is responsible for every outrage committed within its territory. What ministers had done was to require that the Tuscan government should acknowledge the principle of their absolute responsibility: and thus the matter dropped.

In Ireland, of course, there were troubles. No matter who are in office, Ireland is always in a state of discontent, and ready for revolt. Numerous assassinations took place. In every case, the difficulty of bringing offenders to justice, whose guilt was of the blackest die (more especially if it were in any way connected with politics), was great in the extreme. It was even supposed that, in the upper classes of society, terror restrained many from furthering the ends of justice. When a special commission was issued, to bring to trial Francis and Owen Kelly, for the murder of Mr. Thomas Bateson, in Monaghan, the evidence most clearly brought the crime home to Francis, who was first tried: but the jury wanted courage to convict; and, after sitting for thirty-six hours, were discharged. The next day he was again put upon his trial, with a similar result. Even while the commission was sitting, a fresh notice of assassination was served on a bailiff; and the parties implicated were discovered and punished: but we are told that generally speaking, the alarm of the jurors was such, that the crown officers did. not think it prudent to put any more prisoners on their trial. Clearly, Ireland was in a bad way. How to rule her was a secret not yet mastered by Saxon

statesmen.

CHAPTER III.

THE ANNUS MIRABILIS.

IN 1851, England learnt two lessons. The marvellous exhibition of the industry of all nations, was an argument utterly impossible to withstand in favour of peace and free trade among all the nations of the earth; and the failure of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill revealed the utter impotence of parliament in religious matters.

Let us take the latter case first.

The pope had heard much of the extension of Roman Catholicism in England. There had been many conversions; and the Puseyites were preparing the ground for inany more. It seemed to him that the time had now come to win over England to the true faith. Accordingly, Cardinal Wiseman was despatched hither; and, at the same time, was published a bull, dividing England into sees: in short, doing here what all our missionaries are constantly doing abroad.

The celebrated bull, of which so much has been said, was given at St. Peter's in Rome, under the seal of the fisherman, the 24th of September. It begins with asserting the deep desire ever felt by the Roman pontiffs for the conversion of the world, and especially for the noble kingdom of England; as instances of which, are mentioned the efforts of St. Augustine, and the steps taken by the papal see in consequence of the great schism of the sixteenth century. The cause of apostolic vicars having been appointed to watch over the interests of Catholicism in England by Popes Gregory XV., Urban VIII., Innocent XI., Benedict XIV., and, finally, Gregory XVI., is stated to have been that determined hostility to papal institutions which would not allow of the presence of bishops: but now the times are altered. Pius, the reigning pontiff, considering the present state of Catholicism in England, and the enormous number of persons daily converted, judges the former hindrances to have been removed, and considers the present moment most propitious for the re-establishment of the ancient form of ecclesiastical discipline in England, the church there enjoying free exercise, as in other countries, and no longer requiring the extraordinary mission of apostolic vicars. The earnest desire and petition

of the English apostolic vicars themselves, with many noble and estimable church and laymen, are adduced as an additional motive for the hastening of this measure, which his holiness resolves upon, after having implored the aid of God, the intercession of the blessed virgin and the saints, and the advice of his venerable brethren the cardinals of the sacred propaganda congregation. Then follows the list of the new dioceses. London and its district are to be divided into two-the archbishopric of Westminster, whose occupant will be Catholic Primate of England, and the bishopric of Southwark; the spiritual jurisdiction of the former extending north of the Thames to Middlesex, Essex, and Hertfordshire; whilst that of the latter reaches the southern counties of Berks, South Hants, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, and the Channel Islands. In the provinces, there will be one bishopric in the northern, and one in the York district, the see of the latter being fixed at Beverley. In the Lancashire district there will be two bishops residing--one at Liverpool, and the other at Salford. North Wales will form one bishopric, and South Wales another. In the western district, the Bishop of Clifton will preside over Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, and Wiltshire; whilst he of Plymouth will extend his sway over Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Cornwall. The sees of Nottingham and Birmingham will flourish in the central district, Oxford coming under the jurisdiction of the latter. Finally, in the eastern district, the Bishop of Northampton will foster the growing spread of the church. "Thus," in the words of the bull, "there will be one sole ecclesiastical province in the flourishing kingdom of England, formed by a metropolitan archbishop as chief, and twelve bishops as his suffragans, by whose endeavours and pastoral care we trust that God will abundantly amplify the Catholic church." The document then proceeds to order the new archbishop and bishops to transmit, from time to time, to the propaganda congregation, an account of their spiritual labours and progress; encouraging them with the assurance that they will enjoy, in England, the same rights and faculties as in other Catholic countries-viz., those laid down by the sacred canons and apostolic constitutions; and that they will be bound by the same obligations to the church as other bishops and archbishops. Concerning which point, his holiness, by the fulness of his apostolic authority, expressly does away with, and abrogates, in the next sentence all peculiar customs, whether induced by ancient tradition of English churches, or by the state of the country; since, "Mutata nunc temporum causa," they are now unnecessary and unlawful. Respecting those things which are of doubtful jurisdiction, the archbishop and his bishops are to decide. The pope repeatedly promises to watch over the progress of the whole establishment, and assures the new prelates that they will be no losers by their advancement in a pecuniary point of view, since he shall warmly exhort his beloved children in England to increase the liberality of their contributions, so that the splendour of the temples, the support of the clergy and the poor, as well as other ecclesiastical purposes, may be amply provided for. The bull concludes with invoking the aid of the Almighty, through the intercession of the most holy Mother of God, the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, with the rest of the heavenly patrons of England, and especially St. Gregory the Great.

Never was so great a storm raised about so little a matter; and never did such a mountain bring forth such a mouse. Churchmen were alarmed and terrified beyond description; even dissenters, who ought to have known better, shared in the common and discreditable panic. The angry feelings created by the details published from time to time, caused public meetings to be held all over the country, at which the most furious denunciations were breathed against papal tyranny, and the bitterest censures were levelled against Cardinal Wiseman and the pope.

To avail himself of this rising bigotry, and, by means of it, to strengthen and perpetuate, as he blindly thought, his power, was the aim of Lord John Russell. His letter to the Bishop of Durham produced an immense effect. It was as follows:

“My dear Lord,—I agree with you in considering the late aggression of the

pope upon our Protestantism as insolent and insidious; and I therefore feel as indignant as you can upon the subject. I not only promoted, to the utmost of my power, the claims of Roman Catholics to all civil rights, but I thought it right, and even desirable, that the ecclesiastical system of the Roman Catholics should be the means of giving instruction to the numerous Irish immigrants in London and elsewhere, who, without such help, would have been left in heathen ignorance. This might have been done, however, without any such innovation as we have now seen. It is impossible to confound the recent measures of the pope with the division of Scotland into dioceses, or the arrangement of districts in England by the Wesleyan conference. There is an assumption of power in all the documents which have come from Rome; a pretension to supremacy over the realm of England, and a claim to sole and undivided sway, which is inconsistent with the queen's supremacy, with the rights of our bishops and clergy, and with the spiritual independence of the nation. I confess, however, that my alarm is not equal to my indignation. Even if it shall appear that the ministers and servants of the pope in this country have not transgressed the law, I feel that we are strong enough to repress any outward attacks. The liberty of Protestantism has been allowed too long in England to allow of any successful attempt to impose a foreign yoke upon our minds and consciences. No foreign prince or potentate will be permitted to fasten his fetters upon a nation which has so long and so nobly vindicated its right to freedom of opinion-civil, political, and religious. Upon this subject I will only say, then, that the present state of the law shall be carefully examined, and the propriety of adopting any proceedings with reference to the recent assumptions of power deliberately considered. There is a danger, however, which alarms me much more than any aggression of a foreign sovereign. Clergymen of our own church, who have subscribed the thirty-nine articles, and acknowledged, in implicit terms, the queen's supremacy, have been the most forward in leading their flocks, step by step, to the very verge of the precipice. The honour paid to saints-the claim of infallibility for the church-the superstitious use of the sign of the cross-the muttering of the liturgy so as to disguise the language in which it is written—the recommendation of auricular confession-and the administration of penance and absolution;-all these things are pointed out, by clergymen of the church of England, as worthy of adoption, and are now openly reprehended by the Bishop of London in his charge to the clergy of his diocese. What, then, is the danger to be apprehended from a foreign prince, of no great power, compared to the danger, within the gates, from the unworthy sons of the church of England herself? I have little hope that the propounders and framers of these innovations will desist from their invidious course: but I rely with confidence on the people of England; and I will not bate a jot of heart or life so long as the glorious principles and the immortal martyrs of the Reformation shall be held in reverence by the great mass of a nation, which looks with contempt on the mummeries of superstition, and with scorn at the laborious endeavours which are now making to confine the intellect and enslave the soul.-I remain, with great respect, &c. "Downing Street, Nov. 4th.

"J. RUSSELL.”

Lord John Russell, as soon as parliament met, proposed his Ecclesiastical Titles Bill; or, rather, a bill to prevent the assumption of certain ecclesiastical titles in respect of places in the United Kingdom. It consisted of four sections, re-enacting that clause in the Catholic Relief Act which forbids the assumption of ecclesiastical titles identical with those of the established churches of England and Ireland (a provision which had not been violated), and extending the prohibition to titles derived from any other place in the United Kingdom; enforcing the prohibition by a penalty of £100; and declaring forfeit to the crown, property left in trust to persons using these forbidden distinctions. The first reading was carried, after four nights' debating, by a majority of 332 (395 for; 63 against); but of this immense majority, there was scarcely one who did not object to the measure, as paltry and inefficient. In the course of the debate,

Viscount Palmerston confessed, that since he had had a seat in that House, he had never listened to discussions with greater pain than to that upon which the House was now engaged. He had hoped that those angry discussions and controversies concerning doctrinal points, and of Catholics and dissenters, would never again be heard within the walls of parliament; for he declared that the principles that had been established were not the principles of toleration merely, but the greater principle of religious freedom, which was so perfectly identified with the institutions of the country, that he had hoped no more of such discussions would be heard within these walls. But whose fault was it? It was not ours; but we had been forced upon it by an act of aggression from a foreign authority, an aggression of a political character; and in that respect only would he address himself to the question-an aggression upon the independent sovereign of this country, which he thought it was their bounden duty to repel. (Hear, hear.) People said it was partly the fault of members of the government that certain indulgences had been shown to the Catholic episcopacy of Ireland; that courtesies had been shown to the clergy and priesthood of Ireland; that opinions had been expressed in debates in parliament; that silence was observed by a noble friend of his three years ago at Rome, when a supposed paper was said to have been shown him which regarded England: and from these things, it was said, they had no right to be surprised at what the pope had done, because he had a right to expect that they would meet it with indifference. He denied that any of these grounds were sufficient to justify the measures which had been adopted. Either the pope thought the measures he proposed would not be agreeable, or not disagreeable, to the government and the people of this country, or he did not care whether they were agreeable to the government and the people of England. If he attached any value to the effect of his measures in this country, why did he not, in the three years that had elapsed between the period of the alleged conversation with his noble friend at Rome, take steps to ascertain that? Where was Dr. Wiseman? Was he not in England? Had he not an opportunity of having personal intercourse with his noble friend at the head of the government, and ascertaining whether the measure which the pope contemplated would, or would not, give offence to the government and the people of this country? And therefore, he contended, that as that course of proceeding was studiously avoided, it was impossible for the papal authorities, or for those who advocated their cause, to shelter themselves under the pretext that things had taken place which justified the papal government in supposing that the steps taken would not be offensive to the people of England. Well, then, this being an aggression of a foreign authority, what was the authority by which that aggression was made? It was an authority of an ecclesiastical nature, which had a double action upon the minds of men. (Hear.) The characteristic of the Catholic church was-not as contradistinguished to, but in accordance with, the character of all other churches-a perpetual attempt to encroach upon the temporal power, and to mix itself up with temporal government. He did not acquit other churches of the same thing. Churches were corporate bodies, and corporate bodies were naturally progressive. But there was this difference between the Roman Catholic church and the British church-that the British church began and ended in the realm of England, while the church of Rome endeavoured to spread its authority in a circle, ever-widening, all over the Christian world. Well, then, what was the action, the temporal and political action, of that church? Look to those countries in which the Catholic church was predominant. Look to Portugal, to Spain, to Italy-look, he was concerned to say, also to Austria-and they would find, that wherever the Catholic church. was allowed to seize hold of temporal authority, its influence was painfully exerted in suppressing the political power and privileges of the people. His lordship then referred to the recent agitation on the subject, describing it as a great movement of the Protestant people of England. With respect to the suggestions of the last speaker, he (Lord Palmerston) thought it would have been unbecoming in this

country to meet an act of unprovoked aggression by sending an envoy to sue for conditions at Rome. He thought the dignified and proper course for the country to take was to legislate for themselves. He denied that the bill was a penal act— it was merely a complement of the act of 1829. It would be no restriction on the Catholic hierarchy, which would interfere with their sacred duties; and whilst it would not be inoperative, it would be adequate to the circumstances of the

case.

The fates were against the bill, however. Before its second reading Lord John Russell had resigned, and been again installed in office; and three out of the four clauses of the bill had disappeared. It was not till the middle of May that the bill got into committee, where it was resisted, word by word; and no less than thirty-five divisions were taken. Finally, the third reading was carried by accident, and by a large majority, from which, however, the names of Gladstone and some of the best men in the House were absent.

Nor were the Catholics inactive; nor did they labour in vain. Almost immediately after the publication of Lord John Russell's letter, Dr. Wiseman published his promised appeal to "the manly sense and honest heart of a generous people." The document is one of great length.

The cardinal commenced with a review of the history of the Catholic church in England during the last hundred years, under the government of vicars apostolic-that is, as bishops with foreign titles, having jurisdiction as the delegates of the pope.

The only constitution possessed by the English Catholics, up to the year 1847, was one issued as far back as 1743, by Pope Benedict XIV., which had grown obsolete by lapse of time, and change of circumstance. At the latter time, for instance, the penal laws had been repealed; English colleges for the home education of the priesthood were sanctioned; religious houses founded, and churches or chapels much increased. In fact

"The Catholic church in England had so much expanded and consolidated itself since the Emancipation Act, and its parts had so matured their mutual relations, that it could not be carried on without a full and explicit code." A remedy was therefore prayed for; and it was suggested that it could only be in one of the two following forms:

"Either the holy see must issue another and full constitution, which would supply all wants; but which would be necessarily complicated and voluminous, and, as a special provision, would necessarily be temporary:

"Or, the real and complete code of the church must be at once extended to the Catholic church in England, so far as compatible with its social position: and this provision would be final.

"But, in order to adopt this second and more natural expedient, one condition was necessary, and that was-the Catholics must have a hierarchy. The canon law is inapplicable under vicars apostolic; and, besides, many points would have to be synodically adjusted; and without a metropolitan and suffragans, a provincial synod was out of the question.

"Such was the main and solid ground on which the hierarchy was humbly solicited by Catholics from the holy see. It was one that referred to their own internal organisation exclusively. Thoughts of aggression never entered the heads of the petitioners or of the petitioned; nor were the bishops moved by stupid ideas of rivalry with the established church in what forms its weakness, nor any absurd defiance of national prejudices. They knew that they violated no law in asking for what was needful for their religious existence, and they acted on an acknowledged right of liberty of conscience."

Other motives of a secondary nature existed; but this was the chief, and the holy see kindly listened to the petition. The inferences drawn from this historical review are two: first, that the act is not sudden, wanton, or aggressive in its character; and secondly, that the blame, if any, rests not with his holiness