The Express.
London, England, 1847-11-26 00:00:00

the enrcegg.

MAILS,

The mails for Vign, *Madeira, Quilt, and Gibraltar
will be nude up on the morning of the 27th November.
The mails for New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and Nes
mand will be made up on the evening of the 30th November.
The West India Mails, including Bermuda, Nassau, Havanna,
Honduras, New (Meek Vera Crva, Tampico, and Porto Rico, and
recloding there for Medetes, Jaemel, Carthagens. Panto %oil.,
Chagrin, Panama, West Omit of South America, and St. Juan-de-
N iniragua, will be made up on the morning of the Ind December.
1 be orerlart4 malls for Gibraltar, Maim, Greece, the lonian Ulan&
[fret, Aden, Ceylon, India, liong-Kong,and China, me Southampton
will be made up on the morning of the led December.
The main for 13ritiah North America, Bermeda and the United
itstee, will be mile op on the keening of the 3rd December.
The mails for the &Miry the River Plate, Monte Video, Penns-
nue°, Bahia, Madeira, and /kenos gyre., will be made up on the
t wining of the 4th Domelike.
The overland *Med malls, rim Marseilles, to the Medlternmean
Perot, Aden, Cleyke. India, Hang Kong, he., will be made up on the
evening of the 7th Demeter.

a lase r rr, r. n.
..• Asinvllsomesto 1.61 Z 'et The Nzprofts,'.a Lauko noel., paper, sat
to at the *elm stmt. by T... ea...k 0. U. ‘37 of v

111011 MATES AT LONDON 111001.
Tin D .6 Morming. 21 al. put 4 ; Aftemeee, 44 ND. Mut 4.
1641•••••-1166slas, AAA pea 6; Aassres, ADA past

LONDON, FRIDAY, NO V. 26.

MR. ANSTEY, who has contrived in a very short I
time to acquire considerable notoriety for habits of
incessant writing and promises of iaterminable talk-

sling, has given one or two notioes of Ids intention to
deal with i subject which legitimately belongs to
him, and is which we wish him somas at a proper
dm. We believe be drew Mr.Warsou's hip for the
relief et Roman catholic'; and he wits at any rate, as
en active advocate of the measure, possessed of the
matidenoe of a large number of his co-religionists.
As a Roman catholic, he is fully entitled to claim
exemption from the obsolete and frivolous indignities
which form almost the only remnant of the extinct
penal laws. There was a purpose, a meaning, in
the laws against Roman catholic' up to the time of
the relief act of 1829. It might not be just, or philo-
, sophical, or statesmanlike, to exclude catholics from
I parliament, or, as was the case at an earlier period, to
discountenance and to persecute them ; but it was not
inconsistent or illogical. According to the English
constitution in the early part of the last century, the
state consisted—not, as at present, of all natural sub-
jects of the crown, but of protestants and conformists.
Roman esthetics were treated as the resident aliens
of ancient republics, with occasional indulgence, with
frequent severity, but, in every case, as persons who
had no concern with the rights and franchises of their
fellow-citizens. It was at their worst point that the
penal laws were most defensible. Persecution has
often proved thoroughly successful. It extirpated
the reformation in Italy and Spain, and utterly sup-
pl
eated and destroyed t, after it had reigned for a
time in the hereditary states of the house of Austria.
It is semi-tolerant persecution which always fails. The
English constitution was too tee, the people too
reasonable, to carry out the peaal laws as they ought to
have been executed, if theprinciple on which they were
founded was once admitted. The persecution was
I never active ; by degrees it confined itself to an ex-
elusion of the obnoxious sect from office and power ;
and in course of time the gates of the constitution
were opened, first to officers who had earned promo-
tion, and at last to parliament, the privy council, and
every rank except the throne, and one or two spe-
cified offices, which were supposed to have some con-
nexion with religious administration.
The principle is new fully established, that not
only Roman catholic., but all other sects, provided at
least that as nominal Christians they can take the anti.
Jacobite oath, are entitled to the tame political rights
as the moat orthodox members of the English
church. There still remains, however, a number of
scraps and fragments of earlier legislation, which, if
not oppressive, are insulting to the esthetics whom
they concern, and unmeaning on the part of parlia-
ment, which maintains them. If they concerned any
other sect or body, they would probably be suppressed
by universal consent ; but it is impossible to deny that
the_lirejudiee or feeling against popery which prevails
in England throws obstacles in the way of any mea-
sure which can be represented as a concession to the
Roman catholics. Unfortunately, the unpopular sect
is by no means solicitous to avoid giving new
grounds for the complaints of those who regard
it with jealousy. The Pope's ill-timed rescript
to Dr. MACHALE, the recent assumption of territorial
titles by the Romish bishops in England, and above
all, the moral complicity of some of the Irish priests in
the murders which have been perpetrated there, will
make the subject of Roman catholic relief distasteful
to many not ill-instructed Englishmen, if they allow
their feelings under the influence of temporary cir-
cumstances to prevail over the dictates of political
principle and expediency. Archdeacon LAFFAN will ,
be found by Mr. AsslEY his most formidable oppo-
nent, nor will Mr. OsnoaNe's defence of that " ex-
citable " person for using murderous language to an
audience ripe for murder, influence public opinion in
his favour.

We hope however that protestants, however indig-
nant, are beginning to discover that the state will be
beet able to guard against the dangers which may
arise from the abuse of priestly power, by depriving
Roman catholic agitators of the real grievances
which serve to ballast their clamorous complaints. As
keg as the Irish catholics were treated unjustly, and
for many years after their exclusion was removed, it
was impossible to unite opinion in England with
respect to any measure in which catholics were con-
cerned. That injustice was done at their expense was an
argument against dealing with them, when necessary,
with impartial justice. When the more enlightened
catholics are satisfied that their equality with their
countrymen on all points is fully established, they
will be as unwilling as any protestant to see their re-
ligion used as a cloak for sedition and disorder.
We arc not prepared to pledge ourselves to all
parts of Mr. ANSTE'eti bilL It is possible that it
may contain provisions in favour of the monastic
orders, which will require to be strictly watched, and
facilities for processions and other public ceremonies,
which would endanger the public peace. We are not
prepared to see the Host carried publicly along the
Strand, till we are convinced that the bulk of the
population would regard the display with favour or
indifference. The toleration of such forms ou the pare
of any sect may safely be left to those who from time
to time administer the laws which protect the public
peace. The question of monks and i ups is more
difficult. They already exist in England, as
is well known ; and in Ireland, as might
be expected, they are much more numerous.
lie have no wish to enforce against them any harsh
laws ; but the example of catholic governments would
well warrant parliament in regarding them with jea-
lousy and watchfulness. The law, as it at present stands,
can only regard a professed member of a religious
order as any other subject of the realm. They are
neither dead in law for the purposes of holding pro-
perty. nor are their vows in any way binding upon
them in their civil capacity. But, if monasteries and
convents are to become common in the United King-
dom, it will be necessary to do something more than
recognise the principle that their members are
clothed with the rights, and subject to the duties,
of their fellow-countrymen. The Court of Chancery,
which lately in Ireland set aside a conveyance of pro-
perty made by a nun under undue influence, may per-
haps be trusted to protect the property of the unhappy
inmates of monastic institutions from the natural rapa-
city of the orders to which they belong. For the
protection of personal freedora it will further be ne-
cessary to provide a constant and efficient inspection
of the convents and monasteries. All attempts to en-
force religious rules by restraint, under pretence of
i discipline, must be vigorously put down, and every
member of an order must, practically as well as in
theory, be at all times fully at liberty to renounce
the voluntary mode of life which he has adopted, and
to exercise the rights of a free man without molesta-
tion or control.

If, however, Mr. Arrimer's bill is the same with
Mr. Warrior's, we are disposed to support the
greater part of its provisions. The chief objection
to it is the time at which it is brought forward.
It is impossible for parliament to find time before
Christmas for every measure which any individual
member may think fit to be brought forward. Dr.
BOWRING'S decimal coinage and Mr. ANSTET'S im-
peachment will not be the only subjects for which
there is really no time at present. Until February or
March we most be content not only to carry shil-
lings in our pockets, if we are fortunate enough
to possess them, and to see an alleged traitor in the
Foreign-office, but to inflict on Roman eatholics the
continuance of a persecution which happily will not
extend to the burning of their persons, or the confisca-
tion of their goods. We do not think that thehouse, from
its short experience of Mr. ANSTET, will be inclined
to give him any special license to occupy, with his
peculiar projects, the time which it can so ill afford to
spare. We should be glad to see his motion met by
an intimation from the government that a measure
for the relief of Roman catholics will be brought for-
ward officially in the next session. As it is now
understood that an attempt ie immediately to be made
for the relief of the Jcws from the restriction which
excludes them from parliament, it would be consistent
in the ministry to undertake at the same time to get
rid, as soon as possible, of the remaining fragments
of penal legislation.

WARY and experienced tacticians like Lord Asst_
BOSTON and Mr. HERRIEB, cannot fail to be seriously
annoyed by the incontinence of language which
prompts their allies, Lords STANLEY, and GEORGE
13ENTIMCK, to play their best card bunglingly and out
of time. There is, indeed, about Lord STANLEY, an
oratorical power and finish that to. a certain extent
veils his confusion of ideas, and diminishes the injury
ho would otherwise do his party. But the inartistic
compilations of Lord GEORGE BENTINCh are open to
the criticism of all.

Lord ASIIIICRION and Mr. MERRIE 3 feel that
the monetary question is likely to be the weak
point of ministers. They are aware that if the
cabinet do adopt a mistaken monetary policy, their
error will be made most palpable and dam-
nifying by keeping the question uncomplicated with

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 26, 1847.