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That as a point of union appears indispensable, to enable the British Roman Catholics to cooperate to effect such measures as shall be deemed expedient to re lieve them from all penalties and disabilities, it be proposed

To form an Association for the future regulation and management of the affairs of the British Roman Catholics:

That a General Meeting shall be held every year, at which the minutes of the proceedings of the former year shall be read.

That every Roman Catholic in Great Britain, subscribing One Pound or upwards to the General Fund at the beginning of the year, shall be a Member of the Roman Catholic Association for that year; and that every Roman Catholic Clergyman in Great Britain shall be a Member without subscription, and shall assist,discuss,and vote at the open Meetings. That a Committee composed of Members shall be annually chosen by the General Meeting; that they shall hold one Meeting at least in each month; and that the Vicars Apostolic and their coadjutors shall be standing Mem

bers thereof.

That the Committee shall be empowered to call extraordinary General Meetings, on giving days previous notice; and that

George Armstrong.
Edward Whiteside.
John Kelly.
Denis McCarthy.
Joseph Booker.
C. P. Sullivan.
John Marsh.
John Crook.
Christopher Crook.
George Keating.
Joseph Vose.
Robert Spain.
Robert Fogg.

any Members of this Association shall be authorised to call a General Meeting, having signified their intention to the Committee days previous to such intended Meeting being convened.

That the Secretary shall be annually chosen at the General Meetings, and shall be empowered to act at them; to call Special Committee Meetings; and if occasion require, a General Meeting also; to correspond with persons willing to communicate; to keep the

papers, books, and accounts; and generally to manage the interests, concerns, and business of the Associated Body.

That no money shall be expended by the Secretary without the previous sanction of the Committee, and that his accounts shall be annually audited by the Committee, and submitted for approval, and signed by the Chairman of the Annual Meetings.

That as the public press is made the vehicle of much abuse and slander against the British Catholics, it is particularly submitted to your consideration, whether some plan should not be adopted, by which articles in provincial, as well as the London Papers, and in other publications, impeaching their principles and conduct, may be promptly answered with temper and brevity.

Keating and Brown, Printers, London.

THE CATHOLIC SPECTATOR.

REID's Travels in Ireland, in the year 1822, exhibiting brief sketches of the moral, physical, and political state of the country; with reflec tions on the best means of improving its condition.”.

(Concluded from p. 111 )

The principle on which the Catholic Spectator is conducted does not lead it to political discussion; under that impression, therefore, we will not dwell on the unhappy theme, although we shall often, from principle, expose the hideous features of Orangeism, as given in Mr. Reid's pages. It is, nevertheless, not inconsistent with our duty of inculcating Christian Charity, and the universal peace essential to human happiness, to give a few extracts from the third part of that gentleman's invaluable volume, premising them, however, with one more afflicting picture of the misery in which the " people of Ireland" are compelled to exist. The reader of the book will find the passage at page 303.

66

12th (September.) Having hired a gig yesterday to convey me to Galway, I set out this morning at day-light. The road for the first thirteen miles is bad, and the country very indifferent; corn still standing in the fields, and the crop very light.. At the time I left Ulster, nearly six weeks since, almost all the flax had been pulled some time; but here are small patches only in blossom, called blue bow,' which will require some weeks to ripen. The season is some weeks No. 6.

later here than in other parts of the country, and the mode of farming, if it deserve the name, the very worst I have any where

seen.

"Towards Gort, the road and face of the country improve a little, and continue to do so nearly three miles north of that little town; they then grow worse again, and for eight or nine miles the country is wholly unproductive, an acre of it would scarcely feed a goose. I never saw so complete a picture of desolation. The eye wanders over an immense tract of country, in which neither tree, nor shrub, nor vegetable of any kind is discernible. The surface of the ground must be dilurial lime stone. Fuel too is wanting, and yet there are cabins scattered over it, around which a scanty verdure, produced by extreme art, is an exception to the general barrenness; and swar..s of children, the dressing or undressing of whom give their mothers no trouble whatever.

"In the course of the journey I alighted and went into several cabins, which are almost as des titute of furniture, as the childre 1 are of clothing. In one I foun 1 eight persons, a man, two women and five children, all, except two of the latter, labouring under Bb

188

Reid's Travel's in Ireland,

fever. Each of these two had a raw potatoe in its hand, but there was no fire to cook them; nor was there a creature that could hand another a cup of water,— there was not so much as a cup of water in the house. Four lay in one corner, with nothing between them and the clay floor but a few old rushes, and no covering what ever but the ragged garments they wore; the other two lay in the opposite corner on a similar bed, with a thing over them that had once been a blanket, and was now absolutely moving with vermin. Gracious Heaven! what will become of this afflicted family? The only cooking utensils in the place were two iron pots and an old tin saucepan. I desired my driver to fill them all with water from a pool close by, but he refused to touch any of them, lest he should catch the fever. I was glad to find that this iron hearted calculator was not born in Ireland or Britain! A poor stocking-man came up before I went away, who consented to attend them one day, and inost cheerfully went off to a huxter's to procure a scanty supply of the necessaries of life. In another cabin into which I went, there were two persons sick, one with fever, the other, consumption."

Benevolent feeling like this is in strict accord with the princi. ples of our Divine model, which nakes man feel for the miseries of his fellow man as he would for his own. The member of human society, who is not sensible of this heavenly precept, may derive the same sentiment from those associations of insect life which have ever attracted the observation of the philosophic mind.

Let the man that ventures to
doubt, in this respect, study the
labours of the Bee, leaving to So-
lomon unlimited commendation
of the Ant. Not like the rapaci-
ous and selfish creature just men-
tioned, the bee exhausts its pow-
ers of instinct and industrious
exertion for the cominon good of
its community, frequently sacri-
ficing its life for that glorious end.
Benevolence has no limit; it
draws the angel from the throne
of truth-it binds the virtuous
to the faithful; it fills the sor-
rowing soul with celestial bliss ;-
it fits the flitting spirit for that
presence where peace and perfect
happiness cannot be violated.
The sacrifices made by Mr. Reid
in the volume under considera-
tion are of this nature, and, it is
hoped, will be justly estimated, on
account of the salutary truths he
has developed.

In our notice of this publication we do not meddle with the question of tithe, on account of its political character; nevertheless we must say, that the primitive design of that institution is likely to force itself into adoption, and Mr. Reid's exposition on that head, it is likely, bas had much influence. The recent parliamentary measures in favour of the spade men of Ireland, shew the necessity of some relief on that subject.

On the matter most interesting to the immediate comfort, and, of course, tranquillity of the poor of Ireland, the author proceeds to say, page 360:

Any person who reads or thinks at all must know that employment and education are indispensable to the well being, if not to the very existence of a free state;

exhibiting brief Sketches of the

so obvious are their advantages, that to dwell on them would be an insult to the understanding of every reader." It has long been fashionable to declaim against Irish Indolence, and many writers of the first respectability, taking this for granted, have given themselves no trouble to investigate the charge. These sagacious men of letters, know nothing of Ireland but what Prejudice officiously suggests, or rather dictates to the vulgar circle, in which Fashion presides alike over the cutting of a garment and the forming of an opinion; their faith is so strong in this charner, that it deadens the evidence of their senses, which if unbiassed would expose the injustice of the charge of Indolence, as applied to the national character of Irishmen. Is there an individual resident of the British Metropolis, or of any other great city or town in the British Empire, who does not, or may not daily witness the active and steady energies of Irishmen, in the most laborious, humble, disgusting, and dangerous but essential occupations of society?are they not equally distinguished for the zeal, fidelity, and cheerful contentedness with which they perform them? Can the nation which produces such soldiers, sailors, and labourers, as Irishmen prove themselves to be, be deemed an indolent people? The unjust, the ungenerous charge stands self-refuted, but inflicts a stigma on those who, in the face of such evidence, can utter or lend a willing ear to it.

Indolent habits may, indeed, and are but too often contracted

by people who have no stimulus to exertion, and whose industry,

189

were it ever so active, would prove of as little advantage to them as beating the air.

"I have in another place, page 326, taken an opportunity to shew that idleness is forced upon them, and should be pitied as a misfortune, rather than censured as a crime. This opinion is formed from the evidence of my own senses, during many years spent among them; and, although by no means wedded to my own opinion, in this case I must confess that mere assertion or speculation from books, does not efface impressions made by experience.

"If I were desired to state, in a single word, what would be the greatest blessing that the wisdom of man could devise for the peasantry of Ireland, I should de · cidedly say, Employment. It must not, however, be concealed that to provide this in a sufficient quantity for a population so immense, and rapidly increasing as that of Ireland, particularly during universal depression, is extremely difficult; but any opinion tending to give just notions of the most feasible mode of directing the energies of so vast a body, to useful rather than destructive purposes, merits at least, a patient consideration.

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To this point I have devoted much attention, and have collected the sentiments of several Irish gentlemen, whom I believe to be sincerely devoted to their country's welfare. I have been favoured with a letter from one, whose name would be a sufficient passport to respect, but I regret to say, that his modesty is too great to allow this guarantee to accompany the publication of his judicious views. The only means,'

190

moral, physical, and political

says this enlightened patriot, by which this country can be served, in the way of employment, is, by government prosecuting works of great public utility, in facilitating internal trade, by means of roads and canals; but such works should not be carried on in the usual manner. The recommendation of every class and of every religious persuasion should be attended to, and jobbing prevented. The poor should be allowed a fair and proportionate interest in the lands, and there should be no check put upon their industry by heavy local taxes and exorbitant demands of tithe.'

"In addition to these suggestions, the improvement of harbours; the encouragement of fisheries; a little planting on every farm, and more extensively on every estate; reclaiming bogs and waste lands; rebuilding cottages on a cheap, comfortable plan; extending the manufacture of linen all over the country, and giving adequate premiums on every species of industry, may be noticed.

"It is plain, however, that these most desirable objects can never be achieved by the unaided efforts of the government; the landlords and gentry must lend their assistance: they should, if possible, be taught to know, that in administering to the imperative wants of the poor, and throwing widely open to them unrestrained employment and active exertion, they are best promoting their own individual interests. Above all, as an immediate queans of commencing this salutary un-. dertaking, the effects of an ab

* Ireland is nearly' denuded of living timber, although the soil and climate are eminently propitious to its production.

sentee tax would be of incalculable benefit to every class of persons connected with Ireland, but where patriotism is entirely wanting, a measure so salutary can scarcely be expected." It is hoped for the sake of humanity, and the general interests of the empire, that this last sentence will be disproved by the exertions of the highly enlightened legislature, now assembled in one of the most important sessions ever known in Britain.

On the subject of education in Ireland, the author assumes an energy beyond his professed moderation his sentiments on this head appear peculiarly worthy of quotation. At p. 363, he says:

"With respect to the manner in which instruction is imparted, and the impression it makes on the mind in Ireland, there can be but one opinion; Schools are wretchedly conducted.* The Royal and Chartered schools, so munificently endowed, may not unaptly be compared to the huge excrescences which sometimes form on a lofty tree, and receive all the nutriment intended by nature for its growth and support; these may exist for awhile, with out producing any visible injury, but their effect is certain; they induce decay, and inevitably tend to involve the whole in rottenness and ruin. If these nests of sloth and corruption were swept away, a few monopolizing jobbers might lament the loss of their unearned, unhallowed wages; a beneficed clergyman who received FIFTEEN HUNDRED POUNDS a year from the endowment, and never went near it,' might be sorry; but

*This has reference only to Protestant Schools.

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