PARTISANSHIP OF THE ENGLISH CLERGY: MR. SINGLETON'S EVIDENCE.
FROM the evidence given before Sir GEORGE GREY'S Intimida- tion Committee, we showed, last week, that if the Catholic priest- hood were active partisans in Irish elections, the clergy of the Established Church in that country set them an example of sys- tematic and unscrupulous interference in the turmoil of political warfare. We adduced the admission of Tory witnesses to the fact, that the Protestant clergy are in the habit of "speaking politically from the pulpit ;" that they " interfere in elections," and "con- tribute to the excitement of the voters on their side." As a par- ticular instance of this meddling in elections, we cited the be- haviour of a Protestant parson, who headed a troop of armed Orange homicides, and, pistol in hand, rode with them into Trim, in Meath county, while the election was going on. Nothing that we have seen alleged against the Catholic priesthood comes up to this.
In England, the conduct of tile Protestant clergy on all sides is more moderate in its seeming. They have a different class of persons to deal with ; and they manage by less violent methods to attain their ends more effectually than their brethren who garrison the fortress of ecclesiastical abuses in Ireland. With scarcely an exception, the witnesses admit the interference of the English clergy in party contests to a very great extent.
Mr. JOSEPH PARKES declares, that both the Established and Dissenting clergy exercise the most extensive influence ; and he mentions a circumstance of the North Warwickshire election, which shows how far some of the former went on the Tery side. Mr. PARKES found on the register eight or ten brethren of Lord Leicester's Hospital, who are a corporation entitled to freehold votes. A majority of them signed the requisition to Captain GRE- GORY, and were known to be Liberals. They were, besides, es- pecially inimical to Mr. DUGDALE, the Tory candidate, with whom they had a lawsuit. But after all, most of them voted for Mr. DUGDALE, under the direct threat of the Reverend Mr. KEN- DAL, Master of the Hospital, that he would disfranchise them, as he was empowered to do by the statutes of the Hospital, if they went a mile or two out of town without leave. Yet -Mr. PARKES actually saw this very same Mr. KENDAL bring up several of the brethren in two chaises to Coventry, and poll them against Mr. GREGORY, though they had signed the requisition to that gentle- man to come forward!
Speaking of the last Devonshire election, Mr. JAMES TERRELL says- " I believe the influence of the clergy was most powerful against us. Though we have from, 200 to 300 parishes, there were not above six clergymen who voted for Lord John ; and of those only three or four were beneficed in the division: and I believe the influence of the large body of the clergy which was in every part excited against us, both in reference to their tithes and their being in many cases also Magistrates, operated very powerfully on the last election."
The same witness states, that by a threat to take his tithes in kind, which is annoying beyond measure to a farmer, the clergy- man can frequently influence his vote. From this we may con- clude, that a Tithe Commutation Act would diminish the political power of the Parsonocracy,—one of the many good reasons for passing such a measure as soon as may be.
Much has been said of the haranguing of Irish priests in their churches: but Mr. TERRELL states, that one of the Devonshire clergy called his parishioners together in vestry, and harangued them against Lord JOHN; and that another, after his sermon was finished, immediately started on a canvassing expedition. A third never let his parishioners alone till the day of election arrived ; he was constantly "teasing" them to vote against Lord Jolty. Not content with his own exertions in the pulpit, he procured an as- sistant from the hotbed of bigotry at Exeter, to preach political discourses for him; and after the election he lectured those who voted against Mr. PARKER. Mr. ROBERT SCOTT, a Worcestershire Magistrate, states, that at the election in Staffordshire, the Reverend Mr. BEVAN, of Womborne, "took round a paper and and got almost every voter in the parish to sign it, pledging himself to vote for the party who should be brought forward on that side." Mr. JAMES VLORAISCE, a solicitor, now resident at Fulham, says that in the Essex election, the Church and Dissenting clergy- men "took a very decided part :" of the former, "a large majo- rity were Conservative in their politics." He does not know of any instances of intimidation, but they were active "canvassers." Mr. Jon N JAMES, a retired solicitor, gave stronger testimony as to the interference of the Herefordshire clergy against the Liberal candidates. The Dean and Chapter of Hereford exercise much influence, and intimidate the artisans employed in repairing the Cathedral, and all the tradesmen whom they can reach. When asked if the Cathedral dignitaries are gentlemen who generally carry their threats against voters into effect, he replies," Indeed, I believe they are." The clergy, he adds, are "decidedly the most active canvassers ;" and tradesmen fear the loss of clerical custom, in case they give offence by their votes, more than if they thwarted any other set of men. It is well known that the controlling authorities of our Univer- sities are clergymen ; and that at Cambridge, the Reverend Mr. Knee., Vice-Chancellor, exerts all his influence with the trades- people against Messrs. Rice asd PRYME, and in favour of the Tories. This is confirmed by the evidence of Mr. F. J. GUNNING. The Vice-Chancellor has the power of licensing lodging-houses for students in the town ; and a day for that purpose was appointed in May 1834, when, owing to the retirement of the STANLEY section from the GREY Cabinet, and the appointment of Mr.
SPRING RICE to the Colonial Secretaryship, a new election for Cambridge became necessary. As soon as this was known, the Vice-Chancellor postponed the licensing-day until after the elec- tion. In one instance, the licence of a lodging-house-keeper had
been refused ; but the Vice-Chancellor sent his compliments to the person, requesting him to vote for Sir EDWARD SUCHEN. The result of this application is not staled ; but Mr. GUNNING quietly says, that he concluded from it that the Vice-Chancellor was not very unrelenting.
Enough of evidence, for the present, on the subject of the un- scrupulous zeal with which the Protestant clergy of England as well as Ireland labour in the service of their political allies. How absurd is it to pretend that the conduct of the former is praise- worthy or venial, if the Catholic priesthood are so very reprehen- sible for doing the same thing ! It is of no avail to urge that the Catholics are more violent in sonic cases than the English mi- nisters of the Protestant Church; for, as we remarked last week, the habits, circumstances, and associations of the reople whom they address must be taken into consideration.
It seems to us, that if' there ever was a class of men in whom strong excitement in political contests was excusable, the Ca- tholic priesthood of Ireland is that class. They behold themselves stripped by foreign bayonets of what they must consider their rightful property : that they have not forfeited their original and best title to it, is clear from the fact that the People of Ireland, for whose benefit the Church ought to be endowed, cleave to their priests, and spurn the beneficed clergymen ; and this has been the case for centuries. It is only by operating on the Legislature that they can have any chance of indirectly recovering, for the use of Catholics, part of that wealth of which their Church has been despoiled. Besides, the Report of the Committee is full of proof of the ardent sympathy which exists between the priesthood and their flocks. It is on account of their persevering and honest attachment to the Catholic faith, that for so long a period the mass of the Irish have been a proscribed race. The experience of the last few years has demonstrated that the only effectual mode of obtain- ing political benefits and equal rights for them is political agita- tion. Independently, therefore, of any prospect of worldly ad- vantage to themselves as a priesthood, the Catholic clergy would naturally be impelled to those unwearied exertions for the Liberal cand.dates which are so annoying and disastrous to the Tories. It is idle to talk about putting down this priestly influence, as long as the Church Establishment is maintained in Ireland, and other grievances remain unredressed. The Times tbolishly com- plains of the efforts of the Catholics to reform the Church Establishment by disbanding it altogether, and declares that the Irish Liberals will never really be satisfied with any thing less. They never ought to be satisfied with less. No people, civilized or uncivilized, whatever may be their creed or country, ever will submit quietly to such an intolerable insult. The Scotch would not endure it, nor the English. There is no one so regardless of truth as to venture the assertion, that Englishmen -would tolerate the establishment of a church, richly endowed by the nation, to which only one-tenth of the nation belonged. The experiment of endeavouring to force upon the Scottish people the church of the minority has been tried, and we all know how it ended. Unless it can be made to appear that because a man is born in Ireland, it is criminal in him to seek for redress of those wrongs which Englishmen -and Scotchmen would be deemed idiots and cowards to bear without resistance, it is mere mouthing nonsense to inveigh against the exertions of the Catholic priest- hood to overthrow the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They have the vast majority of the people with them; it is their nationality which renders them formidable, and guarantees the ultimate success of their efforts.
The Times continues to fill its columns with the evidence of the Orange witnesses. We have already informed our readers of the fact, which the Times dishonestly suppressed,.that all this evi- dence is ex parte ; and that the Committee expressly warned the public not to believe implicitly what had been stated, as the -parties attacked had not been allowed the opportunity of defence. This being the case, there ought to have been some care at all events not to quote as indisputable, the evidence of such a person as Mr. MATTHEW SINGLETON. Mr. PATRICK LALOR, late Mem- ber for Queen's County, describes this person as a partisan Ma- gistrate. In answer to the question "Do you know Mr. SINGLE- TON by character ?" Mr. LALOR says- " Yes, I have known him by character as a Mapistrate in our county for some years; and know he has always been considered a partisan, and a person not possessing the confidence of the people, or that administered teen- handedjustice : that seas the character of him in our county, and for conduct of that nature he had been removed from another county."
" Did you ever read an apology, signed by Mr. Singleton, to the Reverend Zr. Maher. ?"
" Yes, I did ; therz had been a Commissioner sent down by Government to investigate the matter ; and on Mr. Singleton making this apology before the investigation commenced, it did not go on."
"Do you remember that Mr. Singleton brought a charge against a Roman Catholic clergyman of the name of Mar; that he was unable to sustain the -charge, and that he retracted it by order of Government; and was told that if he did not do so, he would lose his situation? " "I am not ceitain whether he was told so or not ; but I know that he did .retract it, and that he was removed in consequence to another county; not for the retractation, but for the false charge." " Taking that circumstance into account, and your general knowledge of his character, woad you pay any particular attention to any statement made by Mr. Singleton respecting the conduct of the Roman Catholic clergy ?" " Certainly not, nor if that transaction had never happened." Yet this Mr. SINGLETON is put forward as an unexceptionable witness by the Times: he is called "a well-informed and respect- able Police Magistrate." The fact is, that he belonged to the lower order of Protestants, known to be the most virulent, because the most ignorant of the Irish bigots, and was raised from the ranks of the Police force, probably on account of his activity on the Ascendancy side, which would recommend him to Mr. At- torney-General BLACKHUR:YE. From the evidence of Mr. L ALOR, it is clear that SINGLETON is not to be trusted when speaking against the Catholic clergy : yet the vague opinions of this preju- diced person are taken by the Times as proof of the villany of a whole people- " A portion of this evidence, delivered by Mr. Singleton, establishes the fact —not, that we can remember, mentioned previously—viz. that a complete o.rga- nization of the lower order of Roman Catholics exists throughout the Centre, West, and South-west of Ireland, of which one of the purposes is to deter or prevent witnesses from coming forward to aid the ends of justice : and so bar- barous and sanguinary is the spirit of the associators, that if any Roman Catho- lic were to come over to this country, even on the Speaker's warrant, to give evidence unfavourable to the inurrectionare cause or to its supporters, he would be assassinated within twenty finer honr of his return home." This monstrous asseition is taken from a leading article in the Times of Wednesday. On the previous day, the Times itself bad quoted the evidence of Mr. CARROLL, "time Roman Catholic jour- nalist," unfavourable to the insurrectionary cause and its sup- porters. Mr. CARROLL is editor of the Carlow Sentinel, a violent Orange paper : he published Father KEHOE'S address from the altar to his flock, which the Times is perpetually referring to as illustrative of the abuse of their spiritual functions by the whole Catholic clergy ; the report of this address has been denounced by the Catholics as full of falsehood ; Mr. CARROLL is theretUre an especially odious person ; yet he came over to this country, plainly a willing and zealous witness, and gave twenty folios of evidence which he knew would be printed. Has he yet been mur- dered? Had the sanguinary plot, which SINGLETON and the Times have discovered, any real existence, Mr. CARROLL would have been killed some months ago. Space fails us now, but we shall probably resume this subject next week. In the mean while, let not the stuff in the shape of evidence, with which the columns of the Times are daily crowded, be taken for gospel, until the character of the witness is ascertained.
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