The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-05-24
NEW YORK HERALD.
New York, Friday, May "a, 1874.
The Bishop Hughes Controversy.


general, and James Gordon Bennett--''he most
dangerous man of the time"-in particular Our
readers are thus now in full possession Of this Gu
ross epistle and we shall proceed with all the
calmness, delioeratisn, and solemniiy, which the
case demands, to subject such portions OF It, rs re-
main unnotlced, a searching review.
The whole episte is extreme y diffuse and vague
In its statements and assertions. Ii is full of repe
titions and egotsms, and irrelevant defamation.
II is entirely wanting in that lucid arrangement and
style,-that frank, manly, and vigorous tone which
ndispensably necessary to give strength and ef
feet TO such vlndication that which the Bishop
attempts. For II Id In the character of an apoogist
that Bishop Hughes presents himself before the
world in this letter. We shall dispose to-day of
all that portion of the letter in which he acts the
offensive, which We have not already dissecled /;
and tomorrow we shall take up that which consti-
tutes indeed, the whole sist of the epistleto wit.
the vindlcaton attempted Of the Bishops conduct
in catering Carroll Hall polite religious agita
tor, and then organizing his flock into distinct
and separate political body pledged TO act in
cert and III strict obedience TO his will We shall
thus be led expose the statements made
by this Right Rev. prelate, with respect to
port OF his famous speech. We shall show in the
most conclusive manner that the report which ap.
peared in our columns identical with the very
letter with that which received his own sanction,
and was published to the world in his own journal
And then taking this speech, as our text, shall
enter into full review of the Bishops conduct,an
show forth the influence exercised by it upon the
progress of events from that day to the present.
There remains, then, for notice this day, only
that portion of the letter in which the Bishop at
tempts to cast upon the odium of tanning the
fame of sectarian anmosy, by the publication of
the celebrated report of the GO Great American Re-
publican Meeting" at which one of the orators was
represented as declaring his belief that there were
dungeons under ST. Patrick's Cathedral intended
for the reception of the Protestant clergy of this
city, when the Catholics would gain the ascendan-
cy Now, the ground of this charge is indeed ex-
ceedingly frali-almost weak and unsubstantial
as the Bishops vndication of his conduct
That whole report was conceived and executed in
the spirit which has animated some of the creates,
teachers of morals and philosophy in various ages
Il was intended to convey wholesome and 'sa-
lutary advice, and TO instruct and direct the
American Republican party, in a delicate and
unobtrusve manner, without the appearance
of dlctatlon Impairment interference. 1t
was precisely analogous to one OF that lmperish-
able collection Of moral essays which under the
title of Esop's Fables" has for so long period
instructed, warned, and improved mankind-and
whose Lessons conveyed in that simple, attractive
style, have sunk deep and produced'the most vala
able fruit, in thousands of minds, to which the
rallst and the philosopher, would otherwise never
have found admission. So that report was con-
ceivedso it was designed to operate-so it was
understood-and so il did operate. Its effects
Immediately The views and purposes
of the party which had been, as expressed by their
orators, vague, and without sufficient distnctness
of aim, seemed from that very day to fashion them
selves into definite, tangible, dscemable proper
tons Instead of general, purposeless, ineffective
defamation, the orators caught up the ideas and
sentiments presented in the report, and began to
talk about city referm-about an honest and up
right administration of iustice-about the puriica
ton of the council chamberlain with what effect
they talked we have all seen abundanty demon
strated.
But our report-that report which this Right
Rev. prelate, has denounced "incendiary''-as
calculated to infame the passions of opposing
sects-done much than enlghten and in
s,ruct the men of this new movement, as to the
great objects which they should set before them.
Il did much--very much-to exercise the foul
spirit OF religious bgory. 1t did much to suppress
that fierce, proscriptive SPIRIT which was Justly alb
very passage quoted by the Bishop, was introduced
for the express purpose of exposing in all Its silly
absurdity-in all its disgusting volence-in all its
dangerous tendency-that "ant-popery'' spirit
which had been manifested by some of the ultras
of the party and which we have all along
denounced with all the force and vehemsnce
which could bring to the work of exterminating
such hldeous monster Thus we intended this pas
IN ate and Tins 4 did ta nat
had represented in the report, the good sense, the
intelligence the liberality, the just feeling of the
rights and duties Of American citizenship which
characterised the great OF the party, Put do,on
the violent religious intolerance which had mani
tested itself, and all the who attempted to
follow IN the vein of "Mr. Ebenezer Sweet" were
taught that like him, they must expect to be 81
fenced.
But with dlsinge nuousness that does him little
credit, and which we sorry TO say, is too cha
racterlstic of the Bishop, he takes isolated pas
sage from this report, and entirely IN opposition
the plain direct, and not to be mistaken purport OF
the context, he afixes his own erroneous and false
Interpretation to 1t, in the vain endeavor to make
out the charge that had participated in his
guilty incendiary work of infaming and exciting
Ggious prejudlces in the minds of the community.
This patry bit of Jesuitism will not answer the
purpose 1t won't the Bishop. In the same
way could mlsapply and misinterpret text OF
the Holy Scripture and make il blasphemous and
absurd. No-no-Rght Rev. DR.. Hughes, the
public are not thus to be misled, with respect to
tse spirit and purpose of our report, which were
presented so intellgibly on its face, and which, as
we intended exposed the folly and wickedness of
attempting to excite hostility against the Catholics
as a sect
The Bishop talks of the 'malignity" with which
we have assailed him. We have never assaiied the
man but that we have again, and again. and again,
denounced his conduct in descending into the arena
of this worlds politics, and assuming all the airs of