The-papacy-its-history-dogmas-genius-and-prospects-wylie

MALTA AND AUSTRALIA. 533Church." According to other articles, it was enacted that,whoever should violate, hy word or gesture, any article of theRoman Catholic Church, should be punished with imprisonmentof from four to six months.* A refusal to uncoverwhen the host passed, or a word spoken against the Virginand the saints, would have subjected the person to thepenalties of the code. Here was a grievous encroachmenton the principle of British toleration, and a Jesuitical attemptto obtain legal recognition of the worship of the hostand the dogma of transubstantiation. A few days after theappearance of thisedict, mixed marriages were prohibitedin Malta and its dependencies, unless on the solemn promiseof the parties that the children of these marriages shouldbe brought up in the Romish faith. This affords a finesample of the intriguing and encroaching spirit of Jesuitismin all the British colonies. But on no field is Rome prosecutingher proselytising system so vigorously as in Australiaand Oceanica. She anticipates the future eminence of thisyoung empire, which assuredly it will never reach if shesucceed in imposing her yoke upon it. She will stereotypeits condition, as she has done that of Lower Canada. Meanwhileshe is sending to it shiploads of priests, sisters ofmercy, and Irish Catholics.It has been felt for many years,that the emigration from this country is so conducted as tofavour the spread of Popery in Australia. The vast proportionof those carried out thither at the public expense are* The history of this code finely illustrates the legislative genius ofRome, and the manner in which she would govern the world, were she itslawo-iver. The Maltese code was originally drafted in 1831. It was senthome by the government to be revised by ^Ir Sheriff Jameson of theScottish bar. Mr Jameson weeded it of its despotic principles, and madeOn its arrivalit thoroughly British in its genius and tolerant in its spirit.in Malta, the Roman bishop condemned the code "as an attempt to introduceequal protection of different creeds, as lately practised in new colonies.'" TheJesuits set to work, and soon made it fit to rank among the codes of thefourteenth century. The Romanists in Malta have given up the graduated"Dominant."scale, but retain the title