Old English Catholic Missions. By John Orlebar Payne. (Burns and
Oates.)—The meaning of the title may not be at first sight obvious to the reader. The volume gives a transcript of the registers kept by the priests of various Roman Catholic congrega- tions during the time when the penal laws were in operation. Many of these are here printed, and we agree that a like security should be given to those that remain in MS. The records have a genealogical value, and also some interest as giving information about the internal condition of the Roman Catholic communities before the passing of the Emancipation Act. Mr. Payne's preface would have been improved if it had been written in what we may call a better temper. Of course it is difficult for the adherent of a persecuted faith to speak with moderation of the times of per- secution. But a Roman Catholic might remember that the treat- ment which he censures was milder than that sometimes dealt out by his own Church when it was in power.
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