The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-17 00:00:00

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LONDOX, WEDXESD.4 Y, SEPTEMBER 17.

THERE is one thing that may be assailed but can-
not be dimtroyed by. bigotry, and that is fact. The
Bynud of Thuile*, with the Cut.tEns and Nl•llst.Es,
may thunder with sonic effect against the Irish Col-
klieg, of which there has not been time to test the
large results. But the national schools of Ireland
arc now an old institution. They have done theis
work. borne their fruits. And every sensible Irish
relent is able to judge fur himself whether that
m hall is called mixed education is really inimical to
Lis religion.
There am, no doubt, two modes of thought and
conduct in Roman catholicism, as there are in most
wets and reli' 'ions. There is the bigot school, which
would tie the hands and blindfold -the eyes of the
laity, and place the leading strings in the hands of
the miesthood, who from their cells and celibacy
boast that thee ran take the only just and true views
411 the things Loth of this world and of the next.
b t us not suppose, however, that all, or that even
• mojoiity, of Roman eatholies in any country are
inelineil or prepared to submit to this. If they be,
they must sadly lag behind their protestant brethren
in ilea ways of industry and wealth, as well as in
those of intellect and freedom. We may depend upon
it, that so Eng, ishman or Irishman will lung suffer this.
We may depend upon it, that no civic community
w ill ever again embrace ascetic catholicism, admit
father confessors to interrogate their wives and
daughters, or believe that all his protestant fellow
citizens are domned and destined to the dames of
eternal punishment, because Pope LEiCs doctrine of
the sale of indulgences provoked the manhood of
Lueltya to question it.
In all our speculations and provisions on the
subject of catholicism, we must take it for grunted
that the zealot and extravagant portion of it
cannot prevail, and cannot even retain the small pre-
cmiuence they hold ut, present, except in moments
of excitement and polemics, and reciprocal bicker-
ing:" between different creeds. %a lit' peace these
men would disappear, as moths do in the light and
wroth of summer. There are, however, a great
many concurrent causes for the resuscitation of
catholicism amongst us at present, as well as fur the
predominance of the most extravagant, irrational,
illiberal and unsocial sect of Roman catholicism.
Tite tirst cause of the resuscitation of ltomanising
tendenciis amongst us was certainly the terror and
perplexity of our high priests and religious doctors,
at that close application of criticism I, scripture and
scripture history, the fallacies of which they were
unable to face. much less to expose. It was in
cowardiee and in ignorance that INford fled to the
principle of auth wity for help. And Father NEW-
NAN preaches precisely the same doctrines without
the learning or the logic requisite to meet the
teal impugners of religion. These pastors
do not face the wolf, they merely cry
to their Hock to run away hem hint ;
and as the protestant fold has no high barrier--no
convent wall, to keep out reamm and defy truth, the
flock is recommemled to take refuge behind the old
Roman catholic wall.

As if and• wall or fold was a protection now-a-
dvp. As if the fore had more power at the
prc-
wnt time than A,rehbi Atop SeM\Fit to prevent men
from doubting and thinking, or from uttering doubts
an lthoughts. . . .

M. NE-UM is !N.A.!, of the old unity of the Roman
m ithaliechurrh. This unity was but a aembl:nu•e. Fur
:nth, boasted centuries of unity, 'lonian catholicism
fontaimil in its bosom a MOM of heartfelt and indig-
nant protestantism, not merely that which burned in
the breasts of the English Lollards or of the peasants
of the Cevennes, hut which roused the bile and in-
spired the pen of DAN mof PErmsnen and their fellows.
he whole intelkvt of that age was protestant. But
the sword of the magistrate, the faggot of the monk,
and the physical coercion, not the moral IM•rsuaaion
mid influence of the church, kept intellectual pro-
testantism horn that public demonstration, which in
Lt TIILICs time had effect on the multitude.
But Roman catholicism is greatly shorn of this
emreive power. It is wielded, indeed, in Italy and
in Austria; and there are hopes of restoring it in
spain and in France. But these hopes are vain.
The light of free inquiry and its consequinees nut
only operate in such countries as Frame, but lime
renetrattd to Austria and to the Pupal dominions
themselves, which are far morn protestanthed by
hopes of better and of freer days, than and• English
community can be catholicised by dread of the free-
dom of th.ought.
We routine ourselves for the moment to the one
great recommendation of the
is, that doubt,