The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-12 00:00:00

M 1 riti g Am.

LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 1845.

The House of Lords met at five o'clock.
'The Marquis of CLANRICARDE gave notice of a ques-
tion for Monday on the subject of the Irish Railways.
The Bastardy Bill went through Committee.
The Earl of DALHOUSIE moved the third reading of
the Sugar Duties Bill, and defended the course which
the Government had pursued in regard to those duties.
Their Lordships were also addressed by the Earl of
CLARENDON, Lord BROUGHAM, and Lord STANLEY, and
ultimately the Bill was read a third time and passed-
Their Lordships then adjourned.

The House of Commons met at Four o'clock.

There were an immense number of petitions presented
against the Maynooth Bill. The presentation of these
petitions took up the whole of the hour usually devoted
to private business, and on the suggestion of the
SPEAKER their presentation was permitted after five
o'clock. It was not until considerably after six o'clock
that the presentation of petitions was concluded.
The presentation of a petition by Mr. FERRAND, pray-
ing for the impeachment of Sir R. PEEL, gave rise to a
scene. Mr. ROEBUCK accused Mr. FERRAND of reading
the petition, which is contrary to the rules of the House,
and called him to order. At length, however, at the
suggestion of Sir R. PEEL, the Hon. Member for
Knaresborough was permitted to read the prayer of it.
He did so amidst shouts of laughter from all parts of the
House, in which Sir R. PEEL joined most heartily.
Mr. WYNNE thought that as the petition called a
Member of Parliament to accDunt for his Par-
liamentary conduct, it ought not to be permitted to
lie on the table.

Sir ROBERT PEEL thought, as it' contained charges
against the Executive Government, it ought to be
received.

Ultimately the petition was received, and
Mr. FsRRAND gave notice, that he should, on Monday,
move that it be printed with the votes.
Mr. WARD gave notice, that on the motion that the House
do go into Committee on the Maynooth Bill, he should
more that it be an instruction to that Committee, that
any provision for the purposes of the Bill should bo
supplied out of the funds already applicable to Ecclesi-
astical purposes in Ireland.
In answer to Lord DUNCAN, Mr. C. Russmt., the
Chairman of the Great Western Railway Company, as-
sured the House that the roof of the Box Tunnel was
perfectly safe, notwithstanding the reports which had
been spread to the contrary.
On the order of the day for the second reading of the
Maynooth Bill being put,
Mr. COLQUHOUN characterised Conservatism as a
name without a notion, and said that it was treading not
on the heels but on the toes of Radicalism, and in some
cases getting before it. He should give the measure the
most strenuous opposition in his power ; and as it was
pressed forward in such a hasty manner as to allow no
time for its consideration, he should, as a Member of the
Minority, feel justified in exercising against it all those
rights with which Minorities were invested by the forms
of the House.

Mr. GROGAN would alsogive the measure his strongest
opposition. The Government had made out no case
either of compact or expediency in support of it.
Mr. GLADSTONE followed, and after declaring his in-
tention to vote in favour of the grant, a declaration
which was received with tremendous cheering, spoke
at some length in defence of the proposed measure.
The House was afterwards addressed by the Earl of
ARUNDEL and SURREY, Mr. DISRAELI, and Mr. ROE-
BUCK, after which the debate was adjourned till Monday.

The division on Thursday on the motion of Mr. emus_
TIE, shows what the Dissenters may expect from the
party who divided the House on the Maynooth grant,
who rule supreme in our Universities, and who deprive
Catholics, Dissenters, and Presbyterians of their un-
doubted right to a share of the means furnished by the
Legislature, the Crown, and the very Roman Catholics
themselves, for the purposes of general education. The
opposition was led by Sir ROBERT H. INGLIS, and the
rear was closed by Mr. GOULBUAN, the most unflinch-
ing advocate of High Church exclusiveness. The selfish
bigotry of these men could not be placed in a stronger
light, and fortunately it could not be exhibited at a
moment. more favourable for the demands of justice and
fair play. Mr. CHRISTIE did not move for the ad-
mission of Dissenters—all he wanted was a Com-
mittee of inquiry to ascertain the privileges, re-
venues, trusts, the state of education, learning,
and religion of the two Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge ; but this simple and humble request
was opposed by the Puseyite representative of Oxford,
and rejected by a majority of 61. Had the revenues
been furnished by the High Church party, and the Ox-
ford teachers been faithful to oaths solemnly made for
the maintenance of Protestantism, there would be less
cause for complaint ; but when it is known that many
of the professors are paid out of the Consolidated Fund,
that many privileges, monopolies, drawbacks on paper,
and other articles, all at the public expense, are enjoyed
by these Universities ; that most of the colleges were
founded and emlowed by our Catholic ancestors, and that
one of these seats of learning is fast relapsing to Popery,
this system of exclusion becomes a great national griev-
ance, and calls for thorough reform. " Parliament," Said
Mr. CHRISTIE, in his admirable speech, " annually voted
the sum of 2,0061. to thirteen professors in the two
Universities, who, under the prevailing system, had
some of them no class at all, and hardly one of whom
had twenty pupils. Next there was a charge on the land
revenue of the Crown for 3001. for three professors in
each:University; and HENRY VIII.'s endowments of three
more regius professors in each University ; with 1001.
a year to the two Lord Almoner's professors of Arabic,
making 6401. per annum more. There were eight canonries,
three benefices, and a mastership of an hospital annexed
to professorships in the Universities; four of the canonries
had lately been annexed : two canonries of Christ
Church to two new divinity professorships in Oxford,
and two in Ely, to the Regius Professorships of Greek
and Hebrew in Cambridge. These canonries and several
benefices were annexed to headships of colleges in Oxford
and Cambridge; and came in for their share of the benefits
from the Legislature." So much for the false arguments put
forth against any vote to Maynooth, stating that the
British Universities received none of the public money,
and that Maynooth, therefore, ought not to receive a grant
which was denied to our own seats of learning. Why,
the fact is known to all the world, that not only are an-
nual sums paid out of the public Treasury to the richest
Universities in the world, but that annual salaries are
also paid to several professors in all the Scotch Univer-
sities as well as the University of Dublin. It is needless to
advert to the speech of Sir R. Ixcms, for it contained no
facts whatever against the motion and the main argument
of Mr.CHRISTIE, though he had not the ability to see its
drifewas directly in its favour. " Look," said he, " at the
great men which our Universities had reared. Look at
the Lord Chancellor, high in honours at the University,
and distingished above all in legal life. There was also
the Master of the Rolls, Lord LANGDALE, who had been
senior wrangler at Cambridge, and, having attained the
highest honours at the university, reached the highest
place in the profession he selected. There was also
Sir F. PoixocK, who had been senior wrangler, Sir N.
TINDAL, Mr. Baron ALDERSON, Judge Matrix, Baron
PARKE, Mr. Justice COLTMAN, who had all gained the
same academical honour." If education raises men to
such
oafnddeslpuocratistm to say that ive situations, is it not the ut-
mostbe confined to one class, and that aat thesema benefits
n mnsteisthhaelrl
force his conscience, or remain without the pale ? Mr.
CHRISTIE also pointed out great scholars, and he might
have mentioned more, who had distinguished themselves
without the honours of Oxford or Cambridge, and con-
cluded his speech in this beautiful and charitable
la
gunge. After alluding to the visit of the QuxEm to
Oxford, he said :—" It should be recollected, that those
colleges had been founded in times when the Roman
Catholic religion was the professed religion of the
State, when all the liberality—all the munificent libe-
rality—had provided for the extensive education of
persons from all classes of society ; and as her MA.
JESTY passed through those noble halls, and as
she surveyed those fretted roofs, perhaps a thought
might dash across the royal breast, that in her
reign the system of exclusion should come to an end,
that the last blow should be given to that practice of in-
justice, which excludes all Roman Catholics from all
share in Roman Catholic endowments, and to the last