# Historical account of Lisbon college/Chapter 13

CHAPTER XIII.
On the death of Dr. Winstanley the Rev. Joseph Ilsley, who from the year 1834 had held the office of Vice-President, became Pro-Rector pending the appointment of a President. The various changes which in recent years had taken place, suggested to the Superiors grave doubts regarding the nomination of the Protector of the College, and also as to the authority to whom belonged the appointment of the President. At the time of its foundation the office of Protector had been vested by the Sacred Propaganda in the Bishop Inquisitor General of Portugal and his successors, but when the Constitutional Government, as it was called, was established, the office of Inquisitor had been suppressed throughout the Kingdom. It is true the last Inquisitor General who held office had, by the request of Dr. Winstanley, made a solemn declaration, that at his death all his rights regarding the College should devolve on the Vicar Apostolic of the London District. To this declaration Dr. Winstanley and Father Hurst had, in the presence of a Public Notary, added their signatures, but by what authority this transfer of Jurisdiction had been made did not appear. As to the appointment to the Presidency this had always belonged to and had been exercised by the Vicar Apostolic of the London District, but on the establishment of the Hierarchy in England by Pius IX in 1852, the ancient London Vicariate had been sup pressed, and consequently this right of nomination had lapsed. It was decided, therefore, by the Superiors, to submit both these questions to the judgment of the Holy See, and for this purpose they sought the aid and good offices of Cardinal Wiseman.
DR. JOSEPH ILSLEY.
This he successfully accomplished and immediately returned to the College. The Pro-Rector finding that he was unable satisfactorily to perform the combined duties of his office and those of Vice-President, the Rev. Peter Baines, in April of this year, 1853, was appointed to the Vice-Presidentship, having for upwards of nineteen years fulfilled with great ability the varied duties of Procurator. At the same time the Rev. Joseph Ilsley handed over to the College the Secular School which had been founded by him and for many years successfully carried on, and the Rev. Laurence Richmond was placed over it as Director. The flourishing state in which this school was when taken over, gave promise that it would prove of considerable financial advantage to the College; hopes, however, which for various reasons were in the sequel not realised. The Professorship of Theology, both Moral and Dogmatic, which for many years had been held by Dr. Winstanley, was assumed by the Pro-Rector, while Ecclesiastical History and Canon Law were allotted to the Rev. Laurence Richmond, and the Chair of Philosophy to the Vice-President, and at the same time the Rev. William Hilton, who now for eighteen years has ​worthily held the position of President of the College, became Procurator with the understanding, however, that he should continue to teach Classics.
After an interval of two years during which the Rev. Joseph Ilsley had acted as Pro-Rector, he was definitely appointed President by Pius IX, in 1854, who also conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Theology. Moreover, in the Rescript by which his appointment was made, His Holiness laid down that, in future, the nomination of the President of the College should rest with the Holy See after consultation with the English Bishops, and furthermore declared that henceforward the Apostolic Nuncio for the time being resident in Lisbon should exercise the office of Protector of the College. Thus His Eminence Cardinal Camillus di Pietro, who had always manifested the most friendly dispositions towards the College, became the first Protector under the new Constitution.
REV. THOMAS HURST.
"Equal in virtue; in talent and disposition they greatly differed. Dr. Winstanley endowed with an ingenuous and noble disposition attracted by the high principles which ever regulated both his words and actions, the esteem of the public in general, and the love of those over whom he presided in the House. Father Hurst by his simplicity and affability, drew towards him the affection of all. In the one, dignity was associated with humility; in the other, cheerfulness imparted a grace to piety: thus both left a bright example to those who should succeed them; the one of a most worthy and venerated President, the other of a constant friend and wise counsellor."
Such is the encomium passed in the Annals upon these two notable sons of Lisbon College.