The Sun.
London, England, 1825-07-20 00:00:00

IRELAND.

[From the Dublin Evening Post, Jury 161
NEW CATHOLIC es .
To-day the first meeting of this sbody wsv
held at the Corn-Exchange, to make the necessary arrange-
ments to carry into effect the purposes not prohibited by the late
statute,
On the motion of Mr. O'CONNELL, the chair was taken by
Mr. REDMOND;
Counsellor Brie, having been appointed Secretary for the-
day, read the named of those who had already become members
of the New Association. The number amounts to about a hun-
dred—amongst whom are Lords •Gormanston and Killeen, the
Hon. Mr. Preston, the Hon. Arthur Preston, the Hon. (ion=
ville Thench, Sir John Burke, Messrs. O'Connell, ShieleHoe,
band, Brie, &c. &c.
Mr. O'CONNELL said, that as there were already 96 indi
viduals compoiimg the New Association, it was manifest. they
were sufficiently, numerous to proceed to make the necessary
arrangement's for business. They must; however, act delibe-
rately and cautiously, so as not to violate the late statute; ,and,
at the same time to comitiet.the details of the future Associne
,tion with effect. There was, he. thought, no great difficulty in
.avoiding the provisions of the statute,•by acting according to
the plan detailed in the report' id before the late Aggregate
Meeting. All the details of the business should be consistent
with that report. The first purpose of the Association would
be to reconcile all persons of all sects and persuasions throughou t
Ireland, and to promote public peace as well as private con-
cord. For this purpose it would be necessary •to ascertain,
in the districts of Ireland, the local causes of disturbance,
wherever disturbance might arise, and•to devise the proper
methods that might be used for its extinction. They could
not, certainly, apply to Parliament or to the Courts of
Law for relief, but they could, through the medium of
the publie press, give authentic reports of such disturbancea
and their causes to the public. To the South and West;
he felt happy in assuring the meeting, all was now per-
fectly tranquil ; while, in the North, unfortunately, there
were of the most horrible description. .At Magi-
hera, where numbers of Catholics had been slaughtered by
the Orangemen last year, and where the Catholics had since
made up the'difference, with unsuspecting confidence, lie via;
credibly informed: that the Orange processions there• were
never so numerous or so violent as this year. A gentle-
man who had come into the Hall of the Four Courts. this day
stated, that in a short journey which he had made through
that part of the country, he had to ride through no less than
eleven Orange arches. In Coleraine, the Orangemen defeated.
the police, and when the Military were" drawn out against
them, they forced them to retreat-to their -barracks. By hav-
ing these circumstances authentically stated in the newspapers,
they might obtain redress ; and, if they did not, they would at
least show the public who were the causes of the grievances of
the country. •
Mr. PLUNKETT asked •how these grievances could. be
made known except by correspondence ; and keepipg up a cor-
respondence was, they must all be aware, prevented by the
late Act.
Mr. O'CONNELL said, that they could not certainly, ,with-
out violating the Statute, correspond with any . society, but
they might safely do so with individuals. As to the griev-
ances which bad been alluded to, it was necessary •to as. •
certain the facts, and then apply to them the lenitive of good .
counsel and good example—to resist the intrusion of parry
politics, especially thoie which, in this country, excited to •
will and hatred among .individuals. They would, •by -the-
means he had adverted to, be able to present to the Irish pub-
lic a genuine picture of the causes of the which wig
exist. among them, to expose the promoters of =bigotry ants
disunion, and to point out the encouragers of Orange proces-
sions. This would certainly be of advantage, as the cure gene-
rally followed from knowing the causes- of the diseise. The
next Oleic to which the attention of the New Association
would be drawn, was that of education. The education of
the Catholics was left altogether to individual charity, with
the exception of those subscriptions which, in all large towns,
the Protestants so liberally mr.le at charity sermon's ' • while
there were 400,000 children educated by the Catholic clergy,
without receiving the least assistance from Government.—
There was at present a large fund vested in the Marquis •
Wellesley, of which, he had no -doubt, a portion would be
devoted to the purposes of education of the Catholics, if
the proper condition of the schools• conducted by the clergy
of that persuasion was reported to his - - Excellency. From
the report of the Education Commission, it appeared that ohe
Kildare-street Society were now only fit ' for superintending
ta
model school for the instruction of masters. He thought it
right that the Catholics ought to have another model school
in Dublin, and if it were once established, the Kildare-strut
gentlemen would become as useless hereafter as they had
been mischievous hitherto. With respect to education, it
would be .the duty of the New •Association to inform the
people of England of the real state of . that subject in this
country. The Learned -Gentleman entered into a detail of the
vast sums of money which had been granted by Government io
the Bible Society—.a society whose sole employment he stated
to be calumniating the Irish and the Catholic clergy. , He then
alluded to the Hibernian School Society, which Was, he said,
above all others, remarkable for ignorance and 'impudence
combined, and never was such a set of individuals assembled ,
together as its managers. He (Mr. O'Connell)• then adverted
to the curious assertions preached -by the Rev. Mr. M'Neill,
son-in-law of the Archbishop of Dublin (from the connection
with whom, he stated, he could expect nothing else), to the Hi-
bernian School Society—namely, that when a Roman' Catholic
died without absolution, the clergyman went 'to the grave, and,
exhuming the body, administered that sacrament. 'When he
had applied' to the body for their authority in asserting this
calumny, the answer he received was, that it had heen taken
from some Ecclesiastical-Review; so that his only consolatien .
was, that it had been not only preached, but printed in some
' book which lie never saw. The next object of the New Asso-
ciation would be to ascertain the extent of the population of this
country, which he considered to be e, least eight millions, dit-
tinguishing the Catholics from the Protestants, and, where it
was possible, the Protestants from the Dissenters. The forms
in 31r. Shaw Mason's book would answer for this purpose. •
They would have afterwards to ascertain what the • Catholic
clergy were paid in their respective parishes ; and probable '
when their Protestant neighbours saw on what cheap tens the
' •
Catholics got to heaven, they might wish to go thereat a similar
rate. • He then alluded to the late Burial Bill, which, he said.
had come forth literally, and without a pun, a dead'letter. They •
would build churches where the Catholics could .be buried with-
out haVing the religious feelings of their surviving friend's 'out-
raged. He concluded by moving the appointment -of a Com-
mittee of 21 to draw up regulations for the future -meetings of
the Catholic Association. •
Mr. DowELL O'REILLY opposed Mr. O'Connell's motion,
on the ground that it was meant by that gentleman •to hati
the grievances of the country discussed at the sleetings or the
Association, which was contrary to the late statute: He state.:
that Mr. O'Connell had said such was the object of the Asso-
ciation.

Mr. O'Cox:RELL appealed to the gentlemen of the press.
who had taken a note of his speech, whether he had' ot, on the
contrary, disclaimed all such intention as that attributed to
him by Mr. O'Reilly.
The Gentlemen all answered that Mr. O'Connell had not at
all spoken as Mr. O'Reilly represented him.
The Reverend Mr. L'EsTRANGE, After a fry observa-
tions, seconded the resolution, which was put, and Carried
unanimously.
The following Gentlemen were nominated on the Committee :
—the Mover and Seconder, Messrs. Conway.; Porde.,.-Brown,
Kirwan, Harte, Haband, Dillon, 'Brie, Dolan, Plunkett,
O'Reilly, Staunten, Corballis; Mt4phy, P Aotnayne.
Hickie, and Crane. .
Mr: BOUCIIIER, of Baggotstown, county Litiagikk, was
called to the Chair, and thanks returned to 111 r. Rettmegult for
his conduct as Chairman of the first meeting of the NOV, t'tt-
tholic Association; when the meeting separated.

MATTHEW M ATTO MS.—A Gentleman w h
had just taken his degree of B. A. in the Univ 44-
sity of Cambridge, going down to the North of
England immediately after; was asked by a per-
son, whose pronunciation savoured of the
" Whether he knew Mathematics ?" The
Cantab, supposing he alluded to 'some- person of
that name living in the neighbourhood, .replied,
" I don't know Matthew Mattocks,'but I know
his brother Richard very well."