While a direct proof of the hoftility of the ruling powers of France against Christianity

is

Yet are they the only poffeffors of extenfive tracts of land, beautiful female flaves, excellent horses, magnificent palaces! Have they then received an exclufive privilege from the Almighty? If fo, let them produce it. But the Supreme Being, who is juft and merciful towards all mankind, wills that in future none of the inhabitants of Egypt shall be prevented from attaining to the firft employments and the highest honours.-The Administration, which fhall be conducted by perfons of intelligence, talents, and forefight, will be productive of happiness and fecurity. The tyranny and avarice of the Beys have laid wafte Egypt, which was formerly fo populous and well cultivated.

The French are true Muffulmen. Not long fince they marched to Rome, and overthrew the Throne of the Pope, who excited the Chriftians against the profeffors of Islamism (the Mahometan religion). Afterwards they directed their courfe to Malta, and drove out the unbelievers, who imagined they were appointed by God to make war on the Muffulmen. The French have at all times been the true and fincere friends of the Ottoman Emperors, and the enemies of their enemies. May the Empire of the Sultan therefore be eternal; but may the Beys of Egypt, our oppofers, whofe infatiable avarice has continually excited difobedience and infubordination, be trodden in the duft and annihilated!

Our friendship fhall be extended to those of the inhabitants of Egypt who fhall join us, as also to those who shall remain in their dwellings, and obferve a strict neutrality; and when they have seen our conduct with their own eyes, haften to fubmit to us; but the dreadful punishment of death awaits thofe who fhall take up arms for the Beys, and against us. For then there fhall be no deliverance, nor shall any trace of them remain.

Art.

k

is afforded by the perfecution and oppreffion exercised against its profeffors, and indirect, but

Art. t. All places which fhall be three leagues distance from the route of the French army, fhall fend one of their principal inhabitants to the French General, to declare that they submit, and will hoift the French flag, which is blue, white and red.

Art. 2. Every village which fhall oppofe the French army, fhall be burned to the ground.

Art. 3. Every village which shall submit to the French, fhall hoift the French flag, and that of the Sublime Porte, their Ally, whofe duration be eternal.

Art. 4. The Cheiks and principal perfons of each town and village shall feal up the houses and effects of the Beys, and take care that not the smallest article fhall be loft:

Art. 5. The Cheiks, Cadis, and Imans, fhall continue to exercise their respective functions; and put up their prayers, and perform the exercise of religious worship in the mosques and houfes of prayer, All the inhabitants of Egypt fhall offer up thanks to the Supreme Being, and put up public prayers for the deftruction of the Beys.

May the fupreme God make the glory of the Sultan of the Ottomans eternal, pour forth his wrath on the Mameloucs, and render glorious the deftiny of the Egyptian Nation.

*« If there is any thing that meets with discouragement from government in this country, that refers to public inftruction, it is the remains of the Roman Catholic Religion, which, with all the letters and laws of tolerance which have been paffed, has not been able to raise itself up from under the crush of the interdict which the combined powers of philofophy and terror have laid on it." Mr. Stone's intercepted letter to Dr. Prieftley, printed for J. Wright, 1798, p. 25.

R 2

Mr.

but ample, atteftation to the fame fact is ob tained, by the new and popular fect of the Theophilanthropists. Nor is this the leaft curious feature in the important afpect of the prefent times-While they profefs to act folely upon the principles of natural, they boldly borrow the truths of revealed, Religion; while they affect to attain their knowledge by fentiment and reafon only, they unblushingly tranfcribe into their code, whole pages of the infpired Volumes. This fect must therefore have taken its rife from one of these two motives; either fome perfons feeling the neceffity and importance of establishing some religious principle, as a fupport to moral virtue, yet aware that Christianity would not be tolerated by the Government, have borrowed the

Mr. Stone is in the fecret, and is the advocate for the meafures of the prefent French Government-It is natural therefore to fuppofe, that, in his Philofophical Dictionary, transportation to Cayenne, is fynonymous with tolerance.

"You have heard, no doubt, of the new fect which now has ufurped every church in Paris, under the name of Theophilanthropifm. This fect is prohibited by the government." Ibid.

Mr. Stone incautiously tells the real truth in the first fentence. Is it poffible that, under the prefent ftrong and defpotic Government of France, a fect prohibited by it, fhould have ufurped all the churches in Paris?

m See the manual of the Theophilanthropes, tranflated by John Walker, particularly p. 14—17.

fanctions

fanctions of Revelation, but concealed the fource from whence they are derived, in order to avoid the combined perfecution of philosophy. and terror;—or its founders have co-operated with the wishes and views of the ruling powers, and, perceiving that fome religion, is indefpenfably neceffary to the feelings and wants of mankind, in order to prevent those wants from being relieved, and those feelings from being gratified by the effectual aid of Christianity, have formed a religious system, from which the very idea of Revelation is excluded,

.

The directory, incensed to desperation by the nearly total deftruction of their fleet in the Mediterranean, where the peculiar favour of Providence has added another victory to our naval glories of the prefent war, has recourfe to new requifitions to prop up the coloffus of its power, and strengthen its enormous domination ". At the fame time it is particularly

"A new requifition has been impofed throughout France, more fevere than any former one. Perfons evading it, are difqualified from the fucceffion to hereditary and other property. It is likewife decreed, that no person can legally marry, without having previously served in the army during the term of four years." Sun Paper, Oct. 1, 1798..

to be remarked, that they continually furnish a juftification of the sketch which we have endeavoured to draw, of the recent horrors of France; for, during the celebration of a public feftival, when the Directory are proclaiming the greatnefs and the fame of the Republic, they advert almost involuntarily to the crimes and miferies of the Revolution. "Let us leave to restless and discontented spirits, the task of throwing a little fhade on the picture of our glory, by preferving in a few minds a hatred for the Revolution, by inceffantly holding up to our view the melancholy image of the calamities by which it has been accompanied; as if the enormities of guilt could difgrace the work of virtue •.'

Such is the Infidel power that has arisen in France-fuch the conduct of the Pilofophifts and their disciples, who, while they found their own praifes through the world, cannot conceal their true nature, difpofition, and crimes, under the mask of Republican virtue P. PreJumptuous-felf-willed-defpifing dominionnot ashamed to Speak evil of dignities-promifing

This is part of the fpeech of Treilhard, Prefident of the Directory, on the Fête of the foundation of the Republic. Morning Chronicle, Oct. 5, 1798.

Introductory Chapter, vol. i. p. 363, 364, 365.

men