British House of Commons prove recreant to the Constitution, there is a voice in the English people, which would even then make itself respected and feared. The English Dissenters, the Scotch nation, will never allow it.

All this might be said, however, with far better grace and tenfold effect, if the Government had higher ground to stand upon in their present treatment of the Irish. The reasons for not giving the Papists ecclesiastical power, is as strong as ever it was; but we are deprived of the strength of that reasoning, when the question relates to the continuance of penal restrictions, the original pretence for which has ceased. The existence of a Pretender to the Thrdne of England, rendered such extraordinary precautions necessary for the protection of the State, since every Papist was presumed to be in heart a Jacobite. And even while Napoleon was our neighbour, with several disposable brothers of the imperial family, there might be some lurking apprehension in the mind of Lord Eldon, that the Irish Papists would prefer a monarch of that dynasty. But since his fall, and the previous death of Cardinal York, if the crown of Great Britain and Ireland were placed at the absolute disposal of our good friend of the Vatican to-morrow, we think that his Holiness would be not a little puzzled on whom to confer it. The whole foreign policy of England proves, however, that no danger is apprehended from any such quarter. The perpetuation of the Glorious Memory and the Orange interest in Ireland, therefore, is to be ascribed to any thing rather than to the influence of constitutional Whig principles. Such associations have ceased to have any rational object; their language has become worse than unmeaning ; nor has the Protestant religion more formidable enemies in Ireland, than the Orange faction.

If the Catholic claims can be granted without compromisingi the security of the Protestant interest in these realms, no one but an Orangeman would wish to see them any longer withheld. In determining this question, however, we are not to look merely at the contingent danger of conceding them, but at the positive danger of refusing them. We have, on the one hand, to contemplate the political mischiefs which might in possibility arise from having some few hundreds of Roman Catholic laity distributed over the kingdom, and intermixed with Protestants, in the possession of civil offices at the disposal of the State ; and to set against this, on the other hand, we have the actual danger of excluding five millions of Roman Catholic subjects from eligibility to office, and of cutting them off, by this means, from all communication with the Crown 'as the fountain of honour,-severing, by this means, a bond of union VOL. XXIII. N.S.

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between the sovereign and the people, the strength of which is by all our politicians well understood,—and intercepting altogether, as regards the majority of the Irish nation, that secret but potent influence which, in this country, is found more than sufficient to counteract and overpower the democratic elements of our constitution. Whatever advantage Protestantism might derive from being the religion of the State, is lost in Ireland, because the whole Catholic population are placed out of the reach of the influence of the Crown, and are totally and absolutely under that of a democratic priesthood. Those whom the prospect of secular advantage is sufficient to convert to the state religion, are, happily, but few: the direct influence which the Protestant Church has been able to exert in this way in Ireland, is next to nothing. But the indirect influence of the Crown, acting upon the feelings and expectations of all to whom the career of honourable advancement is thrown open, is immeasurably greater than that of any specific bribes or bounties by which only the dishonest can be tempted. To withdraw the Catholic laity, then, in some measure, from the unchecked influence of the priesthood, to counteract the identifying effect of a common cause between the priesthood and the people,ma hostile combination most fearful,—we could wish to see the barriers of party broken down, and every remnant of the penal laws of Ireland swept away.

We say, that the Romish Church is not to be trusted with the slightest measure of ecclesiastical power. Ecclesiastical power of all kinds, indeed, and in all hands, is an engine of mischief. Protestants are to be trusted with it, scarcely more than Papists. That which constitutes the broad distinction between the Romish Church and the English Establishment, is, that, strictly speaking, the Church in this country has no substantive power. The English Constitution does not recog. nize that monstrous anomaly, power ecclesiastical. That which bears the name is, in fact, a mere modification of the civil law; and even in the forms of ecclesiastical proceedings, there is a striking opposition to the character and spirit of our other institutions, which bespeaks them to have had a different origin from the trial by jury and the practice of the other courts. But Popery is but another name for ecclesiastical tyranny of the most odious description. It founds its clains on the denial of the right of private judgment, and seeks to destroy human freedom in its first principles, by stripping man of the character of a free agent.' The civil power itself is viewed as its subordinate agent and instrument, and the State, as but the handmaid of the Church. Popery is not less a traitor to the rights of the throne, than a conspirator against the liberties of

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the people. Still, it is saying too much, that every Roman Catholic must be an abettor of the claims of his Church. The reverse is notoriously the fact. Among the members of the Church of Rome, have ranked some of the most distinguished patriots and champious of the rights of mankind. All experience is against the principle of our penal laws,' that a Papist, as such, is not to be trusted with any measure of civil power. Irish Catholics are found trust-worthy in all the departments and relations of private society. As servants, they are confidentially employed by Protestants without distrust; as

; merchants and tradesmen, they are found honourablc ; as sub

; jects, they are of unimpeached loyalty : is it not, then, monstrous to stigmatise them as incapable of exercising with in-' tegrity, the functions of a justice of the peace or a constable ?

Among the members of the Roman Catholic priesthood of Ireland, there are many most exemplary and estimable individuals,-men whose characters are untainted by the spirit of their own institutions, who shew themselves friends to educa-' tion, and who are most conscientious in promoting the religious instruction of their flocks. Such men are personally entitled to our warmest admiration. But, were it proposed to extend to the Irish priesthood any measure of political power, these individual instances of enlightened zeal and liberality, would not weigh a feather against the mass of overwhelming evidence which establishes the opposite tendency of the Papal system. The greater part of the Irish priesthood, there is too much reason to believe to be men of an opposite descriptionignorant, intolerant, seditious, malignant. The scenes to which we shall presently advert, exhibit these ministers of Popery in their true light. But here is the strange error of our policy! Against these men, the disqualifying statutes arm us with no securities; nor would their repeal emancipate the priest from any one restraint that is now laid upon him. The punitive operation, too, of these statutes--for they are unquestionably of a penal character-falls exclusively on the laity. Thus we visit the sins of the teacher on his disciples, punishing, not the criminal, but the dupe; and, under the pretence of discouraging Popery, pronounce a sentence of political exclusion against a nation. But what is the very worst feature of our absurdly inconsistent policy, while taking all these precautions against the intrusion of Popery into places of power and trust, the State has adopted no steps, but that of building useless churches, to reclaim the people from their errors; as if Popery were an evil to be deprecated only so far as it endangered the Church!

At length, we suspect, that crisis so often prognosticated, has arrived, or is near at hand : the Church is in danger--we

mean the Church of Ireland, in danger as to her immense revenues and disgraceful wealth. The old subject of Emancipation has grown stale, and things are taking a new turn, which will probably accelerate some decisive measures--either concessions to the Irish, or an increase of our military force in Ireland, for the Papists are assuredly beginning to speak out.' It is probable, that the violence of the Catholic leaders will defeat their own cause.

A British House of Commons may not choose to be bullied even into an act of justice. We could have wished that the boon had not been withheld, till it will no longer be received with gratitude.

The only sort of Catholic Emancipation, however, which would deserve the name, is, we readily admit, emancipation from superstition and ecclesiastical bondage. Whatever may be the grievances of the Irish, and never was a nation more aggrieved, the grand calamity of the country, 'the quintessence of all the evils under which it has groaned for ages,' is Popery. It is this,' says the Editor of “The Speak-out," • which has taken from the people the capacity of improvement, ' and rendered them totally unfit to receive the precious boon of

liberty. Emancipation cannot set the Catholics of Ireland • free : the mind is chained, the whole thinking faculty of the • land is benumbed, perverted, and debased by this religion of

priests and their domination. The proceedings at Carlow form, indeed, a worthy sequel to the miracles of Prince Hohenlohe. The fanaticism and the ferocity are alike worthy of the dark ages. The circumstances alluded to, are thus briefly stated.

• The Anniversary of the Carlow Bible Society was appointed to be held at the Presbyterian Meeting House, in that town, on Nov. 18, 1824. On the morning of that day, the place of meeting was crowded to excess; and Colonel Rochfort was voted into the Chair. A conversation then took place on account of some of the police being in the assembly, but it appearing that they attended only as auditors, in common with others, the subject was dropped. The Rev. Mr. Now. lan then inquired whether any persons were to be permitted to speak, besides the members of the Society, and contended for the right of the Roman Catholic Priests to be heard. This assumed right, Mr. Daly contended against ; but said, that as they appeared anxious for discussion, he would concede that to them as a favour, which he refused as a right, and moved an adjournment of the business of the Society, until the proposed discussion should have terminated. This having been acquiesced in, an animated discussion took place, which is detailed at length in the following pages. The discussion was adjourned, at a late hour in the evening, to the next day. After an attempt inade on Friday morning by the Priests again to interrupt even the discussion induced by themselves, the Rev. Mr. Pope, a Protes

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tant Clergyman, resumed his argument, taking it up where he had been interrupted on the preceding evening. This gentleman, by his voice, his manner, his eloquence, and his erudition, arrested the attention of the savages by whom he was surrounded, for three hours and twenty-five minutes, the period which he occupied in speaking. When he had finished, the Priests declared that no one member of their body was competent to the task of answering Mr. Pope, and required permission for three of their party to speak in reply. This requisition was opposed by Mr. Daly, as in that case the proceedings would be interminable : but he declared his own readiness, as well as that of his Reverend Brethren, to hear any one of their opponents for the space of time occupied by Mr. Pope. Opposition, however, was just what the Priests wanted. Mr. M’Sweney, one of the Professors, then insisted upon propounding a question to Mr. Pope, which the latter gentleman immediately consented to answer ; but the answer, of course, was not satisfactory either to the Priests or to their party. From the subsequent transactions, it appears evident that the object was, to consume the time until darkness, the better to enable those conspirators to achieve, by brutal violence, that which they were unable to effect by argument or reason.

Tickets had been issued the preceding evening, as will be seen by our report, to two Gentlemenone on behalf of each of the opposing parties; and while the Rev. Mr. Morgan distributed the greater proportion of his to Ladies, who exclusively occupied the gallery, the "Rev. Father O'Connell, the Priest of the town, placed his in the hands of much more efficient supporters, where the affair was to be terminated by bludgeon versus Bible. Mr. Nowlan, a Priest, having addressed the Meeting, the Rev. Mr. Shaw rose to reply; and this appeared to be the signal for violence and outrage. The yells and vociferations proceeding from the mob, which almost exclusively occupied the body of the Meetinghouse, were of a most terrific description ; and the calls to have the Priest's " question” answered, were most astounding. At length the violence of voice having nearly expended itself, the ruffians proceeded to more unequivocal manifestations of what their ultimate intentions were. A rush was made over the partitions by which the pews were divided - the barriers were forced which excluded the Meeting from the speakers and members of the Committee--and the whole fury of the body appeared to be directed towards the platform erected on the right of the Chair for the Protestant Clergymen who took a part in the discussion. The lights were nearly all extinguished, and the appear. ance presented at this moment was appalling and terrific. "By a special intervention of Divine Providence, the lives of the Protestant Clergy were preserved. Capt. Battersby, commanding the police at Carlow, reached the platform by a private door communicating with the vestry-room, a few seconds before the mob had attained it, for the purpose of communicating to Mr. Daly and Mr. Pope, (not at all aware of what was going on within doors,) that he would not be answerable for the safety of their lives if they ventured into the street. Perceiving the state of fury displayed by those within, this Gentleman promptly prevailed on the Clergymen not to lose a moment in effecting