trine she holds; or rather to assert that, in their opinion, the Church of England has in Baptism no certain doctrine at all. In coming to this conclusion the Judicial Committee have virtually exercised that authority in controversies of faith, which the Church of England in her Articles declares to be vested in the Church alone."

The following reply has been returned by the Lord Bishop of Exeter, to the address presented from the London Church Union, as published in the Guardian: :

27, Conduit-street, March, 14, 1850 "My Dear Dr. Spry.-The address which you and other eminent Clergymen and laymen of the Church have had the goodness to present to me, fills me with feelings of a very mixed character. I cannot out be supported and strengthened by the sympathy of such men; but I am far more humbled by the terms of eulogy in which that sympathy is expressed. May He, who is sight to the blind, and strength to the weakest, grant to me, and to all, that we may, in this our day of trial, act with faithfulness, with firmness, with singleness of heart, seeking only to serve Him, and to guard the sacred deposit of truth which He has entrusted to us.

"It seems but too likely that we are as yet only in the commencement of the fight of faith appointed to us. Let us strive by prayer, and in humble reliance on the grace of God, to attain to a right judgment in all things connected with our several duties in all that may befal us. Let us be soberbe vigilant, and, more especially, let us use our utmost endeavours to stay the impetuous spirit of those who may be tempted, in this her need, to desert the Church in which they were in baptism made members of Christ, and in which that Holy Spirit of whom we were then born still dwells, and, we cannot doubt, will continue to dwell, so long as that Church shall not, by some act of her own-which, thanks be to God, hath not yet happened-or by a torpid indifference, more fatal and more hopeless than any act, accept the unhallowed judgment of men, be they who they may, in contradiction to God's truth-and so cut herself off from that Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of which she is still a pure and sound, however wounded, member. 'In conclusion, accept my hearty congratulation on the Christian firmness of your own bishop.

"I am, my dear Dr. Spry, with the warmest thankfulness to yourself, and to the Churchmen who have acted with you on this occasion, your and their faithful and affectionate brother in Christ, H. EXETER.

It is stated that in the event of the Bishop of Exeter declining to institute Mr. Gorham, the Archbishop will perform the duty by holding a special visitation in the diocese, in his capacity as metropolitan.

CONVERSIONS.

On the 11th March, Miss Gabrielle Jervis, the daughter of Swynfen Jervis, Esq., of Darlaston Hall, near Stone, Staffordshire, publicly abjured the Protestant religion, and made a profession of her faith in the doctrines of the Catholic Church, at the chapel attached to Swynnerton Hall, the seat of Thomas Fitz Herbert, Esq.

We have to record the conversion of Nathaniel Goldsmid, Esq., who was received into the Catholic Church at Paris, a few days ago.

On Sunday, the 10th instant, Mrs. Wootton, widow of the late John Wootton, M.D., of Oxford, made a public profession of Catholic faith, in the church there. She had been for some years a penitent of Dr. Pusey.

PERVERSIONS FROM THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.-The Rev. Francis Balston, M.A., student of Christ Church, Oxford, and perpetual curate of Bensington, Oxford; together with his curate, the Rev. William Scratton, M.A., also student of Christ Church College, have seceded from the ministry of the Anglican Church and retired from Bensington,—Church and State Gazette.

FOREIGN.

THE PAPAL STATES.-The "Univers" has the following:-" Some journals mention disastrous news which is said to have arrived from Portici, and letters in which an indisposition or even a malady is spoken of, which may place the life of the Sovereign Pontiff in danger. We have received letters from Portici of the 9th inst., and we do not think that any one can have any account of a more recent date, or from a surer source. There is no mention in these letters of any indisposition or disease of the Sovereign Pontiff; they, on the contrary, lead us to suppose that the health of the Pope continues to be very good, since they speak of the departure of Pius IX. as being irrevocably decided on. We read in them the following:- - Cardinal Antonelli has made known to M. de Rayneval that the Holy Father had resolved to leave for Rome in the beginning of April, and that that resolution was about to be communicated officially to the diplomatic corps. France has, therefore, satisfaction on this point. France, besides, requested that the Holy Father should go to Rome by sea, in order to be escorted thither by the French fleet, but different reasons cause a preference for the land route. A middle course will perhaps be adopted, by his going in the first place to Terracina under the escort of the French ships. Up to the present time the Holy Father has come to no decision on the subject, and it is the only point which remains to be settled.""

Our correspondent at Rome, in his letter of the 14th, seems to consider the Pope's return as at last decided on, and he gives several reasons which induce him to place credit in the report.

The Supreme Pontiff proposed leaving Portici on the 7th or 10th of April.

FRANCE: THE IRISH COLLEGE IN PARIS.-The following is from the "Union Quotidienne : "There exists in Paris an admirable, but hardlynoticed institution, whose venerable existence we may reveal to those who fancy that the ancient past has left no trace amongst us. We allude to the Irish College, an establishment analogous to the colleges formerly founded and endowed by the Church, or by rich benefactors in her name. In '89, there were still remaining splendid relics of these educational foundations; the College Mazarin, the Collége de Lisieux, d'Harcourt-in fact, twentysix houses in full work, rivalling the ten great colleges of the State. The Revolution destroyed all at one blow, in the name of liberty and illumination. The Irish College escaped this Vandalism with some difficulty and peril; it was a foreign foundation, and the spoilers contented themselves with acts of persecution. This institution has not ceased to fulfil the object of its founders; it educates 200 Irish ecclesiastics, and it is there, in great part, that that admirable soldiery is recruited, which, for two centuries past, has maintained the faith and patience of that Catholic people a singular model of heroism in the history of the Church. Since 1814, the house has had several highly-distinguished Superiors; the Abbé Walsh, Mr. Ferris, the Abbé Long, Dean Ryan, the Abbé Carney, and the Abbé M'Sweeny (just retired, and succeeded by the Very Rev. Dr. Miley), the last-mentioned ecclesiastic having discharged the functions of Superior for twenty-two years, to the great satisfaction of the Bishops of Ireland, and also of the French Government, which exercises over the house a certain right of patronage,

regulated in 1801 by a Consular decree. He is regarded as one of the orna ments of the Irish Church. In honouring the services rendered by the Irish College, we have naturally occasion to remind France what would education be, if it were brought back to the ancient condition of the universities and the colleges, which quietly brought up youth, and formed them to science and virtue. The Irish College is an example we joyfully quote to those persons who pursue the liberty of education, not as a theory, but as a reality. Good is done in retired places, yet gratitude is never wanting to masters like these; for them, it is all their glory."

PARLIAMENTARY RECORD.

THE FLORINS.

Mr. SHIEL was understood to state that the issue of the florins had not been countermanded at all. The reason why no issue of any further portion of the coinage took place was, that a complaint had been made of the omission of certain words on the coin, which he at once frankly declared ought to have been put on. He had been directed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to inscribe on the reverse of the new coin the words-" One florin1-10th of a pound." As these words, in addition to the usual inscription, would make the coin greatly crowded, it occurred to him that it would be enough to stamp the border with merely the words "Victoria Regina,” as in the copper coinage of India. He had, therefore, taken upon him to disencumber the face of the coin, and to direct that omission of the words "Fidei Defensor-Dei gratiá" which had been detected by the microscopic glance of the honourable member opposite. As a proof that he was not influenced by those fanatical feelings which had been ascribed to him by those who did not know him-(hear, hear)—he might make mention of the fact, that when he first came into office he caused to be issued a coinage of 5s.-pieces, on which the words "Fidei Defensor were engraved, however incongruous he might have thought it that Queen Victoria should retain a title conferred on Henry VIII. by a Bull of the Pope. (Cheers and laughter.) He might as well frankly state what were his sentiments with respect to the words" Fidei Defensor," ‚” “Dei gratiá.” With respect to the first, he could only say he regarded our Sovereign as the head of the Protestant religion, and he hoped the title to the appellation would never be destroyed. (Cheers.) As to the words " Dei Gratia," he thought the Sovereign who reigned over them was adorned with so many virtues as to be indeed the gift of God, and he trusted she might long be spared to them by His favour. (Loud cheers.) 11TH MARCH.-OATH OF SUPREMACY.

دو

LORD BROUGHAM then presented a petition from two noble members of their Lordships' house, the Earl of Clancarty and the Earl of Bradford, They stated that they were entitled to, and had long enjoyed and exercised, the right of sitting and voting in their Lordships' house; but that they were excluded from taking their seats in the present Parliament by conscientious scruples, which prevented them from taking the oath of supremacy required to be taken by all parties who were not Roman Catholics previously to their taking their seats. They said that the language of the oath was inconsistent with the fact, and that they could not swear that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm." They did not object to the words "ought to have," but they did to the word "hath;" for they stated that by an act

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passed in a late session of Parliament, and generally entitled the Charitable Trusts (Ireland) Act, the existence and constitution of the Church of Rome was legally recognised within these islands. They therefore called upon their Lordships for relief.

The EARL OF MOUNTCASHEL was convinced that if the terms of this oath were not altered in the present session many other peers would feel themselves excluded from their seats by the impossibility of subscribing to them. He therefore hoped that Her Majesty's Ministers would give their Lordships a pledge that the terms of this oath should be altered before the close of the present session.

The petition was laid on the table.

18TH MARCH.-PROTEST OF THE REV. MR. DENISON.

Mr. HUME asked what notice Her Majesty's Government intended to take of the protest of Mr. Denison, published in all the papers, impugning the judgment of Her Majesty's Council in the case of Gorham v. the Bishop of Exeter," and denying the supremacy of the Crown as the head of the Established Church? The hon. member then read the protest of the Rev. Mr. Denison, which appeared in the Times of the 15th inst.

LORD J. RUSSELL.-I think it is just to Mr. Denison that I should read to the house a statement which he has sent to me this morning, and which professes to be a statement of his opinion as regards the supremacy of the Crown in connexion with this case. The statement is as follows:

"I have not denied, and do not deny, that the Queen's Majesty is supreme governor of this church and realm, and is, in virtue thereof, supreme over all causes ecclesiastical and civil, judging in causes spiritual by the judges of the spirituality, and in causes temporal by temporal judges, as enacted by the statute 24th of Henry VIII., c. 12; and I have not impeached, and do not impeach, any part of the regal supremacy as set forth in the second canon and in the 37th article of our Church; but I humbly conceive that the constitution does not attribute to the Crown, without a synod lawfully assembled, the right of deciding a question of doctrine; and this, although disclaimed by the Lords of the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council, is what, as appears to me, has been done, indirectly indeed, but unequivocally, in the late case of 'Gorham v. the Bishop of Exeter.' "GEORGE ANTHONY DENISON.

"March 18, 1850."

Now, I entertain no fear in saying that I think Mr. Denison is entirely mistaken in his opinion on this subject, and that the judgment given by the Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is entirely within their jurisdiction, and was such as they were fully authorized by law to give. I believe, likewise, that that decision has given very general satisfaction. (Hear, Hear.) But, as the hon. gentleman has asked me further, what notice the Government intend to take of the protest of Mr. Denison, I answer that, although it may appear hereafter necessary, from measures that may be taken by others against Mr. Denison, that steps should also be taken by the Government,-guarding myself to this extent, yet I at present say that I should be most reluctant to take any steps against a man who conceived that he was only giving a conscientious expression of what he considered to be a true view with regard to the powers of the church. I think any steps taken on the part of the Government under such circumstances would tend still further to disturb the harmony of the church. It may be said that in this instance the authority of the Privy Council was denied, and that it was asserted the Council had no power to alter the law as laid down by the ecclesiastical judge; but, however that may be, as at present advised, the Government do not intend to take any steps with regard to the protest of Mr. Denison. (Hear, hear.)

MISCELLANEOUS.

MICHAEL ANGELO'S "LAST JUDGMENT."-Messrs. Pownall and Protheroe, of Austinfriars, have received from Leghorn a work of art which is likely to create much sensation. This work is a drawing in oil (chiaro oscuro) of the world-famous "Last Judgment," painted in fresco by Michael Angelo, in the Sistine Chapel, at Rome. The painting in the chapel is 55 feet by 43, the drawing is 54 by 44, that is to say, a tenth part of the size. Through the medium of engravings this most terrible and elaborate composition, which embraces every variety of form and attitude, every manifestation of feeling, from the most joyous rapture to the most intense agony, moral and physical, is perfectly familiar to all who take any interest in art. But the drawing now in London has peculiarities which claim a degree of attention beyond that which could be accorded to a mere ordinary copy. It is, in fact, not a copy, for although the general character of the grouping and the greater number of the figures are to be found both in the drawing and the fresco, there are certain important differences of detail, which show that the former could not have been taken from the latter. In the first place, the figures in the drawing are nude, whereas those in the chapel are covered with drapery. They were not originally so painted, but the drapery was added by order of Pope Paul IV. A sun and moon are to be found in the drawing which are not in the print in Duppa's "Life of Michael Angelo," nor in that by Martin Rota. The diabolical figure to the right of the foreground, which is generally known by the name of "Minos," but is by some called "Midas," has a full face in the drawing, but a side face in the prints which follow the fresco in the chapel. The figure of St. Bartholomew in the prints holds out the skin both of his arms and legs, but in the drawing only that of the former is seen. Another important difference is the insertion of a falling Pope in the fresco, which does not appear in the drawing. Of all these differences, that between the nude and draped condition of the figures is probably of the least consequence, inasmuch as Rota's print represents the condition of the work in the chapel before the draperies were added. This might have furnished a subject for a copyist, but the introduction and omission of figures and essential variations of attitude show that the origin of the drawing must be sought elsewhere. In a word the question is, whether the drawing now in the possession of Messrs. Pownall and Protheroe is the original design made by Michael Angelo himself for his fresco, and whether the variations in the larger work are to be looked upon as after-thoughts. The decision of this all-important point we leave to the judgment of Connoisseurs.—Times.

EXHIBITION OF WORKS OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ART.-The Royal Society of Arts have formed in their rooms in the Adelphi a collection of works of ancient and medieval art, which must attract for some time to come a very large share of public curiosity and interest. Of the metal works ornamented in niello, we may direct the notice of the visitor to a portable altar, formed of a slab of jasper on a basis of wood, and mounted in silver. This is an Italian production of the 13th century, and belongs to the Rev. Dr. Rock.

The Most Rev. Dr. M'Gettigan, Bishop of Raphoe, has given up his dwelling, which cost him £2,000, to the Sisters of the Lady of Mercy-Freeman. CONFIRMATION OF TWO THOUSAND CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN THE CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS, FRANCIS-STREET, DUBLIN.-This noble church was, on Tuesday last, the scene of a deeply interesting spectacle-the administration of the Sacrament of Confirmation to 2,000 persons, by his Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Murray, assisted by several priests. The ceremonies opened with a solemn high mass, at 11 o'clock, at which the candidates for confirmation assisted.-Freeman's Journal.