BACK FROM EUROPE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 112, 4 February 1908, Page 4

BACK FROM EUROPE.

CHAT WITH ARCHDEACON DEVOY.

THE STATE OK IRELAND. Tlio Venerable Archdeacon Devoy, who left Wellington with Father Hickson, of Cliristchurch, eight- months ago, by the Corinthic, to attend a Chapter of the Marist Society in Belgium, returned with Father liickson by the same boat on Saturday. The Archdeacon was for seven years Provincial of the Marist Fathers in New Zealand, and hjiß quite recently resigned that office, the customary period of its tenure having expired. His successor, the Very Rev. Father Regnault, ot Timani, will,take up his residences in Wellington very soon.

Archdeacon Devoy, who has returned in tho best of health, spent a month in France and Belgium. The weather was very wet during his stay, and-in Uie United Kingdom also an unusually wet season was experienced, tho only fine month being September. In England Archdeacon Devoy visited tho Marist Houses and Colleges, as well as several colleges which are not controlled by the Order. On the/ occasion of his visiting the University of Durham lib was surprised to learn that, one of tho subjects-of discussion at a nieoting of the professors had relation to one of the New Zealand. University Colleges. Manchester, Warrington,' Liverpool, Birkenhead, and -other towns were visited, and a long stay made in Loudon. The Archdeacon also visited most parts of Ireland, but did not go to Killarney on account of the,wet .weather. He was present, at tlio great Dublin .Exhibition, which, ho says, was admirably successful as an advertisement, .though financially it! did .not pay. He was pleased tp sco New Zealand most creditably represented." }, ' Tho Archdeacon stated that- a great deal of news was cabled to Nqjv Zealand about the disturbed state of Ireland, and about cattle-driving. The majority of these reports were one-sided and much exaggerated. There was very little talk in Ireland about cnttledriving, anil tho practice was condemned by the priests. Even where it'existed no Jiirm was done to tho cattle; it simply meant that gates v.*ero opened and they wero allowed to stray, in his opinion there Was not. a more, law-abiding country in the whole world than Ireland, or one where there were fewer outrages. Ho thought that the state of tlio country was improving;.'there w - as an advanco plainly noticeably sincb his Visit made seven years before. Till the land question was settled there coidd never he prosperity in Ireland, but an improvement was being effected, and tlio peoplo wero getting to know that their land-would bo their own in a short time. A'great cause of the ahsencn of prosperity'was bad seasons, and these had also been experienced in England and Scotland. He thought, that if, the farmers in both.'England'and-Ireland-got their land for nothing they would just bo ablo to make a living. Butter and other produce wero imported from other countries, and could be sold at a (price which loft no chancc to the local product. Wholesale, emigration from Ireland was still going on, but this was largely caused by the absence of factories to provido employment, and tliero was not sufficient money in the country,,to start new factories. Somo of tho Trislr manufacturers, however, wero now. r iking good progress. Ho thought that if hotter times came , for Ireland, many of thoso who had..emigrated to America would go back.