In one of his Exeter Hall speeches, Mr. APGhee said
that Mr. O'Connell had been prevented by his Bishops from denouncing the notes to the Rheimish Bible. But Mr. O'Connell. in a letter to Mr. Page, one of the Secretaries to the Protestant Association, has completely demonstrated the falsehood of this assertion of Mr. M'Ghee. By re- ference to his speeches in 1817, when public attention was first at- tracted to the Rheimish Bible, Mr. O'Connell proved, that he had characterized the doctrines inculcated in the notes to that Bible as dangerous, bigoted, and intolerant. Mr. Page, having no reply to offer to this proof of his reverend friend's disregard of truth, pretends that he cannot condescend to a correspondence with O'Connell ; and says that his first letter was merely official, and written at M‘Ghee's desire.
With regard to the publication of this Rheimish Bible, it appears that M•Ghee has been guilty of a suppression of dates, in order to make good a charge against the Catholic Bishops, that, after they had disclaimed the work in 1816, they patronized a republication of it in 1818.
It also appears that M‘Gbee is an old hand at literary fraud; for, nineteen years ago, having a quarrel with Dr. Phelan, of Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, a zealous and learned Protestant, respecting the extent of the licence for reading the Bible granted by the Catholic Church, be drew up a case for the decision of one of the Professors in May- nooth College, and another in Carlow College. He did this in the name of Dr. Phelan, whose opinions he misrepresented ; and was held up to scorn for for the cheat, in a pamphlet by the Doctor, who handled him very roughly. Yet this fellow presumes to act as the censor of the Catholics, and pretends to superior virtue ! There is not a decent mechanic in the land who would not be disgraced by asso- ciating with him.
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