The Catholics are much excited about Mr. Newdegate's inquiry .
into the condition of their convents. Mr. Cogan on Friday se'nnight asked the house to rescind its former vote, but after a short and sharp debate, the debate was adjourned to the 28th inst. Early in the same day a great meeting of Catholics had been held at the Stafford Club to protest against the " wanton insult and outrage involved in the proposed Commission of Inquiry," as a "revival of the penal laws." No alternative was suggested, but it was clear from a speech of the Duke of Norfolk, and a resolution moved by Sir C. Douglas that the grand objection to inquiry is the absence of any guarantee that witnesses will speak the truth. The Catholics would evidently prefer a Royal Commission to take evidence on oath, and we do not see why this compromise should be rejected.
Previous page
