The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-12-20 00:00:00

PROTESTANT MEETING AT WARRINGTON.

On Tuesday evening a public meeting of the members of
the Warrington Protestant Association, and of Protestants
in general, was held at the Town-hall, in Warrington. The
attendance on the occasion was numerous and respectable.
Among the gentlemen present on the platform were Peter
Langford Brook, Esq., William Hall, Esq., Thos. Greenall,
John Clare, Esq., Thomas Johnson, Esq., Gilbert
Greenall, Esq., &c., &e.

PETER LANGFORD BROOK, Esq., according to announce-
merit, presided.

Prayer having been offered tip by the Rev. JAS. WRIGHT,
of Warrington,

,
The CHAIRMAN proceeded to address the meeting in the
following terms :—ln accepting the honour of presiding over
you on this interesting and important occasion, I have placed
myself in a situation to which I am very little accustomed ;
but still I was -aware that I, in common with every,other in-
dividual, had a duty to perform, from which it became me
not to shrink ; and I can aesure you that nothing but that
feeling of duty induced me, inexperienced as I am, to con-
sent to occupy this chair. I am under a, strong conviction
that this is a time when every friend of the established
Church, when every true Protestant, ought to be up and do-
ing, and therefore it xs quit I am now among you. (Cheers.)
I come to the town of NViirringtQu with particular pleasure,
'for several of the earliest years of my life I passed in the
house now occupied by your worthy vice-president (John
Clare, Esq., of Fairfield-house,) There have I often perused
the holy word of God ; theiellaye
.I often repeated that pe-
culiarly Protestant comniandment, which tells us that we are
not to -bow down to or worship any graven.image, the like-
ness of any thing in heaven above, in the earth beneath, or
in the waters under the:earth ; and there I first learned that
there are not seven sacraments. (Applause.) :Knowing that
we were to meet here on the true
.Christian principle, of wilL
lingly giving offence ,t 6. no one, whilst we. uncompremisingly
assert that which:we believe to -be the truth ;—knowing that
we were to iiwet to defend our excellent religion from aggres-
sion, and our church. from . the: assaults of open and seopet
foes, I was determined to join with,you hand-in-hand, heart-
in heart, in effecting your objects ; and 1 shall be ever ready
so to join with all parties,who,will :take up the defensive po±
sition which I, think absolutely necessary. (Cheers.)
Gretstoier GaLustALL,,,Esq..,,proposed the first r,!solittin,
namely, "That we viefewitle great apprehension the progress
which. Popery is now making in, these realms, and the coun-
tenance that, it is receiiing from her Majesty ministers, and
that Protestants are called on to irse their most strenuous
exertions to oppose the further advance of so greata.national
calamity.''

Dr. Mevram, of Dublin,
.seconded the resolution. The
cheers with which ha was greeted, on rising, haVing subsided,
he then proceeded to sey—My Protestant brethren of War-
rington, in rising to second the resolution which has been so
ably advocated. by the
.gentleinan who has preeMed nue per-
mit me to inform you that I stend here this evening et the
.invitation of your cominittee to address you °tithe deplorable
condition of my country—to illustrate to. you the agency by
which it is convulsed—and to point. out the fearful condition
in which the l'rotestants.of Ireland.have been placed by the
base and selfish policy of a faithless, government, who have
betrayed them to the px ieethood of Romp for their support
at the hustings. Tile. English people. have been systemati-
cally and studiously deceived respecting the actual state of
Ireland : you arc not, yet fully sensible that the agitation, by
which that country is now demoralized and degraded, is not
for the attainment. of any one ,principle of liberty ; you are
not yet fully aware that the .agitationeso purposely and so
laboriously kept up, is viewed with reprehension alike by its
Protestaht. and Roman Catholic; gentry, and that it is alto-
gether a peasant warfare excited by the priests to effect a se-
paration between, the countries for the overthrow of your
church and foe the ascendancy of that of Rome. Let not,
therefore, the advocate for liberty in England expect to find
any ally in the popish peasant of Ireland. Immersed in igno-
rance and in superstition, he never even, dreams of the gloe
riutie rights and privileges of freemen. He takes the hue of
his politics, as he does that of his religion, from the lips of
his. priest alone, and that priest advocates neither reform nor
liberty. In every age and in every nation the priesthood of
RoMe have. uniformly been the engines and the allies of des-
potism, and they are themselves the most arbitrary and the
:most intolerant of despots. Debarred from those endearing
ties which ameliorate the .heart of man, soften down the rigid
features of his-character, and attach him to his fellows and
-his home, they have no country hut Rome—they avow alle-
giance but to its uontitie-and they recognize no Christianity
but its church. The dominant ascendancy of that church
and of their order, arid the-destruction of every other, ever
has been and -ever will be the unceasing object of their am-
bition. The contest in England is,- whether the reins of
government shall be entrusted. to the hands of the orderly
portion of -society,..or surrendered up to those of the very
lowest—whether the gentry shall legislate for the people, or
whether the very-mob are to hold dominion over the gentry
—whether your church, that sacred 'palladium of gospel reli-
gion, not alone here,. but throughout Christendom, is to be
sacrificed to a spurious.,and infidel liberalism, and. whether
the throne itself is to merge into a republic to be re-occupied
by the tyranny of some unprincipled and revolutionary despot.
In Ireland the contest is, whether the reliftion of the gospel
or the superstition of Rome shall prevail—whether that coun-
try is to be ruled by the uniform and wholesome dominion of
the law, or by the arbitrary dictate of the priest—whether
its Protestant inhabitants are to continue in the enjoyment of
the blessings, of civil and religious liberty, or whether they
are to be heartlessly surrendered up by a selfish and reckless
ministry to the tender mercies of an ignorant, intolerant, and
plebeian priesthood, who are now straining every nerve to
subdue them. In England, the sweeping extension of the
elective frauchisehas placed the • power of the hustings
.teo
much in the hends of those who are least competent to exer-
cise it wisely. In Ireland, it has placed that formidable en-
gine in the hands of the most pestilent priesthood that ever
profaned the sacred name of heaven, to establish their own
abhorrent and impious doininion upon earth. In coming
forward to testify to the -numerous and highly respectable
assemblage by which I now see myself. surrounded, against
the monopolising and mischievous ambition of that priest-
hood, and against the deMoralising influence of their reli-
gion, I am not swayed -by any hereditary prepossession
either against that priesthood or against that religion. I
owe' my birth to Roman Catholics. I was sedulously. edu-
cated in their creed, and my- mind was deeply imbued with
all their religious and political opinions: When it was
given me to be fully sensible of the great errors of that creed,
and to take my religion froth the sacred and unerring word of
the Lord, rather than fronsthe lips of erring and sinful man,
I at once, in obedience to my rational and honest convic,
tions, came out from that Church ; but, in happily escaping
from its plagues, I'have inabibed no sentiments of personal
or political hostility againSt those who, unhappily for them--
selves, still continue-to believe in it. Ido not stand here as
the partisan of any party, neither am I the political opponent
of any community, either in your country or in mine, for
their religious sentiments. I• do not come here to give a
modified expression of my opinions to recommend myself to
any body of men, hoWever influential ; but I address you in
all the candid and honest liberty of a free man. I always
have been, and I am now also, a liberal—but a liberal in the
legitimate acceptation of that now much-abused term. I
am an advocate for equal laws and equal rights—for the free
and uncontrolled exercise of religious -worship, and for the
reform of such abuses as may have ,crept either into the
venerable fabric of the constitution itself, or into those in-
stitutions by which that constitution is embellished and sus-
tained. I, moreover, go further than this, and say, that
government should keep pace with the march of improve-
ment—that it should not remain stationary whilst the sciences
of legislation and of political economy vrere going forward—
but that it should progress with the orb of intelligence, and
receive from that luminary its motion and its light. (llean)
But I do not deem it liberty so to degrade the elective fran-
chise, as to enable the Irish peasant, under the .lash of his
priest, to decide the vote in the imperial parliament, and to
dictate to the EngliSh nation its laws and its legislators, I
do not deem it consistent either with the letter or the spirit
of liberty, to prostrate my 'country under the very feet of the
arrogant priesthood—of a church whose motto is intolerance.
(Loud cheers.). It is, therefore, s because I am an advocate
for the glorious principles of liberty—for the inherent and
legitimate rights and privileges of man—that I stand here
this day to protest against a church that has ever waged, and
that, as long as it is permitted by the mysterious dispensa-
tions of Providence to remain as a curse upon the earth, will
ever continue to wage an untiring and an unmitigated warfare
against the rights and liberties of mankind. ' Intolerance
and persecution are written in characters of blood on every
page of the history of that tyrant church—a church which
has shed oceans of blood—which has set man against man,
and nation against nation, to maintain its iniquitous domi-
nion—a church that has-galled in the aid of the dungeon and •
of the executioner, to crush the free expression of opinion--
a church which, to repress the progress of intellect, has
proscribed, under the severest penalties, some of the finest
monuments of human- genius—a church which, under the
impious pretext that it is dangerous to read the word which
the Lord himself has written for our instruction, has inter-
dicted the perusal, even of the sacred volume, lest its pure
and holy light might dissipate the foul and odious supersti-
tion which it has substituted for the gospel of our Divine
Redeemer. Such is the character of that church, which,
under an Unprincipled government, is now again raising its
awful head in these realms ; and unless the protestants awake
from their apathy ere it he tbo late, the dark mantle of that
superstition will again overshadow this .now free and Chris-
tian country, and it will be again subjereed to the surpliced
myrmidons of Rome, who will rule it with a rod of iron,
and stain it, as they did before, with the blood of suph
brave and Christian men as may have the courage to avow
their deep and holy convictions. (Cheers.) If we wish to
learn the moral and political influence of popery, we can
read in the degradation of. those countries which have
groaned beneath its bondage. - (Hear.) • But I will not here
appeal to history for illustrations of its debasing character,
neither will I travel to Portugal, nor to Spain, nor even
to the head quarters of popery itself, for evidence of its im-
moral influence. 1 will not lead you through the impure
atmosphere of Naples or of - Rome, but, (and I grieve
whilst I say it) I will bring you to my native land—to
degraded and to demoralised Ireland, arid, is the mirror
which reflects the distorted andeosanguined features of that-
devoted country, 1 will exhibit to you the impress of popery.
(Loud cheers,) I beg you, in imagination, to throw your eyes
over the, line features of that. favoured_ country, on winch
'.:Providence has lavished every gift that could render it pro-
ductive. I next beg of you to review the character Of.the
peasantry of that country; mark their intelligence and eapa-'
city, their quick appi chensione their ready wit-their patient
and laborious industry. They come here to reap the abun-
dant hardest of your fields ; they perform the most, toilsome,
work of your towns and your cities, and their kindly and happy
temperament shines out in the midst of the poverty end pri-
vation by which they are borne down. Remember their brave
and manly bearing : they have fought by your side in the
battle field, where their blood has mingled freely with yours;
and they have kept pace with you in those glorious victories,
when England, under the guidance of a hero who has won
alike the martial and the civic wreath, achieved the deliver-
:lnce of Europe. (Loud cheers.) Haying thus pictured to
you my country and my countryrneneas they have been fea-
tured forth by the benevolent hand of nature, regard now
these features as they have been deformed and distorted by
the blighting influence of popery. Look at Ireland, with her
fertile soil not half cultivated ; her immense resources ne-
glected ; her mighty water-power running to waste ; pro-
ductive industry proscribed by combination ; her nobility •and
gentry driven from their homes by intimidation; her fields
stained by the blood of the protestant; her noble aspect ex-
hibiting one fearful scene of turbulence and of crime ! Well
may I exclaim, " With desolation is all the land made deso-
late.", I do not require of you to take this picture at my
showing ; neither shall I refer you to the daily press for evi-
dence of its truth. But I will appeal to a higher doeument—
.to one, too, at whose door no imputation can rest. In the
minutes of evidence lately fait forward by the House of Lords
on the criminal condition of Ireland, arising out of the 'no-
tion of the truly noble Earl of Roden, you will see how feebly
and how faintly I have sketched the condition of my country.
That invaluable document contains the evidence o: men op-
posed in their political- and religious sentiments—of noble
lords—of judges of the land—of justices of the peace of high
station and of long experience, and also of stipendiary magis-
trates, and of officers of' police, promoted by Lord Normanby,
and holding office at the pleasure of the government. I have
carefully, and I must add, also, I have painfully perused the
four large. volumes containing that report; and the heart
sickens at the appalling history of outrage With which it
teems. Almost every sheet of that voluminous report tells
you the. story of. blood. If a farmer discharges a refractory'
labourer—if a steward acts faithfully towards his employer—.
if an agent distrains for rent—if tr landlord ejects an insolvent
tenant—if another enters On the field from which a former
one has been removed—they each, for these respective acts,
incur the danger of being murdeaed ! If a man bids at a
public auction for goods distrained for tithe or for rent—if he
gives evidence against the assassin or the inceudiary—if lie
prosecutes those who have. injured hint—if, as a magistrate,
lie be active in the discharge of his duty--if he expresses an

opinion hostile to that of the priest, or votes against the can•
didate whom he has proposed. he incurs the danger of. being I
murdered. As we peruse the pages of this evidence, we find
them tilled . with the details of atrocities arising out of such
circumstances, and that murders on murders have been com-
mitted from causes such as I have now enumerated. o. We
learn, also, from this report, that the murders committed by
the popish peasantry cf -Ireland are not the result of want;
they arc not the acts of one or More- abandoned men, com-
mitted for the sake of plunder;—they ere cold-blooded, deli-
berate
murders,. systematically perpetrated- for intimidation
or revenge. A peasant council sits in secret conclave, to.se-
lect the victim that is to be sacrificed The district for miles
round is cognisant of the intended crime, its inhabitants arc
all parties to the leurdere-theasseesin is:brought from a dis-
tance to shed - the blood of a man whom, perhaps,. he never
saw, and at whose hand he never received injury,. Instead of
such a monster being regarded with. abhorrence, his arrival
is hailed by the popish peasantry; theyufford him the-rites
of hospitality, they place him on the scent, they point out to
him his victim, they pant in isreatidess•expeetation for the
result, and when the deed.of blood is accomplished, they
afford him concealment and protection.. - We are informed,
also, in the lords' evidence., that • murder is a market-
able commodity, and that its price varies from 155. to 50s.
Such is now the awful condition of my country, and swills
the moral influence of popery, that assassination, so prevalent:
in those kingdoms where that superstition prevails, flourishes
pre-eminently in Ireland. The next feature that strikes us
on the perusal of this important document is the total disre-
gard evinced by the popish peasantry of Ireland, and evinced
by them alone, for the solemn and sacred • obligation of an
oath. Perjury prevails at the inquest of the coroner, at civil
bill and assize courts—it . stands on, the witness tablee-it
presses on to the jury box, where those inipanelled and sworn
to give their verdict according to. the evidence, pronounce
that verdict in opposition to time charge of the• judge, and in
opposition also to the direct and unimpeached testimony of
the witnesses • and this odious crime,.which strikes at the very
foundation oicivic society, so far from being regarded. by the
popish peasant as a violation of the commandment of the
Lord, is rather regarded by him in the light :of a social and
religious duty. (Hear.) If you demand of me why perjury
is-so prevalent amongst the popish peasantry of Ireland, my
reply will be, that it is caused alike by the example of .their-
priests and by the precepts of their religion.:. In illustration
of the regard entertained by, the bishops.of that church for
the sacred obligation of an oath, I will content myself with
referring you to the speeches and publications of the Rev.
Mr. M`Ghee, conscious that I should only impair the sharp-
ness. of the impress .which that learned, able, and uncompro-
mising. champion of protestantism has indelibly marked upon
their foreheads by any additional illustration. On referring
to our parliamentary document for information on this head,
we learn that the priests habitually attend the inquest and
criminal courts, that they tamper with- evidence, to frustrate
the•ends of justice, to screen the popisirpeasant who is guilty,
and to procure the condemnation of the protestant who is in-
nocent. The most open and unblushing perjury prevails at
the • hustings, and it cannot be denied that it .is. committed,
not, alone under the sanction, but by the instigation of the
priest. ' He causes the wretched peasant to vote, he is aware
that,: in immense iv:inters of cases, his qualifications is ticti-
.ious, and he is never heard to raise his voice to warn him
against the crime of perjury. Ile-tells the deluded peasant
that he is -voting in the cause of his religion and, of his God,
and that the "end sanctifies the means. So far for priestly
example : now for this precept : it is laid down in the canons
of the church of Rome that all oaths arc to be regarded as
perjuries (quasi petjuria) which militate against its interests ;
and divines of that church, whose works hold a prominent
position in the library of Maynooth, have laid down the doc-
trine—that acts otherwise sinful, cease to be so, when its in-
iterests are concerned. The priest, practically speaking, is
to his blind followers the infallible church, and consequently
becomes the ultimate authority to decide what oath should
be observed and what oath should be violated—what act is
sinful and what act is meritorious. Ile thus enforces or
annuls at pleasure the obligation of an oath—he preaches obe-
dience to the law, or he stimulates to its violation—he con-
firms the oath of allegiance, or heexcommunicates his monarch
—refuses to give to Caesar the timings which are Ctesar's, and
pronounces an unchristian rebellion to be a holy warfare in
the cause of his church and of hie Lord. Thus these solemn
duties and obligations, which to us are fixed and invariable,
and which we test by the unerring standard of the Bible, and
by that alone, arc made to assume to the followers of the
church of Rome precisely the hue that suits the object of the
priest ; the land-marks of their moral and religious duties
are ever varying, and are always moveable at his pleasure •
the volume of the Lord is laid aside—it ceases to be regarded:-
and the crafty and sinful priest, labouring for his purpose,
becomes to his enslaved and darkened followers, the oracle
of their duty to their neighbour and to their God: , Can you
then be surprised that popery should flourish under such a
priesthood and under such a religion? (Repeated cheer-
ing.) The Irish peasantry are the people of all others who
are the most servile followers of the priest; in all their
social, domestic, and religious relations they yield him the
most implicit obedience—their doors fly open at his approach
—they are perpetually kneeling before him, according to Dens,
as to God—to confess their sins and to receive his heavenly
absolution. • They receive as gospel truths the various super-
stitions which he teaches them ; they look up to him as the
arbiter of their eternal doom: In the midst of penury they
submit to all his exactions, whilst, with the most unblushing
effrontery, he sells them his extreme unctions, his masses,
and his other heavenly merchandise. No class of protes-
tantsithat 1 know of arc near so observant of the precepts of
• the gospel as the Irish peasants of the observance of their
church—and in the degradation and vices of that .peasantry,
behold the withering fruit of their superstition. (Hear.): So
much for the moral influence of popery in Ireland as.we read
it in the lords' evidence; and on referring to the sameelocu-
ment for illustrations of its political influence, we learn that
a formidable and widely -spread conspiracy now prevails
amongst the popish peasantry ; and mark, gentlemei4 it is
confined to them alone. The object of this .conspiracseis to
separate Ireland from England, and subject it to Rome, We
learn from this evidence, that this conspiracy is hatched and
matured in ribbon societies, and that these lodges some-
times assume charitable and religious denominations ; that
they have illegal oaths, and that, like the priests, the ribbon-
men swear. allegiance to Roinethat obedience to that odious
power is the mostprominent part of the ribbon oath. These
lodges have. one common purpose,- and are in constant com-
munication with each other. Their signs and pass-words are
current throughout the kingdom, and travel through it with
wonderful rapidity ; they have county delegates, parish-
masters, and body-masters under the parish-mastereeebut
the leaders who put all these lodges in motion are unknown.
It also appears, in evidence, that fire-arms and, ammunition
abound amongst these conspirators; that they obtain them
from pawnbrokers ; that they eubscribe aumegst themselves
for their clandestine. purchase. They have been detected
bringing theta over from England.. We learn also that they
aspect to receive them, ,if they have not now already re-
ceived them frohe America, In their eager pursuit after
arms, they break open houses—trot for plunder, not for food,
not for raiment—but for arms, It .appears also that, as in
the instance of the Wexford rebellion, they are aleo angakied
in manufacturing pikes, The same . dOcument also in-
forms us that they are all sworn to turn out at two hours'
notice, either for outrage for murder, or for rebellion. Such
is now the condition of Ireland. The same document has
also informed us, that these ribbon societies have multiplied
•in an eminent degree, and have assumed a far more treason-
able character during the administration of Lord Normanby.
[Dr. Meyler then proceeded to read from the report of the
House of Lords, tome of the evidence in support of the.
charge. He then went on to repudiate the charge of dise
loyalty brought against the protestants of Ireland, and said].
-Whilst Ireland is demoralized and degraded—and I hesitatee
not to assert, demoralized by the spirit of popery—Whilst it
is fearfully convulsed from its surface to its very centre
whilst intimidation, outrages and murder assail us on every
side—whilst an extensive and treasonable conspiracy prevails
amongst the popish peasantry—the protestants of Ireland are
now, as they have always; been, loyal to the throne of Eng- •
land; their hands are riot alone innecent of blood, brit they
have kept altogether apart from those atrocities and crimes
which now constitute the every day history of Ireland ; and
-the much-calumniated orangemen have not only. remained
passive, but they have voluntarily-dissolved their association
in obedience to the law. From this most valuable do-
cument do we now learn this, and the - information should
sink deep in the breast of every Englishman, that the
crimes of Ireland are the crimes of the popish peasantry
alone, under the tuition of the priests, and under the excite-
ment of the immediate organ of that priesthood. (Hear.)
In referring to this document, a document for which the
public is indebted to the zeal and ability of a noble lord,
whose moral and Christian virtues embellished the unsullied,
uncompromising, and consistent course of his public life—a -
document which, under Providence, may yet be the means of
preserving these countries, by dissipating the false notions
entertained respecting the real eqndition of Irelend, and -
from the valuable information which it has, in an authentic
form, now placed before the public—from this authentic .
document we now learn, from official sources of the highest
authority, .that preparations for rebellion now pervade the
country—that treasonable societies are multiplying and
organising themselves on every side, and that they are now
preparing for the coming event. I shall here express my
hopes, and I trust also that they are yours, that the same
inquiry may be resumed in the ensuing parliament, and that
the noble lords may apply themselve more than they have
yet done, to ascertain the doctrines taught by the priests to
the people, and the character and results of their political
interference. Far be it from me to be. wanting in personal
respect to a noble lord, or unnecessarily to assail, even his
nubile ohgeaeter, but speaking of the late lord-lieutenant of
Ireland, and in that capacity alone, I trust that the result of •
, that inquiry will lead to the impeaehment of the Marquis of
Normanby. (Loud cheers.) [Dr. Meyler then entered into a
detailed examination of the measures adopted by Lord Nor,
merrily, and the evil consequences which resulted from their
adoption. Ile proceeded]—lt is time for the English na-
tion to consider, seriously and dispassionately, the condition-
of Ireland, and the tenure by which its connexion with Eng-
land can be maintained. Gentlemen, permit me to assure
you that that connexion can be alone maintained by a coin-
. 'nullity of. religious belief, and by one common seutinient of
opposition to the encroachments of Route. Your bond of
.union is the Bible. (Loud cheers.) The glorious revolution.
of 1688, which established the reigning civil liberty:
.in, these
realms, cemented also the loyalty of the Irish protestants to
the throne tf Great Britain. From, that period, the Dish
priestse-the same yesterday, to-day, and for everhave been
incessant in their efforts to sever that connexion. .You know,
not here the Irish priesthood—you know not the true charac-
ter of that power by which Ireland is lines, 'mind always has
been convulsed. The priests of your country arc a far more
,decorous and orderly body of inc 4. than they are ie mine—
they . proceed frpm a . more respectable atetion in .societye- •
their education is far superior—they lead more moral and
abstract lves—they devote their. time rather to the discharge
of their religious duties than to political excitement—they
have ;le yet, no furious and bigoted peasantry to wield against
their landlords, and to intimidate the country-Hthey look
rather. to a jesuitical than to a rebellious agency for the ascen-,
dancy of their religion, and they feel, also, that England is
their country. I shall forbear front placing before you the
portrait of the Irish prieet ; 'wither shall I, at present,
delineate his education, his character, or his mode of life;
„I will speak of him in his public capacity alone. It is
to Route he vows allegiance—his personal, political,
and religious pripeiples ell concur in rendering him
disloyal to the throne of England, The Irish priests
pant for separation, and for the ascendancy of their
church, and they look to the brute arm of the peasant as the
instrument by which these their new avowed objects may be
effected. They keep the peasant in ignorance to perpetuate
their influence. The superstition which they teach causes
him to look up to them for salvation, and they coerce him
to obedience by the dread of their • anathema, and by the
theeet of withholding their absolution. To exercise over
him an exclesive control, they separate him as much as pos-
sible from his landlord, whether that landlord be protestant
or Roman catholic : they draw a line of cireumvallatim;
around him, and excite him to the *most hostility against
protestants and their creed : they teach hint that every form
of gospel religion is a damnable heresy, that every protestant
is a child of hell, and on his road to perdition, and that it is
a mortal sin, of the deepest dye, to enter into a protestant •
church for time purpose of religious worehip. The deluded
peasant is initiated to regard with horror the Roman catholic •
whose eyes have been opened to the errors of his creed,- and
who haS the moral courage to obey the dictates of his honest
conviction. The peasant also, froM early life, is excited to
the utmost hatred against England; his mind i$ hieessantly
kept alive to. the contests that formerly prevailed between
the countries. Rebellious songs, lying prophecies, mutilated
and distorted scraps of history, superstitious legends, and
every other device, arc employed to keep alive this factious
and fanatic hostility. The unhappy and deluded peasant,
thus perpetually goaded on by his priest, , refuses to settle
down into the sober paths of industry ; lie considers the
condition of his country unsettled, and, he longs for a change
—fur a separation from England—fur the expulsion of the
protestants for possessing- their lands—and for the ascen-

dancy of his holy church. In the causes which I have now
enumerated, you will diacoartarmthe keaPalements'of, the it:ran-
i berdination, the crimeee And .tlae rehellious propensities- of
the Irish peasantry. One, or two preats in a few localities
may partially aid thewliTg justice, and the hiudly diapetsi
tionie'of-aotne few, sedpauci boni, may lead them to discon-a
rageatheae atrocities . of :these few I would say, apparent
ra)4 'mutes in liniyite But as long as such seed
sown in the minds of the peasant, no other frUits can spring
up from such iestructinif. .: The priest is the perpetual lea-
ven. that-wilt not allow the infueinted passions of the peasan—
try to subside: it. is he wh:nlans the flarnes.of rebellion, and
he never will teach-him otherwise than so es to render. him
the tool of his avarice and of his embitioM It is the ever-
meddling -and restless pricattlietpaevents the re-atrial concord
that would. otherwise result between theSproprietotandehe
tiller of the soil ; and if, like a poatta#unserpeteor, he did
.not intrudeehinaeelf to disturb the harthonions. balance of
• our seCiarsYilian, the peasant would revolve round the or-
derly sphere of his landlord. -.lris iii vain tnexpeet trim-
Irelatid till you emancipate the peasant, from his
priest; and teach him Christianity.: It is in vain -to expect
the due ascendance of the-law, till you destroy the political
influence of the electioneering.pricataand.restrict him to his
--mass-house. If you wish to have independent members from
Ireland, yon must elevate:the elective franchise. (Cheers.)
The peasant is not now free to exercise it.. The priest arrays,
hint against his landlOrd, and the latter will not grant a lease
to be wieldectagninst himself. The elevation of the elective
franchise would be a boon to the peasant, anti a harrier to
priestly enceoaehnient..' The protestant and Roman catholic
gentry. would most :cordially. (eineur in such an enactment.
As it now is, the priest has reduced theta to be as cyphers
on their property ; and it is not from amongst them that the
members of parliament are now -selected. The Roman ca-
tholic .gentry, satisfied with the freedom of religious wor-
ship, are adverse to priestly dominion ; they spurn alike the
dictation of the peasant and the priest ; they are as strongly -
oppmed to the temporal ascendancy of their priesthood as
you are—satisfied that such an ascendancy would reduce
them to a far more degrading bondage than that from which
they have been relieved. The agitation which now pervades
Ireland is forced on the country by the priests ; and it
would longsince.have subsided if Lord Normanby, in that
imbecile recklessness by which that vain and frivolous
.lord
is characterised, had not thrown the weight of the govern-.
went in the scale Of peasant and priestly turbulence. 'You'
are led here to regard Mr. O'Connell as .a .personage of
great political influence in Ireland. No impression can be
more erroneous. He derives all his influenee from the priest,'
and, if that influence were now withheld, I, rest satisfied that
there is not one single town or county in, Ireland that would
return him to parliament. From birth, from property, from
character, be derives no political aecendency. His impor-
tance is derived from being the. organ of the prieet. His
Whole life has been one scene of selfish anti turbulent:excites
molt. He commenced his ewer as a4iberal. iii religion--offered his services in succession to every party in the coun-
try, and was declined by them ail. • He then, as a Bernier
resource, fell back on Popery, and aitated as a Roman Ca-
tholic alone. The priests then, finding Miriam able organ
for Popish purposes, collected his rent, and he froWeapiessly
promotes their objects in return. They send to parliament
the members- whom he selects, and, heepaes that power to
control the government and to promote the objects of his
priestly masters. Such is the sum and substance of the aa-
thority of Mr. O'Connell! and it the priests withdrew from
him as a public man, he avouid be as nothing in Ireland.—
[After alluding to the tolerance of the ,Proteatant eburches
towards each other, Dr. Meyler proceeded]—Slayery and
popery always have, and ever, will be, inseparable. Its very
essence is intellectual bondage—it represses the fiee expres-
sion of opinion—it arrests the progress of thought—it also
exercises the most arbitrary dominion over the reasoning
powers—it darkens the finest intellects—deteriorates the
purest mind—it contains within itself the undying germs of
intolerance and superstition, and they can neither be Soften-
ed by time nor ameliorated by experience. You should ever
bear in mind the golden maxim of the ever-glorious .Eliza-
beth—a There can he no peace with-Rome." • (Loud cheer-
ing.) With that chinch you cen form no compact, no treaty,
no compromise. You must subdue that odious power, or
consent to become its victim. In Ireland the work of des-
truction has already'commenced ; - the: peasantry are armed,
and drilled, and disciplined for the field; an organized con-
spiracy pervades its Popish districts ; the cry of blood has
gone forth ; the priestly organ has told them. from Carlow
that it must be shed. The ,priest holds the peasant as the
slip holds the blood-hound ; and the Protestant knows not
how soon the mine, over which lie now rests in apparent se-
curity, may he canted to explode. The exterminating sword
is suspended over Bur heads'; it waits but for the word of the
priests to descend ; and it is the dictate of policy; and not of
humanity, that yet causes it to be suspended. In the cities
. the Protestants are yet safe. In the country they lutvelici-
titer freedom of actibn nor of opinion : they are there sub-
jected to every indignity, and liable to every outrage; they
are constrained, from dread, to subscribe to the support of a
superstition which, whether viewed'under a religious .or a
political aspect, they must regard with abhorrence. In their
visits to each other they are obliged to carry arms, and the
pistol has become an essential appendage to the dinner table:
There exists in the rural districts of Ireland an imperium in
imperil) too powerful for the law. The denouncement from
the altar is follotvad by murder. We learn, in the lords'
document, that it was the prelude to that•of Lord Norbury ;
and Ireland, under the twofold curse of a treacherous go-
vernment and of an apostate church, is reduced to one
. wretched scene of turbulence, where, to use the ever-to-be-
remembered words of time Tipperary magistrates—" Neither
life nor property is secure." Well may the Protestants ex-
claim, in the words of your immortal bard—
" Alas, poor country ! almost ashamed to know itself—
You cannot be called our mother, but our grave !"
The Protestants of Ireland call on you for aid and for sym-
pathy ; they are defenceless and unarmed, and they have no
government to look to for protection. When they were
emancipated from the shackles of Rome, they brought to
England the rich treasure of their loyalty and resolve. They
stood by her in bad times, when Rome excommunicated her
monarch, and enlisted foreign levy, domestic treason, and
every other unchristian expedient to subdue her. • They now
again take their position by your side whilst the work of trea-
son is going forward, under the excitement of the priest, and
under the sanction and approbation of the government—and
they claim your protection in return. • The principle of Pro-
testantism and of Popery is now again at issue in Ireland,
and the government you have sent over to us advance the
latter, to sustain themselves in- power by its -agency. We
will not submit tohe so governed.. We will
.not bow down
before the priestS, because their support may turn the_ cale
in your party contentions. Whether you send us, as-the re-
presentative of the crown, an infidel, a radical, or a conserve•
tive governor, the Protestants' of Ireland will not barter their
religion, nor sacrifice their liberty, to assist the objects of
shuffling and unprincipled statesmen. We will
:stand on
• .our -own rights and privileges, and on the sacred principles
of Protestantism, and on these alone we arta ,prepared to,
stand or fall with the British nation. (Loud cheers.) The
link that. binds us together is a holy one, do -net let, it be
snapped asunder by the priest. Wjth the loss of Ireland you
would merge into a second-rate power, and that country
Would :be arrayed :against you. in -thOlPopish confederation
which is now extending its influence over Christendoma •Rest
satisfied- that,- with Pis, . the war ufathe-reformation will have
again to bcfought—and that I relitnit ia thehattle-field, where
the banner of Rome again,le. unfurled in this, I trust,
her last crusade against the religion of the gospel and the li-
berties of mankind.:; ,Wouldthat I could, front these walls;
-send forth my'voiceltethe Paoteatants-of England, and call
on them-to beware—tonrousothentselves to a sense of their
own danger and of ours.-- stwould say ttathem, raise up -your
voices on: high,- and •let. your war-cry. he "No Popery,"—let
that cry resound from.every village and hamlet in England,
and when it passes across the channel to our shores, it will
animate us to our defenee# and we with, with renewed energy,
re-echo it back again. from Ireland. The Irish Protestants
are now prepared to take their stand on the pass, like the
. Lacedemonians of old, and with nervous arms and deter-
mined hearts they will fearlessly abide the issue of the _ cOn-
ilia, and they dread not the result.. Though outnumbered
by the slaves of Rome, yet strong in their moral and intellec-
tual elevation, in their honestantegrity of purpose, and in the
holy cause in which they are engaged, they regadnot all the
brute force which the priests of Rome -can array against
them; and should the powers of light and darkness again
mingle in mortal conflict in Ireland-a-and I doubt not but
. they soon willeathe Protestants of Ireland will go forth re-
joicing in their strength, and with the Lord of Hosts for their
guide, and the Bible- for their banner, they will assert their
liberties as they did before, and separate the living from the
dead, that the people may be saved. (Loud and repeated
cheering.) .
The resolution was put from.-the chair, and carried without
opposition..
WILLIAM Hera., Esq., proposed the second resolution, of
which the following is IL copy ze—i.4lhat.we pledge ourselves
'to ule our utmost exertions to support the,.ancient oonstitu-
tiou of this country, with which Protestantism is inseparably
interwoven, and regarding that constitution as based upon
the true religion of the reformation, in the discharge of our
duty, at citizens and Christians, wc.will use all our endea-
vours to .uphold and extend the influence of that religion, in
all its integrity, in all the departments and relations of the
state." a -
Professor BUTT, of Trinity Coll., Dublin, rose amidst great
cheering to second the resolution. lie said—This resolution,
sir, is a comprehensive one ; it is, in fact, just as comprehen-
sive as the duties of a Christian as a member of the state. I
have conic here from anothereountry, at some inconvenience
to myself, because I- knew, from the tone of the invitation,:
that I was to meet men not prepared to advocate anything
short of the utmost demends-of principle ; and 1 do rejoice
in raising my voice, however humble, when I make one more
advocate of the good old protestant principles of England.
And if I venture to allude more particularly to matters rela-
ting to. that country which is the land of nay birth and which,
notwithstanding all my admiration of your noble country,
you will pardon :no in saying, is the country of my heart, I
hope you will not think that- I am travelling beyond.my re-
cord : for on the contest-now going forward in Ireland depends
the protestantism of the world. (Applause.). There the
battle for the liberty of mankind is to be fought ; there is to
be decided the question whether the blessed light of civil and
religious liberty, and of the word of God, is to advance over
.the whole earth, or .whether the despotism of Rome is to be -
established in all its dread supremacy, to crush, not only the
liberty and the conscience, but even time hope of mankind.
(Cheers.) [The learned gentleman then entered . at length
upon the evidence on the subject of Ribbonism in Ireland,
end charged the present government with a dieeet connivance
of the treasonable projects and murderous practices of that
organised contederecy. Ile neat alluded. to
.O'Conneirs
language at 'Carlow,- in which he told the mob that " blood
must lee shed,"] This. was. proved by Mr, Vienoleg on oath.
Others offered to substantiate it en oath. Mr-.. O'Connell,
however, still held, her majesty's
mcommission: of the,Peace—
(cries of "Shae ");—and while the speaker-ad that. speech
was permitted to pollute the bench-of justice by. his presence,
the Irish government could not escape the charge of being
abetters of bloodshed. (Cheers.) .He must still trespass on
them by a few more facts. He bad asked their attention to the
evidence of Captain DeSpard as to the mode ofconnnunication
adopted by the ribbonmen—each person receiving a message
communicated it to three, and each of these to three others.
This, perhaps, might throw light on a strange event in the
history of Ireland. • In the summer of 1832, when.the war
against the Irish church was at its height—when crowds of
the peasantry assembled every day to despoil the clergy of
the nretestant chureh-,in the dead of night, from one end
of the island to the other, men traversed the'country, bear-
ing in their hands a lighted turf. No prOtestant's house was
visited by these messe4ers ; but at the house of every Roman
Catholic the visit was paid, and at the dead 'of night, without
airy apparent cause, without any known concert, they rose at
the summons, and each person bore the mysterious symbol.
with all his speed, until lie had delivered it to three others,
who again started off on this wild and singular mission. And
thus in the course of-a
-single night, this fiery cross traversed
the length and breadth of the ialand, visitipg every Noise ex=
cept those in which a protestant lived, and with such rapidity
that its speed of transmission actually exceeded that of the
mail. This might seem strange to Englishmen; but it had
unquestionably occurred. It had never been explained, never
understood, unless, indeed, they could understand that it was
the ribbon signal—sent through the country to test the per-
Action of their organization—to try by experiment the ra-
pidity with which their orders could be conveyed—whether
in a single night they could not command a general movement
of the peasantry for their intended massacre Of the protestant
people of Ireland, (Loud and continued cheering.) The
learned gentlemen then referred to some documents to show
the Peal state of feeling among the popish peasantry of Ire-
land, Mr. Wyse, a privy councillor, a Roman catholic mem -
her of parliament, • had written a history of the Roman Cam
tholic Association,
.from which he would read an extract :
" The people had greatly misapprehended the objects of the
association, and in many instances could not be convinced
that they had recommended the suppression of all former
divisions and discords, with any other view than to prepare
the people for a general and insurrectionary mOyeuient.

' When will she call us out'?' was more than once heard in
the streets of Memel, difring-the'greateirovineial meeting of '
last August, and frequently answered with. a finger on the
mouth, and a significe it smile and wink from the bystanders.
Many' f these peasants, teo,s had arms concealed in the
' mountains near the , towns, and reserved for the coming oc-
casion with great caution and assiduity." And again, " Mr.
O'Connell exclaimed in ia, passionete tone •of invective, at
the meeting at Clomnel, ' Oh ! would to God that our excel-
lent viceroy, Lord Anglesey, e-ould but only give me a coin-
mission,eind if those 'Men t/i' blood-ehould.attempt to attack
the
_property and persons of his Majesty's loyal subjects, with
a hundred thouseed of my brave Tipperary boys, I would
soon drive them. 'into the sea before me.' This was said in
the warmth. and wantonness of the•moment-a sort of rheto-
rical apostrophe, not intended to go beyond mere rhetoric;
but the- shout, or rather' the thunder of fierce voices, with
which it was simultaneously- sent back, spoke volumes of
dread and danger. The commission from the Marquis of
Anglesea -WAS. forgotten ; the ' if' was forgotten ; they al-
ready imagined- themselves in fall pursuit. Nothing was re-
membered but O'Connell and his hundred thousand men."
But.'What was it that stimulated this fierce passion to such a
degree that their -own leaders became alarmed, and feared
they could not restrain them from the work of protestant ex-
termination. Hear Mr. Wyse again:-" They believed,
with very little information and very local views, that they
had the government on their side, and that the only enemies
they had. to contend with were the orangemen of the north
and the Brunswickers ssf the south." (Mr. Butt then
read several extracts in support of the preceding charge
against the Papists 'of Ireland. He then procceded)-
He brought forward this evidence to. show them the real
character and objects of the popish party in Ireland. If
they hoped to get rid of the difileulties of Ireland by conci-
liation, they ought, at least, to know folly the lengths to
which they should go to satisfy the popish party. They must
give them up the country ; they must destroy protestantism,
establish popery, and restore the confiscated estates. (Loud
cheers.) If they were not prepared to go this length, conci-
liation was folly. Every concession short 'Of this had no
.effi-et-in satisfying or pacifying. It but stimulated their
hopes, inflamed their ambition, and added. to their power to
demand the rest. (Great cheering.) Ile had dwelt thus
long'on Irish topics,- beeause he felt satisfied that the battle
of . English. .proteetantietu was now, being: fought on Irish
ground. (Cheers.) ' Experience itself 'night satisfy them
that-every attack they permitted on the prOtestantism of
Ireland weuldloon.be.followel by one,.pn that of England.
• Some years ago, ten bishoprics had been suppressed in the
church-of -Ireland ; the people of England had silently ac-
quiesced; in: this iniquitous spoliatienes-how long was the
precedent established Lefore their own venerable cathedral
establiShreentS had been assailed ? (Cheers.) -Church-rates
had been taken from the Irish .church-it had been followed
by on attempt to abolish them in England. (Hear.) Popish
privy cduneilfors •hedebeen'iippointed in Ireland ; it was en-
dured without . a murmur • Englishmen--saw the enemies of
their faith sit et the council board of the sovereign herself.
(Loud- cheers.) - A system of ethiCation 'had- been adopted
in-,lreland, ,which; dishonoured the word of God.. (Hear,
and cheers.) It was acquiesced in by Englishmen, and;
by 'a just reteibetion, they had seen a similar system forced
upon theinselvese-in opposition to their wishes-to the voice
of the great majority of their representatives-to the remon-
strances ef their --and teY .had seen an Irish Roman
. Catholic - placed .at the head of their national . education.
(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Every insult to Irish protestant-
ism they 'perthitted, was justly punished by a similar insult
to theirowns •( Ilenr, hear.) , Nay-more-murder in Ireland
hadieng been screened by a repetition .of the crimes-Con-
Victiona'had beenn-prevented by the Murderof time 'witnesses,
and, England hrul looked calmly on, instead -of putting forth
every energy of her mighty empire to crush the syspei of
blood. (Hear, bear.) Let them -mark the retribution of
their criminalnegleote-already was the same practice recom-
mendedstlmegh not yet put in force in happy England ; and
and in Wales, a seditious publication, connived' at too long
government, their governent, had openly reconimended that witnesses
• should be murdered to prevent convictions, at Monmouth.
(Great cheering.)- For their own sakes, then, they could not
permit the degradation of Ireland to continue-the boasted
unity of their empire forbade it. England had taken Ireland
into partnership for better for worse-(cheering)-incorpo-
rated her with herself-she could not permit the plague-spot
to rankle upon Ireland without absorbing the poison through
the frame of her imperial constitution. YoU have no choice,
continued the speaker, you must civilise and Christianise
Ireland, or, Ireland will uncivilise and unchristianise you.
(Immense cheering, which lasted for a considerable time.)
• England had already felt the evil effects of the contagious
_ demoralisation which came from the other side of the chan-
nel. What he feared for England was, not the increase of
democracy-not.the spread of any set of political opinions-
the-reel danger was in the, gradual lowering of the. tone of
national feeling-in the subversion of national morality-in
the passing away Of • that chivalrous sense of honour and of
right, which once- had been. the
~cheap. ,defence of England.
(Cheers.) Who that looked at public events must not now
painfully feel this-that men and- actions -were now endured
without rebuke, that would not once have been, for a. moment,
tolerated ? Let them look teethe House of Commons : how
melancholy the contrast between the debates of the days gone
by and the scenes now enacted Ahem-(mar, hear) ;-to
the court, composed of the most profligate of the nobility,
and where Robert Owelt "was presented by the prime
minister of Engiand to their queen. (Treineedous cheering.)
Every- measure . that was proposed, bore the impress of
this demoralisation. ' Let them take the ballot as an instance-
the ballot, that professed to substitute for the good old spirit
of English manliness-(great • cheering)-ethe cowardice of
secret voting-that would make Englishmen skulk ' like
cowards to the-exercise of their dearest rights. Had they
read the defence_ that one. of their representatives-no, he
was proud to say the man 'represented no •English •censtitu-
ency-(loud,cheers)-a gentleman who dated Ins letters from
Windsor Castle-lied dared to make for the ballot in an as-
sembly of English gentlemen.. He did not deice that it en-
tailed falsehood and hypocrisy. No s but he said that in the
voter falsehood . and hypocrisy were justifiable and right.
(Cries of " Shame.") These advocates of purity--these pa-
negyrists of the people-ghey tell you you are persecuted-(a
laugh)-they oiler you a peotectimn--but a.protection which
you do not need if you are net cowards, which you cannot
use it you are not liars. They presume you both ; and then
they tell you they
_do nothing to degrade the :character of
Englishmen. (Enthusiastic cheering for sonic time.)
,Now
this very subjeet-thie painful subject of the lowering of their
national feeling-brought him at-once to the more immediate
subject of the resolution. The resolution stated the only
remedy-the protestant' religion in all its purity influencing
the state-protestant ascendancy. (Vehement cheerieg for
some time, followed by a hiss from one corner of the room ;
some confusion ensued, when a gentleman ceied-Out " three
~ cheers for protestant ascendancy," which were most entlea-
siastically given, the whole assembly rising and waving their
hats,) When the cheering had subsided;-Mr. B. proceeded
: -I thank the individual who, by his solitary hiss, attempted
to mar the unanimity of the meeting ; to him we owe this
glorions burst of protestant feeling-. (Loud cheers.) - But I
will tell vou what I mean by protestant ascendancy. - limeen
-and where is the Christian that will object to what I say?
that the word of God should be the rule of national politics,
as it was intended to be ; that every influence and. power of
the state should be exercised in accordance with that blesSed
book. lam perfectly satisfied that as there can be no high -
personal rectitude or character in one -destitute of religion,
so I am perfectly satisfied that it is impossible for any nation
to keep up a high tone of moral feeling, nationally, without
religion. Religion meet be the basis ; and, if there was one
class more than another which is interested, and strongly in-
terested, in upholding the protestant church and the
protestant religion, it is the middle class of this. country .-
(loud cheers)-because, of this 1 am fully convinced, diet
if you extend the boundaries of the Atwell, eelarge the means
•of ministration, promete the spread of instruction through
the land, you need pot fear how far..oe how wide political
privileges are extended ; but, leave the people in ignorance,
leave them without religion, and every political privilege will
be an engine of power that they will use for their own de
struction. (Much cheering.) More than this : when you
appeal to the humbler classes of-society in favour of the mo-
narchy-when you appeal to them for the crown-when you
appeal to them for the rights of property, they feel that you
are talking of things in which they have only a diminutive
interest. Appeal to them, also, in supportof the aristocracy,
and you talk to them of a class from which they feel that they
are separated by the repulsion of rank ; but talk to them of
the Bible-of that sacred birthright which places them, as
immortal beings, on the same level with the highest and the
mightiest,- and you touch a chord that vibrates in every ho-
nest heart-you talk of that in which every mechanic in the
land has the same interest as the proudest end the richest.
(Great appleuee.) It is just beCause the resolution does this
-because it appeals to the people of England in the cause of
what is emphntieally the poor man's church, that I feel a
plea Sure in standing befere.you to advocate it; for if there is
an institution 'which- softens down the inequalities of ,rank,
without_ disturbing the just gradations of society, it is the -
Church of England. No matter what may be the gradations
of rank, there is in every parish one man who is of none-who is
on an equality with all-who, in the course of his high office,
denounces the vices and follies of the rich, whilst he sympa-
thizes• with the afflictions of the poor, thus introducing
something of that higher and better world, where there are
no distinctionS. (Applause.) I may be told that these are
scenes known' in England, but not in Ireland. Nothing of
the kind.. The church clergy in. Ireland are the same as
those in England. In some pieces there may be few corn- '
municants ; perbapS there' may be' twenty persons only to
meet round the altar of the, prOtestant faith ; but if we are to
believe the words of our Lord,- who said,." That whereVee
two or three are met together in any mine, I will be amongst
them," we :have. a .warrant for the, maintenance of divine
worship. The Irish church is ae outpost of British freedom
and civilisation in Irelaiel. In every parish, even in the
1 wildest and remotest districts, there is an educated minister
to show the misguided peasantry what true religion can snake
of a mans. And noteethstanding the war which has been
! excited against the clergy . of -Ireland, - there have _been and
, still are many amongst them, who, when disgrace and sorrow
have lighted upon time peasant, step forward to protect him,
and to .administer .spiritual and temporal succour. The
estimation in which they were held is manifested, by one fact.
The poOr fellows who have removed to a distance froth their
native homes sometimes send back their little earnings to
their. friends ; but the person employed to .forward the money
is never the popish prick, but the clergyman of the established
church, although the.sender be a Roman, catholic. (Loud
cries of " Hear,hear.") . If you tolerate assaults on. the
Irish church, you give encouragement and hope to those whoa
are diSpoSed to-make- assaults on your own-end, they who
attack the one arc very likely to be. the, persons to attack the ,
• other. (Bear, hear, and 'Cheers.) By the act. of union,
you likidged your faith to the protestants of Ireland to support -
theirchiarcheand would you break that pledge? If you do,
God's providence will bring retribution on yourselves.
' (Great applause) It' there is anything that ought to excite
the spirit of. Englishmen to extend. the reformation, is it net
that simple extract from the letter of Dr. M' Hale, in which
he tells von that Ireland will bring back this country to '
popery ? Will you suffer that ? (No, no.) . Yet every pub-
lication of the Rom
cpautbhloileicitsjoinsrocopionseess
otulitiswiatiti
some
fresh
ultimate aim ; every
more pompous announcement of their hope of this. The
contest that is going forward is for the protestantism of
Europesof the world. It ought to bring a blush into the
face of every Englishman, when he reflects on the degeneracy
of 'hie country in the present age, as contrasted with that of
Elizabeth. When the Iluguenots were, by a blood-stained
decree, banished from France, Elizabeth received them here ;
and as a cup of cold water, given in the name of Christ,
never goes unrewarded, so did it happen in this instance; for
the refugees introduced some of those manufactures to which
yon owe your prosperity as a nation. (Cheers.) In the
present day,, Austria sends forth ae inhuman edict, mid the
protestants of the Tyrol arc obliged to abandon their homes.
But who receives them ? - Are the arms of protestant Eng-
land opened for the reception of the homeless Tyrolese pro-
test .n.s ? . Oh, no ! They are received by a catholic monarch
in his dominions ; the King of Prussia has gained the honour.
(Much cheering.) Bet. for this contrast of our age with that
of Queen Elizabeth, I may perhaps be accused of disloyalty,
the charge which the ministerial organs are instructed to
bring against the conservatives of England, and it is also
brought against the protestants of Ireland. When the
world was in arms against England, when the Roman
catholics of Ireland were leagued together in conspiracy,
when the fleet was in mutiny at the Nore, when France was
endeavouring to disseminate her infidel and republican
opinions in England, the protestants of Ireland forsook not
their king, but were true as their own principles. (Cheers.)
And who are they that bring against us this disloyalty ? It
was first brought by men who were nursed in the lap of
treason, by those who owe their power to the mob, and, who
would to-morrow destroy the crown of England, if by so doing
they would secure. a few more years of power. (Great
applause.) Disaffection to Lord Melbourne is, disloyalty
to the queen, and if we dare to state that the court
of the queen has been made Profligate by the • men in
whom she confided, we are branded with disloyalty. I stn

loyal, independent of the personal character of the sovereign,
because my loyalty is founded', not on the fact of the political
predilections of the sovereign, but on the belief that the pow-
ers that be are ordained by God. (Cheers.) My loyalty,
which I drew in with my first breath, would lead me to abhor
the ministers who have brought dishonour and reproach on
this ancient monarchy, and to resolve, with the blessing of
God, if it were in my power, to.rescue the crown from the
tyranny that embittered the declining years of our beloved
monarch. and that has shadoWed with unpopularity the rising
sun of another. (Vehement applause.) It there is one po-
litical crime loony than another which ought to draw down
retribution on the heads of the guilty and intriguing minis-
ters—if there is one crime more than another which ought to
provoke the indignation of all loyal men, it is the foul, the
unprincipled ese which these ministers have made of the ad-
vantage which their position gave them in. relation_ to, the
queen. (Renewed acclamations.) They were the ministers
when she came to the throne; they found her-young and in-
experienced, ready to rely altogether upon them, and having
no opportunity of learning the sentiments of her people. And
what did they do ? Before the clay was cold on the breast
of William the Fourth, they wrote in her name a letter to
Lord Normanby, declaring her approbation of his govern-
ment of Ireland ; ,of that Lord Normanby whom this expo-
sure of his conduct, made in this respect, has almost banished
even from whig society. (Loud cheers.) They compelled
her to commence her reign by an insult -to her loyal pro-
testant subjects—to those whose loyalty had changed with no
time—had survived neglect—
" True as the dial to the sun,
Although it be not shone upon."
who, when the world was in arms against England were faith-
ful at her side—and when French gold and domestic treason
would have taken Ireland, preserved it by their own strong
arm to the British crown. (Continued cheers.) And Mr.
Shiel, now thra viceleresident of the board of trade, had gone
to Clonmel, and there had boasted that his sovereign was a
writer of election squibs. (Hear, heat.) Whatconservative
would dare to indulge in so disrespectful an allusion to his
queen ? (Hear, hear.) God forbid that he should throw a
shadow of blame upon his queen! it was as ungenerous as it
was uneonstitutional. (Cheers.) iler ministers were, to
blame—they had betrayed both queen and people, and while
those ministers were unimpeached, let. no one dare to hint
the.most remote insinuation of blame against the sovereign
whose confidence the people of England had permitted them
to betray. (Cheering.)
,The learned gentleman concluded
by an appeal to the people of England to take their stand in.
the coining struggle between popery and protestantism. Other
nations might remain neutral. England could not. She
must take her part—a great contest was now going on,
whether mankind should again be fettered by the tyranny of
Rome. He hid, however, no fear of England—her-protes-
tant Spirit was awaking in different places and districts with-
out concert, yet simultaneous as if the impulse that moved
;them was something higher and better than of earth. Their
protestant meetings throughout the country broke forth like
the watchfires on the hills which denoted a general rising of
the people ; and the enemies of protestantism might just as
well attempt to stay the revolution of the earth that would
bring back the light of day, as to stay the moral revolution
which, with equal certainty, was progressing. (Tremendous
cheering, which was continuedfor a long time, and succeeded
by the Kentish tire.) . • ,
The Rev. Jemes WRIGHT, of Warrington, moved the
third resolution—" That the thanks of this meeting be given
to the gentlemen who have so kindly come over from Ire-
land to lay before. the inhabitants of this town and neighbour-
hood the fearful progress which popery is making in Ireland,
under the fostering protection of her majesty's ministers, to-
wards the subversion of the protestant church, and the total
subjugation of that country to the power of the papal see."
The Rev. Cii-KRI,U,S GAYER, of'entry, in the county of
Kerry, seconded the resolution in a speech of considerable
length. E 6 related several very interesting anecdotes cen-'
nected with the conversions which had taken place in the
town of Dingle. lie said—l come from the town of Dingle,
in which there is a population of five thousand Roman ca-
tholics, and three hundred protestants only ' • in the barony
there are thirty thousand papists, and not eight hundred pro-
testants. Kerry is the county of O'Connell, and I may tell
you, parenthetically, that he is thought less .of in his own
county than in any other. I have laboured for some time
amongst the Roman catholics in that part of the country. and
I am rejoiced to inform you that within a little circle of three
or four miles, there have, during the last four years, been
400 converts from the church of Rome—(applause)—and I
am sure, if I were to count up the whole of the converts
within the last eight or nine years, in the county of Kerry,
they would amount to between a thousand and twelvo hun-
dred. To be sure they make no great show, because they
are all scattered about • but if they. were gathered together
they would make a goodly. congregation. There is one con-
gregation composed entirely of converts from the church of
• Rome, the minister includedehnd where all speak the Irish
language, and where worship is performed in the only tongue
which three millions of Irish can speak.
The resolution was then unanimously adopted.
JOHN CLARKi., Esq., amidst immense applause, rose to
move, " That the thanks of the meeting he given to Peter
Langford Brook, Esq., for his dignified conduct in the
chair." lie said it was impossible they could separate with-
out returning their warmest thanks to the chairman ; for he
had not only come from a distance to preside there, but when
applied to, he did not lose a moment in answering that he
was at the service of the protestants.
The meeting did not wait for the motion to be seconded,
, but simultaneously rose and .gave three times three hearty
rounds of applause._

The CHA'tittil ax having briefly acknowledged the compr
ment,

The Rev. Mr. WRIGHT intimated that the association wr.s
about to send up a memorial to the Queen, praying that she
would cancel the recent appointments of Roman cathc,l:c.,
and a vote of thanks to Lord Roden for his protection of the
protestant cause, and for his exertions in the appointment of
the committee of inquiry.
The. meeting terminated at a quarter past ten.

THE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION.

TO 7'HE EDITOR OF THE .LIVERPOQL STANDARD,

SIR,—I hope that the promoters of the Collegiate Institu.
tion will call a public meeting, and thus bring the merits o:
this much required institution into more general notice.

The rancour with which this institution is attacked by the
radical papers shews how much they dread its formation,
and augurs well, in my mind, for its comFlete success; and,
if I required an argutnent to convince me that those few dis-
sentient clergymen who oppose-it are in the wrong, I shall
find it in the affected approval of their conduct by the ene-
mies. of our institutions, in ;church and state.i That these
gentlemen are sincere in their opposition, I have no question,
but I think they are'mistaken, and I have no doubt, when
they see the institution at work, and the good it will un-
doubtedly do, they, from being opposers, will become its
supporters.

An attempt is minle to prove that in their opposition to
the Corporation Schools, the friends of the Collegiate Insti-
tution are acting inconsistently.

In opposntg the systemin- the Corporation Schools, the
theme taken up 'is, if I understand correctly, that the free
use of the authorised translation' of the Bible—in the whole
Of the school—is disallowed, and. that prayer, in opening and
closing the school, is discountenanced. Now, can these ob-
jections be made to the new institution ? Certainly not, for
there is to be no restriction on the free use of the Bible, and
no prohibition to prayer : the only concession made is, that,
in the case -of dissentersi the use of the church catechism is
not to be enforced. And, en passant, I would observe, that
the -catechism is not omitted, in the case above mentioned,
froth the idea that there is any doctrinal point in that excel-
lent formulary to which the orthodox dissenters object, but
merely because the Eosin of Bibleism observed in the church,
and treated of in its catechism, does not accord with the
mode adopted by them. You will perceive that I allude to
our. practice of having God-present in our form of Bibleism.
This form, I, of course, as a churchman, think the best, for
one reason, because I believe it to accord with the practice
of the early Christians ; but beyond this, no enlightened
churchman will go. In believing that it has the stamp of divine
command upon it, neither scripture nor reason will bear us
out. Further than this, the objections of orthodox dissenters
do not extend ; if they did, if they objected to the catechism
on the ground that it contained doctrines in which they did
not believe, I should be the last to approve of its disuse,
though, by such non-approval, it might debar one-half of the
youth from entering it who are likely to make use of the in-
stitution,

The object of the Collegiate Institution, I understand, is, to
provide a litf.rary and scientific institution, in addition to a
preparatory school for the education of youth ; and, in order
to. make it generally useful, it is necessary to form it upon an
enlarged scale. For my part, I could have wished it had al-
lowed dissenters upon its Committee. But this proposal,
though it met with the approbation of our, excellent Bishop,
as welt as the Rectors, and many of the Clergy, was nega-
tived, partly at the suggestion of the Wesleyan ministers at
present resident here, who stated, that " they should have
more confidence in it if its Committee were confined to
Churchmen ;" at the same time, in order to secure unani-
mity, those members of the venerable Church of Scotland,
who were anxious for the formation of the institution, gave
their consent : and it is hoped, not may that members of
those communities, but of others, will participate in its be-
nefits, for it is a great mistake to suppose that all dissenters
hold the latitudinarian opinions upon education professed by
such persons as Mr. Councillor Blackburn.

It is an alarming fact that, independently of the literary
knowledge imparted, in lectures to adults, in the Mechanics'
institute, as many as fifteen hundred youths are now being
educated at that place. Fifteen hundred young men ; who
will, in a few years, occupy the upper stations amongst us in
the town, are b eing educated without religion, 'in a place
from which the Holy Bible is carefully excluded, and where
the hallowed sound of prayer is never heard, and upon the
Committee of which the papist and the Socinian have the
complete sway ! Gracious Heaven ! what amass of impiety
and irreligion may be expected to stalk abroad in this place
in a few years. • • _

Let those Christian parents who, thoughtlessly, have sent
their children there, reflect, and instantly withdraw them,
•and let those who, because they could not have all that they
may wish in our institution, and who have been opposing its
formation, come forward and support it without any further
delay. It has the stamp of Gou's truth upon it, and it will
—it must succeed: -

The country seems,, at this time, to be divided into two
parties—those who are for educating the people with, and
those who are for educating them without the Bible. Our
institution proposes to adopt the former plan. And let all
those who are really friends to scriptural education come
amongst us, and give us their aid ; and as we propose not to
confine our schools to the higher, but to extend them to the
lower classes, let every one who has it in his power to con-
tribute give us whatever he is able, remembering that He, in
whose cause we are engaged, looks not to the amount given,
but to theintentions of the giver, who, while he is not un-
mindful of the.abundance of the rich, is pleased with the mite
of the poor.
We are about to enter upon the season when the Church
commemorates the gift of God's Son to our world—a season
of holy rejoicing, and at the return of which our hearts should
be filled with joy and gratitude, and, whilst we imitate the
shepherds at His nativity, in singing to Him our hymns of
praise, let us not forget the example of the sages in present-
ing to Him our gifts.
On this occasion, and at this season, I hope it will not be
thought out of place if I conclude my letter with one of the
collects of our truly Catholic Church. " 0 Lord, who hast
taught us that all our doings. without charity arc nothing
worth, send Thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that
most excellent gift of Charity, the very bond of peace and of
all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead
before Thee : Grant this, for Thine only Son Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen."—l am, Sir, yours, &c.
A CHURCHWARDEN.

ELGIN DISTRICT OF BURGHS.—The candidates for Vic re-
presentation in Parliament of this district of burghs are, Mr.
Duff of Haddo on the Conservative, and Sir Andrew Leith
Hay. of Itanncs and Mr. Grant of Carnousie on the Liberal
interest. The friends of the three candidates are now ac-
tively engaged in canvassing the constituency, and seem to
be ai►ticipating an election on an early day. Mr. Grant
finished his canvass here on Saturday week, and afterwards
proceeded to visit the constituency of Peterhead. Mr. Duff
has been busily engaged during the last ten days in canvass-
ing the electors of Banff, Maeduff, Inverary, and Kintore,
and is expected to be here in the course of a few days. Sir
A. Leith Hay's factor, Mr. Gordon, Bucharn, has issued an
address, stating that Sir Andrew will, on an early day, per-
sonally wait on the electors to solicit their suffrages, snd call-
ing on them to reserve their votes until he make his appear-
ance amongst them. The on dit respecting. the Hon. Fox
Maule is, that in the case of Sir John Campbell being ap-
pointed to the office of Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, the
hon. gentlernan.will succeed Sir John as one of the, repre-.
sentatives of the city of Edinburgh.---,Elyin Courant.