DR. NULTY'S ADDRESS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 20, 11 September 1885, Page 16

DR. NULTY'S ADDRESS.

On his return from Rome the Bishop of Meath, replying to several addresses presented to him at Mulhngar, spoke as follows--There is one great and leading idea which pervades all these addresses and which dominates conspicuously in each of them and )lrJ hlB 7-; ha f t tbe J aU repudiate, reject, reprobate and condemn the lying, vielent. offensive, and indecent attacks that have been made on me by the auti-Irish Press oE London and Dublin during my absence (groans). For alluding to tliese attacks I thank you from my heart ; and why ? Because you haven't condoled or sympathised with me as if these attacks made on me were a misfortun™ but «eem rather to have rejoiced and congratulated me upon these attacks as *n event of which I ought to feei proud (bear, hear and applause). And Ido feel justly proud of these attacks made on me (enters). I a^k myself what have I done— what have I written--what service have I .endered my country or my religion that I should brmg down upon myself the full torrent of the violent vituperauon of the anti-Irish and the anti-Uatbohc Press of London and Dublin The last pastoral that I wrote leaving Ireland's shore seems to have borough y f nghtened them all (laughter). It seems further to have infuriated them, and in the blindness ami passion of their an-er they bring out of it a charge against me which proves that theV themselves were simply demented by pa-sion and anger. That Dastoial was written very hurriedly. I had not time to finish it at home I finished it on the steamboat between Kingstown and Holyhead Every one of tlu-m-the Lmdon Time*, the Morning Post the Svectatnr the Whitehall Mwn;,^ Saturday Bee**, tl StjlesT^tZ' a..d a whole lot of others I can't .emember, winding up, ot couree wuh the Irish Tunes and tbe Evening Mad-^% one of them accused me of intimidating the Sovereign Pontiff. If I had Z I would read some of these extracts. My fnend Mr. Sullivan has collected them all together. However, I won't waste time by read ing th..m f but I will reply to them. Ito .numidate the Soy, rdgn I ont.ff ! At, humble country bishop to think of intimidating the bove.eign Pontiff 1 Why, J should not have a particle of faith or religion, or even a vestige of common senM> if I was silly enough to do so. Intimidate the S .vereigu Pont.ff 1 Why, you could not Ladies and gentlemen, you would feel tbe moment you en-er into the august presence of the Sovereign Pontiff a feeling of indescrib° able awe come over you. You feel you are standing on the spot the highest point on earth, the point wnere e*rth almost touches heaven and \ou cmnot help venerating, revering, and loving the Sovereign' Pontiff-loving him not merely on account of his high and exalted position loving htm not merely because he is toe highest represent*, ire of Gods aw on tni s earth, loving him not only on account of lm g / e 1 erudl ';°° f an f wi l dom whic ' a te possesses, but Irishmen will feel compelled to love him on another ground and that is be cau-e Leo , heart-as we Irishmen say-i s in the right place (cheers) Leo a heart beats fervently, warmly, and affectionately for the Irish r.*ce and the Ins » nation (loud cheers). TUiefore, the idea of inW? t\I Dg Soverei ? n /o°tiff is s.mply absu.d and ridiculous Why, theie were great and mighty kings and despots-Alanc the King of tbe Huns, the m^bty Emperor of Germany, and last y in our own times the powerful Napoleon the Kirst. This man with counties L-gions at his back, be and every one of them fai! P d iguominiously At th, ei-.gle word ot non posmmus those desootS tj rants quailed The-e words paralj B uf the arms o? legions At these words the sword fell from their hands and they wera rendered utterly power c*.. J, then, to think of doing what these m.ghty emperors fuk-u to do is .imply absurd and 2?* culo.is. Jim, Jadi,san«i gemlemen, what >s the Waning of intimidat.on? Evcyoneof these writers accused me of this crime \V hi to intimidate anyone is to do an injustice and injury That is thl wrongitdo.s. It causes him pain and gives him displeasure Now what is my intimidation? My letter aid not intimidate the Sove reign 1 ontiff. My letter, instead of causing him or doing bim an injustice or wrong, conferred a great benefit on him Instead nf causing him pain, that letter filled his heart with joy and gladness for, ladies and gentlemen, the answer you gave to that letter was ■ mply this-that in two weeks you collected and sent to me in Rome the splendid contribution of £1,800 for tbe Sovereign Pontiff cbcenng and cues of " We'll do n again ")-and in sending that contribution you proved incontestably and unanswerably to the world that jonr love and nff >cuon and devotion to the Holy See are as deeo and solid and as strong and as affectionate as could warm the bosoms of Irishmen in any pa.it of the world (great cheering) The Holy Father when I presented him with your gift, was overpowered and astonished by your muuificence and generosity, and, said he « wh P n you return tell your people that I am grateful, most ' grateful •ad most thankful to them and that the munificent

and generosity of their gift has touched me moat profoundly. Tell them that I reciprocate their feelings and affections and love in all their strength, their sincerity, and their earnestness ; that I reciprocate from my h^art, that I cannot show my love for tnem as they have shown their love for me ; that I have not gold or silver with which toexpresi to them howdepply I love them ; but that I will give th' m all I have, and that is my Apostolic benediction (cheers). When you return assemble your people, not only those of youi own parish, but o» all the pm^hes adjoining, and tell them that I send them my Apostolic blessing from the bottom of ray heart, and that I hope that blessing will strenethen their faith, will form their resolutions in accordance with God's holy law, will support them in their onward march to glory, where, perhaps, we may all meet hereafter, and where I may thank them again fc the favour they have bestowed on me " (great cheerinsr). I said : " Holy Father, I have been assiiled by an organised combination of the anti-Irish and Anti-Catholic Press. I don't fear them. lam an humble man, but I am not afraid of them ; and I am only afraid of you, Holy Father, and I should not wish that they should poison your mind against me, and, therefore, I think that it is better that I should not write any more. 7 ' The Pope at onca stopped me, and said, " Write on, write on," without any qualification. The Holy Father told me to write on (great applause). Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will write on (renewed cheering). Hitherto I have written a little, hitherto my countrymen at home and abroad have exteaded to me an amount of confidt nee, gratitude, and esteem that I did not deserve. The Irish people bestowed that confidence upon me as a favour which I did not merit, but now I come forward and claim the confidence of my countrymen, a large share of that confidence of my fellow-country-men, and I claim that as a right (cheers). T carry my credentials to that right in tbesp addresses in my hand — I point out as the proof of my claim to the confidence of my countrymen the fact that the most organised, combined, and desperate combination hai been made by the anti-Irish and anti-Catholic Press of T ondon and Dublin to destroy me (cheers). That is the pmof that I give my countrymen for the claim which I make now of a 1 irge share of t leir confidence in the future (renewed cheeri gj. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the meanness and cowardice and hypocrisy of these London journals and Dublin journals, too, or at least of a particular class of Dublin journals— for we are proud of our national and Catholic Dublin journals — the meanness and cowardice and hypocrisy of these London and Dublin journals in accusing me of intimidating the Sovereign Pontiff, are the most unblushing and shameless I ever read (groans). These journals which now appear so solicitous for the Holy Father are the very journals which for years and years have been the bitter enemies of the Pope, and which have ever tried to destroy the Papacy. They have done more to create dissensions between the Irish and English people than any other agency with which I»m acquainted. One of the consequences of those writings assailing me, and one perhaps which the writers did not anticipate, they have introduced me to the people of England — Bishop Nulty, as they called me. They have givea me a notoriety among the people of England. In representing Bishop Nulty as defying the Pope they made me as it were, a hero ; therefore, if I find my opportunity to address the people of England — and before I die I have a weighty messige to deliver to them — I am sure of a friendly and impartial heaiing. Passing to the cnanged political conditions of the country owing to the fall of the Gladstone Government, his lor Iship said in lefeience to outrages : One enemy we have to fear, and that is the man who commits an outrage. A couple of dozen of miscreants can ere te an amount of crime and outrage that in a very shoit time would blacken our fair fame again, give any Government a mean opportunity of annihilating our liberties, and imposing fiesh Coercion Acts upon us (hear, hear). Therefore let every man be a policeman (cheers), and if any man arrests and sc z^s any of those criminals or miscreants, I say don't lynch him, though he would deserve it, but bring Lim to justice and if you succeed in naving him transported for life, you will have done a great service to your country (great cheers). Let us observe the Jaws ; let us detest outiage ; let us set our faces against crime ; let us give no Government, whether Whig or Tory, the opportunity of coercinar us, of annihilating our liberty (loud applause). In coi elusion bis lordship said — Again, my dear people, I thank you from my heart for th( se beautiful addresses. You have given "me a welcome borne that I did not deserve, that I did not anticipate. 1 regret exceedingly the amount of expense gone to in this demon BtratioD. I know that you could well afford it, but your generosity was always beyond your means (cheers). lam with jou now over thirty y< ars ; I have laboured and toiled amongst you when you were 6ick ; I visited you and stood by the bedsides of your fathers when they were ill with fever and cholera, and never shrunk fiom the dauger (applause). I never abandoned my post ; I clung to my people, and the people respected and loved me, and I see pioof of their love and respect for me to-day (cheers). I respect and love them back m return, and I hope that the union between the people, the priests and bishops, and between the Sovereign Pontiff and the Irish people, will remain forever.