IRELAND.
The Lord-Lieutenant left Dublin Castle for London, on Thursday week. Shortly afterwards, a Privy Council was held, when the Lord Chancellor and General Sir George Brown, G.C.B., Commander of the Forces, were sworn in as Lords Justices for the Government of Ireland during the absence of the Earl of Carlisle.
At the sitting of the Court of Chancery, on Tuesday, Mr. Acheson Lyle, one of the Masters in Chancery, was sworn in as Lieutenant of the County and City of Londonderry, by Mr. Ralph Cusack, the Clerk of the Hanaper.
In consequence of an invitation from the Board of Trade, Mr. William Ewart, junior, Mayor of Belfast, Mr. John Mulholland, and Mr. Jona- than Richardson, M.P., left Belfast for London on Saturday last, to aid in arranging the details of the commercial treaty with France, as far as the linen trade is concerned.
The Church Education Society have held their annual meeting in Dublin, the Earl of Bandon in the chair. The report showed that the Society has an income of 41,9381., and the number of schools in con- nexion with the Society is 1615. The most interesting proceeding at the meeting was a demonstration against the Primate, Dr. Beresford, for having suggested a compromise with the National Board. The Bishop of Cashel declared that the advice given by the Lord Primate was not only foolish but immoral. It involves a violation by a clergyman of his vows, and instead of recommending that the poor schools of the Society should be given over to the National Board, the Primate ought to have given a munificent contribution to the Society's funds, and thereby en- abled them to carry on their poor schools.
The Roman Catholic prelates have addressed an enormous letter to Mr. Cardwell, in reply to his answer to the famous pastoral on education issued in November last. Insisting on the necessity of religious train- ing in the National schools, the prelates contend that it is rendered in- efficacious in them by being made the task of an hour, and complains of the power vested in patrons of excluding such instruction altogether ; that secular education requires to be associated with religion, that the principle of separate religious instruction is not adhered to by the Beard, but that combined religious instruction is attempted in the National school-books, which are compiled by Protestants for Roman Catholic 'use. It explains the Roman Catholic doctrine on the right of giving religious instruction, and enforces that of the bishops to exclude anti- Catholic books and teachers from schools, which latter right, it is con- tended, is virtuallyaigrred by the Board. The evil results and dangers
m
arising fro the change in the original constitution of the system are pointed out. The plan adopted by the Board is denominated a mockery and a delusion. It is urged that training and other schools are objec- tionable as weaning the character of nixed boarding schools, and that model schools are not managed with a due regard to Ronan Catholic interests. It contends that Government interference in education ought to be merely financial and inspectional, and concludes by setting forth the reasonableness of Roman Catholic demands for separate education.
Previous page
