The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1881-05-03 00:00:00

IRISH CHURCH MISSIONS.

The public meeting on Monday evening was moderately
well attended, in fact remarkably well, considering theta
first the meeting was announced to take place at Holy
Trinity, instead at St. Mary's Schoolrooms. The it-v.
Jams Watner presided, and Colonel Scott read the
report of the local auxiliary, which included the item
"An Enemy, Zs.," £46 94. 7d.was the total, of which
.C 45 18• 7it was the amount gent to the Parent Society.
£l4 Si. was the amount collecteo at the church on Sun-
day. Last year there Wee a itrlicieney which wee met by
roiling out from the Reserve Fund, £1.500, and he
appealed for extra efforts to increase the income, £2llO
per annum, and raise the Reserve Fund again to £5, WO.
Rev, G. Rost:saws remarked when the Ceristian Church
largely increased at Antioch, they were not satisfied to
keep the gospel to themselves, but sent it out in the
Glands of the Mediterranean, thence to the mainland, and
' returned and reported to the church. He bad gone out to
Ireland, seeing into the work for two months, and found
that the missionaries were real tamest hard-working
men, with the spirit of Chris,. The minds of the Irish
have been poisoned against England by their Romanist
teachers, and are taught the central point of our worship
in Eogland is to bring out an image of the Vigin Mary,
and to insult it. The Irish have • genuine "religious
sentiment," be knew of none who had become Protestants
having cast the Reformed Faith off for Rime, and they
are earnest warmhearted men. Numbers of all ranks
have been converted, and brought into the mission church
at Dublin. Five ragged schools are in the five centres
of the great city of Dublin, and on his visiting one, he, in
opening the school, spoke shortly the marrow of the Goepels
and the people, who were all looking down at first, were
all looking most attentively at him before he closed. In
the Mission Church he found the beck seats occupied by
the converts and enquiries: but behind, in a dark porch,
where the gas is never lit, are timid enquirers, who would
not come if they were seen, but who soon come up higher.
Controversial meetings are held, in which transubstentia.
tion and the other eleven doctrines forced on the Church
of Rome in the 16th century, are proved from the
" Fathers" and the Saints of the Roman calendar, not to
have been universal in the church. A very eloquent
priest, a Scotchman with Italian education, long debated
there, and eventually came out of his church. The testa-
ment, referred to in these discussions, is always Cardinal
Cullen's New Testament, because the doctrines of the
Reformed Church are in the Romanist Testament ; but not
the distinctive doctrines of the Romanist Church. A
young priest argued that Peter was the bead of the church,
because the Lord told him "Feed my sheep," meaning the
clergy, and "Feed my lambs," meaning the laity. On
this the missionary read him part of the Gmpel, beginning
"I am the good shepherd," and substituting "clergy " for
"sheep," which made nonsense, and eventually the young
priest was brought to the Reformed Faith. His life was
threatened, and when he was going to America, just
before all was ready, he disappeared, and was never heard ,
of again. The West of Ireland is the first put of their
Truk, and many true-hearted congregations have be-n
gathered there out a the Cour& of Rome. Several of the
converts have been ill-treated, and some of the churches
wrecked, by mobs hired by the priests from the fanatical
di•trict of Knock, where is the church where the Virgin
Mary to said to have appeared, and the mortar of which
church is sold in America as a specific for dhows. The
Dachau of MarPsorough's fund fell amost entirely into
the hands of the priests, and was most unfairly distributed.
For instance, • farmer got ail and spent it in fattening
bullocks for the fair. But a change is taking place In the
poor proples minds, and in the very place where School-
master Mac Reece was cruelly beaten at the priests' com-
posed ; a feeling is now springing up against them, and
the people are passing awsy from It eue. In the Kiri -n
Schools It is difficult to pugs e the children in Scripture,
I though ragged urchins no the wild shore of Connemara.
, The Pope is losing power in Italy, in Spain, and last of all
, in Ireland, though in England we seem to be coming
I nearer to Rome. In Ireland the Slriptures are taught in
the Mission Schools doctrinally, controversially, and
i practically, and if that were done in England the people
, or the ministers will not go over to Rome. In conduct s,
he asked for help for Ireland in the real crisis at the pre-
, gent time.
Rev. J. WATNEY also bore testimony 06 behalf of the
t society.
; The meetineconcluded withla collection.