Old Virginia and her neighbours

170 OLD VIRGINIA AND HER NEIGHBOURS.the Catholics from increasing in numbers and theinfluence which ability and character always wield.They were preeminently the picked men of thecolony. Entire suppression of their forms ofworship had been recognized as impracticable.Anact of 1704 had allowed priests to perform religiousservices in Roman Catholic families, thoughnot in public. From this permission advantagewas taken to build chapels as part of privatemansions, so that the family with their guestsmight worship God after their manner, relyingupon the principle that an Ensjlishman'sChange in^..t^ c ithe political housc ISihis castlc. Bv somc of thesesituation.^ •-i -ipeople it was hoped that therestorationof the palatinate would revive their political rightsand privileges. But this renewal of the palatinatewas far from restoring the old state of things.The position of the fifth Lord Baltimore was verydifferent from that of the second and third.Theywere Catholic princes, and were steadily supportedby two Catholic kings of England. The newproprietor was a Protestant, dependent upon thefavour of a Protestant king. The features of theold palatinate government, therefore, which lendthe chief interest to its history, were never restored.Catholic citizens remained disfranchised,and continued to be taxed for the support of achurch which they disapproved.An interesting project was entertained aboutCharlesCarroll.^^^^^time, by Charles Carroll and otherCatholic gentlemen, of leading a migrationto the Mississippi valley, thus transferringtheir allegiance from Great Britain to France.