The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-06 00:00:00

TILE WORKING CLASSES.

Mr. SLANEY moved for the appointment of a stand-
ing commtttee, or unpaid commission, to consider
and report from time to time on practical sugges-
tions to give facilities for improvement in the social
condition of the working classes. The hon. member
referred to the changes which had recently taken
place in the circumstances of those classes, as laying
a foundation for the motion. These changes he
attributed to three causes—first, the subdivision of
trades and of labour ; secondly, the application of
steam power to all our great manufactures ; and
thirdly, the railway system.
Upon the opposition of Sir G. GREY the motion
was withdrawn.

The house having resolved itself into a committee
on the Beer Acts,

Mr. ATHERTON moved that the chairman be in•
structed to move for leave to bring in a bill to
explain and amend the act to regulate the granting
of licences to keepers of inns, alehouses, and
victualling-houses in England. The object was, he
said, to make it plain that, in boroughs In England
having separate Commissions of the Peace and not
separate Courts of Quarter Sessions, the borough
justices were to havo the licensing authority.—Leave
was given.

Mr. HARDCASTLE Obtained leave to bring in a bill
relating to burials in consecrated and unconsecrated
ground. _ _

- Mr. MALINS moved for leave to bring in a bill 'to
enable married women to dispose of reversionary
interests in personal estate, explaining the existing
law upon the subject and the nature of the bill,
which was the same which had passed that house
in the last Parliament, and replying to anticipated
objections.—The motion was agreed to.
Mr. CosmouAm moved for a select committee to
inquire into the statements set forth in a petition
from Mr. F. It. Hertolacci, praying for an inquiry
into the proceedings of certain functionaries of the
Duchy of Lancaster.

The motion was seconded by Lord CAVENDISH,
who, as the relative of Earl Granville, desired the
fullest investigation.—Agreed to.
The Princess Royal's Annuity Bill was read a
third time and passoil.
The Report of the Committee of Supply was
brought up and agreed to.
Certain bills were advanced a stage, and the
house adjourned at twenty-five minutes to one
o'clock.

A LETTER FROM DEBRECZIN of the 28th ult. gives
some particulars of interest concerning the recent
Hungarian petition to the Emperor. Many journals,
observes the writer, have spoken of the Hungarian
petition, but scarcely one has given the facts
azactly:—

The document confines itself to praying for two things—
first, the recognition and free use of the Hungarian lan.
guage in the general administration of the country ; and,
secondly, the revision of the land tax. From beginning to
end the document was a long and warm protestation of
love, devotedness, and fidelity to the house of Austria in
general, and to the person of Emperor Francis Joseph in
particular. The primate archbishop, who was charged to
present the petition, solicited an audience, and went to the
palace at Buda. When he was admitted to the presence
of the Emperor, his Majesty at once came to the question
by saying, " You have a petition to present to me, have
you not ?" " Yes, sire." " Signed by you and a number
of magnates and priests ?" " Yes, your Majesty."
"Where is the petition at this moment ?" "In my
pocket, sire." " Well, then, let it remain them." After
pausing a moment, the Emperor added, " I love Hungary,
and am anxious for her happiness and prosperity, and
will do everything for her within the limits of reason and
justice. As for the persons who signed the petition,
do not wish to know them." The majority of the
hundred and some odd signers, on hearing of this
interview, withdrew their adhesion, and the archbishop
has since returned to his residence at (Iran. I guarautee
to you the complete exactitude of these details.
THE •rRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS called the FralICF-
Juges was concluded in Paris last week before the
Court of Correctional Police. It was proved that
they met by night to enrol members outside tha
walla of Paris ; that they wore masks, and were
otherwise disguised. Their object was the establisl
ment of a democratic and social republic, and their
passwords were " Courage," " Vengeance," " Alibaud,"
" Pianori," " Milano." Of the forty-five arrested six
were acquitted. ltavet, Desmculins, Aucaigne,
Francois, and Joseph, proved to have been the chiefs
of the secret society, were sentenced to periods of
imprisonment varying from four years to eighteen
months, and to pay fines varying from 500 f. to 2001,
The remainder were sentenced to imprisonment for
periods varying from two years to six months, and to
fines varying from 300 f. to 100 f,

THE PRESS.

ARCHDEACON SINCLAIR ON POPERY.

ARCHDEACON SINCLAIR 011 Thursday last held a visita-
tion of his clergy at St. Paul's Church, Covent-
garden. The venerable and learned archdeacon
chose for the subject of his charge the recuperative
power of Popery. Selecting the sixteenth century as
his starting-point, Archdeacon Sinclair sketched the
triumphs and reverses of Protestantism as illustra-
tive of the first great historical reaction in favour of
Popery. By the French Revolution of '93, Popery
was at length believed to have received a mortal
blow :

Many of you (said the archdeacon) will still remember,
during the dissensions on Roman Catholic emancipation,
how confidently we were assured that now .in the nine•
teenth century, reason and truth had gained a final victory
over error and superstition,—that Popery had fallen never
to rise again, that, moreover, under the influence of time,
the great innovator, it had completely changed its character,
—that, without absolutely renouncing its pretensions to
infallibility, it had adopted mild and moderate views, and
had abjured its former intolerance,—that undermined by
infidelity on the Continent, and modified by daily contact
with Scripture truth in our own island, it had now become
comparatively harmless, and might be meet, trusted with
political power
But a great reaction soon set in for a second time.
The causes were various :

The prevalence of Rationalism and Deism among the
Protestants of Germany and Switzerland gave rise to the
suspicion that there was no sure resting•place between
Popery and infidelity. The order of the Jesuits on its
revival in the nineteenth century, acquired, as at its in-
stitution in the sixteenth, the management of education to
a large extent in Popish countries. Nor must it be
omitted that a political movement in favour of Rome was
promoted by the general terror arising from a succession of
revolutionary conspiracies, and from the hateful principles
of anarchy, bloodshed, and universal spoliation everywhere
avowed and practised by the Red Republicans.
The reviving confidence of the Romanists, and
the progress of extreme opinions among them, are
evinced by evidences not to be mistaken. The
encyclical epistles of Pius IX.—the recent Austrian
Concordat—the aggressions in Palestine against the
Greek Church, in reference to the holy places—the
aggressions in England, Holland, and Prussia—the
startling pretensions of the Papacy with respect to
marriage, Church property, and education—the per-
secutions in Tuscany, and the rescript of the Inqui-
sition in the Papal States, undeniably demonstrate
that even now there is no extremity of arrogance or
of inquisitorial severity of which Rome is not
capable.
The yen. archdeacon, after a careful and elaborate
argument establishing a resemblance of creed be-
tween the Jew and the Roman Catholic, concluded
his eloquent charge by pointing out to his clergy
the various points of character and conduct in which
the Romish clergy deserved imitation :

They were examples of unity. Although they had many
serious differences amongst themselves, they would on no
account break off communion with one another. A large
proportion of the questions most vehemently agitated
amongst Protestants—such as those respecting grace,
election, and predestination—were also agitated among
them; but those divisions caused no dissent, no schism—
they presented a bold, compact, unyielding front to all
opponents. Another characteristic of Romanist& was their
zeal. They roved their Church, and would make any sacri-
fice to promote its interests. Would to God that the same
energy could be infused into the laity of our own corn•
in union. As regarded the m selves, :he clergy of that a rch de a-
conry, he rejoiced to think, not only that they were zealous,
but that their zeal was increasing. The great evil was,
that it was not a zeal " according to knowledge." It was
too narrow, too exclusive, too sectional, too much alloyed
with partisanship. Many of them were more anxious to
promote interests of some party in the Church than of the
Church itself. Who could tell how grievously the cause
of national education and of Church extension, on which,
under God, depended the very existence of the Church as
a national establishment, bad suffered from their unhappy
narrow-mindedness.

In conclusion, he entreated the clergy to be resolute
and decided, and not to give place by subjection to
rationalism or to infidelity.
The clergy then separated. The archdeacon will
bold avisitation for the remainder of his archdeaconry
at the same church this day.

A LETTER FROM ROME, in the Courrier Franco-
Italien, mentions the death of the Baron Gazioli,
who by his talents in business in a few years amassed
a colossal fortune. He arrived at Rome as a
journeyman baker, with seventeen baiocchi (sous) in
his pocket, and at his death left one of the largest
fortunes in Rome. In memory of the seventeen
baiocchi of capital with which he commenced, he has
always held that number in veneration. He had
seventeen farms, seventeen houses, and seventeen
different kinds f investment of money.
THE SOLEMN INAUGURATION OF THE LOUVRE, com-
pletely terminated, will take place, it is said, on the
15th August, the fete-day of the Emperor. Their
Majesties, the great dignitaries of the empire, the
Ministers, &c., will be present at this great solemnity,
to which will be invited the artists who by, their
works have assisted in this great completion.

SATIIRDAt,

OXFORD DIOCESAN SPIRITUAL AID
SOCIETY.

AN inaugural meeting, convened by the Bishop bf
Oxford, was held on Tuesday at the Sheldonian
Theatre, for the purpose of institating a society for
affording the aid of curates to the most necessitous
parochial clergy of the diocese, whose limited means
or the extent of their charge require such assistance.
The Right Rev. PRELATE, in stating the object of
the meeting, explained that there were in that agri-
cultural district many parochial clergymen who, from
the extent of their respective parishes or the limit of
their stipend, were wholly unable to carry out their
parochial duties. The consequence was that the
population was neglected, and the people, being
without the means of religious instruction, fell into
immoral courses. It frequently happened that cler-
gymen required assistance also in advocating special
charities, or in acting for them daring sickness or
when engaged upon indispensable business elsewhere.
In some instances, too, the smallness of the stipend
rendered it necessary to combine three or four out •
lying parishes together, the consequence of which
was that the service of the church was irregularly
performed. To supply the necessary aid in all these
cases was the object of the promoters of this society,
and they proposed to do so, not by appointing curates
themselves, or even suggesting who should be ap-
pointed, because that might be giving a theological
colour to the appointment, but by providing the
pecuniary means of paying curates selected by the
incumbents themselves.