was unwilling to allow a petition, containing matter of serious accusation against a Prelate, to be laid on the table, especially as he thought enough had been said on the occasion alluded to to remove the grievance; as such, however, did not appear to be the case, he must support the present motion. At the same time he was not prepared to say what further proceedings should be adopted; though he perfectly concurred with most of the arguments of Lords Dacre and Holland. He was satisfied that to narrow the base was not the mode of supporting or strengthening a building. The Lord Chancellor saw no objection to the petition being laid on the table, though he did not mean by consenting to the motion to impute any blame to the Bishop. The petition was then laid on the table. Lord Dacre then said, that as the supporters of the petition did not appear to approve of addressing the Crown to lay the matter before Convocation, he should move that the petition be referred to a Committee. Lord Caernarvon seconded the motion, when the House divided, For the motion 19-Against it 58. It is not probable, therefore, that any ulterior proceeding will take place upon this petition; though the sense of the House appeared so decidedly against the Bishop's conduct, that we doubt not he will be compelled to relinquish his obnoxious mea sures. IRISH DISTRESS. MANY of our readers are aware that the utmost distress prevails at this moment in Ireland. The Irish peasantry depend almost entirely on potatoes for their support. In consequence of the extreme wetness of the winter, most of their potatoegardens were inundated, and when potatoegrounds are once flooded, the crop is always injured, and in many cases wholly destroyed. The extent of the injury was by no means, in the first instance, apprehended, but it has now burst forth in its most appalling form on the public view. Thousands are literally perishing with hunger; and though great exertions have been made both by Government and by private individuals, yet every mail brings fresh accounts of the most distressing nature. We extract the following from a number of cases which have been just circulated by the Committee for the Relief of the distressed Irish, who earnestly entreat their Christian brethren to come forward and assist them with subscriptions. From Bantry. There are by the last returns over seven thousand persons totally dependent on a fund of 5537. including the 300l. we have received from your benevolent Society; and three months must elapse before any of these will be enabled effectually to provide for themselves. In a population of 16,250 this is a fearful number of famishing paupers. It being totally impossible to minister to the wants of all, scenes of the most agonizing distress are every day taking place, which we have not the means to remedy. One woman, with three children, died of 'actual starvation; they were nearly a week without sustenance, and the woman ashamed to make her case known before assistance could be administered-they were all found lifeless together. From Rathkeale. I went yesterday to Limerick with Mr. Harding. The result of our visit was 1982 persons in distress, 883 of whom were totally destitute of any means of obtaining food. There were 234 men able and willing in any way to work and provide themselves. 1134 acres remained untilled short of their usual quantity. Want of food has brought the fever among us; fifteen houses had its symptoms, and twelve have sickness. From Listowel. We have hitherto heard of but few deaths arising from actual starvation, but a short time more would make it tremendous had it not been for this timely assistance. The pale and emaciated faces met with in the streets and on the roads proved the rapid approach of this last stage. I have known an instance of a man who for three days had not a morsel to eat, and then stretched exhausted on his bed to die-a trifle saved him, but his recovery was slow. It would be painful to dwell on these instances of misery, and I only mention them to show how timely the relief has been. From Killarney. I will venture to say that no case, however melancholy, that has come to the knowledge of the London Committee, can in any particular surpass the actual misery and wretchedness of the residents of Ibrickane and the adjoining barony. To prolong a miserable existence, they have been compelled for some months past to support themselves on rock-weed, limpets, and the tops of nettles. Hundreds I have daily witnessed flocking to the sea-side to collect a scanty meal. It is scarcely possible-to convey to you an idea of their actual sufferings and privations: humanity shudders on viewing their pale and sickly forms, worn away by disease and famine. In some of the wretched hovels may be seen the father and mother of a family lying down in the last stage of a fever, surrounded by their starved and half-naked children, with no support, beyond the casual pittance bestowed by the charity of an unfortunate neighbour, whose condition, with the exception of sickness, is no way superior. From Mayo. The population of the parish of Kilmina exceeds eight thousand souls; from the unprecedented calamity of the last season, and almost total failure of both the potatoe and flax crops, the one half of those unfortunate beings are now literally in a state of starvation. And what renders it more melancholy, the numbers crying out for relief are increasing daily. From Galway. I am not able-I have not language to describe the deplorable state to which this wretched people are reduced, many of them subsisting solely on a weed gathered on the sea-shore, and carried many miles on their backs; perhaps so far as 20 or 25 miles: this barely supports existence; but for that what will not man do? what labour will not a parent undergo to still the piercing cries of his famishing children, looking to him and BIBLE EXTRACTED FROM THE HIBERNIAN BIBLE SOCIETY'S MONTHLY EXTRACTS, NO. 12. (MAY 31, 1822.) From Mr. Sergeant Lefroy. Cork, April 15, 1822. THE state of the public business on this circuit will not allow of my being present at the Annual Meeting of the Cork Bible Society; but I have met with so much in the course of the duty I have been discharging, to show not only the expediency of the original principle, but also the necessity of increased exertion, to disseminate the Scriptures as widely and quickly as possible in Ireland, that I beg to add to my subscription for this year a donation of 50%. which I enclose. I only wish, that those who apprehend danger to the Church and State from the Bible Society, could have seen with their own eyes, and heard with their own ears, all that the Judges on this circuit have witnessed for the last five weeks, and, if I am not much mistaken, they would be satisfied that the real danger is to be apprehended, not from the various religious views of those who, from a sense of their value, unite to disseminate the Scriptures; but from the lamentable want of any religion at all in a great part of the population. If this mass is to go on increasing as it has done of late years, without being instructed in the principles, or brought under the influence of Christianity, what can be expected but that it will some calling on him to preserve that existence he was the cause of giving? From Cork. No one could suppose that human nature was capable of bearing such an accumulation of misery and wretchedness. Sickness and famine are daily making such rapid strides, that, I think, nothing less than Divine interposition can prevent half my unfortunate parishioners from perishing with hunger. From His Grace the Archbishop of Tuam. You kindly ask but for one line, and it is a charity, for in truth my time is so occupied that I cannot afford myself six hours in bed. I have been in Westport, Castlebar, and Newport; I attended each of their Committees: I had intended to have visited Kilmactye and Crossmolina, but on my way to Castlebar I passed a multitude of halfstarved men, women, and children, at Bailyglass and Balcara, seeking a share of a handful of meal, which could only keep them alive, and no more. I have sent to the Committee a full statement of the hideous scenes I have witnessed. In short, if Thousands are not sent to Mayo and Galway, whole populations must die. SOCIETIES. day burst forth, like one of the Northern hives of barbarians, and overwhelm by its mere physical force, every establishment dear and valuable to the nation? NAVAL AND MILITARY BIBLE SOCIETY. THE Annual Meeting of this valuable Institution was held on Tuesday, May 7, at the King's Concert Room, which was completely filled. The chair was taken at twelve o'clock by the Right Hon. Lord Gambier, when the platform was immediately occupied by Noblemen, military and naval Officers, Clergymen, &c.-Letters were then read from the Dukes of York and Gloucester, and several other distinguished persons, who were prevented by various pressing engagements from attending. The Report commenced by detailing the exertions and progress of the Society in the army and navy, where much good had been effected. It noticed the support they had received from various Auxiliaries, particularly that at Portsmouth; and a liberal donation of 300l. from Edinburgh. The receipts and expenditure of the last year amounted to about 20501.; but there was a debt owing of 13321. This balance against the Society prevented the Committee from their usual gratuitous distribution of the Scriptures; 8631 copies, however, had been circulated, and the results were truly gratifying. The demands for them were very great. In the West Indies a Bible had been put up for sale, and a sergeant in one of the regiments had bid 11. for it; but a superior officer increased the bidding and purchased the book. The officers of the regiment afterwards procured another copy, and presented it to him. The Report concluded by a call from the Committee on the benevolence of the public, to assist them in their important undertaking. The usual motions were then moved or seconded by Mr. Wilberforce, Gen. Pritzler, Captains Bell, Pickett, Pearson, Robinson, Lieut. Gordon, Major Stratton, Rev. Messrs. Stratton, Terrett, Webster, &c. We were particularly impressed by the striking testimonies brought forwards by the military and naval Officers, and the Rev. Mr. Terrett (formerly a navy chaplain), of the highly beneficial effects which had occurred within the sphere of their own observation from the exertions of this Society; and we can not but earnestly second the appeal which was forcibly made to the persons then present, and especially to religious Ministers of every denomination, to exert themselves within the sphere of their respective influence to relieve this valuable Society from the present load of debt with which it has to struggle, amounting to nearly TWO THOUSAND POUNDS, which materially cramps its exertions, and renders it doubtful whether the Committee will be able any longer to furnish the Scriptures at a reduced price to the persons who apply. Surely a British public will never let it be said, that a Society formed to supply their brave defenders with the word of life, is compelled to relinquish its exertions! Surely it shall no longer be said, that the funds of this Society decline when all other institutions flourish, and that the whole amount of its annual subscriptions should be only about 6007. THE Eleventh Report of this Institution (whose object is to establish schools in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, for instructing the Highlanders to read their native tongue, the Gaelic) states, that the number of their schools has increased from five to fifty-nine; that their rapid success has in great measure risen from a deep and general conviction of the magnitude of the existing evil, and the simplicity and efficiency of the plan adopted for its cure. In some instances it was found that the very name of Christ was unknown; and the general scarcity of the Bible approximated more nearly to the deplorable state of our ancestors in the dark ages, than could possibly have been expected in the nineteenth century, and in the very bosom of SCHOOLS. the land most renowned for religion and benevolence. The Society proceed on these principles that the language which a person is accustomed to speak is that which he can most easily learn to read; that it is most desirable to be able to read the Bible; and that wherever the people cannot come to the school, the school must be taken to the people. In consequence of their exertions, multitudes who before going to school were unacquainted with the alphabet, have acquired the ability to read the Bible fluently in the course of a single session; and in one instance a number of girls, who were entirely ignorant of their letters when they joined the school, were able to read the word of eternal life within the incredibly short space of eighteen days. 279 REGISTER OF EVENTS. HOME. THE second reading of the Bill for admitting Papists to seats in the House of Lords, was postponed from the last day of May to the 21st of June, in consequence of the absence (arising from the death of a relative) of Earl Grey, one of its principal supporters. On the last-mentioned day, it received a full discussion and a decisive rejection. The numbers were: for the Bill, 129; against it, 171: majority, 42. The measure was supported by Lords Grenville, Grey, Holland, and Erskine. Its advocates, however, were by no means harmonious in their ideas. The more subtle endeavoured to enforce the belief, that the main question would be in no wise affected by the pending decision. While others more candidly acknowledged that the whole principle was involved in the concession then asked. The Opposition to the Bill was led by Lord Colchester, Lord Redesdale, and the Earls of Eldon and Liverpool. The Lord Chancellor particularly insisted upon the necessity which a compliance with the present demand would lay upon their Lordships, of recognising and adopting the same principle when brought before them in a more extended degree. And Lord Liverpool remarked with much force, that the disabilities sought to be removed, pressed equally upon the Sovereign himself, and upon the six or seven Popish Lords. To grant a liberty to the latter which was refused to the Monarch himself, would be absurd and invidious. And to extend it to each, would open the way at once to a repetition of the attempts of James II. The votes given by the Peers, for the Catholic Question, in 1821, were 120; in 1822, 129. The votes given against the Question, in 1821, were 159; in 1822, 171. It may also be added, that the proxy of the Earl of Roden arrived too late; that three votes were lost by the absence of Peers from England; and three others by their accession to the titles having occurred too lately to allow of their having taken their seats. It was observed, that nearly all the newly created Peers were ranged in opposition to the Bill. Under all these circumstances of encouragement, there is one point which we would particularly press upon the attention of our readers. It is, the policy of ceasing from those constant expressions of fear and doubt which have lately so much weakened the ranks of Protestantism. Numbers have within these few years adopted the idea, that "the Question must pass sooner or later," and have consequently slackened or dropped all their exertions against it. Now, there is nothing that we can imagine half so likely to further the views of the Papists, as this despairing, disheartening tone. It takes away all the spirit and soul of exertion, and chills the current of popular feeling. Without hope, and almost without motive, as this idea would leave the defenders of Protestantism, the wonder would be, that any contest at all should continue. But this presentiment, warmly encouraged, as it well may be, by the Papists, is as totally unfounded in fact, as it is impolitic in admission. Where are the appearances, where are the omens of coming overthrow, which are to assure us that hope is fled, and defeat 'inevitable? Is the cause of the Church and of the Constitution so enfeebled, so weakened, so abandoned, that an array can no longer be formed? Have we not confessedly the great majority of the people? Have we not one half of the House of Commons? Have we not three fifths of the House of Lords? Is not the Heir Apparent decidedly with us? Is not the Sovereign himself, as far as his dignity will allow him to manifest a feeling, averse to the encroachments of Popery? His own household officers are foremost in the ranks of the Protestant interest; and almost every one of the lately created Peers are found on the same side. "The Let us hear no more, then, the expressions of despair. Let no one say, Question must sooner or later be carried." We have the best cause and the stronger party; we have institutions the most invaluable to defend, and means the most abundant of defending them-the argument, the vantage-ground, and the majority, are all with us, and it will be our shame and our fault if it is ever carried. Of the discussion of the Peterborough Questions in the House of Lords, we have spoken in another place. IRELAND appears to have been relieved, in a great degree, from the scourge of intestine commotion: bat a still more serious evil, if possible, has succeeded. The awful visitation of famine, arising from the loss of the potatoe harvest, is now making tremendous ravages in that unhappy country. We have adverted to this subject in another page. FOREIGN. The arrivals from the Continent have possessed little interest during the last few weeks. In FRANCE, the Chambers have met, and a comparatively peaceful session is looked for. The disputes between RUSSIA and TURKEY are generally understood to have been amicably settled. We regret to hear that the hostages from Scio have been beheaded at Constantinople. 1 Notices and Acknowledgments. HIBERNICUS expresses a wish, that some portion of the immense sums now collecting from nearly all parts of England for the relief of the Irish, may be applied to the important purpose of improving their mental condition, as well as relieving their bodily necessities. This he suggests might be done by forming adult schools, and encouraging attendance by the distribution of clothes and provisions; by establishing assemblies on Sunday evenings for the reading and expounding of the Scriptures, Liturgy, &c.; by employing persons to traverse the country with Bibles, tracts, and other religious publications, at reduced prices; by Irish readers, &c.-We conceive the funds raised for the present emergency could scarcely be appropriated to any of these objects. But we are not aware of any objection to separate subscriptions for such purposes. At the same time, we believe most, if not all, his suggestions have been anticipated by one or more of the Irish and Hibernian Societies, and would have been carried to a much greater extent, had adequate funds been placed at their disposal. Under consideration: Obituary of Mrs. M.-L. M.-J. D.-On Wickliffe's proposed Monument-.-.-Yusef.-F. H. H.-Psalmos.-Friend. Intended for insertion: Filius-E. L. Much more is done in the way WILLIAM suggests than he is aware of, or than it would be expedient to avow. We thank him for his hint, approve his sentiments, and are feelingly alive to their importance. We have so many articles of the kind to which J. P. L. refers, that we are compelled continually to postpone their publication, and not unfrequently to lay them aside altogether. The non-appearance, therefore, of any paper for some time, by no means implies that it is rejected on account of any assignable defect. We have examined all our papers, but cannot find any trace of the correspondence to which J. W. alludes. A Speech delivered by the Rev. the General Assembly of the Church have been successfully pursued in St. compulsory, Pauperism. Just published. Dr. Chalmers, on the 24th of May 1822, before of Scotland, explanatory of the Measures which John's Parish, Glasgow, for the Extinction of its Dr. Chalmers's Christian and Civic Economy of large Towns, No. XII. On Pauperism.. 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