cowards, who were disrespected, but they who went with their faces Zionwards feared not to reach the goal. (Applause.)

SIMON ARMSTRONG, Esq., D.L., J.P., Hollymount, seconded the Resolution. He said that he had been called upon to occupy a position which he had little idea of on entering that Meeting. He did not imagine that Connaught would give so large a quota of speakers on the occasion, but he was happy to say that there were as warm-hearted and zealous Protestants in Connaught as in any part of Her Majesty's dominions-men who knew the truth, and loved the truth as it was in Christ Jesus. He cordially and sincerely subscribed the sentiments of the Resolution, and of the speaker who proposed it; and he would contend for these principles through evil and through good report. (Hear, hear.) From the parting address of the Premier, he feared that an attempt was in progress to break up the Church Establishment in Ireland;

and that the Whigs would be gin their legislation on the Irish Church. That was implied from the words, that Ireland should be put on the same footing, in point of politics and religion, with England and Scotland. Then was the time for men to advocate, profess, and live their principles, and live to the glory of God, so that they should be enabled to shout, "Victory, victory," with their latest breath, through the blood of the Lamb. (Applause.)

The Rev. T. D. GREGG rose to move the following Resolution, and was received with loud demonstrations of applause:-"That we are convinced that if all Irish Protestants, without exception, organized themselves in order to show the nature of Christian laws, and constitutionally to demand their enactment, the power of truth, and the numbers on their side would soon convince the Protestant community of Great Britain that the path of safety ran side by side with the path of duty, and that both led to the ascendancy of truth, its sole maintenance, encouragement, and countenance; and that we are further convinced that so long as British statesmen are led by any expediency to

countenance religious falsehood and to pension idolatrous apostasy, they need not expect aught but overthrow, disaster, and disgrace." The Reverend Gentleman proceeded to say that there never was a crisis more imperatively demanding the anxious consideration of the Protestants of Ireland than the present. Sir Robert Peel had been justified in his original statement that his difficulty would be Ireland-he encountered that difficulty and fell before it. It was O'Connell who turned out the British Ministry; he had organized a power, invested with so much of what appeared formidable in Ireland, that the late Ministry sunk beneath it. In fact, both in Parliament and out of Parliament, the Repeal force was so organized as to constitute a preponderating force; that force being on the side of bad legislation rendered good legislation impracticable, and Peel, in attempting to carry out what he regarded as good legislation, fell. It was then unquestionably the Irish difficulty which destroyed the Ministry. (Hear.) He (Mr. Gregg) did not blame the Repealers, but rather the reverse. Their policy he despisedhe considered it mean and paltry. If they realized their object, Ireland, instead of being an integral portion of the greatest empire on the earth, would sink down into a contemptible tenth-rate state, that would exert as little influence upon the condition of the world as did Sardinia, Sicily, or Corsica. (Hear, hear.) Yet such an independency was the professed ambition of the Repealers. Despicable as this policy was, he could not but admire the determination which they manifested. Bound together in an immoveable phalanx, they relied on themselves, and were determined to die on the floor of the House, rather than allow a measure to pass into law which they felt to be at variance with the interests of their country. (Hear, hear.) Had such determination as they manifested been developed amongst the Protestant representatives of Ireland, would the Maynooth Bill have ever become law? (Loud cries of "No," and cheers.) It was then, the Irish difficulty that discomfited Peel. But what was the source

of that difficulty? It was the apathy of Irish Protestants. If Irish Protestants all stood out as that Association did, they would constitute a party on the side of good legislation, which would be an insurmountable obstacle in the way of bad-an Irish difficulty on the right side of the question. The Reverend Gentleman then at much length urged on those present the employment of renewed exertions to create a great party in Ireland, who should be witnesses for the truth. (Hear, hear.) Sir Robert Peel had gone out of office, and, as far as he could make them so, his last words rung the knell of the Irish Church. Such was the sense which they must deduce from his statement, that Ireland should be reduced to a level in religious matters with England and Scotland, whereby he meant that, as the religion of the majority was established in England and Scotland, so should the religion of the majority be established in Ireland. That, no doubt, was what he meant by the equality he spoke of. There was, however, a view of the subject which rendered his statement altogether sophistical. Certainly the religion of the majority was established in England, but then that religion was true; and the religion of the majority was established in Scotland, but that religion was also true. Now, if the religion of the majority was established in Ireland, that religion would be false -a delusion-a snare (cheers); and therefore its establishment, instead of placing this country in point of religion in a like condition with England and Scotland, would create a most injurious inequality between the three countries. As it was, there might be said to be a religious equality between England, Ireland, and Scotlandnamely, because the true religion was established in each. (Cheers.) But if Ireland were made an exception, and the false established here, then, indeed, there would be created an injurious inequality-an inequality infinitely greater than could be created by any discrepancy in point of mere numbers. (Hear, hear.) There were two ideas before the world. One was the American idea of liberalism; the other was the old English

idea, much more stern and severe, of rectitude. The American idea was, that the State had nothing to say to any man's religion; that whether he were Jew, Turk, or Atheist, worshipped God, or worshipped Belial, was a matter that the Government should not interfere with. The English idea, instead of growing out of that which could scarcely be denied to be a convenient indifference, was grounded upon some chapters of Deuteronomy, and other parts of the Scripture, which commanded the ruler that if any one bowed down and worshipped strange gods, he should be stoned with stones until he was dead. That was unquestionably the principle of all the Old Testament Scripture, and he repeated, that on that was founded the English idea. Yet here he felt it necessary to draw a most important distinction. The English principle did not warrant the persecution of individuals for conscience' sake, but it did warrant, and demand, too, the extirpation of false principles by the exclusive promulgation of the true. It held unquestionably that the eradication of religious error was a function of the State. He (Mr. Gregg) took it that the only effectual way whereby error could be eradicated, was by sound educational laws-laws to diffuse and propagate right principles. The English idea, then, presented a Government raising, refining, chastening, correcting the national mind, and elevating its subjects in the scale of being, by an active interference to increase the spread of truth amongst them. The American idea allowed every man to do in religion what was right in his own eyes. Of that idea Sir Robert Peel seemed to have become enamoured, and in consequence, he was bound on letting the religion of the majority in Irelandthat religion being false-have a free course through the country, without obstacle, opposition, or protest. He (Mr. Gregg), as an individual, most humbly said that he regarded such a design as utterly wrong; and he could not avoid recollecting with much satisfaction a bold and manful statement which had been made some time since by the men of Fermanagh, in an address to the Queen. They boldly

stated that they would sooner die than see Popery established in Ireland. (Great cheers.) He (Mr. Gregg) was not the man either to approve of violence, or to advise it, and there was nothing that he should expect less from than from the encounter of battalions in a religious war. But he should have little hope for Ireland if he did not believe that there were thousands of Protestants who would take up the language of the men of Fermanagh, and in the spirit of martyrs resolve to provoke death in the most painful form, rather than tamely allow idolatry to be made the national religious profession of Ireland. (Applause.) The Reverend Gentleman, at great length, urged his views upon the Meeting, and concluded by moving the adoption of the Resolution. It was then passed unanimously.

SIMON ARMSTRONG, Esq., D.L. J.P., was then called to the chair, and the best thanks of the Meeting given to the Rev. Mr. Montgomery. The whole assembly then joined in singing the hymn, "Babylon is fallen," and then quietly adjourned to their

homes.

MISCELLANEOUS.

THE NEW POPE, AND DR. WOLFF.— Dr. Wolff, in a letter to a friend, says, "It is curious that the present Pope when only Conte Farretti was my fellow-pupil in the Collegio Romano at Rome, from the year 1816 to 1817, when I went over to the Propaganda. He is an amiable, zealous, talented, shrewd, pious, and liberal gentleman, and it is therefore to be hoped that he has transferred these qualities from the simple Conte Farretti to the throne of Pius IX."

Thus goes the world. One of two students, on almost equal ground, becomes a "Sovereign Pontiff," the other, though filling the world with his name, is the humble vicar of the small parish of Isle Brewers, in a retired part of the county of Somerset, where, however, he has the secret reward of ministering to the spiritual wants of an attached congregation, anxious to be taught.

SECESSION.-The Rev. J. G. Wenham, B.A., demy of Magdalen College,

is announced as having apostatized to the Church of Rome. He was recently sent out to Columbo, as chaplain; his Romanistic opinions were well known previous to his departure from England.

Amongst the topics of congratulation connected with the resignation of the Peel Administration, will be the removal, we trust, of the unprotestant staff accumulated at the Colonial Office, which we know has operated most unfavourably in the appointments to the Colonial Church.-Church and State Gazette.

CONVERSIONS FROM ROMANISM.In St. Audeon's Church, last July 5, four persons renounced the errors of Romanism, in the usual way, in that church, and signed the renunciation roll.

One of the converts, Mr. Hugh M'Clelland, had been a protege of the late Rev. Justin M'Namara, Father Maguire's chairman in the Gregg discussion, and was intended for the priesthood in the Church of Rome; but he has now shaken off the yoke of Rome for ever, and embraced the pure faith of the early Irish Church. The Rev. G. Trevennick, Rector of Ballyshannon, read prayers on the solemn occasion, and the Rev. Thomas Scott administered the form of abjuration to the converts, and afterwards preached from the following words:-1 Chron. xxviii. 9, "And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind, for the Lord searcheth our hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him he will cast thee off for ever."

Our readers may judge the amount of scriptural information that some of the converts have who occasionally renounce Popery in that Church, by the following fact: Thomas Kerr, a parishioner of St. Audeon's, educated in the schools of the parish, and a convert, obtained the first premium in the highest class, at an examination held in St. Mary's Church, on the 17th ult., by the Society for promoting "the Christian Religion, and the Knowledge of the Gospel."-Dublin Statesman.

66

BRIDPORT.-REVIVAL OF POPERY. On Thursday last the Romish Chapel, situate at the back of the town, in the parish of Bradpole, was opened for public worship with all the gorgeous paraphernalia and pompous ceremony characteristic of the apostate Church of Rome. High mass was of course performed on the occasion, in Latin, the (sham) bishop of the diocese or district, in full canonicals, being assisted therein by several Popish priests from Devon, Somerset, and different parts of this county. The sermon (in English) was preached by the aforesaid bishop, from the text "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind-and thy neighbour as thyself." This was rather bold for one of the heads of a Church whose fundamental article is, that "out of its own pale there is no salvation!" The chapel was densely crowded in every part, chiefly by Protestants (!) of Bridport and its neighbourhood; several of whom, not being "incense proof," were obliged to leave for a purer atmosphere before the "mass' ended, notwithstanding a plentiful supply of "holy water" was at hand. The "mariolatry" of this church, image-worship, &c., was prudently kept for another opportunity by the preacher, whose sermon seemed to have pleased his Protestant hearers; they having, as is reported, contributed very liberally on the occasion! Vespers were chanted in the evening, and a Romish priest, from Birmingham (it is said), addressed a crowded audience of the same description as that of the morning, and with the like success! No new converts (or rather perverts) from Protestantism have as yet been publicly announced; whilst the novelty of the services on the one hand, and the want of sufficient accommodation for the parishioners at the Established Church on the other (so frequently adverted to in our columns), will, it is to be feared, ultimately induce some inconsiderate and lukewarm Protestants to spend a portion of their Sundays, at least, in a place where the poison of Popery will be cautiously though insidiously instilled

was

into their minds. Parents, guardians, and teachers of youth, among Protestants of all denominations, cannot be too circumspect and vigilant over those intrusted to their care in this respect.

ROME IDOLATROUS.-It is not the private opinion only of some particular and forward men in their zeal and heat against Popery, thus to accuse it of idolatry; but it is the deliberate, and sober, and downright charge of the Church of England, of which no honest man can be a member and a minister who does not make and believe it.-Archbishop Wake, in Gibson, vol. ii., p. 339.

CHURCH EXTENSION. THE CHURCH OF ROME'S RUMOURED DESIGNS.-Among the rumours respecting the spiritual measures now in contemplation, is one that the English hierarchy, in connexion with the Church of Rome, is to be increased from its present number of six bishops to the full complement of two archbishops and twenty-two bishops. The object of this provident scheme is, to make suitable berths for the members of Mr. Newman's party, who have already forsaken the Ânglican schism, and for those who are expected to follow their example. England is also to be favoured in the next distribution of cardinal's hats. Lord Clifford, son-in-law of the late Cardinal Weld, is about, we believe, to be raised to that dignity. As his Lordship is a Peer of the realm, a curious question in Parliamentary etiquette may possibly arise out of his elevation, viz,, is his Eminence, the Lord Cardinal Clifford, to to take precedence of his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury? The Lords, we know, are guided in the internal arrangements of their House by their own precedents. The last Cardinal who sat in the House was Cardinal Pole; and should no rule to the contrary appear in their Lordships' Journals, Cardinal Clifford's position in the House, will, in the ordinary course of Parliament, be the same as that occupied by his predecessor in the reign of Queen Mary. -Atlas.

POPERY PRODUCTIVE OF INFIDE"Having," says the Rev.

LITY.

Blanco White, "to preach, in the execution of my office, to the Royal Brigade of Carabiniers who came to worship the body of St. Ferdinand, preserved in the King's Chapel (sic!), I chose the subject of Infidelity, on which I delivered an elaborate discourse. But the fatal crisis was at hand. At the end of a year from the preaching of this sermon, I was bordering on Atheism. If my case were singular; if my knowledge of the most enlightened classes of Spain did not furnish me with a multitude of sudden transitions, from sincere faith and piety, to the most outrageous Infidelity, I would submit to the humbling conviction, that either weakness of judgment or fickleness of character had been the only source of my errors. But, though I am not at liberty to mention individual cases, I do attest, from the most certain knowledge, that the history of my own mind is, with little variation, that of A GREAT PORTION OF THE SPANISH CLERGY. The FACT is certain. I make no individual charge. Every one who comes within this general description may still wear the mask, which no Spaniard can throw off without bidding an eternal farewell to his country."-Practical and Intern. Evid. against Cathol. pp. 7, 8.

CABINET.

FAITH AND LOVE.-Nothing is better than peace, whereby all war is destroyed, both of things in heaven and things on earth. Nothing of this is hid from you if ye have perfect faith in Jesus Christ, and love, which are the beginning and the end of life. Faith is the beginning, love the end; and both being joined in one are of God. All other things pertaining to perfect holiness follow: for no man that hath faith sinneth, and none that hath love hateth any man.-St. Ignatius.

JOY AND SORROW.-Sorrows, by being communicated, become less, and joys greater; sorrow, like a stream, loses itself in many channels, and joy, like a ray of the sun, reflects with a greater ardour and quickness when it rebounds upon a man from the breast of his friend.-South.

ON THE DEATH OF CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH.

FRIENDS of the truth, daughters of Britain weep,

For one who loved you lies in death's cold sleep;

No more the lifeless clay feels joy or pain,

Nor shall the feeble pulse ere throb again.

Cold is that heart which late so warmly glow'd,

Silent that pen which late so freely flowed;

Yes, mourn, a friend, a faithful sister dead,

Yet joy to think her ransom'd soul has fled

To that bright world where joys perennial flow,

Beyond the reach of sin, dark source of woe.

Rejoice to think on those blest words,

"Well done!"

With which her Master calls her spirit home.

Thrice blessed hope! thrice blessed Gospel, hail!

The peace thou giv'st not ev'n in death shall fail.

How bright thy light which cheers the silent grave,

How great the love of Him who died