The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-05-29 00:00:00

OXFORD UNIVERSITY.

The Earl of RADNOR inquired of his noble friend opposite,
whether it was true that a proposition had been made 11)r sub-
stituting a declaration instead of the subscription to the 39
articles, on entering the University of Oxford, which proposi-
tion had been negatived ?
The Duke of WELLINGTON said it certainly was true that
such a proposition had been made for the substitution of a de-
claration in place of the subscription to the 39 articles, and had
been rejected.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from a society at Bath
praying for the repeat of the stamp duty on newspapers.

IRISH EDUCATION COMMISSION. " •
Viscount DUNCANNON rose, pursuant to notice, to present a
petition from two individuals, Messrs. Craig and Newport, for
redress, in reference to charges alleged against them in a peti-
tion which was to have been presented by a right re r. prelate
(the Bishop of Exeter). He would state, as shortly as pos-
sible, the situation in which those gentlemen were at present
placed. On the 7th April the right rev. prelate entered a notice
on their lordships' minutes, for tha presentation of a petition
from the Rev. Mr. Stoney, on the 9th of that month. lie (Lord
Duncannon) requested that the right rev. prelate would post-,
pone the presentation of the petition, in order. that he might
make some inquiry on the subject, and the right rev. prelate
consented to postpone the presentation of the petition to the
13th. On that day the right rev. prelate stated that he would
put off the presentation of the petition until after the holydays.
The notice which the right rev. orelate had given was to this
effect:—" Notice to present a petition from the Rev. Wm. B.
Stoney, incumbent of P. Borrishoone, county of Mayo, com-
plaining of the unfair and partial conduct of certain of the com-
missioners of the commission of public instruction, and of the
persecution carrying on in Ireland against the clergy and others
of the church of England anthlreland." It was, he conceived,
impossible to imagine charges of a more serious nature against
individuals who were employed on a public duty. After the
recess, he had expected that the right rev. sirelate would have
presented the petition. As, however, the right rev. prelate had
not thought proper to do so, because the report of the education
commissioners had not been laid on the table, he had felt it
right to appeal to their lordships, and to state how the two gen-
tlemen accused were situated with reference to the proceedings
in this particular parish. The commissioners had deemed it
necessary.to address certain queries to the clergy of all denomi-
nations. To these they, had generally received proper answers,
but the parish of which Mr. Stoney was the incumbent formed,
it appeared; 'an exception. He did not think proper to return
written answers to the printed queries, but sent back printed
answers (as we understood the noble viscount), many of them
very irrelevant. To place this matter in a clear point of view,
he should read some of the questions and answers, which would
enable their lordships to perceive the sort of temper with which
the Rev. Mr.:Stoney was likely to meet the petitioner.
The noble lord then read the following questions sent to Mr.
Stoney, together with his answers thereto:—
" Has the number of protestants been stationary, increasing,
or diminishing, -within the last five years ; and, if increasingor
diminishing, to-what extent, and what has occasioned such in-
crease or diminution ?--A. The number is increasing yearly,
and would be greater than the church would hold only for
popish persecution. The parish priest preaches in his chapel
the destruction of those who read the bible, by pitchforks, bog-
holes, and pavingstones, and is not ashamed to avow it on oath
before'the magistrates of the country. Protestants are threat-
ened to be murdered, violently assaulted, and beaten, and their
property destioyeci; their remains torn from the grave;
husbands taught to beat their wives, and wives to abandon
their husbands and children, to force them to leave the church
and go to mass.
" What number of clergymen of the Roman catholic church
belong, to, or officiate in, the parish ?—Two priests say mass on
Sundays, and preach the above doctrines. One in the country
drinks whisky, expels devils, and reads a gospel for sick beasts.
" What number of places of worship belonging to Roman
catholics are there in the parish ?—There are two mass-houses,
out of one of which the king's troops had to fly from the sedi-
tious harangues of the priest, and in which the people are in-
structed in the art of defrauding and evading the payment of
their legal debts, and abusing and murdering those in the pro-
testant clergyman's employment; by ' walloping them with
sticks.' Such is the Christian and pious instruction publicly
given by the priest in the Roman catholic place of worship.
" How often in each week or month, or on what days, is
divine service performed therein respectively?—lt is a horrid
abuse of language to call the worship of wooden crosses,
pictures, reliss, and wafers, divine service.
" What is the average number of persons usually attending
divine service in each of such places of Roman catholic worship,
at each time of the celebration of diviiA service therein ?—I do
net know. I do not go there. If the priest is asked, he will
not give too low a return.

_
" Are there any places of worship belonging to other protes-
tant dissenters in this parish ?—There is no protestant dissent-
ing house of worship in the parish, though some popularity-
loving pro-popery conciliators might wish to have such.
" Are there many, and how many, schools in the parish ?
There are three daily scripture schools- and one Sunday school.
There are some popish schools, instituted by the priest, in con-
nexion with the new education commission, at whose board
Satan sits shearing God's word of its gl. rious truths.
" Ot the children so attending at each such school, what is the
number of protestants of the established church, and what the
number of Roman catholics, and of Presbyterians or other pro-
testant dissenters, respectively? Most of the protestant children
of the parish attend the Sunday and daily schools. The Roman
catholic .children would and frequently did 'attend, but "the
house, who has.fixed-isis re:sides:tee elosa:ta the parochial schooli.
persecutes them, hunts, stones, cudgels, cuffs, horsesvhips,
curses, calls of t in the chapel, and tyrannizes over the unhappy
victims of fell Superstition, so that they are for Ced to stay
away from the seripture-school, contrary to the wishes of both
parents and children. . The lash of the driver's whip was never
more terriffieto.a West Indian slave than the priest's whip and
curse to apoor' Irish peasant; the desolating slave system
i carried on n Africa is liberty itself when compared to the horrid
tyranny of triSh priests, and the interminable sufferings they
inflict. Some of the poor children are robbed of their books,
some welted with horsewhips, some forced to run into rivers,
others confined to sick beds for weeks, from the brutal treat-
ment they receive; some children may be seen going a great
distance out of the way to avoid the infuriated priest and his
cruel whip. •
" What kind of instruction is afforded therein to the boys and
girls respectively?—The instruction given in the popish schools
an this parish is"still worse. Idolatry, rejectment of the second
commandment, praying to the Virgin Mary, image and saint
worship, hatred to protestarts hunting Scripture readers with
pitchforks and stones, and shouting after them, for the young
cock always crows like the old one.
" What are the funds or sources, and the annual amount
thereof, from which each school ls respectively supported ?
The proteStant parochial scripture schools are supported by
funds bequeathed by' an incumbent of the parish, and by the
contributions of christiaus, who in this day of rebuke are zeal-
ous• for the word of God. The popish national schools are up-
held and supported by a government whose authorised formu-
laries dCclare the Itomish mass to be ' a blasphemous fable and
dangerous deceit;' thus helping to build up the superstition de-
nounced as contrary to God's truth, by the law of the realm,
arid supporting nurseries for rebellion, sedition, and treason.
Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put
darkness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for
sweet and sweet for bitter.'

" Has the number of children attending such school or
schools respectively been increasing, &c.?—The last question
needs no reply; the above answers will do for most of the
parishes in Ireland, with the exception of the numbers, ex uno
disce (mines. The persecuting character of the priest Hughes,
of Newport, is a faithful picture of popish priests in general; the
sufferings to which Protestants are exposed are nearly alike
everywhere, and the abominations and wickedness of popery
unchanged and unchangeable."
His lordship then proceeded to state what took place when Mr.
Stoney was personally examined before the commissioners;
where it appears he exhibited, according. to Lord Duncannon's
account, the same contumacious spirit evinced in bis answers to
the commissioners' questions. At the close of the examination
Mr. Stoney sent the following protest :

"TO THE COMAIISSIONER.

" Sir,—You have rejected the honest evidence of Mr. David
Hamilton, an upright protestant—you have turned hiai, being

STANDARD.

my witness,. out of the court-house, when he came forward to
bear testimony in favour of my protestant parishioner. As the.
rector of this parish, I protest against your proceedings, as not
being conducted with impartiality—as grossly and unwarrant-
ably tyrannical in respect,of Hamilton, and as calculated, by
courting popery and depressing protestantisth, to destroy the
lives'and religion of the members of the protestant faith.
. , "W. B. STONEY, Rector of Borrishoole."
The petition having been read,
The Bishop of EXETER said that be would not follow the no-
ble viscount through all his statements, but confine himself to
the reasons which induced him to present the petition of the
Rev. Mr. Stoney. The noble viscount had said, and truly, that
the petitioner had not felt it necessary to place-his petition in
the hands of his own diocesan, but had intrusted it to another,
who, being an English bishop, could not be so well acquainted
with the nature and foundation of those charges. To that he
had only to answer, that the rev. gentleman's diocesan had not
been in England since the first day of the session. He had
written to that most rev. prelate, the archbishop of Tuam, who
was Mr. Stoney's diocesan, stating the fact that the petition had
L7ienns.erfltaacuel iitn
was
ss
inhuanredses;paencidalfywaallat duwtLewhifehahweeodist.eadtitioe
Archbishop of Tuam, to state that hadYreceived a most hand-
some letter of thanks from the Archbishop of Tuatn, for having
undertaken, by agreeing to present the petition, to protect one
of his clergy. Of the individual whose petition was placed in
his hands the Archbishop of Tuam spoke in the highest terms.
He observed that everything which that rev. person stated might
be taken for perfect truth. It was in consequence of this com-
munication that he had consented to take charge of the petition.
The noble viscount had remarked on the number of weeks which
had elapsed since he (the Bishop of Exeter) had given this no-
tice. He could assure the noble viscount that it was matter of
serious unpleasantness and regret to him that he had been
obliged to postpone its presentation so long. But that which
he had stated as the reason that prevented him from bringing it
forward must be fresh in the recollection of such of their lord-
ships as were present at what occurred on a former occasion.
In the first place, he had stated that the name of one of the in-
dividuals against whom complaint had been made was not to be
found in the commission laid on their lordships' table, and
which professed to set forth the names of the commission-
ers. In that document the name of Mr. Craig did nut appear.
He, therefor; had moved, that the commission containing Mr.
Craig's name should be laid on their lordships' table; and that
motion had been made and agreed to when it could scarcely be
said that there was a responsible government in existence. In
the course of the vacation he had received a letter from the no-
ble viscount, in which the noble viscount stated that "a letter.
had been addressed to him by Messrs. Craig and Newport,
requesting to know the nature of the charges preferred against
them ; and," said the noble viscount, " under these circum-
stances I apply to your lordship to state generally the grounds
on which the charge of unfairness and partiality rests, in order
that these gentlemen may send me such an explanation of the
circumstances as they may judge necessary." It appeared that
they did not expect a full and particular statement of the al-
leged circumstances, but only the general grounds on which the
charge stood. The object of the noble viscount, of course, was
to obtain such information from Ireland as would enable him to
meet the case. Immediately on his return to his parliaineetary
duties, the noble viscount asked him whether lie meant to' pre-
sent the petition on that particular night. He had answered
that he certainl3 did not; that he had been, at first, anxious to
do so as early as possible, but that, having necessarily incurred
so much delay, he conceived that it would be better to wait till
the report of the Irish education commissioners was laid on the
tittle; because, if the statements contained in the petition were
worthy of attention at all, they must, of course, be noticed in
that report. The noble viscount had at the time stated that a
very short time would elapse befere the production of the re-
port; and, therefore, lie felt that it was not necessary to present
the petition then, but to wait till that event had occurred: The
noble 'viscount had not given him at that period the slightest
intimation that he meant to present the petition which he had
just laid before their lordships; and, as he understood that the
report of the commissioners would be laid on the table in about
three weeks, he felt that his most' prudent course would be. to
defer presenting Mr. Stoney's petition. He adhered-still to the
same principle, ar.d should still postpone the presentation of
that petition till the report was made. He had stated that he
could not find the name of Craig in the commission that had
been first laid on their lordships' table; but that very morning
a paper, purporting to be the commission appointing Mr. Craig,
was produced, in consequence of a motion which he had made a
few evenings since. He should be ashamed of himself, if he
attempted to take advantage of any inadvertence, or any want
1 of form that might be observable in a document of this de-
scription. ( Voud cheers.) But in this case there was
really something very remarkable. Their lordships had before
them the copy of a commission appointing commissioners of
inquiry into public instruction, on which Mr. Craig's name did
not appear. Now Mr. Craig had sent to the Rev. Mr. Stoney a
paper purporting to come from the commission of inquiry, and
calling for an answer to certain questions. On looking, how-
ever, at the commission, he saw no right which Mr. Craig pos-
sessed to issue any such queries. The commission authorized
inquiries to go forth under the sanction of two or more commis-
sioners at a tune; but-here Mr. Craig appeared to have acted
alone. The new document to which he alluded had that morn-
in" been put into their hands; and their lordships could theca-
selves see what that paper was which purported to grant powers
for sending forth queries to different parishes: this, however,
was not the paper for which he had called—this was -not the
paper to which he had alluded. This was not the paper which
the noble viscount had promised to lay on the table. This was
not a commission appointing an additional commissioner; it
was merely a warrant for a commission. Whether a commis-
sion was drawn up and executed in consequence of that warrant
was more than he could say. But when the importance of the
commission itself had been so strongly adverted to, when they
were told that Mr. Craig, one of the persons complained.of, was
a commissioner,—when he found that the paper produced was
not the copy of a commission, but the copy of a warrant for a
commission, it did appear to him that the circumstances of the
case were very extraordinary. He would, however, take care
of the 'supposition of Mr. Craig's having been a commissioner
at the time; but then came the question had he a right to act
by himself? Under all the circumstances, he was anxious to
see 'the report of the education commissioners, in order that
they might know how they adverted to the facts complained of
by Mr. Stoney. He was persuaded that the petitioner was
ready to bring forward his case whenever their lordships thought
proper; and, therefore, whenever their lordships intimated to
him that they thought it was his duty to introduce the petition
which 'had been placed in his hands—whenever they said that
he ought not to exercise his own discretion, but to bring that
petition forward,—he should certainly be ready to-do so. In the
mean time, however, he thought tie was perfectly, justified iii ,
keeping it back until the report of the commissioners was re-,
ceived. As to the doubts with respect to Mr. Craig being a
commissioner at the time, he should only beg to say, that
a commission might have been issued in accordance with the
warrant; but if such had been the case, their lordships knew
nothing about it. Finally, he would say, speaking of himself,
that he should be exercising a very unreasonable discretion if he
were to bring forward the petition which had been entrusted to
his care before the report of the education commissioners was
laid upon their lordships' table.
Lord BROUGHAM addressed the house at great length, and
defended the conduct of Mr. Craig, and in the course of his
speech intimated that Mr. Stoney must be a man of unsound
mind.

Lord FARNHAM said, that although it had been imputed to
him, he had never made the slightest complaint against any of
the 'commissioners, because he had not the slightest reason to
do so, for nothingcould be better than their conduct in that part
of the country in which he lived. The fact was, that previous
to the• commissioners coming into his district (the county of
Cavan), he had written to the board in Dublin, stating, that
since the commission had issued persons, priests, and enumera-
tors had entered the.schOols which were supported at his own
private expense, and that he had been advised not to allow his
schoolmaster to admit them ; but that any information that was
wanted should, on application to him, be afforded. The com-
missioners, on coming down, asked permission to see the schonls.
He (Lord Farnhana) gave it, and they obtained the information
they desired.
Viscount DVNCANNON said that five complaints had reached
him—four from protestant clergymen, and one from a noble
lord.

The Earl of RODEN could not allow this conversation to ter-
minate without bearing his testimony to the high character
which Mr. Stoney had long held. With respect to the charge
of the noble and learned lord opposite ( Lord Brougham) that
Mr. Stoney must be a man of unsound mind, he (the Earl of
Roden) only wished that the noble and learned lord had half
the soundness possessed by the gentleman to whom he had re-
ferred. (A laugh.) He (the Earl of Roden) did not rise to
vindicate the language used by Mr. Stoney as quoted by the
noble viscount opposite. on the contrary he thought it most im-
proper. (Hear, hear.) He must, however, say that Mr. Stoney
had long been an active and exemplary cleigymati; but had
been subjected to great persecution and severe trial, not only
from the Roman catholics, but from protestants who were op-
posed to those doctrines of the Gospel which be preached. He
(the Earl of Roden) would not justify that language, but hoped
this would be a lesson of which Mr. Stoney would avail him-
self. (Hear, bear.)
The petition was then ordered to lie upon the table. . -
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said, that as the discussion
which had just terminated had been protracted to a iAer period
than he had expected, and that as the petition (the protestant
petition) of which he had given notice would be likely. to lead
to a lengthened debate, he felt it would be mote convenient and
satisfactory to postpone its presentation until Tuesday next,
he Bishop of Exs:Titii inquired from the noble. lord (the
Lord Privy Seal) whether any instructions had been issued by
theirovernment to the Commissioners of Education in Ireland
0)14x-than. waa contained in the commission; and if ~se, if he
noble lord would object to lay such instructions before the house.
Viscount DUNCA N NON said that instructioni beyond the terms
of the commission had been forwarded to the country commis-
sioners from the chief board in Dublin. Those instructions
were of a private nature for the guidance of the out commis-
sioners, and he did not at present feel at liberty to communicate
them.

Lord RE DESIDA LE presented two petitions in favour Of the
Islington Market bill.
Adjourned at seven o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TuEsnAY.

In consequence of the ballots for committees to try the merits
of petitions against the returns for Horsham and Cork (county)
being fixed for this day, the gallery was not opened until half-
past four o'clock.