been presumed that these gallant officers had not exposed themselves to obloquy, disgrace, and ruin from any groundless or unnecessary scruples of conscience,-but that they had been placed in a situation in which they were bound, in the language of the earliest confessors of Christianity, to inquire "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto "men more than unto God, judge ye," and in which, as it appears to us, a Christian had no alternative, but to follow the obvious and distinct, though rugged and narrow path of duty.

In detailing the circumstances which occasioned the trial of Lieutenant Dawson, we feel that we cannot do better than quote an extract from his Letter to the Bishops. Like his printed defence, it is written in a manly, energetic style, and displays all that uncompromising steadiness of principle, tempered with the mild persuasiveness of Christian humility, which distinguishes this valiant soldier of the cross.

Placed, my Lords,' says Mr. D. in the course of duty, amidst a people who are sunk in the grossest superstition, and for whom Popery has done its worst to debase the mind, enslave the will, and delude the understanding, I beheld with horror the iniquitous absurdities of their idolatrous rites, among which rites none are more con. spicuous than the gorgeous procession of images to which they render the same worship and adoration paid to their idols by the Heathen. To these processions, my Lord, I knew the utmost importance to be attached by the native inhabitants, as being considered a necessary part of the worship due to their protecting saints. I knew also, that they are esteemed incomplete, unless accompanied by salutes and tolling of bells, which being conducted, sometimes by the inferior priests, at others by British soldiers, are simultaneous with the procession and public parade of the image, when it takes place, and are viewed as a direct act of homage to the same.

It was, my Lord, THE IMAGE OF ST. LORENZO THE TUTELAR SAINT OF THE CITY, which was thus to be honoured, together with him, in pursuance of the order of August, 1823, upon the anniversary of his Festival;-a day, my Lord, of no small importance to the Maltese, by whom he is worshipped as devoutly as the idol Juggernaut by any Hindoo. His image is then brought out from his. temple; and at the moment of his removal, amidst the applause of the multitude, the firing and tolling is expected to commence in the fort, the priesthood performing the same process at their church as they did upon August 9th.

Upon the receipt, my Lord, of the order, (which pointedly ap prized me, that it had been issued at the requisition of the Ecclesiastical authorities,) I felt conscious of the inconsistency of ordering Protestant soldiers to perform that which Papists consider a necessary part of the homage due to their saints; and reflection confirmed the impossibility under which I found myself of reconciling such a course

with my duties as a Protestant. It appeared to me that, by compliance, I, as a Protestant and Christian, should give encouragement and sanction to practices which, in either character, I had been taught to abhor. The matter stood simply thus :-God has repeatedly expressed his great abhorrence of idolatry, and forbidden any act of homage to be given to images, any worship to be paid to any other being than himself:-but the deluded people around me are blindly, are blasphemously attached to these their false gods,—their saints, their images; they consider the acts I am required to execute, (viz. firing and tolling,) as deeds of homage due to their honour and praise. Personally responsible to the Almighty Tribunal for my personal acts, can I, in violation of all my principles and conscientious feelings, consent to disgrace my character, and require others to relinquish theirs, by performing the part of a popish priest? Will any fancied responsibility upon the part of my superiors relieve me from the condemnation incurred by a breach of the second commandment? Reason says, no;-revelation confirms the voice: "the soul that sinneth it shall die." I cannot be the willing agent in paying this act of homage to a senseless block, and the conscious instrument of deluding others to do the same! As a CHRISTIAN, I cannot ;—as a PROTESTANT, I cannot;—and as a BRITISH SUBJECT, I may expect protection in my principles;-for these principles are at the very foundation of the Established Church, they are the principles of the Reformation.' Appendix, pp. 115, 16.

Such were the feelings, such the reflections of Mr. Dawson, when he received the order which expressly desired him to 'fire salutes' and to toll a bell during the procession [of the. image] from St. Angelo,' on the 9th and 10th instant, ́ being the eve and anniversary of St. Lorenzo, the Tutelar Saint of Vittoriosa.' In obedience, therefore, to the dictates of conscience, he addressed a respectful letter to his commandant, Major Addams, requesting that he might be exonerated from the execution of the order, in consequence of the difficulty in which he felt himself placed, in issuing orders to that effect to the men under his command; conceiving that he should thereby become a party to an idolatrous act of worship committed by those assembled to worship the image of St. Lorenzo.' After some further correspondence, in the course of which Mr. Dawson reiterated with the utmost deference these objections, Captain Atchison was, on the 9th of August, ordered to fire a salute, although he had a short time before expressed to Major Addams, in the course of a friendly conversation, his concurrence in Mr. Dawson's scruples. Indeed, the refusal of Captain Atchison seems to have been taken for granted, as the Major himself came to the fort, and, contrary to all military etiquette, ordered the salutes to be fired by a serjeant just as Captain A. was about to despatch a letter,

begging that his religious principles might plead his apology for declining to obey the order.

It is obvious from this statement of the established facts of the case, first, that the order was unlawful, inasmuch as it enjoined a direct participation in an idolatrous ceremony,-ȧ participation which would have been in the highest degree criminal and degrading in a Christian and a Protestant; and secondly, that neither Captain Atchison nor Lieutenant Dawson did actually disobey any order, since, at most, they only evinced a hesitation not amounting to actual disobedience. But it is not on such a ground as this, that we would argue so important a question. Capt. Atchison and Lieut. Dawson were prepared to die as martyrs, rather than consent to dishonour their God; and we are willing, if required, for the sake of argument, to admit that they actually did refuse to join in the idolatrous act.

In looking at the history of the proceedings which followed this memorable transaction every one must be struck with the delay which took place before any censure was passed on the conduct of these officers. Nor is it possible, even for the man of the world, who draws his conclusions, not from the law of God, but from the opinions of men, to shut his eyes to a fact which clearly implies how strongly the highest military authorities were impressed with the idea, that the order was in itself ' unlawful,' and might therefore be disobeyed with impunity. In the course of the correspondence to which we have alluded, Sir Manly Power sent a message to Lieutenant Dawson, enjoining on him obedience at his peril.' But when it appeared that this threat had not disturbed the firmness which was throughout displayed by this Christian hero, and when the salutes had been fired in the extraordinary manner we have. before mentioned, the whole affair seemed for a time to have died away. All the circumstances of the case were, indeed, officially brought under the cognizance of Sir Manly Power: he was then commanding in the Mediterranean, with full power to order into arrest, dismiss from the island, or convene courts-martial. Did he adopt any of these measures? Oh, no! The case, it seems, was too intricate and delicate for the unassisted sagacity and penetration even of Major-general Power; and for particular reasons,' says Colonel Raitt, it was judged prudent to await the arrival of His Excellency 'Sir Thomas Maitland.' Then, at length, one would at least imagine, that all was finally arranged, and that the line of conduct which the subsequent order from the Horse Guards determines to have been so clear, would have been at once perceived and adopted by the veteran experience of the gover

por of Malta. Far otherwise was the fact. The point was still too knotty to be easily unravelled; to cut it rashly, was dangerous; and two junior officers, who were afterwards accused of having set at defiance the vaunted discipline of the British army, were still permitted to go unmolested. Sir Thomas, in his turn, awaited the directions of His Grace the Duke of Wellington who having with characteristic decision ordered an arrest on the spur of the moment, required three months to deliberate, whether it might be safe to entrust the case to the decision of a court-martial. A court-martial was at length ordered to assemble, but with express instructions not to allow the accused to make a religious question of the case,' and, after a delay of seven months, proceeded to the trial of Captain Atchison and Lieutenant Dawson.

It was impossible, after all that had elapsed during this long interval, that these officers could, under any circumstances, have a fair trial by a court-martial. We are unwilling to speak harshly of Sir Thomas Maitland, as, in the midst of these proceedings, and before the trial commenced, he himself was suddenly summoned to appear before a more awful tribunal. But, in justice to those individuals who are suffering under the sentence of the court-martial, it is necessary to remark, that, although Sir Thomas Maitland appears to have been in some respects influenced by prudential motives, he seems to have thought himself at liberty to commit an act of injustice towards the alleged offenders, which it will be difficult to defend or to palliate. For it was among the last acts of his life, to publish a general order, denouncing their conduct in no very measured terms, holding them forth to the army as guilty of an offence meriting the severest punishment, and thus prejudicing their case by a document bearing on its front the stamp of high official authority, and addressed to those before whom the charge was shortly to be submitted for judgement.

But, as if it were not enough that two unbefriended officers in a foreign land should have been prejudged by their superiors as guilty of a high military crime,-that, for seven long months of suspense, they should have been held up to the scorn and derision of the thoughtless, the irreligious, and the profane; it was still further deemed just and proper to address the warrant for trial to Colonel Francesco Rivarola, of the R. Malta Fencibles, the only field officer in the island, whose country and religion ought to have disqualified him as a judge on this occasion. Yet, thus it was, that, in addition to the fearful odds arrayed against them, Captain A. and Mr. D. were compelled in their defence to urge home the charge of idolatry upon the Church of Rome, and to assert their rights

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as Protestants and their privileges as Englishmen, before a court over which presided a Roman Catholic and a foreigner, one who naturally heard with indignation the most imposing services and most gorgeous ceremonies of his church denounced as abominable in the sight of God, and one who little understood the tone or spirit of Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights.

Under such circumstances, it is not wonderful that the accused were hampered in their cross-examinations, and interrupted in their defence. It appears from the printed trial of Mr. Dawson, in which he displayed promptitude, acuteness, talent, and eloquence, that would have done honour to the most accomplished and experienced counsel,-that he was interrupted when he was proceeding to prove this proposition, so clear, yet so necessary to the establishment of his innocence, that, whether we consider the infinite offence to Al'mighty God which it includes, or the demoralizing influence and the injury which it entails upon society, idolatry is by far the most heinous crime of which man can be guilty.' After some discussion as to his right to introduce quotations from the Homilies of the Church of England in his defence, he was finally stopped; and, under those circumstances, he declined making any defence, intimating his intention to appeal from the decision of the court. His appeal was not made in vain. The court-martial was severely censured for their injustice, and ordered to re-assemble, to hear his defence, and to take it into their consideration. Their sentence was also so far mitigated, that, while they adjudged Mr. Dawson (as they before sentenced Captain A.) to be dismissed, they did not declare him, as they had done at first, incapable of ever serving his majesty in any military capacity whatsoever.'

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The only remaining part of these painful proceedings which demands our attention, is the letter from the Horse Guards, confirming the sentence, and commenting on the offence. We omit those parts of the letter which are, comparatively speaking, unimportant; but we cannot but notice certain positions, containing principles new to our constitution, and which, if generally adopted, would do more to undermine and overturn the Protestant religion, than a hundred acts made for granting equal rights to our Catholic fellow-subjects.

The first position advanced by his majesty's advisers in this order, runs thus:- His majesty considers it necessary to observe, that orders are lawful when issued by authorities legally constituted and competent to give them." Now, it will be observed, that this is apparently intended as a logical definition of the term lawful order; and further, that no dis