The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-27 00:00:00

TEE IRISH CHURCIL

An influential meeting, convened by requisition,
was held at Limerick on Wednesday evening, for
the purpose of securing " religious equality amongst
all classes of her Majesty's subjects in Ireland."
The attendance was very large. On the motion of
the Right Rev. Dr. Butler, Catholic Bishop of
Limerick, the Earl of Dunraven occupied the chair:
Amongst those present' were —Colonel Monsell,
M.P., Mr. Synan, M.P., Sergeant Barry, M.P., the
Right Rev. Dr. Butler, Very Rev. Dean O'Brien,
P.P., &c. A good number of Catholic clergymen
were also present. Dr. O'Shaughnessy, one of 'the
secretaries, read letters of apology from Lord Castle-
rosse, Viscount Southwcll, Aubrey Do Vere, Major
Gavin, M.P., &c. The Chairman congratulated
those present on the fact that they had not been
summoned there in the defence of any religious
monopoly, or to prop up a Catholic fabric or sec-
tarian ascendancy. They had been summoned in
order to certify and show to the country that they
were determined by all loyal and constitutional
means to come forward and assert that the time had
arrived when Ireland should have full religious
equality. (Cheers.) They felt that the time had
come when the question must be faced, and there
was every reason to hope that it would be quietly
sett'ed. Two of the leading statesmen of England
had come forward at the present time to give them
ail the support in their power ; and if eloquence of
speech and determination of purpose could effect
anything, those qualities were exerted in the per-
sons of those statesmen in favonr of the object tha t
that meeting was assembled to promote. The
Catholics of the world ought indeed to feel grate-
ful to the greatest orator in the House of Commons
for the words which be had lately used, and
which had gone through the length and breadth
of the kingdom, i reaching the hearts and
kindling the gratitude of thousands of their
fellow-countrymen, when he said the State Church,
as an establishment, could not exist. It had been
said by some that the Catholic laity of Ireland did
not feel a deep interest in the question—that to a
vast number of them in this country it would be a
matter of indifference whether the Established
Church was done away with or not. But that great
meeting, and others that would be held all over the
country, would show the falsity of that assertion.
Let the resolutions that would be adopted and the
petitions that would be sent to Parliament— not
from Limerick alone, but from every parish in
the country—show that no ground existed for such
a reproach. No one could have failed to observe
with the deepest pleasure that a remarkable
change had come over the progress of public opi-
nion on this great question in England, and he
might add not only on this but on all questions
relating to Ireland. England boasted of being
a land of justice and a land of fair play ; but the
people of this country, and the history of the past,
had not given it an opportunity of judging of those
favourable portions of the English character, and it
would be unjust and ungenerous if they did not
acknowledge that there never was a time since the
connection between the two countries in which
there was such a strong desire on the part of Eng-
land to come forward and atone for the errors of
the past, and to deal with all those grievances of
which the people of this country most justly com-
plained. He hoped that it would be clearly under-
stood that they made a distinction between what
they said with regard to the Established Church as
an establishment, and their feelings with regard to
the Protestant religion. They did not come for-
ward in opposition to their fellow-Christians,
or to denounce any religious tenets in the
land. They would leave that to their opponents,
who had never been slow in vilifying the faith of
the vast majority of the people. There was one
effect which education was bringing about. If they
educated the people of Ireland, amongst other
things they must lead them to read the past history
of their own country, and iu reading it they could
not help realising the manner in which their clergy
had been treated. His lordship observed that if
the Parliament aceeeled to the wishes of the majority
of the people in this matter, and passed other mea-
sures for this country, they would have no more dis-
content, a better day would dawn for Ireland, and
they might expect to see the welfare and prosperity
of the people. Col. Monsell, M.P., who was loudly
cheered, proposed the first resolution—" That while
the ecclesiastical revenues of England were ap-
propriated by the national will to the spiritual
wants of the majority of the English people, the
ecclesiastical revenues of Ireland, against the
national will, were appropriated to the spiritual
wants of less than one-eighth of the Irish people ;
that in the opinion of the meeting this appropriation
was a national wrong, a badge of conquest, and
inconsistent with the first principles of justice."
Alderman Quinlivan seconded the resolution, which
was unanimously adopted. Mr. Synan, M.P.,
moved the next resolution—" That, for the purpose
of laying the foundation of Union, prosperity, and
peace in Irelan 1, the disendowirent of the Esta-
blished Church is the first step to be taken." The
resolution having been seconded, was also adopted
unanimously. Several other resolutions in fur-
therance of the objects of the meeting having been
proposed and carried, the proceedings terminated.

TIIE WORKS OF GUSTAVE Dora;.—This season
will doubtless witness the most remarkable display of
works of art by one born to be among the greatest of the
past, the present, and the future. An exhibition on a large
scale of the young master's latest works is announced ;
meantime, those who have not yet seen Dore's great paint-
ings at the Egyptian Hall, should hasten to do so before
Oa* pry1;0019 &nd speedy rerimaktg the, Vuited Otto.