The Press. — London, England, 1855-11-17 00:00:00

NOVEMBER 17, 1855• THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MOVEMENT. TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS." Sir,—You are right in calling attention to the Roman Catholic movement in Ireland. It is a movement which the Tory party should watch with care. The political influence of the Irish Catholics is not to be disregarded. It has been for some years an important element of Whig power; indeed, ever since Mr. O'Connell ruled the Irish hustings, it has been turned exclusively in a direction the most antagonistic to the Conservatives. Previous to the agitation of that great Radical-Whig this was not the case. The Roman Catholic tendency during the Administration of Mr. Pitt and Lord Castlereagh was decidedly Tory. The petitions in favour of the Union and the debates in the Irish House of Com mons are conclusive evidence of this. The Union was opposed by the Whig Protestants of the north, or, as they styled themselves, the Orangemen. It attracted at the same time the good will of the Roman Catholics. "As the policy of the measure developed itself," says the late Knight of Kerry in a letter to Sir Robert Peel, "tbose opposite feelings were more distinctly manifested. The compact and energetic resistance was composed of the more zealous Protestants of the north, a sturdy band of old jobbers, and a remnant of the Whig Opposition. Its supporters were all those whom the Government could influence, and such independent persons as duly estimated the enlightened policy of Mr. Pitt. We were backed up by the very general popularity of the measure amcng the gentry of both persuasions and the Roman Catholic population of Munster and Connaught." Those who recollect the rebellion of '9B, and the attempts of Emmet and Wolfe Tone, will remember that all the Roman Catholic gentry were on the side of the Crown, and that the leaders of the rebels were principally drawn from the Dis senters and the Low Church party. The subsequent position of the Roman Catholics is easily explained. They were led by Mr. O'Connell and the priests. As to the latter, emancipation had given them politi • cal power without giving them either the education or the position of gentlemen. The respectable Catholics could not be influenced by them, and re tired from political scenes in which they could feel no interest, but the mob was left completely under their control. As to Mr. O'Connell, he was first brought into notice and tolerated by the Whigs ; from the Whigs his family and friends received many of those arguments so powerful with Irish agitators, and, according to the commonest principles of gratitude, he was bound to support them. This he did in a very effectual manner by telling the people that there was no distinction between the English *Nories and the Irish Orangemen. Although he .eight as well have attempted to prove that there was no difference between black and white, yet his impudence and his ability were so great that in a short time the absurd dogma was swallowed. The effect of this on the political movements of the last thirty years it is unnecessary to trace. As far as Ireland is concerned it was most important and dis astrous; and any one acquainted with the history of that country will see that it must of necessity have been so. But now the Orange faction is broken up, and another change of a critical nature has taken place. Let us see what is the position of the Dish Roman Catholic party at present. It appears to be in a state of political repose. Of its leaders, some have died off in the natural manner, some have com mitted political suicide, and some have retired to the more congenial climate of the Know -Nothings. The country is quiet and the people are happy. To what is all this owing? To a great extent I believe to the influence of two men, Dr. Cullen and Dr. Newman. They are both Roman Catholics , and are, I am cer tain, sincerely attached to the religion they profess. But they differ from the great mass of Irish priests in three important points—they are gentlemen, men of education, and men of ability. The result is that they are neither anti-English nor democratical. One of the most distinguished Roman Catholic and Conser vative writers on the Continent has suggested that the best remedy for the evils of Ireland would be to deprive the people of the franchise. Ido not know whether the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has quite as bad an opinion of the Reform Bill, but of this I feel very sure, that he is at heart a Conserva tive, and will be as ready to support the Tory party as those sensible prelates of his church who had ne gotiations with Mr. Pitt sixty-four years ago. Not only does he believe what Mr. Burke said, that the clergyman who quits the altar for the political arena is ignorant alike of the place be leaves and the place he enters, but he also appears to believe that the clergyman's ignorance of the political arena has led him to choose the wrong side. As a matter of course, Dr. Cullen's influence will be altogether passive. Ile will not tell the tenants to vote for their landlords, but he will take very good care that they are not cursed from the altar for doing so. In a word, be will extinguish what a friend of mine has appropri ately called the Pig's-head Party. This is a party principally composed of those intelligent parish priests who took upon a pig's head, a Jumble' . of THE PRESS. whisky punch, and a tide-waitership for the nephew, as the summum bonum of earthly happiness. When the Whigs are in office this party makes very little noise. It is only at the elections, or when a Tory Government is in, from whom the nephews as a matter of course can expect nothing, that it shows itself. It came out very strong at the last general election. The smaller section of this party is com posed of a set of equally ignorant, but more stubborn and fanatical priests. The first are Whigs, and send such men as Messrs. Sadleir, Scully, and Ball to St. Stephens; the second are somewhat republican, and, though very bad, have a grain of honesty and send such men as Mr. Duffy. This accounts for two sig nificant facts. The leading Whig journal of this country is inclined to look upon Dr. Cullen's move ment as a more serious and disagreeable affair than the Papal aggression ; and it has been received by the Radical party with a howl of despair. Now, whatever the Radicals and the Whigs concur in condemning must have some merit. If Dr. Cullen was a Radical they would not both attack him. If he was a Whig they would not both attack him. If, then, he is neither a Radical nor a Whig, what is he ? It may be asked, what view do the Roman Catholic Tories take of the Established Church, and what position would they hold on such questions as the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and mixed education? I answer for myself. I cannot presume to answer definitely for any one else, although I believe that what I say would meet the approval of the rest of the party to which I belong. The High Church party and the Roman Catholics differ very widely on some points, but there are also some points on which they agree. They agree on that great and fundamental principle that the stability of a nation and the mo• rality of a people can never be effectually secured unless there is a firm union of Church and State. It is not a union between one particular religion and one particular government, but the broad principle — union between the State and the religion, whatever that may be, of every country. England is a Protes tant country—it is, therefore, the Protestant religion which must be joined to the State. The Papal domi nions are essentially Roman Catholic—it is, therefore, the Roman Catholic religion which must be joined to the State. In both cases the object is precisely the same, the preservation of order and morality ; and in either case a Tory, no matter what his faith may be, living under the protection of the State, should, from purely political motives, be ready to maintain the connection between that State and its established church. I would, therefore, do all in my power to uphold the English Church Establishment. It is a guardian of virtue and champion of Christianity. It preserves the monarchical spirit of our Constitution, and teaches the people to respect the prerogatives of the Crown. I would be just as ready to defend it from the attacks of such men as the Protestant Dis senters of Crosby-hall as I would, were I living in Italy, to defend the religious establishment there from the attacks of such men as Mazzini. On a proceeding like the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill the course of a Roman Catholic Tory is equally clear. I would vote in favour of that bill. As a Roman Catholic, I believe that the Pope has no temporal power whatsoever outside his own dominions—as a Tory, I believe that the monarch of these realms has alone the power of conferring titles on her subjects and that any interference with that royal prerogative should be resisted, and that any assumption of titles other than a royal patent allows should be punished. It is hardly necessary to say that we take the same view of mixed education as the rest of the Tory party. The principle is to some extent a dangerous one—dangerous not to any one particular article of faith, but to religion in general. But it unfortunately happens in the yractice of political philosophy that a sound principle must sometimes be laid aside for a time to satisfy the expediency of the moment. Such was the case with the system of mixed education in Ireland : the provincial colleges were sanctioned by the Tories because some years ago there appeared no likelihood of the Roman Catholic party becoming a party of order. Now, however, that the normal state of things is about to be restored, I would certainly give as vigorous a support to the Roman Catholic University of Dr. Newman as the Conservatives have very properly given to King's College, London. In discussing the state of parties in Ireland, and in tracing the source of its present happiness, no one can give too much praise to Lord Eglinton. His firm, but courteous and conciliatory, administration taught the people an important lesson. He threw aside the great maxim of Whig policy, and showed that it was possible to reign in Dublin Castle without ruling by faction. No one gave a greater blow to the political reputation of the demagogues. They an nounced that he came to Ireland with two objects in view—to blow into a flame the dying embers of Orangism, and to insult and degrade the Roman Catholics. But the people soon made two important discoveries —they found that they could rely upon the justice of the Government, and that they could not rely upon the prophecies of their leaders. The result was that no viceroy ever gained such gene* 10' popularity, or ever left the country so universally regretted by the gentry and the people.—l have the honour to be, air, your most obedient servant, A ROMAN CATHOLIC TORY. SIO3 au Volta. THE HYDE-PARK RIOTERS on Sunday last met with a reception they did not anticipate, although a suspi cion that the authorities were at length about to interfere was very general throughout the week. Strong bodies of nieuuted police occupied the ground early in the afternoon, while a reserve of upwards of 1,000 men was kept close at hand. Shortly after three p.m. the "roughs" began to muster in con siderable numbers, but, surprised at the careful preparations made to meet them, they attempted little else than hooting the police upon every favorable opportunity. A few hardy individuals, determined to attempt a riot of some sort, were quickly captured by the police, and brought before Mr. Bingham, at Marlborough•street, on Monday. John York, a boy of eighteen, was convicted of an assault upon the police, and sentenced ►o two months' imprisonment; William Kimbir was convicted of attempting to incite the mob to a rescue, and sen tenced to one month in the House of Correction ; and John Bradley, charged with distributing bills, of no particular import except to bring the Govern ment into discredit, was convicted of a design to create a disturbance, and fined 31., and Is., so as to enable him to appeal, upon the particular request of Mr. Parry. THE CHARGE AGAINST DR. VAUGHAN for falsifying the registers for his own personal benefit, has created a considerable sensation in the town, and was heard in part before Mr. Elliott at Lambeth on Mon day last, when the charge upon the death of Mr. Raven was examined into. It was proved in evidence that Dr. Vaughan had received double fees tor the burial of Mr. Raven, and had entered single fees in the registry book. After a long investigation, the hearing of further charges was adjourned till Friday, when those of Begbie and Webb, of a similar nature, were proved in evidence, and the rev. gentleman committed to take his trial on the three charges. Bail was offered and accepted in two bonds of 500/. each, and a personal security of 1,0001., when Dr. Vaughan left the court. SECOND EDITION. SATURDAY AFTERNOON. LATEST INTELLIGENCE. THE WAR. A more full account of the operations of the army under Omer l'acha has been received from Constan tinople by the Turkish Embassy in London. (It will be observed that the date of the battle is the 6th—Lord Clarendon's despatch stated the sth.) : Constantinople, Nov. 15. On the oth of November the troops under the orders of Omer niche forced the River Atakora, or Onflour, in Georgia, under a terrible fire. The river was defended by sixteen thousand Russians, and our soldiers were in water to their armpits. The Sultan's troops attacked the Russian redoubts with the bayonet, and carried them, notwithstanding the des perate defence made by the enemy. The Russian troops were completely routed, and took to flight. We have taken five guns, seven powder-carts, and forty prisoners. The Russians have left more than 400 dead on the field of battle. among whom arc two superior officers and a hun dred subalterns. Our loss is sixty-eight dead, and two hundred and twenty wounded. A further despatch, vis. Hamburg, dated " Friday morning," states : On the 7th instant the Turks, under Omer Pachs, entered Georgia. After crossing the river Anakara, by wading through it up to their armpits, the Turkish army attacked the enemy's redoubts at the point of the bayonet, completely muted the Russian troops, to the number of sixteen thousand, and after a desperate struggle put them to flight. The Russian loss was five cannon, four hundred killed, and forty prisoners. The Turks had sixty-eight killed and 220 wounded. The following telegraphic despatches have been received at Paris:— llainburg,tiov. 16. Rear-Admiral Penaud has arrived at Kiel, with the Tour villa and Dtsquesne, French line-of-battle ships. Konigsberg, Nov. 16. The line of telegraph from Simpferopol and Nicolaieff to St. Petersburg is opened and at work. Berlin, Nov. 15. The Chambers of Nobles and Deputies are convoked for the 25th. The Emperor's speech has produced a moat favor. able effect throughout France. General Canrobert is expected to return to Peril towards the end of the month. r