THE PORTUGUESE VERSION OF THE KALLEY AFFAIR

Port of Spain Gazette, Tuesday, November 10, 1846, p.3
(Our apologies for the omissions in this article. It was transcribed from a microfilmed copy of a torn newspaper.)

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PORT OF SPAIN GAZETTE

Sir, - Your contemporary of the Standard has published in a recent number of his journal Dr. Kally's (sic) version of the affair which induced him suddenly to leave Madeira. May I request you, in common justice to all concerned, to publish the enclosed extract from the London Tablet of the 19th September, which furnishes from a Portuguese paper a rather different version of the affair.

I am, Sir,

AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM,

Port of Spain, Nov. 9, 1846

We gave last week the English version of the Kalley affair at Madeira; the following is a Portuguese account of the matter as we find it in the leading article of the "Echo da Revolução", of Funchal, for the 14th of August:-

"Dr. Robert Reid Kalley, incited as some believe by a benighted fanaticism, or as others think by a morbid passion for notoriety, or - for even this has been asserted - by merely pecuniary considerations (speculating on the credulity of his fellow countrymen), or by whatever other motive he may have been urged, it is an undeniable and universally acknowledged fact that his chief business and constant employment from the unhappy day in which he first landed on the shores of Funchal down to the 9th day of the present month, have been a series of incessant machinations against the religion of the State, and in so far against the peace and tranquility of Madeira. This astute and cautious personage fertile as he is in the invention of stratagems and subterfuges, has been cunning enough to elude on all occasions whatever efforts have been made by the Queen's Government, the authorities of the Island, the Bishop of the diocese, or even by his own Government to turn him away from the war which he has declared against the religion of the Portuguese State.

"In vain has he been induced to pledge again and again his word of honour the Governor, that he would no longer interfere with the religion of Madeira; his turbulent spirits never suffered him, for a single instant to desist from his incessant conspiracy against our altars.

"In his refined Machiavelis( style) he pretended that if he confined himself to prayer against our religion within his own house, the Governor would have no cause to complain of him, and this he undertook to do at the moment that every(one) knew him as the very soul and centre of that anti-Catholic Propagandism which has lately been practised in Madeira by his foreign agents, and (our) pen falls from our hands in horror as we write it) that certain Portuguese Judases who under his direction have continually wrought out the iniquity of the (w)orthy master, by promoting and provoking an this p people - who up to the period of his arrival in Madeira lived in peace and unity - a religious (ferv)our between parents and children, husband and wife and between brother and sister!

"Nothing but the long-suffering patience of the people of Madeira, whose love of/for public peace distinguishes them among civilizations, could have endured for nearly eight years many unheard of attacks on their religion and the insolence with which they were accomplished.

"Already had Dr. Kalley's reckoning on the peaceful character of the people began to put in execution the promise made to his coreligionists in Great Britain to establish in this island "a Portuguese Protestant Church"; he had o(pe)ned the ground on which it was to stand, and w proceeding to enclose its surrounding cemetery with this th wall; already the agents of his proselytism in the parishes of the Island where the sect prevails publicly offered their Protestant insults to the images which Catholics venerate. Already ? , redoubling every day his neglect of or contempt for, the laws of the land, he went on promoting by means of his foreign emissaries numerous meetings of Portuguese in which he preached to them in their native language against Catholicity, as was the case on the second instant, when his emissaries Misses Rutherfords, who live in the house M'Kellar, in the absence of their host and contrary to his express wish, had convened a "religious assembly of about 50 Portuguese; a fact (whic)h as is well known provoked the indignation of the people to the highest degree, and Dr. Kalley, instead of endeavouring to appease their anger by bland, gentle or soothing means, did all in his power to exasperate them, passing through the (at)titude with a smile of derision on his face an(d rais)ing his hand with the air of one who had authority to command them.

"Thus, unhappily have been ed in part the predictions of the friends of p(ublic pe)ace in Madeira - as well natives as foreigners who foresaw the consequences that must arise from manifest contempt of public opinion on the the proselytist and his sectaries. These having to the last degree stirred up and e the indignation of the people they in their le but imprudent zeal of the religion of their forefathers, broke out into some excesses against the originator of their misfortunes; and though we will never attempt to justify any proceeding not perfectly legal, it is our duty, as public w to declare to our countrymen, and to the whole world, that he who has to answer to God and man for the events of which we speak is Dr. Kalley and Dr. Kalley alone. He has sown in this peaceful land the seed of discord, the fruit of which is, and will long continue to be, pernicious to our countrymen.

"In fact, on Sunday the 15th nt, soon after mid-day, all the streets of this city - all the roads leading hence into the surrounding country, were crowded with people proceeding ly? and openly towards the house in which Dr. Kalley is residing, and in reply to all questions they declared 'that it was their fixed intention (to con)duct the Doctor on board a vessel, and compel him to leave the Island, taking care, however, that he should not receive the slightest injury.' A little later they went into the house, which they searched in vain in every place where he was likely to be concealed, or in their vexation and disappointment at not finding him, they threw into the street a multitude of copies of the Protestant Bible, and thousands of anti-Catholic tracts in the Portuguese language, such as the Propagandist had been in the habit of dispensing among his perverts and those whom he sought to pervert, and made a bonfire of them in the public Street.

"The proselytist had escaped to the house of a foreigner at a short distance from his own, where some hours later, the British Consul went to him and persuaded him that it would be prudent, in order to appease the people, that he should embark on ship-board. He succeeded and thus, happily appeased the popular agitation.

"In the meanwhile the love of the truth compels us to state that from the moment the popular fever began to burn, Dr. Kalley showed himself rd the street, not one word was uttered could give offence to the respected English residents settled in Madeira, nor to the usual traveller from that country. The supporters of Dr. Kalley only were annoyed and in the very height of the popular fury the respected British Consul was loudly greeted hearty vivas by the crowd.

"It is well-known that so large a crowd, amounting, as well informed judges estimate, to 4,000 persons, and certainly the greatest that was ever collected in this city, might have accomplished whatever ends were proposed in spite of the efforts of the authorities so long as they were limited to legal means of repression.

"The people in their delight and their energetic and noisy demonstration against the author of their misfortunes, committed some irregularities, not very condemnable in moments of such excitement, and some disturbances took place between the Catholics and the Kalleyistas as they were called. A considerable number of them vowed obedience to the Church, and the notorious Portuguese agents of the Propaganda prudently avoid the public eye till peace is restored.

"We hear that some foreigners principally belonging to the sect of Dr. Kalley, - now on board a vessel in these roads and what is as strange as true is that some of them have been seen in the streets of Funchal, during the last few days without meeting any annoyance.

"We expect to see in certain English papers exaggerated accounts of Dr. Kalley with respect to the events of the past week, for the purpose of obtaining more money from his fellow countrymen by way of recompense for his loss in the violence (we deny it not) of the people in ? - violence of which he was the only . We trust, however, in the justice of government, that it will not suffer itself d by these crocodile's tears.

"We hope that the ow at length take some step before of the Cortes to secure the religion against the attacks of fanatical who have hitherto been impervious? to our remonstrances.

"We congratulate our countrymen on the removal of the scourge that afflicted our country, although we regret the means by which it has been accomplished. 'Legality, peace and public order' is our motto, and we cannot change it without disgrace to ourselves, and joy to the enemies of the our Faith."

The same paper contains a translation into Portuguese verse of the Te Deum La amas, with an additional stanza, in gratitude of the flight of Kalley and the restoration of peace in the Island!-

London Tablet, September 19