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    / awards repealing the grant . The speech of Mr . c eP ^ as Reside i& question , and consisted chiefly I trinff of quotations from Roman Catholic books ? LthPt-oartial or not there was no means of testing ) . ( hovv that the tenets of the Roman Catholic religion t 0 ! fvPrvbad , that the system of education at May-^ X'Zas irtagonistic to . the word of God , and a t'bnal sin , " and that Roman Catholics were not to r believed on oath . In short , the whole speech was oipmical and the real political bearing of the quesf n totally missed . ¦ Nor was the Marquis of Blandtoed who seconded the motion , more happy in choosing a similar set of arguments , considerably diluted , to support those views . ¦ . '

    _ _ _ The motion was met by Mr . Anstet , who moved as an amendment , for leave to bring in a bill repealing " all acts for charging the public revenue in aid of ecclesiastical or religious purposes . " Mr . W . SchoierrELD seemed to incline towards it , although he talked of supporting an amendment not then moved ; and he drew forth the cheers of the Irish Brigade as hewound up by stigmatizing the motion as a piece of " political cowardice , " intended to undermine what Mr . Spooner did not possess the courage manfully to attack .

    ] Vfr . Wai-pole was the Government spokesman . His speech was extremely silky and diplomatic in texture . He approached the subject " with caution and forbearance . " Certainly Mr . Ansfcey had not proposed an amendment which he could support ; The question was , whether or not a case had been made out for inquiry ; and that d pended on whether the grant to Maynooth college h d answered the purposes for which it Was intended . Leaving this topic , he started off after another—the history of the grant ; and having pursued that from 1795 to 1844 , he harked back to the topic with which he started , and inquired whether the grant had fulfilled the intentions of Parliament . In . order that

    the following extract may be understood , it is necessary to say that Mr . Walpole had quoted a ; passage from the speech of Sir Robert Peel , in which he said , "I say you must break up , in some way or other , that formidable canfederacy which exists in that country against British Government and the British connexion . " Having quoted this , Mr . Walpolecontinued :- — " Thefo three purposes were , I take it , first to obtain a

    well educated , loyal , and domestic priesthood ; secondly , to provide for the instruction of the priesthood , which Eoman Catholics were supposed to be too poor to give for themselves , in order that their priesthood might be bred up in a manner suitable to their holy calling and profession ; and the tfiird reason was to break up by generosity that formidable conspiracy ( Mr . Koogh . —~ Confederacy . ' ' Hear , hoar . ' ) , — well , then , confederacy ( hear , hear ) which SJr K . Peel alleged to have existed in Ireland against the British Government and the British

    constitution . These were the objects for which this grant was made and perpetuated . Well , npw , I ask you these questions , —Has or has not in any of these three instances the grant answered the purposes for which it was given ? and I think they are questions we are bound to answer for ourselves , before we determine whether this committee of inquiry bo necessary or not , —I ask mysolf , first , has or has not the grant provided a well-odueated , loyal , and domestic priesthpod for tho people of Ireland ? Ifc may have dono ho up to a certain time , but observo that rumour says- —for I am not going to give an opinion on tho question ( ironical cheering from the Opposition ) , — -well , then , I say there is strong reason to believe that many of tho priesthood educated in that College of Maynooth are of diftbront orders , who

    aro sent out to different countries , and who do not rom ( j - . ^ omQS ^ icpriesthood in Ireland ( ironical cheering ); ftnd , if I am right m tliat conclusion , I say it is a material ground for you to go on boforo you decide at onco that a grant for a domestic priesthood is to bo applied to givo a pnosthoo d to othor countries , and that you aro to spend I ' -nglish money for such a purpose . ( Chocrs , and ironical moa « t ' Hoar , hoar . ') Has or has not tho character 01 tho priesthood changed of late years ? I suspoct tho answer would be , that instead of domestic iriflueneo , anoth er lnfluonco has boon formed , and that you will find uici priesthoo d of Ireland , instead of confining themselves , ¦ they ought , to thopurposo of maintaining and touching wioip own religion , nnd thoir religious duties , have in oflect iHsuniod an aggressive character ( cheers } , which does conuto

    «« what Sir K . Pool called a confederacy—I don't Bay i ^ iormidablo ono—but still a confederacy—against , 1 think , . m ? i U ClWn nn ( 1 th « British connexion . ( Cheors , in x ! " * ' -0110 ^^ , ) I alludo moro particularly to what « w talcon plaoo tinco Dr . Oullon cauio into Ireland , and ( iro w ho ^" ° P" ™ ^ tho Komnn Catholic church . After that ho attempted to show that Hinco 1841 tho w « ' < " tho IriHh P « esthood had elmngocl : they _ ° (; TUulor foreign domination "— " foreign gnirtimco " inn " , « "jstom ; " and ho concluded ia favour of im " ?¦ ' l ! l ° lnst pur < 1 of '"" P 0 GCU > ^ y its scorning ii-onVe l -i ty * ll ( 11 coverfc » ntngoni 8 ni , provoked inucli lilco ' / ? ElWAl 1 ° « nonms , in his peculiar nnd solclior-Min" f " m ^ dashing "ttack on tho mover and tho husti ' * » ' ° lnotio" Wfts "n attempt to got up " a fnnar C 1 ^ " ( c ^ oors )» it was pandering to " base Koin m * ' ftncl tho ol "' o ( it WIW tho destruction of tho l « n-catholio religion . But citations from tho

    speeches of Ministers when they were not Ministers , formed the pith of his speech . Thus he quoted Mr . ^ now Sir John Pakington , to show that in 1844 he gave ' a " cordial and willing suipport" to the Endowment Act ; and then addressing Ministers , he said , but " probably the opinions of the Colonial Secretary on theological matters had undergone the same change as those on saccharine subjects / ' ( Laughter . ) His next lunge was a hpme-thrust— ' .., ' . ' ¦[ . ' " A speech had also been made by the First Commissioner of "Woods and Forests ( Lord J . Manners ) , who at that period was nofc a Minister , and whose opinion was therefore pronounced at a time

    c When he was free as nature first made man , When wild in woods the noble savage ran . ' ( Loud laughter . ) To this speech , from which he was about to make a long quotation , he would call the attention not only of this House , but of the electors of Colchester . ( Hear , hear . ) The noble lord said : — " ' The cry is raised , ' The Church is in danger . ' I admit that it is ; but not from this grant to Maynooth , nor from the Vaticanj nor the Jesuits , that the Irish Church is in peril ; it is from herself ; from her own self-willed and disobedient laity that she is in danger , —they who would have her isolate herself from the rest of Catholic Christendom , fraternize with the Puritan , and denounce priestcraft with the Presbyterian ! I admit the Church to be in danger .

    1 am irresistibly reminded of tTie : dying words of the martyred Laud on the scaffold . They may who list trace all the glory , renown , and . magnificence of the old English monarchy to the Dutch conquest of 1688 , and see in the penal code and Protestant ascendancy , the safeguards of th empire , but , for myself , I claim a liberty to mount higher , and to act in 1845 as though William III . had died Stadtholder of Holland . ' ( Loud laughter . ) How was the noble lord acting in 1852 ? Was he g ? ing to act now ' as though William III . had died StadthoiSer of Holland ? ' ( Laughter . ) Ho would make the same quotation as the noble lord had then . made from one of his favourite poets—very pretty poetry indeed ( laughter ) - ^

    • The priests , those gentle priests and good , Their fathers loved to hear , Sole type below , niidst work and woe , Of the God Avhom they revere . ' " Acknowledge frankly , and at once , that power which you admit to be so great , and which hitherto , ¦ with a fatal obstinacy , you pretended to ignore . Accredit a Minister to the Vatican ; receive a Nuncio at St . James ' s . .... . With every feeling of confidence that as a Cmircliman I am not acting disloyally towards the Church in sanctioning this measure , and , as a statesman , that I am promoting the best interests of my country , I give my vote for the permanent endowment of the College of Maynooth . "

    This was not all . Mr . Disraeli came in for his share . He was cited in opposition to the bill—in a passage extracted from one of his bitterest anti-Peel speeches in 1845 . In another extract read , spoken a year earlier , the condition of Ireland was described in the most vivid way . " The right lion , gentleman said , — "' Tho present condition of Ireland was to be traced , not to Protestantism , but to Puritanism . Let them consider Ireland as they would any other country similarly situated , in their closets ; then they would see a teeming

    population , which , with reference to tho cultivated soil , was denser to tho square milo than China That dense population , in extreme distress , inhabited an island whore there was an established church which was not their church ; and a territorial aristocracy , tho richest of whom lived in distant capitals . Thus they had a starving population , nn absentee aristocracy , and an alien church , and tho weakest executive in tho world ! That was tho Irish question ! . . . . Tho moment they had a strong executive , a ' just administration , and ecclesiastical equality , they would have order in Ireland . '"

    Here Mr . Walpole left tho House in search of Hansard—a movement out of which Mr . Osborne did not fail to make a point—and when the book arrived , ho gallantly offered to find tho place . Tho remainder of his speech wus in illustration of tho inconsistency of supporting Komnn Catholicism in our colonies , and refusing to support it at home , in tolerating tho roligion of Bramah , and denouncing tho faith of Rome . When Mr . Osborno sat down , the Cuanoellok of tho Exchequer rose and said , that tho above extract was not in tho speech referred to .

    " Sinca ho had received tho book , ho had read tho speech , and his lion , and learned friend ( Mio Allornoy-Gi'iu'ral ) had dono tho same , and thovo was not ono ainglo Hyllablo of tho lns |; passago which tho hon . mombor had quoted . ( Much cheering and laughter , )" " Mr . B . Obbokne . —Tho right hon . gentleman was getting offin his usual quibbling way . ( ' Oh ! ' and' Order . ) Woll , then , in his usual ingenious way . Tho last ; passage which ho had quoted wan spokon by tho right ; hon . gnntOman in a speech delivered on tho 10 th of February , 18 'i'l . ( ' Oh ! ' and ohoora . ) Tho right hon . gmitkinmn had certainly used the language ho had road , ami ho hoped Jio was not going to oat hi » words . ( ' Oh I' and cheers , ) Mr . Piskakm then rodo ofl on the interrogatory , Well , what has tho speech of' 44 to do with the Hpecch of ' 45 ?

    Mr . BumESFOiiP Horn and Mr . Nkwimboatk followed . Mr . M ' onsrxx charged tho Homo Secretary with ratifying tho declaration of " War to tho knifo /' made by Mr . Spoonor . Ho should not oppoHO tho

    inquiry , because he believed " the college was honestly and fairly conducted , " " Let the inquiry be a fair one , and he would be satisfied . In that opinion he was confirmed by the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh , who said , ' My op inion is , that it would not be wise to oppose Mr . Spooner ' s motion ; that college can defy all its enemies . Its proceedings are conducted in the most open , manner—there is no secrecy , no " ocqulfc practices . " The lectures are given in public , and the books used are well known to ,, every bookseller . ' ¦ „ ¦ Mr . G . H . Moore followed on the sanie side . The next speaker was one of more weight and influence-Mr . Gladstone . He said , that unless it could be shown by substantial proofs that the endowment had failed , then both prudence and justice in their highest form demanded the maintenance of the endowment .

    It appeared to him that failure could not be shown . TJbe withdrawal of the endowment would not be a small matter ; its importance was not to be measured by its amount ; and it was , if not a vital , a great and material circumstance in the whole of the relations between England and Ireland . And he menaced the Parliament who withdrew ifc , with the gigantic task of entering " on the whole subject of the reconstruction of the ecclesiastical arrangements of Ireland . " ( General cries of * Hear /)

    "He was not speaking of what was right or wrong , or what was to be desired or deprecated . For his own . part he deprecated the serious changes which such a course would precipitate ; but he was speaking of the necessary consequences of it . Now , he must say , that it appeared to him that no serious case had been made out proving the failure of this endowment . The cycle of seven years had not yet been completed since the present endowed ^ institution of Maynooth had been organized , and he believed he was correct in . saying , that not one single student who had entered the college since the enlarged endowment , had yet left it after the regular course of theological education . Now , he was sure that no reasonable man could expect that that endowment was to operate by magic on the sentiments and habits of a whole generation and an entire people . " ( Hear , hear . )

    v- He severely criticised the tone of the debate ; and he applauded tlie determination expressed by Mr . Monsell not to resist inquiry . Turning from the minor to the major charge in Mr . Spooner's "Speech , namely , that the Eoman Catholic religion was taught at Maynooth , Mr . Gladstone met it by describing the limitations to which an inquiry of such moment ought to be subjected . First , it should be " under immediate superintendence and responsibility of the executive Government ; " and should ' * not be intrusted to any Member of Parliament whose mind was pledged to a foregone conclusion . " The second limitation was that it " should not be an

    inquiry into the doctrine , discipline and exercise of the Roman Catholic clergy . " From that they were precluded . The spirit of our whole legislation regarding Maynooth settled that point . In the visitorial power conferred , special visitors might inquire into the condition of the college generally , and report thereon ; but all matters relating to doctrine , discipline and exercise , were to be referred to the Catholic visitors exclusively ; and Parliament required no report from them . " Parliament had approached this subject in a statesmanlike spirit . It proceeded on the belief that tho Roman Catholic Churchwhatever it was , was a system wellknown

    , to history—a systom whoso merits or demerits had been tested by a sufiiciently long experience , so that they could say ' Ayo' ' No' on a question whether thoy would have relations with it or not . Proceeding in that spirit , Parliament did not condescend to accompany this boon with conditions that would have made it insufferably degrading and gainful to tho receivers ; but they secured from tho assaults of theological rivalry tho doctrines and tho feelings of tho persons who held those doctrines , for whoso benefit this endowment was intended , and in so doing they left to tho present Parliament a clear pattern and rulo which should direct their course . "

    Mr . Grattan and Sir It . Inqlis succeeded each other—tho hitter , however , deprecating inquiry at that period of tho session . After a few words from Mr . Hum :, Lord Palmekbton threw his iniluenco iuto tho kcuIo of tho Opposition . Ho thought they were entering on a , clangorous course . Listening to tho speech of " Mr . Wpooner , ho could imngino himself back in tho timo when the Catholic question wus debuted ; for they woro not discussing tho endowment of Maynooth , but tho doctrines of tho Catholic religion . It was

    stated that ono of tho groat evils existing in Irolund was tho prevalence of ultra-montane and foruign influence , ami how would that be remedied by withdraw ing tho grant to Maynooth—a proceeding which would compol tho education of lrinh priests in fofoign and ultra-niontiuio countries . " This motion oriaos from tho fooling out of floors which has boon unfortunately raised nmong tho ProtoHtnnt portion of tho people- of thin country at what I shall not shrink from ohnriictuming as tho aggressive and violent proceed . ingH of the Church of ltomo . ( Choors . ) I don't wonder that thflso procoodings should hayo produced a ( loop nnproHsion of rosontmont—nay , of indignation , on tho part of tho Protestant portion of tho community } but don't -bocauHO tho Church of Homo ha « dono that of which tho pooplo of England have a just right to complain—don t , I

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    Ma * W 1882- ] THE LBADER . 455

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 15, 1852, page 455, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1935/page/3/