Irish News.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIV, Issue 20, 22 September 1898, Page 9

Irish News.

BELFAST —Heavy Sentences on the Orange Rioters. — At the Belfast Assizes on 26th July, Lord Chief Baron Palles passed sentence on the persons convicted of riot on the 6th and 7th of June. James Magee and William Smith, who were found guilty of riot and also looting the public-house of Joseph Toner, in Percy street, were sentenced to five years' penal servitude. William M'Farland was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, and ordered to find bail for his future good behaviour, or, in default, an additional six months. The fourteen remaining prisoners were sentenced to terms varying from eighteen|to twelve months, and in each instance ordered to find surety for future good behaviour, or, in default, six months additional imprisonment. BELFAST.— A Singular Incident.— An extraordinary incident occurred on a Sunday morning recently in the Belfast Gaol while the Catholic ceremony was being conducted in the chapel connected therewith. A female prisoner, who was in the gallery, recognising her husband, who i 3 also a prisoner, on the ground floor, leaped down to him. Fortunately she did not receive much physical injury, the gallery being raised only about 10ft above the floor. A great sensation was caused, but the interruption to the worship waa slight.

CLARE. — Death of a Revered Priest. — The Rev. M. O'Connor, P.P. Ballybunion, passed peacefully away on Tuesday, July 26. The rev. gentleman was 73 years of age, and had been parish priest of Ballybunion for over 30 years.

DERRY.— Golden Jubilee of the Sisters of Mercy.-The Sisters of the Convent of Mercy. Pump street, Derry, recently celebrated the golden jubilee of their establishment (says the Dernj Journal of July 22), in this city of Columba, famed in days gone by for the saintliness of its sons and daughters, and now no less than before, the moat famous and religious spot of any on the Irish soil. It was no wonder that joy beamed on the countenances of those who took part in the happy and impressive proceedings of yesterday. For what a contrast was presented, when the history of the Catholic life of this city was studied fifty years ago with all its

sadness and its seeming despair, to the picture which meets the eye in our streets and in the homes of Catholic Derry to-day. What a change and what a blessed transformation ! Then, in those dark days of a former time, was the Catholic citizen a 'stranger outside the Walls,' an ' intruder at the Gates,' but with little hope in his heart, and no comfort excepting his God and his religion to cheer and make easier the heavy burden of the day. The Convent of Mercy took up the battle by the side of the oppressei people. The cause of religion, the cause of education, and the cause of charity, too, had in this devoted and self-sacrificing Sisterhood a noble band, who in the darker hours of the people's struggle never ceased to pray, and never despaired for the glorious time to come, when their religion would have its vindication and the lamp of Faith would glow in all its irresistible vigour on the hill of DerryColumcille. Yesterday's ceremonies was proof that that period had arrived, and the prospect of a peaceful and contented city bore the same testimony to labours well and truly achieved in the cause of f.iith and education and morality during a hard and trying time. The jubilee was celebrated by fitting religious functions and an eloquent and scholarly address was delivered by the Rev. Father Philip O'Doherty. Subsequently a musical and dramatic entertainment was given in the Convent School in Artillery street.

The Local Government Bill and the Clergy.— When the Local Government Bill was before the House an attempt to remove the disabilities the Bill imposes upon the clergy ended in failure. The London Tablet referring to the incident stated that Lord Dunraven moved the omission of the subsection declaring that persons in holy orders or regular ministers of any religious denomination should not be eligible as county or district councillors. His Lordship urged that the imposition of disabilities on any class was undesirable and objectionable, and was downright unfair when, as in the present case, no cause had been shown. If undue influence was feared, would it not be better that that influence should be exerted openly ? Lord Russell of Killowen, who entertained high hopes of the benefits which the Bill would confer on Ireland, made a powerful speech in support of Lord Dunraven's proposal. Unless the disability contained in it were removed, the Bill would start under a cloud of popular disfavour. The restriction was directed against the priests, and the precedent of the Poor Laws was a poor one to appeal to. Viscount de Vesci and Lord Kimberley supported the amendment, which was strenuously opposed by the Earl of Erne and Lord Londonderry, whose chief profession waa an

anxiety that county matters would prevent the clergy from attending to their spiritual duties — an argument which is not considered good enough for England. When the matter came to a division the amendment was rejected by a majority of 36 votes. ' The result is to be regretted (adds tfie Tablet), for the restriction, baseless and unjust as it is, is sure to cause irritation in Ireland. The Government ought to have been only too glad to seize the opportunity of ridding their Bill of such a blot.' As the matter is one fraught with the greatest importance to Ireland, we reproduce the following from the speech of Lord Russell, of Killowen, Chief Justice of England, in support of the amendment. He said he was one of those who looked with gr<sat hope to this Bill effecting much good in Ireland, and he therefore thought it would be a matter greatly to be regretted if a measure with such beneficent potentialities were to start under a cloud of popular disfavour (hear, hear). That the provision which the amendment proposed to omit was directed against the Catholic priests of Ireland no one doubted. That disability conveyed an undeserved slur on a large body of men who were as thoroughly imbued, according to their houest opinions, with a desire to do what they believed to be in the interests of their country as any other class of the community, and when the subject matters with which the Bill dealt were considered, the purely local and purely mundane affairs, with no spiritual aspect at all, it seemed to htm to ba aa extraordinary proposition that what was not done in England or in Scotland should be done in Ireland — that the whole bosy of clergy of the countiy should be excluded from taking any p irt in the administration of loual affairs. It was said that there was a, precedent for thia exclusion in the fact that cler^ym n were not eligible for election as members of boards of guardians. He doubted, however, whether, if the poor law were to be enacted now for the first time, that provision would be adopted. But there was a much stronger precedent to be cited in favour of the inclusion of the clergy under this Bill. That wa* that even the Catholic priests of Ireland were eligible to ba members of the grand juries. The Earl of Erne : But they never are. Lord Russell of Killoweu said that was true. But why ? Because the constitution of the grand jury depended on the mandate of the High Sheriff, and the High Sheriff did not summon Catholic priests on the panel of the grand jury. But the fact remained that any minister of religion could bo a grand juror, and

he knew of more than one instance of an Episcopalian minister having acted as a grand juror. The object of the provision was, as he had said, to exclude tne Catholic priests from taking part in local affairs. The Government could not single them out, and they did not single them out. With the Catholic priests they excluded the LpiscopalUn clergymen and also the Presbyterian ministers of Ulster, than who n— a ad he spoke frun personal experience— no m>re cap ible men could tike part in local affairs. Surely it was possible at this time of day for ministers of different religions to sit side by side on local boards, getting to know and to understand each other better, and working for common ends, where no questions connected with religion could arise to disturb their dispassionate judgments on local affairs. In his opinion it was doubtful whether any considerable number of Catholic priests would seek places at these boards. But the objection to the provision was that it rendered it impossible for them, if they desired, to sit on those boards, and thereby a slur was cast ou them which rankled, as the declarations of the Catholic bishops showed, in their minds. Their exclusion from these local bodies would not in the least deprive them of their influence. The result of their exclusion waa that, while their influence was left unimpaired, they were deprived of the sobering influence of responsibility. H.>, therefore, hoped that the Government, even at that hour, would reconsider their position, and would not allow a Bill with such bright prospects for the good of Ireland to start on its career under this cloud (hear, hear). DONEGAL.— Terrible Destitution.— Two English ladies who have been visiting Ireland have drawn attention to the great needs of the inhabitants of Tory Island, near Donegal. The people • are destitute and have scarcely anything left to eat. They have not even the wherewithal to make fires, as the place has no peat, and they have to try and'burn grass to get warmth. Formerly they used to sell seaweed which they gob from the shore, but the demand for this has ceased, and they are now left absolutely without means of subsistence.

DUBLIN.— The Mayoralty for 1899-— in accordance with a circular issued by Messrs. Peter J. MCabe, Alderman ; Joseph Hutehmson, T.C., and William Buckley, T.C., hon. secretaries, a meeting was held at the end of July in the National Club, Rutlandsquare, ' to consider the question of the Mayoralty, and the line of action to be pursued with reference to the Nationalists who supported by their votes the nomination of a Unionist for the office of Lord Mayor of Dublin for 1899,'

. . £* Orange Clergyman's Confession : Candid Advice to tne Brethren.— Addressing the Orangemen of the Lisburn district fa the Cathedral, the Ber. John Patterson Smyth, LL.D., rector of Kingstown, in the course of his address, said : Before I left Dublin I heard people speak bitter and disparaging words about you and your institution. I heard them say that you talk a great deal about religion and the Bible, but do not pay much attention to either. I heard them say that you show your Christian life by your hatred of Roman Catholics, Such things are said every day. Why ? Because they are deserved. You do not want me to say smooth things today. lam looking into the faces of men accustomed to be spoken to as men, and I say that the very best amongst you suffer because unworthy members bring discredit upon worthy men. Some of you are always ready to help the clergy and go to church regularly ; others never attend any church unless on the Sunday before or the Sunday after the ' Twelfth.' There are men among you who cannot say * kind word about a countryman because he happens to be a Roman Catholic. Forgive anything I say. They are a friend's words to friends. And when a man is speaking to friends he dees not keep anything back, but speaks right out what he means. If my words touch any man sharply, let him go home and pray to God to keep him from bringing discredit upon an honourable institution of which he is a member.' WATERFORD.— A Lunatic's Escapade— A sensational occurrence took place at the Waterford Lunatic Asylum recently. An inmate escaped and climbed over a high wall, and from that on to a telegraph pole, which he climbed with agility. He was followed by an attendant, whom he tried to shove off the pole. He then placed one leg on the wires and another on the top crossbar, I and, standing upright, folded his arms in a dramatic manner. He next proceeded to walk along the wires, and attempted to shove away a ladder which the attendants had placed against them. Ultimately by means of a rope the ladder was secured to the wires, and two attendants then got up and secured him. He was then brought back to the asylum. GENERAL. The Royal Irish University.— The report of the Royal University of Ireland for 1897, which has just been presented to Parliament, states that the number who entered for examinations during the year was 2,777, being 44 in excess of 1896. The vacancies on the Senate caused by the deaths of Archbishop Plunket Dr Slattery, and Lord Justice Barry were filled by the appointment of Right Rev. Dr. Meade, Sir Rowland Blennerhasset, and Mr. Justice O'Brien. Last Year's Depression.— The statistics of Irish pauperism t urnishad by the Labour Gazette show the extent to which the depression of the year has affected the Irish population. There is an increase of 26 per ten thousand of the population in the pauperism of the Dublin district, of 20 in the Belfast district, and of no less than 276 in the Galway district. There is some improvement, however over the figures for June. An Irish Musical Veteran.— Mr. Joseph Robinson, the Irish musical veteran, to whom a Civil List annuity of £50 has been granted, has done yeoman service to the cause of music in Ireland for over half a century. He was a member of St. Patrick's choir in 1824, and ten years later started the well-known Society of Ancient Music. He was connected with Mendelssohn in several musical undertakings, and was appointed professor of singing in the Irish Aoadomv in 1856. Postering the Study of Music in Ireland —The Society promoted for the study of the ancient Irish tongue and Irish music and literature is doing a noble work. A special effort is being made in the interests of music in Ireland and a public competition is shortly to be held for special musical prizes. Valuable money prizes are offered for examples of orchestration, arrangements of Irish airs for brass and reed bands, for the composition of Latin motets, and for compositions for the piano, organ and harp. The work of the Society is thus of a national character, and fraught j with the utmost importance in fostering that love of music so deeply imbued in the Celtic temperament, and which, when the nation was freer and when the shadow of oppression had not fallen across the lives of the people, found expression in a wealth of song and music lore which lives on throughout the succeeding ages. An Irish Hospital in Brooklyn : Work of the Hibernian Society.— The establishing of a fine institution for the sick or injured of the Irish race, to be known as the Irish Hospital, was decided upon last week (says the New York Irish World, July 16) by the Ancient Order of Hibernians of Brooklyn. The building will cost in the neighbourhood of 1,000,000 dollars, and will be situated, probably, in the East New York secton of the borough. The details are matters of the future, but the Executive Committee of the Order having the work in charge is already well advanced in its line of action. The building, it is announced, will be begun within a year, and the raising of the funds will be started very soon. While the institution itself will be the individual property of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, yet it has been arranged that all of the Irish fraternities of the borough will assist in the labour of bringing the plans to fruition. The institution will be for the use of any member of the United Irish Societies. Is Local Government Against Home Rule ? No, Says T. P. O'Connor.— The Irish Local Government Bill is practically through, wrote Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P., just before the last mail left England. It is a good Bill founded on a basis. The grant of immunity from all rates to the Irish landlords is an instance of howpowerful that class is, and how a Conservative Government can still dare to do things for them which in the case of any other clans would be denounced as public robbery. For that reason I own I had a good deal of sympathy with the fight which was made against

this portion of the Bill by the small band of Radicals who resisted it during the week. The resistance would not have been half so stubborn if Mr. Gerald Balf our had not lost his temper and if the Radicals had not been lectured from the Irish benches in a way that was both wanton and offensive. There is a good deal of nonsense spoken and written about the effect of this measure upon the Home Rule cause. There seems to be a pretty general idea that the demand for a central Parliament will be weakened by the concession of country self-government. This is to ignore everything that has ever happened in Irish history. Every step taken by the Imperial Parliament for the strengthening and broadening of popular liberty has augmented instead of diminished the Irish demand for Home Rule. Every one of the County Councils, with the exception of a few in the north of Ireland, will be ruled by a Nationalist majority, and the Nationalist majority will utilise the County Council for the purpose of enforcing the national demand. lam not surprised at the enthusiasm, therefore, with which the Bill has been received in some Nationalist quarters, though I think the enthusiasm was a little overdone. It places Irish demands on the solid basis of possession, patronage and power, insiead of the shifting sands of popular enthusiasm and popular subscription, and, so far, is an enormous step, in the advance of Ireland towards her full liberty.