Irish News.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 49, 8 April 1898, Page 9

Irish News.

ARMAGH-— New Bell and Belfry for Moy Catholic Church. — There is every indication that the projest of a new bell and belfry for Moy Catholic Church will very soon be realised. A meeting of the Armagh Diocesan Building Fund was held on Tuesday, February 8, at the Parochial House, Moy, to consider the plans for this important addition to the <church. His Eminence Cardinal Logue, Archbishop of Armagh and' Primate of All Ireland, presided, and there were also present — Right Rev. Monsignor Byrne. P P., V.G., Dungannon ; Very Rev. Canon Rice, P.P., V.F., Cookstown ; Very Rev. Canon M'Cartan, P.P., Donaghmore ; Rev. John Quinn, Adm.,, Armagh. ; and Rev. Michael Quinn, C.C., Armagh. Mr. Donnelly, architect, Omagh, was also present.

ANTRlM.— Belfast and the University Question.— Mr. Vesey Knox, M.P., has addressed the following comrnunic.ition to the hon. secretaries of the Catholic University Committee in Belfast : — " Dear Sir, — I am in receipt of your resolutions with which lam in thorough accord. As I see that my suggestion as to a statutory Commission has been somewhat misunderstood (though not at the Belfast meeting) I may take the opportunity to make it clear. When a new University is established the usual course is for the promoters (if the term may be used) to prepare a draft charter and submit it with a petition to the Crown. The Crown refers it to a Committee of the Privy Council, and grants the charter on their report after the preliminary formality of laying it before Parliament. This is the course followed' recently when the University of Wales was established. The only Bill requested in this case would be an Educational Bill. Where, however, it is proposed not merely to found a new University, but also to abolish an old one or entirely alter its character, the usual course if for Parliament to appoint a Commission with full powers to make the necessary changes. This would not be a Royal Commission, which can only consider and report, but a statutory Commission with power to give effect to its conclusion. This precedent was followed in the case of Oxford and Cambridge. What is needed in Ireland is : (1) The establishment and endowment of a new Catholic University ; and (2) constitution in lieu of the Royal University of an autonomous university of

Belfast. This dual object would require a lengthy and elaborate Act of Parliament unle?s it be decided to rather follow the Oxford or Cambridge pi*ecedent, and create a statutory Commission with the necessary powers to consider and decide as -to all- the details, to draw statutes, etc. I believe that the latter course would largely diminish the possibility of effective Parliamentary rpsistance. My object in suggesting it was to point out that the Government if sine re in their adhesion to the gener.il principle could, in acjor lance with good Parliamentary precedents, carry that principle into effect without making very engrossing demands upon the time of Parliament. There is no reason why. as the Bishop of Down and Connor said, it should not bd carried out during the coining session."

CORK. — The National Teachers' Grievance. — The National teachers of Ireland have a serious grievance in the new pension regulations, and on Saturday, February 5, the teachers of Cork cir.y and county held a most bucuessful meeting to ventilate their grievance. The main point in the teachers' grievance is that the Treasury has ordered a very large increase in the contributions made by the teachers to their Pension Fund without showing any real ground for making this heavy extra charge. The Cork meeting (says the Irish CutJt lie) was a most influential one. Sympathetic letters were read from the Most Rev. Dr. O'Callaghan and the Most Rev. Dr. Browne. Sir George Colthurst proposed a series of resolutions bearing on the financial position of the teachers, which, in a most representative meeting, were c irried unanimously. Under the Act of 1879 teachers of the first division of first class were awarded a pension of £88 per annum on completion of 40 years' service. The same Act provided for the annual payment of a certain premium. The Treasury people have now got the notion into their heads that they are losing money by the present arrangement. If they are losing money it ought to be possible to set forth a statement of accounts making the matter clear. Supposing, then, the loss to be genuine, the proper course to pursue would be to invoke the intervention of ParHiment for the indemnification of the Treasury. This would bs the only reasonable method of procedure, even granting the arrangements made by statute in 1879 to be unsound, though it is undeniable that the evidence before the public points quite the other wuy. Giving tho Treasury credit, nevertheless, for perfectly accurate arithmetic — which is, however, giving away too much — yet the action taken by its officials seems most autocratic. The pension of 48S is to be reduced to £60 unless

within two months teachers agree to pay a premium more than double that agreed upon in 1879. The teachers are perfectly rfcht to make a stand against such treatment. Their salaries are quite small enough without making further charges upon them, and their pensions should be increased rather than diminished.

DUBLlN.— Agricultural Co-operation in Ireland-— On Friday, February i, in the Aula Maxima of University College, Dublin, the Rev. T. Finlay, S.J., leobured before the Debating Society on " The Church and Co-operation," expressing a marked preference for co-operation rather than trades unionism. The Right Hon. Horace Plunkett, M.P., in proposing^ vote of thanks to Father Finlay^feaid that in this work of co-operation in Ireland^** least 95 per cent, of those with whom he had close relations belonged to the Roman Catholic persuasion, and though in religious matters he had to disagree with most of his associates, in economic matters he found himself in entire agreement with them. In almost every portion of Ireland where they desired most to assist the people the assistance of the priest was necessary before progress of any kind could be obtained. He could instance many parishes where the priest was the only person possessed of any education whatever, and it was obvious that in those cases the priest must not ouly be the spiritual, but even the business adviser, of his flock. The bishop of Clonfert, whilst recognising the «ood work done by Mr Plunkett's association, made it quite clear that he did not regard those efforts as a permanent remedy for the state of things in Ireland. '• If any man," said his Lordship, '• knows the Westpf Ireland I do. In face of foreign competition the elements of successful agriculture are capital, labour, and technical skill. What do I find in the West and other parts 1 of the country 1 I find that the very best lands in the whole country are gone out of cultivation, without capital, labour, and skill, and they are at the present time in exactly the same state as in the days of Adam. All the best land has gone out of cultivation, inhabited merely by herds, and cultivated by graziers, who are breaking up every day in face of foreign competition, and unable to pay their debts. What have capital, labour, and skill done for these landß ? Absolutely nothing. I say, therefore, the first element in successful competition in agriculture in Ireland is the subdividing of the good lands, and the putting of the people to till the lands that they inherited from their forefathers. Ido not propose in doing that to be unjust to any man. If any man, landlord or grazier, is

deprived of his lands I wouM give him their full market value for them. The next thing that must be done is — in my opinion — you must make the tenant-farmer the owner of the soil that he tills. So.loug as human nature is what it is the greatest stimulus to industry will be the conviction that you are working for your own and for nobody else. 1 know from my own experience with regard to those farms which have been purchased by the tenants that they labcir on them night and day. that they pick up the last particle of manure and put it on the land, that they put their fences into good order, that they open the r drains, and they and their families work day and night with the as>ured conviction that no landlord or anybody else can touch them henceforward. Therefore, I say the second elemenc in successful agricultural competition in Ireland must be to make the tenants, on fair terms all round, the owners of the soil they till. If you do this you have a chance of competing successfully with the foreigner, and enabling the tillers of the soil in Ire* land to live in comfort in the country.

An Admirable Society— A vary admirable society, to be known as the Police-Aided Children's Clothing Society, has been established in Dublin. It is found that in Dublin, like in most large cities, the various philanthropic societies overlap, and while some of the poor are helped from several charitable bodies, others of them are helped from none. Under these circumstances, the Dublin police have generously placed themselves at the disposal of tho Philanthropic Reform Association, for the purpose of seeing that the wants of all the deserving poor are attended to, and the PoliceAided Children's Clothing Society is the result. The Society's chief objects are, in the first place, to clothe poor children ; in the second place, to secure that drunken parents do not pawn the clothing thus supplied. Her Excellency the Countess of Cadogan is a patroness of the Society, which is certain to rapidly make its way iuto the public confidence.

GALWAY. — The Catholic University Question in Galway. — A great meeting was held in Galway to consider this question, and as might ba expected, the Galway people ppoke with no uncertain sound on theju^t claims of Catholics to educational equality. Professor Pye, MD., J. P., pr tposed the first resolutior, ■which ran as follows :—l.: — 1. " That we adopt the claim put forward by the Catholic laity of Ireland in their recent declaration, and reaffirmed by the national meeting held in Dublin, on the 11th inst.,

for perfect equality with our non-Catholic fellow-countrymen in all that regards endowment and privileges of University institutions, and express our determination to enforce that claim by every constitutional means in our power." The resolution was supp >rted by Professor Steinberger, M.A., F.R.U.1., in a speech so fitting an I to the point that we cannot refrain from quoting, said '• he had travelled or lived in most of the countries of Europe, and when he first come to Ireland to learn the Irish language he met with m my surprises, but nothing surprised him more than to find Irelani— which taught the greater part of the countries of Europe, and but for which he might now be a barbarian on the Alps or on the Danube (laughter) — without a University of its own. He was astonished to find that the Catholic people of Ireland had no University. If they looked to India they could find the people provided for in this respect. If they looked to Austria, which was pretty much like the British Empire, in having under its dominion many different races and people speaking various languages, they would find the higher educational wants of these people well provided for ; but Ireland is the only place in Europe where the m ijority of the people have no University (hoar, hear)." The following resolution was also carried :—": — " That we call on the members of Parliament for the town and county to press the Catholic clsiiui for perfect educational equality on the House of Commons on ev*ry suitable occasion, and to expose the urgency of tho grievance, and the injustice which a delay in dealing with it inflicts on the Catholic community."

KILDARE — Inspection of the Diocesan Schools.— The fifth annual report of the inspection of schools in the above diocese has just been published and present, d to the bishop, the Most Rev. Dr Foley, by the diocesan examiner, the Rev. Win. Phelan. The report shows that there are 270 schools in the diocese, and the subjects taught were prayers, catechism, explanation of catechism, and Bible history. Father Phelan classifies the schools in accordance with the results of his examination, and we learn from the report that 52 schools specially distinguished themselves, as the answering of the children in every subject was super-excellent, 117 were excellent, 60 good, :57 moderate, and four unsatisfactory. In the order of merit as to parishes, Ba^nalstown ranks first place in the diocese, for out ot 1000 children on the rolls, only three were absent through illness on the day of the examination, aud the answering was of such a superior nature that every one of the 1U schools in the parish got the mark super-excellent in the column of meiit. Clonegal parish ranks next with rive out of its schools super-excellent. Tullow next with five out of eight schools super-excellent. Carlow parish has an excellent record, the three Convent Schools scoring 1 super-excel-lent marks on the advanced programme, while Kildare, Naas, Abbeyleix, and Borris have also taken a very high position.

LOUTH.— Unveiling of a Statue to St. Brigid in St. Nicholas' Church, Dundalk. — A very interesting ceremony took place in the beaut it ul little chapel attached to St. Nicholas', Dundalk, on Monday, February 7, when a statue to St. Brigid, which has lately be> n added to the internal decorations ot the church, was m>li nmly unveiled. Ili^h <M i->s was celebrated at 11 o'clock, the celebrant b i. g Rev. I*. Finogan, C.C. ; deacon, Rev. B. Donnellan, Ailm. : and sib-dea:o.i, 11-v. F M'Xeoue, CO. Tne c remony of unve liny took place a' :J oVlock before a laige congregation, aiVer which Hey Fa' her Mitthew. ot the Capuchin Order, preached a very earnest aul . lnq'i" it sermon. Tne devotions were brought to a close by lto^ry and B-ncJiotion ot the Blessed Sacrament.

MAYO. — The Distress in the West — Most pitiable accounts btill reach us of the dreadlul state of things in the West ot Ireland. L irge districts (writes the Fn "man's Journal) axe on the brink of famine. Day by day, and irorn every direction the evidence of the acute distress accumulates upon us. The proceedings at a meeting in Swinford show the union in so lamentable a condition that the overworked rehevi. g officers are driven to seek for assistance or to resign, and at the same tune indie ite the strong protest of the people against the notable project of Mr. Balfour by which the starving ratepayers are commissioned to save each other from starvation. To Belmullrt, as the Government has been over and over asraiu warned, famine has arrived. The great bulk of the sixteen or seventeen thousand inhabitants are in immediate and pressing want of iootl. The potato crop, which was their main dependence, has completely failed. Theie is the utmost difficulty in obtaining supplier from the outer world. The Government, by refusing the railway demanded, and substituting a hazardous, intermittent, and practically worthless boat service, has done v- hat it can to iiccentuate and perpetuate the distress-. Each btoiy of the di»tre-& appears the m >&t pitiable possible till the next is told. In the parish of Carruroe the people are actually clamouung f >r Indian meal to keep the life in them, and there is no reason to s ippose that in many other districts the strain of the ia nine (it is t.iue to call it by its true name) is any less severe.

ROSCOMMON.— Mr. Hayden, M.P., and the Local Government Bill.— Mr. J. P. Hayden, ,\I.P. for South Rosooimnon, tikes ujt a very curious position with regard to the new Irish Local Government Bill. Though a Catholic member, he objects to the 8.1 l because it makes it possible tor a Catholic priest to be returrud iti a DiciibiT ot a County Council. The London Tablet gives him tie fol'owing well -deserved castigation : — "Mr. J. P. Hsiyilen. l'arnellite member for South Eoscommon, seems to have a cunoush in tol< lant mind. At least, s-o we judge from the following wojds. which we find lepo-ted in the Jn*h Timcx: 'If the ruurjur were true that clergymen you.d be eligible tor election to the Count} Councils under the coming L"cal Government Hill, then in the part of the country be came trom, he knew whole districts in which every parish would be represented by a priest. Thib Bill would not be at all ac;eptable if the Go\ eminent persisted in keeping such a clause as that in it,' Here is a Catholic member of Parliament

wanting to invent new disabilities for the Catholic prio<thool. Why should the electors be forbidden to choo c a priest to represent them on a County Council if they think him the best tnaa for tho post ? We supp >se Mr. Hayden does not like priests in p ib'.ic life. Well, other people do not like Parnollites, but it is not prop wed on that account to pass a law to prevent I'arn-llites sitting in Parliament. It is an old situation when an Irish member of Parliament is seriously unhappy because a Tory Government proposes to leave a Catholic people at liberty to show the r coafildnce in thjir priests by electing them as their representative."

WATERFORD.— Tha Univirsity Mjvamant in Waterford : Lord Waterford give 3ithi 3 Sapjori.— At a large and enthusiastic meeting ia ttie City Hill, Waierford, the Bishop of Waterford, who presided, made a tew bnet reui irks at tha close of which he made an interesting announji neut. His Lordship said that whilst they demand educational eg lah'y. anl eiuality soon, they dil not demand that the eq'i..ln/y snoiil I be retained or gained in this, that, or the other particular f'»i\u. Ttiey had ihjir own views, most of them at least, ou taut subj 'et. Some of them might be in favour of a separate colleg •, ->oine of ihem might be in favour of a separate university, but on thin platform they welcomed all — let it bj said again, and emphatically — they w ljom-^d all who were in favour of equality, no matter whether the eg tali y w.is to be reached by the establishment of a s parate university, or by the establishment of a college or collegos. He had risen only to discharge a formal duty and without any intention of taking part in the proceedings of the meeting. But before he sat down he thought it but right to re id a letter which he had received the previous day, and he read it becime it was add re sed to himself, and still more because or the eminent position of the writer, and because, he wa9 happy to say, it was the first; declaration on a mitter of public interest that had been made by the writer, Lord Waterford. The letter was as follows : " I have to apologise for not replying to your letter before, but I have only just returned from the North. I most heartily sympathise with the project of establishing a university for Roman Catholics in Ireland, and hope that the movement will be successful. I regret to say that I «hall not be able to be in Waterford to attend the meeting. I hope your Lordship will make whatever use of this letter you may think fit." WICKLOW-The Grlencree Industrial School.— The annual report of this reformatory for the year 18D7 has just been issued, and gives ample evidence of the useful work which is being carried on by that valuable institution. The number of boys detained during the past year averaged 167. During the year 74 boys were committed. The majorityj ority of commitments were for petty larcenies, or attempted larcenies. Out of the 74 boys sont to Glencree 35 had been previously convicted. Every effort, says the report, is made to teach the boya trades, so as to enable them to live respectably on going out into the world, and the statistics of re-conviction show that those elf >rts are, as a rule, successful. We note with regret that public; sub-eriptions fell off during ISU7. Only £102 was contributed, a sum which fell short by £10 of the amount spent on setting the 1) >ys in situations. We hope that during the coining yeaa Father Cox and the Brothers will receive the practical sympathy and support which their work undoubtedly deserves. GENERAL. The Irish Association for the Prevention of Interaparaace. — l'he report of the Irish Association fur the Prevention of Intern per ince which has just be^n issued, shov\s that during the year Ireland Jt11.(i.">11,(504 on alcoholic beverages, an enormous amount, us the report remarks, for a p'»or county with ad. creasing population and decaying indu.-tries to tax itselr with. This amount shows, however, a decrease as compare 1 with lS'id. of £12 2o:s. The amount spent on drink represents an animal outlay of £2 10= 1)1 per head of the population. There is a decreise in the amount of spirits consumed but a counterbalancing increase in the quantity of beer and porter. The Association does all in its p nver, by the spread of temperance literature and by fr^queut open air me -tings, to combat the drink evil, and certainly desi r\e> tne hearty s-upporc of all section* in the community. The report discuses the important question of introlucing temperance instruction into the schools. It says . "The Na'ionul Board of Education h;tve re ently included a much larger number of lessons giving si ientific temperance teaching in their Alternative Series ot School Books. This country is still, however, far behind others, and especially the United State-, in providing adequate physiological and scientific temperance teacaiiu for ihildren, and we shall not tail to press the matter on the attention of those responsible lor the education of the rising generation." This is nn aspajt of the temperance question which deserves the ciretul attention of educationists not only in the Old Country but in the Colonies also. The following chaste lines, which ilegantly pourtr.iy Ireland"* devotion to the Holy See, were suggested by the sight ot Dr. l'reiiderga&t's Consecration Ring. THE BISHOP'S KINO. His Consecration's Seal it showel On h aid where ne'er had jewel been ; In massive band an emerald glowed And wreathing it with sharper sheen Were diamonds — that, like dewdrops rolled Off leaflet grec-n, took circled hold Close clinging to that stem of gold. Flashing before our lifted eyes Upon the shapely Celtic hand, Meetly, methought, it typifi s Tnat cuiisecrati d natal Land Its wearer claims — Earth's vernal gem ! Whose saints (the diamonds emblem them) In exile clasp Rome's parent stem. By Margaret M, Hal\ey in Irish Catholic