ROMAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 203, 10 May 1848, Page 3

ROMAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY.

The following Circular hts been issued from the Colonial office, addressed to the Governors of Colonies. Downing-st., Nov. 20, 1847. Sir, — My attention has lately heen called by the Lord Lieutenant of Ii eland to the fact, that the prelates of the Roman Cathode Church in the Biitish Colonies, have not» hitherto; in their official correspondence with the Governor and authorities, been usually addressed by the title to which their rank in their own Church would appear to give them a just claim. Formerly theie were obvious reasons for this practice, but as Parliament has by a recent act (relating to charitable bequests in Ireland) formally recognized the rank of the lush Roman Catholic prelates, by giving them precedence immediately afler the prelates of the Jilstablibhfd Chuich of the htirae degree — the Roman C.itho» lie Archbishops and Bishops taking rank immediately afler the Protestant Archbishops and Bishops respectively—it has appeared to her Majesty's Government, that it is tin ir duty to conform to the rule thus laid down by the Legislature ; and I have accordingly to iDstiucr you, hereafter officially to address the pielates of the Roman C.itholic Church in your Government, by the the title of " Your Grace," or " Your Lord* bliip, 1 ' as the case may be. Parliament not having thought proper lo sanction the assumption by the prtlates of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, of t thos deiived from the sees which they hold, a Mrnilir rule will be followed in the Colonies — thus, for example, the Roman Catholic prelate in New South Wales will be addressed at the Most Reverend AnbKhop Polding, and in Van Diemen's Land as the Right Reverend Bishop Wilson. I have the honor to be, Sir, Youi obedient servant, (Signed) Gkey.

A COMMUNITY OV RoHBEItS AND MURDERERS IN FiiANcn. — The French papers contain some extraordinaiy and neaily incredible particulars r< lative to a process against a band of marauders, sixty of whom with then chief. Claude Thibert, arc at present in custody in the different prisons in Paiis, and whose trials are expected to occupy the whole of the ensuing session of the Court of Assize for the depaitment of the Seine The number of crimes imputed to the i criminals, and which comprise murdeis by poisoning and stabbing, burglary, arson, and in fact, every oflVnce known to the law is, 207 ; and there are al ogether 1,700 charges, the whole of the band computing, according to the statements of the police, more linn 800 individuals, all bound together in a sort of fraternity, and all engaged in diileicnt modes of plunder, and united in oi*: wicked object. One mode adopted by the criminals was to travel throughout the kingdom, having li^ht vehicles built express for the purpose, they attended the fairs with merchandise, taking care to have their papers all regularly ligned, or obtained forged ones, and in many cases were looked upon as honest dealers, as they appeared to purchase and make tales very regularly. While the men were thus employed, the female members of the gang, of whom there were considerable numbeis, were engaged in going about the town where the fair was held in the neighbourhood, disposing of stolen articles ot jewellery and other propeity, and at the same time ingiatiating themselves with the servants of the gentlemen* houses, and obtaining information with regard to the habits of the families, and where the greatest quantity of valuable plunder wns likely to be obtained ; and by means of which information the male members of the gang were enabled to act with great certainty. Each section of the malefactors was accompanied by a certain number of villians, who were provided with laudanum, and several other deadly poisons, to stupify, if necessary, even to destroy, those whom they pitched upon as their victims. Another equally dangerous portion of the gang are those known as the Romanitcl'els, or the Black Band, so called from the fict of their all being of gipsy extraction, and from their offences only being committed during the night. These are all men who have been sentenced to the galleys, and either escaped or broken their ban, as it is termed, that is, withdrawn themselves from the surveillance of the police, and many of them have undeijjone several convictions, and their position being thus rendered desperate, they

wouid anpear to be the devoted enemies ol all law; and u^.iuibt ilus poi tion of Hie bam) of malefactors the most grave charges) ait; presented. In thr case of one of the female members of the band being delivered of a child, the mode they adopted was to represent themselves as respectable rneich.ints or traders, and in that capacity they placed the child to nurse with some res* pectable person, paying all e\pences most liberally, and At their departure paying three; or four months' allowance in advance and promising to return at the expiration of that ponod to remove the infant, which, of course was never done. It seems, however, that although an\ious to iclieve themselv ( s from thcdi'irge of maintaining tlu infant at a peiiod of its life when, it could not further their designs of finud, cbe children so deposited were never los>t si^lit of, but, ab soon as tliey arrived at the ai;e of ten or twelve yeais, they cither managed to steal them away or else insisted upon then* paiental rights, and obtained possession ot the child by paying a portion of the amount of arrears due for its subsistence. Tin* principal of this band i* one Claude Tlubert, a man foity- five years old, who attained his position by his acknowledged superiority over his companions in audacity and crime. His mother died in prison at Grenoble, and his father on the scaffold, and from his earliest infancy he has followed one career of crime. This culprit generally travelled with two large carriages, which were mostly filled with stolen property, and he had three large depots in different towns, each of which was found to be full of: valuable stolen property. The trial of this band of malefactors is looked i&iward to with the utmost inters est, us it is expected that the utmost extraordinary revelations will be made m the course of the proceedings. — Britannia, Nov.

Sinister, Conduct of Holland in the Indian: Archipelago — From the further East news comes to us iv a ilow and uncettain manner, though the existiug means of coramuniratiou would seem to justify us in reckoning on far greater completeness and regularity. No alteration seems to have taken place in the aspect of affairs in Cl'ina ; but in the Indian Archipelago our dawning interests would appear to be greatly obscured by the sinister policy of Holland. Under pretext of, giving in its adhesion to the principle of free trade, the Netherlands Government recently declared Makaisar* or the Island of Celebes, a free port ; and at the tune we gave it full credit for what then appeared to be an act of liberality. But we buve since had good reaiort to suspect the motives and designs of the Dutch. In«« stead of establishing a legitimate rival to Singapore, and allowing things to find their own level, and the various tribes of Native traders to act in obedience to their own views of profit and loss, the Dutch are now said actively to obstruct the Bugi prahus on their way to the Engli&li aettlemeut, and to compel them to enter Makassar by force. Another report demands the attention of the people and Government of this country*. Until lately British merchants were permitted to enjoy the privileges secured to them by the treaty of 1824, and to enter all the ports of Celebes for the purposes o£ trade. Since the throwing open of Makassar, however, all regard to that treaty has been abandoned, our countrymen bemg now as rigidly excluded from the rest of the Celebes as frooa the Moluccas themselves. The prt ceedings in Borneo are only so far interesting as they tend to show the rapid growth of trade, which wilL cause Labuan, when it shall have been properly settled, to become, at wo have frepuemly remarked, a second. Singapore. It is this consummation that alarms the Dutch. They have, hitherto, worked in the dark throughout the Archipelago, and are now possessed by the most poigiiair alarms lest the light of truth should be let iD upon their more than equivocal achievements. Conscious that their policy will not bear examination* whether in Jiva, Borneo or the Moluccas, they are fired with extiaordinary rage at the prospect of detection, aad attribute to Great Britain, we know not what projects of cupidity and self-aggrandizement. But these crooked arts will no longer avuil them. The British. Government feels that it has already pushed its forbeaiance too fur, and that it is due to the commerce and industry of the countiy to pursue, henceforth, a different course. We must cneck the Hollanders in their manufacture of illicit treaties with the Native Pmicei, aud teach them to respect the British flag, which they have, hitherto, never done voluntarily, they must, moreover, be reminded that nations seldom gaitt much by puttiug forward extravagant claims and pretensions, since they must provoke their allies to make enquiries which may lead to the discovery of their clandestine peiformances. The Netherlands Government will easily understand to what we allude, without our being just now at the trouble to enter into particulars.—il/orwing Chronicle. Thb CuoLt ha.— According to official documents fiom St. Pcteraburgh of the 2nd, the cholera was sensibly on the decline in Russia. From the appearance ot the disease up to the 22nd November, the total number of persons attacked at Moscow was 2360, otwhom 10G7 died. In the districts of the government or Mosrow 141 individuals fell ill, of whom 50 died. At Kieff from the 19th to tho I6ch November, there were 197 caies, and 129 deaths. In the province of Kieff, up to the 13th November 93 perions died out of 139 attacked. With the cold season, and the extension of the malady towards the west, the disease has lost a great deal of its energy. It was in fact, declining everywhere, except in the governments of Pultowa and Tcher nigoff where it appeared to increase. The places newly invaded by the cholera are Mohile, on the Dnieper ; Kherson, on the Black Sea ; Vologda and Tver, on the road horn Moscow and St. Peteihbur^h, but in those places it u of a mild character. — Mor ninf) Lhromclo. Signs op tub Timiis. — The Protestant Elector states, that " one of the late conveits from Tractarian* ism to Popery — a clerical convert of hi^h standing at Oxford — is now engaged as an editor for the Times newspaper, to the tune of ,£l,(>l)0 a year ;" and adds. " you will shortly see the Times advocating prayers for the dead."— Patriot.