The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-07-19 00:00:00

THE "TOLERANT " RELIGION.

(From the Morning Herald of Tuesday.)
The Romanists held a meeting yesterday at the Freemasons'
Tavern, on the subject of education. The assemblage was a
crowded one, and the arguments and declarations in proof that
Romanism is tolerant and enlightened beyond all other reli-
gions of the earth were as conclusive as they were positive.
The meeting was quite unanimous, and further, it was ex-
tremely vociferous in applauding repeated asseverations that
popery is mild, beneficent, and liberal, and that protestantism
is all that is harsh, uncharitable, and persecuting. At the en-
trance of the passage leading from Queen-street the Roman-
ists had taken the precaution of stationing a number of po-
licemen, who insisted on the production of the tickets of ad-
mission ; at the end of the passage other policemen met the
view ; at the top of the stairs policemen again presented
themselves. Inside the first barrier policemen were again
seen, and once more they were beheld, at the bar of the en-
trance to the platform. Besides this wholesome protection
the body of the meeting contained a large number of the
stalwart and strong-lunged pr.ecursors, who were ready to wage
battle, " by deed of hand or word of mouth" upon any into-
lerant heretic who might dare to speak in the erroneous
spirit of the reformation. The Hon. Mr. Langsdale, M.P.
presided, and amongst those present were Mr. D. O'Connell,
Mr. Dillon Browne, Mr. M. J. O'Connell, Mr. Howard,
M.P. and a number of catholic priests and well dressed fe-
males. Several letters were read to the meeting, and among
them was one from Dr. A. Scott, the vicar apostolic for the
western district of Scotland. This letter the secretary would
not have read to the meeting had he not been desired to do
so by Mr. D. O'Connell, who sat on the right of the right of
the chairman, and directed the more skilful movements of the
day. The vicar apostolic referred with much satisfaction to
the progress which he said Romanism is making in the high-
lands of Scotland, and particularly among " the descendants
of those unfortunate men who joined the standard of Prince
Charles Edward Stuart in 1745 and 1746." The mention of
this fact was hailed with several distinct howls of delight.
The pretender is evidently a sainted character with the pre-
cursors. The vicar apostolic then went on to give his own
version of the overwhelming majority of catholics in certain
districts of the western portion of Scotland amidst the almost
maddened exultations of the meeting; and at the conclusion
of the details, Mr. D. O'Connell " did himself the pleasure "
of stating the aggregate numbers. The letters having been
read, the chairman rose to speak, and the precursors raised a
shout that (to use the language of Milton) would have
" Torn hell's concave,"

The " wild Irish cry" was mingled with the smuggler's whistle
(four fingers in the mouth), and many other notes altogether
unknown to the English ear. This Saracenic harmony lasted
while moderately one might tell a hundred, and the honour-
able chairman briefly touched upon what he termed the ca-
lumnies with which Romanism had been assailed by the pro-
testants. But it would appear, he said, to be the nature of
error (that is, protestantism,) to seek support from violence
misrepresentation, and calumnies. He believed that truth
was never brought home so powerfully to the human heart
as when she appeared in simplicity with calmness and charity
towards our neighbours (by which the honorable gentleman
doubtlessly intended to paint Romanism with her inquisition
her massacre of St. Bartholemew, and her thousand and one
et ceteras). The honorable gentleman further adverted to
the calumnies of the protestants, and observed that the Ro-
manists were not disposed to indulge in recrimination. " The
Roman catholics," said he " can well afford to be generous
on such an occasion as the present," at which we imagined
we perceived Mr. O'Connell to exchange a very arch look
with a Jesuit-looking gentleman at his elbow.
Mr. Jones, of Lanark, moved the first resolution, to which
a seconder was found with considerable difficulty. Mr.
Dillon Browne then delivered a very poetical speech (which
he had in his pocket, as we afterwards discovered,) in which
he endeavoured to be very severe upon the Bishop of Exeter.
Directly the name of that distinguished prelate was mentioned,
Mr. Daniel O'Connell acted the part of fugleman by sending
forth a hiss that would have done honour to Chingachchook
(the Big Serpent) himself. The precursors took the hint,
and the walls of the tower of Babel could scarcely have re-
sounded to more dissonant music. Mr. Dillon Browne, as
it has been observed, was very poetical. He attempted one
very sublime flight, in which there was something about the
genius of architecture watching over the sleep of popery, and
ready, if she should awake, again to- testify her claims to the
edifices over which the said genius presides—but as the ho-
nourable gentleman did not follow the " copy" he verified
the remark, that " there is but one step from the sublime
to the ridiculous." His Pegasus suffered a terrible stumble,
and limped throughout the rest of his ostrichian attempt to
" scale the heavens." A Rev. Mr. Sisk, who followed, eulo-
gised Pope Innocent 111., Honorius 111., and Gregory IX.,
and proceeded amidst a perfect tornado of acclamation to
laud the Jesuits, to whose merits he declared he was alto-
gether incapable of doing justice. Mr. D. O'Connell lent
the whole strength of his cheer in favour of that " much-
abused order" of the Romish church. Another speaker,
Mr. Ainstey, spoke of the Romanist, girding themselves for
the fight, " when the odds are less, and the chances of suc-
cess greater," and contrasted popery with " that thing they
called the church of England." Mr. O'Connell followed,
and in a speech, the delivery of which occupied nearly three
hours, proved, as he said most satisfactorily, that popery is
what the city men would term three-fourths seven-eighths
more tolerant than protestantism. According to Mr. O'Con-
nell, England owes everything she ought to value as a nation
to Romanism. Judges, sheriffs, county courts, trial by jury,
and " real representation," are all the offspring of popery.
He read a vast number of documents for the purpose of
proving that popery has been the friend of freedom of con-
science, and protestantism a perfect religious bigot, even
more intolerant than the Spanish inquisition itself. All this
was received by the precursors with the loudest possible de-
monstrations of applause and asseverations of the profundity
and correctness of O'Connell's historical knowledge. Hav-
ing " proved " all this, the member for all Ireland went on
to demonstrate that protestantism is productive of crime and
Romanism of virtue. He admitted that Queen Mary's reign
had cast a stain upon popery, but then he begged to remind
the world that a Spanish friar of that day had advised the
popish Sovereign not to persecute the protestants. In one
word, O'Connell made out that papacy is an angel, and the
established church a devil. He almost deified the jesuits,
declared that his church is all charitable, not forgetting the
inquisition, the Waldenses, the Albigenses, the Hussites,
and various other " gentle massacres" of heretics ; and cha-
racterised the church of England as the personification of
persecution and uncharitableness. Curious enough it was
that in the midst of his glowing picture of popish toleration
he threw in a little incongruous colouring, which somewhat
marred the harmonious blending, and which, it would have
been imagined, so cautious a limner as O'Connell would have
avoided. He stated, with great exultation, that Mr. Eneas
M`Donnell had presented himself at the door, (with a ticket,
for which he had paid half-a-crown,) and had been refused
admission. This met with a yell of delight, and when
O'Connell hinted, that had M`Donnell found his way in,
he would very quickly have found his way out, the precursors
and the rest of the tolerant Romanists were perfectly con-
vulsed with the delirium of charity and toleration. if we
are to take O'Connell and the rest of the speakers for pro-
phets, Romanism is shortly to become the ruling faith of this
kingdom. The precursors were evidently convinced of it,
and every prediction of the speakers to that effect was cheered
again and again.
The proceedings of yesterday offered a fine illustration of
the homely saving of " putting the best leg foremost." If
the orators are to be credited, all the social evils await only
the supremacy of Romanism in order to fly from among us.

In the insolvent debtors' court on Friday, Simeon John
Boileau, Esq., described as late of Liverpool, barrister-at-
law, was opposed by Mr. Cooke on behalf of two creditors—
Mr. Neil, a solicitor, and Mr.-Flight, an annuity creditor.
Mr. Boileau supported his own petition. The debts on the
schedule amounted to £13,964, and the assets, in good, bad,
and doubtful debts, about £4OOO. The court adjudged the
insolvent to six months' imprisonment from the date of the
vesting order (9th May), at the suit of Mr. Neil, for con-
tracting the debt with him without any reasonable or pro-
bable means of payment ; and that imprisonment to be
within the walls, and not in any rules or liberties thereof.
MELANCHOLY AND FATAL ACCIDENT.-011 Wednesday
morning week, an accident of the most melancholy and fatal
nature befell Mrs. Jewett, wife of Mr. Jewett, schoolmaster,
of Lancaster Castle. She was engaged in the domestic oc-
cupation of " ironing," and, while bending over the fire,
was suddenly, as it was supposed, seized with a fit, and fell
across the grate, in which position she was found in a few
minutes by her horror-struck husband. The head, face,
neck, and bosom of the unhappy woman were so much
burned as to be totally charred. Dr. Hunter Lane, Mr.
Harrison, and Mr. Foxcroft, were immediately summoned ;
but, after lingering a few hours, she expired. An inquest
was held in the castle on Friday evening, before John Gard-
ner, Esq., coroner, and a verdict returned in accordance
with the above circumstances.

A BOTTOMLESS MEADOW.—As the line of the Glasgow
and Ayrshire railway crosses from Ayrshire into Renfrew-
shire, there is a meadow, about three miles long, belonging
to W. Patrick, Esq., W.S., through which it has to pass,
and where it has to be embanked four or five feet high. The
contractors lately entered upon it, and commenced the em-
bankment, but were not a little surprised to find that their
labours, like those of Tantalus, threatened to be of an endless
nature ; as after having embanked 30 yards, they found that
about 10 had sunk or subsided below the level of the line.
They next day repeated their work, reforming the embank-
ment to the ordinary level ; but, strange to'say, the under-
soil again gave way, and although they have since continued
day and night to heap earth upon the spot, having put about
300 square yards upon a surface not exceeding 36 feet, the
greedy bowels of the meadow receive it as fast as it is applied,
and the workmen are now, not without reason, despairing of
finding a solid foundation. This most singular phenomenon
attracted a party of engineers to the spot on Saturday week,
who could account for it in no other way than that the mea-
dow is floating on water ; which supposition seems the more
feasible, that the ground rises on each side of the sinking
portion, and splits into deep cracks or hags. , The people of
the district have flocked in hundreds to have ocular demonstra-
tion of the above facts.—Glasgow Courier.
THE CUCKOO DOMESTICATED.—On the 17th ult., a
cuckoo was shot in the neighbourhood of Dingle, by Mr. R.
Townsend, of this town. The bird being only slightly
wounded in the pinion of the wing, the disordered feathers
were properly arranged, and the wound soon healed ; it was
put into a cage, and fed with caterpillars and other insects,
the peculiar food of the cuculus canorus ; but as caterpillars
could not be collected at all seasons of the year, Mr. Towns-
end used every' means to induce the stanger to change his
mode of life, and has at length succeeded to his entire satis-
faction. The bird is so familiar and contented with its situa-
tion, that it has a particular wish to be fed from the keeper's
hand ; it will perch on his finger, and suffer itself to be car-
ried in that situation in the garden, cooing at the time with
as much spirit and satisfaction as if it sat on one of its native
branches in the wood. We have known the young cuckoo
to be caged for a tinie, and even to appear contented with its
situation ; but this is the only instance on record wherein
an old bird of this species has been so familiarised. I doubt
not but it will live through the winter in this country, and
favour us with its cheerful notes. It is a circumstance wor-
thy of observation, and one which, I believe, has escaped the
notice of the naturalist—that the cuckoo never drinks. Mr.
Townsend observes, " After the closest attention for more
'than five weeks, I find that this bird shoVis no disposition to
drink ; yet it is still in perfect health."—Kerry Even. Post.