalled the miseries of war
with any complacency. So when he was one day
dining at Sedgley Park, the boys who played at
soldiers marched up with their guns and caps in
military order, and their little band playing ; and drawn
up in two ranks before the parlour door formally
petitioned for a " field day," expecting that the Bishop
would be pleased with their mimic discipline and
would readily grant the desired favour. But they
were doomed to sad disappointment, and their military
ardour was quenched at once by a serious rebuke from
140 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1807.
DR. MILNER, who expressed his horror of war in strong
terms, and was so determined to afford no encourage
ment to the boys in cultivating a taste for soldiering,
that he insisted upon their disbanding at once ; and
the little regiment, which had marched up with flying
colours, returned in disorder and disappointment.
A Bill was brought into the House of Commons in
1807, by Lord Howick, afterwards Earl Grey, which
proposed to allow Catholics to enter and receive
promotion in the army and navy, and to secure to
them the free exercise of their religion. It caused so
great an alarm in the anti-Catholic party, that the
ministers withdrew it, and were compelled to resign.
DR. MILNER considered this a fit occasion to publish a
second edition of his " Case of Conscience solved"
to which he added " Observations on a Publication
by the Rev. T. L. Le Mesurier, entitled ' a Sequel
to the Serious Examination into the Catholic Claims,
containing a more particular Inquiry into the
Doctrines of Popery, fyc. y London, 1807." In this
year also he wrote " An Examination of the Articles
in the anti-Jacobin Reviews for November, January,
February and March last, upon the substance of Sir
J. C. Hippesley's additional Observations, fyc., on the
Catholic Question, in Four Letters to a Gentleman
of Dublin, by the Rev. J. Miner, D.D., F.S.A. ;"
but these were never published.
In the course of the Debates in Parliament, so much
had been said against Ireland, that DR. MILNER was
seriously thinking of crossing over the channel, to see
and judge for himself, when he received a letter from
a friend near Dublin, entreating him to pay a visit to
him and certain other friends in Ireland; and this
made him determine to set out on the proposed tour,
AGE 55. J CHAPTER SEVENTH. 141
which he did in the latter part of June, 1807. He
landed at Dublin on the 27th, and the next day pro
ceeded to the Royal College at Maynooth. He after
wards published an account of his tour in Ireland, and
his impressions of that country, in a series of Letters,
as if written during his travels, to a Protestant gentle
man in England. This of course was a convenient
medium for conveying his vindication of the Catholic
religion in various important points of Catholic doc
trine and practice: and it will be the most satisfactory
method of describing his tour, to follow his own obser
vations as they occur in his published work. In three
Letters, dated from Maynooth, he vindicates the Irish
Catholic clergy, gives a valuable account of the princi
pal Irish Catholic writers, and of the education at
Maynooth, and other seminaries in Ireland. Letter
IV. contains some excellent arguments against mixed
education, which might be very usefully consulted at
the present time with reference to the " Godless
Colleges." In subsequent Letters, DK. MILNER
defends the Irish from certain prejudiced views of
their character ; but on the score of bulls, he certainly
takes up very unsatisfactory ground for their vindica
tion, when he speaks of them as " mistakes which the
illiterate Irish are apt to make, as other nations make,
when they express themselves in a language not their
own."* A man may speak a foreign tongue incorrectly,
but it does not follow that he will make those blun
ders which are termed bulls, and which result from a
confusion of ideas, and not of words. A Scotchman
or a Welchman lies under the same disadvantage as
* Letter VI.
142 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1807.
an Irishman in speaking a language not his own, but
neither is open to the charge of making bulls.
His encomium on Burke deserves extraction :
" You, Sir, never had the advantage, which was for
some time mine, of frequently hearing, in public debate,
as well as in private conversation, the enchanting and
commanding Irish Tully, the great Edmund Burke.
But what is it that this country does not owe to his
eloquence ! To form a right judgment on this head,
look back to that part of its history which corresponds
with the early part of the French Revolution. You
will observe that many of the most illustrious charac
ters of this nation were then so besotted with the
congenial sounds of revolution and liberty, that in
hailing the overthrow of a foreign government, they
nearly brought about the destruction of their own.
They stood, blind and unconscious of danger, on the
brink of a precipice, and did not see the torrents of
blood which already began to flow beneath it, and
which, at the command of Robespierre, soon after
swelled to a deluge ; when the immortal Burke, by
vast and repeated exertions of those talents with which
God had blessed him, and at the expense of whatever
was most dear to him in this world as I well know
succeeded in tearing the veil from the eyes of an
adverse ministry and a beguiled legislature, and thereby
enabled them to consult their own and the nation's
safety. Here was a triumph of eloquence, which no
orator ever enjoyed before or since.*"
To prove himself no blind panegyrist of the Irish,
DR. MILNER exposes their faults, and condemns them,
more especially the frequent broils among the lower
* " Inquiry, &e." Letter VI.
AGE 55.]
CHAPTER SEVENTH. 143
orders, and the numerous duels among those of higher
rank. He devotes one Letter to a very able expo
sition of the sinfulness, as well as the absurdity and
real cowardice of duelling, which deserves an attentive
perusal, and will amply repay it. From Dublin he
proceeded, July 9th, through Naas to Tullow, and in
his Letter from that town he has the following admir
able passage on the alleged superstition of Catholics.
" But what is superstition? You Church Protestants
reproach us with superstition, because we often sign
ourselves with the sign of the cross, though not half so
often as the first Christians did, and because we bless
holy water. The Dissenters reproach you with super
stition, because you sign your children with this sign
in Baptism, and because you bless earth, buildings,
and military ensigns. The Quakers reproach the Dis
senters with superstition, in pretending to bless one
particular class for the exercise of the ministry. The
fashionable religionists of the day, the Deists, reproach
all descriptions of Christians with superstition, in pre
tending to any revealed mode of blessing at all. I
say this, Sir, to prevent your assuming as a fact, the
question, upon which you are not yet qualified to form
an adequate idea." From Tullow he proceeded to
Carlow and Kilkenny ; and, to use his own descrip
tion, "from the variegated beauties of Kilkenny, I
arrived, after a tedious journey westward, at the dull,
uniform plains and dreary bogs, in the midst of which
this populous town (Thurles) is situated."* He found
the people of that place rebuilding their noble and
spacious chapel in the name of St. Patrick, and took
occasion from this to enter upon a learned and argu-
* Letter XL
144 LITE OF BISHOP MILNEK.
[1807.
mentative defence of the patron Saint of Ireland,
which he pursues through three Letters with great
ability. He has a dissertation on the vexed question
of the famous round towers of Ireland, giving his
decided opinion that they were built for anchorets.
In his two Letters dated from Cashel, July 23rd
and 25th, DR. MILNEK defeats the attempts of two
Protestant writers, Archbishop Usher and the Rev. Dr.
Ledwich, to rob the Irish of their ancient faith, who
maintained that the original Christianity of Ireland
was not Catholic. From Cashel he proceeded to Cork,
through Cahir, Balliporeen, and Fermoy. While he
does justice to the scenery of Ireland, he also says :
" With respect, however, to the face of the country
in general, speaking of it as far as I have yet seen it,
I cannot agree with a late writer (Parnell), that Ire
land is ' the fairest island in the world ;' especially
while her elder sister stands by her side. This I am
sure of, that I have not yet seen in Ireland such a
garden as the Vale of Evesham, such hills and dales
as those of Derbyshire and South Wales, nor such
forest scenery as that of Windsor or the New Forest."*
As he approached, however, to the City of Cork, he
was quite enchanted with the beauties of the scenery,
particularly the grand expanse of water, skirted with
verdant meadows, and enclosed by lofty hills ; and his
delight increased when he viewed the majestic harbour,
the hills and rocks and the magnificent city of Cork ;
and he concluded that neither the Severn at Chepstow,
nor the sea at Southampton were to be compared
with it. Speaking of the Presentation and Ursuline
Convents in Cork, and particularly of the Ursuline nuns
* Letter XVII.
AGE 56.] CHAPTER SEVENTH. 145
celebrated all over the Continent for their method
and success in giving a moral, religious and genteel
education to young females of the higher class, he
says : " In two points they are, with just reason,
inexorably rigid ; they never permit a novel to enter
within their walls, and they never suffer a scholar to
go out of them, in order to be present at a theatrical
representation. In fact, of what use would their
lessons of filial duty, domestic retire dness, the dread
of sin, and the love of God be to the mind of a pupil,
who should behold all such virtues held up to con
tempt in those ensnaring publications of the circulating
libraries, and those still more fascinating amusements
of the stage ? ... In vain, Sir, do you remind me that
the stage has of late years been chastened, and that
the indecencies, which sullied the drama fifty or sixty
years ago, are now banished from it. Supposing this
were true to the extent you wish me to understand ;
supposing there were nothing in the plot, nothing in
the words, nothing in the dresses, nothing in the
dances, nothing in the company, either within the
doors, or without the doors of the theatres, to excite
one particular passion, the most difficult of all others
to curb and repress, but alas ! how far are these
suppositions from the truth in each of the instances !
Yet remember, Sir, there are other passions congenial
to the human breast, which it is equally our duty
to fight against, as against the one alluded to. In a
word, Sir, the morality of the theatre is directly the
reverse of the morality of the Gospel, and in many
respects even of the natural law ; and I hereby warn
you, Sir, never to complain to me of your children,
should they turn out undutiful, or otherwise immoral, if
146 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1808.
you permit them to frequent the playhouse, or even
the circulating library."*
While at Cork, he enjoyed a delightful sail on its
broad estuary, which he describes in very animated lan
guage. He has some excellent observations on the
careful instruction of their flocks by the Catholic
clergy, and on the population of Cork, and the wealth
and influence of its inhabitants. His last Letter from
Ireland is dated from Waterford, August 5th ; but
two more Letters are inserted in his work, as an
Appendix, one dated at sea, and the other at Milford
Haven, and addressed to a Catholic merchant at
Waterford. The first contains a series of reflections
on the calamities of Ireland, on the prejudices against
the religion of the Irish, 'and the author's advice to
them : the second is a dissertation on chapel build
ing, giving minute directions for erecting Catholic
chapels, whether in the Gothic or Grecian style.
This work of DR. MILNER has been quoted in these
pages, as it often is elsewhere, by the title of Letters
from Ireland, for the sake of brevity, because the
actual title of the book is clumsy and sadly over
loaded : " An Inquiry into certain vulgar Opinions
concerning the Catholic Inhabitants and the
Antiquities of Ireland : in a Series of Letters from
thence, addressed to a Protestant Gentleman in
England. London, 1808." Perhaps it may be
thought that too much space has been given to an
account of its contents ; but it is justly considered
the most lively and attractive of DR. MILNER'S publica
tions. Though, as he declares in his work, " he did
* Letter XVII.
AGE 56.] CHAPTER EIGHTH. 14?
not come into this island to survey its beauties,
natural or artificial, but to form an acquaintance with
its inhabitants," he has given many fine descriptions
of beautiful objects of nature and art which he
saw, and of various interesting localities which he
visited ; and has ingeniously contrived to interweave
with these a number of masterly dissertations on
subjects of deep interest, both in politics and religion.
CHAPTER EIGHTH.
DR. MILKER'S PASTORALS AGAINST BLANCHARDISM HIS POR
TRAIT PAINTED AT BRISTOL. CATHOLIC BOARD FORMED.
MR. PONSONBY'S FALSE ASSERTION RESPECTING DR. MILNER.
DR. MILNER'S PROTEST AGAINST IT. HIS TEMPORARY
ADVOCACY OF A GUARDED VETO, IN HIS LETTER TO A
PARISH PRIEST. SCHEME TOTALLY ABANDONED. CONDEM
NATION OF THE VETO BY THE IRISH BISHOPS. DR. MILNER
OBTAINS OSCOTT COLLEGE, AND REOPENS IT AS ST. MARY'S.
HIS SECOND TOUR IN IRELAND. CONFIRMATIONS. TRIEN
NIAL MEETING OF THE CLERGY. CONSECRATION OF THE
CHAPEL AT COSSEY HALL. FUNERAL DISCOURSE ON SIR
WILLIAM JERNINGHAM. VISITATION AND CONFIRMATIONS.
IN his Pastoral Instructions for the Lent of 1808,
DR. MILNER inveighed with holy zeal against the
indecent fashion of dress then unhappily prevalent
among the female sex. " For the first time," he says,
" in a civilized age and country, have the pastors of
the Church been obliged to reproach the sex with
its voluntary adopting a species of undress, which
no Christian man, who is desirous of saving his soul,
and no modest man, can view without disgust and con-
149 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1808.
fusion. It is this latter motive, in particular, namely,
the many heinous interior sins which the indecency in
question gives occasion to, that obliges us to raise
up our voice against it : sins which the great and
awful Judge warns us against, where he exclaims :
if any one shall look upon a woman, so as to lust
after her, he hath already committed adultery in his
heart. How dreadful will it be, when so many pious,
moral and charitable young females, as we are
disposed to consider them, shall find hundreds and
thousands of the other sex rising up in judgment
against them at the last great assize, and ascribing
their condemnation or their accumulated torments to
the indecent fashion in question !"
At the end of Chapter Fourth an account was given
of the origin and nature of the Blanchardist schism,
to which the reader's attention must be here recalled.
For in the year 1808, DR. MILNER published a Pas
toral Letter to his clergy, dated June 1st, ordering
prayers for his Holiness Pope Pius VII, who was then
held in captivity by Napoleon, and taking occasion in
the same to denounce the scandalous calumnies of the
Blanchardist party against the Pope. This Pastoral
was also published in French. Blanchard wrote
against it a pamphlet entitled: " Defense du Clerge
Frangais contre ^inculpation de Monsgr. Milner,
etc." This led DR. MILNER to address a second Pasto
ral to his clergy, dated August 10th, censuring several
positions of Blanchard's pamphlet as respectively false,
scandalous, injurious to the successor of St. Peter,
insinuating and tending to schism, and actually schis-
matical. He cautioned his clergy not to permit to
Abbes Blanchard or Gaschet, or any of their abettors,
or followers, to administer or receive any sacrament.
AGE 56.] CHAPTER EIGHTH. 149
" They say," said he, u that Pius VII. has sanctioned
the civil constitution of the French clergy, which
was condemned by his predecessor, Pius VI., and
that he has knowingly and willingly admitted the
former constitution and schismatical Bishops, still pro
fessing their schism, and without any retractation, into
his communion, and that of the other prelates, priests,
and faithful who communicate with him. Thou great
Judge of the living and the dead! if Pius VII.,
instead of being thy Vicar on earth, and the spiritual
father of these men, were some obscure individual,
how much would they not have to answer for at thy
awful tribunal for their malicious and gross calumnies
against him!"* DR. MILNER afterwards published, in
1809, a " Sequel" to his Pastoral, " censuring certain
late publications in the French language ; and also
a " Supplement 1 to it, which contained the Decla
ration of the Irish Bishops on certain points in these
publications. The controversy was continued on both
sides for two or three years, till the four Vicars Apos
tolic met in 1810, and agreed upon a test against
Blanchardism, which shall be more particularly noticed
in its proper place.
In the month of January, in the year 1808, DR.
MILNER gave Confirmation at Cobridge, Tixall, and
Bellamore. St. Chad's chapel, in Bath-street, Bir
mingham, was begun in the Spring of this year, to
supersede the hired building in Water-street, which
had been opened in September, 1806 ; and DR.
MILNER contributed or raised above 300 towards the
new chapel, while its zealous pastor, Eev. Edward
* "Pastoral Letter of John, Bishop of Castabala, V. A., ad
dressed to all the Catholic Clergy of the Midland District," page 7.
150 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER, [1808.
Peach, procured contributions to an almost equal
amount. The other Confirmations of this indefatigable
Bishop, in the course of this year, were at Acton
Burnel, Shrewsbury, and Oundle ; but he also made
pastoral visits to Coventry, Bosworth, Holt, Weldon,
and Warmington.
In a Pastoral, dated June 1, 1808, on the captivity
and sufferings of the Pope Pius VII., he thus ex
presses his admiration of that venerable Pontiff: " He
displays a meek fortitude worthy of St. Peter's suc
cessor, and of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. On one
hand, he does not resist ; on the other, he does not
reproach or complain. He speaks of the benefits he
has received, and he is silent as to the injuries he
suffers. He refuses to adopt any exterior means of
resistance, but placing his cause entirely in the hands
of God, he declares himself ready to suffer whatever
his Divine Majesty is pleased to ordain." At the end,
the Bishop directs the Psalm Miserere to be said or
sung with the first four prayers after the Litany of the
Saints, and the fifth prayer, which is for the Pope, on
Trinity Sunday, before Mass; and that the Mass be
offered on that day " for the special grace and protec
tion of God in favour of his Holiness ; also, that in
every Mass, till the Feast of the Assumption, shall be
added the usual Prayer, Secret and Postcommunion
for the Pope."
In the Summer of 1808, the writer of these pages
being in Bristol, and in the Catholic chapel there, on
Sunday morning at the principal Mass, was surprised
to see DR. MILNER enter by the sacristy door, in his
ordinary dress, and kneel at the side of the sanctuary
appropriated to the clergy and their friends. Being
quite familiar with his lordship's features and appear-
AGE 56.] CHAPTEE EIGHTH. 151
ance, he could not be mistaken ; and when the service
was finished, he went into the priest's house, contigu
ous to the chapel, to pay his respects to the venerable
Bishop, and to introduce his father, and an eminent
artist, to his Lordship. The Bishop received the party
very kindly, and the artist seized the fortunate occa
sion to request the honour of a sitting the next day,
for a miniature likeness of his Lordship. The Bishop
very good-naturedly consented to give him a sitting of
one hour, but could spare no more time, as he was
obliged to leave Bristol on that day, Monday. The
artist was George Anthony Keman, a miniature
painter of great eminence, who had taken miniatures
in Paris of the most distinguished characters, before
the Eevolution. DR. MILNER mentioned that Sir
John Cox Hippisley had brought him to Bristol in his
carriage ; but that important business required him to
leave on Monday. % Mr. Keman, however, attended
punctually at the time agreed upon, obtained one
hour's sitting, and from what he was enabled in that
short time to catch, produced a fine miniature, now in
possession of the writer. It is a very correct and
spirited likeness, decidedly the best ever taken of the
Bishop. Indeed he himself always so considered it,
and has borrowed it of the writer to show to his
friends.
It is time now to resume the history of the Veto
question, but more particularly with reference to the
part which DR. MILNER took in it. In the month of
May, 1808, a new association of English Catholics
was begun, under the name of the Catholic Board.
On the 20th of the same month, DR. MILNER arrived
in London, as the agent of the Irish Prelates, to attend
the debate in the House of Commons upon Mr,
152 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1808.
Grattan's motion that the House should go into a
Committee upon the petition of the Irish Catholics for
the repeal of the penal laws. This motion was made
on the 25th of May. In the course of the debate
Mr. Ponsonby stated that he had held a conversation
with DR. MILNER, who acted as the agent of the Irish
Catholic Bishops, and that DR. MILNER believed
that they would not have any objection to make
the King virtually the head of their Church ; and
to agree that no man should become a Catholic Bishop
in Ireland who had not received the approbation of
his Majesty ; and that although even appointed by the
Pope, if disapproved of by his Majesty, he should
not be allowed to act, or take upon himself his
spiritual functions. Well might DR. MILNER declare
of this extraordinary assertion of Mr. Ponsonby :
" Most assuredly Dr. M. was never before or since
accused of uttering so much inconsistency, heterodoxy,
and schism."*
What actually did occur, DR. MILNER often pub
lished, and has carefully recorded in substance thus.
At an interview with Mr. Ponsonby, May 21, he was
asked by that gentleman, what power the Irish Bishops
were disposed to attribute to his Majesty in the choice
of Catholic Bishops. He answered : "I know very
well that they cannot, conformably with their religion,
attribute to his Majesty a positive power in this
business : but I believe, on good grounds, that they
are disposed to attribute a negative power to him.
However, as I have no instructions from them on the
subject, I cannot positively answer for them."* When
* Sup. Mem.," p. 123. Note,
f Sup. Mem.," p. 124.
AGE 56.] CHAPTEE EIGHTH. 153
DR. MILNER heard in the House Mr. Ponsonby's
unwarranted assertions, his heart was pierced with
grief and confusion ; and early the next morning he
printed a disavowal of the heterodox sentiments im
puted him, in a Protest, dated May 26. It was |his
intention to give this Protest general circulation, and
send it to the newspapers ; when late at night, the
Hon. Robert Clifford and a noble Lord (no doubt,
Lord Clifford) called upon him and pressed him most
earnestly to suppress the paper. He engaged not to
circulate it publicly, or give it to the newspapers, and
promised that on all copies which he should send to
the Catholic Bishops, there should be written Private.
The Hon. R. Clifford afterwards, in some letters to the
Press and Globe papers, professed never to have heard
of the matter before ; but DR. MILNER declared that
he had "never made a harder sacrifice. The Hon..
gentleman may now make light of the sacrifice which
he extorted from me ; but I felt at the time that I was
making a very great one indeed, and experience has
proved that I did not over-rate it."* He handed a
copy of this Protest himself to Mr. Ponsonby, who said
to him : " I am not surprised at your alarm : I do not
pretend that you authorised me to say all that I did
say : but I was at liberty to argue as best suited my
cause. For the rest, this paper is a fair paper, and you
have my consent to circulate it."f
Though DR. MILNER had not authorised Mr. Pon
sonby to make the assertions alluded to, he began
to consider whether the measure of a royal Veto "
* Letter to the Hon. Robt. Clifford Orthodox Journal," 1814,
p. 54.
t " Sup. Mem.," p. 127.
154 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1808.
might not be in some way safely conceded, consistently
with Catholic discipline. One of the Irish Bishops,
who was his friend, had written to him very sharply
and indignantly on his advocacy of a Veto. He
replied by " A Letter to a Parish Priest" of which
he printed only fifty copies, as he never intended it for
general circulation, but for the use, and sole use, of the
Irish Prelates at their approaching Synod, to consider
how far the plan was practicable. It was dated
August 1st, 1808, and in his eagerness to defend
himself, he certainly went a great way in favour of a
certain negative power being attributed to the govern
ment in the appointment of Catholic Bishops : " I chal
lenge any writer to show,' 1 says he, " that the allow
ance to government of an exclusive power in presenting
to Catholic prelacies, if confined to three times,
and accompanied each time with the avowal of a
well grounded suspicion of the candidate's loyalty,
contains anything either unlawful in itself or dan
gerous to the Church."* But as this advocacy of
the Veto by DR. MILNER has been much dwelt upon
by his adversaries, it is but just to his character to
give his own explanation, and his reasons for retracting
what he had so unguardedly written. He thought that
the Veto might be safely allowed, with the following
checks upon its exercise. First, if it were limited to
three times : secondly, if the name of one candi
date only were proposed at a time : and thirdly, if
the civil power were confined to a care of loyalty
and the public peace. " Such/' he says, " were the
writer's fond speculations : but in the end, he found
them to be impracticable and vain, and he then heartily
* ' Letter to a Parish Priest."
AGE 56.] CHAPTER EIGHTH. 155
condemned his own folly, in having given his condi
tional consent to a change of situation, for the purpose
of residing in the capital, with a view of bringing them
to effect.''* A copy of his " Letter to a Parish
Priest" fell into the hands of his adversaries, who
published it, to his indescribable^mortification. u You
must know," said he, " in another place, that it was
fraudulently published, to my great displeasure, and
that, after all, it does not advocate the Veto, as it is
generally understood, but a certain iron-bound nega
tive, confined by four restrictions, to the mere purposes
of civil allegiance. Finding, however, that it was
misinterpreted to the purposes of irreligious policy, I
saw it was better for that cause of religious freedom
which always sat the nearest to my heart, to retract
the letter, than to explain it. Accordingly I did re
tract it in the most public manner, and, at the same
time, I resolved to have no further dealings with poli
tical religionists."! It is well known that DR. MILNER
was ever after the steady opponent of the Veto in
every shape ; and therefore it would be unjust and
dishonourable to reproach him with the above opinion,
which was crudely formed, and thoroughly retracted. J
How few men in the course of long contests, and
placed in trying positions, have been found without
some vacillations, under peculiar circumstances ! Surely
our prelate's honest and noble retractation of his mis
taken opinion, and his subsequent uniform opposition
to every form of Vetoistical arrangement, should gain
for him everlasting honour in the estimation of every
impartial mind.
* " Sup. Mem." p. 132.
t Reply to Candidus in " Orth, Journ." for 1819, p. 303.
J See his " Elucidation of the Veto," p. 9.
156 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1808.
Though the Irish Bishops prudently abstained from
any public expression of their sentiments on the un
authorised proposal of Mr. Ponsonby, till they could
meet together, and agree to some general expression of
their disapprobation, they universally condemned it
both in private conversation and correspondence. It
was not long, however, before they did meet in Dublin,
to the number of twenty-nine ; and, on the 1 4th of
September, in the same year, 1808, they unanimously
agreed that DE. MILNER'S account of his conduct as
their agent was satisfactory, and then passed two
important Resolutions, in the first of which they declare
it their decided opinion, that "it is inexpedient to
introduce any alteration in the canonical mode,
hitherto observed, in the nomination of Roman Catho
lic Bishops," and in the second, they pledge them
selves to adhere to the rule by which they have been
hitherto guided, " to recommend to his Holiness only
such persons, as candidates for vacant Bishoprics, as
are of unimpeachable loyalty and peaceable conduct."
In a private letter, written by DR. MILNER to a friend
about this time, he observed that there was a strong
democratic party opposed to him in Ireland, but that
the Irish Bishops had approved of his conduct, and
requested him to continue to act as their agent in
England.
In the midst of these trials and struggles, however,
the good Bishop had this year a source of great con
solation. It has been mentioned that he had erected
a building at Sedgley Park, with a view to place there
a few ecclesiastical students under a priest, who would
have the immediate care of their education. This
building was opened in the summer of 1808 ; but it was
hardly occupied when a very advantageous offer was
AGE 56.] CHAPTEE EIGHTH. 157
made to DR. MILNEB to make over to him the College
at Oscott, which had heen opened twelve years before.
It had been hitherto under the general government of
some of the Catholic nobility and gentry, among whom
were Lord Petre and Lord Stourton, Sir John Throck-
morton, Mr. Hornyold, and Mr. Bernard Howard,
afterwards Duke of Norfolk. It had not, however,
been conducted satisfactorily, and it was encumbered
with debts amounting to about 600. The offer made
to DR. MILNER was, to make over the establishment
entirely to him, on condition of his taking upon himself
its encumbrances. He saw the great advantage of
having a college under his own control and direction,
which was already established, and every way con
venient ; but the undertaking appeared so formidable,
and the debts so disheartening, that he at first hesi
tated to accept the offer. He, however, consulted his
Vicar General, Mr. Perry, in whose judgment he
always reposed great confidence, and by his advice
determined to accept it.
He at once resolved to remodel the College, and
place it under the patronage of our Blessed Lady.
The president, Dr. Bew, retired from Oscott, and his
assistant, Eev. Thomas Potts, was appointed president
of the new St. Mary's College. At the same time
DR. MILNER most judiciously selected for it an excel
lent Vice-President and spiritual director, in the person
of the Eev. Thomas Walsh, whom he removed from
Sedgley Park, and appointed in his place the Rev. Jo
seph Bowdon, from Long Birch. The new College was
appropriately opened and dedicated under the patron
age of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary, on the feast of
her glorious Assumption, the 15th of August, 1808.
No grand ceremonial could be accomplished in those
158 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1808.
days, and the service consisted of a low Mass and an
excellent sermon by the Bishop, with a little singing,
chiefly the Litany of Loretto, performed by the Jones
family from Wolverhampton, accompanied by one of
them on a pianoforte. The Litany was spun out, and
made the most of on the occasion, as little else was
produced in the musical department.
The College at Oscott, now called St. Mary's, was
conducted, as it had been before, on the plan of a
seminary for ecclesiastics, and a college for lay students
both together. The whole number of students at this
time was about forty-five, of whom but a few were
intended for the ecclesiastical state. These were
Henry Weedall, William Wareing, Thomas M'Don-
nell, and three brothers, Samuel, John, and Charles
Jones, who arrived at St. Mary's, August 12th, three
days before the opening. John Francis Quick was
transferred thither at the same time from Long Birch,
where he had been pursuing his studies under Kev.
Joseph Bowden, to assist in the management of the
temporalities. James Wareing came September 27th
following ; and these formed the whole number of
church students at the beginning of the new establish
ment of St. Mary's College, familiarly known as the
"New Government." But it was already a great
achievement ; and it cheered the heart of the good and
zealous Bishop to see so promising a prospect before
him of carrying on the sacred ministry ; a prospect,
moreover, which happily fulfilled its promise ; for
every one of the above-named students eventually
became priests, and two of them, Henry Weedall and
William Wareing, were subsequently nominated to
episcopal sees, though the latter only received con
secration.
AGE 56.] CHAPTER EIGHTH. 159
Immediately after the solemn opening of the
College at Oscott, DR. MILNER proceeded on a second
tour to Ireland, having for his companion Thomas
Weld, Esq., of Lulworth Castle. They arrived at
Cork, in time to witness "the solemn opening of an
elegant chapel there on the 22nd of August. Thence
they proceeded to Killarney, and^ the following extract
will show the author's ability in the description of
scenery. " The awful sublimity and bold contour of
the neighbouring mountains, and the smiling face of
the valley we were entering upon, announced our
approach to the lakes we were in search of. Do not,
however, Sir, expect, at my time of day, that I should
transport you to the top of lofty Mangerton, swelled as
it is with an unfathomable abyss of water in the
hollow of its utmost summit, or of the diversified chine
of Tork, the centre of the lovely scene, or of
the forked, cloud-capped Reeks, overlooking the
Atlantic Ocean, where the vast eagle skims the air, and
rears her hardy brood. Nor shall I attempt to waft
you, through swelling waves, along the broad expanse
of the great lake, and exhibit to you the bays, the
headlands, the mountains, the woods, the waterfalls
and the villas which enrich it ; or to pilot you from
this lake, through intricate and variegated channels,
to the inviting stillness of Tork lake, and thence,
through other still more intricate meanders, to the
enchanting elysium of the upper lake, enriched with
all the beauties of the former, and studded with
numberless isles of various forms and sizes, all of
which are crowned with the arbutus and other trees
and shrubs of the most luxuriant growth and loveliest
shapes and hues. Nor is nature here alone ; for she
is accompanied by a favourite nymph, whose existence,
160 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1808.
if it be elsewhere disputed, will not be disputed by
those who deign to hold converse with her under
the eagle's nest on the channel leading to the upper
lake of Killarney : so faithful and so distinct is Echo
in repeating there and reduplicating again and
again, even to satiety, every sound conveyed to
her, whether of the well-toned voice, or of the
melodious pipe, or of the thundering petard. How
many a little island and sequestered bay which
met my eye upon these lakes and channels, excit
ed a wish in me to spend my life there in the
occupation of the most ancient inhabitants of the
round towers. But most of all, the circling groves
and classical ground of Innisfallin island attracted my
thoughts and my heart. Whilst I traced out, among
the ruins there before me, the various offices of the
venerable abbey, founded by the immediate disciples
of St. Patrick, oh! could I but have called to life
some of those wise and good men, who heretofore
inhabited it 1300 years ago, to be my companions and
my masters in studying the science of the saints, most
certainly it would have been impossible to tear me
from Innisfallin. v
The Echo at Killarney made a vivid impression upon
DR. MILNER. Meeting some time after the celebrated
Madame Catalani in private society, and having heard
her exquisite singing, he told her he had never heard
but one voice finer than hers, and that was the voice
of Madame Echo on the lakes of Killarney.
DR. MILNER and his companion passed through
Limerick to Dublin, where he was charmed with the
numerous establishments of Catholic charity and piety;
but at the same time disedified with the violent dis
sensions then raging, with reference to the question of
AGE 56.] CHAPTER EIGHTH. l6l
vetoistical arrangements, upon which he has an im
portant note at the end of Letter III., inserted in a
new edition of his " Inquiry, fyc." published after his
return from this second tour. This Letter is followed
by a Supplement containing three Letters ; and to
these is appended a final Postscript. The First Letter
of the Supplement is in answer to a publication by
Sir Eichard Musgrave, entitled, " Remarks occasioned
by some Passages in Dr. Milner's Tour in Ireland"
Sir Eichard had attributed DR. MILNER'S former tour
to very false motives, and he is here contradicted upon
a long string of erroneous assertions. DR. M. dwells
upon the cruelty and immorality of the system of the
Charter Schools in Ireland, and defends his former
account of St. Patrick, and the ancient religion of the
country. Letter II. is addressed to the Eev. Dr.
Eyan, the author of " The Analysis of Ward's
Errata" and is chiefly a defence of that well-known
work. The following admirable passage must be pre
served in these pages, as a masterly epitome of DR.
MILNER'S line of argument on the Bible and Rule of
Faith.
" Those persons who have looked into my theolo
gical writings, know that I have been accustomed to
adopt a shorter and more satisfactory way of settling
religious controversies, than that of sending each well-
meaning religious inquirer to hunt through his Bible,
from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Eevela-
tions, for each text, that regards, or that may be
thought to regard, the subject of his inquiry; then
telling him to compare each text with the Latin Vul
gate, the Greek Septuagint, and the primitive Hebrew,
in the numberless editions and manuscript copies of
each of them ; and lastly, advising him to consult all
162 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1808.
the huge commentators and controvertists, ancient and
modern, upon their discordant interpretations of the
several texts in question. This, Sir, you know, is
your method, if you are consistent with yourself, and
speak out. What I have said, in my Letters to Dr.
Sturges, as also in the foregoing Letters, and on every
other occasion, is to the following effect:
" The Bible is indeed the word of God, and deserv
ing of all the worship we can possibly pay it: but God
never intended that all mankind should learn the
whole of his law from a book, much less from so large
a book, and so mysterious a book as the Bible is,
otherwise he would have told us so, and would have
provided, in his wisdom and power, that all mankind
should be able to procure Bibles, and should have
leisure and learning sufficient to read and study them...
What, then, do I advise the religious inquirer to do ?
My advice is, Hear the Church; that Church which
you profess in your Creed to be always Holy and
Catholic, that living, speaking tribunal, which has
decided ail religious controversies that have arisen
since her foundation eighteen centuries ago, and which
Christ, in his wisdom, has appointed to decide them,
not by any new revelation that he makes to her, but
by her adhering to his divine word once revealed and
delivered to her, which she faithfully preserves through
all ages, as well in written tradition as in manuscript
and printed Bibles. Think, for a moment, how you
know that your Bible, and each of the several books of
it ? the Canticles for example, or the Revelations,
was written by prophets or apostles. How do you
know, that when they wrote those particular books,
they were under the influence of divine inspiration?
How do you know that these books have not been
corrupted or altered, during the long succession of
AGE 56.] CHAPTEE EIGHTH. 103
ages, and of copies and translations through which
they have passed? You have no security, you have
no rational grounds whatever to decide in favour of
your Bible, upon any one of these points, except the
authority of the Catholic Church, which you profess to
believe in when you repeat your Creed Now,
my good religious inquirer, will you be so inconsistent
as to admit the authority of the Catholic Church when
she hands down to you the Bible, and to reject it
when she tells you that such and such is the meaning
of certain controverted passages in it ? Will you call
her a faithful witness on one occasion, and a fraudulent
impostor on the other ?"*
Letter III. is addressed to the Eev. Dr. Elrington,
late Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, who was
afterwards Protestant Bishop of Leighlin and Ferns,
and whose " Charge" was so well answered by the
Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Dr. Doyle.
Dr. Elrington published a work, entitled, " The
Clergy of the Church of England truly ordained,
and not obliged to subscribe to damnable contradic
tions, in answer to Ward's Controversy of Ordina
tion." To this DR. MILNER had prepared a detailed
answer ; but he finally preferred giving the substance
of it in this Letter to a more extensive publication. It
contains a valuable summary of the chief arguments
against the validity of the Anglican Orders, the
powerful reasons for believing that Barlow himself had
never received episcopal consecration, and the defec
tive form by which he consecrated Parker, if such
consecration ever took place at all, which there are
very strong reasons for denying altogether.f DR.
* Inquiry," &c., 3rd Edit., p. 371.
f See " Letter on Anglican Orders, &c.," by Canon Williams,
Letter XVII.
164 LITE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1808.
MILNER mentions the author of the famous treatise on
the invalidity of Anglican Orders, entitled Erastus
Senior, the Eev. John Lewgar, S. T. B., as having
been converted to the Catholic faith with Chilling-
worth, who endeavoured in vain to induce him to
desert it when he himself left it. Lewgar studied the
ordination controversy thoroughly, and it was in con
sequence of his arguments against the form then in
use that it was altered, but too late to obviate the
Catholic objections.
DR. MILNER'S Postscript contains remarks on three
fresh pamphlets against him ; one attributed to Dr.
Ledwich, whom he had before confuted on the history
of St. Patrick ; the second from the pen of his antago
nist Dr. Elrington, being " Reflections on the appoint
ment of Dr. Milner as the political agent of the
R. Catholic Clergy of Ireland ;" and the third from
his other opponent Dr. Ryan, " Strictures on Dr.
Milner 's Tour, #c." There are some valuable addi
tional notes, one of which, on the irreligious and unmo
ral tendency of Freemasonry, will well repay the
attentive reader.
In the course of this second tour, DR. MILNER had
seen the mitre and crozier of an ancient Bishop of
Limerick, Cornelius O'Deagh, who held that See in
the early part of the fifteenth century. Of these he
sent this year a Description to the Secretary of the
Archaeological Society, which was published in the
XVII. Vol. of their Archceologia. His account is
very valuable, not only for its minute and interesting
description of these Pontificalia, which are exceedingly
rich and beautiful, but for the history which he gives
of mitres and croziers from their first coming into use
in the Western Church. There are, however, a few
AGE 56.] CHAPTER EIGHTH. 165
inaccuracies towards the end ; where the Bishop states
that the pastoral staff of an archbishop "is not a
hooked crozier, but a processional cross: 1 ' and that " a
patriarch or primate has two transverse bars upon it,
and the Pope three." An archbishop carries a crozier,
like any other bishop ; the cross being only borne
before him. The two bars given to a primate, and the
three to the Pope, are mere conventional insignia ot
artists and heralds : the Pope uses no pastoral staff at
any time. Dr. MILNER was also misinformed as to
the mitre being worn by Protestant Bishops at corona
tions: certainly at those of George III., George IV.,
William IV., and Victoria, their only insignia were
black caps and purple copes.
In the Spring of the next year, 1809, DR. MILNER
gave Confirmation at Moseley and Bloxwich ; at the
latter the chapel and house were greatly enlarged and
nearly rebuilt. He also confirmed at Wolverhampton.
On the llth of July the Triennial Meeting was held
at Wolverhampton, at which the clergy of the five
counties of Stafford, Derby, Salop, Worcester, War
wick and Oxford, were now admitted. It was attended
by twenty-three priests, and by the Rev. John Quick,
from Oscott, though he was then only a deacon. The
following interesting minute of the proceedings is
transcribed from t)R. MILNER'S own Journal.
" The Veni Creator being sung in the chapel, the
Vic. Ap. admonished the Brethren of their duties
towards God and their neighbours. Of Mass to be
said frequently for the intentions annexed to their
places, and also for benefactors of the Common Fund.
Of keeping the B. Sacrament and Holy Oils locked
up of keeping altar, &c., clean.
166 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1809.
" Of vigilance zeal and labour to save souls ; vos
estis sal terrce, etc. to keep lists of their flocks, to
look out and see who may be reclaimed, reconciled,
converted, to be particularly anxious that all should
make their Easter duty, if any objection exists with
respect to their persons, to facilitate access to other
confessors to give notice to the Bishop when Con
firmation is wanted in their congregations.
" To preach against nudities theatrical shows
going to Protestant churches and teaching Protestant
Catechism. To lead souls on to perfection by mor
tifying pride, recollection union with God mental
prayer. To aspire to perfection ourselves, Medita
tion Retreat Abbe Carron's Pensees ecclesiastiques
offered to each, with engagement to read them.
" To provide a succession of priests, and an increase
of them, Messis multa, operarii auiem pauci. In
stitution of Oscott Printed papers distributed. Plan
of ecclesiastical life there. Existing French schism
Blanchard's boast of adherents amongst priests of the
Midland District. All sign a declaration of com
munion with Pope Pius VII. , and of adhesion to the
condemnation of Blanchard's doctrine.
" Question put: Has any one any proposal to make
for the good of Religion ?
" The Litany of the Blessed Virgin said in the
chapel."
The clergy afterwards proceeded to a room in the
Bishop's house for temporal affairs, after which all
dined together with his Lordship in his large dining-
room.
The above will give a good idea of the mode of
conducting the meetings of the clergy, and of the
subjects on which the zealous Bishop was accustomed
AGE 57.] CHAPTER EIGHTH. 167
to address them. But his exhortations were delivered
with animation and energy not to be described. His
voice was powerful, his looks expressive, and his
manner every way that of a fervent pastor deeply
impressed himself with what he sought to impress upon
his hearers. When the spiritual and temporal con
cerns of the Meeting had been duly transacted, the
good Bishop gave his clergy a hearty welcome to his
table, and nothing could exceed his kindness, attention,
and urbanity. He was very cheerful, perfectly easy
and familiar, and the youngest of nis clergy felt himself
quite at home with him as with a father.
It will have been noticed that in DR. MILNER'S
account of the Clergy Meeting above, it is mentioned
that in his address he spoke of the institution of the
Seminary at Oscott, and distributed printed papers.
These were copies of a statement which he had drawn
up of the necessity of supporting the new institution
at Oscott, of which he spoke in high terms of praise
and confidence.
In the course of this Summer and Autumn, DR.
MILNER was out again, travelling over his wide District,
which he so assiduously visited ; and he began by
giving Confirmation on the 20th of August to seventeen
persons at the Convent at Bodney, in Norfolk. Thence
he proceeded to Cossey Hall, the seat of Sir William
Jerningham, Bart., where a beautiful Gothic chapel had
just been completed, which had been planned and
erected under the immediate superintendence of his
brother, Mr. Edward Jerningham. The venerable
baronet, however, had no sooner completed this noble
monument of his faith and piety, than he was called
out of life, and became the first tenant of the family
vault beneath it. Sir William died on the 14th of
168 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
August, 1809, and the new chapel erected by his piety
and munificence was solemnly consecrated by DR.
MILNEB on the 21st. On Tuesday the 22nd, the
funeral of Sir William took place, when the Bishop
delivered a very admirable discourse, the substance of
which was afterwards published. In that discourse,
he did not expatiate upon the ancient and illustrious
descent of the deceased .Baronet, nor even on his
accomplishments, and civil and social virtues ; but
preferred to dwell on his respect and affection for
religion, as the means of serving and enjoying God.
He therefore extolled Sir William's constancy in the
Catholic faith, and his exact observance of its ordi
nances " in the face of a profane and licentious genera
tion."
" What motive," said the eloquent preacher, " but a
pure zeal for the honour of God, and the salvation of
souls, could have induced him to raise and decorate
this sacred fane, built according to the useful, as well
as sublime and beautiful manner of our wise and
religious ancestors. He, like other persons of his rank
in life, could have found purposes, more gratifying to
pride and sensuality, for the employment of his fortune,
had he been disposed to do so ; but he preferred giving
it to the Lord, who has promised a hundred fold re
ward in this life, besides an infinite and eternal one in
the next, for all that is thus sacrificed to him. He just
lived to finish this noble and lasting monument of his
holy religion, and he died to accelerate that sacred and
solemn consecration of it, which took place yesterday,
having been one of the most splendid and consoling
religious ceremonies performed in this island for almost
three centuries."
The Prelate spoke in glowing terms of the cordial
AGE 57.1 CHAPTER EIGHTH. 169
devotion of Sir William to the holy Mother of God,
of his humility, meekness, and sincere charity, of
which last virtue he said: " It would be superfluous
to cite to you particular instances, when such innu
merable proofs of it are known to you all ; when
children, and friends, and servants, and tenants, and
neighbours ; when priests, and religious, and laity ;
when natives and foreigners contend with each other,
who shall express their gratitude to him most warmly ;
who shall extol him most."
The sermon, after extolling Sir William's conspicu
ous charity in aiding and supporting the sacred
ministry of the Church, and thus procuring for many
souls the means of salvation, and recording his
long and earnest preparation for his last hour, and the
happy death which followed it, concludes with the
recommendation of his soul to God, in language of
affecting sublimity: " Kemember, O Lord, this thy
servant, whose mortal remains are now before us, and
whose soul is in thy hands. Remember, that he was,
after thine own heart, meek and humble, forgiving
injuries, relieving the poor, and benignant to ah 1
mankind Eemember his zeal for thy honour
and service : how he preferred the erecting of this
beautiful and costly temple, to every object of vanity
and sensuality ; and how he rested not till he had
completed it to the glory of thy holy name ,
Behold, he found thee and the holy ark consecrated to
thy immediate presence, in the remote and obscure
situation in which the intolerance of former times had
forced his ancestors to conceal their devotion ; he had
adored thee therein, and he has since invited thee, and
thy holy ark, to take possession of a place more
worthy of thy majesty, and better adapted for thy holy
170 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
worship give rest, O give eternal rest to the soul
of thy departed servant, William ! "
This discourse was no studied composition, but the
ready effusion of a fervent spirit and a feeling heart.
The Bishop had so little time, that he sat up almost all
night to write it, and used to say that he felt the
effects of having done so long afterwards. The priest
who was chaplain at Cossey Hall, and had charge of
the congregation when this new chapel was opened,
was the Rev. Thomas Price.
CHAPTER NINTH.
VISITATIONS AND CONFIRMATIONS BY DR. MILNER. VISIT TO
SEDGLEY PARK WITH DR. MOYLAN. THE FIFTH RESOLUTION
AFFAIR. DR. MILNER AT THE DINNER IN DOVER-STREET.
THE MEETING AT ST. ALBAN's TAVERN. DR. MILNER'S
CIRCULAR AFTER IT. CONDEMNATION OF THE FIFTH RESO
LUTION BY THE WHOLE OF THE IRISH HIERARCHY. DR.
MILNER'S ARGUMENTS AGAINST IT. ENLARGEMENT AND RE
OPENING OF THE CHAPEL OF OSCOTT COLLEGE. DR. MILNER's
ENDEAVOURS TO HEAL DISSENSION, AND RESTORE PEACE AND
UNANIMITY. HIS LETTERS IN THE STATESMAN NEWSPAPER.
IN September, 1809, the indefatigable DR. MILNER
began his visitation of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire,
and Lincolnshire. He confirmed at Derby, Notting
ham, Wingerworth, Worksop, Brigg, Osgodby, Louth,
Lincoln and Irnham. He then visited Leicester, and
confirmed at Harvington and Grafton, and after visit
ing Worcester, returned home at the end of November.
The Confirmation at Grafton took place on Sunday
the 12th November. He blessed and opened a new
chapel there on that occasion. He gave directions
AGE 57.] CHAPTER NINTH. 171
for some painted glass for the East window, and the
Eev. Clement Weetman, the priest there at the time,
observed that he had never seen a person so ready in
suggesting improvements. He stayed till Monday
morning, when Mr. Weetman rode with him to Wor
cester, where they both remained till Wednesday, on
which day they returned to Grafton. Mr. Weetman
highly enjoyed his company ; and found him infinitely
more aifable and communicative than he had expected.
Such observations were generally made by persons,
when they came to know DR. MILNER, and appreciate
his true character, which was really full of benevolence
and unaffected goodness of heart.
The venerable Bishop of Cork, Dr. Moylan, was
always the great friend of DR. MILNER. It was about
this year, on one of those visits which his Lordship
frequently paid to England, that DR. MILNER enter
taining him at his house in Wolverhampton, brought
him up in his gig to see the school at Sedgley Park.
It was on a Saturday afternoon, and when the two
Prelates were leaving, the boys drew up at the rails
with their hats off, and petitioned DR. MILNER for a
play day, in honour of the distinguished visitor who sat
beside him. DR. MILNER stopped his horse, stood up
in the gig, and made the following gratifying proclama
tion to the boys : " Dr. Moylan, Bishop of Cork,
gives you a playday on Monday." He did not calcu
late the immediate consequences, or he would have
desired the boys not to shout. He drove a splendid
white horse, who had been a charger, and when the
boys set up a tremendous shout, the horse set off at
full gallop. The Bishop could not stop him, and with
great difficulty managed to turn first the top corner
of the " bounds," or boys' playground, and then to
172 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
turn again safely at the bottom of the u bounds,"
and clear the posts of the lane gate. He effected both,
however, with great dexterity ; and then the boys
watched the horse galloping up the lane at full speed,
not without apprehensions for the safety of the two
venerable Prelates.
It has been stated in Chapter Eighth that the Irish
Bishops, twenty-nine in number, unanimously agreed
in Dublin, on the 14th of September, 1808, that "it is
inexpedient to introduce any alteration in the canonical
mode, hitherto observed, in the nomination of Roman
Catholic Bishops." The English Catholics, on their
side, had pledged themselves to adopt no measure
affecting the general interests of the two bodies of
Catholics, without the concurrence of their Irish bre
thren. On the 31st of January, in this year 1810, a
few Catholic noblemen and gentlemen met Earl Grey,
Lord Grenville, and Mr. Windham, and without con
sulting their Bishops, or receiving any authority from
them, agreed upon a Resolution to be brought forward
the next day at a Meeting of Catholics to he held at
St. Alban's Tavern ; this Resolution being one, as Dr.
Poynter said of it the next day, which might give rise
to " questions affecting the spiritual concerns of all the
four Districts."
DR. MILNER, ever alive to the interests of religion,
and anxious to discharge his double duty as an
English Vicar Apostolic, and as Agent of the Irish
Bishops, arrived in London on the 30th of January ;
and on the following day he dined by invitation with a
Catholic Baronet and some of his friends at Doran's
Hotel in Dover-street. He had previously waited on
Dr. Douglass, the Vicar Apostolic of the London
District, where he had also met the coadjutor Bishop,
AGE 57.] CHAPTER NINTH. 173
Dr. Poynter ; when all the three Prelates agreed that
while they owed to government satisfaction as to
loyalty, they should take care not to yield anything to
it in spiritual concerns. DR. MILNER said on leaving,
" At all events let us Prelates act in concert on this
occasion." He proceeded to the Hotel in Dover-street,
and dined there with about thirteen of the Catholic
nobility and gentry ; but had no idea that it was any
thing more than a convivial party of friends. Great,
therefore, was his surprise, when after dinner the
Secretary of the Catholic Board read up certain Reso-
lutions to be proposed at the meeting appointed for the
following day, the Fifth of which was as follows :
" That the English Roman Catholics, are firmly
persuaded, that adequate provision for the mainte
nance of the civil and religious establishments of this
kingdom may be made, consistently with the strictest
adherence, on their part, to the tenets and discipline of
the Roman Catholic religion ; and that any arrange
ment founded on this basis of mutual satisfaction and
security, and extending to them the full enjoyment of
the civil constitution of their country, will meet with
their grateful concurrence."
It must be observed that this Resolution is expressed
almost in the very words of Lord Grenville's celebrated
Letter to the Earl of Fingall, of Jan. 25, which
embodied the sentiments of the ministry, and disclosed
their designs. Having premised in that Letter that
all due provision must be made for the inviolable
maintenance of our (the Protestant) religious and
civil establishments, and that he had pointed out the
proposal of vesting in the crown an effectual nega
tive on the appointment of Catholic Bishops, in other
words, the Veto in its worst sense, the noble Lord goes
174 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
on to say " That adequate arrangements may be made
for all these purposes" ( Veto of course included),
" consistently with the strictest adherence, on your
part, to your religious tenets, is the persuasion you
have long been labouring to establish. Were it other
wise, I should indeed despair. But that; these objects
may be reconciled, in so far as respects the appoint
ment of Bishops, is known with undeniable certainty."
Here is the key to the real meaning of the famous
Fifth Resolution ; and no wonder that DR. MILNER
at once perceived this, and that when it was proposed
at the dinner party, he " clearly saw" in it " the Veto
in its most hideous form," and was convinced that he
had been invited to the dinner " for the express purpose
of ensnaring him into an approbation of the Resolu
tion"* then brought forward ; and that when asked if
he would sign the Resolutions just read, he at once
answered that he could not sign the above Fifth
Resolution, and made use of the most effectual argu
ments he could to induce those present to reject it.
He was, to use his own words, " baited and tortured
on every side by the company present for an hour and
more to make him consent to it till he found relief in
a flood of tears."f He was asked what he would say,
as a Vicar Apostolic only, independently of his being
the Agent of the Irish Bishops, to which he answered
" I beg to be excused answering that question, because
I hope to give you an answer in common with my
brethren, the other Vicars Apostolic." This he said,
trusting to the engagements which had that morning
been entered into by the three Bishops at the house of
* DR. MILNER' s "Encyclical Letter" of Nov. 22, 1813, p. 7.
t " Letter to the Editor of an Apologetical Epistle, &c.," p. 337.
AGE 57-] CHAPTER NINTH. 175
Dr. Douglass. He was next asked to promise not to
use any arguments to influence his brethren : but he
indignantly rejected any such proposal, declaring that he
would use such arguments with them as his conscience
should dictate. A noble Lord then called out to him
"May I sign the resolution?" DR. MILNER answered
" You may sign it if you will." Now, as great advantage
has been taken of this answer, and of a similar one to
two other inquiries to the same effect, both by Dr.
Poynterinhis " Apologetic Epistle to Cardinal Litta"
and by Mr. Charles Butler in his unpublished " Memo
rial to Cardinal Fontana" iii. 3, as if DR. MILNER
had actually declared it lawful and safe to sign the Reso
lution, attention ought in justice to be paid to his own
explanation of the sense in which he gave these answers.
He did not mean by them, as he has declared, to solve a
case of conscience, but merely to get rid of an importu
nate question, adverting only to the fact that the signa
tures of the parties could have no effect, so long as the
Bishops firmly opposed the Resolution, and supported
the discipline of the Church, as he confidently expected
that they would. " I understood," he says, " from the
first hearing of the Resolution that its object was to
alter our Church discipline, by giving up the rights
of Bishops, and I remember well telling several of
my friends, that I did not regard some scores or
even some hundreds of lay signatures, provided the
Bishops were true to themselves.* It is to be re
gretted that he gave answers so liable to miscon
struction ; but he could never have meant to approve
* * Instructions addressed to the Catholics of the Midland
Counties of England, &c., by the Rev. Dr. Milner, B.C.', V.A.
1811. Appendix I."
176 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
of others signing a Resolution, which he himself
had just before so positively refused to sign. It is
due to him also to take into consideration, that amidst
the confusion and altercation of an after dinner scene,
where the good Bishop had already been plied and
harassed by several captious and insidious questions,
he might be somewhat excused if he answered as he
did to the last put to him, without any serious intention
to decide upon the morality of the question.
The defenders of the Fifth Resolution maintain
that it was a mere general expression of good humour,
of a wish that the business of Catholic eman
cipation should, and of a belief that it might be
settled, to the satisfaction of both parties ; that it
neither proposed, nor even hinted at any particular
measure, but left all open to future discussion and
arrangement ; that whatever might be proposed by
government, inconsistent with the tenets or discipline
of the Roman Catholic religion, those who subscribed
the Resolution might justly refuse it. Such is the
view taken by Mr. Charles Butler, of what he con
siders truly deserving of the epithet of a conciliatory
Resolution.*
Another defender of it, whose opinion merits more
respectful attention, was Dr. Poynter, the coadjutor at
the time of Dr. Douglass, and afterwards the Vicar
Apostolic of the London District. His Lordship says
that some leading Catholics waited on Earl Grey in
the morning of the 31st January, and that in their
explanation with him it was understood on each side
that there was no question of the Veto, or any other
specific pledge ; and that no more than a general
* " Hist. Mem. of English Catholics," 3rd Edit., p. 168.
AGE 57.] CHAPTER NINTH. 177
declaration should be made that the Catholics were
ready to do those things, which, while they were con
formable to their religion, might give mutual satisfac
tion and security to government and the Catholics.
Earl Grey gave this explanation in writing and signed
it. Accordingly Dr. Poynter defends his own signing
the Eesolution with Dr. Collingridge, the Vicar Apos
tolic of the Western District, on the ground that they
both considered it harmless and free from danger.*
DR. MILNER, however, viewed the Fifth Resolution
in a very different light ; and so did the Prelates
of Ireland, who fully concurred with him. The
meeting of Catholics took place the next day, Fe
bruary 1, at St. Alban's Tavern, and was attended
by about a hundred persons, including Bishops
MILNER, Collingridge and Poynter ; the Vicar Apos
tolic of the London District, Dr. Douglass, being
unable to attend from illness. Drs. Collingridge and
Poynter both assured DR. MILNER that they would
not sign the Fifth Resolution, and agreed to hold
a meeting with him the next day to consider it
together with Dr. Douglass. Dr. Poynter, moreover,
thought it his duty to address the meeting before
the Resolution was put from the chair, and observed
in his speech, " that this Resolution would pro
bably involve in its consequences questions which
would affect the spiritual interests of the four Dis
tricts, and which consequently must be referred to
the four Vicars Apostolic."f The three Bishops had
* " Apologetical Epistle,'' by Bishop Poynter, Nos. 6 and 20.
' Letter to the Rt. Rev. J. Milner, V.A.," p. 2.
t Dr. Milner's " Encyclical Letter." Dr. Poynter's " Letter to
Dr. Milner" of Feb. 13, and his Apologetical Epistle," No. 14.
N
178 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
previously sat down together, and during an hour and
more, spoke and acted in concert. DR. MILNER
declares that his heart exulted " from a conviction that
our religion was safe, as long as its Prelates were
united and firm in its defence."* His exultation,
however, was very short ; for soon after, while he was
in another part of the room, the other two Prelates
were persuaded to sign the Eesolution, and did sign
it. DR. MILNER, when their signatures were shown to
him, could not for a long time believe them to be
genuine. He was convinced at any rate that his two
episcopal brethren had been over-reached and over-
persuaded ; and was confirmed in this opinion two
days after, when a gentleman who had been most
active about the Resolution, and in getting the Bishops
to sign it, said to him : " Do not be angry with your
brethren, they resisted as long as they could, but we
jockeyed them" And the same gentleman said to
him four days after this : " You acted right, and I
would have acted the same part in your situation :"f
indeed that gentleman himself, singularly enough, never
did sign the Fifth Resolution.
The Meeting had been held on the 1st of February ;
and on the 5th, DR. MILNER printed " A Letter to a
Catholic Peer? which he did not publish, but cir
culated extensively in England and Ireland. DRS.
MILNER and Poynter had been present at a dinner
at the Clarendon Hotel, given in the evening of the
same day of the meeting at the St. Alban's Tavern,
the 1st of February. In recording in this Letter the
transactions of that evening, DR. MILNER complained
* " Encyclical Letter," p. 7-
f " Encyclical Letter" of Dr. Milner, p. 8.
AGE 57.] CHAPTER NINTH. 179
of some observations made by a distinguished Catholic
preacher who sat near him, upon some parts of the
Observanda, or Kegulations for the English Mission ;
and also of the silence of Dr. Poynter on the occa
sion. He went on to justify his refusal to sign the
Fifth Resolution that morning : " How, for example,
can I, a guardian of the Catholic religion, pledge my
consent to the ' making of adequate provisions for the
maintenance of the (Protestant) religious Establish
ment of this kingdom,' when a Protestant legislature,
or rather, when in fact, Mr. Perceval himself is to
dictate to me what shall be deemed necessary for this
adequate maintenance? how can I pledge myself
to become a party to c adequate provisions for the main
tenance of the religious Establishment of this kingdom,'
although these should be consistent with the tenets and
discipline of the Roman Catholic religion, if, as will
certainly be the case, they should be found inconsistent
with its safety ? I am bound to declare to you my
conviction, that I should (by signing) pledge myself to
give up the vital interests of my religion on a future
occasion, if the same were required of me."*
Two Letters appeared in answer to the above Letter
of DR. MILNER. One from the Eev. gentleman, who
admitted that he had used the harsh words " absurd
and ridiculous," when speaking of the reasons assigned
for one of the regulations in the Observanda, express
ing his sorrow for having used them, and retracting
them. But he denied having inveighed against the
Observanda themselves, declaring that such a proceed
ing would have been " opposite to his principles, convic
tions, and conduct."f The other Letter was from Dr.
* " Letter, &c.," pp. 4 and 5.
f Letter to the R. R. J. Douglass," p. 1.
180 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1809.
Poynter, and was addressed to DR. MILNEE. His
Lordship explained his silence at the Clarendon Hotel,
of which DK. MILNEK had complained, by declaring
that from his distance at the other end of the table, he
was unable to distinguish what was said, and surprised
by DK. MILNER'S calling upon him to speak : he was
ignorant of the subjects of dispute, and therefore could
say nothing. Dr. Poynter next defended his conduct
at St. Alban's Tavern, on the following grounds :
First, that he found nothing objectionable in the Fifth
Resolution, but that he thought it proper not to sign it,
until the four Vicars Apostolic had met and agreed to
it by common consent : and that he had thought it his
duty to observe, before the Resolution was put to the
votes, " that this Resolution would probably involve,
in its consequences, questions which would affect the
spiritual interests of all the four Districts, and which,
consequently, must be referred to the judgment of the
four Vicars Apostolic," He then proposed to wait till
Dr. Gibson, the V. A. of the Northern District, should
come to town, as the concurrence of the four Vicars
Apostolic would add force to the Resolution. Se
condly, because the noble Lord in the chair had de
clared that, if any specific terms should be proposed
affecting the interests of religion, they should be
submitted to the judgment of the Vicars Apostolic.
Thirdly, because another noble Lord had told him in
the room that DR. MTLNER had declared that he would
not act in this matter as V. A., but only as the agent
of the Irish Bishops ; and that this declaration defeated
the design of waiting for the concurrence of all the
four Vicars Apostolic. In this change of circum
stances, after he had entered the room, Dr. Poynter
considered himself justified in signing the Fifth
AGE 57.] CHAPTER NINTH. 181
Resolution. To this Letter was appended a few lines
from Dr.Collingridge, fully concurring in the statement
and views of Dr. Poynter.
In addition to what has been already given of DR.
MILNER'S sentiments, he argued that if the Eesolution
might affect spiritual interests it might also injure
them : that if it might affect those of England, it
might also those of Ireland ; and therefore he had
moved an adjournment, till the decision of the Irish
Bishops should be known ; but his motion was over
ruled. He also argued, that if the Eesolution ought
to be referred to the four Vicars Apostolic, none of
these ought to sign it till they had consulted together,
much less ought any lay Catholics to sign it previously
to the decision of the Bishops. Moreover he solemnly
protested that the tale that he would not act in the
affair as Vicar Apostolic, but only as agent of the Irish
Bishops, was " not only false, but also destitute of a
pretence to justify its falsity ;" and he declared that if
Dr. Poynter had only asked him, which he might so
easily have done in the room, if it were true that he
would not act in the business as a Vicar Apostolic, " he
would most assuredly have held an open language, that
would have shamed the whispers into perfect silence."*
In another place DR. MILNER says "The maintenance
of the Protestant religion, observe, is the very subject
of the proposition, both in sense and grammar. Now
I again maintain that a Catholic cannot in conscience
concur to this object. True it is, the subscriber adds
a condition, that he will concur consistently with an
adherence to the Catholic religion ; but this condition
does not cure the radical unlawfulness of the object
* " Sup. Mem.," p. 153.
182 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
itself ; because we must not do a lawful thing for a
sinful purpose."*
An account of the proceedings on the 1st was the same
day sent to Ireland by deputies from that country,
who had been present ; and the Fifth Resolution was
no sooner known there, than nothing but execrations
were heard, and complaints that the Irish Catholics
had been deceived and betrayed by their brethren in
England. The Dublin Catholic Committee had been
officially assured by the English Board that they
" would adopt no measures but such as might be
considered as auxiliary to the more powerful exertions
of the Irish Catholics, and that they would regulate
their conduct by that of their Irish brethren, "f
Fifteen of the Irish Bishops were assembled at
Dublin, with the proxies of the remaining twelve ;
and among other resolutions they passed the following,
which plainly expresses their condemnation of the
Fifth Resolution, while it testifies their approval of
their faithful agent, and their confidence in him :
" Resolved, that the thanks of this Meeting be, and
are hereby given to the Eight Rev. DR. MILNER,
Bishop of Castabala, for the faithful discharge of his
duty, as agent to the Roman Catholic Bishops of this
part of the United Kingdom, and more particularly
for his apostolical firmness in dissenting from and
opposing a general, vague, and indefinite declaration or
Resolution, pledging the R. Catholics to an eventual
acquiescence in arrangements, possibly prejudicial to
the integrity and safety of our Church discipline."!
* "Encycl. Letter," Nov. 22, 1813, p. 5.
f " Letter from the Catholics of Great Britain," dated January
26, 1808.
J Dr. Poynter's " Apologetical Epistle," No. 29.
AGE 5?.] CHAPTER NINTH. 183
Here was the solemn decision of a whole national
Church against this Fifth Resolution ; and surely
these venerable Prelates were fully competent to un
derstand its drift and danger. Dr. Poynter objected
to this censure of the Irish Bishops, on the ground that
if conditions should be proposed by the government
which were adverse to the faith, discipline, and in
tegrity of the Catholic religion, the Catholics would
not be bound to accept them : the Resolution, he
argued, was represented as an offer to treat with the
legislature on terms of mutual security ; but he should
have remembered the declaration of Lord Erskine,
that " the legislature never treats with subjects."* In
fact Earl Grey understood the matter very differently,
for he declared in Parliament that he was "authorised"
to say that the Catholics would accept relief, accom
panied with such provisions as the legislature should
think necessary for the security of their established
Church, not contrary to their feelings, adding that he
subscribed to every letter, principle, and word of Lord
Grenville's Letter to the Earl of Fingall, which Letter,
be it remembered, among other arrangements pointed
out the " proposal of vesting in the crown an effectual
negative on the appointment of your (Catholic)
Bishops."f It is plain, therefore, how the Fifth Reso
lution was understood by Earl Grey, who indeed had
been its chief framer. After all, as DR. MILNER justly
asks, " in what is that Synodical decision of the Irish
prelates on the Fifth Resolution more severe than his
own (Dr. Poynter's) upon it, when he pronounced that
it would probably involve consequences affecting the
* Speech in 1810.
t " Sup. Mem.," p. 142.
184 LITE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1809.
spiritual interests of the four Districts."* He therefore
considered that Eesolution as " a pledge to concur in
any measures which Protestant politicians should
judge necessary for the security of their religion, and
which they should say was not inconsistent with ours."f
He argued that by the very words of it, the Catholic
who adopts it says that he will concur in arrangements
for maintaining the Protestant religious establish
ments of this kingdom ; and although he engages to
concur only on condition that these arrangements shall
be consistent with his religion, still the concurrence
remains unlawful, because we may not do a lawful
thing for a sinful purpose. DR. MILNEK, therefore, ever
lamented the Fifth Resolution, as one " which separa
ted the Irish from the English Catholics, divided the
last-mentioned among themselves, carried discord into
the bosom of the sanctuary, distressed the See Apos
tolic beyond description, and at length brought forth
the persecuting and schismatical Bill of 1813." He
even considered that it had " caused more dissension
and mischief among the Catholics of England, than
any other measure since the divorce of Henry VIII.
from his Queen Catherine."!
It was a relief to the zealous Prelate to turn his
attention from these agitations to his new College at
Oscott. The chapel of the College, which had been
built by the Rev. Pierce Parry, soon after the year
1778, was now lengthened by the addition of a new
sanctuary, and the dormitory over it at the same time
equally lengthened. The chapel was also very taste
fully decorated with plaster work, and a good painting
* Letter on Cath. Affairs," Jan. 19, 1814.
f Letter in Orthodox Journal for 1818, p. 109.
J ' Sup. Mem.," p. 139.
AGE 57.3 CHAPTER NINTH. 185
on glass of the Blessed Virgin and Holy Infant intro
duced as the altar-piece, executed by Egginton of
Birmingham. The Blessed Virgin was trampling on
the serpent's head, but with the too common mistake
of representing her standing on the crescent turned
upwards, instead of downwards, which will be seen to
be an impossible position, when it is considered that
the crescent is but the illuminated portion of the orb
of the moon. Stained and ground glass was also
introduced into two windows, one on each side of the
altar-piece, and into three circular ones above. The
front of the altar had a painting in chiaro oscuro of
our Saviour taken down from the Cross, and two
tablets over the credence-tables represented subjects
emblematical of the Holy Eucharist, all three being
similarly painted by the Bishop's friend, Mr. Cave, of
Winchester. The chapel was reopened in the Spring
of 1810, the Bishop preached again, and had a
numerous audience.
The Bishops of Ireland and their agent in England,
DK. MILNER, did all in their power to heal dissension
and restore peace. They entreated their English
brethren at least to give a public explanation of the
Resolution, such as might prevent mischievous arrange
ments. DR. MILNER was satisfied that the other
Vicars Apostolic were in reality as averse as himself
to vetoistical arrangements, but were deterred from
openly declaring their sentiments, by an ill-judged
respect for a party. Not content with arguments and
entreaties, he three several times went down upon his
knees, and endeavoured to heal their wounded feelings,
and induce them to act with perfect unanimity, and
a combination of strength, in the cause of our Great
186 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1809.
Master."* But all his efforts for peace and unanimity
unhappily did not prevail.
In consequence of a paragraph in the popular news
paper called the Statesman, DR. MILNER felt called
upon once again, and in a more public manner, to clear
up the mistakes which had arisen, and caused so much
ill-will against him, in consequence of Mr. Ponsonby's
statements in Parliament in 1808, which have been
detailed in the preceding chapter. He wrote five
Letters to the Editor of the Statesman, in May and
June, 1810 ; which, after being copied into almost
all the Irish, and several English papers, were collected
and published in a pamphlet. He proved in them that
his whole conduct in the affair of the Veto was
honourable, and satisfactory to the Irish Prelates
for whom he acted. An Appendix was added, con
sisting of a translation of the protest of the Irish
Bishops against the cruel and treacherous conduct
of Napoleon towards Pope Pius VII.
* Sup. Mem.," p. 174.
AGE ST.] CHAPTER TENTH. 18?
CHAPTER TENTH.
DR. MILNER'S SERMON AT THE OPENING OF ST. CHAD'S, BIRMING
HAM. HIS ARTICLE ON GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN REES'
CYCLOPAEDIA. HE PRESENTS NEW VESTMENTS TO OSCOTT COL
LEGE PUBLISHES HIS ELUCIDATION OF THE VETO. MEETING
OF THE VICARS APOSTOLIC. TEST AGAINST BLANCHARDISM
AGREED UPON OPPOSITION TO DR. MILNER PUBLISHES HIS
PASTORAL OF THE STATE AND DANGERS OF RELIGION. ANA
LYSIS OF IT. HIS ADVENTURE AT STOWE.
ON Sunday, the 17th December, 1809, the new
chapel of St. Chad, in Birmingham, was solemnly
opened, and DR. MTLNER preached on that occasion a
very powerful and argumentative Sermon, which was
afterwards published. It was delivered extempore,
and what was printed was entitled : " The Substance
of a Sermon preached at the Blessing of the Catholic
Chapel of St. Chad, $c" It is very long, filling 49
octavo pages. In this fine discourse, the preacher
establishes in the first place three points, the
obligation of divine worship, the duty of paying
this at stated times and places, and of paying it
according to the ordinances which God has prescribed.
Secondly, he points out the plain and easy rule by which
the truth may be discovered, and the marks of the
true Church ; and Thirdly, he reminds Catholics of the
conditions required to secure their future happiness.
The first part is addressed to those without any reli
gion : the second, to the discordant sects of Protest
ants : the third, to Catholics. Of the many eloquent
and stirring passages with which this Sermon abounds,
188 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1809.
a short specimen only can be given in these pages.
Speaking of the endless variety of discordant sects,
the Bishop observes that " the cause of these unhappy
divisions among Christians, is that they either take up
with a religious system, without any rule or reason at
all ; or else they adopt an erroneous rule, which leads
them still farther from the truth than if they had no
rule at all. Many choose their religion, as they do
their clothes, from mere fancy. Still more adhere to
the religion of their family, because it is that of their
family ; which motive, if it were a reasonable one,
ought to have determined our Pagan ancestors to
persevere in the horrid rites of Thor and Woden still.
It is an evident fact, however, that far the greater part
of professing Christians follow that system, which best
agrees with their worldly interest and reputation, being
comparatively indifferent about their eternal interest."
After a lucid exposition of the true rule of faith, and
of the four marks of the true Church, he thus pro
ceeds: "What now can be opposed to these clear,
convincing arguments in favour of the Catholic rule of
faith and of the Catholic Church herself? Nothing,
my brethren, but misrepresentation and calumny; mis
representation a thousand times cleared up, calumny a
thousand times confuted. What we Catholics chiefly
complain of is, that whereas we permit all other religious
societies to explain their own systems, and we argue
with them on their own acknowledged grounds, we,
in our turn, are not permitted to state and explain our
religion ; but our sworn adversaries fabricate a system
of faith and morals for us, and by dint of sophis
try and clamour endeavour to persuade the world,
and if they could to persuade us ourselves that
we actually believe in it. To convince yourselves
AGE 57.] CHAPTER TENTH. 189
what tenets and maxims we really hold, consult
our creeds and professions of faith, or our cate
chisms, or the celebrated Exposition of Catholic
Doctrine by the great Bossuet. Or, what perhaps
may afford you more satisfaction than any of these
methods ; take some artless child between the ages of
twelve and fifteen, any one whom you understand to
have been well instructed in the Catholic doctrine
and morality : ask him, for example, whether the
crucifix which you see here exalted upon this altar
is placed there to be prayed to, or adored ?" He
ingeniously gives the answers of a well-instructed
Catholic youth to some of the leading misrepresenta
tions of our holy religion. In conclusion he reminds
Catholics of the obligation of leading holy and edifying
lives, without which the advantages of the true faith
will never avail them.
DR. MILNER had been, to use his own expressions,
" called upon and irresistibly pressed by that profound
scholar and worthy man, Dr. Eees, to furnish the
article ' GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE,' " for his Cyclopaedia.
He accordingly prepared an article, which appeared in
that great work in the following year, 1810. It is an
able and attractive abridgment of a more elaborate
Treatise on pointed Architecture, which he had
written for Mr. J. Taylor's Architectural Library.
The article was well received, and has always main
tained a high reputation. But the nature of the Cyclo
paedia did not allow DR. MILNER to avail himself of the
numerous historical authorities, which he had collected,
which led to the subsequent publication of the results
of his labours in a separate work, published in the
following year, under the title of " A Treatise on the
Ecclesiastical Architecture of England during the
1QO LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1810.
middle ages." In this work, of which three editions
have appeared, the learned author details and works
out the leading features of his system ; first, that the
whole style of pointed, or Gothic architecture grew,
by degrees, out of the simple pointed arch ; secondly,
that the pointed arch itself was discovered hy the
intersection of a series of round arches ; and thirdly,
that we owe both discoveries chiefly to the Anglo-
Normans and English. But in this Treatise DR.
MILNER has further attempted to refute the objection
that pointed architecture is destitute of orders, rales,
and proportions ; and maintains that there are three
distinct orders of this style, the difference among them
consisting in the nature of the angle formed by the
pointed arch. He proves and illustrates his positions
by most valuable references, historical and antiquarian,
and by several highly interesting and well executed
plates. But this work is so well known and appre
ciated, that any more detailed account of it cannot be
needed in this biography.
It has been mentioned above that the new chapel of
St. Mary's College, Oscott, was enlarged, adorned, and
reopened, in the Spring of 1809- In January follow
ing some very beautiful and valuable vestments were
bequeathed to DR. MILNER by the Rev. Charles
Blount, who died at Warwick. These were at once
presented by the Bishop to his new College, and
formed a most important addition to the slender stock
of church vestments previously possessed by the
College, which were mostly very old and of little
value. There were among the new vestments two
sets of white, and a dalmatic and tunic of white satin,
and one set of each of the other church colours, except
purple, but not completed by dalmatics and tunics.
AGE 58.] CHAPTER TENTH. 1Q1
They were all very rich and in good taste, indeed the
best white vestment was inferior to very few in Eng
land in richness and elegance. This valuable present
enabled the clergy of the College to perform the offices
of the Church with greater splendour and solemnity,
and the new sanctuary of the chapel displayed the
ceremonies of the Church with far more grandeur than
had before been practicable.
Though DR. MILNER had exerted himself with so
much zeal and energy in opposing the Fifth Resolution,
under which he saw the Veto in embryo, he would
leave nothing undone for the protection of the dis
cipline of the Church ; and therefore in May, 1810,
he published a pamphlet of upwards of sixty pages,
entitled: "An Elucidation of the Veto! 1 It was
addressed to the Public, to the Catholics, and to
the advocates of Catholics in Parliament ; and is
accordingly divided into three sections. In the^rstf,
he corrects the mistaken notions of the public at large
concerning the Veto, and contradicts the false report
that he himself had authorised Mr. Ponsonby to propose
a Veto in Parliament, in 1808. He exposes the false
and dangerous writings of the Kev. Dr. O'Conor, better
known under his assumed name of Columbanus : he
shows how the Irish Prelates were imposed upon and
deceived, in 1799, by Lord Castlereagh ; and how
strenuously opposed are both the Irish clergy and
laity " to any dominion or control whatsoever, over
the appointment of their Prelates, on the part of the
Crown, or the servants of the Crown."
In the second section, he warns Catholics against
the delusive assurances held out to them that the
arrangements contemplated do not threaten the least
injury to the faith, discipline, or safety of the Cal
192 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1810.
Church ; and against placing a foolish and dangerous
confidence in their political friends, who are by no
means friends to their religion. He exposes the real
nature and tendency of vetoistical arrangements of
any kind. He denounces again the Fifth Resolution
of Lords Grenville and Grey, one of whom wrote it
in pencil, which the other covered with ink, and cites
Lord Grenville's declaration in his speech in the
House of Lords, on the 8th of March, that he should
steadily persevere in his former views, meaning what
he had stated in favour of the Veto in his Letter to
the Earl of Fingall. He shows, what is most import
ant, how false is the idea industriously propagated,
that the Irish Bishops had approved of the Fifth Reso
lution. Here he cites the Letter of the Catholic
Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Troy, in answer to a Letter
addressed to him by the English Catholic Board, in
which that Prelate distinctly says of the Fifth Reso
lution, that it appeared to the Irish Bishops, and to
the Irish Catholics in general, " to imply a pledge to
sanction future arrangements for the maintenance of
the Protestant religion, which might eventually prove
inconsistent with the integrity and safety of the
Catholic faith and discipline."*
The third Section is addressed to the Protestant
friends of Catholics in Parliament, and in it the Rt.
Rev. writer discusses and condemns two separate
plans proposed ; one by Lord Grenville, for giving to
the Crown a direct interference in the nomination of
Catholic Bishops ; and the other by Mr. Grattan, for
depriving the Pope of his right of nomination. In a
Postscript, DR. MILNEE gives a very important extract
Elucidation of the Veto," p. 34.
AGE 58.] CHAPTER TENTH. 193
from a Letter of an Irish Catholic Bishop in answer to
an official Letter from a Catholic in England, in which
that Bishop declares that the Irish Prelates at their late
Synod " were unanimous in the opinion that the Fifth
Resolution, penned by Lords Grenville and Grey in
such vague and general terms, suitable to present
circumstances, would in any future arrangement be
construed by them favorable to their effective Veto,
which they deem necessary for the security of the
existing establishments, and the sine qua non of
Catholic Emancipation."
It was mentioned in Chapter Eighth, on the subject
of the Blanchardist schism, that a test against it was
agreed upon by the Vicars Apostolic* in 1810. They
assembled at the house of Dr. Douglass, V. A. of the
London District, February 20, 1810, with the two
coadjutors, Dr. Poynter of the London District, and
Dr. Smith (elect) of the Northern, with two consulting
divines for each of the Vicars Apostolic. DR. MILNER
used to say, however, that he had not " fair play" on
the occasion, having been deprived of both his theolo
gians. The Abbe Carron was one, and was objected
to on the ground of his being a Frenchman ; and the
other was Eev. J. Griffiths, of St. George's Fields
Chapel, who was chosen secretary to the meeting.
The Bishops continued their deliberations during nine
days ; and on the fifth day, February 24th, they una
nimously agreed upon the following test: that "no
French priest be allowed to hold spiritual faculties, or to
say Mass in any of the four Districts, who, being called
upon, refuses to acknowledge that his Holiness Pope
Pius VII. is not a heretic, nor a schismatic, nor the
author or abetter of heresy or schism" This test
was at once acted upon in DR. MILNER'S District, and
o
194 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1810.
signed by the Bishop of Moulins, afterwards Arch
bishop of Bourges, and by every French priest, except
one who left the District in order to avoid signing it.
" Happy would it have been," says DR. MILNER,
" for all the parties concerned, but more especially for
the hundreds who have died in schism, without any
other chance than such as invincible ignorance affords,
had that test, so unanimously agreed upon, been
steadily adhered to in other Districts."* "Happy,
thrice happy measures for this mission, had they not
been abandoned in the London District, the birth-place
and centre point of the fatal evil. Though in the
frequent habit of public writing, yet, from deference to
my ancient and loved friend, the Vicar Apostolic of
that District (Dr. Douglass), I concurred with my
other brethren in leaving the composition of our Syno-
dical Letter, which was to have included the test
against Blanchardism, as its most essential matter, to
him and his R. Rev. Coadjutor (Dr. Poynter)
I lamented that it was neither published nor adhered
to in the head quarters of the schism, the London
District In short, I found that it was there smothered
and suppressed: nor would the R. Rev. Coadjutor
Prelate (at whose motion it had been adopted) con
descend so far as to assign any cause for thus violating
a common ordinance of the VV. AA."t DR. MILNER
further complained that the Abbe Trevaux, who had
been interdicted in the London District for publicly
approving of Blanchardism, was restored to his facul
ties without any retractation, but merely on his apolo-
* Letter of Dr. Milner in the " Orth. Journal? for 1818, p. 224,
under the signature of ' A Lover of Consistency."
f Pastoral Charge to his Clergy," by Dr. Milner, Part III.
(Private), April 12, 1813, page 9.
AGE 58.] CHAPTER TENTH. J95
gising privately to Dr. Douglass, and declaring that
when he approved of Blanchard's book he did not
know that it had been censured by his Prelate ; while
DR. MILNER and the Irish Bishops called for a retrac
tation as public as his approbation of the schism.
Mr. Charles Butler, in the Appendix to his " His
torical Memoirs of Catholics" having undertaken to
defend Drs. Douglass and Poynter in this transaction,
it is proper to expose the falsity of his allegations.
He says first, that Dr. Douglass observed that the
Abbe Trevaux could not retract what he declared he
had never maintained: but the answer to this is obvi
ous. By his signature to Blanchard's book he had
given public scandal ; and he was bound to repair that
scandal by a public retractation of his signature. He
says secondly, that the Vicars Apostolic did not come
to any final resolution upon the test against Blanchard-
ism ; but we have the authority of DR. MILNER assur
ing us that the test was unanimously agreed upon, and
confirmed by the Rt. Eev. Vicars Apostolic.* And
we have just seen that a joint Synodical Letter was to
have been issued containing the test against Blan-
chardism, as a common ordinance of the Bishops.
While DR. MILNER at once proceeded to enforce the
test, and thereby preserved his District from Blan-
chardism, the other three Vicars Apostolic did not
publish it till eight years afterwards ; the consequences
of which were, that a difference, not only of doctrine
but of practice, prevailed in the Midland District and
in Ireland on the one hand, where the test was fully
approved and enforced, and in the other Districts of
England on the other, and especially in the London,
which became the very hotbed of Blanchardism.
* " Orthodox Journal," 1818, p. 225 (cited above).
196 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1810.
It will surprise no one conversant with Church his
tory, that a Prelate so vigilant, zealous, and intrepid,
as DR. MILNER, should find himself opposed and sur
rounded by enemies. Our English Athana-sius, as he
was called at Eome with reference to his opposition to
the Veto, had given grievous offence by his defeat of
the proposed measures of 1808, by his condemnation
of the Fifth Resolution, by his powerful " Elucidation
of the Veto" and by his cordial cooperation with the
venerable hierarchy of Ireland. The members of the
Cisalpine Club used to assemble at the house of
Charles, Earl of Shrewsbury, in Stanhope-street,
London, and were unsparing in their opposition to
him. He seemed indeed to have incurred the almost
universal displeasure of the Catholic nobility and
gentry ; and used to say that he was excommunicated
by them ah 1 . A priest connected with a religious
order, and resident in the Midland District, spent a
few days in the metropolis, and afterwards wrote to a
friend that he could not have conceived that the anti
pathy even of the clergy to DR. MILNER was carried
to such an extremity, as he found to be the case.
" But," he added, " in his own District, thank God, it
can be said that he is universally respected, and, I
think, generally beloved." But the worthy champion
was never distressed or disheartened. He felt, as the
undaunted patriarch of Alexandria had felt under
similar opposition and desertion : " If our brethren
desert us, and friends and neighbours stand afar off,
and if there be none left to grieve with us, or console
us, still above all these it is enough for us to make
God our refuge."*
K$V <f>t\ot
??, ffv\\virovfjLevos /cat irapa.Ka\W oAA* vtrep iravra /na\\ov f) irpos
aQvyf]. S. Athan. ad Solit. Vitam agentes Epist
AGE 58.] CHAPTER TENTH. 197
Indeed he was ever most anxious to heal dissen
sions and restore peace, while he continued to defend
the rights of religion with inflexible firmness. " God
knows," said he, " there never was an instant of my
life, since I came to the use of reason, in which I
would not have lost my life, rather than be concerned
in giving either power or influence over any part of the
Catholic Church to any un-Catholic person or persons
whomsoever."* A priest called upon him in Decem
ber, 1810, and learned from him that he had then a
work at press which he trusted would prove a com
plete elucidation of the whole business, in which he
had been so much engaged during that eventful year.
But his great object in writing this work was to do his
best to bring about reconciliation and peace, which is
evident from the concluding portion of it. It was
published early in the ensuing year, 1811, under the
following title : " Instructions addressed to the Catho
lics of the Midland Counties of England, on the
State and Dangers of their Religion. By the Rev.
Dr. Miner, B.C., F.A. JVolverhampton, 1811."
It is a clear and temperate exposition of his conduct
and principles, and very ably written. He first takes
a view of the general calamities which then afflicted
the Church and its supreme head, the holy Pope
Pius VII. , declares that he can find no period, in which
the Church had suffered so much complicated distress,
and thinks the symptoms indicative of the near
approach of the last day, and enough to induce
preparations for fresh calamities, and a dreadful perse
cution. The last was an apprehension which hung
* " Instructions to the Catholics of the Midland Counties of
England," &c., p. 42.
198 * LITE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1811.
about him perpetually : he often used to speak of it.
On one occasion when in company with Sir John Cox
Hippisley, he observed, as he often did, that whatever
might come, the human frame could only endure a
certain degree of torture ; and Sir John exclaimed :
" There's MILNER, thinking of his martyrdom."
He proceeds, in Part II., to direct attention to the
fatal, though covert mischief, which threatened the
Catholics of these islands especially ; and undertakes
to prove, 1st, That a plan to introduce changes into
our Church discipline, incompatible with its safety and
integrity, is promoted by the Legislature and by
many Catholics. 2ndly, That the Fifth Resolution
is calculated to express a disposition in those who
signed it, to acquiesce in these changes. 3rdly, That
nevertheless, neither the Catholics at large, nor the
majority of those who signed it, nor the three Vicars
Apostolic and the two coadjutors are pledged, notwith
standing their signatures, to acquiesce in the plan.
It is amusing at this distance of time to observe the
various schemes of the statesmen of the day for
arranging our Emancipation upon their own terms,
of which DR. MILNER brings forward a great number,
dwelling especially upon the plan of Sir John
Cox Hippisley, who insisted upon a Royal Veto unre
stricted. DR. MILNER states very forcibly his objec
tions to the Fifth Resolution ; showing that it is to be
interpreted by the Letter of Lord Grenville to the
Earl of Fingall ; that it alludes to an acquiescence in
the proposed negative on the appointment of Bishops ;
that this was even expressly mentioned in the first
draft of it, and was left out only at the urgent repre
sentation that it could not be expressly mentioned,
consistently with the pledge given to the Irish Catho
AGE 59.] CHAPTER TENTH. 199
lies. That the Irish Bishops condemned the Fifth
Resolution from a deep persuasion that it did imply an
acquiescence in vetoistical arrangements, if required
by the Legislature, and that this is the highest autho
rity which Catholics can look up to on the question.
But the venerable Prelate states other objections.
He objects to the competency of lay Catholics pro
nouncing on what is, or may be consistent with the
tenets and discipline of the Catholic religion ; and
declares that he cannot reconcile it to his " conscience
to express the most distant approbation of provi
sions to be made by legislators of another religion, for
the security of that religion, without being able to form
an exact judgment as to what these provisions will be.
Another capital objection to the Eesolution is, that no
good and instructed Catholic can concur to the main
tenance of what he is bound to consider an act of
schism ;"* meaning of course the Protestant Establish
ment.
It has been often urged that these difficulties are
removed by those words : " consistently with the
strictest adherence on our part to the tenets and
discipline of the Eoman Catholic religion ;" but
DR. MILNER considers that they do not remove the
objection, because the same legislators will decide
what is consistent with Catholic discipline. Dr.
Poynter, in his Letter to Dr. Douglass, and in his
Apologetical Epistle, accused DR. MILNER of over
looking or suppressing the words " on the basis of
mutual security ;" here, however, DR. MILNER men
tions those words, but objects equally to the Eesolu
tion, because Parliament alone will authoritatively
* Page 30.
200 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1811.
decide what is a sufficient security on both sides ; and
those members of it, on whose exertions there was the
most reason to rely for justice being done to us, have
declared openly for the unlimited Veto ; they have
even testified in my hearing that they should con
sider our religion as sufficiently safe, if the whole
unrestricted Veto were immediately put into the hands
of Mr. Perceval himself."*
Proceeding to the third part of his subject, DR.
MILNER proves that the Catholics at large are not
pledged to the Fifth Resolution ; since very few were
informed of the intended Meeting where it was passed,
and the so called Catholic Board never was considered
to represent the Catholics of England ; that those who
did sign it, did so under strong assurances that they
would not thereby enter into any pledge whatever, and
that the Eesolution meant nothing, but was a mere
compliment. He asserts upon similar, but much
stronger grounds, that the three Vicars Apostolic and
two coadjutors, notwithstanding that they signed it,
and that its Parliamentary sense is so objectionable,
are not, in fact, pledged to admit of a civil control over
the appointment of our Bishops, nor of any other
State arrangement affecting our Church discipline.
For their Lordships were deceived by the positive
assurance of false facts, by persons of great credit ;
and the mischief would have been prevented if they
had met together, and deliberated without any lay in
tervention. One reason alleged for the signatures of
Drs. Collingridge and Poynter was, that they were
told by a noble Lord in the room that DR. MILNER had
declared that he would not act in this business as a
* Page 31.
AGE 59.] CHAPTER TENTH. 201
Vicar Apostolic, but only as the agent of the Irish
Bishops. To this he here solemnly protests that
he never made any such declaration, and maintains
that his whole conduct proved that he was acting as
an English Vicar Apostolic, no less than as agent for
his Irish brethren. " Thus," he adds, " it is demon
strated that one Vicar Apostolic and one Coadjutor
Bishop were deceived or * * * (jockeyed) into
the subscription." The other English Prelates were
deceived by " downright specific falsehoods, and it is a
fact, which falls within my own knowledge, that more
persons than one have boasted of this their irreligious
overreaching."*
But the admirable Prelate, much more desirous of
conciliation than of recrimination, quotes several Letters
of the five English Bishops written to their Irish
brethren, explanatory of their conduct in signing the
Fifth Resolution, in which they express in strong
terms their abhorrence of the Veto, and declare that any
vetoistical arrangements would, if proposed to them,
be at once absolutely rejected. "This is enough,"
DR. MILNER adds, " and more than enough, for the
important purposes which I have in view. Whatever
the noble Lords (Grenville and Grey) may say to these
extracts, they give me entire satisfaction, and I have
reason to believe they will equally satisfy the Catholic
Prelates and clergy of Ireland."f
It was about this time that an adventure happened,
which DR. MILNER used always to relate with great
glee, and evident self-congratulation. He was honour
ed with the friendship of the Marquis of Buckingham,
whose Lady, daughter of Earl Nugent, had become a
* Page 42. f Page 44.
202 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1811.
Catholic, but could only practise her religion very
secretly. So much so, indeed, that it was understood
that she had been obliged, for concealment, to make
her confession to DR. MILNER as she walked with him
up and down the great gallery at Stowe, and in the
sight of company. This was probably the case on
that occasion ; but the following admits of no doubt, as
it was related by DR. MILNER himself in the year
1819 at Alton. He said that a short time before, he
had called upon the Marchioness of Buckingham in
London, who told him that she had much to say
to him, which she could not say at that moment ;
but that she should be better able to talk with him, if
he would come to her party on the following evening.
He went accordingly, and while the company were en
gaged in dancing, the Marchioness took his arm, say
ing that she wished to have some private conversation
with him, and then and there made her confession to
him.
On one occasion when he was invited to Stowe, he
perceived on his arrival there, by the party assembled
and the conversation which took place, that he had
been invited for the purpose of being plied by all arts,
to induce him to relax from his steady opposition to
certain measures which some leading Catholics, as
well as Protestant statesmen, were anxious to promote.
He stood the assault upon him firmly ; but after being
long worried, he began to be uneasy and embarrassed.
When he retired at night, he revolved the adventures
of the day, and considered that although he had
hitherto remained firm, he might later on, through
human weakness, give way, and so determined, while
he was yet safe, to effect his escape from further dan
ger. Accordingly he rose early the next morning,
AGE 59.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 203
came down stairs, and endeavoured in vain for some
time to find an outlet. At last he managed to open a
low window on the ground floor, through which he
stepped out upon the lawn, with his portmanteau in
his hand. He made his way to the stables, where
he found a man to put his horse into his gig, and drove
off, singing the Psalm : In exitu Israel de JEgypto,
with great joy and fervent thanksgiving for his delive
rance. It was very charming to hear him relate this
adventure with his well known chuckle of delight, and
hearty enjoyment.
CHAPTER ELEVENTH.
DR. MILNER'S SECOND EDITION OF HIS DISSERTATION ON ALTER
ING CATHEDRALS. JOURNEYS AND LABOURS IN HIS DISTRICT
HIS LETTERS TO A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRELATE OF IRELAND.
VISIT TO LUCIEN BONAPARTE LENTEN PASTORAL FOR 1812.
ORDINATIONS. TRIENNIAL MEETING OF THE CLERGY. DEATH
OF DR. DOUGLASS. DR. MILNER's EXPLANATION WITH DR.
POYNTER. DR. MOYLAN's PACIFICATORY VISIT TO ENGLAND.
MEETING OF BISHOPS AT DURHAM.
IT has been said, that in St. Charles Borromeo : " On
voyait un prelat qui ne prenait de Tepiscopat que les
sueurs et les travaux:''* and this with truth may be
proclaimed of the illustrious DR. MLLNER. He allowed
himself no indulgence, no rest ; but was ever labour
ing indefatigably in the great cause of God's glory and
the salvation of souls. He had taken indeed for his
motto, and used very often to repeat : " Salus anima-
* Chevassu, Medit. Eccles.
204 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1811.
rum lex suprema." It is wonderful, and almost incre
dible, how much he wrote. Nor were his writings
confined to works of controversy, or Catholic politics ;
but he continued at intervals to devote his talents to
his favourite study of architecture and archaeology.
Early in the year 1811 he published a second edition
of his " Dissertation on the modern Style of altering
ancient Cathedrals" with plates, dedicated to Sir
Henry Englefield, Bart. This treatise, first published
in 1798, was occasioned by certain alterations made in
the Cathedral of Salisbury, under the direction of the
celebrated architect Wyatt, which DR. MILNER con
sidered destructive of the proportions of that noble
edifice, as well as of the due disposition of its parts,
and its general effect ; as also entailing ravages of its
most venerable and interesting antiquities. Accord
ingly in this " Dissertation" he first dwells upon the
following objections to those alterations ; that they
occasioned the loss of several valuable monuments of
antiquity, the violation of the ashes and memorials of
many illustrious personages, and the destruction of the
proportions and due relation of the different parts of
the Cathedral to each other. He then refutes the chief
arguments in favour of these changes: which were,
that they have strengthened the fabrick, introduced
uniformity of plan and decoration, and greatly
heightened the beauty of the Cathedral. The work is
written with that sound judgment and ready discrimi
nation, for which all his productions on architectural
subjects are distinguished. He was, in fact, perfect
master of the subject, and brought to it very extensive
stores of antiquarian and historical research, with an
ease and accuracy, which are quite astonishing, when
we consider the time in which he lived, and how little
AGE 59.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 205
such subjects were then understood. The most glar
ing mistake of Mr. Wyatt was adding the Lady chapel
at the East end to the chancel, and placing the com
munion table at its extremity, thereby lengthening the
chancel to such an extent, as to destroy all its fine
proportions, and render the " most sacred part of the
edifice itself, no longer a Cathedral choir, but a long
unmeaning portico."*
An amusing note records a declaration of Dr. Dou
glas, Bishop of Salisbury, at a public meeting of the
Antiquarian Society, " that it was impossible either to
hear, or see, from the choir, what was going on at
the communion table ; and that for want of rails, &c.,
a dog, some time before, had eaten the bread prepared
for the sacrament, from off the little low table on
which it was placed."f Indeed the inconvenience has
been so much felt that a second communion table
stands now at the upper end of the choir, and is com
monly used. The verger, however, a few years ago,
expressed his doubts very gravely to the present
writer, as to the propriety of having two communion
tables.
In this year, 1811, DR. MILNER visited a great part
of his extensive District. In the latter part of May,
he gave Confirmation at St. Mary's College, Oscott,
and at Birmingham. In June he confirmed at Aston,
Cresswell, Caverswall, Swinnerton, and Tixall ; he
blessed a new Abbess (Shuttleworth) for Caverswall
Convent, and professed a nun there. In July he
visited Worcester, Salford, where he administered
Confirmation, Oxford and Britwell ; at which last he
* " Dissertation," &c., p. 23. f Ibid. Note.
206 LIEE OF BISHOP MILNER.
[1811.
confirmed a novice. In August, he clothed a lay sister
at Caverswall, visited and confirmed at Glossop, and
visited Hathersage and Hassop. In the Autumn, he
confirmed at Acton Burnell and Plowden, and held
an Ordination at Acton Burnell, when he ordained
four subdeacons and one deacon, all Benedictines. He
completed a year of zealous labour by a Confirmation
in November at Sedgley Park, and by ordaining a
priest, on the 14th November, the Rev. Eichard
Hubbard, whose conversion and reception by him at
Winchester have been related in Chapter Third.
The effect produced by DR. MILNER' s " Elucidation
of the Veto" was very great ; and in hopes of counter
acting that effect, Mr. Charles Butler of Lincoln' s-Inn
published a " Letter to an Irish Catholic Gentleman,
on the Fifth Resolution of a Meeting of English
Catholics, Feb. 1, 1810." This DR. MILNER answered
in the months of March and April, by " Two Letters
to a Roman Catholic Prelate of Ireland, in Refutation
of Counsellor Charles Butler's Letter to an Irish
Gentleman; to which is added a Postscript, containing
a Review of the Rev. Dr. O'Conor's work, entitled
Columbanus ad Hibernos on the Liberty of the
Irish Church, By the Rt. Rev. J. Milner, D.D.,
F.S.A., C.A.R., and V. A. of the Midland District
in England. 1811." This is a very valuable and
important production of the indefatigable champion
of religion. In the First Letter he takes a view of
the attacks upon the rights and jurisdiction of the
Church in France, Spain, Naples, Tuscany, Austria,
and the Netherlands, and especially in the very centre
of Catholicity : " we now behold our venerable and
beloved father Pope Pius VII. stripped of his princi-
AGE 59.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 207
pality, and almost of the necessaries of life, and
languishing in confinement."* He then comes to the
several attempts on the doctrine and discipline of the
Catholic Church in this island for the last quarter of a
century, and the late similar attempt by Mr. C. Butler
in his "Letter to an Irish Catholic Gentleman." He
declares that he has no antipathy against the learned
gentleman, but rather a great respect for him. " But,"
he continues, " when I continually find him, during a
whole quarter of a century, undermining the religion
of which I am a pastor and a guardian, by the books
which he publishes himself, and encourages others to
publish, and still more fatally by his secret negociations
in England, in Ireland, and at Rome, with clergy and
laity, with Protestants and Dissenters, with ministers
of all parties and all subdivisions of parties, from Lord
North down to Mr. Perceval ; when I hear him lectur
ing his bishops, dictating new creeds, and modifying
the ancient discipline, on his own theological judgment
and assumed authority, I feel that it is my duty to
oppose him in every way that seems most effectual for
this purpose."f The Bishop gives a succinct account
of the proceedings of the English Catholic Committee,
the Protestation, the condemned Oath, the Blue
Books, his own note to Mr. Ponsonby, and his Letter
to a Parish Priest, both of which last, Mr. C. Butler,
he says, has now republished, because their author has
protested against the sense affixed to his Note, and
because he has condemned and retracted his Letter.
DR. MILNER begins his Second Letter by thus
characterising Mr. C. Butler's publication : " It
* " Two Letters, &c.," p. 3.
| " Two Letters, &c.," p. 5 Note.
208 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1811.
pretends to be a defence of the English, but it is an
attempt upon the Irish ; it professes great veneration
for the authority of your Prelates ; but it is a direct
attack upon the solemn act of your united body ; it
appears to reprobate every species of Veto ; but is
calculated to dispose your people to accept of any
species of it, which he, the framer of the heterodox
oath and schismatical appellation of 1791, shall find
it convenient to arrange with Protestant statesmen.
In short this Irish Blue Book is as specious in its
appearance, but as mischievous in its effects, as the
English Blue Books were."* Though Mr. C. Butler,
in a subsequent Letter to Dr. Poynter, dated August
13, 1811, is bold enough to write thus : " On the Veto
I have nothing to say in addition to what I have
published in my Letter to an Irish Gentleman : not
one word of which Dr. Milner has refuted ;"f DR.
MILNER does decidedly answer and refute each of his
positions. Thus Mr. Butler asserted that the Veto
originated with the Irish : DR. MILNER shows that it
owed its origin to Mr. Pitt. Mr. Butler denied that the
Veto, or anything implying it, was ever broached before
the recent mention of it in Parliament. DR. MILNER
points out several works and declarations, which Mr.
B. must have known, in which the Veto had been
dwelt upon long before. Mr. Butler asserted that the
Irish offered the Veto, and that their offer made a
strong impression in their favour : DR. MILNER proves
it notoriously false that the Irish ever did offer the
Veto ; and shows that the unauthorised proposal of it
in Parliament in 1808. never made one convert to the
* Page 35.
f " Letter to Dr. Poynter." Srdly.
AGE 59.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 209
cause. Mr. Butler farther declared that the recall of
the Veto made a strong impression against the Irish :
DR. MILNER convicts him again of a deliberate mis-
statement, inasmuch as what was never offered could
not be recalled. A delusion indeed had gone forth,
and .when it was dissipated, a reflux of bigotry followed
against Catholics, but this is not to be ascribed to those
who were never implicated in such delusion, but to
those who were. " And so also, when it shall appear,
as it will appear, that a majority of those English
Catholics who signed the Fifth Resolution will not
abide by what our Parliamentary friends consider as
the natural sense of it, they will be overwhelmed with
reproaches, and will clearly see how much better they
would have consulted their worldly reputation by
rejecting it, than by subscribing to it."* These are
some of Mr. Butler's assertions, which DR. MILNER
refuted ; and yet he boasted that he had not refuted a
single one! The Bishop says much more in answer to
other assertions of Mr. Butler respecting the Veto and
the Fifth Resolution ; " the obvious and received
sense of which" he declares to be, " that he (Mr. B.)
will enter into arrangements for preventing the appoint
ment of able and zealous Bishops, in order to prevent
conversions from the Protestant to the Catholic reli
gion In vain does he harp upon ' This basis
of mutual satisfaction and security :' because this basis,
as I have proved, is too narrow to be a secure one ;
and because, from the nature of the thing and the
declarations of our Protestant friends, we are perfectly
convinced that they will judge of, and decide upon
what is, and what is not conformable to our faith and
* Page 45.
210 LIFE OP BISHOP MILNER. [1811.
discipline; of what is a sufficient security to the
Catholic, as well as to the Protestant Church."*
To these Letters is appended a Postscript of fifty
pages, in which DR. MILNER analyses the principal
matters contained in three late schism atical pamphlets,
under the title of" Columbanus ad Hibernos." The
author of these was an Irish priest, the Rev. Dr.
O' Conor. He had been educated at the Ludovisian
College at Rome, and ordained in the Cathedral of
St. John Lateran. He became a parish priest in
Ireland ; but several years before this publication, he
sold his Irish MSS., abandoned his politics, his parish,
and his country, and became librarian to the Marquis
of Buckingham at Stowe. He had intrigued and can
vassed in the hope of being elected to the See of
Elphin, and had even made promises to a certain
English priest, in connexion with his expected promo
tion. The uncanonical means, however, by which
that promotion was to have been effected, were frus
trated by his rejection by the Chapter of Elphin ; and
DR. MILNER considered that his publication was the
result of being stung with disappointment, which led
him to threaten the Irish hierarchy with the full effect
of those arrangements, which would subjugate them
and their discipline to the control of Protestant states
men. The three pamphlets of Dr. O'Conor, under
the assumed name of Columbanus, were an attempt to
stir up the Irish to adopt a new system of Church
discipline, and become more closely bound to the
state ; in fact, he openly advocated the Veto, and
opposed the canonical election of Catholic Bishops.
These pamphlets were absolutely schismatical, and
* Pages 61-62.
AGE 59.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 211
whoever should adopt them would cease to be a Catho
lic. DR. MILNER, professing merely to analyse these per
nicious publications, furnishes in reality the principles
of a solid refutation as he proceeds. Columbanus
had loaded him with copious abuse ; the Christian
Bishop does not revile again ; but to his final tirade
against DR. MILNER'S defence of miracles, contents
himself with a solid refutation of his objections to the
miraculous cure of Winefrid White, of which he had
published "Authentic Documents 11 a few years before.
Thus did this laborious Prelate continually labour
with his pen, as in every other way, in which he could
promote the great objects always uppermost in his
mind, the glory of God, the defence of religion, and
the salvation of souls. He had indeed some time
before fully determined to undertake a history of
England ; but this important and laborious work he
never accomplished, which is exceedingly to be re
gretted. He was blamed, at this time, however, for
writing in an Irish paper, called " The Harp 11 because
it was understood to be edited by a man who had
joined in the Irish rebellion, and was banished from
his country: but he did sain consequence of the pub
lication in that paper of the authorised speeches of Sir
John Cox Hippisley.
In the Autumn of 1811, DR. MILNER paid a visit to
Lucien Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, who lived on
his parole near Worcester, and was permitted by Go
vernment to go any where within a distance of thirty
miles. It was considered by some persons that DR.
MILNER had rather too favourable an opinion of Lucien;
and that his visiting him was somewhat imprudent,
and likely to give offence to the Government. But
DR. MILNER had too great a mind to be influenced by
212 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
such apprehensions: though his intimacy with Lucien
and his family was well known, no mischievous con
sequences appear to have resulted from it.
To his Lenten Pastoral for the next year, 1812,
DR. MILNER appended two notes. One was to inform
the Clergy of his District of the test agreed upon by
the Vicars Apostolic, at their Meeting on the 24th of
February, 1810, against Blanchardism ; and the other
was in these terms : " It is proper also that they (the
clergy) should be informed that a certain priest, the
Rev. Dr. O'Conor, who resides on the borders of the
Midland District, and whose spiritual relations have
been greatly within that District, has no spiritual
faculties or authority to offer up the Holy Sacrifice in
it ; and as he perseveres in publishing the most irre
ligious and schismatical errors, to the great scandal of
the Church, he is not to be considered (without a
public retractation) as being in a fit state to receive
any sacrament."
The good and zealous Prelate held Ordinations on
the 25th, 26th and 27th of May, in which several church
students from Sedgley Park received the four Minor
Orders, and other candidates were promoted to the
subdeaconship. On the latter day, Henry Weedall
and William Wareing were ordained subdeacons, and
Samuel Jones, deacon. On the 27th, were ordained
two priests, the Eev. Edward Pugh, and the Rev.
Edward Richards, O.S.F.
On the 2nd of June, he held the triennial Meeting
of his clergy in his chapel at Wolverhampton. His
exhortation embraced nearly the same subjects as at
the preceding meeting of 1809, already detailed.
He added, however, an account of the means em
ployed to continue a succession of pastors at Oscott
AGE 60.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 233
College, of certain funds withheld, and of others
recovered, exhorting all to exert themselves in this
great work. In July, he administered Confirmation at
Wooten Waven, and at Astop, near Stone.
The Vicar Apostolic of the London District, Dr.
John Douglass,* died on the 8th of May, 1812, and
his coadjutor, Dr. William Poynter, Bishop of Halia,
succeeded him as Vicar Apostolic. This Prelate had
written several Letters to the Archbishop of Dublin,
Dr. Troy, in hopes of satisfying the Irish Prelates on
the subject of the Fifth Resolution. In these
letters, Dr. Poynter had made strong charges against
the twenty-nine Bishops of Ireland, and their agent in
England, DR. MILNER. In hopes of clearing up the
misunderstanding, DR. MILNER wrote u An Explana
tion with the R. Rev. Dr. Poynter^ Coadjutor L.D.
By the R. Rev. Dr. Milner, V.A.M.D." It was
a work of 108 octavo pages, but though printed it was
never published. The Bishop first lays down twelve
important maxims, which ought to guide the Bishops
at the critical time of his writing. He next takes in
order the several complaints against himself and his
Irish brethren, and answers them ; in the course of
which he details at some length the proceedings at
the Tavern dinner the day before the meeting at St.
Alban's Tavern, Feb. 1,1810, and the proceedings of
that day, when the fatal Fifth Resolution was agreed
to. Having mentioned what has been recorded above
in Chapter Ninth, that a certain gentleman, who was
chiefly instrumental in inducing Drs. Collingridge and
* This Prelate's name has frequently been written Douglas ;
but the writer of these lines has his own autograph signature now
before him, Douglass.
214 LLFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1812,
Poynter to sign that Kesolution, met him soon after
and said : " Do not be angry with your brethren ;
they resisted as long as they could, but we jockeyed
them," he relates another memorable occurrence :
" Happening to drive with the same gentleman, on the
day week #f the (first) Tavern Meeting, Feb. 7 (by
which time letters had arrived from Dublin, announc
ing the total failure of the Fifth Resolution, in its
intended effect, in Ireland), I saw him enter the room
with a dejected countenance, and I heard him sigh out
the following sentence : 4 It is hard to be tyrannised
over in this manner by Protestant Lords/ Upon
this I exclaimed : ' So then I have won my wager,
have I ?' (we had actually laid a wager on the event).
He replied : ' To be sure you have ; you knew Ire
land better than we did/ I rejoined : ' Then I acted
right on the 1st inst. ; and you would have acted the
same part in my situation/ His answer was : 4 Most
certainly/ "*
DR. MILNER is particularly powerful upon Dr. P/s
main complaint, repeated in all his letters, that the
Fifth Resolution is neither vague and indefinite, nor
pledges Catholics to arrangements, possibly injurious
to their religion, as stigmatised by the Irish Prelates.
" But think, E. E. Sir," says DR. MILNER, " have not
you yourself publicly said both these things ? You
said in your speech at the Tavern, that it would pro
bably involve in its consequences questions, &c/
Certain objects, then, to which it extends, are contin
gent, and these objects are not expressed either in the
Resolution, or even by yourself. What so evident,
then, as that the Resolution is in this respect vague
* ** Explanation with Dr. Poynter," page 25.
AGE 60.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 215
and undefined f Again you say, that these ' conse
quences probably involve questions which will affect
spiritual interests, &c.' If they may affect them,
they may eventually injure them ; which is the quali
fication you complain of in our Seventeenth Kesolu-
tion, as applied to your Fifth"*
DR. MILNER mentions the serious complaint of the
Irish Prelates, that Dr. O'Conor has not been re
strained in the London District from his calumnious
and irreligious railing against them, and his unremit
ting schismatical attempts against their national
Church. The second part of this " Explanation" is
devoted to Blanchardism, and DR. MILNER comments
strongly on five pleas alleged by Dr. Poynter in defence
of the conduct of Dr. Douglass and himself in remov
ing the suspension of the Abbe Trevaux, without re
quiring from him a public retractation ; by which, as
the Irish Prelates declared, " schism, though uninten
tionally on the part of Bishop Douglass, is openly
countenanced, to the great injury of religion." In the
third part, DR. MILNER treats of the Veto, and answers
Dr. Poynter's "cavils and retorsions" against the Irish
Bishops and himself on that subject. He alludes to
Dr. Poynter's praise of his "Letters to a Prebendary"
and to a passage in one of Dr. P.'s letters, where
he says : " DR. MILNER would have done well for his
reputation, if he had ceased to write after the date of
those letters." This DR. MILNER meets by mention
ing in very modest terms the favourable reception of
several of his subsequent works ; but he adds : " Has
my late Treatise on Ecclesiastical Architecture
met with no applause among the ingenious and
* Explanation, &c.," p. 32.
216 LITE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1812.
learned ? Whether deservedly or not, this last work
has gained me more reputation than any I have yet
written."* He most ably answers the charge that the
Irish Bishops and himself interfered with the concerns
of the London District. He concludes with recording
his many efforts to bring about peace and concurrent
action among the Vicars Apostolic, and his having
gone upon his knees before Dr. Douglass, Dr. Poynter,
and other clergymen, and knelt another time to Dr.
Douglass, to soothe their groundless irritation, and
engage them to concur with him in the common cause
of our holy religion. " At the present time," he says,
" if I know my heart, there is no sacrifice, whether of
reputation, fortune, or of life itself, which I would not
cheerfully make to engage all my brethren and you to
unite, hand and heart, in securing and promoting this
all-necessary concern. Nevertheless, I am not disposed
to give up the kernel for the shell, the substance of
religion for the appearance or it. ' Speciosum est,
nomen pacis et pulchra est opinio unitatis : sed quis
ambiget earn solam esse pacem Ecclesise, quse est
Christ! ?' S. HILAR. contra Auxent."t
After an Appendix containing various documents
on Blanchardism, DR. MILNER adds a Postscript
relative to a new work of Dr. O'Conor, which he had
just received, of a more violent, if not more openly
schismatical character than even his previous pub
lications. He places several extracts before Dr.
Poynter, hoping that he will, in conjunction with Dr.
Douglass, put an end to every compromise with this
dangerous enemy of the Church, no less than with his
allies, the Blanchardists. " With me," says the
* " Explanation, &c.," p. 79. f " Explanation," p. 95.
AGE 60.]
CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 21?
learned Bishop in conclusion, " with me stand the
Prelates of the Catholic Church, with you the
O'Conors, the Charles Butlers, and the Blanchard-
ists !"
It was indeed most desirable that a good understand
ing should be brought about between the Irish hier
archy and their agent DR. MILNER on the one side,
and the three other English Vicars Apostolic on the
other. In hopes of effecting this, a pacificatory mis
sion was undertaken, with the approbation of his epis
copal brethren, by Dr. Moylan, Bishop of Cork, who
came over to England with his Dean, Dr. Macarthy,
in July, 1812. After an unsatisfactory interview with
the V. A. of the Western District, Dr. Collingridge,
he proceeded to London, where he was received with
much courtesy and fair promises, which however only
proved delusive. One great object of his mission was
to obtain from Dr. Poynter an authentic copy of the
Abbe Trevaux's Retractation of his signature to the
schismatical book of Blanchard, mentioned in the last
chapter. He had been promised a sight of this
Retractation ; but no such document was ever in
existence, the Abbe having been restored merely upon
his making a personal apology to Dr. Douglass. Dr.
Moylan then proceeded to visit his friend DR. MILNER
at Wolverhampton, and prevailed upon him to accom
pany him to a meeting of all the four Vicars Apostolic
at the house of the senior, Dr. Gibson, at Durham.
Dr. Collingridge was unable to attend, but the other
three met Dr. Moylan there, and there were also
present Dr. Smith, coadjutor to Dr. Gibson, Dr.
Macarthy, and the Kev. Messrs. Gillow and Bramston.*
* Postscript to DR. MILNE R'S ' Pastoral on the Jurisdiction of
the Catholic Church, in three Parts." 1813.
218 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1812.
|
At this meeting, August 21st, 1812, Dr. Moylan
proposed, and Drs. Gibson and MILNER agreed, that
without alluding to past differences, they should con
cert measures for preserving the Jurisdiction, Disci
pline, and Unity of the Church in future : but Dr.
Poynter insisted that satisfaction was due to him for
the affronts offered him in DR. MILNER'S printed,
but not published, " Explanation with Dr. Poynter"
After much vague conversation, it was proposed by
Dr. Moylan that a project of pacification should be
adopted, which had been drawn up by himself and
DR. MILNER, with the advice of Dean Macarthy. It
first repeated the Eesolution of the Irish Prelates,
Sept. 14, 1808, to the effect that they deemed it
inexpedient to concur in any change in the canonical
mode of appointing Bishops, unless a different dis
cipline should be authorised by the Holy See : and
secondly, it declared that no priest should be per
mitted to exercise any sacerdotal functions, who, when
called upon, should refuse to sign the test against
Blanchardism, and that all priests suspected should be
called upon to make the required declaration. Unfor
tunately this project was objected to, and the meeting
broke up that day without coming to any conclusion.
On the following day, August 22, Dr. Gibson, the
senior V. A., proposed that all should sign the follow
ing formula : " Having conferred together, we find
that we are all of one faith and communion:" but Dr.
Moylan objected that he could not carry back so vague
a declaration, as any adjustment of the existing dif
ferences. DR. MILNER also observed that the pub
lication of it would every where expose their Lordships
to ridicule, and insisted on the necessity of a public
declaration against any vetoistical arrangements as
AGE 60.] CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 219
the only way to satisfy the Catholics of both islands,
and to secure the discipline of the Church from the
attempts which politicians on both sides were meditat
ing against it. The meeting closed without making a
single step towards the desired pacification. Pre
viously, however, to separating, DR. MILKER, anxious
to promote charity, read an apology to his brethren for
any expression in his writings which they might deem
offensive, and to Dr. Poynter in particular. He was
proceeding to volunteer further concessions and
pledges, when he was told: " All this signifies no
thing, unless you give up the substance of the dif
ferences." This in fact meant that he must acknow
ledge it right to sign the Fifth Resolution, and to
restore the Abbe Trevaux without any public retracta
tion. The reader will readily judge how likely DR.
MILNER was to agree to such proposals.
Thus the mission of Dr. Moylan produced no result,
except that, a little before his and DR. MILNER'S de
parture, on the 23rd, Dr. Poynter put into the hands
of Dr. Moylan a Letter, in which himself and his
venerable colleagues engaged to be " vigilant in pre
venting, and firm in resisting, any innovations, or
measures prejudicial to the unity or authority of the
Catholic Church, to the sacred rights of the Apostolic
See, or to the integrity or security of our holy religion,
in its faith, morality, or discipline." But, as DR.
MILNER observed, in rejecting the resolutions proposed
by Dr. Moylan and himself, they rejected the very
means of accomplishing all this. Had these resolu
tions been adopted, peace would have been restored,
the mischievous Fifth Resolution would have been
rendered innoxious, and the Blanchardist schism
would have been repressed.
220 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1812.
CHAPTER TWELFTH,
PASTORAL VISITS AND CONFIRMATIONS BY DR. MILNER. AD
VENTURE ON ONE OF HIS JOURNEYS. PACIFICATORY MEETING
AT THE LONDON RESIDENCE OF LORD CLIFFORD. DR. MILNER's
" RE-STATEMENT OF THE CONFERENCE," AND HIS " MULTUM IN
PARVO." HIS PASTORAL ON THE JURISDICTION OF THE CHURCH,
IN THREE PARTS. THE BILL OF 1813 INTRODUCED INTO
PARLIAMENT. DR. MILNER'S " BRIEF MEMORIAL UPON IT."
FATE OF THE BILL.
DR. MILNER found consolation and refreshment under
his severe struggles, and the trying opposition which he
met with in the sacred cause of Catholic unity and
ecclesiastical discipline, in the assiduous discharge of
the immediate duties of his episcopacy. On the 9th
of October, 1812, he ordained another priest, the Rev.
Thomas Tysan, and placed him at Sedgley, to assist
his aged Vicar General, Rev. John Perry. In Octo
ber also he began another of his long journeys in his
wide District, and during that, and the two succeeding
months, he confirmed at the following places : Bad-
desley Green, for the congregations of that place,
Grove Park, and Solihull ; Coventry and Wappenbury,
Bosworth, Holt, King's Cliffe, Irnham, Worcester and
Spetchley, Blackmore Park, and Little Malvern,
Coughton and Beoley, and finished by confirming at
Sedgley Park, on the 13th December, 36 of the boys
at school there. On the 18th of December, he
ordained priest, the Rev. John Beaumont from the
College at Stonyhurst.
AGE 60.] CHAPTER TWELFTH. 221
DR. MILNER usually performed his journeys in a gig
of very plain construction and homely appearance.
It had no armorial insignia, but his favourite monogram^
on a gilt oval on th eback of the vehicle. He
was always unwilling to press upon the scanty
means of his clergy, and usually put up at some
inn near the chapel. He never went to a first-
rate inn, but preferred an inferior house, and was
generally shown, at his own request, into the Com
mercial Traveller's Eoom, where he used to say, he
often picked up valuable information from the conver
sation which he heard, and in which he occasionally
engaged. On one of his journeys in Leicestershire,
Mrs. Nevill of Holt Hall had given him some live
eels ; for he was very fond of fish of all kinds.
These he was carrying with him, in a basket
fastened behind his gig ; but he had not gone far
before some of them got out, and dropped about the
road. This of course he did not see, and he would
probably have lost them all, but for a gentleman on
horseback who overtook him on the road, and informed
him of his loss. They both got down, and the gentle
man, whose name was Cook, helped him to recover
and secure his fugitives. DR. MILNER thanked him
cordially for his kind service, said it was right that he
should know whom he had thus assisted, and informed
him that he was a Bishop. " Then," said Mr. Cook,
" you ought to be Bishop of Ely?
In the following year, 1813, DR. MILNER ordained
priest on the 12th of March, Rev. Samuel Jones, the
second of five brothers, all of whom became priests,
and were ordained in succession by DR. MILNER : and
on the 15th of April he gave the tonsure and four
'Minor Orders to John Bede Folding, now Archbishop
222 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
of Sydney, and to William Placidus Morris, the revered
and beloved Bishop of Troy.
The year 1813 was a most eventful one for the cause
of Catholic Emancipation, and for the illustrious sub
ject of this biography. On the 19th of February a
meeting took place at the residence of Lord Clifford,
in Portman-square, London, at which were present the
Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Clifford, the Hon. Eobert
Clifford, DR. MILNER, Sir Ed. Bedingfeld, Messrs.
Maxwell, Constable, Edwd. Jerningham, W. Sheldon,
C. Sheldon, Jos. Weld, Charles Butler, and T. Stonor.
This meeting was held in consequence of several
conferences between DR. MILNER and Lord Clifford,
in which that noble Lord had expressed the most
orthodox and religious sentiments, and promised DR.
MILNER all the redress in his power for remedying
certain measures, of which the Bishop had complained,
as injurious to our holy religion, and disrespectful to
the Vicars Apostolic and clergy, and especially to him
self. The real business of the meeting was to esta
blish a right understanding and cooperation between
the laity and the Bishops and clergy, and himself in
particular, who had been exposed to obloquy and
persecution from some of the leading Catholics ever
since the year 1791. DR. MILNER was satisfied with
the assurances given him at the meeting that the
grievances should be remedied, and understood those
present to concur in the edifying sentiments which
Lord Clifford had often expressed to him, that he
would oppose all further securities, except by such an
oath as should be approved by the Bishops. Mr.
Charles Butler was invited to this meeting, and though
its real object was to consider DR. MILNER'S public
grievances, he obtained a hearing before the Bishop,
AGE 61.] CHAPTER TWELFTH. ... 223
and read from a paper several charges which he alleged
had been published by DR. MILNER against him, and
complained of as false and unjust. A " Statement of
the Conference" was afterwards published, with the
signatures of C. Butler, Lord Clifford, and T. Stonor;
in which it was said that " it appeared to the satisfac
tion of every one present, and was admitted by Dr.
Milner, that the following charges which had been
brought by Dr. Milner against Mr. Butler, and which
the latter disproved, were wholly founded on mistake."
DR. MILNER felt obliged to meet this by a " Re-state
ment of the Conference" dated April 22nd ;* in
which, though he declared himself able to show the
falsehood or inaccuracy of every word printed above
in Italics, he proceeded to defend himself against all
the alleged charges in order.t After this meeting,
however, the best understanding existed between him
and the lay personages present, "who communicated
with him in the kindest and most confidential manner.
This he returned by writing and publishing a paper,
which he entitled " Multum in Parvo" which was
allowed to have greatly forwarded the Catholic cause.
It was addressed to a Member of Parliament, and
was a temperate exposition of the arguments for the
Catholic claims, with a fair statement and refutation of
the objections against them. On the subject of secu
rities, it proclaimed the grand security afforded by the
Catholic Oath ; and concluded in these remarkable
words : " As to the exchange you have talked of be
tween the Legislature and its Catholic subjects, I own
it is the most extraordinary thing I ever heard of, and
* Published in the Orthodox Journal for 1813, p. 94.
t These will be noticed further on under the year 1822.
224 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
[1813.
the proposal of it almost reduces me to despair. In
fact, what have we left to give you, legislators, in re
turn for the common rights of loyal subjects, which we
ask of you ? We have already, in form of oaths
devised by yourselves, given you our fealty, our ser
vices, our purses, our lives, our public prayers and
instructions : in short, we have absolutely nothing left
to give but our hearts, which we now offer you : this,
however, is an invaluable present, whether made to a
state, or to an individual."*
In his Pastoral for the Lent of this year, the ever
vigilant BISHOP MILNER had signified that he had
" other matters of spiritual import to communicate,
which he should take another opportunity of com
municating." Accordingly he addressed and published
" A Pastoral Charge on the Jurisdiction of the
Catholic Church ; addressed to the Catholic Clergy
of the Midland District. By the R. R. Dr. Milner,
B. C. V. Ar It is dated March 24, 1813. Ever
alive to the dangers which threatened religion, DR.
MILNER feared that the Bill, which was known to be
framing by a Committee of the House of Commons,
was but too likely to affect essentially the jurisdiction
of the Catholic Church ; and he saw with grief that
several Catholics even were lending their aid to inter
rupt or restrain that jurisdiction. The Bishop points
out the Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor (Columbanus) as
the most determined foe to the spiritual jurisdiction
of the Church ; he having published more than half a
dozen volumes " replete with heterodox, schismatical,
and anarchical doctrines ;" and proceeds to comment
upon certain passages of the first number of Colum-
* << Multum in Parvo," p. 4.
AGE 6!.] CHAPTER TWELFTH. 225
banus ; these he shows to be schismatical, and the
object of the whole work is, he declares, to excite to a
schism* He next denounces another writer, Mr.
John Joseph Dillon, who " is found to be ignorant
of the very first principles of the Catholic religion,
and by his obstinacy in adhering to his schismatical
errors, does in fact unchurch himself. He is, as might
be expected, the firm ally of the excommunicated Dr.
O'Conor, and accordingly they pay each other the
loftiest compliments in their respective publications. "f
Mr. Dillon advocated the Veto in the broadest terms,
witness the following passage in his " Letter to Mr.
Canning;" " I have never felt any objection to invest
the Crown with an effectual negative upon the ap
pointment of Catholic Bishops" DR. MILNER, pass
ing over several other writers, denounces the plans of
Sir John Cox Hippisley for the subjugation of the
Church to the temporal power of a Protestant Govern
ment, which, if ever adopted, would require us to
prepare for persecution, instead of relief. Sir John's
plan was to enact an unrestricted Veto upon the
appointment of our Bishops, with a Crown Office to
revise all correspondence with the Holy See, and this
was actually embodied in the Bill soon after brought
into Parliament.
DR. MILNER printed, but did not publish, two suc
ceeding Parts of this " Pastoral ;" Part II. being
dated March 30, and Part III. April 12, 1813. They
are chiefly on matters of doctrine, and occasioned by
certain publications, of a very different character from
those above, the object of them being innocent and
* Dr. O'Conor died at Ballinagar, in Ireland, July 29, 1828.
t " Pastoral," p. 11.
Q
226 LITE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1813.
laudable, and their errors to be palliated on the score
of oversight or human infirmity. Still the Bishop had
been called upon by some of the most respectable of
his clergy, to give his judgment upon them, and he
felt bound to do so. These two parts of his Pastoral
were sent only to the Bishops, to his own clergy,
and a few distinguished Catholics, but marked
" private! 1 He first reviews " The Faith of Catho
lics" published a few months before, under the joint
patronage of the Eev. Joseph Berington and the Rev.
John Kirk. This is well known to be a collection of
passages from Scripture and the Holy Fathers, attest
ing and confirming certain doctrines of Catholic faith.
The chief objection to it was, that it adopted as its
text, an exposition of doctrine, known by the name of
" Roman Catholic Principles in reference to God
and the King" first published in the reign of Charles
II. The work of Berington and Kirk contained a
letter to Dr. Poynter in answer to certain remarks and
queries made by his Lordship to Mr. Berington, who
resided in his District. DE. MILNEE informed Dr.
Poynter of his intention to make some remarks also on
the work, the other editor of which, Mr. Kirk, belonged
to the Midland District, signifying that if he was dis
satisfied with the use made of his name, and the
answers made to his observations, he DE. MILNEE,
would say whatever he should be pleased to dictate to
him on those subjects. Dr. P. declined giving any
answer ; and DE. MILNEE proceeded to discharge his
own duty with regard to the work, and the answers.
He remarked that in neither of its forms, as it
appeared in the 17th and 18th centuries, was the
" Principles" approved by due authority : and that no
two editions of it agree even upon essential points of
AGE 61.] CHAPTER TWELFTH. 227
doctrine. Moreover, though professing to be The
Faith of Catholics, it does not contain a word about
the Unity and Trinity of God, the Incarnation and
Divinity of our Saviour ! He then examined some of
its propositions. One declares that " The merits of
Christ are not applied to us otherwise than by a right
faith" This, as it stands, sanctions the condemned
errors, that man is justified by faith alone, and that
Infant Baptism is of no avail. Another proposition
declares that " the Pastors of the Church are the
body representative, either dispersed, or convened in
Council." This, he says, insinuates that they derive
their authority from earthly constituents, and deliver
the faith in the name of those constituents, and not of
God ; an error condemned as heretical in the late
condemnation of the Synod of Pistoia by Pope Pius
VI. He says also that as it makes no distinction of
pastors, it savours of the schismatical doctrine of
the Calvinists, recently condemned also in Dr.
O'Conor, by the Prelates of Ireland. DR. MILNER
censured another proposition which declared it " no
article of faith that the Church cannot err in matters
of fact, or discipline ;" and the suppression of the
Pope's title of Vicar of Jesus Christ, as also the
ascribing to him merely peculiar powers in the
Church, which implies no superiority over other
Bishops, but is compatible with a, perfect equality, each
one having his peculiar department. He points out
some other inaccuracies, and especially a more formal
and dangerous error where it is said : " We believe
matrimony to be a Sacrament of the new law, instituted
by Christ ; whereby a new dignity is added to the
civil contract of marriage, and grace given to those
who worthily receive it."
228 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
The Bishop next denounces the mixture of er
roneous and dangerous morality in two sets of Sermons
of the Rev. James Archer, more especially those on
Humility, on the Passions, and on the Means of sub
duing the Passions ; and mentions having witnessed
a learned priest " breaking short off, as he was reading
one of the said Sermons to his congregation, his
conscience not permitting him, as he afterwards told
me, to proceed with the lecture. In like manner,"
continues the learned Prelate, " the preacher's disdain
of controversy, his affected liberality in soothing,
rather than rousing the just apprehensions of his
heterodox and schismatical hearers, and his indulgent
compounding with the dangerous amusements of the
theatre, are of quite an opposite tendency to the
lessons of the holy Fathers, and approved Doctors of
the Church in all ages."* DR. MILNER was so appre
hensive of evil from these Sermons, that he absolutely
forbid them to be publicly read in the chapels of his
District ; and even when asked by some priests if they
might read them to their congregations, provided that
they looked them over beforehand, and omitted all ob
jectionable matter, he was always inflexible in refusing
such permission : the writer has more than once heard
him declare that he could not allow them to be publicly
read at all in the chapels of his District. DR. MILNER
concludes Part II. of this energetic Pastoral with a
denunciation of the Bible Societies, which some mis
guided Catholics had begun to show a disposition to
imitate, and with laying down the sound maxims of
Catholic doctrine and practice on the subject of the
Holy Scriptures.
* " Pastoral," Part II., p. 9.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER TWELFTH. 229
Part III., which concludes this Pastoral, is an ad
mirable history and exposure of the Blanchardist
schism ; of which he says : " A real and fatal Schism,
much more malignant in its nature, and far less excus
able in its pretexts, than that of the Donatists, has, for
nearly twelve years past, subsisted in this heretofore
most pure and edifying portion of Christ's fold." The
Bishop complains that the test agreed upon by the four
Vicars Apostolic in 1810, had never been enforced in
the other Districts, which had created great confusion
and difference of discipline, so that schism was openly
countenanced in the London District especially. He
then lays down certain declarations and regulations
for the Midland District, made with the advice of some
of the most learned and pious of his clergy. In these
he concurs with the Irish Bishops in their condem
nation of Blanchardism, and renews his protest against
the release of the Abbe Trevaux from the censure
justly inflicted upon him by Dr. Douglass, without any
public retractation: he protests against the suppression
of the Test against Blanchardism in the London Dis
trict, as weakening the cause of unity, as a desertion
of himself in his efforts to defend it, and disrespectful
to him as the second Vicar Apostolic in seniority and
rank. He interdicts the authors of the numerous pro
ductions in support of Blanchardism from the exercise
of ecclesiastical functions in his District ; and requires
that all ecclesiastics suspected of Blanchardism be
refused faculties or permission to say Mass, unless
they declare, verbally at least, their assent to the Test.
A Postscript is appended to this very important Pas
toral, which, as already noticed, details Dr. Moylan's
mission to England, and the proceedings of the meet-
230 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
ing of Bishops at Durham, on the 21st and 22nd of
August in the preceding year.
Too truly did DR. MILNER predict, at the close of
the year 1810, that there was " a settled plan formed
by eminent statesmen, and promoted by the general
disposition of the legislature, and the efforts of some
Catholics, to introduce changes into our Church dis
cipline, incompatible with its safety and integrity."*
He also proceeded to prove that the Fifth Resolution
was intended by its framers, and is calculated to
express a disposition in the Catholics who signed it, to
acquiesce in these changes."! Hence the Irish
Bishops condemned that Resolution, as " pledging
Roman Catholics to an eventual acquiescence in
arrangements, possibly prejudicial to the integrity and
safety of our Church discipline. "J DR. MILNER fore
saw that when a new Bill should be brought into
Parliament for our Emancipation, it would be grounded
on these pledges ; and this year witnessed the sad
fulfilment of his prediction. From the circumstances
and terms of its forerunner, The Fifth Resolution,
there was reason to fear that the Bill of Relief, as it
was termed, would turn out to be a Bill of persecu
tion ; but no Catholic alarmist ever conceived it would
be of so oppressive a nature as it proved to be."
On the 30th of April, 1813, Mr. Grattan brought
in his Bill for Catholic Emancipation, which was read
a first time. Mr. Canning gave notice of certain
* " Instructions to the Catholics on the State and Dangers of
their Religion," p. 27.
f Ibid.
J Synod of Feb. 26, 1810.
'* Supplementary Memoirs," p. 196.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER TWELFTH. 231
clauses which he was desirous to introduce, and to
have printed with the Bill. On the Hth of May,
Mr. Grattan's Bill was read a second time, and a few
days after, two sets of clauses suggested by Mr.
Canning were printed. These were followed by other
clauses proposed by Lord Castlereagh. The Bill thus
amplified, and clogged with intolerable restrictions, was
read a second time on the 13th of May ; and on the
19th, the House went into Committee for its further
consideration. The ever vigilant MILKEE was anx
iously alive to the dangerous, oppressive, and schis-
rnatical nature of this Bill, which he has well charac
terised in a few words. "It contains four or five
different sets of galling restrictions, so as to constitute
it a Bill of pains and penalties, rather than of relief,
and it enjoins no fewer than six new oaths, adapted to
the purposes of the restrictions."* He further ob
serves that as the clauses of the Bill were in some
instances schismatical, attributing spiritual jurisdiction
where it does not exist, and rejecting it where it does
exist, the chief opposition to it was naturally to be
looked for from the Catholic Bishops. DR. MILNER
at least was determined to do all in his power against
it. He resolved to proceed at once to London, and
when on the point of setting out, wrote thus to his
excellent friend and successor at Winchester, Eev.
Thomas White: "I shaU be baited like a bull, but I
am ready to encounter the white bears of Hudson's
Bay, and the kangaroos of Botany Bay, rather than
yield. I would willingly endure all sorts of sufferings
for my own sins, but for the sins of the episcopacy I
have nothing to answer." He hastened to London,
* " Sup. Mem.," p. 196.
232 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
and on the 20th of May, the day after his arrival, sent
a note to Dr. Poynter to ask whether his Lordship
would join him in openly opposing Mr. Canning's
clauses. He did not ask him officially to condemn
them, as it was afterwards falsely represented, for they
were not then exactly defined, but merely to join him
in openly opposing them. Dr. Poynter answered
that he did not know what the clauses were. As the
whole Bill, with both Canning's and Castlereagh's
clauses, was circulated in print on the 21st, DR.
MILNER again inquired, in a second letter, if Dr.
Poynter would then, at least, join him in openly oppos
ing them. To this he received no answer ; and in
consequence drew up a paper, which he entitled, " A
Brief Memorial on the Catholic Bill" which was
printed and partly circulated the very same day among
members of Parliament. This paper bears evident
marks of haste and anxiety: the style and language
are clumsy and diffuse, and it might have been made
much more effective by judicious condensation. Still
the substance and reasoning of it are excellent, and
unanswerable. It shows that the Bill would cause
more jealousy and animosity than any innovation since
the Revolution: that it would exclude from the bene
fits of the constitution, and oppress the Catholic
Bishops and clergy, leaving them at the mercy of a
few lay persons, and degrading them in their civil and
social characters: that the tendency of the proposed
clauses is to render the constitution of the Catholic
Church in a great degree democratical, and to subvert
the religion, which the Bill professes to protect :
that no Catholic could, without schism, become a Com
missioner under the act : that it is incompatible with
the character of the Catholic Prelates and clergy to
AGE 61.] CHAPTER TWELFTH. 233
subject their correspondence with the Holy See to the
opinion of laymen; nevertheless, that they are ready to
swear that they will not so correspond on any matter
affecting the Government or Establishment in Church
or State, or on any political subject. This is the sub
stance of DR. MILNER'S Memorial How strongly he
felt the objectionable character of the Bill, may be
gathered from the many articles which he wrote
against it at different times for years afterwards.
Thus he calls it " that most infamous Bill, the like of
which was never devised by Cecil, or Shaftesbury, or
Robespierre himself. This Bill was contrived with a
heart and malice which none but the spirits of wicked
ness in high places, mentioned by St. Paul, could
have suggested, to undermine and wither the fair trees
of the English and Irish Catholic Churches. Upon the
appearance of this Bill, the Prelates, one and all, were
struck with horror, and one of them was reduced to
death's door, from the dread of it."*
On the 24th of May, DR. MILNER held a confer
ence with Dr. Collingridge and Dr. Poynter, in pre
sence of two Catholic Lords and several gentlemen, in
which he read three questions from a written paper,
as to whether the Bill contained anything contrary to
Catholic doctrine or discipline ; whether a Catholic
could be a Commissioner under the Bill ; and whether
a Vicar Apostolic was not bound to speak out openly
in opposition to the Bill. The other two Bishops
refused to answer these questions, " though I showed,"
says DR. MILNER, " that by doing this, they might,
through the weight of the company then present, pre
vent their (the clauses) passing that very night. The
* Letter in Orthodox Journal," for 1819, p. 105.
234 LITE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
conclusion of the conference was, that I answered
these questions for myself in the manner that you will
suppose, and in the most emphatical terms that occurred
to me, and I charged my brethren, before God and
the Church, with all the mischief which would arise
from the expected Act."*
Though the Bill was fully expected to pass, it
pleased divine Providence to avert the calamity in a
remarkable manner. On the 24th of May, the
Speaker, Mr. Abbott, afterwards Lord Colchester,
moved in Committee that the words in the first clause :
to sit and vote in either House of Parliament, should
be omitted. This was carried by a majority of four.
Mr. Ponsonby declared that the Bill without this
clause was worth neither the acceptance of the Catho
lics, nor the support of their friends, and therefore the
Bill was given up.
* Encyclical Letter," p. 1 1.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 235
CHAPTER THIRTEENTH.
DR. MILNER'S EXPULSION FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE
CATHOLIC BOARD VOTES OF THANKS TO HIM FROM IRELAND
AND LIVERPOOL. HE CONDEMNS THE CATHOLIC BIBLE SOCIETY.
CONFIRMATIONS IN THE EASTERN PART OF HIS DISTRICT .
THE SCHEME OF BIBLE SCHOOLS. MEETING OF BISHOPS AT
DURHAM. PASTORALS OF BISHOPS GIBSON AND POYNTER.
ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF DR. MILNER. DR. POYNTER's COM
PLAINTS AGAINST IT. SYNODICAL EPISTLE OF ALL THE IRISH
BISHOPS. ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH CATHOLIC BOARD IN
A LETTER BY DR. MILNER IN THE ORTHODOX JOURNAL.
THOSE gentlemen, who called themselves the Board
of British Catholics, chagrined at the failure of the
Bill, and displeased with DR. MILNER'S conscien
tious opposition to it, sent him notice by two of
his friends on the 28th of May, 1813, of their inten
tion of censuring him, and expelling him the next day
from what was called the Select Committee of that
Board, on which, however, DR. MILNER never knew
that he had been placed. The two members of it,
who waited upon him, intimated that to save himself
from such a disgrace, he had better send in his resig
nation beforehand. They forgot to whom they were
speaking. No man on earth was less likely to flinch
before such a tribunal. He at once answered that he
wished to keep peace with them, as far as his duty
would permit, and that whatever Eesolutions they
might pass, he should not notice them, if they did not
publish them; " but," he added, "connected with a great
and sacred cause, as I am, if you publish against me, be
assured that I will answer you." He refused to with-
236 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
[1813.
draw his name, because this would appear to be dis
avowing conduct, in which he must for ever glory.
He accordingly attended the meeting on the following
day, when after passing Kesolutions to the effect that
his " Brief Memorial" called for, and had their
marked disapprobation, and that they were no way
responsible for his political opinions or writings, the
Board called upon him to state whom he meant to
designate by the expression of " false brethren" in his
" Brief Memorial" Dr. MILNER at once declared
that he had referred to Mr. Charles Butler. Upon
this a vote of thanks was immediately passed to Mr. C.
Butler, declaring DR. MILNER'S charge against him to
be a "gross calumny ;" and this was followed by another
Eesolution that " DR. MILNER should cease to be a
member of the private board or select committee,
appointed by the general Board of British Catholics."
DR. MILNER upon this read up the following Pro-
test : " My Brief Memorial was published, not on
behalf of the present company of 65 persons, nor of
their constituents, they not being chosen to represent
any other Catholics, nor does it profess to speak their
sentiments. In short, I have spoken and acted on
behalf of thirty Bishops, and of more than five millions
of Catholics, whom the Bill concerns, and whose reli
gious business I am authorised to transact." He then
calmly moved to the door, and with his hand on the
handle, pronounced these memorable words, as the
writer has often heard him relate : " You may expel
me from this Board : but I hope you will not turn me
out of the Catholic Church, nor exclude me from the
kingdom of heaven." Thus was a venerable Catholic
Bishop deliberately insulted by a body of Catholic
laymen. A more disgraceful proceeding is hardly to
AGE 61.] CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 237
be found in the history of the Church. " A Society
of Catholics, acknowledging their Bishops to be the
divinely constituted judges and guardians of their
religion, publicly insult and persecute a Bishop for
doing his duty."* His conduct on that memorable
occasion has been described to the writer by one who
was present, as the grandest feature of DK. MILNER' s
career. The meeting was popularly called at the time
" The Milner baiting." " If," said the gentleman al
luded to, " I ever witnessed a manifestation of heroic
fortitude inspired by religion, it was upon that occa
sion."
But the injured Prelate was very soon triumphantly
vindicated, and the insult offered him indignantly
resented. For on that very day, and at the same hour,
the venerable hierarchy of twenty-seven Bishops in Ire
land, assembled in synod, were passing a vote of appro
bation of their faithful agent, in these remarkable
terms : " Kesolved, that the Et. Rev. Dr. John
Milner, Bishop of Castabala, our vigilant, incorruptible
agent, the powerful and unwearied champion of the
Catholic religion, continues to possess our esteem, our
confidence, and our gratitude." On the same day also,
the Irish Catholic Board met, and thanked their Pre
lates for condemning the Bill, which they rejoiced
had been lost ; and on the 15th of June, an aggregate
meeting of Irish Catholics passed a resolution of warm
approbation and gratitude to DR. MILNER, " for his
manly, upright and conscientious opposition" to the
late Bill. This vote of thanks was moved by Mr.
O'Connell. The whole assembly rose, all hats were
waved with loud demonstrations of applause, and the
* Dr. M.'s Sup. Mem.," p. 212.
238 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
ladies waved their handkerchiefs and curtsied in token
of approbation. Similar votes of thanks to DR. MILNER
were passed at numerous meetings in Ireland. Nor
were they confined to that country ; for he received an
address of thanks from Liverpool, with upwards of 4,000
signatures. The most important and valuable act of all,
however, was the following decision of the whole Irish
hierarchy assembled in Dublin, May 26 : " We feel
ourselves bound to declare, that certain ecclesiastical
clauses or securities therein contained (that is, in the
Bill) are utterly incompatible with the discipline of the
Roman Catholic Church, and with the free exercise of
our religion. That we cannot, without incurring the
heavy guilt of Schism, accede to such regulations."*
With such approbation and support, the venerable
Bishop might well console himself under the puny
attempts of a few lay persons to discredit and disgrace
him. They only tended in reality to give him fresh
courage and resolution, and increase his vigilance and
fidelity as a pastor of God's holy Church : " Civitas est,
vigilate ad custodiam ; sponsa est, studete ornatui ; oves
sunt, intendite pastmV'f
One of the most extraordinary expedients resorted
to at this time to humour the Protestant party, and
render them more favourable to Catholic Emancipa
tion, was the formation of a Catholic Bible Society ;
announcing, as DR. MILNER observed, "in its very
title a departure from the Catholic Rule of Faith "%
* " Pastoral Address of the Roman Catholic Prelates." Resolu
tions I. and II.
| It is a city, watch for its custody ; she is a spouse, study to
adorn her ; they are sheep, attend to their pasture. S. BERNARD,
Sermon 56 on the Canticle.
J Sup. Mem,," p. 239.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 239
On the 8th of March, 1813, a meeting of Catholic
laymen resolved that it was highly desirable to have a
subscription for a gratuitous distribution of the Holy
Scriptures. On the 2?th, however, having found that
they had invaded the province of their ecclesiastical
superiors, they invited the Bishops to become patrons
of the Society. Dr. Poynter's respectable name ap
pears often in their proceedings ; but there is no evi
dence of his having become a patron : he may, as DR.
MILKER, suggests, have become so, however, with the
view of keeping the Society in order. As to DR.
MILNER, he rejected every invitation made to him to
be in any way connected with this unheard of institu
tion ; and immediately printed and circulated among
his clergy instructions concerning the Bible in general,
which he afterwards made public. " Who could have
imagined," he says, in these instructions, " that Catho
lics, grounded upon quite opposite principles, should
nevertheless show a disposition to follow the example
of Protestants, in this particular ; by forming them
selves also into Bible Societies and contributing their
money for putting the mysterious letter of God's Word
into the hands of the illiterate poor, instead of educat
ing clergymen, even in the present distressing scarcity
of clergy, to expound the sense of that word to
them ?"* He then proceeds to lay down maxims
against the promiscuous reading of the Bible, for the
guidance of the clergy, whom he warns not to coun
tenance the distribution of Bibles or Testaments
among the very illiterate of their flocks, as proper
initiatory books of instruction. There was, however,
* "Pastoral Charge," 1813 Part II. " Sup. Mem.," Appen
dix H. Orthodox Journal," 1813, p. 131.
240 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
as it happily turned out, very little danger of gra
tuitous distribution ; for all that the Society produced
was a stereotype New Testament, very incorrect, with
very few notes, and without the usual separation of
the verses into paragraphs ; and this was offered for
sale in boards at a higher price than the common
Catholic edition bound. It appeared prefaced with
an Address written by Dr. Poynter, at the end of
which he represents the object of the English Catholic
Board to be, "to raise a fund to print and circulate,
at a very cheap rate, an approved edition of the
Catholic version of the Sacred Scriptures in English,
especially of the New Testament, with notes."*
BISHOP MILNER always steadily opposed this un-
Catholic scheme. "Whatever other Prelate," he said,
" may connive at these proceedings, contrary to his
expressed conviction, the undersigned Prelate hereby
once more enters his solemn and public protest against
them."f He was by no means satisfied by the deter
mination of adding short notes ; for " the expedient,"
he said, " is evidently inadequate to its intended pur
pose, and it is evidently impossible to add any notes
whatever to the sacred text, which shall make it a
safe and proper elementary book of instruction for the
illiterate poor."J It hardly needs to be added that
the scheme soon fell to the ground : the stereotype Tes
tament soon disappeared, and is now hardly to be met
with : the writer, however, possesses a copy. " The
plates," DR. MILNER says, " are supposed to have been
sold to the pewterers," and the scheme received its
* Address prefixed to the Stereotype Testament, 1815, p. 7.
t "Orth. Journ.," 1813, p. 130.
Ibid.
AGE 61]. CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 241
death-blow by the Bull of Pope Pius VII. to the
Primate of Poland, dated June 29, 1816, condemning
Bible Societies, in these words: " We have been truly
shocked at this most crafty device, by which the very
foundations of religion are undermined."*
In the months of July and August, 1813, DR.
MILNER visited the Eastern portion of his District,
after giving Confirmation previously at Caverswall
Castle, and at Bloxwich. He confirmed at Oxborough
Hall, Cossey, Norwich, Thelton, Bury St. Edmunds,
Coldham, and Sawston Hall ; and in November he
confirmed at Sedgley Park.
In June, 1813, a singular scheme was devised by
certain Protestants, chiefly Dissenters, to educate poor
Irish Catholic children in schools, on the principle of
excluding all catechisms and books of religious instruc
tion, except the Bible without note or comment. A
school of this description was opened June 27th,
under a master named Finigan, an apostate Irish
Catholic. In the list of subscribers appeared, to the
astonishment of all Catholics, the name of Charles
Butler, Esq., as a donor of Two Pounds towards the
" Irish Catholic School" in St. Giles's in the Fields.f
That gentleman endeavoured to obtain the sanction of
Dr. Poynter, the Vicar Apostolic of the London Dis
trict, for these Bible Schools, but he laboured in vain.
His Lordship refused all countenance to a scheme so
glaringly anti- Catholic. DR. MILNER, it may be well
conceived, opposed it with his wonted zeal and deter-
* See Translation of the Bull in the " Catholicon," Vol. V.
p. 102.
| See " First Annual Report" List of Subscribers at the end.
R
242 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
mination ; and, to use his own expression, " the plot
exploded prematurely."*
At the end of October in this year, there was a
meeting of Bishops held at the house of the Vicar
Apostolic of the Northern District, Dr. Gibson. It
was attended by two other English Vicars Apostolic,
and Dr. Smith, coadjutor to Dr. Gibson ; also by the
two Vicars Apostolic of Scotland, Dr. Cameron of the
Lowland District, and Dr. John Chisholm of the
Highland. DR. MILNER was not only not invited to
this episcopal meeting, but purposely excluded from
it ; which exclusion he felt very sensibly, and strongly
protested against. The meeting seems to have been
projected by Dr. Poynter, and the Prelates invited as
early as August. When DR. MILNER complained to
Dr. Gibson that he had not been summoned, that
Prelate answered that he, the Senior Vicar Apostolic,
had not summoned the meeting, but that certain Pre
lates had signified that they were coming to pay him a
visit, and that he could not refuse their company. At
the same time he assured DR. MILNER that he had no
objection whatever to his attendance. One of the
Scotch Bishops, Dr. Chisholm, had expressed his
sincere wish for DR. MILNER' s attendance, was much
disappointed at not finding him there, and inquired
why he had not been invited ; but he received no
explicit answer. f It was a suspicious circumstance
that the so named Catholic Board had engaged to pay
the expenses of the Prelates who attended this meet
ing ; though this engagement was not entirely fulfilled,
* See Dr. M.'s account of the Bible Schools in ll Supp. Mem.,"
p. 246 ; also his Letter in the " Orth. Journal," 1814, p. 135.
f Sup. Mem.," p. 216, note.
AGE 61-] * CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 243
for Dr. Chisholm complained that he was out cf
pocket*
DR. MILNER wrote at the opening of this meeting,
to claim his right to speak and judge in it : he also
" lodged a regular canonical protest against the assem
bly, as a packed one, or as divines call it, a con-
ciliabulum, and against all the acts of it as null and
void."f It was alleged that a meeting of three Vicars
Apostolic, without Dr. Thomas Talbot, of the Midland
District, had been held in 1792 ; but DR. MILNER
who had been present as a theologian at that meeting,
could testify that the absent Prelate had been sum
moned to it. Dr. Poynter, in his " Apologetic Epis
tle" defends himself by contending that the right
claimed by DR. MILNER cannot be proved by any
principle of canon law applicable to assemblies of
Vicars Apostolic, who are equal among themselves,
independent of each other, and subject to no metropo
litan. Hence he denies that the meeting could be
justly styled a packed council or conciliabulum.
He gives as the reasons for not inviting DR. MILNER,
that one of the Vicars Apostolic (Dr. Collingridge)
absolutely refused to meet him,* that he had in
former meetings been arbitrary and offensive ; and
that he had published mutilated and untrue accounts
of the transactions of former meetings. With refe
rence to these charges it must be observed that
DR. MILNER was aware of similar accusations made
against him, and thus noticed them in an article
in the " Orthodox Journal" dated December 16,
1813. " It has been," he says, " industriously
* " Supp. Mem.," p. S!5, note.
t " Encyclical Letter," Nov. 22nd, 1813.
244 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER, [1813.
circulated from one end of the island to the other, and
as effectually published as if it had been printed in the
Gazette, that the writer had been accustomed to
domineer and lose his temper in former assemblies of
this nature, and that he has betrayed confidential
secrets. To these two calumnies the writer answers,
that neither the author, nor any respectable propagator
of them, will think it prudent to discuss the truth of
them with him, either through the press, or through
private correspondence ; and he hereby pledges his
character to refute them both by undeniable facts, if
either of these offers is accepted of."* Dr. Poynter adds
that he himself had no objection to DR. MILNER'S being
present, but that it did not please the other Bishops
that he should be invited.f Now, this leaves only
Drs. Collingridge, Cameron, and Smith, as objectors ;
for we have already seen that Drs. Gibson and
Chisholm were not adverse to DR. MILNER'S attend
ance ; and it can hardly be supposed that Dr. Smith
would differ on the subject from his principal, Dr.
Gibson : so that two only of the Bishops probably
objected, and perhaps only one, the V.A. of the
Western District.
Granting, however, that DR. MILNER went too far
in applying to a meeting of Vicars Apostolic those
rules of canon law which refer only to canonical
synods of Bishops in ordinary, he had still ample
cause to complain of being excluded. For his exclu
sion was contrary to all former precedent since
England had been governed by Vicars Apostolic ; it
* DR. MILNER'S Historical Account of the English Catholic
Board See Orthodox Journal," 1813, p. 267.
f Dr. Poynter's " Apologetical Epistle," No. 40.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 245
was a pointed and personal slight ; and could hardly
fail to be connected in the view of the public with his
recent expulsion from the Select Committee of the
Board, and lead to the conclusion that he was equally
discarded by his ecclesiastical brethren.
The Prelates who had attended this meeting at
Durham, issued Pastoral Instructions after it, chiefly
on the late Bill and the Fifth Resolution. That of
Dr. Gibson was dated Oct. 27, and Dr. Poynter
professed to adopt the same, and published it for his
District, Nov. 17 following. DR. MILNER expressed
his belief, however, that Dr. Poynter was the original
composer of the Pastoral ; and it is remarkable that
though Dr. P. complained of this insinuation, he never
denied its truth.* DR. MILNER followed with an
" Encyclical Letter? dated Nov. 22, 1813, addressed
to the Catholics of the Midland District, but not
intended to be read publicly from the altar. The
Letter is of considerable length. He complains of his
exclusion from the late meeting at Durham, and
protests against it. He considers the joint Pastoral of
Bishops Gibson and Poynter as the signal of re
newed hostility against himself, and a fresh attack
upon the unanimous decision of the Irish Bishops
against the Fifth Resolution, which it even renews
and eulogises. He finds it necessary to repeat the
history and progress of vetoistical arrangements, which
has been already referred to, and partially quoted in a
preceding portion of this biography. As the Pastoral
of the two Prelates professes to explain and justify
the Fifth Resolution, DR. MILNER proceeds again to
discuss the terms of it, to inquire in what sense it
* Apologetical Epistle/' No. 38.
246 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
was understood by Parliament, and in what sense it
was originally understood by the three Prelates who
eventually signed it.
From two other points in the joint Pastoral, DR.
MILNER expresses his conscientious dissent. One
is the indiscriminate praise bestowed in it upon the
laity, for "the Christian and Catholic sentiments,
which they have uniformly proclaimed," and for " their
willingness to refer all terms of Emancipation of a
religious nature to the judgment and decision of their
pastors." " These," he says, " and similar praises
contained in the Pastoral will most unquestionably be
considered, both by the public at large and by the parties
themselves, as applying to those leading and acting
English Catholics who first under the name of Protest
ing Catholic Dissenters, endeavoured to force a hete
rodox oath upon the Catholic body, and who next,
under that of the Cis- Alpine Club, professed to re
strain the Usurpation of the Pope, and the tyranny
of the V.V.A., and who lastly, having formed them
selves into a Board of Finance, have laboured to
give securities to the Established Protestant Church,
and lately advertised against me in the most affronting
terms for saving them from the actual guilt of schism."
He goes on to enumerate the many instances in which
several Catholic noblemen and gentlemen had acted
very inconsistently with Catholic principles, such as
the condemned Oath, the schismatical Protest, and
other matters of the Blue Book controversy ; and
asks if they have consulted their Bishops upon any
one petition, address, or resolution involving ecclesias
tical questions for the last ten years.
The second point in the Pastoral against which
DR. MILNER protests is, its language respecting the
AGE 61.] CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 247
schismatical Bill so recently rejected by Parliament.
" True it is," he says, speaking of the two Prelates,
" that now, six months after that Bill had been
defeated, under God, by the Irish Bishops and myself,
they proclaim their c sorrow that it contained restric
tions, which,' they say, ' we cannot give our approba
tion or consent to, and which a British subject would
feel a natural repugnance to submit to. But is this
the proper character of a Bill, which the assembled
Prelates of Ireland have pronounced, and which I, who
am also a Judge in Israel, have publicly proved to be
repugnant to the Catholic discipline, and which could
not be consented to ' without the heavy guilt of
schism ?' Is this cold disapprobation of a darling
project, on the part of Vicars Apostolic, an effectual
way of preventing violent men from pursuing it, who
have solemnly protested ' against the right of Vicars
Apostolic to condemn an oath or other measure, which
they take upon themselves to say is of a spiritual
nature, without the specification of the particular mat
ter objected to, or showing the ground of their cen
sure ?' (Mediator's Buff Book, p. 22.)" Dr.Poynter,
in his " Apologetical Epistle, No. 48," lays hold of
the expression above, " a Judge in Israel" as if
DK. MILNER had thereby set himself up above his col
leagues. It is evident that he meant nothing of the
kind, but alluded to his concurrent judgment with
that of the whole hierarchy of Ireland, and pointedly
to his late exclusion from the meeting of the other
Vicars Apostolic at Durham, where he had an equal
right with them to be present, and to be " a Judge in
Israel"
DR. MILNER concludes his " Encyclical Letter" in
strong and feeling terms. "Instead," he says, " of be-
248 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
stowing indiscriminate praise upon the whole of his flock
for their late conduct, he (DR. M.) is bound in duty to
admonish some of the most distinguished amongst them,
that but for his pastoral efforts and those of the Irish
Prelates, under God, they would by this time have
ceased to be Catholics ; and that if they are for ever
happy with God, as he prays and labours they may be,
they will, during eternity, thank him for that conduct
for which they now persecute him."
It is proper to consider what portions of this
"Encyclical Letter" were complained of by Dr.
Poynter, in the " Apologetical Epistle" which he
drew up at Eome, March 15, 1815. He complained
that DR. MILNER attacked the Pastoral of another
Bishop over whom he had no jurisdiction. But
assuredly every Bishop has a right to guard his flock
against what he judges to be dangerous principles, or
unsound expositions put forth by any of his episcopal
brethren. Dr. Poynter complained that his Pastoral
was " contemptuously called a circular letter :" a
charge puerile as well as unreasonable. For though
DR. MILNER did once call it " a circular letter," it is
evident that he did so, if not accidentally, certainly
not " contemptuously ;" for when he had occasion
afterwards to name it, he called it " Pastoral Letter,"
or simply " Pastoral." It is beyond question that he
meant no incivility by the expression, for he speaks
of this very " Encyclical Letter" of his own, as a
" circular letter."* Other charges of Dr. Poynter' s
have been already disposed of : but it remains to be
noticed that Dr. Poynter denies and proclaims to be
most false the assertion of DR. MILNER that the meet-
* See his Letter in the " Orthodox Journal," 1814, page 52.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 249
ing at Durham was " known to have been suggested
and planned by certain English lay Catholics, in order
to furnish a sanction or pretext for concessions to the
Established Church, as a foundation for a fresh Bill to
be presented to Parliament by them." DR. MILNER
certainly gave no proofs of this alleged fact : but it is
most probable that he had good grounds for his asser
tion ; particularly when it is remembered that as early
as August 13, a leading layman, Mr. Charles Butler,
was fully aware of the intended meeting ; for that is
the date of a letter which he addressed to Dr.
Poynter, beginning with these words : " Understand
ing your Lordship is likely soon to meet Dr. Gibson,
Dr. Collingridge, and Dr. Smith, I beg leave to
trouble your Lordship and them with the follow
ing declaration."* DR. MILNER had said in his
" Encyclical Letter" that Dr. Poynter though- he
did not name him held a pension at the will of
certain laymen, raised for him soon after he had signed
the Fifth Resolution. This Dr. Poynter denies, and
explains that the fund for the support of the V. A. of
the London District was collected in the time of Dr.
Douglass, that he himself was never consulted about
it, and that it had no connexion with the Fifth Reso
lution. The last assertion of DR. MILNER of which
Dr. Poynter complains, is that " a principal business of
the Episcopal Meeting, was to renew that fatal Fifth
Resolution, in opposition to the decisions of the
Catholic Prelates of Ireland, Sept. 14, 1808, arid Feb.
26, 1810. But DR. MILNER retracted this assertion
in these words : " The writer owns himself to have
* " Hist. Mem.," Appendix, p. 516, and C. Butler's Memorial
to Card. Fontana," VII. In both it is strangely misdated 1811,
instead of 1813.
250 LITE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
been mistaken. He is now satisfied that this dis
astrous measure was the spontaneous deed of the pro
poser of it, to cover the momentary weakness of a few,
by the deliberate, though forced act of many. Alas!"*
Thus had DR. MILNER to defend single-handed the
sacred interests of religion in England, and to struggle
for the safety of Catholic discipline in the face of open
persecution on the part even of those who should have
fought resolutely at his side. Nevertheless he went
on, and never lost courage. "Thus deserted," he
said, " assailed and wounded as I am in the most
sensible part, by the natural friends of the Church,
after having for these twenty-five years past combated
her declared enemies, I nevertheless will not yield to
dejection of spirits ; for I am conscious of having still
not only a good, but also a clearly victorious cause. "f
He was nobly and powerfully supported, however,
by the twenty-nine Prelates of Ireland, in a Synodical
Epistle, dated November 12, 1813, and addressed to
Cardinal de Pietro, then Prefect of the Propaganda.
This Epistle is given in the original Latin, by DR.
MILNER in the Appendix to his " Supplementary
Memoirs;" it being, as he observes, "too precious
and luminous a monument of the ecclesiastical history
of this age and country, to be omitted." This Epistle
of the Irish Bishops was occasioned by a Letter from
the Pro-prefect of the Congregation, Mgr. Quaran-
totti, to DR. MILNER, February 15, 1813, containing
various complaints which had been forwarded to
him from England against the worthy Prelate, and
detailed in his " Explanation with Dr. Poynter"
* Additional Notes to Supp. Mem.," p. 334.
f " Encyclical Letter," towards the beginning.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 251
already noticed. DR. MILNER was the agent of the
Irish Bishops, his cause was theirs, and they nobly came
forward now in his vindication. They explain to His
Eminence the real character and tendency of the
Fifth Resolution ; and show how its real meaning
became manifestly developed in the Bill of the pre
ceding May, which they designate as evidently
schismatical. They observe that the other Vicars
Apostolic were so far from opposing this " profane
Bill" that they seemed rather to connive at and pro
mote it, and even induce the Catholic laity to accept
it. " But, by the mercy of God, by the opposition of
our Bishops, and the exertions of DR. MILNER, beyond
all expectation, our Churches were saved for this time."*
They then go on to explain, in the clearest terms,
the affair of the Abbe Trevaux, and commend DR.
MILNER' s opposition to his being restored to his spiri
tual faculties without any retractation ; observing that
DR. MILNER had opposed the Blanchardists, as he had
done the other enemies of the Holy See, for the last
twenty years. They refer to their own remonstrances
with the Vicar Apostolic of the London District, Dr.
Douglass, in the case of Trevaux, and to the evasive
and unsatisfactory answers which they received, and
refer his Eminence in conclusion, for further informa
tion on these matters, to the several Letters written
by the Archbishop of Dublin to Mgr. Quarantotti, and
to the more copious writing (fusiori calamo) of DR.
* <c Huic profanae legi adeo non obstiterunt ,
quin potius, a D. Milner ad resistendum invitati, eidem per conni-
ventiam suffragari videbantur, Catholicosque laicos
ad earn amplectandam incitare. Verum Dei miseratione, obsistenti-
bus episcoporum nostrorum et D. Milner conatibus, prater omnium
expectationem, salvae factae sunt Ecclesiae nostras pro hac vice."
252 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
MILNER in his " Explanation with Dr. Poynter" in
the month of March, 1812, printed, but not published*
which they are aware had been received by Cardinal
della Sommaglia.
DR. MILNER finished this year, 1813, with an able
and lucid history of the English Catholic Board, in a
Letter which appeared in the " Orthodox Journal for
December." He wrote this in consequence of articles
which had appeared in that journal from two writers
unknown to him, on the important subject of inquiry
for English Catholics, that of their internal economy
and governing power. Having traced the history of
Catholic affairs through the several periods of the
First Committee for five years, the Cisalpine Club,
for the avowed purpose of " resisting the usurpation of
the Pope, and the tyranny of the Vicars Apostolic,"
and what may be called the Third English Catholic
Dynasty, the existing Catholic Board, first set on
foot in 1807, and more fully organised in 1809, he
says : " Having furnished the Catholic public with
this mass of information, in doing which, should the
writer have made any mistake, he will readily correct
it, on its being pointed out to him, concerning its
vital interests, he leaves it either to support the Board
with its votes and secret service money, or openly to
oppose it in the manner one of your correspondents
points out ; or what the writer thinks the preferable
plan, to reform those undeniable abuses in the Boards
which are here pointed out."
* It is extraordinary that Dr. Poynter in his " Apologetical
Epistle," No. 42, speaks of DR. MILNER'S "Explanation," as
having been published on the 25th of March, 1812, whereas it
never was published at all.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 253
CHAPTER FOUETEENTH.
REVIEW OF DR. MILNER'S LABOURS IN THE EVENTFUL YEAR
1813, AND OF HIS OPEN, STRAIGHTFORWARD CONDUCT HIS
LETTER ON CATHOLIC AFFAIRS. LETTER TO THE HONBLE.
ROBERT CLIFFORD ON THE VETO. LETTER IN ANSWER TO
THE REV. N. GILBERT ON THE TRACT CALLED THE PRINCIPLES
OF CATHOLICS. LETTER ON THE NEW PETITION OF THE
CATHOLIC BOARD.
HAVING at length finished the occurrences of the most
eventful year of DR. MILNER'S episcopacy, the year
1813, we may pause to consider how much that in
comparable Prelate accomplished within that year,
how much he endured, how much he wrote, how much
he laboured, and how signally he triumphed. Sincerely
desirous of peace and union, he laboured strenuously
for both at the pacificatory meeting early in the year,
at the house of Lord Clifford, and wrote his " Multum
in Parvo" with the same object, and with marked
success. Anxious to secure his flock against the wolf,
whether disguised in sheep's clothing, or appearing in
open hostility, he wrote an elaborate and most impor
tant " Pastoral Letter on the Jurisdiction of the
Catholic Church" in Three Parts, containing al
together eighty-one octavo pages. To defeat the
dangerous and schismatical Bill introduced into Par
liament, he hastened to London, and printed his
" Brief Memorial" He endured with dignified
equanimity his expulsion from the select committee of
the Catholic Board, which will for ever brand its con
trivers with disgrace ; and received in reparation votes
254 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEE. [1813.
of thanks and approval from the whole of the assem
bled hierarchy of Ireland, from numerous public meet
ings in that country, and from a very large meeting of
Catholics in Liverpool. Never neglecting the duty of
pastoral vigilance, he condemned the Catholic Bible
Society, and the proselytising Bible Schools. He
circulated among his clergy an admirable " Encyclical
Letter" after his unjust exclusion from the Meeting of
Bishops at Durham ; and wrote also a very able and
interesting Historical Account of the Catholic Board.
These, with pastoral Visitations and Confirmations in
various parts of his District, and some Ordinations,
filled up the course of DE. MILKER'S labours in this
memorable year.
It is impossible not to admire the bold, open,
straightforward character of DE. MILNEE'S writings
and conduct through the whole of these transactions,
when contrasted with the timid and evasive policy of
his three episcopal colleagues. How efficacious, and
how edifying would have been their joint concurrence
in opposing openly and manfully those dangerous
measures which DE. MILNEE was left to combat almost
single-handed in England, though with the powerful
support of the venerable Irish Bishops ; presenting as
they did at that time the spectacle of almost the sole
unbroken hierarchy in the Catholic Church. But DE.
MILNEE went on his way, undaunted, courageous and
confiding. He never knew what it was to fear danger,
or shrink from labour : but to spend himself, and to be
spent in the cause of his Divine Master was his joy,
his glory and his crown.
St. JohnChrysostom declares faith to be the " source
of justice, the head of sanctity, the beginning of devo
tion, the foundation of religion, without which no one
AGE 61.] CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 255
ever deserved the enjoyment of God, no one ever
ascended to the summit of perfection :"* and DR.
MILNER developed his own possession of this essential
virtue in the most striking manner. He guarded the
sacred deposit of faith with the flaming sword of the
seraph at the gates of paradise, and the shield of the great
archangel guardian of Christ's Church, the victorious
Michael. He has been often compared to St. Jerom,
and certainly he might have said, like that great doctor
of the Church : " I own that I have never spared
heretics, and have used every endeavour that the ene
mies of the Church should become also my enemies, "f
It was his great trial and affliction, however, to have
adversaries within the Church, and to be deprived of
the confidence and cooperation of his episcopal bre
thren. Yet while conscientiously pursuing that course
which he was bound in duty to follow, he was always
ready to bear testimony to the merits of his opponents.
Thus, in his " Letter of Thanks to Mr. Wilberforce,
he testifies to his three episcopal brethren having held
the Bill of 1813 " to be unlawful, and rejoiced at its
failure." He even quotes from the Pastoral of Bps.
Gibson and Poynter, two passages, in which they
declare that they cannot give their approbation, or con
sent to " restrictions, which control the exercise of the
powers of the Pope in spiritual matters."! In like
manner he inserts at full length in his " Supplemen
tary Memoirs" certain Resolutions which were drawn
* S. JOAN. CHRYS. Serm. de Fide, Spe et Charitate.
f Fateor me nunquam haereticis pepercisse, et omni egisse
studio, ut hostes Ecclesiae, mei quoque hostes fierent." S. HIERON.
1. I. adv. Pelag.
t " A Letter of Thanks from the R. R. Milner to Wm. Wil-
berforce, Esq., M.P.," p. 2.
256 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1813.
up by Dr. Poynter in the year 1817, because, he says
of this paper, " its contents are too important, and too
creditable to its author, to be omitted in this Supple
ment."* He also testifies that he warmly approves
of the general tendency of these Resolutions, and only
refrained from signing them till the wording of some
of them should be improved, which unhappily led to
their being suffered to fall to the ground. He owns
that this was so far his fault ; and an event, which he
" has never since ceased to lament, and to reproach
himself with, as far as he was the cause of it."f Yet,
though these Resolutions were never published in
their original form, the whole of them were, almost
word for word, embodied and circulated in a Pastoral
by Dr. Collingridge, in the year following, as will be
noticed in its proper place.
So ready, indeed, was this great man to acknow
ledge his faults, that he never hesitated to do so
by the lowest acts of humiliation. The following
is a remarkable instance. When the Blanch ardist
schism prevailed so much in London, the Vicars
Apostolic were particularly anxious that none of its
supporters should receive any attention from the
Bishops. DR. MILNER was obliged to see a lady on
important business, who was considered a partisan
of the schismatical Blanchardists. He felt the deli
cacy of the act, and that he should expose himself to
misapprehension ; yet he did not see how he could
avoid it. Afterwards, on his arrival at Dr. Poynter's
house, the moment that he entered the room, the
Bishops fell upon him, and reproached him with such
earnestness, that, as he said to Dr. Weedall, to whom
* Supp. Mem.," p. 249- f ^id., p. 52.
AGE 61.] CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 25?
he related the occurrence : " I did not know what else
to do to pacify them, so I fell on my knees and said :
I humbly ask your pardon."
Many opportunities, however, will occur in the course
of this biography, of exhibiting to admiration the ster
ling merits and virtues of the immortal MILNER. Let
us proceed with the records of his labours in the great
cause of religion. In the " Orthodox Journal for Janu
ary, 1814, appeared from his indefatigable pen another
important Letter of considerable length on Catholic
Affairs. It shows the fatal effects of hasty signatures
to captious or equivocal propositions, beginning with the
famous Protestation, which was the origin of violent
dissension among Catholics, and led to the condemned
Oath, and numerous schismatical and impious publica
tions. The second instance is the unfortunate Fifth
Resolution, of which DR. MILNER recapitulates the
history briefly, by way of introduction to some further
remarks upon it. The first fatal effect of this was a
division among the English Vicars Apostolic, " which
all good Catholics so much deplore." The second
was a similar disunion between three of the English
Bishops and the twenty-nine Prelates of Ireland.
The third was the production of the expected fruits
of the Fifth Resolution in the schismatical Bill of
1813. "To judge," he says, " from their late Letter"
(Drs. Poynter and Collingridge), " published six
months after the contest was over, it might be supposed
that they had acted a glorious and successful part in
saving the common religion ; and that their hapless
brother, whom they discard from their councils and
their notice, had skulked from the danger : and yet it
is notorious that this brother was in the thick of the
combat, as the bruises which he still bears on his front
is
258 LIFE OF BISHOP MTLNER. [1814.
still testify ; and that he called, but called in vain, for
the aid of these his two brethren, especially on one
memorable occasion, when by a small exertion of cou
rage on their part, they might have had a real claim to
a share in the victory."*
Finally, DR. MILNER dwells on the defence of the
Fifth Resolution in the late Pastoral of the two
Bishops, Gibson and Poynter, and advances some new
and cogent arguments against it. He first gives the
contested part of it, word for word, and even step for
step ; and then says : " Now, if any intelligent man, un
acquainted with our controversies, be asked, at the
present day, what is his sense of this passage, I am
confident he will express it to the following effect :
4 1 understand by it, that the provisions which Parlia
ment is about to make for securing their own religion
against the danger to be apprehended from your
Emancipation, are, in your persuasion, perfectly recon-
cileable with your tenets and discipline, and that you
will concur in maintaining the former, by adapting
the latter to the purposes of it/ Now," continues
DR. MILNER, " what could be more rash or dangerous
in a conscientious Catholic, than to express a convic
tion of this nature, without knowing (we have since
learnt them) what these Protestant securities were to
be ? On the other hand, what is more sinful in a
member of the Catholic religion, than to concur in
maintaining another which protests against itf
He next cites the words of Lord Grenville, from
whose Letter to Lord Fingall the Kesolution was ex
tracted, and of Lord Grey on presenting it to the
House of Peers, for their sense of the real meaning of
* " Orthodox Journal," 1814, p. 27,
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 259
the Resolution, which have been already quoted on
this subject : and then examines Dr. Poynter's
ic glosses, and other scholastic operations in his late
Pastoral on the passages in question." He admits
Dr. Poynter's argument, that it does not concern us
Catholics what provisions the Legislature may make
for the maintenance of their Established Church, to be
good so far ; that is, provided the Resolution had
ended there without any pledge of our co-operation,
and provided that we could suppose that Parliament
understood us in that sense. " But in good faith, was
there no expression, or understanding of a compact, a
conciliation, or an accommodation on our part, with res
pect to our discipline, to secure the Protestant religion,
as well as on the part of Protestants, with respect to
the penal laws, in order to admit Catholics into Parlia
ment ?"
He further adverts to the assertion in Dr. Poynter's
Pastoral, that it exclusively belongs to the Legislature
to pro vide for the maintenance of the Religious Esta
blishment of this kingdom ; and denounces it as
grounded upon the false principle of Erastus and
Hobbes, that every government has a right to establish
whatever religion it may prefer. But the assertion in
the Pastoral, he contends, is evidently false upon
Catholic principles, since it does not belong to the
province of any body of man to make provision for
the maintenance of a schismatical religious establish
ment, such as that of this kingdom undoubtedly is.
DR. MILNER finally points out with remarkable acute-
ness how, by disjointing the latter part of the Resolu
tion from the first part, Dr. Poynter has essentially
altered it. The Fifth Resolution, in fact, forms one
single sentence, and runs on in a connected tenor.
260 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
Having expressed the persuasion that provision may
be made for maintaining the Protestant religion, con
sistently with the adherence of Catholics to the faith
and discipline of their own, it goes on to say in a con
tinuous sentence, that " any arrangement founded on
THIS BASIS of mutual security will meet with their
grateful concurrence," "which concurrence," observes
DR. MILNER, "to the maintenance of a schismatical Esta
blishment, even though our own religion were not
thereby injured, it would be unlawful to give. Now,
in order to evade or lessen this objection, what does
the Letter writer do ? He disjoints the latter part of
the Eesolution from the former part, making it a dis
tinct sentence ; and he alters the definite clause, THIS
basis of mutual security, into the indefinite clause,
THE basis of mutual security. The fact is, there was
no reciprocity in the very term of the Kesolution,
much less in the sense of the parties concerned in it.
The Catholics were to be content with THIS basis of
security, the one which had been described consisting
in an adherence to their existing discipline (it being
always understood that the efficient Veto, &c., was
compatible with it), whereas Protestants were to make
as many new provisions (as they pleased) for the
maintenance of their Church, and this by undermining
ours, without the possibility of our counteracting them,
and even with the obligation of our concurrence with
them in the attainment of their object."*
In the Summer of 1813, a pamphlet was stereotyped
and gratuitously circulated, entitled : " The Origin
and Progress of the Veto," its object being to throw
upon the Irish Prelates the odium of having originally
* " Orthodox Journal/ 7 1814. Number for January.
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 261
planned the Veto. DR. MILNER refuted this in his
" Encyclical Letter" of Nov. 22, 1813 ; and accused
the agents of the Board of having " lately expended a
great deal of their subscribers 1 money in publishing
and gratuitously circulating that pamphlet."* In the
ensuing December and February, a controversy was
carried on between the Hon. Robert Clifford and
DR. MILNER in the Press and Globe newspapers on
the subject of the Veto ; in the course of which Mr.
Clifford declared himself the author of the above men
tioned pamphlet ; and that the expense was not paid
by the Board, but by certain individuals. So far DR.
MILNER was mistaken ; but the accusation was very
unimportant. For, as DR. MILNER asked, " would it
then have been unworthy the Board to publish what
he himself has published ?" Or " is he prepared to
maintain that the Board has not engaged for, and
actually paid expenses to a vastly greater amount, and
for a purpose of infinitely greater jealousy, within
these three months (the Durham meeting), than all
the stereotyping is in which he was ever concerned ?"
These questions occur in a Letter to the Hon. Robt.
Clifford, in the " Orthodox Journal" for February,
18 14, in which DR. MILNER discusses the Veto question
again, in reference to their correspondence in the news
papers. As DR. MILNER had thus openly acknow
ledged his mistake, it was unjust and ungenerous in Mr.
Charles Butler to repeat this as a grave charge against
DR. MILNER, which he did in his " Memorial to Car
dinal Fontana" March 23, 1822, No. VII, eight years
after DR. MILNER had thus retracted it.
DR. MILNER wrote a Letter in the same number of
Encyclical Letter," p. 2.
262 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEE. [1814.
the Orthodox Journal against two articles which had
appeared in that periodical ; the first in the number
for Sept. 1813, and the second in that for January,
1814. They were both by the same writer, though
the first purported to come from the Ghost of Mr.
Gother, and the second was signed N. G, the initials
of a learned and zealous French priest, the Rev. N.
Gilbert. The object of both Letters was to defend
the tract called " Roman Catholic Principles? and to
make it appear that Mr. Gother was the author of it.
DR. MILNER had, as we have seen in Chapter Twelfth,
censured certain propositions of this tract, and ob
jected to it on various grounds. He proceeded now
to notice the two Letters in its defence. The Ghost
had alleged that the tract called the Principles, fyc.,
was not censured on its first appearance. This the
Prelate meets by reminding the Ghost that no one
knows when it did first appear ; and that if this was,
as alleged, at the end of the reign of Charles II., it
was no wonder if it was not censured, since there was
then no Bishop, Archpriest, or ecclesiastical superior
in the kingdom. And to the further plea of the Ghost
that it was not censured when republished by the
agents of the Protesting Dissenting Committee in
1791, DR. MILNER, having been the agent of the
Vicars Apostolic at that time, affirms that it was con
demned by them, and even stigmatised by their support
ers as the Staffordshire Creed. The second Letter
contended that the author of the Principles was the
celebrated Mr. Gother. The writer's argument rested
on the assertion that Mr. Gother' s work, A Papist
misrepresented and represented, was first published in
1685, and that the tract called the Principles was
annexed to it. This the Bishop expected at once to
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 263
demolish by inviting the writer to inspect a quarto
edition of the Papist misrepresented, printed in the
year 1665. But from a subsequent Letter in the
same Journal, page 110, signed S., and most probably
from the pen of the Rev. John Kirk, it is evident that
DR. MILNER was mistaken ; that the date, 1665, was
a misprint, that the Papist did first appear in 1685,
but the Principles in 1680. Still that Mr. Gother
was not the author of the Principles is clearly proved
by S., who also as clearly shows that the author was a
Benedictine monk and abbot, the Rev. James Corker.
A correspondent of the " Orthodox Journal " had
proposed a meeting, to be held in Birmingham, of the
Catholics of the Midland District, to take such steps
as the security of our religion might require. The
writer highly extolled DR. MILNER, and proposed by
such a meeting to do him honour, to prepare a Peti
tion to Parliament, and to consider by what means the
self-appointed Board might be opposed. In answer
to these Letters and proposals, DR. MILNER wrote a
Letter in the number for March, p. 87, in which he
mentions that the suggestion had been taken up by
Catholics of his District, and that the meeting would
have been held, but for his own unwillingness to con
tribute to a division of the Catholic body, until driven
to the last extremity. He protests against the assump
tion of the Board to represent the whole body of
British Catholics. He then states his objections to
the actual Petition adopted by the Board. First, to
its restricted ground, since it complains only of want
of civil rights and privileges, and says nothing of reli
gious grievances. Secondly, to the complaints of
being deprived of " legitimate objects of ambition ;
since for real Christians there could be no legitimate
264 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
objects of ambition, that being the worst kind of pride,
and a vice the most fatal. Thirdly, to the declara
tion that "their allegiance to the king, and attach
ment to the constitution are unreserved and unqua
lified ;" because* our oaths always make or imply a
distinction between submission in matters temporal,
and matters spiritual, His fourth and chief objection
is to the prayer of the petition, that Parliament will
adopt such measures as the honourable House shall
deem expedient. "They petition," he says, "for
relief, and they leave the conditions.., to the discretion
of an assembly bound to swear hostilities to their reli
gion !" He protests against this, and professes his
readiness to prove, that if certain English Ecclesiastics
would sincerely and heartily make common cause with
the immortal prelacy of Catholic Ireland, and with one
hapless brother of theirs, who need not be named, the
evil might still be helped, and the Catholic religion in
this country be kept secure."
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 265
CHAPTER FIFTEENTH.
ORDINATION AND CONFIRMATIONS CONVENT AT CAVERSWALL
CASTLE. TRAITS OF DR. MILNER's CHARACTER. LENTEN
PASTORAL FOR 1814. QUARANTOTTl's RESCRIPT. RESOLU
TIONS OF THE IRISH BISHOPS UPON IT. DR. MILNER's JOURNEY
TO ROME. HIS GRACIOUS RECEPTION BY THE POPE. HIS
MEMORIAL DECLARED SATISFACTORY. DR. MURRAY'S ARRIVAL
AT ROME, AND AUDIENCE OF THE POPE WITH DR. MILNER.
REMARKABLE PROOF OF THE POPE'S CONFIDENCE IN DR. MILNER.
ADDRESS OF THE ENGLISH BOARD TO THE POPE. DR. MILNER
OBTAINS THE POPE'S APPROBATION OF HIS SODALITY OF THE
SACRED HEART, AND SOCIETAS LIBERA RESTORATION OF THE
SOCIETY OF JESUS. DR. MILNER's EXCURSION IN THE APPE-
NINES.
ON the 6th of April, 1814, DR. MLLNER held an
Ordination at Wolverhampton, when he promoted to
the Holy Order of priesthood the Eev. Henry Weed-
all, who subsequently became so distinguished an
ornament of the Church in this country, and whose
name will for ever be so intimately connected with
St. Mary's College of Oscott. The Eev. L. Spain,
O.S.B., was ordained priest by him at the same time.
In April he confirmed at the venerable old chapel of
Black Ladies, for that congregation, and also for that
of Long Birch ; and also at the Benedictine Convent
at Caverswall Castle. To this secluded spot he often
retired for a few days, to rest and refresh his spirit,
incessantly harassed with 'the labours and cares of his
responsible station. It was his custom, when he went
thither on horseback, to alight when he came near to
the Castle, and give his blessing to it very solemnly.
266 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
In like manner he would often, on entering a mansion,
salute it in the words of the Gospel and Eitual : " Pax
liuic domui, et omnibus habitantibus in ea. Peace
be to this house, and to all that dwell therein." The
late proprietor of Maple Durham used to relate that
he always did this on entering that venerable old
Catholic house. He always took a most kind and
paternal interest in the convent at Caverswall Castle.
There he felt himself in the reviving atmosphere
of holiness and religion ; and that he had escaped
for a while from the turmoil and distractions of
the world. It was often said that to see DR. MIL
KER in his real character, one should see him at
Oscott, or at Caverswall. He was free from restraint,
safe from invidious observation, and surrounded by
friends in whom he could repose entire confidence.
Then all the amiability of his real character came
forth. He was neither watched, nor criticised, nor
suspected ; and he was easy, cheerful and affable.
His conversation was always instructive and edifying ;
and on these occasions he had no reserve, but made
himself exceedingly agreeable to every one.
There was a remarkable simplicity about him, which
indeed has been observed to accompany many men of
great learning and high reputation. The following is
an amusing instance. After the eventful battle of
Leipsic, in November, 1813, rejoicings aud illumina
tions were general all over England. The town of
Wolverhampton was to be illuminated, and the present
writer, who was then resident at Sedgley Park, had,
with his friend Mr. Foley, executed some transparen
cies for the house of Mr. Jones, the respected father
of five priests. One of these especially amused the
people in the streets when lighted up, being inscribed
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 267
"Leipsic Kaces," and representing Napoleon flying
before a Cossack. The writer was sitting in Mr.
Jones' parlour, having just brought the transparencies
from Sedgley Park, with Mr. Foley, when DR. MILNER
came in, and expressed a wish that some one would
write or print for him, on a sheet of paper, just large
enough for a single pane of the centre window of his
house, these appropriate words from Isaias, xiv. 4
'''-How hath the oppressor ceased!" His idea was
merely to have it inscribed in black letters : indeed he
brought a sheet of paper in his hand, on which he had
already marked it out in his own fashion in printed
characters, very awkwardly formed. The present writer
suggested that in black letters it would not be seen ;
and offered to make the inscription transparent, which
he proceeded to do by pasting together a few sheets of
brown paper, forming the words in large printed letters,
then cutting them out, and pasting at the back some
thin paper, coloured with yellow ochre and oiled.
Thus prepared, the inscription came out brightly when
a light was placed behind the paper. While the writer
was busily employed upon the transparency, with his
face bent down upon his work, the good Bishop did
not perceive who he was, though he knew him well,
and taking Mr. Jones aside, asked him in a whisper
what that man would require to be paid for his trouble.
Mr. Jones laughed, and said: " Don't you know him,
my Lord, it's Mr. Husenbeth ?" The Bishop was
much amused at his mistake, thanked the writer most
graciously for what he termed his clever contrivance,
and when it was finished, insisted on carrying it home
in his hand. It appeared illuminated in his window,
and the appropriateness of the inscription was greatly
admired. But so intent was his great mind upon the
268 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
text which he had chosen, that he was little solicitous
how it might be best exhibited, and any humble con
trivance would have satisfied him. The worthy Mr.
Jones died on the 14th of May, 1816.
Great as had been the labours and trials of DR.
MILNER during the last eventful year, fresh toils and
troubles awaited him in the year 1814. In his Lenten
Pastoral, he alluded to the severe judgment of " the
diminution or withdrawing of the light and grace of
God, as also of the essential benefits of our holy reli
gion ; and finally of the true and sacred religion
itself In fact," he continued, "how great
is the danger of this with respect to ourselves, in the
time and circumstances in which we are placed !
When we addressed you at the approach of the last
Lent, we were led to believe and inform you, that all
the leading members of our holy religion were then
resolved not to risk the. loss of it in the smallest
degree, for any temporal advantage whatsoever ; but,
alas ! succeeding events too soon proved that we were
deceived ourselves, and that we misinformed you in
this important particular." At the conclusion, he
exhorted the faithful to pray with suitable fervour for
liberation from captivity of the holy confessor, Pope
Pius VII. " At present," he said, " we have the
brightest prospect through the divine mercy, which
has put the most powerful engines in motion, chiefly,
perhaps, for these very purposes, that our ardent hopes
may be very soon verified, and our long continued
prayers granted."
The partisans of the schismatical Bill of 1813, cha
grined at its failure, and still eager for it to pass at
least this year, were anxious above all things to obtain
some approval of it from the Holy See. The Pope
AGE 62.]
CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 269
was then the prisoner of Buonaparte at Fontainbleau ;
but it was thought that the Secretary of the Propa
ganda, Monsignor Quarantotti, might be induced to
give his sanction, and that he possessed the necessary
powers delegated to him by the Sovereign Pontiff.
Here the parties were under a serious mistake ; for
this secretary had only the ordinary powers of the
Congregation : but certainly had no power to change
the discipline of the Church of Ireland, or the regula
tions of the English Mission, or to unite the Scotch
Vicars Apostolic with the English, in presenting to
vacant Districts.* Under this misapprehension, how
ever, several letters were written to an agent in Rome,
Rev. P. Macpherson, President of the Scotch College,
who, says DR. MILKER, " through a series of gross
falsehoods and malicious representations, which he
professed to derive from high authority in England,"f
fraudulently obtained a Rescript in favour of the late
Bill, from the unsuspecting good old man, a venerable
Prelate, and afterwards a Cardinal.
" Thus deceived," continues DR. MILNER, " in all
the leading circumstances of the case, by letters which
the Scotch agent professed to have received from the
most respectable authority in England, ... no
wonder that the humane and pious old man should
have been prevailed upon to outstep his authority and
his province, and to sign his name to the document
prepared for him."J He had never even seen the
Bill, as DR. MILNER was informed by Cardinal Litta.
The Rescript itself need not be given here, as it was irre
gular and of no authority from the beginning. It may be
* Supp. Mem.," p. 226. f Ibid., p. 218.
t 4t Supp. Mem.," p. 224.
" Additional Notes" to Sup. Mem., p. 335.
270 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEE. [IQU.
seen at length in Mr. C. Butler's " Historical Memoirs
of Catholics" Vol. IV., Appendix, page 518, and in
the "Orthodox Journal" for 1814, p. 162. The sum
of it was expressed in a single sentence : " That the
Catholics ought to receive and embrace with content
and gratitude the law which was proposed last 'year for
their Emancipation, agreeably to the form received by
us from your amplitude." This refers to Dr. Poynter,
to whom the Rescript was addressed. Though dated
at Rome, Feb. 16, it did not reach England till the
28th of April.
The Rescript was translated and published in the
newspapers with much exultation on the part of those
who were favourable to the Emancipation of Catholics,
but at the same time strong advocates for vetoistical
restrictions. In other circumstances a Papal Bull or
Rescript would have been loudly protested against, or
at least received with suspicion and jealousy ; but now
these liberal Protestants were loud in their praises of
the liberality of the Roman Secretary. We need not
wonder at this, if it was true, as the Dublin Evening
Post, of July 28, announced as an ascertained fact of
which the reader might rest assured, that the Re
script was procured through the interference of Vis
count Castlereagh and Lord William Bentinck, Com
mander of the Forces, and Governor of Sicily. One
paper, the Pilot, even proclaimed the Rescript as the
first act of the Pope, returned from captivity, which
was false, as his Holiness did not enter Rome till the
24th of May. Throughout Ireland the Rescript was
received with distrust and alarm. The eloquentProtes-
tant Counsellor, Phillips, thus described the national
feeling upon it : " The Pontiff's captivity led to the
transmission of Quarantotti's Rescript ; and on the
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 271
news of its arrival, from the priest to the peasant, there
was not a Catholic in the land, who did not spurn the
document of Italian audacity."* The Irish Bishops
assembled atMaynooth, on the 25th of May, and unani
mously agreed to four important Resolutions. The first
congratulates his Holiness on his liberation from capti
vity ; the second is expressed in the following words :
" That having taken into our mature consideration the
Jate Eescript of the Vice-Prefect of the Propaganda,
we are fully convinced that it is not mandatory" The
third is to the effect that two Prelates shall be deputed
to convey from the Irish hierarchy, their unanimous
and well known sentiments to the Pope, from whom
they have reason to expect a satisfactory decision.
The last Resolution is, that the second and third pre
ceding ones be communicated to Lord Donoughmore
and Mr. Grattan, and that they be entreated to exert
themselves in any future discussion to exclude from
the Bill those clauses which the Bishops have already
deprecated as penal and injurious to our religion.
But his Holiness Pius VII. had now been liberated
from his captivity, through the wonderful and unex
pected interposition of Divine Providence, and was on
his way to make his triumphant entry into the holy
city of Rome. DE. MILNER resolved at once to repair
thither, to give an account to the Apostolic See of his
own conduct and of the state of Catholic affairs in
England. He had been for some time saving money
for a journey to Rome at the earliest opportunity.
We were still at war with France, and though the
struggle was fast coming to a termination, it was
hardly safe yet to cross the channel. DK. MJLNEE,
* Speech of Counsellor Phillips at a Catholic aggregate meeting
at Cork, in August, 1814.
272 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEE. [1814.
however, never knew fear, and he engaged a fisher
man to take him over in an open boat. He had to be
carried through the water on a man's back to the
boat ; and the man complained of his great weight,
which was increased by the gold which he carried
secreted about him. He left Wolverhampton on the
2nd of May. " Landing on the opposite coast," he says,
" he passed through the several camps of the conquer
ing armies from Boulogne to Parma : namely, Russian,
Prussian, Austrian, and English camps : and he viewed
with horror the dire effects of war, which appeared
throughout a great part of his journey ; bridges broken
down, forests shot to shivers, villages laid in ruins,
dead horses infecting the air, and human bodies float
ing down the rivers."*
The venerable Pius VII. had made his triumphant
entrance into Rome on the 24th of May ; and by a
remarkable disposition of divine Providence, the Em
peror Napoleon had signed the deed of his own abdi
cation, on the 6th of April previously, in the very
apartment at Fontainebleau, which the Pope had oc
cupied during his captivity there, from the 20th of
June, 1812, to his unexpected liberation by Napo
leon, on the 22nd of January, 1814. His Holiness
had previously been a prisoner from July 6, 1809, and
confined at Savona from the 10th of August, 1809 ;
so that the whole period of his captivity exceeded four
years and a half. It is worthy of note at the present
day that on the Pope's entry into Rome, the King of
Sardinia met him under the portico of the Vatican
palace, and threw himself at his feet to kiss them, but
the Pope extended his arms to prevent him.
* " Supp. Mem.," p. 228.
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 2?3
DR. MILNER arrived at Rome only a few days after
the entry of the Pope. The four Prelates and the four
theologians who had been consulted by the Pro-Prefect
of the Propaganda, Mgr. Quarantotti, and had recom
mended him to issue the Rescript, were already dis
graced and put into penance by the Pope. The Re
script was strongly disapproved of by him : and it was
some time before Mgr. Quarantotti was admitted to
the presence of his Holiness. For besides the weak
ness he had shown in the affair of the Rescript, he had
taken a qualified oath of allegiance to the usurper of
the Pope's states, the Emperor Napoleon. He very
naturally declined all conversation with DR. MILNER
concerning his former letter, and his late Rescript, but
the good Bishop found the other Cardinals and Pre
lates, without exception, cheerful, friendly, and com
municative.
He was soon admitted to an audience of the Pope,
and addressed his Holiness in these words : " As the
hart panteth after the fountains of waters : so my soul
hath panted to see your Holiness and kiss your feet."
He was received by that holy Pontiff with more than his
accustomed benevolence. The Pope said he had heard
much of him, and wished much to see him. He then
hastily exclaimed : " Has the Act of Parliament
passed ? Have the Catholics taken the oath ?" The
Pope added : " he," that is, Monsignor Quarantotti,
" ought not to have written that Letter without autho
rity from the Holy See." DR. MILNER thus answered
the inquiries of his Holiness : " There is no question,
Holy Father, about an oath, or an Act of Parliament :
the Emancipation will take place, but not till there is a
great change in his Majesty's counsels. In the mean
time, schismatical measures have been carried on
274 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
among our Catholics, as I am prepared to prove to your
Cardinals."*
DE. MILNER had numerous interviews with Cardinal
Litta, of whom the Pope spoke highly, and com
mended also for his knowledge of the English lan
guage. He had presided over the Congregation of the
Index, but on the restoration of the Pope, he was
appointed Prefect of the Propaganda, and in Septem
ber following was made Bishop of Sabina. With this
venerable Cardinal, DR. MILNER had chiefly to trans
act business ; and in one of his first interviews, his
Eminence directed him to draw up a memorial of his
whole case, to be laid before the Pope's Council. DR.
MILNER did this in a few days, and concluded his
memorial thus : " I know I have numerous and power
ful enemies, Catholics as well as Protestants, whom I
have provoked by my inflexibility in defending and
securing our holy religion : if on this, or any other
account, the See Apostolic judge it to be for the ad
vantage of religion that I should retire from my situa
tion. I make an unreserved tender of resigning it"f
On arriving at Home, the good Bishop took up his
quarters at St. John and Paul's, the head house of the
Passionists, which looks upon St. Gregory's, on the
Coelian Hill, a place that must have been very dear to
him, as being the spot whence St. Gregory the Great
"sent St. Augustin and his companions to convert our
Saxon ancestors. St. John and Paul's, moreover,
looks down upon the Coliseum, that noble amphitheatre
which had been the scene of so many martyrdoms.
This choice of a residence so far away from the centre
of the Eternal City, and from all places of ecclesiastical
* < ; Supp. Mem.," p. 230. f Ibid., p. 231.
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 275
and other business, could have been dictated only by
his piety ; for it is in the midst of the desolation left by
the ruins of what was once the most splendid portion
of Kome.
After a certain number of days had elapsed, during
which DR. MILNER'S memorial was under considera
tion, he was summoned to an official audience, at
which he was assured that his memorial had given
great satisfaction, and that the writer was in high
favour with the venerable College of Cardinals, and
the Holy Father himself ; that he had well defended
his cause, and that of the Church, and on the true
ground. Moreover, that his offer of resignation could
not be accepted. It was signified to him on various
occasions, by other Cardinals, that he had done his
duty, and ought to proceed in the track which he had
hitherto pursued. At the same time he was admo
nished that this ought to be done with moderation, and
without irritating the feelings of others. We have
seen previous instances of DR. MILNER'S readiness to
make ample apology and reparation, wherever it could
be shown that he had exceeded the bounds of just and
reasonable defence ; and when he recorded the above
in his " Supplementary Memoirs" page 231, he de
clared again, in a note, his readiness to make satisfac
tion to any injured party, at the discretion of some
intelligent and conscientious arbiter. He added these
words in the note alluded to : " It appears to him
(Dr. M.), " that in the present work, and his other
works, the writer has spared the character and feelings
of his adversaries to the best of his power, with the
exception of one domestic enemy of the Church, whom
he despairs of reclaiming, and therefore thinks it his
duty to disarm." The allusion will be readily under-
276 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
stood. Again, in his " Additional Notes' 1 to his
" Supplementary Memoirs" p. 335, in allusion to his
former apology at Durham in 1812, he observes that
as that apology does not come down lower than that
date, he now again (1821) pledges himself to make
full satisfaction to every fellow-creature who thinks he
has been injured by him, at the discretion of an um
pire, to be mutually chosen.
It has been mentioned above that the Irish Bishops,
when assembled on the 25th of May at Maynooth, had
resolved to depute two Prelates to Rome. Only one
Irish Bishop, however, was thus commissioned, who
was the Most Rev. Dr. Murray, coadjutor of the Arch
bishop of Dublin, Dr. Troy ; the other deputy was
their long tried and faithful agent, DR. MILNER. Dr.
Murray arrived in Rome about a month after DR.
MILNER, and had several audiences of the Pope toge
ther with our Prelate. The Pope on those occasions
expressed his esteem for the Irish Bishops, clergy, and
laity, in very warm terms of approbation. When Dr.
Murray arrived at Rome, DR. MILNER thought of
returning home shortly ; but he agreed to stay for Dr.
Murray, and ultimately prolonged his stay to nine
months from the date of his arrival. He continued to
be treated during his stay in the Holy City with the
greatest favour and confidence. No proof of these,
however, was so gratifying to him as the following,
which the writer gives as he heard it from DR.
MILNER' s own lips. A certain Catholic gentleman,
then at Rome, was very urgent to obtain of the Pope
that the Catholics in England should be dispensed
with from the obligation of keeping abstinence on
Saturdays. Accordingly he represented to his Holi
ness that that point of discipline had almost entirely
AGE 62] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 277
gone into disuse, and might therefore very reasonably
be abrogated by the Pope's dispensation. The Pope
doubted the truth of this representation, and said to
the Prefect of Propaganda, Cardinal Litta : " Let us
ask DR. MILNER: he will tell us the truth? The
Bishop was accordingly sent for, and interrogated on
the matter by his Holiness. He at once answered:
" Yes, I will tell your Holiness the truth : the good
Catholics keep the abstinence on Saturdays, and the
bad ones do not." " Then," said the Pope, " it shall
remain as it is." Well might he congratulate himself
on so high a testimony to his integrity from the Head
of the Church himself.
DR. MILNER always spoke with great satisfaction of
the kindness and confidence which he experienced
from Cardinals Litta and De Somaglia in particular ;
and he wrote from Rome, that he found the " Cardinals,
and superior Prelates, in general, well informed and
sensible men, engaging and edifying in their manners,
and taken up with the duties of their respective
charges." Soon after DR. MILNER'S audience on his
memorial, which took place on the eve of SS. Peter
and Paul, he received a r note from Cardinal Litta,
ending in these words : " Henceforth I give you my
entire esteem." On another occasion, the Cardinal
said to him: " Alas, DR.MILNER, you have very power
ful enemies."* When the Bishop spoke of apologising
for any intemperate expressions, the Cardinal said to
him : " Take care not to compromise any of your
principles."! And when DR. MILNER observed that
the question was not merely about the appointment of
* " Helas, Mgr. M., vous avez des ennemis bien puissants.'
t " Gardez vous de compromettre aucun de vos principes."
278 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
our Prelates, but whether our old principles and piety
should remain, the Cardinal eagerly and strongly
assented to his assertion. The good Cardinal con
tinued to honour him with equal marks of his confi
dence at Viterbo, Pisa, and Genoa. He wished DR.
MILNER to remain with the Holy Father, till the
Conference of Vienna and the troubles of Italy were
ended, and promised then to take him back to Rome
in his carriage.
It was to be expected that the party in England
favourable to the late Bill would anxiously endeavour
to procure the sanction of the Pope to the Rescript of
Quarantotti. They sent an Address agreed upon at a
Meeting of the General Board of British Catholics, to
his Holiness, dated June 17, 1814, expressing their
dutiful congratulations on his happy return from
captivity ; but they inserted in it some strong animad
versions on some of their " own brethren, who ceased
not," they say, " to accuse us as apostates, and ready
to sacrifice our faith to the acquisition of worldly
advantages," adding, however, " we were not affrighted
by the menaces of those our bosom enemies." They
declare that they received the late Rescript " with un
speakable joy," and that to the sentiments contained
in it they have given their " fullest and most unequivo
cal assurances of adherence and respect ;" and they
express their confident expectation that they shall
receive the assurance that it speaks the genuine and
full sentiments of the paternal heart of his Holiness
towards the faithful of these countries. In other
words, they expect that the Rescript will be confirmed
by his Holiness.*
* See the Address in Mr. C. C. Butler's " Hist. Mem.," vol. iv.,
Appendix, Note III.
j.
his
a 8
* n
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 279
In this expectation, however, they were doomed to
be disappointed. It was made known to DR. MILNER
from the time of its reception, that the prayer of the
Address could not be granted; and though it was well
understood that he was primarily alluded to among the
" bosom enemies" of the Board, he continued to be
treated by the Holy See as the "bosom friend" of that
See and of the Catholics. " On the other hand, the
procurer and bearer of the Rescript (Macpherson), on
his return to the Christian capital, had to digest many
a severe mortification, in return for his agency."* No
swer was returned from the Pope to this Address
for six months ; and when at length his Holiness did
answer it, though he expressed himself very graciously
and paternally, he carefully intimated that the Rescript,
having been issued in his absence, and turning on a
matter of the highest moment, had been given to be
examined maturely ab integro by those Cardinals, to
whom such matters are usually referred. The answer
is dated December 28, 1814, but was not received in
England till the February of 1815.f
DR. MILNER took the opportunity of his stay in
Rome, to present a petition to the Pope, praying that
for the continual increase of devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, his Holiness would please to grant in
favour of all the faithful who should confess and
communicate, and devoutly visit in any place in his
District, on the Friday after the octave of Corpus
Christi, or any other instead thereof to be assigned by
the Bishop, as also on the first Friday of every month,
* " Supp. Mem./' p. 234.
f See this document also in *' Hist. Mem.," vol. iv., Appendix,
Note IV.
280 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
or instead thereof on any Sunday of the month to be
appointed by the Bishop, a picture or image of the
most Sacred Heart of Jesus, exposed in any public
church or oratory, or in any monastery, seminary, or
other pious place, and pray there for the concord of
Christian princes, the extirpation of heresy, and the
intentions of his Holiness, a plenary Indulgence,
applicable also in the way of suffrage to the souls in
Purgatory : and to those who should devoutly visit the
said image or picture, and pray there in like- manner,
an Indulgence of an hundred days, to be gained on
any day of the year once in the day, applicable also to
the souls in Purgatory. His Holiness was graciously
pleased to grant this petition by an Indult, dated June
27, 1814, and to hold good for fifteen years. Thus
DR. MILNER was the first to introduce into England
the public practice of devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, which however had been for several years
before practised privately. The zealous and pious
Prelate afterwards published a Pastoral Address to the
faithful of the Midland District, explaining the nature
and object of this devotion, followed by a collection of
prayers adapted to it, many of them borrowed from
approved works, but a good part being his own com
position, and affording abundant proofs of his tender
piety, and especial devotion to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus. Sodalities were afterwards formed in various
places in the Midland District, and the good Bishop's
devotional exercises continued to be used with so much
fruit and edification that at the expiration of the
fifteen years, application was made to the Holy See by
his successor, Dr. Walsh, for a renewal of the Indul
gences, and Pope Pius VIII. renewed them for a
further term of fifteen years. Finally, at the petition
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 281
of Dr. Wareing, Yicar Apostolic of the Eastern
portion of the former Midland District, they were
granted by Pope Gregory XVI. in perpetuity.
Encouraged by the success of this application, DR.
MILNER projected another most excellent and com
mendable institution, which he called the Societas
Libera, or Free Society of Secular Clergy in the
Midland District. In a fresh petition to Pope Pius
VII. , he represented that certain priests and ecclesias
tics of St. Mary's College, Oscott, and several other
priests on the Mission in his District, would engage
voluntarily, though not under sin, to keep up certain
pious practices and exercises, to which they were
already bound by the rules of the College ; and
petitioned that his Holiness would grant a Plenary
Indulgence to each, on the day on which they made
such engagement, and also on the day on which they
should annually renew the same. This petition, dated
July 13, 1814, his Holiness was pleased also to grant,
by an Indult dated Sept. 1, 1814 ; and he annexed to
it, as the petitioner had requested, all those Indul
gences, which had previously been granted to the
Sodality of the Sacred Heart, at Sancta Maria ad
Pineam, at Eome. The Bishop afterwards printed
his petition and the Pope's Indult, with the names of
the associates, his own being at the head, followed by
thirty others, either priests or ecclesiastical students.
This Societas Libera has been cherished and kept up
by many worthy priests, and has proved a very valuable
support and stimulus to them in the course of their
arduous ministry.
Pope Clement XIV., it is well known, had sup
pressed the Society of Jesus by a Brief on the 21st of
June, 1773. The Society was again established by
282 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1814.
Pope Pius VII. by his Bull of August 7, 1814. DR.
MILNER assisted on the solemn occasion of its pub
lication, when his Holiness celebrated Mass at the
altar of St. Ignatius. On the 18th of October, the
venerable Prelate set out from Rome on a little tour
in that part of the Appenines which lies to the east
of the Eternal City. Two Letters of his were pub
lished in the Orthodox Journal for December, 1814,
in which he gives a very animated account of his short
tour, which embraced first Tivoli, where he met
Cardinal Litta, who accompanied him to his inn, and
conversed with him for a considerable time, then
Subiaco, on the way to which, he most amusingly
describes a wretched inn, near Vicovara, where he was
obliged to stop, consisting of " one large cave, crowded
with mules, horses, asses, and their drivers, with a
dresser at the farther end of it, where the landlord
and landlady sold coarse bread, sour wine, and horse
food." At Arsoli he met with a most curious subject
of antiquarian observation, the only ancient Roman
mile stone known to exist. At Subiaco, he received
hospitality from the amiable Bishop, Cardinal Galeffi,
who was then making his episcopal visitation. On the
21st of October, he set out for the famous grotto and
monastery of St. Benedict, two miles to the east of
Subiaco, of which he gives a very interesting descrip
tion. Thence he had to make his way mostly on foot,
passing from place to place where there were no roads,
" clambering up rocky mountains, descending into steep
precipices, now immersed in mud, now forced to jump
from one large stone to another, it being impossible to
make regular steps." His guide led him astray, not
knowing the country, and he was obliged to engage
another, whom he met with accidentally half way. It
AGE 62.] CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 283
rained in torrents almost all the way; so that in all
these adverse circumstances he was four hours travel
ling five miles to Racco di San Stefano. " Arriving
here," he says, " at what is called an osteria, or inn, we
found the whole cave, of which it consisted, quite full
of pigs, which were eating the food that was there
given them." But he was most hospitably entertained
at a Franciscan convent two miles farther on. At Gene-
zano, " our habitation was a ruined castle, without
glass in the windows, and destitute of almost every
other convenience of life. Hunger and fatigue, how
ever, enabled me to make a good meal of homely fare,
and to sleep soundly in a pair of hopsacks." He
visited, the next morning, a place' of great devotion,
the Sanctuary of " Our Lady of good counsel," in the
convent of the hermits of St. Augustin. Thence he
proceeded to Palestrina, the ancient Prseneste, and
rode thence through rich vineyards, by Monte Porzio,
where the English College has a country house, and
Monte Dragone, to Frascati, which he calls the Rich
mond Hill of the Christian capital. The intelligent
and excellent Cardinal de Somaglia had been enthroned
in the cathedral on the day that DR. MILNER arrived,
which event was celebrated with solemn services,
lusic, fireworks, and other demonstrations of joy.
But only a few hours afterwards there was an earth
quake, and the weather again became stormy, which
detained him another day. On the 27th he came to
Castle Gandolfi, " the Holy Father's country house,
where he was then enjoying a three weeks' partial
repose from the arduous and uninterrupted duties of
his sublime station I had nothing now to do
but to pursue my journey through the remains and
vestiges of aqueducts, temples, and other monuments
284 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNEB. [1815.
of remote antiquity, that cover the plains, to the Eter
nal City, which the Almighty was pleased to raise to
supreme empire, in order to make it afterwards the
head of his never failing religion. Roma caput
mundi, quidquid nonpossidet armis religione tenet."
CHAPTER SIXTEENTH.
LETTER OF DR. MOYLAN TO DR. MILNER AGAINST THE VETO. DR.
MURRAY'S ACCOUNT OF HIS MISSION TO ROME. DR. MILNER'S
SPIRITUAL RETREAT AT ROME. HIS ADMIRATION OF THE
ORDER OF PASSIONISTS. HE RETURNS TO ENGLAND. DR.
POYNTER AT ROME. HIS APOLOGETICAL EPISTLE. PARTICU
LARS ABOUT DR. MILNER ON HIS RETURN. VISITS OSCOTT,
CAVERSWALL AND WINCHESTER. HIS AFFECTION FOR HIS OLD
CHAPEL AT WINCHESTER. HE REJECTS PROPOSALS OF AD
DRESSES AND PRESENTATIONS TO HIM. LETTER OF CARDINAL
LITTA FROM GENOA. ALARM OCCASIONED BY IT IN IRELAND.
RESOLUTIONS OF THE IRISH BISHOPS. DEPUTATION FROM
THEM TO ROME. CALUMNIES AGAINST DR. MILNER. HONOUR
ABLE REPARATION BY O'CONNELL. DR. MILNER's ESTEEM FOR
HIM.
EAELY in the year 1815, DE. MILNER received at Rome
a remarkable letter from his friend DR. MOYLAN,
Bishop of Cork, dated from that city, December- 7,
1814, containing his sentiments on the Veto. It was
one of the last letters of that excellent and highly
revered Prelate, and deserves to be preserved in this
biography.
" Mr DEAR AND HONOURED LORD,
" I am the oldest of the Catholic Prelates in
this kingdom, and expect soon to appear before the
AGE 63.]
CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 285
awful tribunal of the Almighty Judge, in whose sacred
presence I solemnly declare, that any compromise made
or control what ever given to our Protestant Government,
or ministers, in the appointment or nomination of the
Catholic Bishops or clergy of this kingdom, or any in
terference whatsoever, or influence over them, in the
exercise of their spiritual functions, will eventually lead
to the subversion of our venerable hierarchy, and in
consequence to the ruin of the Catholic religion in
this long suffering and oppressed Catholio country.
It would most certainly cause the greatest dissatisfac
tion in the minds of the Catholic body, lessen their
attachment and respect to the Holy See, and by
degrees dispose them for every bad change. But
under our present enlightened and most venerable
Pontiff, we have nothing to apprehend. The Al-
lighty God has preserved him from his enemies, and
restored him to his Church, for its support, and the
glory of his own holy name. Could I presume, through
you, my dear and honoured Lord, to present the
sincere homage of my heart to the holy Father,
prostrate most humbly at his sacred feet, I kiss them
with all my reverence, respect, and affection, and on
my knees I most earnestly supplicate his paternal bene
diction."
Though no answer from DR. MILKER has been pre
served, no doubt he hastened to lay before the Pope
these edifying sentiments and wishes of the venerable
Prelate : and it is to be hoped that an answer reached
Dr. Moylan before his death, which happened very
shortly after, on the 10th of February, 1815, in the
eightieth year of his age. He was a long cherished
friend of DR, MILNER s, and a Prelate of exemplary
life and apostolic firmness. Of this he gave a remark-
286 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1815.
able proof at the meeting of the Irish Bishops in May,
1814. Some of the Prelates were recommending the
expediency of a little delay, when DR. MOYLAN rose,
and, brought them at once to a unanimous decision by
these memorable words : " Let us put expediency
out of consideration : let us consider what is right,
and let us act like Irish Bishops."
On the 15th of February, a deputation from the Irish
Catholic Association waited on the Most Eeverend Dr.
Murray, who had returned to Dublin, and received
from him some very important and interesting informa
tion relative to his late mission to Rome. His Grace
stated that he had gone thither as the delegate of the
Irish Bishops, for the sole purpose of remonstrating
against the Rescript of Monsignor Quarantotti ; that
the said Rescript had been recalled by the Pope, and
the matters contained in it referred to a special Congre
gation. He expressed his conviction that when their
opinion should be reported to his Holiness, who had
reserved to himself the right to pronounce definitively
on the subject, he would be influenced solely by a
regard for the spiritual welfare of the Irish Catholics,
and not by any interference of the British ministry, or
any other temporal consideration. In answer to an
inquiry from the deputation, whether any communica
tion from the English Board, or any other English
Catholics had reached Rome, his Grace replied that
Mr. Macpherson had presented an address to the Pope
from some Catholic body, which he believed to be the
English Board, praying his Holiness to confirm the
Rescript ; but that DR. MILNER had protested against
Mr. Macpherson as the English agent, and also against
the Board being considered to represent the English
Catholics.
AGE 63.] CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 287
Before DR. MILNER quitted Rome, he made an
edifying spiritual retreat at the Convent of the
Passionists, St. John and Paul's, where he had all
along resided. Of this retreat, the paper of exercises
and notes, in his own hand, lies now before the writer,
heing partly in Italian, partly in Latin, and partly in
English. It began on the 14th of March, and ended
on the 21st. He has carefully written down the dis
tribution of his time, and the various exercises of the
day. At first Jie notes the hour according to the
Italian mode of reckoning, and the English hour by
the side of it ; but he grows tired of this, and contents
himself towards the end with marking the English
hour alone. The paper, however, is a real curiosity,
and the reader will^ not be sorry to find it here
verbatim.
St. Giovdn $ Paolo.
X Impiego del Tempo negli Esercizi spirituali.
Martii 14, fin. al. 21.
Mattina.
Ora 1x5 Levata.
1-f , 6 Medit. in Cappella.
In Stanza per riflettere a quanto si e oscoltato e
notare i lumi avuti, ed i buoni proponimenti.
Ora 3-8, Missa. Via Crucis.
In stanza. Libro spirit, ove esame della coscienza.
Ora 4-|, 9-f Lezione e Biforma.
Pranzo.
Indi alia Cappella per ringraziare ed Angelus
Domini.
Ora 8-1, Eetiro. Eiposo.
Sera.
19-2, Fine del Eiposo.
19-1, 2-1, Visita al SS. Sacram.
288 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER.
[1815.
Ritiro in stanza lettura ove esame di coscienza.
20-3f , Lezione commune nel cappella.
Passegio nel orto.
22-5 |, Meditazione.
Eitiro in stanza ruminando, I ,c., con notarli in carta
Cena in Refettorio.
Ritiro in stanza.
8, II Rosario e esame particolare in cappella.
8J, Riposo dopo 3 ave Maria in onore della Purita
B.M.V.
Meditatio. Devotio erga Xtum passum et M. Dolo-
rosam. Humilitas et mansuetudo. Fuga periculorum.
Then follow a series of resolutions in English, some
of which, being of a private character, cannot with pro
priety be given here ; but the following will be perused
with admiration and edification.
" I resolve with God's grace and the prayers of B. V.
to rise Winter and Summer at six. To salute J. Xt.
crucified and B.V. adolorata. After this and other
prayers, Mental prayer for half an hour. Then read
Scripture and prepare for Mass. After breakfast,
Little Hours. Before dinner, Examen. Pious Reading
or Prayer.
" Vespers and Complin immediately before, or after
dinner.
" Spiritual Reading afternoon. Grace, Rosary,
Sacred Heart.
" Matins and Lauds before or after supper.
Stinted measure of meat and drink.
" To be in bed at eleven."
DR. MILNER had a great esteem for the Order of
the Passionists, and often used to speak of them with
admiration and preference. He used to say that
though he should not live to see them established in
AGE 63.] CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 289
England, they would be so, and he assured the nuns at
Caverswall, that some of them would see the Pas-
sionists going about in their habits. They were much
struck with the fulfilment of this, when a few years
after DR. MILNER' s death,, a congregation of these
religious were established near them, at Aston. In
a Letter in the " Orthodox Journal" dated August
18, 1815, in which he expresses a strong wish that a
continuation of Butler's Lives of the Saints might be
undertaken, which was in part performed subsequently
by Mr. C. Butler, he mentions several holy personages
of modern times, but dwells particularly on the vene
rable founder of the Passionists, Paul of the Cross, who
has since been beatified. He gives a most edifying
and remarkable account of the affection and devotion
of that holy man for our country, and his constant
prayers and aspirations for the conversion of England.*
The venerable Pontiff, Pius VII., was as benign to
DR. MILNER at his final audience, as he had been at
the first. But Napoleon had now quitted Elba, and
disembarked near Antibes, on the 1st of March ; and
Murat was by this time approaching the frontiers of the
Ecclesiastical States. The Pope therefore judged it
advisable to quit his capital for greater security. He
did so on the 22nd of March, and on the 3rd of April
he made his solemn entry into Genoa ; thirteen Car
dinals arrived there on the day following. DR. MILNER
left Rome also for Genoa : and soon after proceeded
to England by Milan, Basle, Frankfort, Cologne, and
Brussels. He arrived in London on the 2nd of June,
1815. His mission to Rome had been successful :
his cause was judged to be right, and his firm and
* " Orthodox Journal" for August, 1815, p. 307.
U
290 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1815.
intrepid character was so firmly established in Home
that he used to be styled there the English Athanasius.
On his return, he frequently entertained his friends
with very interesting accounts of his journey and
adventures ; and he used to say that now he had seen
all that he wished to see in this world.
At the close of the year 1814, Dr. Poynter, the
Vicar Apostolic of the London District, left England
for Rome. During his stay in the Eternal City, he
drew up his " Apologetical Epistle" to the Prefect of
Propaganda, Cardinal Litta, against the charges
brought against him and the other Vicars Apostolic
by DR. MILNER. It is dated at Rome, March 15,
1815, and is a very long document of nearly forty
octavo pages. It was the intention of the Holy See to
take it into consideration after Low Sunday ; but the
Pope was obliged to leave Rome in Holy Week, March
22, so that the proceedings were prevented. The
document was not meant to be made public, and was
not actually published till the latter part of 1820, when
it was translated and printed without the knowledge of
Dr. Poynter, by Mr. Charles Butler, shortly after the
appearance of DR. MILNER' s " Supplementary Me
moirs" to that gentleman's " Historical Memoirs of
Catholics" and in circumstances which will be better
understood later in the present biography, when the
subject shall be resumed. Reference, however, has
been already so frequently made to the contents of this
" Apologetical Epistle" in the preceding chapters, and
so many of its statements have been already examined,
that little will remain to be said upon it, when we reach
the period of its publication. It was taken into conside
ration by the proper authorities during the Pope's resi
dence at Genoa ; but " it does not appear to have even
AGE 63.] CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 291
modified the impression that DR. MILNER pursued the
right course, although rather too warmly. Dr. Poynter,
indeed, was complimented as an excellent Prelate ;
but this, with its accompaniment of a painfully cool
reception, was scarcely so full an exculpation as he him
self had requested."*
DR. MILKER, as already stated, arrived in London,
June 2, 1815. He soon paid a visit to his beloved
college, St. Mary's, Oscott. Every one was struck
with his healthy and animated appearance : he wore
his white hair more flowing than formerly, which
added still more to his venerable appearance ; and we
thought him every way improved by his continental
travels, and residence at Kome. Like most of those
who have been some time there, he had fallen into the
Italian mode of pronouncing Latin ; which, however,
he managed so awkwardly and imperfectly, that his
confusion of the Roman and English pronunciation
was strangely remarkable. If the maxim be just :
Cum Romce fueris, Romano vivito more, surely in
England it is equally proper to drop the Italian, and
keep to our own pronunciation of Latin. But no man
was farther from singularity or affectation than DR.
MILNER, and his Italian pronunciation of Latin gradu
ally wore off.
He had brought from Rome several precious relics.
The writer of these pages, being in his room with him
at Wolverhampton shortly after his return to England,
begged of him with much diffidence to give him some
small relic. The good Bishop directed him to open a
certain drawer, and told him that there he would find
* " Hist, of the Church in England," by Canon Flanagan,
vol. ii. p. 434.
292 LIFE OF BISHOP MILNER. [1815-
a number of holy relics which he had brought back with
him, and gave him leave to take whatever he liked, except
ing only the filings from St. Peter's chains, of which he
said he had been able to procure so little, that he
could not spare any. He opened a small paper,
and allowed the writer to see and venerate the precious
filings, and then left him to help himself to portions of
any of the other relics. He took some of SS. Candidus,
Epimachus, Felicitas and Victoria, as also a small
piece of the cloak and habit of the holy founder of the
Passionists, B. Paul of the Cross. He also took
small portions of the fine black hair and of the cassock
and shirt of the holy Pope Pius VII., all of which he
still preserves, with the additional gratification of hav
ing received them from DR. MILNER.
The good Bishop also paid visits, soon after his
return, to the communities at Caverswall Castle and
Winchester. He continued to be the confessor extra
ordinary of the latter, which of course caused him to
visit it at least every year. On one of those occasions,
being as usual at the house of his great friend, the
Rev. Thomas White, who had succeeded to the mis
sion at Winchester on the 7th of July, 1810, DR.
MILNER went to pray in his old and favourite chapel.
A female of the congregation happening to go into
the gallery of the chapel, observed him kneeling in
devout prayer at the sanctuary rails. She had gone
in softly, and remained perfectly quiet, so that he
was quite unconscious of any one's being in the
chapel. After some time he rose up, and took a long,
steady view of the whole of the sanctuary. He then
turned round, and walked slowly down the chapel,
surveying every window and fresco as he proceeded,
and looking earnestly at each object, as if unwilling to
AGE 63.] CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 293
leave it. At last, he got fairly into the porch, when
the woman heard him say, in a low voice, but with
much emphasis and feeling : " Oh, my dear chapel !"
On the return of DR. MILNER from Eome, several
proposals were made from different quarters to testify
the admiration and gratitude of the Catholic body
towards him. One was to publish his portrait, another
to present to him an address of congratulation on his
great exertions in the cause of religion, and on the
successful accomplishment of his mission to Rome.
Another was to present him with a rich crozier, or
valuable piece of altar plate for his own chapel. But
the noble-minded and disinterested Prelate would listen
to none of these proposals. St. Bernard says : " It is
truly a great and rare virtue, when you do great things,
and yet are wholly unconscious of your own greatness:
when your sanctity is known to all, but to yourself
alone unknown : when you appear to all admirable,
and in your own eyes contemptible. This I judge
more wonderful than the virtues themselves."* And
this virtue the great MILNER undoubtedly possessed.
He had no idea of his own excellence : he merely
considered that he had done what he ought to do, and
was after all but an unprofitable servant. He hastened
therefore to reject all these honorable proposals, and in
a short Letter in the Orthodox Journal, he thus nobly
expressed him self: " The undersigned having seen in
your Journal for last month, proposals for subscrip
tions and other measures, by way of doing him public
* " Magna et rara virtus profecto est, cum magna operaris,
magnum te nescire : cum omnibus note si 
