THE HISTORY OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND
SHOWING HOW THAT EVENT HAS IMPOVERISHED THE MAIN BODY OF THE PEOPLE
IN THOSE COUNTRIES
IN A SERIES OF LETTERS ADDRESSED TO ALL SENSIBLE AND JUST ENGLISHMEN
By
WILLIAM COBBETT
LETTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Kensington, 29th November, 1824
MY FRIENDS,
1. WE have recently seen a rescript from the King to the Bishops,
the object of which was, to cause them to call upon their Clergy to
cause collections of money to be made in the several parishes
throughout England, for the purpose of promoting what is called the
"religious education" of the people. The Bishops, in conveying their
instructions, on this subject, to their Clergy, direct them to send
the money thus collected to a Mr. JOSHUA WATSON, in London, who, it
seems, is the Treasurer of this religious education concern, and who
is, or lately was, a wine and spirit dealer, in Mincing-lane,
Fenchurch-street. This same Mr. WATSON is also the head man of a
society, called the "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge." The
present Bishop of Winchester, in his first charge to the Clergy of
his diocese, says, that this society is the "correct expounder of
evangelical truth, and firm supporter of the established Church;" and
he accordingly strongly recommends that the publications put forth by
this society be put into the hands of the scholars of those schools,
to promote which, the above-mentioned collections were made by royal
authority.
2. We shall, further on, have an opportunity of asking what sort of
a Clergy this must be, who, while they swallow, in England and
Ireland, about eight millions a year, call upon their parishioners
for money to be sent to a wine and spirit merchant, that he may cause
the children of the country to have a "religious education." But not
to stop, at present, for this purpose, pray observe, my friends, that
this society for "promoting Christian knowledge" is continually
putting forth publications, the object of which is to make the people
of England believe that the Catholic religion is "idolatrous and
damnable;" and that, of course, the one-third part of the whole of
our fellow subjects are idolaters, and are destined to eternal
perdition, and that they, of course, ought not to enjoy the same
rights that we Protestants enjoy. These calumniators know well, that
this same Catholic religion was, for nine hundred years, the only
Christian religion known to our forefathers. This is a fact which
