THE ARCHBISHOP OF CASHEL ON THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 5, 22 May 1885, Page 9

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CASHEL ON THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION.

Thb following interview doubtless was first printed in an English .paper ; bnt the Catholic Remote finds it floating round ancredited in -the Irish papers :—: — "Would your Grace object to my asking you a few questions regarding the temperance movement ?" i v " Certainly not. It is a matter that I have constantly before ane in one shape or another. But, before you begin, let me tell you honestly I think we in Irelend have been a deal too ready to plead •guilty to all our enemies say against us in this matter of intemperance. I don t see that we «re as intemperate as, for instance, the English or Scotch people ; and certainly I deny most 'emphatically that we are more so than they are," . "But, my Lord, there must be some foundation in fact for the -charge laid at the door of your Grace's countrymen. They are not •called the 'drunken Irish 'merely for spite." fr«s" Well, I believe spite has a great deal to say -to it. Their -accusers drink a great deal more than the Irish do, but they drink much more systematically. The Englishmen, however, carries his liquor better, and so does the Scotchman. A. drunken Englishman staggers home, sodden and stupid, and falls asleep without minding •anyone. If drmk brings out the stupidity of the Saxon, it brings out tne caution of the Scot, who can get drank, and return home, without anyone being a bit the wiser of it." " And I suppose, poor Paddy, my Lord, has neither stupidity nor < " Not he, poor fellow. Drink makes a fool of him. > He must talk to every friend and fight every foe. He takes a glass or two in town, and the whole parish knows it. He seems to be just twice as •drunk as he really is ; and where an English or Scotch drunkard would pass muster, he, poor fellow, shouts ont his own guilt. And ao for that guilt, half the time I firmly believe that it is the big heart and empty stomach, rather than the big drink, that we must hold to be the cause of his disgrace." * „ " Y ° u think » thei) > m y Lordt that were the Irish peasant better fed his liquor would do him less harm 1 " •• lam certain of it. The truth is he eats very little and drinks <very seldom. Perhaps once a week the Irish countryman touches whiskey, or not as often. His head is not used to it, as I said, his •stomach is empty— and there's the whole of it." ■ \ t • J' B^ t , Bur ?£ there i 8 something to ,be put down to the famous Irish whiskey t " " Famous ! Infamous, I should say. If the poor Irish got good whiskey there would be a very different tale to tell. Ie is the horrible poisonous stuff that the Government allows to be given out and sold to our poor people as whiskey that does the harm. It is not •that it intoxicates— it maddens them." « Do you think, then, my Lord, that Government should legislate with a view to regulating the age and quality of the whiskey sold by the publicans ?" ■ . *,t, t '•« Certainly. Why not ? There are laws regulating . the sale of other poisons ; why should this posion be excepted ? 1 am sure a •home government would have long ago passed such a law. We are robbed of the liberties we ask for, and are given the liberty that is mining us. But it is useless to talk of Englishmen ever taking the •trouble to grapple with this question." " And what doeß your Grace say to the total abstainers J " "I say, and from my heart, Goa bless them I Let them stand by their pledges, and not abuse sober non-abstainers, and they have my best wishes. They are alrea ly a power in the country. I have close on a thousand total abstainers in the parish of Thurles alone ; and many of my priests through the archdiocese are cold-water men. Even here the words and example of your own great Cardinal have their effect. I think the Irish people should never forget the debt of .gratitude they owe Cardinal Manning for all he has done for them in this matter of temperance, and in many a graver matter. He has been a true friend in all our needs. His League of the Cross is one of the leagues that we Irish look on with thankf uluess and hope. May God prosper it." " I wish your Grace would say a word to your countrymen in Ireland and England regarding the avoidance of drunkenness on St. Patrick's Day." " Why should I? For years past I have seen by the police reports of all the large centres in Ireland and England that there, have been, scarcely any cases of drunkenness before the magistrates' after St.! Patrick's Day ; and you may be sure that in. England, at least, no poor Irishman forgetting himself on that day would be allowed to escape, so anxious are our rulers, and, indeed it would seem, some ■amongst ourselves, to fix on that day— the dearest and holiest to an Irishman s heart— the stigma of intemperance. In this parish, which ucludes the town of Thurles and a large country district as well, Jpere is never now a case for the police-court resulting from 1 intemperance on Patrick's Day. What I say to my countrymen is, that they should continue to improve in this respect as they have improved for the past few years. Let them be jealous of the honour of their country and their Patron Saint, and give neither friend nor foe the smallest grounds for these insulting accusations. If this •cannot be done save by abstaining entirely on Patrick's Day from intoxicating drink, let them so abstain. 'Tis the least sacrifice they •could make." "Thank you, my Lord. lam sure your Grace's words and blessing will encoutage many an Irishman this comiug Patrick's