The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-24 00:00:00

LORD CLANCARTY UPON THE PAPAL

AGGRESSION.

TO TEE EDITOR OV THE TIMER.
Sir,—Although excluded from parliament by con-
scientiowl objections to the oaths at present required to be
taken by protestant members, and therefore unable to rx-
press my °Manaus in the house of lords, 1 cannot feel indif-
ferent as to the legislative measures that may he adopted
with reference to those acts of the papacy which have given
so much offence to the protestant feeling in Great Britain.
I therefore request you will do me the favour of laying the
following ruauarks before the public through the medium of
yuur columns:—
The strong and unanimous addresses referred to in the
Queen's speech afford unquestionable evidence that the /.re-
tensions of the pope to supremacy over the realm of Eng-
land are repudiated by the autism ; but inasmuch as these
pretensions are not therefore abandoned, it remains to be
considered how they ought to be met by the Queen's govern-
ment ; what measures, early, arc requisite for vindicating
the independence of the nation; and what restrictions Can
(and ought to be) placed upon the proeredings of the
hierarchy of the church of Rome within the United King-
dom consistently with the free exercise of their religion by
Somali catholics.
There can be no doubt that the papal hull for anew eccle-
siastical division of England was issued in total disregard of
the rightful authority of the queen's government, and was
couceived in a spirit of arrogance and ulfensiveniss to the
protestant character of the British people; but us the pope
is neither a British subject nor even an ally of Great Britain,
and therefore can neither be made amenable to British law
nor brought to reason by diplomatic agency, the question
arises—Do his pretensions to catholic supremacy, as reei
asserted over tile realm of England, form a Calla Delhi ! or
have they not rather, as far as their offensiveness called for
it, been duly reproved by their contemptuous and indignant
rejection by the masses, including all classes of the Eng-anh
people ? 1 think that in this respect nothing remains to be
done. To the protestant mind it is most certain that this
claim of the papacy to headship over the catholic church is
a vain assumption, without foundation in reason or nerip-
, tare; but it is Lot less certain that the canon law of Rome
makes the acknowledgment of this claim a matter of faith
binding upon the ellteleielllXS of ltolll4ll esthetics. The
part, therefure, for the government to take should be, dealing
with questions of faith and all known facts relative to the
subjection of the Roman catholic mind to papal. government
' as matters with which the state cannot interfere, to afford
to the Roman catholics in all parts of the kingdom duo
' facilities for providing fur the ministrations of their church,
to bring the exercise of the hierarchical authority, which is
essential to it, under the control of the laws of the nalin,
and to adopt such other measures as may be newsisary to
repel all future encroachmeuts, open or insidious, of an
ecclesiastical system, tending, as described in Lord J.
Russell's letter to the Bishop of Durham, " to confine the
intellect and enslave the soul." By the late act of the Pope
in regard to England the protestant feeling of the nation has
been happily awakened to the reality of papal aggression;
the opportunity should nut be allowed to pass of examining
into the state of the law as regards the religious establish-
ments of our Roman catholic fellow-subjects—how far
their church has been recognised by the state, and how far
it ought to be. It is idle at the present day to talk 01 the
Queen's supremacy consisting in the banishment and total
absence of all foreign ecclesiastical authority frum within
the realm. It was, indeed abolished by the set of Elizabeth,
and fur a long series of years was practically excluded front
any legalised existence. But it is not so now. The Roman
catholic religion, to which the episcopal authority of Rome
is essential, is not merely tolerated --it is fostered by the
state; and, by the Charitable Bequests Act, passed what the
special object of promoting its permanent endowment, the
constitution and discipline of the church of Bente in Ireland
have "Milted a legalised footing. I cannot, then:bac, hat
view it as a mockery of a matt solemn set that protesint
amber of parliament, and persons called to civil or
• ecclesiastical office under the crown, are still required to
declare upon oath that no foreign prelate bath any authority
or jurisdiction, spiritual or ecclesiastical, within the realm.
But although the words of the oath of supremacy affirm
what is u mere fiction in the five of a legalised 11.111.111
catholic hierarchy, 1 am far from considering that the
supremacy of the crown in all the essentials of government
is inconsistent with the principle of the act to which I have
referred. Romish bishops have been expressly reeu-nisei
as exercising spiritual jurisdiction within the ullitell'Ring-
dom. but it is not necessary that their action should he, as
at present, without the control of the state. Powerful
through the superstitious regard paid to their office by the
Roman catholic body, they have been rendered still more
so by the vacillating and inconsistent conduct of the govern-
ment. At tillltqf courted and caressed, and at others
and bound by no obligations of submission except to the
pope, to them nevertheless and to their subordinates is chatty
committed by the government the education of the masses
of the queen 'is subjects is Ireland. They wield, also, a power
not less important over the well-Icing of the nation through
the confessioual ; through it the Roman catholic priest may
become coguisaut of murders, thefts, conspiracies, At..,
without being compellable to give cv deuce of them before a
court of justice, and without even being required to give
that security to the state fur a right use of thin extraordinary
power whied might be aftbrded by an oath of allegianee to
the queen, and binding tense the influence of the ministerial
Olin: in upholding the laws of the country. It would be no
less for the interest of the Roman catholics themselves than
for that of the nation at large that the whole of their lTele-
, siastical arrangement should be made subordinate to the
laws of the realm and their monastic institutions brought
under the supers•imon of the state. But it is nut alone the
Roman catholic church that requires the attention of
government. The interests of the established church,
within which so much has insidiously been done to corrupt
the pure tenets of the protestant faith, require that more
summary power should be given to those in authority to
eject from the ministry all unfaithful hitchers, and that the
clergy should be enjoined from time to time to point out to
their congregations the distinctive doctrines of the reformed
church. The utmost encouragement should at the same
time he everywhere alibi-dial for the dissemination of scrip-
tural instruction (especially among the rising generati ~,,
laying the best foundation for the Christian character, pre-
senting the highest motives fur moral conduct and useful
exertion, and affording the best safeguard against infidelity,
Wm: doctrine, mid superstition. If this were done, " I may
add," in the words of M. Luquet, the Pope's nuncio, in his
letter lately addressed to Sir Robert Peel, " that the papal
aggression of rim. IX., like that of Gregory 1., will have
for its certain result the restoration of a great number to
the interior liberty which only belongs to the children of

God."
I do not think the provisions of the Ecclesiastical Titles
Bill at present before parliament likely to render any
service either to the sous of truth ur to the interests of the
1 country. If they are made effectual for their purpoAesthey
will only be productive of inconvenience to the Roman
catholics, without in any degree lessening either the pre-
tensions of the court of !tome or the spiritual anthority of
the Romish hierarchy iu England. If, on the other hand,
I the bill having passed, those provisions should prove in-
effectual fur their purposes, it would only tend to bring the
law into contempt, while it would leave upon the minds of
Roman catholics the impression that the intention which
I faded was to put down their religion by act of parliament.
I um, Sir, your obedient scrviud,
Garbally, April 21. CLANCAETY.

BATHS FOR THE PEOPLE.—The public at Bir-
mingham have this week been permitted to inspect, in its
completed state, a large and handsome building which has
just been erected by the corporation, providing bathe :Ind
washhouscs fur the people. There is every convenience, so
far as regards the baths, also for the conducting the washing
of linen for a great number of fatnilies—an accommodation
open to the public at a small charge. The building is
erected in a convenient part of the town. It is an experi-
ment made by the corporation, which, if it succeeds, is to
be followed by the erection of a similar convenience in
another part of the town. It is worthy of record that the
erection of these baths has caused the purchase of all the
saleable land in the locality.
FATAL Aectuf.Nr.—Mr. Todd, a barrister, whilst
cruising in a yacht, on Sunday last, near the Nore,
thrown overboard by the boom suddenly jibing, and
drowned.
FATAL lIAILWAY ACCIDENT.—On Tuesday morn-
ing an old man, named Henry Lee, was crossing the Lanca-
shire and Yorkshire Railway at Heaton, near the junction
of the Liverpool and Bury brunch with the Bolton and
Preston line (about 20 miles from Liverpool), whin he was
run down by the express train from Liverpool. Ire appears
to have observed a train coming up in an opposite direction,
and to have stepped back on to the down line out of its
way, not perceiving the express. An arm and a leg were
torn from the body, and the man was otherwise shockingly
mutilated. There iv a road crosses the line on the level
with the (fah at the spot, so that he was nut trespassing on
the line, but had not observed due caution in looking out
for approaching trains. He was 76 years of age.
STAFFORDSHIRE AND SHROPSHIRE RAILWAY.-11i3.
Honour Master Richards has deferred judgment in Mr.
Archibald's case in this matter, to give that gentleman ua
opportunity of proving, by the production of witnesses, that
he had authority from the board of directors to remove the
funds from the Commercial Bank.
LONDON AND NORTH WESTERN ItAILWAr.
Traffic for the week ending April 20 : Passengers, parcels,
carriages, horses, and mails, 25,5611. 3s. ; merelsimilise,
16,5101. 2s. 11d. ; cattle, 7491. 4s. 3d. : t0ta1,42,14531.10,2d.
Corresponding week, 1850, 43,552/. 12s. sd.—Aggregate,
1850, 639,0761. 16s. 541. ;_ ditto, 1851, 647,9181. 12s. Bd.
LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN RsawsT.—
T 9
,rao
2flslic. folr6i.the3 d week.;
goods, ed i n g
'2,1001. lb-.
12‘bin.n.,:drrao—ing,dira,lt.ffic'taaw:.;:
de
fleoitkNg:retEtr sd
u,t5:14t,10:
11,1291. 15s.
MIDLAND ItaiLwaT.—Traffic for the weekending
April 20, 21,7991. His. • ditto April 21,1850, 20,450/.llld.
\wa:lrtekOultenTndaillernSTAYFOßDSlllßE R:theLotWhnotsTit
year, 4,3171. The above is exclusive of the rev ,ipt,vaii.
—3
.Ws
02 °A:P: 15
oalr e gomi
y. P 9aea 8
Railwayst.
e9dti shAl.
aeBl t AP: Kiel'
tin;p:::::41,:' 9 G;
I FROM,meeting
it
i .W. 8 I 1 1 r."C Of: 't
,;. dh rSe E T a
inhabitants WIND-
of
Maidenhead took place at the Town ilall, to consider the
best means of establishing a railw.ay communication from
Wycombe to Windsor, paw.ing through Wooburn.
Maiden-
head, and Bray, thereby 'affording an opportunity of reach-
ing London by the Sneth Western Railway, and avoiding
the journey from Paddington to the City. An unanimous
opinion was expressed in favour of the project, and a com-
mittee was appsinted to negotiate with the South Wester
's
Railway Corstpany on the subject.