The Express.
London, England, 1848-10-23 00:00:00

rebellion. Many of the most intelligent amongst
them consider that the dignity of their church has
bean compromised by the equivocal position assumed
by scam of the rash declaimers in :their body. They
begin to me dangers not only to the stability of
society, but to the reign of catholicism in all its autho-
rity over that portion of the Irish community which
heretofore has implicitly obeyed its rule.
Other facts have also beam made manifest to the
obsrpsighted portion of the priesthood. The utter
Agility of any anti-English movement in Ireland—
the vanity of exclusive Irish nationality—hace be-
come very visible to minds which heretofore fondly
dreamed of Milesian regeneration. Without the
priests, a catholic movement in Ireland is weak and
sore to fail just at the moment when popular influ-
ence is most needed. On the other hand a sacer-
dotal movement, in which the priesthood would
name the measures and the men, would not be tole.
rated by the lay catholic' of Ireland. They dace be-
come too rich, too edneatedand civilised, to cringe with
usioestioning faith to the priesthood, and to receive
their political dicta as oracular. The other alterna-
tive of a mixed movement, in which the priests and
laymen might coalesce, would demand much a politi-
cal leader as O'Coxxau.; and Europe will use another
Naroitux before Ireland will again produce a fellow
for its unmatched agitator. Nor could the place of
one great Irish catholic leader be supplied by a coypu
of secondary men. All the intelligence of the Irish
catholic' is sceptical of regeneration, averse from re-
volution, and weary of provincial discord.
On such grounds, even if no other existed, revolu-
tion in Ireland from the catholic side might be safely
pronounced hopeless. It is upon such grounds that
„ the Tepid change of opinion is now working among-st
the Irish priesthood, and the efforts of that change
will be well worthy of grave consideration.
Released from political a‘itation by the course
d events, and deprived of that petition excitement
which has been so familiar to them, will they calmly
subside into mere religious ministers? Will they
content themselves with being the sacerdotal servants
of holy church, and not aspire to be rulers of
society ? These questions may be answered in very
different way.. But, judging from what we see and
hear of the spirit prevalent amongst the priests,
we believe that while their political passions
have subsided—while their spirit of nation-
ality has been considerably diluted—their corporate
feeling has not in any wise been diminished.
On the contrary, they search into the course of events
with keen and scrutinising gaze to discern the means
by which they can still preserve the authority that
has been left to them. Hence a certain portion of
them affect to Gal alarm about the Lew colleges, and
grumble egainst the national system of education.
Nor is it unlit ly that before long we shall hear a
well-feigned cry from many of them about " catholi-
city being in danger." The species of the Tapers and
Tadpoles described by that eccentric political zoologist,
Mr. Dtsitast-i, is to be found amongst the clergy of
the Irish catholic church, and the proneness " to get
up a good church cry "is as manifest amongst the
Milesian graduates of Nlaynooth as in the place-
hunting waiter, upon the providential toryism of the
Carlton Club.
In the O'Connollite system of polities there was
a blending of religious with national prejudices that
gave much force to the sway of the agitator. But the
rout of Young Ireland, and the manifestation of the
irresistible power of the government, have given a
rude shock to the vaunting nationality which has been
stimulated in recent years. The eyes of the Irish
middle class are beginning to see distinctly how vain
is the expectation that treason or rebellion can ever
prosper in Ireland, and henceforward they will begin
to make the best of their position, and join those im-
perial reformers who, in preserving the unity of the
empire, would wish to adapt the machine of govern-
ment to meet the local difficulties which inter-
fere with its due action in Ireland. In such
a position the priests—at least many amongst
them—will endeavour to intensify the spirit
of catholicism so as to magnify their own pretensions
and retain their personal influence in that new state
of society which is generating in Ireland. We
must be prepared, therefore, to bear of as mach oppo-
sition as is possible to free education, and to listen to
the one sided view, of Romanism, in its demands to
monopolise the "dilation of the young. We do not
anticipate that the catholic laity of Inland will
content to wear the chains which many of their clergy
will now seek to impose on them. We rather think
that the intelligence of the Irish catholic community
will resent any clerical attempt on a large scale to re-
move the rule which the church possessedinthe middle
ages. The spirit of the times, the diffusion of
letters, and the pr cress of society, am throughout
Christendom op to the anquestioosd mule of a
=hrd and however backward society be in
we cannot believe that its catholic laity will
comsat to any retrograde politics, which would sink
their country still deeper in the slough of ignorance
sad misrule.
The Irish priests must therefore be cautious how
they cast obstacles in the way of government concern-
ing the new colleges, and the system of national edu-
cation generally. An intelligent laity is rapidly
Bringing rap in Ireland, and the conduct
cad e priests is es freely managed by
it as the public proceedings of any other
portion of the community. The
werikes
an ignorantin catholicism could rule Ire
passed away, and even in Ireland the church Hesse
must submit to be influenced by a public open
springing out of the lay members of its own body. It
would be well for a certain portion of the Irish posit-
hood to keep this fact in their recollection, and avoid
wasting their strength in Male attempts to stop the
course of education, and the program of principles
whisk favour the unlettered exercise of the human
understanding.
We have not the least fear of the success of the
stspreire in Ireland, though we find it neosesary to
our eyes upon its doings. Even if it put forth
all pourer to stifle the new colleges and to strangle
the pnnciple of free education, we are convinced that
it would fail as completely as Dame Partington,
when she tried to mop the Atlantic ocean from her
hall door.