"Priests to fucceed them in the discharge of those

66

religious duties, when death, or any other event, "fhall have deprived the people of the fervices of those "who were then in office. But in the manner of pro

viding for this fucceffion of new Romith Priefts upon "the death of those now in Office, it is neceffary for "the Government to be very cautious. For, if they "neglect to make fome fafe and prudent provifion for "the regular fupply of new Priefts to fucceed to the

prefent fet upon the vacancies that will arife by death "or any other caufe, there is great reason to apprehend "that fresh Priefts will come into the Province, from "Old France, who will be attached to the interefts of "that Kingdom, and, perhaps, be employed by the "French Ministers of State, as fpies and emiffaries, to "keep-up a fpirit of difaffection in the minds of the "French, or Canadian, inhabitants of the Province "to the English Government, and a secret wish to be again fubject to the Crown of France. And, to "avoid this danger, the easiest and most prudent way "of proceeding feems to be to permit a Popish Bishop "of well-known Loyalty to the King of Great-Britain, "and who has refided for many years paft in the "Province, and who has few, or no, connections with "Old France, fuch as Monfieur Olivier Briand, to "refide in the Province in a very humble and private "manner, with a small revenue to fupport him; that " he might be ready, upon the vacancy of any Parish"Church in the Province, by the death of the incum"bent, immediately to ordain a new Prieft that had "been both born and bred in the Province, to be tr prefented to the faid vacant benefice; for which employments. there would, probably, be always a "fufficient number of young Candidates, both born

66

" and

and educated in the Province, because there is in "the Town of Quebeck a Seminary, or College, "of Roman Catholick Priefts, of about five or fix "in number, which has been long ago built and "endowed fufficiently with landed eftates for the "maintenance of the Priefts that belong to it, and "whofe duty it is to educate young men for the Ro"man-Catholick Prieft-hood. And it was alledged "that fuch an humble and private Bishop, who would "exercise no other of his Epifcopal powers but that of ordaining Priests, and that only at the requifition of "the Governour of the Province, and who might "therefore be confidered as a mere manufacturer of

66

Priefts, or (according to a French expreffion which "was at that time reported to have been used by Mr. "Oliver Briand himself upon the occafion,) un fimple "faiseur de prêtres, would be a very safe and conve"nient inftrument in the hands of the Governour for "carrying into execution the promise made to the "inhabitants of the Province, of tolerating the worship "of their Religion, without at the fame time incurring "the danger above-mentioned of admitting French "fpies into the Province under the character of Ro"man-Catholic Priefts."

This was the argument that I hear'd mentioned at the time, as that which had been employed by the advocates of this measure to prevail upon the King's Minifters of that time to confent to it, and which (enforced, probably, by the addrefs and eloquence of Mr. Edmund Burke,) proved fuccefsful. It is, however, in my opinion, rather fpecious than folid and fatisfactory. But, if it was perfectly juft and conclufive in favour of the measure of permitting a Popish Bishop to refide in the Province of Quebeck, it must at least be al

lowed

lowed that such ameasure ought not to have been adopted without the authority of an Act of Parliament, to take it out of the operation of the important and fundamental Statute above-mentioned of the 1ft of Queen-Elizabeth, which prohibits the exercise of any power derived from the Pope, not only in the Kingdom of England itself, and the dominions thereunto belonging at that time, but in all the dominions that shall belong to it at any future time. And therefore, for want of fuch an Act of Parliament to authorize it, the faid measure was illegal.

But, if it had been legal, it would not have been a prudent measure, notwitftanding the plaufibility of the foregoing argument in it's favour. For it was almost certain, that any Roman-Catholick Prieft who fhould be permitted to refide in the Province of Quebeck after having been confecrated Bishop of it, would (notwithstanding any declarations that he might have made to the English Government, in order to obtain fuch permiffion, "that he should confider himself only as an Ordainer of New Priefts when they should be wanted to fupply the vacant benefices, and would never exert any of the other powers belonging to his Epifcopal Office,)-I fay, it was almost certain that he would (notwithstanding fuch declarations) exert many other powers of his office over the Roman-Catholick inhabitants of the Province, which might have very important effects both on the Roman-Catholick Priefts and the laiety of the fame religion, and would probably greatly check and discourage both those descriptions of his Majefty's new, or Canadian, fubjects from converfing freely and affociating with the British inhabitants of the Province, and from reading the books of the New Teftament, and inquiring into the nature

of

of the Proteftant Religion and it's difference from that of the Church of Rome; of which inquiries the natural confequence would have been that many of them would have become converts to the Doctrine of the Church of England. And accordingly it was found that, when Mr. Oliver Briand returned into the Province of Quebeck, he took upon himself the title of Olivier Briand, par la Grace de Dieu et du Saint Siége, Evesque de Québec, and, after having, upon his arrival in the Province in June, 1766, declined the compliments usually paid to his predeceffors in that high office, and declared to his friends, " that he did not G6 come into the Province to be a Bishop upon the "fame high footing as his predeceffors in the time of "the French Government, and was not therefore "intitled, and did not defire, to be treated with the "fame ceremony and refpect as had been ufed towards "them, but that he was only un fimple faiseur de prêtres,

a mere Ordainer of New Priests," and having, for a month or two, worn only a common black gown, like the other Roman-Catholick Priests, he grew tired of this humble way of proceeding, and dreffed himself in a purple robe, with a golden crofs at his breast, which are the ufual enfigns of the Epifcopal dignity among the Roman-Catholicks; and afterwards he very freely exercised the tremendous powers of fufpending priests from the exercife of their clerical functions and depriving them of their benefices, and excommunicating and depriving perfons of the Sacraments, and interdicting divine worship in Churches and Chapels. Amongst other exercises of these high powers belonging to him as Bishop of Quebeck, he published a circular Letter to the Roman-Catholick inhabitants to exhort them to take arms for the Crown against the

other

other Americans in the beginning of the American war, in which he promised indulgencies to those who fhould comply with his exhortations, and threatened. those who fhould refufe to do fo, with excommunication. And by this Letter as well as by feveral acts of haughtiness and violence, he very much difgufted the Canadians, as my readers may fee by confulting the fecond volume of my Quebeck papers, in pages 111, 112, 113, 144. So different did his conduct in the Province, when in actual poffeffion of the office appear to be from that of the mere occafional ordainer of new priests, le fimple faiseur de prêtres, which he had promised to be when he follicited the permiffion to return to the Province after having been made it's Bishop.

As for the advantages that, it was pretended, would refult to the Province of Quebeck, from the permiffion given to a Popish Bishop to refide there, by furnishing a means of fupplying the vacant benefices with fresh Priests without admitting any to come there from Old France, they might eafily have been obtained without this dangerous and illegal measure, by pursuing the following plan. The Seminary, or College, of Quebeck, might have been preferved, with all its members and teachers of Popish divinity, and its revenues, (which are faid to amount to fix or feven hundred pounds fterling a year,) for the education of young Canadians to the profeffion of the Prieft-hood: and, when they had attained the proper age for taking orders in that Church, thefe young men might have been fent-over to England at the King's expence with the Governour's recommendation to his Majefty's Secretary of State for America, as young men of good behaviour and principles, that were fit to be made

Priefts