The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-07 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 7, 1858.

as is the spirit of the period, we cannot suppose
that the Roman Catholics believe that Parliament
will remove the constitutional security devised in
1829. That security is no safeguard in itself
against the secret machinations of the Church of
Rome, but it is of priceless value as giving (as it
were) a clause of interpolation to the Bill of 1829.
" Emancipation " was asked for by Bunn;
GRATTAN, and their followers, as being likely to
be beneficial to Protestantism ; and the Oath in
its present form was imposed upon the Roman
Catholics with their own full and free consent.
Such an oath, of course, should not be tampered
with now. But on this special question we shall
enlarge at another time.
What we desire to fix attention upon now is,
the peculiar modus operandi of the Roman Catho-
lic party. It is a skilful and ingenious plan to
raise questions, under plausible pretexts, with a
view to ulterior aims. Did any one suppose that
O'CONNELL really believed that he could repeal
the Union ? No ! The great Agitator inscribed
that question on his banner, but his real object
VMS to make a great Democratic and Roman
Catholic party, to free it from the territorial in-
fluences of the Devonshires, the Lansdownes, the

Donoughmores, and other aristocratic connec-
tions, which, though " Liberal," had served in
some degree to check and counterpoise the
violence and extravagant zeal of the Roman
Catholic commonalty. O'CONNELL completely
succeeded in his real, but not in his nominal,
aim. The Union has not been repealed, but,
owing, to the policy followed by O'CONNELL and
his friends, the composition of the Irish repre-
sentative body is entirely different from what it
would have been but for the agitation of the
Repeal cry.
Now, again, a similar stroke of policy is de-
signed. The fact cannot be ignored that the
English and Irish Roman Catholic gentry have
never assimilated well together. The Howards,
Petres, Dormers, Langdales, Stourtons, Con-
stables, Blundells, of the English Roman Catholics
are a proud, sensitive, and most exclusive body.
They are something more than a class ; they are
almost a caste. They have long pedigrees, and
weighty purses. They have splendid parks and
grand country mansions, and they live in pomp
and style. In their social tone they affect not a
little of the habits of the medueval ,rands
seigneurs. Shy, fastidious, and high bred, it is
not wonderful that this connection should recoil
from the tone and language too often exhibited
by the upstart declaimers of their co-religionists
in Ireland. The English Roman Catholics never
joined in the cry for " Repeal," and they often had
to endure much vituperation from the demagogues
of Ireland ; and this diversity of tastes and dis-
cordance of views has made the Roman Catholic
connection in the empire less formidable than it
otherwise would have been.
But the heads of the Church of Rome have
now resolved to join and amalgamate closely the
aristocracy of the English with the democracy of
the Irish Roman Catholics. No better subject
could be devised than the question of the Oath
for bringing about a junction between those bodies,
and so that the union between them is obtained,
the Roman Catholics can afford to wait for future
triumphs. Simultaneously with this object it has
been dexterously determined to bring the whole
ecclesiastical working of the Roman Church
(in this realm) into close obedience to the autho-
rities at Rome. The English Romanists were
formerly adherents to the Gallican views on the
l'apacy ; they adopted the tenets of BossuL'r
with regard to the rights of National Churches.
They had formerly amongst themselves a " Cis-
alpine Club," into which Irish Catholics found
it extremely difficult to obtain membership.
They have now established what is called a
"Stafford-street Club," which might be named
an " Ultramontane Club." Gallicanism, now-
a-days, is almost extinct amongst the Roman
Catholics of this empire.
Having united the laity at large in closer con-
nection with Rome, another object of the Court
of Rome is to withdraw the Irish secular clergy
from politics, and to render the parish priests
subservient to a severer discipline than has here-
tofore prevailed. There are dioceses now in
Ireland in which a Roman Catholic priest is not
allowed to indulge in social pleasures (of an en-
tirely harmless kind) with the same freedom as
1 formerly. The Church remains as political as
, . ever, but the priests are desired to give up

747

haranguing on politics, and leave matters of
State to their ecclesiastical superiors ; and along
with this change the system of domestic nomi-
nation is practically overturned, and the bishops
of some dioceses that have recently been vacated
have been named at Rome. Archbishop CULLEN
himself was chosen specially at Rome, and his
appointment was the precursor of great
changes. If one was to judge by newspapers
and by the reports of public meetings, the action
of the Church of Rome has become much less
than in preceding times, but in reality it has
become more. " Repeal of the Union "is not
now shouted for by priests; seditious speeches
are not now heard, or offensive language about
" England's difficulty being Ireland's opportu-
nity." But it would be a most egregious error
to suppose, because Agitation and " Young" and
"Old Irelandism" have vanished, that therefore'
the Church of Rome in this empire has became
less zealous, and less fertile in schemes for fur-
therance of her power. The reverse is exactly
the case.

We write in no alarm on this subject, and we
would wish that language of exaggeration should
be avoided. The Pope gained by Cardinal
WfsEmAN's aggression. Lord Joux RUSSELL,
mismanaged the politics of a mighty crisis, and
forty Irish Roman Catholic M.P.'s became the.
arbiters between political parties in England. The
Papal influence has become a disturbing one in
our English political system. Pirr left office in
1802 on this " Catholic question" ; Fox lost his
popularity by espousing it; and the overgrown
power of the Grenvillites was deposed on account
of their patr9nage of the Papal cause. The
Liverpool Cabinet was weakened by it from 1812
to 1827, and in 1829 the great Tory party was de-
stroyed by it. So, also, the Reform party
lost its hold on the affections of England by the
Lichfield-house compact with the Pope and his
friends. Again the old subject is forced upon
public attention, and from the course taken by
the Parliamentary leaders of the Roman Catho-
lics, as well as from other causes, a cry of " No.
Popery " is likely to burst up suddenly from the
mass of the nation. We do not believe in the
utility of " cries," unless there be fixed, steady,
and permanent adherence to principles. To know
the danger, and to see clearly whence it pro-
ceeds, are good preparatives for future action.
The nation was deceived in 1851. What was
gained against the Pope in 1851 by the Declara-
tory Act against illegal episcopal titles, was lost
by the Coalition between the Peelites and the
Pope's supporters in 1852.

And now, when the question has again " come
into the Parliamentary running,' the Conserva-
tives have a right to ask, " What will the
Peelites do, and what do they mean ? " Is the
phrase to be current of " The Pope and his
Peelites ? " or is there to be something better
than a mere alliterative connection between
Peelites and Protestantism ? We were glad to
see that on the Dublin Police Bill some of the
leading Peelites supported the Government, and
voted against their old "Coalition" allies. On
this subject of Pope and Protestantism there
cannot be three sides, and there are only two
lobbies for divisions in the House of Commons..
The Pope, with his legal and clerical advisers, is
for pushing on his influence, more and more, step
by step. Into which lobby will the Peelites
walk ?

LORD EGLINTOT_IN AND THE IRISH
PACKET-STATION.

MEN of all parties are glad to observe the success
which attends the Earl of EowrrouN in Ireland.
Wherever his Excellency goes he is received
with a cordial welcome, and "party" for once
seems hushed in the sister country. Frank and.
ingratiating in manners and appearance, averse
front all intrigue, and ready to judge men by
their acts rather than by their professions, Lord
EGLINTOUN possesses many of the chief qualities
required for a Viceroy at Dublin. He is pliant
and adroit in dealing with individuals, but, at
the same time, Lord EGLINTOUN can, as the occa-
sion requires, display great firmness. He does
not run after a claptrap popularity, and yet few
of his predecessors ever received so many marks

746

of personal goodwill from Irish society. His
speeches are animated with a genial feeling, and
he is sure to gain the confidence of those whom
he addresses.

The long-mooted subject of a Packet-station
in Ireland has recently occupied Lord EGLINTON'S
attention, and the people of Galway have much
reason to be obliged to him for the vigour
with which he has applied himself to the
solution of that difficult subject. As the ques-
tion is a local one, and is connected with com-
mercial considerations, we shall decline here
offering any positive opinion on it. Valentia in
Kerry, and Foynes near Limerick, have com-
peted with Galway for the choice of the station.
Many there are who do not desire that Ireland
should have a Government packet-station at all,
and they prefer that some south-western port of
England should be taken. The Galway people
have earnestly asked Government for 152,0001.
for a pier, and by the enterprize of Mr. LEVER,
of Manchester, steamships have already been
placed in the line between Galway and America.
Lord DERBY, at the interview with the Galway
Deputation, stated that the difficulty was about
the freight. Passengers could be easily had to
go to Galway from England, but they would
object to transhipping heavy goods, with its addi-
tional porterage, &c. The objection is a strong
one, and should be fairly met, and it is at this
point that the subject becomes just as much an
English as an Irish question.
We surmise that the solution of this particular
branch of the question will depend on the fact of
the possibility of " through " arrangements being
made, which would facilitate greatly the carriage
of goods. Whether the English and Irish rail-
way proprietors would come to any agreement is
more than we could say at present ; but we take
for granted that the Irish railway proprietors
would interpose no obstacles. The object of
gaining three or four days, or even more, on the
passage across the Atlantic is one of vast in-
terest either to the English commercial traveller
or to the tourist for pleasure. In going to and
coming from America an average of a week on
the voyages would certainly be gained, and the
value of so much time can scarcely be over-
rated. Even if the line were only a " passenger
one," and fit to be worked only in summer, it is
likely that it would pay well, and be of unques-
tionable advantage to the public of the empire ;
so that in that point of view alone the Galway
people have a powerful claim to a kindly consi-
deration of a reasonable grant.
On political grounds, also, the West of Ireland
has claims to the attention of Government.
Galway has never been disgraced by agrarian
crimes, and so averse was Galway from vulgar
and debasing agitation, that O'CONNELL himself
declared that "he never could understand
Galway." That county has more Roman
Catholic proprietors than any other in Ireland,
and it is to the credit of that locality that for
many years a Conservative Member was returned
for the county. The character of the deputation
which recently waited on the Prime Minister was
one calculated to impress any statesman; and un-
doubtedly there has been " progress" made on
this difficult subject of the Irish packet-station in
consequence of the practical way in which the
Galway people have managed.

We confess that we think it is time that some-
thing► should be done upon it, and we shall await
the decision of the Premier and the Chancellor of
the Exchequer with confidence that they will do
what they feel to be right and just between the
strong claims of Galway on one side and the con-
venience of the British public at large upon the
other. Lord CARLISLE would have made senti-
mental speeches, and quoted poetry as hard as if
he were engaged in capping verses with himself,
and concluded by leaving the subject to subordi-
nates ; but Lord EGLINTOUN has exerted himself
with energy, and it will be highly creditable to
his Viceroyalty if the port of Galway be selected
as the port of departure for the packets to
America. At present circumstances seem highly
favourable to that conclusion, and parties in the
sister country will be glad to hail his Excellency
as being not only " the man for Galway," but for
Ireland.

16.