Dublin Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIX, Issue 48, 4 September 1891, Page 21

Dublin Notes.

( From the National Papers.) The command of the forces in Ireland has been raised to that of a General. Up to the present it has been that of a Lieutenant-Geueral . The late Commander of the Forces, Prince Edward, of Saxe-Weimar, received as pay a sum o( £2588 11s 83, whereas Lord Wolseley will now draw £3588 3a 9d per annum. The present Commander of the Forces will also be allowed two paid aides-de-camp, instead of one, as formerly. Ab the Tories are now co-operating with the Pamellites in Oarlow, it may interest them to know that one of their leading luminariee, Dr. Salmon, Provost of Trinity College, in his " Introduction to the New Testament " [4th Ed., p 252, 1889] has identified Parnell as the beast in the Apocalypse ; " Parnellos contains the mystic number 666," and boycotting realised the description : " No one shall buy or sell without having his mark— xiii., 17 " I The Archbishop of Dublin, in a letter recently published, proposes that the Catholic clergy shall take up the work advocated by the Papal Encyclical in establishing boards of arbitration for the settlement of trade disputes. As we are threatened with another season of strikes, his Grace's letter comes most opportunely to point the way of peaceful settlement. Much has been accomplished in the past by the mediation and jndgment of eminent men to put an end to the fierce labour battles that so constantly arise ; but time and often opportunity is lost in the appointment and selection of mediators acceptable to both masters and men. We hope, therefore, that the proposal by the Archbishop will be heartily taken up, and will result in the establishment of a representative tribunal that may be effective in saving towns from the paralysis occasioned by social strife. There is excitement at Lisburn over the discovery of a case of leprosy in that town. Tho victim of the loathsome disease is an exsoldier named Evans, who served many years in India, and is supposed to have contracted the disease there. Since his return home he has been living with his mother and brother in Lisbnrn, and Bigns of leprosy have appeared In the brother. The neighbours are in a panic and are clamouring for the removal of the afflicted family. The local government board has ordered the Evanses to be completely isolated, and their clothing to be cleansed with strong disinfectants. The board has also issued a notice calculated to soothe the public alarm, declaring that there is no ground for fear, as leprosy can be communicated to others only by personal contact with the infected person. It is gratifying to announce that tha demand for Irish granite is vastly on the increase in comparison with former years. In the Newry. Goraghwood, and other granite districts a large number of hands are folly employed, and the demand for stone dressers in these districts still continues at pretty high rates of wages. The granite for the Belfast new dock is supplied by Mr. Mcßain, from his quarries at Goraghwood. Since Mr. Isaac Weir opened his green granite quarry at Boslrevor there has been a large demand locally, as well as large orders for the sister countries. This granite takes a beautiful polish, and is much admired for monumental work. It is to be regretted that no one as yet has developed the beautiful red granite that lies in abundance between Castlewellan and Leitrim, County Down. It takes a rosy polish. A taste might be displayed by some builder for a new building with interior done in alternate polished granite of green and red. It was the boast of Augustus that he found Borne brick and left it marble. With our vast mountain ranges of granite in the County Down some one hereafter may boast that he found Belfast brick and left it granite. Children who are born in these mountain ranges should be taught the art of granite dressing and polishing. At the present time one gentleman informs us it is utterly impossible to p -ocure stone dressers for his works. * At the Ballsbridge Sports in Dublin recently Mr T. McMahon, of the L A.A. aod 8.C., Limerick, firmly established his title to be considered one of the foremost runners of his time. His performances in the mile and a half contests elicited the applausa of all present, whila his defeat of the late holder of the mile championship was a performance of exceptional merit — McKowan never being able to i shake him off, and being quite unequal to the splendid spurt with which on the run home McMabon secured his victory. McMahon'a powers as a stayer, and a fast one when required, are already winning for him a reputation fully equal to that wtrich Conneff established in athletic circles in Ireland. With Kenna and McAdam on the cinder track, McMahon on the turf, and the Garryowen Football Club in the field, the reputation of Limerick in athletic circles is being splendidly upbeld. The following carious notice appeared in a Dublin newspaper lately : " Notice of Marriage — To Thomas W. Boyles, the Registrar of the District of Dvb 1 in, in the county and city of Dublin. I, the undersigned, Abraham Bhackleton, hereby give you notice that a marriage is intended to be had, without license, within three calendar months from the date hereof, between me and the other party named and described : that is to say Abra-

bam Shackle ton, widower, merchant, full age, residing over one month at 1 Herbert street, and Anne Harvey Wai pole, widow, full age, residing over one month at 29 York street, the city of Dublin. Neither party haviDg attended any place of worship for one month immediately previous to notice. Building in which the marriage is to be solemnised —Friends' Meeting House, Eustace street. Witness my hand thiß 4th day of June, 1891.— Abraham Shackleton." The portion of this interesting announcement to which we desire to direct attention i 8i 8 that which appears as follows : " Neither party having attended any place of worship for one month immediately preceding notice." This statement is likely to attract marked attention among persons who do not know that members of the Society of Friends refuse to cal 1 their meeting-honße " a place of worship." In all the length and breadth of Europe there is not a finer drill ground than the famous Curragh of Eildare. It is atl ousand pities that we do not make more use of this great expanse of rolling turf, broken by furze clumps, which has been truly described as " ft more beautiful lawn than the band of art ever made." It lies to Dublin very much as Aldershot lbs to London, and is distant 25 miles from the Irish capital, with which it is connected by a good road and the main line of the Great Southern and Western Railway. Of coarse it is a question for the civil power, but there is no donbt that the military authorities are at one in desiring the greater concentration of the troops in Ireland, who are now scattered on what are virtually police duties, and have little or no opportunities of learning their work as soldiers in a combination of the various arms. On the Car* ragh there is space enough to manoeuvre an army corps of continental size, with something to spare, and some officers who visited it lately were loud in their expressions of astoniehment that such a fair, verdant, and wide expanse should be occupied by no more than a division* The Irish name for the Curragh is interpreted " the short grads." It has never been broken by plough, and the sub-soil is limestone, over* lain by a fine dry loam — it is, in fact, a Hibernian prairie.