The Express.
London, England, 1851-02-20 00:00:00

IRELAND

DUBLIN, FEE 19.

Town and parish meetings have already been held
in several parts of Ireland to petition against the
Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. At some of these meetings
the Roman catholic clergy have taken an active part
in the proceedings, though at others they have sim-
ply acted as spectators. On Sunday last meetings
fur the purpose were held in Tuam, Dundalk, Ron-
common, and in many other of the principal provin-
cial towns; the resolutions indicated the utmost
anxiety on the subject, and petitions earnestly press-
ing their views upon the legislature were at once
adopted. Still the impression appears to be very
general that the measure will not be extended to
Ireland; and the Evening Post, the organ of the
i Irish government, persists in expressing its convic-
tion to that effect. The Feermaa a Journal, in an
article on the subject, draws attention to the fact
that none of the Irish Homan catholic bishops could
be exempt front the operation of the act.
Ik. Nl'llale has already issued his "Lenten Pas-
toral," which is chiefly devoted to the question of
education and the Llu.een's Collews. Addressing
the "clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese of Tuam,"
he says :
If the Catholic University and other catholic colleges in
succession were not to be °pencil, we should still deem it a
sacred duty to caution theyouth from touching those poison-
ous fountains—the condemued colleges—out of which those
who enter can hardly come without their faith and innocence
being impaired. Twice has the head of the church—the
successor of St. Peter, to whom the government of his entire
flock has been committed by our Divine Redeemer—pro-
nounced, after a patient heanng of all the parties concerned,
the irreversible decree of their condemnation. The short
period of their ricketty existence has but too clearly lllus-
trated the justice of that decree. If you arc to know the
tree by its fruit, we may well judge of the nature of that
tree, one of the earliest fruits of which—perhaps the flat
work of any pretension it has set forth—has been, like
its parent stem, struck with the blighting anathema of
Rome. In vain will you look for obedience to the church,
reverence for its pastors, respect fir its canons, or a profound
and heartfelt homage for its chief on t arth, among the
fruit* of those colleges that are similar to those colleges that
have already spread socialism, and infidelity, and anarchy,
through Europe. On the contrary, do nut their defenders
and their advocates generally remind us of the picture of St.
Jude—" Clouds without water, which are earned about by
winds; tree sof the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead; raging
waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion ; there
arc murmurers, full of complaints, wanking according to
their own desires, and their mouths peaketh proud things,
admiring persons for gains' sake." As well might you ex-
pert that a tree struck by the lightning of Heaven would
bloom with rigour, as that those institutions can ever
recover or flourish under the anathemas by which they have
been doomed.

LONDON AND NORTH WESTEi.;.; RAILWAY.—
Traffic for the week ending Feb. 16, 1851 : Passengers, par-
cels, earriAges, horses, and mails, ordinary, 21,4771.185. 4d.;
extra-ordinary, 5721. Os. Od. : merchandise, 17,5881.106.111 ;
cattle, 6951. 7s. 41.: total, 40,335/. ss. 7d. Correspond-
ing week, 1850, ZOOM. Os. N. Aggregate . 1850,
268,6t21. 73. 10d. ; 1861, 217,1311.6 x. 6d.