Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/41

 HUGHES 33 ceeding, when he was treacherously made prisoner by Adalberon, bishop of Laon, who delivered him to his rival. The unfortunate prince was sent to Orleans, where he soon breathed his last in a dungeon. Hugh, having thus secured possession of the crown, associa- ted his son Robert in the government, which he settled on the principle of hereditary suc- cession. (See CAPBTIASS.) llldllKS, Ball, an American sculptor, born in London, England, Jan. 19, 1804, died in Bos- ton, Mass., March 5, 1868. When only 12 years old he made out of wax candle ends a bass-relief copy of a picture representing the wisdom of Solomon, which was afterward cast in silver. He spent seven years in the studio of Edward Hodges Bailey, and competed suc- cessfully for the prizes awarded by the royal academy and the society of arts and sciences. Among his works at this period, besides sev- eral ideal statues, were busts of George IV. and the dukes of Sussex, York, and Cambridge. In 1829 he emigrated to New York, where he executed a marble statue of Hamilton, which was destroyed in the merchants' exchange, in the great fire of 1835. He also made a monu- mental alto-relief, of life size, in memory of Bishop Hobart, which is now in Trinity church. Several of his casts are in the Boston athe- nseum, and his bronze statue of Nathaniel Bow- ditch is in Mt. Auburn cemetery, Cambridge, Mass. He also appeared as a lecturer on art. IIIUI l>, John, an American archbishop, born near Clogher, county Tyrone, Ireland, in 179V, died in New York, Jan. 3, 1864. He was, to use his own words in his well known letter to Mayor Harper, "the son of a farmer of moderate but comfortable means." Being the youngest of three sons, he was allowed to in- dulge an early passion for books, and was sent for a time to a Latin school. In 1816 his father came to the United States. John followed him in 1817, and in 1818 the whole family set- tled near Chambersburg, Pa. Toward the end of that year John obtained admission to the college of Mount St. Mary's, at Emmettsburg, Md. " I was to superintend the garden," he afterward wrote, "as a compensation for my expenses, until I might be appointed teacher, prosecuting meanwhile my studies under a pri- vate tutor." Toward the close of 1825 he was ordained priest, and placed in charge of a small mission at Bedford, Pa. A few weeks after- ward he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's church, Philadelphia, where he soon gained reputation as a pulpit orator. On May 31, 1829, he preached a sermon on Catholic eman- cipation, which was published in pamphlet form and dedicated to O'Connell. In 1830 he accepted a challenge from the Rev. John Breck- enridge, D. D., a distinguished Presbyterian clergyman, to discuss through the press the question, " Is the Protestant religion the reli- gion of Christ? " In 1831-'2 he built St. John's church, Philadelphia, of which he was the rec- tor as long as he remained in that city. In 1834 he accepted a second challenge from Dr. Breck- enridge to a public oral discussion of the ques- tion, "Is the Roman Catholic religion hostile to liberty ? " The debate created much inter- est, was brought to an unsatisfactory termina- tion, and afterward appeared in book form. Mr. Hughes was appointed coadjutor bishop of New York in 1837, received episcopal conse- cration Jan. 7, 1838, and in 1839 became ad- ministrator of the diocese, which then com- prised the entire state of New York and part of New Jersey, with a Catholic population of 200,000, and only 40 clergymen. He forthwith set to work to remedy the evils springing from the "trustee system" of holding church prop- erty. The titles were vested in laymen, who frequently came into conflict with the episco- pal authority, and were sometimes supported in their opposition by priests suspended from their office. Several churches had in conse- quence been closed to divine worship; most of them had become deeply involved in debt, and of the eight churches in New York city, five were on the point of being sold. Bishop Hughes set about consolidating these debts, removing the lay trustees, and securing the titles in his own name. In spite of every ob- stacle he succeeded, and thus put an end to scandalous contentions. lie next purchased a large property at Fordham, Westchester co., with the intention of opening there a college and theological seminary. For the purpose of obtaining money and the aid of religious com- munities for the institutions which he planned, he went to Europe in 1839. During his ab- sence the Catholics of New York set up an or- ganized opposition to the public school system. To prevent this movement from becoming a purely political one, Bishop Hughes on his re- turn took himself the lead, and drew up a pe- tition to the common council praying, in the name of the Catholic citizens, that seven pa- rochial schools should be designated as "enti- tled to participate in the common-school fund, upon complying with the requirements of the law." Remonstrances to this petition were sent in by the public school society and the pastors of the Methodist Episcopal church, and on Oct. 29 both parties appeared before the common council. Bishop Hughes met and answered, for several days in succession, the array of eminent counsel opposed to him, and support- ed his petition in an elaborate speech ; but his demands were rejected by the common coun- cil. The matter was then brought before the legislature ; but being baffled in his suit there, he recommended Catholics to nominate inde- pendent candidates in the ensuing elections ; a movement which developed such unexpected strength that a modification of the school sys- tem was soon afterward effected. In 1841 he was able to open regular courses of classical and theological instruction in St. John's col- lege, Fordham. In 1842, after the death of Bishop Dubois, Dr. Hughes succeeded him as titular bishop of New York. In August of