Catholic history of Liverpool

JOHN M. KELLY LIBRARY

Donated by

The Redemptorists of
the Toronto Province

from the Library Collection of
Holy Redeemer College, Windsor

University of
St. Michael's College, Toronto

REDEEMER UBIWRY

CATHOLIC HISTORY.

CATHOLIC HISTORY

OF

LIVERPOOL

THOMAS BURKE.

LIVERPOOL :
C. TINLING & Co., LTD., PRINTERS, 53, VICTORIA STREET.

1910,

KKMB u

CATHOLIC HISTORY

OF

LIVERPOOL.

CHAPTER I.

No city or town in Great Britain, and few in Ireland,
contains so many Catholics within its boundaries as the city
of Liverpool. This is due to its close proximity to Ireland.
Indeed, it may be said with truth that Liverpool would not
have risen into prominence at such an early date had not
successive English monarchs from Henry the Second to
William the Third recognised the great convenience afforded
by the Mersey for the conquest of Ireland. In turn the
Anglo-Irish difficulty and its consequences filled Liverpool
with an enormous Irish population, which carried into an
essentially Protestant community the ancient faith, and
renewed in some forty churches the ritual and devotions
which for many centuries were practised and observed in the
pre-Reformation churches of Walton, St. Mary's del Key, am}
St. Nicholas.

An Anglican weekly, commenting on the pageant
festivities of 1907, observed that the Church of England did
not figure as prominently as was desirable in the processions
and tableaux ; that there was too much prominence assigned
to events and incidents connected with the Roman Catholic
Church in and around Liverpool. The complaint was well
founded, though, had it been otherwise, the pageant would
have been shorn of much of its beauty, and, what is more
important, would have been an untruthful representation of
the past history of the town. Why, however, the Benedictine
priory of Birkenhead was made so prominent a feature, and
the ancient parish church of Walton ignored, puzzled many
people who knew local history, to say nothing of no reference
to the first church erected in the town, St. Mary of the Quay.
Save for the beautiful banner of St. Nicholas,* the " old

* Worked by Mrs. Jacob and presented to St. Nicholas' Pro-Cathedral,
Copperas Hill, by Councillor A E. Jacob, J.P.

church ; in Chapel Street was set aside as if it had never
existed, unless it be that St. Nicholas' was not regarded as a
parish church, as it was subject to Walton until the year 1699.

The church of St. Mary at Walton dates back to Saxon
times. Domesday Book records its existence, and the posses
sion by its resident clergy of an endowment of certain lands
in Bootle. In the year A.D. 1094 Roger de Poictiers granted
the tithes of Walton to the Priory of Lancaster, and a little
later the church was added to the endowment of SS. Peter
and Paul, Shrewsbury. Up to the reign of King Edward the
Fourth, the presentation to the living lay in the hands of the
monks of the interesting town on the Severn, elevated by
Pope Pius the Ninth into a cathedral city in the year 1850.
The head of the Molyneux family bought the right of
presentation, and entailed lands in Nottinghamshire on his
brother, on condition that there was paid the sum of forty
shillings yearly to the priest who served at the high altar of
Walton. In the valuation of Pope Nicholas, A.D. 1291, the
value of the living is set down at forty-four pounds. It is
related that " Roberte Fizacreley was priste incumbent "
there of the foundation of John Mowbray, to sing Masses for
the " sowle of him and his antecessors." This is a disputed
point. One writer says that the chantry was founded A.D.
1470, by Father Vfohn Molyneux, rector of Walton, and third
son of Sir Richard Molyneux, who won his knighthood on the
well-contested field of Agincourt. The Molyneux family*
had an intimate connection with the ancient foundation of
Walton. We find a Molyneux rector in 1528, again in 1543,
and 1557. Indeed the Molyneuxs remained faithful until
well into the nineteenth century. When the dissolution took
place, a grant of one pound fourteen shillings was ordered to
be paid to the displaced priest, Robert Fazackerley,f and
though the chantries were re-established by Queen Mary, the
following reign saw them finally diverted from fheir original
purpose.

The first chapel was that attached to the Castle of
Liverpool, built early in the thirteenth century on the site
now occupied by the Queen Victoria memorial. Sixty years J
after the granting of the first charter by King John, August
28, 1267, the chapel of St. Mary of the Quay was in
existence, and provided for the spiritual wants of the small
population which then inhabited the town. It was built
close by the water's edge, and the present Chapel Street takes

* Earls of Sefton.

t History of Walton, by John Wilson, St. John's College, Cambridge.
I Bamsay Muir.

its name from this ancient chapel, and not from the Church
of our Lady and St. Nicholas as is commonly believed, which
was not erected until 1355. The first chantry attached to
St. Mary's was founded by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, in the
year 1353. From the rent roll* of John of Gaunt, his
successor, we gather that " Lyr'pulle is worth at farme £38,
" whereof an allowance of rent was given by Henry, quondam
" duke, whom God assoil, to the chapel there, twelve shillings.''
This was the High Altar of Liverpool so frequently alluded
to in documents referring to the town. John of Gaunt
followed the example of his predecessor by founding the
chantry of St. Nicholas, and Mr. John Crosse added the
chantries of St. Katharine and St. John. In 1464, Charles
and Elen Gelybrand granted lands in Gerston for the main
tenance of a chaplain at this chapel,* and in 1529 Cecilia,
widow of Ewan Halghton, bequeathed lands in Wavertree and
West Derby for a chaplain " at a certain altar, called Our
" Lady's altar." There would appear to have been a special
reverence for Our Lady's altar, judging by the various
bequests for its support. Rector Crosse, of St. Nicholas',
Fleshamble, London, in the year 1515 bequeathed a new
common hall to the town, with the condition attached that
the arcade beneath should be for the benefit " of the priest
" who sings before Our Lady, and shall pray for ye soules
" of John Crosse, Avice Crosse, John Crosse, Hugh Botill,
" and all theire frendes soules." In the will of William, son
of Adam, the first Mayor of Liverpool, an office which he
occupied eleven times, we read — " I bequeath my soul to
" God and the Blessed Virgin and all saints, and my body to
'' be buried in the chapel of Liverpool, before the face of the
" image of the Virgin, where is my appointed place of
" burial. "f The worthy mayor died in the year 1383, and
was laid to rest as he desired. His will ordered three quarters
of wheat made into bread to be distributed to the poor on the
day of his funeral, and the payment of fourpence to every
priest in the chapel of St. Nicholas. In December, 1459,
John Hales, Bishop of Lichfield, granted forty days'
indulgence " to the penitents confessed and contrite who
" should expend, bequeath or give " towards the restoration
of this ancient chapel, the names of the benefactors to be
mentioned at every Mass celebrated within its walls.

St. Mary's proved too small to accommodate the
increasing population, and the erection of a new building was
decided upon by the Corporation, to be wholly maintained by

* Quoted by Mr. John Elton, Lancashire and Cheshire Historic Society,
t John Elton.

the burgesses. The Duke of Lancaster was requested to
grant a piece of land upon which to erect the new church,
which was dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of
seamen, in accordance with the Norman custom. A grant of
ten pounds from Duke Henry's rental served as an endowment
for the " two conjoined chapels/' or as a document signed by
King Edward the Third on the nineteenth day of May, 1355,
puts it, " to certain chaplains to celebrate divine service
" every day for the souls of all the faithful deceased in the
" chapel of the Blessed Mary and St. Nicholas of Liverpool."*
A new burial ground was also resolved upon, and on the third
day of February, 1361, Robert Stretton, Bishop of Lichfield
f nd Coventry, wrote that he was " favourably inclined and
" consented that the church of St. Nicholas of Liverpool, and
11 the cemetery contiguous to it in the parish of Walton within
" our diocese, may be dedicated by any Catholic Bishop
" enjoying the grace and union of the Apostolic See."

St. Nicholas' was essentially a Corporation church, as we
may see from the directions issued by the local authority for
its management. On June 3rd, 1558, the Corporation
ordered: "the priest of the altar of St. John shall daily say
" one Mass between the hours of five and six in the morning,
'l to the intent that all labourers and well disposed people may
''come at the said hour." This early celebration was in
harmony with the general medieval custom known as the
Morrow's Mass.

A year later Queen Elizabeth was the reigning monarch,
and the two chapels ceased to be part of. the Universal
Church. The chantry properties were appropriated by the
Duchy of Lancaster, and the Corporation purchased the now
empty chapel of St. Mary for twenty shillings on the 31st
March, 1554. It became the town's warehouse, and so
remained until the early years of the eighteenth century,
when it was1 demolished, a piece of vandalism quite in keeping
with the commercial spirit of that age. At the dissolution
of the religious houses the following priests were attached to
the four chantries: — Sir Ralph Howarth, the chantry of St.
Nicholas ; Sir Richard Frodsham, Our Lady's ; Sir Humphrey
Crosse, Saint Katherine's; Sir Thomas Rowley, St. John's.
The prefix " Sir " is equivalent to the modern title of
reverend as applied to a secular priest. For over a century
and a half from the Reformation the Catholic history of the
town is almost a blank. The Benedictines ceased to enjoy
their ancient privilege of ferrying passengers across the river,
the modern " Monks Ferry " alone remaining to remind later

•Brooke's translation.

generations of an interesting historical fact. The Prior's
house in Water Street, wherein was sold the produce of the
lands of the Birkenhead priory, was closed for ever, and
except in secret the sons of St. Benedict no longer ministered
to the farmers and labourers of the Cheshire side of the
Mersey. The accession of James the Second renewed the
hopes and stimulated the faith of Lancashire Catholics, but
Liverpool was then a Puritan town and disregarded his royal
orders for toleration towards his co-religionists.

In 1687, the King interfered on behalf of one Richard
Latham, surgeon, and his wife who carried on a school, two
professions from which Catholics were excluded. The royal
command was disobeyed, and in consequence the deputy-
mayor and senior alderman were removed from office.* A
few short years later the foreign troops of William of
Orange encamped on the shores of the Mersey, en route for
the Boyne, to summarily exclude from the throne the would-be
defender of his Liverpool Catholic subjects. In 1613, " John
" Synett, an Irishman, born in Wexford, master of a barke,
" was excommunicated by the Bishop of Chester for being a
" Catholic recusant, and so dying at his house in Liverpool,
" was deneyed to be buried at Liverpoole church or chapel,"
and again in 1615, " Anne, ye wyffe of Geo. Webster of
" Liverpoole, deyed a Catholicke, and was deneyed burial at
" ye chappelle of Liverpoole, by ye Mayor and by Mr. More."

That Catholicism maintained a vigorous existence in the
neighbourhood may be inferred from the sturdy faith of most
of the families between Liverpool and Lancaster, and the
number of Catholics to whom the devoted sons of St. Ignatius
of Loyola ministered at the end of the seventeenth century.
No one can ever know the full extent of the labours of the
Jesuits in Lancashire for over one hundred years, but from
the scanty records handed down to us we may picture for
ourselves some idea of the results of the zealous missionary
work of the great Society of Jesus. To them, under God, the
Catholics of Liverpool and neighbourhood owe a debt which
can never be repaid. The story of their heroism, self-sacrifice,
courage and tenacity needs the pen of the author of a
" Lost Arcadia " to do it full justice,! and even now, under
new conditions and happier times, every Catholic Lancastrian
feels his heart swelling with admiration at the mere recital of
the outlines of the history of the Jesuits in Liverpool. Some
light is thrown on the steadfastness of the old families to the
Catholic faith by the communications from the Government

* Ramsay Muir.
f See Cunningham Graham, ex M.P., on the Jesuits in Paraguay.

6

in the year 1701, which warned the Mayor of the
" disaffection " of the Harringtons of Huyton, the Blundells
of Crosby, and the Scarisbricks of Scarisbrick, and many
others, * whose adherence to the Church of their fathers
spelled disloyalty to the Crown in the eyes of the English
statesmen of that persecuting period, happily long past.

Further light is thrown upon this period by a document
in the possession of the Historic Society of Lancashire and
Cheshire, t It relates the story of the exemptions of Catholics
in the neighbourhood of Liverpool from certain taxes ordered
to be assessed upon property held by them in pursuance of an
Act of Parliament passed in the ninth year of the reign of
George the First. The title ran thus :—" An Act for granting
" an aid to His Majesty, by laying a tax upon Papists, and
" for making such other persons who shall refuse upon a due
" summons, or neglect to take the oath above mentioned, to
" contribute towards the said tax for reimbursing to the
" public the great expense occasioned by the late conspiracy,
" and for discharging the estates of Papists from two-thirds of
" the rents and profits thereof for one year, and all arrears
" of the same, and from such forfeiture as are therein more
" particularly described." The amount to be levied upon the
" Papists " is set down at £100,000, but this Act is compara
tively lenient when compared with previous legislation,
inasmuch as it prescribes certain grounds upon which
exemption may be claimed. In the main an oath to preserve
the Protestant succession or bona-fide alienation of the
property to a Protestant, prior to a certain date, secured
exemption from the proposed impost. The alienation of
property simply meant that no Catholic could hold property,
and in Ireland it was quite a common practice to secure the
good offices of a friendly Protestant to whom it was
" alienated,'' but who gave back the rents or profits to the
rightful if not legal owner. That this confidence was only
too often abused formed one of the greatest sources of Irish
" disaffection " under the tyranny of the Penal Laws. The
document referred to relates thirteen successful appeals for
exemption heard at Prescot on the seventeenth day of
September, 1723. One Percival Rice, owner of lands in
Speke, Halewood, Fazakerley and West Derby, " takes the
" oath and declaration," and so " evades " payment, as does
Mr. Thomas Prenton of Garston, who thus saves himself an
assessment of six pounds. Mr. John Lancaster, Rain hill,
escapes the tax by having alienated his property before

* Pic ton' s Memorials of Liverpool,
f See Volume 18. Paper by Mr. A. Craig Gibson, F.S.A.

December 25, 1722, to a Protestant gentleman.* Annuities
derived from property were doubly taxed under this Act.
Mrs. Mary Harrington, of Liverpool, who had an annuity of
two hundred pounds from lands in Huyton, " forming the
" property of Mr. Charles Harrington and on his decease
" registered by Mr. John Harrington," also managed to
successfully claim exemption. Another successful claimant is
Mr. Humphrey Carroll, of Windle, whose property is
•' vested in and belongs to " infants under eighteen years of
age. There is abundant evidence that the Molyneuxs,
Blundells, Harringtons, Norrises and Scarisbricks definitely
refused to conform to the new religion, and cheerfully accepted
the grave consequences of their courageous refusals. Nocturnal
searches for suspected persons — in other words, the priests
who moved in secret from one part of the county to another,
to celebrate Mass and perform the other sacred offices of the
ministry — were everyday occurrences, and the want of success
on the part of the visitors clearly indicates the strong hold
which the Faith had over the greater portion of the agri
cultural population, who must have known the whereabouts
of the much-sought-for priest in hiding. For example, we
have these entries in the diary of Nicholas Blundellf : —
" October 19, 1715. We expected the Hors Militia to come
" here." " Oct. 31, 1715. I came not in till dusk expecting
" a call." " Nov. 13. This Hous was twice searched by some
" Foot as they came from Leverpole." Volumes might be
written about such entries as " I sat in a Streat place for a
" fat man," referring to the narrow hiding place in which
this courageous Catholic gentleman sought to conceal his
apparently corpulent body from outside observation during a
visit from the " Hors Militia " or " Foot " from Liverpool, or
the pathetic story hidden under the plain words: " Nov. 19.
" Searched again," or "Nov. 20. I had a Bedfellow."

The bedfellow was no doubt the courageous Jesuit who
risked life or liberty in ministering to this worthy family of
Blundells who gave shelter for many a decade to the clerical
wanderers of Lancashire, as they came in quick succession to
carry out the duties of their sacred office. One smiles at the
entry under date of August 9, 1704: " I went to Leverpole
" with Lady Gerard, my wife, etc. We saw ye new church.'
It was indeed worth a visit to Liverpool, to see the church of
St. Peter in Church Street, the first parish church erected
since the Reformation, which has the added interest to this

* Thos. Holland of Sutton, William Leadbetter of Windle, secured
exemption on similar grounds.

f See Father Gibson's Lecture, Historic Society. Volume 34.

8

generation of being the only existing building of the Liverpool
of Queen Anne's reign.* It must have presented a strange
appearance to the Catholic eyes of the worthy squire. St.
Nicholas' had been despoiled of its church furniture, even the
vestments being used for theatrical purposes, as we read in
the statement of one John Rile, a schoolmaster, who acknow
ledged having in his possession two copes which he utilised for
some children's plays.

The first Jesuit labouring in Liverpool, of whom we have
any definite record preserved, was Father William Gillibrand.
Belonging to Lancashire, as his surname implies, he returned
to his native county after spending some time in the neigh
bourhood of London. In the year 1701 he served at Crosby,
receiving by way of remuneration " two pounds from Mr.
" Nicholas Blundell." He did duty also at Ormskirk and
Liverpool, as is apparent from his own statement that he
received " two pounds from Ormschurch," and " three pounds
"from Mr. Eccleston for helpinge at Leverpole.'' The
recordsf of the Society of Jesus show that the Jesuit Fathers
in the early years of the 18th century worked at Ince Blundell,
Formby, Lydiate, Croxteth, and some twenty other stations
between Liverpool and Preston. On the Cheshire side of the
Mersey they held outposts for the Faith at Hooton, the seat
of the Stanleys, and in the old cathedral city of St. Werburgh,
Chester.

The first resident priest in Liverpool after the Reforma
tion was Father Mannock, S.J. He belonged to a good stock,
his father being Sir Francis Mannock, baronet; while his
mother was the daughter of Sir George Heneage, baronet,
the head of the well-known Lincolnshire family. Here it
may be noted that the commercial centre of the present city,
Fenwick Street, owes its name to the Catholic wife of Moor of
Bankhall, who hailed from Northumberland, as her name
plainly tells us had we no other grounds for the assertion .J
Father Mannock remained in Liverpool for two years. He
had previously served at Chester as chaplain to Mr.
Fitzherbert, who paid him the sum of ten pounds per annum.
The smallness of the stipends paid to the zealous Jesuits
provokes a smile when read in these days of trade unions,
which have secured for the most casual of labourers a much
larger wage than ever lined the pockets of the cultured and
learned men who kept alight the lamp of faith in Liverpool,
if indeed the smile be not accompanied by eyes brimming

* See Liverpool under Queen Anne. H. Peet, Esq., F.S.A., J.P.

f See Xaverian, Liverpool, 1887.
J Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. Volume 34.

9

with tears. Under date of March 26, 1762, Father Tatlock,
S.J., writes to his provincial: " For my part, I've worn not
" only a turned coat, but also a turned waistcoat, patched
" breeches, shoes, stockings and shirts, all patched this whole
" year past, on account of my losing a year and a half of my
" rent at Lydiate, beside the charge of boarding myself and
"house there." Truly a picture of apostolical poverty. In
these days he would be arrested not for saying Mass in secret,
but for presenting the appearance of a " rogue and vagabond."

By this time the Jesuits had built a chapel in Lumber
Street, Old Hall Street, and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin
under the title of St. Mary. It was in the fitness of things
that the site was chosen. Hard by was the pre-Reformation
foundation in Chapel Street, while in the immediate neigh
bourhood was the spot where a well-founded tradition says
St. Patrick preached on his way to the Isle of Man.

In Marybone, within a few yards of the present church of
Holy Cross, a water fountain marks the place on which stood
for centuries St. Patrick's Cross, as marked on old maps of
the town, and which was in existence as late as 1775. In an
Act of Parliament passed in 1771, to secure the repair of the
road between Preston and Liverpool, the cross is specially
named, because the street now called Marybone was
then "the road to Ormskirk." The neighbourhood possessed
other traditions of Ireland's patron saint, the street between
Cheapside and Hatton Garden bearing the name of St.
Patrick's Hill.*" This first Catholic chapel was founded in
1736, by Father John Hardesty, S.J. His real name appears
to have been Tempest. From a MS. found by the writer in
the archives of St. Mary's, some doubt may be thrown on this
statement recorded in the annals of the Society of Jesus. It
is so interesting that it deserves a record of more permanent
character, especially as it has never been printed before in
any book or record.

" Mr. Kirby having promised before the whole
" congregation, August ye 4th, this pst year 1734, to
" procure a convenient place in this parish for Divine service
" to be therein performed every Sunday and Holy Day
" throughout ye year, and to be at the sole cost and charges
" for all necessaries hereunto, and administer also gratis, the
"necessary functions of a Pastor, viz., Christenings, &c.,
" Instructing Children in the knowledge and principles of
"holy Religion, and giving all due attendance on the sick;
" and to direct his Intention every Sunday throughout the

* See Storehouse, Streets of Liverpool. Also see note in Mr. Henry Feet's
Liverpool in the reign of Queen Anne.

10

"year for the Prosperity of this Congregation; Provided
" however that (since for this Parish, the whole fund being
" but £2 6s. Od., is insufficient to procure a convenient place,
" not only, but altho' there were, wou'd scarce defray or
" discharge the necessary expenses for Divine Service, and
" that not only the Holy Scriptures and Religion, but
" Conscience even itself directs that in such cases where there
"is no other means to subsist by, a reasonable maintenance
" must of necessity be raised out of the members of the
" Congregation) Every chief Catholick whether a Man or
" Woman in every family within this Parish, shall for himself
" or herself and their children included living with them, if it
" hath or may please God to bless them with any, shall
" contribute or cause to be contributed to him according to
" their Circumstances. We, therefore Subscribers to this
" present Paper in consequence of the foregoing Reasons and
" of the Promises above mentioned the Performance whereof
' can not but be exceedingly advantagious to the whole
' congregation in general and each member thereof, in
' particular do promise to pay to the said Mr. Kirby the first
' day or thereabouts of each month the sum of one shilling
' per month.

" Witness our hands.

" William Dwarihouse.
" Brigt Dwaryhouse and Isabel Barratt.
" X their mark."

This document is written in a fine hand, evidently that of
the Jesuit Father who drew it up and also wrote the names
of the two women. It will be noticed that he spelt
the first surname with a " y," instead of an " i " as
•' William Dwarihouse " did. The total population of the
town was not much more than 7,000, and the Catholics must
have formed only a small proportion. The small subscription
of less than threepence per week shows their poverty, which
is proven by the charming letter written by Father Hardesty*
or Tempest many years after quitting St. Mary's : — " While I
" lived in the aforesaid town, I receved one year with another
" from the people, about one or two and twenty pounds a
" year, by way of contributions towards my maintenance, and
" no other subscription was ever made for me or for the
" buildings. From friends in other places I had part of the
" money I built with, but much the greatest part was what I
" spared living frugally, and as not many would have been

* This letter was written to Father Molyneux, Viscount, biit he never
claimed his title.

11

" content to live."* Still the good priest never regretted
having spent the best years of his life " in serving the poor
" Catholics of Liverpool/' nor can we, who have been
privileged to witness the growth and wondrous development
of the seed sown in the obscure street, hidden from the gaze
of the passers by, by a poor Jesuit who lived " frugally " that
God's work might be performed.

Father Tempest began his mission in Liverpool as early
as 1715, and we find him serving at Lydiate in 1722,
"going there once a month.' He was assisted at St. Mary's
by Father William Pinnington, S.J., a native of Salford,
who worked zealously in the Liverpool area for over twelve
years. Father Carpenter, S.J., was in charge of the little
mission when the Scots retreated from Derby, after their
ill-fated attempt to restore an unworthy prince to the throne
of his ancestors. Liverpool was strongly Hanoverian in its
sympathies, and to demonstrate the fact, a section of its
inhabitants on April 30, 1746, made an attack on the chapel
and levelled it to the ground. f The personality of Father
Carpenter made a deep impression on the rioters, as he forced
his way through their ranks, entered the chapel and reverently
removed the Ciborium. His courage probably saved his life;
the rioters making way for him as he walked out from the
ruined chapel to seek shelter in the house of a Presbyterian
friend in St. Paul's Square. J It was a severe blow to the
small Catholic community to see the results of Father
Tempest's sacrifice swept away to gratify the anti-Catholic
prejudices of Liverpool's Protestantism, and was an ominous
warning that the growing spirit of tolerance had not yet
developed into a vigorous tree. The Mayor and Council did
not relish such disturbances in their midst, and no doubt
believed they were acting in the interests of public peace in
refusing permission to Mr. Henry Pippard, a son-in-law of
Mr. Blundell of Crosby, to rebuild the church. It did not
occur to them that honest folk quietly worshipping their
Creator had a stronger claim on the protection which they
alone could give than a noisy mob bent on pillage and disorder.
Liverpool has ever had a reputation for the ease and facility
with which a large portion of its inhabitants can be inflamed
into creating " religious " troubles, nor has it quite lost in
the twentieth century that unenviable distinction. From a

*Xaverian. Feb. 1886.

f A regiment of 648 men, and five companies of 60 men, were raised
for the defence of the town. — Annals of Liverpool,

I See John Rosson's speech at laying of foundation stone
of St. Mary's, 1844.

12

MS. preserved in St. Francis Xavier's we learn that for some
considerable time Mass was celebrated in the house of a Mr.
Green,* who lived in Dale Street. Written by one of the
family who witnessed as a boy the destruction of the chapel
in Lumber Street, we may assume that his father's residence
served the purpose of an inn. " Mass was said, Sundays and
" holidays, in the garrets, the whole of which, as well as the
" tea and lodging rooms of the two storeys underneath,
" and the stairs, W3re filled by our acquaintances of different
" ranks, and admitted singly and cautiously through different
" entrances, wholly by candle light, and without the ringing
"of a bell at the elevation, etc., but a signal was
" communicated from one to another.'' From this simple but
graphic story we may infer that anti-Catholic feeling ran
high at this period, while the '' diffarent ranks " tells us
plainly that the Faith was still preserved among the better
off as well as the poorer classes.

They were, however, men of resource, and proceeded to
again make provision fo^ the celebration of the Divine
mysteries, despite the opposition of the Council. To this
end they erected a warehouse on the site of the old chapel, and
from the pen of Mr. Green we have a most graphic account
of the new building. It was erected on the south side of the
upper end of Edmund Street. The front of this street was
covered by varying kinds of buildings, and a number of
courts with small houses with small backyards opening into
the intended chapel yard. The houses were occupied by
several Catholic families, one serving as a residence for the
Jesuit Fathers. On the east side of the warehouse, which lay
behind these court houses, there were two large folding doors,
one above the other, surmounted by a teagle rope, block and
hook, cupped against the rain, as was then the usual practice
in warehouse buildings. The upper storey served as the
chapel, its upper folding doors being bricked up from the
inside, and the whole of the walls stuccoed. Large beaded
windows, with strong outside shutters to be closed on the east
alley side for security out of service time, gave an appearance
to the building of being used merely for business purposes.
Sufficient light for Divine service was obtained from similar
windows on the west side, and two large sash windows on the
south; these two sides being protected from inquisitive eyes
by a small yard with walls encompassing and separating them
from another courtyard, in which several Catholic workmen
lived. This yard was effectually closed at nightfall by strong

* Uncle of Father West, S. J., who superintended the building of
St. Francis Xavier's Church.

13

double folding gates. The ascent to the chapel was by a
broad staircase on each side within a bricked and walled-in
space of the lower warehouse storey, the entire space between
the two side walls being used as covering in cold or rainy
weather, or to avoid any attention caused by the worshippers
standing about the street, the remainder of the lower rooms
being used for storing lumber. Fathers Stanley, Michael
Tichborne, John Rigby and Anthony Carroll served at
various periods in this quaint church, hidden away for fear of
the angry populace without. Mostly educated at St. Omer's,
they returned to England, and by unflagging zeal and energy
kept the Catholic spirit alive in Liverpool and Lancashire.
Being Jesuits they did not expect a quiet, uneventful life,
and they were not disappointed. Protestant Liverpool found
them out in the year 1759, when " to the disgrace of the
"police and of a small portion of the inhabitants,"* St.
Mary's was once again destroyed. Again the irrepressible
Jesuits rebuilt the chapel, and this time remained in peaceful
possession. Their whereabouts was probably discovered from
the fact that one of them attended the French sailors then
imprisoned in the Tower, Water Street, " being proficient
" in the French language," and as a testimonial of their
gratitude, presented him with a model of a fully rigged ship,
carved during long hours of captivity.f The priests who
laboured in the third chapel of St. Mary's included Fathers
Wappeler (a native of Westphalia), Carroll, O'Brien and
Hawkins. The most remarkable of the Jesuit priests at this
mission was Father John Price. Gore's Directory for 1769
gives the name of John Price, no occupation stated, living in
Moor Street. It is a cherished tradition handed down by
Liverpool Catholics of the early years of the nineteenth
century that a chapel did exist in Moor Street. Very
probably Father Price said Mass in his o/wn house for the
Irish sailors who arrived every day in the coasting traders.
The street is not well known even now, though it can be seen
a hundred yards from the site of the Castle of Liverpool,
running from Fenwick Street to the Back Goree. In the
Directory of 1777, he is described as " gentleman " residing at
21, Queen Street, close by St. Mary's, and later issues of the
Directories leave no room for doubt of his priestly character.
He built a chapel in Chorley Street, and though some writers
on Catholic affairs appear to throw some doubt upon this
fact, an examination of the columns of the Liverpool
newspapers puts an end to all doubts on this point. On the

* Brook's History of Liverpool.
f "Catholic Times," 23rd March, 1872.

14

12th November, 1786, it is announced that Father Price will
preach in " his chapel, Chorley Street, for the purpose of the
" annual collection on behalf of the Royal Infirmary." The
sum of £6 6s. 8d. was handed to the treasurer of the hospital
as the result, an amount which compares favourably with
the amounts sent in from the Protestant churches. In 1780,
Father Price preached a sermon for the same charity,
collecting a much larger sum than the Childwall Parish
Church. In the " Catholic Annual," in an article written by
Father Gibson, it is stated that Father Price opened a new
chapel in Sir Thomas Buildings on September 7th, 1788. This
date does not appear to be quite accurate, and looks like
confusion with St. Peter's chapel, Seel Street, which was
undoubtedly opened on that date. It cost the worthy Jesuit*
£550 to provide the new chapel, and for twenty-five years he
laboured there single-handed. The building remained intact
until 1898, when the School Board erected their new offices
on the site, now the Education Office of the Liverpool
Corporation. A writer in the " Liverpool Daily Post,"
October, 1888, says: — " In Sir Thomas Buildings, the
" well-known thoroughfare from Dale Street to Whitechapel,
" there are to be seen at the present time the remains of an
" old Catholic chapel, which was erected by the friends of
"Father Price, S.J., soon after the year 1780." Another
Liverpool writer says " a person walking along from Dale
" Street to Whitechapel, by Sir Thomas Buildings, might
" easily pass the chapel without notice, only one end or gable
•" of it reaching to the street, and houses on each side coming
" close up to it. Its position is on the right hand, seven or
" eight houses from Dale Street, "f The cause of the severance
of Father Price from St. Mary's was the momentous decision
of Pope Clement 14th, in 1773, to suppress the Society of
Jesus. This did not mean that the Jesuits departed from St.
Mary's at once ; on the contrary several priests of the Society
remained there until 1783, when Father Williams, S.J.,
handed over the keys to the monks cf Saint Benedict, who
have remained in possession ever since. A remarkable figure
at St. Mary's during these years of suppression was Father
Raymond Harris, S.J., a Spaniard, whose real name was
Hermosa or Ormaza. The comments of his Provincial on his
eccentricities are very severe, and he secured considerable
notoriety by plunging into the great controversy over the
morality of the slave trade. Roscoe, the biographer of Pope
Leo the Tenth and Lorenzo de Medici, wrote a number of

* Assisted by a Wexford man, named Ryan.
t Churches and Chapels. David Thorn.

15

pamphlets against the horrible traffic in human lives, to
which Liverpool merchants owed so much of their prosperity.
Father Harris wrote a reply to prove the " licitness of the
'' slave trade " from Holy Scriptures. Pamphlets on both
sides followed each other in quick succession, and so delighted
were the merchants with the writings of Father Harris, that
having the Town Council in their hands, they passed a special
resolution of thanks and awarded him an annual honorarium.
It was the first and last occasion that the City Fathers
honoured a priest of any rank or degree, and a Jesuit to boot.
Be that as it may, to his conduct the Society owed the loss of
the parent church. Mr. Herdman says, " the first and
" second chapels were the property of the Jesuits, and the
" latter continued in possession until the suppression. I have
" recently been informed on the best authority, that, although
" suppressed by Pope Clement's Bull, the Jesuits for many
" years afterwards kept possession of St. Mary's chapel.
" Somewhere about 1787 or 1790* the Benedictines, I believe,
" obtained possession." On the front page of the " Liverpool
Advertiser," of January 1st, 1784, we may read in the
advertising columns the following announcement : — •" Price
" threepence, to be continued in weekly numbers, eight, of
" an appeal to the public or a candid narrative of the rise and
"progress of the differences now fulfilling in the R— — n

" C c congregations in Liverpool, with an appendix

" containing a comparative view of Bishop Gibson's letters on
"the subject." The Bishop here referred to was Dr. Mathew
Gibson, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, Bishop of
Comara. " The book," says a Liverpool antiquarian, " was an
" octavo of four hundred pages. I am sorry to say it is very
" dull indeed." The differences here referred to were serious
in the extreme, and gave great scandal.

The eccentric Father Harris was the immediate cause
of the quarrel, the echoes of which did not die away for over
half a century.

In the year 1758, when two priests were introduced to
St. Mary's, an agreement was made between the congregation
and the Jesuit Superior, Father Mansell, that the temporal
management of the chapel, the collection of bench rents, and
the equal division of same between the two " incumbents "
should be conducted by trustees, to be chosen by qualified
bench holders. This lay management of matters of finance
seems to have worked well for about twenty years, but
entailed serious consequences later. According to a
letter addressed " to the public " by Messrs. Lawrence, Kaye,

* This is an error ; 1783 was the actual date.

16

Butler, K-osson and Billinge, the time came when the senior
incumbent " usurped to himself the right of ^collecting and
" disposing of church monies." The result was friction with
the lay managers, and the division of the congregation into
two parties, one siding with the priest, the other with the
managers. In 1779 serious differences manifested themselves
between Father Williams and Father Harris, the former
having followed the course of some of his predecessors in office
by collecting the bench rents and ignoring the claims of the
trustees to have the disposal placed in their hands.
A meeting of the bench holders was held in the Golden Fleece
Hotel, Dale Street, on September 15th, 1779, to discuss the
points of difference, when it was found that Father Williams
refused to tolerate any interference with his management.
The bench holders insisted on the original conditions being
complied with, and appointed four of their number to visit
the absent members and secure their signatures to a memorial
to the Very Rev. Father Walton, " our worthy prelate,"
requesting him to support their " resolves." We learn from
this report that there were one hundred and fouj benches in
the chapel and that sixty of the holders appended their
signatures to the petition promoted by Messrs. David Tuohy,
Francis Gandy, Henry Billinge and Andrew Rosson. The
Bishop appears to have approved of the policy of dividing the
income between the resident clergy, but it does not appear
that Father Williams adopted that course. In fact, he
appears to have disregarded it, with the result that dissensions
broke out in the congregation and developed to such an extent
that on the 6th of March, 1872, the trustees endeavoured
to seize the church by violence. The rioters on this occasion
were representative bench holders, and acted without any
authority from Mr. Thos. Clifton, of Lytham, who held the
property in trust for the remaining members of " a late
" certain society," as the Jesuits were styled during the
suppression.

This outburst of violence did not last, but from
documentary evidence still in existence it is clear that these
bench holders claimed the entire management of the chapel.
On the 5th October, 1782, they issued a series of regulations,
nineteen in number, to re-assert their claim, because, as the
preamble puts it, " there is reason to apprehend that the
" regulations established for the temporal management of the

" R n C cc — • — 1, situated in Edmund Street, are not

"sufficiently known to the individuals of that persuasion."
These extraordinary rules laid it down as a necessary
condition of being allowed to serve at the chapel " that every

17

" new incumbent, before his admission to serve the place,
" do sign a written contract, whereby he shall bind himself
" to abide by the regulations/'

They included a proviso that the clergy should give an
account of all monies received by them each quarter ; that the
bench holders' representatives hold office for three years ; and
that they sell or let at any rent they think fit, the seats in
the chapel, and of dividing the proceeds equally between the
two incumbents. They also included the sole right of the
trustees to appoint a collector of rent, " to transact all the
" temporal affairs of the chapel, both as to necessary repairs,
"alterations, or any other unavoidable expenses whatever;
" and that the same be deducted from the yearly income of
" the two incumbents." To avoid further dispute a
" Committee of Repairs " was appointed, half nominated by
the " trustees " and half nominated by the incumbents, to
decide what were " necessary repairs or disbursements."
The arrangement was a total failure. Father Williams and
Father Harris failed to agree, and it was alleged by the
partisans of the latter, who had a numerous following, that
it was the intention of the senior incumbent " to starve him
out." It would appear to have been the intention of Father
Williams to rid himself of his eccentric colleague ; finally
the Bishop stepped in and put an end to the unseemly dispute
by suspending both priests.

But that the Society of Jesus had been suppressed these
differences would never have arisen, and we gather from a
letter addressed to Father Archibald MacDonald, O.S.B.,
July 28th, 1783, by Father N. Sewall, S.J., then residing in
Preston, what the intentions of his colleagues were, he having
been appointed their " agent."

" It was the intention of the members of a late certain
" body to authorise the late Thos. Clifton, Esq., their trustee
" for the chapel and house in Edmund Street, Liverpool, to
" convey over the trust of the said chapel and one house to
"Sir Robert Gerard, Bart., and Henry Blundell, Esq., for
" the use of the Roman Catholic congregation in Liverpool ;
" and at a meeting of the said committee, held in Wigan on
" Monday, the 17th day of February, 1783, an agreement
'entered into by Thos. Clifton and Henry Blundell, Esqrs.,
' was acceded to by them, and deeds of conveyance, &c.,
' ordered accordingly, to be drawn up, the full execution of
' which the unexpected death of Thos. Clifton, Esq., alone
' prevented." The demise of Mr. Clifton, and the non-
execution by him of the conveyance to Messrs. Blundell and
Sir Robt. Gerard, was the keynote to many of the further
deplorable misunderstandings which ensued. Father Sewall

18

then goes on to say: "That in consequence of the above
" agreement the members of a late certain body*
" did not think themselves entitled to interfere, directly
' or indirectly, in nominating or removing incumbents
' in future at Liverpool, and that, therefore, the said com-
' mittee expressly charged the Rev. Mr. Emmett, the
' Bishop's Vicar for that certain body, immediately to signify
' the same to his Lordship, and at the same time particularly
' entreated him and the Rev. Mr. Williams, one of the
' incumbents (at St. Mary's), not to meddle in the affair in
' any shape, but to leave the whole entirely to the Bishop,
' the two intended trustees (Blundell and Gerard), and the
' congregation at large."

It would appear from these resolutions adopted by the
members of a " late certain body " at the meeting in Wigan,
that they did seriously desire to leave the matter in the
Bishop's hands, and prevent either Fathers Williams or
Harris from interfering in the choice of the priests who were
to serve the old chapel, but dated, as they were, the 17th day
of February, the following letter written by the " Bishop's
" Vicar for that certain body," fourteen days earlier, must be
taken into account :

" Honored Sir. — I make no doubt you have heard of the
" scandalous disputes that have subsisted for some years past
' at Liverpool. Though by a sort of patched up accommoda-
' tion they are coming to a conclusion, still it is the general
' opinion of all that there cannot be a sincere and lasting
' peace in your congregation whilst either of the present
' incumbents do duty in your town or neighbourhood of
' Liverpool. The Bishop, therefore, in his last, dated 23rd of
' January, desires me to look out for two others, who may be
' ready to succeed when Mr. Williams and Mr. Harris have
' settled their accounts and paid their debts. As there are
' none of our Body out of Place or prepared for the post, I
* take the liberty of applying to you to be so good as to
' appoint two of your Order. Your religious Vow of
' Obedience will be an efficacious means of preventing for the
' future any dispute rising to a head. I spoke to Mr. Gregson
' and Mr. Brewer on the subject. Mr. Brewer said he
' believed there was one at liberty at present, and that he
f< would be willing to supply until another could be had, and
" that he would write to you about it. As Mr. Brewer is a
" proper person for the place, I could wish he could stay
" there, at least for some time. I have received an answer

* The Society of Jesus.

19

" from our agent,* Mr. Sewall ; he tells me that the proposal
" is much approved of, and that it is the only means of
" establishing peace and reuniting the congregation. He says
" we shall be willing to let you have the Chapel and a House
" for two priests on condition of paying a small acknow-
" ledgment annually. He thinks in order to render yourselves
" more independent of the congregation it would be very
" proper to have a long lease from Mr. Clifton, who is trustee
" for the same, on condition of paying to him the above
" annual acknowledgment only. The House has lately been
" put in full repair, part of which is not as yet paid for. I
" dare say you would not be against discharging that debt ;
" I can't well tell what it is. This I can say, that everything
" shall be made as easy and agreeable as possible and lays in
" my power. Be so good as to give me an answer as soon as
" you conveniently can, which I hope will be a favourable
" one, for the sake of the peace in God's Church, which is the
" wish and prayer of all good men, and of your obedt.
" honble. servt.,

" Jos. EMMETT.
"Gill-Moss, the 3rd of Feb., '83.

" P.S. — Direct from me, at No. 9, Edmund Street,
" Liverpool."

This letter is addressed to " Mr. Bolas, Warwic Bridge,
" Carlisle," Provincial of the Benedictines.

The result of this appeal was that Father Archibald
Benet MacDonald, O.S.B., and Father Brewer, O.S.B., of
Woolton, proceeded to take charge of the mission, and on
the 3rd April, 1783, Father Williams handed over the keys
to the first-named Benedictine. A hostile reception met them
at the verv moment of their arrival. From a MS. in the
handwriting of Father MacDonald we are told that, within
twenty-four hours of his arrival in Liverpool he was summoned
to appear before " a committee of persons calling themselves
" trustees," who forbade him to officiate. His intention,
owing to former disputes, being " so to comport himself as to
" give umbrage to no man," he was much pained at the
feeling displayed. The authority of Father Emmett, S.J.,
and of the Bishop, were produced, but to no avail. The bench
holders sought to obtain possession of St. Mary's by force, and
scenes of gross disorder prevailed in the sacred edifice, which
were unfortunately repeated on other occasions. Father
MacDonald wrote to Mr. Henry Blundell on the 9th April,
1783, that the Bishop having suspended "Messrs. Williams

* Rev. N. Sewall, S. J.
NOTE. — The wax seal to this remains still intact.

20

" and Harris, by his (the Bishop's) desire and the consent of
" the Jesuits, two of our people took possession of the chapel
'• and house on the 3rd inst. Should have been very glad you
" were in the country to have waited upon you as we did upon
"Sir Robert Gerard, for his approbation on the occasion;
" doubt not, however, but you will concur in giving quiet and
" peace to that distracted congregation. There are yet great
" appearances of discontent, which, as Trustee, it is hoped
"you, Sir, will endeavour to dissipate."

The nominees of the bench-holders appear to have been
much enraged at Father MacDonald's appeal to Messrs.
Blundell and Gerard, and especially at his action in
summoning the following meeting :

" April 2nd, 1783. Your company is desired at the great
" room of the Angel Inn, at six o'clock to-morrow evening,
" 3rd inst., in order to chuse chapel wardens or managers for
" the R — m C — k C — 1, Edmund Street, conformably to an
" agreement lately made between Thos. Clifton, of Lytham,
" and Henry Blundell, of Ince, Esquires." The ill-received
incumbent informed the dissentients that " the meeting was
"called in order that the world might know who those were
" that really composed the greatest and most respectable part
"of the congregation." Violence was offered to him in the
Church, and the following handbill was distributed to tho
members of the congregation, dated April 5th, 1783 :

" Whereas two strange Gentlemen are lately come to

" this Town, with Intent to Impose themselves as Incumbents

" on the Congregation of the R — n C — c C — 1, Edmund

" Street, saying they have been ordered to settle here, and

" they have supposed that the Rev. Mr. Emmott must have

' authority for so doing ; and at the same time owned that

' they could not produce any authority for such Pretensions.

' And whereas some anonymous letters, dated the 2nd instant,

' have circulated in this Town, inviting some of the Bench-

' holders in said Chapel to meet at the Angel Inn, on the

" 3rd Instant, at Six o'clock that Evening, in order to chuse

"f Chapel Wardens or managers for the said Chapel, con-

" formably to an agreement lately made between Thomas

" Clifton, of Lytham, and Henry Blundell, of Ince, Esqrs.

" In Consequence of such Anonymous Letters, some Bench-

" holders of different Denominations did meet, and it now

" appears sundry Persons were at that illegal Meeting Chosen,

" notwithstanding they declared they were unacquainted

" with the Old Rules, that the above Agreement specifies

" shall be the mode of election. This is therefore to inform

" all Bench-holders that no Men, or any set of Men whatever,

" can be authorised in the capacity of Trustees or Chapel

21

" Wardens without the concurrence of Henry Blundell, Esq.,
" and Sir Robert Gerrard, excepting those that have been
" chosen upwards of a year ago, who have been authorised
" by the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of this District, to
" appoint a Collector to receive Rents of Benchers.

" The Trustees think it their Duty to forewarn all persons
" from paying regard to any authority such Persons
" so illegally chosen may pretend to claim from so
" unwarrantable a Nomination, and hope that every Bench-
" holder will pay their Rents unto Mr. Richard Eltonhead,
" and no other person, and the Trustees do hereby promise to
''indemnify them for so doing. Signed: Robert Lawrence,
" John Kaye, Christopher Butler, Andrew Rosson, Henry
"Billinge, Trustees.

"... By the aforesaid Regulations, no person can serve
" this Congregation, as an Incumbent, without the appro-
" bation of the Qualified Bench-holders. It being therefore
" unwarrantable for any person to act in that Capacity,
" without such an Approbation first obtained, it is hoped the
" Congregation will never suffer any innovation to take Place,
" in a Matter of such Importance to themselves and Posterity,
" as the choice of their own Pastors."

This extraordinary claim to select their own pastors was
no doubt seriously put forth, and illustrates the ill-tempered
manner in which the entire negotiations were conducted. The
Bishop's authority was flouted, and a newspaper controversy
ensued which was characterised by such abusive language and
accusations of deliberate " duplicity," one against the other,
that to the Protestant population of Liverpool the letters
were anything but " dull reading." Father MacDonald
wielded a trenchant pen ; shafts laden with satire and
ridicule poured into the ranks of his hostile flock, or rather
the bench-holders, who in turn assailed him with
vituperation and the grossest calumnies. One sample will
suffice to illustrate this incredible battle of pens. " The
" flowers of your rhetoric," writes one critic of the poor
Benedictine, " are all gathered from the luxuriant gardens of
" Billinsgate and St. Giles," and his letters as " masterpieces
" of bad grammar, abusive language and nonsense," which
made the writer of this choice production believe he had
" rashly engaged with a veteran soldier lately arrived from the
" garrison of Gibraltar, and accustomed to fiery engines of
" Elliott's Red Hot Balls. (" Alluding to a Christian oration
" lately delivered from the altar by Mr. Arch. McDonald,
" wherein, in the true spirit of Christian meekness and
" charity, he wished no greater harm to his opponents than

22

" a fiery destruction similar to that which the brave General
" Elliott's red-hot balls effected on the French and
'' Spaniards)."*

Father MacDonald, with characteristic courage, boldly
deprived six of the " brawlers ''' in his chapel of their benches,
one of the six being a member of the weaker sex. In the
confusion which prevailed as the result of the claims of the
miscalled trustees under the regulations of 1782, the
misinterpretation of Father Emmett's clear and unequivocal
appeal to the Benedictines to serve the chapel, the apparent
neglect on the other hand of Father Williams to follow the
advice of Father Sewall to take no part in the selection of an
incumbent, and the claim of Mr. Clifton (son of the deceased
gentleman of the same name) to be consulted, the gravest
scandal was given to the whole population of the town.
Mr. Clifton resolved to carry the whole matter into the
courts of law, a most reprehensible proceeding in face of the
Bishop's decision and the " resolve " of the Jesuits themselves
not to interfere with the selection of the new priests to serve
at St. Mary's. A document is still in existence which
demonstrates how Father MacDonald was dragged into the
courts. It is an estimate of the expenses which he
would incur in defending the case against him, and amounts
to two hundred and twenty pounds, with the prospect of
having to pay a much larger amount should Mr. Clifton's
cause prove successful. The Bishop intervened by addressing
a special pastoral letter " To the Catholics of Liverpool,"
dated October 8, 1783 :

" It is with inexpressible concern we have found the most

•' zealous endeavour, hitherto ineffectual, towards suppressing

" those discussions which not only dishonour your holy

" religion, but strike at the very being of ecclesiastical

" authority and subordination. . . . The enemy of our

* souls, jealous of these spiritual blessings with which

' indulgent Providence has blessed them, and endeavouring

1 to defeat the benevolent designs of Heaven in your regard,

' has prevailed so far with some as to make them not only

1 lay aside the decency and submission due to superior power,

" but obstruct and impede the most active exertions to restore

'' the comforts of peace and promote your spiritual welfare.

" To this desirable end we have long directed our prayers and

•' labours, yet, is there not reason to fear that we have

' laboured in vain. Lenity, dictated by the most weighty

" motives, has been stiled timidity, an indecent surrender of

;' ecclesiastical power. On the other hand, measures not more

* Advertiser, August, 1783.

23

' severe than necessary have been termed animosity,
' obstinacy, an undue stretching of prerogative. Can, then,
' this discordancy of sentiments be a standard of rectitude, a
' rule of acting ? No ! not even to him who would wish to be
' all things to all men, that he might save all. Some of the

* most uninstructed characters, in terms equally illiberal and

* unjust, arraign and condemn the decrees of that authority
' which they ought to respect and implicitly obey : read
' lectures on the object, the nature, the extent of ecclesiastical

" jurisdiction ; on the sacred and till this day uncontroverted
" rules of Church discipline, invading the prerogative of that
" tribunal which has an exclusive right to censure and punish
" any violation of the sacred trust with which we are
" invested. To this ecclesiastical tribunal inferior Church-
" men are to look for redress and protection, when aggrieved
" and oppressed by the superior. The measure is clearly
" proper, warranted by the Canons, due to an injured
" character, and so easily adapted that a peaceful and silent
" acquiescence under the weight of dishonourable and criminal
" imputations will be interpreted the effect either of conscious
" guilt or unseasonable compassion for a Prelate who wishes
" not for extraordinary tenderness but that the merits of his
" conduct be discussed by that tribunal to which he is
" amenable.* But are you still ignorant to such a degree as
" to want information that an appeal to the public 1<i
" determine the validity and justice of ecclesiastical censures
i( is an irreligious encroachment upon the rights of the
" sanctuary, a most preposterous attempt to exalt the sheep
" above the pastor, to direct your teacher, leal your guide,
" and over awe your Prelate, a sacrilegious effort to invert
" the order established by our Blessed Redeemer and disturb
" the system of Infinite Wisdom. Obey your Prelates and be
" subject to them, with whom it is a very small thing to be
" judged of you and of man's judgment. A vindication of
" their conduct to a tribunal so unprecedented and repugnant
" to their dignity would be a tacit and disgraceful acknow-
" ledgment of its usurped jurisdiction. . . . We, therefore,
" beseech you, dearly beloved, by the bowels of our Lord Jesus
" Christ, not to interfere with the prerogative of His repre-
'' sentative. We are ambassadors for Christ; God, as it were,
" exhorting by us. When exhortations prove insufficient, we
' are invested with authority, not only to teach and rebuke,
" but to chastise ; not only to build and to plant, but to root
" up and pull down, and to destroy. Wherefore, we strictly
'' forbid, under pain of excommunication, any person to

* An appeal to Rome.

24

insult, in the Catholic Chapel, Edmund Street, by any ill-
usage, abuse, reproaches by word of mouth or in writing, or,
in the aforesaid chapel designedly to impede or disturb in the
exercise of his spiritual functions the Rev. Mr. McDonald
or the Rev. Mr. Kennedy. In terminating a debate
concerning temporal concerns, follow the advice of the
Apostle, 1 Cor., c. 6, v. 5, &c. : ' If you have judgment of
' things pertaining to the world, I speak to your shame, is
' it not so ? that there is not among you any one wise man
' that is able to judge between his brethren ; already,
' indeed there is plainly a fault among you that you have
' law suits one with another ! Why do you not rather take
'wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be
'defrauded?"

The pastoral concludes with a most eloquent and beautiful
appeal for peace.

At the Lancaster Assizes the question was settled. The
presiding judge decided that Father Williams, in handing
over the keys to Father MacDonald had " inducted " him as
his lawful successor. A patched up peace prevailed at length ;
the disorders ceased, but many years passed away before the
storm which accompanied the entry of the Benedictines into
Liverpool was forgotten by the Catholics of the town and
neighbourhood .

It was in the fitness of things that the Benedictines
should have succeeded the Jesuits. On the confiscation of the
Birkenhead Priory, the monks lost their hold on the banks
of the Mersey. In the intervening ages they, too, worked
secretly in Lancashire to preserve the ancient faith. From
1697 to 1717 they served the family of Lord Molyneux at
Sefton, until they were superseded by the "friars," again
resuming their work in the year 1742.* On the apostacy of
the ninth Viscount and first Earl (due to a mixed marriage),
the Chaplain, Father Vincent Gregson, lived in the end
portion of the buildings at present adjoining the church,
called the " cockloft." He obtained a piece of land at
Netherton,f close by, and built a chapel and house in which
the faithful Catholics who did not follow the example of
their lord worshipped God in the ancient fashion. The
Benedictines had also served for some years at St. Swithin's,
Gillmoss. Now that they were established at St. Mary's,
they could see from the western boundary of the parish their
dismantled priory on the Cheshire side of the Mersey, with
its tower lifted high above the intervening forest of masts.

* CathDlic Directory,
t Still served by the Benedictine Fathers.

25

By a curious coincidence the Sovereign Pontiff who
cancelled the Decree of Suppression, and restored most of the
privileges of the Society of Jesus, was himself a monk of the
Order of St. Benedict.

The Benedictines followed up their work at St. Mary's
by founding a new mission at the south end of the town,
where the increasing Catholic population called for church
extension. It was opened on September 7th, 1788, and
dedicated to the Prince of the Apostles. This church is
better known as the Seel Street chapel, and is the only
building of an ecclesiastical character which has familiarised
the name of the street in which it is situate. This may have
arisen originally from a desire to avoid confusion with the
parish church of St. Peter in Church Street, and it is
therefore not strange that in the lease granted by the
Corporation, " Seel Street Chapel/' and not St. Peter, is the
official description of the building.

The original founder was the rector of St. Mary's,
Father MacDonald, who was a native of Lochaber, Scotland.
He appears to have created a good impression on the
Protestant population, being referred to by one writer as
" a kind-hearted and much respected man."* On the walls of
the church a mural tablet perpetuates his memory in these
words : "In the vaults of this church are deposited the
" remains of Father Archibald MacDonald ; died July 29,
" 1814. The founder of this chapel, and for a period of
" 26 years its liberal, intelligent, and revered pastor, to
" whose memory the Catholicks of Liverpool erected this
" monument." These two opinions must be read in con
junction with the acts of the Benedictine chapter held in the
year 1785, when he was censured for his somewhat violent
polemical writings in connection with the disputes at
St. Mary's. His sermon on the opening day was described
by a local paper in flattering terms : " One can truly say that
" a better discourse has not been heard in any place of
" worship."! The musical part of the service attracted
considerable attention. It was organised by two Protestant
musicians whose name constantly appear on concert pro
grammes of that day ; the organ which was provided, and the
" choice chorus," forming a happy omen of the celebrated
organists, choirmas>ers and singers who made the musical
services at the Seel Street chapel renowned for one hundred
and seventeen years.

* Smither's History of Liverpool,
t Williamson's Advertiser, 8th September, 1788,

26

Judging by a drawing of the church preserved in the
Corporation Library, the outlines of the church were pretty
much the same as now : a plain, square, brick building devoid
of external ornament, though of smaller dimensions than the
present church. " A quadrangular room, good solid work,
" with as much gallery room as possible, and a priest's house
" at the altar end, was all he (Father MacDonald) aimed
" at."* His portrait in oils is one of the treasures of the
Priory of St. Peter's, and hangs in the dining room side by
side with similar portraits of successive rectors of this notable
church. He was appointed Cathedral Prior of Rochester
shortly before his death.

The Town Council records relate that on the first day of
April, 1789, it was resolved that " a new lease be granted to
" the Rev. Archibald MacDonald, of the Roman Catholic
" chapel lately erected by him, and situate in Seel Street, for
" three lives of his own nomination, and for twenty-one years
" afterwards, at a ground rent of twelve pence per yard, and
" for the above purpose only, a perpetual lease shall be
" granted of the chapel, and on the death of any life, on the
" persons entitled applying for the renewal within six months
" after such death." The resolution goes on to declare that
the lease will lapse if the building ceases to be used as a
chapel. A separate lease was also granted for the house and
schools on payment of a fine of £3 3s. Od., and an annual
ground rent of twelve pence.

This decision indicates that cordial relations then pre
vailed between the local authorities and the Catholic body,
and the annual collection in the three Catholic chapels for
the Infirmary points to the conclusion that the chapels were
recognised as duly authorised places of worship. Collections
are also recorded in the local journals from the priests at
Farn worth, Appleton and Upholland.

The first public reference to the founder of St. Peter's
occurs in reference to his sermon at St. Mary's, or as it was
termed " the Roman Catholic chapel in Lumber Street."!
We have seen that poor Father Tempest had only an
income of one or two and twenty pounds per annum in 1750,
and in 1799 we find that in the same church after a sermon
by Father Talbot, O.S.B. — a most excellent sermon "J— for the
Poor School, he secured an offering of £20 14s. 6d., from
which may be inferred that the Catholics had increased
considerably in number. It is difficult to estimate how many

* Centenary Sketch, 1888.

f Gore's General Advertiser.

J Liverpool Phoenix, 1799.

27

Catholics were in Liverpool in the first half of the 18th
century, certain it is that the Faith had not disappeared.

Mr. Henry Peet, in his most interesting book on
Liverpool in the reign of Queen Anne estimates the popula
tion of the town at seven thousand. A close examination of
the list of ratepayers in every street of the town reveals but
half a dozen Irish surnames. There are, however, numerous
characteristic Catholic names, such as Scarisbrick, Molyneux,
and Blundell.

Owing to the close commercial intercourse between
Ireland and Liverpool during the eighteenth century there
must have been a colony of Irishmen in the town. The
campaigns of Henry the Second and Richard the Second in
Ireland brought Liverpool considerable reputation. Irish
merchants came regularly to Liverpool to sell yarn and linen
on its quays to Manchester merchants.* They attended, no
doubt, the old church of St. Nicholas, and on its seizure by
the State for the reformed religion one can only conjecture
where they received the spiritual consolation of their Faith.
Certain, however, it is that political blunders in the govern
ment of Ireland largely increased the number of Irish
Catholics in Liverpool towards the middle of the century, and
created the demand for chapels, which gave rise to the founda
tion of St. Peter's and Sir Thomas Street, in addition to the
mother church of St. Mary's.

Unfortunately, one is not able to give any estimate of
the number of native Catholics who held steadfast to the
Faith during the long years of persecution and deprivation of
citizenship. Gore's Directory for 1766 contains the names
of some twelve hundred householders. Of these only fifteen
bear distinctive Irish names, such as Coyle, Doran, Dougherty,
Dowdall, Finigan, Fe,arns, Molloy, Ryan, MacCormac,
Finglass and Staunton. There were two Kellys, not
necessarily an Irish surname, there being many in Lancashire
who are not Irish by birth or descent. As might be
expected, on account of the coasting trade, five of these Irish
names represent captains of vessels. Doran and Finnigan
are described as merchants; the remainder being apparently
dealers in clothes, or as they were called in those days,
slopmen. In the Directory for 1769 twenty-two names
appear, seven being captains, and there also appears for the
first time the relation of Irish connection with the drink
trade ; a much too prominent feature of Irish life in Liverpool
at a later stage. By 1774 there is a further increase to forty
householders, and in 1781 eighty Irish names are recorded,
eleven being captains and twelve victuallers. The first
* Mrs. J. B. Green's — The making of Ireland and its undoing.

28

mention of the surname Burke is in connection with a woman
who kept a public-house in Litherland Alley in 1777, and in
1781 we have the first record in print of Irish association
with the hard work of the Dock side in the case of Thomas
Burke, living by the Old Dock, and described as a porter.
Wexford names are prominent : Byrne, Dwyer and Ryan,
the last named being a ship broker. In this year, 1781, the
Celtic prefix O appears for the first time: Captain O'Mara
and Francis O'Neale, provision dealer. From the public
advertisements, it would appear that the means of locomotion
were to some extent under the direction of Irishmen, most
probably Catholics. The coaches of Mr. James Maguire set
out every morning, except Saturday, from the Horse and
Rainbow, High Street, for Warrington and Manchester, and
the local resident superintendent of the Dublin packets was a
Captain O'Connor. It was asserted that a large number of
Wexford people came to Liverpool during the year 1798 on
account of the rebellion of that year, and it was further stated
that they were " loyal " Irishmen.* As the Wexford struggle
was confined to a small area of the country, and only lasted a
very short period, the grounds for this assertion are not very
strong. It is much more likely that the immigration was due
to the increase in the trade between both ports, a trade so
important that Liverpool freemen were exempted from the
dues payable on Wexford produce. The tonnage returns for
Liverpool shew that in 1798, no less than 988 vessels arrived
from the Irish ports, a number which went on increasing
until 1820, when 2,162 ships entered the Mersey laden with
agricultural products. To this must be attributed the
increasing numbers of the Irish population and we have
evidence that in 1788, the year which saw the opening of
Father Price's chapel and St. Peter's, 367 children were
baptised in the three chapels, representing a fair proportion
of the total population of all creeds, f Catholics must have
been growing prosperous, comparatively speaking, as from the
records of the treasurer of the Infirmary as early as 1789 and
1790 the amount sent to him from St. Peter's alone amounted
to £18 9s. lid. and £23 2s. lOd. respectively. The main
streets of that parish had been constructed for some years,
and in the Directory for 1790J about 120 Irish householders'
names are given, irrespective of the numerous English
Catholics who cannot be identified by name. No less than
sixty-eight bear the Irish prefix, ' Mac,' though a few are

* Troughton's Liverpool,
f Canon O'Toole's tables.

* Wosencroft's Directory.

29

clearly of Scottish or Ulster origin. From the record of
burials in St. Peter's vaults and churchyard we find such
striking English surnames as Baynes, Parr, Dickinson,
Skelton, Formby, Stubbs, Bridge, &c. The name of Peter
Byrne, deputy-master of th& George's dock, 1790, also occurs
in the registers, and Geo. Marsh, who founded the chapel at
Portico, near St. Helens, was interred in St. Peter's in 1826.
The baptismal register* gives the names of fifty children
born in the parish in 1799, one year after the opening of the
chapel.

Before the close of the century the clergy who served in
St. Mary's were Father Edmund Pennington, O.S.B., who
succeeded Father MacDonald in 1788, and served as incumbent
until 1794, when he died; Father Joseph Collins, O.S.B., who
enlarged the chapel, and Father Alexius Pope, O.S.B., the
latter remaining in charge until 1802.f

* St. Peter, Centenary record, 1888.
f St. Mary's, by Father Bede Cox, O.S.B.

30

CHAPTER II.

The opening year of the nineteenth century witnessed a
large influx of poor Irish people into Liverpool. One writer
attributed the immigration to the passage into law of the Act
of Union* which abolished the Irish Houses of Parliament,
and provided for the future government of Ireland from
Westminster. It is difficult to see how such an Act was
directly responsible for sending the Irish of 1801 in large
numbers to Liverpool, though it is certain that the result
which ensued therefrom created the Irish Liverpool of a later
date. The statement was made however by a responsible,
impartial local historian and deserves to be recorded. " Few
" Irish of any class, high or low, until after the rebellion
"of 1798; but afterwards, the Union caused a considerable
''change in that respect."* The immediate reason would
appear to have been due to an old and oft repeated cause,
set forth by another Liverpool author ,f who wrote in 1825
a most impartial, painstaking work. " In 1801 the state of
" Ireland caused numbers to flock over to Liverpool ins such
" a distressed state that a violent dysentery ensued, followed
" by numerous deaths." It is a significant political fact that
at the moment when Ireland's outward sign of its distinct-
nationhood was taken away, five thousand " stalwart, well-
set " Irish militiamen responded to the call of England to
fight her battles against Napoleon, and arrived in the Mersey
en route for an expedition against the French, who, but two
short years before had sent ships of war to fight for Ireland.
Irish soldiers were constantly arriving in Liverpool, and no
doubt threw much additional work on the shoulders of the
few Benedictines and one Jesuit who were in charge of the
three small chapels. At the same time that the Irish militia
were in town, five thousand French and Spanish prisoners
of war arrived and found a temporary resting place pending
their transfer to their respective countries, as the exigencies
of warfare^ permitted. The municipal records shew that the

* Brook's History of Liverpool.

f Smither's Commerce.
J Liverpool Phoenix, March, 1800.

31

town was progressing rapidly. By the year 1800 the principal
streets in the present parish of St. Mary's had been completed ;
Bevington Bush was also constructed and the streets south of
the Custom House, now constituting the parishes of St. Peter's
and St. Vincent de Paul's were rapidly approaching com
pletion. The site of the present Custom House was then a
dock, and Irish immigrants coming to a strange town sought
shelter in the immediate vicinity as far as was possible, which
accounts for the dense Irish population which within living
memory was to be seen in and around Whitechapel, Paradise
and South John Streets on the north, and flowing south en
the other hand compelled the provision of St. Patrick's Church
twenty years later. The north end developments necessitated
the provision of another church, and St. Anthony's came into
existence to supply the need. It was the first church in
Liverpool in the charge of a secular priest and was destined
to become the fruitful mother of many churches and schools
and the rallying centre of great Catholic effort for over half
a century. The original church stood at the corner of Dryden
Street, and was known as the French chapel for two reasons.
It was built by a Protestant gentleman* to testify his
sympathy with the French nobility expelled from their native
country during the French revolution, and its first resident
priest was Father Jean Baptiste Antoine Gerardot, Canon,
Dignitary, and treasurer of the Metropolitan Church of
Rheims, as he was described in a book dealing with that
period. f He was driven from France during the last years
of the eighteenth century and helped considerably to minister
to the French prisoners located in Liverpool to the conclusion
of the long drawn out struggle which terminated on the field
of Waterloo. He became the first popular priest in Protestant
Liverpool. Every sympathy and consideration was shewn
to him by all classes of citizens; Churchmen and Dissenters
alike rallied to his support, even going the extreme length of
attending his chapel on special occasions, and on one notable
Sunday he collected at Mass the sum of one hundred pounds,
the largest offertory made to that time in a Catholic chapel.
The dedication to St. Anthony was due to Father Gerardot's
name. From a contemporary we learn the dimensions of
the chapel; fifty-five feet long by thirty-two in width, and
that the services were carried out with great dignity and good
taste. The prejudices against the Catholic population were
rapidly declining, and Father Gerardot was enabled in con
sequence to announce that he would celebrate Midnight Mass

* Father B. Murphy's sermon in St. Anthony's, August, 1815.
t Smither's Commerce.

32

at the Christinas of 1813. The front of the chapel was illumin
ated by candles arranged in the shape of a star, and the
initial letters ' J.S.' Even the musical programme has been
preserved. The music of the Mass was taken from the
compositions of \Vebbe and Cassuli; Novello's harmonised
version of the Adeste Fideles was sung at the offertory;
Handel's Pastoral Symphony from the Messiah was rendered
and the Te Deum was sung at the conclusion of that eventful
ceremony which set Liverpool talking about the beautiful
services of the Church.* Another Liverpool author writing
of the Catholic chapels, four in number in the year 1810, says
" they are numerously attended. "f We have it recorded on
the testimony of the Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Smith, that he
and his coadjutor, Bishop Gibson, J in the month of June,
1813, confirmed 621 persons in St. Mary's, Lumber Street,
and 571 in St. Peter's, Seel Street. The poverty of the
working people made the provision of school accommodation
almost impossible ; a serious drawback to the full develop
ment of the work of the Clergy. St. Peter's has the distinc
tion of providing the first permanent school of any importance,
though there is no doubt that St. Mary's clergy provided the
first Catholic school in Liverpool. As was only to be expected
from an Order celebrated for its pursuit of learning, the monks
of St. Benedict were the pioneers of elementary education in
Liverpool. If an unusually well informed Protestant writer
is to be believed, he saw in the year 1806, the twentieth annual
report of the Charity School in Copperas Hill, which implies
that a Catholic school was in existence there as early as 1786.
This is clearly an error, as the school was founded at a much
later date. At the opening of the Holy Cross Schools,
Fontenoy Street, in 1853, Mr. Allan Kaye, sub-sheriff of
Lancashire, stated that the original Catholic school of Liver
pool was opened in 1803, in Gerard Street, off Byrom
Street, the accommodation being for thirty children. There
is nothing in thL statement inconsistent with St. Mary's claim
for priority, as Gerard Street would come within the purview
of the clergy of that church. That there was a crying need
for school accommodation is proven by an organisation which
came into existence in the year 1807; and its title clearly
establishes the nationality of the children for whom the
schools were needed. It was called the Benevolent Society of
St. Patrick, and had for its sole aim " the educating and
apprenticing of Irish children of all denominations." The

-Williamson's Advertiser, 1813.

f Troughton's Liverpool.
\ Brother of the Dr. Gibson, Vicar Apostolic, 1788.

33

school was built in Pleasant Street, within a few hundred
yards of the future Pro-Cathedral of St. Nicholas, and it
continued its work for sixty -three years. Curiously enough
this school had the full sympathy and co-operation of the
clergy and the leading Catholic laymen, and through its doors
passed thousands of Catholic children. The Liberals of that
interesting period, assisted by the great William Rathbone,
afterwards M.P. for the town, whose statue stands in Sefton
Park, devoted themselves with great enthusiasm to this
excellent work. No religious difficulty prevailed, as the
clergy were admitted to give religious instruction. By
the year 1824 there were 504 children in average attendance,
all Irish. The headmaster bore the name of Patrick Brennan.
Up to the year of Catholic emancipation no less than 5,744
boys and girls had passed through the schools, which had also
the distinction of educating the children on industrial as well
as literary lines, and it was claimed in the annual report that
after strict enquiries only five boys who had been educated
in the Hibernian Schools had committed any breach of the
law, imperial or local. In a schedule attached to Brougham's
Education Bill, introduced into Parliament in the year 1821,
it is stated that 300 children were in average attendance at
the Catholic Charity Schools, Copperas Hill, which read in
conjunction with the 500 attending the neighbouring schools,
goes to prove that a large Catholic population had grown up
in the neighbourhood between St. Peter's and the late Father
Price's chapel in Sir Thomas Street.* The death of this priest
in 1813 paved the way for the formation of a new parish; the
foundation of St. Nicholas' Church, Copperas Hill. As the
suppression of the Jesuits brought about the coming of the
Benedictines to Liverpool, so the decease of the late Jesuit
made easy the erection of the future Pro-Cathedral. It is a
,sad reflection that this fine old priest, founder of three chapels,
and zealously working for the preservation of the faith for
30 years, found his last resting place in the graveyard of the
Protestant Church of St. James, Toxteth Park; one would
have expected to find his earthly remains interred at Lydiate
or in the vaults of Seel Street, but such was not the case.

Lengthy negotiations passed between the lay committee
which undertook the foundation of St. Nicholas and the
Jesuits before the chapel in Sir Thomas Street was finally
closed. Father Randal Lythgoe, S.J., in a letter dated
October 26, 1841, to Father Glover, English assistant to the
General of the Jesuits at Rome, wrote " Father Price's church
" was closed to facilitate the erection of St. Nicholas, and

* Better known as Sir Thomas' Buildings.

34

" it was to this end, and with a distinct understanding with
" Mr. John Leigh and the members of the committee of St.
" Nicholas, that when the latter was completed they should
" exert themselves and raise another chapel to be served by
" priests connected with Stony hurst."* The fulfilment of
this understanding was delayed twenty-six years, but the laity
who made it were not to blame. The new church was opened
on the 17th August, 1815, by the Vicar Apostolic, Bishop
Smith; Father Thomas Penswick, the first rector, preaching
the inaugural sermon. On the Sunday previous Father
Murphy, who had crossed over from Dublin to preach at the
" French Chapel," St. Anthony's, pronounced a eulogium on
the Liverpool Town Council for their liberality towards St.
Nicholas', they having presented the site on which the church
was built. The opening day was remarkable from the fact
that for the first time in the history of Liverpool, from the
Reformation, a Mayor of the town attended a High
Mass. In the evening eighty Catholic gentlemen sat down
to a public dinner in honour of the joyful event of a new
church being opened. Mr. P. W. Whitnall presided,
supported in particular by Messrs. Kaye, Gore, Leigh, Smith,
Billinge, Merrit, Wright and Scarisbrick. The English
nationality of these gentlemen is well testified by their sur
names. In a report of the School Committee eight yeara
after this event, it is recorded that they spent £537 13s. 5d.
on the maintenance of the school, an amount which was
certainly very creditable to them in view of the poverty of the
working people, with an attendance of 480 children. We
have already noted the average attendance. The head master
was Mr. Edward Brennan; Mr. H. F. Leigh, who lived in
Colquitt Street, was one of the founders of the school, and
another member of the same family acted as treasurer. A
tablet on the west wall of the Pro-Cathedral perpetuates the
memory of this excellent layman. " Henry Faithwaite Leigh.
' of Colquitt Street, formerly of Bark Hill, near Wigan, died
'April 21, 1833, aged 77 years. He was one of the chief
' founders of this place of Divine worship and the adjoining
' school. Firm in faith, confident in hope, full of charity
' both for God and man. He set aside this world for Heaven.
' Stranger drop not one single tear, a simple prayer is all
' I ask." The tablet also records the name of his son, George
Leigh, and of Mrs. Catherine Pulford, his mother-in-law.

In the year 1821, the Catholic population, estimated by
the numbers attending Mass on the Sunday mornings, was

* Xavei'iaM, June, 1887.

35

12,000,* as compared with a total seating accommodation of
56,200 in all the Anglican and Dissenting places of worship
in the town. From a census taken in this same year we learn
that the total number of houses occupied were 19,007, the
average number of dwellers therein amounting to 5*84. A
distinguished Liverpool Irishman,! whose name will frequently
occur in these pages because of his great service to the church
and his single-minded devotion to his country's cause, in a
comment upon Canon OToole's tables of baptisms, calculated
that ten years earlier (1811) there were 21,359 Catholics living
inside the town boundaries. As corroborating this opinion,
a priest attached to St. Nicholas' speaking at a public meeting
in the schools in 1830, declared that the Catholics numbered
not less than one-third or one-fourth of the entire population,
and called special attention to the definitely ascertained fact
that in the course of twenty-three years the number of
Catholic baptisms had increased 340 per cent.J The next
extension of church accommodation took place at St. Peter's,
Seel Street, the extended church being opened on November
27, 1817. The preacher on this interesting occasion was
Father Baines, O.S.B., of Bath, who was regarded as the
principal pulpit orator of his day. Mozart's twelfth Mass,
with full orchestral accompaniment, was rendered. Here
we may pause to note that the newspapers of the day and for
many years later devoted much attention to the musical portion
of the services, and only in rare instances made any reference
to the text selected by the preacher or any of his observations.
In the Liverpool Mercury of November, 1817, one reads with
amazement the following extraordinary advertisement, which
happily has not appeared since. " On Monday, December
" the first, the whole of the unsold pews will be publicly let
" in the chapel, at the hour of eleven in the forenoon." This
announcement refers to the extended accommodation provided
in Seel Street. It is extremely probable that a great number
of Irish labourers found work in the year 1819, in excavating
the Prince's Dock. Most of the docks were constructed by
Irish labourers, and other works of a similar character
requiring muscle were so carried out by them. The Orange
men of the town appear to have had their political passions
inflamed by the presence of a large Catholic and Irish
population in their midst, and the development of church
buildings as well as the marked tolerance of the Liberal party

Smither's Commerce.

>r of " The Irish Libn
Britain."

t Mercury, 21st May, 1830.

t Mr. John Denvir, author of " The Irish Library ; The Irish in Great

Britain."

aggravated the situation. They began a series of attacks
both wordy and physical on the Catholic Church and Ireland,
which to them as to more enlightened persons were regarded
quite erroneously as synonymous terms. Retaliation was
inevitable. On the 12th July, 1819, when the Orange body
celebrated the famous scrimmage " 'twixt a Dutchman and
" a Scot/'* they were waylaid at the corner of Dale Streetf
and Byrom Street by a host of Irish labourers who made a
desperate onslaught on them. Stones, sticks and other
weapons were freely used, and both sides sustained severe
injuries. It was the beginning of that wretched race quarrel
on false issues which was assiduously kept alive by one political
party in the city for the most unworthy ends, and continued
to disturb the harmony of the citizens for half a century.
When the learned Roscoe contested Liverpool in the Liberal
interest in the year 1807, the real issue was the abolition of
slavery. Catholic Emancipation was a minor point in that
struggle. His opponents carried both their candidates to victory
by issuing the following squib. " This day, about two o'clock,
"His Holiness Pope Leo Tenth made his long expected entry.
" He bore two banners ; Catholic Emancipation and Abolition
7< of the Slave Trade." After six days' polling the author of
the Life of Pope Leo was badly beaten, receiving only 379
votes against 1,277 and 1,461 given to his Tory rivals. The
Irish Catholics of the early years of the nineteenth century
were accused by interested politicians of disloyalty, an
accusation which has not yet been discontinued. Strangely
enough it was their loyalty to the unfortunate Queen
Caroline which accounted for their first appearance in the
political arena of Liverpool, the prelude to effective interfer
ence in much more important matters both of religion and
politics. The sympathies of the great bulk of the Liberal
party lay with the persecuted consort of a worthless
Hanoverian, and when the news reached Liverpool that she
had triumphantly vindicated her honour, they organised a
huge public demonstration to express their delight. In the
public procession which wound up the festivities the Catholic
and Irish Societies took no unimportant place. They had at
length lifted their heads, and begun to realise the duty they
owed to the city of their adoption. Two years later another
influx of Irish immigrants arrived in the town, due to the
severity of Irish landowners, who demanded their pound of
flesh notwithstanding the generally depressed condition of

* See humorous squib, Dublin Leader, July, 1908.

t The exact spot where the Holy Cross procession was attacked on

May 9th, 1909.

37

Irish agriculture. The newspapers record the sequel in these
words. " Crowds of indigent poor sought relief at the work-
" house in Cumberland Street, and at the parish church of
" St. Peter's, Church Street." It would be an interesting
item of historical value could we calculate the heavy cost to
Liverpool ratepayers of Irish misgovernment, and a no less
interesting speculation would be the progress of Catholicism
in Liverpool had Pitt failed in carrying into law the ill-fated
Act of Union. This second exodus from Ireland to Liverpool
must have been very considerable, as a local historian* tells
us that around the Exchange not fifteen in a hundred were
natives of the town owing to the numbers of poor Irish
arriving daily. This immense mass of Catholics around the
Tithebarn street and Vauxhall Road area, entailed serious con
sequences social and economic to the town which have not
wholly disappeared to this hour, and brought about the erection
of further chapels and schools, but for which the citizens of
Liverpool had been brought face to face with insoluble
problems of crime and lawlessness. Liverpool has failed
entirely to realise its debt to the devoted Catholic clergy and
the energetic Catholic laymen who saved the situation to some
extent both in the twenties and the terrible years which were
soon to follow. This Irish congestion had a curious sequel
if we are to credit the statement that when the " cabbage
" patches " which lined " the road to Ormskirk," had to give
way to much needed sites for dwelling houses, the new street
was called Marie-la-bonne, modified to Marybone, at the
request of the Catholics " who began to occupy the houses
"erected."! Agricultural land now assumed a high value as
" eligible " building sites, and brought in its train as a logical
result the awful problem of housing the poor which perplexes
local and imperial statesmen ignorant of the one method of
solving the difficulty.

St. Mary's Chapel, just sixty-six feet long and forty-
eight broad was sorely taxed to find room for the thousands
who sought to hear Mass therein, and placed a responsibility
upon the shoulders of the Benedictine Fathers, which they
were unable to face successfully for nearly twenty years.
This crowded area was filled by men who were without any
proficiency in skilled occupations and had to depend entirely
on the demand for the physical energy which fortunately they
possessed in abundance, otherwise their sojourn in the town
had been attended by much more serious consequences. Their
one and only consolation was the brightness of their faith in

* Smither's Commerce,
f Stonehouse — Streets of Liverpool.

38

God, and the practice of their religion, of which there it
abundant proof in the speeches both of clergy and laity of
the day. A similar state of affairs existed at the South end
of the town. Seel Street Chapel was utterly unable to cope
with the congested Irish population living in the streets off
Park Lane and St. James Street, and a lay committee took
in hand the erection of a new church to supply the spiritual
needs of this Irish colony. The dedication of the church leaves
no doubt as to the nationality of the poor for whom it was
founded and quite a thrill of enthusiasm swept over the Irish
population at the announcement that the Park Place Church
was to be placed under the protection of the Apostle of
Ireland.* Touched by the needs of the Irish poor many of
the leading Liberals gave substantial assistance towards the
undertaking, and the poor contributed their mite generously
and whole heartedly. The English Catholics of the town
were generous to a degree and on the 17th of March, 1821,
not many months after the project had been conceived, the
foundation stone was laid amidst scenes of jubilation, probably
never equalled since that memorable day. St. Patrick's feast
occurred on a Saturday that year, not the most suitable day
for public rejoicings or processions, but the day mattered not,
the heart of Catholic and Irish Liverpool was touched in its
tenderest part, and a great procession was the result. Those
were the days of great faith. Consequently the day was
opened by the Irish Society attending Mass at St. Mary's, a
compliment to the parent church as well as a thanksgiving
to God, and then reforming, the procession wended its way
to St. Anthony's, where the second half of the procession
had also heard Mass at an early hour. Led by several
carriages in which were seated the rector of St. Nicholas,
Father Pens wick, Father Dennet, of Aughton, and the
preacher at the ceremony, Father Kirwan, St. Michan's,
Dublin, the monstre procession moved off on its long march
to Park Place. Then followed the Irish Societies, wearing
their regalia, bearing banners and flags, and accompanied by
numerous brass and fife bands, including the Hibernian
Society, Benevolent Hibernian Society, Hibernian Mechanical
Society, Benevolent Society of St. Patrick, Amicable Society
of St. Patrick, Free and Independent Brothers, Industrious
Universal Society and the Society of St. Patrick. The last
named organisation was founded specially to raise funds for
the new church. Behind these organisations which comprised
fifteen thousand men, marched the school children from the

* Strong opposition was offered by the Protestant body to the erection,
on the ground that there was plenty of accommodation already.

39

schools of Copperas Hill and the Hibernian School in Pleasant
Street. That year the famous Irish regiment* whose exploits
under Wellington in the Peninsular War were still
remembered, was stationed in the town. On hearing of the
proposed procession they expressed a keen desire to take part
in it, and the Officer in command appealed to the War Office
for the necessary permission, which was readily given. Their
appearance in the procession, many of them bearing signs of
their services to the King, aroused the sympathies of the
liberal minded non-Catholic population and kindled the
enthusiasm of their countrymen to fever heat. In the absence
of the Vicar Apostolic who sent his blessing, Father Penswick
well and truly laid the foundation stone, and amidst the
jubilation " of the thousands of English Catholics in the town "
and the plaudits of the immense crowd of native born Irish
men, the new mission was launched on its notable career. The
festivities concluded by four public banquets held in Crosshall
Street, Sir Thomas' Buildings, Ranelagh Street and Paradise
Street. Two years later the unfinished building began to be
used and quite a surprise was felt by the average citizen at
the strange and unique spectacle of hundreds of men and
women kneeling outside the walls of the church on Sunday
mornings, unable to obtain admission to the sacred edifice
which was crowded to its utmost capacity as far as its condition
permitted. Father Penswick, who was the head and front of
the scheme for founding the church, made a herculean
effort to finish the building. To this end he founded in his
own parish an auxiliary branch of the Society of St. Patrick
and raised a considerable sum of money. Many distinguished
Irish ecclesiastics crossed over to Liverpool and preached in
the still unfinished building; the Professor of Rhetoric at
Maynooth one Sunday morning collecting two hundred
pounds. Irish and English Catholics worked harmoniously
until a foolish murmur was spread abroad that Father
Penswick intended to put an English priest in charge of the
mission and that he intended to frustrate the idea of the lay
Trustees to make the ground floor of the church free for ever.
This latter proposal, afterwards carried out, is a striking light
on the poverty of the masses of the people at that time. An
angry correspondence sprang up in the newspapers and
retarded the collection of the needed funds, but eventually
the rumours were dispelled by the appointment of Father
Murphy.

On the 22nd August, 1827, the church was opened by
ceremonies of such splendour and solemnity as had never

•Connaught Bangers.

40

before been witnessed by Liverpool Catholics of any preceding
age. Over forty priests were seated in the chancel, coming
from all parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. As a compliment
to the founder of the church, Father Penswick was invited to
sing the High Mass, an eloquent sermon being preached by
Father Walker (later on one of the resident clergy),
who had a high reputation as a pulpit orator.* The amount
collected inside the church on that day reached the large sum
of three hundred pounds. The papers of the day paid special
attention as usual to the musical portion of the service which
was of a very high character, and specifically mentioned a
young priest named White whose singing attracted much
public attention. He had but recently returned from his
studies in Rome and was asked by Pope Leo the Twelfth to
join the choir in the Sistine chapel. This flattering offer was
declined; the young Levite preferring the hard work of a
mission in his native Lancashire to musical fame in the
Eternal City. On the Sunday following the ceremony the
church was opened free to the public as had been arranged by
the Trustees; a stone laid in the outer west wall inscribed
with this condition stands to this hour to perpetuate this
curious condition. Mr. John Brancker, one of the noblest
spirited public men of a generation remarkable for the high
character and unselfishness of so many of its leading citizens
on the Liberal side, had given generously to the funds for the
church. He gave one special gift which against his own wishes
told succeeding generations of his great charity. The fine
statue of St. Patrick which stands outside the church was
ordered by him from a Dublin firm of sculptors and placed in
position in November, 1827. It has the distinction of being
the first Catholic emblem displayed to public gaze in Liver
pool since St. Patrick's Cross in Marybone had been destroyed.
Dr. Cahill, professor of philosophy at Maynooth, paid the
church an early visit and preached to an immense congrega
tion.

The three preceding years were remarkable for the
great activity of the English Catholic residents. A Catholic
orphanage for girls had been founded in Mount
Pleasant (now the orphanage located in Falkner Street) and
an effort was made to establish a similar institution for boys.
For this much needed end the congregation of St. Mary's and
St. Peter's subscribed one hundred and forty-five pounds and
to help both orphanages the leading Catholics resolved to
establish an annual Charity Ball. The first ball was held in

* In August, 1837, he preached the sermon on the opening of St.
Werhurgh's, Birkenhead. He was then stationed at Scarborough.

41

the Music Rooms,* Bold Street, and was most successful.
This is one of the two institutions which still exist in our
midst, the Catholic Benevolent Society being the other. The
proceeds were devoted entirely to providing means for
carrying on the work of succouring the orphan Catholic
children and preserving their Faith.

Catholic Emancipation had become the foremost political
question of the day, thanks to the intensity of the agitation
then being carried on in Ireland. Bills to remove the
disabilities under which Catholics were deprived of even the
elementary right of citizenship were annually introduced into
Parliament with little prospect of success, that branch of the
legislature known as " the other place " forming a most
effective barrier to their passage into law. In no part of the
country did Catholic claims receive more effective support
than from the Liberal party in Liverpool, who were right in
the forefront of that momentous struggle for liberty of
conscience. This was the more remarkable because of the
scanty support given to the movement by Liverpool Catholics
themselves, who, for some time seemed afraid of the great
forces arrayed against them. They were influenced by the
fear of provoking active Protestant hostility, which in those
days had the opportunity of displaying its hatred of the
Catholic body in ugly and oppressive forms. During the
year 1824 they were encouraged to come out into the open
and join heartily in the very vigorous fight waged on their
behalf by William Rathbone and the splendid body of
Liberals behind him. A remarkable Catholic meeting was
held on October 7th, 1824, in St. Nicholas' Schools. Its
proceedings were considered so important that the " Liverpool
Mercury " devoted five and a half columns to a report of the
proceedings. A Catholic Association had been founded in
London, and branches had been formed in Birmingham,
Manchester, Blackburn and Preston. Liverpool Catholics
followed the example, and this great gathering, presided over
by Mr. John McCarthy, was the result. As was the practice
in those days, the resolutions demanding civil and religious
liberty appeared in the advertising columns of the
" Mercury," followed by the signatures of Dr. Penswick, now
coadjutor Vicar Apostolic, and Fathers Robinson, Fisher,
Glover and Fairclough, of the Order of St. Benedict ; Fathers
Gerardot and White, and fifteen other priests residing in the
neighbourhood of Liverpool. The signatures of the laity
display the great power and influence of the English

* Now occupied by Messrs. Bacon, Bold Street, at the corner of
Concert Street.

42

Catholics in and around the town. Sir Thomas Massey
Stanley of Hooton, Sir Edward Mostyn of Mostyn,
Charles Orrel of Orrel, and such Lancashire namei
as Anderton, Barnwell, Blount, Bannister, Bretherton,
Gerard, Hoghton, Kaye, Leigh, Prest, Rockliff,
Reynolds, Whitnall, Wright, Waring, Lathom, and Rowe.
Very few Irish signatures were attached. The " Liverpool
Mercury " backed up the Catholic claim with great vigour,
and by way of return for the brilliant services of the editor,
no St. Patrick's Day dinner passed for very many years without
the toast being drunk enthusiastically : " ' The Liverpool
* Mercury,' the friend of civil and religious liberty !" Some
light is thrown on the customs of the early twenties by
perusing the toast lists, which beginning with " The King,"
were invariably followed by at least eighteen or nineteen other
and appropriate toasts. A flourishing branch of O'Connell's
Catholic Rent Society came into existence, of which the
cultured and liberal-minded editor of the " Mercury " was the
treasurer. His services were so thorough and successful that
Mr. Egerton Smith was constantly spoken of at O'Connell's
meetings in Dublin as a member of the Catholic Church, and
this reputation gave him considerable trouble when in later
years he became a candidate for the Town Council. In this
connection it may be worth recording that the first illustration
to appear in a Liverpool newspaper was a picture of O'Connell
in barrister's robes in the columns of the " Mercury," which
was published immediately after the famous Clare election.
The same journal exhibited in the windows of its publishing
office the first franked letter of the first Catholic Member of
Parliament. O'Connell's election for Clare and his refusal to
take the blasphemous oath demanded as a condition of taking
his seat were watched with intense interest by the Reform
party as well as the Catholic residents of Liverpool. The local
agitation was not without its effects. There was presented
to Parliament a petition asking for Catholic Emancipation
bearing the signatures of the Rector of Liverpool, the Rev.
Mr. Campbell,* and thirty-two Protestant clergymen, many
of whom had previously appended their signatures to petitions
against the removal of the disabilities under which Catholics
and Dissenters laboured.

Another organisation was founded in the February of
1826, called the Catholic Defence Society, the precursor of
the Catholic Truth Society of our own time. The original
meeting was held in St. Nicholas' Schools, and the object of
the Society was " to counteract the abusive torrent daily

* Whose portrait hangs in the Board Room of the Select Vestry.

43

" pouring out from that portion of the Press engaged in the
" services of the religious tract societies, and the weekly stream
" flowing from the pulpits of itinerant and illiberal preachers."
To prevent the passage of any Catholic Relief Act, every
possible kind of misrepresentation was indulged in to inflame
the Protestant mind. Violent theological tirades against the
doctrines, practices and devotions of the Catholic Church
poured forth in a never ending stream from pulpit, platforms
and the Orange-Tory Press. The works of Catholic Theologians
were distorted and misquoted to maintain the worst possible
kind of Protestant ascendancy, and the first aim of the newly-
founded society was to provide non-Catholics with free copies
of recognised standard works by Catholic writers. How far
such a course could possibly succeed may well be doubted, but
the idea of carrying the war into the enemy's camp illustrates
the tone and temper of newly awakened Catholic manhood.
The society held numerous public meetings and within six
months of its formation reported the distribution of fifty
pounds worth of Catholic literature. Liverpool was now the
happy hunting ground of Irish-Orange parsons, societies and
lecturers, all bent on one idea; "Papists lie down." One of
the most irritating was the local branch of the Irish Sunday
School Society. At first sight it appeared to be so far as
Catholic aims were concerned a harmless organisation, but
like all the Protestant agencies of that day, it was captured by
the Tory party and effectively used for propaganda work in
their interest. Thanks to an Irish soldier, named Spence, it
was covered with ridicule, of that quality which kills, and
for a long period ceased to become of any political or religious
importance. A meeting was announced for March, 1827, and
with a host of " itinerant" preachers, the Bishop of Dromore
crossed the Irish Sea, to deliver an address well calculated to
create passion and provoke tumult and disorder in the town.
Spence possessed the saving grace of humour and quietly
resolved to attend the Irish Sunday School Meeting and con
found his Lordship from Dromore. He boldly mounted the
platform and seizing a favourable opportunity rose and ad
dressed the meeting. In a speech described in the press "as
" fluent, animated and impressive," he effectively disturbed the
harmony of the meeting which vainly attempted to silence or
remove him. His extraordinary knowledge of the Bible stood
him in splendid stead as he pelted scriptural texts at the
heads of the " text mongers," answering off-hand every
objection or interruption with an apt quotation from Holy
Writ. Having disposed of the " Irish brigade " as the
preachers from Ireland were ironically termed for years in

44

Liverpool, Spence next assailed the right reverend chairman,
prefacing his observations by courteously informing him
that he did not bear a crosier by Apostolic succession but
because of certain Acts of Parliament. His appeal to the
political history of these islands as well as the ecclesiastical
story of the English Church were listened to by the audience
whose attention he had now completely captured by his good
temper, well constructed arguments, and his determined
resolve to be heard. An Irish " itinerant " provoked beyond
measure by the speech of Spence interrupted him with the
unfortunate statement that Henry the Eighth was a " double
" dyed scoundrel because he was half a Papist." A Protestant
audience with a big P, could not stand this accusation, which
gave Spence a new lease of power over them, and most
effectively did he grasp the opportunity. The attempt of the
" Courier " to belittle Spence only served to call more public
attention to his extraordinary speech and the political aims of
the alleged Sunday School Society. Certainly, it was admitted
the soldier's shako covered a head well stored with Biblical
and theological lore.

The progress through Parliament of the Emancipation
Bill did not excite to any great extent the local Catholic body,
as its success was regarded as a certainty. One interesting
petition was forwarded to the King by all the Liverpool
Catholics who had been educated at Stonyhurst, appealing for
the omission of the penal clauses against the Jesuits, and
eulogising their former teachers " as useful, virtuous and
" meritorious men."

Political agitation having died down with the passing of
the Catholic Disabilities Act, the leaders of the Church gave
increased attention to the spiritual needs of their growing
flocks. School accommodation was their greatest need. Bishop
Penswick summoned a meeting on the 20th May, 1830, to
discuss the problem and find a solution. Father Walker in
the course of his speech stated that nine thousand children
were either not attending school or being educated in the
Corporation and Hibernian schools, and that only eight
hundred places had been provided in Catholic schools. In
face of the fact that in the previous year 1890 Catholic children
had been baptised in the five Catholic Chapels, this small
number of places in Catholic Schools was ridiculously inade
quate and justified Father Walker's strictures. It was
resolved to make a commencement by erecting new schools for
St. Nicholas' parish, and a lay committee was formed to carry
out the project. Several Irishmen of standing served on this
committee, Messrs. Kelly, Kearney and Lynch, but the larger

45

number comprised local names such as Chaloner, Whitnall,
Duckworth, Sharpies, Marsh, Rockliffe, Dugdale, Holgrave,
Hall, Leigh, Haskayne, Koskell and Day. If Father Walker's
estimate of the Catholic population was accurate there were
between fifty and sixty thousand Catholics in the town in
1830, out of a total population of about 205,000. The local
census taken in the following year gave 205,572 residents.

In the same year the committee of the Hibernian Schools,
in an appeal for funds made an interesting announcement that
" persons are paid to conduct the children to their respective
" Churches on Sundays," a fine illustration of the high-
mindedness of the managers, and in its way explains one of
the many reasons why the Catholic population of Liverpool
whether of Irish or English nationality allied themselves
politically with the Liberal party.

Across the river in Wallasey " the humble Catholics
" living in that neighbourhood " made the first attempt to
found a permanent Church, St. Alban's, Liscard, being the
final result. For years a priest from a Liverpool Chapel,
probably St. Anthony's, crossed the river to celebrate Mass
in the upper room of a small hotel, near the present site of the
Wallasey Council Offices, and the congregation had to fill
their pockets with stones before setting out from their homes,
it being almost certain that the local Orangemen would assail
them either going or coming.

The next step taken in Liverpool was to provide a larger
Church at the North end to replace the French Chapel, the
venerable " stranger " Father Gerardot, having gone to his
eternal reward. It was decided to imitate the example set at
St. Patrick's with such success, by forming a lay committee
called the Society of St. Anthony. By the end of October,
1832, the Society had collected the sum of £2,000, and on St.
Patrick's day of that year, on a site a few hundred yards north
of the Dryden Street Chapel, the foundation stone was laid
and blessed by the Rev. Father Wilcock. A huge procession
marched from the south and centre of the town to Scotland
Road, and after witnessing the simple ceremony, reformed and
marched up to South Chester Street to witness the laying of
the foundation stone of the new schools of St. Patrick. Truly
the feast of Ireland's Apostle ought to arouse sweet and
pleasant memories for Liverpool Catholics.

The committee which undertook the task of erecting St.
Arthony's Chapel had a serious task in hand. The members
were : President, Father Wilcock, Vice-President, Mr.
Christopher Dugdale, Treasurer, Mr. John Kaye, Solicitor,
Mr. Allan Kaye, Committeemen ; Messrs. Anthony Myres,

46

Henry Croft, Edward Blanchard, George Beealey,
Richard Beesley, W. Every, G. Fendler, Richard
Gillow and Joseph Pyke, and Mr. R. Chapman
acted as Secretary. It is notable that not one
Irish name figures on this committee, and from a paragraph
in the ninth report we may understand how the money was
raised : "the only funds for carrying this vast enterprise into
"effect were the voluntary donations of a few wealthier
" Catholics, and the weekly penny subscriptions of the
" labouring class." Out of the donation list of £563 5s. 10d.,
Irish names are credited with £87 Is. Od., including £20 from
Mr. Richard Sheil and two amounts of £10 each from Messrs.
O'Donnell and Patrick Leonard. At the very outset the
Committee was hindered from carrying out its work by a
tedious law suit about the site, which does not appear to have
ended favourably, with the result that in the interval " the
" population in the district, chiefly by the continued influx
" of fresh comers, had increased to many thousands. For this
" multitude, the erections essential for the preservation and
" practice of religion, as well as for the education of crowds of
" destitute children, had to be provided." The work had to
be commenced at any cost, and right nobly it was carried
through. From the annual reports of St. Anthony's Society,
we may learn the lines upon which this and similar Societies
worked. They had absolute control over all receipts and
disbursements, the raising and paying off of loans, and dis
charging of builders' accounts. For instance, all the collections
on the Christmas Eves of 1839, 1840 and 1841, on the anniver
saries of the opening, Bishop Brown's consecration in 1840,
sermons, fees paid for graves and vaults and free seats account,
are all set out in detail on the credit side of the Treasurer's
account, and on the other side all payments to bricklayers,
masons, ironmongers, plasterers, are carefully recorded; so
carefully that£l 10s. Od. " To Newfoundland dog for Cemetery
Ground " appears among the many details.

There is always a reverse side to the medal. The joy of
the Irish at these splendid developments of Catholic work was
soon turned to sorrow at the dreadful outbreak of cholera
which carried off over fifteen hundred victims in twelve months.
This fearful pestilence had previously taken hold of Ireland
itself, with its usual concomitants. As if to fill the cup of
Irish grief and disappointment the Irish harvestmen who
crossed over to England annually to engage in agricultural
operations, failed to secure employment, owing as they alleged
to the decision of the English farmers not to engage any Irish
labour. No doubt there was a fringe of truth to the allegation,

47

as party feeling over the passing of the Emancipation Act had
not wholly disappeared, but the real cause was an economic
one. The wasteful, degrading and unchristian Poor Law was
about to be abolished; English labour was set free and
Guardians released from the cruel responsibility of finding
work for "unemployed" in their respective parishes, which
degraded labour and inflicted heavy burdens on the honest
poor who scorned to ask them for work. These were the causes
which induced the " English farmer " to endeavour to put a
check to Irish immigration, but the consequences to the
harvestmen were serious in the extreme. Crowds of them
proceeded to the Parish Offices in Fenwick Street, appealing
to be sent home at the public expense, and many of them
remained in the town, adding an unwelcome addition to the
permanent population of the City, and raising still further
problems for priests and statesmen. St. Anthony's was com
pleted in the year 1833, on the Feast of St. Michael the
Archangel. Bishop Pens wick had the happiness of singing
the first High Mass inside the walls of the new Church, and
Bishop Baines, who exercised jurisdiction over the Western
District of England, was the preacher on this auspicious
occasion. His fame as an orator attracted an immense con
gregation, a critic of his address remarking that it was of
" surpassing eloquence, which more than satisfied anticipation."
An old Liverpool resident once informed the writer that
the long line of carriages which stood in Scotland Road that
morning exceeded in numbers and elegance anything that he
witnessed thirty years later outside the fashionable Anglican
or Dissenting Churches. The sale of tickets and collection
on this occasion amounted to seven hundred pounds, a
remarkable tribute to the great generosity of the people and
the eloquence of the Bishop.

The land and buildings cost £10,000, and the necessities
of the parish may be gauged from the dreadful fact that it
contained six hundred children totally unprovided with any
kind of school accommodation. A bold stand for a share in the
municipal government of the town closed this eventful year.
It was fraught with serious consequences to the generations
which have come and gone since the visit of the Commissioners
to investigate local administration. The Catholic body placed
their case unreservedly in the hands of Mr. John Rosson,
barrister-at-law, the most brilliant Catholic public man who
has ever appeared in the Catholic History of Liverpool. For
a generation he was the life and soul of every Catholic move
ment, whether in founding churches or schools, planning
new organisations for the defence or advocacy of Catholic

48

interests, or directing his people in the stormy and
dangerous fields of political activity. His name shines out
brightly in every line of local history and it is the shame of
his co-religionists that no monument perpetuates the memory
of this fine Englishman. He was the first Liverpool Catholic
to give evidence before a Government Enquiry. Before the
Commissioners he boldly contended that the Emancipation
Act had been rendered null and void by the methods adopted
to elect members to the Town Council, and made out a
splendid case for municipal reform. His evidence taken on
oath is doubly interesting as he gives officially the first satis
factory statement as to the numbers of the Catholic population
within the four corners of the town. According to his evidence
the number of baptisms during the year 1832 were as follows :
At St. Mary's, 559; St. Peter's, 446; St. Nicholas, 616; St.
Anthony's, 359; St. Patrick's, 408; a total of 2,388 The
total number of baptisms in all the Churches and Chapels of
the town amounted to 8,504, so that Mr. Rosson argued that
out of a total population of 220,974, the Catholics numbered
not less than 59,500. Bearing in mind that there were in the
town a great number of young unmarried Irish labourers, in
a greater proportion than prevailed in the English residents
of other denominations, the numbers stated underestimated
the actual Catholic population. At the annual Easter Vestry
held in the parish church of St. Nicholas', Chapel Street, in
the course of a discussion on the mortality of the town, one of
the speakers said there were at least 70,000 Catholics in the
town. With Catholics and Dissenters excluded from the Town
Council, that body could not be said " to be the image of the
" people ; " an expressive phrase and typical of Mr. Rosson's
style.

A new Reform Bill was passed into law and on St.
Stephen's Day, 1835, the new elections were held and resulted
in a magnificent Liberal victory. The pent-up feelings of thirty
years were at last given full vent and the result was the anni
hilation of Toryism; only five Tories securing election. Three
Catholics were returned, the precursors of a long line of
Catholic and Irish public men who have not only zealously
worked for the parties to which they were attached but have
always set up a high standard of civic patriotism
worthy of the Church itself. Mr. J. Roskell was
elected for Lime Street Ward. He was one of the
pioneers of the Lancashire Watch and Clock Trade,
and his premises in Church Street were well known until late
in the nineteenth century.* He gave several hostages to the

* Lately occupied by a Catholic Councillor, Mr. Henry Miles.

49

Church, one of his sons becoming Bishop of Nottingham on the
restoration of the Hierarchy. By a curious technicality he
lost his seat at the end of the year 1836. Being a contractor
to the Select Vestry, he set the account owing to him against
the Poor Rates owing to them. The Revising Barrister upheld
the Tory objection that he had not paid his Poor Rate and
struck him off the roll of voters, thus depriving him of his
seat. Later on he was again elected a member of the Council.

Mr. Richard Sheil, of Chatham Street, was elected for
Scotland Ward, a man of whom we shall have occasion to
speak later and whose name is perpetuated in one of our public
parks. South Toxteth Ward returned Richard Sharpies, the
head of a family distinguished for invaluable services to the
Catholic body. The Liberals seized every Aldermanic seat
and set out in right good earnest to govern Liverpool in the
best interests of the entire community. Their tolerance
towards Catholics proved their undoing, and incidentally
their downfall by a curious coincidence, made for the greatest
developments of Catholic activity and progress.

It appears strange to associate Catholic advancement with
an Act of the Imperial Parliament. Certain it is Hiat the
Act which reformed municipal government in Liverpool was
the indirect cause of that extensive provision of school accom
modation which is the great glory of the Diocese of Liverpool,
coupled of course with the insensate bigotry of the Conserva
tive party of the day.

50

CHAPTER III.

One of the first acts of the new Town Council was to
accede to the request of Mr. Sharpies to allow the Catholic
Charity Ball to be held in the Town Hall, where it has been
held ever since with satisfactory financial results to Catholic
Charities, especially the original beneficiary, the Falkner
Street Orphanage.

In the year 1826 the Corporation had provided two schools,
one in Bevington Bush, known as the North Corporation, and
the other iri Park Lane, known as the South Corporation
school, in order that the children of the poor might receive
some degree of elementary education. It was a fine conception
for the Council to build schools fifty years before the Act of
1870, and shews how in many ways Liverpool public men were
ahead of their day and generation. The schools were,
however, captured by the Anglican clergy and became to all
intents and purposes Church of England Schools, in which
the Catechism and the formularies of that Church were
taught. They were, therefore, only used by one section of the
community, though maintained entirely at the public expense.
True to their principles, the victorious Liberals resolved to
open the doors to every child without doing violence to any
conscience. It was not an easy undertaking, and gave much
anxiety to the party leaders. Ho-v to create a scheme by
which poor Catholics and such Dissenters as were in the same
social scale could sit side by side at the school desk, was,
strangely enough, a difficult problem to solve. Ireland offered
an example and a solution. The Liberal leaders were
encouraged by the unanimity by which the Archbishop of
Dublin, the Presbyterian Synod of Ulster, and the head of the
Irish Episcopalian Church, had accepted a syllabus of reli
gious instruction for the new Irish schools. Without quite
appreciating the peculiar set of circumstances which created
this strange agreement, the Liberal party resolved to follow
the example set them and introduced the same system into the
Corporation Schools, with some modifications rendered neces
sary by local conditions. It was decided that school should begin
with a hymn and reading of certain portions of Holy Scripture
as recommended to Liverpool by the Irish Commissioners of
Education, with facilities for the Clergy of all denominations
to teach their particular tenets at stated hours. One hour after
school work had ceased was to be devoted to pure Biblical

51

instruction for all children whose parents permitted them to
remain, or did not offer objection. Marvellous to relate these
proposals were accepted by the Catholic priests and the
ministers of the Dissenting bodies, but were most emphatically
repudiated by the clergy of the Established Church who
oould not conceal their chagrin at being deprived of complete
control over the schools. They fomented the bitterest agita
tion which ever disturbed a town notorious for occasional
outbursts of party feeling, and stimulated religious hatred by
the grossest misrepresentations. Bands of Orangemen way
laid Protestant children returning from the schools and
threatened them with chastisement if they returned ; placards of
an inflammatory character denouncing the schools were posted
on the hoardings, and a series of public meetings organised
where all the speakers, mostly clerics, preached from the one
text, " the Unitarians have excluded the Bible." For some
time this body came in for the full force of Anglican denun
ciation, but the astute leaders of the Conservative party who
realised that this cry would not avail to win back their former
domination of the Council, changed the attack to the Roman
Catholics and under the skilful guidance and eloquent tongue
of the Reverend Hugh McNeill, the flag of " No Popery " was
nailed to the masthead, and waved from thenceforward for
over a quarter of a century. The one offending cause was that
as Biblical instruction was to be given, the Douai version was
allowed to be read to the Catholic children and the English
version to the Protestant. " The Bible has been expelled/'
was the false cry repeated a thousand times not only on the
platforms indoor and outdoor, but the falsehood was thundered
forth in the Churches by firebrands whose memory must bear
the grave responsibility of setting class against class and
arousing the demon of racial and religious bigotry. The
Council debated nothing but " Education " at almost every
meeting for four or five years. The five Tory members turned
themselves into amateur theologians and seriously debated
inside the Town Hall whether the text " The seed of the woman
shall crush the serpent's head," did not imply veneration of
the Blessed Virgin, whether the translators of the Bible into
the vernacular had not made a mistake in the gender of a
certain noun, and other amusing excursions into grammar and
the higher criticism as laid down by Irish Orange theologians.
The campaign of calumny was carried to such extremes
that Mr. William Rathbone was compelled to tell a Tory
colleague that he was guilty of falsehood. In the same debate
he went the length of declaring that Mr. McNeill had been
guilty of a " most- wicked violation of the duties which one

52

" Christian owed to another. ' For a Rathbone, and such an
one, to reproach opponents in such terms, is strong evidence
of how unscrupulously his party was assailed for refusing to
allow two public schools to become the sole property of one
section of the inhabitants. That he and his party were not
afraid of the logical consequences of their principles was
splendidly illustrated in the debate over the renewal of the
lease for the Seel Street Schools site. The Finance Committee
recommended the renewal on the terms agreed upon in 1788,
but this course was rejected by the Council on the grounds
that the site was much too valuable to be sold on lease at such
a small price. In the resolution which determined the lease,
it was also expressly laid down that no grant should be made
to any school not under the absolute control and management
of the Council. The division list shews that the Catholic
members voted in the majority. The latter decision was
regarded by the Orange Conservatives as aimed at them, and
they again renewed their attack upon the Liberals for their
school policy. In the monthly intervals between noisy, ill-
tempered debates, carried on with remarkable pertinacity by
the five Conservative members, the Orange tail held a series
of meetings which the Churchmen proper supported in a
weakly spirit, which they lived to regret, while sectarian
animosities were further inflamed by the audacious speeches
of alleged ex-priests of Irish birth against their Catholic
fellow-countrymen. These gentlemen attracted large audiences
under the skilful leadership of McNeill, backed up by the
united influence of three Conservative journals which opened
their columns to every slander and calumny against the
Catholic priesthood which perverted ingenuity could suggest.
The Conservative leaders rejoiced at the change which these
influences were making in the minds of the citizens, and looked
forward with confidence to a speedy return to power. The
" Liverpool Mercury " stands out in strong relief by its valiant
struggle against this unworthy policy, and maintained a high
standard worthy of the noblest traditions of the Press in its
comments on municipal administration. A relentless war
was waged by the Tory journals against the " Mercury," but
failed utterly to make any change in the dignified writings of
its editor and staff. The Irish population found it much more
difficult to restrain their indignation, and but for the priests
serious disturbances would have ensued. The cruel allegations
against them compelled the formation of a Defence Associa
tion, inaugurated at a meeting of twelve hundred men in St.
Peter's Schools in July, 1837, followed by similar gatherings
in St. Nicholas'. The famous Irish Catholic controversialist,

53

Father Maguire, came over from Ireland, and turned the
tables on the " ex-priests " by his exposures, while the
brilliancy of his platform style, rapier-like thrusts, keen sense
of humour, and withering sarcasm, irritated McNeill and gave
great delight to the multitude of Catholics who crowded to
hear his addresses. McNeill finally set the town ablaze by his
famous story of the Fisher Street Martyrdom, recounted from
the pulpit of St. Jude's. He announced that a Catholic mob,
armed with sticke, stones and one scythe marched to Fisher
Street, a narrow street in St. Patrick's parish, and made a
murderous onslaught on a Protestant labourer whose wife was
a Catholic. They then, he alleged, smashed in the doors and
windows, and completely wrecked the house of this defenceless
Protestant. There was such an air of truth about this story,
that the leading Liberals were deeply pained, and so intense
was the feeling aroused that the Catholic body was compelled
to institute a searching enquiry They did so, and the
evidence of the Protestant inhabitants of Fisher Street, who
came forward, testified that the " martyr " had himself been
the aggressor. He had severely beaten a sick man in the
neighbourhood, and was soundly thrashed in turn, as he
deserved, by a " mob ;' of irate women professing both creeds,
who had witnessed his brutality. Never was a slander so
completely refuted, but Dr McNeill refused to apologise or
explain. His sole aim was to divide the Catholic and Liberal
parties ; that it had failed was not his fault. To some extent
his work had been a success, as at the election of 1836 Coun
cillor Sheil was ejected by ten votes from the representation
of Scotland Ward, and several Liberals fell with him. Mr.
Sheil was elected an alderman a little later, the first Catholic
to hold that position in England or Wales. The elections of
1837 were more disastrous for the Liberals, and encouraged by
these victories the Tory party went on with greater zest and
enthusiasm to the attack on the education policy of the still
dominant Liberals, who manfully refused to move one step
from the lines laid down in 1836. The platform controversies
in Ireland between Father Maguire and the celebrated
Protestant champion, Rev. Thresham Gregg, were well
reported in the Tory newspapers, and commented on editorially
to keep up Orange enthusiasm. McNeill always refused to
meet Father Maguire, in spite of numerous taunts and repeated
challenges, and some militant spirits in the Catholic body
sent fifty pounds to their accepted champion as a token of their
appreciation. The level-headed Catholics, priests and laymen
alike, who realised that no good could result from his further
appearances in the heated atmosphere of Liverpool, and

54

feeling that local Catholic interests were being prejudiced
rather than pushed forward by unseemly controversy,
resolved to put an end to it. Announced on one Sunday
to preach at St. Peter's, a great crowd assembled; not so
Father Tom Maguire ; " local differences " being assigned by
him as the reason. To demonstrate the foolishness of the
assertion that the Catholics withheld the Scriptures from the
children in their own schools, while permitting them to be
read to them in the Corporation schools, it was publicly an
nounced in the newspapers that the girls attending St.
Patrick's Schools would be publicly examined in the Church
on the 15th May, 1838. The children marched through the
main streets of the town, and in the presence of a very large
and mixed congregation were examined as to their knowledge
of the Bible by one of the clergy. This curious demonstration
created a sensation in the town, and was so successful in
creating a better feeling towards Catholics that it was repeated
annually for many years.

Many distinguished ecclesiastics visited the town during
the thirties, and thus served the double purpose of promoting
great enthusiasm for works of charity and cementing the bonds
of amity between the English and Irish Catholics,

In March, 1835, Dr. Folding, O.S.B., Bishop of Van
Diemen's Land and Australia, visited the town and preached
on a Sunday afternoon at St. Mary's, Woolton, in which
district there were only three hundred Catholics. It was
noted in the press as a significant proof of Catholic interest
in the work of spreading the faith, that he collected twenty-
eight pounds for his new mission, the distant diocese over
which he had been appointed Bishop. A few days later he
sailed from the Mersey accompanied by thirteen priests and
novices amid the hearty farewell cries of a large crowd. The
following year the " Lion of the Fold of Judah," the renowned
John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam, paid a visit to Liverpool,
and preached at St. Patrick's. His arrival was signalised by
great rejoicing on the part of the Irish population, and the
sum of two hundred pounds was placed in the offertory bags
at the morning service towards reducing the debt on the
Church. The * Liberator', O'Connell, at the special invitation
of the Liberal party, made a short stay in the town on his
way to Parliament, and addressed a large meeting in the
Amphitheatre, on the political questions of the day. His
chairman and host was Mr. William Rathbone, who
courageously brought him on 'Change next day, accompanied
by Mr. John Brancker, Mr. Egerton Smith, of the " Mercury,"

55

and Mr. James Muspratt*. The " Mail " always alluded to
the last-named gentleman as being a Catholic in order to
prejudice his success at local municipal fights, though its
editor knew full well that he was not one. He was the father of
Mr. E. K. Muspratt f and grandfather of Mr. Max Muspratt,!
both prominent members in turn of the Liverpool City
Council and actively identified with the work of higher
education, notably the Liverpool University. This visit of
O'Cbnnell was long remembered in the town, though inci
dentally it prejudiced the public position of his host.

The Catholic body sustained a severe loss in the opening
month of the year 1836, by the death of the Right Rev. Dr.
Thomas Penswick, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District.
Twenty-one years had elapsed since his appointment to St.
Nicholas', and as we have seen, he took a leading part in the
building of new churches and schools before his appointment to
the important position of coadjutor to Bishop Smith, in 1824,
whom he succeeded in July, 1831.

On the walls of the Pro-Cathedral a tablet preserves his
memory in these words : — "First incumbent of this chapel,
" Bishop of Europum and Vicar Apostolic, died 28th January,
" 1836 : 64th year of his age and twelfth of his episcopate.
" This cenotaph is erected as a tribute of gratitude for his
" services and a monument of respect for his virtues/' His
remains were interred at Windleshaw Abbey, as is attested
in an entry of the register of deaths, preserved in the Pro-
Cathedral archives. Dr. Briggs succeeded him as Vicar
Apostolic.

In 1838 Mr. William Blundell was appointed High Sheriff
of Lancashire, the first Catholic who held that distinguished
position, and celebrated his appointment by attending High
Mass at St. Nicholas, in state, accompanied by trumpeters and
javelin men. The following year another Catholic held the
office — Mr. Charles Scarisbrick, both selections having the
effect of helping the undoing of the Liberal majority in the
Council.

Catholic progress was being well maintained; the muni
ficence of Mr. Bartholomew Bretherton securing a new chapel
at Rainhill, the first stone of which was laid in April, 1838,
by Mrs. Gerard, and on the 27th June the Vicar Apostolic,
Bishop Briggs, opened the church of St. Austin's, Aigburth
Road, " within a mile from the toll bar." This mission was
founded by the Benedictines, the land being generously offered
* Who served in the Peninsular War as a sailor,
f Pro-Chancellor of the Liverpool University.
J Elected M.P. for Exchange Division, January, 1910.

56

as a gift by Mr. Peter Chaloner, of Aigburth. The sermon
was preached by the Very Reverend Dr. Brown, O.S.B.,
President of Downside, then the foremost Catholic contro
versialist in England. Some opposition was offered to the
erection of this church by the Vicar Apostolic, who eventually
consented to its erection on condition that no funds were
collected in Liverpool proper, and that a sufficient sum of
money was set aside to guarantee an annual income to the
priest in charge of £90 per annum. The altar of the church
was brought from a suppressed Franciscan convent in Lisbon,
to which it had originally been presented by Cardinal Sousa.
During this same year the magnificent picture of the
Crucifixion, by Keyser, of Antwerp, was hung over the High
Altar of St. Patrick's. It had been exhibited in Liverpool
some years earlier, and universally admired by the art loving
public of the day. A general desire was expressed, now
realised, to retain it within the town. No other church in the
neighbourhood possesses such a fine painting, which forms an
admirable background for the lofty chancel of St. Patrick's.

The Coronation of Queen Victoria was fixed for the 28th
June, 1838. Being the vigil of the feast of Saints Peter and
Paul, it was a fast day, and to enable the Catholics to take
part in the celebrations, orders came from Rome transferring
the fast to the 26th of June. In Liverpool the event
was celebrated in a special manner by the laying of the
foundation stone of St. George's Hall, by the mayor, Mr.
William Rathbone. The local Catholics of both nationalities
were well represented in the Mayoral Procession from the
Town Hall to Lime Street, the whole of the clergy being in
attendance, and seven Hibernian Societies with their banners
flying presented one of the interesting features of the
procession.

The Catholic Magazine for November, 1838, stated that
the number of baptisms in the five chapels during the previous
year amounted to 2,917, or an increase of 429 on the numbers
given by Mr. John Rosson for the year 1832. The editor
proceeded to argue that this figure proved a Catholic popula
tion of 87,500, and added the somewhat amazing statement
that, owing to mixed marriages the actual number of Catholics
was only 70,000. Such a conclusion was not quite logical if
based solely on the number of baptisms in Catholic chapels,
though it is certainly startling to find the evils of mixed
marriages pointed out so emphatically at such an early date.
In later years these ill-assorted unions became one of the great
sources of leakage, and it is difficult to hazard even a specula
tion as to their cause in the thirties. They certainly did not

57

take place among the Irish population, owing to the intensity
of the racial problem. The atmosphere was charged with
hatred and passion against both Rome and Ireland, and it
may be that these mixed marriages occurred amongst the
native English population, as the gradual disappearance of
so many Catholic families cannot be explained to any degree
of satisfaction save on this hypothesis. They were both
numerous and comparatively wealthy, and did yeoman service
for the Church which the poverty-stricken Irish were not so
well able to do, however willing. Some further light is
thrown on this confused problem by the fact that out of
2,893 marriages celebrated that year in the Parish of Liver
pool, only 297 were performed in Catholic Churches. These
figures did not include St. Patrick's, which is situate in the
Parish of Toxteth, the figures not being available for this
parochial district, but they are sumcent for the purpose of
shewing that the writer in the Catholic Magazine had good
grounds for his assertion. The Catholic Directory for 1840,
on the other hand, gives the population as approximately
80,000. At the meeting of the Town Council on the 9th of
November, 1838, Mr. Rathbone, in answer to an inquiry, gave
the numbers of Catholic children attending the two Cor
poration Schools as follows: — Out of a roll of 1,013 in
Bevington Bush School, 650 were Catholics; and in Park
Lane, 363 out of a total of 748 ; illustrating the great need
of purely Catholic schools.

The publication in the Press of the following demand
note created much amusement, and incidentally helped
forward the cause of religious equality : —

Sefton, Dec. 31, 1838.

" The Rev. Mr. Abram, to the Rector of Sefton, Dr.,
"For small tithes, viz.: — Smoke, one penny; garden, one
halfpenny."

To impose a tax on the smoke issuing from the priest's
chimneys for the support of the Protestant rector of Sefton,
was scarcely calculated to promote good feeling, and could not
be regarded as an incentive to the development of the
Lancashire coal fields.

The years 1839 and 1840 did not pass away without further
evidences of Catholic activity. Bishop Briggs, in a pastoral
letter relating the progress made in his huge diocese, mentions
the receipt of a special sum of £1,026 for the foundation of
new missions in Lancashire. Dr. Youens, the new rector of
St. Nicholas', assisted by Messrs. Rosson, Chaloner and
Yates, put new life into the branch of the Catholic Institute
at St. Nicholas. It was a development of the former Tract

58

and Book Society, and its work ran on similar lines, with the
addition of undertaking the distribution of suitable Catholic
books to soldiers and sailors and inmates of hospitals and work
houses, which were then essentially Protestant in character,
and certainly in management; and most likely sources of
proselytism for the younger inmates. In its first year St.
Nicholas' branch had four hundred and forty-eight members,
each paying a minimum subscription of six shillings per
annum, and had distributed seven thousand pamphlets to the
persons described above. The indefatigable John Rosson, in
1839, launched the first Catholic Registration Society. He
foresaw the great political advantages to Catholics of the
power of the vote, and being essentially a practical man he
knew exactly the steps to be taken towards this end. The
inaugural meeting was held in St. Patrick's Schoolroom, in
July, where he laid down the lines upon which the new
organisation should run. Arrangements were made for
systematic house-to-house canvassing, and what was more
original, he proposed a scheme of contributions out of which
advances would be made for the payments of rates, to be
returned except in cases of grave necessity. The payment of
the poor rate by a certain date is indispensable for securing
the franchise even now. One speaker at this memorable
meeting said the Catholic population numbered one hundred
thousand, but Mr. Rosson, who had no love for exaggerated
statements, answered him that that was an excessive number,
adding that 72,000 was nearer the mark. This confirms the
figure given in the Catholic Magazine. Mr. Roseon gave the
number of Catholic voters as about one thousand, apparently
a small number, but it must be remembered that the franchise
was very restricted, and the great bulk of Irish Catholics in any
event lived in tenement houses. It was evident, however, that
more Catholics than one thousand were entitled to be placed
on the lists, and a vigorous effort was made to increase the
number. Branches were established at the various missions,
notably St. Nicholas' and St. Anthony's, and a series of
stirring meetings were held to arouse the Catholic body to the
importance of the franchise in view of the serious issues soon
to be decided in the Council Chamber. The Tory papers
sounded a note of wild alarm at this totally unexpected de
velopment. To see the beginning of active political
interference on the part of Catholics so long accustomed to
the lurking-holes and hiding-places, alarmed the noisy
adherents of Dr. McNeill and that section of the Press which
voiced their sentiments. The movement must, therefore, be
misrepresented and its leaders libelled; and so they were.

59

A very successful bazaar had been held in the Adelphi Hotel
in aid of the funds of the Catholic Benevolent Society, eleven
hundred pounds being handed over to the treasurer as the
result. The " Mail "declared that the object of the bazaar
was a pretence, and that the money raised was to be spent in
paying the poor rates for needy Catholics so that they might
be placed on the lists of voters. It accused the Liberal leaders
of supporting the bazaar because of its ulterior object.
Neither statement was true, but served the purpose of further
stimulating Orange and Conservative hostility, more especially
against Mr. Rosson, who was, in common with every Catholic
leader of that time, a staunch upholder of Liberal principles.
The " Mail " finally described the Registration Association
as " really a satanic attempt to prevent the Conservative party
" having a majority at the ensuing November elections."
When the Revision Court met the presiding genius decided
that payment of rates out of a loan to be repaid was not a
legal payment, a decision which provoked well-merited
derision. The war over the Council schools broke out afresh.
Petitions signed by Conservative citizens were sent into the
Council protesting against the scheme for erecting new schools
in other parts of the town, an excellent illustration of Orange
love of education. The real ground of their objection was
that the thousands of Catholic children running about the
streets would have the right of entry, and the petitioners
preferred that the much larger number of their own co
religionists should have no education rather than this should
be the result. To provoke debate, motions were submitted by
the Tory leaders that only the authorised revision of the Bible
should be read to the Catholic children, which were rejected
by the Liberal majority. Mr. Rathbone was accused of
having violated the traditions of the mayoralty by receiving
O'Connell publicly while mayor of the town. This accusation
was groundless, as the hospitality offered to the Irish leader
had been given long before Mr. Rathbone's election to the chief
magistracy of his native city, and his calumniators knew well
that this was the fact. When the violence of this movement
had well-nigh exhausted itself, Dr. McNeill and his " Irish
"Brigade " flung themselves vehemently into the struggle and
turned the town into a veritable pandemonium. The Tories of
Scotland Ward called upon their friends " to renew their exer-
" tions at the Parliamentary and municipal elections against
" that demon, O'Connell," but their candidate, Mr. Thomas
Murray Gladstone, was defeated by one vote. Mr. Rathbone
lost his seat in Pitt Street Ward by one vote, and was again
defeated three weeks later in North Toxteth by the narrow

60

margin of three. The Liberal Chairman of the Education
Committee of the Council suffered defeat also, and but for the
aldermen the Tories would at last have secured a majority in
the Council Chamber. The schools attracted much attention
by reason of this tremendous politico-religious contest, and
brought many distinguished persons to visit them, including
the Bishop of Norwich, Mr. Charles E. Trevelyan, and Lord
Russell. Only one Protestant clergyman, Rev. Mr. Aspinall,*
incumbent of St. Michael's, Upper Pitt Street, gave his
support to the schools. Mr. Trevelyan drew up an interesting
report in which he wrote : " the Roman Catholic clergy at the
" North End are most exemplary in their attendance, while
" at the South End they leave the work entirely in the hands
" of Protestant teachers." A most remarkable and striking
fact!

Undaunted by the raging tide of bigotry, the Catholic
leaders carried the war into the enemy's camp by organising
meetings against the levying of the Church Rate, the continued
Criminal Jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts, and de
manding that grants to the Established Church should cease.
The Liberals joined warmly in this movement, Father Parker,
of St. Patrick's, being one of the prominent speakers. They
also influenced the mayor to summon a town's meeting to
petition Parliament to abolish the corrupt and unreformed
Irish corporations, which passed off quietly and successfully ;
Messrs. Rosso n and Sheil being the Catholic speakers. In
1840 the Ear^ of Sefton presented a piece of land for the
erection of a Catholic school at Gillmoes, together with a hand
some subscription for the building, and on the 31st March the
first stone was laid. July brought the meeting in (he Seel
Street Schools, which inaugurated the movement to which
Catholics owe the beautiful church of St. Mary's, Edmund
Street, a church of very tender memories for Liverpool
Catholics. The venerated rector, Father Fisherf
who served St. Mary's for forty years, speaking at
the gathering, said : " the present chapel has not adequate
" accommodation for the vast multitudes who come every
"Sunday. Many were obliged to remain exposed to all the
" inclemency of the weather, without anything to cheer them
"but the warm piety of their Irish hearts." It was a fine
tribute to this worthy son of St. Benedict, " the esteemed and
" venerated head of the Catholic body " as he was termed,

* Father of Mr. J. B. Aspinall and Mr. Clarke Aspinall, afterwards
Recorder and Coroner respectively.

t Uncle of Monsignor Fisher, Vicar-General to Bishop O'Reilly.

61

that all the priests and leading laymen of the town were
present to give a hearty send-off to the newly-formed society
of St. Mary's, which undertook the work of collecting funds.

On New Year's Day, 1840, Catholic Liverpool took steps
to repay the debt it owed to the Society of Jesus for the work
performed in the previous century. The promise of Mr.
Leigh and his associates on the surrender of Father Price's
chapel had apparently bean forgotten, and the foundation of
St. Francis Xavier's Society on the date named was not due
to their initiative. The first meeting was held in the "Rose
" and Crown tavern, Cheapside, owned by a Mr. Kirby, and
for two years the committee met there regularly. Later on
they met at the " Gas and Light," Dale Street; the
"Brunswick Rooms," Hunter Street; "Chapel House,"
Salisbury Street, the final meeting being held on November
16, 1845, in " The Cabbage," Richmond Row, Father Joseph
Johnson, S.J., in the chair. The social habits of Liver
pudlians of the forties is well illustrated by this quaint list of
taverns in which the meetings of a church building committee
were held. Each of the members paid one shilling entrance
fee, and the town was mapped out in districts over which a
collector was appointed to gathor in the small weekly sub
scription. These energetic men lived in all parts of the town,
no less than fourteen residing in Ford Street, Gildart's
Gardens, Banastre, Milton and other streets still standing in
Vauxhall Ward. The great bulk have Irish surnames, but
the committee proper bore such well-known names as Rosson,
Chaloner, Jump, Holme, Lightbound, S. Holland Moreton,
Rockliff, Sharpies, Bullen, Brown, Hore, Yates, Knight,
Folding, Gallon, O'Neill, O'Donnell, Cafferata, Towneley,
Firmey, Whitty, Walton, Verdon, Aspmall, Bretherton,
and Roskell. A public meeting was organised by Mr. John
Rosson, and held in St. Peter's Schools, Seel Street, which was
attended by the great bulk of the clergy, many of whom were
sympathetic, others being somewhat anxious as to the
possibility of the proposed new church interfering with
existing missions. The result was highly satisfactory, Mr.
Rosson's warm eulogium on the work done by the Jesuits in
Paraguay, China, Japan and in Lancashire, arousing much
enthusiasm. The collectors, during the six years which
elapsed from 1840 to 1845, with the subscriptions of the com
mittee, brought in the large sum of £7,535 ; a substantial sum
for the Catholic community of the day. One of the collectors,
a ship's carpenter, named Henry Starkey, became one of the
first lay brothers to serve the infant community on their
opening a house in Salisbury Street.

62

In the first address to the Provincial it is stated that they
were busy obtaining signatures to a petition to the Vicar
Apostolic to grant permission for the erection of the church,
followed by the pleasant announcement : " We have secured
" a piece of land, three thousand square yards, in a respectable
" part of the town, midway between St. Nicholas' and St.
" Anthony's, where a church would be very desirable. It is
" our intention to make over the land and the church entirely
" to your disposal, as you may direct." It was feared by
many that a church in this district would interfere with St.
Nicholas' and St. Anthony's, and the committee were urged to
build the church near the docks. To this the committee replied
that to take such a step would involve the payment of a
" ruinous price " for the site, an unconscious lesson in elemen
tary political economy which, if pursued to its ultimate and
logical issue, would have taught the committee the one and only
solution of the problem of poverty. To have gone to the dock-
side would have brought the church into the domain of either
St. Peter's or St. Mary's, and the results which have followed
show the keen foresight of the committee and the Jesuits.
Salisbury Street was then on the fringe of the town, and the
Anglican authorities displayed much wisdom and saved the
next two generations much worry and expense by building the
churches of St. Augustine's and St. Jude's in an area obviously
destined to be the centre of a densely crowded population.
Eventually the> Bishop gave his consent, but from the columns
of the " Tablet " of that year one gleans some idea of the
opposition offered by some of the clergy. A week after this
decision, Father Parker, of St. Patrick's, wrote to the editor of
the " Tablet " contradicting the announcement, and in quite
official language informs him that the Bishop " absolutely
" refuses his consent to building that or any other Catholic
" church on the site proposed." The editor promptly turned
the tables on Father Parker by the statement that the inference
from his letter was inaccurate; the consent of the Bishop had
been obtained to the re-entry of the Jesuits, and that the only
point not quite settled was the site. Father Parker was
opposed to this course and the " absolute refusal " was repu
diated by the more accurate absolute consent. His unnecessary
interference in the matter so far as rushing into print was
concerned, aroused some feeling, as did his later equally
unfortunate excursion into the thorny arena of Irish politics.
Meanwhile the Jesuits laid the foundations of their well-
known College of St. Francis Xavier, by opening a " Prepara
tory Classical and Commercial Day School " in 36. Soho Street,
on October 27th, 1842. The first masters were Fathers Francis

63

Lythgce and Charles Havers. In November, 1843, the school
was transferred to St. Anne Street. The venture did not
promise to be successful as the total number of day scholars in
March, 1843, was only eleven, with three attending the night
school.* Two years later the school was transferred to Salis
bury Street, where it was destined to achieve great success and
to win for the Catholics of Liverpool the reputation of being
in the very forefront in providing facilities for higher
education. Extension after extension was provided to meet
the growing requirements, and at the time of writingf further
new buildings are being added to the first Catholic Secondary
School founded in Liverpool.

The centre of the town was now congested to a degree
beyond the limits of safety to health, and the " invasion " of
the Irish harvesters in 1840 accentuated this serious menace.
In August, the largest number of harvestmen within then
living memory arrived in the Mersey en route for the agricul
tural districts. One vessel carried a cargo of eight hundred
such passengers. They tramped through Lancashire and
Yorkshire, and as far south as Nottingham and Leicester, but
owing to their numbers and the state of the crops, the majority
failed to find any employment. Their condition was
desperate ; they tramped the long journey back to Liverpool,
sick at heart, and weary of the awful disappointment, which
meant starvation to themselves and most likely eviction of their
families, as their earnings abroad paid the rent at home. " We
" have seen scores of these poor fellows," wrote a Protestant
witness, " with blistered feet, scarcely able to crawl, wandering
" through our Liverpool streets, begging for bread and trying
" to raise the means of getting back home." The nett result
was a large permanent addition to the Catholic population,
which threw further burdens on the ecclesiastical authorities,
while settling down amidst their kindly kinsfolk in the crowded
streets, alleys, and courts, they helped unconsciously, and
certainly unwillingly, to create a set of conditions which even
now, close on seventy years later, are a reproach to local
administration. Fever broke out, and while tending his poor
flock Father Glover, O.S.B., caught the disease and died a
martyr of charity. On the 16th August, 1840, a meeting was
held in the Seel Street Schools to perpetuate the memory of
the heroic priest. Mr. John Rosson, who presided, made a
remarkable statement as to the ravages of disease among the
clergy during his lifetime. " It was in the dark cellar of want,
" at the bed of sorrow and in the wards of disease that the

* Xaverian, 1896.
t 1908.

64

" Catholic priest finds a premature grave. Fathers Edward
" Glover (brother of Father Vincent), Fairclough, Pennington,
" Tarleton, Spencer, Watkinson, Pratt, and White, all of these
" in my recollection had rendered up their lives as sacrifices to
" the holy cause of imparting spiritual consolation to the dying
" Christian in places which had become pestilential by the
"dreadful visitation of cholera and typhus/' Mr. Kosson
then referred to a recent pastoral of Bishop Briggs, which
enumerated no lees than twenty-five of his priests " from youth
" to middle-age " who had passed away in eighteen months
owing to diseases contracted in the performance of their sacred
duties. The tablet which was placed in St. Peter's as the out
come of this meeting bears the following inscription : "In
"respectful and affectionate memory of the Rev. Vincent
" Glover, O.S.B., who for twenty-two years was the faithful
" pastor of this congregation. Delicate in constitution, worn
" out in the public service, he died August 6th, 1840, aged 49.
"R.I. P." Contrast this loving token with the abominable
attack on the priesthood from the official organ of Liverpool
Protestantism. Speaking of the Irish population, the leader
writer of the " Mail " says : " A race of men of a kindly nature
" are the victims of priestly deluders, sanctified robbers, con-
" fessional seducers, political mendicants, the blackest
" scoundrels of the human species. They extort pennies from
" dying wretches and farthings from miserable children, and
" actually tax the felon's remains and the murderers at the
" foot of the gallows." It is not to be wondered at that Irish
men in Liverpool were proverbially the enthusiastic supporters
of the Liberal party in face of such writings as the above,
written in the interests of political propagandists on the other
side. The immediate cause of this shocking exhibition of bad
taste was the work done at St. Nicholas' and other parishes in
connection with the Catholic Institute of Great Britain, to
which reference has already been made. At the annual
meeting held in London in May, 1840, an address was read
from Liverpool, signed by the Rev. Dr. Youens, rector of St.
Nicholas'. It stated that the town was divided into five
districts for purposes of organisation, each meeting once a
month and having its own president and secretary. A general
meeting of all five committees was held every quarter, at which
progress was reported and points presenting any difficulty
discussed. The reverend doctor on behalf of Liverpool
appealed to the head office to adopt a forward policy " more
" becoming so powerful a body " as the Catholics then were.
At this gathering several of the leading laymen referred to
Liverpool as the one spot in England to which they were most

65

indebted, and by resolution it was decided to refer the sugges
tion in Dr. Youen's address to a special committee for
consideration and report. One special victory which the
Institute obtained was securing for all Catholic inmates of
workhouses and hospitals immunity from the regulations
compelling inmates of public institutions to attend the services
of the Established Church.

The growth of the Catholics in England brought about
great changes in episcopal government. On the 13th May,
1840, the number of vicariates was increased from four to
eight ; Lancashire and Cheshire being placed under the juris
diction of Dr. Brown, who was consecrated in St. Anthony's
chapel on August the 24th. Bishop Briggs (now transferred
to Yorkshire), Bishop Griffiths, London, Bishop Murdoch,
coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of the western district of Scotland,
and Dr. Fleming, Bishop of Newfoundland, were present to do
honour to this auspicious development of Catholicism in the
North. One hundred priests from all parts of the new vicariate
were also present. On the following day all these prelates
assembled at Rainhill, to assist the new bishop in opening St.
Bartholomew's. Always anticipating future Catholic needs,
the Rev. Dr. Youens, of Copperas hill, and Mr. John Rosson,
founded early in 1841 the Asylum for the Blind, now in
Brunswick Road, one of the most worthy of the many schemes
of charity projected by the Catholics of Liverpool. Dr. Youens
had also the pleasure of unveiling the fine stained glass
windows in the Pro-Cathedral, designed by Pugin, the five
principal figures representing Our Lady, St. Nicholas, St.
Patrick, St. Cuthbert, and St. George, a work which deservedly
ranks as one of the finest pieces of decorative work emanating
from the brain of the inaugurator of the Gothic revival.

An unfortunate incident occurred in the month of
February which illustrated the delicate relations between the
English and Irish Catholics of the town, and the ease with
which the susceptibilities of the latter could be touched in a
tender spot. The developments of the political situation in
Ireland had gradually removed O'Connell from his great and
influential position as a purely Catholic leader. Catholic
Emancipation was one thing, Repeal of the Union another.
The glamour of O'Connell's personality had captured in any
case the support of the Irish in Lancashire, whilst many
Englishmen who were still under a deep debt of gratitude to
him for his great services to the Catholic cause, had their
doubts as to the wisdom of the new movement. Irishmen, on
the other hand, failed to recognise the right of an English
Catholic to his own views on important imperial political

questions, such as the restoration of the Irish Parliament.
Friction was inevitable, and unfortunately the parish priest
of St. Patrick's was the central figure if not the actual cause.
His strong personality refused to adapt itself to surrounding
conditions and as the result he became at once unpopular, if
not obnoxious, to his Irish congregation. A petition to
Parliament demanding the repeal of the Union was placed
outside the doors of St. Patrick's Church for signature on a
certain Sunday morning. Father Parker forbade the pro
moters to place the petition there on the ground that to act
otherwise would be an infringement of the trust deed, and,
secondly would cause dissension in his congregation. The more
ardent Irish spirits declined to accept his explanation and
attributed his action to pro-English prejudices. As a matter
of fact this was far from being the truth, and had Father
Parker not set up the groundless contention of violation of
the trust deed the difficulty might have been smoothed over.
He then committed the mistake of appealing to O'Conneli
himself, which only seemed to irritate the Repealers, and the
more so as O'Connell's letter severely censured the opponents
of the rector. It was a curious revelation of O'Connell's views
on the legitimacy of Anglo-Irish interference in the Repeal
movement, to find Father Parker reminding him that during
a previous visit to Liverpool they had both discussed the
advisability or otherwise of pushing forward the agitation in
Liverpool, and that O'Conneli had advised the inexpediency
of such a proposal, being of opinion that it would be illegal.
' Since that time," wrote Father Parker, " an association of
' Repealers has been started in a way calculated to do serious
' injury to the cause of civil and religious liberty." O'Connell's
reply is not without interest : " I am deeply shocked at hearing
' of the conduct of the Repealers in the vicinity of your
' chapel, and more disgusted than I can express at men using
' disrespectful language towards any of their respected clergy.
' The Repealers have no right to bring their petition into the
" vicinity of your chapel without your permission." O'Conneli
then goes on to say that the rule in Ireland, " never broken,"
was to ask permission from the parish priest, and concludes
a vigorously written letter by emphatically declaring that he
" will not accept any support from Liverpool Repealers if they
"shew any further disrespect to the clergy of the town."
Instead of following O'Connell's advice, a Liverpool Repealer,
also named O'Conneli, entered into a lengthy correspondence
with Father Parker, the net result being a widening of the
breach, and though the strain was relieved to some extent
later on, this painful display of want of confidence in each

67

other's integrity had the effect of severing the Irish and
English Catholics of the town from working harmoniously
except on rare occasions, and in later generations helped to
undo the fine work accomplished heretofore by united effort.
The differences were momentarily forgotten over the
memorable fight for the schools at the November election of
1841. Somewhat prematurely the Liberal party announced
that if returned to power they would build schools in every
district of the town to be conducted on the same lines as the
two schools already in existence. NcNeill and his Tory
followers paraded the streets with open *Bibles attached to
long poles, and strenuously appealed to the electors not to
allow the erection of any schools unless Catholics and
Dissenters would accept instruction from the authorised
version of the Scripture. " Converted priests " harangued
frenzied Protestant audiences, and were described by John
Rosson, quoting Edmund Burke, " as only qualified to read
the English language," and went on to say that as scholars
they were " despicable/' and as divines " grossly ignorant
" men/' These Orange zealots forgot in their blind fury that
the outcome of a Tory Protestant victory would be to force the
Catholics to build schools for themselves*, else they had never
undertaken the campaign which aroused the worst passions of
one section of the community and effectually destroyed for
many years peace and harmony among the diverse sections
which made up the Liverpool of the early forties.

Wild stories were put in circulation of tha " murder "
of seven Protestant clergymen in Ireland, which so inflamed
the Orange population of Toxteth that they smashed up an
anti-Corn Law meeting in Great George Place, confusing, in
their frenzy, economics with " Popery." They then marched
to St. Patrick's Chapel, and shattered the windows of both
schools and church. The wife of a policeman was saying her
prayers quietly in the church when the infuriated mob made
the attack, and, as the consequence, lost her life from fright,
an incident which increased animosity on both sides. The
Conservative party, emboldened by the strife, demanded that
no prayers should be recited in the Council schools save those
to be found in the Anglican liturgy, and that no teachers
should be appointed outside those who professed the
Protestant faith as defined by Dr. McNeill. A lady had been
appointed a teacher at the North Corporation School, on the
recommendation of the Protestant Bishop of Ferns. Coming
from Ireland, her orthodoxy was suspected and the Conser
vatives in the Council refused to ratify the decision of the
* Life of William Rathbone, by Miss Eleanor Rathbone.

68

Education Committee. The Liberals declared that they

declined to make religious belief a test, but had no objection

to informing their opponents that the lady in question

professed the Protestant faith. On this assurance, and for

" the maintenance of truth," the Conservatives withdrew their

opposition. They had, however, secured their object, the

" maintenance " of religious controversy, and had so well

succeeded that they fought the elections with an air of

confidence, which was abundantly justified by the results.

The Liberals were swept out of the Council by this whirlwind

of passion ; only three being returned at the poll. Every

retiring Liberal Alderman was ousted, and until 1892 the

Liberal party remained in a hopeless minority. The Catholic

Aldermen Sheil and Roskell, fell with their Liberal colleagues,

and William Rathbone suffered his third defeat in Great

George Ward. Flushed with victory, the Tories resolved upon

a policv of making it impossible for any Catholic child

attending further the Corporation schools. The educational

treaty of peace was rudely torn up, never to be restored, as

the Nonconformists very naturally were driven into bitter

hostility against the party which had practically resolved to

teach at the expense of the ratepayers, the authority of the

Church of England. The elections were fought on the first of

November, and by the first day of the following month the

Catholics learned with dismay the intentions of the dominant

party. They took up a firm but dignified attitude and

presented the following remonstrance to the new Corporation :

' It being generally understood that it is in contemplation to

' discard the Douai Version of the Bible entirely from the

' Council schools, and to require that all the children shall use

' the Authorised Version of the Established Church, and shall,

' moreover, join in a common form of prayer at the beginning

' and end of school, the Catholic clergy of Liverpool beg

' most respectfully to state to the Council that they cannot

' conscientiously concur in such an arrangement, whereby the

' religious principles of the children attending the schools will

' be compromised ; and pray that the contemplated changes

'may not be adopted." Then follow the signatures of the

Rev. Dr. Youens (St. Nicholas'), Fathers Wilcock (St.

Anthony's), Thos. Fisher, O.S.B. (St. Mary's), and Dale,

O.S.B. (St. Peter's). Councillor Smith proposed that

separate schools should be provided for the Catholics in poor

districts. The debate which ensued was characterised by

truculency and tolerance. Unitarianism and " Popery "

were regarded as convertible terms by the Conservative leaders,

and in insulting and contemptuous language the Catholic

69

claim to be regarded as citizens was flouted and rejected. Why
the Unitarian body should have been singled out for reproach
was probably due to the fact that the leading Liberals, with
few exceptions, belonged to that community, and distinguished
themselves not only by their entire sympathy with the cause
of religious toleration, but gave many practical tokens of
sympathy with the Catholics of the town.

The Catholic children had no option but to withdraw from
the Council schools, an action which gave intense satisfaction
to the Tories, especially with regard to the North Corporation
School. True to the course which had been mapped out
beforehand, the Council schools were now turned into adjuncts
of the Established Church, and all children in the Bevington
Bush School were compelled to attend on Sundays and
marched to the church service in St. Bartholomew's, Nay lor
Street, ''unless the parents objected." To mark his
" abhorrence " of this policy, the Earl of Sefton sent a dona
tion of twenty-five pounds to St. Anthony's Schools, Scotland
Road,* and many other Liberals, including Sir Joshua
Walmsleyf followed his example. The Catholic mind was
finally made up. " Schools of our own ! " was the cry which
resounded from every home as well as every pulpit. Thus the
Tories of Liverpool may be styled the promoters of that
magnificent series of Catholic schools which have sprung up
in every quarter of Liverpool, to which came the teaching
orders who lifted elementary education to the highest pinnacle
of perfection. The bigoted Evangelicals did not anticipate
such a result. Had they been far-seeing, instead of being
blinded by rancour and partisanship, they would have seen
that their policy would eventually bring about this result.
What would have happened had McNeill not driven the
Liberals from power is now an interesting speculation. Every
ward in Liverpool would have had its Council school, and
under the disinterested management of a Liberal Education
Committee most Catholic children would have been in atten
dance. Mixed schools are not looked upon with friendly eyes
by Catholics, but the success of a six years' experiment, and
the poverty of the labouring classes, would, in all human
probability, have prevented the erection of purely Catholic
schools for a generation.

Where were the teachers to come from ? was the anxious
query heard on all sides. The Government had made no

* " Another kind of Town Councillor arose, who, with great pretension to
religion, most irreligiously and unjustly, expelled from the public schools
Catholic children by the hundreds." — St. Anthony's Report, 1842.

t Mayor of Liverpool, 1839-40 ; afterwards M.P.

70

provision for training teachers. Ireland came to the rescue,
so far as the boys were concerned, and with the advent of the
Irish Christian Brothers'* to St. Patrick's a new era of useful
ness and charity was begun for that fine body of teachers. Later
on they came to St. Anthony's, St. Nicholas', St. Mary's, and
St. Vincent's. Without payment or reward, save the volun
tary offerings of the parents, these cultured men did a noble
work for the poor children of their own race. To make them
practical, earnest Catholics was their first aim ; to equip them
for the battle of life was an easy matter for a body which
had long distinguished itself by practical aims which have
since disappeared from curriculums framed by more
ambitious but less successful educationalists. For forty years
they laboured in the town, and their departure under the
pressure of the Act of 1870 caused widespread dissatisfaction.
To them belongs the distinction of founding the first evening
continuation schools, in St. Patrick's, during the year 1842,
which were attended by one hundred and twenty Irish adults,
anxious as most Irishmen have ever been for education. Such
an impression was created by this experiment that Dr.
Ullathorne, O.S.B., paid a special visit to St. Patrick's to
preach a sermon in its sup-port. The Benedictines at St.
Mary's summoned a special meeting on December 16th, 1842,
in the Grecian Hotel, to consider the sad plight of the great
numbers of poor children in that district. They adopted a
resolution regretting the decision of the Town Council, and
resolved to issue an appeal to friends of education " of all
" denominations to provide means of dealing with these
" unfortunate children."! Fathers Fisher, Wilkinson and
Dale addressed a letter to the senior churchwarden of the
Parish of Liverpool, Mr. W. Birkett, pointing out the condi
tion of the poor children of St. Mary's, and expressing the
hope that the community would provide means for their
instruction. The impertinent reply which followed illustrates
the unfortunate tone and temper of the official Anglicans
towards the Catholics of that day. Mr. Birkett began and
ended by denying the right of the three Benedictines to claim
the title of priests or be called " reverend," as they had not
been ordained in conformity with the laws of the Church of
England. It became necessary to give this gentleman an
elementary lesson in the doctrine of the Church whose self-
appointed spokesman he had become, and Father Wilkinson
was selected by his brethren to perform that duty. How

* The same work has been undertaken in Borne by the Irish Christian

Brothers, at the express request of Pope Pius the Tenth.

t Liverpool Albion.

71

well he performed the task may be gleaned from this
crushing reply : "With regard to my Orders, though I have
" not entered the ministry by making the declaration required
" by the rubrics of the Established Church, permit me, sir, to
inform you, that the rubrics of that Church recognise the
' validity of my Orders ; and, if from a desire to have less
' labour "and more pay, or any other equally creditable motive,
' I were to apostatize from the faith of my fathers, and
' embrace a creed in conformity with the laws of this realm,
' a Bishop of your Church would readily admit the validity
' of my Orders, and at once appoint me to a curacy. And
' now, as to my designating myself a Catholic clergyman, I
' ain a humble member of the ancient faith, Catholic in
' every attribute, and in every sense, Catholic in all
' ages and in every nation ; Catholic by the received and
' admitted consent of mankind ; properly designated Catholic
' in history, geography, in the works of travellers, in the
' Senate, at the bar, in the public journals, in the drawing-
' room, and in every other department and locality, unless an
' exception be found in the vestry of Our Lady and St.
Nicholas." Quoting the full title of the old parish church was
the unkindest cut of all; devotion to Our Lady or St.
Nicholas not being a prominent feature of the principles of
the unfortunate recipient of this well-merited castigation.
The better educated members of the English Church heartily
enjoyed Father Wilkinson's ready and apt reply. Church
warden Birkett was snuffed out, and did not venture again into
the fields of religious controversy.

The Liverpool correspondent of the " Tablet "* estimated
that forty thousand Catholics were unable to hear Mass owing
to deficient accommodation in Liverpool. To meet the need,
the Benedictines, during the summer of 1842, began the work
of providing a new church in Edge Hill, under the patronage
of St. Anne and in August of the same year the fine church of
St. Oswald, Old Swan, served by the secular clergy, was
opened by the Vicar- Apostolic. This Church, recalling, as
it does, the architecture of the 13th century, created a sensation
amongst the Protestant section which then dominated both
the English Church and the politics of the Council Chamber.
The spire was the gift of Mr. Michael Gibson, of West Derby,
and the peal of bells aroused easily-awakened animosity.
Under the impression that such features in a Catholic Church
were forbidden by law, they made a protest, only to discover
that their knowledge of the laws of their country was in

* October, 1843.

72

inverse ratio to the measure of their bigotry.* The same
month witnessed the remarkable meeting in the Amphitheatre,
when the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daniel O'Connell, delivered
an address in aid of the building fund of the proposed church
of St. Francis Xavier. Certain delicate matters of negotia
tion between the Jesuits and Benedictines, the final echoes of
the controversy of 1783, had been completely removed, as well
as the local difficulties with the Bishop, who had given his
consent to the erection of the church on the Salisbury Street
site. A notable gathering of the clergy, secular and regular,
appeared on the platform, including the Rector of Stonyhurst
and the Very Rev. Dr. Brewer, O.S.B., president of
Ampleforth. Another remarkable figure was the ex-
Methodist minister, the Rev. Father Mason. O'Connell said
he " rejoiced emphatically that the erection of the church had
" met with the approval of every class of ecclesiastics in the
" town," and went on to say that " the suppression of the
" Jesuits was one of the greatest of calamities ; and bitter
" punishment had affiicted the nations which had committed
" that crime. They had been punished with severity, with a
" scourge of iron, and tears, and blood, and even these could
" hardly atone for the crime they had committed against
" themselves. Here they were again ! The Jesuits ! ! !" The
president of Ampleforth followed, and warmly eulogised the
work in hand. " Before the Order of St. Benedict came to
" Liverpool, the Fathers of the Society of Jesus stood the brunt
" of persecution, and raised the standard of the Cross in the
" town. It was therefore but right that, as they had stood
" valiantly in the field of battle in the days of persecution,
" they should now be welcomed to accomplish the great work
" which they had begun." In December of the same year the
Catholic body opened a secondary school, St. Edward's
College, under the presidency of the Rev. Dr. Fisher, f and
to further still more the work of teaching and evangelising
the poor the Sisters of Mercy completed their convent in
Mount Vernon. With regard to the nuns, an hysterical bigot
wrote, " the Sisters of Mercy will effect more conversions in
" one year than all the priests in Great Britain." The Rev.
Dr. Youens was mainly instrumental in bringing this fine
body of religious workers to aid the work of the Church in
Liverpool. O'Connell was so impressed with these evidences
of activity that he paid a visit to Liverpool in the following
year as the guest of Mr. Edward Chaloner, Old Swan, and
visited both institutions as a mark of his appreciation of the

* The same ignorance which led to the Police Enquiry, 1910.
f Father Goss, eleven years later Bishop, was Vice-President.

73

work of higher education and charity. Meanwhile the monks
of St. Benedict were forging ahead with the new schools of
St. Peter, where five hundred children were in average atten
dance, and looking ahead, erected new schools, attached to St.
Austin's, Aigburth, which were opened on the 8th May, 1843.
In June, land was purchased in Falkner Street to provide the
new buildings for Catholic female orphans, heretofore housed
in Mount Pleasant, and the noble Sisters of Charity
began that most excellent work the care of the blind,
with eighteen pupils. Amidst all the poverty of the people
the heads of the Church were performing their work with
great diligence and earnestness, and excited amongst their
Protestant brethren a spirit of great sympathy. Anglicans
and Dissenters alike were forced to pay tribute to these
developments of Catholic zeal in spite of discouragement and
that one great obstacle to progress in a commercial age, lack
of means. The great mass of Catholics who lived between the
parishes of St. Peter's and St. Patrick's, a distance of only
half-a-mile, were in sore straits for both chapel and school
accommodation. Father Parker was equal to the occasion.
In January, 1843, he rented a " penny theatre " at the corner
of Blundell Street, in which Mass was said on the 5th
February, 1843, for the first time, and two hundred
children, turned out of the Park Lane Council
School were taught during the week by one Christian
Brother. At a public meeting held to raise funds for the new
mission, Father Parker announced a contribution of twenty
pounds from a Protestant friend, Mr. John Bipley, of Canning
Street, and informed the audience that a volunteer from the
Diocese of Derry, Father McCormac, would be placed in
charge. St. Patrick's had seating accommodation for
eighteen hundred people, and the three masses on Sundays
were attended by crowds who filled up every inch of space.
The neighbouring Church of St. Peter's was also overcrowded,
si that this new mission was a veritable godsend to the poor
Irish who resided in and around Park Lane and St. James
Street.

The evils of intemperance had begun to shew their
inevitable results amongst the Irish inhabitants in the crowded
streets and alleys of the town. Indeed, the demoralising
influence of intoxicants was much too prevalent amongst all
classes of labourers, whether of Irish or English nationality.
At St. Peter's, Seel Street, there had long been established a
Total Abstinence Society, and in that mission was begun the
movement to secure the presence of the great Capuchin friar,
Father Theobald Matthew. In a few days six thousand

74

signatures were appended to a petition begging this worthy
priest to visit the town and deliver a series of addresses on
temperance. His visit in July, 1843, was the great religious
event of the year. Mr. William Rathbone cordially invited him
to be his guest at the historic house, Greenbank, Wavertree,
in which O'Connell had often enjoyed the hospitality of the
great Liberal leader. The invitation was accepted, and on the
Sunday morning his host and another great Liverpool man,
Mr. Edward Rushton, the stipendiary magistrate, attended
Mass at St. Patrick's, in order to hear the inaugural address
of a memorable campaign. The immense audiences which
gathered outside St. Patrick's and St. Anthony's listened with
rapture to the burning eloquence of the friar, while their
hearts were touched at the sight of the brown habit so
intimately bound up with the history of Ireland. No preacher
ever made such an impression on the Catholics of Liverpool,
and but for the dread disaster which happened four years
later, Catholic Liverpool had been synonymous with sober
Liverpool. Forty thousand Irish Catholics took the tem
perance pledge, and even to-day, after the lapse of sixty-five
years, traditions live, and have been tenderly handed down, of
the extraordinary scenes of piety and robust faith witnessed
outside the Church of St. Anthony's, where thousands knelt
down on God's acre to pledge themselves to accept to the full
the cross laid on them by the young Franciscan.

A renewal of the educational war was occasioned
by the introduction into Parliament of Sir James Graham's
Education Bill, which practically proposed to endow the
schools of the Established Church. At a series of public
demonstrations against this measure both the Catholic and
Dissenting bodies stood shoulder to shoulder, not only in
Liverpool but throughout the country. On the first Sunday
in April, 1843, the Bill was explained to the congregations,
and 25,000 Catholic adults signed a petition of protest to
Parliament. A short but vigorous agitation put an end to
all hopes of carrying the measure, which was ultimately with
drawn.

In August, 1843, Dr. Baines, the Vicar-Apostolic,
died, and was1 succeeded by his coadjutor, Dr. Brown.
The new coadjutor, Dr. Sharpies, was consecrated in Rome a
few months later. For the first time since the Reformation,
the Bishop had the great consolation of performing the
ceremony of ordination in Liverpool, in the Church of St.
Nicholas', an event of more than ordinary importance. There
were very few priests, and the vocations from amongst the
Liverpool population small in number. The year closed with

an

75

, addition to St. Mary's of large schools in Ray Street,
formerly the property of the Methodist body, and in February,
1844 they were placed under the direction of the Irish
Christian Brothers. On the first day of May, 1844, the Fathers
had the pleasure of seeing the foundation stone of the new-
Church laid by Bishop Sharpies, in the presence of two
thousand people. Strange to relate the address at the
ceremony was not delivered by the Bishop, but by that dis
tinguished layman Mr. John Rosson. He warmly eulogised
the work accomplished by the Benedictines during the sixty-
one years they had laboured at St. Mary's, and recalled the
scene which occurred on the same spot ninety-nine yeais before,
when the old church was pulled down. " Before the priest
" quitted the church, he opened his Ritual, and calmly read
" the preparation for death, and, thinking his time was come,
" put on his vestment and presented himself to the infuriated
" mob in Edmund Street. Two or three axes were applied to
" the door, and on its being demolished, the multitude stood
"aghast; a gangway was formed for the priest, who passed
" into the house of a Presbyterian friend opposite, who
" sheltered him from further insult." From some remarks
in the course of his address we may conclude that at this
early date English and Irish Catholics found it difficult to
commingle. He appealed to both sections to work in harmony,
for " if there were two classes who ought to embrace each
" other, they were the persecuted Saxons of Lancashire, and
" the persecuted Celts/' The Society of St. Mary, under the
leadership of Mr. John Yates, junior; and Mr. James Finney
worked with might and main. In the course of five years
they collected £6,357 18s. lid. towards the contemplated
expenditure of £14,667, for the site, church and equipment.
It is a tribute to the great enthusiasm of the weekly collectors
and the generosity of the poor, that they brought in to the fund
£2,150. The following August saw the work almost completed,
and with great ceremony, beginning on the 18th August and
continued for eight days, the Church of St. Mary* was opened.
Among the Bishops present on the first day were the Vicar-
Apostolic and his Coadjutor, Dr. Brown, O.S.B., Vicar-
Apostolic of Wales, Dr. Briggs, Vicar-Apostolic of Yorkshire
and Dr. Morris, Vicar of the London District.

The Society of St. Francis Xavier had made such progress
that a beginning was made on the 18th March, 1844, when
Father Randal Lythgoe, S. J., blessed the first excavations. By
the month of November it wts announced that the Jesuits

* Bishop Goss once said, " This is the church of my diocese."

76

hoped to see the first stone laid on the anniversary of the
canonization of St. Francis Xavier, but it was four months
later, July 9th, 1845, when Bishops Brown and Sharpies
performed that ceremony.

The Faithful Companions of Jesus came to town in 1844,
opening a boarding school in Great George Square, under
taking at the same time the supervision of St. Patrick's girl's
school. Following the example set by the Brothers, they
opened a night school for girls and secured an attendance of
two hundred. There were then on an average one thousand
children attending St. Patrick's schools. Another new school
was opened on July 15th, 1844, atlnce Blundell. The Orange
daily, " The Mail," called public attention to these extensions
of Catholic work, " notwithstanding the opposition offered in
" various quarters to the extension of Popery, we regret to
" hear that it is on the increase." Orange-Tory Liverpool did
not view with equanimity the erection of new churches and
schools. A Protestant Church, All Saints, in Grosvenor Street,
had been discontinued by the Protestant authorities. It was
built on the site of a former somewhat famous tennis court,
whereon volunteers were drilled during the invasion scare.
Inside the walls the first " anti-Popish " sermon in Liverpool
was delivered. To the dismay of the ultra-Protestants, the
Catholic body purchased the building with the intention of
founding a new mission to be dedicated to St. Joseph. An
indignation meeting was held in the Portico, Newington, reso
lutions adopted protesting against the sale, and a deputation
proceeded to the residence of Archdeacon Kushton with the
avowed intention of preventing the ratification of the
purchase. Nothing came of the protest, save that the tide of
bigotry began to flow quicker and stronger and reached its
height when the need for a resident bishop was gratified by
the purchase of Eton Lodge,* Woolton Road, as the local
residence for the Vicar- Apostolic, f To express their feelings
the Orangemen made repeated attacks on St. Patrick's, and the
clergy of that church. Led on by the Stipendiary, Mr. Edward
Rushton, the magistrates resolved to put down the outrages
with a strong hand, especially as the police seemed quite
indifferent to performing an obvious duty. The Grand Master
of the Orangemen sat on the Watch Committee, and too many
of the humbler members of the force had secured appointment
by joining the Orange organisation. Mr. William Rathbone
and Mr. Rushton secured the adoption of a resolution con
demning the further recruiting of the force from " illegal "

* Formerly a school kept by an old Eton master ; hence its name,
t Hence — Bishop Eton, now occupied by the Redemptorists.

77

organisations. This motion received the sanction of the Home
Secretary to whom it was presented, and the magistrates then
resolved to present it to the Watch Committee. Under the
guidance of the Orange Grand Master, the Watch Committee
at the ensuing pay day took measures to find out the religion
of every member of the force, with the object of removing the
Catholic policemen. Mr. Kushton boldly met this move by
asserting the right of the magistrates themselves to dismiss
from the force all members of illegal societies. Though the
lawyers decided against the validity of this claim, Mr. Kushton
secured the object he had in view, that of ending the disgrace
ful rows in the South end of the town. To further this end he
appealed to the Irish Societies to abandon their usual procession
on St. Patrick's Day, 1845, which appeal received the
unanimous support of the clergy. Some enthusiasts refused
to obey, and, meeting in Williamson Square, marched to St.
Patrick's, where the doors were closed against them.
Retracing their footsteps they proceeded to St. Anthony's
with the same result. This testimony to the great moral
power of the clergy impressed the leading citizens, who freely
admitted that Orange provocation had been severe, and for
some time very friendly relations prevailed between the priests
and the authorities.

Meanwhile, the English Catholics of the town gave
evidence of their good-will towards their Irish co-religionists,
and their esteem for the great Irishman who had won for them
the restoration of their own liberties. O'Connell had been
arrested, and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, by the
Irish courts. A huge demonstration of protest was organised
by the Blundell family, in the Amphitheatre, which was
attended by all the leading families of the town and district,
and by the clergy, secular and regular. A petition was sent
up by them to Queen Victoria, praying for O'ConneH's release,
but, before Her Majesty could consider its contents, the con
viction had been quashed by the supreme courts. This
incident was celebrated by general Catholic rejoicings. Houses
were illuminated in the Catholic quarters, notably in the
densely-populated district around the present Custom House,
South John and Paradise Streets.

Another public body came into existence as a consequence
of the new Poor Law, the Liverpool Board of Guardians, better
known by its official title, the Select Vestry. The first elections
resulted in the return of a solid phalanx of Tories, due to the
extraordinary behaviour of the returning officer. Dr.
Bilsborrow, late Bishop of Salford, described the Guardians

78

as " that awful Protestant body,"* and good reason he had for
so naming it. In 1839, under the old law, Father Parker, of
St. Patrick's, reported that during the month of October, he
had heard the master of the workhouse school, addressing the
children in the schoolroom, say that " every Catholic would go
" to Hell with a Testament in his hand." Of the hundred
children thus addressed a small proportion were Catholics, and
in their presence he held up a wafer, with the blasphemous
observation, " this is the God of the Papists/' An inquiry
was held, and the charges sustained, but the Orange party
would permit no punishment beyond a mild censure. In 1841,
Father John Dawber asked the Vestry to allow him the use
of a room in which to say Mass, and in a very modest appeal
pointed out that it was a great hardship for old and infirm
people to be compelled to rise early in all kinds of weather,
and walk half-a-mile to hear Mass outside. The " Liverpool
" Courier," the Conservative organ, opposed this proposal as
" an act of Popish aggrandisement."

The Vestry held its meetings for the first year with
closed doors, the " Liverpool Mercury," which took the most
active share in bringing about a change in its composition,
describing it as " the secret conclave." The Liberals and
Catholics joined in a cordial union to alter its complexion, and
at the Easter of 1845, returned Messrs. Bright, Thorneley and
Maynard, to fight for equality and open dealing, against
twenty-six of the most illiberal men who ever possessed a share
in the government of the town, municipally or parochially.
The Select Vestry had decided, in obedience to Dr. McNeill,
that no religious service of any kind for the Roman Catholics
should be permitted inside the workhouse. Mr. Bright sought
to remove this restriction by a proposition that the use of the
dining hall be allowed for the celebration of Mass. The Rector
of Liverpool was, ex-officio, the Chairman of the Board,t and
on this occasion he declared that the law of the realm did not
contemplate the performance of any religious ceremony, other
than those in conformity with the laws of the Established
Church. No doubt this was a perfectly accurate statement,
but it did not help to remove an irritating restriction from a
Catholic point of view, or prevent gross abuse from the point
of view of good administration and discipline, inmates being
allowed to go out on Sundays, without supervision, if they
declared themselves to be Catholics, whether they were so or
no.J Mr. Bright's motion was rejected. At the same meeting

* In a conversation with the writer at St, Charles', Aigburth Road,
t This anomaly was removed by Mr. Gladstone's Parish Council Act, 1894.
J Bedclothes, linen, &c., were stolen by the inmates, who declared them
selves Catholics in order to get out and sell the articles thus obtained.

79

it was decided to ask permission from the Bishop of Chester
to allow Divine Service to be held for the Protestant inmates
of the Kirkdale Schools, in the dining hall of that institution.
Mr. Bright observed that as the Rector had objected to Divine
Service for Catholics in a dining hall, he ought surely, on
ecclesiastical or rubrical grounds, to object in this instance.
Mr. Rector Brooks did not reply, but a Mr. Bremner retorted,
4< No ! not at all ; the one is Popery, the other the Established
" Church." The language of this gentleman was so offensive
that five Conservatives voted for Mr. Bright's motion. It was
urged that, as sixty-one inmates, owing to ill-health, were
unable to attend Mass outside, a room might be set apart for
the purpose of a private celebration. But to no avail. Mr.
Bremner represented the whole trend of Tory Protestantism.
Catholics and Liberals, at the following elections, made one
supreme effort to secure further representation, and carried
eleven seats out of twenty-one. Three out of four overseer-
ships also fell into their victorious hands. Mr. John Yates,
junior, was the first Catholic Poor Law Guardian. The
concession of a room was granted, and peace prevailed for a
short time. In the Council, Mr. Blackburn, member for
Vauxhall Ward, made a last despairing effort to break down
the policy of exclusion embarked upon by the Church party,
but failed, and never again did Catholics appeal to that
Municipal body for any concession.

In 1844, Bishop Brown inaugurated a new depar
ture in the methods employed to raise funds for
churches and schools. The lay committees had not
been an unmixed blessing. In the case of St. Patrick's
there had been serious friction, and St. Nicholas' was1 to all
intents and purposes a proprietary church. Advertisements
appeared, offering such a pew in an eligible position to the
parishioners, the highest bidder securing the coveted seat. The
committee also doled out the funds as they thought fit, and
there is still living* one venerable ecclesiastic who sat shivering
in his room, because of the scantiness of the fuel supplied. In
some other cases, the lay committee simply undertook the
responsibility of purchasing suitable sites, their local knowledge
enabling them to make good bargains, and in overseeing the
work of sub-contractors. One evil could not well be guarded
against — the itinerant begging by irresponsible persons, and in
this way considerable sums of money were lost. Persons with
out any authority collected the pennies of the faithful, which
never found their way into the funds of the responsible
committee.

* Right Rev. Monsignor Carr, Vicar-General.

80

Bishop Brown issued a pastoral letter, read in all the
churches, announcing a new arrangement. A Board was
appointed by him, consisting of the two Vicars, two Benedic
tines, two Jesuits, and certain representatives of the secular
clergy, who were to administer all funds collected in future
for church extensions. It was further laid down that the
funds be raised by annual donations from individuals, an
annual collection in every church, and, with the one exception,
that weekly collections for the six weeks prior to the annual
collections were allowed, all other methods which had obtained
in the past were strictly forbidden. The Bishop also fixed the
minimum and maximum stipends of the clergy at <£80 and
£120 per annum, respectively. The lay committees had done
good work, but owing to the methods pursued in electing
them, many abuses had crept in, and the new arrangement
gave general satisfaction.

In 1844, the Catholic Club was founded, Sir Arnold
Knight presiding at the first meeting. Mr. Richard Sheil
was appointed the first president; Mr. Edward Bretherton
acting as secretary. The main objects of the new
organisation were, " to promote unity of purpose, energy in
"practical charity, and good fellowship in principle." The
nevv club took a very prominent part in the work of promoting
and assisting works of charity, while, on its political side,
excellent work was done in the defence of Catholic interests.
During this year, Bishop Sharpies confirmed no less than
3,784 children ; 888 at St. Patrick's, 746 at St. Anne's, 823
at St. Nicholas', 781 at St. Mary's, 535 at St. Peter's, and
11 at St. Edward's.

In November Father Wilcock retired from St.
Anthony's, after 25 years of service in the priesthood, and
was succeeded by Father Thos. Newsham, a man of extra
ordinary energy and capacity, who left his mark on the history
of the north end. He was not many months in office when he
secured a substantial concession for his flock from the North
Shore Mill Co. This company had insisted that all the children
employed by them must attend a Protestant Sunday School,
and Father Newsham, by his tact and good humour, induced
the directors to withdraw this uncalled-for hindrance to
Catholics securing employment.*

The fourth day of August, 1846, and the seven succeeding
days, witnessed the great pomp and ceremonial attending the
opening of the fine church of St. Anne. It was built on a
well-chosen site, then without the borough of Liverpool, it now
stands in the centre of a teeming mass of poor people, the

* See Tablet, 1846.

81

extensions of the city having driven out the better-class
Catholics to more suburban parts of the ever-growing city.
It was opened by Bishop Brown, and several notable prelates
assembled in the sanctuary. After many years, Dr. Folding,
O.S.B., Archbishop of Sydney, returned to his native land to
witness this great sign of the progress of his fellow religionists.
Dr. Murphy, Bishop of Adelaide, the first rector of St.
Patrick's, Liverpool, Dr. O'Connell, Bishop of Waterford, with
the Vicar- Apostolic of London, Dr. Morris, by their presence
contributed to the greatest ceremony yet witnessed on the
banks of the Mersey. At that time there was a fine male choir
at St. Mary's, trained by Father Cooper, O.S.B., and they
rendered the music of the Mass and of Vespers during the
eventful week. Bishop Murphy preached in his old and much-
loved church of St. Patrick's, in aid of the Christian Brothers.
They had just lost Brother Joseph Maher, the pioneer of
elementary education, under the new regime, in Liverpool.
As he lay in simple state in the schoolroom, crowds flocked to
pay their tribute of sorrow and prayer around his remains,
ere they were interred in the vaults of the church. The need
for such men was shewn in the letter of the Vicar- Apostolic of
Yorkshire, written in 1846, that in England there were at
least 25,000 Catholic children without any school accommo
dation of any kind, Catholic or otherwise.

A dark cloud fell upon Liverpool in the last months of
the year, and when it passed away, a new Catholic Liverpool
arose, with new problems and fresh difficulties, many of
which are not yet solved. No man can understand aright the
Liverpool of the second half of the nineteenth century, who
does not seriously study the dread incidents which the
November and December portended.

CHAPTER IV.

From the point of view of public health, Liverpool had
degenerated into one of the worst towns in the Kingdom.
Narrow streets, narrower courts, overcrowded alleys, and bad1
drainage, were exacting a heavy toll of disease and death.
Streets were left unswept for as long a period as three weeks,
in working class quarters, the Town Council being much too
busy with the interests of party to occupy itself with such
mundane affairs. The Tories were blind to all warnings;
in capturing the Council Schools they had exhausted their
mandate. To promote sanitary reform, a Health of Towns
Association had been formed in the Metropolis, and the first
Liverpool branch was founded in St. Patrick's schoolroom.
Just as, half-a-century later, it was reserved for Liverpool
Catholic public men to fight the battle of housing reform, so
in the early forties it was left for the Catholic leaders to speak
out against the criminal neglect, by the Corporation, of th«
important question of public health. Sir Arnold Knight,
M.D., father of a future Bishop of Shrewsbury, and of a
distinguished Jesuit, delivered the address at this gathering,
presided over by Mr. R. Sheil. His speech is painful reading,
descriptive of the conditions under which the labouring classes
were compelled to live, conditions which made moral or
physical health well-nigh impossible. Sir Arnold stated, that
in London one out of every thirty-seven of the population
died annually; Liverpool's proportion being one in twenty-
eight. In the Metropolis, 32 out of every 100 children died
before reaching the age of nine ; Liverpool had the unenviable
record of 49. Nor was this all. In the densely populated
streets and courts of Vauxhall Ward, this number went up to
64, an appalling rate of mortality. Physical deterioration had
set in, or, as the Catholic Knight put it, Liverpool men " were
" unfit to be shot at,'' an allusion to the rejection of 75 per cent,
of the recruits for the army.

This speech gives the answer to much of the superficial
criticism of the result of Irish " habits " on the general health
of towns. The death roll gives the needed and only reply to
the puzzle which has worried Catholic statisticians as to the
causes which have operated to prevent the prolific Irish from
being one-half, at least, of the population of Liverpool. Sixty-
four out of every hundred Irish children dead before nine

88

years of age, from preventible causes ! ! The Irish poor did
not build the narrow streets nor the dirty courts, they did not
leave the streets unswept, and had no responsibility for
stinking middens, left unemptied at their very doors, nor did
they create the economic conditions which drove them across
the channel, and in turn made life in Liverpool the burden it
really was. Drink ! Yes, they drank ! No wonder ! where
drink alone could bring forgetfulness of present misery. But
for the small band of priests who laboured amongst them, and
the faith they brought from Ireland, Irish Liverpool had
become heathendom. The demoralisation of child life caused
by exclusion from the schools, in 1841, had sown its seeds, and
a deadly harvest was to be reaped a generation later, which,
even to the twentieth century, has made Liverpool a bye-word
to every stranger entering its gates. It was too late for any
body of men to cure the evil, when the famine years sent
hundreds of thousands of Irishmen and women into the very
streets and alleys, where over-crowding and disease had become
every-day features, and excited no surprise. The closing
months of 1846 ended in " an inpouring of wretchedness from
"Ireland; streets swarming with hungry and almost naked
" wretches.'' Written by a friendly hand, these words fail to
convey an adequate picture of the scenes witnessed every day
during November and December, 1846. At the meeting of the
Select Vestry, December 15th, 1846, the captains of the
coasting vessels were censured for carrying over such large
numbers of immigrants, and it was seriously suggested that
Liverpool should follow the example of the Isle of Man
authorities, by refusing permission to land. It is pleasant to
record that the first meeting held to raise funds for the relief
of the famine stricken, was organised by the Irish navvies,
then constructing the railway to Bury. The meeting was held
in the schoolroom underneath St. Joseph's chapel, Grosvenor
Street, on November 30th, every navvy putting down one day's
wages on the table as his tribute to the unfortunate people of
his own country. In the church, the first sermon for the same
object was preached by Father McEvoy, parish priest of Kells,
in the fertile plains of Meath, who received fifty-two pounds
from the poor labourers of St. Joseph's parish. The new year,
1847, opened inauspiciously. During the six days, January
4th to 9th, the Select Vestry relieved 7,146 Irish families,
consisting of 29,417 persons, of whom 18,376 were children.
From the 13th to the 25th of the same month, 10,724 deck
passengers arrived from Irish ports, and during the month of
February they came pouring in at the average rate of nine
hundred per day. So dreadful was their poverty that we have

84

the authority of the Rector of Liverpool, speaking ou the 26th
of February, that nine thousand Irish families were being
relieved, a number which increased to eleven thousand by the
end of March. The Stipendiary Magistrate had given an
instruction to the police to keep a record of the number of
immigrants, and, at a meeting of the justices summoned by him
to consider suitable measures to cope with this serious menace
to health and peace, he stated that, from the first day of
November, 1846, to the twelfth day of May, 1847, the total
number of Irish immigrants into Liverpool amounted to
196,338. Deducting the numbers actually recorded as sailing
to America, no less than 137, 5*1 9 persons had been added to the
population of Liverpool. When the year ended, the total
number of immigrants, excluding those who were bound for
America, reached the immense total of 296,231, all
" apparently paupers."*

The already overcrowded Irish quarters gave some kind of
shelter to the new comers ; its character makes the heart sick,
even when read in cold print. No less than 35,000 were housed
in cellars,! below the level of the street, without light or
ventilation; 5841 J cellars were " wells of stagnant water/' or,
as an official report to the Corporation puts it, 5,869 were
found, on examination, to be " damp, wet, or filthy." In the
district now known as Holy Cross parish, not then formed, and
in St. Vincent's, an appalling state of affairs prevailed. In
Lace Street, Mary bone, in a cellar 14 feet long, ten wide, and
six in height, twelve persons were found endeavouring to
breathe, and, " in more than one instance, upwards of forty
* people were found sleeping "§ in a similar under-groand
dungeon. The Stipendiary shocked the town by his narrative
of a woman being confined of twins, in a Lace Street cellar,
crowded with human beings. In Crosby Street, Park Lane,
now occupied by the Wapping Goods Station, of the L. & N. W.
Railway Company, 37 people were found in one cellar, and in
another eight lay dead from typhus. The unfortunates
" occupied | every nook and corner of the already over-cro ,vded
" lodging houses, and forced their way into the cellars (about
" 3,000 in number), which had been closed under the Health
" Act of 1842. In different parts of Liverpool, fifty or sixty of
" these destitute people were found in a house containing three
"or four small rooms, about twelve feet by ten."* By
February, the mortality from fever was eighteen per cent,
above the average, and four months later was 2,000 per cent.

*Head Constable Dowling's Report to the Watch Committee.

f Liverpool Mercury, 1847.

J Gore's Annals of Liverpool.

S Medical Officer's Report for 1847. W. H. Duncan, M.D.

85

above the average of previous years.* Smallpox broke out arid
carried off 381 children, and an epidemic of measles added 378
to the total. In Lace Street, already mentioned, one-third of
the inhabitants, that is to say 472 persons, died from fever
during the year. In the Parish of Liverpool, the weekly
mortality by the month of August reached 537, as against the
usual average of 160 ; while in the extra parochial districts of
Toxteth and Everton, it was 111 against 50. The curse of
mis-rule in Ireland, and mis-government in Liverpool, had
come home to roost, and he who would pass judgment on Irish
poverty or " crime " of later years, let him read the story which
every stone of the charnel houses in Vauxhall, Exchange,
Scotland, Great George and Pitt Street Wards, told and still
tell. Here were sown the dragon's teeth, and they have sprung
up, not in armed men, but workhouses, reformatories, and
gaols.

Regulations of all kinds were brought into force to put
a much-needed check on this enormous influx, but without
avail for at least a year. The Poor Law authorities returned!
24,529 to their native parishes during the years 1847 and
1848 ; it was only a drop in the ocean, for vessels were arriving
daily with fresh contingents. Deck passages from Dublin cost
as small a sum as sixpence, which probably tempted thousands
to try their fortune in our midst. It stands to the infinite
credit of the citizens that distinctions of race, religion, and
party were obliterated in presence of this awful visitation, and
that they united to succour the sick and hungry, both in the
town and the country from whence they came. There were two
exceptions, which only served to bring out this noble generosity
in strong relief. Vestryman Mellor gleefully exclaimed, at a
meeting of the Select Vestry, " when they are all gone, we will
" people Ireland with a better set," and Dr. Hugh McNeill
characteristically accused the Irish clergy of refusing to
dispense the English Relief Funds, unless the recipients paid
them a consideration. These men were the sole exceptions to
the truly Christian spirit which prevailed in all classes. Bishop
Sharpies acted with commendable promptitude. Summoning
a meeting of Catholics in the Concert Hall, Lord Nelson
Street, he had the pleasure of receiving two thousand pounds
from his flock in the course of a few minutes. This sum was
subscribed by less than fifty persons, and was dispatched next
day by the treasurer, Mr. C. J. Corbally, in equal shares to the
Archbishops of Cashel and Tuam. Church collections were
immediately taken, and one thousand pounds came from this

* W. H. Duncan, M.D. Report to the Health Committee, 1847.
f Sec Dr. Mackav's article on Liverpool in Mornirn Chronicle.

86

source; St. Patrick's heading the list with £118 16s. 7d., a
few shillings more than the amount subscribed by St. Nicholas'.
A name never to be forgotten in the annals of Liverpool
Catholicism appeared for the first time in print, in connection
with the famine fund, that of a young priest, Father James
Nugent, who preached at St. Alban's, Blackburn, and handed
£72 12s. 8d. to the Liverpool treasurer. It was related by the
journals of the day, that the Post Office was besieged by Irish
labourers, sending small sums of money home to their afflicted
kinsfolk. The condition of Ireland was bad, but it may well
be doubted whether that of Liverpool was not worse. Where
were the mass of new-comers to be housed? Where was
employment to be found? Whence could be drawn clergy
to come to attend to their spiritual needs? If church and
school accommodation was deficient before 1847, it was surely
deficient now.

In January, 1847, the Rector of Liverpool informed the
Government that dysentery had assumed alarming proportions,
due to the cabbages and turnips which formed the only food
of the first immigrants. February saw eight hundred cases
of typhoid ; the reading of the death-roll each Sunday morning
in the churches sending a cold shiver through the immense
congregations. Hurriedly the parish authorities set up fever
sheds, in Great Homer Street on the North, and Mount
Pleasant on the South, and fitted up a hospital ship in the
Mersey, to cope with the new terror. Then came the awful
visitation of typhus. Liverpool Protestantism bowed its head
in reverence at the heroism of the handful of Catholic Priests.
Undaunted, they went from room to room in crowded houses ;
from cellar to garret, ministering to the sick. They were
never absent from hourly attendance in the hospital wards.
Here at least there was some privacy, but in the crowded rooms
and cellars it was next to impossible to hear the last
confession, unless the priest lay down beside the sick man to
receive the seeds of disease from poisoned breaths in return
for spiritual consolations. In very truth they were braver
men than ever faced the lions in a Roman amphitheatre.
If life must be sacrificed, it were fitting that St. Patrick's
should provide the first victim. Father Parker,* rector for
seventeen years, succumbed to typhus on April 28th, aged 43,
and was followed on May 26th by the scholarly Benedictine,
Dr. Appleton, of St. Peter's, who exchanged the Presidency of
Douai College for a martyr's crown, won in the pestilential
cellars of Crosby Street. The fine sanctuary of the church

* Buried in the vaults of the church. Dr. Youens sang the Requiem ;
the Rub-deacon was Father Nugent

87

recalls his last work for the oldest ecclesiastical building in
Liverpool, and the tablet on the walls of the church reminds
succeeding generations of his great charity. St. Patrick's
again rendered two more victims, Father Grayston succumbing
on the 16th June, aged 33, and his colleague, Father Haggar, *
aged 29, following him seven days later. A third priest who
had left the plains of Westmeath to work among his people in
England, the Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, was also stricken down.
The rector of Old Swan, Father, afterwards Canon, Haddocks,
took him from the presbytery at Saint Patrick's to his own
house, in the country, where he recovered in a most miracu
lous manner, and lived to become the third Bishop of
Liverpool. St. Mary's then took up the beadroll of death ;
Father Gilbert, O.S.B., aged 27, and Father William Dale,
O.S.B., aged 43, succumbing to typhus on the 31st May and
28th June respectively.

On the 22nd August, Father Richard Gillow,f a member
of a most devoted Catholic family, yielded up his young life —
he was but 36 years of age — at St. Nicholas', and on the 28th
September, the death of Father Whitaker, at St. Joseph's,
completed the death-roll for the year. Father Whitaker Js
career was unique. He entered Douai with the intention of
becoming a Benedictine, and after some years abandoned his
undoubted vocation for the study of medicine. On the eve of
qualifying he changed his mind and resumed his ecclesiastical
studies at St. Sulpice, Paris. From thence he proceeded to
Ushaw, where he was ordained, and after serving on the
mission at Bolton, York, and Manchester, found an early
grave in the slums of Liverpool. The deaths of these priests;:;
made a profound impression on a town which had witnessed
15,000 deaths from famine and fever, and exalted in the esti
mation of the Protestant citizens the character and dignity
of the priesthood. The strain on the surviving clergy, most
of whom suffered severely, was intense. They lay at night^
on chairs and sofas in their clothes, awaiting the sick calls
which never failed to come, fearful lest the time spent in
dressing might mean the loss of the Sacraments to some poor
wretch lying in his dismal hovel. To the townspeople such
heroism conveyed the reason why Catholics reverenced the office
of the priest ; for Catholics it knit fresh bonds between them
and the clergy.

* Died at the house of Mr. Denis Madden, 116, Islington.
f He founded the 8t, Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Nicholas.

J To these should be added Father Nightingale, who died March 2nd,
and Father Thomas Kelly, D.D,, who died May 1st.

yN See (Jshav? Magazine, June, 1895.

88

In the midst of these scenes of desolation the sad news
arrived from Genoa that the great defender of the poor Irish,
the brilliant advocate of Catholic claims, had given up his
soul to God. The death of O'Connell added to the grief and
suffering of the poor immigrants, whose confidence in his
powers knew no bounds. It was announced in the " Tablet "
that his body would pass through Liverpool on its way to
mother earth, but the authorities, fearing an outbreak, induced
his unintelligent son to alter the arrangements. Instead of
coming to Liverpool from Southampton, the coffin passed
through Chester, where it rested one night before the altar in
the city of St. Werburgh, and on the 26th July, 1847, arrived
in Birkenhead. The steamer " Duchess of Kent " lay in the
Mersey, en route for Dublin. Its quarter-deck was covered
with an immense black canopy, under which the coffin was
placed, surrounded by lighted tapers, and covered with a pall
still in the possession of the Benedictines at St. Mary's. To
relieve the poignant feelings of the Irish multitudes they were
allowed in relays to board the steamer and kneel for a few
moments before the remains of the " Liberator." The evening
before, the body of the O'Conor Don, M.P., lay in similar
state ere it passed down the swiftly flowing waters of the
Mersey to the land from whence he sprang. By November
the tide of immigration began to slacken, and the black cloud
of death and disease became less heavy and sombre. As the
months rolled on, every quarter of the town had suffered, and,
excluding those who had succumbed, sixty thousand of the
inhabitants had suffered from fever and forty thousand from
diarrhoea or dysentery.*

The year 1848 opened with a great improvement in the
death-rate from " Irish fever," but scarlatina and influenza
now began to play havoc with the juvenile population. The
deaths from fever during 1848 had fallen to 989; scarlatina
claimed 1,516, and other zymotic diseases accounted for
4,350. f From January, 1848, to April, 1849, 1,786 fatal cases
of scarlatina occurred with children under 15 years of
age, and when, in 1849, the horrors of Asiatic cholera were
superadded, out of 5,245 deaths 1,510 cases were those of the
same tender years, not including the 1,059 carried off by
dysentery. f The importance of these figures from the point
of view of Catholic Liverpool is that seven-eighths of the deadj
were Irish; famine at home being exchanged for death abroad.

There were then in Vauxhall Ward, to take only one part
of the typical Irish quarters, 27 streets, 226 courts, and 153

* Dr. Duncan's Report, page 18.
f Ibid. : Ibid.

89

cellars. In the street houses 6,888 persons found a shelter,
and in the courts, exclusive of the cellars, 6,148; or, as the
Rev. Dr. Cahill put it, they crowded the desolate garret, the
putrid cellar, and the filthy lane. In normal days in this
district and Scotland Ward the deaths were in the ratio of
one to fourteen of the residents as compared with one to
thirty-eight in Rodney and Abercromby wards. According to
a census taken by a well-known Anglican clergyman, Canon
Hume, who made a house-to-house visit, there were 3,128
children between the ages of three and a half and twelve
without the slightest school accommodation, and if we include
those up to fourteen years of age, at least one thousand more
must be added to the number. " Crime," as the word was
then used, had begun to increase. In 1845 there were 3,889
cases; in 1846, 4,740; in 1847, 6,510, in 1848, 7,714; and in
1849, 6,702. The cause we have already indicated. " Mr. W.
Rathbone, at a meeting to raise funds, declared that it was
the Irish landlords and not the people who ought to have been
forcibly immigrated. Mr. Rushton, in his report to the Home
Secretary, dated April 21, 1849, gives his view of the increase
in " crime." " I saw from day to day the poor Irish popula-
" tion forced upon us in a state of wretchedness which cannot
" be described. Within twelve hours after they landed they
" would be found among one of three classes, paupers, vagrants,
" or thieves. Few became claimants for parochial relief, for
" in that case they would be discovered and might be sent back
" to Ireland. The truth is that gaols, such as the gaol of the
" borough of Liverpool, afford the wretched and unfortunate
" Irish better food, shelter, and raiment, and more cleanliness
" than, it is to be feared, many of them ever experienced
" elsewhere ; hence, it constantly happens that Irish vagrants
'' who have offered them the choice of being sent back to
" Ireland or to gaol in a great many cases desire to go to
" prison." This awful picture was confirmed by the Prison
Commissioners in the same year, who speak of " the intensity
" of the distress, and the vast immigration of Irish paupers
" who commit petty offences in order to be sent to prison. At
" the time of our visit to the gaol more than one-third of the
" males were of this description, and more than half of the
" females." Here are two official statements as to the origin
of " Irish crime," to be aggravated as the succeeding years
rolled on by the same causes, poverty, overcrowding, casual
employment, and the natural consequence of all three, excess
in drink. Compare these figures with the annual report
furnished to the justices by the Anglican Chaplain of the gaol.
In the year 1841 there were 201 prisoners committed to the

90

Assizes for serious crime, 35 being Catholics; committed to
the Sessions for less serious crimes 317, 66 being Catholics.
The Courts of Summary Jurisdiction or Police Courts com
mitted 1,541, the Catholics numbering 486. From a popula
tion numbering a third* of the whole these figures show no
sign of " Catholic crime'7 being in undue proportion;
decidedly the reverse, especially in the Assize and Sessions
cases. For the year 1842, 41 Catholics were sent from the
Assizes out of a total of 185 ; from the Sessions 100 out of
472, and from the Police Courts 513 out of 1,536. During
the year 1843, 1,410 prisoners were sent to Kirkdale Gaol;
78 Dissenters, 280 Catholics, and 1,036 Protestants. Crime
began with the poverty of the victims of the great famine,
and was due to causes over which they had little control.
Their children were the greatest sufferers, the inheritors of a
sad past. The want of schools was the main cause, for, as
Father Nugent wrote sixteen years later in his first report to
the justices, " education is not an absolute preservative against
" crime, yet it must always be an incalculable advantage
" towards gaining an honest livelihood, and making a position
" in a town like Liverpool.'?| The children's story has yet to
be told.

The Corporation now plunged headlong into the work of
sanitary reform, and blundered badly. The solution of the
whole question lay, according to their notion of things, in
closing insanitary cellars. From 1847 to 1849 they ejected
25,015 persons who dwelt in cellars, a desirable course to
pursue provided they offered better surroundings or knew that
private enterprise would supply them. One result did accrue,
which was to overcrowd still more the houses already too fully
occupied. I Tenement houses have been Liverpool's second
greatest curse, the fruitful cause of intemperance amongst
women and even worse evils. Local authorities bad not then
the powers obtained thirty years later, and on that score the
Liverpool Town Council was not entirely blameworthy. It
was, however, unsympathetic, short-sighted, indifferent.

A general election was fought in the month of
September, 1847 ; Free Trade and Education being the two
main issues. Cobden had made certain the victory of one
issue ; the other was in its usual condition of glorious uncer
tainty. One hundred thousand pounds had been set aside by

* Bee Mr. Edward Bretherton's reply to Lord Sandon, who, in a speech
in the House of Commons said Catholics were one-fourth. 1843.

t Annual Police Report, October 26th, 1864.

{ See Dr. Duncan's report. He appealed to his committee to proceed
cautiously in the evictions.

91

Parliament for the purpose of assisting elementary education,
and it appeared practically agreed that the Catholics would be
excluded from any direct participation in the distribution.
The " Liverpool Mercury " urged Catholics to fight ; " a tame
" acquiescence now would add to the difficulty and delay of an
" act of justice, which Her Majesty's Government propose to
" postpone to some future and more convenient opportunity."
The vigorous agitation conducted by the Catholic body did
secure such an alteration, though, as was stated by the Hon.
Chas. Langdale, of the Catholic Poor School Committee, it
would be necessary to raise twenty thousand pounds in order
to secure a grant of ten thousand. Liverpool took the lead in
the struggle which brought about the change, inaugurating
the campaign at a Catholic demonstration at the Music Hall,
Bold Street. They were encouraged in the fight by the pros
pect of being able to remove from the streets hundreds, nay,
thousands of Catholic children. The Church must carry out
her Divine mission, though pestilence stalked the
streets. The Liverpool election gave the Catholic body an
opportunity of demonstrating its feeling upon this point, and
it is not without interest to note that all its leaders were Free
Traders and at the same time ardent Catholic educationalists.
Mow to reconcile both views with a view to a solid vote at the
poll was as difficult then as now, coupled with great anxiety as
to the necessity of not injuring the friendly Liberals of the
town. Sir Thomas Birch and Mr. Cardwell were the Liberal
Free Trade candidates. Lord John Manners stood boldly for
Protection and the Corn Laws. Fortunately, a fourth candi
date appeared on the scene in the person of Sir Digby
Mackworth, an uncompromising Orange zealot. His main
plank was the repeal of the Emancipation Act, and the
exclusion of Catholics from all public offices. With such views,
harmonising as they did with the words and acts of local
Toryism, his success was regarded as a certainty; how to
prevent it was the aim of the Catholic leaders. A meeting in
the Concert Hall was convened by Sir Arnold Knight, Messrs.
Sheil, Yates, Hore, and Gillow, and was specially addressed
by Mr. Vaughan,* of Courtfield, head of the famous family
which has given so many of its sons to the highest offices in the
Church. It was resolved, on the motion of Mr. E. Bretherton,
seconded by Dr. McCarron, " That the speeches and address of
" Sir Digby Mackworth prove him to be deplorably ignorant
" on all subjects of commercial importance ; that the false and
" bigoted opinions he entertains respecting the Catholic
" religion are unworthy of the present age, and insulting to

* Father of the future Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

" th«! good feelings of the enlightened constituency of Liver-
" pool, and this meeting pledges itself to use every means to
" defeat him, being convinced that he is a most unworthy
" person to represent Liverpool in Parliament." How to
secure this desirable end was not so clear, and the means
employed proved that the electioneering strategy of the-
Catholic advisers was quite equal to the successful tactics of a
later generation of Irish politicians. It was decided, on the
suggestion of Sir Arnold Knight, " that the Catholic electors
" be most earnestly requested not to vote until after one o'clock
" p.m. on the day of election, and, should Sir Digby Mackworth
" be first, second or third on the poll, they are requested to vote
" for the two candidates that may be highest. If Sir Digby be
" last on the poll, the Catholic electors will judge for themselves
" which of the three candidates they will support." This
policy proved a complete success. Open voting was then the
law, and as the polling results were announced hourly it was
a simple matter to ascertain the position of each candidate, and
so make it easy to decide in a two-membered constituency for
whom to vote in order to keep out a third or fourth candidate .
The Liberals carried both seats. Cardwell, 5,581 ; Birch,
4,482; Mackworth, 4,089; Manners, 2,413. Twelve hundred
Catholic votes cast for both Liberals after one p.m. disposed
of Mackworth's chances, to the chagrin of the Tories, who
practically deserted Manners and Protection for Mackwortfe
and No Popery.

Irish political questions then assumed an acute phase in
Ireland, and did not tend to make the position of the poor
Irish in Liverpool more secure. The insurrection of 1848
created a feeling of resentment against Irishmen generally, and
was accentuated by several arrests in Liverpool of prominent
Confederates, as they were called, for aiding the revolutionary
movemeiit at home. Indeed, so panic-stricken were the
authorities that 3,000 special constables were sworn in to
prevent an imaginary rising in Liverpool on St. Patrick's Day,
1848. The clergy were in a difficult position. Father Bernard
O'Reilly, St. Patrick's, was unceasing in his denunciations of
secret societies, which had no real existence in Liverpool, and,
on the other hand, had repeatedly to lead his people out into
Park Place to defend the church from Orange attacks. Again
and again, with ladders and ropes, the Orangemen of
Toxteth sought to pull down the statue which stands outside
the western wall, and were as often defeated by the skilful
tactics of the future Bishop. The insurrection in Italy, directed
against Papal rule of the "patrimony of St. Peter," aroused
bitter feelings on both sides, and but for the consummate tact

98

of the clergy, bloodshed would have followed iu the wake of
famine and disease. There is no gainsaying the fact that Irish
political troubles were hindering the progress of the Church,
as even the moderate English residents of the town confused
then, as now, Catholicism with Irish political aspirations.

The clergy and the leading laymen realised the seriousness
of the situation, and devoted all their energies to the practical
needs of more churches and schools for the survivors of the new
army of invasion .

In November, 1847, to the deep regret of most of the laity,
the Vicars Apostolic decided to take from the Catholic Institute
of Great Britain the supervision of child education, with the
result that that fine organisation was broken up and its funds
handed over to their lordships. Out of this change came the
Catholic Poor School Committee, to which the various vicari-
ates were invited to send representatives. The Rev. Dr.
Youens,* • Mr. Chasi. Towneley, and Mr. Weld Blundell were
selected to represent Lancashire. A deputation from the new
committee visited Liverpool to confer with the clergy and laity
as to the means to be adopted to provide school accommodation.
At the public meeting held in St. Nicholas', it was clearly
shown that Liverpool was in a much worse state than any other
town in the kingdom, owing to the immense immigration. The
result of this conference was an address to the Privy Council
setting forth the claims of Liverpool Catholics for grants
towards the provision of additional schools. Mr. Nasmyth
Stokes, f Secretary of the Catholic School Committee, drew up
the memorial, in the course of which he says : " I have been
" asked to request your favourable consideration for St. Mary's.
" The congregation is represented to be the poorest Irish con-
" gregation in Liverpool, containing thousands of poor
" children. The managers are anxious to place the girls' school
" under Government inspection, and to obtain pupil teachers."
He next proceeds to give the number of baptisms in St. Mary's,
to prove the crowded condition of the ancient parish. Out of
a total of 9,906 baptisms in every church and chapel of every
denomination in the Parish of Liverpool, 1,196 were performed
in St. Mary's, while in the town itself, out of 11,516, 2.015 were
Catholic baptisms, and these figures did not include the
parishes of St. Anthony's or St. Joseph's, so that at the very
lowest estimate one-fourth of the children born in 1847 were
of Catholic parentage. A conference was also held in the
Catholic Club, at which the inspector urged the Catholics to
put their schools in such repair as to secure the small grants

* He died on June 2nd, 1848, from a fever contracted while on a holiday.
f Appointed H.M. Inspector of Catholic Schools in 1853.

94

then available. To show his personal appreciation of the work
done for fifty years by the Hibernian Schools, under the
guidance of the Rathbones, Holts, and Hornbys, Father
Mathewpaid a special visit in 1849, and addressed the children.
A report from the Gaol Chaplain, calling attention to the
awful fact that there were in Kirkdale Gaol 144 boys and girls
of tender years, induced Mr. George Holt to make an earnest
appeal to the Corporation to remove the restrictions which
prevented the attendance of Catholic children at Council
schools. Purely secular education, he urged, would be better
than running the streets, but the Church party refused to stir
one inch from their former attitude; only five votes being
recorded for Mr. Holt's motion. The " Athenaeum " published
a severe attack on the majority, declaring the debate was
" painful and humiliating to read," at a time when " thousands
" were prowling about the docks and streets in a complete state
" of mental and moral destitution." This mistaken policy of
the leaders of the Established Church cost them the support
and sympathy of the Catholics of Liverpool, when, in later
years, they in turn found themselves attacked on the same
point. From that hour was handed down the tradition that
the real enemy of religious toleration was not the militant
Nonconformist, but the strongly-entrenched Anglican.*

On the 23rd January, 1848, the temporary chapel in
Blundell Street was abandoned, and a shed 90 feet by 30, in
Norfolk Street, was fitted up to make more provision for the
7,500 Catholics in St. Vincent's district, not one-fifth of whom
could be provided for.f

The Benedictines at St. Mary's were absolutely unable to
cope with the tens of thousands living in hovels in the district
east and north of their church in Edmund Street, which, as
we have read, was the " poorest Irish congregation in the
"town." In a shippon in Standish Street, a priest came on
Sunday mornings to celebrate Mass, and here the teeming
thousands were quite unable to get inside. It was due to
Father Thomas Newsham, of St. Anthony's, that this provision
was made. A Liverpool Catholic, Mr. Samuel Holland
Moreton, generously provided a temporary building, which
enabled six hundred persons to hear Mass on the upper storey,
and two hundred children to receive instruction during the
week on the ground floor. On the 25th March, 1849, the
temporary building was opened, and Holy Cross Mission began.
Many years afterwards Father Nugent, who preached on the

* It explains also the want of cohesion between the two bodies in the

Education war now going on.
t Rev. John Kelly, Life of Bishop O'Reilly.

95

opening day, said that the sight of the neglected children
crowding into the temporary school caused him to conceive the
necessity for the introduction of the great teaching order —
the Nuns of Notre Dame. It was observed by a Liverpool
newspaper that the opening ceremony on Lady Day was
attended by " men and women whose appearance denoted
"extreme poverty." The worthy Rector of St. Anthony's,
having secured some provision for the poor of this district, now
turned his attention to the riverside or western district of his
own parish. It was the same story; thousands of Irish immi
grants living in abject poverty. No school, no church. With
great courage, animated solely by an ardent zeal for souls, he
purchased " a clay* pit," and began the erection of a church
dedicated to St. Alban. His troubles were not merely financial ;
frequent strikes took place; indignation meetings of the
labourers and artisans held denouncing the contractors who
were erecting the chapel, accompanied by frequent deputations
to Father Newsham, whose decision on every point was
accepted as final. At length, on August 19, 1849, the church
was opened by Bishop Brown ; a mere shell, as the first priest
in charge, Father Thomas Kelly, found it. " The most that
" could be said of the church was that its walls were standing " ;
the windows were not all in, nor the doors hung, and the tower
only half built.* It was all that could be done for the House
of God by its charitable founder, who also busied himself to
enable the poor crowded around Eldon Street and Vauxhall
Road to hear Mass.

St. Francis Xavier's was opened on December 4, 1848,
by Bishop Brown, who also sang the High Mass on the
following Sunday. Then followed another edifice to relieve still
further the pressure on St. Mary's accommodation. On
February 15, 1848, a meeting was held in St. Mary's School
room, with the object of raising a memorial, which would be
both lasting and useful, to the memory of those monks of St.
Benedict who had given up their lives the preceding year. Dr.
Murphy presided, and, on the motion of Mr. J. Neale Lomax,
a man destined to be of great service to the poor Catholics of
the town, it was decided to erect a memorial church at the
northern side of the parish. A warehouse was bought at the
corner of Great Howard Street and ChadwicK Street, and at
a meeting held October 12, within its walls, presided over by
Father Wilkinson, O.S.B., the decision was ratified to
commemorate " the late lamented priests of St. Mary's, Fathers
" Fisher, Dale, and Gilbert, to whom this part of the town is
" already consecrated by their apostolic labours and the

* Catholic Annual.

96

" sacrifice of their lives." It was announced that £367 had
been subscribed, and a wooden model of the proposed church
was exhibited. On the 9th September, 1849, the martyrs'
church, dedicated to St. Augustine, was opened by Bishops
Sharpies and Morris, as a chapel of ease to St. Mary's, and,
owing to the continued tide of Irish immigrants, became at
once the centre of an immense district. Father Fisher was
not one of the priests who died from fever, but he well deserved
that his memory should be perpetuated, having served at St.
Mary's from 1802 until April 12, 1847, when he departed this
life at the advanced age of eighty years.

97

CHAPTER V.

In the month >of September, 1850, Pope Pius the Ninth
restored the English Hierarchy, Dr. Brown signing his name
as " George, Bishop of Liverpool," for the first time on Sunday,
November 3rd. Six days later, as soon as the new Mayor had
been installed, the Town Council passed a resolution against
" the recent assumption of authority and power in this
" kingdom by a foreign potentate." A petition to the Mayor
was signed requesting him to summon a town's meeting on
November 20th to further protest against " Papal aggression."
Catholics wisely refused to bow before the storm. Fathers
Worthy and Walmsley, and Mr. Richard Sheil, attended the
meeting and spoke in turn against the motions proposed,
expressing their amazement that the people of Liverpool could
really believe any harm had been done because Dr. Brown had
changed his signature from " George, Bishop of Tloa," to
" George, Bishop of Liverpool." It was a courageous act to
face such a hostile meeting, and their temperate speeches did
much to quell the fury of their opponents. In a weak moment
the Government introduced that absurd measure known as the
Ecclesiastical Titles Act, to which the Catholics of the town
responded by the greatest public meeting yet held by them in
condemnation of the measure, Mr. Thomas Weld-Blundell
presiding. The Orange section replied in turn by a brutal
attack on the well-known Passionist, Father Ignatius, better
known to Englishmen as the Honourable and Rev. George
Spencer,* as he was quietly walking past St. Patrick's, and by
renewed attacks on that building. The elections of 1852
showed that the Catholics were not prepared to submit to these
insults, even though they ran the risk of offending
their Liberal allies. As in 1847, they were prepared
to set Free Trade on one side to defeat Sir
Digby Mackworth, they now resolved to prevent the
re-election of one of the retiring Liberal members for the
town, Sir Thomas Birch, because he had voted for Lord
Russell's foolish Bill. They displayed no temper, and went
about the work in a calm, dignified spirit. Mr. Richard Sheil
took the chair at a meeting of the Catholic Registration
Committee in the rooms of that body, Houghton Street, at
which the following resolution was adopted : — " That this

* He resigned a rectory worth £2,000 per annum to become a Catholic
His nephew, Earl Spencer, was twice Viceroy of Ireland.

98

" meeting sincerely deprecates the resolution of a part of the
" Liberal party to bring forward Sir Thomas Birch, which
" resolution is highly offensive to Catholics, and calculated to
" ensure his defeat." Placards were posted on the walls urging
the Catholic electors' not to pledge their support to any candi
date, but to await developments, and representations were
made to Mr. Rathbone that it was advisable, in the best
interests of Free Trade, to withdraw the invitation to Sir
Thomas Birch. Another public meeting was held in the Music
Hall, Bold Street, attended by Sir Arnold Knight, Messrs.
Yates, Sheil, Bretherton, Hore, Gillow, Cafferata, Lynch, and
Kearney, at which a letter from Mr. Rathbone was read,
regretting that Sir Thomas had not given satisfaction to the
Catholic voters. The meeting decided " that they were sorry
" the Liberals had resolved on compromising the Free Trade
" position, but could not support Sir Thomas at the poll."
Eventually Mr. J. C. Ewart was selected as the second Liberal
candidate. McNeill stepped in and successfully turned
the issue before the town into one of approbation of the
Ecclesiastical Titles Act, both Liberals being defeated. The
corruption and bribery which secured McNeill's triumph were
so flagrant that the successful candidates were unseated on
petition, and on a new writ being issued the Liberals
triumphed, Mr. Bramley Moore being badly beaten.

On the 26th September, 1851, his Grace the Archbishop
of Tuam preached at St. Nicholas', in aid of the schools. He
was accompanied by Archbishop Cullen. The Tory journals
demanded the prosecution of Dr. MacHale, for signing himself
" John, Archbishop of Tuam," but even at this time of keen
excitement the proposal was covered with ridicule and aban
doned. Both prelates were on their way to London to consult
with Cardinal Wiseman, and it is noteworthy that they selected
Father James Nugent, then stationed at the Pro-Cathedral, to
accompany them. The tension of religious feeling was relieved
by two huge jokes, in one of which the head of the Theological
College, Birkenhead, and in the other Mr. Michael James
Whitty, formerly Head Constable, and now founder and editor
of the " Daily Post," figured. The unconscious humour of a
clerical firebrand in one instance deserves first place. An
announcement appeared in the advertising columns of the
" Mercury " that an ex-curate of the Rev. Dr. Hook, of Leeds,
would preach in St. Werburga's Church, Birkenhead, in aid of
the schools attached to that mission. It was a simple announce
ment, such as had appeared many times in the Liverpool
journals, and outside the Catholics, to whom it was specially
addressed, very few, if any, of the citizens took any notice of

99

it. Not so the Rev. Joseph Baylee, M.A., principal of the
College, afterwards St. Aldan's, Birkenhead. He caused
posters to be placed on every hoarding in Birkenhead, with the
following address to his townsmen : — " An announcement
" having been made that the late Protestant curate of Dr.
" Hook, Leeds, is to preach at the Catholic Chapel of St.
" Werburga, I am reluctantly compelled to make this public
" protest against an assumption which has no real foundation.
" The building referred to is only a Romanist place of worship,
" and has no claim to be a Catholic church. Its priests have no
" authority in this parish ; they do not preach the word of God
" as set forth in His Holy Word, and in the teaching of the
" ancient Catholic Church. They are, therefore, schismatics,
" and teach heresies. As Christ's minister lawfully appointed
" towards you, I subscribe myself in great truth, Joseph
" Baylee, priest of the one Catholic and Apostolic Church."
This ex-cathedra announcement from the self-appointed curator
of the souls of all men within the boundaries of Birkenhead,
created immense amusement, especially as the clerical writer
annoyed his " Protestant '"' friends by his assumption of
authority. It served the purpose of filling the " Romanist
" place of worship/' and of affording cheap amusement to
Catholics on both sides of the river.

The other joke was the committal of a Catholic editor to
Lancaster Gaol in defence of the liberty of the Press, against
the tyranny and shallow justice of a local County Court Judge.
Many a Catholic had found his way to Lancaster; some had
found graves there, in consequence of their faith, and this
historic fact gave additional interest to Mr. Whitty's in
carceration for a much less serious cause.

Judge William Ramshay, in the course of a trivial case,
made some sarcastic comments on the people of the town. Mr.
Whitty caused the words, " Mr. Ramshay's opinion of the
" people of Liverpool," to appear on the placard of the " Daily
" Post " on the following day. A grim humorist on the staff
placed one of these bills in the neighbourhood of the County
Court, so that it might catch " his Honour's " eye. It did.
Without more ado he delivered himself of a violent harangue
in the Court, ordered the arrest of Mr. Whitty and his son,
and in default of payment of a fine of fifteen pounds, com
mitted the former to Lancaster. His Honour went further,
and threatened to send every journalist in the town to bear him
company. Mr. Whitty's counsel did not improve the temper
of the new Daniel by coolly suggesting that Mr. Whitty, junr.,
would have been justified in shooting the bailiffs of the Court
who arrested him in his office. Escorted to Lime Street Station

100

by an immense crowd, Mr. Whitty set out for Lancaster, and a
deputation of leading citizens proceeded to London to demand
the removal of Judge Ramshay. In a few hours two thousand
signatures of merchants, public men, and journalists were
affixed to a petition to the Home Secretary backing up the
demand, and next day, to save Mr. Whitty any further incon
venience, Mr. Robertson Gladstone induced Mr. J. R. Jeffrey
to pay the fine. An enquiry was held at Preston, conducted by
the Earl of Carlisle, and after a nine days' trial the Judge was
dismissed, and condemned to pay the costs, which amounted
to £1,800. Mr. John Rosson, himself a lawyer, publicly
characterised Mr. Ramshay's defence as an " olla podrida of
" piracies from Erskine, Curran, Shell, Brougham, and
" O'Connell." This distinguished Catholic layman about this
time received a commission from the Spanish Government to
visit Galway and make a report as to the character of the
former commercial relations between the Citie of the Tribes
and Spain, from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries.

The provision of schools was the one great all-absorbing
task which the Catholic body set itself to achieve in the early
fifties. The Jesuits had completed the new altar and chancel
at St. Francis Xavier's, which were solemnly blessed on the
18th October, 1851, by the Right Rev. Dr. Canoz, Vicar-
Apostolic of Madeira, who preached in French. Having begun
the further beautifying of the church by the erection of the
chancel screen and stone pulpit, under the direction of Father
O'Carroll, they proceeded to erect new schools in Haigh Street.
On August 15th, 1853, the first stone was laid by Mr. Richard
Sheil, in the presence of the Bishop, and on Sunday afternoon,
October 23rd, 1854, the schools were formally opened. At
Easter, 1853, Father O'Carroll called at Mount Vernon to
request the Sisters of Mercy to take charge of the new schools.
From a letter written by the nun who was placed in charge,
we learn that at 3 p.m. on the date of opening Sister Mary
Stanislaus MacQuoin, who was to take charge of the infants,
accompanied her Superioress to Haigh Street, when Father
O'Carroll's emotion quite overcome him, now that the dearest
wish of his heart had been accomplished, and the poor children
of the parish had at length been provided with the means of
religious and secular instruction.

In a series of letters written by Father Ignatius Grant,
S.J.,* who was stationed at St. Francis Xavier's at that period,
there will be found a vivid character sketch of the founder of
the schools. The following extract from one of these epistles
gives some idea of this fine Irish Jesuit, and incidentally of

* See Xaverian, May, 1889-

101

two of the merchants to whom Catholic Liverpool owed much

for their great charity : — " It was St. Joseph's Day. We began

" by an attack on Mr. Edward Chaloner, after a long walk the

" whole length of the docks. It was a mahogany sale day, and

" there was luncheon. All were in good spirits. As we were

leaving the office, Mr. Chaloner, with his quaint irony and

amusing good nature, said : ' I think, Father O' Carroll, yours

' is a tell-tale face to-day. I think you came a-begging, and

' you have not had the courage to say so. Eh ? Yours is an

' expressive countenance, but it can't explain itself away.'

' Well, Mr. Chaloner, I did indeed intend to ask for a little

' help for my Poor School, but I know you have been very well

' bled last week. ' Never mind that, there is still a little left.

4 Here, Cashier, let these gentlemen have five pounds each.

' Good morning, and pray for me.'

" We passed on to the office of Mr. John Browne, of

Wavertree, and I must confess that my heart sank within me

as we saw the retreating forms of Father Nugent and Father

Kelly, of St. Alban's, as we approached. Father O'Carroll

was for going home. ' Passons outre,' he said. I demurred,

and said, ' Sink or swim, I will tell Mr. Brown my wants in

' honour of St. Joseph ! ' Mr. Brown began by telling us,

' You are late in the field, for two very comely nuns from

' Blackburn have preceded those priests, and it was impossible

' to say them nay. But, Father Grant, as you are putting up

' gas, you will want pedestals. Will the mast of a ship be of

' any use to you? I will give you that.' ' It is quite invalu-

' able, and perhaps you will add to the favour by allowing

' the mast to be cut up by your eighteen feet saw ? '

' Not only that,' said he, ' but send me the dimen-

' sions and measurements of your pillars, and I will

' have them turned for you, and delivered at St.

' Francis Xavier's.' " Comment is needless on these incidents.

They represent the daily and perhaps not so successful

toil of the clergy in the struggle with debt on a poor mission.

Referring again to the new schools, a Sister of Mercy wrote,*

" I well remember the Lightbounds, Gillows, Tiernans,

" Roskells, Verdons, and Coopers as being amongst the most

" forward in promising their aid and active co-operation on

" that day, a promise that they each and all nobly fulfilled

" during the seventeen years I continued in charge of the

" schools."

" When the school opened next morning 300 girls and 100
" infants were enrolled; but, alas ! hundreds had to be refused
" admittance for want of room. The saintly founder, realising

*See Xaverian, October, 18S9.

102

" how inadequate the accommodation was, enlarged the
" premises, and built a room over the infants' school, and one
" adjoining it over the offices. It was then that the hanging
" stone staircase was made, which at the time excited great
" admiration. Before the new rooms were opened, anxiety and
" fatigue having greatly reduced Father 0'Carroll's strength,
" he was called to his reward."* From this interesting and
charmingly-written letter we glean that even then the schools
could not provide for all who sought to gain admission, and
two houses had to be hired " in the terrace opposite/' to supply
the demand for school places. Sister Mary Stanislaus remained
in charge until May, 1871, the long term of thirty -seven years.
It is not without interest to Liverpool men that one of the
earliest appearances of Mr. Charles Santley,f the great bari
tone, was at a concert to raise funds for the schools in Haigh
Street.

St. Nicholas' clergy undertook the provision of new schools
in Copperas Hill, designed by Mr. McGrath, a local Catholic
architect. Both clergy and laity worked with a will. " It will
" not, perhaps, be thought a mark of presumption," wrote His
Majesty's Inspector to the Privy Council, in his report for the
year 1852, "if I take the liberty of expressing my admiration
" at the rare zeal and intelligence with which the Catholic
" clergy and laity of Liverpool co-operate in this and similar
" works. I have had no greater consolation in the labours of
" my office than that which I owe to these gentlemen, with
" whom it has been my privilege to be associated, and the
" success of whose generous labours I have now the satisfaction
•' of recording. "J The moving spirit in the erection of schools
as well as churches was Father Thomas Newsham, Hector of
St. Anthony's, to whom a special compliment is paid in the
report referred to, " as a gentleman to whom the progress of
" popular education in Liverpool owes a great deal." He
founded the schools of St. Hilda, in Blackstock Street, to
accommodate 750 children, and St. Helen, Eldon Street, for
500, and was especially successful in the selection of his
teachers. The girls' side of the two schools mentioned, as well
as St. Anthony's, were singled out year by year for special
praise by the Inspectors. The report for 1852 says of St.
Anthony's : " The managers,§ who have given the most ample
" proofs of their deep interest in its progress and welfare, and
" whose generous exertions in favour of elementary education

* He died from typhus fever, caught while in attendance on an Irish
family in the parish,
f Sir Charles Santley.

J See Report, T. W. M Marshall, January, 1853.
§ Father Newsham and his brother priests.

103

" are not limited to this institution, may be congratulated upon
" their good fortune in possessing the services of one of the most
" accomplished and skilful teachers in this country."

Writing of the Eldon Street School, the Inspector makes a
remarkable reference : — " I will beg leave to refer to a school
" lately opened in the very heart of one of the most notoriously
" corrupt and immoral districts in England, upon the state of
" which an interesting pamphlet was published not long since
" by a distinguished clergymanf of the Established Church. I
" refer to a well-known spot in Liverpool, abandoned till
" recently as the natural domain and appropriate receptacle of
" the refuse of a great city. In the worst street in this locality,
" in which amongst other centres of corruption were five
" infamous houses, and where, as I am informed, even the
" police ventured with reluctance, contenting themselves with a
" glance down the street, a school of large dimensions and
" excellent architectural character and arrangements was
" erected during the course of last summer. The school was
" committed by the founder, the Rev. Thomas Newsham, to
" the care of a few religious ladies, all very young, but of whom
" the Superior is probably one of the most sagacious and
11 accomplished teachers of our time. It was a mission of no
" common difficulty and peril, but they who imposed the task
" knew what they were about, and that the feeble hands to
" which it was entrusted were able to contend with any form of
" evil, however menacing and formidable, which could cross
" their path. I visited the school about four months after its
" operations had commenced. It then presented the aspect of
" a long-established and highly-organised school, and the
" deportment of the children, who were not only thoroughly
" subdued and disciplined, but completely under the control
" and influence of the teachers, was even unusually gentle and
" pleasing." The Nuns who worked this extraordinary change
were the Sisters of Notre Dame.

Indeed, the influence of the religious communities in
forming character had, in the short space of two years,
impressed the Education Authorities at Whitehall, who began
to learn themselves, at the feet of the Nuns of the different
religious communities, how instruction should be imparted. It
speaks well of their desire to be instructed that they published
the following report on the work done in the Catholic girls'
schools in different parts of the country : — " Everyone knows
" how much easier it is to instruct the children of the working
" classes with skill, however obtuse and corrupt they may be
" from previous neglect and evil associations, than to accomplish

t Canon Hume.

104

" those more delicate operations which properly belong to
" education ; and whoever has tried to civilise and refine rude
" natures, to root out vile and long-indulged habits, to extin-
" guish and replace wilf ulness by docility, obstinacy by meek-
" ness, restlessness by patience, and self-love by self-contempt,
"' has attempted a task which makes perhaps a larger demand
' upon human wisdom and perseverance than any other. Yet
' this is what is done, and upon a very large scale, in many of
' the schools of which I have been speaking. . . . They are
' the choice and especial fruits of the highest order of Christian
' education, and for this reason they deserve to be recorded by
' one whose province it is to notice and report whatever is most
' characteristic in the facts which come under his observation."
This wonderful change was consequent upon the coming of
the Nuns of Notre Dame from Namur. To Father James
Nugent belongs the honour of introducing this fine teaching
order to Liverpool. The beginning of their work was simple and
uneventful, but there were not wanting severe critics of his
action. " Among the clergy; men of age and experience, who
" persuaded themselves that there was no room for the new-
" comers ; they would obtain no employment, no support, and
" would speedily return defeated to Belgium."*

No greater or more lasting monument to Father Nugent's
foresight, wisdom, and perseverance can be seen than the
magnificent results which accrued, not only to Liverpool, but
to Great Britain, from the presence of the Sisters of Notre
Dame. On March 28, 1851, there arrived at 3, Islington Flags,
four foreign Sisters — Sister Superior Mary Alphonsus de
Ligouri, Sister Mary Albania, Sister Mary Ursula, and Sister
Mary Eulalia. The following week they were joined by Sister
Mary Anne and Sister Mary Francisca.

" I arrived in the morning," wrote Sister Superior, " with
" Sister Mary Albania. I merely brought her with me to take
" charge of St. Nicholas' Poor School, which was to commence,
" Monday, 31 March. The Poor School at Copperas Hill was
" one large room ; a gallery at one end of it for the infants ;
" the other children were arranged in little square classes from
" 20 to 30, each of these classes under the care of a pupil
" teacher. We found great disorder prevailing throughout, as
" there had been no regular mistress for some time."f Simple
but telling words — the writer of them a foreigner in our midst,
sowing the tiny seed soon to grow into a mighty tree. We read
of her papering, with her own hands, the soiled walls of the
small room in Islington Flags, which was to serve as the first

*Catholic Register, July 8th, 1881.
fEnglish Foundations of the Sisters of Notre Dame.

105

chapel of the community — early evidence of her practical
character. Less than two months after their arrival six hun
dred children were gathered together in the primitive school of
St. Nicholas, with its square classes, and such a revolution had
been effected that H.M. Inspector one year later was able to
report that " it must be a source of great pleasure and consola-
' tion to the managers to witness the complete success of their
' wise and generous efforts to promote elementary education
' within the district under their charge. . . . It is a
• special character of institutions conducted by teachers of this
' class, that the intellectual work they accomplish, however
1 valuable and effective, is uniformly accompanied by a more
' precious moral and religious triumph, of which they alone
1 seem to possess the secret." On the Monday week after their
arrival the Sisters began the work of Secondary Education for
which they have achieved world-wide renown. They began
with nine pupils, one of whom was destined to become a member
of the Liverpool community,* and eight months later the
numbers had increased to a little over thirty. Who can imagine
now, gazing at the fine pile of buildings in Mount Pleasant, that
they had such a simple beginning in an eight-roomed house on
Islington Flags ?

On October 4th of the same year the Sisters accepted the
charge of the Falkner Street Girls' Orphanage, previously
under the care of the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Alphonsus leaving
her work in Islington to take up the new responsibility. She
was succeeded by a remarkable woman, Sister Aimee de Jesus,
who became Superior-General of the Congregation some years
later. The first house in Mount Pleasant, " a large house with
" a good garden," number 96, was purchased by Sister Aimee,
thanks to the generosity of a remarkable member
of the congregation of Notre Dame, better known as the
Honourable Mrs. Petre. Her late husband was one of the
founders of the Catholic Poor School Committee, and his
enthusiasm for education was amply shared by his gifted wife.
Shortly after the beginning of her widowhood, she sought
admission to the ranks of the Notre Dame community at
Namur, and as Sister Mary Francis attained to the dignity of
Superioress. Her knowledge of English Catholic difficulties in
providing schools and teachers was invaluable to the community
which had undertaken the heavy responsibility of teaching in
Liverpool and other centres under circumstances of great diffi
culty. The debt which the Catholics of England owe to this self-
sacrificing, noble-hearted lady can never be repaid. In Mount
Pleasant a middle school for girls, with some limited accommo-

* Miss Lomax, Sister Teresa of the Passion.

106

dation for boarders, was established, and developed daily until
the eventful day when the Training College solved the problem
of providing trained teachers for Catholic schools. Sir James
Kay Shuttleworth inaugurated the pupil teacher system in
1846, and two years later, when Catholic schools became
eligible for participation in the education grants, Mount
Pleasant witnessed the establishment of the first Pupil
Teachers' Centre, and from its foundation made its influence
felt, not only on the students, but on the whole country, by
reason of the excellent methods introduced and perfected by
the Sisters of Notre Dame.

A quarter of a century later the leading educationalists of
Liverpool, men of the stamp of Mr. S. G. Rathbone* and Mr.
Christopher Bushell,f in seeking a model for the training of
pupil teachers for Liverpool Board Schools, gratefully acknow
ledged and copied the methods pursued at Mount Pleasant as
the most successful yet attempted in any part of the kingdom.

There was no training college for secular masters;
November, 1851, being the earliest moment when a principal,
Rev. John Melville Glenie, M.A., was appointed to the
newly-founded College of St. Mary, Hammersmith. The
Christian Brothers had not come under Government inspection
in Liverpool at such an early date, because their rules forbade
them to permit any outside interference with the methods
approved of by their own Superior, and this led to an unfortu
nate difference of opinion between the clergy of St. Mary's and
their congregation. The " Tablet " announced that, the Rector
desired to get rid of the Brothers in order that he might not
only place St. Mary's under Government inspection, but secure
the Privy Council grants for buildings and staff. These grants
were liberal, including aid towards provision of new schools
and teachers' houses of 10s. to 20s. per six square feet; two-
thirds of the cost of requisite outlay for fittings ; 9d. per child
for books and maps triennially ; stipends for monitors, rising
from £10 for first year of service to £20 at the end of the
fourth year. To pupil teachers who completed their five years'
course with credit the Privy Council allowed £25 per annum
for three years in payment for their services as assistants in
schools taught by certificated teachers, and teachers could
entitle themselves to annual augmentations of salary, varying
from ten to thirty pounds. The conditions laid down were
that all schools should be built in accordance with official
requirements, and the property settled in permanent trust for
Catholic education in form of deed " approved by the

* Second Chairman of the Liverpool School Board.
tFirst Chairman of the Liverpool School Board.

107

" Bishops "; to accept inspection, and several other conditions,
such as the redemption of a certain amount of debt. These
conditions prevailed in 1852 when the St. Mary's difficulty
arose. Indignation meetings were held, and Father Sheridan
was severely censured by the Irish portion of his flock. At a
meeting held in the Catholic Club, Messrs. James Whitty,
Livingstone, Curtin, and Berry guaranteed to pay annually the
sum of money the school would lose by the retention of the
Brothers. The offer was declined, and Father Sheridan's
explanations were not accepted in view of the decision to retain
the Brothers at Seel Street, St. Patrick's, and St. Nicholas'.
Much soreness was caused at their removal, and for some time
the Rector was the one unpopular figure among the clergy.
The next school to be founded was SS. Thomas and William,
Edgar Street, which was begun on June 29th, 185'2; Father
William Carter blessing the foundation-stone. Mr. Thomas
Gillow,* formerly of Liverpool, but then a resident of Mexico,
presented this fine school, designed by the celebrated architect,
Mr. Hansom, to supply the needs of the densely-crowded area
at the northern end of Vauxhall Ward.

In 1850 the Bishop handed the temporary church in
Standish Street to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and they
resolved to erect a school before spending a single farthing on
a much-needed permanent church. Years afterwards Cardinal
Manning paid them the compliment of saying that in so doing
the Oblates " had acted with their traditional good sense,"
Neither schools were likely to receive grants, or, as it is put in
the Privy Council Report, " additional accommodation is now
" being provided for nearly 7,000 children, at a cost of about
" £15,000, and of these only two will receive any assistance
" from the grant administered by the Committee in Council.
" Such a fact requires no comment ; but it ought to be noticed
" as indicating the spirit which has inspired these great works."
In Holy Cross parish there were 2,500 children between the
ages of four and fourteen for whom Father Noble, O.M.I., felt
it incumbent upon him to provide adequate school accommoda
tion. Both the Privy Council and the Catholic Poor School
Committee had declined to render any assistance towards the
maintenance of the school under the chapel, given by Mr.
S. H. Moreton.f Provided new schools were built, the Govern
ment would make a grant of £750, and the Poor School
Committee a donation of £200. The Oblate Fathers were in a

• Marquis of Selva Nevada, and father of Archbishop Gillow, of Oaxaca.
He died at San Martin, Mexico, January, 1878.

f Mr. Moreton's gift — see sworn evidence of Canon Fisher, in 1870, in
the trial, Goss v. Hill.

108

serious difficulty, out of which they could scarcely see their
way. No help of any value could be expected from the
poverty-stricken famine immigrants, who had not as yet shaken
off the terrors of 1847. The proselytisers were busy in their
midst. A ragged school had been opened in Hodson Street, a
few hundred yards away from the chapel and school, and with
liberal offers of food and clothing tempted the poor children to
enter its doors. Some few did succumb to the temptation, and
were promptly taught the necessity of abandoning the " errors
" of Rome.'' Fathers Noble and Egan were compelled to resort
to extreme measures against this ignoble method of snatching
brands from the burning, or, as a humorous song put it,
" damning their sowls for penny rowls, and flitches of hairy
" bacon." Organising an open-air meeting in front of the
Ragged School, they appealed to the people to withstand the
temptation a little longer, pledging their word to provide new
schools almost immediately. They then forced their way into
the building, and bore away in triumph a number of Catholic
children, on whose temporary " conversion " the proselytisers
had spent a considerable sum of money. This exploit put new
life and courage into the poor wretches who had daily to face
the dreadful alternative of food and the Authorised Version,
or hunger and the faith of their fathers. To redeem their
promise was the aim of the Oblates. Organising a system of
weekly collections of one penny, three hundred and fifty
pounds were raised in less than a year, and on the 31st May,
1852, Father Noble had the great joy of laying the foundation-
stone of the Fontenoy Street Schools. At this gathering Father
James Nugent delivered an inspiring address, and made the
announcement that the girls' department was to be placed
under the supervision of a religious community, and predicted
a glorious future for Catholic education in Liverpool under the
care of the Nuns. This notable event was celebrated with great
parochial rejoicings, in which the High Sheriff of Lancashire,
Mr. S. Weld-Blundell, Mr. J. B. Aspinall,* and Mr. Allan
Kaye, Sub-Sheriff, joined with great heartiness.

To solicit the aid of the charitable beyond the confines of
the parish, Fathers Noble and Egan had organised a public
meeting in the previous January, at the Music Hall, Bold
Street, and before a large audience drew a graphic picture
of the needs of their immense parish of 11,000 persons "in
" the greatest possible distress." The result was so encouraging
that Father Noble expressed his belief that when the schools
were opened there would not be " a penny of debt" remaining.
To build such fine schools in a poor district appeared to many

* A future Recorder of Liverpool.

109

to be "a palpable absurdity," to quote the words of their
founder, but his enthusiasm for the poor children knew no
bounds, and, finally, on the 14th November, 1853, the schools
were opened by a meeting of praise and congratulation which
the clergy of the town honoured by their presence, including
the enthusiastic Father Nugent. On January 16, 1854, the
children were assembled in the Church to hear Mass, and then
proceeded in procession to the schools, headed by the clergy
and followed by an immense crowd. Each class was formally
received at the doors of the school by the Nuns and cere
moniously conducted to its own class-room. To aid the work
of giving religious instruction to the boys, a new organisation
of laymen was established in seven parishes. It was called
the Christian Doctrine Society, and its members gave up
their leisure on Sundays to teach the Catechism. With great
foresight Father Noble had provided for the men of the
parish a meeting place in Bispham Street, out of
which developed a fine temperance organisation. Weekly
meetings were held and addresses delivered, which did much
to scotch the drink evil, the one deadly enemy now remaining
to Catholic progress. The schools, as a matter of fact, though
in an unfinished condition, were first used on Easter Monday,
1853, for a meeting of the temperance workers, who gathered
to hear an address from Father Nugent, who had the distinc
tion of being the first man to speak in Holy Cross Chapel
and now in its schools. To draw his people to the evening
services on Sundays, Father Noble inaugurated a curious
practice, copied from the Jesuits in Rome. Two priests stood
on a platform in the church; one assumed the role of a bad
or indifferent Catholic, an infidel or a heretic, and from these
points of view, as was arranged beforehand, defended his
conduct or opinions against th© attack of the other disputant.
It was1 an excellent- device for affording much-needed
instruction to the poor people on the doctrines and practices
of the Church, and aroused much interest outside the parish
because of its novelty.* In February, 1852, the Rev. Dr.
Cahill preached a course of sermons in the chapel, and on
one Sunday evening the gallery of the chapel partially col
lapsed owing to the crowds which gathered to hear the
preacher, whose flamboyant pulpit style made him a very
popular preacher for the people. A panic ensued. The
police arrived on the scene and instead of helping to restore
order, behaved so roughly that a riot ensued. An enquiry
was held by the magistrates, and several officers of the force
were dismissed. The " Tablet " stated that Mr. Dowling, the

* 11 Dotto el L'ignorante. Still practised in the Gesu in Rome.

110

head constable, was also removed from his office for his share
in the disturbance. He certainly did resign after an enquiry
into " other circumstances " connected with the administra
tion of the law, and from the speeches delivered by his friends
in the Council, there seems to be some justification for the
assertion of the journal founded by the brilliant Frederick
Lucas. Holy Cross parish from the moment of its foundation
began to make history.

Among his multifarious duties Father Noble* found time
to hold the office of chairman of the Falkner Street refuge
for orphan girls.

At St. Anne's, Edge Hill, after a preliminary meeting in
the historic schoolroom in Seel Street, the Benedictines began
the erection of new schools, and on the feast of St. Patrick,
1851, the first stone was blessed and laid by the Very Rev.
Father Greenhough, O.S.B. The new buildings were designed
at a cost of £2,000 to accommodate 850 children.

One of the needs of the early fifties was a Catholic news
paper. A small magazine called the " Catholic Vindicator "
had been in existence for some years, which eventually col
lapsed, probably because of the very meagre news of Liverpool
events which it published. Father Noble, O.M.I., Holy
Cross, and Mr. John Rosson were the foremost figures in the
movement for the establishment of a local paper. They
summoned a meeting, which was held in July, 1851, Mr.
Rosson presiding, and on the motion of Father Noble it was
decided to found a paper and to avoid clashing of political
interests, a committee was appointed, consisting of equal
numbers of English and Irish laymen, who eventually founded
a little weekly paper called " The Catholic Citizen. "t Mr.
McConvery, formerly of the " Belfast Vindicator/' became
the editor of the new venture. The Rev. Dr. Cahill travelled
to Liverpool to assist the project, and an extract from his
speech aptly illustrates his extraordinary platform utterances
and his somewhat mixed political views. " Our liberties
' are threatened, our Faith proscribed, and our race marked
' out for social and political annihilation. By union alone
' can we defeat the blow aimed at our ancient and national
' records. I am influenced in the part I am taking by the
' most decided feeling to preserve Irish allegiance to the
' throne, and of stifling in its birth the furious and unmiti-
' gated hatred and revenge which would necessarily burn in
' the heart of every Irishman through all coming genera-
' tions if the Whig Premier was applauded for burning the
' Blessed Virgin and breaking the Crosier."

* Drowned in Leith Harbour. f " Tablet," August 2nd, 1851.

Ill

Dr. Cahill did one great service by discouraging the St.
Patrick's Day's annual parades, which had greatly degener
ated in character and Catholic spirit.

Owing to failing health, Bishop Brown was not able to
fulfil with his usual zeal the requirements of his sacred office.
The appointment of a coadjutor Bishop, with the right of
succession, was decided upon, and the choice fell upon Canon
Goss, who was consecrated on September 25, 1852, at the
Pro-Cathedral. The ceremony was performed by Cardinal
Wiseman, Dr. Grant, Bishop of Southwark, and Dr. Erring-
ton, Bishop of Plymouth. Bishop Turner, of Salford, and
Bishop Brown, of Shrewsbury, also assisted. The sermon
was preached by the convert Oratorian, Father Faber, and
caused considerable commotion, it being generally interpreted
as an attack on the religious orders and congregations. The
preacher afterwards explained that such was not his intention,
and that he had simply referred to the historical fact that
the secular clergy came first, and the religious orders later
in the history of the Church. Dr. Goss was a tall, handsome
man, with a dignified and somewhat stately appearance. His
sermons were of the vigorous order, and his platform speeches
racy and sparkling. Speaking at a dinner at the Irish
Catholic Club, the new bishop alluded to his alleged political
views, and observed — " It has been urged against me that I
" am too much of an Englishman, and a man of local feelings
"and affections; I am, nevertheless, an Irishman at heart."

The higher education of Catholic youth was not lost sight
of amidst the zeal displayed for elementary schools for the
poor members of the community.

In 1851, Father Nugent and Father Worthy founded
the Catholic Middle School in Rodney Street, its aim being
to provide a liberal education in the arts.

Father Nugent organised a series of weekly public
lectures by prominent Catholics in historical, literary and
philosophical subjects, as well as forming an association
among the elder boys to develop their latent capacity for
public speaking. He was already displaying his wonderful
power of organisation and that restless, unceasing energy
which was ever seeking for new fields of useful work for his
co-religionists, and the general welfare of the citizens. The
Rodney Street School did not satisfy his desires ; he therefore
began the erection of a new building of more suitable
character to take its place, one worthy of the Catholic body.
He foresaw the need would arise for a well-educated Catholic
laity, capable of taking a prominent part in the government
of the city, and to hold high positions in its commercial and

112

industrial life. To this end a plot of land was bought in
Hope Street, and on the 29th March, 1853, the corner stone
was laid by Bishop Brown, who, addressing the founder said,
" Esto perpetuum hoc aedificium;" to which Father Nugent-
replied " Spero." In the evening a demonstration was held
in the Concert Hall, Lord Nelson Street, when a suitable
address was delivered by the historian, Mr. T. W. Allies.
At this meeting one of the speakers asserted that there were
12,000 Catholic children without school places, despite the
strenuous efforts made during the previous three years.
Father Nugent carried on his scheme of public lectures in
connection with the Catholic Institute, as the new foundation
was called, delivered in the Concert Hall, the new series being
inaugurated by the ex-rector of Witham, Mr. K. Simpson,
Oriel College, Oxford, his subject being an exposition of the
principles of the Church regarding private judgment. The
subject was well chosen, and was regarded as a reply to several
addresses delivered by various Anglican clergymen of the
Orange-Tory section, who had created much ill-feeling by
using their text as a peg upon which to deliver a series of
violent tirades against " Popery."

The Institute was opened by Cardinal Wiseman, on
October 31st, 1853. He was accompanied by the Bishop-
elect of Nottingham, Dr. Goss. On the evening before an
enormous crowd of all classes and creeds assembled in the
Philharmonic Hall to hear a lecture by the Cardinal, entitled
" The highways of peaceful commerce are the highways of
the Arts." The Liverpool " Mercury " published the lecture
in next day's edition, the report occupying six columns. It
was the first time that Liverpool saw a cardinal in the flesh,
and most of the leading members of the Protestant com
munity were attracted to hear the very beautiful and
picturesque lecture which Cardinal Wiseman delivered,
attired in his cardinal's robes. His visit was followed up by
that of the great Oratorian, Dr. Henry Newman,* who
delighted large audiences by his series of lectures on the
Turks. The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Cullen, also visited
the town during the year, preaching at St. Patrick's in aid of
the schools.

Catholicism was progressing beyond any doubt, and its
leaders, clerical and lay, were deeply anxious to prevent even
the possibility of arousing any outward display of hostility
on the part of the lower section of the inhabitants. To this
end, as St. Patrick's Day, 1852, approached, the clergy made
a strenuous effort to ensure that the usual Irish procession

* Cardinal Newman.

113

should give no cause for any disturbance or reflect discredit
to any degree on their religion. Earnest appeals to abstain
from any indulgence in intoxicating liquors were made from
every pulpit, and with such success, that the Recorder in his
charge to the Grand Jury observed, " It was creditable to the
" clergy for having advised, and to the people for having
•'followed the prudent course s j'ested. There was not a
" single Irish person tipsy on that day, and he wished to see
" English people follow the example set."

In 1853 large congregations assembled at the Church of
St. Francis Xavier to hear one of the foremost preachers of
the Society of Jesus, Father Sumner.* One evening the
congregation were startled by the sound of angry voices out
side, followed by volleys of stones driven through the windows.
It was a demonstration of feeling on the part of the North
End Orangemen, in favour of a Bill before Parliament for
the inspection of convents, or, as it was actually printed,
" A Bill to facilitate the recovery of personal liberty in
" certain cases." This method of expressing public opinion
on one side is not yet unknown in Salisbury Street. The
indignation of Liverpool Catholics was easily aroused against
such outrages, but they were kept in check by the clergy,
who organised a number of meetings of protest against the
Bill. Mr. Daniel Powell was the principal layman in
leading and organising this series of meetings. Holding a
prominent position in the corn trade, he was foremost in his
support by purse and personal advice of the charities of the
town under Catholic auspices. To wipe out the discredit of
not having a single member of the Town Council to represent
Catholics, he was invited to stand for Vauxhall Ward in
November, 1853, but was defeated by seven votes. The Tory
duplicate voters came into Vauxhall to vote, in preference to
voting elsewhere, to maintain the " Protestant " character
of the municipal council.

The Catholics of Liverpool seemed to be destined to be
ever dissipating their energies in political strife — to be
constantly torn away from the great works of charity to
defend the privileges won by hard righting.

In February, 1854, Lord John Russell made amends for
his Ecclesiastical Titles Bill by introducing a Bill into Par-

* His voice was threatened by a painful disease, and before the Court of
Enquiry, appointed by Cardinal Manning, into the Beatification of the
English Martyrs, he attested the miracle worked in his favour by the
"Holy Hand," relic of Blessed Edmund Arrowsmith, preserved in St.
Oswald's, Ashton-in-Makerfield — see Xaverian.

t Father of the late Dean Powell, Birchley, and of the late Father E.
Powell.

114

liament to relieve Catholics and Dissenters from the un
pleasant necessity of subscribing to certain oaths, contrary
to their conscientious views or convictions. Ever on the
watch to maintain a one-sided Protestant ascendancy, the
ultra-Protestant Tories of Liverpool compelled the Mayor of
the town to summon a Town's meeting, with a view to passing
a resolution against the proposed measure. The meeting
was duly summoned, and it was proposed — " That in the
' opinion of this meeting, the measure of Lord John Russell
' for the abolition of the oaths at present taken by Members
' of Parliament, and the substitution of a new oath, involves
f a new and serious innovation in the Protestant character
'of the Constitution. ' Dr. Hugh McNeill was one of the
weightiest speakers on the side of this motion. Somehow
both he and his supporters disregarded the just claim of the
Nonconformist bodies to represent Protestantism in its
broadest and truest aspect, an attitude so characteristic of
these gentlemen that a messenger from Mars would be driven
to believe that every dissenting chapel was served by a Jesuit
in disguise. The noble, broad-minded Liberal leader, who
had often saved the fair name, of his native town by his
courageous intervention at critical periods, promptly rose and
moved as an amendment to the proposition submitted —
" That the maintenance of neither the religious nor political
" institutions of the country depended upon the administra-
" tion of oaths or religious tests."

At the same moment a large Conservative meeting was
going on in the Amphitheatre, Mr. Charles Busheil in the
chair. This gathering was organised in the belief that the
Mayor would adjourn the Town's meeting in the Sessions
House, and to make sure that neither meeting would pass
an obnoxious or adverse motion, Father Noble, of Holy Cross,
marched to the Amphitheatre at the head of his parishioners.
Having upset the intention of the Tories there, he led his
followers to the Sessions House just in time to carry Rath-
bone's amendment. The debate lasted all afternoon, the
Mayor, Mr. J. B. Lloyd, displaying gross partisanship in his
management of the meeting. The great bulk of the citizens
were out of sympathy with the object of the meeting, but
by their abstention they gave a chance to the ultra-Protestants
to carry a motion which did not reflect their opinions.
Messrs. J. B. Aspinall, John Yates, Jas. Whilty, R. Sheil
and C. J. Corbally faced the angry mob in the Sessions
House, and backed by the political genius of the courageous
Oblate Father, saved Liverpool from the discredit of beiner,
officially at least, against Lord Russell's Bill. In the month

115

of May, owing to the tactics of Mr. Benjamin Disraeli, who
for political reasons opposed the Bill, it was lost by four votes .
To keep up the agitation, the Liverpool " Standard," one of
the Tory~ofgans, made serious allegations against the morality
of the priesthood, including the specific charge of " consorting
" with the most abandoned characters, and with hardly the
" decency to conceal his atrocious conduct." Bishop Brown
entered the lists at once against the traducer. Instructed by
him, Mr. John Yates, in his capacity as a solicitor, demanded
from the editor the name of the priest who had " hardly the
" decency to conceal his atrocious conduct/' The editor
replied that he had " no knowledge of the Right Rev. Dr.
" Brown, Roman Catholic Bishop of this diocese," and pro
ceeded to deny his claim to any such title. Mr. Yates was
not to be put off by this side issue, and demanded an apology
under threat of immediate legal proceedings. The editor
refused to divulge the name, and admitted that the accusation
was not directed against any priest in the diocese of Liver
pool. The repetition of this and similar libels kept alive a
base spirit of prejudice and intolerance, which prevented, as
was intended, the Catholics from living in perfect harmony
with their neighbours. In May of 1854, the remains of Mr.
James Wiseman, brother of the Cardinal Archbishop of West
minster, were laid to rest in St. Oswald's churchyard, Old
Swan. For many years he had been stationed in Liverpool
as an officer of the Board of Trade, and had acted as inter
preter of foreign languages in the local courts of justice.

Stricken down in health and threatened with paralysis,
Father Mathew visited Liverpool en route for the warmer
climate of Madeira. Once again he was the honoured guest
of Mr. W. Rathbone, and in the library at Greenbank, Mr.
James Whitty, President of the Irish Catholic Club, and
Mr. R. Sheil, President of the Catholic Club, presented a
joint address of welcome to the great Capuchin. As a token
of his delight at the great work accomplished in Liverpool and
Lancashire towns by Father Mathew, the Earl of Sefton for
warded a gift of twenty pounds to defray the expenses of the
enforced voyage.

The better side of Liverpool public life was shown to
advantage during this year of polemical strife by the extra
ordinary unanimity which prevailed amongst all leaders of
religious thought, that the time had arrived for concerted
action to save the children running about the streets and
quays from moral destruction. To two men belong the
distinction of bringing about this union of hearts if not of
conscience — a former Stipendiary, Mr. Edward Rushton, and

116

the indefatigable Father Nugent. The evil effects of over
crowding, expulsion of Catholic children from the Council
Schools, and the results of Irish immigration in 1847 and
1848 in particular, had now produced their joint results.
Mr. Rush ton had been crying out for years " Save the child."
No less than 12,508 children under seventeen years of age
were imprisoned in the gaols of England, the very last place
in which they ought to have been found. The law made no
provision for their detention or their reformation elsewhere.
To Liverpool men of all creeds, and especially to the Catholics
of the town, belongs the supreme credit of bringing about
a much-needed change in the treatment of juvenile " crime "
which has worked out so successfully since in all parts of the
kingdom. The Mayor was induced to summon a Town's
meeting to promote a movement for a new charter of freedom
for the children. The platform in the Sessions House pre
sented a strange spectacle to the assembled citizens. Dr.
McNeill sat side by side with that remarkable minister of
Pembroke Chapel, the Rev. Charles Birrell,* the scholarly
Unitarian leader, Martineau, and, more wonderful still, the
coadjutor, Bishop Goss.

For the first time a Catholic prelate accepted the invita
tion of a Mayor of Liverpool to a meeting of his fellow-
citizens, and greater surprise was shown when he rose to
speak in moving a resolution which wisely laid it down as
a cardinal principle that any change in the law must be
accompanied with the power to compel negligent parents to
contribute towards the maintenance of their children. Dr.
Goss said, " it required no argument to prove that if children
" went astray by the bad training of the parent, or by his
" example, in either case the reformation of the child must
" be at the expense of the parent ; and if the parent were
" able to pay, he should be made to do so; just as when the
" children fell sick, and required medical attendance, the
" doctor looked to the parent for payment. It gave him
" pleasure to find that the subject of religion had not been
" introduced, that all sectarian views had been done away
" with, and everyone seemed to combine harmoniously to
" promote a measure which was for the benefit of a neglected
" mass." Mr. J. S. Mansfield, stipendiary, wrote to Father
Nugent, that the want of some school for children coming
before him had been a serious hindrance to him in his work
as a police magistrate. A committee was formed with the
approval of Bishop Brown, who issued an appeal to his flock

* Father of Mr. Augustine Birrell, ex-Minister of Education, and Chief
Secretary for Ireland.

117

for assistance. A site was purchased, and the Birkdale Farm
School was the outcome.

Irish immigration into Liverpool had not ceased. From
January 1st, 1850, to December 31st, 1853, no less than
2951,674 arrived in the Mersey, " apparently paupers,"
exclusive of the larger numbers who came to Liverpool en
route for America.* In the two years, 1854 and 1855, this
enormous average total of over 70,000 persons fell to 5,153.
It is not at all likely that they remained in our midst ; they
probably made their way to Lancashire and Yorkshire towns,
and the Midlands, but it is pretty certain that owing to their
lack of means a large proportion perforce remained to
augment the gigantic proportions of the Irish-born population
of the town.

The large and increasing number of Catholic inmates of
the Liverpool Workhouse, and the large number of children
both there and in the parish schools at Kirkdale in the early
fifties, were clearly due to the poverty of the immigrants.
On MarcH 2nd, 1855, there were 3,317 persons inside the
walls of Brownlow Hill, of whom 1,245 were registered as
Catholics. This number included 143 children under five
years of age. In the schools there were 1,003 children, of
whom more than one half were Catholics. The character of
the religious instruction was most unsatisfactory in both insti
tutions. No instruction of any kind was provided for the
Catholic children in the workhouse by the authorities. A
visiting priest endeavoured in his spare time to teach
them the catechism, but the varying ages of the children,
workhouse discipline, and domestic regulations, made his
efforts nugatory. Mr. James Hughes, a Catholic member of
the Select Vestry, had striven in vain in 1853 to improve the
religious teaching in Kirkdale. The headmaster was Mr. H.
J. Hagger, f of whom Mr. Hughes said in his speech, "a better
" instructor of youth could not be found in Her Majesty's
" dominions." The schools committee would not agree to
accept Mr. Hughes' proposals, just as the workhouse com
mittee refused to provide, or allow any one else to provide, a
much needed strengthening of the teaching staff. Early in
1854, Mr. Hughes publicly stated that he was present at a
religious examination of Catholic children from the Work
house, held in St. Nicholas', Copperas Hill, and so astounded
were the laymen in attendance at the gross ignorance
displayed, that they volunteered to pay for the services of a
special female teacher, if the Vestry would permit her

* See Major Greig's Annual Police Reports.
t Now Clerk to the Select Vestry.

118

entrance into the " House." At the Vestry meeting, Mr.
Hughes made this proposition, and on the advice of Mr.
James Whitty, who had joined the Board a little while before,
he withdrew the proposition. This shrewd Wexford man
was destined to be the ablest and shrewdest of the political
leaders, and by his tact, as well as his extraordinary courage,
won lasting advantages for his countrymen and co-religionists,
as a Poor Law Guardian, a Councillor, and finally, a quarter
of a century later, as member of the School Board. Though
he induced Mr. Hughes to withdraw his motion, Mr. Whitty
had no intention of allowing the matter to drop, and on the
14th March, 1854, proposed, " that the Board give permission
" to a lay teacher to visit the workhouse at hours suitable to
" the proper discipline and regularity of the house, to impart
" religious instruction to the Catholic children, without any
" charge to the funds of the parish." Tin's well drawn and
reasonable proposition was characteristic of its proposer. A
sharp debate followed, and only two Liberals, Messrs. Bradley
and John Moss, with the two Catholics, voted for it, as Mr.
Whitty quite expected. Then lie flung a bomb-shell into the
ranks of the majority, by declaring that he held a list of the
Catholic children who had been proselytised by other visitors,
non-Catholic, who were allowed to enter the workhouse at
their own sweet will. This accusation was a serious one, but
it was allowed to pass unchallenged by the accused, while the
accuser and his friends outside resolved to carry on a per
sistent attack on the management, from a religious point of
view, of all the parochial institutions. Catholic " leakage "
flowed from them in a big stream, almost to the last days of
Bishop O'Reilly's episcopate, forty years later.

In November, 1854, the Kirkdale schools committee
decided, by three votes to two, to recommend the vestry to
purchase a few copies of the Douai Bible, to be read to the
Catholic children. Prayer books and catechisms were sup
plied, gratis, by the priest, who was now permitted to enter
at fixed hours. The " Protestant party " on the Board,
refused by eleven votes to nine to allow Catholic children to
read the Bible, and the discredit of this decision rested
entirely on the shoulders of the Hector of Liverpool, who
decided the issue by the injudicious but deliberate observation
that he had read Unitarian versions of the Bible which
omitted all references to the Divinity of Christ, but had never
taken the trouble to find out what the Douai version con
tained.* In January, 1855, the Catholic members revived
the old fight for a special room for Divine Service, This had
* See " Mercury's " Report of the discussion.

119

once before been decided favourably, but owing to the
gradual capture of seats on the Board by the Ascendancy
party, the settlement was disturbed. Somewhat astutely, Mr.
Whitty suggested that the workhouse van might be used to
convey old and infirm Catholics to Mass outside, during
inclement weather. Like his former motions it was intended
to put the majority in a bad light before the liberal minded
public for penalising the sick, he knowing full well that the
proposition would be rejected. It served the purpose of
raising the main question and on the 22nd May, 1855, Mr.
Whitty moved that a suitable place attached to the work
house be set apart on Sundays for Catholic services. The
motion was warmly supported by the main body of Liberals,
apart from its inherent fairness, on the ground that it was
high time the scandals arising from alleged Catholics
going out on Sunday mornings, and not returning till late
at night, were ended. Fearing that the motion would be
carried, Mr. Satchell beat the Protestant drum. He
asserted ironically, that in the Board Room, " Rome told a
" flattering tale, that the Jesuits were ringing the chimes to
" tickle the ears of unsound Protestants." His tactics were
successful. Rather than face the odium of being termed
" unsound Protestants," several members refused to vote as
they -had previously promised, and Mr. Whitty found him
self defeated by 13 votes to 11. Every month the question
cropped up in some form or other, and the proposal to build
a church, for the use of the Protestant officers and inmates,
gave further opportunities for pressing forward the demand.
Mr. Hughes urged that the new building be so constructed
that the basement* be reserved permanently for Catholic
services. Unfortunately his death, in August, 1855, some
what interfered with the proposed solution, which might
otherwise have been carried. Every effort was made to
capture the vacant seat by the Tories, but the Vestry de
feated the attempt, electing Mr. James Fairhurst, of St.
Anne Street, by thirteen votes to eight.

At a bye-election during the year Mr. R. Sheil stood
for Scotland Ward, and, after an absence of fourteen years,
found himself again a member of the Town Council. So
strong had the Catholic vote become in Scotland Ward, that
from that day, it has invariably returned either Irish or
Catholic nominees.

The adjoining Ward of Vauxhall would this year have
elected Mr. Daniel Powell, but he died in October, in the
midst of the preparations for his nomination. For twenty
* Now used as a Workhouse Ward.

120

years he had freely given his time and money to the service
of the poor Catholics of the town, and held many offices of
trust, including the chairmanship of the Catholic Club.

At the Easter of 1856, Mr. Fairhurst retired, and did
not seek re-election. The churchwardens refused to nominate
a Catholic in his place, at the Easter Vestry, thus breaking
through the arrangement arrived at many years before, that
two Catholics, at least, should have seats on the Select Vestry.
Instead, they nominated Mr. Syred, whose views on political
and religious questions were ultra-Protestant. The Catholics
resolved to have a fight at the poll, and nominated Mr.
Flanagan. Syred appealed to the electors to put down " Mass
"houses" and "Catholic combination." The poll was kept
open for three days ; Flanagan securing a majority of voters,
and Syred a majority of votes. This was due to the system
under which rateable value determined the number of votes
allotted to the ratepayer. The fight became so hot on the
third day of the poll, party feeling running very high, that
the Catholic leaders deemed it inadvisable to arouse any
further exitement, and allowed the poll to be closed, Mr.
Syred being declared elected. Mr. James Whitty now stood
alone, the only Catholic Guardian of the Poor, but his
influence and consummate political strategy were worth more
than one vote, and before the echoes of the Syred-FIanagan
fight had died away, he won a substantial concession. On
his proposition the Schools Committee resolved, by five votes
to three, " That the Catholic boys and girls be allowed to
" assemble in one room for religious instruction, on Wed-
" nesdays and Sundays, in the evening, and that as many as
" possible of the girls employed in domestic duties be
" permitted to attend on these occasions." A Liberal
Guardian, Mr. Cook, seconded the motion, which was dis
cussed with the usual heat at the succeeding meeting of the
Vestry. On that occasion, Mr. Denton summed up the whole
question by giving his opinion that it would be better to
educate these poor children to be good Catholics rather than
make them bad Protestants. The Liberals rallied round
Mr. Denton, who consistently supported Mr. Whitty in his
claims for equality, with the result that the motion was
carried by twelve votes to nine. This was one step forward,
towards preserving the faith of the poor children committed
to the care of illiberal Guardians, whose entire policy had
been directed, up to that hour, to de-Catholicise them.
Irritated at this decision Mr. Satchell, the leader of the most
bigoted section of the Board, made a serious accusation
affecting the honour of Father Doyle, of St. Anthony's, who

121

had devoted himself to the spiritual welfare of the Kirkdale
Catholic inmates, as far as the Vestry would permit. The
Irish priest declined to allow himself to remain under any
suspicion, and instructed Mr. John Yates to demand a
retractation, and an apology, from the author of the libel,
who shrank from the manly course which was alone open to
him, and an action at law was at once commenced. Mean
while, after a lengthened enquiry, the Schools Committee
unanimously acquitted Father Doyle of the further charge
of tampering with the faith of the Protestant children, and
took the somewhat punitive step of preventing him from
introducing any of his brother clergy to help him in the
heavy task of instructing the 874 Catholic children inside
the walls of the schools. Mr. Whitty warmly defended
Father Doyle, and pointed triumphantly to the fact that, on
enquiry, it had been proven that, out of nine children
alleged to have been interfered with, seven had been found
to be receiving Protestant instruction who were bona-
fide Catholics ; an apt illustration of Kirkdale methods. The
sturdy Catholic leader declined to admit for one moment
that Father Doyle entered the institution at the goodwill
of the Guardians, but did so " under the shadow of the law
" of the land," and was therefore entitled to protest against
any obstacle being placed in the way of his ministration.
Seeing victory within his grasp, Mr. Whitty induced Father
Doyle to accept a belated apology from his Orange libeller,
and proceeded to gain another victory. In October, he
proposed that permission be given to one boy and two girls,
among the Catholic inmates, to be trained as pupil teachers,
so that they might help the priest in giving religious instruc
tion, and see that morning and evening prayers were duly
recited. This proposition was carried by one vote in Com
mittee, and confirmed by the Vestry by nine votes to seven.
A later attempt, by Mr. Satchell, to rescind this decision was
defeated by ten votes to nine — a narrow margin of votes
which demonstrated the wisdom of Mr. Whitty in preventing
the policy of the Guardians and Father Doyle's libeller being
exposed in a court of justice.

In September, 1855, Mr. Nathaniel Caine undertook the
thankless task of having a census taken of the attendance at
all the places of worship within the boundaries of the town.
So far as the Anglican Churches were concerned, the result
of the census was eminently unsatisfactory. His figures of
the attendance at all the Masses were as follows : St.
Patrick's, 7,632; St. Anthony's, 7,042; St. Mary's, 5,827;
St. Nicholas', 3,995; St. Joseph's, 3,726; St. Peter's, 3,048;

122

St. Francis Xavier's, 2,789; St. Augustine's, 2,308; St.
Alban's, 1,879; Holy Cross, 1,852; St. Anne's, 1,494; St.
Vincent's, 1481; St. Philip Neri's, 1,003; a total attendance,
exclusive of Mount Vernon, of 44,076 persons. If these
figures were accurate a lamentable falling off in attendance
at the Sunday Mass had been proven. The figures occasioned
much dispute, one of the disputants stating that the total
number of persons who heard Mass on the Sunday in
question reached the large total of 88,304.

When the news reached Liverpool of the conclusion of
the war in the Crimea, the children of the town were
marshalled in a procession through the streets. The news
papers of the date give the numbers from the Catholic Schools
as under: Father Kenrick headed the procession with 1,100
children from .St. Patrick's; Father Noble, O.M.I., followed,
with 1,200 from Holy Cross; St. Anthony's mustered 1,120,
under the care of Father Newsham ; St. Mary's sent 750 with
Father Callaghan, O.S.B.; Father Wallwork, from the Pro-
Cathedral, led a similar number; St. Joseph's totalled 700,
with Father Duggan ; St. Alban's 400, under the care of
Father Thos. Kelly; Father Davey, O.S.B., marched with
400 from St. Peter's; St. Francis Xavier's was represented
by 430 children, headed by Father Sumner, S.J. ; Mount
Vernon sent 100 with Father Walmsley; the rear being
brought up by Father Bernard O'Reilly, with 500 from St.
Vincent's. Here there were 7,450 children accounted for,
exclusive of St. Anne's, St. Augustine's, St. Hilda's, St.
Helen's, and the Catholic Institute, and as the infants for
obvious reasons took no part in the long walk, and a great
number of the older ones, owing to want of suitable clothing,
were also excluded, the total number of Catholic children
could not have been less than 15,000. Assuming that two-
thirds of this number attended Mass on the Sunday of Mr.
Caine's census (a very moderate estimate), only 34,000 adults
fulfilled the Sunday obligation, an obviously inaccurate calcu
lation. A controversy raged for some time around these
figures, which Mr. Caine asserted were approximately correct,
and had the effect of stimulating the clergy and ministers of
all denominations to secure a better observance of the
Sabbath law.

In 1852, St. Vincent de Paul's, Norfolk Street, was
separated from St. Patrick's, and created a separate parish,
Father Edward Walmsley being appointed rector. He had
been educated at Stonyhurst and TJshaw, and was half-
brother to Canon Walmsley, who, later on, held the respon
sible position of Vicar-General of the diocese. His career was
cut short on November 23rd, 1852, by an attack of fever

123

contracted in the discharge of his sacred duties.* He was
succeeded by Father Bernard O'Reilly, then curate at St.
Patrick's. The new rector set to work to erect a permanent
church, and on the 20th May, 1854, at a meeting held in the
Clayton Hall, the coadjutor Bishop presided, to shew his
interest in the new project. Mr. J. B. Aspinall proposed,
" that the erection of a new church in the district of which
" New Bird Street is the centre is a work of the highest order
" of charity." Father O'Reilly organised a weekly Sunday
collection, and every Sunday he was seen, after last Mass,
proceeding from door to door, collecting the pennies of the
poor, and by the date of the meeting referred to had raised
two thousand pounds by this means, f In Eldon Street, the
•centre of a most congested district, Father Vanderspitte, in
1854, bought a warehouse capable of holding one thousand
people, and in its gloomy and unattractive rooms began the
mission of Our Lady of Reconciliation de la Salette. Like
Father O'Reilly, he had to rely almost entirely on the pennies
placed at his disposal by an extremely poor population, com
posed, without exception, of casual labourers. The days were
rapidly coming to an end when large donations could be
expected from rich Catholics, commercial developments and
changes of a far-reaching character bringing about gradually,
but surely, the disappearance of the individual Catholic
merchant of the first half of the nineteenth century. Church
and school builders, henceforth, were to be the poor, and
right nobly they responded to their new responsibilities.

On the 25th January, 1856, Bishop Brown died at his
residence in Catharine Street. Sixteen years had elapsed
since his appointment as coadjutor Vicar- Apostolic. Educated
at Ushaw College, where he was the favourite pupil of the
historian, Rev. Dr. Lingard, he became Professor of
Theology, and eventually Vice-President of his alma mater.
Passing away to his eternal reward at the age of seventy, he
had seen the Church grow in numbers and importance in the
huge county of Lancashire, over which he ruled with con
spicuous success for ten years previous to the establishment
of the See of Liverpool. During his five years' episcopal rule
in the town, he had seen an increase of nine churches, five
convents, two secondary schools, and twenty-five priests.

The Jesuits had re-entered the city, and on the advice of
Father Nugent, Bishop Brown had invited the Redemptorists
to make his former residence at Eton Lodge the nucleus of

* Father Walmsley was interred in the vaults of St. Patrick's chapel.

t One of Father O'Reilly's collectors was Mr. Brindle, whose son, the

soldier priest of the Soudan, is now Bishop of Nottingham.

124

the well-known foundation which has done so much to deepen
the spiritual life of Liverpool.

His mortal remains were interred in a vault in St.
Oswald's, Old Swan.

In 1854, the Institute of St. Elizabeth of Hungary had
been also founded, to support, clothe, and train destitute
girls for domestic service, not the least of the many good works
established under Bishop Brown's rule. They carried on
their work at 20, Soho Street.

In this year the Dean of Limerick founded the Young
Men's Society movement in Liverpool, establishing the first
branch at St. Mary's, Edmund Street. Dean O'Brien began
the new organisation in Ireland in 1849, when the horrors of
the famine shewed signs of abatement. Hs was inspired with
the belief that the rising generation could only be saved from
utter despair by the constant exercise of the religious prac
tices of the Church, especially the frequenting of the
Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist. The funda
mental rule of the Young Men's Society is monthly
attendance at Holy Communion; each Society approaching
the Altar in a body. Divided into guilds, ruled by officers of
their own choosing, and governed by a council formed from
among the members, and subject only to the veto of the
Chaplain, the Society provided means for training its
members in habits of regularity, discipline, obedience, and
manly Christian piety. A social and intellectual side could
be developed inside each separate Society, suited to the rank
and character of its members, which served as an antidote to
outside temptations, and carried on under the banner of the
Church, minimised the possibility of any weakening of their
Faith. This organisation, to which Dean O'Brien gave the
best part of his life, proved an unmixed blessing for the
Catholics of Ireland. To those who migrated into the towns
and cities of England, its value was incalculable. It kept
them together in the bonds of faith and amity, united them to
the clergy and the parish church, and, by mutual intercourse,
kept alive the Catholic faith in their hearts under circum
stances of considerable danger and difficulty. The movement
spread rapidly over England and Scotland; in Liverpool it
took special root. Every parish had its own Society and
club-room, and the files of the local newspapers record a long
list of prominent Catholic laymen, as well as clergymen, who
sought within the four corners of the rules to raise the
despairing victims of the famine from the degradation con
sequent upon life in the overcrowded alleys of Liverpool.
Down to the early eighties, the annual re-unions of the Socie
ties in St. George's Hall, addressed by distinguished Catholic

125

members of both Houses of Parliament, and Bishops, notably
Archbishop Manning, were prominent incidents in local
Catholic life. The Annual Conferences, held in different
towns, to discuss topics of Catholic importance, were the first
attempts to bring together all classes of Catholics on the
common ground of unity of faith, while the monthly meetings
were addressed by prominent local men, who, but for these
societies, would have had few opportunities of coming into
contact with the labouring Irish population, to their mutual
spiritual and temporal advantage.

Father Nugent rendered fine service to this movement,
for which he had a special affection, while men of the stamp
of Michael Daly, the first president of the Central Council,
and that splendid type of cultured Catholic business man,
Michael Fitzpatrick,* president for 20 years, found in the
work a splendid and useful method of carrying on a lay
apostolate among the poorer members of ths Liverpool com
munity. Leading Irishmen, like A. M. Sullivan, M.P.,
John Francis Maguire, M.P., Count Moore, M.P., and even
the Protestant Irish leader, Mr. Isaac Butt, crossed the
Channel frequently to encourage their countrymen in per
severing in their allegiance to Dean O'Brien's ideal, all
convinced that it was the only organisation of that day
which could save the sons and grandsons of the famine years.

* Member of the Liverpool School Board and Education Committee of
the City Council. He was one of the founders of the School of Science,
Technology and Art, established in the old Jesuit church in Sir
Thomas Buildings, now merged in the Liverpool Education Committee.

126

CHAPTER VI.

The first official act of Bishop Goss was the laying of the
foundation stone of the new church of St. Vincent de Paul,
in St. James' Street. The ceremony took place on the trans
ferred feast of St. Patrick, April 6th, 1856. Addressing
the large crowd which had gathered to rejoice at the prospect
of a handsome church replacing the wooden shed in Norfolk
Street, and to give a cordial reception to the new Bishop,
Dr. Goss paid a warm tribute to the Irish residents of the
parish. The site alone cost six thousand pounds, a heavy
initial outlay, and the expense of erecting the beautiful
Gothic structure, designed by Mr. Welby Pugin, could only
be faced by the brave heart of a future Bishop, Father
Bernard O'Reilly. Bishop Goss shared to the full the rector's
confident hopes. " We rely," he said, " hopefully and confi-
" dently; we have no fears, because we are satisfied you carry
" with you the faith which you have inherited from your
" fathers. The foundation stone which is thus laid on the
" transferred feast of your patron saint, St. Patrick, will be
"to you a great and glorious remembrance." His words did
not fall on barren ground, and he was moved deeply as the
Irish ship carpenters of the parish passed in single file, each
laying one day's wages on the newly blessed stone. Then
followed the dock labourers with their offerings, the total
offering amounting to one hundred and one pounds, nine
shillings. In the evening of this auspicious day the Bishop
attended the usual dinner in honour of St. Patrick's Day,
organised by the Catholic Club. It was held in the Adelpin
Hotel, and as a compliment to the parish of St. Vincent's,
one of its parishioners, Mr. James Daly, was selected as the
chairman of the festive gathering. One of the chief guests
was Mr. John Bridge Aspinall, barrister, who in the course
of a speech made the remarkable statement that at the recent
assizes fair play for the first time had been given to a member
of the .Catholic Church. He was referring to an action
for damages brought against a local Conservative
daily newspaper by Mr. Edward Darby, a tide
waiter in Her Majesty's Customs. In an article
headed " A rebel in Her Majesty's Customs," this
partisan journal laid it down as a fixed principle that no
Catholic should be allowed to hold any office under the Crown,
giving as the sole reason that no member of the Catholic

127

Church would perform his duties loyally. The defence set
up at the trial consisted of passages from Catholic theo
logical works, divorced from the context to such an extent as
to represent views quite foreign to the authors' intentions.
The trial served the useful purpose of educating the non-
Catholic population of the town in Catholic beliefs, and under
the direction of the judges, both Protestant Irishmen, Baron
Martin and Justice Willes, the plaintiff was triumphantly
vindicated against the charge that a Catholic and a rebel
were synonymous terms.

During this year the entire cost of the site of St.
Vincent's was paid off; Father O'Reilly's weekly collectors
working with a will to enable him to cope successfully with the
heavy financial burdens which the erection of the new church
involved. The bonds of affection between the rector and these
simple working men grew firmer with advancing years, and
when nearing his seventieth year, with all the responsibilities
of the episcopal office upon his shoulders, Bishop O'Reilly
visited his old collectors when stricken with illness, consoling
them on their death beds in gratitude for splendid services,
rendered freely and whole-heartedly. Bishop Goss, too, had
a warm corner in his heart for St. Vincent's collectors, and
visited them very often at their weekly meeting. The wooden
Stations of the Cross, which adorned the walls of the Norfolk
Street chapel, were the gift of the Bishop, while still a Canon
of the Diocese. The new church was opened on August 26th,
1857. Dr. Leahy, the Bishop of Dromore, crossed the Irish
Sea to preach the inaugural sermon. A quaint figure, with
flowing beard, was the Bishop of Almira, Vicar-Apostolic of
Thibet and Hindostan, who, with Bishop Brown, of Shrews
bury, assisted the Bishop of Liverpool in the performance of
the opening ceremonies. The Rector paid a tribute to the
generosity of his poor Irish flock, who had contributed six
thousand, five hundred pounds, from the inception of the
scheme of building to the date of opening. Every Sunday he
went out with his collectors, visiting house after house,
collecting the pennies which eventually amounted to
the sum mentioned above. It was in this way, as well as
by his assiduous visitations, that he acquired such an exact
knowledge of the lives and history of every family in his
parish. An uncle* of the writer stated that Father O'Reilly
was able to tell not only the names of the parishioners who
attended Sunday Mass, but the number of days each dock
labourer had secured work, their earnings, their wants and
failings. A week never passed without some poor labourer

*Father of the Rev. John Barrett, D.DM B.A.

128

being summoned to the rector's house, to be assisted out of
a slender purse, admonished or advised, as suited the needs
of each individual. A high official of the Police Force paid
him the curious, but meritorious, compliment of being " the
" best policeman " in the town. It can be said of him that,
during the long years of his rectorship at St. Vincent's, he
fulfilled in every detail the hard test laid down by Buskin.*

Such close knowledge of the lives of his people was a
splendid preparation for a most successful episcopate, and
explains the extraordinary affection which every son of St.
Vincent'sf had for him during his lifetime, in that parish,
and afterwards in his more exalted position.

Liverpool Catholics owe much to the Chaloner family.
Mr. Charles Chaloner had built the schools at Grassendale,
and his brother, Mr. Edward Chaloner, generously provided
the schools at St. Oswald's, Old Swan. When Father O'Reilly,
anxious for the moral welfare of the little ones of his crowded
parish, sought to provide them with school accommodation, it
was Mr. Edward Chaloner who came to his assistance.
The enthusiastic priest's (t great solicitude " for the
children, stirred the generous layman to purchase a
disused Methodist chapel in Jordan Street, at a cost of
£4,360, which he handed over, ready furnished, to Father
O'Reilly. On January 4th, 1859, the schools were opened by
a soiree, Bishop Goss presiding. The reply of Mr. Chaloner
to the Bishop's tribute was characteristic of the man and of
his family. He said that good work should be done with
one's money before death, and when he departed it would be
found that he had not left a single penny for charity. Mr.
John Yates, in a speech on this interesting occasion, declared
that every mission in the town now possessed a well appointed
school. Mr. Chaloner's interest in St. Vincent's schools did
not end here. One pleasant memory of every child was the
annual outing at Mr. Chaloner's expense, to his pleasant
country house in Old Swan, an excursion which only
ceased with the death of the kindly-hearted benefactor.
Years later, public improvements involved the demolition of
the Jordan Street school, and with the compensation money,

* " The bishop's office is to oversee the flock ; to number it, sheep by
sheep ; to be ready always to give full account of it. Now it is clear he
cannot give account of the souls if he has not so much as numbered the
bodies of his flock. The first thing, therefore, that a bishop has to do is
at least to put himself in a position, in which, at any moment, he can
obtain the history from childhood of every living soul in his diocese, and
its present state." — " Sesame and Lilies."

fThe writer was baptised by him in St. Vincent de Paul's.

129

awarded by the Corporation, Father O'Reilly built the new
schools in Norfolk Street, and called them the Chaloner
schools.*

In December, 1856, Bishop Goss opened the chapel of
Our Lady Immaculate, in St. Domingo Road, designed by
Mr. Welby Pugin. It was the intention of the founders that
this building should serve as the Lady Chapel of a Cathedral
to be erected on this site, the highest position in the north
end of the city. From an architectural point of view no
better spot could have been chosen. A cathedral of fine pro
portions erected thereon would be the dominating feature of
the city, visible from every point of the estuary and the
south-western portion of the Wirral peninsula. In view of
later changes in this neighbourhood, one cannot refrain
from expressing doubts as to the suitability of a cathedral in
the " storm centre," as it is now known. The idea was
eventually abandoned for financial reasons St. Edward's
seminary and college stands on the site of the estate
purchased in the year 175>7 by a Mr. George Campbell, owner
of a privateer which captured a richly-laden French vessel,
on its way from San Domingo. The profits resulting from
this doubtful transaction placed a considerable sum of money
at the disposal of Mr. Campbell, who gave the name of St.
Domingo to the neighbourhood, which it still bears. The
house now occupied by Bishop Whiteside was built in 1790,
by Mr. J. Sparling, a former Mayor of Liverpool, and later
it became the official residence of Prince William, Duke of
Gloucester, commander of the district forces. In turn it
became a school for young gentlemen. While awaiting an
audience of Bishop Whiteside, in the spring of 1898, the
present writer and the late Mr. William Rathbone, M.P., sat
in the library discussing the history of the building. The
latter made the interesting statement that he and Mr.
Stansfield, a member of Mr. Gladstone's third Cabinet, and
Secretary for War, had received their early education
together in that very room. In later years, \vhen it became
the College of St. Edward, the present Poet Laureate, Mr.
Alfred Austin, was one of the pupils, and from its flat roof,
as he described it some years ago, he enjoyed the then fine
view of Cheshire, North Wales, and the Irish Sea.

Early in his episcopate, Bishop Goss made himself felt
in Liverpool. Week after week, he delivered outspoken,
breezy addresses, which dealt with every phase of municipal,
parochial, and general public matters, as well as purely
Catholic matters. The pressmen followed him from church

* Enlarged in 1893 by the Rev. John Oldham, rector of St. Vincent's ;
now rector of St. Alban's, Athol Street.

130

to platform, fully reporting his vigorous sermons and speeches,
which were widely read, and sometimes severely commented
upon* in the editorial columns of the daily press.

At the dinner held on the evening of April 6th, 1856,
the Bishop made a vigorous onslaught on the Select Vestry,
a body which richly deserved episcopal castigation. " There
" is a class of people called Select Vestrymen, who have taken
" to persecuting in a small way. They are strong and
" valorous, and fiery with religious zeal against the poor
" children, but cowardly when they come face to face with
" men. If we are to have war, we ought to have it in the
" open, with persons who could stand persecution, and not
" on harmless and innocent children/' The Clerk to the
Vestry wrote to the Bishop, enquiring if his speeich, as
reported in the daily papers, was a correct version of his
remarks, adding that, if so, an explanation would be required
by the Brownlow Hill Guardians. There was no sign of
shirking a fight on the part of Dr. Goss. It was his first
criticism of Liverpool public men, and he replied to Mr.
Hart that the speeches of Messrs. Satchell and Jones, at
Vestry Meetings, fully justified his contention that a spirit
of persecution had been displayed towards poor children,
whose miserable lot in life had placed their religion at the
mercy of such narrow-minded men. He proceeded to give
details to substantiate his allegations by charging the Select
Vestry with forcing Patrick and James Joseph Flynn to
attend the Protestant services at the Kirkdale schools, and
with changing the religion of Sara Hawkins in the creed
register, in defiance of the law of the land. This was not
the reply which Vestrymen expected, and they gave expres
sion to their disappointment and annoyance at successive
meetings of the Board. Even the capable chairman, a man
of wide reading and culture, Rector Campbell, accentuated
the situation by declaring from the chair that the persecution
of Protestants was enjoined upon all Catholics as a sacred
duty. What relation this threadbare accusation had to
Bishop Goss's charge that the Vestry had deliberately defied
the law of England, it is difficult to appreciate. Mr. James

* Since these lines were written Mr. John Denvir, once Editor of the
" Catholic Times," has published his delightful " Life story of a rebel."
Speaking of Dr. Goss, he says, " the bishop had a blunt, hitting out
from the shoulder style of speaking that compelled attention. But you
could hardly call them sermons at all ; they were rather powerful dis
courses upon social topics, which, from a newspaper point of view, made
splendid ' copy.' Accordingly, during the year before his death, I followed
him all over the diocese to get his sermon for each week's paper. There is
no doubt that Dr. Goss's sermons helped materially to put a backbone
into the " Catholic Times," and greatly to increase its circulation.

131

Whitty, in a humorous speech, sought to relieve the acuteness
of the position, but the Rector was in no mood for concilia
tion. He proceeded to quote decisions of General Councils
of the Church to defend his proposition, and in so caustic a
tone that his colleagues, roused to a pitch of excitement,
passed a resolution solemnly recording the statement that
Bishop Goss had styled them " bad men '; and " persecutors
" of harmless and innocent children."*

Bishop Goss won a substantial victory in spite of all the
angry feeling displayed by the Tory Protestant members,
and all the outstanding points in dispute were settled save
one.

At the annual Easter elections the irreconcilables issued
placards declaring that " seventeen Popish priests were can-
" vassing for the Liberal candidates,'' and strenuously
appealing to the electors not to submit to " Popish teachers
" and nurses " in the schools of the Parish. The Liberals
triumphed at the poll. They were not by any means pro-
Catholic, but simply fair-minded men, prepared to obey the
law and to enquire into complaints made by substantial
persons. The Mr. W. Jones to whom Dr. Goss had called
special attention re-opened the floodgates of controversy by
calling the attention of the Vestry to the fact that some eight
or nine children at Kirkdale would not " chant " grace at
meal times, and made a violent attack on Father Doyle for
having, as he alleged, incited them to do so. That hundreds
of Catholic children did " chant " the usual prayer was a
point Mr. Jones conveniently ignored, and his extravagant
utterances culminated in the extraordinary allegation that
every child for whom a situation had been found by the
Guardians had absconded as the result of the debates in the
Board Room.

The theory that children in and around Liverpool read
the daily papers, was too amusing for even the Select Vestry
to swallow, but they seriously discussed the " chanting " of
grace. Mr. Owen pointed out that the Poor Law Order
enjoined the " saying " of the prayer, not by the children but
by the headmaster, Mr. H. J. Hagger, or his deputy. Father
Doyle defended himself warmly in the columns of the news
papers, though not quite discreetly it must be admitted, and
the petty persecutions which he revealed won sympathy for
him, even from those who disliked his methods. The Central
Poor Law Authority was appealed to, but the result gave
no satisfaction to either parties to the unseemly controversy,

* See Report of proceedings in "Mercury," Sept. 9th, 1857, which
occupies three columns.

132

and was followed by a series of angry debates which lowered
the reputation of the Select Vestry.

The Board generally disliked religious controversy and
rejected a proposal to allow a well-known Protestant lecturer
to address indiscriminately the inmates of the workhouse
wards. Mr. James Whitty quaintly observed that the
Scripture readers already entering the workhouse poured
out the waters of life with such unction that they took good
care to let the Papist get more than his share of the spray.
Just at this moment another Catholic gentleman joined the
Board, Mr. Cafferata.* He was in time to witness another
outbreak. A boy named Doran was entered in the creed
register as a Protestant, owing to the absence of his mother
from Liverpool at the time- of admission. His illness turning
out to be serious, the boy's grandmother and aunt gave the
governor, Mr. Coates, the religious history of the family,
which induced him to permit the priest to administer the last
Sacraments. The fires of controversy were re-kindled.
Violent tirades against the priest were delivered in the Parish
Offices ; it was all in vain that the impartial Vestrymen urged
that the governor had called in the priest in good faith, under
justifiable circumstances.

Controversy then broke out in the West Derby
Union. An Anglican clergyman, named Fenton, proposed
that the Sisters of Mercy, from Mount Vernon, be no longer
allowed to visit the Catholic inmates, giving the grotesque
reason that nuns were not " licensed ministers of religion."
A Mr. Kirkus, speaking as a Protestant, said they would do
well as guardians to emulate the Sisters of Mercy in their
devotednees to the sick poor. The motion was not carried,
but there was no mistaking the opinions of the majority, who
were hostile to any methods, private or public, to console
or alleviate the Catholics under their care. An opportunity
soon presented itself to enable the headmaster of the work
house school to act upon the implied wishes of his masters.
He turned the Sisters out of the schools', when visiting one
day, alleging that they had attempted to influence a Catholic
girl. Father Corrie Grant, S.J., of St. Francis Xavier's,
took up the cause of the nuns, attending a meeting of the
Guardians, where he pointed out that both Catholics and
Protestants of tender years were forced every Sunday to
attend the services of the English Church. He invoked the
protection which the law provided for the safeguarding of a
child's faith, but the loyalty of West Derby Guardians for
years was always subordinated to sectarian interests. Stung

* Despite the Italian surname, members of his family were Freemen of
the Town.

133

by Father Grant's exposures, they decided by one vote to
exclude the nuns altogether. The minority, all Protestants
be it said, were accused by their colleagues of being merely
" Catholics in disguise," doing the work of Rome in secret.
Mr. Kirkus, a Liberal member, scored heavily off the
Protestant Reformation Society, which had fomented the
West Derby Union quarrel. This organisation had run away
without paying the rent for some rooms used for propaganda
purposes, and Mr. Kirkus, who proved to be the owner of
the property, suggested at the Guardians meeting that a love
for Gospel teaching was not at all inconsistent with the pay
ment of just debts. This little joke did not improve the
temper of the proselytisers .

The " leakage " due to the obstacles placed in the way
of Catholic children receiving instruction, was a source of
anxiety to the Bishop during all the years of his episcopal
rule. Any attempt to stop it only provoked angry recrimi
nations from the militant Protestants, who had come under
the influence of Dr. McNeill, and thwarted every effort to
successfully promote harmonious relations between all classes.

Mr. Cropper, a leading member of the Select Vestry,
foreseeing the danger of further politico-religious strife, made
an earnest effort to remove some of the irritating grievances
under which Catholics suffered inside the workhouse. The
Board had refused to allow any Catholic service inside the
walls of Brownlow Hill, consequently those w'ho desired to
hear Mass went outside on Sunday mornings. From an
administrative point of view it was dangerous to allow inmates
to go outside in large numbers, especially as every ne'er-do-
well anxious to get out for ulterior purposes declared himself
a Catholic. Articles of clothing, bed linen, etc., were stolen
by the latter class, and it was found impossible in practice to
search a large number leaving on Sunday mornings. Inmates
returned in the evening intoxicated, and disturbed the wards
by their noisy behaviour. These evil results were due entirely
to the policy of the ultra-Protestant members, who refused to
listen to the simple demand that a room should be set apart
for the Sunday Mass. The Liberal members supported Mr.
Cropper's demand for a searching enquiry into the conduct
of inmates declaring themselves " Catholics " to get outside,
and the result was that a room was reserved for Catholic
services. " Protestant " feeling was still too strong to permit
of full liberty of access to the Catholic inmates by the clergy,
and the restriction was imposed that only one priest should be
permitted to celebrate Mass and perform the other duties of
the sacred office. As no salary or reward of any kind was

134

offered, it was almost impossible to secure from the neighbour
ing chapel of St. Philip Neri the continuous services of the
same priest, Sunday and week-day. Bishop Goss opened
negotiations with the Vestry, and an arrangement was finally
arrived at by which Father Fleetwood became the first chap
lain, with full permission to call upon the services of his
brethren* in Hope Street when necessary ; but only one priest
at a time could be in the building.

Mr. George Melly, as the result of a few months' experi
ence as a Vestryman, induced his colleagues to allow a number
of ladies interested in charitable work to visit the women's
and children's quarters. Twelve ladies were selected, Father
James Nugent nominating four Catholics — Misses Mary and
Isabella Gillow, Annie and Eliza Roskell. The excellent
work thus inaugurated by a worthy member of a worthy
family has been in operation down to this hour, and has
proved an unmixed blessing in the women's quarters. Step
by step Catholics were securing some measure of fairplay, and
only by strenuous warfare, which was distasteful to the
Catholic leaders. The aid given to them by the Liberal
party was invaluable, and knit fresh bonds of attachment
between them and both English and Irish Catholics.

The political influence of the Catholics was increasing.
Mr. C. J. Corbally, after a spirited contest, won Vauxhall
Ward by 56 votes from the retiring Conservative member, on
the 1st of November, 1857. A Parliamentary election
earlier in the same year gave the Catholic electors a chance of
inflicting a defeat on the bitterest section of their opponents.
Liverpool has rarely enjoyed the privilege common to every
other constituency in England of giving a straight vote on some
important political issue. Religious controversy has always
been introduced in one form or another, and this insane
policy must be held responsible in the main for the fierce out
breaks of " religious " rancour, which revive old and senseless
antagonisms. The Liberals nominated only one candidate,
Mr. J. C. Ewart; the Conservatives nominating candidates
for both seats. One of the latter, Mr. Charles Turner, raised
the bogey of No-Popery on the Maynooth grant, which he
managed rather adroitly to tack on to opposition to the
opening of the Crystal Palace on Sundays. The Catholic
leaders supported the Liberal candidate, but also resolved to
defeat Mr. Turner by advising their co-religionists to give
their second vote to the other Conservative candidate. It was
a risky policy, but the electioneering capacity of the Irish

* One of whom was Father Nugent.

135

voters was quite equal to the occasion. To the surprise of all
parties, Bishop Goss took advantage of a dinner on St.
Patrick's night, in the Irish Catholic Club, to give episcopal
approval to the policy of the leading members of the Catholic
community. "He hoped they would not vote for the man who
" would oppose the grant to Maynooth, and who objected to
" rational recreation on Sundays. He asked Mr. Turner if he
" never walked in his garden on Sundays. If it was not a sin
" for him to do so, why should it be sinful for a poor man to
*' go to the Crystal Palace, or take a walk in the country? "
This unexpected advocacy of Sunday recreation by a Catholic
Bishop rallied a large number of Radical voters and non-party
men to vote for Ewart and against Turner, who was defeated
on the polling day.

In 1857, the Bishop had the pleasure of opening the
Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy, Mount Vernon, when Father
W. H. Anderdon, a nephew of Cardinal Manning, preached, and
on April 19th of the same year he blessed the new bells of St.
Anne's, Overbury Street. At the latter ceremony the Bishop
observed that as yet Catholic Churchesi could not have a peal
of bells, and said he could not understand why, if one bell were
allowed, the country would be ruined by the provision of two.
In May, 1857, he laid the first stone of the new aisle of St.
James', Marsh Lane, Bootle, which was opened by him on the
31st December, accommodation being thus provided for five
hundred and twenty persons. By this time the Benedictine
Fathers of St. Mary's had completely renovated the Ray Street
Schools, in order to qualify for the new grants from the Privy
Council, and on the 19th July, 1857, a soiree was held in the
schools' to celebrate the event. To those who remember the
venerable Rector of St. Peter's, Seel Street, Father Percy
Maurus Anderson, O.S.B., and were acquainted with his
musical skill, it will be interesting to record that at this gather
ing he made his first appearance in Liverpool, and " surprised "
the audience by his fine tenor voice. He had travelled from
Yorkshire to join his brethren of St. Benedict in their
rejoicings.

The Blue Book of 1857 comments favourably upon
the great strides made by the Catholics of Liverpool
in the provision of schools and teachers, and the
marked improvement in the quality of the male teachers.

Hammersmith had now begun to make its work felt.
The schools singled out for special reference include one well-
known in Liverpool. " St. Francis Xavier's, Liverpool, under
"Mr. Andrew Kelly; St. Ignatius', Preston, under Mr.

136

"Lehane; the Catholic school at Lancaster, under Mr.
" Henry, deserve the highest praise. The two nxst> named
schools were attached to missions conducted by the Jesuits.
The Report goes on to single out the boys' schools at Liscard,
Carlisle, Burnley and Longton, and proceeds: "Still, after
" due allowance has been made for all which the praiseworthy
" efforts of the masters above named, and others of the same
" stamp, have accomplished for boys, it cannot be denied that
" the girls' schools exhibit the same superiority to which
" their Lordships' attention has been formerly called." This
continued tribute to the unique results attained by the nuns
oi' the various teaching orders, and the wonderful interest
evinced by the Privy Council in their success, paved the way
for further recognition and support from Imperial sources.
Educationalists of all classes were stimulated by their example
and for some years attempted feebly to copy their methods,
though even yet the distinction between work for gain, and
that performed in the spirit of self-sacrifice and self-renun
ciation, is not adequately appreciated. At the end of the
year 1854, 325 girls were serving their apprenticeship in
Catholic schools, but were unable to avail themselves of the
Queen's Scholarships, founded July 14th, 1855, because of
the absence of any Training College for Catholic girls. The
Poor School Committee were occupied with the enlargement
of Hammersmith, but hampered by lack of means, they were
unable to provide similar accommodation for girls. The
Sisters of Notre Dame came to the rescue. In 18551, Mr.
Allies, Secretary of the Poor School Committee, proceeded to
Namur to lay the difficulties of the Catholics of England
before the Superior-General. The use of Mount Pleasant
was offered, with the stipulation that the Sisters were not to
be called upon to surrender their property, or asked to pay
the entire cost of maintenance. The Committee set aside one
hundred and fifty pounds, and arranged to pay a capitation
grant of two pounds per annum for every student in atten
dance. H.M. Inspector sanctioned the use of the building
for twenty-one students, and the world-famous Training
College set out on its unparalleled history. Among those who
came in 1855 to begin the projected college was a future
Sister Superior, Sister Mary of St. Philip. She sat in
December of that year at the first examination for the
Queen's Scholarships, held in Mount Pleasant, at which
eight students passed in the first class, and eleven in the
second. Further extensions took place in 1857, to provide
for sixty students, and in the succeeding scholarship examina
tion, twenty-seven students passed in tlie first class and
twelve in the second, a result, to quote the Inspector's

137

report, " unparalleled in the history of training schools."
The growing number of students, the demand for capable
teachers, and the reputation of the Sisters, brought with
them additional responsibilities, and further buildings had
to be provided in 1859.

Distinguished visitors came from all parts of the country
to enquire into the working of the successful college, notably
Sir James Kay Shuttleworth, who, before leaving, said " his
" visit added to the strong conviction he had always felt of
" the great power given to training colleges by making them
" denominational."

Teachers, trained under such conditions, carried with
them to distant parts of the country the beat traditions of
the Sisters, and instilled some degree of their spirit into those
schools where it was impossible to secure the services of the
nuns themselves. Sister Jeanne de Jesus, who had been
Superior for two years, died on March 22nd, 1859, a severe
blow to the infant Training College, and was succeeded by
Sister Mary Theresa, " who has been the mainstay of every-
u thing in Mount Pleasant from that day to this (1885.)"*

The funeral of Sister Jeanne, at St. Oswald's, was
attended by fifty-five students in training and one hundred and
eighty scholars from the Practising and High Schools. Her
services to education were warmly eulogised by the Liberal
newspapers of the day.

Mr. Nasmyth Stokes, in his first report to Whitehall,
remarked that " the Practising School at Mount Pleasant,
" though attended by only one hundred children, gives an
" admirable model of a well organised and thoroughly
" taught school. Students in training are frequently taken
" to other schools in the town, and thus enlarge their
" experience by visits to departments of various kinds." By
the year 1852, Mount Pleasant had supplied 57 trained
teachers to the town and district. Out of 556 candidates
and apprentices examined in 1861, 74 came from Mount
Pleasant High School and 67 from the Practising School.
St. Francis Xavier's alone sent up 72 girls for examination.

In 1858 Cardinal Wiseman visited Liverpool, and was the
guest of Mr. Edward Chaloner. To the surprise of many good
people he proposed to visit the Protestant Reformatory ship,
41 Akbar," and was warmly welcomed by the committee of
management. The Bishop of Liverpool did not attend, and
His Eminence was accompanied by the Bishop of Shrewsbury,

* See History of Notre Dame, Liverpool, published 1885.

IBB

Father Nugent, and many of the clergy. The next evening
he delivered a lecture at the Philharmonic Hall on the appro
priate subject : " Is the present education of the poor of a
" sufficiently practical character, or can this be imparted to
" it? " He laid down principles1 in this address which proved
to be much ahead of his time, and even now are not universally
acted upon. " Few," he said, " remained sufficiently long at
" school to receive a decent education ; the poor under-valued
"it. We must endeavour to the utmost to put forward educa-
" tion and excite the poor particularly to take advantage of it.
" . . Education must not be merely mental but manual,
" to make him who receives it not only skilful but dexterous,
" so that he might know how to use his hands and arms1. He
" did not consider the education of an officer complete if he
" could not wield his sword, brandish it over his head, and
" strike one down with it. Nor should we consider the educa-
" tion of the artisan complete if he could not wield with
" strength his1 hammer, or that of the peasant unless he could
" hold and guide his plough. Clearly, if education had no
" reference to the future life of the boy or girl, it was a mere
" waste of time and power of the scholar and of the teacher."
The Cardinal went on to suggest that washhouses and kitchens
be attached to all schools for girls, and asked, " Could no plan
" be devised whereby the boys who were at school could like-
" wise be employed so many hours a day in industrial pursuits,
" to the prosecution of a trade in one form or another ? It was
" because the poor saw no practical result from the present
" method of education that they did not like education, and
" took their children away at the very earliest moment." He
complained also that the teachers for both town and country
schools were trained on the same lines, a policy which he
soundly condemned. This protest against a mere literary
education of the children of the poor attracted the attention of
the townspeople, who rubbed their eyes with amazement at
such practical lessons being taught in a Protestant town by a
prince of the Holy Roman Church. There was a section,
however, which did not welcome the Cardinal. Sufficient for
them that he was a " Papist." As his carriage drove away
along Hope Street, at the conclusion of the meeting, it was
followed by a mob of Orangemen, who smashed the carriage
with stones and missiles of various kinds so effectively that it
only realised fifteen pounds when, two days later, it was
offered for sale at Lucas's Repository. A number of the
assailants were arrested, and in inflicting sentence on one
young man, Mr. J. S. Mansfield, the Stipendiary Magistrate,
observed : " I suppose some statement about Protestant feeling,

139

" or other hypocritical excuse, will be got up to counteract this
" infamous and disgraceful outrage." The prisoner said he
had gone to see Dr. McNeill debating with the Cardinal.

Having completed the Fontenoy Street Schools, the Oblate
Fathers set to work to provide a much-needed church to replace
the small temporary chapel. Ten thousand Catholics were living
in Holy Cross parish, and, owing to the overcrowded state of
the two neighbouring parishes, it was physically impossible for
all the adults to hear Mass on Sundays. The clergy organised
a meeting at the Concert Hall, Lord Nelson Street, on
February 1st, 1859. Bishop Goss presided. Mr. J. B.
Aspinall proposed " That, from the numbers of the Catholic
" population, the present chapel has been found insufficient,
" both for the decent celebration of the Divine mysteries and
" even the safety of the public." He paid a warm tribute to
the labours of the " foreign "* priests at Holy Cross and in
the Eldon Street district, and expressed his personal pleasure
in being asked to take part in the provision of a new church
in a district which had attracted him from the outset. The
resolution was seconded by Mr. Walton, f and amongst the
other speakers was Councillor Richard Sheil. A subscription
list was opened, and was1 headed by a donation of one hundred
pounds from the Holy Cross Temperance Society. So much
progress had been made that the Oblates arranged to have the
first stone placed in position on June 13th, 1859. Bishop Goss
performed the ceremony in the presence of some thirty priests,
including Dr. Fisher, { a future Vicar-General, Fathers
O'Reilly (the third Bishop), Dutertre, O.M.I., Jolivet, O.M.I.
(the future Bishop of Natal), Vanderspitte, Grandidier,
Duggan, Power, and Magrath. The address delivered by the
Bishop consisted almost entirely of an earnest appeal to the
people to keep away from the neighbourhood of the Old Swan,
where, on the previous day, the Orangemen had provoked a
serious riot. The Bishop was well aware of the militant
character of the Irishmen of the parish, and feared they would
march out to Old Swan on the following Sunday, when a
renewal of hostilities was threatened. His advice was taken,
and the rows which made the Old Swan district infamous were
not renewed. The following year, on October 14th, the new
church was solemnly opened by Bishop Goss, who sang the
High Mass, a former Liverpool priest, now Bishop of
Nottingham, Dr. Roskell, preaching the sermon in the

* Fathers Dutertre, Jolivet and Amiste were Frenchmen.

t Father of Mr. Justice Walton.
I President of St. Edward's College.

140

presence of a great assembly of priests and laity. Solemn
Vespers and Te Deum were sung in the afternoon, when a
famous Irish priest preached, the Rev. Dr. Lavelle, of Partry,
and after compline in the evening the pulpit was occupied
by the Rev. Dr. Marshall, formerly of St. Anthony's,
Scotland Road, but then stationed at Edinburgh. The
" Liverpool Mercury " of that day described the church as
" decidedly the best specimen of ecclesiastical architecture,
with one exception, of which Liverpool could boast."
On the 2nd of February, 1859, Dr. Goss laid the
foundation stone of the fine church in Eldon Street,
designed by Mr. Welby Pugin, and dedicated to Our
Lady of Reconciliation de la Salette. Owing to the unfavour
able weather the ceremony was performed under a huge tent,
and, as the Bishop expressed it, " one more milestone was
" erected to mark the uprise of the poor Catholics at that part
"of the town." Newspaper want of knowledge of Catholic
matters was- displayed in the reports, which expressed surprise
at a Capuchin heading the procession. Father Vanderspitte,
the founder of the Mission, had worked a moral revolution in
this rather notorious district, and had even founded a fine
brass band among his young men, which, under the tuition of
Monsieur Nono, maintained a reputation in musical circles for
many years. The cnurch was opened on the 15th August of
the following year.

In 1859, Canon Thomas Newsham retired from his
strenous labours at St. Anthony's, to a country mission at
Fleetwood, and was succeeded by the Rev. Pierse Power, who
had spent eleven years at St. Patrick's. One of his first acts
was to wage war with the Select Vestry because of the negli
gence of some of its officers in attending to the poor in his
new parish. Unlike most clerical complainants addressing
themselves to that body, he had the satisfaction of being
listened to, and of proving his case, for the Vestry not only
censured the offender but passed a resolution warning him that
any repetition of neglect would ensure dismissal from office.
Strife broke out anew at Brownlow Hill. Allegations were
made against one of the lady visitors, Miss Gillow, that she
had tampered with the religion of a girl, with the suggestive
name of Foley. This girl, then fifteen years of age, and an
inmate of the workhouse, had previously been an inmate of
the Kirkdale Schools, and registered as a Catholic. Inside the
" house " she was a Protestant, and, not unnaturally, Miss
Gillow spoke to her on the matter. For so doing the Work
house Committee called upon her for an explanation, accusing
her of having threatened the girl at the same time. Miss

141

Gillow ignored the request, sending to Father Nugent an
explanation and denial of the allegations. She was under the
impression that as he had secured her services, Father Nugent
was the right person to whoun to give any explanation of her
conduct as a visitor. The Workhouse Committee resolved that
Miss Gillow should ceasie her visitations, whereupon her
brother, Mr. William Gillow, 55, Shaw Street, wrote to the
Vestry Clerk suggesting that another tribunal should investi
gate the charges', as he had no confidence in the impartiality of
the Workhouse Committee. His application was not acceded
to, and Miss Gillow was compelled to resign. Father Richard
Doyle, visiting priest at the schools, scarcely allowed a meeting
to pass without calling attention to some case in which the
creed register was marked inaccurately. He was accused, of
annoying the parochial authorities, and replied that he had
no intention of doing that; but his duty to the Catholics
outside who paid him his stipend did not permit him to
knowingly allow Catholic children to receive Protestant
instruction. In this connection it is remarkable that bearing
in mind the enormous Catholic population of the Parish of
Liverpool, and the poverty in which most of them were
plunged, 58'2 of the children in Kirkdale in 1859 were
registered as members of the Church of England.

Further difficulties arose in the " house " when Bishop
Goss wrote to the Vestry, pointing out that every Catholic was
bound by the law of the Church to approach the Sacraments
during the season of Lent. He urged that, as the Catholic
inmates belonged to the very poorest class, they were neces
sarily the most ignorant, and needed special instruction before
receiving Holy Communion. Father Fleetwood was then
growing old and infirm, and the Bishop urged the Vestry to
rescind their former decision to allow only one priest to enter
the building. He further suggested that Father Nugent or
Father Laverty, of the Institute, might be allowed to assist in
the work. Mr. Churchwarden Cropper met this request by
the impudent declaration that of his own knowledge Father
Fleetwood was in sound bodily health, and well able to per
form the duties referred to, and carried the Workhouse
Committee with him in refusing the Bishop's request. Messrs.
Whitty and Cafferata employed the interval between this
meeting and that of the Vestry so well that they secured
victory by thirteen votes to five. Father Nugent, who was
now in the very front rank of the clergy, performed his new
duty with such tact and discretion that no complaint was ever
made against his admission to the cold surroundings of the
room in which he gave instructions and heard confessions

142

alternately with his two colleagues. At that moment the
Catholic body throughout the country was generally
unpopular, by reason of the stream of secessions from the
Anglican Church of prominent clergymen and laymen. This
made itself felt in Liverpool, too, where the secession of the
Rev. A. G. Marshall, curate at St. Matthias', brought down
upon him censures as undeserved as they were severe from his
incumbent. The signal tact of Mr. James Whitty preserved
the general toleration of the Liberal members of the Select
Vestry, who, Churchmen and Dissenters alike, could not avoid
being influenced by the general sense of uneasiness at the
growing " dominance of Rome."

Father Patrick O'Callaghan, O.S.B., of St. Mary's, died
on the 31st March, 1858. His funeral was the occasion of a
remarkable demonstration of grief on the part of his former
parishioners, who, two thousand in number, marched four
deep, from Edmund Street to Grassendale churchyard.
Ninety -two carriages followed the hearse. Mr. C. J. Cbrbally,
J.P., stated that his " commercial friends on 'Change were
" bewildered at such an extraordinary manifestation of
" sorrow " for a simple priest, and freely expressed their
amazement as the huge procession passed down Exchange
Street East.

The vast Catholic population of the town, and the
passing of the Intra-mural Act of 1859, created the demand
for a Catholic cemetery. In any case the space for burials
in the vaults or graveyards of St. Anthony's, St. Patrick's,
St. Nicholas' and St. Peter's had become seriously curtailed
by the passage of time. Following the Irish practice, the
dead were carried through the streets to these churches on
the shoulders of their friends, the bearers being changed at
intervals, it being regarded as a mark of respect to be
allowed a share in the merciful work of burying the dead.
Canon Newsham had purchased an estate of twenty-four
acres at Ford, and on Sunday, September 22nd, 185'9, Bishop
Goss blessed the wooden crosses which were to serve as the
Via Dolorosa. He drove in state from St. Patrick's, accom
panied by the leading clergy, the entire route being crowded
with people, wending their way to Ford, to witness the
ceremony. The " Liverpool Mercury," in its report of the
proceedings, stated that " several hundred carriages, cabs,
" omnibuses, and spring carts," laden with passengers,
drove behind the Bishop's carriage ; a motley, but represen
tative, procession.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was consecrated,
September 8th, 1861, fifteen thousand people crowding into

143

the cemetery grounds. It is a curious fact that an augmented
choir and orchestra rendered Haydn's First Mass on this
occasion, an illustration of the ideas then prevailing as to
suitable music for the opening of a cemetery chapel.

The outbreak of the Italian Revolution in 1860, brought
fresh troubles to the Catholics of Liverpool. Naturally they
desired to express loyalty to, and sympathy with, the august
head of the Church, whose estates were invaded by men
whose ideal of a united Italy was tarnished with a fierce
hatred of the Christian religion itself. The motive power
behind the revolution was not quite the* spirit of pure love
of Italy, or hatred of the Austrians; its roots lay deeper.
Parish meetings were held, and special collections of Peter's
Pence made in every church. Mr. Edward Chaloner gave
five hundred pounds, at his own parish church of St. Oswald,
and two hundred and fifty at St. Vincent's. Bishop Goss
proceeded to Rome, to lay at the feet of Pope Pius the Ninth
the addresses of loyalty from every corner of his diocese, and
the extremely generous offerings of the faithful.

Liverpool became quite uneasy at these demonstrations,
and the opportunity was seized by itinerant street preachers
to arouse the lower orders of the town into hostile manifes
tations against the Church. Englishmen generally
sympathised warmly with the Italian Movement, but it
cannot be admitted that the outburst of bigotry against
Liverpool Catholics came from men who understood the
bearings of a delicate international question. The relations
between the different parties and the Catholic leaders became
more and more strained, until the early seventies, when the
Temporal Power of the Popes was destroyed and Victor
Emmanuel proclaimed King of Italy. This friction had
unfortunate consequences. The rapidly closing gulf between
Catholics and their fellow citizens was widened, works of
charity were hindered and the Catholic leaders had a
difficult task to perform in preventing even worse conse
quences. Without sacrificing any principle they displayed
great tact in their public relations, and credit is due in the
main to the splendid leadership of Mr. James Whitty.

Garibaldi opened an agency in Castle Street, under the
management of a soldier, Captain Hampton, to secure
recruits for the " Italian patriots. " The officers of the
volunteer corps lent their drill shed in Devon Street to
Captain Hampton, for the purposes of drilling the Liverpool
" volunteers." In September, 1860, no less than eighty
" volunteers " marched to Lime Street Station, accompanied
by cheering crowds who looked upon them merely as enemies

144

of the Pope, without any thought of the actual merits of
the question at issue.

Some differences manifested themselves in the Catholic
body. Many were in favour of the expulsion of the Austrians,
sympathising with the Italian Nationalist movement against
foreign rule, and a small minority, undoubtedly, were
favourable to the separation of the Holy See from purely
political relations with the European States. At this early
stage of the Italian troubles, many English and Irish
Catholics appeared to believe that once the Italians were freed
from the rule of the Austrian, peace would be won for Italy,
and security obtained for the absolute freedom of the
Sovereign Pontiff. As Englishmen forgot how the Temporal
Power saved British Commerce, in the reign of Pope Pius
the Seventh, when he refused to obey Napoleon's command
to close his harbours against English shipping, many Catholics
also forgot the real significance and value of the Pope's
unfettered possession of the patrimony of St. Peter.* The
" Liverpool Daily Post " took a very prominent part in
advancing the views of the Catholic minority, or Liberal
Catholics, as they were quite erroneously termed. The
founder and editor was Mr. M. J. Whitty, a native of
County Wexford; an ex-ecclesiastical student; Head Con
stable of Liverpool ; founder of the Eire Brigade, and of the
first penny daily newspaper.

There was a Catholic weekly, "The Northern Press/'
printed and published in Post Office Place, which had a large
circulation in the town and neighbourhood. Its editor was
Mr. S. B. Harper, a convert from the Anglican Church. He
wielded a vigorous pen, and took up an uncompromising
Catholic attitude, which brought about a battle of pens
between himself and the editor of the " Daily Post." In the
contest he was worsted. The brilliant Wexfordman, with
the advantages of an excellent education, a considerable
knowledge of Catholic theological works, a facile pen, and the
advantage, from a political standpoint, of being quite un
orthodox, overwhelmed the rival editor. Mr. Whitty laid
down the following proposition in the editorial columns of
the " Post " : — " Frankly accepted and boldly turned to
" account, the loss of the Temporal Power might have secured
" to the Catholic Church a new lease of life, more vigorous
" and beneficent than it had ever yet enjoyed." The
" Northern Press " replied to this rather specious argument

* For an excellent exposition of the case for the Temporal Power,
see Bishop Whiteside's Pastoral on the accession of Pius the Tenth.

145

in a well-informed, but rather loosely written, -editorial,
which gave Mr. Whitty an opportunity of shewing that all
Liverpool Catholics did not follow Mr. Harper's reasoning.
On October 23rd, 1860, he wrote : " We have asserted
" frequently that the Ultramontanes did not represent the
" Roman Catholics of England and Ireland. There is in
" this town a Catholic newspaper, called the ' Northern
" ' Press,' conducted, in reference to its principles, with con-
" siderable ability, but, as its principles are vile, hurtful alike
" to religion and to man. The English Roman Catholics
" decline to support it, they refuse to subscribe, they do not
" read it. This is not to be wondered at, for it is eternally
" abusing Victor Emmanuel, Garibaldi, and the 'Daily Post.' '
It is evident from a perusal of its columns that the
" Northern Press " was not a Liberal organ, and this very
probably accounts for Mr. Whitty 's assertion that the
English Roman Catholics did not read it, to say nothing of
its extravagant language and want of dignity, which
certainly did give offence to many leading Catholics. Here
is a fair sample : " What we want to know is, who made the
" ' Daily Post' our teacher? What right has this miserable
" driveller to thrust itself before us ,as a teacher of what is
" best for Catholics to do or not to do? Who is to blame for
" this weekly, almost daily, insulting scribble against us
"'Catholics? We will answer that question. Catholics are
" themselves to blame. We are a mean, miserable, time-
" serving body, after all, without a spark of true Catholic
" honesty about us. The smiles of fortune and success in
" this world generally emasculate character, so that men who
" ought to be at the head of every Catholic movement sit at
" ease, in the midst of their acquired abundance, and neglect
" their duty to their fellow man. Nationality, public spirit,
" self -sacrifice, are blotted out from their vocabulary, and the
" more they advance in prosperity, the more they are eaten
"up by selfishness. . . So Victor Emmanuel is applauded,
" Garibaldi is raised to the gods, and the Pope may fall to
" the ground, for all these liberal minded Catholics care.
" Catholics are to blame for the shame and obloquy that has
" of late been thrown on their religion. We truckle to
" the spirit of the world ; we sneak along and hide our honest
" feelings, because we are too cowardly to stand up for them
" and bear the battle with the world. The ' Daily Post '
" comes out, morning after morning, with lies and calumnies,
" and we read it, and, what is worse, feel but little indig-
" nation, when the mantle of burning shame should crimson
" our cheeks to hear and read these vile insults to our holy
" Faith." There is internal evidence in this picturesque bit

146

of ink slinging that Mr. Whitty had good grounds for his
belief that some Catholics of prominence were not quite
orthodox on the question of the Temporal Power. It must,
however, be said that at this early period of the Italian move
ment no one anticipated that the Sovereign Pontiff would be
deprived of the whole of his territory, and placed in the invi
dious position of being practically a subject of the King of Italy
without that freedom which the Head of the Church should
enjoy in his relations with the Christian world. Herein lay
the real nature of the differences which did prevail in
" English Roman Catholic " circles, in Liverpool and neigh
bourhood. The " Daily Post5' replied briefly that it had
"never printed a line insulting to any Christian faith."
Catholic opinion was excited at the vigorous attacks on the
Temporal Power by this journal, and a movement began,
which came to nought, to establish a daily paper which the
Catholics of the town might read without having their
feelings wounded. At a meeting of St. Mary's Young Men's
Society, Father Almond, O.S.B., said, " while we look forward
" to that boon, let us not forget the boon we have, the
' ' Northern Press.7 Let us not separate this night without
"saying, 'bad luck to the 'Daily Post!" " (Hisses.)

The " Mercury " departed from the lofty tone which had
characterised its columns. Instead of confining its criticisms
to the real points at issue in Italy, it poured out a torrent of
personal abuse on Pope Pius, whose allocutions it described
(C as1 largely enriching the literature of Billingsgate." To make
matters worse, wild stories were put in circulation of perse
cution of Protestants in Spain, which lost nothing in the
telling, week after week, in the press and on the platform.
Bishop Goss spoke out against these accusations and
challenged Sir Robert Peel to produce evidence in support
of the allegations. Public opinion was too excited to secure
a fair hearing, and the first evidence of this was the rejection
from Vauxhall Ward by two votes, of the retiring Catholic
Liberal, Mr. C. J. Cor bally.

This gentleman accepted his defeat quietly and sought
a seat on the Burial Board of the Parish His nomination
was challenged on religious grounds by the Tory leaders, but
the great bulk of the Liberal electors stood by him, and with
Messrs. Thornely and S. B. Jackson he was successful at the
poll. With his partner, Mr. Richard Shell, he was placed
on the Commission of the Peace, on the nomination of the
Liberal leader. The Catholic Club organised a series of
lectures to educate public opinion on the points then disturb
ing the Protestant mind, the first lecture being delivered in
the Philharmonic Hall, by Dean O'Brien, Limerick, founder

147

of the Young Men's Societies, the subject matter being " The
" Church and Human Progress."

The elections in 1861 closed an interesting chapter in the
political history of Liverpool Catholics. Compulsory attend
ance of children in elementary schools was in the air, and the
establishment of a system of national schools was fast becoming
a fixed principle of the Liberal party. Hitherto Catholics of
all ranks, with very few exceptions, in Lancashire were staunch
opponents of the Conservative party ; now there were signs of
disintegration. Fearful lest the rising school of Liberalism
might injure the denominational schools', some of the Catholic
gentry, notably Sir Robert Gerard, appeared on the Conserva
tive platform. That they were influenced by the demand for
household franchise and Parliamentary reform and other
advanced Liberal proposals is certain, but the rupture was
precipitated by the new developments of education policy.

Mr. W. E. Gladstone had refused to stand again for the
county division then known as South Lancashire. This con
stituency included Southport, Wigan, St. Helens1, Warrington,
Leigh, Ormskirk, and the freeholders of Liverpool and Man
chester. If anywhere, there was a large Catholic vote inside
this area. To secure it was1 the aim of the Liberals and Tories
alike for their respective champions, Mr. Cheetham and Mr.
Charles Turner. The Liberals estimated that the Noncon
formist and Catholic electors out-numbered the official
Conservatives by three to one, and looked forward with great
confidence to a substantial majority.

The Conservative candidate had been defeated in Liverpool,
as already related, because of his1 strong anti-Catholic views
and his constant appearances on McNeilPs platform. That
any Catholic would vote for him appeared to be outside the
bounds of possibility. Lord Derby made a strenuous effort to
win the seat for Mr. Turner, and' the Liberal Party became
alarmed at the circulation of a rumour that at the previous
general election Cardinal Wiseman had issued private
instructions to the Bishops to support Lord Derby, who had
promised in return, so it was alleged, to concede the appoint
ment of paid Catholic chaplains to the army, navy, prisons,
and workhouses.* Bishop Goss was charged with using his
influence against the Liberal candidate, and many Liverpool
Catholics accepted this accusation as well founded. The
Catholic Club met to consider the situation. Mr. P. S.
Bidwill, Colonel of the Irish Volunteer Corps, presided. The
decision was as follows : — " That, while disapproving on
* principle of certain views and opinions of Mr. Cheetham, it

* See Disraeli's letter to the Cardinal, quoted in Wilfred Ward's Life.

148

" is the duty of all Catholics to support him, as he is the only
" exponent of Liberal principles in home legislation with
" which Catholics are identified." Mr. Charles Turner won
by 835 votes. * The Liverpool polling showed that he had only
a majority of 88 votes, which centainly went to prove that the
Catholic freeholders had voted in accordance with the
recommendation of the Catholic Club. In Manchester, Mr.
Cheetham had a majority of 400, but in the country districts
he was out-voted. The Liberal leaders attributed the
unexpected result to Bishop Goss, and alleged that the clergy
did interfere in the contest at his suggestion. The " Liverpool
" Mercury/' on the other hand, observed : " We know that as
" a rule the Catholic clergy interfere less in political matters in
" the way of solicitation than the brethren of any other
" denomination, and that the Jesuits never vote at all." The
Birkenhead contest furnished some evidence which seemed to
the Liberal leaders to confirm their suspicions. A meeting was
summoned by the priests of Birkenhead to decide the relative
claims of Messrs. Brassey and Laird. It was> decided to
support the Conservative candidate, whereupon a protest was
published, signed by 326 Irish voters, declaring that no voter
was invited to this meeting, save those who were known to be
favourable to Mr. John Laird. Canon Chapman, Hector of St.
Werburgh's, openly took the field against Mr. Brassey, and
marched at the head of one hundred Catholic voters to the
polling place. Mr. Brassey was defeated by 323 votes; the
Catholic vote being responsible for this result.

This was the beginning of the gradual drifting apart
from each other of Irish and English Catholics, which
became more marked in later years. At that moment the
separation was particularly unfortunate, and it led to the
disappearance from public and even semi-public affairs of both
Irishmen and Englishmen who could ill be spared from the
active work of propagating much-needed charities.

One of these works was the saving of the faith of Poor
Law children. In February, 1860, the Catholic Poor School
Committee, London, conceived the idea of establishing Poor
Law Schools to which the Guardians could send the Catholic
children from the workhouses. It was a brilliant idea, and as
it emanated from Catholics it must excite " Protestant "
hostility. Quite apart from the Catholic purpose, the removal
of Poor Law children into private institutions licensed by the
Government was infinitely better than the crude methods which
prevailed for thirty years in even the best managed Unions.

* The bells of St. Peter's, Church Street, and St. Nicholas', Chapel
Street, were rung in honour of the Conservative victory.

149

Mr. Jones, churchwarden, called the attention of the Select
Vestry to the movement, and proposed that, " This Board
" views with concern and regret the agitation begun in London
" for separate Poor Law Schools.'' He further quoted a pai-a-
graph from the " Northern Press " to the effect that but for
the presence of Mr. James Whitty, the Select Vestry would
be as1 active a proselytising agent as the other Boards of
Guardians in the country. The Vestry declined to share the
fears of Mr. Jones, not because they entirely disagreed with
him, but because the members' regarded the proposal as outside
the range of practical politics. A local committee was formed
to further the work, and a Bill was lodged in Parliament
framed by Lord Petre and the Honble. Charles Langdale.
Their hands were strengthened when Mr. James Whitty called
public attention to the large numbers of Catholic children sent
from the Kirkdale Schools to Protestant families in the
neighbourhood of Bacup. He suggested that when such
children were sent out, the Governor be instructed to require
a written undertaking from the employer that he would send
the child to a place of worship on Sundays in accord with the
religion described in the Poor Law creed register. This act
of justice had been denied for years, and what was worse, the
Vestry declined to defend the children when employers
flagrantly forced the child labourer to attend an alien service.
Mr. Whitty '& suggestion was rejected, whereupon a deputation,
consisting of the Very Rev. Provost Cookson, Mr. John Yates,
and Mr. J. Neale Lomax, waited upon the Schools Committee,
and gave details of the proselytism practised. They further
announced that the Catholic Club would be willing to under
take the entire responsibility of finding suitable situations for
every boy and girl discharged from the Kirkdale Schools. They
besought the hearty co-operation of the Vestrymen, and
suggested as a practical method that they should be furnished
with a list of the children about to be discharged.
This proposal was not accepted. Despite the detailed
information supplied to them, many of the members,
in good faith, declined to believe that any employer could be
so bigoted or unreasonable as to tamper with an employee's
religious faith. Eventually the victory was gained, Father
Gibson, the visiting priest, being supplied with the lists asked
for. Mr. Cropper opposed the confirmation of this" agreement
at the Vestry meeting on the ground that a similar application
might be sent in by the Methodist body, as if the latter were
not entitled to the rights of citizenship. Until unfortunate
political complications many years later broke up this
admirable work on the part of the Catholic Club, hundreds of

150

children were placed with Catholic families or with Protestant
employers who most loyally kept faith. No better work was
ever done for the poor by the Catholic leaders, and we who live
under happier conditions ought to remember their names with
deep affection. Bishop Goss presided at a meeting to celebrate
this victory. He stated that over two hundred children had
been discharged annually, of whom two-thirds1 lost their
religion by reason of their environment. During the " Educa-
" tion Campaign " of 1906, the writer spent some time in a
mining centre in North-East Lancashire, to which hundreds of
children had been sent during the sixties, and personally
examining the abundant proofs submitted was satisfied that
Dr. Goss's estimate of two-thirds under-estimated the loss of
faith, nay, of all religious belief.

The payment of Catholic chaplains was the next Poor
Law problem. The House of Commons appointed a Select
Committee to enquire into this question, as well as the
proposal that it should be compulsory on Guardians to appoint
a certain number of Catholic teachers in workhouse schools.
Mr. James Whitty gave evidence before this Committee. It
came as a great surprise to those who believed that the work
house was filled with Catholics to learn from Mr. Whitty's
evidence that, though the majority of the residents of the
parish were Catholics the proportion receiving indoor relief in
1861 was 1,204, as against 1,478 non-Catholics. The Orange
element severely attacked Mr. Whitty for giving evidence
without having obtained previously the permission of the
Vestry, and the Liberals, led by Mr. Peck, quite as warmly
resented any attempt to silence such an experienced Guardian .
Without waiting to see what the Select Committee would
recommend, the Vestry passed a resolution protesting against
any changes being made, on the motion of its most illiberal
member, Mr. Satchell. The same section made a desperate
effort to prevent a Catholic gentleman, Mr. Lightbound, Dale
Street, from succeeding to a vacant seat, but were defeated ;
in fact, they were defeated mainly by their violent speeches.

The emigration from Ireland to America during the year
1861 reached a high figure, and was followed by a movement
in the same direction from Liverpool. It is unfortunate that
no particulars were obtained, as in 1847, of the emigrants
arriving in the Mersey, so that it could be computed how
many Irish people living in the city had been caught by the
emigration fever. The number of Catholics in the town has
always been a disputed point. Father James Nugent, speak
ing on St. Patrick's Day, 1861, asserted in a positive manner
that there were at least 150,000 Catholics out of a total

151

population of 462,749. On the following Feast of St. Patrick,
Bishop Goss stated that on an average seven thousand children
were in daily attendance at the schools, which at first sight
would appear to traverse Father Nugent's figures, but closer
examination of the prevailing conditions only serves to show
how fallacious it would be to estimate the population by the
school attendance. There was no compulsory attendance then
as now. In 1854, eight years before the Bishop's1 statement,
7,450 children marched through the streets in procession, and
110 less than five schools were unrepresented. How did it
come about that eight years later there were less children
apparently in Catholic schools? As early as 1852, the
Inspector of Schools noticed the extraordinary fact that in
the small school of St. Hilda 650 entered their names on the
books in one year, and during the same period 400 left.
Compulsory education has been the handmaid of religion in
Catholic Liverpool since 1870 ; the pity is the same law did not
date from 1850. Father Nugent stated that at this period*
no less than 23,000 children were roaming about the streets
and docks, a dreadful fact which set his fertile brain to work
out many a scheme of social salvation. The St. Vincent de
Paul Society made the first move early in 1861, by opening a
house, 15, Everton Crescent, f to accommodate seventy boys
who earned their living — a sad and precarious one — by street
trading. This splendid work of saving the boy, under the
inspiring leadership of Father Nugent, developed later on, and
the Jesuit Fathers at St. Francis Xavier's did their share by
establishing a Ragged School in Birchfield Street, Islington,
transferred afterwards to 79, Finch Street. J Here were
gathered a host of poor street urchins, provided with free
meals and clothing, and, under the care of the Sisters of
Charity, given some training in religious and secular know
ledge. The Jesuit Fathers provided them with breakfast on
Sunday mornings, and then marched them to St. Francis
Xavier's to hear Mass. This institution lasted until the
passage of the Act of 1870 made school attendance compul
sory. || The work of rescue was still further developed on May
18, 1862, when the Rev. J. H. Fisher opened the orphanage in

* 1861.

t The great development of the work so begun i« now to be
witnessed in the well-known Father Berry's Homes, Shaw Street.
{ Now Kempston Street.

|| Father George Porter, S.J., made the superintendency of this school
his special work. He established a dispensary here for the sick poor, and
secured the voluntary services of Drs. A. M. Bligh (Councillor and
Alderman for nearly 30 years), John Bligh (now a Justice of the Peace),
Shepherd, Kirk, O'Leary, Cavanagh, and Austin Williams. Free meals
have always been a feature of St. Francis Xavier's School.

152

Beacon Lane, which, was placed under the care of the Sisters of
Charity. Later on it became a Certified Industrial School, and
continues in the twentieth century its beneficent work of
juvenile reclamation.

Bishop Goss, in the second year of his episcopate,
invited the Sisters of the Good Shepherd to open a refuge in
Liverpool, and their first house was established in Netherfield
Road.* The work of reclaiming the sad wreckage of fallen
womanhood did not meet with much appreciation from the
surrounding population, many attacks being made upon the
house by bands of bigoted Orangemen, who little knew the
self-sacrifice of the saintly sisters. Father Nugent had a
special love for this work, and gave early evidence of his
appreciation of the Good Shepherd nuns by acting as secre
tary of the successful bazaar in their aid, by which the sum
of three thousand pounds was raised. At that date, Novem
ber, 1861, the nuns had removed to Mason Street, where they
had fifty penitents under their care.f With the proceeds of
the bazaar a site was bought at Ford, where the nuns labour
to this hour. Miss Rosson, sister of the Mr. John Rosson
whose name figures so prominently in preceding chapters,
contributed one thousand pounds in aid of this great charity.

In June, 1862, a renewal of hostilities took place between
Messrs. Whitty and Harper in their respective journals. The
editor of the " Daily Post " provoked the fight by the follow
ing leader : — " The Pope finds in the four hundred prelates
" assembled in Rome, willing abettors of his policy. Some,
" if not all the prelates, were disposed to launch at the King
" of Italy and his subjects the awful thunders of the Church.
" They advised the Holy Father to pronounce excommunica-
" tion against Victor Emmanuel and his adherents, and to
" relieve his subjects from the oath of allegiance. The
" 'Opinione Nation ale " avouches this fact, but, nevertheless,
" we are incredulous. For a long time the thunders of the
" Church have been innocuous; the Bishops representing both
" Catholic and Protestant Powers would hardly recommend a
" proceeding which strikes direct at the solemn compact
" between princes and people. It is the old story of relieving
" people from their oaths, and the adoption of tie repudiated
" doctrine of the dethroning of Sovereigns. Excommunication
" has lost its force, and in Italy it would be fulminated in
" the teeth of public opinion, which even in times long past
" annulled the power of the Pontiff. The Bishops, however,
" are to present an address to the Pope, expressing sympathy

* The area which figured so prominently in the Police Enquiry,
Liverpool, February, 1910.

f See "Tablet," November, 1861.

153

" and promising support. Of course, the brief report is not
" to be relied upon ; it would be strange indeed, if, amidst
" four hundred prelates from every corner of the world, there
" were not a few with courage enough to tell the Head of the
•' Church a few wholesome truths.'' This was an exasperating
leader, and provoked a reply from the " Northern Press " : —
" The Editor of the ' Post' is not, we are well aware, a theo-
" logian ; but he is what is commonly known as clever, he has
" plenty of strong commonsense, and has had the immense
" advantage of a knowledge of the fundamentals of the
" Catholic Faith; and, for this reason, such writing displays a
" far greater amount of stupidity than it would in the writing
" of one who had always been ignorant of the fundamentals
" of the Catholic doctrine; it is1 doubly criminal. Excommu-
" nication is a purely spiritual force. God sometimes enforces
"it with temporal judgment; sometimes, as in the case of
" Napoleon the First, as a warning to the criminal ; sometimes,
"as in the case of Cavour, a warning to others. But the
•' mere temporal judgment is scarcely to be considered in the
'' force of the excommunication. That is the terrific penalty
" of eternal perdition." This was just the kind of writing
which Whitty delighted to reply to, and he took full advantage
in his reply. He pointed out that but a few days earlier he
was called by a Protestant paper " a Papist, a Jesuit in
'' disguise, and now the ' Northern Press ' comes along with the
" regret that a writer, once a Catholic, should have fallen so
" completely into the Protestant groove of thought. The
" ' Daily Post ' concerns itself only with politics, never with
" theology. If theologians depart from their profession, they
" become amenable to censure or to criticism. We dare not
" say that we are as good Christians as our neighbour in Post
" Office Place, but as we know a great deal more about the
" Roman Catholic faith than he does he will not be offended
"if we tell him that, refraining from eating beefsteak and
" onions on Fridays does not constitute a good Catholic. He
" is pleased to ascribe to us the usual folly of perverts; and
" as he ought to be a good judge in that case, having from
" being a bad Protestant become a good Catholic, we dare
" not question his inferences, although we repel his insinua-
" tions. Now, as we know a great deal more about theology
" than he does*, we will show him that he is utterly ignorant
" of the Catholic doctrine on the point." Mr. M. J. Whitty
then proceeded to publish in extenso the evidence given by
Dr. Doyle, the famous Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, before
a Parliamentary Committee in 1825. The object of this
Committee was to find out some means of convincing English

154

public opinion that Catholics could be loyal to lawfully con
stituted sovereignty as a preparation for the passage of
Catholic Emancipation. It was scarcely fair of the Editor of
the " Post " to overwhelm his Catholic rival with the evidence
of an Irish Bishop, of whom in all probability Mr. Harper had
never heard. In any case, there were plenty of theologians
of equal rank whose opinions were quite opposed to Dr.
Doyle's ; but the point upon which Mr. Whitty fastened was
the emphatic declaration that it was not in the power of any
Pope to absolve the Catholic people from their oath of
allegiance. He knew very well that the Catholic people of
Italy had taken no oath of allegiance to a King of Italy, and
that Pope Pius was not depriving any monarch of his kingdom,
a point which Bishop Doyle made in his famous evidence. Be
that as it may, it was undeniably clever to confound the
untrained Editor of the ''Northern Press" by setting up a
Bishop against him. The article concluded with the biting
taunt : " The Catholics of Liverpool, we presume, read the
' Northern Press ' as they do ' Punch,' for the pleasure
" afforded by extravagant nonsense."

In October, 1862, a debating society attached to one of
the Anglican churches in Birkenhead announced a discussion
on the question — "Is Garibaldi a patriot?" This simple
announcement brought about a serious disturbance of the
peace of Birkenhead, and had an unfortunate influence on the
political relations between the Catholics and Liberals of
Liverpool. A great crowd of Irish labourers gathered outside
the schoolroom where the debate was announced to be held,
and prevented by force the delivery of a single speech. In the
riot which ensued a large number of persons were seriously
injured. To make matters worse, the Rev. Mr. Baylee, to whom
reference has already been made in a previous chapter, created
a feeling of consternation by a statement that he heard the
Rector of St. Werburgh's, Canon Chapman, cheering and
encouraging the Irish labourers in their uncalled-for and
indefensible attack on the meeting place. This serious
accusation aroused hot passions on both sides of the Mersey.
As a matter of fact, Canon Chapman was fifty miles away from
Birkenhead at the time of the disturbance. There was a priest,
Father Brundritt, who addressed the rioters, not in terms of
encouragement, but of condemnation. When the Catholic
population learned that Mr. Bay lee's son had called at St.
Werburgh's Presbytery and begged Father Brundritt's aid
to disperse the crowd, and that he bore testimony to the
successful intervention of the priest, a storm of indignation
filled Liverpool as well as Birkenhead against the deliberately

155

uttered calumnies against Canon Chapman. Not for the first
time had Mr. Baylee, senior, provoked disorder in Birken-
head; this time bloodshed followed. The debate was
announced again, and would have passed off without inter
ference had the passions of both sides not been inflamed to fever
heat. Even the local authorities lost their heads. Two
hundred men of the Forty-Ninth Regiment were brought into
Birkenhead, and one thousand special constables sworn in.
The high sense of duty which animated the amateur policemen
may be gauged from their behaviour on the parade ground,
where they called for cheers for Garibaldi and groans for Pope
Pius the Ninth and Napoleon the Third. In the streets a
battle was fought in which the special constables were put to
flight ; blood flowed freely, and but for the military, Birken
head would have had occasion to long remember the month of
October. The " Daily Post " gave a long detailed report of
the riot, and spoke out freely against its originators. Mr.
S. B. Harper, always on the look-out for any excuse to attack
Mr. Whitty, wrote a furious attack on " the blackguardly
" report," and expressing " intense disgust " at its publication.
The " Post " simply replied that the report which appeared in
the " Northern Press " had been lifted bodily from its own
columns, but that wherever the word " Catholic " appeared it
was struck out by Mr. Harper. In every contest the
" Northern Press " was easily worsted by the leading daily.

Mr. John Yates was the Liberal candidate for Castle
Street Ward at the time of the riot, and spoke out with con
siderable heat against the Irishmen of Birkenhead. Mr. M. J .
Whitty claimed this speech as another proof of his assertion
that the leading Catholics of Liverpool were not " Ultramon-
" tanes," and lamented the bad feelings engendered on both
sides of the Mersey by " the Pope's miserable bit of land."
The Liberal electors of Castle Street Ward did not
stop to consider whether Mr. Yates was or was not
an Ultramontane, nor did they attach much import
ance to his denunciation of the rioters; sufficient for
some of them that Mr. Yates was a Catholic. He lost a
seat in a Liberal stronghold through Liberal defections. The
moral was not lost on the rank and file of the Irish population .
Had John Yates applauded the rioters he would have lost his
seat in the Council; he suffered the same loss, despite his
unsparing advocacy of free speech and his popularity with the
"Daily Post."

Liverpool dislikes moderate men. That Castle Street
voters should set such a bad example was a revelation of how
easy it was to arouse anti-Catholic feeling, even against such

156

a man as Yates. They oould not have behaved worse had he
opened a recruiting bureau for the Pope in his office. In
a few months the Liberal dissentients shewed signs of regret,
and when Mr. Yates unseated his Conservative opponent on
an election petition, they returned him to the Council. He
was just too late to record his- vote for Councillor Sheil's nomi
nation as alderman ; the proposal was defeated by the casting
vote of the Mayor.

One of the indirect results of the Civil War in
America was the difficulty which Father Gibson and
Mr. J. Neale Lomax experienced in finding situations for
the Catholic boys discharged from the workhouse. The
cotton famine had closed down the mills in which many of
these boys and girls found employment. In two years, over
two hundred children had been placed with Catholic families,
and on July 7th, 1862, at a meeting convened by Canon
Cookson, it was reported by Father Gibson that, owing to the
cotton famine, he had been unable to deal with forty boys.
He stated that, under the circumstances, the Vestry had to
send them into districts where they were certain to lose their
faith. On the cessation of hostilities the Committee resumed
its beneficent work. Meanwhile, Mr. James Whitty was
working quietly to secure the appointment of one Catholic
teacher on the Kirkdale staff, and* received a powerful backing
from the editor of the " Daily Post." Though defeated in
the Vestry, he secured the concession of a Catholic being
appointed labour master. This man conducted the children
from Kirkdale to St. Anthony's, to Mass and Benediction,
a long journey, necessitated by the strange policy of the
Schools Committee, which, refusing permission for Mass
inside, compelled some non-Catholic officer to attend Mass
outside. The new arrangement at least relieved one officer
of an irksome duty.

Bishop Goss inaugurated a new departure in rescue work
in August, 1863. He summoned a meeting in the Concert
Hall, Lord Nelson Street, to consider a proposal to establish
a training ship in the Mersey for Catholic boys needing
reformatory treatment. The Bishop's Committee, after much
experience of the work, made representations that industrial
and farming work was not successful with certain types of boys
committed by the magistrates, and suggested that a training
for the sea would be much more beneficial. The Admiralty
expressed willingness to hand over the frigate, Clarence,* for
the purpose, and to put the ship into condition for the new
work ten thousand pounds was required. At the meeting

* Burnt down forty years later. The institution still exists at
Farnworth, Widnes.

157

eight hundred pounds was placed in the Bishop's hands, many
donations coming in from Protestant friends of the new
movement.

A new responsibility was placed on the Bishop's shoulders
by the passage into law of the Prison Ministers Bill, in 1863.
This Act enabled the Justices to appoint paid ministers of
religion to instruct prisoners not registered as members of
the Anglican Church. It was a great concession to Catholics,
who had agitated for it unceasingly for the previous twenty
years. Unlike the Town Council, Select Vestry, and other
governing bodies, the Justices) of Liverpool were always
conspicuous by their impartiality. In this year they met to
consider the appointment of a Catholic Chaplain, and fixed
the sum of three hundred pounds per annum as stipend.
The choice fell upon Father James Nugent, No happier
selection could have been made. The recommendation had
to run the gauntlet of the Town Council, and the Conservative
party therein demurred, on the ground that the Council
alone had the right to fix the stipend, and even to refuse to
pay such. The Rev Dr. Taylor,* one of the most brilliant
members of the evangelical school of thought, stimulated the
Council, by a vigorous platform agitation, to refuse payment
to the new chaplain. His eloquent tongue delivered a series
of passionate and bitter attacks on the Catholic Church, in
which he also laid down the strange proposition that the
Catholic population of Liverpool had no right to assistance
from the rates, as they did not, except in few instances, make
any contribution to the common purse. This taunt at the
poverty of his own Catholic countrymen was unworthy of
Dr. Taylor, and brought down on his head a severe castiga-
tion from Mr. Whitty of the " Daily Post/'who had mastered
the elements of political economy. The Home Secretary
stopped the controversy by deciding that as the chaplain's
salary came out of funds made up out of fines and court fees
the Town Council had no veto. It was a happy decision and
prevented further agitation, though the argument of the
Home Secretary is not quite so unassailable as appears at
first sight.

Having disposed of Dr. Taylor, Mr. Whitty then turned
his attention to the Bishop, who, until now, had been left
severely alone by the " Post." Dr. Goss began one of his
Lenten pastorals in these terms : " The times in which we live
"are not favourable to the work of our salvation. We are

* Archdeacon of Liverpool, father of Mr. Gerald Kyffin- Taylor,
elected M.P. for Kirkdale, July, 1910. He was much respected by
Catholics in late years, and on his death the flag was hoisted half-
mast on the tower of St. Charles', Aigburth Road.

158

" living in a constant whirl of excitement. The quiet old
'' times have passed away for ever. Even the lone farm house
" on the outskirts of civilisation, and the hovel on the moss,
" are laid open to the busy world by some intersecting line
" of railway, or by the busy purveyors of news, who are
" paid for gratifying the itching curiosity of busy idlers
M panting for excitement. The penny post carries the scandal
" of every village far and wide, and the penny paper daily
" lays before its readers, all that is being done on the great
" stage of life. Public and private vices alike find room, if
" they are only thought sufficiently exciting. The melan-
" choly suicide, the desperate burglary, the cruel murder,
" the dexterous robbery, the successful forgery, the daring
" theft, the insidious advertisement, the revolting details of
" the divorce court, the coroner's inquests on the victims of
" science and quackeries in the attempt to hide the shame of
" crime, or conceal the guilt of murder, are found side by
" side with the horrors of distant battle fields, the success
" of revolt and treason, and blasphemous sneers against the
" Mother of God, her Divine Son, or His anointed
" ministers." This vigorous and picturesque epitome of the
contents of a daily journal illustrates the literary skill as
well as the outspokenness of the Bishop. In this case it was
the mere prelude to a straight talk with his flock on Lenten
duties, but Mr. Whitty fastened on it as a reflection on the
Press, and attacked the author in equally vigorous language :
" Pious and pure minded himself, he would make all others
" good if he knew the way; but unfortunately, in one direc-
" tion at least, he has mistaken it. . . Dr. Goss, like used-
" up aristocrats, associates cheapness with nastiness; he is
" tolerant of papers at threepence, but reprobates papers at
" one penny. The reports he objects to appear in the dear,
" as well as in the cheap papers, with a difference : the
" details are given more copiously in the former than in the
" latter. If Dr. Goss knew a little more of humanity and
" society than he does, he would not have fallen into the
" error of good, but mistaken, people, in denouncing the
" publication of proceedings in the Law Courts. What the
" preacher says in the pulpit is excellent, but it is in part
" an abstraction. It wants the apt and frightful illustration
" which the newspaper furnishes. It is now a custom and a
" fashion to affect an imitation of the past, and Dr. Goss,
" disgusted with all that is modern, laments that all that was
" good has disappeared. This mode of misjudging is as
"ancient as Homer; and the good Bishop of Liverpool only
" errs a little more than Gladstone, who holds in as much
" reverence the heroic ages in Greece, as Dr. Goss does the

159

fi middle ages in Europe.'' As a matter of fact the Bishop
made no distinction between threepenny journals and penny
ones, and beyond his reference to the " quiet old times/' there
was no allusion, direct or implied, to the middle ages. Acting
generally upon the principle that his pastorals were intended
for the members of his flock alone, the Bishop rarely noticed
newspaper or platform criticisms, but the " Post/' by its
lengthy reports of his speeches and sermons, made its Monday
editions the medium of conveying Dr. Goss's opinions to a
much larger constituency. He, however, waited his oppor
tunity to reply to the above criticism, and gave Mr. Whitty
something to reflect upon, both as a Catholic and a journalist.
It is very probable that Dr. Goss would have refused to
notice the " Daily Post " leader, had its author been a non-
Catholic. " The Press/' he wrote, " has done much for the
11 spread of knowledge and the defence of our liberties ; but
' it exceeds its province when it ventures to discuss the
' mysteries of Divine revelation, or unravel the intricacies
' of theology. It weakens its own influence by going out of
' its sphere, and it is laying the foundation of its own ruin
' when it strives to depreciate every authority but its own.
' It presumes to lecture the Pope on theology, the Com-
' mander-in-Chief on military affairs, the Lord Chancellor
' on law, and the Prime Minister on affairs of State. It is a
' mighty engine, but it is too often made subservient to party
' views, irrespective of principle. It is considered as an
' investment of capital, and is worked with a view to the
' interests of shareholders. Its writers, though men of
' ability, are often devoid of political integrity, inasmuch as
' they write at the same time for papers of opposite politics.
' . . . Within its proper sphere there is no more useful
' organ for the protection of right than the public press ; but,
' as men do not wish to see the pulpit converted into a
' platform for political discussion, so neither should the
' platform be converted into a pulpit for the discussion of
' religious topics." This was but the beginning of Dr. Goss's
writings and speeches on public matters, and of more than
one controversy with the editor of the " Daily Post." In very
truth, during his long episcopate, Dr. Goss was, in fact as in
name, the Bishop of Liverpool.

In November, 1863, Mr. James Whitty contested
Vauxhall Ward as the Liberal candidate against Mr. Thomas
Rigby, and won the seat by nineteen votes. Soon afterwards
the Mayor announced that he had invited Garibaldi to visit
Liverpool during his sojourn in England in order to offer him
civic hospitality. The three Catholic members of the Council,
Messrs. Sheil, Yates, and Whitty, did not divide the Council

160

against this proposal, contenting themselves with a protest.
The " Daily Post " accused them of " preferring the Pope to
" the Roman Catholic Church." Dr. Parsons, at a dinner in
the Catholic Club, eulogised the action of the three Councillors,
who, like himself, were devoted members of the Liberal Party,
whereupon Mr. Whitty, in a series of special articles written
under the nom-de-plume of " Roman Catholic," vigorously
assailed the doctor. In one of these contributions he advised
him to restrain his fiery eloquence, and to borrow a copy of
Dr. Lingard's " History of England " from Mr. James Whitty,
so that he might learn something of Papal opposition to
English liberty in the days of King John. Dr. Parsons wrote
several clever replies', but did not appear to quite appreciate the
significance of " Roman Catholic's " contention that Stephen
Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, had been censured by
Pope Innocent for his share in forcing the King to concede
Magna Charta.* One sentence in the " Post " created intense
irritation : " The Father of the Faithful is obliged to surround
" himself with foreign troops, lest his people might force him
" to do them justice." These articles, widely read as they
were by all classes, made the position of Catholic public men
almost intolerable ; hampered in their public work, their
charitable projects hindered in their development, worried
with anxiety lest the humbler members of the Catholic body
should take to reprisals, as in Birkenhead, their position was
not at all enviable. Fortunately, Garibaldi did not visit the
town, being recalled to Italy, where a renewal of the war
against the Papal States was threatened. His name, however,
became the rallying cry of party; the Constitutional Con
servatives boldly availing themselves of the halo which
surrounded the revolutionary leader. A bye-election was
fought in St. Anne's Ward. Mr. James Fairhurst, who had
done much useful service on the Select Vestry, standing as
the Liberal candidate. Being a Catholic, the Tory leaders
hoped to defeat him by reason of the feelings aroused over the
question of the Temporal Power of the Pope, and the protest
made against a civic reception being accorded to Garibaldi.
The usual party cries were dropped ; the Pope and Garibaldi
were skilfully kept before the eyes of the electors. Fortu
nately, Mr. Fairhurst's long services to his party, and his
personal worth, kept the bulk of the Liberal electors on his
side, and he secured the seat by a narrow majority. At the
same moment Mr. Henry Sharpies was appointed a magistrate,
thus maintaining the prestige of the Catholic body.

* The chapter on this subject in Dr. Lingard's History, will
well reward the Catholic reader.

161

About this time another " religious disturbance " arose
at Brownlow Hill. Father Thomas Wilson, who had acted as
chaplain at the fever wards, caught the deadly infection, and
after one year's service in the mission, at the early age of 28
years, died of typhus fever on April 13, 1864. From want of
experience he had committed several minor indiscretions from
the point of view of the Vestry, which was on the eve of
passing a vote of censure when the fatal illness seized him.
Mr. James Whitty, in order to lessen the mortality which
dogged the footsteps of every priest entering the fever wards,
suggested that the Vestry consent to a rota of seven clergymen
being arranged so that the duty of ministering in the deadly
atmosphere might not fall so heavily on any individual priest.
The Guardians had no appreciation of the heroism of such men,
nor of the motives which induced them to undertake such
duties, and consequently refused to listen to the suggestion.
Bishop Goss refused to maintain silence in such circumstances.
He wrote to the Vestry reminding them that the Rev. Dr.
Roskell had lost his life from the infection of the Brownlow
Hill fever wards, and to excite their generosity mentioned the
fact that this heroic priest had declined promotion in the
Church that he might live only for the fever-stricken poor of
the Parish of Liverpool. As to the late chaplain, Father
Wilson, his decease was a serious loss to the Catholic body, as
he was a master of the Greek, Latin, German, French, and
Italian languages, a profound student of Hebrew and Anglo-
Saxon, and was marked out for high distinction in the world
of education. The " Daily Post " made its first onslaught on
the Dissenters because of the illiberal votes given by their
representatives on the Vestry in this connection. " Dissenters
" scarcely ever have sufficient wisdom to prefer plain sense to
" crotchets. . . It is not often we agree with the
" Bishop ; but it is simple justice to say that no public writer
" could have more justly laid down the duty of the Workhouse
" Committee, or enforced it with more cogency." A rota of
three priests was eventually agreed to — Father Gotham, S.J.,
St. Francis Xavier's ; Fathor Lenoir,* O.M.I., Holy Cross;
Father Van Hee, Our Lady's, Eldon Street.

The Catholic population of the Parish of Liver
pool began in the early sixties to flow eastwards,
from the congested areas of Scotland, Vauxhall,
Exchange, and St. Anne's Wards. In 1861, the
proportion of Catholic marriages in the parish to the total
number solemnised in all other churches and chapels in the

* Father Lenoir celebrated his golden jubilee in Kimberley, South
Africa, in 1910.

162

same area was 23 per cent., which fell to 19 in the two
following years, the actual figures being 868, 692, 768. This
proportion is some evidence of the changing character of the
population. Temporary provision had been made in St.
George's Schools, West Derby Road, to meet the wants of the
residents of that district in so far as Sunday Mass. The
erection of a permanent church was decided upon, and on
May 8, 1864, Bishop Goss laid the foundation-stone of St.
Michael's. He opened the new church on September 24th of
the following year, Dr. Dorrian, then coadjutor Bishop of
Down and Connor, preaching the first sermon ; Father George
Porter, S.J., occupying the pulpit in the evening. Father
Tobin wasi the first rector.

St. Patrick's parish had become so extensive and populous
that a school-chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
was built and opened in November, 1866. Archbishop
Errington preached on this occasion. Father Michael Donnelly
was placed in charge of this new outpost of the Faith in Toxteth
Park. In the north end, Father Seed, the indefatigable
Rector of St. Alban's, undertook to provide school accommo
dation for one thousand children. Land was bought in
Boundary Street, and on July 15, 1866, the Bishop blessed the
foundation-stone. The provision of these two schools was
evidence of the foresight of the Bishop and clergy in antici
pating the passing of a new Education Act with compulsory
education and School Boards as its main features. In view
of the meagre assistance given by the Education Department
of that day to voluntary schools, the financial burden on
parishes such as the two mentioned, was a strain which was
relieved only by the consolation that it was undertaken for the
glory of God. Greater sacrifices loomed ahead, as will be
seen later, with the changes1 in education law, and were quite
as cheerfully undertaken.

These developments had the effect of needlessly irritating
Dr. Hugh McNeill, who renewed his public attacks on the
Church. Unmindful of the fact that notoriety is the life
ambition of certain types of controversialists, two priests
entered the lists, and secured for Dr. McNeill exactly what
he desired, renewed public interest in his lectures against
Catholicism, which only too often sounded depths quite
unworthy of his undoubted knowledge and ability. Father E.
Powell, secretary to the Bishop, wrote a series of letters to the
newspapers defending Catholics from the very slanderous
statements which were recklessly made against them, and then
Father E. Guy, O.S.B., took up the challenge and attracted
large congregations to Seel Street by his sermons on these

163

controversial topics. Reading these letters, lectures, and
sermons in cold print, one is compelled to admire the learning,
literary ability, and enthusiasm of their authors1, while
regretting that such energy was wasted in a futile discussion
which temporarily revived a feeling of bitterness between some
sections of the inhabitants. Liverpool seems to have the
unenviable peculiarity of latent intolerance bursting forth into
red heat just when all sections have settled down into complete
harmony in civic or social work for the good of the masses.
The extreme Irish Nationalists a few months before this waste
of words created consternation in purely Catholic circles by an
unexpected demonstration against Mr. A. M. Sullivan, editor
of the historic Irish weekly, the Dublin " Nation." Ho visited
Liverpool, in March, 1864, to deliver a lecture in aid of the
schools of St. Mary, Woolton. The subject of his address was
" Napoleon the First. " His reputation as an orator attracted
a crowded audience in the Concert Hall, Lord Nelson Street,
and Father Bernard O'Reilly occupied the chair. A number
of Irishmen holding strong political views, in order to
emphasise their disagreement with some opinions which Mr.
Sullivan had expressed in the editorial columns of his paper,
created a disturbance at j,his gathering. The reverend chair
man warmly rebuked the interrupters for their behaviour at
a meeting held with the sole purpose of helping a Catholic
school, and Mr. Sullivan* stated that the disturbers had
crossed over from Dublin to give him annoyance. Some
Liverpool men did take a share in creating the " scene," the
first sign of the growth in England of a new school of Irish
Nationalist thought.

On the first day of November, 1865, Mr. John Yates
retired from Castle Street Ward to contest Vauxhall, and
defeated Mr. R. R. Minton by thirty-eight votes. On the
same day Mr. James Fairhurst lost his seat in St. Anne's
Ward by fifteen votes, and was elected for Scotland Ward on
the retirement of Mr. Clarke Aspinall. Mr. Richard Sheil
had the unique experience of being elected an alderman of
Liverpool twenty-four years after his deprivation of the same
honour after the famous municipal elections of 1841. During
the Vauxhall contest Mr. Minton asserted that no less than
twenty thousand persons resided in fifty small streets in the
ward. The " Liverpool Mercury," on October 26th, called
attention to the indifference of the Town Council to matters of
public health, declaring that the death-rate was no lower than

*A. M. Sullivan, M.P. for Meath and Louth, Leader of the
Temperance Movement, and a brilliant advocate of the Home Rule
Movement.

164

twenty years earlier. Mr. Minton admitted that the death-
rate in Vauxhall Ward was 42 per thousand of the estimated
population. Epidemics of disease were frequent, and carried
off large numbers of the poorer classes. The Medical Officer
of the Corporation reported that in Great Crosshall
Street, Marybone, and Fontenoy Street, an area of 63,609
superficial yards, there were living 1,993 families, consisting
of 9,632 persons. During the year 1865, 116 of these had
died from fever, especially typhus. The Government of the
day sent a special Medical Commissioner, Dr. Buchanan, to
enquire into the outbreaks of typhus in this and other areas in
Liverpool. He reported that 60 per cent, of the attacks
occurred among young people under twenty years of age, and
quoted with approval the opinion of Professor Christiansen
that typhus only assumed an epidemic character at periods of
great want among the labouring classes. The Commissioner
added that from his own observation, " where there is starva
tion there is most frequently typhus." Liverpool's Medical
Officer attributed the ravages of the disease to " poverty,
" overcrowding, and filth." The greatest sufferers by far
were Irish. Under the conditions named by medical experts,
great masses of people were existing, with consequent moral
as well as physical deterioration, both of which told against the
spiritual fervour of the people as compared with that of the
first Irish comers to the town. The rescue work and gaol
statistics of the next chapter must be read in conjunction with
this frightful picture of poverty and its concomitants in a large
town.

165

CHAPTER VII.

The working boys' home, nowadays a common feature of
rescue work among children, was first established in 1865, by
Father Henry Gibson,* visiting priest to the Kirkdale schools.
It is gratifying to Catholics, especially in Liverpool, that a
priest of this diocese was half a century ahead of all social
reformers in inaugurating this splendid system of aiding the
child wage earner. It occurred to Father Gibson, as the
natural outcome of the Liverpool movement to find situations
for the poor children under the care of the Select Vestry. He
had had a wide and varied experience of the children of the
poor and wretched. Long before the passage into law of the
Prison Chaplains Act, he had undertaken, at the request of
Bishop Goss, to visit the Kirkdale gaol, where his experience
of juvenile prisoners gave him a special knowledge of the
causes which, in Liverpool, conspired to create criminals.
Knowing the bottom cause it was easy to find the remedy.
He began by taking into his own house eleven boys who had
been found employment in Liverpool by the Catholic Club
Committee, and whose earnings were, as yet, too small to
pay for suitable board and lodging. His health gave way under
the strain of the serious efforts he put forth to save the Catholic
child from moral destruction. He was the author of a well
known series of instructions, " Gibson's Catechism made
" easy," derived from those given by him as chaplain of the
Kirkdale schools, and a series o-f " Lives of the Saints." His
name deserves to be held in the affectionate remembrance of
every lover of child life, and the prayerful recollection of
the Catholics of Liverpool. He left Liverpool in 1871, and
died at Bolton-le-Sands, March 7th, 1907. The great layman
who was his active colleague in this meritorious work, Mr. James
Whitty, retired from the Select Vestry in 1865, in favour of
Mr. Thomas Martin. Twelve years' service in Brownlow Hill
entitled him to a rest, and though he took up the more
honoured, but less useful, work of a Town Councillor, his
place at the Select Vestry was never adequately filled.
Speaking on March 20th, 1865, f he threw light on the fearful
leakage of Catholic children under Poor Law management.

* Brother of Mr. Gibson, of th« firm of Reynolds & Gibson, and
uncle of GolonelJ. P. Reynolds, J.P., who, as honorary president of
Father Berry's Homes, Shaw Street, still carries on the glorious
work founded forty-five years ago by his saintly relative,
t See " Daily Post," March 21st, 1865.

166

When he joined the Vestry in 1853, no creed register was
kept in the workhouse, and, in consequence, out of a total
of one thousand only sixty children heard Mass, a fearful
heritage for the children of the Irish famine. On the day of
his retirement from the Vestry, six hundred and sixty, out
of a total of twelve hundred, were being fully instructed in
the faith of their fathers. Father James Nugent now stepped
in as the protector of all poor children in the town which
gave him birth, and his magnificent work in this sphere alone,
irrespective of his other multifarious activities, raised for
him an imperishable monument in the hearts and minds of
his fellow townsmen,* and incidentally raised the status of
the Catholic body in a town traditionally Pn-testaut. As
early as 1849, he established, with the help of Mrs. Baines,
a house in Spitalfields, to feed and provide a bed for the poor
waifs who had begun at that early date to infest the streets
of Liverpool. They belonged entirely to the race from which
the worthy priest himself had sprung, for the famine years
made an impression on him which was never effaced. Later
on, in the sixties, he opened a house in Soho Street, and
finding the task of maintaining it unaided beyond his means,
his practical mind suggested the idea of enlisting the active
sympathy of the young men of the town, especially those of
the middle classes. For this purpose he organised a meeting
in the Catholic Club, where he laid his proposals before a
representative gathering of young men. The personal magnet
ism of the enthusiastic young priest secured for him at the
very outset the co-operation of a willing band of workers.
The new organisation bore the title, " the Association of
" Providence for the protection of orphan and destitute
" boys."f Numerous meetings were held in various parte of
the town to gain sympathy and enlist workers, and to make the
subscribers feel their share in the good work, Father Nugent
arranged that they were allowed to nominate any child in
their various districts for admission to the new institution.
Father Nugent had no particular political proclivities. To do
the work which lay at his own door was the cardinal feature
of his life's work, leaving statesmen and politicians to deal
with the causes which provided him with so large a sphere

* Father Nugent was ordained in St. Nicholas, August 30th, 1846,
probably the first ordination in Liverpool. After eight years study
in Ushaw and Rome, spent two-and-a-half years in missionary work
in Blackburn and Wigan. Eecalled to Liverpool on New Year's
Day, 1849, and spent the remainder of his life there.

f More than thirty years later one of his latest institutions has
a somewhat similar title : the House of Providence, West Dingle,
Toxteth Park.

167

for his philanthropic work. He had most certainly a warm
corner in his heart for the Irish race, but this did not
prevent him from pointing out the follies and vices of his
countrymen in England. Herein lay the bottom cause of his
general unpopularity at that time, and in later years with the
growing Nationalist party, which looked to the removal of
the causes of Irish emigration, while he set his heart
upon the curing of the results, and at the same time
removing the prejudices which confused crime and strong
drink with Irish blood and Catholic faith. At this first
meeting, Father Nugent claimed the special help of the better
class Irishmen on the ground that ninety-five per cent, of the
poor children running about the streets bore Irish names.

One of his first recruits was Mr. John Denvir, a cultured
Irishman, who was the head and front of the Nationalist
organisation in Liverpool until his appointment, in 1885, as
chief organiser of the Irish movement in England, Wales and
Scotland, necessitated his removal to London, where he now
resides. He was the first governor of the Boys' Refuge, and
first editor of the " Catholic Times." His fine literary gifts
resulted in the foundation of the " Irish Library ; " the
establishment and editorship of two local papers, " The
" United Irishman " and the " Nationalist " ; his latest work,
published a few years since, being a well-written and copious
history of the Irish in Great Britain. He had often been
invited to take a seat in Parliament for an Irish constituency,
but preferred to remain outside performing work more in
harmony with his great gifts, notably that of organising the
Irish vote in Great Britain. Having taken the teetotal
pledge from Father Mathew, he naturally found himself in
a congenial atmosphere when Father Nugent added the
crusade against drink to his many undertakings. His name
figures as secretary of the first meeting of the Association of
Providence held in the Bevington Theatre in 1865.

The neglect of the authorities to deal effectively with
juvenile " criminals " is eloquently told in the Police Report of
the Head Constable in 1865. No less than 833 children were
dealt with under the Juvenile Offenders Act during the
previous year, but owing to the apathy of the police in the
first instance, and to certain defects in the machinery pre
scribed by the Act, despite the strenuous efforts of the
Stipendiary Magistrate, only 13 were committed to the
reformatory ships, Akbar and Clarence. Some idea of the
shocking condition of Liverpool child life may be gleaned
from the following table, giving the figures of children tried

168

before the magistrates for vagrancy, begging, thieving and

kiiidied offences.

1862 1863 1864 1865

Under ten years of age 112 87 83 49

Ten to twelve years 252 208 222 210

Twelve to fourteen 323 430 429 356

Fourteen to sixteen 472 578 565 610

1,1591,3031,2991,225

In comparing these figures with later years it must be
borne in mind that later Acts of Parliament created a large
number of offences for which young people for their own
protection might be charged before the magistrates, and it
should also be borne in mind that neither the police nor the
public were as keen on saving the child as a generation which
came under the influence of a Nugent, a Garrett, or a Major
Lester.

Father Nugent had undertaken the secretaryship cf the
Clarence Committee, and his experience of that work, as well
as his wider and more varied work in the gaol, gave his public
utterances greater weight than would have attached to a less
experienced man. In the prison he met not only the adult,
but the child committed there for serious offences against
property. His first annual report to the magistrates contains
the very significant statement that out of 5,281 " Catholics "
committed from September 30, 1863, to the same month of the
following year only sixteen men and four women " attended
" church " when outside the prison walls. When Catholics of
Irish birth or descent cease to attend Mass, moral degradation
has certainly overwhelmed them. These annual Reports are
of interest too, as throwing light upon certain causes which
tended to the committal of crime, and Father Nugent did not
hesitate to point them out to his townsmen in the hope that
they would be removed by political action. The want of
education in adults, who as children had been excluded from
the Council schools, and the absence of compulsory attendance
from the Statute Book, to mention two causes only, were doing
deadly wrong. The proportion of males in Walton Gaol who
could neither read nor write was 45 per cent. ; in the case of
female prisoners 54 per cent. A Catholic has views of his
own as to what constitutes real education, and Father Nugent,
in his capacity as a priest, after fifteen years' experience,
appraised the value of mere secular knowledge at its real value.
In one of the Reports* he wrote : " Education is not an absolute
" preservative against crime, yet it must always be an incal-

* October, 1864.

169

" culable advantage towards gaining an honest livelihood, to
" make a position in a town like Liverpool." He was referring
to the casual labour which, then as now, is such a fruitful
cause of poverty and drink. It was the curse of the Irish
labourer who came to Liverpool after the famine with
nothing to depend upon but his physical strength. Deprived
of the discipline implied in the acquisition of a definite trade,
he was exposed to trials and difficulties which tended towards
moral deterioration, and was, with various other minor causes,
a fruitful source of intemperance. Father Nugent observed
this dread fact, and kept records of the history of every person
coming under his supervision in Walton Gaol, to drive home
the full significance of the evil of casual labour. In January,
1866, he published some of these records. Male prisoners :
1,002 labourers, 103 hawkers, 87 servants, 25 shoeblacks, 200
sailors, and 312 mechanics. The figures on the female side
of the gaol are much more painful in significance 607
followed no occupation, 369 were basket women, 88 char
women, and 964 were prostitutes. The Catholic males
comprised 61 per cent, of the total male inmates of Walton
Gaol, and the Catholic females 62 per cent, of the female
inmates. Contrast these figures with the Catholic population
in the prisons fifteen and twenty years earlier and the reader
will realise the change which had come over the face of
Liverpool. " From a careful analysis of the year 1865," wrote
Father Nugent, " four-fifths of the crime of the Irish people
" came from 75 per cent, of those who are dependent upon
" contingent labour. They are the first to suffer, and the
" last to benefit by any change in the commerce of the town."
It is not without its significance that out of 2,099 prisoners
in one year, 1,022 had been born in Liverpool. The Liverpool
"Daily Tost" in an editorial on the 1865 Report, observed
that, in Ireland, highway robbery, theft or burglary were
almost unknown. " No people in the world, perhaps, excel
' more in family affection than the Irish Their conduct
' when they go abroad testifies to this fine quality in their
' nature, and Liverpool merchants pass abundant proofs
' through their hands of the pecuniary contributions made
'to their poor relatives at home." The following detailed
statement of the nationality, religion, education and occupa
tion of all the prisoners committed to the borough gaol,
during the year ending September 30th, 1864, was found
among Father Nugent's papers.* It is in his own hand
writing, and was most likely circulated by him privately in
high Catholic circles to secure active support for the Refor-

* Lent by the Very Rev. Canon Pinnington to the writer.

170

matory Association founded in June, 1865, in the archdiocese
of Westminster.

To enable the reader to appreciate the real significance
of the tables, Father Nugent was careful to define clearly
the meaning of the terms he employed.

Felony. — All offences against property; against the
Criminal Justices' Act, Juvenile Offenders for Reformatory,
Juvenile Offenders Act; whether summarily dealt with or
convicted at Sessions.

Vagrancy. — All persons tried and convicted at the
Sessions; those remanded for further enquiries and after
wards discharged at the Police Courts; misdemeanours; not
accounting for ; and all offences against the Merchant Shipping
Act.

Assaults. — All offences against the person, wounding,
grievous bodily harm and threatening.

The following figures are then tabulated.

MALES.

Catholics. Protestants.

Felony 336 433

Assaults 708 470

Vagrancy 869 898

Drunkenness . 825 .... 479

2,738 2,280

FEMALES.

Catholics. Protestants.

Felony 248 215

Assaults 431 246

Vagrancy and Prostitution ... 1,520 772

Drunkenness . 884 579

3,083 1,812

Closer examination of these figures shew that drunken
ness accounts for 30'1 per cent., and accounts for 25'9, or in
other words 56 per cent, of the Catholic male prisoners were
convicted for these two classes of offences. Vagrancy accounts
for 31-7 and felony for only 12*3 per cent, of the whole
convictions, 2,738 in number. In this case of Catholic
females, felony occurred only in 8 per cent of the convictions ;
assaults 14 per cent. ; drunkenness 28'7 ; vagrancy and pros
titution, 49' 3. The following table shows the proportions as
between prisoners professing to be Catholics or Protestants : —

171

CATHOLIC MALES. PROTESTANT MALES.

Felony 12'3 per cent. ... 19 percent.

Drunkenness 31-1 „ ... 20'6 ,,

Assaults 25-9 „ ... 21

Vagrancy 31'7 „ ... 39-4

100 100

CATHOLIC FEMALES. PROTESTANT FEMALES.

Felony 8 percent. ... 11*9 per cent.

Drunkenness .... 28'7 „ ... 31'9

Assaults 14 „ ... 13-6 „

Vagrancy and

Prostitution . 49-3 42 '6

100 100

Sixty-six per cent, of the Catholic male prisoners were
labourers, against 50 per cent, of the Protestant; Catholic
mechanics, 22 per cent. ; Protestants, 28 per cent. ; Catholic
sailors, 8 per cent. ; Protestants, 14 per cent.. The remainder
came under the headings of no occupation, shopmen, clerks,
dealers, shopkeepers. On the female side no less than 40 per
cent, came under the ominous description of no occupation
(excluding all the prostitutes), and very few indeed were
domestic servants. This last-named fact made a deep impres
sion on Father Nugent's mind, and explains his lifelong
insistence on the value of domestic training for girls belonging
to the working classes. As time went on he realised more
and more the deplorable results accruing from wives of
labourers and other ill-paid classes of labour having had no
training in the management of a household before marriage.
Father Nugent then proceeds in this valuable memorandum
to make an analysis of the birthplace of the Catholic prisoners,
from which we learn which portions of Ireland contributed
their quota to the crowded alleys and streets.

IRISH-BORN MALES.
Leinster. Connaught. Ulster. Munster.

649 566 337 205

The County and City of Dublin alone accounted for 52
per cent, of Leinster's total. Analysing the Connaught
immigrants, we find that the County Mayo supplied 295 ;
Gal way, 138; Roscommon, 59; Sligo, 58; Leitrim, 16. The
greater number of the Ulster prisoners came from Belfast.

IRISH-BORN FEMALES.

Leinster. Connaught. Ulster. Munster.
936 571 412 274

172

As in the case of the males, Dublin County and City
account for 54 per cent, of Leinster " crime " ; Mayo, 258 ;
Galway, 149; Roscommon, 74; Sligo, 67; Leitrim, 21.

Two cases are not recorded. The educational status of
the prisoners tells its own story of misgovernment at home and
denial of opportunities in Liverpool. Forty-four per cent, of
the Irish-born males were quite unable to read or write, 43' 3
per cent, of Liverpool-born Catholics being in the same posi
tion ; 55'6 per cent, of Irish-born females were also illiterate,
compared with 57'2 of Liverpool-born Catholic women. It will
come as a surprise to most Irish readers to find that the
Province of Leinster, and especially the County of Dublin, had
sent so many immigrants into Liverpool. No doubt, in the
years immediately following 1847 an immense number of Con-
naught-born persons arrived in Liverpool, but save on the
hypothesis that they were more virtuous, more industrious,
and more sober, which is not to be lightly accepted as a fact,
it is a strange phenomenon that such a small percentage found
their way to Walton Gaol. On the other hand, it is equally
difficult to believe that Leinster and County Dublin men had
a double dose of original sin, and that the number of prisoners
was therefore out of all proportion to the actual number
immigrating into and settling in Liverpool. Nor can the
numbers be accounted for by reason of the large number of
weekly sailings between Dublin and Liverpool, as Wexford,
Dundalk, and Drogheda were in quite as close communication.
The more likely view is that the Connaught people did not
settle down in Liverpool in such large numbers as is believed.*

The Inspector of Reformatory Schools wrote a very signifi
cant Report to the Home Secretary in 1865 on the subject
of juvenile offenders against the law. He said it was
attributable " to the rapid rate at which the lower classes,
" especially of Irish labourers, immigrate to the great centres
" of employment, crowding the already overcrowded dwellings
" more and more, and throwing thousands of neglected,
" untaught children on the streets and allies (sic) for exercise
" and recreation." This gentleman had evidently keen powers
of observation, and put his finger on the main causes which
led to the demoralisation of child life in Liverpool and other
large centres. His observations are a complete defence of the
position taken up by Irish Nationalists that misgovernment
in Ireland being responsible directly for the Irish land system,
the " British garrison " in Ireland, it was to blame for the

* Denvir's "Irish in Britain" corroborates this view: "hardy
Con naught men generally passed through Liverpool on their way
to the English agricultural counties."

173

consequences, which included the overcrowding of English
cities and towns. Her Majesty's Inspector was not a politician,
however, and could not suggest in any event the Home Rule
solution of the problem ; he could but suggest compulsory
attendance at elementary schools.

In the Soho Street Refuge there was provision for only 38
children permanently, and on one night 647 wretched lads had
been provided with a meal, and a makeshift arrangement had
to be made to provide 134 with a night's shelter.* It may be
observed in passing that many of these children were not
Irish, as Father Nugent, to avoid sectarian difficulties and
the odious charge of proselytism, had publicly pledged his
word to take in Protestant boys, and hand them over next
morning to the managers of the Everton Terrace Ragged
School. In this way he won the confidence of all classes, and
maintained it to the end of his life. There were many leading
Catholic laymen who attributed the growth of criminality in
young men and women to the workhouse system. In a con
troversy with the Rev. Thomas Carter, Protestant Chaplain
of Walton Gaol, Mr. J. Neale Lomax wrote that, " the main
" portion of the criminals came from the workhouse. It cannot
" be otherwise so long as Guardians send out children, babies
" of thirteen years, almost without education, either religious
"or profane, into the world to shift for themselves." The
Liverpool Select Vestry was considerably in advance of its
time in providing separate schools at Kirkdale. Throughout
England, however, Guardians were indifferent to child train
ing; in Liverpool it was not so. What the Select Vestry did
do was to put obstacles, from a Catholic point of view, in the
way of children receiving full Catholic instruction, and this
was the thought running in Mr. Lomax's mind. He quoted
with deadly effect the following opinion expressed in the
Police Court in October, 1853, by the Stipendiary Magistrate :
" From time to time the young female prisoners in the dock
" say they have been brought up in the Kirkdale Schools.
" This must be a very unsuccessful institution, else so many
" of its scholars would not be brought up before me." Five
years later, 1858, Mr. Brown, the Poor Law Inspector, wrote
that the schools were a " failure," an opinion which he modified
after a closer examination. Catholic opinion was unanimous
in condemning the results of the Kirkdale training. Father
Henry Gibson spoke serious words of warning against the
character of the religious training. Morning and evening
prayers by eight hundred children, left to the supervision
" of a boy and a girl," and sent out to church without much

*See Mr. John Denvir's letter, " Daily Post," February, 1867.

174

if any supervision,* were not likely to impress young minds
with the necessity or importance of church attendance in after
life. Indeed, the priest had on one occasion declared that
boys from Kirkdale were rapidly transformed into thieves. f
Thanks to the numerous concessions won by Mr. James Whitty,
and the new scheme for securing employment and lodging
for Catholic children, these dangers were being rapidly
removed, but it was seriously urged that the non-churchgoers
who were found in Walton by Father Nugent had come in the
main from the workhouse children. Father Nugent carefully
avoided any recriminations, preferring to deal with the circum
stances which surrounded children in the late sixties. To
public men accustomed to ten years' working of an Act to
regulate street trading children, J it will come as a proof of
the foresight of Father Nugent, that in January, 1866, he
said : " If street trading by children under fourteen years of
" age were checked juvenile offences would decrease/' The
experience of the Liverpool Watch Committee has justified
this belief, and the extension of similar powers to the whole
country will do much to improve the moral tone of the street
traders of the nation. ||

To enlist the aid of enlightened Protestantism in Liver
pool for the salvation of the child was Father Nugent's greatest
service to the Church in Liverpool, if not the whole of Eng
land. It broke down barriers, scotched prejudice where it did
not make it hide its head in shame, created a more tolerant
atmosphere, and, what was more important still, brought
about the recognition of the social work performed by the
priests of the town, and its influence on the character of the
Catholic citizen. On February 15, 1865, Liverpool was sur
prised to find that Father Nugent had secured the aid of the
new Stipendiary. Mr. T. Stamford Raffles, in his crusade for
the salvation of the neglected child. He had organised a
public meeting in St. George's Hall to inaugurate the new
movement, which made him the most prominent citizen of the
town. That Mr. George Melly sat beside the Stipendiary was
no surprise ; his fine public spirit knew no distinction of party,
creed, or race. The following year, November 28, 1866,
Father Nugent achieved a greater success when in the Small
Concert Hall, St. George's Hall, he gathered around him
nearly every member of the Town Council, Conservative and
Liberal alike; the Protestant Chaplain of Walton Gaol, and
his own co-religionist, Lord Howard of Glossop, M.P., in

* " Daily Post," February 20, 1866.
f J. N. Lomax, Catholic Club, 1866.

J Passed in 1899 for Liverpool, at the instance of the City Council.
I) Now happily the law of the land.

175

support of his rescue work in Soho Street. In his speech at
this memorable gathering he stated that, during the past year
of its working, the Association of Providence had dealt with
four hundred children, mostly on their personal application
at Soho Street. Of these thirteen had found a permanent
residence in the Beacon Lane Orphanage. He gave particulars
of the ages of these child applicants for assistance. One was
three years of age ; two, four years ; 18, six years ; 34, seven
years; 21, eight years; 28, nine years; 22, ten years; 38,
eleven years; and 44, twelve years. The remainder ranged
from thirteen upwards. He had also undertaken the leading
part in the management of St. George's Industrial School,
West Derby Road, and to wipe off a debt of £5,000, which had
been incurred in providing that institution, obtained the
services of Mr. John Farn worth, Mayor of the town, who pre
sided at the St. George's Hall meeting, supported by a large
number of non-Catholic philanthropists. On that day, October
22, 1866, was inaugurated that civic acknowledgment of
Catholic charities of such character, which, happily for Liver
pool, still continues. In this year the Liverpool Town Council
voted £1,500 towards fitting up the " Clarence " Training
Ship, whereupon the Orange Association forwarded a strong
protest against any further help being given, " because the
" propagation of the doctrines of the Church of Rome are
" contrary to the spirit of the Constitution as established at
" the Reformation, which has made this country the most
" wealthy, happy, and free of all the nations in Europe."
Among the four signatories to this protest occurs the name of
Mr. Joseph Ball, afterwards Lord Mayor of the city in 1905.
To the great disappointment of Catholic workers in the rescue
of children, Bishop Goss made an attack on the Reformatory
and Industrial Schools system. " I am not one of those who
' believe that compulsory reformation, any more than com-
' pulsory education, will prove in the long run a very great
' benefit. ... I do not think that compulsion will make
' any man good. You may watch him, you may guard him,
' but at the same time there are means of vice which he may
' gratify in spite of even parental care or the strictest watch-
' fulness. I am averse to anything like compulsion ; and I
' must say that I regret the enactment of these reformatory
' laws ; I think it is a retrogade step. I regret that laws have
' been passed which take away the freedom of the young before,
' almost, they may be said to come within the meshes of the
' laws of the country, for they have the effect of taking away
' children who have no settled means of livelihood, but are
4 found wandering about the streets. Still, it is the law, and

176

" therefore it is our duty to endeavour to provide for those
" whom the law commits to our care." The Bishop went on to
argue " that education was a parental duty, and we ought to
" be jealous of the State slipping in between a parent and
" child, because if it has the right to compel education it has
" the right to prescribe what the education should be."

To lay down the principle of parental rights did not
involve any attack on reformatory or industrial schools, and
Mr. John Yates publicly condemned the Bishop for making
a pastoral letter the medium of spreading erroneous ideas as
to their curative or preventitive value, adding that at that
very moment there were 194 boys on the " Clarence " who, but
for the reformatory law, would surely have been in gaol. The
law had saved hundreds of children from drifting into crime,
and, incidentally, had saved their faith. The Tory papers
attacked Dr. Goss, who must have rubbed his eyes with
astonishment when he read the only defence of this extra
ordinary pastoral in the editorial comments of the " Daily
" Post. " The Bishop answered the criticisms by saying that
he had only referred to the children running about the streets
being deprived of their liberty, quite unmindful of the obvious
fact that the Industrial Schools were founded to save this
class of children from falling into ways of crime. Dr. Goss
made amends for his ill-timed jibe at rescue work by another
pastoral one month later in date, when he wrote : " It is in
" the reformation of juvenile criminals that the greatest
" solicitude has been exhibited, and the wisest measures have
" been adopted." Two months later both the Bishop and his
defender, Mr. M. J. Whitty, learned the value of the con
tention of Mr. John Yates, that a reformatory or industrial
school was a better place for a child than a gaol. A boy,
aged seven years, was committed to gaol in default of paying
a fine of five shillings. The child had committed the heinous
offence of flinging a stone at a child of equal age, who had
called him " a turncoat and a Protestant." On hearing of
the decision, Mr. M. J. Whitty sent over to the Police Court
the amount of the fine, and after examining the boy in his
editorial sanctum in Lord Street, wrote that " this English
" arab had been educated like Rob Roy's sons." Nor did
the Bishop's views- on compulsory attendance at school meet
with the approval of his clergy. Some of the older clergy had not
forgotten the Inspector's criticism of a school in Liverpool in
1852, certified for 135 boys, which received 650 during the year.
With characteristic courage, Father Nugent attended a meet
ing in the Law Association Rooms of various clergymen of all
creeds, and made what would appear to be the best speech of

177

his life from the point of view of solid argument in advocacy
of compulsory attendance at school. In answer to the criti
cisms of the Reformatory system, he said it was next to
impossible to do much good with boys committed at fourteen,
fifteen, and even sixteen years of age. Dr. Goss himself, in
preaching at Holy Cross, said there were 300 children running
wild in that parish, neither attending school nor receiving
adequate parental supervision. Father Guy, O.S.B., spoke
at the same meeting, and boldly declared that the only hope
of saving the children lay in their being compelled to attend
school every day. There was much force in the contention
that once the right of the State to compel attendance was
acknowledged, the time was not far distant when it would
claim to decide what was education. This has unfortunately
proved true; but the immediate problem at that day was to
choose between the schoolroom and the streets, between crime,
ignorance, and public disorder and a combined religious and
secular education for a class of child who would not otherwise
receive any training. Bishop Goss, however, was not con
vinced, and showed his impartiality by attacking St. George's
School, West Derby Road, in another pastoral letter. He
quoted the Inspector's remark : " This school reports nothing
" satisfactory." Neither the clergy or laity serving on St.
George's Committee would submit silently to public criticism
from the Bishop, and in reply published the reports of the
same Inspector for the three previous years. They disturbed
even the equanimity of Dr. Goss by the bold statement that
the unfavourable report was due to the Inspector's private
opinion that " superintendence by religious orders, male or
" female, was utterly unsuitable." His Lordship next
assailed the Toxteth Poor Law Guardians. During the year
1867 several Anglican clergymen secured seats on the Toxteth
Board; and on one occasion distinguished themselves by
attaching more importance to capacity to play that much
maligned instrument, the harmonium, than to proficiency in
imparting secular knowledge to Poor Law children. It did
not affect the Catholic body in any way, but the Bishop seized
the opportunity to speak his mind on a delicate question, the
presence of clergymen on public bodies. Quite in keeping
with his usual practice, he selected the altar of St. Patrick's,
situate in the Toxteth area, to make his statement. After
castigating the would-be educationalists', the Bishop observed
that there had been introduced " what he thought was one of
" the worst elements which could be introduced into the
" administration of civil and social affairs. He was a
" Churchman, and therefore not likely to underrate the ser-

178

" vices or capacities of Churchmen ; but he thought the priest
" should keep to the altar, that he should perform the duties
" for which he was ordained.''* The Catholic body has been
in the happy position of always finding laymen, Nationalists
or Liberals, to undertake public work, while it is a misfortune
that the Catholic Conservative has shirked public duty; it
may be for political reasons.

The proposal to establish an Anglican bishopric in Liver
pool brought forth a spirited protest from Bishop Goss. He
denounced the scheme in a sermon delivered in St. Alban's
Church, Athol Street, in June, 1867. The Rector of Liver
pool, Mr. Campbell, replied with equal warmth : " As reported
" in the ' Northern Press/ your Lordship denounced an
" attempt to introduce another Bishop into the diocese of
" which you are the lawfully constituted Bishop, as a gross
" injustice to you, and a flagrant attempt to make a spiritual
" harlot of the See to which another one was already wedded.''
He, in turn, accused Dr. Goss of coming into a See to which
the Bishop of Chester f was already wedded, a statement
obviously aimed at the Bishop's declaration that " the Pope
" studiously made it a point to act with the utmost delicacy
" towards the national susceptibilities of Englishmen, and
" with the highest good taste abstained from appointing
" Bishops to any Sees already occupied by Protestants.''
Salford, Shrewsbury, and Liverpool are cases in point.
Unfortunately, the Rector of Liverpool, in his reply, quoted
a section of the ill-starred Ecclesiastical Titles Act, which
placed Dr. Goss under a penalty of one hundred pounds foi
11 assuming " the title of Bishop of Liverpool. From the
altar of St. Joseph's, Grosvenor Street, the Bishop answered
that " his title had been conferred upon him by the successor
" of a long line of Pontiffs, and of him who had conferred upon
" an English King the title, Defender of the Faith. If the
" monarch plumed himself upon a title which he had no reason
" to adopt, because he had been unfaithful to the giver, it was
" strange that Rector Campbell should remind him of this
" ancient penalty of one hundred pounds."

A few days later the Rector voted in the majority against
a proposal that a paid Catholic Chaplain should be appointed
to the huge workhouse and hospital in Brownlow Hill. Dr
Goss made his visitation of St. Philip Neri's, almost under the
shadow of the building in which this vote was recorded, and

* It is remarkable that no priest was ever nominated for the
Liverpool School Board or Liverpool Select Vestry, and until the
death of Mr. Michael Fitzpatrick in 1906, a priest did not serve on
the Education Committee.

f The diocese of Chester included Liverpool.

179

taunted the fighting Rector that " at an age when he must be
" rather thinking of the Day of Judgment, forgetting the
" infirmities of life, he came down to the Vestry, not to
" advocate fair play, but to deprive the Catholic body of its
" just claims." The incumbent of St. George's Church,* the
Rev. John Kelly, who had already made his debut in the
arena of Orange theology, took up the cudgels in 'defence of
the Rector, but the Bishop, who never refused to break a lance
with a worthy foeman, treated the violent discourses of this
militant gentleman with silent contempt.

The Fenian movementf had already made its mark on the
Irish political movement, and seriously disturbed the authori
ties at Westminster and Dublin Castle. Many hundreds of
Liverpool Irishmen were members of the Irish Republican
Brotherhood, and thousands were warm sympathisers of the
new movement to free Ireland by physical force from further
misgovernment. The well-known raid on Chester Castle was
planned in Liverpool, and some local Irishmen participated in
the attack on the prison van in Hyde Road, Manchester, when
the Fenian leaders, Kelly and Deasy, were rescued. Both the
Bishop and the clergy found themselves in an awkward posi
tion by reason of the presence in Liverpool of so many
adherents of the " Fenian " movement. Their position was
not made easier by the silly attempts of itinerant Irish
preachers and their allies to confuse Fenianism with
Catholicism. Meetings were held by these persons to denounce
the revolutionary movement, and the addresses delivered
proved to be a strange incoherent medley of " misdoings in
" convents, tales of torture, and priestly intrigues with
"Fenian leaders.'' On November 23rd, 1867, Allen, Larkin,
and O'Brien were executed in Manchester for their participa
tion in the attack on the prison van, and the death of Sergeant
Brett, who was unintentionally shot in the melee. Probably
at no time during the nineteenth century was Irish feeling so
deeply stirred as by this execution, J and so alarmed were the
authorities in consequence that great military preparations
were made to cope with an expected outbreak in Liverpool.
Handbills were distributed announcing that a " funeral pro-
" cession " would be held in honour of the Manchester
Martyrs on Sunday, December 15th. Irishmen were invited to

* The site is now occupied by the Queen Victoria Memorial.

f One of its leaders, Mr. Stephen Joseph Meany, was sub-editor
of the " Daily Post," under Mr. M. J. Whitty, and was credited with
some of the anti-clerical writings in that journal. He was sentenced
to fifteen years' penal servitude.

J The Protestant rector of Wigan used very bitter language in
denouncing the verdict and sentence.

180

meet outside the Rotunda Theatre, Stanley Road, and to
march in solemn order as far south as St. Patrick's Chapel,
Park Place. The Orange organisation, under the leadership
of Mr. Joseph Ball, announced its intention of holding a
counter-demonstration on the same day, and at the same place
and route. The Mayor of the town, Mr. Edward Whitley,*
issued a proclamation forbidding the proposed Irish procession,
whereupon the Orangemen countermanded their intended
hostile gathering.

Mr. M. J. Whitty, writing in the " Daily Post," appealed
to the Irishmen of the town to abandon the demonstration, as
it might affect their employment and social position, not quite
the grounds1 of appeal which would have induced Irishmen to
lay down their arms. The authorities were convinced that
their proclamation would be defied, and as the last resort
Canons Fisher, Wallwork, and Bernard O'Reilly were invited
to confer with the Mayor at the Town Hall. The outcome of
this conference was the issue of the following letter from St.
Edward's, addressed by the Bishop : — " To the Irish portion of
" our beloved flock in the town of Liverpool and its vicinity.
" We earnestly and affectionately exhort you, and if need be
" command you, by that authority which we hold from God,
" and in virtue of our sacred office, that you abstain from join-
" ing in any procession. May God in His mercy bless you;
" may He give happiness to your fair but afflicted country."

This appeal fell upon deaf ears for the most part.
Another gathering was announced for the neighbourhood of
Shell Park, just outside the then boundary of the municipal
boundary. The County Justices held a hurried meeting and
proclaimed this meeting. Bishop Goss resolved to issue a final
appeal to the Irish Catholics to obey his request. " We repeat
" the injunction we have already given ; and we command you
" that in no part of the county subject to our jurisdiction do
" you hold any meeting or join in any procession. You have
" always been wont to listen to our words, and to obey our
" commands. Do not send sorrow to us at a time when we are
" about to celebrate the great festival of peace."

With great reluctance the leaders accepted the Bishop's
counsel, and the proposed meetings and processions were
abandoned. The Mayor publicly returned thanks for " the
" most essential and serviceable aid rendered by the Catholic
" Bishop and clergy." In one of his pastoral letters Dr. Goss
displayed his knowledge of Irish political history by his state
ment that every revolutionary movement in Ireland had been
organised by Irishmen outside the pale of the Catholic Church,

* Elected M.P. for the Everton Division of Liverpool, 1885.

181

and created some surprise by the assertion made on the
authority of the Irish Hierarchy, that the Fenian movement
had been begun by Irishmen who were opposed to the Catholic
Church. Preaching during that memorable month of
November, he expressed his " sincere sympathy with the Irish,
" for no country had ever been more cruelly wronged."

In 1868, on Sunday, March 8th, Dr. Goss blessed the bell
at St. Alexander's, Bootle. In the course of his address he
referred with scorn to the action of the Bishop of Manchester,
who, when called upon to consecrate a cemetery, did not
perform the ceremony according to the rubrics of the English
Church, because some snow was falling. To the amazement
of the Burial Board, he simply contented himself with entering
the office of the Registrar and signing a deed, which he said
in excuse was all that was needed. The Bishop ol Liverpool
was no respecter of persons, and spoke out emphatically on
every subject of public importance which came under his notice.
He observed with some interest and pride that at a meeting
of Anglican and Dissenting clergymen, held to consider some
means of removing one serious blot on the reputation of the
town, the non-attendance at Church services of the masses,
there were uttered words of praise for the Catholic clergy for
their assiduous and successful exertions in this respect among
the Catholics belonging to the labouring classes.

Taking advantage of the " Fenian alarm," Mr. Joseph
Ball, who had taken to himself the entire credit of frightening
the Irish from holding the proposed " funeral '' procession in
the previous December, now resolved to enter public life by
opposing Mr. Thomas Martin, the retiring Catholic member
of the Select Vestry. The fight for the Disestablishment of
the Irish Church, the wrangle still going on in Liverpool over
the Temporal Power, and the irritation in some Protestant
quarters at Dr. Goss's sermons and pastorals, presaged a big
victory for the Orange-Church candidate. The issue, as denned
by Mr. Ball, was simplicity itself: no Catholic of any
nationality or political belief should be allowed a seat on any
public body.

A tremendous struggle, unequalled in the history of the
town, was the result, and for ten days practically all business
was suspended. The polling place was the Law Association
Rooms, Cook Street, in the very heart of commercial Liver
pool. At the end of the first day's polling Mr. Ball secured
751 votes recorded by 296 voters, against Mr. Martin's 441 by
121 persons. Next day Mr. Ball's votes had jumped up to
2,061 from 628 voters; Mr. Martin being in a minority with
1,648 votes recorded by 609 electors. The Liberal party issued

182

a manifesto in Mr. Martin's favour, protesting against the
doctrine that no Catholic was fit to enter public life. Still
Mr. Ball led, his votes and voters being 3,583 and 1,401 ; Mr.
Martins, 3,021 and 1,212. The Catholics refused to allow the
poll to be closed, and made a herculean effojrt to improve their
position. House-to-house visitations were*made; vehicles of
all kinds were requisitioned, but on the fourth day they were
still in a bad position, with 3,567 votes against 4,185; 1,483
voters against 1,684. Still they refused to acknowledge
defeat, and next day secured a majority of voters, though still
in a minority of votes. The end of the eight days' fight showed
Martin ahead with 4,396 voters against 3,696, and 8,243 votes
against 7,970; thus at last voters and votes were against Mr.
Ball. Neither side would give way now, and finally, on
Saturday, April 25th, Mr. Thomas Martin routed the Orange
nominee by 9,946 votes to 9,470, and by 5,684 voters to 4,740.
Mr. Ball retired from the contest on the spurious plea that the
Liberal party had diverted the contest into political channels,
instead of allowing it to be fought out on Orange versus
Catholic lines.

The question of how to deal with the destitute children of
the town came up again during this year, on the initiative of
the leading Catholics of the town, who never missed a chance
of calling public attention to the evil results resulting there
from. The magistrates met on June 24th, 1868, to consider
what action they could take, and the esteem in which they
held Mr. C. J. Corbally was shewn in their voting him to the
chair. Father Nugent gave them his views, also stating that
no less than two thousand children were trading in the streets.
The following table shows the numbers of young people
arrested from 1860 to 1867 :—

1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867

768 823 1159 1303 1299 1225 1133 1500
The difficulty of finding permanent employment was
intensified by the passing of the Workshops Act, which forbade
the employment of any child unable to read or write. Thus
the very class which did not attend school, or at best most
irregularly, was doubly handicapped in the search for employ
ment, and had no alternative but to seek a precarious living
in the streets. The sale of matches and small wares was as often
as not a mere cloak for begging, and at best was demoralising.
Beyond the suggestion that the police should take greater
advantage of the Industrial Schools Act, the magistrates were
practically powerless. A census was taken at midnight on
January 1st, 1869, of all children found in the street*

183

either trading or wandering about without any control being
exercised over them.* It was found that 541 little boys and
172 little girls were at that very late hour offering small
articles for sale or begging. Father Nugent gathered 500
Catholic boys off the streets and entertained them in the Boys'
Refuge, Soho Street. He made the startling comment on the
demoralisation which had set in amongst the generation which
had sprung u|> from the famine immigrants that only twenty
boys present had been,born in Ireland. The principal speaker
at this- pleasant meeting was Mr. Charles Russell, destined to
be Lord Chief Justice of England. Father Nugent announced
that his Association of Providence had decided to extend the
sphere of their activities, and side by side with the work being
done at 22, Soho Street, to establish a Boys' Refuge in St.
Anne Street, in the former residence of the Judges of Assize.
Mr. Samuel Greg Rathbone, Mr. William Rathbone, and Mr.
Weld Blundell gave one hundred pounds each; Mr. W.
Clarkson and Lord Howard, fifty pounds; Mr. G. Melly,
twenty pounds; Chief Justice Lush sent a donation of five
pounds. The founder had decided to train the boys in some
industrial occupation which could be followed on leaving the
institution, believing this to be the only way to prevent them
slipping into the army of street traders and later on entering
the dismal host of casual labourers. To create a taste for a
regular life was Father Nugent's1 chief aim. He did not,
however, escape some hostile criticism, especially from Mr.
M. J. Whitty, in the editorial columns of the " Daily Post."
He was elegantly described as an admirable stage manager, a nd
denounced for purchasing printing machinery at a cost" of four
hundred pounds. At the same time the " Albion " joined the
" Post " in demanding exact financial statements of receipts
and disbursements. Father Nugent had purchased the rapidly
declining " Northern Press," and began to print it at his
Refuge in Soho Street. The " Post " accused him of having
engaged a " vituperative writer " to assail Mr. Whitty, and of
having purchased the " Northern Press " with money given to
him for charitable purposes. Father Nugent wrote an indig
nant reply, denying that he had employed anyone to " put
" down " the " Daily Post," and though admitting that the
" Northern Press " was printed at the Soho Street Refuge, it
was so done because of a contract arranged with the committee,
who had no responsibility for its contents, and that the
machinery was not purchased out of public subscription, but
had been presented to him by a personal friend. The " Post "
pursued him in a vindictive spirit for many years, and, alluding

* See Speech of Mr. G. Melly, February 4, 1869.

184

to his absence from an education meeting, sneeringly said
it would never have done for a priest to be shouted down by
cries of " Produce a balance-sheet." Father Nugent was not
easily dissuaded once he had made up his mind, and pursued
his work of saving the Catholic child, unmindful of Mr.
Whitty's attacks, which, for once in his career, were based o'n
personal dislikes.

In anticipation of the passage into law of a Bill
for compulsory attendance at school, a meeting of all
parties was held early in 1869, to found the Education Aid
Society, the precursor of the present Council of Educatioli.
The objects aimed at were : Payment of school fees in cases of
proved poverty, and a choice of schools for the parents, so as
to avoid any religious difficulty. The Bishop of Chester pre
sided, and was supported by two priests, who spoke to the
resolutions— Father Guy, O.S.B., and Father Hilary Lenoir,
O.M.I., of Holy Cross.

Mr. William Rathbone, M.P., moved the main resolution,
setting forth the objects of the new movement. The Rev. Dr.
Taylor moved as an amendment that no parent be helped
unless he sent his child to a Bible school. It was a repetition
of the policy of the Anglican clergy in 1841, which was now
filling the gaols and reformatories ; the policy that Dr. Taylor
had laid down in 1864, against the payment or appointment of
a Catholic Chaplain to the borough gaol. Catholics- were not
ratepayers' because they were poor, a bit of new political
economy. Now, voluntary assistance was to be denied. His
speech was an attack on Dr. Goss and Cardinal Cullen, and
the violent polemics in which he indulged would have defeated
the new organisation had not the same Rathbone who faced
McNeill thirty years earlier been ready now to face his no less
bigoted successor. The margin of victory was narrow ; three
votes.

The report of the Government Inspector for 1868 told
eloquently the need for compulsory education in Liverpool.
Onl^ 5,719 Catholic children were in average attendance, while
the non-Catholics were in a more pitiable plight. Notwith
standing their being two-thirds of the population, only 8,254
were attending school. From this Report we learn that there
were night schools at Holy Cross, average attendance, 117 ; St.
Thomas and William, averaging 41 ; St. Oswald's, Old Swan,
62; and at St. Nicholas', Copperas Hill, 406 girls were in
attendance.

On July 22, 1869, Bishop Goss opened the Boys' Refuge
in St. Anne Street, in the presence of Lord Howard and a
large attendance of the leading Protestant gentlemen of the

135

town. His Lordship expressed his delight that one of his own
clergy had come forward with sufficient courage and resolution
to venture upon the purchase of that large house to remove
the destitute boy from the dangers of the streets. Dr. Goss
had additional proofs of the enthusiasm with which his flock
worked in this direction. Mr. J. Neale Lomax reported that
in six years the Association founded by Canon Cookson and
Mr. J. Whitty had found situations in Catholic families or
with Catholic employers for 263 boys and 346 girls discharged
from the Kirkdale Schools. The Catholic Guardians were
able, too, to congratulate themselves and their Protestant
supporters upon having secured the appointment of a Catholic
schoolmistress at Kirkdale, who was responsible for the
religious instruction of the Catholic children. Another
organisation which was1 rendering yeoman service for the girls
was St. George's Industrial School for Girls, located in
Laburnum House, Fairfield.

In January, 1854, a few Belgian nuns of the Augustinian
Order were introduced to Liverpool by the Very Rev. Canon
Wall work, and located themselves in Evert on Crescent. It
was the only institution in England which made Valenciennes
lace, but the nuns did not confine their training to this unique
branch of industry. They trained poor girls in all branches
of domestic work, and found them situations in different
families in the town. Owing to the success which they
achieved in a few years after their arrival they rented a build
ing known as the West Derby Hospital, and in 1868 took
possession of Laburnum House. The Finance Committee of
the Corporation had paid one shilling per week per child for
some years, under the provisions of the Reformatory Act, but
ceased to continue the payment in 1868, at which date 108
destitute girls were in training. On June 21st, 1868, Dr. Goss
laid the foundation-stone of the new schools of St. Vincent de
Paul, consequent upon the compulsory acquisition by the
Corporation of the Jordan Street Schools, presented by Mr. E.
Chaloner. On this occasion he delivered an address which was
regarded as an attack on the Irish population, and to the
close of his episcopate, four years later, his observations were
keenly resented by many Irishmen. " All men/' said he,
"possessed fair chances of advancing themselves; the paths
" of preferment were closed against none." He was interrupted
by a man in the crowd with the remark, " Yes, my Lord, if
" he is not an Irishman." The Bishop noticed the interruption,
and sharply replied, " What does that man say ? Let him
" speak out like a man if he has anything to say.'' He went
on to contend that, though Ireland " had suffered great and

186

" cruel wrongs, in Liverpool, as in the rest of England, Irish-
" men had a clear stage, if they would only be true to them-
" selves, and refrain from drink and other vices." These
words only were reported in the daily Press, and it was alleged
they only formed a small portion of a severe criticism of the
Irish members of the Bishop's flock. Whilst his Lordship's
comments on the drink habit were undeniably true, it was-
doubtful whether the Irish labourer drank any more than hia
neighbour in the same humble walk of life. Dr. Goss was
not, however, so accurate in his assertion that Irishmen had
a clear stage for preferment. The maxim, " No Irish need
" apply," had not yet disappeared from the employer's
vocabulary, and between the instinctive dislike of Rome on
the one hand, and the anti-Irish feeling due to Irish political
agitations — notably the Fenian movement — on the other, the
prospects of preferment were very small indeed. Indeed, it
would not be an exaggeration to say that, but for the fortu
nate circumstance that most of the stevedores were Irishmen,
the Catholic Irish labourers on the dock side would have had
a hard time. Railway developments and dock extensions
needed men of considerable physical strength to carry out the
work of excavating, and in this department Irishmen got more
than their share. Navvying does not appear to have had any
special attraction for the average English labourer in Liver
pool. The Irish party resented a Bishop lending the weight of
his experience and authority to criticisms which they refused
to admit were well grounded. Bishop Goss was, however, never
deterred by public criticism from expressing his opinions freely,
and in this instance he acted in perfect good faith ; he found
it difficult to believe that his own countrymen could be so
deeply prejudiced against Irishmen.

187

CHAPTER VIII.

The year 1870 opened a new chapter in the history of
Catholic Liverpool. Mr. W. E. Forster's Education Bill
provided for the establishment of new local education
authorities and compulsory attendance at school of all children
from five to twelve years of age. The Catholics and the
Anglicans were the only bodies, save in a few instances, such
as the Wesleyans, who had made any seriousi effort to provide
educational facilities for the children of the nation. To supply
the deficiency was the avowed intention of the authors of the
new Bill, but there were not wanting far-seeing critics who
urged that the effect would be to supplant the existing volun
tary schools. This opinion, which has been abundantly
justified by after events, prejudiced the School Board experi
ment at the very outset, as the different religious bodies,
especially the Anglican authorities, made strenuous efforts to
capture* the new education authorities. The provisions of
the Bill made it clear that a heavy financial burthen would be
placed on the shoulders of the Catholic body, and few indeed
seemed to realise what the ultimate effect would be when the
Bill became an Act of Parliament. As soon as the Speech
from the Throne announced the forthcoming measure, Liver
pool Catholics took counsel one with the other. A meeting
was held in the Catholic Club, 34, Church Street. Canon
Bernard O'Reilly was in the chair, and Father James Nugent
acted as secretary. It was decided to oppose the passage of
the Bill, and to organise a series of public demonstrations to
stir up public opinion. The committee appointed consisted
of men holding every shade of political opinion — Conservative,
Liberal, and Home Ruler. Sir Robert Gerard, Thomas Weld
Blundell, J. B. Aspinall, Henry Sharpies, Francis Reynolds,
Edward Leeming, P. S. Bidwill, Hugh Cullen, James Whitty,
John Yates, John MacArdle, and others; such a committee
as could only have been brought into existence in the face of
some grave danger to Catholic interests.

The demonstration held in the Theatre Royal, f William
son Square, on St. Patrick's Day, came as a surprise to
Liverpool citizens, sfccustomed though they were to huge public
gatherings when party or racial feeling ran high. The square

* Lord Salisbury's advice to denominationalists : " Capture the
School Boards."

t Now a Cold Store.

188

was packed by a great multitude who were unable to gain
admission to the crowded theatre. Sir Robert Gerard pre
sided ; the principal speakers being the eloquent Irish member,
John Francis Maguire, Father George Porter, S.'J., Rector of
St. Francis Xavier's,* Father Nugent, Mr. George Segar, and
Mr. John Yates. The dominant note of the speeches may be
found in the terse resolution adopted: — " Religion being the
" basis of all true education, this meeting holds that any
" system which would tend to secularize education cannot be
" acceptable to the Catholics of this country." After the
lapse of forty years, and in the midst of a renewed fight for the
same principle laid down in this resolution, one rises from the
perusal of the newspaper reports, captivated by the eloquent
speeches which raised the memorable meeting in Williamson
Square to a pitch of hitherto unparalleled enthusiasm. It
was- decided, on the motion of Father Nugent, to send a depu
tation to Mr. Forster to point out certain provisions in the Bill
which gave an unfair advantage to the proposed School Boards.
The deputation consisted of Canon O'Reilly and Messrs.
Aspinall, Whitty, and Yates. This demonstration was
followed by another, organised by the Christian Doctrine Con
fraternities, which was attended by two thousand " of the
" poorest Catholics in the town." All classes of Catholics1 were
united in opposition to the Bill, whilst they resolved that in
the event of its becoming law they would rise to the heavy
responsibilities entailed by the provision of new schools and
the better equipment of those already in existence. All
Catholics were animated by the principle laid down in a
remarkable leading article in the " Catholic Times " : " If
" Saint Ambrose were alive at the present moment, he would
" sell the very chalice from the altar, and consecrate in glass
" to find means to save the children." As if to add fuel to the
fires of controversy, Mr. Newdegate, M.P., selected this
moment to introduce his famous Bill for the inspection of
convents. There, was a well-grounded belief that the large
Liberal majority behind Mr. Gladstone in the House of
Commons would furnish Mr. Newdegate sufficient supporters
to combine with the Orange-Protestant elements on the Oppo
sition benches to carry his tyrannical proposal. To encourage
this possible coalition a series of meetings was organised in
Liverpool by the Rev. Dr. Taylor, ably assisted by a new
recruit to the ranks of Anti-Catholic controversialists, the Rev.
Mr. Vernon White, minister of the Presbyterian Church in
Islington, f To the great credit of the leaders of the Con-

* Afterwards Archbishop of Bombay.
f Corner of Salisbury Street— now a Jewish Synagogue,

189

servative party in the town, they refused to give any counten
ance to these meetings, else Dr. Taylor's grossly insulting
language about the nuns1, and the violent harangues of himself
and Dr. White, would have brought about public disturbances
in the streets. It is painful to think that such scholarly men
could speak of the Sisters of Charity and Mercy and the teach
ing nuns in such terms as were used during this1 short-lived
but vicious agitation. To make matters worse for the Liberal
party which supported Mr. Forster, these Orange leaders were
thick and thin supporters of the Education Bill, which they
interpreted as an attack on the voluntary school system. It
was difficult to keep the Catholic working-men in hand during
this quarrel, and Mr. Neale Lomax organised a series of
meetings, which were attended by them in large numbers, to
defend the fame and work of these good women. The Protes
tant section of the community were attracted to Saint Francis
Xavier's to hear the brilliant sermons of Father George
Porter, S.J., in explanation of the works of mercy and charity
performed every hour of the day by women whose only thought
was to help the poor children, the sick in the slums, the daily
practice of the corporal works of mercy. As Father Nugent
said of them, these sermons " were worthy of the priest who
" was the foremost preacher in Liverpool." These addresses
took the sting out of the attacks of Drs. Taylor and White,
who retired beaten from the field. The Bill was successfully
resisted, and not one moment too soon. Liverpool Catholics
were prepared to give their last penny for the schools, but
there was a grim resolve in their hearts to resist to death the
first violation of a Liverpool convent.

Attention was once more devoted to the Education Bill.
Mr. Gladstone encouraged the Catholic agitation by his speech
on the " case of the Roman Catholics," which, he said, " weighs
" much on my mind. I am very much opposed to the extrava-
" gant claims which their heads make on their behalf, but
11 still, they raise important considerations in the civil
"interests of the community." Substantial changes were
made in the Bill, and it became law. The School Boards could
teach the Bible in their schools ; hence the voluntary schools
could not be prevented from giving religious instruction.

Bishop Goss, on September llth, 1870, addressed a
pastoral letter to his flock on the new situation : — " The Act
" places the Church of England in a position of peculiar hard-
" ship, and involves us- in a difficulty of which our fellow-
" citizens have little or no share. Our present schools will
" not be molested beyond being thrown open to children of any
" religious denomination, and having to set aside special times

190

" for religious instruction." His Lordship urged upon his people
the practice of reading the New Testament at night when the
family was1 gathered together, but he was unsparing in his
denunciation of the indiscriminate reading of the Old Testa
ment, as the Jews of old did not allow their children to read
many passages. This criticism was aimed at the exponents of
pure Bible teaching in all schools. " Mahomet," he wrote,
" reverently put aside every scrap of paper bearing the name
" of God; but Parliamentary Christians are willing to expose
" it to the sorriest end, provided they can enforce it upon an
" unwilling people." The pastoral proceeded to appeal for the
necessary funds to meet the estimated need of eight thousand
school places. During the month of September a meeting
of the clergy and laity was held in the Law Association Rooms,
Cook Street, to discuss the situation. Provost Cookson stated
that as- compulsory attendance was now enjoined on all
children from five to twelve years of age, 23,754 Catholic
children came within these limits. The total provision already
made amounted to 15,646, thus leaving the deficiency men
tioned in the Bishop's pastoral. Mr. James Whitty enquired
what was the area in which the deficiency existed, and was
informed that it lay between Woolton and Little Crosby,
Huyton and the River Mersey. On the motion of Father
George Porter, S.J., a new committee was formed to raise
funds and otherwise deal with school problems, with the
cumbersome title of " The Liverpool Education Crisis Catholic
" Committee/'

The average attendance at each of the Catholic schools in
the year 1870, taken from the official Blue Book, showed
clearly, from a Catholic point of view, the wisdom of making
education compulsory. : — St. Francis Xavier's, 834 ; St.
Anthony's, 745 ; St. Mary's, 708 ; SS. Thomas and William,
628 ; Holy Cross, 502 ; St. Peter's, 488 ; St. Alban's, 455 ;
St. Anne's, 449; Mount Vernon, 336; St. Oswald's, 281;
St. Nicholas, 254 ; Mount Carmel, 236 ; St. Helen's, 144 ; the
Practising School at Mount Pleasant, 142.* That is to say.
that only 6,202 children were in average attendance out of a
total of not less than twenty thousand children between the
ages1 of five and twelve, and out of at least fourteen thousand
for whom accommodation had been provided. Provost
Cookson 's figures included several country schools — Woolton,
Gillmoss, Crosby, and other small places in the outskirts of
the town. It is incredible that less than five thousand children

* Several schools are not included in the return, but this does not
affect the issue. All these schools are within the present Municipal
borough of Liverpool. This was not so in 1870.

191

were attending school inside the area now occupied by the
Parliamentary constituencies of Scotland, Exchange, and
Abercromby, * then much more crowded centres of population
than now. At one of the Education meetings Father Nugent
gave the figures of 150,000, as representing the Catholic popu
lation of Liverpool. Accepting the rule that there were 183
children between the ages of five and twelve to every thousand
of the population, the average attendance ought to have been
10,980, instead of 6,202. This1 indifference to education was
due not so much to want of school places as to poverty.
Hundreds of families needed the earnings of the children. The
economic results of the Act of 1870 have been as remarkable as
was the development of the Catholic school to the expulsion of
Catholic children under Conservative rule in 1841.

A year's grace was allowed for preparation of plans of
new schools1, for submission to the Imperial Government. To
make full use of this period was the aim of the Bishop. He
summoned a meeting in the Theatre Royal, on October 24th,
over which he presided, to raise funds for the much-needed new
school buildings. The Archbishops of Trebizondt and Balti
more,! the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Howard of Glossop, Sir
Piers Mostyn, Baron Vasconcellas,§ supported the Bishop,
with the Marquis of Bute, who made his first appearance on a
Catholic platform. It was resolved that, " as the Act recog-
" nised the rights of parents to control the education of their
" children, it was the duty of every Catholic to make all possible
" exertions to afford parents the means of discharging this
" responsibility." A general fund for the whole country was
opened, to which the Duke of Norfolk contributed the hand
some sum of ten thousand pounds ; a similar amount being
subscribed by the Marquis of Bute. Lord Howard gave five
thousand pounds, and seven donations of one thousand pounds
were also subscribed. In all the total donations amounted to
forty-six thousand pounds, proof positive of the eager desire
of the leading Catholics of the country to safeguard the Faith
of the children. It should be remembered with gratitude that
the Catholic aristocracy acted with such magnificent
generosity to provide schools for Irish children. Gratitude is
short-lived. One Irishman, at least, tenders to their memory

*The present attendance — September, 1910— in the same areas
if) 13,000.

f Archbishop Errington, formerly a priest at St. Nicholas',
Copperas Hill; rector of St. Mary's, Douglas, Isle of Man, after
resigning his office of coadjutor archbishop of Westminster.
I Dr. Kenrick.

§ The vault of the Vasconcellas family may be seen, much
neglected, in the main avenue of Ford Cemetery.

192

grateful homage. Father Nugent rendered splendid service
by stirring up the Catholic middle classes to a full sense
of their responsibility in such a critical moment, both by his
speeches and letters, and the columns of the " Catholic
"Times/7* The Rector of St. Patrick's, a Belgian priest,
Father Edward Goethals,f held a meeting in February, 1870,
to devise means to build an additional school in Hyslop Street. J
At St. Michael's, West Derby Road, Father Tobin raised
seven hundred pounds; one thousand pounds was subscribed
in the parish of Our Lady Immaculate, St. Domingo Road ;
one thousand and fifty pounds at St. Alexander's and land
was purchased at Waterloo, all to meet the requirements of
the new Education Act. At a meeting in St. Alban's, Athol
Street, it was announced by the Rector, Father Seed,J that,
from 1863 to 1870, five thousand seven hundred pounds had
been raised in pence, to meet the cost of the erection of the
parish schools, which had amounted to £7,163 6s. 7d. As the
result of a renewed effort only five hundred pounds' debt
remained.

One serious and far-reaching result of the Act of 1870
was the decision of the Irish Christian Brothers not to accept
inspection, examination, or supervision of their work by the
Government Inspectors. In the course of a few years they
ceased to teach in the Liverpool schools. Canon O'Reilly was
the last priest to retain their services at St. Vincent's, || from
which school they departed in 1876, to the everlasting regret
of the Catholics of Liverpool. They did noble work in Liver
pool, and raised the standard of the boys' schools1 as the Nuns
of Notre Dame did for the girls. To the Irish population their
departure was a serious loss, as they inculcated love of country
as well as of religion, and wielded an extraordinary influence
over the children of the Irish race. Many of their pupils filled
high positions in the town, and at least three of them are
members of the Liverpool City Council at this moment.

The School Boards opened up a new field of public work
for the laity. Five Catholics were nominated at the first

*4*With courage, energy, and foresight, all may do what the
Jesuits at St. Francis Xavier's have accomplished." — " Catholic
Times," July 23, 1870.

t Now Dean Goethals, forty-four years rector of this mission.

J Both Schools had 1,334 children on the rolls, September, 1910.

I Canon Seed.

H The writer was a pupil at St. Vincent's under these excellent
men. Brothers Goodwin, Kelly and Timmons were the last teachers.
They were succeeded by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who
only remained a few years. Bishop Whiteside brought the Irish
Christian Brothers back to Liverpool to take charge of a Pupil
Teachers' Centre. They are now in charge of the Catholic Institute.

193

elections — Mr. John Yates, Mr. James Whitty, Mr. C. J.
Corbally, Mr. Edmund Browne,* and Mr. Henry Sharpies.
It was felt that the Catholics by united action could carry the
five candidates, and as there were, according to calculations
made by Father G. Porter, S.J., 13,000 Catholics on the
register out of a total of 40,000, victory was a certainty.
Strenuous efforts were made to elect the new Board without a
contest, and several candidates having been induced by their
respective proposers to withdraw, the Catholics withdrew Mr.
H. Sharpies, the remaining four being elected. On the 1st of
November, Colonel P. S. Bidwill gained a seat in Vauxhall
Ward without a contest, and Mr. John McArdle was re-elected
for Scotland Ward by 1,251 votes. There were now six
Catholic members of the Town Councilf — Alderman Sheil,
Councillors Bidwill, Fairhurst, MacArdlo, Whitty, and Yates,
all members of the Liberal party. When the new Council met
they found that the Finance Committee had agreed as a con
cession to Orange sentiment to allow a statue of Dr. McNeill
to be placed inside St. George's Hall. The Catholic members
opposed this decision, Colonel Bidwill proposing that a
plebiscite be taken ; but the motion was rejected by 40 votes
to 12, Liverpool thus emphasising its conception of the fitness
of things by placing the libeller of Queen Victoria side by side
with its greatest son, Mr. W. E. Gladstone.

In the midst of the struggle over the Education
Bill, the solitary Catholic member of the Select
Vestry, Mr. Thomas Martin, was waging the same
fight which his predecessors had fought for twenty-
eight years. In January, 1870, he moved : " That, in the
" opinion of this Board, it is undesirable that the religious
" teaching and instruction should be dependent upon the
" voluntary attendance of the Catholic clergy ; and, that with
" a view of remedying same steps be taken to secure the
" services of one or more clergymen whose duties shall be to
" attend to the wants of the Catholic inmates, who shall be
" officers of the Select Vestry, and who shall be paid adequate
"salaries for their services." Mr. Glover seconded, and the
motion was lost by the casting vote of the chairman. The
need was specially felt in the Kirkdale Schools, where, in 1870,
there were 872 Catholic children. During the four years, 1866
to 1870, 1,479 Protestant and 1,248 Catholic children had been
admitted to the schools. By 1870, for the first time in the

* Father of the Rev. Joseph Browne, late Rector of Stonyhurst,
and now Rector of St. Francis Xavier's (1910).

t Father Nugent, six years before, predicted that the proposed
Reform Bill would give Catholics great electoral power.

194

parish, the Catholic children were in a majority, a significant
comment on the social status of Irish labourers in Liverpool.
In September, Bishop Goss wrote again to the Vestry, pointing
out that owing to the outbreak of fever in the town — there
were one thousand cases under the care of the Guardians — his
priests were overwhelmed with work, and asked the Board to
set aside a small sum of money which would enable him to
obtain the services of another priest. He urged that as all
ratepayers paid poor rate, all were entitled to share in its
distribution. The suggestion was rejected by twelve votes to
ten, whereupon Alderman Woodruff declared his intention to
raise the amount among his Protestant friends. The
" Catholic Times " took up another aspect of Select Vestry
work, and vigorously assailed that body for its general policy
of sending out such Catholic children as could not be provided
for by the Catholic Committee to non-Catholic homes. Father
Nugent was again ahead of his time in urging the boarding out
of children with Catholic families,'5*' while they were still very
young. He wrote : — " The Select Vestry is- in an economical
" mood, and object to pay more for boarding out children than
" they would pay for them in their Industrial School. It is
" dearer for a time to turn a pauper into a respectable
" citizen." Owing to the prevalence of fever in the town, the
Medical Officer of the Schools prohibited the children going
out to Mass. Mr. Birchall, the Governor, said that one of the
teachers " read Mass " to the others on Sunday, and the highly
intelligent committee decided that the ministrations of the lay
sacerdotalist was quite sufficient. Shortly afterwards they
gave permission to a priest to enter the schools on Sundays
while the pestilence prevailed without, to give religious instruc
tion, whereupon Mr. Martin waxed sarcastic at the committee,
which previously sheltered itself behind the Medical Officer,
now allowing a priest from a fever-stricken area to go inside.
Messrs. Yates, Whitty, and Lomax proceeded to London to
enter a protest with the President of the Local Government
Board. The Inspector reported that the provision of Catholic
instruction was " unsatisfactory.'7 Attending the committee,
he gave his reasons, but they still refused to allow a priest to
" read Mass " while permitting a young teacher to do so, The
" Catholic Times " called upon the Irish members of Parlia
ment to enquire if the Catholic Emancipation Act had been
repealed in Liverpool, and went on to say, " but for the
"judicious action of Mr. H. J. Hagger, Vestry Clerk, the
'" Vestry would often run riot. With a few exceptions, it is

* This is now the practice of all Boards of Guardians, acting
under the Order of the Local Government Board.

195

" composed of men whose intelligence is only bounded by
" obstinate bigotry, and whose liberality is in inverse ratio to
" their refinement." The Toxteth Board set them a good
example. Having laid it down as a necessary condition of
receiving outdoor relief that all children must attend a school
which they regarded as well equipped, a decision which
excluded St. Patrick's, a deputation from the Catholic Club
waited on the Board, which immediately set the matter right.

At the Easter of 1870, Mr. John Clarke, Great Howard
Street, gained a seat on the Vestry, and threw himself with
much vigour into the fight for a Catholic Chaplain, which was
the only outstanding " religious difficulty " which prevented
the Liverpool Parish Guardians from working together in
perfect harmony.

Father Nugent, in the August of 1870, decided to visit
Canada and the United States, with the intention of ascer
taining by personal observation what prospect awaited young
people emigrated from the crowded streets of Liverpool. It
had long been a source of great difficulty to the managers of
Industrial and Poor-Law Schools to find suitable employment
for boys when the time came for their being discharged. The
experiment of sending boys to Canada was just beginning to
attract public attention, and as Father Nugent was about to
take out a small party of children he resolved to lay his plans
before the leading citizens and secure their co-operation.
Summoning a meeting, which was attended by Poor-Law
Guardians, magistrates, and others interested in the removal
of children from dangerous surroundings, he unfolded his plan
of action. Canon O'Reilly, on behalf of the clergy, gave his
blessing to the mission, and on the 18th August Father Nugent
made his first trip across the Atlantic. After nine months
sojourn in America, during which he visited the great
industrial centres and the agricultural districts of Canada and
the United States, he returned to Liverpool, when he was
presented by the Christian Brothers in charge of the Boys'
Refuge with his portrait in oils.* A great meeting of citizens
was held in St. George's Hall to hear Father Nugent's report
of his experiences. Father Kelly, of St. James', Bootle, pre
sided, supported by thirty Liverpool priests, who were
naturally deeply interested in any movement which would save
the children from the sad fate of the streets. " Let any
" man," said Father Nugent, " walk our streets, let him go
" along Marybone, Vauxhall Road, or Scotland Road, and his
" heart will sink as he sees not only poverty, but naked, dis-
" gusting pauperism. When I see so many poor girls

* This portrait still hangs in the Committee Room, St. Anne Street.

196

' crowding the workhouses and prisons ; when I see the
' noblest race God has created degraded and demoralised in
' our large towns, is it not the duty of every man that has a
' spark of humanity in his veins, to stretch out his hands and
' give the warm feelings of his- heart to put them in a position
' where they can be self-reliant, where they can gain their
'bread without becoming a race of paupers?'' The famine
years and the continued curse of Irish misgovernment had laid
their deadly hands on the large towns of Great Britain, Liver
pool worst of all. Local Irish Nationalists did not relish
Father Nugent's strictures, but the practical mind of the
experienced priest knew the evils of the town, and devoted his
wonderful energy and enthusiasm to their cure.

The Select Vestry invited Father Nugent to appear before
the Schools Committee to discuss the practicability of sending
children to Canada from the Kirkdale Schools, especially those
between eight and ten years- of age. It was a remarkable
change to find the Vestry taking up so reasonable an attitude
towards the Catholic children, and here again the magnetic
personality of Father Nugent proved a valuable asset to the
Catholics of his native town. The Vestry agreed to try the
experiment, while the enthusiastic priest went from town to
town, winning numerous supporters for his new rallying cry
"Save the Boy."

On Sunday, January 23rd, 1870, during the course of a
mission in St. Joseph's Church, Grosvenor Street, someone
created a stampede by a foolish cry of " Fire." Fifteen persons
were trampled to death in the ugly rush from the building.
Mr. Alderman Hubback, the Mayor of the town, opened a fund
for the relief of the bereaved families, a kindly act which
created an immense amount of good feeling towards himself
and the civic authorities. His action was all the more appre
ciated as he was a prominent member of the Conservative
party, and he gave further proofs of his generous instincts by
giving official recognition to the efforts of the parishioners of
St. Alexander's to erect new schools. Father E. Powell, who
was attached to this mission for nineteen years, organised a
bazaar at St. George's Hall, and secured the services of the
Mayor to preside on the opening day.

At St. Francis Xavier's, Father George Porter, S.J.,
signalised his rectorship by hanging a peal of eight bells in
the tower of the church, which Bishop Goss solemnly blessed
on the 24th July, 1870. This incident was the unfortunate
occasion of creating friction with Mr. Verner White, who
waxed furious at the " audacity " of the Jesuits, and after
making a strong protest threatened legal proceedings to secure

197

the removal or permanent silence of the new bells. The diffi-
ciiity was solved with great tact by Father Porter, who adroitly
changed the hour of the evening service from seven o'clock to
half-past six, thus saving the alleged annoyance to the Presby
terian worshippers at the Islington Church. When this
brilliant priest left to undertake the important duties
of Archbishop of Bombay, Bishop Goss addressed to him a
public letter, couched in affectionate language, of farewell and
congratulation. He was succeeded by his brother, Father
Thomas Porter, S.J., afterwards Bishop of Jamaica.

The crowded condition of Scotland and Vauxhall Wards,
districts already well supplied with churches and schools,
needed, in the Bishop's judgment, further church accommoda
tion. A Dissenting chapel in Bevington Bush became vacant,
which was purchased for £1,560, and on the 27th November,
1870, was opened by the Vicar-General, Canon Fisher. On
the fifth day of the same month he wrote to Father
O'Donovan,* then a curate at St. Joseph's, Grosvenor Street,
appointing him rector of the new mission. " The Bishop has
" placed this mission under the protection of St. Bridget,
" knowing well how fervent and heartfelt is the devotion of
" Ireland's faithful children to that much-favoured saint."

The sermons and other addresses of Bishop Goss during
the last two years of his life attracted more public attention
than any delivered during the nineteen years of his episcopal
rule. Preaching at Little Crosby, in May, 1871, he severely
criticised the general attitude of the Press towards- revealed
religion. The movement for the destruction of the Temporal
Power of the Pope, then nearing its final stages, afforded spe
cious pretexts for articles hostile not only to Catholicism, but
to every form of Christian belief. Bishop Goss aroused the
anger of his old-time critic, Mr. M. J. Whitty, by one sentence
in this Little Crosby sermon, which ran as follows: — " In the
" newspapers dogmas and traditions have been cast aside, and
"crude notions put forward of the origin of man." Mr.
Whitty occupied two columns of the " Daily Post " with his
reply to the Bishop. " People have ceased," he wrote, " to
" place much value upon sermons of any kind, whether Catholic
" or Protestant ; and, above all, they regard with perfect
' indifference all that is said by Cardinal Cullen, or even by
' your Lordship in pastoral letters. The profane scoff and
' pronounce it bos>h ; the pious regard your advice as a matter
' of course, nothing more. Newspaper men see so much of the
' ' behind the scenes ' of social life that their very cleverness

*Now a Canon of the Chapter, who has since built a fine new
Church and Schools.

198

<c and cynicism causes them to question whether there can be
" such a thing as true religion, morality, or sincerity in the
" world. The Press is not the pulpit, but the abuse of its
" liberty, of which the Bishop complains, once removed, it
" could be made a powerful machine for the moral and social
"elevation of the masses." The admission contained in the
last sentence, as well as the definite statement that journalists
do not believe there can be real morality or sincerity in the
world, opened up a wide field for controversy. Father Guy,
O.S.B., took up Mr. Whitty's cynicisms, and in a series of
brilliant letters and sermons, disposed of the proposition that
"' newspaper men," as such, were quite so sceptical or
materialistic as the able editor of the " Daily Post " would have
the world believe. The " Post," a few weeks later, created
some feeling against Bishop Goss, by publishing his sermon at
St. Joseph's, with the unjustifiable heading : " Reproof of the
" Irish." His Lordship had said: "Eternal honour to those
" who love their country. Irishmen have as much right here
' ' as in Ireland, and with that to endeavour to acquire political
" power and influence, through the fulfilment of the law of
" God, so that they might become a reformed people." Had
the heading been " Reproof of the Teetotallers " there would
have been some justification, as in the same sermon he advo
cated temperance as distinguished from total abstinence. He
" disfavoured greatly," teetotalism, " because it had been
" introduced upon the false principle that it was prescribed by
"God."

The Bishop attacked the Liverpool School Board because
of its general attitude towards Catholics. That body had
decided upon the introduction of Bible teaching into all the
schools provided by them out of the rates, and the Catholic
members argued that, if any CatHslic children attended the
new schools, it would be in accord with the Board's principles
to permit them to read the Douai version of the Bible. With
unnecessary heat the majority rejected the proposal, thus
following the example of the Tory Town Council thirty years
earlier. The Board went further to display its hostility
towards the arrangement made a year earlier, by which one
shilling per head per week was paid towards the maintenance
of children committed at their instance to Catholic industrial
schools. It was urged that such payments were an infringe
ment of the principles of the Education Act of 1870. To
encourage the members disposed to act upon this policy, a
number of public meetings were addressed by Rev. Drs. Taylor
and Verner White, and Mr. Hugh Stowell Brown.* To make

* His statue stands outside the Myrtle Street Baptist Church.

199

matters worse, two of the best of the Liberal leaders, Mr.
William Crosfield* and Mr. George Melly, M.P., waited on the
School Board to protest against the further continuance of the
weekly payments. Eventually, owing mainly to the influence
of Mr. James Whitty, a compromise was arranged on the basis
of continuing the payments for all children committed to the
Industrial Schools prior to the date of this interesting debate
and decision. It was the first time that Nonconformists and
Churchmen joined hands against the Catholics of the town.
Certainly it was a new feature in the political life of Liverpool
to find prominent Liberal leaders uniting with ultra-Tories of
the stamp of the Rev. Dr. Taylor in resisting Catholic claims,
especially on such a delicate question as the rescue of poor
children from a life of shame. It is quite true there was a
finely-drawn question of principle at issue, but just such an
issne as to justify Cardinal Newman's fine simile about
stretching principles until they break like the string of a violin.
At any rate, one immediate consequence was a further loosen
ing of the close ties which bound the Irish and Catholic people
to the Liberal party, a disintegrating influence which has
probably continued to this very hour. A municipal contest
was the turning point. The retiring member for Exchange
Ward was Mr. J. J. Stitt, who was also a member of the School
Board. In the course of the debate over the proposed provision
of Douai Bibles for Catholic children in Board Schools, he
indulged in criticisms of that version which were at once
irrelevant to the issue at stake, grossly offensive to his Catholic
colleagues, as well as betraying an ignorance of the written
Word which was quite inexcusable in an educated man. The
Catholic voters of the parish of Holy Cross resolved to teach
him a lesson in good manners and sound Liberalism, if the
latter term really included Bible teaching in Board Schools.
Mr. Stitt was oppos-ed by a Conservative, and appealed to the
Catholics of Holy Cross to support his re-election. This they
emphatically refused to do, and, under the leadership of Mr. J.
Neale Lomaxf and Mr. John Prendiville,| strenuously fought
for the return of Mr. Stitt's opponent. To do so was to break
away from a tradition as old as the first election of the reformed
Town Council, and created consternation in both Liberal and
Catholic circles. Mr. Stitt was defeated in this stronghold of

* Member of the Town Council, and father of Mr. Wm. Crosfield,
Councillor, Select Vestryman, Member of the Dock Board, and ex-
Member for Lincoln, who died in 1908.

t A statue of the Sacred Heart in the main avenue, Ford
Cemetery, marks his last resting place.

tA well-known tug owner; was a member of the Birkenhead
Board of Guardians for many years.

200

Liberalism by 241 votes ; his defeat being the first proof of the
political power placed in the hands of Catholics by the passing
of the household franchise. Mr. Stitt did not improve matters
by his speech at the close of the poll, when he asked " whether
" we have the right to think and speak for ourselves ; whether
" we are to listen to the dictation of that hierarchy whose
" principal characteristic has ever been the suppression and
" stifling of public opinion." Mr. Stitt took himself too
seriously. The hierarchy had never heard of him, and at the
worst had only asked for Bible teaching, which was the main
plank in Mr. Stitt's educational platform. Bishop Goss replied
to the defeated candidate's outburst from the altar of St.
John's, Fountains Road. After warmly defending the action
of the Holy Cross parishioners, he went on to say that he
" always held the doctrine that politics were safely left in the
" hands of the laity. At the same time, when faith or morals
" were concerned he held it to be his duty to lay the matter
" fairly and distinctly before his people, while he still held that
" either a bishop or a clergyman had a right to use his civil
"privilege." A bye-election for a seat on the School Board
caused the Conservatives and Churchmen to nominate Mr.
L. R. Baily,* the Dissenters nominating the Rev. Dr. Verner
White. The Bishop for the first time interfered in a local
election, by asking his people to support the Conservative
candidate. A fiercely fought contest ensued, out of which Dr.
White emerged the victor by 1,089 votes. That the Conserva
tives should be defeated in Liverpool was a great surprise,
especially with a large body of Catholics at their back. It
served to show either that the Catholics disregarded the
Bishop's advice by abstaining from voting, or, that the strong
current of Protestant feeling swept away the ordinary claims
of party. The polling shewed that the latter supposition was
the right one. In Scotland Ward, Mr. Baily polled 2,056
votes, in Vauxhall 502, Holy Cross parish 786, to name only
three thickly populated Catholic districts.

Mr. J. J. Stitt, stung by his defeat at the hands of
Catholic voters, endeavoured to carry a proposal at the School
Board to prevent the payment of school fees of children whose
parents through illness were compelled to seek indoor me'dical
aid from the Guardians. This penal proposal was also to
apply to orphan children living with relatives. The motion
was rejected by ten votes to three. The " Catholic Times," in
commenting upon this debate, made an attack on the
committee of the Seamen's Orphanage for refusing to make
provision for the religious training of the orphans of Catholic

* Defeated Captain O'Shea in Exchange Division, 1885

201

sailors. It pointed out that the land upon which the
Orphanage stands had heen presented by the Town Council,
and that the committee, by their conduct, were turning a
generous municipal gift into an endowment for the State
religion. This criticism eventually — though not immediately
— secured fair treatment for the orphans of Catholic
seamen.

For some time Liverpool had made no move towards
supporting His Holiness Pius the Ninth in his serious struggle
to resist the seizure of Rome and the patrimony of Peter. In
1870 a detachment of Papal Zouaves reached Liverpool and
were welcomed by the Earl of Denbigh, Chevalier Lloyd, and
three prominent local Catholic gentlemen — Messrs. Lomax,
Prendiville, and Denvir — who entertained them to a public-
luncheon. One of the number, a young Englishman, named
Francis Woodwark, was seized with a fatal illness, and the
Oblate Fathers had him conveyed to the Presbytery of Holy
Cross, where he was tenderly nursed, but to no avail. The
Requiem Mass, sung by Father Coopman, O.M.I., was the
occasion of a great demonstration of respectful sympathy, and
the Zouave was laid to rest in Anfield Cemetery in the
presence of his fellow soldiers.

" The silence of Lancashire," as Father Nugent called it,
was broken by a demonstration organised by the Catholic
Young Men's Societies, an organisation for which he had a
special affection. The Earl of Denbigh presided, and Mr. A.
M. Sullivan, M.P., editor of the historic weekly, "The
" Nation," stated the case for the Temporal Power of the
Pope. " The Pope has had in Rome one great attribute, the
' want of which Europe has felt, is feeling, and will still more
' deeply feel. The Papacy had a mediative and arbitrative
' character. What princes among themselves will ever agree
' to be a president in a family of kings ? Such a man was the
* Pope in history, such he must be if chaos and anarchy are
' not to succeed."

On the 26th February, 1871, Alderman Richard Sheil
passed away at the ripe age of eighty years. For fifty years
he had been a prominent figure in every Catholic movement.
Born in Dublin, in 1790, he was a member of the same family
which gave to Ireland the brilliant writer and M.P., Richard
Lalor Sheil. After spending many years of his life in Hayti,
Mr. Sheil came to Liverpool, and carried on large business
with great success. No Catholic movement was complete
without his presence, whilst his interest in public matters was
so intense that the Tory Corporation paid him the compliment
of naming one of its public parks with his surname. One of

202

the first three Catholic councillors, the first Catholic alderman,
he had the unique honour of being the first to re-enter the
Council and again become the only Catholic alderman. Dark
complexioned, he looked like a Spanish monk, and his mer
chant friends used to say of him that he had missed his
vocation. His warm Irish temperament and mellifluous
brogue made him a host of friends in all parties which he with
kindly wisdom turned to account for the benefit of his
co-religionists. Indeed, had he so desired even a Conservative
majority would have elected him to the honourable position
of the Chief Magistracy. To do honour to his memory, and
as an acknowledgement of his signal services to the Church,
the Vicar-General sang the Requiem Mass in the absence
through illness of the Bishop. His mortal remains were
interred in Anfield Cemetery.

In addition to his multifarious works, Father Nugent
added that of the crusade against intemperance. Branches
of the new " League of the Cross " were established at almost
every mission; weekly meetings held in various parts of the
town, which were addressed at length by the " second Father
" Mathew," as he was termed, and as an antidote to the
public house in the slums, the weekly concerts were begun
which have since become a feature of social work among all
sections of Liverpool reformers. As an evidence of the
deadly results of intemperance, the School Board in the
second year of its existence addressed a memorial to the
magistrates pointing out that 25,000 children were attending
school irregularly as the result of excessive drinking on the
part of the parents. Father Nugent, to the hour of his
death, always regarded the temperance crusade as the
greatest work of his life, and as the most successful in its
results1.

As far back as the early fifties the Medical Officer of
Health had suggested the provision of a mortuary chapel on
moral and sanitary grounds. The epidemic of 1865 induced
a Protestant gentleman, named Robert Hutchinson, to make
the generous offer of providing such a chapel in a poor
Catholic neighbourhood. The first stone of All Souls,
Collingwood Street, was laid on December llth, 1866, but
after contributing £2,825, the generous donor became
involved in serious- financial complications and the work was
stopped. Some time later a special subscription was made
to complete the work, to which the Earl of Derby, Mr.
William Rathbone, Mr. S. G. Rathbone, Messrs. Lamport
and Holt, and D. and C. Maciver contributed one hundred
pounds each. This timely assistance enabled the Catholic

203

authorities to complete the church, which was opened by
the Vicar-General, Dr. Fisher, on St. Patrick's day, 1872.
Father T. Hogan was appointed Rector. In June, Father
John Nugent was appointed to found a new mission " between
" Kirkdale, Ford and Gillmoss." A Protestant gentleman,
named Mr. C. Harvey, placed an out-building in Rice Lane
at his disposal, which was duly opened for Divine Service,
on October 20th, 1872, again by the Vicar-General, the
Bishop having passed away to his eternal reward seventeen
days before. A temporary school had been provided in
Raymond Street, to provide accommodation for the new
parish of St. Sylvester's; new schools for St. Peter's parish,
to be erected in Gilbert Street, were on the point of
completion; St. Patrick's new schools were opened on April
2nd, 1872 ; and in May an old chapel was fitted up to serve
as an addition to the school accommodation. From a letter
written to the " Catholic Times," January 7th, 1871, by
Father Moses Doon, we learn that a dissenting chapel in
Claremont Grove had been purchased for the purposes of a
temporary Catholic chapel, and he publicly thanked Dean
Kelly, Boo tie, for generously providing him with an altar.
The chapel, under the title of St. John, was opened on the
12th February, 1871, when the Vicar-General preached the
first sermon.

The flow of the Catholic population northwards from
the centre of the town, was shewn by the provision of this
church and that of the Blessed Sacrament at Walton, just
as the erection of St. Michael's and the new schools at St.
Oswald's testified to the extensions eastwards. Such develop
ments seemed to indicate a great and growing increase
in the number of Catholics in the town, but the many
circumstances already alluded to in the condition of the
people did not make the picture quite so rosy as would
appear at first sight. One of the last sermons delivered by
the Bishop in his usual outspoken manner indicated that he
was under no delusions as to the real character of this
apparent progress. " There are " he said, " from 150,000 to
" 200,000 Catholics in Liverpool, and only 50,000 went to
" Mass. His opinion was that, as Catholics, they were growing
" up into a vast population nominally, but that they were
"growing up forgetful of their duties."* The figures given
by Father Gibson as to performance of the Easter duty of
approaching the sacraments bore out the Bishop's statement.

In Liverpool the average attendance at Mass on Sunday
mornings was only 51,270; the numbers observing the law

* Sermon at St. Bridget's, January 14, 1872. The present
figures (1910) are :— Population 135,000 ; attendance at Mass 68,000.

204

of approaching the Sacraments at Easter or thereabouts
amounting only to 42,354. Contrast this with the figures for
Preston and Wigan. The numbers attending the Sunday
Mass were 14,671 in Preston and 5,602 in Wigan. but the
numbers performing the Easter obligation are the important
feature as compared with Liverpool; 13,334 in Preston, and
5,718 in Wigan. In the other portions of the diocese 38,029
attended Mass, and 35,751 received the Sacraments.*"
Demoralisation had set in twenty years before, hence the
serious statement of the Bishop that Liverpool was rapidly
reaching a stage of nominal Catholicism. The pity is that
compulsory attendance at school had not been the law in
1850, instead of 1870, else a different set of figures had been
the result.

It is not without its significance that in October, 1859,
the Bishop had stated that " not from surmise but from
" actual computation " 50,000 then heard Mass on Sundays.
In twelve years there had been no increase.

On October the 3rd, 1872, Dr. Goss, who had been ailing
for some years, passed away suddenly, in his fifty-eighth year.f
Born in Ormskirk, the son of a Protestant father, he shewed at
an early age the signs of his vocation for the priesthood.
Educated at Ushaw and Rome, he became a professor and
vice-president at St. Edward's College, Liverpool, of which,
with Monsignor Provost John Henry Fisher, J he was one
of the founders. His life was of the most simple character.
At no time had he an income of five hundred pounds per
annum. § The great work of his life was the provision of schools
for the children of the diocese, especially during the last two
years of his life, when he made a herculean and successful
effort to provide new schools to meet the requirements of the
new Education Act. "We will not cease while there is a
" single Catholic child, not alone in Liverpool, but in the
" whole of the diocese, that has not a good Catholic school
" near at hand." No more fitting epitaph could be inscribed
on his tomb in Ford cemetery than this loving declaration of
his keen interest in the children of his diocese. Archdeacon
Manning, preaching at the Requiem Mass, said of him that
some of his natural traits were solidarity of character, a
masculine simplicity and openness of heart which was

* December 18, 1871.

fA boy sent in haste to summon the Bishop's friend, Father Ray,
was ' homas Whiteside, who 22 years later became the fourth Bishop
of Liverpool.

J Born in Manchester, on the site of the present Town Hall. He
was a schoolfellow of Dr. Ryle, first Protestant Bishop of Liverpool.
§ Ushaw Magazine, 1895.

205

exhibited in his face, and a calm, deep, manly speech, which
displayed at once the character and inward spirit of his
mind. He had known how Dr. Goss was sometimes strong
and resolute, almost to vehemence, in decisions which he
thought truth or justice required, but no man was more for
bearing, more considerate or more equitable to others, or more
ready in balancing justice, to change his conclusions when
facts or reason could be adduced against him. " I do not
' know that I was ever more impressed than in reading a
1 few simple words, which he once spoke in a time of great
' disorder — a time, it may be, of great danger — from the
' very place, it may be, from which 1 speak — ' so long as my
' ' hand can hold my pastoral staff, so long as my voice can
' ' ring, I will never cease to denounce the evil.' ' The future
Cardinal Archbishop had twelve years earlier paid Bishop
Goss a high compliment. Referring to the long drawn out
dispute over Oscott,* and the constant appeals to Rome which
vexed the soul of Cardinal Wiseman, Provost Manning, as
he then was, wrote to the Cardinal on hearing of the visit
to Rome of Bishops Clifford and Brown (Shrewsbury), " I do
" not think that the two who are going are formidable after
" Dr. Errington and Dr. Goss." The panegyric of the Arch
bishop of Westminster, shews how much his opinion of the
dead Bishop of Liverpool had changed as the result of a
closer and fuller knowledge, as he had once written of him
during the time of the Oscott dispute, " Goss with his usual
" rough violence — the crozier, hook and point."

The closing years of his life were somewhat embittered
by the prolonged litigation over the will of Samuel Holland
Moreton, and the attacks of the " Liverpool Courier " on the
Vicar-General, Monsignor Fisher, who drew up the disputed
document. Moreton, to whom some reference has already
been made in these pages, became possessed, on August 19th,
1854, of certain rights in the Hundred of Wirral, formerly
held by a Mr. Samuel Spencer. Incredible as it may appear
to the present generation, these " rights " included a claim
to administer justice, summon jurors, fine certain offenders,
decide points of law, order payment of debts, levy distresses,
etc., and for a thousand years previously private individuals
had so acted. In pursuance of these rights he seized the
Manor House, Thornton Hough, and claimed the foreshore of
the Mersey on the Cheshire side, which claim was successfully
resisted by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board some years
later.

* See Mr. Wilfrid Ward's "Life of Cardinal Wiseman."

206

In March, 1869, he was seized with a fatal illness at his
residence in Islington Flags. Bishop Goss, owing to severe
illness, was- not able to attend him, whereupon the Vicar-
General, Dr. Fisher, proceeded to the bedside of the dying
man. Moreton requested Dr. Fisher to write out a will in
words which he dictated, leaving all his property to the
Bishop, and refused to listen to the suggestion that Messrs.
John Yates, Edward Whitley,* or Mr. Bateson, should be
sent for to frame his last testament in proper form. Moreton
declared that the lawyers had ruined him, and were the
" scrapings of hell," and that he had no intention of allowing
his property to fall into the hands of his wife's relations.

Next day, Dr. Fisher dictated a form of will to his
brother, Father Fisher, using a formula from a standard work,
" Jarman on Wills." An urgent messenger arrived at St.
Edward's College on that day, requesting the immediate
presence of Dr. Fisher, who, proceeding to Mr. Moreton's
residence, shewed the written will to the sick man who signed
it, the witness being a Protestant servant. f

Mrs. Moreton, who appears to have lived at Thornton
Hough, arrived, and was informed by Canon Fisher of her
husband's decision. No allowance for her was specifically
set forth in the will, Moreton acting on hisi declaration made
years before that Dr. Goss could give Mrs. Moreton whatever
he liked. Five years before he had told Canon Fisher that
he intended to make the Bishop his sole legatee, and in 1868,
made the same statement to his own clerk and collector of
rents.

Mr. Moreton was buried in the churchyard of Neston
Catholic Chapel.

On April 9th, 1869, the Liverpool organ of Protestant
ascendancy, the " Courier," devoted a column and a half to
an attack on Bishop Gross alleging that the will was not a
genuine one. Moreton " made a will, or rather, as rumour
" puts it, had a will made for him, in which the whole of his
" extensive property goes to the Church of Rome, in the
" person of her chief representative here, Dr. Goss, the titular
" Bishop of Liverpool." ..." The days of clerical judge-
" ships in England are, we presume, past ; otherwise, should
" Dr. Goss be entitled to exercise the unfamiliar but
" presumably tremendous powers of his Lordship (of the
" Hundred of Wirral) we might anticipate that one of the
" first and most welcome of his judicial acts would be to harass
" and oppress arch heretics like ourselves, should we ever

* A well-known solicitor, Mayor, and M.P. for Everton.
t See "Courier," June, 1870.

207

" come within his clutches, for the unpardonable sin of
" shewing the public how the Church of Rome still endeavours
" to enrich herself out of deathbed patients."

The spectacle of a Catholic Bishop in possession of the
rights of the Wirral Hundred Lordship was too terrifying for
the nerves of the Tory editor.

Mrs. Moreton engaged the services of the distinguished
Irish barrister, Andrew Commins, LL.D.,* to secure a sub
stantial annual allowance. On this becoming known, the
" Courier " proceeded forthwith to fan the flames of anti-
Catholic feeling, by insinuating that " the worldly wisdom
" which characterises Roman Catholic policy," would secure
" a quiet arrangement" with Mrs. Moreton.

It also gave prominence to a wild story that the parish
priest of Neston had given credence to a statement of his
servant that the ghost of the deceased had been wandering
about the lanes of Wirral, declaring to all and sundry that it
could not rest unless Mrs. Moreton acquiesced in the " quiet
" arrangement/'

Notices were served in the name of Bishop Goss on all
the tenants of the estate, notifying the change of ownership,
whereupon a caveat was entered by Mrs. Moreton, and to
complicate the whole situation, a man named Hill was found
just in time to prevent the will being proved, who declared
he was the heir-at-law. The Duchy of Lancaster also put in
an appearance, and in June, 1870, Lord Penzance, after a
trial which lasted four days, decided that Moreton was
incapable of making a will, with costs against the Bishop, f

Dr. Goss was laid aside by a complete breakdown in
health, and at the time of the trial was undergoing treatment
in Carlsbad. The " Courier " broke out in a fierce attack on
the Bishop. " It shews the devices by which the Roman
" Catholic Church acquires its vast possessions, and the tactics
c< of the ready instruments1 by whom the wealth is gathered.
" The compilation of the will can only be referred to an
" unscrupulous spirit of aggrandisement on the part, not of
•' individuals, but of the Roman Catholic Church. "|

* Ex-M.P. for S.E. Cork and Eoscommon, Alderman of the
City Council.

f Mr. Charles Russell, afterwards Lord Chief Justice, was junior
counsel for Bishop Goss.
J The value of the estate was computed at from £35,000 to £60,000.

208

CHAPTER IX.

The selection of a successor to the late Bishop was, in
the peculiar circumstances of Liverpool, a task of no little
diiliculty. Two remarkable editorial articles appeared in the
" Catholic Times," written by Father Nugent, at a moment
when rumour was busy speculating as to the likely appoint
ment of one prominent ecclesiastic, Monsignor J. H. Fisher, a
life long friend of Dr. Goss. On November 2nd, 1872, these
words appeared : " The See of Liverpool is the centre of
" Catholic life and action in England. Its judicious and
" vigorous administration is more important to the progress
" of the Catholic Church in this country than even the
" Metropolitan See of Westminster. There is a Catholic
" power and spirit in Lancashire, a union of classes, a
" numerical strength, which a man of judgment and ability
" could direct beyond all other dioceses in England. Here
" there is a landed gentry, a large and intelligent body of
" commercial men, an energetic middle class of tradesmen and
11 farmers, and, more than all, the overwhelming numbers of
' the working classes. . . Here is a position which requires
' no ordinary man, but a prelate gifted with piety, self-
' sacrifice and knowledge ; a man with a large grasp of mind,
' familiar with the difficulties and trials which beset a priest's
' life, having the singular ability to rule ; but wielding the
{ crosier with a firm hand and a gentle heart. A bishop to
' fill so important a position, must be a man of large views, a
' representative of no particular section of the clergy, but
' one who will gather round him the multiplied strength of
' the Church's power, and be the same to the regular as to
' the secular clergy." The powerful position of the Liverpool
diocese was not at all exaggerated, and the temperate tone of
the article deserved a better recognition than it received.
When the news reached Liverpool in February, 1873, that
Canon Bernard O'Reilly had been appointed, Father Nugent
penned these words in his newspaper : " The important
" position which the diocese of Liverpool holds in the Catholic
" world in England ; the fact that the town itself is the strong-
" hold of Catholicity ; the goodwill and growing disposition of
" public bodies to do fuller justice to Catholics than was done
" in past times ; and the immense responsibility resting on the
" shoulders of the leading prelate, might induce some of our
" fellow Catholics to desire the appointment of a man of

209

" more striking brilliancy, and of larger experience in dealing
" with public questions, or of one whose practical knowledge
" of Church affairs abroad was more personal and more inti-
" mate; but on these heads we experience but little fear for
" Dr. O'Reilly, as we feel that his sterling piety and his
'; innate good sense will supply any such deficiency." On the
22nd of March, this final comment appeared: "Dr. O'Reilly
" has been essentially a working parish priest; his career has
" been one of homely and modest usefulness ; he has not come
" out into the glare of public life, or sought to bask in the
" sympathising smiles of those who love to appreciate public
" merit ; and for these reasons it would be almost impossible
" for us to bring his numerous meritorious actions prominently
" before those who are unacquainted with him save by name.
" But from what we know of him we can foretell a most useful
" and solid episcopal career. We do not expect a brilliancy,
" or that energy and vigour of thought, habit and language,
" which distinctly marked his lamented predecessor ; but we
" do expect, and we know we shall find, a calm, peaceful sway,
" devoid of external excitement, or political or social conflicts ;
" a rule that will be firm in conception, and yet mild and
" temperate in action, a consideration for the wants and
" feelings of his flock that will compel him to act for their
" best interests, and a steadfast effort to support the exertions
" of his clergy in all that they have to undertake for the benefit
" not only of their particular congregations but the Catholic
" community at large." These editorials created an estrange
ment between the newly-appointed Bishop and their author
which lasted for a very considerable period.

The new Bishop was not anxious to bear the burthen,
and according to his biography in the Ushaw Magazine,
written by Father John Kelly, he hurried to the Bishop of
Beverley to consult him as to the best means of escaping the
responsibility.

On the feast of his favourite saint, March 19th, 1873, and
in his own beloved church of St. Vincent de Paul, Canon
O'Reilly was consecrated Bishop of Liverpool. Archbishop
Manning, the Bishops of Nottingham, Birmingham, Ply
mouth, Beverley, Hexham, and Shrewsbury were present,
whilst Ireland welcomed another Irishman to the episcopate,
by the presence of Dr. Nulty, Bishop of Meath, and Dr.
Dorrian, Down and Connor. On the same occasion Father
Roger Bede Vaughan, was1 consecrated coadjutor to the
Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Folding, O.S.B

At the dinner of the Catholic Club held a few days later
the new Bishop laid down the lines upon which he intended to

210

act with regard to interference in political matters : " He was
" told ho was a Liberal, and that recent events in connection
" with education had made him a Tory. He was in his
" politics simply a Catholic, and if he had a leaning towards
" Liberalism, he must have had his views more or less
" modified by a recent course of events, and he believed that
" that was the position of all Catholics. They were ready to
" throw every party to the winds, and to assume simply the
" name of Catholics." These remarks, delivered in a club
traditionally Liberal, of which every member was, and had
been, hard workers for the Liberal cause, marked the serious
cleavage in the Catholic body consequent on the passing of
Forster's Education Act. The ties which bound the Liberals
and Catholics of the town had been unloosened. Whatever
the Bishop's opinions were on political questions he never
thrust them on his flock during his reign of twenty-one years,
and in this he followed the sage advice of the experienced
Archbishop of Westminster, Dr. Manning. In the northern
portion of his diocese he had now to rule over the faithful
Catholic people of the Fylde, who had clung to the ancient
faith with as much tenacity as the Irish who lived in the
south-western district. No doubt, in 1873, the northern
Catholics were Conservatives, with but a few and striking
exceptions. The Bishop had expressed the opinion that all
Catholics were prepared to throw every party to the winds
and remain simply Catholic. In this he was somewhat under
rating the striking developments among his own countrymen
who were preparing to act on that policy for the sake of
Ireland. The result of the Fenian movement had been to
create a militant Nationalist spirit on the part even of those
Irishmen who disliked the secret methods of the Irish Repub
lican Brotherhood. To distrust all English political parties,
and rely upon themselves, was the mainspring of Irish
political action until Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule Bill of 1886
united them once again in Liverpool to their ancient allies.
The Home Rule movement, under Butt, may be said to have
had its origin in Liverpool, where later on Parnell was
selected as the president of the Irish organisation. Had not
Dr. O'Reilly displayed his " innate good sense " by keeping
rigidly aloof from politics of all kinds, it is with his own
countrymen he would have come into collision. After the
bitter controversies of forty years originated by the McNeills,
Taylors, and Yerner Whites, the ten years' press and platform
onslaught on the Papacy and the Temporal Power, the
irritation of a large Irish section because of the late Bishop's
prohibition of the Manchester Martyrs' procession, and a
slowly growing tolerance on the part of the local

211

authorities, Liverpool needed a prolonged rest from either
episcopal or clerical interference in political or religious
controversies. Dr. O'Reilly realised this necessity, and
devoted the whole of his energies to his episcopal duties, the
provision of churches and schools and the establishment of a
diocesan seminary. A few months after his consecration a
parliamentary vacancy occurred in Liverpool, consequent upon
the death of Mr. S. R. Graves. The Liberals selected Mr.
W. S. Caine, who had been defeated in 1868, and the Home
Rule Association brought out Andrew Commins, Doctor of
Laws, the scholarly, cultured leader of the newly-formed
Irish Organisation. As there were some twelve thousand
Irish electors on the register, the election of Mr. Caine was
impossible in a three-cornered contest. To complicate the
issues, the Rev. Mr. Verner White, imitating the example of
McNeill, resolved to turn the election into a Protestant-versus-
Catholic fight, and fearing the defection of the Orange voters,
Mr. John Torr, the Conservative candidate, was forced to
declare that he would vote for the refusal of any Parliamen
tary, School Board, or Parochial grants, to educate any
Roman Catholic in workhouses, parish schools, or prisons, in
his faith, or pay any stipend to a Catholic Chaplain. The
Home Rule Association, which was simply concerned with
the one object of forcing to the front the solution of the
Irish question, having interviewed the Liberal candidate,
withdrew Dr. Commins, and strove with might and main to
defeat Mr. John Torr, who won the fight by 1912 votes.
What struck all parties as the serious side of the contest,
was that Mr. Caine only received 16,790 votes, thus proving
that the Irish electorate considerably outnumbered the
Liberal voting strength. Having demonstrated their power
the Irish party took up a more aggressive attitude the
following year at the general election. The minority seat
was held by Mr. William Rathbone, who was again
nominated with Caine to fight the Liberal battle. In the
Catholic Club dissensions broke out, as the result of the pro
posal of the younger Irish members that a Catholic candidate
should be brought out. It was urged that eleven or twelve
thousand votes would secure the third seat, and the authors
cf the proposal were quite indifferent as to the almost certain
result of defeating Mr. Rathbone.

The issues were again complicated by the extreme wing
of the Liberal party demanding from Rathbone and Caine
a pledge to vote for the repeal of clause twenty-five of the
Education Act. This section was the only protection Catholic
parents enjoyed against being forced to send their children
to Board Schools, and the Nonconformist attitude towards

212

Mr. Rathbone on this1 point justified the action of the Home
Rule Association in demanding pledges on the question of
local government for Ireland.

A state of confusion arose from these complications
which threatened to bring in its train an overwhelming defeat
of the Liberal party. The " Daily Post," in a leading article
of January 26th, 1874, declared emphatically that the Liberal
party " could not even hope to win the second seat, and looked
" with great anxiety to the decision of the Irish party/'

Mr. Rathbone, while favouring, as a matter of principle,
the repeal of clause twenty-five of the Education Act, could
not vote for its " absolute repeal " unless provision were made
to give parents a choice of schools, but Mr. W. S. Game's
attitude was much more aggressive.

On January the twenty-seventh, the Catholic Club met
to receive the report of the deputation which had waited upon
the Liberal leaders, to discuss the possibility of a Catholic
standing with Mr. Rathbone for the second seat. It was
alleged that " great discourtesy " was shewn to the deputation
by many leading Liberals, and, as the result of a stormy
discussion, the Catholic Club decided, by 39 votes to 37, to
nominate their own candidate. The minority were anxious
to avoid such a serious rupture with the Liberals, especially
as it involved the defeat of Mr. William Rathbone, and urged
that the small majority of two, justified further consideration
being given to the matter. It was then agreed to interview
both Liberal candidates as to their attitude towards the
demands put forward by the extreme Nonconformists.
Messrs. Yates, Whitty, Browne and Martin Rankin com
posed the deputation, and presented their report to a special
meeting on January 29th; Mr. C. J. Corbally presided.
A motion was proposed to support both candidates, but a
strong feeling prevailed that the answers to the deputation
were ambiguous, and an amendment was proposed in these
terms : " that in view of the arbitrary and precipitate conduct
" of the Liberal Association, the meeting was not justified in
" recommending the Catholic electors to take any particular
" course." This suggestion was adopted by forty votes to
twenty-one. Messrs. Yates and Whitty did not regard them
selves as in any way bound by this vote, and issued a
manifesto to the Catholic electors in favour of the Liberal
candidates. The next night, Messrs. Bid will, Corbally,
Browne, Cullen, Rankin, and Prendiville, appeared on the
Liberal platform. All these gentlemen, save Mr. John
Yates, were Irishmen, and their action was regarded as a
direct challenge to the rising school of Irish Nationalists, who

213

were more anxious to raise the Home Rule issue at this
election than to have the contest fought around the problema
tical amendment of a clause in the Education Act of Mr.
W. E. Forster. The ultra-Catholic members of the Club had
joined hands with the latter in refusing to support the
Liberal candidates. The Home Rule Association then met,
and were addressed by Mr. John Ferguson of Glasgow,* Mr.
John Denvir, and Mr. Alfred Crilly.f It was decided to
invite Mr. James Samuelson to stand as the Liberal Home
Rule candidate. This gentleman had, however, accepted an
invitation to contest the Borough of Birkenhead in the
Liberal interest, and was therefore unable to comply with
the request of the Irish Home Rulers. His selection would
have given the Liberal party a splendid chance of
winning the two majority seats. Liverpool was then a three-
membered constituency, and each elector was only permitted
by the law to vote for two candidates, an arrangement which
secured one seat for the minority. Mr. W. S. Caine, annoyed
at the attitude of the " Catholic Times," which had strongly
recommended the adoption of a Catholic candidate, a policy
which he attributed to Father Nugent, made an ungracious
attack on its owner for having attended a meeting to honour
the new mayor, Mr. A. B. Walker. Mr. Caine contrasted
Father Nugent ;s action at the Town Hall with the tem
perance demonstration held the next night, when Archbishop
Manning attended to give his blessing to the League of the
Cross, Father Nugent's new organisation. This did not make
for Mr. Caine's success at the poll. Mr. Samuelson, J on the
other hand, would have had the undivided support of both
Irishmen and Catholics. The Home Rule Association issued
an appeal to their supporters to abstain from taking any
part in the election, a policy which secured the defeat of Mr.
Caine. In Scotland Ward, only sixty-three per cent, of the
Irish electors went to the poll for Rathbone and Caine, the
remainder abstaining in obedience to the Home Rulers. Still
more serious results1 flowed from this contest. The Catholic
Club held a meeting at which the conduct of those members
who had refused to abide by its decision was brought under

* Of the firm of Cameron and Ferguson, publishers ; a Protestant
Nationalist, and a leading member of the Glasgow City Council until
hia death a few years ago.

fA prominent figure in Irish politics in Liverpool. Held the
post of secretary to the Financial Reform Association. A witty,
eloquent, and genial Irishman.

| He was the brother of Alderman Bernard Samuelson. In
November, 1885, he stood for the Kirkdale Division, when Mr. John
Redmond, now leader of the Irish Party, stood in the Nationalist
interest.

214

review. These gentlemen then joined officially the Liberal
organisation, leaving the field free for Irish Nationalists to
direct the Irish vote, and putting an end to Catholic organisa
tions as such during the episcopate of Bishop O'Reilly. The
previous November, Mr. J. Neale Lomax went to the poll
at a School Board election, when Mr. James Fairhurst gained
a seat, as a protest against the policy of the Catholic Club.
It was clear that a cleavage had taken place in the Catholic
leadership, and the Catholic Club gradually ceased to possess
any political influence in the town. The division in the
Catholic ranks manifested itself even more openly on two
occasions in quick succession. In February, 1874, Messrs.
Booth and Hakes, at the School Board, proposed that no
school fees should be paid in necessitous cases if the children
attended a denominational school. Dr. Hakes was a member
of the Evangelical Church party, and knew that from the
establishment of the School Board, the Church schools had
received one thousand and seven pounds, and the Catholic
schools during the same period six hundred and thirty-three
pounds. His proposal occupied two full days' discussion, in
the course of which he laid it down as his conviction that,
" Roman Catholics were instructed in such a way as only to fit
"them for gaols or workhouses." The motion was defeated
by a combination of all parties, one of the majority being
Dr. Cross of Islington. This gentleman was invited to stand
for St. Anne's Ward, in the Conservative interest, in. the
month of March, whereupon Mr. Joseph Ball called upon the
Orange electors to vote for the Liberal candidate.

Victory for the latter seemed certain when the great bulk
of the Catholic electors upset all calculations by voting for
Dr. Cross, who secured an easy victory. A week later, April
8th, 1874, the Liberal party retaliated. Mr. John Pren
diville was nominated for a seat on the Select Vestry, along
with Mr. Charles Doherty, a retiring Catholic member. The
extreme wing of the Liberal party, not satisfied with the
voting at St. Nicholas1' vestry, demanded a poll for the
purpose of defeating both candidates. The leaders took up
the attitude that as the churchwardens' list included Mr.
Doherty, the Liberal voters be urged to support him. The
poll was opened on April 8th, and continued day by day,
until the same day in May, when, seeing no hope of ultimate
success, Mr. Prendiville withdrew after receiving 10,191
votes from 8,661 electors. The one cry of the dissentient
Liberals was, " who voted against Mr. J. J. Stitt? John
" Prendiville !" an effective reference to the Exchange Ward
contest of 1871. On the other hand the Irish leaders who

215

had counselled abstention at the parliamentary elections, a
policy which Mr. Prendiville defied, were very lukewarm in
his support as the poll shewed. That a combination of
Tories, Liberals, and angry Nationalists should secure the
defeat of an excellent Catholic gentleman was to be regretted,
but the one lesson to be drawn from this unfortunate contest
and the St. Anne's Ward election, was that Liberal Irishmen,
like Mr. James Whitty and Mr. C. J. Corbally, could no
longer direct the Irish vote, and that even Mr. John Yates
had ceased to be a political factor of importance. The Liberal
Catholic had had his day. The future lay with the Irish
Nationalist, then preparing to take an important part in the
public life of Liverpool. In October, 18/5, the Irish party
took the field openly against all comers, by boldly nominating
Mr. Laurence Connolly for Scotland Ward, against the
retiring Liberal, Mr. William Williams. To challenge the
claim of a friendly Home Rule Liberal to represent an Irish
ward, especially when his personal and political record was
spotless, and one who was backed by the Rector of St.
Anthony's, was a rude awakening to the moderate Irishman,
and a warning to both political parties. The " Catholic
" Times '' backed Mr. Connolly's candidature, and taunted
the Catholic Club with " fondly supposing itself to govern
" Catholic opinion in Liverpool. In his election address,
Mr. Connolly declared himself a Home Ruler pure and
simple, and expressed the opinion that the liquor trade
ought to be placed " on a more satisfactory basis/' He
advocated Sunday closing of all public houses, and was
" convinced that much of the crime and drink was due to the
" impoverished dwellings " of the labouring classes. Dr.
Alexander Murray Bligh was the chairman of the committee
which carried on this memorable fight, which terminated in
an Irish victory by 928 votes. Mr. Connolly retained his
seat until November, 1886, when his duties as Nationalist
member for Longford, and the responsibilities of the huge
fruit business he had built up, compelled him to retire.

The Liberal party threatened reprisals, not against the
Nationalists, but with curious inconsistency and ingratitude
against the Catholic Irishmen who had been their thick and
thin supporters. Mr. Edward Browne, one of the main sup
porters of Rathbone and Caine, though officially selected
again to stand for Pitt Street Ward by the Liberal leaders,
lost sufficient Liberal support to be defeated by ten votes.
Sufficient for them that he was both Irish and Catholic, and
therefore united by a double tie to the Nationalist nominee
for Scotland Ward.

216

On August 18th, 1876, Mr. James Whitty passed away.
Born in Bally teague, Co. Wexford, he began business in
Bradford, in 1839, as a woollen merchant, removing to Liver-
poo! in 1846. In Price Street the firm of Whitty and Whelan
laid the foundations of a prosperous business, and in the
midst of his many engagements Mr. Whitty found time to
enter the Select Vestry, where, as has been already related,
he rendered brilliant service to his fellow Catholics. Later
on, both in the Town Council and School Board, his keen
wit and intellectual resource secured many concessions to the
poor people whom he delighted to represent. His death was
a severe blow to Catholic interests, and the great demonstra
tion which accompanied the final obsequies testified to the
high esteem in which he was held by all sections of the
community. The monument in Ford cemetery, erected by
public subscription, bears an inscription which epitomises
his personal worth and public spirit, " A man of rare talent,
" persuasive eloquence, and untiring zeal ; these qualities he
" devoted to the service of the poor of Liverpool, irrespective
" of creed or country/' A warm-hearted, patriotic Irishman,
anxious to serve his native land, he was unable, like many of
his day and generation, to rightly appraise the value to
Ireland of the new and aggressive policy of the Home Rule
party. Nevertheless, like John Rosson at an earlier date, he
stood, during thirty years' public service, the leader of the
Catholic party, the foremost of its defenders, the most
successful in achievements. The Home Rulers now resolved
to add another member to the Town Council, and selected
Mr. Charles MacArdle, a well-known cotton broker, who was
returned unopposed for Vauxhall Ward, a fact which induced
Father Nugent, who supported Mr. MacArdle, to comment
severely on the " impotency of the Catholic Club to grapple
" with the situation." The Liberal party sought in vain to
secure a candidate to contest the Home Rule supremacy,
their last hope being a Liverpool Irishman, who, strange to
relate, became some years later one of Parnell's lieutenants*
in Parliament. Mr. MacArdle remained in the Council for
nine years, and continued to be a member of the School
Board until the dissolution of that authority on the passing
of Balfour's Education Act in 1902. f

In November, 1876, the Irish party resolved on the bolder
step of ousting the retiring Irish Ciatholic members for
Vauxhall and Scotland Wards. In the first named ward
Colonel P. S. Bidwill offered himaelf for re-election. He

* Mr. Garrett Byrne,
f Died January, 1906.

217

had become very unpopular by publishing on the day
following the death of Bishop Goss, a private letter on the
delicate question of the Temporal Power. Such a breach of
confidence brought down the severest censures from priests
and people. Dr. Andrew Commins was selected by the Home
Rule Association to oppose Bidwill, and at a meeting held in
Oriel Street, presided over by Councillor Charles MacArdle,
the issue was made clear. Ireland's demand for Home Rule
must be pressed home on any and every occasion. In Scotland
Ward, Dr. A. M. Bligh raised the Irish flag against
Councillor John MacArdle. The " Mercury " devoted a
special leader* to this interesting development and propheti
cally warned the electors of the results certain to flow from
a Home Rule victory in both wards. " Much more than the
" Municipal elections will depend upon the issue of this
" struggle. Should the Home Rulers f succeed in electing Dr.
" Bligh, it will be immediately telegraphed to Ireland and
" America that the first seaport in the world has chosen Home
" Rulers for its representation in the local parliament, and
" an effort will be made immediately to secure a Home Ruler
" as a minority candidate for the representation of the
" borough." The priests were hopelessly divided in both
wards; some supporting the moderate men on the ground of
past services, some supporting the advanced movement.
Dr. O'Reilly made no sign. The literature issued by the
Liberal Irishmen reflected grave discredit upon them, while
they did not scruple to break up the Home Rule meetings by
brute force. Mr. Philip Smith, J Great Howard Street,
nominated Colonel Bidwill; Mr. S. B. Guion, the well-known
shipowner, and Mr. Leicester, the miller, were the
nominators of Mr. John MacArdle. Dr. Bligh only won
Scotland Ward by 212 votes, a narrow majority when com
pared with Mr. Connolly's 928, a year earlier, and Dr.
Commins defeated Colonel Bidwell by 191 votes. The
following year Mr. Patrick de Lacy Garton, was nominated
by the Nationalist party against the retiring Catholic Liberal,
Mr. James Fairhurst, in Scotland Ward. The latter named
gentleman had done yeoman service for his co-religionists,
but was not anxious to fight a contested election. The
" Mercury " appealed to him to stand again, promising him
that the full Conservative vote would be recorded in his
favour, in order to stem the tide of Home Rule successes.
He declined to divide his co-religionists, and though strenuous

* Oct. 19, 1879.

f The "Mercury" editorial wrote the words "Home Rulers"
with small initial letters— " home rulers."

J Vice-Chainnan of the Select Vestry, 1895.

218

efforts were made to secure a Catholic candidate they failed,
whereupon a Conservative candidate entered the lists, only
to be defeated by 846 votes. One outstanding difficulty
remained to be solved; that was the membership for
Vauxhall Ward of Mr. John Yates. The Home Rule party
wisely resolved not to oppose his re-election. Had they done
so they would have lost the moral prestige which had already
been gained by them, and most certainly the clergy to a man
would have taken sides with Mr. Yates. It would have been
difficult for the Bishop to have held his peace in the event of
Irish opposition to the veteran Catholic leader. Fortunately
better counsels prevailed, and Mr. Yates held his seat without
opposition until the ever memorable contest in 1886, when
even the powerful influence of Mr. Charles Stewart Parnell,
failed to defeat this fine type of English Catholic Liberal.

The Home Rule party was now in the ascendant. It
claimed the sole right to direct the Irish vote, and resolutely
refused to support any candidate who did not put in the
forefront of his political programme Ireland's demand for
self-government. Father Nugent having made some obser
vations at a public meeting, which were regarded as reflecting
upon the Home Rule movement in Liverpool, Mr. W. J.
Oliver, on behalf of the Home Rule Association, demanded
an immediate explanation or withdrawal. The words which
gave offence were these : " Some people have taunted me with
'•' not taking a more prominent and active part in the great
" Irish questions of the day. Few would dare call in question
" my deep and long continued interest in the best concerns
" of the Irish people. But I will never be found in the train
" of men in whom I have no faith — who discuss national
" questions in public houses, and who desecrate the green flag
" of our race with excess of drink." Father Nugent did not
look with a kindly eye on the large number of Irish publicans
who were taking an active part in the Home Rule movement,
and it was to them that the above quoted observations were
addressed. In his reply to the protest of Mr. Oliver, he
stated that the Home Rule Association was not before his
mind when he made his speech, nor were his allusions to
drink levelled against its officers or leaders. He was only too
ready to acknowledge that Drs. Commins, Bligh and John
Bligh, Messrs. Denvir, MacArdle and Connolly, were seeking
to raise the character of the Irish people of the town, both
by example and by precept. This little controversy shewed
how jealous the Irish leaders were of the good name of the
Home Rule Association, and their determination to oppose
either priest or laymen who sought to discredit the Irish
movement.

219

With the avowed object of putting pronounced Home
Rulers in every public position, the Irish party interfered in
both School Board and Poor Law elections, two departments
of public activity heretofore left entirely in the hands of the
Catholic clergy and laity. At the Select Vestry elections of
1879, they nominated Dr. John Bligh against Mr. J. Miles,
who was a Liberal with strong Irish and Catholic sympathies,
and kept the poll open for two days. Having secured a
majority of 380 voters, but not of votes, owing to the then
law of votes in proportion to rateable value, Dr. Bligh was
withdrawn.

At the School Board election of the same year the
Catholics decided to increase their representation from four
to five members. Mr. Edward Browne having, to the great
regret of his co-religionists, withdrawn his name, the Home
Rulers demanded that Mr. William Madden, solicitor, and
Mr. Edward Magee, should be accepted. As a compromise
Dr. John Bligh was proposed by the clergy, and at a meeting
of representative Catholics, held in St. Nicholas' Schools,
Dr. O'Reilly presiding, it was resolved to re-nominate Messrs.
Segar, Walton and Yates, with the addition of Dr. Bligh and
Mr. Rowland Wilkinson. As- victory was quite impossible
without the hearty co-operation of the Home Rulers, the name
of Mr. Wilkinson was withdrawn a few days before the poll,
and Dr. Patrick Canavan* substituted. Catholic interests
were safe in Irish hands, and it was fortunate for both
sections of Catholics that an open rupture was avoided.

From every point of view the Bishop's strictly neutral
position was abundantly justified and helped materially the
principal objects which he had in mind to be carried out
successfully. On the day of his consecration there were 121
churches in the diocese, served by 133 seculars and 88
regulars. Twenty years later he bequeathed to his successor
the services of 254 secular priests, 150 regulars, and 161
churches. The first important act he performed was
to raise a memorial to his brilliant predecessor. To his
practical mind statues in marble or memorials in brass might
be left to more favourable times; no more fitting memento
could be raised to perpetuate the memory of a bishop, who
had in the last four years of his life increased the school
accommodation in Liverpool alone by five thousand places,
than another building in which to train the little ones he
loved so dearly. The outcome of the subscription list was
the Bishop Goss Memorial Schools, attached to the Church of

* In later years Dr. Canavan removed to Bootle from Great
George Square, and became a member of the School Board and Town
Council of that borough.

220

St. Joseph. Lady Stapleton Bretherton headed the list of
subscribers with five hundred pounds; Messrs. Henry
Sharpies, Francis Reynolds, James Reynolds, Henry Jump,
John Mercer and D. Gordon Stuart subscribing one hundred
pounds each. The remainder of the money was obtained by
the generous offerings of all classes of Catholics anxious to
do honour to the memory of Bishop Gossi.

Eleven hundred square yards of land were purchased at
the heavy initial cost of four thousand pounds ; and the
school buildings entailed the expenditure of a further six
thousand pounds. On April 16th, 1877, the schools were
formally opened by the Vicar-General, Monsignor Fisher, in
a simple address to the assembled school children, who began
their school career by reciting the De Profundis for the late
Bishop. The Brothers of the Christian Schools, and the
Sisters of Notre Dame, were entrusted with the supervision
of the new schools. In March, 1876, the adjoining church
collapsed. Steps were taken immediately to provide a new
church, and with such success that on the evening of the 15th
August, the foundation stone was laid by Bishop O'Reilly,
who opened the new church on March 19th, 1878. Father
Maurice Duggan, rector of the mission for 25 years, retired
during this year, his successor being Father Robert Bridge,
afterwards vice-rector of St. Joseph's seminary at Upholland.

The development of the south end of the town induced
the Bishop to consider the provision of a new church of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel, to replace the school chapel which
afforded accommodation for only fourteen hundred in a
district containing five thousand Catholics. Dr. O'Reilly
presided at the public meeting held on December 12th, 1875,
to consider ways and means, and in the course of his address
paid a high tribute to the Sunday collectors who had gathered
five thousand pounds in the course of the previous nine years.
At this gathering he announced his intention of building a
new church between High Park Street* and St. Anne's, Edge
Hill, to meet the wants of a rapidly growing population, as
already the better paid artisan and clerk were migrating from
the crowded central districts. The new church of Mount
Carmel was completed in the summer of 1878, and opened by
the Bishop on July 21st.

In the extreme north of the town, then outside the
Municipal boundaries, the Rev. J. P. Nugent, after a severe
struggle of six years, had the pleasure of seeing the comple
tion of the new church of the Blessed Sacrament, and its

NOTE. — The Goss Memorial Window in St. Alexander's was unveiled

on May 7, 1876.
* The Church of St. Bernard, Kingsley Road.

221

opening by the Bishop on June 16th, 1878. On the boundary
line of Liverpool and Bootle, Dr. O'Reilly saw the necessity
of providing extra Church accommodation, and on November
3rd, 1878, he opened a temporary chapel, dedicated to Our
Lady of Perpetual Succour, and served from St. Alexander's.

Close by, in Kirkdale Road, he purchased a Masonic Hall
in December, 1877, and on February 3rd, 1878, the mission
of St. Alphonsus' began its career under the guidance of the
Rev. E. J. Birchall.

Meanwhile the Bishop, with great heartiness, was
pushing on the all-important work of building carefully
planned and well-equipped permanent schools. Father
O'Donovan, rector of St. Bridget's, had undertaken the heavy
responsibility of building new schools in Limekiln Lane. " I
"hope you will strain every effort to provide a new school,
Dr. O'Reilly wrote to him at the close of the year 1875. The
district was a very poor one, inhabited entirely by a
labouring population, whose scanty earnings ill provided for
daily needs, but the zealous Irish priest rose superior to
every obstacle, and on January 7th, 1878, the splendid schools
of St. Bridget were formally opened by the Vicar-General.
Few, if any, of the Catholic schools of the town have so high
a record for efficiency and excellent results, and visitors of
other creeds, inspectors and educationalists of all classes, have
related in generous terms their high appreciation of the fine
work done within the walls of St. Bridget's under the
direction of Father O'Donovan.

In the same year, Father Pierse Power completed the
new schools of St. John, which were opened on June 17th,
1878, by the Vicar-General, in the name of the Bishop who
had already won the reputation of a builder of churches and
schools. The Brothers of the Christian Schools were placed
in charge of the boys' departments of both schools, and
marked their entrance into Liverpool by establishing in
Shaw Street a male pupil teachers' centre, under the
patronage of the Sacred Heart, on March 1st, 1878. The
Nuns of Notre Dame, who had charge of the girls' and
infants' departments, had gradually forged ahead and lifted
the Catholic body above and beyond every denomination in
the land by their extraordinary successes in the Queen's
Scholarship examinations and the unique results of the
Training College. In 1872, in face of candidates from every
corner of the land, Mount Pleasant secured one place in
the first ten, and thirteen in the first hundred, while in 1875
and 1878 they won first place, and in the latter year gained
also the second, sixth and twelfth places. For nine years

222

the students of Notre Daine carried off the prizes offered by
the Liverpool Council of Education to the Liverpool student
gaining the highest place in the Queen's Scholarship examina
tion. Such a succession of triumphs astonished non-Catholic
educationalists, who paid high tribute to the brilliant
services rendered to elementary education by the Sisters of
Notre Dame. Dr. O'Reilly, visiting the College in December,
1878, told the Sisters with what satisfaction he was able to
tell Pope Leo the Thirteenth, in a recent visit to Rome, that
one thousand trained teachers had been sent out from Mount
Pleasant since its foundation, and how delighted His
Holiness was to hear that a Catholic girl had come out first
in an examination for which 2,000 students had entered.
The success of Mount Pleasant entailed unpleasant conse
quences. Mr. Robert Lowe did many stupid acts in his
capacity as a Liberal Minister, but none more so than his
foolish attempt to strangle the Training Colleges by the
introduction of the vicious principle of payment by results.
Under this regulation the Training Colleges were not paid
any grants until the trained teacher had been, at intervals
of one year, inspected at his or her school, and gained
favourable reports from the Inspectors. Mr. Lowe further
laid it down that one-fourth of the cost of the student's
education must be provided by fees and subscriptions. In
other words, only the well-to-do were to be permitted to enter
the teaching profession, and this was decreed by a Liberal
Minister. An entrance fee of five pounds had now to be exacted
from the successful Queen's Scholar, and the Sisters of Notre
Dame had to wait two or more years to receive the grant
which they had so well earned. The first fruits of repressive
and reactionary regulations were the destruction of the
Catholic Training College at St. Leonard's-on-Sea, after eight
years' successful working. Mount Pleasant withstood the
storm, thanks mainly to the wisdom of its gifted Superior,
Sister Mary Theresa.* She circularised the clergy to engage
teachers who had been two years in training, and to retain
them so that the grant might not be lost, and by her
endeavours a Committee was formed representing the dioceses
of Liverpool, Salford, Shrewsbury, Beverley and Birming
ham, to devise ways and means of thwarting the new penal
regulations. For ten years, thanks to Liberal administra
tion, Mount Pleasant was the only Catholic girls' Training
College in England, and during that period saved the Catholic
body from educational shipwreck.

* Founder of Everton Valley Collegiate School, now one of the
foremost secondary schools in the country.

223

In 1876 the new High School buildings, designed by Mr.
Edmund Kirby, were completed and opened on January 10th
of that year, a worthy addition to the buildings already
provided on the Mount Pleasant site.

The Government Report for 1877 tells the tale of con
tinued Catholic progress. In that year the children,
belonging as they did to the poorest class of the community,
earned on examination results an average amount of
14s. IJd. per head, as compared with 14s. 2|d. by the
wealthy Anglican schools, and 14s. 5d. by the rate endowed
scholars of the Board Schools. As the aggregate income from
all sources was only £1 lls. IJd. per head, the brilliant
successes attained by the Catholics, handicapped as they were
most severely by this small income, eloquently testifies to
the self-sacrifices and teaching ability of their teachers, both
lay and religious.*

Filled with zeal for the service of the poor, Dr. O'Reilly
introduced the Little Sisters of the Poor into Liverpool, in
1874. The newcomers began their great work of charity in
Hope Street, where they provided accommodation for sixty
inmates, and five years later their progress was such that
the Bishop blessed the foundation stone of their new home
in Belmont Road, on April 24th.

The Little Sisters have saved many hundreds of old
people from the fate of entering the workhouse, and have
set an example to Poor Law administrators of how to deal
with the deserving poor. Inside these homes a refuge has
been found free from the necessary official restraint, which,
however well meant, can never be the same as personal service
given not for salary but for the love of God. There are no
more familiar figures in the town than the Little Sisters,
and none more widely respected by the general community.

The Sisters of Charity opened a new reformatory school
for girls in May Place, in November, 1876, and when the
industrial school in Mason Street was condemned by the
Home Office in 1879, a bazaar was organised, and with the
proceeds was built the new school at Freshfield.

The School Board, in the early years of its existence,
tried a curious experiment to withdraw children from

* On the death of Sister Mary of St. Philip in 1904, the most
brilliant of all the Superiors of Mount Pleasant, Sir Francis Sandford,
secretary of the Education Department, wrote : " She is a woman
who might fearlessly place her hand even on the helm of State." In
1899, the late Mr. William Eathbone suggested to the writer that
Sister Mary should be co-opted on the Technical Instruction
Committee, which then carried on the work of the Technical Instruction
Acts. The invitation was conveyed and declined.

224

denominational schools, the bait being one penny per week
school fee. Despite the warnings of many members who
predicted failure for the experiment, a building was rented
in Love Lane. Whatever chance a new Board School might
have in a district where there was an obsolete church school
with high school fees, there was certainly little chance in
a Catholic neighbourhood. Father Ross, O.S.B., made up
his mind to demonstrate to the School Board that Catholic
children would only attend a Catholic school. The days of
1832 were past, never to return.

After a trial of eight months the School Board closed the
Love Lane building, having spent £1,144 on the experiment,
receiving only £5 3s. 2d. in school fees. As the editorial in
the "Daily Post''* tersely put the case: " The Roman
" Catholics of the Love Lane district were not content with
"not patronising the school. The priest tabooed it; the
" people stoned it." Nor was Catholic hostility merely
confined to Board Schools. The Council of Education had
been previously formed. Its scheme of rewards and scholar
ships for elementary schools, demanded success in a Scriptural
examination, as an essential condition. Here, at the very
outset, shipwreck threatened an organisation which aimed
at helping the children of all classes, because an examination
was insisted upon which would effectually exclude all
Catholics from the benefits of the new scheme. It was not
that an examination in Scriptural knowledge was objected
to, but the method of conducting the same. A Town's
meeting was summoned at the Town Hall, to give the
Council of Education the seal of approval of the munici
pality. It was at this gathering that leading Catholics
protested against the scheme, and refused to give any further
assistance to the movement unless Catholic children were
permitted to select an alternative paper. The Town's
meeting had to be adjourned in consequence. Eventually the
eloquent advocacy of the Catholic claim by the Rev. Charles
Beard, minister in charge of the Renshaw Street Unitarian
Chapel, brought about the desired result, and. one more victory
for Catholic principles recorded.

The Liverpool School Board established a new institu
tion for the correction of boy truants, an experiment of
much value for the Liverpool of the seventies. Both
Catholic and Protestant children were committed to the
Hightown School, and housed in separate buildings. Mr.
S. G. Rathbone, who was the initiator of this experiment
and anxious that no religious difficulty should arise to

* See " Daily Post," May 12, 1874.

225

prevent its success, supported the demand of the four
Catholic members for pure Catholic teaching. The Board
declined on the ground that the Act of 1870 forbade the
expenditure of public money on dogmatic teaching. After
some lengthy debates, the School Board gave permission for
the use of the Douai Bible, but decided that any Catholic
prayer books must be provided voluntarily. To permit their
use was sufficient strain on the School Board conscience,
without going to the extreme of paying for them. Mr.
S. G. Rathbone finally set the whole matter right. The
children were to be given religious instruction separately,
and allowed out on Sundays to attend Mass, and a Catholic
master was appointed to supervise them. No Catholic
pictures or objects of devotion could be exhibited in the
school room, the bare elementary rights conceded by statute
were permitted. It may well be doubted whether any man
but a Rathbone could have prevented vigorous Catholic
opposition to a project conducted on such lines. The estab
lishment of Day Industrial Schools by the School Board
created another religious difficulty. These schools were to
be mixed like the Hightown Truants' Schools, and Bishop
O'Reilly displayed great reluctance in giving sanction to
Catholic children attending them. Here the Catholic
members won a substantial victory, supported by a broad-
minded, sympathetic Home Office Department. The
provisions for religious teaching; appointment of Catholic
teachers in proportion to school population; the right of the
parochial clergy to nominate certain teachers to give religious
instruction or to give it themselves ; and the selection of the
superintendent and deputy of each school, from Catholics
and Protestants alternately, finally induced Bishop O'Reilly
to withdraw his opposition. The whole system has worked
satisfactorily in Liverpool, though needing the constant
vigilance of Catholic representatives on the Board, but in
a large measure the admirable rules of the Home Office are
responsible for the success of these mixed schools. On the
side of higher education Catholic Liverpool was progressing
favourably. In 1876, the Jesuits at St. Francis Xavier's
erected the new college in Salisbury Street, at a cost of
£30,000, to meet the growing demand of the middle classes
of Liverpool and vicinity for higher education. In 1853,
the number of scholars in the old building, on the site of
the present presbytery, was but twenty-four, increased to
sixty-one in 1858. At the end of the year 1867, one hundred
and eighty-seven were enrolled, and when Forster's Act
revolutionised elementary education, two hundred and sixty
boys were attending the classical or commercial courses.

226

Seven years after the opening of the new building the
students increased to three hundred and sixty, and by the
close of the year 1885, four hundred boys were on the rolls.
When the jubilee of the foundation was celebrated in 1892,
it was stated that three thousand five hundred students had
passed through the college, a great number filling important
positions in the professional life of the town and country.
Sir Joseph Walton, Judge of the High Court, Mr. Walter
Whitty,* Mr. William Madden, f are but a few of the
barristers; Messrs. J. S. Bradley, J. P. McKenna,J H. J.
Holme, J. A. O'Hare, P. E. O'Hare, § Lynch, Stanna-
nought, P. C. Kelly,|j Gradwell, McEvoyJ and T. P.
Maguire, solicitors practising in the city; numerous medical
men, including Clarke, Callan, Dr. Baxter,** Murphy,
Mackarel and Rafter, and a host of commercial men, who
have freely given their services to the public in one capacity
or another. ft Up to the year 1892, no less than eighty
students at the College had entered the sacred ministry. Of
these, quite contrary to popular expectation, only twenty-two
joined the Society of Jesus, while forty-four became secular
priests. Five became monks of St. Benedict, three Fran
ciscans, three Redemptorists, two Oblates of Mary Immaculate,
and one entered the Dominican order. Monsignor Verdon,
Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand, was a former student under
the Jesuit Fathers. Some of the most brilliant members of the
Jesuit Society have served at St. Francis Xavier's as rectors
or on the College staff, and it will be long ere the memory of
Fathers Sumner, Thomas Porter, George Porter, Harris,
Donnelly, and Hayes!! will be forgotten by former students
of the College. The successes of the boys in the Oxford Local
Examinations, which they entered for the first time in the
year 1877, have been one long unbroken record of successes.
Down to the moment of writing the first place among Liver-

* Son of the late Mr. James Whitty.
f Served on the School Board and Town Council.

| Member of the Liverpool School Board.

§ Member for Scotland Ward until his death.

j| Member for Brunswick Ward in the present City Council.

IT Served three years as member for Low Hill Ward.
** Member for St. Anne's Ward and Justice of the Peace. Served
for years on the West Derby Board of Guardians. Mr. George
Lynskey, LL.B., son of Mr. G. J. Lynskey, City Councillor, who has
just passed a series of brilliant examinations in the law, is one of the
latest successful students of the College.

t f- Councillor Austin Harford, J.P., Liverpool ; and ex-A.lderman
Walter Cole, Dublin City Council, were students at St. Francis
Xavier's College.

H Elected English Assistant to the new Jesuit General. Died in
Rome, 1906.

227

pool students has always been won by St. Francis Xavier's
boys, and as often as not, in one section or another, they
have beaten the whole of the boys in every secondary school
in England.*

Turning from educational matters, it deserves notice that
during Bishop O'Reilly's' episcopate, and under his sage
counsel great concessions were won from the three Boards of
Guardians. A vigorous fight was waged to secure the appoint
ment of a paid chaplain in the case of the Select Vestry, and
the barest consideration from the Toxteth and West Derby
Boards, both of which had inherited the worst traditions of
the Satchells and Bremners of Brownlow Hill. In January,
1876, Mr. Digby Smith, a Catholic vestryman, withdrew a
notice of motion for the appointment of a chaplain, on the
ground that it was useless to persevere further in the matter.
In face of repeated defeats, it required a considerable amount
of moral courage to renew the struggle in the Vestry Board
Room. Mr. William Rathbone had joined the Board a little
before this date, and publicly expressed his " regret to learn
" that there was- no chance of carrying Mr. Digby Smith's
" motion. It had seemed to him as a matter of discipline, it
" would be better to have the priest an officer of the Parish,
" and, as a matter of justice, if the richer denomination had
" a paid chaplain, the poorer were entitled, indeed more
" entitled."

Several times during the year 1877, Mr. Cosgrove, a
Catholic Vestryman, raised the question, and during the
succeeding three years, Mr. Philip Smith, made the question
his own. In June, 1880, the nearest approach to victory was
the voting on Mr. F. J. MacAdam's motion, which was lost
by eleven votes to ten. Mr. Edmund Kirbyf won the fight
at the Birkenhead Board by his personality. He had no
powerful backing of Catholic colleagues and no Rathbone,
with the prestige of his name and family, to assist him, yet
he won a notable victory, which was the prelude to the
victory in Brownlow Hill. Mr. Garrett M. Byrne, a former
Vestryman, and now a member of that section of the Home
Rule Members of Parliament which gave its1 allegiance to the
Protestant Parnell, called the attention of Her Majesty's
Government to the excuse offered by the West Derby Board
of Guardians for rejecting Father Hall's motion ; the excuse
being that such payments were not legal. Mr. A. M.

* Out of 42 Senior City Scholarships, tenable at the Liverpool
University, offered by the Liverpool City Council, since 1904, St.
Francis Xavier's boys have won 20 ; 9 falling to the Catholic Institute-
or the Mount Pleasant and Everton Valley girls.

t The well-known architect, Mr. E. Kirby, F.B.B.I.A.

228

Sullivan, M.P. for Heath, also spoke in the debate on the
intolerant conduct of the Select Vestry and West Derby
Guardians. He knew Liverpool well, both Catholic and Irish,
and his speech made a powerful impression on the Liberal
Ministry, and drew from the President of the Local Govern
ment Board the important statement that, while the
appointment of a Catholic chaplain was- not legal, it was
distinctly proper to appoint a priest or minister of a Dissenting
body as religious instructor. Mr. Philip Smith, on November
16th, 1880, renewed the demand, whereupon Mr. Joseph
Woodcock, the Conservative leader in Brownlow Hill, moved
as an amendment that the Select Vestry was prepared to
receive and favourably consider an application for payment
from persons rendering service to the inmates in the form of
religious instruction. Mr. Smith shrewdly accepted Mr.
Woodcock's amendment, and in a few weeks, Father
O'Donnell, who had given thirteen years' ungrudging service,
was appointed religious instructor at a salary of £150; and
the priest at the Kirkdale schools, on making his application,
was awarded £75 per annum. The long drawn out fight of
forty years was at an end.

The Toxteth Union now called for vigorous action from
the Catholics of St. Patrick's and Mount Carmel parishes.
The Catholic vote in both parishes ha,d increased enormously,
and had secured a large Liberal representation on the Board,
but was not strong enough to secure direct representation
owing to the property franchise being left undisturbed. It
was powerful enough, however, to compel the Guardians to
take action in the case of a boy named McCourt who, appren
ticed to a tradesman in a Welsh town, found himself debarred
from attending Mass. A deputation from the Catholic Club
waited on the Toxteth Board, and secured a vote in favour of
compelling the boy's employers to observe the " covenant " he
had made with the Guardians. It was at this meeting that
Mr. John Yates, on behalf of Bishop O'Reilly, made the
announcement that it was intended to ask the whole of the
Guardians of the three Liverpool Boards1, to hand over to his
direct care all the Catholic children in the workhouses, at the
same cost per child as was borne by the ratepayers. The
Bishop O'Reilly Poor Law School, at Leyfield, West Derby,
perpetuates the proposals made that day, but which were not
agreed to during the Bishop's lifetime. The inmates of the
Toxteth Workhouse were not allowed the privilege of hearing
Mass within its walls, and had to walk to St. Anne's, Edge
Hill. Unmindful of the experience of the Select Vestry, the
dominant party refused to make any concession until Novem-

229

ber, 1878, when they were caught napping, as by a majority
of one vote Catholics secured the use of a room for Divine
service. The victory was short lived. A fortnight later it
was rescinded. The Catholics made a com past with the
Liberal party at the Easter elections of 1879, for the purpose
of ousting some of the retiring Conservative Guardians. Two
Catholic candidates were placed on the Liberal list, but,
though all the Liberals were returned, the two Catholics
were defeated. Liberal Toxteth did not like Toryism ; neither
did it relish the prospect of a Catholic sitting in the High
Park Street Board Room. The Bishop gave his views on this
extraordinary contest a few days after the polling. " The
' black spot was Toxteth, where Catholics were refused the
' smallest privileges. While the Liberal representatives were
' returned by as many votes as would have sufficed, if dis-
' tributed, to have returned three Catholic candidates, not
' a single one was- elected. The so-called Liberals of Toxteth
' Park were a disgrace to their professions, and he hoped
' Catholics would bear in mind that they could not always
' depend on professions. At the next elections, even if they
' incurred the odium of the Liberals, they should make
Catholic interests a test of all candidates."* This unex
pected pronouncement expressed the feeling of every Catholic
elector who had worked hard to secure the Liberal victory.
The following year's contests equalised the Liberal and
Conservative representation, but the two Catholic candidates
were again defeated. Negotiations were opened between the
Liberal leaders and the Catholic body, and in 1881, as the
result of a great and sustained effort, the Conservatives were
routed. Led by Mr. Edward Paull,f a fine type of sturdy
Quaker Liberal, the victors, by ten votes to five, not only put
an end to the intolerant policy of previous Boards, but
resolved to pay a stipend of seventy-five pounds to a Catholic
chaplain. Father Edward Goethals, rector of St. Patrick's,
played an important part in securing this final victory, and
one of his curates, Father Fanning! became the first chaplain
to the Smithdown Road Workhouse.

West Derby now stood alone in obstinate refusal to con
cede anything to Catholics. It had rejected Father Hall's
proposals by twenty votes to seven, and on one occasion in
1880, when the Vicar-General wrote a polite letter informing
the Board of Father McEntegart's withdrawal from serving
the Catholic inmates at Walton Workhouse, and expressing

*" Mercury," April 23, 1879.

t Councillor for Great George Ward ; Alderman and Justice of
the Peace.
J Father Fanning held the position until his death, September 10, 1909.

230

the hope that the new nominee would be acceptable, the
irate Guardians decided " that the letter be utterly dis-
" regarded." A Catholic Association was founded to
organise the voters inside the area of the Union, and to
educate the electors on the merits of the Catholic claim. In
the two first years of its existence the Association carried
eight Catholic candidates to the Guardians and the Local
Board. Many years were still to pass by before West Derby
hoisted the flag of religious equality. In 1877, a controversy
broke out in the " Catholic Times " between Father Tobin of
Chorley, and the chaplain of Kirkdale schools, as to the
dangers to faith resulting from sending boys to colliery
districts in north and north-east Lancashire. Father
Tobin insisted that this policy of the Liverpool Guardians
meant certain loss of faith, and he quoted his own letters to
certain employers of labour in his district who would not
afford facilities1 to their young Catholic employees to attend
Mass. Father Bonte admitted the fact. On January 12th,
1877, he wrote that 150 boys had been " located unfavourably,
" and have lost or are losing their faith." The decay of the
spirit of the Catholic Club had brought in its train the
breaking up of the fine work inaugurated by Father Gibson
and Mr. J. Neale Lomax, of finding situations for Catholic
boys in Catholic families or in surroundings which merited
the approval of the local clergy. Politics had wrecked the
Catholic Club, especially its adherence to Liberalism, and no
other organisation had as yet arisen, despite spasmodic
attempts here and there in the town. The letters of Father
Tobin aroused the attention of Catholics of all shades of
opinion ; the Select Vestry itself joining in the work by
insisting on certain conditions being observed by the
employers.

Bishop O'Reilly did not lose sight of the main objects of
the Catholic school, that of providing a sound religious
training. From the point of view of secular knowledge rthe
schools were as efficient as any in the country. The results of
the examinations in the year 1872, shewed that the Catholic
schools stood first with 61 '88 of passes, against 61-57 in the
British; 60'47 in the Anglican and 49'15 in the Board Schools.
In 1875 the last named had forged ahead reaching 6T89
against 59'61 in Catholic and 58' 17 in Anglican Schools. To
test the quality of the religious instruction the Bishop insti
tuted an annual religious examination, and appointed Canon
Carr* to perform the duty of examiner. The result was a

* Now Monsignor Carr, Vicar General, and Provost of the
Chapter ; in the sixtieth year of his priesthood.

231

surprise. The boys' schools in Liverpool only gained 14 per
cent, of marks, as against 40 per cent, in the girls and 77 in
the infants' departments. In some of the leading schools of
the town, Canon Carr reported " the ignorance of prayers,
" catechism, and necessary religious knowledge as extra-
" ordinary." Excluding St. Anne's and Mount Carmel, there
were 27,096 children, and reckoning these two schools as
having two thousand between the ages of three and fourteen,
29,096 Catholic children resided in the town. Only 22,334
were on the rolls, and worse still only 14,000 were in atten
dance on the day the Canon held his examination. What
was noticeable in the report was1 the superiority of the girls'
schools as compared with the boys'. This led Father Holden,
in his report, to observe that " boys' schools have certainly
" not the benefit of teachers so well organised and zealously
" devoted to religious education." At every visitation Dr.
O'Reilly referred to this1 deplorable state of affairs, and not
least among the many worthy works of his episcopate ranks
the splendid improvement in religious- education in the
Liverpool schools.

Following up the temperance work to which he devoted
so much time and attention, Father Nugent founded
Branches of the League of the Cross at St. Joseph's),
Mount Carmel, St. Anthony's, Eldon Street, St.
Alexander's, and St. Michael's, numbering 11,192
members, of whom the weekly visitations shewed that
75 per cent, were fulfilling their promise of total abstention
from intoxicating liquor. Besides these there were over
18,000 members in other parts of the town. The weekly
meetings- were held in the League Hall, William Brown
Street, on the site of the present Reading Room and Art
Gallery, and here in January 26th, 1874, Archbishop
Manning, to shew his appreciation of Father Nugent's work,
addressed a monstre meeting. He was accompanied by Bishop
O'Reilly who expressed his personal views on the question of
total abstinence in the following terms. He was not a total
abstainer himself, and in his experience had found men whom
he did not advise to take the pledge, because they were in
no danger and did not need to do so : " His experience had
" shewn him too, that nothing but total abstinence would
" keep some men from degrading themselves or keep women
" from debasing themselves, or would keep parents from being
" a curse to their children." In a humorous speech he
impressed the audience with the sincerity of Dr. Manning's
views, " who would not take a drink even to prolong a life
" so useful to the Church in England." A limited company

232

was formed to secure permanent headquarters for the League
of the Cross Crusade, which resulted in the building of the
well-known League Hall at the junction of Rose Place and
Cazneau Street.

In 1874 two prominent members of the Catholic com
munity passed away, in the persons of Mr. Edward Chaloner
and Mr. Henry Sharpies. The former died on February 12th,
aged 75 years, and was interred in the Old Swan Church,
under the Sacred Heart* altar. His life had been one of
consistent usefulness to the Church in Liverpool; his purse
ever open to meet the varied demands of a poor and
struggling Catholic population ; churches, charities, and
especially their schools. It is to be regretted that in these
days the fine schools in Norfolk Street are better known as
St. Vincent's, rather than as the Chaloner Schools. His
memory deserves to be held in kindly remembrance by his
Catholic fellow-townsmen. Dr. O'Reilly, who held him in
high esteem, paid him the tribute of singing the Requiem
Mass at Saint Oswald's. Mr. Henry Sharpies died on
December 17th, of the same year. Like Mr. Chaloner he
was engaged in the timber trade, f Born in Liverpool in
1808, he had witnessed the growth of the sparse Catholic
population to the enormous numbers for whom church and
school accommodation could not be provided fast enough.
One of the first three Catholic Town Councillors, he became
also one of the first Catholic magistrates, and was specially
associated with the girls' orphanage, first in Mount Pleasant
and later in Falkner Street, and took a lively interest in the
Clarence Reformatory Ship. An Oscott man, his intellectual
attainments were considerable, and helped considerably to win
for him a high place in the affections of his fellow-citizens of
all parties. Bishop Sharpies, coadjutor Vicar-Apostolic, was
his brother, and died at his residence in the Old Swan.
Underneath the Lady Chapel of St. Oswald's, which he had
built, lies the body of Mr. Henry Sharpies awaiting the final
resurrection.

Mr. Michael James Whitty died suddenly on June 10th,
1873, aged 78 years. A native of Ferns, Co. Wexford, where
his father carried on the business of a maltster and owner of
small coasting vessels, Mr. Whitty entered the College of
Maynooth as an ecclesiastical student. In 1821 he proceeded
to London, with the intention of pursuing a literary career.
Here he wrote " Tales of Irish Life," illustrated by his friend,

*Mr. E. Chaloner paid for the erection of the side chapel in
which his remains lie.

His grandfather was the first man to import timber into Liverpool.

233

George Cruikskank, the eminent caricaturist, and a history
of the rebellion organised by Robert Emmett. After spending
some years as editor of the London and Dublin Magazine, he
came to Liverpool on the invitation of Mr. Robert Rockliff,
of the well-known Liverpool firm of publishers and stationers-,
and edited the Liverpool Journal. His erratic genius induced
him to resign this position to become Chief Constable or
head of the watchmen, and in this responsible post he had
ample opportunity of displaying his talent for organisation.
He founded the Fire Brigade as a branch of the Police
service, and during his twelve years of office considerably
increased the efficiency of the Police force. The temptation
to again wield the pen instead of the truncheon proved
irresistible ; the result being the foundation of the first penny
newspaper in England.

We have already seen specimens of his capacity as a

leader writer and critic, in his many controversies with the

late Bishop, the " Northern Press," and his intervention in

Catholic politics, where his strong character revealed itself

in bold relief. That he was a thorn in the side of the

Catholic party, and on many occasions did serious harm

among non-Catholics by the form and character of his attacks

on the Pope and Church government, was beyond question,

and made him intensely unpopular with the leaders of the

Catholic community. In a well-written appreciation of the

deceased journalist, another side of his character was set

forth : " Though seeming the most dogmatic, disputatious,

' and self-assertive of men, he was naturally one of the most

' retiring ; as careless1 of the mere personal part of the matter,

' as he was of everything merely personal — attire, social

' precedence, and all things else of the kind. Known to do

'acts stealthily, physically the most repulsive, to ameliorate

'suffering in the obscurest and most outcast walks of life."

A feature of the present issues of the " Daily Post,"
" Talk on 'Change," was originated by Mr. Whitty, who
gathered in person the gossip prevalent in the news-room.

His remains were interred in Anfield Cemetery, Father
Guy, O.S.B., and Father Chapman, reading the burial service.
Among the mourners present were Major Greig, Head Con
stable, Mr. Barry Sullivan, the eminent tragedian, and Mr.
(now Sir) Edward R. Russell, who continues to edit the
" Liverpool Daily Post."

The provision of so many new churches and schools
premised the increasing growth of the Catholic population,
a supposition strengthened by the fact that so many of the
churches were erected on the confines of the old borough.

234

This, however, was not warranted by the actual facts. In a
census taken by the Anglican authorities in 1881, the total
number of Catholics was set down as 140,115, out of a total
of 552,425. Father Austin Powell disputed the accuracy of
the figures.* The total number of births in Liverpool in the
year 1879, amounted to 21,277, of which number 6,850 were
baptised in the Catholic churches, excluding St. Alexander's
on the border lines of Liverpool and Bootle. Father Powell
put the case thus : " As the total births are to the Catholic
" births, so is the total population to the Catholic population."
The result of this calculation gave the number of Catholics
as 177,849, or 32 per cent, of the population. He further
argued that the birth rate shewed 38'9 per thousand persons,
or one birth for every 25J persons. Taking the mean figures
for the years 1879 and 1880, and multiplying them by 25-|,
the Catholic population in 1881 was 176,026.

Father T. E. Gibson, on the contrary, accepted the
Anglican figure as approximately correct. Twenty years
earlier he had compiled figures by using as a multiple, not
25 J, but 22, and later on the rather low figure of 20. His
figures for thirty years were as follows: —

Catholic

Baptisms. Population. Increase.
1851 ... 5,508 ... 110,610 ... —
1861 ... 6,454 ... 129,080 ... 17-17
1871 ... 6,673 ... 133,460 ... 3'39
1880 ... 7,357 ... 147,140 ... 10'25

Between the final estimates of the two priests there was
a difference of over 25,000 persons- which needed some
explanation. None was forthcoming. Father Powell, while
admitting a higher death rate in certain well known Catholic
districts, still maintained that the only rational way of
estimating the population was to compare the Catholic births
with the total births and multiply them by a figure which
represented the number of births to a thousand of the total
population.

An Irish statistician, writing under the initials " G. S."
from Dublin, strengthened Father Powell's contention. The
census for 1851 shewed that there were 85,000 Irish born
persons in Liverpool, and as the census for 1861 shewed
almost the same number, those removed by death or migration
must have had their places filled by direct migration from
Ireland. "If we assume that the English born children or
" descendants of the 85,000 Irish born in 1851 are but equal

* " Catholic Times," December 16, 1881.

235

" in numbers to their parents of Irish, birth, there are 170,000
"Irish in Liverpool and 30,000 in the vicinity,"

Four years later, when the Redistribution Act of 1885
raised the question of denning the boundaries of the new
single member constituencies, the writer was one of two
persons who counted the Irish names on the list of electors,
with the result that over 15,000 distinctively Irish surnames
were found on the list. This did not include many Norman
or less pronouncedly Irish surnames, and of course excluded
all English surnames. There could be no doubt that, in
cluding the English Catholic population, the larger Irish
families and the great number of unmarried young Irish
labourers, Father Powell's figures were much nearer the
mark than Father Gibson's. Father Nugent's testimony on
this debatable point is of some importance. In a report
which he drew up he stated that in the year 1851, the
official census gave the population of Liverpool as numbering
375,955. " It was then considered, owing to the immense
'• influx from Ireland, from 1846 to that date (1851), that
" the Catholic body was one-third of the inhabitants. If
<; the population was 375,955, and the Catholic body was
" one-third, then there would be 125,318 Catholics. In 1852
" the Catholic baptisms were 5,632, which, multiplied by
" 22J, equalled 126,720; near the average of one-third. It
" was then found that the borough of Liverpool doubled
" itself in twenty-five years." Eleven years later the number
of Catholic baptisms had increased to 6,915, which repre
sented a population of 135,587 ; an increase of 8,867 persons !

What had become of the difference? Had they become
merely nominal Catholics, as Bishop Goss had asserted?
Father Gibson gave the numbers attending Sunday Mass in
1871 and 1881 as respectively 51,250 and 57,687, and the
numbers observing the Easter precept as 42,354 and 57,295.
The increase does not correspond with the natural increase

NOTE.— Writing in 1899, Father Nugent adds: " The baptisms
in the whole diocese were 14,565, and it is supposed that half that
number would represent the baptisms in the City ; i.e. 7,282 x 22£ =2
163,845. But this cannot be correct, as it would only give an increase
of 367 baptisms in 37 years. If the Catholic population 50 years ago
was 126,720, and if Liverpool doubles its population in 25 years,
surely the Catholic population doubles itself in 50 years. Father
Nugent's opinion was that the multiple of 25 instead of 22J was the
sounder method of calculating the Catholic population. This, he
stated, was the view held by Cardinals Manning and Vaughan, and
Canons Toole, Oakley and Kershaw. He agreed with Father Powell,
however, that the " rational way " was to compare the Catholic
births with the total births, and multiply them by a figure which
represented the births per thousand of the entire population.

236

of population, and Father Powell threw some light on the
undoubted leakage by his assertion that marriages are no
test because below the average, and " a large number are not
" solemnised in the Catholic Church."

No more significant proof of the decadence of the Faith
amongst the lower orders can be adduced than the " large
" number " marrying inside the walls of the Protestant
Churches. It implied a refusal to receive the Sacraments
before marriage rather than any unlawful union, and proved
that such persons were only Catholics in name. No doubt
they sent their children to Catholic schools, as many must
have been mixed marriages. An examination, in 1896, of
the register of an Anglican school in the heart of the parish
of Liverpool, shewed 33 per cent, of names of Celtic Irish
origin. These children were no doubt the offspring of mixed
unions, but neither Father Powell nor Father Gibson make
any reference to this source of leakage in their communi
cations to the press.

One of Bishop O'Reilly's greatest achievements was the
foundation of the diocesan seminary at Upholland. As
Father Nugent wrote on the Bishop's decease, this project
was " the cherished child of his heart, even to his last
breath;'3 its foundation the boldest act of his- life. In 1875,
St. Edward's College, Everton, was extended to accommodate
double the number of students, but the Bishop felt the need
of providing a larger spiritual and intellectual centre to
provide priests for an ever-growing diocese. On the feast
of his patron saint, March 19th, 1877, he commenced the
task, and set an excellent example to his flock by heading the
subscription list with two sums of £1,700 and .£2,000
bequeathed to him as personal gifts by Mr. Gilbert Hayes
and Mrs. Santamaria, respectively. His clergy responded
handsomely to this call with the sum of £8,408, the total
subscriptions amounting to £34,659 11s. 8d., towards an out
lay of £58,000.* Exactly two years after the scheme had
been launched the Bishop laid the foundation stone, and on
September 22nd, 1883, Upholland Seminary was opened* with
four professors and thirty-one students. The diocese of
Liverpool, especially the large towns, had had to depend to
a considerable extent upon the services of Irish priests " lent "
for short periods by their respective bishops-, and splendid
service was rendered by them, especially among their own
people of Irish birth or descent. The common link of
nationality enabled priests and people to work much more
harmoniously than was possible with clergy of English birth or

* See Ushaw Magazine. Father Kelly's sketch of Dr. O'Reilly.

237

training, due in the main to the prevailing political relations
between Ireland and Westminster. Fortunately, many young
Irish Levites " volunteered for the English mission " and
their permanent residence in the diocese kept up the strong
Irish tradition of unity between priests and people.
Sympathy is a precious gift, and between the Irish priest
and the poor Irish dwellers in the crowded streets, it was
much more generously and openly extended than was possible
between the clergy of the English race, belonging in the main
to the sturdy yeoman class in the northern portion of the
diocese. The latter had not the opportunity of appreciating
the many-sided character of the Irish race, and, it is much
to be feared, were not so intimately acquainted with Ireland's
unhappy history, even of the first half of the nineteenth
century. With the passage of time, the gradual amelioration
of the oppressive system of Irish landlordism, and the steady
decrease of Irish immigration into Liverpool, the need for
Irish born, if not Irish trained, priests has considerably
lessened, while on the other hand, the gradual softening of
racial prejudices, enabled thousands of Irishmen to value
and keenly appreciate the self-sacrifice and apostolic zeal of
the sons of St. Cuthbert, and, at a later day, the priests who
came out from St. Joseph's, Upholland. This great change
was not felt so much in Dr. O'Reilly's lifetime as it is at
this moment.

On December 16th, 1883, the Vicar-General, Monsignor
Fisher, opened the temporary chapel of St. Francis
de Sales, Walton. It was but a stable with a loft, generously
lent by Mr. J. Morgan,* and for four years it served the
needs of the growing Catholic population in a district which,
centuries before, was the cradle of Liverpool Catholicism.
Under the guidance of Father Thomas Smith, these four
years were utilised to provide more suitable and lasting
accommodation, and on October 16th, 1887, the new school
chapel in Hale Road was opened by the Bishop In his
sermon on that day, Dr. O'Reilly mentioned the interesting
fact that, when in 1872 his predecessor laid the responsibility
upon Father John P. Nugent of commencing the mission of
the Blessed Sacrament, there were only fifty-six Catholics
in the whole of Walton. In five years this tiny number had
increased to five hundred and sixty. In June, 1886, the
population of the new mission of St. Francis de Sales was
1,950, and on the day on which the Bishop was speaking
had reached close on 2,400 persons. The township of Walton
was added to the City of Liverpool in November, 1895.

* Who, on his wife's death, became a Jesuit priest, and died three
months after his ordination.

238

At the extreme south end, the village of Garston, as it
was in the early eighties was served by the Benedictine
Fathers at St. Austin's, Grassendale. The increase of the
Catholic population created the necessity for a new chapel.
A start was made on July 8th, 1883, with a temporary*
chapel dedicated to St. Francis of Assissi; new schools being
added in the October of the following year. Father Frederick
Smith was placed in charge of the new mission, who, in
addition to his parochial duties, represented the district for
many years on the West Derby Board of Guardians, and
acted as one of the Diocesan Inspectors of Schools. J

The developments of the Lancashire and Yorkshire
Railway carried with them the removal of an old landmark
in local Catholic history. St. Mary's, Edmund Street,
representing the re-birth of Catholicism, was acquired under
an Act of Parliament for railway purposes, and on November
llth, 1883, Mass was said for the last time on the historic
site. A temporary chapel was built in Pownall Square,
pending the erection of the new church in Highneld Street,
which was solemnly opened on July 9th, 1885, by Bishop
O'Reilly. Two days previously it had been re-consecrated
by Dr. Scarisbrick, O.S.B., Bishop of Port Louis, who had
served on the mission at St. Peter's, Seel Street, from 1867
to 1871. This change enabled the latter church to claim the
privilege of being the oldest building in Liverpool devoted
to Catholic worship. The memorial to Father Sheridan,
O.S.B., keeps up the link which binds the new church of
St. Mary to the past; the beautiful alabaster altar with its
reredos of Caen stone, and its sculptured groups of the Dead
Christ and a recumbent figure of Father Sheridan in a
fourteenth century tomb, forming one of the finest decorative
features of a noble building.

St. Alexander's having been extended in 1884, the
temporary chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour was
discontinued.

At the other end of the borough of Bootle, another link
with the past was broken by the acquisition, under com
pulsory powers, by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Company, of the Church of St. James. On July 20th, 1884,
Bishop O'Reilly laid the foundation stone of the new church
in Marsh Lane, which he opened in February, 1886. With
the completion of the tower, the addition of new altars,
pulpit, stained windows and bells, improvements not com
pleted until the year 1900. St. James' may worthily rank as

* New Church opened 1905.
J Until his death, November 26, 1909.

239

a cathedral church, while the splendid elementary schools,
and a valuable adjunct in the shape of a Select School,
Parochial Hall, etc., justify its- claim as the best equipped
parish in or near the city.

A worthy compliment was paid to Dean Kelly by the
Bishop, in permitting him to lay the foundation stone of the
new schools, immediately after his Lordship had performed
the same function for the new church.

In another of the outer districts1, Waveitree, now in
cluded in the borough of Liverpool, Bishop O'Reilly, on
October 4th 1885, laid the first stone of the church of Our
Lady of Good Help, to take the place of the temporary
chapel in the old public offices of the Wavertree Local Board,
opened by Bishop Goss in 1871.

On May 24th, 1885, the first stone of the new church
of the Sacred Heart was laid to provide for the needs of the
increased population, due to the development of the great
open space known to an earlier generation as Kensington
Fields, and on November 1st, the extension of Our Lady Im
maculate, St. Domingo Road, was also opened by the Bishop.
This extension perpetuated the memory of Father Michael
Carney, B.A., who died a martyr of charity in January,
1885, from an attack of fever, contracted while performing
his sacred duties in the infectious diseases hospital in
Netherfield Road.

November 22nd, 1885, witnessed the opening of the fine
church of St. John, Kirkdale. The district had recently
been divided into two parishes, and in his address on this
interesting occasion, Bishop O'Reilly said that in 1875 there
were only 2,700 Catholics in the neighbourhood. Seven
years later the numbers increased to 7,500, and were in
creasing at the rate of from seven hundred to one thousand
per annum.

In the heart of the Scotland Division the last of the
temporary churches disappeared with the completion of the
new church of St. Sylvester, opened by the Bishop on Sep
tember 22nd, 1889, seventeen years after Dr. Goss had
expressed his hope of erecting a commodious church !

At the School Board elections of 1885, Drs. Canavan
and John BHgh declined re-nomination, and Messrs.
Michael Fitzpatrick, W. J. Sparrow, LL.D.,* and J. A.
Doughan,f were elected in their stead. After considerable
discussion it was resolved to run a sixth candidate, Mr. John

* Professor of Law at the Liverpool University, 1908.
f Justice of the Peace, sat in the Council for Exchange Ward for
some years ; member of the Liverpool Education Committee and
Catholic Education Council.

240

Hand. Though the six candidates were successful serious risk of
losing several seats was incurred owing to want of organisa
tion. Isolated Catholic organisations existed here and there,
but no central organisation. For some years unsuccessful
attempts had been made to promote such a body, but
political divisions prevented their realisation. A Catholic
Social Club had been founded on February 16th, 1881 at
14, Lime Street, Mr. Charles Rus&ell* in the chair, supported
by Count Moore, M.P., and a large number of the clergy.
A Catholic Union was also founded, but both proved
failures. Mr. Doughan wrote to the " Catholic Times,"
pointing out the lamentable fact that only 8,878 Catholic
electors recorded their votes, compared with 9,250 at the
election of 1873.

This falling-off was due entirely to the irritation felt
by the Nationalist party at the selection of a certain candi
date, and though Mr. Doughan made no reference to the
fact, of which he was probably unaware, his efforts to promote
a better state of things were well rewarded at the following
triennial elections, when the six candidates were trium
phantly returned by a solid vote of 10,411 Catholic electors.

Walton, Wavertree, West Derby, and part of Toxteth,
though inside the Parliamentary borough of Liverpool, were
not included until 1895, in the School Board area. Walton
had a separate School Board, on which two Catholic represen
tatives sat, and on the Toxteth Board Mr. Hugh Quinn,
solicitor, gained a seat and secured the recognition of St.
Charles' Schools, Aigburth Road. The Nationalist party
defeated Mr. Charles MacArdle in Vauxhall Ward by
electing Mr. Patrick Byrne, and in Great George Ward, Mr.
James Ruddin,f one of the Select Vestrymen, gained a seat
under Liberal auspices.

In November, 1886, the Nationalist party surprised
Liverpool by challenging the re-election of Mr. John Yates
for Vauxhall Ward. Here was the spectacle of an Irish
Nationalist opposing the return of a veteran English Catholic
with a splendid record of work performed for his co
religionists for over half a century. Mr. Yates was a
convinced Liberal and Home Ruler, but his speech to a
deputation inviting him to stand again annoyed the
Nationalist party, who in their strength resolved to brook no
insult real or implied. Mr. Parnell sent a letter to Mr.
John Denvir wishing him success and " Parnell's message,
: ' vote for Denvir,' " met the eye on every hoarding. The

* Lord Chief Justice of England,
t Elected Alderman in 1892 ; Justice of the Peace. Died April, 1904.

241

clergy refused to desert the old veteran, who won easily,
thanks to the Liberal and Conservative electors who voted
solidly in his favour; the latter more from a desire to defeat
the Irish Nationalist than from any special love for the Liberal
candidate. A few months before the contest Mr. Yates was
entertained to a banquet, and a handsome presentation made
to him in recognition of his past services. Dr. O'Reilly
presided at this function to shew his personal esteem.

Mr. Yates died on December 31st, 1887, aged 80 years.
Born of Protestant parents, in Haslingden, on April 3rd,
1807, he was sent to Sedgley Park to be educated, and as the
result became a convert. Coming to Liverpool, he followed
the profession of his father, that of a solicitor, and speedily
came to be regarded as one of the ornaments of the legal
body in the town. On the Select Vestry, the Town Council,
School Board, and during his six years' magistracy, he gave
abundant evidence of his upright sterling character, and
won for himself the esteem of his fellow-citizens of all
parties and creeds. He never trimmed his views on Catholic
or Irish questions to gain applause, as witness his personal
visit to Connemara to expose the Irish Church mission frauds,
or to quote Father Nugent, " what he did for the members of
" the Young Ireland party in Kirkdale gaol " during the
insurrectionary period of 1848. No church or school was
erected, no charitable movement founded, no social reform
inaugurated, during his long life in Liverpool, without his
name being prominently associated with it, either in the
shape of money, work or advice. His mortal remains were
interred at St. Oswald's, the Bishop presiding at the Requiem
Mass. He was succeeded in the Council by a young Irish
labourer, Mr. John Gregory Taggart, selected by the
Nationalist party, who has proved to be one of the ablest
municipal administrators who ever sat in that chamber.
Quite recently he has been appointed a Justice of the Peace
and Alderman of the city.*

Liverpool Catholics also lost by death, the services of the
Recorder, Mr. J. B. Aspinall, who died February 5th, 1886,
and Mr. C. J. Corbally, December 2nd, 1887. The latter
gentleman was an Irishman, born 1812, who entered the
ofHce of his uncle, the late Alderman Sheil, becoming
eventually a partner. He, too, sat in the Council for some
years as member for Vauxhall Ward, and served on the
Burial Board of the Parish of Liverpool. For thirty un
broken years he acted as treasurer of our oldest charity, the
Catholic Benevolent Society (a position now held by Mr.

* 1908.

242

J. A. Doughan, J.P.), and acted in the same capacity for
the Clarence Reformatory Ship. Few of the Catholics who
have been raised to the bench won such a reputation in the
magistrates' room for probity and sound judgment.

The General Election of 1885 gave the Catholics of
England and Wales an opportunity of forcing to the front
the intolerable strain under which they suffered as the result
of being compelled to pay the rate for the maintenance of
Board Schools, and providing at the same time their own
schools and a large portion of the expenses of maintaining
them efficiently. Owing to the policy of Mr. Parnell, who
sought to obtain the balance of power in the House of
Commons, the Catholic body, as such, was enabled to press
home the Education question, without any fear of a diversion
by the Nationalist party. To prevent the Liberals securing
a working majority, Mr. Parnell's manifesto called upon the
Irish electors to vote for the Conservative candidates, and
so cordially did his followers respond that both parties
emerged from the electoral struggle equally balanced, quite
unable to carry on the work of government without support
from the Irish party. Foreseeing this likely development,
Cardinal Manning advised the Catholics of England to put
two questions to every candidate : " Will you do your utmost
" to place voluntary schools on an equal footing with Board
"schools? Will you do your utmost to obtain a Royal
" Commission to review the present state of education in
" England and Wales, and especially the Act of 1870 and its
"administration by the School Boards?"

To these questions the Conservatives gave an answer in
the affirmative; the Liberals simply professing general
sympathy. Bishop O'Reilly had studiously avoided all refer
ence to political questions in his pastorals, which were almost
entirely devoted to spiritual matters, but in this year he
wrote directly to his flock on the relation of their political
power to the settlement of the education question on lines
favourable to denominationalists.

" We are " he wrote, " upon the eve of a General Election,
" held for the first time under very altered circumstances.
' Vast numbers who, up to this, were not enfranchised will
' be entitled to vote.* We speak to you, and in doing so
' we have no intention, nay, it is far from our wish, to touch
' upon party politics, or even to touch upon matters of
' purely worldly interest. It is no concern of ours whether
' your politics are what are called Liberal or Conservative.
' Upon questions of purely secular interest you are much

* The Act of 1885 extended the household franchise to the Counties.

243

" better qualified to judge than we are, and it is right and
" fitting that you should form your own opinions and to act
" upon them. There is, however, one issue at stake, to which
" it is our imperative duty to invite your mos>t serious con-
" sideration, and that is, the education of your children and
" the future of our schools." . . . Quoting the questions
framed by Cardinal Manning, the Bishop proceeded : " Insist
" upon a clear answer to each of these questions. If the
" answer be favourable, give him your vote and all the
" support you can command. . . To many of you it may
" be painful to vote against the political party with which
" you have been long associated. Still, as the calls of conscience
" are above those of party, we hope you will look upon it as
" a duty to obey your conscience and not count the cost."

The elections of 1885 gave Liverpool its first Catholic
Member of Parliament, in the person of Mr. Thomas Power
O'Connor. He had sat for the borough of Galway since
1880, and was re-elected in November 1885, but decided to
sit for the Scotland Division of Liverpool. Under the able
guidance of Mr. John Denvir, the Irish Nationalists of the
town made a great effort to so arrange the boundaries of
the adjoining division of Exchange that this seat also could
be held against all comers by a member of Mr. Parnell's
party. Ignoring the strong case made out by the Nationalists
the commercial classes in Exchange and Castle Street
Municipal Wards were separated by the Boundaries Com
missioners, and at an Irish Convention held in Great Crosshall
Street,* during the summer of 1885, it was1 agreed, on the
motion of Dr. John Bligh, that " an Irish Nationalist be run
" for the Exchange Division, and that Mr. Justin MacCarthy
" be requested to stand as our candidate." At a great
meeting held next evening in the League Hall, Cazneau Street,
this decision was confirmed, on the motion of the present
writer, and was conveyed to the versatile novelist, journalist
and historian. On Sunday, August 9th, Mr. MacCarthy
visited Liverpool, accompanied by his son, and Mr. Timothy
Healy, M.P., and publicly accepted the invitation, which,
to the annoyance of many Liberals, was endorsed by the
Liberal leaders. On the eve of the dissolution of Parliament,
Mr. Justin MacCarthy was announced as the candidate for the
city of Deny, being sent there by Mr. Parnell as* the " only
" man " who could win the maiden city for Home Rule. No
word or even hint had been previously conveyed to Liverpool
of this new departure, and the leading men in the Nationalist

* In a disused Methodist Chapel, opposite Holy Cross Church,
now used as a glass warehouse.

244

party asked themselves what it all meant. If only one man
could win Derry, to use Mr. Parnell's own words, why was
he sent to Liverpool eight weeks earlier as the candidate for
the Exchange Division '4 Dame Rumour was very busy and
further developments were awaited with considerable anxiety.
A demonstration was announced for November 16th, in the
League Hall, Mr. William O'Brien, M.P., and editor of
" United Ireland, ' being announced as the chief speaker. To
everyone's amazement Mr. Parnell, on the very day of the
meeting, announced that he was coming with Mr. John E.
Redmond, and Mr. T. P. O'Connor. He gave reasons for
Mr. MacCarthy's withdrawal, and announced his selection of
Mr. T. P. O'Connor for the Scotland Division. In the course
of his speech he said, " I cannot absolutely say whether we
" are sufficiently strong enough to beat botii political parties
" in the Exchange Division, but our enquiries are still pro-
" ceeding, and we hope to have figures which will be conclusive
" one way or another in a few days. Until then we do not
" consider it advisable to replace the vacancy."

As a matter of absolute fact the figures had been supplied
to him long before this meeting, as the sittings of the Revision
Courts had been held earlier than usual. Notwithstanding
the enthusiasm of that memorable meeting, Mr. Parneli's
speech was a serious discouragement to the leading Irishmen,
who were quite certain of carrying an Irishman for
the Division. The excitement grew when it was announced
on the next day that the Liberal party had selected a strong
local candidate, Mr. T. E. Stephens, to fight for the seat
under the banner of Mr. Gladstone. The Conservative party
selected Mr. L. R. Baily, and the election warfare began in
earnest. A bolt from the blue fell in the Irish ranks when
the unusually well-informed London letter writer of the
" Daily Post," just four days after Parneli's speech, penned
the following paragraph : " What is remarkable is the
" ostracism of Captain O'Shea,* sitting on the Ministerial
" benches, but keeping up social relations with Parnell and
" his party." This somewhat obscurely worded paragraph
aroused intense suspicion in certain Irish circles, and the
position was very closely scrutinised, especially when Parlia
ment was dissolved, the writs issued, polling days fixed, and
still no word from Mr. Parnell, as to the result of his study of
the figures as to the Irish vote in Exchange Division. In
every constituency in the three kingdoms, the Irish policy
had been decided upon except this one division. Late on the
evening of the twentieth of November a telegram was received

* He had negotiated the famous Kilmainham treaty

245

announcing Parnell himself as the candidate. The same
evening, without any request from Liverpool, Captain O'Shea,
ignoring the official Liberal candidate, issued his address as
a supporter of Mr. Gladstone, supported by Mr. Joseph
Chamberlain and Lord Richard Grosvenor.* The Captain
was on the spot, but no Parnell nor any address from him.
The Nationalist headquarters were in the Temple, Dale Street,
and at the mere rumour of ParnelFs candidature, canvassers
nocked in from all parts of the town to organise the Irish
vote. It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. O'Connor's
candidature was quite neglected to make sure of Parnell's
victory in Exchange, and victory was certain in the opinion of
the electioneering experts. The more sober spirits asked how
could Parnell win with two Liberal candidates in the field?
The writer was one of two persons! selected to meet Mr.
Parnell on Sunday morning, November 22nd, in the North
Western Hotel, Lime Street, and conduct him to a consulta
tion with the local Nationalist leaders in the Temple offices.
He made enquiries as to the effect upon the Irish voters of
" Mr. O'Shea's " candidature of which he appeared quite well
aware, and announced his intention of running Mr. John
Barry, M.P. for Wexford, for the Abercromby Division, to
keep out Mr. Samuel Smith. The same afternoon he addressed
a great meeting in the Concert Hall, Lord Nelson Street, and
an enormous open-air meetting on St. George's Hall Plateau. He
enjoined it as a duty upon every Irish elector to vote for the
Conservative candidates- " unless some exception be signified by
" the Central Executive." The significance of this phrase was
not lost on the younger men of the Central Branch, Great
Crosshall Street, and during the following twenty-four hours,
in a vigorous canvass of Exchange, Vauxhall and St. Anne's
Ward, their earnest advice was1, " vote for Parnell if he stands,
" if not, vote for Parnell's policy, the balance of power, by
" voting for Mr. L. R. Baily." It was of importance to these
young enthusiasts that Mr. Parnell made no allusion to
O'Shea's candidature in his speeches: "the contest will be a
" difficult one, but I believe it is just possible for me to win."
Mr. T. P. O'Connor, interviewed by the " Central News,"
declared that " the only gentlemen to whom any exception can
" apply are Messrs. Joseph Cowan, Story, Thompson and
" Henry Labouchere." Parnell's nomination papers, twenty
in number, were signed by priests, merchants, shopkeepers and
labourers, while Captain O'Shea handed in but one paper,

*See " Daily Post" leader.

f The other was Mr. James A. Mulhall, now the Irish secretary
of the Royal Liver Society.

246

containing only one influential Liberal signature. Mr. T. E.
Stephens was also nominated.

At two o'clock Mr. Parnell quietly withdrew his nomina
tion, and retired from the precincts of the Town Hall. The
same evening he appealed to the Irish electors1 to support
Captain O'Shea in these terms: " Mr. O'Shea belongs to the
" religion of the majority of Irishmen. If you desire to vote
" for him as an Irishman or Catholic, I see no reason why you
" should not do so." Nevertheless he worked strenuously for the
rejected member for Clare, only to be defeated by some Irish
Nationalists, who hated O'Shea and the change of front of
the Irish leader, matters which cannot be fully discussed in
these pages. O'Shea lost the seat by the narrow margin of
fifty-three votes; the other Liberal candidate only polling a
few votes. When Gladstone introduced the first Home Rule
Bill, a Liberal Home Ruler defeated Mr. Baily in Exchange
Division by two hundred votes, and this despite the defection of
the influential Liberal Unionists. The election of 1886 puts
beyond all doubt that Parnell would have won in 1885 had he
gone to the poll. Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule policy rent his
party in twain, and the Unionist party remained in power
until 1906, with the short interval of the years between July,
1892, and the election of 1895.

The schools were safe from Liberal interference, if they
ever intended to interfere, which may well be doubted, and it
was years afterwards before Mr. Balfour carried his one clause
Act increasing the imperial grant. It had been well had Mr.
Balfour's policy of increased grants been permitted to develop,
but militant denominationalists raised the demand — just in
itself — for rate aid, forgetting that the adoption of this
principle in an England of sub-divided religious thought,
introduced an element which appears to have escaped the
advocates of the new policy, that of ratepayers' interference
and control. The foremost Catholic educationalist in Liver
pool was Father William Dubberley, S.J., manager of the
Haigh Street schools from 1879 to his death on September
20th, 1896. He threw himself heart and soul into the great
work of perfecting elementary education. His unrivalled
knowledge of every detail of school management made him a
powerful defender of the Catholic schools, and a skilful
exponent of the claims of his co-religionists for fair treatment.

The remaining years of Dr. O'Reilly's rule were devoted to
his spiritual work. New churches and schools were springing
up in all directions, and notably in the rapidly growing
suburbs of the old borough, whose parliamentary boundaries
were not co-terminous with the municipal. At the time of his

247

death there were 27 schools in Liverpool, with an average
attendance of 22,000 children.

Owing to the generosity of two Liverpool Catholics,* a
school chapel was provided at Cabbage Hall, and dedicated to
All Saints on September 8th, 1889. The beautiful Church of
St. Clare, Sefton Park, also provided by the great generosity
of the founders of All Saints, was consecrated on June 3rd,
1890. Father Nugent, on the demolition of St. Mary's, had
urged its transference to the neighbourhood of Sefton Park,
but permission to do so was not obtained. At the river side of
the Sefton Park area, a temporary chapel was erected, and
dedicated to St. Charles on September 25th, 1892, followed by
the erection of new schools which were opened by the Bishop
of Salford. The infants' school at St. Francis Xavier's, blessed
and opened in 1879, by Father Thomas Burke, O.P., were
further enlarged in 1891, and under the enthusiastic guidance
of Father William Pinningtonf the fine schools of St.
Alphonsus, Stanley Road, were opened in 1889.

Many works of charity were founded during the last
decade of Dr. O'Reilly's rule. In 1881, the Catholic Children's
Protection Society was founded. This excellent organisation
emigrated to Catholic families in Canada many hundreds of
children whose prospects in life were hopeless, unless effec
tually removed from their former surroundings.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul made a beginning in
1891 with the Homes for Friendless Boys, which has since
developed to such an extent as to become one of the recognised
charitable institutions wfiose annual meetings are held in the
Town Hall, under the chairmanship of the Lord Mayor. The
name of Arthur Chilton Thomas, a veritable Lancashire
Ozanam, is indissolubly bound up with this splendid effort to
save the friendless Catholic boy. A special committee was
formed of one delegate from each conference of the St. Vincent
de Paul Society, to carry on the projected " Home," and an
earnest effort made to secure a fund which would enable the
promoters to face the heavy expenditure involved. The name
of Bishop O'Reilly headed the first subscription list, followed
by Messrs. Francis W. Reynolds, Henry Jump, Matheson,
Stapleton Bretherton, Cullen, Bradley, Sharpies, Doughan,
Browne, \Valton, Fathers Murphy, S.J., Carr, and Birchall.
Many prominent Protestant laymen helped in the good work.
Over one hundred boys found a home in the house 105, Shaw
Street, during the first six months of its establishment ;

* Frank and James Reynolds.

f Member of the West Derby Board of Guardians for some years.
In 1908 Member of the Education Council ; Liverpool Education
Committee. Elected to the Chapter, 1909.

248

working boys in employment, but not receiving sufficient wages
to keep themselves, and boys out of work for whom situations
were found, and street arabs whose means of livelihood were
as precarious as they were dangerous.

As early as July, 1892, Mr. Chilton Thomas began in the
" Xaverian " to call public attention to the splendid possibili
ties of this great charity, coupled with the necessity for civic
legislation, to minimise the dangers of street trading, as
Father Nugent had done forty years earlier From thence
onwards, he became the leading figure in Catholic rescue work,
devoting his life solely to saving the boy for Church and
country.

Father John Berry, rector of St. Philip Neri's, opened in
1892 St. Philip's Home for Street Trading .Boys in Marble
Street, and a few years later took over the management with
Mr. Thomas, of the Homes in Shaw Street, which were con
siderably extended and still bear his name. Owing to failing
health in 1897, he was compelled to leave the city, but con
tinued his deep interest in the best work yet undertaken in
the diocese to scotch the most fruitful source of so-called
Catholic crime. Bishop O'Reilly took a keen interest in the
experiment, and one of his last acts before a fatal illness
seized him was to visit St. Philip's home in Marble Street, at
nine o'clock p.m., where, sitting on a form, he talked to the
boys about their labours in the streets, discussed with them
their earnings and their personal histories quite in the spirit
of his earlier work among the poor in St. Patrick's and St.
Vincent's.

In February, 1888, Bishop O'Reilly launched another
meritorious scheme for the betterment of the poor children of
his diocese. It had long been his earnest desire to secure the
removal of every Catholic child in a workhouse school to
institutions under his own care. With this object in view he
issued a pastoral letter to his flock, in which he frankly
expressed his aims. " The Guardians, as a tule, are much
' fairer (here) than they appear to be elsewhere, and our poor
' children are treated, as far as their religion is concerned, in
* a much more liberal spirit. Still, they labour under very
1 serious disadvantages. They are brought up amongst
' children who are not Catholics, and though, to a certain
' extent, they receive Catholic teaching, and are allowed to
' practise their religion, still the results are generally very
' unfavourable. They leave the workhouse schools, little
' illuminated with the brightness of their faith, and with but
' little fervour in the practice of their holy religion. Indeed
' they are often, in a manner, ashamed of their religion, and

249

" being, as we have said, animated with but little fervour, they
" soon fall away from the practice of its teaching. These
" poor children help to swell the number of indifferent
"Catholics; Catholics in name, they are strangers to every
" Catholic instinct."

The worthy Bishop did not live to see the fulfilment of
his hopes. Liverpool Guardians were unwilling to fall in with
his proposals, but his splendid initiative is worthily and
fittingly perpetuated in the Bishop O'Reilly Memorial Poor
Law Schools, Leyfield, West Derby. As a matter of fact, a
Catholic teacher was not employed in a single workhouse school
in England, save in the schools of the Parish of Liverpool,
ample testimony to the need for such institutions as projected
by Dr. O'Reilly.*

Towards the close of 1893, he was stricken with a serious
illness, which culminated in his death, on April the ninth of
the following year. It is not often that, in a non-Catholic
daily newspaper, one may find a true picture of a Catholic
ecclesiastic, priest or Bishop, but the following leader from
the " Daily Post," from the pen of Sir Edward Russell, is a
true epitome of Dr. O'Reilly's life and work: —

" Dr. O'Reilly enjoyed the unqualified esteem of all who
" knew him. He was perhaps somewhat retiring, possibly
" somewhat shy. He was consistently and persistently occu-
" pied with his own business. He did not include in the scope
" of his business any attempt to dominate or pervade society.
" We are not commenting on this either in praise or blame.
" Possibly it might be the policy of a Roman Catholic Bishop
" to keep his church more in evidence socially than Bishop
" O'Reilly did. Certainly there have been precedents, both
" metropolitan and provincial, in favour of such a course. We
" are merely recording the fact that with the late Bishop it
" was very different, and that all his labours, great as they
" were, were confined within the strict limits of the ecclesias-
" tical province. In this we understand, from those who know
" the facts, that he was far more successful than appeared
" from any display that attracted the attention of the general
" community. His episcopate was very remarkable for church
" extension, and the solid results that he achieved were the
" more notable because obtained in so quiet a manner, and
" by means of such steady energy and perseverance.

" Dr. O'Reilly was identified with Liverpool throughout
" the whole of his career. The early passages of it lay in a
" period and in a neighbourhood — the cholera time in the
" poorest parts of Liverpool — which made him thoroughly,

*See Pastoral Letter, July, 1888.

250

" and indeed agonisingly, familiar with the greatest suffering
" and the most terrible needs of the humblest of the people.
4> This gave a stamp to his ministry and a bent to his episcopal
" action. It also led him into understanding and sympathetic
" mutual contact with many of the best members of other
"communions; and when he came into the full power of his
" episcopal office he was enabled to co-operate with the
" managers of our great charities, in a manner very much
" strengthened and made useful by his striking pastoral ex-
" periences. We may presume it to be unlikely that this
" respected and lamented prelate will be succeeded by a man
" of similar type, but his memory will long be held in kindly
" reverence, and it will be recognised that he rendered to his
" church in this diocese, exactly the services which it most
" needed during the time he held sway/'

Canon O'Toole, in the " Catholic Fireside," described him
from the point of view of a priest in these words : " The same
" sense of duty which had made the memoir of his life simply
" the spiritual record of his mission and parish* a few
" hundred yards in diameter, still characterised him " as a
Bishop.

In his funeral panegyric, Bishop Hedley, O.S,B., said:
' As I read him he was of a nature in which the simple, the
' childlike, and the affectionate largely predominated. Policy
' on a wide or elaborate scale was not congenial to him . His
' arrangements were for plain and evident needs ; and any
' man might know his mind. He loved cheerfulness in
' business ; he could smile himself, and liked those who dealt
' with him to smile also."

The municipality joined the sorrowing Catholics of the
city in paying tribute to the simple, hardworking, prayerful
prelate; its Lord Mayor, W. B. Bo wring, and his predecessor,
Mr. R. D. Holt, attending in state, the final obsequies. In
his beloved Upholland, the remains of the worthy Bishop lie
in peace; an abiding incentive to the future priests from St.
Joseph's seminary, to model their life's work in the diocese
of Liverpool on his single-hearted devotion to the spiritual
welfare of his beloved people.

* St. Vincent de Paul, James Street.

[THE END.]

INDEX

PAGE

Adam, William, first mayor of Liverpool ; will of ... ... ... 3

Allies, T. W 112

All Saints', opening of school chapel ... ... ... ... ... 247

All Souls', Collingwood Street —

Robert Hutchinson's generosity ... ... ... ... 202

Public subscription... ... ... ... ... ... 202

opened by Vicar-General 203

Father Hogan, rector ... ... ... ... ... 203

Almond, Father, O.S.B., attacks " Daily Post " 146

Amicable Society of St. Patrick 38

Anderdon, Rev. W. H 135

Anderson, P. M., O.S.B., Father 135

Anderton ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 42

Anglicans capture Corporation Schools ... ... ... ... 50

expel Catholic children 68

Appleton 26

Dr., O.S.B., Rev., death from fever ... 86

Aspinall, J. B., Recorder of Liverpool ... ... ... ... 60

Fontenoy Street schools 108

speaks in Sessions House ... ... ... ... 114

and St. Vincent's ... ..^ ... ... ... 123

speech at Catholic Club 126

Holy Cross 139

Forster's Education Bill ... 187

Attendance at Mass 34,121,122,203,204

Augustinian Nuns in Liverpool ... ... ... ... ... 185

Baines, Bishop, preaches at St. Anthony's 47

death of ... ... ... ... ... ... 74

O.S.B., Father, preaches at St. Peter's 35

Mrs., Spitalfields refuge ... 166

Banquets 34, 39

Bannister ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 42

Baptisms. See Statistics.

Barnwall ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 42

Barratt ... 10

Baxter, Dr., J.P., C.C 226

Beesley, G 46

R 46

Bench-holders. See Jesuits, St. Mary's.

Benedictines, Birkenhead Priory 4, 5

Father Sewall, S.J., writes to Father MacDonald,

O.S.B. 17

take charge of St. Mary's 19

Father MacDonald summons parish meeting ... 20

Bench-holders and 19, 20, 21, 22

252

Benedictines at Sefton 24

at Gillmoss 24

build St. Peter's 25

extend St. Peter's 35

St. Mary's overcrowded ... ... ... ... 37

St. Peter's overcrowded 38

and Catholic Female Orphanage ... ... ... 40

Bishop Polding, O.S.B. 54

found St. Austin's 55

death of Father Glover, O.S.B. 63

visit of Bishop Ullathorne, O.S.B 70

found St. Anne's, Edge Hill 71

and St. Francis Xavier's ... ... ... ... 72

found St. Peter's schools ... ... ... ... 73

Ray Street schools 75

St. Austin's schools 73

St. Mary's new church ... ... ... ... 75

visit of Bishop Brown, O.S.B. 56

erection of St. Augustine's 95, 96

found St. Anne's schools 110

Benevolent Hibernian Society ... ... ... ... ... ... 38

Society ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 41

of St. Patrick 32, 38

Berry, John, Rev 248

Berry 107

Bidwill, Colonel 147, 187, 193, 216, 217

Billinge 16, 21

Bilsborrow, Bishop 77

Birch, Sir Thomas, M.P. 91

Birkdale Farm School 117

Birkenhead election 148

riots 154, 155

Bishop Eton 76

Blanchard, Edward 46

Blessed Sacrament Church, Walton ; new church opened 221

Bligh, Dr. A. M 151

elected for Scotland Ward 215

John, J.P 151

contest for Select Vestry 219

elected member of School Board 243

Blind Asylum 65

Blount 42

Blundell 6, 7, 27

Henry 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Nicholas 7, 8

William, High Sheriff of Lancashire 55

Weld 93, 97, 183, 187

Blundell Street chapel. See St. Vincent's.

Bolas, O.S.B., Father 19

Botill, Hugh

Boys' Refuge 183

Bradley, J. S 226

Brancker, John, presents statue to St. Patrick's 40

accompanies O'Connell on 'Change ... ... 54

Brennan, E. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 34

p 33

Bretherton, Bartholomew, founds Rainhill chapel 55

E. 42, 80, 90, 91, 98

253

Brewer, O.S.B., Rev. Dr 18

speech in aid of St. Francis Xavier's... 72

Briggs, Bishop, appointed Vicar Apostolic ... ... ... ... 55

opens St. Austin's ... ... ... ... ... 55

lays down conditions for St. Austin's 56

pastoral ... ... ... ... ... ... 57

and St. Francis Xavier's 62

transferred to Yorkshire 65, 75

Brindle 123

Brown, Dr., O.S.B 56

Bishop of Shrewsbury Ill, 127

Bishop, appointed coadjutor Vicar Apostolic 65

consecration in St. Anthony's ... ... ... 65

opens Rainhill chapel ... ... ... ... 65

succeeds Bishop Baines 74

holds first ordinations at St. Nicholas' ... ... 74

opens St. Mary's church 75

resides at Eton Lodge, Woolton ... ... ... 76

abolishes lay committees ... ... ... ... 79

arranges for future church collections ... ... 80

opens St. Anne's ... ... ... ... ... 81

opens St. Alban's 95

foundation stone of St. Francis Xavier's ... ... 76

opens St. Francis Xavier's ... ... ... ... 95

restoration of hierarchy ; first Bishop of Liverpool 97

Haigh Street schools 100

hands over Standish Street to Oblates of Mary

Immaculate 107

in failing health Ill

coadjutor appointed ... ... ... ... ... Ill

lays foundation stone of Catholic Institute ... 112
authorises Mr. John Yates to prosecute editor of

" Liverpool Standard " 115

forms committee to establish Catholic Reformatory 116

invites Redemptorists to Liverpool ... ... 123

favourite pupil of Dr. Lingard and vice-president

of Ushaw, death of 123

Browne, Edward, and parliamentary election of 1874 ... ... 212

defeated in Pitt Street Ward 215

elected to School Board 193

John 101

Brundritt, Father, and Birkenhead riots ... ... ... ... 154

Bullen 61

Burke 28

Bute, Marquis of 191

Butler, Christopher ... 16,21

Butt, Isaac, M.P ... 125

Byrne 28

Garrett, M.P 216,227

Patrick, elected for VauxhaU Ward 240

Cafferata 61, 98

elected Vestryman 132, 141

Cahill, Rev. Dean, preaches at St. Patiick's 40

preaches at Holy Cross 109

supports Liverpool "Catholic Citizen" ... 110

discourages St. Patrick's Day parades ... ... Ill

254

Callan, Dr. 226

Gallon 61

Canavan, Dr. P., elected to School Board 219

Cardwell 91

Carney, Michael, Father 239

Carpenter, Father, S.J., saves Blessed Sacrament from rioters at

St. Mary's 11

Carr, Monsignor Provost 79, 230

Can-oil, Father, S.J 13

Humphrey ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7

Carter, William, Father 107

Catholic Association ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 41

Catholic Benevolent Society ... ... ... ... ... ... 41

" Catholic Citizen " 110

Catholic Club, foundation of ... ... ... ... ... ... 80

conference on school provision ... ... ... 93

and Christian Brothers at St. Mary's 106

Bishop Goss' speech at ... ... Ill, 126, 130

address to Father Mathew ... ... ... ... 115

organises public lectures ... ... ... ... 146

and South Lancashire election 147, 148

offers to find situations for Kirkdale school children 149, 150

and Father Nu gent's rescue work ... ... ... 166

Forster's Education Bill 187

entertains Bishop O'Reilly ... ... ... ... 209

political dissensions in 211,212,213,215,216

Catholic Defence Associaton 52

Society 42

Emancipation ... ... ... , ... '• ... ... 41, 42, 44

Institute of Great Britain ... ... ... ... 57, 64, 63

Catholic Institute, Hope Street— Rodney Street School Ill

foundation stone of Hope Street school 112

opened by Cardinal Wiseman ... ... ... ... 112

Newman lectures on Turks ... ... ... ... ... 112

Catholic Magazine 56

Poor School Committee founded 93

Registration Society ... ... ... ... ... ... 58

Rent Society 42

Tract and Book Society 58

Catholic Times — " Northern Press " purchased ... ... ... 183

and Catholic schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 188

and St. Francis Xavier's 192

attacks Select Vestry 194

criticises Seamen's Orphanage ... ... ... ... 200

and " Silence of Lancashire " ... ... ... ... 201

and appointment of Canon O'Reilly to vacant

bishopric 208, 209

and Mr. Caine's candidature for Liverpool 213

and Laurence Connelly's candidature ... ... ... 215

attacks Catholic Club 215

controversy between Fathers Tobin and Bonte 230

" Catholic Vindicator " 110

Catholic Young Men's Society —

First branch at St. Mary's 124

" Silence of Lancashire ' demonstration 201

Cavanagh, Dr. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 151

Census, church attendance 34, 121, 122

Chaloner ... ... ... ... 45

255

Chaloner, E., and Institute of Great Britian 57, 61, 101

provides St. Oswald's schools 128

provides St. Vincent's schools ... ... ... ... 128

generous gift to Peter's Pence 143

death of 232

Chaloner, Peter, presents site for St. Austin's 56

Charles, builds school of St. Austin's 128

Chantries of Liverpool and Walton 2, 3, 4

Chapman ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 46

Canon, and Birkenhead election 148

and Garibaldi riots 154

Cholera. See under Statistics.

Chorley Street Chapel 13, 14

Christian Brothers —

teach in Liverpool schools ... ... ... ... ... 70

found first evening schools 70

leave St. Mary's ... ... ... ... ... ... 106

leave Liverpool ... ... ... ... ... ... 192

invited to return by Bishop Whiteside 192

Christian Doctrine Society 109

Church attendance 34

collections for Royal Infirmary, 18th century 14, 26, 28

collectors 45, 46, 61, 123

Clarence Reformatory ship 156

Clarke, John, elected Select Vestryman 195

Clement, Pope 15

Clifton 16, 17, 19, 20, 22

Collins, Father, O.S.B 29

Commins, Andrew, LL.D., counsel in Moreton will dispute ... 207
Irish candidate for Liverpool ... 211

elected Nationalist member for Vauxhall 217

Confirmations ... * 32, 80

Connaught Rangers join procession to St. Patrick's 39

Connolly, Laurence, M.P., elected for Scotland Ward 215

Conservatives and Catholic education 51,52,59,67,68,69,78

Convent Inspection agitation 113,188,189

Cookson, Provost 149, 190

Cooper, Father, O.S.B 81

Coopman, Father, O.M.I 201

Copperas Hill. See St. Nicholas'.

Corbally, C. J., Treasurer Irish Famine Fund 85

Speech at Town's meeting against Oaths Bill ... 114

elected for Vauxhall Ward 134

defeated 146

elected to Burial Board 146

appointed magistrate ... ... ... 146, 182

elected to School Board ... 193

elections of 1874 212

death 241

Coronation procession, Queen Victoria 56

Corporation of Liverpool. See Town Council.

Cotham, Father, S.J 161

Cosgrove, Select Vestryman 227

" Courier," Liverpool ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44

defends Select Vestry bigotry ... ... ... ... 78

attacks Bishop GOBS 206

Crilly, Alfred 213

Croft 46

256

Crosby Street, St. Vincent's ... ... ... ... ... §4

Crosse, John, founds charities of SS. John and Katherine ... 3

Rector, Rev., bequeaths Common Hall to Liverpool ... 3

Cullen, Cardinal, at St. Nicholas' 98

preaches at St. Patrick's 112

Hugh 187,212

Cm-tin 107

" Daily Post." See M. J. Whitty.

Dale, Father William, O.S.B 68, 70

death from fever 87

Daly, Michael, first president Y.M.S. 125

Darby, Edward 126

Davey, Father, O.S.B., marches at head of St. Peter's children ... 122
Dawber, Father, seeks permission of Select Vestry to say Mass in

Workhouse 78

Day 45

Denbigh, Earl of 201

Dennett, Father 38

Denvir, John 130, 167, 201, 213, 218, 240, 243

" Disaffection " of Liverpool Catholics 6

Disease. See Statistics.

Doherty, Charles, Select Vestryman ... ... ... ... ... 214

Doon, Father Moses 203

Donnelly, Michael, Father 162

Dorrian, Bishop 162, 209

Doughan, J. A., J.P. ... ... ... 239,240,242,247

Dowling, Head Constable, dismissed Police Force ... ... ... 110

Doyle, f ather, fight for Catholic children in Workhouse schools.
See Select Vestry and James Whitty.

Dubberley, Father William, S.J 246

Duckworth 45

Dugdale ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45

Duggan, Father, marches with St. Joseph's children ... 122, 139
Duncan, Dr. W. H., Medical Officer of Health, Reports 84, 85, 88, 90

Dutertre, Father, O.M.I 139

Dwaryhouse 10

Earl of Sefton and St. Anthony's schools 69

Father Mathew 115

presents site Gillmoss school ... ... ... ... 60

Ecclesiastical Titles Bill 97

Eccleston 8

Edmund Street chapel. See St. Mary's.

Education —

Gerard Street school 32

Brougham's Education Bill ... ... ... ... ... 33

St. Peter's schools 32, 73

St. Nicholas' schools 33

Hibernian Schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 33

St. Francis Xavier's College 62

St. Austin's school 73

Graham's Education Bill 74

Ray Street schools 75

Faithful Companions 76

Father Nugent on value of 90

Nasmyth Stokes memorial 93

257

Education —

conference at Catholic Club ... ... ... ... ... 93

Haigh Street schools 100, 101, 102

St. Nicholas' new schools ... ... ... ... ... 102

Si. Hilda's 102

St. Helen's 102

Inspectors' reports 102, 103, 104, 135, 136, 137

Pupil Teachers 106

Privy Council grants ... ... ... ... ... ... 106

SS. Thomas and W illiam's 107

Holy Cros« 109

St. Anne s 110

Catholic Institute Ill, 112

schools procession ... ... ... ... ... ... 122

Jordan Street schools ... ... ... ... ... 128

Norfolk Street schools 129

Training College 136, 137

Wiseman on ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 138

Forster's Education Bill 187

new schools 189, 191, 192

Elections, Municipal ... 48, 53, 59, 68, 113, 119, 134, 156, 159, 160

163, 193, 199, 200, 214, 215, 216, 217, 240

Parliamentary, Defeat of Roscoe ... ... ... ... 36

Catholics defeat Orange candidate, 1847 92
Catholics defeat Chas. Turner, 1857 ... 134

South Lancashire, 1861 147

Birkenhead Election 147

elections of 1874 213

election of 1885 244

School Board 200, 219, 140

Select Vestry, first election j 77, 78, 79

Syred-Ilanagan fight 120

James Fairhurst elected 119

Liberals triumph ... ... ... ... 131

Flanagan defeated 120

Prendiville defeated 214

John Bligh defeated 219

Ball v. Martin 183

Toxteth Guardians 229

Eltonhead 21

Emmett, Father, S.J., invites Benedictines to St. Mary's 18, 19, 20, 22

Errington, Archbishop 162, 191

Evening schools at St. Patrick's ... ... ... ... ... 70

Every, W. 46

Exchange Division election, 1885 ... ... ... ... ... 243

Ward election 199

Faber, Father, and religious orders Ill

Fairclough, Father, O.S.B 41

Fairhurst, James, elected Select Vestryman 119

elected for St. Anne's Ward 160

defeated in St. Anne's 163

elected for Scotland Ward 163

retires from Council ... ... ... ... 217

Faithful Companions, Great George Square : Evening schools at

St. Patrick's 76

Falkner Street orphanage, foundation of in Mount Pleasant ... 40

removed to Falkner Street 73

Q

258

Famine, 1847. See Statistics.

Fanning, Father, first chaplain Toxteth Workhouse 229

Farnworth ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 26

Fazackerley, priest ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2

Fendler 46

Fenton, Rev. Mr., moves to expel Sisters of Mercy 132

Fever. See Statistics.

Finney, James 61

Fisher, Father, O.S.B 41, 60, 68, 70

Monsignor, president St. Edward's 72, 139

opens Beacon Lane Orphanage 151

and Fenian troubles ... ... ... ... 180

opens All Souls' 202

opens Walton school chapel 203

opens Claremont Grove chapel ... ... ... 203

Moreton will case ... ... ... 205, 206

opens Goss schools ... ... ... ... 220

Street " Martyrdom " 53

Fitzherbert 8

Fitzpatrick, Michael, president Y.M.S. 125

member of School Board ... ... 239

Flanagan ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 120

Fleetwood, Father, chaplain Brownlow Hill ... ... ... 141

Fleming, Bishop ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 65

Fontenoy Street schools. See Holy Cross.

Ford Cemetery, purchase of by Canon Newsham 142

opening by Bishop ... ..; 143

Free and Independent Brothers ... ...... ... ... 38

French prisoners in Tower, Water Street ... ... ... ... 30

Frodsham, Sir Richard, priest 4

Gandy 16

Gaol Statistics 89,90,94

Garston ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6

Garton, P. de Lacy, elected for Scotland Ward 217

Gaunt, John of, founds chantry at St. Nicholas' 3

Gelybrand, Charles and Ellen, grant lands in Garston to St. Nicholas' 3

Gerard 42

Sir Robert 17, 18, 20, 21

Sir Robert 147, 187, 188

Mrs., lays first stone Rainhill chapel 55

Gerardot, Father Antoine 31, 41, 45

founder of St. Anthony's " French
Chapel "

Gerard Street school 32

Gibson, Father Henry, and employment for children 156

chaplain Kirkdale Gaol ... ... ... 165

Kirkdale schools ... ... ... ... 165

founds first working boys' home ... ... 165

on religious teaching in Kirkdale schools... 173

Gibson, Bishop Mathew 15, 22, 32

Father, T. E. 7, 14

on Catholic population of Liverpool ... 234

Michael, presents spire St. Oswald's 71

Gilbert, Father, O.S.B. , death from fever 87

Gillibrand, Father, S. J. 8

Gillmoss 19, 24

schools ... 60

259

Gillow, Father Richard, St. Nicholas', death from fever 87

R 46

Thomas, provides school of SS. Thomas and William ... 107

98

Misses Mary and Isabella, lady visitors to Workhouse 134, 140

Glover, Father, O.S.B 43

dies from fever ... ... ... ... 63

S.J 33

Goethals, Dean 192

Good Shepherd nuns of. See Nuns.

Gore 34

Goss, Bishop, vice-president, St. Edward's 72

appointed coadjutor ... ... ... ... ... Ill

speech at Catholic Club Ill

at opening of Catholic Institute ... ... ... 112

speaks at Town's meeting for child rescue 116

inauguration of St. Vincent's ... ... ... 123

lays foundation stone of St. Vincent's ... ... 126

pays tribute to the Irish 126

opens St. Vincent's ... ... ... ... ... 127

and weekly collectors ... ... ... ... ... 127

opens Gordon Street schools ... ... ... ... 128

opens chapel, Our Lady Immaculate... ... ... 129

attacks Select Vestry ... 130

negotiations with (Select Vestry) re Catholic chaplain 134

asks electors to vote against Mr. Charles Turner ... 135

on Sunday recreation ... ... ... ... ... 135

opens Mount Vernon chapel ... ... ... ... 135

laid first stone St. James', Bootle 135

presides at inaugural meeting to found Holy Cross 139

laid foundation stone Holy Cross ... ... ... 139

Orange riots, Old Swan * ... ../ 139

opens Holy Cross ... ... ... ... ... 139

foundation stone, Our Lady's, Eldon Street ... 140

Easter Communion at Workhouse ... ... ... 141

blesses Stations of the Cross, Ford Cemetery ... 142

consecrates Church Holy Sepulchre 142

visits Pope Pius Ninth with addresses and Peter's

Pence 143

Protestants in Spain ; challenges Sir Robert Peel ... 146

charged with interference elections of 1861 ... 147
Catholic foster parents for Poor Law children;

gives statistics of leakage 150

gives statistics of school attendance 151

invites Sisters of Good Shepherd ... ... ... 152

and training ship " Clarence " ... ... ... 156

on the daily press ... ... ... ... 157 158

replies to " Daily Post " 159

writes to Select Vestry about death of Father Wilson 161

lays foundation stone of St. Michael's ... ... 162

opens St. Michael's 162

opens school chapel, Mount Carmel ... ... ... 162

lays stone of St. Alban's schools 162

appoints Father Gibson chaplain, Kirkdale Gaol ... 165

attacks Reformatory schools ... ... ... ... 175

opposes compulsory education 176

Tory papers attack and " Daily Post " defends ... 176

criticises St. George's school 177

260

Goes, Bishop, and Toxteth Guardians ... ... ... ... 177

clergymen on public bodies ... ... ... 178

proposed Protestant Bishopric of Liverpool ... 178

controversy with the Rector of Liverpool ... ... 178

forbids Manchester Martyrs' procession ... ... 180

on Irish revolutionary parties 181

blesses bell at St. James' ... ... ... ... 181

opens Boys' Refuge, St. Anne Street ... ... 184

foundation stone, St. Vincent's new schools ... 185

criticises Irish habits 185

Forster's Education Bill 187

Pastoral letter on school accommodation ... ... 189

presides at Theatre Royal 191

urges Select Vestry to appoint chaplain ... ... 194

writes farewell letter to Father G. Porter, S.J. ... 197

creates parish of St. Bridget ... ... ... ... 197

on attitude of Press to religion 197

" Reproof of the Irish " 198

on teetotalism ... ... ... ... ... ... 198

attack on School Board 198

defends Holy Cross parishioners 200

supports Tory candidate for School Board ... ... 200

on Catholic progress 203, 204

death of 206

Manning's panegyric ... ... ... ... ... 205

Moreton will case ... ... ... ... ... 205

" Courier's " attack on ... ... ... ... 206

memorial window ... ... ... ... ... 220

memorial schools 220

Gradwell, Joseph 226

Grandidier, Father 139

Grant, Bishop Ill

Father, S.J 100

appears before West Derby Guardians ... 132

Grayston, Father, St. Patrick's, death from fever ... ... ... 87

Green, Mass celebrated secietly at Green's Hotel, Dale Street ... 12
Green's description of second chapel in Edmund Street ... 12,13

Greenhough, Father, O.S.B 110

Gregson, Father, O.S.B. 18, 19, 24

Griffiths, Bishop 65

Guy, Father, O.S.B 162, 177, 184

Haggar, Father, St. Patrick's, death from fever 87

Hales, Bishop

Halghton, Cecilia, bequeaths lands in Wavertree and West Derby 3

Hall 45

Father 227

Hardesty, Father, S.J 9

Harford, Austin, Councillor, J.P 226

Harper, S. B. See " Northern Press."

Harrington, Mayor warned against ., 6

suffer from Penal Laws ... ... ... ... ... 7

Harris, Raymond, Father, S.J., defends slave trade ... ... 14

Town Council thanks and votes

annual honorarium 15
differences at St. Mary's 16, 17

suspended by Vicar Apostolic ... 20

Harvey, C 203

261

Haskayne ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45

Havers, Father, S.J 13

Hayes, Father James, S.J., English assistant at Rome 226

Gilbert 236

Health of Town's Association ... ... ... ... ... ... 82

Henry, Duke of Lancaster, founds chantry at St. Mary's of the Quay 3

grants lands to St. Nicholas' ... ... 4

Hibernian Mechanical Society 38

Schools, Pleasant Street 32, 33, 45, 94

Society 38

Hogan, Father Thomas, All Souls' 203

Hoghton 42

Holgrave ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 45

Holland 7

Holme 61

H J 226

Holt, George, and Catholic schools ... ... ... ... ... 94

Holy Cross church 9

beginning of mission, Standish Street shippon... 94

S. H. Moreton provides a temporary chapel ... 94

Oblate Fathers take charge 107

Father Noble provides schools ... 107, 108

Hodson Street Ragged School 108

population of ... ... ... ... ... 108

Christian Doctrine and Temperance Societies in 109

Rev. Dr. Cahill's sermon, panic in chapel ... 109

police brutality ... ... ... ... ... 109

Head Constable dismissed ... ... ... 110

attendance at Mass ... ... ... ... 122

school children in procession ... ... ... 122

school attendance 190

and Papal Zouave 201

Hore 61, 91, 98

Howard, Lord, of Glossop ... 191

Howarth, Sir Ralph, priest 4

Hughes, James, Select Vestryman, religious teaching, Kirkdale

schools 117

Sunday Mass in Workhouse ... ... ... 119

Hume, Canon, Census of Vauxhall Ward 89

Ignatius, Father, C.P., attacked by Liverpool Orangemen ... 97

Ince Blundell new schools opened 76

Industrious Universal Society ... ... ... ... ... ... 38

Notre Dame. See Nuns of Notre Dame.

Institute of St. Elizabeth, Soho Street 124

Irish Catholics v. English Catholics : political differences in 1841... 67

1861... 147

Irish Catholic Club ; R. Sheil, president 115

Irish Immigration 27, 28, 30, 31, 35, 36, 37,

47,63,83,84,85, 117, 150

Militia arrive in Liverpool ... ... ... ... ... 30

Poverty 37, 38, 46, 47, 63, 82

Politics—

O'Connell and Liverpool Repealers 65, 66

'48 movement ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 92

Father O'Reilly denounces secret societies ... ... 92

Manchester Martyrs ... ... ... ... ... 179, 180

Home Rule movement 210

262

Politics —

Caine-Torr election 211

general election, 1874 211

oust Catholic Liberals from Council ... 215, 216, 217

Home Rulers and School Board elections ... ... 219, 240

opposition to John Yates ... ... ... ... ... 240

Parnell's candidature 243, 244

Italian Revolution, Liverpool Catholics and ... 92, 143, 144, 145,

146, 152, 154

James the Second and Liverpool Catholics ... ... 5

Jesuits, serving in Liverpool ... 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16

Father Kirby's MSS 9, 10

build St. Mary's, Lumber Street 9

rioters destroy ditto ... ... ... ... ... ... 11

celebrate Mass in Dale Street ... ... ... ... 12

erect new chapel, Edmund Street ... ... ... ... 12

rioters destroy second chapel 13

Moor Street chapel ... ... ... ... ... ... 13

Chorley Street chapel 13

suppression of the ... ... ... ... ... ... 14

hand St. Mary's to Benedictines 14, 17, 18, 19

quarrels at St. Mary's 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21

Father Emmett writes to Benedictine provincial ... 19

negotiations with St. Nicholas' committee ... ... 33, 34

St. Francis Xavier's Society ... ... ... ... ... 61

difficulties with Bishop Brown 62

O'Connell eulogises 72

Johnson, Father, S.J 61

Jolivet, Father, O.M.I 139

Jump ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61

Kaye, John 15, 21, 34, 42, 45

Allan 32, 45, 108

Kearney 44, 98

Kelly 44

Dean, Rev 203

P. C., C.C 226

Thomas, Father, St. Alban's 95

Crimean procession ... ... 122

D.D 87

Kennedy, Father, O.S.B 24

Kenrick, Archbishop 191

Father 122

Kirby, Edmund 223, 227

" Rose and Crown " ... ... ... ... ... ... 61

Father, S.J., agreement with parishioners of St. Mary's ...9, 10

Kirk, Dr. 151

Kirkdale Schools. See Select Vestry, James Whitty, and Father 8

Gibson.

Kirwan, Father 38

Knight, Sir Arnold, M.D., presides at founding of Catholic Club... 80
founds Health of Towns Association ... 82
and election tactics, 1847 ... 91, 98

Lace Street, Holy Cross parish ... ... ... ... 84, 85

Lancaster Assizes, action against Father MacDonald, O.S.B. ... 24

Lancaster 6

263

Langdale, Hon. Chas. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 149

Latham ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5

Lathom 42

Lavelle, Dr., Rev 140

Lawrence ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 15, 21

Lay Committees, abolition of 79

Leadbetter 7

Leahy, Bishop 127

Leemins, E 189

Leigh, H. F., founder of St. Nicholas' schools 34, 42, 45

John, negotiations with Jesuits ... ... ... ... 34

Leonard, Peter 46

Lenoir, Father Hilary, O.M.I 161, 184

Liberal Party and Catholic Emancipation ... ... ... ... 36

win Town Hall 48

grant Town Hall for Catholic Charity Ball 50

and Catholic education 50, 51, 59, 67, 68

Seel Street lease 52

Fisher Street " martyrdom " ... ... ... 53

appoint Catholic High Sheriffs ... ... ... 55

Liberal defeats 60, 68

and Irish unreformed corporations ... ... ... 60

Select Vestry bigotry 78, 79

Lightbound, Select Vestryman... ... ... ... ... ... 61

Liscard chapel. See St. Alban's, Liscard.

Liscard schools, Government Inspector's eulogy ... ... ... 136

Little Sisters of the Poor. See Nuns.

Livingston ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 107

Lomax, Neale John, aids foundation of St. Augustine's 95

waits on Select Vestry ... ... ... ... 149

difficulty in finding work for pauper children 156
controversy with Protestant chaplain, Kirk-
dale Gaol 173
defends nuns against Dr. Taylor ... ... 189

deputation to Poor Law Board ... ... 194

leads Holy Cross parishioners against J. J. Stitt 1 99
meets Papal Zouaves ... ... ... ... 201

contests School Board seat ... ... ... 214

Lumber Street chapel. See St. Mary's.

Lynch 44

Lythgoe, Father Randal, S.J., letter to Father Glover as to St.

Nicholas' 33, 75
Francis, S. J., one of first masters at St. Francis'

College 63

MacAdam, F. J., Select Vestryman 229

MacArdle, Chas., elected for Vauxhall Ward 218

MacCarthy, John 41

Justin, M.P., candidate for Exchange Division of

Liverpool 245
MacDonald, Father Archibald, O.S.B. 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26

See also St. Mary's and St. Peter's.

MacHale, Archbishop, preaches at St. Patrick's ... ... ... 54

at St. Nicholas' 98

McArdle, John, councillor, Scotland Ward 189, 195, 219

McCarron, Dr 91

McConvery, editor 110

McCormac, Father, first priest at St. Vincent's 73

264

McEvoy, Father 83

McKenna, J.P., member of School Board ... ... .'.'.' .*.*.' 226

McNeill, Hugh, campaign against Catholics ... 51, 52, 53, 58, 59,

78, 85, 114, 162

Mackworth, Sir Digby, defeated by Catholic voters 92

Madden, Denis 37

William, member of School Board ... 219,226

Haddocks, Canon ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 37

Magistrates, and Orange policemen " 76, 77

Magrath, Father ... ... ... ... ... ... '139

Maguire, James ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 28

John Francis, M.P 125, 188

Father Tom 53 54

T. P 226

Maher, Brother Joseph, St. Patrick's 81

" Mail " attacks James Muspratt ... ... ... ... ... 55

and Registration Society 59

slanders priesthood 64

and Catholic progress 76

Manning, Cardinal, preaches at Requiem Mass for Bishop Goss ... 204
consecrates Dr. O'Reilly ... ... ... 209

temperance address 213, 231

Mannock, Father, S.J 8

Mansell, Father, S.J 15

Mansfield, J. S., Stipendiary Magistrate, writes on child rescue to

Father Nugent 1 16

on Orange attack on Wiseman 139

Marriage statistics 56, 57, 161

Mixed 56, 57

Marsh ' 45

Marshall, T. W., School Reports 102

Dr., Rev 142

Mass, attendance at 34, 35, 121, 122, 205, 206

Martin, Thomas, Select Vestryman ... ... ... ... ... 165

Ball v. Martin election ... ... ... ... 181

and workhouse chaplain ... ... ... ... 193

Marybone ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 9, 37

Mason, Father, ex-Methodist ... ... ... ... ... ... 72

Mathew, Father Theobald, invited to Liverpool by St. Peter's

Abstinence Society 73

preaches at St. Anthony's and St.

Patrick's 74

guest of William Rathbone ... 74, 115
visits Hibernian Schools ... ... 94

presented with addresses of welcome... 115
Meetings —

St. Mary's bench-holders 16, 20

Catholic Emancipation ... ... ... ... ... 41

Defence Society, ... 42, 52

school accommodation 44, 70

Registration Society ... ... ... ... ... ... 58

Church rate 60

St. Francis Xavier's 61

Father Glover memorial ... ... ... ... ... 63

Institute of Great Britain ... ... ... ... ... 64

O'Connell at Amphitheatre 72

Graham's Education Bill ... ... ... ... ... 74

protest against O'ConnelTs arrest ... ... ... 75

265

Meetings-
Catholic Club 80

Health of Towns 82

against Education grants ... ... ... ... ... 91

general election, 1847 91,92

meeting in St. Mary's to found St. Augustine's ... ... 95

against Ecclesiastical Titles Bill 97

to promote local Catholic paper ... ... ... ... 110

to promote St. Vincent's ... ... ... ... — 123

to promote Holy Cross ... ... ... ... ... 139

to promote training ship ... ... ... ... ... 156

A. M. Sullivan 163, 201

Father Nugent's rescue work meetings ... ... 166, 174

Education Bill demonstrations, 187, 188, 191

Convent Inspection meeting ... ... ... ... 188

to build new schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 192

201
52
78
91
146
147
217

Young Men's Society demonstration
Mercury," Liverpool, and Catholic education

attacks Select Vestry

urges Catholics " to fight "
attacks Pius the Ninth
and clerical interference in elections
and " home rulers "

Merritt 34

Mixed marriages ... ... ... ... ... ... 56, 57

Molyneux 2, 7, 10, 24, 27

rectors of Walton ... ... ... ... ... ... 2

Monks Ferry ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4

Morgan, J., Rev 237

Moor Street chapel 13

Moore, Count, M.P 125, 240

Moreton, Samuel Holland, St. Francis Xavier's Society 61

provides temporary chapel, Standish

Street 94, 108
law suit over his will ... 205, 206, 207

Morris, Bishop 75, 81, 96

Morrow's Mass, ordered by Corporation ... ... ... ... 4

Mostyn, Sir E 42

Mount Pleasant. See Nuns of Notre Dame.

Mount Vernon. See Sisters of Mercy.

Mowbray ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2

Municipal Elections. See Elections, municipal.

Murdoch, Bishop... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 65

Murphy, Bishop, first rector of St. Patrick's 39, 81

Father B 31

Dr 95

Muspratt, James ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 55

Myres 45

Nationalists attack A M. Sullivan, M.P 163

and Bishop Goss and 1874 elections 211, 212

oppose Catholic Liberals ... 215, 216, 217, 240

interfere in School Board elections 221, 240

and Father Nugent 196, 215, 218

Netherton 24

Newman, Cardinal, lectures at Catholic Institute 112

Newsham, Canon Thomas, appointed to St. Anthony's 80

and North Shore Mill Co 80

266

Newsham, Canon Thomas, opens Standish Street Mission ... ... 94

founds St. Alban's 95

Privy Council compliments 102

founds St. Hilda and St. Helen's schools 102

Education Inspector eulogises ... ... 103

marches with St. Anthony's children ... 122

purchases burial grounds, Ford... ... 142

retires from St. Anthony'g ... ... 140

Nightingale, Father 87

Noble, Father, O.M.I., provides new schools in Fontenoy Street... 107

attacks Hodson Street proselytisers ... 108

organizes Temperance Society ... ... 109

novel method of teaching the uninstructed 109

chairman, Falkner Street Orphanage ... 110

helps to found a Catholic newspaper ... 110
marches at head of his parishioners to

Sessions House 114
Crimean procession, marches with Holy

Cross children 122

begins new church of Holy Cross ... ... 139

Norfolk, Duke of 191

Street chapel. See St. Vincent's.

Norris 7

North Corporation schools 50, 57, 60, 67, 69

"Northern Press," edited by Mr. S. B. Harper, con- 144, 146, 152,

troversies with " Daily Post " 153, 154, 155

Nugent, John, Rev., founds new mission in Rice Lane ... ... 203

completes church of Blessed Sacrament ... 220
Nugent, Father James (Monsignor) —

preaches on behalf Irish Famine Fund 86

on value of education ... ... ... ... ... 90

preaches at opening of Standish Street chapel ... ... 94

suggests coming of Nuns of Notre Dame 95, 104

speaks at laying foundation stone, Fontenoj Street schools 108

opening of schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 109

speaks at Holy Cross Temperance Society ... ... 109

founds Catholic Middle School, Rodney Street Ill

organizes course of lectures Ill, 112

founds Catholic Institute, Hope Street Ill, i:

commences rescue work ... ... ... ... ... 116

suggests invitation to Redemptorists ... ... ... 123

and Young Men's Societies 125

a chaplain at Brownlow Hill ... ... ... ... 134

selects lady visitors for workhouse ... ... ... 134, 141

visits " Akbar " 138

success at Brownlow Hill ... ... ... ... ... 141

and Catholic population in 1861 ... ... ... ... 150

states number of street arabs in Liverpool ... ... 151

and Good Shepherd Nuns 152

appointed Gaol Chaplain ... ... ... ... ... 157

child rescue work ... ... ... ... ... ... 166

opens refuge in Spitalfields ... ... ... ... ... 166

opens refuge in Soho Street 166

founds " Association of Providence " ... ... ... 166

and Irish faults 167

secretary, ' ' Clarence ' ' committee

first annual report to justices ... ... ... ... 168

statistics of Catholic prisoners 169, 170, 172

267

Nugent, Father James (Monsignor) —

on value of education ... ... ... ... ... 168

on casual labour ... ... ... ... ... ... 169

occupations of prisoners 169

prison statistics of nationality ... ... ... 171, 172

on domestic training ... ... ... ... ... ... 171

condemns street trading ... ... ... ... ... 174

secures support from Mayor and leading citizens... 174, 175

and St. George's school 175

publicly advocates compulsory education ... ... ... 177

establishes Boys' Refuge, St. Anne Street 183

attacked by "'Daily Post" and "Albion" 183

purchases " Northern Press " ... ... ... ... 183

organises opposition to Forster's Education Bill, 1870... 187, 188

and Father George Porter, S.J 189

Catholic population in 1870 ... ... ... ... ... 191

stirs up middle classes 192

advocates boarding out workhouse children ... ... 194

first visit of enquiry to America ; takes out party of

children 195

presented with his portrait ... ... ... ... ... 195

Nationalist criticism of ... ... ... ... ... 196

invited to discuss emigration by Select Vestry ... ... 196

Save the Boy meetings in various towns ... ... ... 196

and the " Silence of Lancashire " 201

temperance crusade ... ... ... ... ... 202, 231

on Canon O'Reilly's appointment as Bishop 208

advocates Catholic candidate for Liverpool ... ... 213

and Mr. W. S. Caine 213

supports Laurence Connolly's candidature for Scotland

Ward 215

supports Charles Mac Ardle for Vauxhall 216

criticism of Home Rule Association 218

opens the League Hall 232

Catholic population statistics 236

suggests rebuilding of St. Mary's in Sefton Park district 247

Nuns —

Faithful Companions, open boarding school, Great

George Square 76

at St. Patrick's, open evening school 76

Good Shepherd—

Netherfield Road, attacks by Orangemen 152

Mason Street 152

Ford 152

Miss Rosson's generosity ... ... ... 152

Father Nugent and ... ... ... 152

Institute of Notre Dame —

nuns arrive in Liverpool ... ... ... ... ... 104

take charge of St. Nicholas Schools 104

Government reports on ... ... ... ... 103, 105

begin High School 105

take charge of Falkner Street orphanage ... ... ... 105

first pupil teachers' centre 106

Government report on value of Notre Dame methods 136

Training College commenced 136

Queen's Scholarship successes ... ... ... 137, 221

Sir James Kay Shuttle worth visits Mount Pleasant ... 137

Inspector's report on Practising School 137

268

Institute of Notre Dame —

Robert Lowe's oppressive policy ... ... ... ... 222

Sister Mary Theresa 222

new High School buildings 223

Sister Mary of St. Philip 223

Institute of St. Elizabeth, Soho Street 124

Little Sisters of the Poor, Hope Street, Belmont Road ... 223

Sisters of Charity, open School for Blind 73

open Beacon Lane orphanage ... ... ... ... 152

May Place 223

Sisters of Mercy, Rev. Dr. Youens brings them to

Liverpool 72

Mount Vernon Convent completed ... ... ... ... 72

take charge of St. Francis Xavier's schools ... ... 100

at Falkner Street orphanage 105

West Derby Guardians and 132

Oblates of Mary Immaculate. See Holy Cross.

O'Brien, Dean, founds Young Men's Society, first branch at

St. Mary's 124

lectures at Philharmonic Hall 146

O'Brien, Father, S.J 13

O'Callaghan, Father, O.S.B., Crimean procession 122

funeral procession 142

O'Carroll, Father, S.J 100, 101

O'Connell, Bishop 81

O'Connell, Daniel, addresses Liverpool meeting 54

guest of Wm. Rathbone ... ... ... ... 54

and Liverpool Repealers ... ... ... ... 66

speech in aid of building fund of St. Francis

Xavier's 72

guest of E. Chaloner 72

visits St. Edward's and Mount Vernon Convent 72

lying in state on "Duchess of Kent," Liverpool 88

O'Connor, 28

Don, M.P. 88

T. P., M-P 245 246

O'Donnell 46, 66

Father, first paid workhouse chaplain ... ... ... 221

O'Donovan, Canon P., appointed Rector of St. Bridget's 197

O'Hare, J. A 226

P. E., Councillor for Scotland Ward 226

O'Leary, Dr 151

O'Neill 61

O'Shea, Captain, M.P 245, 246

O'Toole, Canon 35

Old Swan. See St. Oswald's.

Orange attacks on Catholics ... ... ... ... ... 36, 43, 45

attack on St. Patrick's 67

policemen 76, 77

attempt to pull down St. Patrick's statue 92

attack on Father Ignatius ... ... ... ... ... 97

attack on Wiseman 138

attack on Good Shepherd nuns 152

O'Reilly, Bishop, stricken with fever at St. Patrick's 87

denounces secret societies ... ... ... ... 92

repels Orange attacks on St. Patrick's ... ... 92

appointed rector of St. Vincent's 122

269

O'Reilly, Bishop, begins new church 1 23

leads St. Vincent's children in procession ... 122

lays foundation stone, St. Vincent's 126

opening of St. Vincent's 127

affection for his collectors ... ... ... 127

intimate knowledge of his parishioners ... 127, 128

Jordan Street schools ... ... ... ... 128

Norfolk Street schools 129

rebukes Nationalists ... ... ... ... 163

Fenian troubles ... ... ... ... ... 180

Forster's Education Bill ... 187

and Father Nugent's emigration schemes ... 195

Father Nugent and 208, 209

consecrated Bishop ... ... ... ... 209

political views ... ... ... ... ... 210

School Board election 219

founds Goss Memorial Schools 220

opens St. Joseph's new church ... ... ... 220

Mount Carmel new church ... ... ... 220

Blessed Sacrament, Walton 220

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour 221

beginning of St. Alphonsus' ... ... ... 221

introduces Little Sisters of the Poor 223

and Industrial Schools ... ... ... ... 225

proposes to take charge of pauper children 228, 248

attacks Toxteth Liberals ... 229

institutes religious examination ... ... ... 230

on temperance ... ... ... ... ... 231

founds Upholland Seminary ... ... ... 236

opens school chapel, Hale Road ... ... ... 237

gives Walton's Catholic population 237

St. Francis', Garston ... ... ... ... 238

opens St. Mary's, Highfield Street 238

new church of St. James, Bootle... ... ... 239

Our Lady's, Wavertree 239

Sacred Heart 239

St. John's new church ... ... ... ... 239

St. Sylvester's new church 239

presentation to John Yates ... ... ... 241

pastoral letter, general election of 1885 ... 242

founds All Saints', St. Clare, St. Charles ... 247

protection of Catholic children ... ... ... 247

visits trading boys' home ... ... ... 248

death of 249

Sir Edward Russell's appreciation of ... 249, 250

Bishop Hedley's panegyric ... ... ... 250

Orrell, Charles 42

Our Lady of Good Help, Wavertree, temporary chapel opened by

Bishop Goss 239
Bishop O'Reilly lays

foundation stone 239

Our Lady Immaculate, St. Domingo Road, opened by Bishop Goss 129

school funds 192

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, school chapel 162

school attendance ... ... ... 190

new church opened ... ... ... 220

Our Lady of Reconciliation, Eldon Street, mission founded ... 123

270

Our Lady of Reconciliation, Eldon Street, foundation stone and

opening new church 140

Our Lady and St. Nicholas' 1,2,3,4,8

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour ... ... ... ... ... 221

" Papal aggression " 97

Papal Zouaves 201

Parker, Father 60

and Jesuits 62

Repealers 66

Blundell Street chapel 73

death from fever ... ... ... ... ... 86

Parnell, Charles Stewart, M. P. 245

Parsons, Dr 160

Pastoral letters, Bishop Gibson and St. Mary's 22

Bishop Brown 79

Bishop Goss 157, 159, 175, 177, 180, 189

Bishop O'Reilly 242, 248

Penal laws 6,7

Pennington, Father, O.S.B 29

Penswick, Thomas, Bishop, first rector of St. Nicholas 34

attends procession to St. Patrick's ... 38

founder of St. Patrick's 39

sings High Mass at opening 40

supports Catholic Emancipation Bill ... 41

project for new schools at St. Nicholas' 44
sings High Mass at opening of St.

Anthony's 47

appointed coadjutor 55

Vicar Apostolic ... ... ... ... 55

death of ... ... ... ... ... 55

buried at Windleshaw Abbey 55

memorial in Pro-Cathedral ... ... 55

Peter's Pence 143

Petition for removal of Jesuit disabilities ... ... ... ... 44

of clergy to Town Council ... ... ... ... ... 68

against Graham's Education Bill 74

for O'Connell's release 77

Petre, Honourable Mrs. (Sister Mary Francis) 105

Pinnington, Father, S.J. 11

Canon 247

Pippard 11

Folding, Archbishop, O.S.B. , preaches at Woolton ... 54

departs for Australia ... ... ... 54

at St. Anne's 81

Polding 61

Poor Schools Committee ... 91,93

Pope, Father, O.S.B 29

Porter, George, Father, S.J 189, 193, 196, 197

Powell, Father Austin, on Catholic population 234

E 113, 162, 196

Daniel 113

Power, Father Pierse 139

at St. Anthony's 140

attacks Select Vestry 140

St. John's 221

Prendiville, John, and Exchange Ward election 199

and Papal Zouaves ... ... ... ... 201

271

PrendiviUe, John, election of 1874 212

fights for seat on Select Vestry 214

Prenton 6

Prest 42

Price, Father, S.J 13, 14, 33

Prison Ministers Bill 157

Processions —

Queen Caroline 36

St. Patrick's Church 38

Day 77

St. Anthony's Church... ... ... ... ... ... 45

St. George's Hall opening ... ... ... ... ... 56

Crimean War Procession ... ... ... ... ... 122

to Ford Cemetery 144

funeral procession of Father O'Callaghan, O.S.B. ... 142

Manchester Martyrs ... ... ... ... ... 179

Pyke, Joseph 46

Quinn, Hugh, Toxteth School Board 240

Rainhill chapel founded... ... ... ... ... ... ... 55

opened ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 65

Rankin, Martin 214

Rathbone, William —

Hibernian Schools 33

Catholic Emancipation ... ... ... ... ... 41

Corporation schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 51

entertains O'Connell ... ... ... ... ... ... 64

defeated in Pitt Street Ward 59

defeated in North Toxteth 59

defeated in Great George Ward 68

entertains Father Mathew 74

High Mass at St. Patrick's ... ... 74

and Orange Policemen ... ... ... ... ... 76

denounces Irish landlords ... ... ... 89

and Catholic electors • 98

faces Orangemen in Sessions House ... ... ... 114

gift to Boys' Refuge 183

eaves Catholic interests 184

Rathbone, William, M.P. for Liverpool and Carnarvon —

contribution to All Souls' 202

Liverpool elections 211, 212,r213

and paid chaplain for Liverpool Workhouse ... ... 227

Ray Street schools. See St. Mary's.

Recorder compliments priests ... ... ... ... ... ... 113

Redemptorists ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 123

Reformatory movement ... ... ... ... ... ... 116

Religious census 121, 122

" Religious Riots " ... ... ... ... ... ... 36, 154

14 Religious Tests " 36

Repealers and Father Parker ... ... ... ... ... ... 66

Religious census, 1855 121

Reports —

Gaol 89,90,94

Health 84, 86, 88, 90, 164

Religious examinations ... ... ... ... ... 117

Schools 101, 102, 107, 135, 136, 137, 156, 184

272

Reynolds 42

Frank 187, 247

James ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 247

J. P., Colonel 165

Rice 6

Rigby, Father, S.J 13

Riots, Birkenhead 154

Liverpool ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 36

Robinson, Father, O.S.B 41

Rockliff 42, 45, 61

Rodney Street school. See Catholic Institute.

Roscoe ... 14, 36

Roskell, J. 45

elected for Lime Street Ward 48

loses his seat ... ... ... ... ... ... 49

Bishop 49

preaches at Holy Cross ... ... ... ... 140

Misses Annie and Eliza, lady visitors to Brownlow Hill ... 134

Rev. Dr., death from fever 161

Rosson, Andrew 16, 21

John ... 11

and municipal reform ... ... ... ... ... 47

estimates Catholic population in 1832 48

and Catholic Institute of Great Britain
founds Catholic Registration Society
his scheme assisting Catholics to pay rates
estimates Catholic popul ition in 1839

57
58
58
58
58

estimates number of Catholic voters 1839 ...

Conservative hostility to ... ... ... ... 59

speech for reform of Irish corporations ... ... 60

organises meeting to promote St. Francis Xavier's 61
speech at St. Peter's, on ravages of disease in ranks

of the clergy 63

helps Rev. Dr. Youens to found Blind Asylum ... 65

satirises Irish " converted " priests 67

delivers address at St. Mary's foundation stone laying 75

and arrest of Mr. M. J. Whitty 100

aids foundation of Catholic newspaper ... ... 110

appointed by Spanish Government to visit Galway 100

Rosson, Miss 152

Rowe 42

Rowley, Sir Thomas, priest ... ... ... ... ... ... 14

Ruddin, Alderman James, J.P. 240

Rushton, Edward, stipendiary —

attends St. Patrick's 74

and Orange policemen ... ... ... ... ... 76

report on Irish famine immigrants ... ... ... ... 89

and child rescue ... ... ... ... ... 115, 116

Russell, Lord, of Killowen 183, 207, 240

Sacred Heart, Hall Lane 239

Santley, Charles, Sir 102

Scarisbrick, Archbishop, O.S.B 238

Scarisbricks 6, 7, 27, 34

Scarisbrick, Chas., High Sheriff 55

School Board 193

and Bible teaching ... ... ... ... ... 198

and Catholic industrial schools 198

273

School Board, Councillor Stitt and Douai Bible 199

Love Lane school fiasco ... ... ... ... 224

truants and day industrial schools ... ... ... 224

Scotland Ward, Election of Mr. R. Sheil 49

defeat of Mr. Sheil 53

defeat of Thomas Gladstone ... ... ... 59

Mr. Sheil re-elected 119

James Fairhurst elected ... ... ... ... 163

John McArdle elected 193

Laurence Connolly elected 215

Dr. A. M. Bligh elected 217

Patrick de Lacy Garton elected 217

Seed, Canon 162, 192

Seel Street Schools. See St. Peter's.

Sefton, Earls of 24, 69, 115

Segar, George 188

elected to School Board 219

Select Vestry, First election 77

and Father Parker's accusations ... ... ... 78

and Father Dawber 78

permission for Mass hi Workhouse ... ... ... 79

John Yates elected 79

and Irish famine of 1847 83, 84, 85, 86

statistics of Catholic inmates ... ... ... 117

unsatisfactory religious teaching in Kirkdale 117, 120

refuses room in workhouse for Sunday Mass ... 119

Syred-Flanagan contest ... ... ... ... 120

and Father Doyle 120, 121

proselytism in Kirkdale Schools, Bishop Goss'

charges 130

" chanting " of grace dispute ... ... ... 131

Scripture readers in workhouse ... ... ... 132

Mr. Cropper's enquiry ... ... ... ... ... 133

George Melly suggests lady visitors ... ... ... 134

Workhouse Committee and Miss Gillow ... ... 141

Bishop Goss and Easter observance ... ... 141

Father Nugent, chaplain 142

Churchwarden Jones and Poor Law Schools ... 149

employers refuse religious facilities to young people 149

payment of chaplain ... ... ... ... ... 150

attacked by Father Power 140

death of Father Wilson from fever ... ... ... 161

Bishop Goss suggests chaplain to ... ... ... 161

" Daily Post " assails 161

Father Gibson and Kirkdale children 165

Thomas Martin elected ... 165

"leakage" 166

Neale Lomax on "criminals" from workhouse ... 173

Poor Law Inspector's report on Kirkdale ... ... 173

Bishop Goss attacks chairman of 179

Ball-Martin contest 181

Catholic teacher appointed ... ... ... ... 185

Father Nugent criticises ... ... ... ... 194

teacher " reads " Mass at Kirkdale ... ... ... 194

Father Nugent compliments Mr. Hagger ... ... 194

John Clarke elected 195

Father Nugent interviews ... ... ... ... 196

Catholic chaplain at last 228

B

274

Sewall, Father, S.J 17, 19, 22

Sharpies, Bishop, appointed coadjutor ... ... ... ... 74

foundation St. Francis Xavier's ... ... ... 76

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... 80

and Irish famine funds 85

opens St. Augustine's ... ... ... ... 96

Sharpies 45, 61

Henry 160, 187, 232

Richard, elected for South Toxteth 49

secures Town Hall for Catholic Ball 50

Shepherd, Dr 151

Sheridan, Father, O.S.B., and Christian Brothers 106

Sheil, Richard, donation to St. Anthony's ... ... ... ... 46

elected for Scotland Ward, 1835 49

defeated in Scotland Ward 53

elected first Catholic alderman 53

speaks against unreformed Irish corporations ... 60
Conservatives eject him from aldermanic seat ... 68
Catholic Club founded 1844, elected first president 80
presides at formation of Health of Towns Asso
ciation 82

lays foundation stone Haigh Street schools ... 100
speaks at Town's meeting against Ecclesiastical

Titles Bill 97
speaks against selection of Liberal candidates,

elections of 1852 97

faces Protestant mob at Sessions House ... ... 114

presents address of welcome to Father Mathew ... 115

and Liberal candidate 98

re-elected for Scotland Ward, 1855 114

speaks in support of new Holy Cross church ... 139

appointed justice of the peace ... ... ... 146

loses aldermanic seat by Mayor's casting vote ... 156

re-elected alderman, 1865 ... ... ... ... 163

death of 201

sketch of 201

Sheil Park perpetuates his memory ... ... 202

Simpson, K 112

Sisters of Mercy. See under Nuns.
Sisters of Charity. See under Nuns.

Smith 34

Bishop, confirmations in 1813 ... ... ... ... ... 32

opens St. Nicholas' ... ... ... ... ... ... 34

death of — 55

Egerton, editor of ' ' Mercury " 42, 54

Digby, Selectvestryman... ... ... ... ... ... 227

Fred, Father 238

Philip, Vice-chairman, Select Vestry 217, 227

Thomas, Father 237

South Corporation School 50, 57, 60

Sparrow, W. J., LL.D., elected to School Board 239

Spence, debate at Irish Sunday School meeting, criticises Pro
testant Bishop of Dromore 43

Spencer, Rev. G 97

Stananought 226

" Standard " Liverpool, traduces the priesthood, Bishop Brown

demands apology 115
Standish Street chapel. See Holy Cross.

275

Stanley, Father, S.J 13

Thomas Massey, Sir 42

Starkey, Henry, first lay brother at St. Francis Xavier's ... ... 61

Statistics —

baptisms 28, 29, 35, 44, 48, 56, 93, 234, 235

church attendance 34, 35, 121, 122, 203, 204

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... ... 32, 80

crime 89, 90, 94, 167, 168, 169,

170, 171, 176, 182, 183

deaths 46, 82, 84, 85, 86,

87, 88, 89, 164, 194

disease 30, 46, 82, 84, 85,

86, 87, 88, 89, 164
famine collections ... ... ... ... ... 85, 86

gaol 89,90,94,116,167,168,169,

170, 171, 172, 173, 182

illiteracy 168, 172

immigration 27, 28, 30, 35, 36, 37, 47,

63, 83, 84, 85, 117, 150

"leakage" 150,230,236

marriages 56, 57, 162

population 27, 28, 35, 45, 48, 56, 57,

58, 83, 84, 117, 150, 151, 163,
191, 203, 204, 234, 237, 239,

poor relief 37, 47, 83, 84, 117, 141, 150

religious examinations ... ... ... ... 230, 231

schools 33, 44, 57, 63, 70, 76, 93, 101, 102, 107, 112,

117, 122, 135, 136, 137, 151, 184, 190, 191,
192, 222, 223, 225, 226, 230, 231, 236, 247

teachers 136, 137

voters 211, 213, 214, 215, 217,

218, 219, 235, 240, 244
Stokes, Nasmyth, secretary, Poor School Committee —

memorial to Privy Council ... ...... ... ... 93

report on Mount Pleasant ... ... 137

Stretton, Bishop ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6

St. Alban's, Liscard 45, 136

Athol Street, founded 95

attendance at Mass ... ... ... 122

schoolchildren 122

new schools 162, 192

school attendance 190

St. Alexander's, Bishop Goss blesses bell at ... ... ... 181

funds for schools 192,196

Goss memorial window ... ... ... ... 220

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour ... ... ... 220

extension of ... ... ... ... ... ... 238

St. Alphonsus' mission begun 221

St. Anne's, church commenced ... ... ... ... ... 71

opened , ... 80

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... ... 80

new schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 110

attendance at Mass ... ... ... ... ... 122

Bishop Goss blesses bells... ... ... ... ... 135

school attendance 190

St. Anthony's, French chapel, Dryden Street ... ... ... 31

Father Gerardot at 31

description of 31

276

St. Anthony's music at ... ... ... ... ... ... 32

Father Murphy preaches at ... ... ... ... 34

Society of St. Anthony 45, 46

Father Wilcock lays first stone of new church ... 45

Bishop Penswick opens ... ... ... ... 47

record offertory at ... ... ... ... ... 47

baptisms at 48

Registration Society ... ... ... ... ... 58

Earl of Sef ton's donation to... ... ... ... 69

Christian Brothers 70

Father Mathew visits 74

refuse Irish procession ... ... ... ... 77

retirement of Father Wilcock 80

appointment of Father Thomas Newsham ... 80

report on schools ... ... ... ... ... 102

attendance at Mass ... ... ... ... ... 121

school children's procession ... ... ... ... 122

school attendance 190

St. Augustine's, Great Howard Street —

meeting in St. Mary's to promote memorial church to

Benedictine Martyrs of Charity 95

purchase of warehouse in Chad wick Street 95

subscriptions ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 96

opening of ... ... ... ,.. ... ... ... 96

attendance at Mass ... ... ... ... ... ... 122

procession of children 122

St. Austin's, Grassendale, Bishop Briggs opens 55

presentation of Site by Mr. Peter Chaloner 56

conditions laid down by Vicar Apostolic 56

altar brought from Lisbon ... ... 56

opening of schools 73

gift of Charles Chaloner 128

St. Bridget's, mission commenced ... ... ... ... ... 197

schools opened 221

St. Charles' 247

St. Clare, Sefton Park 247

St. Edward's College, founded 72

visit of O'Connell 72

Confirmations 80, 129

St. Francis of Assisi, Garston, mission founded ... ... ... 238

of Sales, Walton, temporary chapel, school chapel ... 237

St. Francis Xavier's, Negotiations with trustees of St. Nicholas'... 33

formation of St. Francis Xavier's Society ... 61

meetings of the Society ... ... ... 61

weekly collectors ... ... ... ... 61

Father Joseph Johnson, S.J 61

names of committeemen ... ... ... 61

public meeting in St. Peter's schools ... 61

first lay brother ... ... ... ... 61

purchase of site 62

opposition to ... ... ... ... ... 62

Father Parker and 62

beginning of college ... ... ... ... 62

Daniel O'Connell speaks in support of ... 72

Benedictines support ... ... ... ... 72

blessing of excavations ... ... ... 75

foundation stone 76

opening of ... ... ... ... ... 95

277

St, Francis Xavier's, Vicar Apostolic of Madeira blesses new altar

and chancel 100

chancel screen and stone pulpit 100

first stone of Haigh Street schools 100

opening of schools ... ... ... ... 100

Sisters of Mercy take charge 100

letters of Father Grant, S.J 101

Mr. John Browne presents pedestals for gas

lights 101

Father Simmer, S.J 113

Orangemen attack ... ... ... ... 113

attendances at Mass ... ... ... ... 122

procession of school children ... ... ... 122

Father Grant, S.J., defends Sisters of Mercy 132
Government inspector praises Haigh Street

schoolmaster 135

pupil teachers from ... ... ... ... 137

Ragged School founded ... ... ... 151

dispensing for sick poor ... ... ... 151

Father Gotham, S.J., and fever wards ... 161
Father George Porter, S.J., speaks against

Education Bill 188

school attendance at ... ... ... ... 190

Father Porter defends th.e nuns 189

Father Porter's estimate of Catholic voters... 193

" Catholic Times " and Jesuits ... ... 192

peal of bells hung, trouble with Islington

Presbyterians 196

Father Thomas Porter 197

new college of, opened... ... ... ... 226

brilliant success of students 225, 226

names of some distinguished students ... 226

Father Burke, O.P., opens infants' schools ... 247

St. George's Industrial Schools 185

St. Helen's school, Blackstock Street 102

school attendance ... ... 190

St. Hilda's school, Eldon Street 102, 103, 151

St. James', Bootle 238, 239

St. John's, Claremont Grove Chapel ... 203

new schools ... ... ... ... ... ••• • •• 221

new church opened... ... ... ... ... ... 239

St. Joseph's, Grosvenor Street —

Purchase of All Saints' Protestant church ... ... 76

Protestant protest ... ... ... ... ... ... 76

first collection for Irish famine fund 83

Father Whitaker dies from fever ... ... ... ... 87

attendance at Mass ... ... ... ... ... ... 121

school children's procession ... ... ... 122

fatal panic at 198

Goss Memorial schools ... ... ... ... ... 220

church collapses, new church opened by Bishop O'Reilly 220

St. Mary's, Foundation of 9

Father Kirby's agreement

Town Council and ... ... ... ... ... 11

pulled down by rioters ... ... ... ... ... 11

description of new chapel 12, Ij

destroyed second time ... ... ... ... ... 13

Father Price, S.J., leaves 14

278

St. Mary's, parishioners' quarrels 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

clerical disputes ... ... ... ... ... if}, 17

Jesuits invite Benedictines ... ... ... ig

Father Mac Donald takes charge ... ... ... 19

Bishop Gibson's pastoral 22

Assize trial ... ... ... ... ... 24

baptisms 28, 48, 93

clergy at 29

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... 32

schools ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 32

description of new chapel ... ... ... ... 37

Irish societies at 38

collection for Catholic orphanage 40

St. Mary's Society ... ... ... ... . 75

Father Fisher, O.S.B., and his Irish flock ... .'.". 60

Irish Christian Brothers at 70, 75

protest meeting against Town Council's school policy 70

clergy petition churchwarden Birkett ... ... ... 70

Father Wilkinson castigates the churchwarden of

St. Nicholas', Chapel Street 71

Ray Street schools opened 75

foundation stone of St. Mary's ... ... ... ... 75

St. Mary's Society ... ... ... ... ... 75

opening of St. Mary's 75

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... ... 80

death of Fathers Dale and Gilbert from fever ... 87

death of Father Fisher 96

overcrowded ... ... ... ... ... ... 94

meeting to promote memorial to Benedictine martyrs

of charity 95

Father Sheridan and Christian Brothers ... ... 107

attendance at Mass 121

school children's procession 122

renovation of Ray Street schools 135

funeral of Father O'Callaghan ... 142

school attendance ... ... ... ... ... 190

Edmund Street chapel demolished, new church,

Highfield Street, opened 238

St. Mary of the Quay, first chapel erected in Liverpool ... 1, 2, 3, 4
St. Michael, West Derby Road-
First chapel 162

foundation stone and opening ... ... ... ... 162

St. Nicholas', negotiations with Jesuits ... ... ... ... 33

charity schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 33

Town Council gift to 34

Mayor attends High Mass ... 34

opened by Vicar Apostolic ... ... ... ... 34

expenditure on schools ... ... ... ... 34

memorial to H. F. Leigh 34

Catholic Association at ... ... ... ... 41

Bishop Penswick ... ... ... ... 34, 41

Catholic Defence Society at ... ... ... ... 42

lay committee build new schools ... ... ... 44

Father Walker on school attendance 44

and St. Patrick's chapel 39

baptisms at ... ... ... ... ... ... 48

High Sheriff attends Mass in state 55

Catholic Institute Society at ... ... ... ... 57

279

St. Nicholas', Registration Society 58

Dr. Youens, rector ... ... ... ... ... 57

stained-glass windows unveiled ... ... ... 65

Christian Brothers ... ... ... ... ... 70

Bishop Brown's first ordinations at ... ... ... 74

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... ... 80

Father Gillow's death from fever ... ... ... 87

new schools ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 102

procession of school children 122,190

attendance at Mass 121

St. Oswald, Old Swan, opened 71

spire and bells 71

schools provided by E. Chaloner 128

school attendance ... ... ... ... 190

St. Patrick's, foundation of

Protestant opposition to ... ... ... ... 38

English Catholics and ... ... ... ... ... 38

foundation stone laid ... ... ... ... ... 38

great Irish procession ... ... ... ... ... 38

Society of 38

Connaught Rangers and ... ... ... ... 39

Irish parishioners and proposed English rector ... 39

Father Murphy first rector 39

church opened ... ... ... ... ... ... 40

John Brancker presents statue ... ... ... 40

Dr. Cahill visits 40

foundation of schools ... ... ... ... ... 45

baptisms at ... ... ... ... ... ... 48

public examination of school children ... ... 54

Archbishop MacHale preaches at ... ... ... 54

picture of Crucifixion hung 56

John Rosson founds Registration Society at 58

Father Parker and Irish Repealers 66

Orangemen attack 67, 76

Christian Brothers at 70

first evening schools 70

Bishop Ullathorne, O.S.B., preaches at 70

Father Parker and St. Vincent's 73

Father Mathew at 74

Faithful Companions at 76

close doors against Irish procession ... ... ... 77

Father Parker and Select Vestry 78

confirmations at ... ... ... ... ... ... 80

Bishop Murphy preaches at ... ... ... ... 81

Health of Towns Association at ... ... ... 82

Father Parker's death from fever 86

Fathers Grayston and Haggar's deaths from fever... 87

Orange attempt to pull down statue ... ... ... 92

attendance at Mass 121

procession of school children ... ... ... ... 122

new schools ... ... ... ... 203

St. Patrick's Cross 9

Hill 9

St. Peter's, Father MacDonald, O.S.B., founds 25

music at ... ... ... ... ... ... 25, 35

description of ... ... ... ... ... ... 26

Town Council and lease of ... ... ... ... 26

baptisms at ... ... ... ... ... 28, 48

280

St. Peter's, burials 29

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... ... 32

extension of 35

sale of pews ... ... ... ... ... ... 35

debate on renewal of lease in new Town Council ... 51

Defence Association meeting ... ... ... ... 52

Father Tom Maguire 54

meeting to inaugurate St. Mary's new church... ... 60

St. Francis Xavier's 61

death of Father Glover, O.S.B. 63

Memorial to Father Glover 64

school attendances ... ... ... ... ... 73

Total Abstinence Society invite Father Mathew ... 73

confirmations ... ... ... ... ... ... 80

Rev. Dr. Applet on's death from fever 86

attendance at Mass ... ... ... ... ... 121

school children's procession ... ... ... ... 122

school attendance 190

Gilbert Street school 203

St. Sylvester, Sylvester Street : Raymond Street school 203

new church opened ... ... 239

SS. Thomas and William's school, Edgar Street, founded 107

school attendance 190

St. Vincent's Church, Blundell Street chapel 73

public meeting ... ... ... ... 73

first priest at ... ... ... ... ... 73

Norfolk Street chapel 94

separate parish ... ... ... ... 122

first rector's death ... ... ... ... 123

Father O'Reilly appointed ... 123

promotion of new church to replace Norfolk

Street chapel 123

weekly collectors ... ... ... ... 123

Bishop Goss and weekly collectors ... 127

foundation stone 126

opening of new church ... ... ... 127

Jordan Street schools ... ... ... 128

school children's procession ... ... ... 122

attendance at Mass ... ... ... ... 122

Norfolk Street schools built 129

St. Vincent de Paul Society open 15, Everton Crescent ... ... 151

St. Werburgh, Birkenhead 98, 154

Sullivan, A. M., M.P 125,163,201,228

Sumner, Father, S.J 113

Synett 5

Taggart, Alderman J. G., J.P, 241

Talbot, Father, O.S.B 26

Tatlock, Father, S.J 9

Temperance movemont ... ... ... ... ... 73, 74, 109

Tempest, Father, S.J 9, 11

Thomas, Arthur Chilton 247, 248

Tichborne, Father, S.J. ... 13

Tobin, Father 192, 230

Town Council —

Erects St. Mary's of the Quay 2

builds chapel of St. Nicholas 4

provides burial ground 4

281

Town Council —

orders Morrow's Mass to be celebrated 4

refuse permission to rebuild St. Mary's, Edmund Street... 11

award honorarium to Father Harris, S.J. ... ... ... 15

grant lease to Seel Street chapel ... ... ... ... 26

present site of St. Nicholas' 34

grants Town Hall for Catholic Charity Ball 50

and elementary education ... ... ... ... ... 50

gives ' ' facilities for Catholics " 50

debate on renewal of Seel Street lease ... ... ... 52

statistics of Catholic children in Corporation schools ... 57

discuss theological matters ... ... ... ... ... 51

expel Catholic children from schools ... ... ... 68

clergy petition ... ... ... ... ... ... 68

Watch Committee and Orange policemen ... ... ... 77

Mr. Blackburn suggests provision of schools for Catholics 79

and sanitation ... ... ... ... ... ... 82

eject Irish from cellar dwellings ... ... ... ... 90

George Holt's appeal for Catholic education ... ... 94

denounces restoration of Hierarchy ... ... ... 97

dismisses Head Constable Dowling ... ... ... 110

opposes Father Nugent's gaol chaplaincy ... ... ... 157

invites Garibaldi 159

and Clarence Reformatory ship ... ... ... ... 175

Dr. McNeill's statue ... 193

grants to Reformatory schools ... ... ... ... 185

Townley 93

Toxteth Guardians, Bishop Goss criticises 177

Catholic Club and 228

elections 229

Father Fanning appointed chaplain ... ... 229

Tract and Book Society 58

Training Colleges 136, 137

Tuohy 16

Ullathorne, Bishop, O.S.B., preaches at St. Patrick's 70

Upholland 26

Seminary ... 236

Vanderspitte, Father 123, 139, 140

Van Hee, Father 161

Vaughan, of " Courtfield," and election of 1847 91

Vauxhall Ward, description of 88,89

defeat of Daniel Powell 113

election of C. J. Corbally 134

defeat of Mr. Corbally ... 146

John Yates elected 163

population of ... ... ... ... ... 163

death rate 164

Colonel Bidwill elected 193

Charles MacArdle elected 216

Dr. Cpmmins elected 217

Denvir v. Yates contest ... ... ... ... 240

John G. Taggart elected 241

P. Byrne elected 240

Verdon, Bishop 226

Verdon 61

Vicariates increased 65

282

Walker, Father 40, 44

Wall work, Canon, Crimean procession ... ... ... ... 122

Fenian troubles 180,185

Walmsley, Canon 97, 122

Father E 122

Walton Parish Church 1, 2, 4

Walton, Mr., and Holy Cross 139

Justice, member of School Board 219

Wappeler, Father, S.J. 13

Waring 42

Webster 5

West, Father, S.J 12

West Derby Guardians, motion to expel Sisters of Mercy 132

Father Grant, S.J., defends the nuns 132, 133

and Catholic chaplain 229

White, Father 41

Whitaker, Father, St. Joseph's, death from fever 87

Whitnall 34, 42

Whitty, James, and Christian Brothers at St. Mary's 107

braves mob in Sessions House ... ... ... 114

president, Irish Catholic Club 115

presents address to Father Mathew 115

joins Select Vestry ... ... ... ... ... 118

proposes Catholic lay teacher for Workhouse

children 118

accuses Vestry of proselytising 118

and Sunday Mass in Workhouse ... ... ... 119

secures religious teaching at Kirkdale ... ... 120

defends Father Doyle 121

calls attention to employers disregarding Catholic

children's faith 149

secures remarkable concessions ... ... ... 121

gives evidence before House of Commons Committee 150

payment of chaplains 150

Orangemen denounce... ... ... ... ... 150

and Rector Campbell 131

Scripture readers in Workhouse ... ... 132

advocates Catholic teachers in Kirkdale schools... 156
induces Vestry to permit second priest to visit

Workhouse 141

elected for Vauxhall Ward 159

opposes civic welcome to Garibaldi 160

suggests rota of priests for fever wards ... ... 161

retires from Select Vestry ... ... ... ... 165

speech on Catholic leakage at Kirkdale ... ... 165

Forster's Education Bill 187

elected member first School Board ... ... 193

visits Local Government Board to protest against

Select Vestry 194

election of 1874 212

death of 218

Whitty, Michael James, founder of " Daily Post " —

Committed to Lancaster gaol 99

attacks Temporal Power 144,145

controversy with " Northern Press " 145, 152, 153, 154, 155

attacks Rev. Dr. Taylor 157

criticises Bishop Goss' pastorals 158

and John Yates 155

283

Whitty, Michael James, founder of " Daily Post " —

attacks Dr. Parsons 160

attacks Dissenters ... ... ... ... ... ... 161

defends Irish character ... ... ... ... ... 169

defends Bishop GOBS' views on reformatories ... ... 176

and the child delinquent 176

and Manchester Martyrs' procession ... ... ... 180

severely criticises Father Nugent 183, 184

ridicules Bishop Goss' views on Press ... ... ... 197

Father Guy, O.S.B., replies to ... " 198

and " Reproof of the Irish " 198

Garibaldi visit 160

death of 233

Wilcock, Father, laid foundation stone of St. Anthony's ... ... 45

petition to Town Council 68

resigns St. Anthony's ... ... ... ... 80

Wilkinson, Father, O.S.B., letter to senior churchwarden 70

castigates churchwarden ... ... 71

foundation of St. Augustine's ... ... 95

Rowland 219

Williams, Father, S.J , 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

See also St. Mary's.

Wilson, Father Thomas, death from fever 6

Wiseman, Cardinal, opens Catholic Institute... ... ... ... 112

lectures at Philharmonic Hall 112

visits " Akbar " 138

lecture on education ... ... ... ... 138

asailed by Orangemen 138

James, burial at St. Oswald's ... ... ... ... 115

Woolton 19

Archbishop Folding, O.S.B., preaches at ... ... ... 54

A. M. Sullivan lectures for Woolton schools 163

Worthy, Canon, speaks at Town's meeting against Ecclesiastical

Titles Bill 97

founds Catholic middle school Ill

Wright 34, 42

Yates, John, and Catholic Institute of Great Britain ... ... 57

St. Francis Xavier's Society ... ... ... ... 61

president, St. Mary's Society ... ... ... ... 75

first Catholic member Select Vestry ... ... ... 79

speaks at Sessions House ... ... ... ... 114

demands apology from "Liverpool Standard" ... 115

waits on Select Vestry ;. ... 149

denounces Birkenhead Irishmen ... ... ... 155

defeated in Castle Street ward 155

elected for Castle Street 156

alleged by " Daily Post " to be against Temporal

Power 155

criticises Bishop Goss ... ... ... ... ... 176

and Forster's Education Bill 187

deputation to Mr. W. E. Forster 188

elected to first School Board 193

deputation to Poor Law Board ... ... ... 194

elected for Vauxhall 163

elected to School Board 193

supports Rathbone and Caine 212

284

Yates, John, ParnelPs message, " Vote for Denvir " 240

testimonial to 241

death of 241

Youens, Dr., Rev. 57,64

founds School for Blind ... ... ... ... 65

petition to Town Council 68

invites Sisters of Mercy 72

member Poor School Committee ... 93

Printed by C. Tinling & Co., Ltd., 53, Victoria Street, Liverpool.

BX 1496 .L5 B8 1910 SMC
Burke, Thomas.
Catho lie hi story of
Liverpool 47231582