110W TO RETRIEVE THE v.Ata POSITION IN IRELAND.
PAP 1.07 has made its electioni,to stick to its Ptolemaic astronomy, its Post-Apostolic nuraclegoana its pelitical despotism. The Pope has been frightened byhiefey4i,Joilure in the rob of reformer, back into reaction, de i .ecce en France, servile reliance on Aus- tria, and more servile ssion to the diotatiou of his Cardinals. Dr. Cullen*, editor, ef.e.me?,:k that maintains the Ptolemaic theory; stands oatp, ineatP ontnne 4• ;of polity, but will tole- rate notional education IR! 44'4 ithe students be- not mixed Cathelie.amkPepteetnntitioggAher,,i the zealots of the Church will put forth friairaelles.Whiela,,te.si ox cannotsffectively re-
pudiate. Be_w ecidiA, Nance fot ,sionaplicity in
getting up, a fs,leti_miraele,;;P enflectsuggests:44iden that the woman herself yjl n!wri 47:9Q4 *41;4' del'
sips practis41*Pl? the steriof rigid in
Italy who. sr1Fr viffK, pi is grievous sickness, Misters fuHfgg.hoip: j i *effect. Not long since, a. Roman: rince, nee vi`,, ureb Was doubtful, was, buried in, a vault; 91 0**.i*Vpeal „from the coffin, and nothing but smoke re. 4 i, authenticated; but what then ? So ake41 St)T4Yerra, (f, evi, whose heart had- been much hardenedi hntAlva4nlmeiee softened by a vision on entering a chin*, , Th4 .1_,Terted—there can be no doubt of that; but what, the wthe non-essential facts
which, are proved;. the cardinal s:Yest on faith: But it is
useless to dismiss miracles , al t n :day ; their repetition only attests the untenable positien, ,!1 the Romish Church has been
forced to assume. It has .4 stand on inedimVal polity, ante-mediaeval science ; and t e miracles follow as a natural se- quenoe ; it is bound therefore to defend those miracles. A thank- less and perilous task, but needful; or else it must surrender altogether.
Meanwhile, a curious series of pluenomena is going on in Ire: land. The Queen's Colleges still find students, Papal prohibition notwithstanding.; priests minister ,to the scholars, and do not scruple to certify to their belaayinr, The National Schools are well supported, excepting where-,til famine has swept them uway. Y011 see Boardsie gnardians in which the Roman 'Catholics stand113'14,91144 ht hec44Y- An, in- telligent tourist in the NVestiok drel iy.fie his just been visit- ing Galway, notices, that the prieste,nre losing their command over the ,people ; a .fact corroborated ,)iyiNt:Arst,we have heard. This growing independence of the peeplauis, partly brought about by the schism between a purely ,/riak,narty in the Church, headed by Dr. Murray, and an tiltrammOufe,partY, headed by Dr. Cul- len; partly it is due to the concussion which the country. has lately sustained, which showed the vanity, of mundane authority and un- settled all, the relations ,of life;. partly to the working of the priest- dreaded. National educatien, which_ has for some years been ele- vating the condition of the Irish youth abeveitliejeveI of the hedge- priest. We noticed that development sgtA- years back : the youth are now growing up to manhood ; and mien before they reach that stage, they virtually lieconap teachers, of their parents. The in- fluence of mere priestcraft is declining ; and we see with satisfac- tion that the Anti-Papal movement has not positively driven the advanced guard of Liberal Catholicism back upon its rear. Simultaneously with this ;promising state of matters morally, we notice a financial state which on the, surface is not so promising. Farmers have been feeling a iseareity of,,labourers, dead or emi- grated. But parishes also are feeling a scarcity of ratepayers;. and in various degrees they, are meetly •protesting against the repay- ment of the advances made in their time of trouble : one union goes so far as repudiation, others claim mitigation of the demands upon them, the rest postponement of the liquidation. They can't manage it, they say.: The same tourist notices the indifferent success of the Irish in recovering from the recent visitation : even the immigrants from England or Scotland succeed doubtfully,— having reckoned too, much, perhaps, on the effect of their own activity in stimulating the industry of whole districts. The people seem to be helpless. It is a peculiar trait of the Irish cha- racter, that they are unusually governed by circumstances : at home, they are desponding, helpless, thriftless; let them emigrate, and if they go to a town, or too. settlement that gets on ill, they get on ill :they remain Irish, nnimproving ; set them in a colony that gets on well, and they will get on. It is useless to de- plore this want of self-reliance ; it is simply a fact, and a fact needful to be borne in mind. The Irish need to be more governed than the Itngli4;, their rulers should. be 'their teachers, .leaders, and ex- emplars. Is all done that might be in that behalf ? The un- energetic Irish: wig)* follow .exaniples, ik-landlorde would do for them. what Sii Robert Peek and 1.44erly,have ,recommeaded- R,„ t example; or if, as Sir ,4dwaot Bulwer Lyttton advises, Uovernment ;wore to undertak9 t e:AtutY:19Aaajnant*, lineman, Ford Clarenelen em ,anted , :419f.turtays. "an tem! erE what has becomVel them ? In more than oiie plide law Guardians are trying to convert the ablebodied labour which has been thrown upon their hands to reproductive purposes. A priori you might suppose, that if a large mass of ablebodied labour is converted for the nonce, in the lump, to paupeism, the proper way to counteract that would be to convert it into self-support- ing kbour. They have tried at Cork with some success; as they have in other parts of Ireland and in England. The present law, indeed, opposes obstacles to the plan ; and, we would ask, have the heads of the Poor-law department inquired, explained, and given judgment on this subject ? No, it remains un- explored. Again, much might be done to promote migration of capital into Ireland, if the working of the Encumbered Es- tates Act were accompanied by the publication of specific in- formation, in the London Gazette and in the journals, as to the amount, quality, and position of land now rendered marketable. Ne one in England has a clear current view of the land available for purohase and speculative cultivation in Ireland; but a mere notification in the Gazette or the morning journals would perfectly answer the purpose. It would not only facilitate but suggest motives to purchase. Such are only specimens of the points on which Government might ally itself with the great be of the active Liberal Irish population; and by favour of that alliance, it might even supersede and cast into oblivion the discords, false alliances, and false conduct, into which it has been betrayed by its Anti-Papal legislation.
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