sition to the converts-Jumpers as they are called-and he said, "that is a bad thing you are singing, I'll sing something for you," and then he sung the verse beginning,

te

"There is a fountain filled with blood."

A great number of persons collected, over a hundred, and they all declared that it was very good, and asked the carpenter to sing again. He did so, and sung several other verses, and one of the spectators told me the next morning that Mr. O'Connell never was more loudly cheered than was the carpenter on his way home. The next night those who had learned the hymns formed a large body, and sung through the streets. A young man told me that he never heard the hymns so well sung as they were sung by the son of a bigoted tradesman, who had a number of Roman Catholics round listening to the hymns. This mode of proceeding has broken down many of the prejudices which previously existed, and great interest has been excited. Of course I endeavour to take advantage of the movement, and get a number of controversial handbills and tracts circulated at the meetings, and each night as the people return home they sing along the streets. Great numbers come freely to our meetings. Our school-house is filled every night, and a considerable amount of interest has been excited by our proceedings. But some parties endeavoured to get up an opposition, and I remember a circumstance which took place lately in reference to the burning of another effigy. Soon after Christmas, Mr. Eade was in Limerick, speaking on behalf of the Society, and he gave a statistical account of the number of congregations in Connemara, contrasting the present with the former state of things. This statement was published in a southern paper, which was sent to the parish priest of Clifden. The priest wrote to that paper, stating that there were not twenty Protestant families within twenty miles of Clifden. In reply to that assertion Mr. Eade repeated his former statement, and wrote at once a letter to the Roman Catholics of Clifden, asking them if the statement of their priest was true, and whether they would commit their souls to him for instruction in spiritual and eternal things. This letter was circulated in the shape of a small handbill, which was generally distributed throughout the district. A short time after this, when the singing of which I have spoken was going on, and Mr. Eade came down to Clifden, the priest's clerk went round the town to get him burnt in effigy. I received a report on the subject from the Roman Catholic head-constable of the place, which stated that he had heard some talk of the burning in effigy, and although he knew

the feelings of the people were different, he thought it right to mention the matter to the Roman Catholic stipendiary magistrate, who desired him not to allow any burning in the streets. The officer paraded the streets; but he only saw a number of children, and one of them, a lad of about thirteen, who was carrying he scarcely knew what, said he had been put up to it, and if he had had any idea of what it was, he would have had nothing to do with it, and threw the figure into the dirt; and some of the chidren said they would throw it over the bridge into the river. (A laugh.) One of our agents who was passing by, said, 'I am glad to see you are burning the images at last;' but they passed on, and took no notice. The whole attempt was a ridiculous failure. The priest never appeared during the whole time that the singing was going on in the streets. He did not dare to say a single word about it. He mentioned the names of two or three young men who lived three miles out of the town, but he did not speak of any of the persons in the town. He spoke of the others because they were strangers. They continued to attend our meetings freely without at all fearing the priest, and some said if he interfered with them they would not only attend our night meetings, but would come during the day." (Hear, hear.)

The Rev. H. C. Eade, Missionary Secretary, next addressed the meeting. After a few introductory remarks, he said:

“I shall endeavour in a very short space of time to state one or two of the leading results of our efforts more especially in Dublin, as Mr. D'Arcy has spoken on the subject of Connemara. Perhaps one of the most striking things in Dublin, is the very marked change which has taken place in those parts of the city where our Mission operations are going on. Many people think that controversy is very irritating to the Roman Catholics. We do not say there is no case in which it is so. We sometimes have instances in which the Roman Catholics are irritated. We believe, however, that that is not our fault, but theirs, and we are not deterred from attempting to do them good, because they may sometimes show signs of irritation. I cannot believe that any one will be brought out of Romanism, or that our attempts to upset the influence of the priests in Ireland can be successful, without producing some irritation and opposition. We are prepared for that, or we never should have cominenced such a work as that in which we are engaged. But we say that, if controversy is carried on in a right spirit-and we trust and pray that God will enable us carry it on in that spirit—we do not give any just cause of offence, and that the irritation spoken of, speaking generally,

to

may

exists only at the beginning of the work, and before the Roman Catholics know the missionaries and the object they have in view. The best proof we can offer is, that those parts of Dublin in which the Society has worked the longest, are the parts where the Roman Catholics are the most accessible, and the most peaceable. (Hear, hear.) Townsend Street, and the Coombe were in Dublin, for instance, some ten or twelve years ago, the worst part of the city. They were selected as the scenes of our operation on that very account. The Mission establishment was placed in the midst of the Roman Catholics, where there was scarcely a Protestant, and where no good could be done except by overcoming difficulty and opposition. And what is the state of things now? You walk through Townsend Street at any hour of the day or night, and there you will find peace and quietness. We believe that through the gradual influence of the operation of the Mission, and the character of our Mission agents, the whole district has been improved and changed for the better. (Hear, hear.) This is equally true, and in a more marked degree, in the Coombe. Any one can now go to the classes and meetings without receiving any insult. On the contrary, many of the Roman Catholics will salute you and give you a kind word. Speaking of Dublin generally, there is a very great increase of access on the part of the agents of the Society. There is not a single Scripture-reader who is not able to report many Roman Catholic families amongst whom he is gladly received. Some say, I have a hundred which I can visit. Öthers will say, have two hundred. And in some large districts they report even double that number. This we cannot but regard as a most satisfactory state of things, and it shows the gradual influence of the Mission. (Hear, hear.) There is another point which is still more striking, and that is the change which has taken place amongst the Roman Catholics with respect to their willingness to send their children to the Mission schools. The character of these schools is well known. There is no mistake about them. They are Scriptural schools in the fullest sense. The Roman Catholics know that whilst we leave the children at perfect liberty-whilst we never compel them to become Protestants-we do our utmost to show them out of the Scriptures that Romanism is wrong, and that if they would be saved, they must come direct to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to Him alone. (Hear, hear.) And what is the effect? A census was taken, so to speak, of the schools at the beginning of the year, and the numbers in them compared, with respect to denomination, with the numbers at the beginning of

I

last year, and we were ourselves surprised at the discovery. We found that there were 250 more Roman Catholic children attending the schools than in the corresponding period of the previous year. We all considered that a most gratifying fact. (Hear, hear.) One Roman Catholic father, for instance, said to a lady, the other day, I wish you could do something for my daughter, ma'am.' The lady replied, "If I do, I can only put her into a Protestant school.' Upon which the parent said, ‘If you make her no worse than you are yourself, ma'am, I shall be well content.'

66

Another point which I would here notice is, the settled character of the converts. Mr. D'Arcy has shown that to be the case in Connemara. Every one can see that the converts are a settled Protestant people, although the priest of Clifden says, there are not twenty Protestant houses within twenty miles.' We find the same results in Dublin. We cannot trace all the converts, or the majority of them. It is quite impossible to do so in a large city like Dublin. But we have notwithstanding the persecution, many settled converts, who reside in different parts of the city, and who are firm and stedfast. (Hear, hear.) One poor man, who thought he was dying, sent for me the other day, 'Not,' as he said, 'because he thought it necessary to have a priest or minister, for he had the Great High Priest, but because he wished me to tell the people that he died stedfast in the faith.' That is the general feeling amongst the converts. At the recent confirmation in Dublin, out of 96 individuals who were presented from the Mission Church, 68 were converts from the Church of Rome, and the difficulty was to restrain many from coming forward. (Hear, hear.)

"Another point which I would mention is, the power of controversy in the schools. I suppose our friends understand, that by controversy' we mean the application of Scripture to the errors of Romanism. We do not merely attack error; we teach the Scripture thoroughly, and build the children up in the truth. We endeavour to apply the great truths of Scripture to the peculiar errors to which the children are exposed. This then is controversy; it is the truth in its peculiar application to the persons instructed. To show the effect of this, I may state that in the course of about four or five months 28 boys in the Townsend Street Mission School came to the master, and, unsolicited, asked him to change their names in the school books from Roman Catholics to Protestants. (Hear, hear.) Here is another fact which encouraged us at the time. A recruiting sergeant came into the Townsend Street

School and enlisted 15 of our biggest boys, who had all, I believe, come into the school as Roman Catholics. Of these 15, 14 enlisted as Protestants, and only one as a Roman Catholic. That shows the result of the Mission teaching. (Hear, hear.) Indeed it is impossible to estimate the good that is done. Some of the strangest characters come into the schools. The other day, in the Townsend Street school, I was happy to see a man who had just returned from Italy, and had been a member of the Papal Brigade. (Hear, hear.)

"I would also mention, as an interesting fact, the increasing demand amongst the Roman Catholics for the Scriptures. Of course we circulate the Protestant version, and in our schools we teach the Protestant version. But in every school we have on the table the Roman Catholic Bible, because there are many Roman Catholics who say that the Protestant version is not the Bible at all, and we desire to show them that the texts are in most cases substantially the same. Now, not only has Dr. Cullen's edition of the Roman Catholic Bible gone forth, but an illustrated edition is in course of publication. It comes out in parts, and you may see on the walls of the city of Dublin, what is a strange sight coming from a Roman Catholic publisher, in very large letters-The Holy Bible, the cheapest edition ever printed, in monthly parts, at fourpence each. On the cover it is described as The cheapest illustrated Catholic Bible ever published-Duffy's Cabinet Edition of the Holy Bible, with approbation of the archbishops and bishops of Ireland.'

"I would also observe that we have to report a steady increase in the number of converts. Not a week, certainly not a month, passes in Dublin, but we hear of new cases of interest, and some of them are very remarkable. In one or two instances we have found persons coming out of convents, and placing themselves under the instruction of the Mission. I may remark, too, that by the Mission work in Ireland, good is done not only to the Roman Catholics, but also to the Protestants. We believe that even in that country it is sometimes necessary to Protestantize the Protestants. On the last Sunday evening I was in Dublin, I went to the chapel of the Catholic university, and heard a controversial sermon_from Mr. Anderdon, a pervert from the Church of England. Every Sunday he now delivers lectures on the creed of Pope Pius IV. On that occasion he was dealing with the seven sacraments, but he only touched on Baptism and the Lord's Supper. With respect to the other five, he said he need not dwell on them, because his hearers were acquainted with them, and