The Press.
London, England, 1857-10-10 00:00:00

p -
3ftlant.

Tim LIMITS OF THE PROCLAIMED DISTRICT AT
BELFAST have been considerably enlarged by an
additional proclamation issued at Dublin on Saturday
last.
THE EXAMINATION OF THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY
SCHOLARS, and the conferring of degrees and honours
on the successful candidates, took place on Saturday
last, in St. Patrick's-hall, Dublin Castle.
Da. CULLEN, in a pastoral letter from Rome, dated
September 25, states that he ban heard with much
pleasure of the movement in Ireland for "the relief
of our fellow-countrymen who have 'peen reduced to
misery by the dreadful and wide-spread revolution
now 'aging in India, and menacing the safety of the
British empire." Dr. Cullen then urges the necessity
of inquiry, on the part of Roman Catholics, before
appeals are made regarding the subscription, in order
to ascertain "how the fund about to be raised is to
be managed, and whether there is any danger that
it may be applied by bigots to proselytising purposes."
He refers to the movement for the Patriotic Fund in
1854, to which, he says, Roman Catholics subscribed
generously, according to their means ; but, subse-
quently, applications from Roman Catholic clergymen,
in favour of the widows and orphans of soldiers killed
in the Crimea, were not attended to; and "when
relief was granted in Dublin, a parson was always
employed to administer it." He states that very
large grants, including one of 100,000/., were made
from the Patriotic Fund to Protestant institutions in
England, and he adds, " Not a shilling voted, it
would eppear,to give a Catholic education to Catholic
orphans. Is this justice? Would it not have been
a source of bitter affliction to the Irish Catholic
soldier, dying on the shores of the Black Sea, had he
know that his children would be exposed to be robbed
of that faith which he valued more than his life ?"
Dr. Cullen thus concludes :
- -

-
I am most anxious that everything possible should be
done to relieve the sufferers in India ; let us, however,
have some security that the funds collected will not be
applied to the foundation of Protestant asylums for the
perversion of poor Catholic orphans. The management
of the Patriotic Fund shows how necessary it is for us to
be cautions. It appears to me that the proper time for
coming to a fair understanding about these matters is
before any fund is collected.
A GREAT COMMERCIAL AND CUSTOMS FRAUD 1S
reported to have been discovered in B-Ifast.
From the statements of the Belfast papers
it appears that a teadealer named Mr ,)re had let
some premises in the rear of his office t, the Customs
authorities for the purposes of a bor ed store for teas.
Moore contrived to get a key tot I s store, and having
access to the yard at all times has pursued the
practice for upwards of a year of entering the place
after the outer official gates were closed, and helping
himself to such supplies of tea as he might deem
expedient, filled the emptied packages with bricks
and other rubbish. In this way a quantity has been
removed, estimated at the value of from 10,000/. to
12,0001. The most extraordinary part of the whole
affair is, that the fact was long known to many
persons. Andrew Harbison, formerly a traveller in
the house, William Kennedy, a clerk, and John ltobb,
a porter, together with Mrs. M'Clelland, an old
housekeeper, were examined. Robb, the porter, had
actually made himself handy in helping to remove
the packages, and an apprentice named Blake only
two months previously had emigrated to America so
as to avoid being called upon whenever au exposure
might occur. At present Robb, the porter, is stated
to be the only delinquent detained in custody, but
unless the others are necessary as Queen's evidence
it will be a great injustice to the commercial body if
they are not all prosecuted with as much severity as
possible. Some explanation will, it is hoped, be
offered.