Barry, Bishop John, Augusta, Georgia, to Archbishop Anthony Blanc, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1853 September 13

Barry sends the duplicate of the bill forwarded to Blanc yesterday. He hazarded the suggestion of appealing to the Catholics of the United States in behalf of the hundreds pf orphans. In 1836, a great fire consumed a third of Charleston. One Catholic church and the lumber of another about to be erected, were all destroyed. The Catholics then few and poor suffered severely. Their Bishop John England appealed to the Catholics of the Union through their prelates. A very respectable amount was realized. The United States Miscellany recorded testimony of Blanc's charitable sympathy. If 700 or 800 thousand dollars were then collected, there are now in the United States ten times more Catholics with ten times more means. Times are good; the poor are all employed. The Catholic people, with all their faults, have never been charged with hardheartedness. If Blanc delays, people will forget; many of the orphans will fall into bad hands. A.L.S. Enclosure: