The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-12-17 00:00:00

n its secrecy."
roucli of it a.; would pre

without committing

any part of it ; it is his dut

to pre,ent, as far as he can, the crime."
For, a Priest proved to be thus cognizant of
murder, before or after the fact, the Rev. Doctor
considered that the punishment of death would
not more than meet the justice of the case;
but, as there were parties who objected to the
punishment of death in any case, at least trans-
portation for life ought to be inflicted. Before
the sermon in the evening, we are informed,
the Rev. Doctor advanced from his pew, and,
ascending the reading desk, publicly expressed
his regret at the language which he had used, and
into which he had been hurried by the fervour of
an extemporaneous discourse. He had already,
he said, humbled himself before God for the
language he had used ; and conceived it to be his
duty to do the same before his congregation.
We must confess that we cannot perceive any
ground for such self-humiliation on the part of -
Dr. M`Neile, although it is impossible not to
admire the mingled chivalry of spirit, and truly AN instructive proof of the emboldened snirit
Christian temper, which dictated the course pur- infused into Romanism by the recent aggressive
sued by him. Possibly the rev. gentleman may movement of the papacy was referred to in the
have grounds, the suggestions of his own mind, lecture of the Rev. Dr. MaNeile on Tuesday last.
of which we have no knowledge. There may, for An excellent and truly christian effort has been for
instance, have been more in the manner than the some time making to raclaim from their heathen
matter of the allusion. And we may here remark, life the vagrant juvenile population of our town by
that the startling effect said by some parties to the establishment of ragged schools in some of
have been produced upon the congregation, and its most benighted districts. The movement was
the rush of his friends after the service to the I essentially a Church of England movement. The
vestry, to remonstrate with the Rev. Preacher, are recipients of its benefits were the bulk of them the
pure inventions. There was no such startling deserted or neglected children of Roman Catholic
effect. The sermon of the morning would have parents. By the energetic and voluntary devotion
had given to it no unusual prominence but for the of their better-informed and better-circumstanced
occurrence of the evening; and this was unsug- fellow Christians, a few of those schools were
gested, and simply the prompting of Dr. al.iareile's opened, in which the poor outcast children were
own mind; for, he was not, we are credibly in- instructed in the useful rudiments of knowledge,
formed, so waited upon by any member of his the reading of the word of God being a portion of
congregation. But, we would ask of those, the system ; but everything approaching to con-
who are just now reviling Doctor M`Neile as an troversial teaching was sedulously avoided. The
unsafe guide in spiritual and political matters, the I controversial teaching, indeed, of mere children—
simple question—is the fact stated by him correct match-sellers, rag-gatherers, juvenile dealers in
.or incorrect ? Can any Roman Catholic priest i rubbing-stones and grit—would have been a farce
divulge a simple fact, the communication of a too gross to be practised under the direction of
thought or an intention, however horrible, or to any sensible men. The children in those schools
'whatever atrocity it may lead, to any mortal were merely privileged to read the Bible, or to
except his bishop ? Can that bishop unburthen have the great plan of redemption explained to
his soul except to his metropolitan, or to the Pope them. They were interested in this—to their
of Rome ?Itis no use being mealy-mouthed I minds—novel subject. They were learning that
about such matters. It is a patent fart that such they were not utterly cast away from God's care, and
is the law of the Church of Rome. The conies- from the care of their fellow beings. They were,
sional, so far as regards all social. concerns, is besides, full of thankfulness to their teachers, and
secret as the grave. The murderer in esse or in of gratitude also for the asylums and instruction
posse is, if the evidence given in 1826 is to be provided for them as substitutes for their previous
relied on, as safe under it from the arm of the ; bitter life of street wandering. Not a protest was
secular power as if he never breathed his infamy ! made—not a hand held up—against these schools,
into the ear of a human being. previously to the recent encouragement afforded by
We do not mean to insinuate that, in this the Papal aggression to priestly tyranny. The
age, and in this country, a Roman Catholic ! parents of the poor children, thus withdrawn from
clergyman would be wilfully guilty of the crime I vicious companionship and habits, had reason, we
involved in such secrecy as is iir posed unon him firmly believe, to thank God for the christian care
by the system, under which he is trained, and to ; bestowed upon them in their better conduct and
maintain which he is sworn. But, notwitstanding improved moral habits.
all our progress in civilization, human nature re- I But, all at once, Romanism took alarm, and saw
mains the same as in the days when Henry the danger to its tyrannous rule in the Gospel light
Fourth of France was murdered by miscreants,j which was breaking in upon these previously un-
who had absolution given them for the bloody I thought-of children—theselielots of a christian coin-
deed to be accomplished by them. We are chari- munity. And, accordingly, we saw perpetrated
table enough to believe that many of the outrages the disgraceful outrage, and sad exhibition of
and bloodshed perpetrated in Roman Catholic priestly intolerance, of lay slavery and abject ig-
countries have for their authors men who never norance, referred to by Doctor M`Neile, and con-
visit a confessional, or give information of their firmed in the letter of the Rev. Mr. Wolseley, the
foulnesses to their priesthood. But, if Rome respected curate of St. John's, and promoter of
wants to purge herself of the imputation of guilty the Ragged School in Hodson-street.
knowledge of crime, which is fairly her due, let her Our police report of yesterday affords a further
reform this disgraceful portion of her system ! specimen of the extent to which Romanism is pre-
Let her proclaim to her votaries that she no I pared to use every force for the purpose of riveting
longer holds sacred the confession of a murderer, I the fetters of ignorance upon the human mind.
in practice or in intent ! Until this is done, the For some weeks past the neighbourhood of Hodson..
stigma must rest upon her of being particeps I street Ragged School has been the scene of intimi-
criminis ; and, undeniably, whenever such an dation and uproar of the most disgraceful kind,
atrocity can be traced home, the existing law of I got up with a view to drive the poor children from
the land renders every confessor, cognizant of a the school by terror and violence. An opposition,
crime, committed or to be committed, and which i or Roman Catholic Ragged School, was last week
he does not reveal to the constituted authorities, an started in the same street, in order to counteract
accessory before or after the fact, as justly punish- the beneficial working of the school established by
able as the criminal himself, the excellent incumbent of St. John's, and his.
curate, and friends. The poor children, however,
stuck fast, in their gratitude to their original bene-
' factors ; and persisted in attending the Bible school,
although they bad to be escorted and protected
from brute violence on their approach to it. On
Sunday afternoon, as on previous occasions, an
unruly mob was gathered in the street, in front of
the school, hooting and threatening all who
approached ; and at length, and as a last resource,
to prevent the willing children from attending,
teachers, scholars, and amongst the rest, a minister
of the Church of England were assailed with a shower
of stones and other missiles. For taking part in
this outrage a young Irish lad, of most unprepos-
sessing and unenlightened physiognomy, was
brought up yesterday at the police-court, and, not-
withstanding the opposing testimony of three Irish
witnesses, and the pleadings of an eminent solicitor,
he was sentenced to pay a fine of 20s. and costs, or
to undergo an imprisonment of 21 days.
Now, we shall just ask a question of our readers
upon the subject of this occurrence. When this
ignorant lad was brought to the Rose-hill Station-
house he asserted that he had only been ten days in
the town, having arrived from Galway. Who paid
the services of the solicitor to defend him ? We
may also add that he must have been singularly
fortunate in making so many friends in so short a
period to present themselves before the court. Of
course our readers will draw their own conclusion

TIIE peaceful and orderly, though enthusiastic
meeting, held on Friday last at Birkenhead, is
important on other accounts than the ability and
earnestness displayed by the Various speakers.
After the disgraceful and brutal proceedings which
had taken place at the meeting Previously called,
the determination shown by the inhabitants to per-
severe at all hazards in adding their protest against
the recent Papal aggression to that of the majority
of their fellow-countrymen distinctly refutes the
sneering assertions of the Rornish and ultra-Liberal
party that the movement now going on in every
part of the kingdom is the result of a mere effer-
vescence of feeling, and that when a few more
meetings have been held, and memorials presented,
the people will return to the apathy and indiffer-
ence with which they have regarded previous en-
croachments of the Papacy. It was not, for exam-
ple, a temporary ebullition of excitement which
induced the gentlemen who compcsed the Protes-
tant committee to persist in holding the meating
under such circumstances as are detailed in the
correspondence which took place between them-
selves and the magistrates, and which has now
been published entire. The history of the negoci-
ations between the committee and the bench will
shew the discouragements under which the former
gentlemen acted. _

- Having intimated to the magistrates that they
had fixed upon Friday last, the 13th, for holding a
meeting in the Market-square, they were told that
the magistrates "had very serious objections to a
meeting being held in such a situation, as it must
be sufficiently obvious that very great risk existed
by the proposed meeting to the surrounding pro.

The governorship of St. Helena has been offered to Sir
Jas. Emerson Tennent, late colonial secretary at Ceylon.
The three London and North Western railway directors,
who joined the Caledonian board, have been desired to
resign their seats, on account of the evident hopetlesanost
of bringing the guaranteed parties to fair and equitaNe
terms.