§ MR. SCHREIBERsaid, he would beg to ask the hon. Member for Meath, Whether, at a recent meeting of Roman Catholic prelates, presided over by Archbishop Manning, it was decided that, in the present state of public feeling in this Country, it would be inexpedient to proceed with the Bill for the repeal of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act; and, whether, in consequence, he is now in a position to state what course he will pursue, with respect to the Bill in question?
MR. MAC EVOY, in reply, said, except that inferentially, by means of the Notice of the hon. Member, he had no reason to think that any such meeting as that to which the hon. Gentleman referred had been held. If the hon. Member was correctly informed upon the subject, he must enjoy more of the confidence of the Roman Catholic prelates than he (Mr. Mac Evoy) could lay any claim to. With regard to 1182 the last part of the Question, he would remind the hon. Gentleman that, with the consent of the Government, a Committee had been appointed to inquire into the subject; and, in courtesy to that Committee, he had abstained from pressing the Bill, while they were prosecuting their investigations; but, as soon as their Report was presented, it was his intention to take the sense of the House on the second reading of the Bill.