The Earl of Shrewsbury has subscribed 1,000/. towards the erection
of a Catholic church in St. George's Fields, London.—Shrewsbury Chronicle.
We have received several communications respecting the riotous conduct of parties after confirmation. We abstain from publishing them, as they are calculated to afflict and pain the conscientious Churchman, who must grieve to see the regular periodical driving of uninformed and unprepared persons into the pale of the establishment, for the mere purpose of enabling Bishop Phillpotts—a man not less of craft than of Christ—to get up a prima fiwie case of Church pros- perity. One case is reported at Sidmouth, of a very grave character ; and last week we had to record the conviction of a set of young men of a riotous and drunken assault on a respectable gentleman of Col- lumpton. We regret to see the sacred name of Christianity coupled with such outbreakings of revelry and riot as are too frequently re- ported to us as attending on the performance of the ceremony. We do not believe, however, that the young people are the worse for being confirmed, even though they have had the band of Bishop Phillpotts laid on them; but we do believe that the competition of the country clergy to bring up the greatest number of applicants for admission into the church, and the bonus of a holyday, which is generally given to the young folks, renders them eager applicants for enrolment, without sufficiently considering the importance of the occasion by which they are drawn together.— Western Times.
Of the sixteen Quakers' meetings in the county of Suffolk, eight of the houses are closed for want of congregations ; and of those remain- ing the number of friends attending are constantly diminishing.—Bury Herald.
The Directors of the Edinburgh and Leith Humane Society have resolved to present Miss Grace Darling with a handsome silver medal, for her noble and Christianlike conduct in rescuing from a watery grave, at the hazard of her own and her father's life, time persons be- longing to the Forfarshire. —Berwick Warder. Several ladies have requested locks of Grace Darling's hair, and have sent five-pound notes in return.
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