will be addressed as the Most Reverend Archbishop Polding, and in Van Diemen's Land, as the Right Reverend Bishop Willson.

Extract from a Return relative to the Titles and Rank of Roman Catholic Prelates in the Colonies, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 26th July, 1849.

COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM EARL GREY TO GOVERNOR SIR C. A. FITZ ROY*, NEW SOUTH WALES, AND ACTING GOVERNOR ROBE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

Sir,

Downing Street, 27 December, 1848.

1. My attention has been lately called, in several instances, to the position of Roman Catholic prelates in the Australian colonies, and the necessity which appears to exist of establishing some general rules, both as to the respectful attentions which they ought to receive from the local governments, and also the manner of conducting their correspondence with those governments.

2. In official correspondence and intercourse, it is advisable that the local government should recognise that rank which Roman Catholic prelates are by the members of their own church recognized as possessing in it; that is, the rank of archbishop or bishop, as the case may be, with the proper honorary prefixes attached to those titles. But they must not be allowed to assume for their church, in any public and official documents, the style of the "Catholic Church." That assumption is injurious to the feelings of other communities, and especially of the Church of England,

* A similar despatch was addressed to the Governors of Van Diemen's Land and Western Australia, 27 December, 1848.

as it confines the character of Catholicity to the Roman Church alone, and impliedly represents all others as schismatical. The style invariably used for the purpose above mentioned should be that of the Roman Catholic Church, which at once recognises the Catholicity of that community, and does not deny the same quality to others. In a deed, for instance, executed in order to carry out the provisions of a legislative enactment in favour of that church, and subject to the superintendence of the Government, this latter description should be adopted.

3. The bishops of that church must be styled, as directed by my circular of the 20th November last, by their

and not by the titles of their dioceses, which are assigned to them by their own church; or else, as "The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church at —," &c., which last would be the proper title in various instances; for example, in a deed of which the provisions apply to the bishop for the time being.

4. In conducting their official correspondence with the Government, either local or home, the prelates of the Roman Catholic Church must conform to the same rules by which all other persons in the colonies are governed. They must forward their letters to the Secretary of State through the Governor. In their correspondence with the Governor himself, the usage in their case must be the same with that which is followed by the prelates of the Church of England. If it is customary for the latter to address the Governor direct, the Roman Catholic prelates may do so likewise. If, on the contrary, the practice is for the bishop of the Church of England to address the Governor through the Colonial Secretary, the Roman Catholic should conform to the same rule. The Roman Catholic prelates should also (if the bishops of the Church of England do so) address the Governor in their own person, and not through the medium of the vicar-general or other subordinates; this being the ordinary usage in other colonies as regards Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops

alike, and one from which I see no reason for sanctioning a

departure.

I have, &c. (Signed)

GREY.

APPENDIX F.

Extract from the same Return.

COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR C. A. FITZROY TO EARL GREY.

My Lord,

Government House, Sydney, 17 February, 1849.

1. I deem it my duty to transmit to your lordship copies of a correspondence which has taken place between the officers of this government, named in the margin, and the head of the Roman Catholic Church in this colony, with respect to the designation of the prelates of that church.

2. The circumstances out of which this correspondence originated are briefly as follows, premising that the whole of these circumstances occurred subsequently to the promulgation in the colony of the instructions conveyed in your Lordship's circular despatch of the 20th November 1847*, touching the proper designation of the Roman Catholic prelates in the colonies.

3. It would seem that a letter, franked by Archbishop Polding, and bearing the superscription noted in the margin, was forwarded through the post-office to the Lord Bishop of Melbourne. The letter being evidently intended for the Right Reverend Dr. Goold, was not opened by the Bishop of Melbourne; but his lordship took occasion to advert to the practical inconvenience, not less than the illegality, of any other person assuming the title conferred on his Lordship by Her Majesty.

* Parl. Paper. No. 568. 1848.

4. His lordship's communication was brought under my notice by his honour the Superintendent of Port Phillip, whose remarks were entirely in accordance with the bishop's views.

5. As the matter had thus been brought pointedly and officially under my notice, I caused a letter to be forwarded to His Grace Archbishop Polding, pointing out, that not only must confusion and inconvenience necessarily arise if the prelates of the Church of Rome were addressed by the same style and title as those of the Church of England, but that such a practice was contrary to law, and to the instructions of Her Majesty's Government, of which his Grace had then recently been supplied with a copy.

6. In the archbishop's reply, after stating such particulars connected with the address of the letter alluded to, as tended to show that its misdirection occurred in its passage through the post, his Grace forwarded a copy of a legal opinion taken on the subject, to the general effect, that the designating the Right Reverend Dr. Goold in the manner complained of by the Bishop of Melbourne, was not contrary to law.

7. At this stage of the correspondence I felt it necessary to ask the opinion of the Crown Law Officers, and, in the reply, transmitted by the Attorney-general and the Solicitorgeneral, those functionaries stated their opinion, that the provisions of the 24th section of the Imperial Act 10 Geo. 4. c. 7. which was adopted by the local Act 10 Geo. 4. No. 9. are limited to England and Ireland solely; and that the Right Reverend Dr. Goold would not have rendered himself liable to the penalty specified in the Imperial Act, even though he had himself assumed the title of Bishop of Melbourne.

8. Under these altered circumstances of the case, I caused a letter to be addressed to Archbishop Polding, in which, in addition to a disclaimer (rendered necessary by the terms of his Grace's letter) of any desire on my part to act otherwise than with that strict impartiality which has always been evinced by the local government to the several religious denominations, or to give personal offence either to his Grace

or the Right Reverend Dr. Goold, it was explained to his Grace, that, whatever might be the literal interpretation of the Imperial Act referred to, it was clear that it was according to the spirit and intendment of the local Act that its provisions should be generally observed; and it was added, that I trusted his Grace would see the expediency of using other titular distinctions in addressing the prelates of the Church of Rome than those conferred by Her Majesty on the prelates of the Church of England.

9. I had hoped that the matter would have rested here: a second letter has, however, been addressed by the Bishop of Melbourne to the Superintendent of Port Phillip, and by that officer forwarded to me, complaining of a disposition exhibited by the Right Reverend Dr. Goold to maintain the assumption of the title of Bishop of Melbourne.

10. In reply to this renewed remonstrance on the part of the Bishop of Melbourne, I have stated in effect that, under the opinion given by the Crown Law Officers as to the proper interpretation of the law, I am unable to take any other step than to place the matter in your Lordship's hands. I have, &c. (Signed)

C. A. FITZRoy.

APPENDIX G.

Extract from the same Return.

COPY OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR W. M. GOMM TO EARL GREY.

My Lord,

Mauritius, 14 February, 1849.

Bishop Collier called upon me this morning to impart that he had received an official communication from Rome, notifying to him the withdrawal by the Pope of his titles, hitherto borne by appointment from the Holy See, of Vicar Apostolic and Bishop of Melevè, and substituting in lieu of them that of Bishop of Port Louis, or of Mauritius.

2. Bishop Collier further intimated that he thought the