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    ther on the throne . The forte of the Spaniards is very considerable , and the English , under Sir Arthur Weilesley , have marched into the country to cooperate with tfiem . But it is difficult to judge of the effect of this co-operation ; we know not sufficiently the strength of the French . The Junta is

    at Seville , issuing its orders with ronfidence ; the , Gall © -Spanish King at Madrid , making judicious regulations for his new kingdom . Among them is the determination to allow the old stocks of the nation to be transferred

    in purchasing the alienated lands ; these consist chiefly of the iands of the church and the crown ; and the new purchasers , it is presumed , will be attached to the new order of things . Should , however , the King be driven from Madrid , it is not likely that he will travel far to the north of the Ebro ; but , keeping possession of a former position , remain there till his imperial brother brings him effectual assistance .

    From Portugal accounts have been received of the conduct of the French in that country , and in them is a relation which shews the depraved state of the inhabitants , and the ease with which ambition acquieses in the most impious practices . At Matozinos is a church ,

    containing one of their abominations under the nam « of the image of ^ our Lord the good Jesus of Bowzas . This image is worshipped with very great devotion , under the idle tales of some miracles performed by it , and , in consequence , is resorted to from all quarters , and the priests and inhabitants of the

    place shout out ks praises , as the JEphesians of old proclaimed the greatness of their Diana . To ingratiate himself with the people , Marshal Souk , with a great body of officers , paid a visit to this pretended miraculous image , pros-^ atinig themselves before it , and paying tjhat tribute of respect and reverence

    which the newspaper of Oporto blasphemously asserts , " reli g ion requires of those , who arc animated with the spirit of Christianity . " Not content with this despicable homage , this degradation of human nature , the marshal declares , in the . presence o £ this carved log , that in thtrname and ctn . the part of the Emperor , he dedicates for ever to the church

    a silver lamp , with the funds necessary to keep it continually burning ; and he in&de a farther offering of two large « mjr candlesticks , and resolved to dou-

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    ble the stipend of the rector , and the salary of the sacristan . This vow he confirmed by a decree , and the act is applauded as an irresistible argument against the calumniators of the French , on the score of irreligion . Thus the calamities that have fallen upon the un « happy nation , have not cured it of its

    evil deeds , in worshipping images o £ gold , and silver , and brass , and stone , and wood , which can neither see , nor hear , nor go * But let not the reader inveigh too presumptuously against the sins of this nation ! Ask yourself , if I had been born at Matozinos , should I not have

    been a Worshipper of this image ? I live in a . protestant country , where better helps for religious * knowledge exist j where the scriptures are open to me £ where it is my own fault , if I form , my faith updn the idle dreams of nurses , or the tales of interested priests . At M ^ ar ^ tozinos the infant mind was imbued

    with the poison of blasphemy , and , as the child grew up , the terrors of priestcraft destroyed every avenue to inquiry . How have I acted ! Whom da I worship ! Dp I read my Saviour ' s laws , and obey them , from love to him , oi * do I take upon trust human traditions , and follow the opinions of those around

    me without examining the foundations on which they rest ? Do I study tha scriptures , to take from them my opinions , or do I carry my opinions to the scriptures , and make them bend to my prejudices ? How many protestants are there , who will be shocked at * the image

    at Matozinos ; yet , If they do not fall down before wood and stone , they ben 4 their knees at a name invented in ' a bar"barous age , and address the god of Je sus Christ in a manner , fojr which they can find no sanction either in the precepts or the examples of their

    Saviour-India affords melancholy intelligence of the spreading of the flames of war , and of the calamities tb whicn , in consequence , the Christians of Travancore , who have been settled there for many ages-, havebeen subjected . The origin of this treatment has been attributed , at home , to some connection with the mis * -

    sionaries in that quarter ; but we shatV suspend our opinion till we have received the accounts of it from those who direct the affairs of tlie minion . There cannot be a doubt or the readiness of many persons to lay blame upon the zeal of those who wish for the sheading of Christianity in the east ; and , if

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    State of Public Affaits . 403

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    T IV , 3 C

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1809, page 403, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1738/page/49/