GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 50, 11 April 1874, Page 10

GENERAL NEWS.

(Summarised from aw exchanges.) Ibelaxd. The project ef constructing a tunnel under the Irish Sea from a point naar Belfast to the extremity of the peninsula opposite in s?cotbind, has been revived,, it is said, with some probability, of success. The length of tire proposed work would be about twelve miles, and the estimated cost £23,000,000. A Wonderful Change. — The installation of the new Mayor of Drogheda; on New Year's Day, was a memorable, event. The new Mayor, we are informed, attended by the Corporation and the civic officers arrayed in their robes, and bearing the civic emblems, pro* ceeded in state to the Catholic parish Church, where they assisted at Mass. The mace and sword of State, which were borne in the profession, were ilk* ffiftt to the municipality of Dregheda of William the Third. 1 What a testimony was thus afforded of tbe inscrutable ways of Providence ! The gifts presented by the victor of the Boyne, who, according to the inscription on tke obelisk at Oldbrige, " delivered " this aountry from " Popery," lent an additional splendor to a solemn act of Catholic worship. A strange lesion is bound np ia tb» fact, if people would only try to read it. This Catholic procession passed through the streets that Cromwell deluged with Catholic blood, in sight of the ruined abbey and churches that God ha» allowed to stand until this day, to witness the goodly pageant. These ruined churches, leaking on the procession, were like aged Simeon who " had received an answer from the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before be had sem the Christ of the Lord." Now their hoary walls may crumble away in peace, for they have seen the evil-doer pass away and be forgotten, and his victims arise and oecvpy tbe land. The staff of Professors in the Catholic University has been reinforced by some excellent appointment*, and arrangements are in progress for giving full effect to the resolutions. Among the new officers is Mr John Casey, LL.D., who has been selected for the chair of higher mathematics, vacated by the Rev. W. G. Penny, M. A., who has undertaken the charge of an English mission. His appointment has attracted a good deal of attention. The ' London Times' says of Dr Casey : that he w a distinguished mathematician, and will be able to render good service to the cause in which he is now enlisted. " Disfigurement cf Dnblin.— The ' Freeman ' on Jan. 1, publishes an interesting letter from the pen of Mr William O'Neill Daunt on v The Architectural Disfigurement of Dublin." The Most Rev. Dr. McCormack, Coadjutor Lord Archbishop of Aohonry, has left Ireland for Rome. The adjourned meeting of the tenantry en the Down pat rick estates, County Down, now the property of Mr John Mulholland, D.L-, was held in the Assembly Rooms in Downpatrick. for the purpose of adopting an address of congratulation to Mr Mulholland. The meeting, held on Dec. 20^ was attended by very few persons, in consequence, probably, of an address issued Vy the secretary of the Downpatrick Tanners' Union, warning the tenants net to attend, as Mr Mulholland contemplated a restriction of the unlimited tenant right which has existed on these estates.

The Irish and American Bifle Clubs. — The Committee of the New York Amateur Bifle Cl»b have been instructed to accept the challenge of the Irish Riflemen, not only in the club's name, but also in the same of the Riflemen of America. An opportunity will be given to the Riflemen of the United States to compete with the club's squad for places in the team that will be matched against the Irish team. The team will be restricted to the use of a rifle weighing Icb9 than ten pounds, with a trigger pull of three pounds at least, and without telescopic sight. A case of police tyranny, has been perpetrated by the Dublin v force," who opposed Mr Peter Barrett's- application for the transfer ■ of a license to him. The British constitution lays down that a man is innocent until convicted of crime. Mr Barrett wa» tried for an attempt upon tke life of Captain Lambert, but a jury of his countrymen unanimously acquitted him. He walked out of the dock an innocent man in the eyes of the law — if that law is not a sham and a falsehood. When li is application for the license was heard, the police and the " Crown " opposed him. The police in the ease acted upon the assumption that ho was guilty of the offence from which ho was tleared after a searching trial. The magistrates with a subservieucy that would not do honour to the bench of the worst governed country in the world, refused the license on the ground that they never grant any when the police interpose their veto. Under these circumstances can the Ii ish people respect the laws, or have confidence in the administration of justice ? The Registrar-General has published his emigration statistics for the first ten months of 1872 and the first ten months of 1873. The figures show a very marked increase in the emigration of the latter year. In the first ten months of 1872, 71,H10 emigrants left the country. In the corresponding period of 1873. the number rose to 85.286. Of these 28,789 were males, and 36,489 females. April, May and June ore the great mouths for emigration — more than half the emigrants leering the country during this period. The total emigration from Ireland since May Ist, 1851, is stated to have been 2,247,883 persons. It is a most significant fact that the number of persons who left Ireland in 1873 should exceed the number of persons who left Ireland i« 1872 by some 14,000 persons. In an article on the Dublin Conference the London ' Tablet ' refers to the allegation that the Catholic bishops are holding themselves aloof from the Home Bule movement. It says that "So long as Home Rule steers clear cf revolution, the Irish Episcopate are not called to interfere uuthoritatively on the one eide or the other. Wtaoever such an emergency shall arise, which God forbid, we may •c perfectly sure that the Irish Episcopate will know how to do their duty as fearlessly as in the critical times of the Fenian conspiracy, even though it be with as little expectation of having their conscientious services recognised either by tlio desperadoes or by the Government. Down to the present, at any rate, the Bishops have made no »" go. against Home Rule, and so long as tke movement continues on

its present moderate and constitutional course, thej will continue to mace no hostile sign." Bey. Patrick J. NowTsn, of Ponnybrook, died • few weeks ago. An Irish paper, in referring to the service* of the deoeased, thinks that " we may .reckon the moral benefit* derired from the abolition of the once notorious Donnybrook Fair, as redounding more to the good of the inhabitants of Dublin than even the beautiful church which now adorns the Tillage of Donnybrook, and whose existence is entirely owing to the untiring effort of the good priest." Bight Her. Dr O'Mahoney, Bishop of Armidale, in presence of a large congregation assembled at Lismore, recently, laid the- foundation, stone of the first Catholic Church in the Richmond Hirer district. It was gratifying to Bee the Unanimity which prevailed amongst the meat* bers of the various denominations present, many of whom cams a ' distance of sixteen miles to witness this most imposing ceremony. The Cork. 'Daily Telegraph' ceastd publication on Saturday, December 13th. The paper was at one time the ' Southern Reporter,' and was owned by the late Wm, Fagan, M.P., after whose death it passed into the hands of a partnership, with the notorious Miohaei Joseph BaTry a» editor. Under the proprietorship of Mr Felix Muilin, the * Southern Reporter,' which was originally a tri- weekly paper, became a daily, and after a short time Messrs Potter and flKlrman purchased it, and changed its title to the Irish ' Daily Telegrph/ On the 15th December, the compositors who worked on the paper sued and got decrees from the local magistrates against the proprietors, for the arrears of wages due to them. Mr Potter declared in ' Court that he bad been ruiued by his connection with the concert. I He was worth six hundred a year when lie entered it, and had lost It I all.

An interesting discovery of a number of coins wat mad* at a place called Cloncha, about half a mile from Culdaflbn, on the 13tfc. December, by a man named MzGrannahan. McGrannahan waa n± moTing the surface from the top of a quarry, and came upon the coin* lying loose in the soil, about eighteen inches deep. They were of tw» size*, one lot of them being almost a* Urge as the present half-crown, and the other smaller. The letters are a good deal ef&ced, but can easily be made out as one of the silver coins of the reign of Elisabeth, bearing the date of 1&9& On one side is " Rigi Elizsb. A o *Ke>" and on the obverse " Posri Deu " and other characters so corroded as not to be readily dircerntble. The picture of Elizabeth is quite distinct. His Grace the Archbishop of Cashel administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to upwards of four hundred children, in the new Cathedral, Thurles (now near completion) on the lath December. This great number was chiefly composed of the pupils of the Presentation Convent and Christian Brothers' schools Conference on the Land Question.— A National Conferenoe ©» the all-important Land Question has bean convened for the 20th and 21st of January, in the Music Hall, Belfast. The programme for discussion includes the Irish Land Act and the necessity for its amendment ; the Ulster Custom and the evil* of defective legislation ; tn» advisability of one just, complete, and uniform Land Code for all Ireland : " Free Rent, Free Sale, and Security of Tenure." Th#important topics of Peasant Proprietorship, Grand Jury Reform, the Labor Question, Absenteeism and Emigration will also b» disci ned. Some of the Catholic girls of Great Britain and Ireland are preparing an offering to the Holy Father, as a mark of thHr affection and sympathy for him in his afflictions. It is to be called "The Girl* Offering," and the project has met the warm approbation of ArchbUhop Manning, Cardinal Cullen, and most ef the Archbishops ami Bishops throughout the United Kingdom. Lady Herbert has kindly undertaken the office of treasurer for England, the Countess of Portarlington for Ireland, and the Marchioness oC Lothian for Scotland. We wish these children — the Catholic girls — every success in this meritorious design ©f " minting money for their souls' wealth, asFather Faber calls it. It may not be uninteresting to know that since the days of the Reformation, Raphoe, Berry, giving a name to a parish, & barony, and a diocese, has been without a pluco of Catholic- worship; Strangers visiting the locality have long noticed the want, while the aged and infirm worshippers have actually felt snd deplored i*. ■The Catholic community will, however, be glad to know that the Most Rev. Dr. McDevitt had scarcely taken charge of the diocese when he turned his attention to supply their deficiency, and has beeu so far successful as to secure a beautiful site in the environs of the town ; and at a preliminary meeting of the inhabitants a few days ago a subscription was opened, and subscriptions to the amount of near £500 handed ir. Surveying the Channel. — The * Cork Examiner' says : --" The _ Limerick Harbor Commissioners have been informed by the Admiralty that their memorial praying that the portion of the river Shaanon which lies between Beagh Castle and Limerick may be surveyed, asthe navigation has become considerably altered since the last surrey, has been no'iced for attention when a favorable opportunity occurs." An English Company are sinking shafts at the coal field* of Castlecomer, Kilkenny. Before they come to the coal they have t« sink seventy yards. There is any amount of " black diamonds" in tins district. The coal is sold here at the pit's mouth at 30s per ton. Formerly it was sold for 10s. The mining district belongs to Mr Bryan, M.P., and Mr Wandesford. New Wnterford Railway. — A company is to be incorporated under Act of Parliament to construct a railway from the termination of theWaterford and Limerick Railway to the Waterford, Dungarvan, and Lismorc Railway acroa9 the Surf with an extension described in the plan. A tramway along the quays of Waterford ia also contemplated. The proposed company seeks for powers to levy tolls and rates, to take houses and lands, and to agree with other companies in matters of management. Mr John Martin, M.P., Bends a contribution to the fund for theIrish Catholic University. He says : — "For my own part, as a Protestant, I feel it a shame that, while the Protestants have secured to themselves for their University purposes a very large endowment out oi the Irish national property, the far more numerous Catholics, taxed as they are for all public purposes at the same rate with, their. £rote

tant fellow countrymen, are refused all endowment, unless they will snbmit to give up their sons to be educated as Protestants may think proper. With feelings of deep respect and admiration for the conduct %( my Catholic fellow countrymen in their adherence to principle and ooascience in spite of the temptations of mammon." The Archbishop of Toronto. — Most Rev. Dr. Lynch, recently arrived iv Dublin, on his way to Borne. In passing from Dorry to Oaatleknock he embraced the opportunity of visiting the anciant and time-honoured City of Armagh and its magnificent cathedral. During his stay there he was the guest of the venerated Sost Rev. Dr. MoCrettigan. Like so many other American Bishops, Dr. Lynch is an Irishman. He prosecuted his studies in St. Vincent's College, Castleknock, entering at the early age of thiiteen. He afterwards joined the Vincenttan Order, and was for some time employed in missions in the neighbourhood of Dublin. In 18445, he went to America, where he became Superior of the College of St. Louis, and finally Archbishop of Toronto. Three Jesuit Fathers commenced, on tho festival of All Saints, in the parish church of Cushendall, Glens of Antrim, a mission which is to last for three week*. It promises to be a brilliant success. It was •pened by Father Ryan, Superior of the mission, in a magnificent discourse. Major Le Poer Trench, R.E., writee to the ' London Times ' concerning the moving bog of Dunnort, County Galway, and says : — *' It may be of iuterest to some «f your readers to learn that I have been informed On good authority that the level of a lake, at a place called Qtonnanriaddy, at a distance, writing from recollection, about six or eifht miles, has lowered about four feet since the bursting of the bog, with which it had no apparent connection. This tends to establish what I advanced in my original letter to you on the subject — vis., that these bogs are nearly all connected, either directly or by subterranean channels, with the large bodies of pent-up water with which the country abounds. This affords a strong argument in favor of the undertaking of extensive works of arterial drainage, works which cannot be done by private enterprise or individual effort, and which should be initiated and carried out under the enlightened supervision •nd direction of the Government. Irish readers, especially those from Louth, will be interested in hearing that one of the Bellinghamis of Castle Bellingham — Henry, eldest son of Sir Allan Bellingham — has been converted to the Catholic Church. When he succeeds his father, he will inherit one of the finest properties of Louth. Norbury »» a name of evil memory to Irish mind*. John Toler •old hie country and changed his patronymic. He was Chief-Justice of the Irish Common Pleas after he had bartered his birthright and bequeathed to his motherland an inheritance of slavery. Unlike other traitors, he had issue, and his graudson died recently. The old renegade was, we are ashamed to say, of Irish blood and lineage. The CTolers were of Duluassian descent, and possessed a territory in the County Wcßtm«ath. They were dispossessed by the Dillons soon after the Norman invasion, and they migrated to Tipperary in the reign of King John. The first Norbury was son of Daniel Toler of Beech wood, County Tipperary, who was mot descended from a Norman settler as the peerage writers say. If Ireland were a properly governed country there should not be ■one-half of the number of poor on the relief-Hot. During the year 1873 the comparatively prosperous province of Ulster was obliged to relieve 46,300 in-duor and 8,000 out-door applicants ; Munster, 77,770 ia-door and 24,000 out-door ; Connaught, 21,000 indoor and 7,000 out-door, Lcini'ter, 94,300 in-door and 32,000 out-door. Munster hat more poor than the northern province, because the latter has factories *fiA employment. Leinster has to bear the heaviest burden, owing, doubtless, to.the number of poor in Dublin. The mortality of this •etton is generally high, while accidents and calamities ar« usually large. Several sudden deaths have been reported, besides one or two homicides. The Catholic Prelates forming the Board of the Catholic University, met in Dublin on the 28Ui Dec, for the purpose of completing Rie organization of the institution. Araongst the subjects for consideration is a memorial presented by graduates of the University, praying that a prominent place may be assigucd to the study of natural BCter.oe in the n«w curbulum. There are at present 246 pauper inmates in the Enntekillen Urion Workhouse, precisely the tamo number as this time last year. The \x*l ef their maintenance lust week was £37 13s 3d, or an average cost to the ratepayers of 2s lOJd each pauper. The able paper on " Caesarism and UllramontaniMn," read before tie Academia of the Catholic Religion by his Grape the Archb;s>'iop d Westminister, was quoted in extemo in the ' Freeman,' and — largely— iv other journals, aud has been the subject of several articles, all highly laudatory of its masterly ard vigorous treatment of its great subject. How differently rcasoners look at different cases — their own, for instance, and that of others — is curiously illustrated by two articles in the ' Dublin Maii,' the one following the other directly. Ihe first of these is entitled " Discipline iv the Church," and it is directed to the necessity of enforcing the authority of the Irish Church body, even to the extent of cutting off those clergymen who will not recognise the recent alterations — revisions they are called — in the Book of Common Prayer. The immediately succeeding article is entitled " Persecution, German and French," and the object of it is to show that it is persecution on the part of the Catholic Church to cut off from its 69n:munion the schismatics who call themselves old Catholics — who dony dogmas that hate been solemnly pronounced by an (Ecumenical Council ! When this is the way in which Protestants reason about Catholic affaire, is it any wonder that their notions should be a series «f unmitigated blunders? We c rdially welcome a new birth in Irish journalism — the • Irish Temperance Banner' — which is to appear monthly at the price of one peony. Such a publication has been long and greatly required. Elsewhore the various phases of temperance action and organisation have tfieir special orgam, doing good ■orrioe each iv it* own waj in its own sphere.

The County Wicklow used to be called the " Garden of Ireland," from its fruitful fields and cheerful homes. English statistics show, and prove to a figure, that Ireland has been " prospering " for many years past. The census of Wicklow has iust been published, and tl» figures tliere show that during the last ten yean there has been in that single county a decrease of 5099 inhabited houses, and of 47,446 in population. Irish prosperity! Some years ago a feeling was strong that Galway should hare a cathedral worthy of the City of the Tribes. The late Lord Dunkellin and Mr Gregory, now Governor of Ceylon, exerted their influence! Jto get the Castle Barracks as a site. They failed. Now again the, question is being discussed, and a local gentleman is to set an example of munificence in the amount of his subscription, which, when the thing occurs, no one will be astonished at. Complimentary Dinner to Professor Pye, M.D., Queen's College, Galway.-- We are glad to learn that the students of oar local college are to celebrate the appointment of Dr Pye, by a public banquet to b» given in his honor at the Bailway Hotel. The dinner is to come off on Ifonday next, and all arrangements have been nude to make it a complete success. Messrs. Freyer, 8.A., Flood, and Irwin will occupy the chair, vice-chair, and deputy vice-chair respectively. — 'Galway Vindicator. The ' Freeman' recalls to public attention one of the noblest and most successful demonstrations of Irish feeling which oar times have witnessed — the Galway Vindication Fund. The fund realised the splendid sum of nearly £16,000 ; of which nearly £15,000 were contributed through the ' Freeman ' office, and abcut £9 JO through the * Nation ' office. Mr Isaac Butt is, by the force of circumstances rather than by original selection, tho acknowledged leader of the Home Rule movement in Ireland. That is to say, with many powerful antipathies and prejudices, some well-founded, some ill-founded, not long since arrayed against him, his great abilities devoted to the service o( the popular cause have carried him triumphantly to a position of influence and power, such as has been obtained by no other man since O'CounelTs time. He was called to the Bar in 1838, obtained his silk gown in 1844, and made his great successes in the defence of Smith O'Brien, in 1848, and of lha Fenians, in 1865. He is a hale, hearty man of €0 years of age, with a florid face and snow-white hair, and affable aad g nial in manner. A Dundalk visitor to Belfast writes : — " I am happy to say that since Thursday last I have not seen any disorders in the town. Like the evil spirit, Belfast bas been painted blacker than it is. I have not seen man or woman under the influence of drink since I came here, I have not heard an angry word spoken, nor shout of any kind. The people are civil and attend to their business, and in inquiring my way here and there people have gone out of their way to direct me. This, of course, may be northern cunning and sot southern politeness, bat I think it only fair to describe matters as they appear. I believe that but for wire-pullers, Ulster would not hare been so bad aa it has been, and that most of its people would ere this have j nned with the south, and west in working for Ireland's welfare." His Eminence Cardinal Cullen, in his Christmas Pastoral, calls attention to the danger of immoral publications. Ho sajs :—": — " As so much is done by the press to infect the minds of youth, we should make efforts to counteract the poison, and to supply good and wholesome reading for the edification and instruction of the rising generations. All books against religion and morals, all dangerous romances and novels which disturb the mind and corrupt the heart, and thoto newspapers which are filled with sarcasm against the Catholic religion, or encourage secret societies or revolutionary movements so destructive to society, or which publiih filthy reports of divorce or criminal cases, well calculated to corrupt public morality, should be carefully excluded." Death of an Irish Nun. — Sister Mary Frances Clare Hely, Presentation Convent, Kilkenny, died on Christmas Eve, at the advanced age of 85. She had entered her solemn profession 51 years since, and during almost all that period she had devoted herself to the education of the poor children of her native city, Kilkenny. Ordination at St. Augustine's, Cork.— U the little church of the Atigustinian Fathers, in Brunswick street, Cork, on December 26, the Bishop of the diocese raised to the dignity of the Priesthood Rev; Andrew Desmond, of the diocese of Cork, and the Rev. Laurence O'Brien, who entered the Order of St. Augustine. Mr Lewes, the Conservative member for Londonderry, addressed a meeting of his constituency on the 26th November. Reviewing tho legislation of the session, he condemned tho Irish University Education Bill as attempting too much, and expressed his belief that the Catholics would never get better terms than it proposed to give their. He emphatically pledged himself to oppose concurrent endowment, no matter by whom it may be proposed. He advocated the State purchase of the Irish railways, and said tho Irish members should be true to themselves in this matter if they wished to succeed. 1e rhougf.fr the income tax should be abolished ; but if this could not be done, :t must be levied fairly and equitably, so thit men with limited and precarious incomes would not be taxed equally witli those who had t»n easier means of support. He referred to the English Sating Bill as a precedent for similar legislation in Ireland. Local Legislation.— The 'Mayo Examiner' says:— "Local Government Legislation, such as the Act of which we had su.U negative results lately iv this county, must end in the mOBt deplorable mju-y to public convenience and public health. The magistrates at special sessions, or many of them, seem put on their mettlo, aad if we may except Westport and Custlebar, tho sewerage is thrown oa powerless corporations or over-taxed uuione. A state of ttings thua exists that cannot be surpassed for injuttice. The towns paying a large quantity of Ce^B, and which are necessary to tho rural as to the town popuktione, are lelt in some respects to pay money and receive no eire :n their most necessary and important requirements. Legislation znty sometimes induce jealousy between different sections of tho fou-viu-uity ; but this unfortunate element seema always to abound iv English legislation for Ire'andL"

A Noble Organ Grinder. — A rather distinguished organ-grinder has paid Dublin a visit. He appears in the ttreets with a neac donkeycart and a very sprightly looking donkey, gaily decked with ribbons. He visits all the principal streets, and gets more money in a day than & common organ-grinder would dream of in a month. He pu' ■up at tho principal hotel in the city, ard, wonderful to relate, supports himself solely by the proceeds of his organ. This eccentric gentleman is etafed to be no less a personage than Lord Louth, who, for a heavy wager, is on a twelve months' pilgrimage with his donkey, cart, and organ. The Census Commissioners of Ireland have finished a report on the number of lunatics, idiots, deaf mutes, and blind, which suggest reflections that do not often occur to the mind. The evil effects of inter- marriage are shown in an offspring, a large percentage of which is dumb, idiotic, and lunatic. The figures are a wholesome warning against marriages within any degree of kindred. The Very Rev. Canon Bourke of Tuam, in a speech advocating Home Rule said : — " Now, I ask yon, as Irishmen, knowing the past, how the British Parliament persecuted Ireland for the faith, knowing how her representatives as a body — mind as a body — hate the Catholic religion and Catholics, will that Parliament, I ask, ever grant freedom of education ? I answer — never. The Dublin of to-day. — Dublin can to-day bear favorable com* parieon with a great many cities in the matter of architectural beauty. In all our principal streets nre numerous splendid stone buildings, not thought of twenty years ago. Our post office has been greatly improved Jn outward appearance, and inside are increased conveniences for the -transit of mails. Trinity College looks young with its new raflirfgs and handsome stone walls. In the more important matter of commerce, too, Dublin will shortly vie with many ports in the sister isle. New docks have been recently opened, which bring the ships far into the Northern side of the city. A railway tunnel has been commenced which will run from the different railway stations to the water's edge. Some of our readers who have not visited Dublin for years, would be really surprised at tho stir business baa got. Once our coal fields commence to bo properly worked we will be pretty independent of England. It is, I understand, in contemplation to deepen the entrance to the Liffey, so that ships ot any tonnage can safely enter it. The • Western Watchman,' an American paper, vindicates the Irish people from the charge of being a drunken set. "Since Father Mathew preached his crusadu against whiskey, there has been comparatively little of it drank by the tenantry of Ireland. The idlers and loafers about the purlieus of the cities and towns drink all they can of it ; but the farmers, as a class, are very temperate, and are seldom seen intoxicated. 'From the census of Cork county for 1871, just issued, it appears I that the population has decreased from 877,000 in 1845, to 649.308 in 1851, thence to 534,818 in 18C1, until it fell to 517,811 in 1871, a decrease of about 360,01)0, or more than 46 per cent., in 26 years. Of the total population' of the- County of Cork, 400.905 are Catholics, 31,297 Protestant Episcopations, 1216 Presbyterians, 2228 Methodists, all other denominations 2788. In fact, if the city, the other four boroughs, Youghal, Bandori, Kinsale, and Mallow, and tho 12 municipal and other towns of 2000 or more inhabitants be excluded, there are only a few thousand Protestants in the whole county. The borough of Bandon, celebrated for the inscription once to be seen on its gates — Turk, Jew, or Atheist May enter, but not a Papist, is returned as containing, in 1871, % population of 6131 persons, 4186, or more than 68 per cent, of whom are Catholics, the Protestants of all forms numbering only 1945, or 32 per cent. The borough, long tho heir-loom of the Bernards, has returned a liberal since 1868. Hunt! loom cottoa weaving, which was ouco a flourishing trade in the North Ws almost died out. Bound by the Maze, Broomhedge, Lambry, Ilitl flail, aud Luburu, the tim« was when in every house two and three, and, in some cases, six looma were busy. Now there id not ono for every twenty-three then. The fow remaining cotton weavers who have not emigrated to America, as a great number of their fellow-workers have, or turned their hands to other industries, but held on to the " old trade" hare had to leave tho mulls and jacknots, which formerly kept them fully employed, and worsted gauzes, silk and strip gauzes, and muslin crams ; and, even these are so scarce that they cannot get enough of them to do. They are not more than half employed, and when they are they have to work about 15 hou-s a day to make something like 8s or 9s a week. It must be admitted ! lie cauat» of tbe of this once flourishing trade has not arisen from the high cost of labcr, but from the exorbitant profits expected by manufacturers, which made purcLasrra supply its place from othei channels Great activity has been at present evinced by seventl companies iu'Ulster in exploring and developing the mineral wealth in the count j ut" Antrim. Among the eoir.p-mii a already engaged working the iron mines of this district, nre Messrs Janus Fisher iind Sons, the Antrim Iron Company, the Paikmore 'Iron Ore Company, tho Alountsushell Iron Ore Company, and the Glengariff Iron and harbor Company These companies represent a capital of £1,000,000 sterling, and art opening out their mines on a very extensive scale. The icon or< district of the county Antrim extends over an area of about fiftcer miles by sixteen, stretching out toworda Lame and Cushenrlall, ant reaching wilhin a short distance of Bullymean. From the fact, thu there is a dctoriLinaii n on tho part of some of the companies to smol the ore- on the t-pot, winch is of first-class quality, instead of shipping it to England, a.s ia done at present, good results may be augured. Ihe embezzlements wnich have takpn place in connection witl the lie^d Office of the Belfast Bank Company, form the leading topi of conversion in tho north. The only person at present in custod; i« Mr Smith, one of the book-keepers in the head office, bur ever ©3bit is beiui; made to capture tho manager of one of tho brand banks- in a neighbouring oounty, who it appears was concerned in th Ivaucis, but who haa made off. it appears that the frauds havo bee

largely practised upon tho Union Bank of London. It it currently reported that the gross amount of the defalcations will be about £80,000. Chief Baron Pigofr, lately deceased, held his high judicial position for twenty-seven years, daring which hit personal character, judicial ability, and eminent irr partiality were an honor to the Irish bar. His conscientiousness led him to take immense trouble with erery ease that came before him ; but the inconvenience which it sometimes caused to suitors and counsel was forgotten in the high motive which dictated it. ludeed, it is generally believed that it was the extraordinary labour involved in the trial at the late assizes for the Montrath murder, ia the Queen's county, which lasted nearly two months, that led to the chief baron's death. The chief baron was a most devout Catholic. All his ecns hold high positions. Lord O'Hagan and the Landlord Organs. — Lord O'Hagan somewhat astonished the Law Students' Debating Society a week ago by not endorsing the auditor's somewhat fervid panegyric on the Laud Act of 1870. Be admitted that it had blemishes, which time and its own operations had disclosed, and these called for amendment, especially as regarded the facilities granted under Mr Bright' s clauses for the formation of a peasant proprietary. This very mild statement of an obvious truth has stirred up much indignation against his lordship on the part of the landlord organs. Lord French has sent a donation of £50 to the Home Rut* League, for which he anticipates a signal triumph at the general election. Tho history of Ireland show*, he thinks, that Irishmen aro different from the people of Great Britain in their natural dispositions, religious sentiments, and national feelings. There died at Tramore lately Bridget Hajdea, at the great age of 103 years, relict of the late Matthew Hayden, who lived for 101 years, and who fought in the year 179* at the ever memorable battle of Vinegar HilL Bishop Keane, of Cloyno Dioctoo, has through his secretary , directed his name to be placed on the requisition for the Home Rulie Conference. In the course t>f a letter addressed to the secretaries of the conference, it is stated his lordship, at all times an earnest believer in the principles and policy of the great O'Connell, feels the time has come when there cannot be a second opinion as to the right of our couutry to manage its own affairs by a parliament assembled in Ireland. In the January number of tho Irish Monthly now before us we Snd a beautiful little poem, hitherto unpublished, from, the pen of the i*t« R. D. Williams, the well-known •' Shamrock " of the ' Nation.' It is an addreu "To the Mother of the Christmas Babe," and the following is its concluding stanza :— All the spheres behold with wonder, Sleeping on thy bosom lie, Him whose word in cloud and thunder Hurled them flaming through the sky. Mary ! sacred Star of Ocean, Rise thou o'er the stormy brine, Quell the passions' wild commotion, Cheer and save us, Mother mine ! Round us, while the tempest rages, Be thy guiding lustre seen, And our song through endless ages, •* lii.il, Iloly Queen !" ENGLAND. The execution of a memorial stutuo of Mr Mill has boen eutriisted to Mr J: H. Folcy, R. A. Mr F. T. O'Donnell, secretary of the Savage Club, and v wellknown London journalist, dieJ recently. The ' London Spectator/ ia a receut issue, notices the great revival in literature which has takan pUce among tha Koimn Catholic* of Europe during the last few years. A well-known English surgeon who 1-itely wrote a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury on the mischief wrought among the upper classes by their excessive consumption of alcohol, has lately become a total abstainer, and declares that he is jjrcatly benefited by the change. Sir Bartlo Frere has delivered an important address on the threatening famine in Bengal, which he estimate* to be the calamity of tha liish famine multiplied by five. " In number, in zeal, in unity, in spiritual power," says the Protestant ' Standard,' " never wua tho Roman Church more powerful and formidable than at present." Twenty yoars hence the ' Standard, if it lasts so long, will be sayLlg exactly tho same thing. The Catholic Union of Great Britain intends to convene a great Catholic meeting m St. James's Hall, on an early day in February, to be a couuter-demonstratiou to that presided over by Lord Russell Deputations from all parts of the country will be present, j An advertisement was recently inserted by the authorities of a small hospital in the south of London for a secretary, wh->, in return for five hours' woik a clay, was offered a salary of £150. The answers to tho atlvertiscnont, we are iuformed, exceeded 300 in number, and among the applicants were a colonel ia Her Majesty's army and a titled member of a uoble family. The English Juggernaut. — Under this heading the 'Globe' denounces tin* present system of railway management as cruel, stern, relentless, remorseless, murdering fathers and mothers, lovers and haters, rich aud poor, with Sphinx-like iinpa&uYcness, and with remorseless sureness The conduct of the guirdians of the streets of the Metropolis has for some tiino past been a source of anxiety to tho3e whom business or pleasure detains from their homes until late in the evening ; but some recent ca^es of more than ordinary incompetence and 'uiuatity on tho part of the police have led to the publication of a number of letters in tho leading journals from the victims of theso attacks, which, in tho majority of induces, take place in tho West End of the towu We ou^ht,' perhaps, to feel rather obliged to Lord Russell for having elicited trom nearly the whole inotrupolitua press of England

a disapproval, more or less strongly expressed, of the policy which his J meeting is intended to endorse. Even the < Saturday Review,' ex- ! presses " a hope that no other politician and no ecclesiastic holding a | responsible position will be guilty of the impertinence of interfering in German affairs, or of the mischievous rashness of providing an excuse , for Irish disaffection." We read, with great surprise and regret, the article on the persecution of the Church in Prussia, in the ' Daily Telegraph.' We had Already noted that the ' Telegraph ' had been veering from the vigorous advocacy of religious liberty, which for so many years it has maintained, first to a qualified approval of Prince von Bismarck's oppression of the Catholic Church in Germany, and finally to a declaration of full sympathy with the penal laws of the Berlin Government. Almost every newspaper of standing, in London and the provinces, whatever may be its politics or its inclinations, has fully admitted that the Falck legislation violates the liberty of religion and of conscience. Englishmen three centuries ago endeavoured to force Protestantism upon Ireland, and Episcopacy upon Scotland ; and not "to our lostiag advantage." Savage hates, bloody feuds, shameful persecutions, and utter failure, were the only advantages England reaped from its Falck legislation. On the 27th of January the ultra-Protestant fanatics of London are to meet in St. James' Hall, under the befitting presidency of Earl Russell, to express their " deep sense of admiration" at the Rmperor of Germany's letter to the Pope, and in the name of " civil and religious liberty," their sympathy " with the people of Germany in their determination to resist the doctrines of the uitramoutane section of the Church of Rome." The object of the new law is well pointed out in a sentence or two which we quote from the leading columns of the 1 Times." " Prince Bismarck appears to con 1 emplate nothing less than the sudden creation of a Reformed Catholic Church, and to consider it possible to carry out precisely the same operation as was accomplished by Henry VIII. and Elizabeth in tkis country." That, is to say, a repetition of persecution. Freedom of thought, freedom of worship, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech — these are the great principles against which Bismarck and the Emperor are arrayed ; and it is to cheer the men of darkness in the contest that English voices are to be raised on the 27th of next January. The English landlord interest is taking alarm. More humane and national than their compeers of Ireland, who, some years ago, gloated with the ' Times ' over the fact that " the Irish were gone with a vengeance," the English landlords wish to keep the English peasantry intact and to improve their position- Sir Edward Watkin has broken fie ice. He offers Mr Arch twenty acr^s of good land situated near a town, at a nominal rent. Had such a remedy as this been applied to poor Ireland years ago, the people of that country need not have "gone with a vengence," and there would how be uo fear of their returning with a vengeance. The large number of persons who have been to see Mr Holman Hunt's grand picture, the " Shadow of Death," during the past week shows that the interest in the works of this remarkable painter is as great now as when his " Finding of the Saviour in the Temple " was exhibited more than ten years ago. At that time for several months the numbers averaged 800 visitors a day ; now the daily average is a thousand, and an increasing one. The picture was bought by Messrs Agnew for the unprecedented sum of 10 000 guineas, and the price required for the picture is said to be £15,000, with possession at the end of seven years. It is recorded of Lord Dennan, in his lately published Memoir, that, after discribing in the O'Connell appeal case the imperfect jury system by the now famous expression " a mockery, a delusion, and a snare," he said to his eon, Mr Justice Denmaa, '" I am sorry I used those words ; they are not judicial." It is a characteristic story, for Lord Penman could cay the right thing hastily, almost unwittingly. It can scarcely be known in England that in the English settlements on the Gold Coast slavery exists iv a tnostiideous and revolting form, and is not only tolerated, but formally recognised and sane tioned bj law. It is generally believed that wliex*e English rule prevails slavery cannot exist. Yet all the force and authority of English law (writes the ' Times ' correspondent at the Cape Coast Castle) is exerted to assist the slave-owner in his Ciaim to his human chatlles. On the 14th of January, the 158 th day of t!ie Tichborne trial, the i'4th day of his gumming speech, Dr Keuealy finijehd his defence of the };rcat Claimant. At the close of the speech, the Claimant., with vaEt gravity and solemnity, thanked the learned advocat6 for his exertions, and expressed a hope soon to be able to pay him the six hundred pounds which, it appears, is the balance between the sum paid and the sum due to Dr Kenealy by way of fees. Father N\igent, Chapluin of the borough Gaol, Liverpool, writes in his Report 1872-73 : During the ycur I have given the pledge to 427 men and 1,098 women. An accurate account has been kept of the men, and of the 427 only 18 have returned to the prison. Tipperary still to the Front — The ' Field ' says — " At the Athletic Bports at the Cumbridge University, the hurdle race (tea flights) was won by Mr Cardeo, eldest son of Sir John C. Carden, Bait., D.M., The Abbey, Templemore. The high jump (four feet eleven) was won by the 6ame gentleman." The '' Salford Diocesan Crusade against the Vice of intemperance," consisting of the association of prayer in honour of the Sacred Thirst and Agon? of Our Lord and of the Total Abstinence League, was inaugurated in the Cathedral of Salford by the Bishop on Sunday, January 4. The Cathedral was filled in all parts, even the sanctuary "was filled with men. Among the calamities that marked the year 1873 in England, may be named the Tichborne trial, v hich ended its 148 th day as the old year closed. We read a sign of the times, in the fact that the first large supply of prepared pent for the London market is expected shortly, as extensive operations are being carried on in the west of England and it Ireland. The new residence of the Archbishop of Westminster is a vorj large and very handsome edifice, in which respects it is in striking

contrast to the old residence in York Place. It stands on the corner of the vacant square of land upon which the new Cathedral of Westminster is to be erected— in fact, with this house the whole square is completed. The Archbishop is now installed in it; it is an edifice worthy of being his palace ; and when the Cathedral is built there will be the Archbishop's house next to it. The Very Rev. Dr Vaughan, Bishop of Salford, has written an important letter to Mr Butt. "No one," wrote his lordship, " can desire the welfare of Ireland more heartily than I "do, or feel how unequally she has been dealt with, and how unjustly she has been made to suffer for centuries. I believe the next par.iamenr, if not the present one, will recognise the political wisdom and justice of expending to Ireland a larger measure of self-government than she enjoys at present." This is cautious language, doubtless, but invaluable as coming from an English prelate, whose attitude may be almost as defining the direction of the ecclesiastical mind in England on Irish polities. Mr Carlyle is said to be engaged in writing a pamph'et on the struggle between the German G-overnment and the Pope.