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Dublin: Printed by JoHN S. FOLDS, 5, Bachelor's-Walk.

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But, if the contrary be true-if the Roman Catholic priesthood were well content to let the peasantry remain in darkness, as long as no means were taken to let in upon them a little light

THIS is the theme of a great argument. It has been the offence of the church in the eyes of the popish party, and it is resorted to as the means of crushing the church, by their allies in parliament, and by the ministers, who are depen--if a system of instruction were sufdant upon popish support for the position which they so iniquitously usurp,and which they so injuriously occupy; and who naturally enough "hate the light," and do not wish "to come unto the light, lest their deeds should be reproved."

The simple question at issue at present is, whether it is right or wise to associate the Roman Catholic priesthood, in this country, with the clergy of the established church, in the work of national education; and, in the next place, supposing it to be desirable, whether it is practicable so to do.

For the purpose of resolving the first question aright, we should take into account the conduct of the Roman Catholic clergy, previously to any stir respecting national education. Did they evince any enlightened anxiety respecting the moral or intellectual culture of the Irish population? Were they vigilant and active, according to their means and opportunities, in directing education aright, or, at least, in preventing it from being a means of perverting and debauching the minds of the people? Because, if this was the case if these men really did evince an honest and enlightened desire that their flocks should benefit by the growing improvement of the times, and that they should become daily more and more sensible of their duty as citizens and as subjects, there may be some grounds for concluding that the business of education may, in part at least, be safely entrusted to their hands, and that the established clergy must experience from them a faithful and effective cooperation.

VOL. X.

fered to prevail under the immediate cognizance of that body, by which the minds and morals of those subjected to its influence must have been wofully perverted-if every effort, on the part of benevolent Protestants to introduce a better system, were systematically and virulently opposed-and if, when direct opposition could not accomplish the end which they had in view, namely, the obstruction of moral and intellectual light, they changed their mode of attack, and sought to get possession of the instrumentality by which that important object was to be effected, or, at least, such a control over it as must restrict its operation, or damage its efficiency-we do think that, if these propositions can be proved to be true, there may be very great doubts respecting either the wisdom or the policy of associating, with the established clergy, as co-partners in the business of education, individuals whose whole previous conduct has been so calculated to excite distrust, and whose object would seem to be, to perpetuate national ignorance, and to cherish national prejudice, rather than to instruct the minds, to humanize the characters, or to dissipate the delusions of their people.

The reference of the secretary for Ireland to the act of Henry VIII., in the late discussion, or rather explanation, of the newly intended tithe bill, is worthy of some degree of attention. Lord Morpeth argued, from that act, that the clergy were under an obligation to maintain parochial schools at their own expense, which obligation

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had been imperfectly complied with; and that he was, therefore, justified in in proposing to tax them to the amount of ten per cent, for the purpose of increasing the funds for national education. His lordship's perusal of the statute must have been a hasty one, and he must have been totally forgetful of its object, when he made it the foundation of such a proposal as that contained in his speech; and we could but repeat the admirable reasoning of the Standard, if we entered upon any detailed exposure of the fallacies upon which his proposition was built. Suffice it to say, that the act of Henry VIII. is that which most fully recognizes the clergy as the guardians and superintendents of national education; that it confers upon them a lucrative monopoly in that particular, from which they might have derived great emoluments; that the object of the act was, to promote amongst the Irish the knowledge of the English Language, and the discontinuance of the savage attire and customs by which the people were barbarized; that it contemplated not the lowest, but the middle and the upper classes of society; and that its great aim was, to consolidate the union of the countries, by producing an identity in language and in character between the people of England and the people of Ireland. Such was the act of Henry, which is now to be tortured into an instrument for wresting national education out of the hands of the clergy, and grinding down that persecuted body of men by a system of partial and oppressive taxation ! Truly Lord Morpeth has taught us, that there may be something a great deal worse than that species of malapert ignorance, which would turn history into an old almanack!

And here we feel it a bounden duty to mark, with our most emphatical commendation, the services rendered on this occasion, to the cause of sound policy and true religion, by that most able print, the Standard. Doctor Giffard did not leave a shred of the glozing statement put forward by the Irish secretary, that he did not sunder into fatters. Ireland may well feel proud of one who is, we are bold to say, take him all in all, the most gifted and accomplished journalist in Europe. For learning, solid, extensive, and profound; for a reach of thought at once perspicuous and comprehensive; for a power of reasoning, keen and vigorous, detecting, with instinctive sagacity,

the fallacies of his opponent, and fortifying his own positions with a logic that few could gainsay or withstand; for all these, in combination with moral qualities of the highest order, which render every faculty he possesses subservient to the noblest ends, and under the control of an intellect, which, from daily use, can summon into instant exercise, upon any given subject, all its vast and various resources, the editor of the Standard has no rival, But those who best know the man lose sight of his transcendant talents, in their admiration of his sterling integrity. He is the most uncompromising and highly principled of the advocates of the Protestant cause, and may be said, in his own person, to have sustained that cause, when a spurious liberalism was vitiating the pages of the ablest of the other Conservative journals, and causing them to lose sight of what should be their_polar star in this eventful contest. But he has lived to see the day when his labours are not unavailing. There are few who now dispute the soundness of those views which he, from the first, promulgated, respecting the grasping and unprincipled character of popery, especially as it exists in Ireland. Every enquiry into the conduct of the popish party has only served to confirm and authenticate the substance of his oft-repeated representations, until doubters and scoffers can no longer plume themselves upon their superior wisdom, and are compelled to acknowledge that they were in error in putting such implicit confidence in popish oaths; and the most honest emancipationists hesitate not to affirin, that, in assenting to the measure of twentynine, they were acting under the grossest delusion.

Yes! Dr. Giffard

may now see something like a useful result from his labours. He no longer stands alone, as the advocate of Protestaut principles. Other able journalists have taken their stand upon the same side; and the consequence is, that a reaction has taken place in favour of the good old cause, which must, if it only proceed as prosperously as it has commenced, speedily ensure its triumph. We know well that what we now write will be distasteful to the distinguished individual to whom we have taken the liberty so particularly to allude; for he is as modest as he is powerful. But we have deemed it a duty to specify, by something more than general acknowledg

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