The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-01 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

S.lll,—Well, the apposition are determined to go
on wasting the time and energies of this exhausted
and dying Parliament. Not oue particle of wit or
wisdom will they learn or be taught. But now
another most important question forces itself upon
our notice, and that is, chi ()ono, what is the use of
their Irish Church motion during the present ses-
sion and by this existing Parliament ? Can it be
possible that Lord Russell and Mr. Gladstone are
so ignorant of the history of their country as not to
know that there are, and always have been, such
periods as exceptional sessions, i.e., sessions when it
was utterly impossible to bring forward any really
great and important measures of reform and pro-
gress. What progress did Catholic Emancipation
or Parliamentary Reform make during that old,
long French war, from 1793 to the ever-memorable
and decisive battle of Waterloo in 1815, a period of
well nigh a quarter of a century ? But it was n9t
on this account that those two great and important
measures were not deemed necessary and essential.
It was simply because the nation was by far too
much engaged in the great wur then raging to give
proper attention to them. As I remarked in my last
letter to you a month ago there is a time for all
things, and the present is about the very worst time
that could by any possibility have been selected for
the discussion of the Irish Protestant Church. The
great Lord Chesterfield lays it down that a favour
may be conferred in such a manner that it will
amount to the grossest insult that can possibly be
offered. And all Roman Catholics who possess any
memory of the behaviour of the Whigs towards
their own body during the last 20, 30, or 40 years,
cannot possibly arrive at any other conclusion than
that the present conduct of the Whigs in bringing
forward the question of the endowment or diien-
dowment of the Irish Protestant Church is at once
a direct insult to their entire body. Why, in the
name of common sense, did they never bring for-
ward the question during the 30 years they were in
power fur they have been at least in office during
fully those above-named number of years during the
present century since their first accession to ohlice in
November, 183 j, after their long residence on the
Opposition benches. 1:full well remember, 17
years ago, in 1851, the year of our ever-memorable
Great Exhibition, when the whole Roman Catholic
body, both in England and Ireland, were foaming,
and justly foaming, with indignation at Lord Rus-
sell's insolent Durham Letter of the previous
(November, 18.30). I say I perfectly wellremem-
ber hearing a Roman Catholic priest, a personal
acquaintance of mine, call Lord John Russell, as he
then was, a political tinker, because, this a forestid
priest said, he simply
made us.z of Catholicism to
suit his own political ends. Now, I beg leave to ask,
would Lord Russell, or any of his political friends,
have dared to bring forward such a question as is
now exciting such a discussion in 1850 or 1851 ?
No ; he would no more have thought of doing such
a thing than of driving a coach and six over the
moon. The country would have been up in arms
in a moment, so great and strong was the Protestant
feeling at that time, brought on in a great measure
by Lord Russell's violent Durham letter. It suited
the Whigs at that time to toady to the ultra-Pro-
testants. Now, however, as the fashion of this
hiiaiil'mylialt.twheteiyhlyNle
first profitable op-
world passeth away, and all the angry ultra-Pro-
testant feelings of 1850, 1851, and 1852 havepassed
away, and are consigned to the tomb of all the
Capulets, Lord Russell finds it very convenient to
return to all his of 1 Catholic sympathies of the days
of his youth. It is a good thing there are people in
the world with good memories in order to remind
their Roman Catholic fellow-subjects what has been
the conduct of Lord Russell towards them during
the last 30 years—how he betrayed them at the first
profitable opportunity, and as on the principle that
what man has done once there is a fair pro')ability
he will do again,
solar and lunar cycles, the rising and setting of the
as our doings come round like the
sun, the new and full moons, the full and low tides,
figures in circulating decimals, or any of those cer-
tain and immutable laws which an all-wise Creator
has laid down for the everlasting benefit of his
creature man, I entreat Roman Catholics of Great
Britain to put not their trust in Whigs or IVhiggery,
for there is no health, strength, or confidence to be
are, as the old song
in 1868, as in
Now, in
of the Ca-
tholics, to the side of
tpl
says,hBlao2cic,dstn:hlanee
nryaedlnlyvyda
doubtless
fooling, of
bt tto esagt :get
tta.t
therefore, let me earnestly en-
pulotrrtaufirtyot.estAat;taisina:
treat the Catholics not to let the serpent sting
them twice.

I remain, Sir, yours, &c.,
" A LOVER AND OBSERVER OF HISTORICAL
DATES AND FACTS."
April 30, 1868.

POPULATION OF CHICAGO.—In the last report of
the Superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools a table
is given showing the right of the pupils, which exhibits
quite a different distribution of nationalities from any of
the eastern cities, and therefore may be worth noticing.
Tho total population of Chicago in October, 1866, was
200,418 ; the number of children between six and twenty-
one was 53,100, and of enrolled pupils 27,260. Of the let-
ter, next to those born in the city itself, the largest number
were from New York, namely, 2,912, and this .preponder-
ance seems to have existed for several years, amounting to
3,045 in 1860, and 4,460 in 186 L Tuo total number from
New England in 1866, was only 1,321, of which Massachu-
setts claims one-half. From the four Middle States the total
number was 3,554, and the Western States, excluding
Illinois, have about 4,000. Of those _of foreign birth
the la• gest numbers aro from Germany, England ranking
second, Canada third, and Ireland fourth. Since 1830 the
number of foreign births has diminished, excepting
Canadians, who have doubled in that time. Of other
nations the Norwegians stand fifth in
number,Bohemians
and Scots next, Swedes, Danes, Dutch, Welsh, and French
follow in order. It is singular that there are so many
Bohemians; they are scarcely to be found in New York,
but it is probable they emigrate in a colony. Proportion
of natives
is iu
Europe,
esofnN°erhtli;rrollateri especially of Norway and
Sweden, Illinois than in any other
State, excepting Wisconsin and Michigan. That region
seems to have a peculiar attractin fin Uwe people, and
also itior New Ircirkerrh
7