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higher upon the pinnacle of glory, happiness, and prosperity, than any Christian nation has ever yet attained to.

shaking the creed of the people? You laugh at them because they believe in Transubstantiation. Suppose you teach them to reject it, are you sure that they will stop where you think it proper? Is there any ne plus ultra of incredulity where they will stand and pause? Is not a man's faith a dangerous thing to tamper with? Touch one mystery, and the whole fabric of religion may crumble into dust.--Protestant reformers! have a care, lest you should go beyond your intents, and precipitate seven millions of the Irish people into infidelity. The shining heights of faith are contiguous to the dark and deep gulfs of incredulity, and a Roman Catholic passes into the Deist by a single step. Do you want to make a nation of philosophers?"*

The Catholics, who are styled the enemies of education, oppressed and impoverished as they are, have at this moment 420,000 children under tuition, in schools established and supported by voluntary contribution; and happy I am to say, that many liberal and humane Protestants have most handsomely seconded their exertions by grants of land, as well as of money ;† and, in return,

*For some account of the new reformation in Ireland, see APPENDIX, No. V., for extracts from Mr. Ensor's Letters, a writer who has strongly and faithfully depicted the folly and impiety of a system, of the workings of which, he has been himself a witness.

The Duke of Devonshire is a noble example of liberality in this respect, having lately, amongst a hundred other similar donations, given an acre of land and six hundred pounds, to erect a

God knows how far we are from such a situation at present! And amongst the numerous evils

the children of Protestants are educated indiscriminately with Catholics, and this without any attempt at proselytism, the religious instruction being given separately. Many of these schools are supported by a religious order of lay brothers, not uncommon upon the continent, but lately introduced into Ireland by Dr. Doyle and other prelates. The sole intent of this society is the education of the poor; and those who are not engaged in teaching, maintain themselves by manual labour; yet all assistance from Government is refused them, while large sums are lavished upon places where, when a school-house is erected, no scholars can be found to occupy it.

Extracts from the Catholic Journal.

PROGRESS OF LIBERALITY.

The following letters will be read with unmixed satisfaction. The Rev. Mr. Nicholson, to whom these letters were addressed, is in London, collecting subscriptions for a Catholic Cathedral, and Free Catholic Schools, to be erected at Tuam :

"MY DEAR SIR,

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Mansfield-st., June 30, 1828. "I have had the pleasure of receiving your letter rela

Catholic Chapel, at Dungarvon. Felix faustumque sit, tam donanti quam accipienti!

Lord Donoughmore has given £100, and a site for a new chapel, in the parish of Grange, near Clonmel.-The Hon. Robert Chaloner laid the first stone of a new chapel at Tomacork, county Wexford, and contributed £20 towards the building.—A new chapel is to be erected in the parish of Kilfeacle, county Tipperary, towards which Lord Llandaff has contributed £100.-The Hon. Robert King, M. P. for Roscommon, has subscribed five pounds towards the Roman Catholic Cathedral building at Tuam.

that afflict us, there is none greater than the miserable condition of Ireland, which will, in part, be

I

tive to your mission, for the purpose of collecting funds for the completion of your projected Cathedral at Tuam. assure you that I am most anxious to promote it; and as the law compels the Catholics to pay for the erection of Protestant places of worship, I think that the least we Protestants ought to do, is to subscribe largely and willingly towards the completion of Catholic churches. I must candidly own, that I regret that no portion out of the very large sums levied on the Catholic population of Ireland, is applied to building places of worship for that religious communion; but as such is not the case, I again repeat that we ought to make it up out of our private purses.

"I have so many duties to fulfil in my own immediate neighbourhood, that it exhausts most of my resources; I shall, however, be most happy to offer a subscription of one hundred guineas towards the objects of your mission. I had intended to have paid it by four annual instalments; but as I am anxious that the building may proceed rapidly, I beg to inclose you a cheque on Messrs. Latouche's for my second instalment, and will next year pay my third and fourth. Wishing you every success in the object of your undertaking, which, I must say, I think ought to be one of especial interest to every Connaught man, "I remain, with much esteem,

"My dear Sir, your faithful servant,

"The Rev. F. J. Nicholson,

39, Gloucester-street, Queen-square."

"DEAR SIR,

"SLIGO."

"Norwich, July 23, 1828.

"It will afford me a very sincere pleasure to have an

seen in the following extract from a printed circular, dated Mansion House, Dublin, Jan. 17, 1828.

opportunity of cultivating your acquaintance and friendship, at any time and any place; and during the course of next winter, (if I live so long) I shall probably have this opportunity, should you then be in London, where I propose to fix myself from the 1st of November to the 1st of May.

"With respect to the appeal of that highly-gifted and exemplary prelate, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, to the People of England;' there is not, I trust, a single individual among us, under whatever denomination of Christians he may come, who will not readily admit that an appeal from such a man, upon such an occasion, is entitled to the earnest attention and the cordial support of every one who has at heart either private happiness or public prosperity; and in a more especial manner of every friend to unhappy, injured Ireland. Coming, as I certainly do, under the latter description, it grieves me much not to have it in my power to evince the sincerity of my sentiments in a more effectual manner than by requesting your acceptance of the enclosed trifle, which his Grace will be so good as to consider as a mark of my personal regard for him, and of my attachment to the great cause of general education, and of public religious instruction, whether in church or chapel.

"Believe me, dear Sir,

"The Rev. Francis J. Nicholson,

"Sincerely your's, &c.

"H. NORWICH."

39, Gloucester-street, Queen-square, London.

"SIR,

"Castle Dawson, Ireland, July 25, 1828.

"Your letter of the 19th followed me here, and as I did

"The present distressed and impoverished state of the country having given occasion to the con

not receive it till this morning, you must excuse me for not having answered it before.

"The contents are highly satisfactory, and I most sincerely hope that you may get a good subscription for your chapel. I shall have great pleasure in becoming a subscriber in the sum of twenty pounds, and I will give direction to pay that sum to your credit into the Branch of the Provincial Bank of Ireland at Galway.

"In sending you this subscription, I can only say that I am doing an act most gratifying to my own private feelings, in which I never will allow political opinions to be mixed up. In the evidence given before the Committee, in the year 1825, by Dr. Kelly, I was very much struck, and I will add, distressed at the account which he gave of the miserable condition of the places of worship for the Roman Catholics in his diocese; and in recalling that evidence to my mind, I derive a pleasure from thinking that I am humbly contributing my mite to aid praiseworthy endeavours to provide suitable places of worship of our common Father.

"Amidst the political tempests which agitate our unfortunate country, there is at least some consolation in finding that Protestants and Roman Catholics, opposers and supporters of the question, can find one point in which they can agree and unite, and which may lead to a better state of feeling, namely, in the cause of charity; and of showing homage to the Divine Being, to whom, in common, we all owe every thing. It is with such impressions that I now offer you my small assistance, and I need only add, that I have the greater pleasure in giving

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