The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1845-04-08 00:00:00

HousE OF COMMONS.-THURSDAY

After the presentation of an immense number of petitions against
the grant to Maynootht _

Sir R. PEEL proceeded to lay before the house the propositions
of the government relating to that institution, and in so doing said
he would endeavour to avoid all consideration of the subject of
academical education, which would hereafter come before them on
the introduction of the bill for that purpose. They had three
courses before them with respect to Maynooth - they might con-
tinue without any alteration the existing amount of annual grant
to that college; they might abandon it by giving proper notice of
their intention, and providing for existing interests; or they might,
in a liberal and friendly spirit, adopt the institution as one neces-
sary for making adequate provision for the spiritual instruction of
millions of their fellow-countrym n, and thus elevating and impro-
ving the whole tone and character of their education. He felt that
of these three courses the first was the one most open to objection,
for it was absurd to pretend to educate spiritual instructors for
millions of people for the miserable sum of 179,000—a sum just
enough to paralyse that voluntary exertion which would certainly
be made if the grant w ere withdrawn. This utter inadequacy of a
proper provision for spiritual education led to the conclusion that
there was no course which was not preferable to the present one
Then came the question as to the discontinuance of the grant alto-
gether ; but if this were t be done they could never be enabled to
make themselves understood by the Irish people. They would not,
under all the circumstances, believe that parliament was governed
by principle alone; and they would not look to the smallness of
the grant discontinued, but to the aniinus which its withdrawal
would indicate. If, however,they withdrew the grant, they must
also withdraw the grants to the Presbyterians, and to all other
classes in Ireland and in the colonies who professed a faith differ-
ent from that of the Established Church. They must likewise
withdraw the endowments for human Catholic chaplains to gaols
itt Ireland, a measure which he believed no one in that house
would be prepared to advocate Dismissing, then, the idea of
leaving the grant in its present state, or of withdrawing it, he came
to the only remaining alternative. The third course was the one,
then, which they were prepared to adopt, and they should do so in
a liberal and confiding spirit, in order that well-educated priests
might he provided for the Roman Catholic Church. The nature of
the Government proposition was this :—He proposed that the trus-
tees should be incorporated under the name of trustees for the
College of Ma)nuoth, and that they should be emrowered to hold
real property to the extent of £3,000. In order that liberal salaries
might be given to the president, professors, &c., .1:15,000 should be
vested in the trustees, enabling them to give salaries of £230 or
£3OO per annum, and support the library of the institution. It
was proposed that provision should be made ibr the education of
.500 pupils There were 20 students called Dunboyne students,
because of a provision made by Lord Dunboyne for that number,
and for these he proposed that £lO per annum each should be ap-
propriated. He also proposed that the 500 pupils should be pro-
vided for by a maintenance of £2B a year each, and that 250 of
these, being divinity students, should have a further allowance of
£2O a year. He also proposed that the building should be in-
creased, so as to give one decent apartment to each student. For
this purpose, and also for repairs and embellishments, he should
propose a distinct vote of £30,000. The annual repairs should be
made by the Board of Works. He further proposed that there
should be five visitors, who should visit annually instead of trien-
nially, but they should have no power of interfering with doctrine,
discipline, or worship ; for he was not disposed to spoil a measure
intended to be conceived in a spirit of unmixed liberality. The
measure had not been brcught before the hones without communi-
cating with high Catholic authorities in Ireland. They had been
told what was intended to be done, and he had every reason to
believe that the propositions would be received with a grateful and
satisfied feeling The right lion gentleman concluded by moving,
that it was the opinion of the committee that leave should he given
to bring in a bill to amend the acts relating to the College of May-
nooth.

Sir 11. INGLIS said he felt it incumbent upon him to take the
very earliest opportunity of resisting the proposition of the Govern-
ment, and would take the sense of the house upon it. He enter-
tained no animosity towards his Roman Catholic fellow-country-
men, but he felt it necessary to maintain the Protestant character
of our institutions, which ought to induce us to refrain from being
parties to anything which could tend to the increase of Catholicism.
They were by this measure raising up an antagonist power to the
Established Church, and he thought that at all events Sir R. Peel
should not have been the minister to bring it forward. Ft r his
own part he would stand by the meteor flag of Protestantism, all
torn to shreds as it was; but while even a shred remained, he
would still fight under it unflinchingly as when in happier days it
waved over England in its entirety.

Lord F. EGERTON could not stiffer the proposition of the govern-
ment to pass with a silent, a cold, or hesitating support on his part,
although he felt that mane of his constituents entertained opinions
adverse to the course which, in the exercise of an independent
judgment, he felt conscientiously bound to pursue. He entertained
the sincerest feelings for the welfare of the people of Ireland, and
he could see nothing in his religious principles which should pre-
vent him from supporting this additional concession to his Roman
Catholic fellow-subjects in that country.
Lord SANDON in supporting the motion said, that when the re-
formation took place in England, the church property went with
the general change of feeling. In Ireland, the church property was
also taken. but the change of feeling was discouraged—the property
became Protestant—the nation remained Catholic, and it was be-
cause of this the Catholics now came to Parliament to demand hack
a small portion of that which had been taken from theta.
Mr. PLubIPTRE was strongly opposed to the motion, which he
believed would not answer the ends designed. He could not see
where they were to stop. If they were thus to take the Catholics
milder their care, nhy not the Mahommedan and Hindoo religions?
Colonel SIBTIIORP said he should not have been surprised had
this proposition been made by Lord John Russell ; but he was dis-
gusted at bearing it proposed by a Protestant Minister educated at
Oxford, and for a period member for Oxford University, though be
thanked Oxford that he was so no longer. He should oppose the
measure, for he would not be one of those who would dare to offer
such an insult to the Sovereign, for as such he regarded it.

Mr. Gregory, Mr. Law, and several other members spoke in op-
position to the measure, as did Lord J. Russell, Mr. Sheil, Ll/4c., ir
favour of it.

The resolution was carried by a majority of 216 to 114

. HOUSE OF LORDS.—FRIDAY.
Lord BRO ;GUAM presented petitions from the same parties re-
ecting whom petitions had been presented by Sir John Easthope,
the House of Commons, on the previous evening, complaining

111 Leicester Gaol, anu Kept CO narct
labour, for non-payment of costs, upon a warrant issued against
them fur poor's rates, amounting only to a few shillings The
-ble lord dwelt strongly on the illegality, as well as inhumanity,
Nuirse pursued by the Leicestershire magistrates, and said
t. on inquiry and finding Inc facts to be true,
friend on the woolsack would feel that these

he felt confident that

magistrates were not fit persons t

main in the commission of th