BIRTH OF BISHOP HUGH M’DONALD—BISHOP, 1731—HOSTILE FEELING GREATLY DIMINISHED—CHANGE FOR THE WORSE CAUSED BY THE ILL-TIMED EXPEDITION OF PRINCE CHARLES—THE BISHOP REMONSTRATES AGAINST IT— NEVERTHELESS BLESSES THE PRINCES STANDARD.

The Bishop whom we are now to notice was a son of Macdonald of Morar, and a lineal descendant of the ancient Lords of the Isles. It appears that he was sent at a very early age to study at the Seminary of Scalan. There also he completed his ecclesiastical studies and was ordained priest by Bishop Gordon in 1725. As has been shown, this Prelate had provided, through his influence with the See of Rome, for the appointment of a Bishop, Vicar-Apostolic, for the Highland district, now ecclesiastically separated from the Lowlands, and had obtained the nomination to this dignity of the Reverend Hugh Macdonald. By Briefs, accordingly, dated 12th February, 1731, Mr. Macdonald was created Bishop of Diana and Vicar-Apostolic of the Highland district of Scotland. In October of the same year, he was consecrated at Edinburgh by Bishop Gordon, who was assisted on the occasion by Bishop Wallace and one priest, the Holy See sanctioning some departure from the usual practice in consideration of the difficulties of the time and the necessities of the Scotch mission. One of the first acts of the new Bishop was, in concurrence with the other two Bishops, to define the limits of the two districts. A line of demar­cation was accordingly drawn and submitted to the Congregation of Propaganda, which ratified by a solemn decree of 7th January, 1732, the decision of the Bishops.

Time had now considerably mitigated the hostile feeling against Catholics which had been so strongly excited by the abortive attempt of James III. and VIII. to recover the throne of his ancestors; and Bishop MacDonald continued zealously to exercise the duties of his episcopal office for the period of fourteen years, with comparatively little difficulty. In 1745 a very unto­ward event came to disturb anew the relations of Catholics with the rest of the people, which had been growing easier from year to year. The heir male of the House of Stewart, Prince Charles Edward, a youth of five and twenty years, came to the west coast of Scotland in a French ship, disguised as a French abbe, and accompanied by seven of his leading adherents, but without a single soldier. He was strongly advised by chiefs and gentlemen of the country to return to France and wait for a more favourable opportunity. Bishop MacDonald, who was a decided Jacobite, went to visit him on board his ship, and insisted on the same advice. The wise remonstrances of so many competent advisers were lost upon the daring Prince. He persisted in his determination, and what shows that he would have been a very unfit Regent, he treated with neglect the worthy Bishop who had so honestly advised him. This, however, did not cause the prelate to abandon his cause, nor even to refrain from taking an active part in forwarding it; for, when his standard was raised at Glenfinnan, it was blessed by Bishop MacDonald.