The Express.
London, England, 1851-02-08 00:00:00

could devise ? Was this the only weapon they could em-
ploy on a solemn political exigency of ouch vast importance?
(Hear, hear.) They could only meet a great political
exigency it seemed -by a remedy purely technical. Not a
single principle had been established—not a single principle
had been vindicated—and, in his opinion, no substantial
evil would be remedied. (Hear, hear.) But mark the
address by which this insignificant project had
Ilbeen introduced. The difference between the noble
lord's project and his pneernium was most significant.
If he hail been introducing a measure for a penal law, the
proportions of his speech could not have been more colossal.
(Cheers.) When the noble lord's letter appeared, in conse-
quence of an appeal made to him by his constituents, he
recommended them to pause, and not to act until they
thoroughly understood the question; that the question
was a very comprehensive one, and that it would be impos-
sible to legislate for England without legislating for Ire-
land. (Hear, bear.) What was the opinion of the autho-
rities which governed Ireland ? They derided the idea of
legislating for Ireland, and said that the circumstances
of the two countries were so unlike, that it was not the in-
tention of the ministry to legislate for Ireland. (Hear,
hear.) But mark the speech of the minister of the crown
that night. He came at once to Ireland, and made the
synod of Thurle% the basis of his measure, and not the visit
of Cardinal Wiseman to England. (Hear, hear.) This
was an inconsistency which, after three months of
inconsistencies, he was certainly much surprised M.
(Ilea:, hear.) And what was the reason given by
the noble lord to-night for the strange contrast
between his introductory statement and his remedial pmpo-
*hien ? Why, forsooth, the thing was insignificant. (Hear,
hear.) How did he descihe the papal aggression that for
three months, through his instrumentality—(cheers) excited
the passions of the whole people ? It was descrilini that
night by the noble lord as a blunder on the sudden.
Perhaps the letters of other people also were blunder% on
the sudden. (Loud cheers and counter cheers.) But he
could not agree to the assertion that the conduct of the Pope
had been sudden or precipitate, fur circumstances of public
notoriety and well known occurrences and events might
have will justified his llolin, se in the course he adopted.
(Hear, hear.) When he recollected what had occurred
in Ireland and the colonies with regard to Roman catholic
bishops—when he recollected that the Viceroy of Ireland
had been in direct communication with the l'ope himself,
and that he had expressed high veneration for the character
of his Holiness, that he consulted him, and deferred to his
judgment, he could not imagine, or rather he (fluid not
agree, to the allegation that the conduct of the l'ope be it
right or wrong, was a sudden act, or was adopted without
due reason and due discretion. (Cheers.) But besides all
this he could not forget that not long ago the first minister
of the crown expressed himself in the following language in
reference to the Ituritnn Catholic Relief Bill. '1 he noble
lord, in July, 151.5, used the following language: "he be-
Hexed they might repeal those disallowing clauses which
prevented a Itoman catholic bishopaesuming a title held by
a bishop of the established church." The noble lord, then, only
a few yeah ago hail uo objection to Roman cathodic bishops
assuming the title %held by bishops of the eetablished church ;
he had no objection then that Cardinal Wiseman should '
assume the title of Archbishop of Canterbury, for there
were no grounds, he said, for the continuance of these re-
striction.. (Hear, hear.) Did the noble lord <Puppies, that
the opinions of en eminent an individual on a subject 141
such paramount importance were not duly noted down, rind
ronveyed to the Vatican. (Hear, hear.) And when the
Pope knew that such was the opinion of so eminent a
personage, and when the representative of the sovereign
entered into direct communication with him, and wrote in a
tone of deferential homage, and when he might have read
that the Roman catholic archbishops and bishop'ss took peace-'
donee, owing, as it occurred, to an unfortunate circum-
stance now satisfactorily amounted for—(laughter)—wae
it right, as the noble lord said that night, to say that the
conduct of the Pope was a blunder on the sud-
den? (Hoar, hear.) He would not enter into the
question whether a communication was made or not
to Lord Minto. All he would say was, that the details
given that night showed that some communication was
made, and be was certainly very much surprised that an
envoy sent on a mission of confidence, when he was told
that " there was something there which touched Englund,"
never had the curiosity to ask—(loud cheers)—" pray what
is it ?" (Cheers.) lie had no doubt Lonl Nieto on
hie next mission would profit by his past ex-
perience, and of all the public men in Europe
who had been sent on public missions, Lord Minto had
certainly run the most remarkable course of any of them.
(Hear, hear.) The financial reformers made war, amongst
other things, against the expense of diplomacy ; hut from
what they had seen of the operations of un amateur diplo-
matist, he trusted, that in future, whatever the service
might be, whether it was open or secret, whether it sus a
mission of war, peace, or religion, they would prefer the ser-
ekes of the professional diplomatist. (Hear, hear.) In
his opinion the course taken by the government was
not merely unsatisfactory fur the present but was extremely
dangerous for the future. (Hear, hear.) It was a great
evil, after what had occurred, to baulk the expectations of
a nation. The noble lord held out a prospect of ulterior
measures—he chalked out an illimitable career of petty
persecution, but he did not seek to accomplish n solution,
such as would be worthy of a statesman, of a gnat political
difficulty. (Hear, hear.) Suppose other impel...ions were
to follow, they were to lie met by other measures—party
passions still more bitter, popular prejudices more vehe-
ment, rancour, feud, anti the odium thcalogienot were to be
j kept alive throughout the whole country. (Hear, hear.)
The new measures would produce other blunders on the
sudden, and these blunders on the sudden, which might
occur perhaps year after year, would be met by laws on the
sudden, not so fortunate probably in the result which they
were intended to control. Were they to have the
p while. governing England by a continual popish cry
'which was never to be brought to nn end ? (Hear, hear.)
; In his opinion the existence of a Roman catholic hierarchy
in a protestant country, not recogniaed by the law, was a
great political coil. (Hear, hear.) Ti' reconcile the recog-
nition of such a hierarchy by the law with it sacred and
complete revert fur the civil and religions liberties of
Roman catholics was a political problem difficult to %Mee.
But though it might be difficult to solve, it woe in his opi-
nion not impossible if attempted, not by means of any
conenniat with a foreign prince, hut of the internal and
essential power of an English parliament. Ile did not say
that that was a political difficulty which a cautious states-
man would under any circumstances have courted ; he did
not say that it was a measure which any man would have
gone nut of his way to introduce to parliament ; but he
said this. that when a statesman had taken the course which
the noble bird had done, he was hound to at-
tempt to solve that problem—he win bound to
introduce a measure equal to the occasion, instead of
meeting a great political emergency, which he himself had
fostered, if not ereated—(cheers),—by a technical remedy
unworthy of the dignity of parliament and of the occasion
which it was intended to cope with. That was the view
which he took of the conduct of the government. Ile should
not oppose the introduction of their bill, which was the
severest condemnation of their conduct for the last three
menthe . But let the house consider that by passing that
11411 they would do nothing; they would not in any way
tope with the question they were bound to meet. They
might gain time, too brief to count in the history of a
nation, only to have to encounter the same difficulty very
shortly, aggravated by the manner in which they had shrunk
from the difficulties which they had themselves created.
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL denied that the papal act would
reuse any Roman catholic to violate his loyalty to the
Queen.
Sir R. H. INGLIS entered into a warm defence of the
established church against the hill of indictment which he
said had been preferred by Mr. Bright. lie would not, at
the present stage, discuss the proposition of the government,
bathe felt mon inclined to thank the Prime Minister for
his lettter and his speech, than fur the measure, which, so
far as could be now ascertained, would prove insufficient.
Mr. REYNOLDS moved the adjournment of the debate.
(Cries of " divide.")
Lord J. RUSSELL said if there were any bon. mem-
bers who wished to address the house before the bill was
brought in he certainly should not wish to prevent them,
and he hoped the house would agree to the adjournment of
the debate.
The debate was then adjourned.
PASSENGERS ACT.
Mr. HAWES moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend
the Passengers Art ; the object, he said, was to extend it to
steam as well as to sailing vessels.
The bill was brought in and read a first time.
The house then adjourned at a quarter past 12 o'clock.

TIrE CORNWALL. HIRED CONVICT SHIP is still at
moorings opposite the Arsenal, Woolwich, with 183 con-
victs on board, and is to have a guard of pensioner., who
intend settling in Van Diemen's Land. On Thursday
evening some of the convicts removed two bars, which pro-
tected the scuttle through which the chain cable passed to
the deck, and by that means obtained aeeess to the hold,
and having broken open a case of spirits, soon imbibed n
quantity sufficient to make them quite drunk. The iron
bars had been fixed to the deck of the vessel with bolt., but
as they did not pass through, the convict, soon removed
them. Shipwrights have, however, been employed to-day
on board the Cornwall from the dockyard to make the bars
over the scuttle thoroughly secure in future from the
thieving practices of the claw, many of whom are
irreclaimable. Some of the convicts in the dock-
yard are such adepts at their previous profession, that
they have been known to pick the pocket of one of
the heads of the departments, and although the act was
witnessed and information immediately given, and the gang
of convicts immediately taken and searched, the missing
handkerchief could not he found. The new plan of instruct-
ing the convicts to write on board the hulks is beginning to
operate favourably. The well-inclined were formerly held
in subjection by the majority who were badly disposed, as, if
they were seen speaking to the guards or the authorities,
the'other convicts led them a miserable life under the im-
pression that they were informers. Since the introduction
of writing materials, they now drop any communication
they have to make into a letter-box, at the same time as the
letters they write to their friends. By that means informa-
tion was recently given that three ot` the convicts had on
coloured clothes under their convict dress, for the purpose
of facilitating an attempt to escape among the workmen
when they left the yard, and on searching the three con-
victs the information was found to be correct.

THE NEW VICAR OF SHEFFIELD (the Rev. Thomas
Rale) has refused to allow the Rev. Canon Trevor to officiate
in the parish church. A meeting of Mr. Trevor's friends
has been held, at which it was unanimously resolved to take
proceedings at law against the church burgesses for payment
of Mr Trevor's salary. Sir Fiftroy Kelly, It is understood,
I.
s to as retained for Mr. TroTor.—Endforsl Oitsroor.. I