The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-19 00:00:00

COLLEGE OF MAYNOOTH.

A meeting was held in the large room, Exeter-hall, yes-
terday, "for the purpose of petitioning Parliament against
the new endowment of the Roman Catholic College of May-
nooth." Though several days' notice had been given, the
room, at the time fixed for commencing the proceedings, was
scarcely half filled, and the meeting altogether presented a
striking contrast to the great Protestant gatherings which
preceded the overthrow of the late Government, and helped
to usher in the present Administration on their accession to
office. Amongst those who had seats on the platform were
the following :—The Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, • Sir Cul-
ling Eardley Smith, Bart , the Rev. E. llickersteth, the Rev.
Mr. Prest, the Rev. J. Burnet, the Rev. Dr. Holloway, and
the Rev. J. Blackburn.
The chair was taken a few minutes after twelve o'clock by
J. P. Plumptre;Esq., M.P.
The Rev. Dr. HOLLOWAY offered prayers on behalf of the
assembly, and the object for which it was convened.
The Rev. J. BLACKBURN, Independent Minister of Clare-
mont Chapel, Pentonville, read the 46th Psalm.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the meeting, commenced by
saying that the post which he occupied was not sought by
him, but being called upon to fill it, he felt that he should be
shrinking from an important duty if he did not consent to
take the chair. He was surrounded, on that occasion, by
Protestant Christians of every denomination ; and ministers
belonging to each would address the meeting. There was
amongst them great difference of opinion on minor points,
but they all agreed that there was one Book which was above
every other, and that was God's Book.—(Loud cheers.)
They were, at all times, called upon, as Christians, to
protest against error; and that duty especially devolved
upon them at the present period, when the Government pro-
posed to make a considerable increase in the grant which
they had paid for some years with the greatest reluctance to
the College of Maynooth. They were required to contribute
out of the public purse to a large and liberal increase,
as it was termed, of this obnoxious grant. As Protestants,
they felt that their highest and holiest feelings were deeply
wounded by such a proposal—(Hear, hear)—and they further
felt that an insult was offered to their reason and
common sense, if it were proposed by this means
to conciliate those who had not been conciliated
by similar measures in times past, and who, they had every
reason to believe, were not to be conciliated by such
means.—(Hear, bear.) It was one of the boasts of the
Church of Rome that it was unchanged and unchangeable.
They believed. that truth was unchangeable too. By their
love for the truth they were called upon to oppose this grant.
For the truth for which they had met to contend their fathers
died ; and if their fathers could speak to them now their
language must and would be, " Sell it not ; cleave to it with
full purpose of heart." However in other matters
they might differ amongst each other, he hoped
they would all endeavour, in the spirit of union, con.
cord, and love, to effect the object for which they had
assembled. That it was their duty to do so did not admit of
doubt. Events did not rest with them, but with Him who
was above ; and they must persevere, in the assurance that
" the Lord reigneth and will reign." The representatives of
the different denominations would now proceed to address
the meeting in reference to the important subject for the dis-
cussion of which they had met on that occasion.—(Cheers.)
The Hon. and Rev. BAPTIST NOEL, on rising to propose the
first resolution, said that if he had perceived in that meeting
any intention to embarrass her Majesty's Government, he
should have hesitated to appear on the platform.—
(Heal, hear.) Whatever objections he might entertain
to the proposed grant, he felt that no exclusive blame at-
tached to her Majesty's Ministers ; for they were sustained
in their proposition by enlightened and able statesmen
of all parties.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) In assembling
there they were not actuated by any dislike towards
their Roman Catholic fellow-subjects.—.( Hear, hear.) From
his heart he wished them every kind of real prosperity.—
(Cheers.) Neithetr did he blame the Roman Catholics of
Ireland for asking of the Legislature of this land perfect civil
and religious equality with their fellow-subjects. He agreed
with Grattan and Burke that the penal code, which our an-
cestors passed for Ireland, could only be accounted for by the
fact, that in those days the doctrines of a sound
toleration, taught by the Gospel, were not un-
derstood because the medieval doctrines of the
Roman Catholic Church had taught the countries of
Europe generally that such toleration was inadmissible. He
lifted up his voice that day, not against the enjoyment of
secular and civil privileges by the Roman Catho-
lics, but against a proposed grant, the effect of
which would be simply to endow and sanction
the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. He drew a
distinction very plain to his own mind between any encou-
ragement of the secular interests of Roman Catholics, and
this sanctioning of their doctrines.—(Cheers.) On the civil
ground alone, believing that the Gospel of their Lord did
not sanction their endeavouring to propagate the truth
by means of penalties, he had nothing to say against the
Roman Catholics; but he protested against the Legislature
interfering to sanction doctrines which, as Protestants, they
were bound to condemn. To do the first Minister of the
Crown justice, he must state that the ground on
which he proposed the grant was that Parliament had en-
tered into an engagement to provide for the domestic educa-
tion of the ecclesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church. It
was represented that the Legislature were bound
to furnish the means of education for the whole Catholic
priesthood of Ireland in proportion to the wants
ofthe country. Now, if the engagement could be made out,
there might be some reason for pausing ere they refused to
sanction the increased grant.--.'(Hear, hear.) But if
that engagement were wholly fictitious, as it might
be proved to be, then the Protestants of this

country ought at this juncture to protest loudly against
an increased grant. A slight reference to the history of the
College of Maynooth would give instructive information re-
specting the nature of the alleged compact. Mr. O'Driscoll,
an honourable and able Roman Catholic, stated that
the endowment, in the first instance, arose from
the fact that the State, having declared war
against the French Government, the Catholic students
were prevented from finding an education on the continent.
An act of the State did them a misckief. and the Government
of this country consented to indemnify them. Gif-
ford, in his " Life of Mr. Pitt," accounted for the
grant by a desire on the part of the Ministers
to prevent them from imbibing a mischievous education
abroad ; and to this view Mr. Gladstone assented, in his work
on the relations of the Church and State. If this were
so, the grant was made with a certain specific object,
and there was not the slightest intimation that
it was meant either to be permanent or co-extensive with the
Irish priesthood in every future generation.—(Hear hear.)
The gi ant should cease when the reason for it existed no more.
It was not to be supposed that in 1845 there had suddenly
arisen a necessity for an increased grant; yet they found that up
to that time earliament had steadily refused any augmenta-
tion of the grant. The House of Commons had never, until
that day, seen the grant in the light in which the first Mi-
nister of the Crown now saw it. The idea of an engagement
came to them as a perfectly new principle; and if the
engagement were, as he contended, wholly fictitious, the
ground upon which Sir Robert Peel justified the proposed
grant, of course fell to the ground.—(Cheers.) The fact that
some Roman Catholic priests were paid in the colonies,
in Australia, and Canada, was owing to the circumstance
of its being so small that it had not attracted the attention
of the constituencies of Great Britain, or they would long
ago have loudly pretested against it. The fact that
Mr. Gladstone, on the proposal of this grant, had
felt it his duty to retire from the Administration, showed
that in his mind it was Use introduction of a new principle
for Protestant legislators to sanction the propagation of. Ro-
man Catholic error. Upon the same principle on which this
vote was granted, they might expect, a short time hence,
a proposal for the payment of the Roman Catholic clergy of
Ireland.--(Hear, hear.) Let them not deceive themselves
with the idea that this was a final measure ; it was only
a prelude to that of the payment of the Roman Catholi*
priests of Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) The reverend gentleman
then referred to the sacrifice of the mass, the worshipping of
images, and several of the ceremonies and tenets of the
,Roman Catholic Church ; and contended that Protestant
senators were not justified in voting public money for the
propagation and maintenance of such errors. The proposed
grant ought, he said, to be resisted, on the ground that it was
calculated to bring down the judgment of God on all who
were concerned in it. He concluded by proposing the following
resolution :

" Resolved,—That this meeting, recognising the Holy
Scriptures as the only unerring rule and standard both of
faith and practice, and convinced by the testimony of that
word that the doctrines of the Church of Rome, as defined by
the Council of Trent, embodied in the Creed of Pope Pius
IV., and exemplified in its general practice and teaching, are
' superstitious and idolatrous, and opposed to the best inter-
ests of society, and to the welfare of immortal souls, must re-
gard all support and countenance given to such a system by
the State as calculated to bring down the judgments of God
upon this Protestant country."
The Rev. C. PitEsT, of the Wesleyan denomination, se-
conded the resolution, which was put and carried.
The Rev. E. BicKErtsTETit, of the Established Church,
proposed a resolution, in substance, denying that any com-
pact existed by which the Legislature were bound to take
the course proposed by the Government.
Mr. EVANS seconded the resolution, which was put and
carried.

Another resolution was proposed and agreed to, recom-
mending the Protestants of the country generally to adopt
mea3ur^s to prevent the grant from receiving the sanction of
the Legislature.

WORCESTER STEEPLE CIIASES.—III consequence of
the fall of snow on Sunday, these races were postponed until
Wednesday and Thursday—all bets stancliDg good.