RAMSBOTTOM CATHOLIC TEA-PARTY. (Concluded from page 143.) The Rev. Mr. Allen (of Bury) having been called upon by the chairman said, that he most heartily rejoiced to meet so numerous, so happy, and so respectable an assembly. He was only sorry that their former pastor and worthy friend, Rev. James Peacock, in consequence of his very long and very severe indisposition was unable to attend. How would his heart rejoice to see such a gathering in such a place! Though absent in body he was present in mind-bis best wishes were ardent aspirations for their present and future-for their temporal and eternal welfare. It was truly consoling to reflect on the rapid strides which had been made of late years by the Catholic body to promote the interests of the Church, and to spread the blessings of a sound religious education. It was indeed truly delightful to behold what could be done by even the most humble and the least wealthy. A few weeks ago there was not one now assembled here that could anticipate such a meeting. Much less could they then foresee that the foundation of a Sunday and evening school would not only be laid, but that its progress would be so rapid and so beneficial as to promise, if the same zeal which commenced the work should continue to be exhibited continuously with its existence, that the most solid, and lasting, and glorious results to religion in this locality would be the happy reward and crown of all your labours. Mr. Harper, solicitor (of Bury), then addressed the meeting at considerable length, on the advantages of an early religious training-spoke of the facilities which Catholics, above all other people, possessed for promoting the true interests of the rising generation, and he confidently hoped that all apathy and indifference being removed, we would exhibit an example worthy of the imitation, and demanding the respect and approbation of our separated several tasks with very great credit to themselves and to their teachers. The festivities of the evening were pro- Should any of the children of the Manchester and Salford ST. PATRICK'S HALL TEA-PARTY. On Monday evening, April 15th, 1850, a public teaparty was held in the above Hall, Charles-street, Manchester, " as a token of respect and gratitude for Mr. Cleary's public services." The chair was ably filled by Mr. N. Ridgway. The party consisted of nearly 300 persons, who all seemed to enjoy themselves very comfortably. Several professional musicians kindly lent their services on the occasion. Numerous toasts were proposed and ably prefaced by the chairman. Among the rest were "The Pope," "The Queen and the Royal Family," "The Catholic Bishops and Clergy," "Mr. Cleary," "Success to St. Patrick's Hall," "The Musicians," "The Committee," "The Stewards," "The Chairman," &c. &c. Music, Mr. Sinnott being called upon, proposed a vote of thanks singing, and dancing, at intervals, added to the festivity to Mr. Cleary, for coming to their party at great inconve- of the occasion, and at a late hour the proceedings terminience, and for his constant, uniform, and untiring advo-nated, the only subject for regret being that the hour for cacy of the Catholic religion, and the liberties of his concluding had arrived. country. He knew that they would receive the toast with applause. If they knew Mr. C. as well as he did, they would duly appreciate his merits. He hoped that if Mr. C. could justly complain of injustice, ingratitude, and calumny on the part of many of those whose cause he so powerfully and so disinterestedly advocated, the reception of this evening would strongly impress him with the belief, that wherever his name and talents were known, there he had warm and enthusiastic admirers. brethren. Mr. Cleary cordially thanked the assemblage for the kind reception which they had given him-confessed that in appearing before the public he considered he was only engaged in the performance of a duty. He took a rapid review of the progress which Catholicism had made during the last thirty years-spoke of the mission which the Irish (and he thanked God he was an Irishman) had received to propagate the religion which St. Patrick fourteen hundred years ago had implanted in Ireland; and he hoped that however degenerate some of his countrymen were, the great majority would be always found faithful to their religion and their country, and ever mindful that if they have been widely scattered, it was that they might propagate, like their ancestors, religion and science in the land of their adoption. He felt proud at finding so many Protestant friends around him, and he hoped that both Catholics and Protestants would cordially unite, without any sacrifice of principle-adopting for their motto the advice of the great Father O'Leary: "Let not religionthe sacred name of religion-which in the eye of an enemy discovers a brother, be any longer a barrier of separation to keep us asunder." The band during the evening played many enlivening tunes. Many of the boys and girls recited some very beautiful pieces in prose and verse: they performed their} On Wednesday evening a juvenile tea-party took place: about fifty children attended. The committee very kindly lent their services, and two professional gentlemen very generously gave their musical assistance, to contribute to the comfort and innocent recreation of the children. STALYBRIDGE CATHOLIC SOIREE. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) About twelve months ago, a few of the young men (Catholics) of this town, formed themselves into a body to establish a Catholic band. They obtained the sanction of the Rev. Mr. Anderton, their pastor, and having made much progress since they commenced, they resolved to celebrate their first anniversary by a grand public soirée, which took place on Saturday evening, April 13th, 1850, in the large room of the Town-hall, when about 400 persons sat down to tea. After having enjoyed themselves with a delightful repast, the tables were cleared, and the chair was taken by Mr. J. Connolly; he was supported on his right by Mr. Cleary, of Manchester. The Rev. Mr. Anderton, of Stalybridge, would have been present, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Quealy, of Ashton, had not business of importance detained the former gentleman. The Chairman gave the health of the Pope, which was received with acclamation, and responded to by Mr. Cleary. Then followed the Queen, Prince Albert, and the Royal Family; the Catholic Band playing "God save the Queen." (To be concluded in our next.) DEATH OF MOZART. Translated from the French by W. S. Dowling. (CONCLUDED FROM OUR LAST.) X. TO PARSON STOWELL. Sir,-In our last we gave at length the whole passage from Lesley, though scarcely a full half of it contains any Death, at any period of human existence, wears an thing of proof relating to the matter in question, and the awful and solemnly impressive aspect; but, gentle reader,whole evidence amounts to this, viz.,-that St. Paul took never more so than to the young and blooming heart, whose every step has been that of health and joyousness, and whose throbbing pulse, swayed by hope, has never experienced the chill of sorrow, or been distracted by the doubts and anxieties of this world of grief and woe. Thus it was with Emelie ; united by the most tender sympathy to her father, and living as it were in a world of music, need we wonder that she beheld pale ghastly death approach with terror, as the destroyer of all her future happiness. The dying father raised himself upon his couch, and said: "You spoke of refreshment, my daughter, it can still be afforded to my fainting soul; take these notes, the last that I shall ever pen, and sit down to the instrument. Sing with them the hymn which was so much loved by your dear mother, and once more suffer me to hear the melody of those tones which have afforded me so much exquisite delight, and which have been my passion since my earliest remembrance." Emelie complied with his desire, and it seemed as if she courted relief from her thoughts, for after gracefully running over a few chords of the piano, she commenced in a sweet melodious voice the following lines: "Spirit! thy labour is o'er The term of probation is run ; Thy steps are now bound for the untrodden shore, "Spirit! look not on the strife, Or the pleasures of earth with regret, Pause not on the threshold of limitless life, To mourn for the day that is set. 66 Spirit! no fetters can bind, No wicked have power to molest; care to send his epistles to the respective churches, to which they were written, by faithful persons, in whom he could confide with all safety; that these churches carefully kept the originals, and sent true copies of them to other churches, which might at any time be compared with the originals, (as we must suppose,) and by that means be distinguished from spurious ones, which heretics might forge. We will that the same care was taken of all the other parts of the add, moreover, (though Mr. Lesley has not mentioned it) New Testament, as the gospels, the epistles of St. Peter, all the sacred writers, both of the gospels and epistles, St. James, St. John, &c. Nay we will also suppose, that when they delivered the originals, declared they were writ ten by divine inspiration. clearest and strongest light; and we shall be far from atThis, we think, is placing Mr. Lesley's evidence in the tempting to disprove or invalidate any part of it. Valeat quantum valere potest. But our only business shall be to prove, that all the weight it has, is owing to authority, and not to any evidence independent of it. Let it therefore be supposed that Phebe, not only received the epistle to the Romans from St. Paul's own hand, with his declaration that he sent it as the word of God, but even that she stood by, and saw him write it. epistle is grounded upon evidence, and not upon authority. Mr. Lesley pretends, that his belief of the revelation of this Then Phebe's belief had the same foundation, viz., evidence and not authority. But can this be? Indeed, in the sup-position we have made, it was evident to Phebe's sight, that the epistle was written by St. Paul, and by him delivered to herself,-and it was evident to her hearing, that St. Paul declared it to be the word of God. But that it was really the word of God, was neither evident to her senses, nor to the natural light of her understanding, nor by virtue of any necessary conclusion drawn from known principles; THEREFORE HER BELIEF OF IT WAS NOT GROUNDED UPON EVIDENCE PROPERLY SO CALLED. Did she believe it to be the Word of God barely for being told so? No, surely; for an impostor might have There the weary like thee, and the wretched shall find told her as much. But she believed it, because she was A haven, a mansion of rest. "Spirit! how bright is the road For which thou art now on the wing; As she concluded the last stanza, she dwelt particularly for a few moments on the last low, melancholy notes of the piece, and then gently inclining her head downwards, waited in deep and touching silence for the mild voice of her father's approval. He spoke not. At length, with something like surprise, she turned towards him: he was laid back upon the sofa, his pale face partly shaded with his hand, and his form reposed as if in a deep slumber. Starting with alarm, Emelie sprang forward, and seized his hand, but the touch paralyzed her, and she fell faint and senseless by his side. He had expired! Midst the thrilling sounds of the sweetest music ever composed by human thought, his immortal spirit winged its flight to the regions of inconceivable and eternal bliss. told it by one, whose ability and integrity rendered his testimony unquestionable. So that her belief of that epistle's containing the word of God was resolved into the revelation of God, declared by St. Paul; whose miracles gave weight and authority to all he said or wrote; her reason told her indeed, that St. Paul was a man to be believed; as our reason tells us (Catholics) that the Church established by Christ is to be believed; and therefore St. Paul carried contained the Word of God, she concluded, that she having told her (as we will suppose) that the epistle she ought to believe him. But who is there that does not see, that this is both reasoning and concluding barely upon WAS NOT AN EVIDENCE EXCLUDING AUauthority; and THAT THE EVIDENCE SHE HAD, THORITY, BUT WHOLLY GROUNDED UPON IT. Now if this were so with reference to the very person, or persons, who received the epistles or gospels immediately that they contained nothing but revealed truths, they from the hands of the apostles, and heard their declaration, who received them at second, third, or fourth hand could surely have no other ground to believe, that the writings conveyed to them were divinely inspired, than the testimony of those from whom they received them. Let us trace back the whole matter to its very source. Phebe, Titus, Titychus and others, into whose hands St. Paul, and the other sacred penmen, delivered their epistles and gospels, had a sure knowledge, that they carried along with them the true material Scriptures. But how came the Romans, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, and the other Was it not solely churches, to receive them as such? because they believed them to be so upon the revelation of those that brought them? They were depended upon as persons of known integrity, and therefore there could be no suspicion of any intention to deceive; so that all the Romans, for example, must at first have taken the epistle sent to them, upon the authority of Phebe, or of some few among them, who happened to be acquainted with St. Paul's style and hand-writing. Again, when the churches of Rome, Corinth, &c. who carefully kept the originals, sent copies to other churches, we cannot imagine how those copies were any other way received for Scripture by those who had never seen the originals, than upon the relation, testimony, and authority of those who sent or brought them. And if these first Christians had nothing also upon which to found the belief of the first Scriptural copies, but the credible testimony of the churches who sent them, or of the persons who delivered them, we see not what other foundation Mr. Lesley and his friends can have for their belief of them, than THE OF THAT TESTIMONY AND AUTHORITY CHURCH, WHICH HAS FROM AGE TO AGE HANDED DOWN THIS SACRED TREASURE TO the same US; and which assures us, that it contains word of God, which was at first delivered to the Christians, who received it barely upon that authority. We say further, that no matter of fact, as, that there is such a city as Rome or Constantinople, can ever be known or rationally believed by any man but upon authority, unless he either sees it with his own eyes, or has an immediate revelation of it. Mr. Lesley is very positive, that his belief of such fact is wholly "from the nature of the evidence, which makes it impossible for mankind to concert such a lie, or to carry it on without being detected," p. 51. But let us ask him a question or two. Suppose he himself should tell us, that his "Case stated," had brought over the nobleman to the Protestant Church of England, and that we really believed it; would not our belief of it be (properly speaking) founded upon his authority, though our ouly motive for believing it was this, viz., " that it was morally impossible for a person of Mr. Lesley's character to concert such a lie, since he could not hope to carry it on without being detected?" Again, when the apostles preached the mystery of Christ's resurrection to the people, who had been eye-witnesses of their miracles, did these people ground their belief on evidence, or rather on the apostles' unquestionable authority? Most certainly on their authority. And why so? Because they (the people) considered it was impossible for persons so qualified to concert such a lie, or carry it on without being detected; which is so far from making against the authority of the church, that it proves the same to be evident and incontestible, and by consequence a solid foundation for all true believers to build upon. His lordship indeed, according to the true humour of the wise part that is allotted to him in the dialogue, calls a belief thus grounded, "believing upon the authority of evidence"; p. 50. It is true, Mr. Lesley gives him a modest reprimand for it, telling him that the expression is not proper; but had he been allowed to call it in proper English, a belief grounded upon evident and incontestible authority, we are confident Mr. Lesley would have found it too hard a task to disprove it. But in order to throw a little dust before the reader's eyes, and to keep him from discovering that his pretended evidence of the revelation of Scripture is, in reality, nothing else but incontestible authority, he has laid down such a notion of authority as is very fit to serve his turn. "If I believe a thing," says he, p. 50, "purely for your telling me so, without any other reason, then I believe it purely upon your authority."-I remain, yours, &c. THE EDITOR. Manchester, April 27th, 1850. POETRY. LAMENT OF FERGHAILL OG MAC AN BHAIRD FOR HIS VISIT TO SCOTLAND. (From the original Irish.) O mournful my journey to Alba has been! I left the spouse of King Feilim, Rachtmhar the Fair t With a heart o'erborne by grief and despair I sailed away from Erin of pastures green! Through love of this world's false pomp and show Oh! God's Great Day for me will be dark with woe! What time I crossed with my precious poem the wave, In the land of golden goblets, and hedge-rows white, Received the body of God's eternal Son! O! ruinous pride of intellect! Well pondering thee this night, may I wail and weep! Alas! by voyaging over the deep, My peace of mind, I fear, has been ruefully wrecked. O woe! for a share of this vile world's wealth I left the home, the churches, the shrines of my youth; For sake of lucre, and not of truth, I madly perilled my soul's eternal health. Were all the treasures of bower and hall In Alba's regions of mountain-crag and lake This blessed moment mine own to take, One single holy Mass would excel them all. O, Alba! think not, altarless one, That the blood of the Heavenly King is given to thee; Resides and bides in the Catholic Church alone. And other lands too, O sad and strange, O cause to me of bitterest lasting grief, Of the angel-worshipped sacramental change. The pure, celestial body of God the Lord; But strong in the Catholic's faith, how blest is thy lot! Better in the Green Isle to beg my bread, Where I may kneel and worship the sacred Host, Which even the day of wrath scarce moves to dread. I glance around me with many a sigh; I see house, castle, flood, forest, valley, ravine, But where is the chalice or jewelled shrine? O, Saviour! not in this cold, cold realm would I die. And yet, for thy sake, may Alba be blest; I bid that land of disasters a long farewell, Though Heaven above alone can tell If e'er I again shall see mine Isle of the West. Thy holy help, O Lord, I entreat, To guide me safely anew to Erin's shoreThy Mother's protection, too, I implore, Till that loved soil shall next be pressed by my feet. From dying in sin in this godless clime Preserve me, O Trinity! Spirit, Father, and Son! And thou, too, Mary, Immaculate One! Rich tree of holiness, ever in golden prime. Behold, blest Mother, my griefs and tears; In mercy pardon whate'er I have wrought of wrong, And 'mid the woods that I lov'd so long. O grant me the favour to close my weariful years. There was one who of old wept bitterly For denying the Lord who came to save man's race-O holiest Virgin'! Queen of Grace! Remember penitent Peter, and pray for me! J. C. M. Printed and Published by EDWARD STAVELEY, Bedford-street, Hulme, in the borough of Manchester,-Saturday, April 27th. 1850. was broiling next the fire, the other was tortured by the application of red-hot plates of iron. His wounds were EXAMPLE OF CHRISTIAN PATIENCE. rubbed with salt, which the activity of the fire forced the ST. VINCENT, MARTYR. A.D. 304. (Continued from our last.) The martyr was first stretched on the rack by his hands and feet, drawn by cords and pullies, till his joints were almost torn asunder; whilst he hung in this posture, his flesh was unmercifully torn off with iron hooks. Vincent, smiling, called the executioners weak and faint hearted. Dacian thought they spared him, and caused them to be beaten, which afforded the champion an interval of rest; but they soon returned to him, resolved fully to satisfy the cruelty of their master, who excited them all the while to exert their utmost strength. They twice stayed their hands to take breath, and let his wounds grow cold; then began with fresh vigour to rend and tear his body, which they did in all its limbs and parts with such cruelty that his bones and bowels were in most places exposed bare to sight. The more his body was mangled, the more did the divine presence cherish and comfort his soul, and spread a greater joy on his countenance. The judge seeing the streams of blood which flowed from all the parts of his body, and the frightful condition to which it was reduced, was obliged to confess with astonishment that the courage of the young nobleman had vanquished him, and his rage seemed somewhat abated. Hereupon he ordered a cessation of his torments, begging of the saint for his own sake, that if he could not be prevailed upon to offer sacrifice to the gods, he would at least give up the sacred books to be burnt, according to the order of the late edicts. The martyr answered, that he feared his torments less than that false compassion which he testified. Dacian, more incensed than ever, condemned him to the most cruel of tortures, that of fire upon a kind of gridiron, called by the acts the legal torture. The saint walked with joy to the frightful engine, so as almost to get the start of his executioners, such was his desire to suffer. He mounted cheerfully the iron bed, in which the bars were framed like scythes, full of sharp spikes made red-hot by the fire underneath. On this dreadful gridiron the martyr was stretched out at length, and bound fast down. He was not only scourged thereon, but while one part of his body deeper into his flesh and bowels. All the parts of his TRUTH. ST. POLYCARP, BISHOP OF SMYRNA, M. A.D. 166. (Concluded from our last.) The malice of the devil ended not here; he endeavoured to obstruct the relics of the martyr being carried off by the Christians; for many desired to do it, to show their respect to his body. Therefore, by the suggestion of Satan, Nicetes advised the proconsul not to bestow it on the Christians, lest, said he, abandoning the crucified man, they should adore Polycarp; the Jews suggested this, "Not knowing," say the authors of the acts," that we can never forsake Christ, nor adore any other, though we love the martyrs, as his disciples and imitators, for the great love they bore their King and Master." The centurion, seeing a contest raised by the Jews, placed the body in the mid"We afterward took up the dle, and burnt it to ashes. bones," say they, "more precious than the richest jewels or gold, and deposited them decently in a place at which may God grant us to assemble with joy, to celebrate the birth-day of the martyr." Thus write these disciples and eye-witnesses. It was at two o'clock in the afternoon, which the authors of the acts call the eighth hour, in the year 166, that St. Polycarp received his crown, according to Tiliemont; but, in 169, according to Basnage. His tomb is still shown with great veneration at Smyrna, in a small chapel. St. Irenæus speaks of St. Polycarp as being of an uncommon age. proved it to be in perfect accordance with the faith of the Catholic Church. He said that he had now cast away the similitudes of the vine and the ship, which, indeed, might have been explained by the context, and had in their place substituted others, of the plant springing from the root, and of the stream flowing from the fountain. His explanation of the Divine economy, or of the relation between the Father and the Son, is in substance the following The Son has his being from the Father, but is brilliancy of the sun is inseparable from it, and simultaneous with it. There never was a period in which God was not Father. The Son is, therefore, not a creature, except in his human nature; he is the Son of God, not by adoption, but by nature, and as the Father and the Son are indivisible from each other, so the Holy Ghost is inseparable from the Father and the Son. "Thus do we undiminished within the unity." (Dionys. apud Athanas. de Sent. Dionysü, n. 14). Dionysius remarks that he had not used the word consubstantial, as it was nowhere found in the Scripture, but that he had always professed the doctrine contained in that word, and had by many arguments, as by the example of human generation, proved that the Son was one substance with the Father. The epistle of St. Polycarp to the Philippians, which is the only one among those which he wrote that has been preserved, is, even in the dead letter, a standing proof of the apostolic spirit with which he was animated, and of that profound humility, perfect meekness, burning charity and holy zeal, of which his life was so admirable an exam-eternal with him, as the splendour of eternal light, as the ple. The beginning is an effusion of spiritual joy and charity with which he was transported at the happiness of their conversion to God, and their fervour in divine love. His extreme abhorrence of heresy makes him immediately fall upon that of the Docetæ, against which he arms the faithful, by clearly demonstrating that Christ was truly made man, died, and rose again in which his terms admirably express his most humble and affectionate de-extend the unity into the trinity, and confine the trinity votion to our divine Redeemer, under these great mysteries of love. Besides walking in truth, he takes notice that to be raised with Christ in glory, we must also do his will, keep all his commandments, and love whatever he loved; refraining from all fraud, avarice, detraction, and rash judgment; repaying evil with good, forgiving and showing mercy to others that we ourselves may find mercy. "These things," says he, "I write to you on justice, because you incited me; for neither T, nor any other like me, can attain to the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul, into whose epistles- if you look, you may raise your spiritual fabric by strengthening faith, which is our mother, hope following, and charity toward God, Christ and our neigh. bour preceding us. He who has charity is far from all sin." The saint gives short instructions to every particular state, then adds, "Every one who hath not confessed that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is antichrist; andfathers-at Antioch had rejected the word consubstantial, who hath not confessed the suffering of the cross, is of the devil; and who hath drawn the oracle of the Lord to his passions, and hath said that there is no resurrection nor judgment, he is the oldest son of Satan." He exhorts to watching always in prayer, lest we be led into temptation; to be constant in fasting, persevering, joyful in hope, and in the pledge of our justice, which is Christ Jesus, imitating his patience; for, by suffering for his name, we glorify him. To encourage them to suffer, he reminds them of those who had suffered before their eyes: Ignatius, Zozimus, and Rufus, and some of their own congre gation, "who are now," says our saint, "in the place which is due to them with the Lord, with whom they also suffered." FALSEHOOD. This word, which was soon after solemnly adopted by the Church, as most expressive of its faith, had been used by Dionysius of Rome, and the Roman Synod. We hear, nevertheless, that this same word was rejected by the council of Antioch, which met a few years after, iù 269, to condemn the errors of Paul of Samoseta. But we are first told of this by the Semi-arians, who assembled at Ancyra, in 358. St. Athanasins, St. Hilary, and St. Basil, if they seemed to concede the fact, maintained that if the they must have done so through apprehension that it might be misunderstood or abused. Upon closer examination, however, this pretended proceeding of the Antiochean fathers is proved to be more than doubtful. It appears extraordinary that ninety years should have passed away before the fact was mentioned, and that the Arians should have suffered so long a time to intervene without once appealing to an apparent contradiction between this ancient decree of the Council of Antioch and the modern canon of the (to them) detested Council of Nice. Neither at Nice itself, nor later at Antioch, 341, nor at any synod, as far as we know, was this contradiction brought in argument against the Catholics. It is more surprising still that Eusebius, an avowed opposer of the word consubstantial, speaks-not of its condemnation; whilst in his epistle, which was published soon after the council of Nice, he acknowledges that the word had been used by earlier The Antitrinitarians; Theodotus and Artemon: Praxeas: Noetus: Sabellius: Paul of Samoseta: Catholic Con-writers, and whilst in his Ecclesiastical History he cites a futations: Dionysius of Alexandria and Dionysius of portion of the circular letter of the council of Antioch. Rome: The Synods of Antioch. With regard to the testimony of the three fathers of the Church, above named, it is evident that St. Hilary and St. Athanasius were not acquainted with the facts. St. Athanasius expressly states that he had not been able to procure a copy of the letter of the council, nor to learn its contents; and from his answer it is clear that he had never heard of the rejection of the word. St. Basil, without any (Concluded from our last.) Dionysius of Alexandria lost no time in defending himself. He wrote immediately to the Pope, and in his letter, and in an apology in four books published soon after, he fully made known his faith in the Holy Trinity, and |