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Lord Lewisham, son of the Earl of Dartmouth, was elected on Monday, without opposition, to represent the borough of Lichfield, in place of Lord Ingestre, now Earl Talbot. The religions dignity of Abbot has been revived in England. The Re- verend J. Palmer was on Sunday installed as Abbot of the Monastery of Mount Saint Bernard, in Charnwood Forest. Dr. Ullathorne, the Roman- ist Bishop of the Midland District, presented Father Bernard with a cro- sier, rings, mitre, and 'gloves, which he had first blessed and sprinkled with holy water. An Irish Abbot, and the French Abbots Augustin of Bellefontaine and Maxime of Melleray, were present.. Dr. Ullathorne de- livered an address in which he congratulated his clergy that it had pleased God to revive the ancient dignity, after three hundred years of desola- tion.
A remarkable inquisition was made at Devonport last week, by the Bishop of Exeter, as Visitor of the Orphan's Home, a religions and charitable institution lately founded by some pious young ladies at Devonport, who have taken the name of "Sisters of Mercy." The inquiry arose out of allegations in the Devonport Telegraph concerning the Popish practices of the young ladies; who were declared to be instruments of the Jesuits. The Bishop opened the proceedings by calling on Mr. Richards, editor of the Telegraph, to make his charges. Mr. Richards did this, and called as his witnesses three girls who had been inmates of the Orphan's Home, and whom he had closely examined before making his charges in the Telegraph. One of these witnesses was Sarah Ann Clarke, eighteen years old; who stated that she had been received into the Orphan's Home as a serving Sister. She was to be taught, and have her clothing, living, lodging, &c., for her service. There were prayers at the Orphan's Home six or seven times a day, beginning at half-past six o'clock in the morning. These prayers were called by Latin names. There was a room called the oratory, in which the Sisters and children assembled for prayer. In it there was a table, and on it a cross about two feet high, on a pedestal. To this cross the Sisters bowed on entering, and again on leaving the oratory. Dr. Pusey had been at the Orphan's Horne several times. He stayed there one time for three days. He also bowed to the cross and read prayers, and administered the sacrament in the oratory. The Reverend W. Hutchison had also several times read prayers. She had not seen any Bibles in the house, and only once heard it read. The ladies wore crosses suspended by a cord round the waist. The Lady Superior (Miss Sellon), Sister Catherine, and Sister Mary, wore crosses outside their dresses in public. The Lady Superior had some bone beads with a cross attached in her bedroom. The cross was removed from the oratory on the Tuesday. The Honourable Mr. Ashley and two .other gentlemen called: the Lady Superior was not then at home.
The Bishop, in respect to the oratory, commended the practice where the size of a house admitted of the setting apart a room for the purposes of praise and prayer; and mentioned that calling it an oratory had the sanction of the Fathers of the Church, of the Reformers, and of the Statutes. Clarke made some statements about her clothing when she left the Orphan's Home. Her statements did not quite agree with those she originally made to Mr. Richards: she had stated to him that she "left with what she stood upright inn; but it seems that she had additional clothes given her, and money to buy more.
Mary Patchett, a girl of fifteen, stated that the Lady Superior had said that they bowed to the cross out of "reverence and in remembrance of our blessed Sa- viour." Patchett "ran away because the work was so hard, and because she did hot like so much confinement."
Miss Scion, the Lady Superior, a lady of about twenty-five, was ex- amined.
She explained the bowing to the cross: it was not devotional, but reverential only—of reverence for a place set apart for the worship of God. It was not true that Sister Catherine had taught the children to bow to the cross. Sister Ca- therine was at present in bed ill, but she had been asked, and denied having ever done so. She and others of the Sisters had worn crosses; but they did not wear them publicly, as had been represented. She saw no reason why they should not be permitted to wear the cross, without attracting public notice, as well as ladies of fashion. She had some common beads, but not a rosary. There was a cross attached to the beads, and they had sometimes been laid on her pillow. She could see no harm in this. It was a trifling ornament given her as a child, and she wore it as a person might the gift of some dear departed friend. The children were instructed in the Bible, the Prayer-book, the Creed, the Church Catechism, and the Ten Commandments. There are plenty of Bibles in every part of the house, and accessible to all the inmates. The Latin names of the prayers used in the house were struck out, at the request of the Bishop. There was a cross on a pedestal and flowers on the table. When this was done she was not aware that proceedings had been taken against a clergyman of this diocese for adopting a similar practice in a church. She was not aware that do- ing this in a church was uncanonical. Her reason for placing the altar in the oratory was simply to make it look as much as possible like a church. She was aware it was contrary to the law of the Church to have the communion adminis- tered in a place not -licensed for the celebration of divine worship, except it was the communion for the sick. It was the communion for the sick that had been administered at Orphan's Home. It was so administered once by the Reverend Mr. Barker, and twice by Dr. Fumy. They called them- selves "Sisters of Mercy" because the phrase expressed the objects they contemplated: she did not adopt the title of Lady Superior to make it in any way like a convent or nunnery. The books they used were all selected from the catalogue of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, except it was a manual for catechizing, by a Reverend Mr. Harden, of this diocese. They receive orphans and educate them themselves, erect schools and support them, visit the sick and destitute poor, and assist many other works of charity. It was in consequence of the appeal about the spiritual destitution of Devonport that Miss Sellon first came to Morice Town; and it was when the work grew upon her she had obtained the assistance of other ladies. Her father, a Captain in the Royal Navy, had given his free consent to her coming here to devote herself and fortune to this work of mercy. • Miss Sellon was cross-examined by Mr. Richards and several clergymen of his party; and her replies were delivered with dignified but most gentle simplicity and clearness.
The Bishop delivered judgment with characteristic warmth and force: his enthusiasm, it would appear from the report, gave occasion to un- seemly manifestations among portions of the audience.
"I do not say," Dr. Philpotta began, "that I came absolutely impartial ; I should blame myself if I had: I came with a feeling of veneration for the young ladies. I go from this meeting with a feeling—I know not how to express the
admiration which I have for their conduct. . . Most heartily and earnestly do I thank you for baring come hither on this mission of Christian love—for having laboured so devoutly, and by God's blessing so usefully—for having en- dured more than I ever knew women to be called upon to endure, with a patience and resignation, and a feeling of superiority to all human consieration, which I never hoped to see in any person. I declare most solemnly, that the result of this investigation is to me that of the most unmixed admiration. If there had been some things which I wish they had not adopted, they are absolutely overpowered by the graces and excellencies by which these ladies have been influenced. I know I may be condemned for expressing that opinion—as a Papist, a fa- vourer of Papists, encouraging Popery in my diocese, because I stand forward ; and while I am blessed by God's mercies to preside over this diocese, never shall I cease to express my regard for the conduct of that wise and virtuous—I had al- most said that angelic woman. (Cheers hisses, and a burst of laughter.) I wish that some things had never occurred ; I wish that the crosses and the flowers had never been placed there. (" Oh, oh!" and cheers.) But I won't treat that as a subject of censure. I venture to hope that they will be removed, and that they will not be allowed to remain there after the scandal that has been raised by it. (Miss Sellon here bowed acquiescence.) Miss Sellon has done strange things in having these crosses here, but they are not so strange as these works of mercy—which I wish were not so strange as they are. Now they are called Sisters of Mercy, and we are told that is a Popish title. But I rejoice to hear from Miss Sellon that she has heard that they exist in Protestant countries abroad. I don't know whether that is so or not; but, for one, I rejoice that in England therein established a Sisterhood of Mercy.. I thank Miss Sellon for having established such a sisterhood in this diocese; I thank her, as a member of the Church of England, for having rescued the Church from this reproach which has been frequently borne against her by the Roman Catholics—that we are incapable of raising amongst our women anything like that spirit of love which exists amongst others. I have never been abroad ; but I have always heard Sis- ters of Mercy spoken of with reverence and regard : I regret that we had not such instances here. I am glad that reproach is in this instance removed. Thanks to that lady ! I hope they will not give up that title, however it may be attempted either by the press or any other power. I hope they will retain the title of Sisters of Mercy. Miss Sellon will go from this room not as a sister of mercy but as a martyr of mercy: she rises before us; she makes us feel what poor miserable things we are compared with that lady who sits there. (Hisses and laughter.) I con- sider it an honour to have the reproach of those who can express reproach on my attempting to do justice to that excellent lady."• (Cheers.)
The Bishop dismissed Miss Sellon with the expression of a hope that she would give herself some repose after this, "so as not to jeopardize her valu- ab:e life."
The Devonport Telegraph is "authorized to state that her Majesty the Queen Dowager has requested her name to be withdrawn as the patroness of the Orphan's Home in Milne Place."
Inquiries have shown that the depredations by Anne Matthews, the daughter of the Postmaster of Carmarthen, were very extensive: some four hundred charges could be laid against her; 355 letters were found in her possession, 52 covers of newspapers, 951. in bank-notes, 28 new purses, jewellery, and other ar- ticles.
The Coroner's Jury which has sat at Carlisle on the bodies of the five persons killed on the Caledonian Railway, have expressed an opinion that the accident was caused by the displacement of a wheel of the tender, improperly fitted on the axle by some workman unknown.
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