our having published prematurely the first circular, since it gives us another opportunity of bringing the subject before our readers, who we doubt not will not be slack in promoting an object which has the earnest support of all the clergy, the full sanction of our good bishop, and the ready co-operation of all who have the good of religion and the love of virtue in their hearts.-ED. C. M.]

“In the name of the thousands of the poor who crowd our parishes, we most humbly but earnestly entreat your kind consideration of the following state

ment:

"In the work of our ministry, three evils have constantly risen up before us, in common with our fellow-labourers on the mission, to which, from the multiplicity of our occupations, we have hitherto been unable to apply an effective remedy.

"1st. The difficulty of giving sufficient instruction and consolation to the sick and dying.

"2nd. The condition of our charitable institutions for the instruction of the children of the poor. We feel from experience that education given by religious teachers is not only admirable in its system, but exercises the most marked and salutary influence over the subsequent conduct of youth.

"3rd. The impracticability of imparting adequate religious instruction to adults, converts, servants, and other Catholics, who, destitute of religious knowledge, can give but desultory attendance to our instructions, and particularly to grown up young women who cannot attend schools, but whose salvation is fearfully perilled midst the contagion of this metropolis.

"To meet these difficulties we have with the divine blessing, and with the sanction of our bishop, taken a step which we hope will meet with your charitable approval and sympathy.

"We have secured the co-operation of some young ladies, who are now entering on the duties of their novitiate in the mother house of the order of Sisters of Mercy, Baggot-street, Dublin, and who after their religious profession will return to found a house of their order in London, to operate principally in the districts of Lincoln's-Inn-fields and Warwick-street.

"The maintenance of these ladies is already secured; our only difficulty is to provide for them a suitable dwelling, where they may begin to exercise the functions of their angelic vocation, and for this we are obliged to appeal to the liberality of the good and charitable.

66

May the God of the poor and of the fatherless induce you to co-operate with us in this arduous but most useful undertaking. The path of the Sister of Mercy is to the homes of the distressed, the sinful, the sick, the dying. She is the wisest and most thrifty dispenser of charity. She is truly the mother of the children whom she instructs, and the erring child in after life ever returns to her in the hour of distress or penitence, the best friend which this world presents to the victim of misery or crime.

"We most conscientiously believe that charity can give no greater blessing to the poor, than the institution of such an establishment, and we again most humbly and respectfully solicit your charitable co-operation, promising you the prayers of the future community, and such blessings as our own humility can invoke in offering the holy sacrifice.

"We are your faithful servants in Christ,

"Donations gratefully received by the Right Rev. Dr. Griffiths, 55, Golden-square, the Rev. Chaplains, and at the London Joint Stock Bank, 69, Pall Mall."

THE CATHOLIC INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

THE annual meeting of the Catholic Institute of Great Britain took place on the 7th ult., in the Freemasons' Tavern, the Hon. Mr. Langdale in the chair; when a new scheme for the extension of its numbers was proposed by the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and cordially assented to, amid the acclamations of a numerous audience. Since that time the committee have been engaged in arranging the machinery of the proposed scheme; so that we hope shortly to be able to give some details connected with its practical working. We feel assured of its success, for what shade soever of politics the individual may profess, the Catholic Institute reduces all to one standard, viz., that it is THE FAITH alone, its defence and propagation, that calls for the energies and co-operation of every Catholic subject in the Queen's dominions.

To one suggestion that was dropped by Mr. Pagliano at a late stage of the day's proceedings, we give our most unequivocal assent, for if borne in mind and acted on, it is certain to ensure its prosperity. We allude to the hope expressed, that the associate and members should not confine their co-operation only to their weekly, monthly, or annual subscription, but should also offer up their prayers to GoD, to entreat the divine blessing on the holy purposes of the Institute. We have seen what effect this has had on the great Œuvre de la Propagation; we confess we should like to see the same tried in our own confraternity.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF GOVERNORS OF ST. PATRICK'S CHARITY SCHOOLS.

THE most important source of revenue to the Charity has, heretofore, been the collection at the annual dinner, and it therefore becomes necessary to explain why the anniversary was allowed to pass in 1841 without its customary celebration. The day of meeting had been fixed, and the dinner tickets were in preparation, when the general election caused the sudden departure from London of most of its influential visitors, and rendered an attempt to procure a sufficient attendance unavailing. Under these circumstances it is manifest that the object of a public dinner could not have been attained.

Instead of an annual account of expenditure and receipts, the Governors have now to append to this Report an account embracing a period of two years, which shews a balance of the sum of £14. 5s. 3d. in the hands of the treasurer.

The collections at the annual meeting in 1839 and 1840, at the former of which the Earl of Fingal, and at the latter the Hon. C. Clifford, presided, with so much gratification to the public and advantage to the Charity, not only placed its treasury in a satisfactory condition, but led to confident expectation that the blessings hitherto conferred on the children of the poor might, ere long, be safely extended. The hope was cherished, that by a just economy and the liberality of the public the Governors would have been enabled to reserve, and gradually augment, a fund for the purchase or construction, on freehold ground, in an airy suburb of the metropolis, of a moderate-sized Female Orphan Asylum. The prospect of realizing this hope, if not extinguished, has been somewhat darkened by adverse and unforeseen events; since the meeting in 1840, the loss sustained by a long-established but unfortunate banking-house, added to that from the diminution of collections, owing to the relinquishment of the public dinner last year, may be computed together at a sum little under £350.

In addition to these misfortunes, the work of death has caused the Charity in the past two years to mourn the loss of several of its benefactors. His Grace the late Duke of Norfolk nourished its infancy, and remained its undeviating friend through life. A mournful event which bathed the noble house of Talbot in affliction, and while snatching from society one of its brightest ornaments and from the poor a never-failing friend, bedewed the city of Rome with tears, and deprived St. Patrick's charity of a benefactress as exalted in virtue as she was illustrious in rank. This obituary might be swelled with the names of several more who in the brief period of two years have been summoned to another, and, by God's mercy, it is hoped to a better world; and in whose behalf the children of St. Patrick's charity daily supplicate for that happiness in another life which has been promised to those who exercise charity in this.

Notwithstanding the depression of trade and the consequent monetary derangement of the country, which must have been felt by the different classes of the community, and increased the claims on those who, with the disposition, have possessed the means of relieving the unfortunate, it will be noticed that the two sermon collections at the Spanish chapel realized together £232. 3s., and from the poorer congregations at St. Patrick's Chapel the sum of £31. 15s. 7d. was collected on the 20th June, 1841. For these results, which stand in bold competition with similar collections in more prosperous

years, the charity is deeply indebted, for the advocacy of its cause on the respective occasions by the very Rev. Dr. Kirwan, the Rev. Mr. Reordan, and very Rev. Dr. Rolfe. The Governors, sensible that the pious exertions of these exemplary ministers of religion were stimulated by motives far above all human applause, cannot, however, omit the gratifying duty of recording the high sense entertained of the enlightened zeal and pathetic eloquence which produced results so beneficial.

In the last collection at the Spanish chapel was comprised a splendid contribution of £40 from an unknown hand. The bank-note having been folded into a small compass, and mingled with the general collection, apprised the treasurer of the unostentatious and exalted benevolence of the donor, and of the impropriety of seeking for the name. It is, however, justifiable to acknowledge, with every sentiment of gratitude, this munificent and charitable gift, and with as much publicity as it was with privacy bestowed; and however perishable this tribute to the purity of the motive and generosity of the deed, it is consoling to believe that it already has been inscribed by a recording angel in the Book of Life.

The schools of St. Patrick's Charity are in a district of London peculiarly accessible to the children of the Irish poor, for whom they provide gratuitous education and clothing.

In the boys' department are two schools, each capable of accommodating 140 to 150 boys, and which are always filled, but rarely capable of receiving all the candidates for admission, many of whom are necessitated to wait for vacancies. These schools have been for sixteen years under the superintendence of the Religious Brothers of the Christian School Society, whose system of education has been eminently conducive to the moral and intellectual improvement of the children under their care. The improvement of the human mind by a well-organised system of early education, the inculcatiou of the duties which man owes to God and his neighbour, the promotion of order, industry, and morality, and the enforcement of all religious and social duties are the objects of St. Patrick's Charity, and in the attainment of these objects the Governors confidently state that the Charity has been eminently successful. The girls' school affords accommodation for 150 children, and continues under the guidance of Miss Canning, whose maternal solicitude for their improvement and welfare has long been recognized and justly appreciated. Her unremitting attention as well as example tend to direct those under her charge to the path of virtue and rectitude.

The Orphan Asylum is exclusively devoted to the protection, education, and maintenance of Female Children who have lost both parents, and become totally destitute. It owes its existence to female sympathy, and depends for maintenance on that sex which, under every vicissitude, has proved that commiseration for the wretched is inseparable from their nature. The Asylum is under the care of Miss Canning, who devotes her attention with zeal and solicitude to the welfare of her charge. The object of the charity is to step in and stand in the place of a parent to the forlorn child,-to afford her a secure shelter from want,—to educate and support her during her tender years, and to prepare her for some situation in which, when she arrives at a proper age, she may earn her maintenance. Needless would it be to expatiate on the benefits thus conferred. The calamities averted by the Orphan Asylum are sufficient to recommend it to the charity of every individual acquainted with human nature, and who, in estimating the value of early education, founded on the solid basis of religion, finds in it the best safeguard against those allurements which too often surround the unprotected female, and consign her to disgrace and infamy.

As usual, the rules for the recommendation and admission of candidates

into the Asylum are appended to this Report. In the summer of last year, notices were issued to subscribers that orphans had been placed out, and four vacancies were to be filled by election. Of seven candidates, three, after mature inquiry and investigation, were found to be ineligible, and the remaining four were admitted. As there are again four of the orphans of sufficient age to be placed out, an election will shortly be announced to fill the vacancies thereby to be occasioned; and the Governors respectfully request the Subscribers, before they recommend candidates, to ascertain whether their cases come within the prescribed rules, and with special regard to that which refers to the loss of both parents.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Shrewsbury, the President of the Charity, and his noble family, have always afforded exemplary proofs of the warmest benevolence, by extending to the Institution the most munificent protection; and the Governors cannot, with justice to their feelings, omit the expression of their deep-felt gratitude for the benefits thus conferred. The Clergy, Nobility, Gentry, and various Subscribers, whose names are enrolled as benefactors, are entitled to unfeigned acknowledgments; and the Governors, in a special manner, deem it a duty to record the high sense they entertain of the active, zealous, and successful efforts of the Hon. Charles Clifford, who presided at the last public dinner, and contributed largely by his influential exertions to its fortunate result.

Though in the early part of this Report the sorrows of the Charity have been recorded, for the demise of its long and undeviating friend, His Grace the late Duke of Norfolk, for that of Her Excellency the late Princess Borghese, whose boundless benevolence had imparted happiness to thousands, and for whose death thousands unaffectedly wept, and also for several more who were steady and regular subscribers, the Governors deem it an imperative duty to acknowledge, that though the loss of such friends must, more or less, impair the finances of the Charity, some benevolent ladies, whose names are marked in the Appendix with an asterisk, have in the past two years become annual subscribers to the Orphan Fund, and partially lessened the loss which that Fund had sustained from many of the previous contributors being now no more, but the Governors confidently anticipate that the check their efforts have experienced will ere long be removed, and that the combined exertions of the benevolent will restore St. Patrick's Charity to the state of vigour which distinguished it two years ago. With this confidence they invoke the generosity of all who have any thing to bestow, and anxiously look forward to the time when they may exult in the prosperity of the Charity, and congratulate its friends on the success and progress of an Institution which, by encouraging the practice of virtue, promoting intellectual improvement, and producing substantial, extensive, and permanent good, must be acceptable to the Almighty, and eminently conducive to the peace and happiness of society.

On the 6th of June, at St. Helen's Chapel, Brentwood, the Hon. Henry Petre, second son of Lord Petre, was united to Helen Walmesley, only daughter of Richard Walmesley, Esq., of Middleton Hall.

The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Thomas Molteno, assisted by the Rev. J. Sidden, G. Last, and R. Lithgoe. The officiating clergyman addressed the bride and bridegroom in a short but eloquent discourse, and alluded in a very happy manner to their destination to the colony of New Zealand, for which we understand they are about immediately to proceed.

After mass, and at the conclusion of the service, the company, consisting of the relatives of both families, proceeded to Middleton Hall, where an elegant dejeuné was prepared under a spacious marquee. The young couple then left in a chariot and four, to spend the honeymoon at Leamington Spa.

RICHARDS, PRINTER, ST. MARTIN S LANE.