The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-21 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, Jan. 20.
The Queen drove in the grpunds yesterday after:
noon, accompanied by Princess Louise, attended
Lady Churchill and the lion. Airs. Ponsonby.

ROMAN CATHOLIC REUNION•

The Roman Catholic congregations of 13irming;
ham and the district held their 15th annual reunion
in the Town-hall of that town on Tuesday evenii)g.
About 2,000 persons were present, among wlic;
was Lord Edward Howard. Bishop t llathorn
presided. The meeting was not held last year, is
then
accordance with a suggestion made by the ru
mayor, in consequence of the agitation then Pre,
vailing in the public mind, partly caused by the Cir-
culation of a scandal of an outrageous character is
reference to some alleged crime at a nunnery, winvit
upon inquiry, turned out to be destitute of eve° a
~.s,
shadow of foundation. In the course of his remarbi
The BtsuoP said—These meetings have a Pecu-
liara.
significance. The Catholics are no longer °
sidered, as formerly they were, as a bo.rY Of Ines
as
to be thrust into a corner and to be forgotten
le,
soon as possible. I must say this, that, as a °
the Catholics of Birmingham have ever been treats
a
on a fair equality with their brethren. (Hear.)
There was, however, last year, an interruPvlder
of these assemblies, and an interruption d.
very painful circumstances—the MurphYire ria.,llo
There was an interruption from a state of feel.:'
that we ourselves in no way contributed to. (4.
plause.) We were going on in our ordinary way'
living in peace and tranquillity with our neigf
hours, and enjoying as heretofore the coufidencAe it
the rest of the inhabitants of Birmingham ;
was through an incursion, through an invasion
weak, feeble, without principle—of feeling, passi°,ci
and excitement. It was an invasion that oils;
the excitement and the trouble, and, I must /3,%!
the trial and the affliction through which the u
tholics of Birmingham had to pass. (fleas'sttie
hear.) But it is not to be forgotten
the trial of the hour brought out the While
of the Catholic body —(applause)—how, Whey
they were patient, peaceful, and enduring, t",O
were also valiant ; and how the people crowded
our churches and nunneries night after nigh'
depriving themselves of rest for the purposo of Pro
o
tecting our buildings, our religious women, and °e.)
clergy, during that period of trial. (APPlinishea
And, again, it is not to be forgotten how, wes
from this very floor a slander was uttered agaleat
those who, above all human creatures, are e 0
51)
for their charity and their purity—(loud applatithis
—when that terrible slander was uttered from
place, and with so many solemn, pompous circa 0.
e
stances, which seemed to individualise and to 111:0,
out the very spot and the very persons ; and Wb of
for a time, even the good feeling
our fellow-townsmen were shaken—it was the 131
ly
and confidence 3..
gistracy of Birmingham who freely and
came forward, examined into the case, and sh°o(l
at once that the whole thing was a scandalous iito
infamous invention. (Applause.) In referenee ia
their schools he said—Since the last reunion held
3,
this hall we have changed the whole system of re,1,3
naging our schools. Previously the whole of
Catholic schools iu Birmingham were manageci be
one committee, but it was found from the incl.'ag of
ev
of the schools, and the largeness of the operation
managing these schools, that it was no longer t of
pedieut to continue them under the managenicil
one sole exclusive committee. Therefore, ftea
ve
mature consideration and taking counsel, we '31,0,1
introduced altogether another plan. A g,c_ ,
°eet.
committee is only retained for the purpose of 'oe
ing general matters concerning Catholic edutea,
in Birmingham, to assist in building new se cf,
and generally to advance education. Each 10
the
vidual mission now manages its own school, and ter
result is that the schools are managed with greaivee
efficiency—(hear, hear) —and the clergy thetusei. 0
are beginning to find that by having the exelesl'
management of the schools in their own 013 is
~'
their interest is necessarily deepened in then), cii-e
the result of the new system is that the state of t
schools has been very emasidera,bly amelioratej.
(Applause.)
oies
Canon SULLIVAN said they had met that eva .o,i
for the purpose of raising means for the edueitlea,
of their poor children. With the Catholics edilet
tion meant teaching a man to look to thewnhey
world as well as training him for the present'i'itea
taught people, first, their duty to God, anj
their duty to their neighbours, to their count* atlea
to themselves. They taught that religion .°:3O,
not a matter of taste, Sentiment, speeid3blitl ra,
or accident, but that it was God's gift to "-ver
the most precious inheritance they conic! ever
bef
and the highest obligation to whie',;ttet
gain,
must submit. They did not teach P°';:tlical
views in education, but they taught P°'1,40,10
principles. They
mos-
taught that there were ee— t
great, broad, fundamental principles which hOOl3
form the basis of all wise legislation, and sLv3ao
underlie the policy of every right-minded stak""gte,to
—such, for instance, as that obedience to the 'to
and protection from the State were correla us
terms; that, if the State demanded obedience fr°in
e
a Ma' a man, the State was bound to protect that
life and property, and in his social well-b t9+
also—(hear)—and that, in a mixed state of ecbe for
such as we lived in, law and legislation should legal
the benefit of all the community, and notforprirl oad
members of it. (Hear.) He was no levelleriadeo
did not mean to say that there should be nogred
in society, for grades in society were as nece7
all
"a
as society itself, but he meant to say ,th
lco-
men in a State, as citizens, should be equal id be
the law—(hear, hear)—that the law sh°citiaea
for the benefit of all, and that every honest °bt is
should feel that the law was his friend, and t peso
breaking the law he was going against his QS' id
interest. (Hear, hear.) He believed also t 0,4
a mixed society such as theirs, where the State ta or
composed of several nationalities—English „bele
Irishmen, Scotchmen, and many others—an' - gll
many forms of religion were tolerated, aitboe
oar
two were established, every man should feel jav
his country, his county, or his religion, was °boar)
pediment to him in his routine of life. 00 to
For instance, an Irishman should have re' feith
feel that his Celtic origin or his Catholic. ea'
•
should be no more impediments to him ru. Wto the
vancement in life than his Protestantism was
Englishman, or his Presbyterianism to the P-1
man. (Cheers.)
Lord EDWARD HOWARD remarked that Pi' biev
ham and Liverpool were the only places in Of
ve
they could get up such large social gatheri.lo'odoit
Catholics. Why they could not do it in ",e fae"t.
and Manchester he could not explain, but the
and Manchester he could not explain,
be then pro'
was certain. The subject of education, he t font i9O
ceeded to remark, was one of the most in3P°:era b!ci
which any one in the present day couldi:eo 0.0
attention. (Hear, hear.) Something had 11°600 jej
that evening about the occasional interroP oiet
certain localities of the good feeling whic_ll,,re sidijg
towards Catholics ; but those instances ",,aoeov,
gular and specific, and arose from extras
causes. The truth was that the country 04.001'4
had assumed a far more kindly feeling 'sett
Catholics than it used to have, and the reaetia 1110
that now it was seen that they were an/ to beh'e
willing, so far as religious belief wenet'et in to
themselves. But there was no doubt tu7tteatio_:
present day no one could get on without eareat
and the Catholic body had made verYegear.)
crifices towards that end. (Hear, I', the pool
was quite wonderful what the pence or
rid), biir
joined to the larger coins of the for gag
done of recent years iu building churehe.sa,para.
ing religious consolation and schools for 1 die•
secular instruction ; and it was not they, 00011".,
tholics, who alone had benefited by the Inlr,
li
l'he country at large had benefited—(h'Aioo, Seit
—for if p a-sons grew up without instruct
ef tl?„,
in consequence contributed to the cjilf!r'f
gaols and reformatories, the expense of iiietoo, s',oo
meta fell upon the taxpayers, and the 'tie
heavily. Ile referred to the labours jolts eice,
Hon. Charles Langdale. If (he said) rengcatboi
00
cation was to be preserved by the Roman inittee!..
it might be well to eat iblish diocesan co.t (Ay
a means of extending the area of oeeratioo_ 6
.
plause.
A vote
of thanks was passed to Dr. Ullatb°rye'