NARRATIVE OF THE CONTROVERSY; AND OF THE SUFFERINGS OF THE AUTHOR. BURLINGTON, VERMONT, MARCH 17TH, THE WHAT shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and the glory thereof as the flower of the field. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen; but the word of our Lord endureth for ever. Amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle will not pass from the law. Notwithstanding every one useth violence towards it; particularly in those days when the falling off from the law and the Prophets, is so daring and general, that the end of the world seems not far distant. People, when first they are carried away from the law, through pride, ambition, the lust of the flesh, or love of sordid gain, find within, a monitor teasing and tormenting them; now it reminds the prodigal child of his lost dignity, and of his misery amidst the swine in the desert, and then it urges him to return with confidence to the bosom of his merciful Father. These motions and feelings of the fallen soul, are but calls and graces from Providence, who wills not the death of the sinner. At one time he pays a visit by sickness or worldly afflictions; and at another, he pictures before us the eternal suffering of the damned, or the endless joy of the blessed As he says, Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise; be zealous, therefore, and do penance. Behold, I stand at the gate and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in and will sup with him and he with me: Apoc. iii. 19. But lastly, if they correspond not with the graces or calls from heaven if their heart is grown gross, and with the ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have shut to the calls of their merciful Father, they become habitual sinners, and are allowed, without aid or light from above, to follow the bent of their corrupt heart. Thus saith the Lord, For three crimes of Juda, and for four, I will not convert him. Amos ii. I called upon you, but you answered me not, you will call upon me, and I will not answer you. Then, indeed are the poor sinners in a miserable state. Of all the vices that defile and deprave the human heart, avarice, the root of all evils, is the most abhorrent and difficult of cure; whilst all others wither and cool in his declining years, this gains more strength and fury; and what renders the prospect of amendment still more remote and arduous, almost all ranks and stations, the young and the old, the male and the female, the bond and the freeman, are more or less infected; all aiming, though by different routes, at the temple of Mammon. When vice thus spreads through the community, assuming the garb of virtue, who could think of resisting it? That usury would ever be adopted, in any Christian country, as the means of making riches, puzzles all people that have not lost, or never received the light of faith: they are for ever discussing the question in public and in private ; in the school and at table; never finding any balm or palliative for it in the Sacred Rules-Scripture and Tradition. : During this state of perplexity on the part of the pious few, the misers and the avaricious pursue their money projects. No arguments from religion would deter them from their usurious practices and what sinks them deeper still in the mire, very few will have courage to remind them of their error. Any writer who looks to pounds, shillings and pence; or whose livelihood depends on the sale of his works, dares not attack the favorite passion of the rich. If he do, he will surely suffer shipwreck for the bankers, moneychangers, pawn brokers, fund-holders, and all other adorers of Mammon, will at once league against him. They, the most noisy and influential orators in society, will single out the devoted victim, and chase himself and his writings from the face of the land. This is the cause why so few have raised the voice or pen against usury. None but the priest who is free from worldly incumbrances or expectations, would undertake a task at once thankless, fruitless, and dangerous. This little book has, since its first publication in New York, in the year 1824, had two editions in London. Although it militates against the strongest of the human passions, and against the most potent classes of society, it has not hitherto received a censure or an attempt of reply from any quarter. On the contrary, people of all persuasions and professions, often declare that it cannot be gainsayed without discarding the whole Christian religion. However, as I find but obloquy and persecution in quarters where my doctrine should meet co-operation, I never would try a fourth edition, were there the least probability that any other person possessing means, talents, or authority, would at any future time, take up the subject. But as Jesus said to him, No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom. of heaven, I must persevere and endeavor to put the candle upon the candlestick. In narrating the Facts that originally carried me into this controversy, and the motives that regulated my future career, I stand upon dangerous and slippery ground: for who could have the vanity of thinking that any portion of his life would interest or edify the public? What Christian could, with safety, become his own biographer? Particularly as it is written, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me and again, In thy sight, O Lord, no man living shall be justified; and again, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; and again, I know not whether I am worthy of love or of hatred. Therefore it is not only dangerous, but also bordering on folly, for any frail man to relate his deeds. Would to God that you would bear with some little of my folly, but do bear with me, 2 Cor. xi. 1, kind reader, whilst I relate but the few of my trials and afflictions, that may enable you to form a true conception of the facts and doctrine that are submitted to your consideration. My parents, Jeremiah O'Callaghan, and Mary Twohig, lived J at Dooneens, a small village near Macroom, County of Cork, Ireland. She departed this life in 1795, and he, in the year 1812. O God, who hast commanded us to honor father and mother, in thy clemency have mercy on the souls of my father and mother, and forgive their sins, and grant that I may see them in the joy of eternal glory, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. They had seventeen children, who are all, excepting two brothers, also departed. I, being the eighth son, was born about the year 1780, and named after my father. They had no estates, or large possessions to bequeath; but they bequeathed what is more precious-good example, and pious instruction. They taught us to love God above all things, and to shudder at any, even the smallest violation of his law; to love our neighbor for God's sake, and never to turn our face from the poor man. And, I see, when nearly all my family have embarked into eternity, and when the world with her deceitful allurements is fast receding from myself, that my parents' was the best legacy that could be made. : Am now, 1834, in the 54th year of my age, the 29th of my Priesthood, and in the 15th of my sufferings for justice sake. Glory and praise be to God, who said, Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If we will not suffer with him, we cannot be glorified with him; and through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of heaven. Having received minor orders from the learned Dr. Lanigan, Bishop of Kilkenny, and Priesthood from Dr. Coppinger Bishop of Cloyne and Ross, with whom I afterwards. differed about usury, I got my first mission in the Island of Cape Clear, well known to mariners, on the southern coast of Ireland. Here had I been not more than four months, when usury that never before attracted much of my attention fell thus under my consideration. The Roman Catholic Clergy of Ireland have, from time immemorial, the custom of holding monthly Conferences to nourish by discussion the stock of sacred science, which they had hoarded up in the school, to solve religious difficulties and to devise remedies for the spiritual and temporal wants of their respective flocks. The |