The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-08-28 00:00:00

IRELAND.

CHURCH EDUCATION SOCIETY FOR IRELAND.
The anniversary sermons and meeting for the Church
Education Society for Ireland have just been held in this
town. The proceedings were reported in detail in our
last publication. It is very obvious that, notwithstanding
the decided opposition with which the advocates of this
cause are met in high places, it is nevertheless making
steady and certain progress, taking every day firmer hold
of the affections of the people. This is proved abundantly
by the amount contributed to its support, as well as by
the number of schools in connexion with the society, and
the increasing number of scholars on the roll of each
school. The amount of income last year was £39,000,
of which £37,000 was contributed in Ireland, leaving the
small remainder only as the return from this country.
The two principles, paramount and essential to the rege-
neration of Ireland, are bound up in the wellbeing of this
society,—viz., the Scriptural principle and the Church
principle, each of which, moreover, is essential to the effi-
ciency of the other. According as this is better under-
stood, the society will meet with a warmer and more
generous support in England. This, too, is felt and
looked upon with alarm by the abettors and supporters of
the National (?) system. One of the most influential
amongst them is known to have expressed, in private,
some time ago, his fears and misgivings, to this effect—
that, if the Irish Clergy maintained for a little longer their
dignified opposition to the National Board, the Govern-
ment must be compelled to some modification of the
system, which, we must be permitted to add, as at
present worked, and in open contravention of Lord
Stanley's letter to the Duke of Leinster, is alto-
gether an instrument in the hands of the Church of
Rome. Other symptoms also shew themselves, which,
though but straws on the surface, indicate the direction
in which public opinion begins to set in. An article in the
Athenceum of the week before last, that savours strongly
of the Castle workshop, and another in the Spectator,
ascribed by some even to the foreman himself of that
shop, on the subject of Irish National Education, attempt
to mystify and misrepresent the real bearing of the ques-
tion upon the Church and the country at large, and even
go as far as, by implied threats, to affright the clergy from
their propriety ; these are tokens unmistakeable of a fallint
cause, and of a conscious insecurity of the resting place
that is thus attempted to be propped up. The appeal of
the Irish Church is at this moment, from the despotism of
a government that has sold itself to the Romish priests,
to the manly honestyand straightforward justice of the Bri-
tish nation. The difficulty hitherto has been to procure a
hearing : the late anniversary here fills us withconfidence as
to the result. The deputation was, indeed, well chosen :
the Rev. Dr. Singer. so long known, so universally
regarded, the distinguished ornament of the University of
his country, the scholar, the Christian, the gentleman,
whose praise, we may truly say, is in all the churches ;
the Venerable the Archdeacon of Waterford, thoroughly
familiar with the real question at issue, and acquainted
with the successful operations of the Society he advocated,
and whose eloquence was only the more persuasive by
reason of its mild tone and gentle manner; and Dr. Mor-
timer O'Sullivan, who, as was so gracefully expressed by
the Rev. Frederick Parry, in moving the first resolution,
although pronounced a stranger in Down, and repelled
from the pulpits of Belfast, was well remembered, would
be instantly recognized, and warmly welcomed by the
Churchmen of Liverpool. The result of the anniversary
was in every respect such as might have been anticipated
from the advocacy of such a deputation. We are happy
to be able to state that Dr. O'Sullivan will preach on
Sunday morning next, Sept. 2d, in Aigburth Church, and
in the evening at Bootle; and further, we are sure our
readers will be glad to learn, that since he came to Liver-
pool, his Grace the Lord Primate of Ireland has presented
him to the living of Ballymore, with a prebendal stall in
he cathedral of Armagh. The Rev. Doctor, being already
domestic chaplain to his grace the Duke of Manchester, is
by this move, made his pastor also, as the castle and town
of Tanderagee are within the parish of Ballymore. This
is to make a proper use of the honours and emoluments of
the church, as did our own venerable Primate of Canter-
bury lately, when he rewarded Mr. Goode with the rectory
of All-Hallows for his most seasonable and erudite work
on baptism. Let but this rule be more generally followed,
and we have no fear for the stability or efficiency of the
church in either country.

THE CROPS IN IRELAND.—We have received letters
from all parts of Ireland, of last Saturday's date, which
state that the weather is now all that could be desired
for ripening and saving.the harvest, and checking the po-
tato disease. With regard to the latter, the reports are
very conflicting ; a letter from Belfast asserts that " there
is now no question of the existence of disease in the tubers,
but the accounts are very contradictory as to the extent."
A Waterford correspondent speaks more positively of the
spreading of the affection, which he says "is more extended,
if not more virulent, than the past two years ; yet if what
are now sound, keep so, there will be much more available
for human food than since the rot first appeared." We
are very sceptical, however, as to the extent of the dis-
ease ; we were told last year that there would not be a
sound potato at Christmas, which we thought a mis-
take, and it proved so.
The Duke and Duchess of Bedford arrived in Dublin on
Wednesday, on a visit to the Lord Lieutenant.

Her Majesty has sent £l,OOO to be distributed amongst
the poor of Cork, Dublin, and Belfast. The Rathdown
Hospital, at Kingstown, has received £25 of this money.
The Liverpool Journal has good reason to believe that
it is the intention of the government, in deference to her
Majesty's wishes, to pardon all the Irish state prisoners.
MORTALITY IN DUBLIN.—The proprietors of two
cemeteries in Dublin received for interments from July
13th to August 17th, 1848, £196. In the corresponding
period of 1849 they received no less a sum than £520.
An official circular from the general post-office notifies,
that, in obedience to the commands of her Majesty the
Queen, the town of Cove, in Ireland, will henceforth bear
the name of Queenstown.

DIMINUTION OF DESTITUTION.—Last week there were
11,000 persons in the receipt of out-door relief in the Tra-
lee union, besides having the workhouses full. Now the
numbers on the relief list are reduced to little over 4,000,
and there are over 1000 vacancies in the workhouse.

The Tipperary Vindicator gives an account of the disco-
very of a conspiracy hatched by the convicts in the gaol
of Nenagh, which was mainly frustrated by the zeal of one
of the hospital nurses, who, fortunately overhearing the
conversation passing between the prisoners, communicated
the fact to the governor.
At the late Royal review, in Phoenix-park, Dublin, a
beggar, who stood in the first line with his child in his
arms, refused to give place to a gentleman and his wife
behind, though offered a handsome bribe for his berth,
saying he would not lose sight of the Queen for all the
half-crowns the gentleman had.
A MONSTER BONFIRE.-A fir plantation of fourteen
acres, belonging to Mr. Roche, M.P., for Cork, was acci-
dentally set fire to on the night of her Majesty's arrival
at Cove. The illumination was very magnificent, and the
hon. proprietor of the plantation had all the credit of the
monster but involuntary bonfire.
_ _

Mr. Macaulay, who is at present in Ireland making
inquiries connected with his History of the Operations
of William the Third and James the Second, in Ireland,
in 1688," visited the battle-field of the Boyne on Tues-
day, accompanied by Captain Larcom, Dr. Wilde, and
Mr. Mahony. Mr. Macaulay has since left Dublin for
Cork and Killarney, from whence he is to proceed to
Limerick, Aughrim, Belfast, and Londonderry.