Evening Post. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1902.

Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue 131, 29 November 1902, Page 4

Evening Post. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1902.

IRISH NATIONALISTS AND EDUCATION. ■*r The English Education Bill has proved a source of danger to the Irish Nationalists, as well as to the Unionist Party, in the Imperial Parliament. Just before the August adjournment the Nationalists began to grow lukewarm in their support of the Bill, and the Government had to face the alternative of accepting amendments unpleasing to denominationalists or risking the loss of the measure. When Parliament reassembled last month Irish obstruction was renewed. A stormy scene occurred dxiring tne debate on the motion to give government business — that is to say, the Education Bill-^-pre-cedence, and the Nationalists, regardless of the Bill, endeavoured to raise discussion on Irish affairs. The result is that amendments have been made in this much-debated measure which make it more acceptable to Nonconformists, but far less acceptable to Roman Catholics and Anglican High Churchmen. A new moderate party of Irish Nationalists, under the leadership of Mr. '"Tim" Healy, contends that Irish abstention from the Education debate has inflicted great injury on Catholic interests, and enabled "secularists" to wring concessions from Mr. Balfour. This party apparently numbers no more than nine, and has the bulk of the Nationalists arraj-ed against it, but it is strong in the support of the church. The Irish clergy are evidently very much put out at the conduct of the majority of the Irish members, and the Nationalists will have to beware that they do not lose clerical support for their cause. The Archbishop of Armagh recently declared publicly that the Nation"ahsts had basely abandoned Irish Catholics in Englaud in their hour of need, and added that this Avas the reward the clergy received for supporting the Home Rule party with voice and purse since its formation. Later cable messages described the cleavage between the United Irish League and the hierarchy as increasing. The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Logue, 'also revealed the fact that the Standing Committee of Bishops had warned Mr. Redmond that they endorsed Cardinal Vaughan's appeal to support j the Education Bill. Mr. Dealy, with characteristic force and strength of expression, has taken up the Bishops' cause and denounced the tactics of Mr. Redmond, while a protest against Irish abandonment of (he Bill has just been made by fifty Irish priests stationed in London', ft would seem that the main body of Nationalists under Mr. Redmond realised that the Government was in a measure dependent upon them for the safety of the Bill, a-nd that they resolved to "put on the screw" by absenting themselves from the debates in order to obtain certain concessions with regard to Ireland. By acting in this way. how- j ever, they have offended^not only the English Catholics, but also the Irish hierarchy, and unless these differences are adjusted the Nationalist cause is likely, to

be considerably weakened even in Ireland, owing to the total or partial withdrawal of ecclesiastical aid.