The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-09-01 00:00:00

give them an instance. Then he gave that instance from a
document which he then held in his hand, and which he
said had been given to him by certain persons whose
names he would' not disclose upon that occasion, but
that if the papists afterwards required him to give his autho-
rity, that authority should be forthcoming. Now mark who
was the man about to give this instance. He was a person
well known to that vast audience ; he was a man followed by
cheers and' admiration up to that time, as I dare say he had
all his life before ; lie was a man who had not only the power

of saying in words what he thought, but of making his words
well understood by the manner and tone in which he uttered

them: he was likely, therefore, with his character, with his

attainments

and with his office, to command a willing au-

dience. Judge ye whether or not upon that occasion he had
not full authority. Gentlemen, he said—
" I will just give you a specimen of what these priests, in-
doctrinated at Maynooth, teach these poor creatures in refe-
rence to the way of salvation, bow they grind them down and
debase them almost as low as the beast that perisheth."
Hard words these, gentlemen, from a minister of peace!
Hard words these from one who might have learned—l am

sure he knows where it is written—hat " the wisdom that

is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be
entreated—full of mercy !" Hard words
_these from the

Mr. Stowell!

They were hard words, too, front one

who ought to have remembered what is the meaning of cha-
rity and love towards his brother—that charity is kind and

speaketh no evil

However he spoke in generals up to this

time. He merely said these things to the disadvantage cf
Maynooth, but he was drawing the eye of the audience to
that particular point of his instance which pointed at Mr.
Hearne as the party upon whom the execration of the meet-
_ _._

ing should fall, in proportion as they believed Mr. Stowell
was right in denouncing him. Accordingly I shall read every
word of the passage ; but I shall first give you what he said:
He gave the authority of some nondescript persons, of peo-
ple without a name, whom he affected to be able to bring for-
ward upon some occasion when the papists should call for
them ; and then he charged upon Mr. Hearne a story that
Mr. Hearne, the clergyman of St. Patrick's chapel, for there
is no doubt about the name—there is no doubt about the of-
fice, that he upon some occasion, about a fortnight before,
adjudged a penance upon some poor creature, some poor

Roman Catholic brother. It turned out to be a story about
some factory man of so revolting, so abominable, so incredi-
ble, and so disgraceful a character, that if it were true, there
being no authority in the church for a priest to inflict any
such penance, he would not only be, as I said before, lost in
the esteem of every person who loved and esteemed him be-
fore, but he would be degraded and deprived of his benefice
by his bishop. The story goes on to say that Mr. Hearne
told the man that the penance must be fully satisfied or else
he should not allow him to come to the sacraments, again
charging upon the plaintiff. a clerk in holy orders in the
Catholic church, an offence which, if it were true, would en-
title the bishop to deprive him of his benefice. But I will
read to you, almost without comment, what fell from Mr.
Stowell upon that occasion—
" The circumstance which I am going to narrate did not
occur in Ireland, in the darkness of popery there ; but here,
in Manchester, in the midst of all our daylight. (Hear, hear.)"
I am reading now from the report which was published in
the paper, but I shall give you exactly the same statement
from the short-hand notes of the reporter whom I will call
to give evidence. At the end of this sentence there occurred
the words " hear, hear," which you know is an expression of
admiration or applause usual in public meetings. Then there
came the following—
" You will perhaps not believe it ; but the witnesses are
prepared to come forward and prove the fact, or I would not
eve it to you."

Was there ever ushered in a story more likely to lead the
audience to believe he had authority for it? And remember
the man who is telling the story. He proceeds—
" I will not mention their names, lest it should expose
them to persecution ; but if the papists choose to come for-
ward, and demand the evidence, that evidence is forthcom-
ing. I bear in my hand, then, a document subscribed by
three of the police of Manchester ; one is not a policeman at
the present moment, but he was at the time that he furnished
this document."

You see he came prepared with something ready cut and
dried in his hand. The law will say that is a presumption
of premeditated malice, much more than if the speaker had
been carried away by the excitement of the moment. Mr.
Stowell, however, came prepared with this document, and
it was out of that document he was to convict Mr. Hearne.
He proceeds—
" He states, that he was a policeman then, in Smedley-
lane, and that, one morning, a fortnight from that period"—

Then he gives this statement— -
" ' A dyer, going to his work, asked me if I had seen a
man walking on his hands and knees, the last two nights. I
said that I had not, but that I had seen him doing it the last
two mornings, and that I at first thought he was making his
escape, or concealing himself from some pursuers, but that
I subsequently took him for a cripple.'
..

Thea, says Mr. Stowell, " Whii.was this mysterious per-
son?" still keeping up the attention of his audience. He
then goes on from the document—
" In about ten minutes after this, the dupe (these are
the witness's own words) made his appearance, crawling
with his hands and knees, on the roughest part of the pave-
ment.' "

Certainly a very degrading condition for any poor creature
to be in. You will see how it came according to the author
that he was there, and that alone—
" ' I then resolved to satisfy himself, when I elicited the
following answers from him :—I asked him, What are you
doing all that about ?" It is penance for my sins.'
Then the audience say " Hear, hear," and there is a laugh.
Mr. Stowell took occasion from that circumstance to bring
the audience back again, for lie said—

" I am more disiosed to weep than to laugh, my dear
friends ; for allow me to say, I lament that a man should
think he was saving his soul, arid suffering the work of the
Lamb of God, by thus degrading himself under the ban of a
popish priest."
Hard words again, I say, gentlemen. What think you of it ?
Still, you see, no name is mentioned. " I say, I deeply la-
ment it," adds Mr. Stowell. Hard words again. But to

proceed—
" Could you not atone for your sins without doing that ?'
No.' Why ? " Because the priest will not administer
the sacrament to me till I have done it.' How long have
you done it?' Four days.' How man more days will it
take before you finish ?" I cannot tell.' But when will

you go to your priest to know ?" When I have done it
nine days more I shall go.' How many hours do you do
it each day ?" Four hours.' At one time?' No ; two
in the morning and two at night." Do you work at any-
thing ?" I work in a factory. " _ _ _ _

Then Mr. Stowell breaks off again, and conies iu with this
observation—

" Poor fellow ! working in a factory for_ twelve hours a-

day, and then dragging On his hands and knees over the
rough Stones, for four hours a-day more ! The priest should
have taken his place, and done it for him. (Loud cheers.)"

. .
You see the influence he had with his audience—that they
shouted as far as the story had gone, although no name was
yet mentioned, no person or any particular place pointed
out ; they submitted to be told all this by Mr. Stowell, who
roused them to such a degree of indignation against the
priest, that they gave him loud applause for saying the priest
should have done that penance himself. Then the document
goes on—
. . .

" ` Who is your priest?' ' Mr. Hearne.' (Hear, hear,
and cries of Shame !')"
Now I dare say, gentlemen, you have some times attended
public meetings, and that you know what sort of a thing
what is called an honest burst of execration is ; and I have
no doubt you will be satisfied when you have heard the evi-
dence, of the way in which Mr. Hearne's name was received
when he was pointed out as the priest who had enjoined this
abominable, degrading. and disgraceful penance which Mr.
Stowell told them of. I have not the least doubt I say, that
the audience thought as ill of Mr. Hearne as it was possible
for them to do :
_ _

" Who is your priest?' Mr. Hearne.' What chapel
do you go to?" St. Patrick's.' What is your name ?'
' John O'Hara." You had better come on the path, or go
into that field, where it will be softer and easy for you.'
Oh, no ; that will not be doing penance.' We now looked
at his knees, which were much lacerated. We expostulated
with him, but it was of no avail. He said he was a great
sinner. We insisted on his desisting, but he resisted vio-
lently, took the sergeant's stick from him ; and laid on us
with it furiously. It was with great difficulty that we suc-
ceeded in subduing him, when I deprived him of his beads,
his crucifix, and ' The Garden of the Soul,' which are now
at the police station. The undersigned police constables are
ready to give testimony of this.' "
That gentlemen—that document—so read upon that occa-
sion by Mr. Stowell, is the libel of which Mr. Hearne the
plaintiff complains ; and your province it is to judge of the
effect of that which was then attributed to Mr. Hearne, the
clergyman of St. Patrick's Chapel by name—l mean that
sort of penance which is 'degrading a rational being into
something like the beast that perisheth, if it were true. But
it is absolutely and entirely false that Mr. Hearne ever en-
joined any such penance; it is absolutely and entirely false
that he could by any will or authority of his office enjoin such
penance ; it is absolutely and entirely false that he did by
reason of any such penance not being performed, interdict
the sacraments from John O'Hara or any other person. He
never did so in his life ; he had no authority to do so from
the discipline of the church ; and if he had done either the
one or the other he would have been declared unfit for his
office, and have been deprived of it by his superiors. Is that
libel, therefore, upon him to be borne? The document being
ended, I shall only trouble you with one or two words which
come in by way of end, and then I have done with what is
the libel and slander complained of. Says Mr. Stowell—
" Now, my friends, is that an education which a protes-
tant British government is authorized in supporting for a
free-born people like the English people? (Applause.) Are
we warranted in paying our money to educate priests thus to
grind down, into the dust, their fellow-subjects ? Did you
ever bear of a protestant minister thus lording it over God's
heritage, and debasing and degrading his flock ?"
And there is something more not set out in the declaration,
and with which, therefore. I need not trouble you. But,
however, what has Mr. Stowell acknowledged by asking this
question ? When he asks who ever heard of a protestant
minister thus lording it over God's heritage, I will tell him
that no man in his senses ever heard of a protestant minister
in any country, or of any man not full of the darkest suspi-
cions of the Roman Catholic clergy, and of Mr. Hearne in
particular, venturing to believe such a miserable fabrication
of such a story as that of Mr. Hearne or any Roman Ca-
tholic priest. I have the privilege, to be sure, of being a
protestant in this land; if I had been asked such a question
I should have laughed, and said no, I never heard of such
a charge against a protestant priest, but I will tell you what
I have heard : I have heard of charges as monstrous and as
false not long ago made against persons who are not christi-
ans—l mean the Jews—a most incredible story about their
having mingled christian blood with their bread. Though
we should disbelieve it, it is historically true, that Jews
have been prosecuted even to death for such things, because
some persons have been found who persuaded their own
minds that such things were possible. If any man were to
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a few hours would be led to believe the same statement made
Hearne and this unhappy person, you find Mr. Hearne's good
fame, his name, and his credit destroyed and lowered among
all his friends and acquaintances, till he set himself to work
to shew the statement was entirely untrue. Then Mr. Hearne
does set himself straight again in society, then he does, by
coming into a court of justice call upon his traducer to snake
good his word, to shew what he had been telling is true, and
if be cannot do so to take the consequences. Mr. Hearne
was not present when this attack was made upon him. We
cannot expect he should be. I believe the persons at the
meeting were all of one way of thinkin •g , they went there
rather to support their opiniob thanto have it discussed.
Mr. Hearne was in Ireland at the time attending his father
who was ill; but the moment he heard of it, that instant he
took steps to clear his character and to have this thing put
right before the public. The meeting was on the 28th April.
i
On the 6th of May, Mr. Hearne being at that time in Ire-
land, instructed Mr. Gibson his attorney, to take immediate
steps to refute this base calumny. Mr. Gibson accordingly
wrote a letter—to whom should he write ?—to Mr. Stowell
himself, the gentleman who had said only the week before
that at the proper time and place be was ready to come for-
ward with evidence in support of his charge. Mr. Hearne
could not sit down under the imputation. He a clergyman,
to be attacked and prejudiced by a clergyman of high name