Dublin Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIX, Issue 21, 20 February 1891, Page 21

Dublin Notes.

(From the National Papers.) Tna women of Castlecomer, if they are to be credited with the authorship of a hostile address, which was to have been presented to Mr. Parnell on the occasion of his recent visit, have spoken for the daughters of Ireland with no little strength of praise. " Are you," they ask, " the man, the heartless despot, the would-be silencer of public opinion, the shameless destroyer of a home, the unblushing betrayer of a friend, the false, the dishonoured ! — we ask, are you the man to be our leader ? No ? ten thousand times No I " An address of a directly opposite character was presented on Saturday to Mr. Parnell on behalf of the ladies of the city of Kilkenny, who a9ked bis acceptance of a bouquet of white flowers as a token of their admiration of his pluck. The Most Bey. Dr. MacCormack, Bishop of Galway, in a lettor to the Very Rev. P. Dooley, P.P., says : " It would be desirable that every parish in Ireland should meet and speak upon the all-absorbing topic so deeply affecting the interests of our country. On a memorable occasion I gave proof of my sincere esteem and admiration for Mr. Parnell ; but now, in obedience to the dictates of conscience, and in the interest of my country, I have no choice but to reject him as a dissolute and dishonourable man, and the sure curse of our country's cause." At a meeting presided over by Father Dooley, a resolution waa adopted declaring Mr. Pamell's claim to be still leader of the Irish race ac " absurd and andacious." At all the Masses at the Franciscan Church, Knnis, on Sunday, Mr. Parnell was vehemently denounced both morally aDd politically by the Friars. Archbishop Ireland, the famous American Archbishop, had a conference at Chicago with the members of the Irish Parliamentary party in that city. The Archbishop said his visit was purely personal, and the statement that he represented the Catholic Hierarchy in any way was a nuistake He al6o authorised the statement that the Hierarcy of America would take no cHicial action whatever in the matter of the trouble now existing in the National Party. Whatever members of the priesthood in America might do or say it would be entirely personal and not representing the Church as a whole. Archbishop Ireland gave the following as his own individual opinion :—"I: — "I am firmly of the opinion that Mr. Parnell should resign the leadership of the party. For him to retain control wouH only antagonise so large an element necessary to the success of the Irish cause as would necessarily postpone the success of that cause for a long time. If Parnell is patriotic and has the good of his people at heart, he must see that, and step down and out. I am of opinion that the matter will be Bettled v a few days, and that Mr. Parnell will give way. It is the only thing tbat can bring success under the circumstances. I have entire confidence in Mr. Gladstone, and believe he will do what is right by the Irish cause." Archbishop Ireland had more faith in Mr. Pamell's patriotism than was justifiable. Mr. Parnell the week before last (ending December l\\) gave us his genuine, real opinions— we suppose we must take them to be his, they are the latest supplied — about the man he had chosen as a lit and proper represtntative for North Kilkenny. He wap. according to him, a tuft-hunter and a place-hunter. On Saturday (December 20) he described for us the lean 'ideal of an Irish member. That was the phrase he used to compliment the man whom he nas time and again proposed for the Vice-Chairmanship of theliish Parliamentary party. On Saturday he gave the following deFcription ot him :— " I believe," he said, " the new 'eader has come down to Kilkenny. After waiting for a week he telegraphed down to the hotel opposite to have a good stiff tumbler of whiskey punch ieady for him on his arrival, and a bath of hot water and mustard ready for his feit ; and I b heve if you went over to him you would find him bitting in tbat bath of mustard and hot water yet." The crowd is said by tne p 'lice repoit:rs to have laughed at the deposed leader in Lns first appearance aa funny man. The opponents ot Mr. Parnell are stating that the mob waa hired. Ibis daughter is the best evidence ot the truth ot that statement. The elephantine humourist went on to say that the beau ideal of an liish member "is a nice old Kt>ntlema r i f or a quiet tea-party," adding, by way of c mpleting the definition, '' he has uotgot an ounce of steel in his wbole body, or soul for the matter of that. ' Mr. Parnell knows his ideals better than their realisation. We suspect tbat there is a little more steel in the composition of his pirtythanne reckoned when he was " making them." We hope the few members of tue Knnis Boaid of Guardians who flung the word " traitor" at the bead of that sturdy Methodist Home Kule M.P. have the giaca to be ashamel of themselves. Mr. Jordan's reply ought to make their ears tingle . " My coueeience," he wiited, "is perfectly cle^r, and I never performed a duty with a heavier seDse of responsibih'y ; but, Laving arrived at a decision, no power could cause me to swerve fiom my allegiance to my convictions. I calculated the cost. 1 am piepared to pay the penalty, if that penalty be enacted, and no threat could cause me to deviate. Kathur ihe contrary, it would only increase my determination. I regret that such a respectable board, intelligent as it is respectable, shouLi deem it their duly to brand my action in voting according to my convictions as ' traitorous.' 1 Eeaeul wk'u ail the integrity and strength of soul the application of 6uch an epithet to me. lam no traitor. I never have been, aiid 1 trust in God I never shall be. I have never betrajed any n.an nor any cause. Since the day I fust entered public life I Lave never deviated to the right hand nor to the left from my public promises and dut,. Why shoal 1 I? I hive no higher a tibitkia to gain than to represent West Clare, aid tnat I have done up to the tiixbent faithfully. 1 have no interest to s< rye. I want neither pldce, position, orraomy, other than I possess. What could I gain by votiug <i«ainal Mr. Paine 1 ? All things being equal, I would preffr him to any other man. And after all these considerations, when I feel withiu my conscience that I voted for Ireland and virtue only, 1 must, al the risk of appearing warm, courageously and indignantly ripel the accusation that my conduct is ' traitorous.'

I would fain trust that tbat insinuation was made in a moment of excitement, but representative and deliberative bodies each as yours should be alow to tear the fair fame of men like me, wbo are your public servants, because we differ from you in public matters, on which we have more and better material and information to form a correct judgment than you can possibly have." Really, the Parnellitiea ought to revise their dictionary. Another patriotic Methodist, who sympathises with Mr. Jordan, is Rev. Henry S. Lunn, well known in the commencement of the fight for the part he took in the Protestant Home Rule Association, and at elections ia England. The majority of the association baa pone Pamellite. Their decision has evoked the following letter from Dr. Lunn :: — '• After the decision whicn the general meeting of the Irish Protestant Home Rule Association arrived at the other evening supporting the committee in its action with regard to Mr. Parnell, 1 feel that there is no other course op#n to me but to withdraw from the association, with which it has been a great pleasure to me to ba actively and publicly identified in the past. The fact that I travelled nearly 3,000 miles on behalf of the association during the General Election ot 1886, and addressed meeting? from London to Inverness, thereby risking my ordination as a Wesleyan minister, is sufficient proof of my sympathy with the principles with which the association has been identified in the past. If, however, the association is prepared to support the leadership of a man whose record is disgraced by the basest treachery and moral turpitude, I feel that the time has come for those who hold national righteousness to be of more importance than the success of any political cause, to withdraw from membership in the association." Dr. Lunn and Mr. Jordan are not alone among Methodists, and North Kilkenny will win them many new adherents. It having been insinuated tbat the Oasory priests had not freedom of action. Dean Kelly aad Canon Hogan, who presided at the recent clerical meetings, declare that all were unanimous in pronouncing against Mr. Pamell's leadership, and that no attempt was made to coerce any priest of the diocese. The Catholic clergy of the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, including thirty-four priests from Longford, twenty-three from Leitrim, thirteen from Westmeath, eight from King's County, seven from Cavan, and three from Roscommon, making a total of eighty-eight, in tne course of a declaration against Mr. Parnell's leadership, call up.>n the members who represent in Parliament the sevea counties into which the diocese extends to refuse to serve any longer under such a leader. The Deanery of Castlebar, in a declaration Bigned by fourteen priests, denounce Mr. Parnell as " a firebrand of discord, strife and disunion, " and warn the people " against giving any countenance to such a man, bereft of common shame as he has proved himself to be, of all moral and honourable principle," affirming " that as Ireland, historically pre-eminent among £he nations for purity of morals and fidelity to faitb and fatherland; never used foul instruments in the pursuit and assertion of her sacred rights in the past, so does she in the present turn away from such with loathing." Another declaration by the Deanery of Westport, signed by twelve priests, reprobates Mr. Parneli's conduct in the strongest language, and calls upon Irishmen at home and abroad to unite in a struggle for the hoaour and virtue of Erin. The Deanery of Dunmore (Tuam) including fifteen priests, proclaim Mr. Parnell " pre-eminent in guilt and shame, unfit to be the leader of virtuous and holy Ireland," and the Deanery of Claremorns, represented by fourteen priests, condemn him "in the sacred interests of Irish morality and fatherland, heartily endorse the action of the majority of the Irish Parliamentary party." Undid Ireland having erroneously stated that the Chapter of the Archdiocese of Dublin, his Grace the Archbishop presiding, had unanimously endorsed the view of the Very Rev. Mgr. Lee, D.D., V.G., P.P., of Bray and Dean of the chapter, who was represented as having strongly urged upon the clergy to take no action upon the question of the hour as the Catholic laity were divided in opinion upon the subject and popular feeling was so manifestly in favour of Mr. I'arnell, adding that Mgr. Lee, if he had to take a side would have taken that of the Iribh leader, an authoritative contradiction his bp^n given to that misleading statement. Dean Lee called at the oflice of that ] jurnal and informe i Mr. Campbell, M.P., that the statement was inaccurate, tendering a letter contradicting it for insertion. Mr. Campbell expressed his willingness to make the necjssary correction, bur declined to insert the letter in its entirety, on t fie ground that it libelled ivlr. Parnell. The Dean, in the course of the letter, which his since been published ia fall in many papers, says :— " No such meeting of the uiocese has been held. That there be no mistake about my individual opinion on the present crisis, I am convinced that all Irish Catholics, clergy and laity, should act in concert with the Bishops, and that for the reasons assigned in the Bishops' recent addiess to the clergy and people of Irel&ud. The character of Mr. Parnell, as revealed in the Divorce Court, speaks for itself. Since the verdict of that, court Mr Parnell has given further abundant proof of his unfhness to be a eader of the people of Ireari'l. I am indeed of opmion that in the present state of public feehna;, excited aud nusl-d as it has been by the lutoua/i-i Journal and s'imc few other newspapers, it would not be expedient for the clergy of the parish to get mixed up in the violent proceedings which at a time like this too frequently take place at public meetings, led or misled by over-earnest partisan!^ not always fully informed as to the merits at issue. This opiDion,%hich, I am happy to know, is ideutic-il with that of the Archbishop of DubliD, I expressed when my opinion was asked by his Grace at a recent meeting of the Dublin clergy, but I <\xn no less clearly of opinion, and I expressed myself to that effect ou the same occasion, that the clergy, not only of this pan u h, but of tae diocese, as responsible advisers of the people, have a must serious duty to discharge in the present crisis, and in discharge of that duty tluy should on every suitable occasion put before the people, and especially before those who take a Leading part in public affairs, the abundant grounds on which, notwithstanding Mr. Paruell'h many previous services to the country, we iiod ourselves with regrot now forced to the conclusion that he should be regarded as a fallen, leader, no longer worthy of the confidence, of tbe

people of Ireland. It is my earnest hope that the progress of events may not compel us to adopt an attitude of more active intervention." The meeting referred to was not a metting of the Chapter , bat the last of the quarterly conferences. The Archbishop availed of the occasion to address some wise words of counsel to his priests, most tinr^ly and jadicious in the present heated state of popular feeling which it ahould be the duty of the clergy to moderate and not intensify. The meeting was of the usual piivate chaiacter, and its proceedings were not intended to be made public. The R9V. Walter Hurley, C.C., Delgany, County Wicklow, is the only priest of the archdiocese who has prominently espoused the cause of Mr. Parnell.