The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-21 00:00:00

Catholic Chaplains for Gaols.

At the Berks Michaelmas Sessions, of Abing-
don, on Monday, the subject of appointing a
Catholic chaplain to the gaol at Reading was
brought under the consideration of the Court. Had
it been generally known that an application of that
kind was intended to be made no doubt there wculd
have been a very large attendance of magistrates.
As the agenda paper did not indicate anything
beyond the ordinary routine business to be trans-
acted, there were only little above 20 present.
Viscount Barrington presided, and there were on
the bench Lord Overstone, Sir Warwick Morshead,
the Hon. P. P. Bouverie, M.P,, Mr. J. Walter,
Mr. Benyon, M.P., Mr. J. T. Norris, M.P.,
Colonel Loyd-Lindsay, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Bros, Mr.
Merry, &c.

The annual report by the chaplain of Reading
Gaol was read to the court, setting forth the num-
ber of prisoners under his spiritual charge during
the past year, the degree of education of each,
their religious belief, and other matters on which
the chaplain is once in every year required to
furnish information. The prisoners admitted into
the gaol for that period were stated to have been
nearly 800, of which number there were 46 males
and 5 females who were Catholics. After this report
had been read,

Mr. GIBSON rose and said the Rev. Canon Ring-
rose had spoken to him to apply to the Court to
grant him permission to visit those prisoners in
Reading Gaol belonging to the Catholic per-
suasion who did not send for him. lie believed
that Canon Ringrose was a man who might be
trusted with this permission. It was only the
best of Catholic prisoners that would send for him ;
the very worst had exhibited an utter indifference
about receiving spiritual instruction.
The CHAIRMAN inquired whether the rules of
the gaol were against it.
Mr, GIBSON replied, not that he was aware of.

Mr. MERRY, a visiting justice, said he thought
there would be considerable difficulty in the
matter, because, by the prison regulations, any
prisoner wishing to see the minister of his own
religious persuasion had a right to the privilege
on asking for it. Upon such an application being
made the Catholic priest, or other minister,
whoever it was that was desired, was sent for.
Practically, they found prisoners professing
themselves to be this or the other, contrary to the
Church of England, simcly for the purpose of shirk-
ing going to chapel. He did not think that the
Court had grounds enough to say that the prisoners
were entitled to be visited either by a Roman
Catholic priest or minister of any religious denomi-
nation without asking for it. If a prisoner asked for
the privilege, it was conceded to him instantly.
When it was said that it was only the better class
of Catholic prisoners that desired to see the priest,
be would just remark that they were the persons
who least needed a priest. It was the worst that
stood in need of spiritual instruction. He thought
there would be great difficulty in the Court giving
general sanction to a Catholic priest or minister of
any religious denomination, to visit the gaol when
prisoners did not express a desire to see such priest
or minister.

Mr. GIBSON said it was the very worst of Catholic
prisoners who did not send for a priest, and that
was the very class that Canon Ringrose wished to
visit.

Mr. NORRIS, M.P., said he should like to know
how many prisoners there had been of the
Catholic faith in gaol at any one time, which would
enable the Court to arrive at something like a judg-
ment on the matter. The Act of last Session gave
the Court power to appoint a Catholic chaplain to
visit prisoners of that persuasion, and to pay him
for services that he might render. He should like
to know, before he voted on the question, whether
Canon Ringrose anticipated being paid for visiting
Catholic prisoners. (Hear, hear.)
tlr GiesoN replied, he was perfectly satisfied
that Canon Ringrose would have stated it to him if
he expected to be remunerated for hie visits to
prisoners
of that persuasion. He believed that his
services would be entirely voluntary.
The CEIAIRMAN—If Mr. Ringrose expected to be
paid, the application could not then be entertained,
because any motion involving an expenditure of
county money must have notice given.
Mr. WALTER, M.P., said, according to Mr.
`Terry's own statement of the case, Mr. Ringrose
ought to have this privilege granted to him. It ap-
peared that if a prisoner stated he was not a mem-
ber of the Church of England he was exempted from
being visited by the chaplain ; therefore he was
placed in the position of having no one to visit him.
He apprehended that the law never intended a pri-
soner should be left without religious instruction;
and if a man professed to be a Catholic—which he
was not likely to do without its being the case—he
ought to receive the visits of some Catholic priest,
e was sent for or not, or h© was in the
whether h
absurd position of not only not being visited by a
Catholic priest, but visited by no one. It was the
intention of the Act of last Session that greater
religious privileges
.sho_uld be enjoyed by prisoners,
and that they
should be visited by some one, whe-
ther sent for or not.
Mr. BRos referred to the Act of Parliament, and
said this was a matter within the province of the
visiting justices of the gaol ; for if they knew of
Catholic prisoners being there they could send for a
priest without being requested to do so ; and then
if the Court cf Quarter Sessions found the number
of prisoners there to be sufficient to require it, they
would appoint a Catholic chaplain. At present
Canon Ringrose could make his application to the
visiting justices, and in their discretion they could
deal with it.
Mr, GIBSON said it would then be necessary for
him to give notice of motion for the next sessions.
The CHAIR AN—lt could only be done in that
:NI
way.
Sir W. MORSIIEAD thought this wonld lead to
very great inconvenience, as they would then have
two chaplains in the gaol—a Protestant and a
Catholic, and, admitting a Catholic priest to give
instruction gratuitously, they would have no con.
trol over him. This must lead to a state of things
far from agreeable.
Mr. NORRIS, M.P., said when this bill was
under discussion in the House of Commons he ven-
tured to express an opinion that it would in its
operation be found to be obnoxious, and sometimes
offensive. Jf they appointed is Catholic Chaplain
and paid him a salary, upon what principle could
they say they would not pay a Dissenting minister
to attend to prisoners who belonged to some dis-
senting persuasion ? (Hear, hear.)
The Clerk of the Peace said it would be for the
next Court of Quarter Sessions to consider whether
(as stated by the Act of Parliament) the number of
Catholic prisoners was so large as to justify the
appointment of a Catholic chaplain.
Mr. GIBSON was sure that the idea of remunera-
tion never entered the mind of Canon Ringrose.
He wanted to know what answer he was to return
to him. Was he to be allowed to visit the gaol ?
Mr. MERRY said no application had been made
to the visiting justices, but he would state that, in
the event of Canon Ringrose applying for such per-
mission, his character was such as to entitle him to
every possible respect, however much they might
differ from him, With respect to prisoners
im)
pro-
fessing to differ from the Church of England,
ished to mention the case of a man
alleged
that he did not belong to the Church simply because
he wisbed to be exempted from attending theser-
vices in rho chapel. He was confined
wasitied in a cell en
handcuffed.
account of being refractory, a
It was ascertained that he employed the time de-
voted to services in grinding his handcuffs on the
stones of his cell, and
in a short time ho would have
succeeded in getting
rid of his handcuffs, and
red this
done he would have endeavoured to make himself
tree of the gaol. asked how
P. BOUYERIE, M.P.,
The Hon, P.
many out of the 50 Catholic prisoners had applied
for Canon Ringrose.
Mr. GIBBON replied, not more than Bix, and that
during the whole year.
The Gaoler (Mr. Ferry), in answer to a question,
stated that there were now about four Catholic
prisoners in Reading Gaol.
The Hon. P. P. BOUVERIE, M.P., said, notwith-
standing the liberality of Canon Ringrose, he thought
it right that he should be paid a salary, however