THE IRISH COLONY IN ARGENTINA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 9, 2 March 1899, Page 6

THE IRISH COLONY IN ARGENTINA.

Jx the Argentine Republic there is a prosperous Irish colony. The South American Irishmen are noted for their devotion to the Church and are model citizens. The following tribute (says the Catholic Citizen) was paid to them recently by Father Martin, Passionist priest, who laboured two years amongst them and established a house of his order in Buenos Ayres. The Irish population has grown considerably since Father Martin was in the Argentine. ' I laboured more than two years among the Irish community of the River Plate. I gave them missions in the city and province of Buenos Ayres and in the camps of Sante Fe. I established for them in Buenos Ayres a Passionist foundation, to which I gave the name with which you are so familiar, Holy Cross. Therefore I had every means of knowing them well. They numbered in my time not much less than a half of our numbers in Belfast. We are seventy thousand. They were nearly thirty thousand. lam proud and happy to tell you that, taken without selection, they would compare favourably with any other thirty thousand Irish men and women in any country in the world, not excepting Ireland itself. Their faith and devotion are as d*ep and sincere as in the old land. God has signally blessed them. Their prosperity is such that many of them could come home and buy out their former landlords. Yet prosperity has not made them proud. But they have one other quality, one other virtue which has sustained their faith, devotion and charity, and laid the foundation for their prosperity. They are sober. In this particular I must say — and I Ray it with shame and sorrow — they are fir ahead of the men of Belfast. There is not one drunken Irishman in Argentine for every .">0 in this great selfsatisfied city. Let one even go further, and add that in the whole thirty thousand Irish of the River Plate I do not remember having seen half a dozen drunkards during my two years among them.'