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"1810-James Baldwin of Macroom in the county of Cork, left all his lands and tenements in reversion, to Drs. Shucgrue and Moylan, in trust out of the issues and rents there. of, to dispose of the sum of 4001. per annum, for establishing a School or Schools to be kept by Roman Catholic Clergymen, in the parish of Kilnamatra, county of Cork, for instructing poor children in the religi ous tenets and rules of the Church of Rome."

We believe this is the only documeat that was ever produced out of an English Parliament, to prove that a man, who bequeaths his own property for charitable purposes, for the education of infancy, the promotion of religion and for the comfort of old age, were for treasonable purposes, we are authorised to say, if those bequests were intended for the use of any institution, however immoral, sup pose, for the proprietors of public stews, or trifling purposes, such as Horse races, Cock-pits, Play-houses, or Gambling firms, they would not have given any offence. There was one object gained by Mr. Pole's expose; the superstition of the mere Irish, was established to the convic tion and amusement of the manifold fanatics, our brethren in England; and as ignorance and superstition, justify the interference of the enlight. ened, their dominion and rule become the more imperious and necessary. After justifying the strong measures adopted by the Irish Government, against the Irish, by these proofs of the treason of posthumous charity, Mr. Pole, proceeded to shew, that we are as ungrateful as we are superstitious; for, said he, accuse us of (the Romanist's) -plying national charities, legislative endowments, and pious funds, to Protestant institutions, all monopo lized by the rulin class. He begged the House for a moment to consider the nature of those charitable instituFOR MARCH, 1812. VOL. V.

ap

tions, authorised by law, and Gen-
tlemen would be convinced how un-
founded those assertions were. The
first he would mention was the House
of Industry, where Protestants and
Catholics were indiscriminately re-
ceived. It generally contains 3,000
persons, and necessarily of the lower
orders of the community, were of
course Catholics.”

This very statement is another ex-
isting proof of the inconveniency of
a remote Senate, composed of men,
utter strangers to our institutions,
The
character, and local manners.
Assembly to whom Mr. Pole was ad-
dressing himself, must have had such
an impression of our restless resistance,
to every plan of civilization and utility,
that they could not believe this House
of Industry, instead of being a com
fortable retreat for old age and infir
mity, is nothing but a vast tomb, where
the wretched inmates, except such as
can work, are only concealed from
the public eye, to be consigned to the
rapid agonies of death, caused by
the most disgusting, and scanty sub-
stitutes for food. The crowded con
dition of the platforms called beds,
the want of linen, the miserable por-
ridge given for subsistence, cause
such a consumption of the creatures,
that they never send less than twelve at
a time to the grave, and this is done
two or three times each week. Any
person who will take the pains of visit.
ing the cemetery, at the Royal Hospi-
tal, where victims of the House of In-
dustry are buried, will see, that the
grave is never shut ; an immense chasm
is made, the bodies flung into it, and
only so much as is occupied is cover-
ed.

The House of Industry appears to a Visitor to be nothing else but a trap for decoying the poor, from exhibiting their miseries to the eyes of the compassionate, or to conceal them from the cold and corrupt austerity of the proud, to meet a hasty death, where nothing is inter posed to stop its ravages, but clean pavement

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pavement and whitened walls, and who are the wretches? the parents of the Catholic soldiers and sailors, who are bearing the British Standard in every quarter of the Universe, and who are the officers, for whose benefit the establishment literally exists? not one Catholic is amongst them, for the governing class, govern exclusively in every department. The Orangemen govern in this House of Industry as they do in the North; certainly they do not shoot the prisoners, as in Ulster, but the prisoners in Channel-row are as quickly buried.

It is impossible to give a just idea of this Charnel-house, we are assured, that there are 2090 persons in it, whose maintenance, cloathing, and lodging, one with another, does not cost the establishment, two shillings each week. The immense and ex. pensive buildings and alterations con stantly going on, without one months interval, since the foundation of the Hospital, to gratify the caprice of the Governors, and extend jobbing, swallow up so much of the funds, that nothing can be spared to the relief or comfort of the objects for whom the House was designed. The literal and true application of the money granted for Channel-row, is for the use of the officers of the institution, and the numberless trades men eternally employed building.-It may be more properly termed a farm for the idle overseers, and a work shop for artificers and architects, than an asylum for the poor.

As to what Mr. Pole says of the Fondling Hospital, it is erroneous, as any statement he made of Channelrow, the founder of it was not regulated by one spark of charity or humanity. It owes its existence to the rooted intolerence, which has uniformly guided Englishmen, in all their actions with this country. The immense and general confiscation, has robbed the people of every thing

but their religion. And this Trap, the Fondling Hospital was endowed, for the purpose of detaching the children of the poor from their coun try and faith. We have not observed any thing so unbecoming a Statesman in our day, as the the shameful statements made by Mr. Pole, concerning these two Hospitals. The parents of our brave countrymen are starved in one house, and their children corrupted in the other.

Notes on Catholic Affairs.

We

The late debates in Parliament on the Catholic question, leaves very little to hope: we have been frequently told, that our case was gaining ground very much in England, that public opinion was much in our favor. never believed the idle stories. Lord Mulgrave took some pains to shew the absurdity of such tales, and the univer sal hatred expressed against us on every occasion, by all ranks, would convince any person of common spirits, that we might as well lay a statement of our condition before the mute inhabitants of the ocean, as before its haughty Lords.

So detested is the Irish character in England, that not a murder or robbery committed in the country that is not plainly attributed to an Irishman: robbery and murder are crimes of some magnitude, they are a description of manly wickedness, they are committed in every country, and an Irishman may be wicked enough to perpetrate them, but even British hatred and audacity have pot dared to brand us with any participa tion in their own national vice.

Earl of Ross, took a decided part against the Catholics, we are not informed who the Earl is, names change so often in the high ranks, our memory is not able to register them with suffi cient accuracy, and our fortune is too limited, to be able to purchase books on artificial nobilit,; we believe the Earl of Ross was Sir Laurence Parsons.

His

His lordship expressed much satisfaction at the firmness of the Irish government, in resisting and bringing to trial the tumultuous leaders of the Catholics; he spoke very philosophi cally on the injustice of witholding from the Catholics, any part however small of the benefits of the constitution, but declared, they had treated the government with such gross contumely, they had torfeited his esteem, and that any concession at PRESENT, must appear, in the extremest degree, mean and pusillanimous." It is ex. tremely wonderful, that every gentle man in power agree that the present, is not the time for making concessions. Another noble Lord, Earl of Aberdeen, was as eloquent on abstract principles, and as great an enemy to intolerance, as my Lord of Ross, but, praised the firmness of the government and reprobated the intemperance of the Catholics, and agreed the present time was not the season to make any experiments on the constitution,

Lord Mulgrave, could not see how four millions of men, women and children, were to be all discontented, because they could not be all Admirals and Judges. At all events, twelve millions were not to be disgusted for their sakes: he did not conceive how the popular feeling in England, had become more favorable to the question than formerly. He would remind the house of the dreadful riots of 1780, on the mere apprehensions that new privileges were intended.

His Lordship is concise and explicit, he argues on our numerical strength, we suppose as an advice, not to be so presumptuous as to attempt to make our way into the constitution by storm, in the teeth of twelve millions, who have the care of it. He expresses it very distinctly, that popular feeling is not in our favor, this we know pretty well, and they are not to be disgusted for our sakes: he also reminds the house of the deference they should have for their constituents, the

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mob of London, who were provoked in the year 1780, to cashier the House of Commons, and burn all Catholic houses and chapels, because, said house gave grounds of apprehensio, that, new privileges were intended for the Catholics. It is a great part of English policy to persuade us, and even the English nation, that our numbers are so contemptible, we have nothing to expect, nor they to fear. Now, it is notorious, that there are six millions in Ireland of men, women and children, and the women so modest in their demands, that, they do not, as Lord Mulgrave insinuates, wish to be either Generals, Admirals, or Judges, and we say, Great Britain all together, does not contain nine millions; so that on the score of intimidation from a supposed superiority of adversaries, the Irish have no reason to think the present season can be much farther advanced. Lord Mulgrave does not invalidate our claims on their mere merits; he talks more like a conqueror, than a philosopher; and his deference to the majesty of a London mob, possesses more democratic sentiments than are usually expressed by a member of the House of Peers. Indeed, we believe, this deviation from the manners of "the corinthian pillars of the constitution," would not occur on any other than an Irish business, as an alliance between the Swine and the Peers will be necessary, when numbers are to settle the dispute.

Lord Liverpool principally applied his argument to shew what a pure mind, and sound understanding the Chief Justice of the Irish King's Bench possessed. We presume, this was to prove what a corrupt race, and ignorant community the people of Ireland are; he contended that as no security had been offered by the Catholics, for the concessions sought by their advocates, it was impossible for the house to listen to any thing in their favor.