Irish News.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 37, 14 September 1899, Page 9

Irish News.

CORK.— Compensation for a Policeman.— Constable Coughlan claimed £500 for injuries received at an eviction near Mitchelstown, and was awarded £282 by the Recorder of Cork.

The Gospel Of Sobriety. — Before leaving for America Archbishop Ireland visited Cork and delivered an address on temperance. In the course of a very eloquent discourse his Grace said the Gospel that he preached that evening was the gospel of sobriety. Ireland sober would be so strong that nothing- could keep her from leading in all the walks of civilisation, intelligence, and social prosperity. For nearly 40 years he had worked among the Irish people as priest and Bishop. He knew their virtues and he knew their faults, and because he loved them with every fibre of his heart he was prepared to speak to them wherever they were in Ireland and in America with absolute frankness. He was prepared to tell them of the one obstacle in their path of greatness and happiness, in the firm hope -that something might be done to remove that obstacle, and place the Irish people on the height where God intended they should live. The great impediment to the onward march of the Irish people was the uae of intoxicating drinks. He was going to speak with the greatest frankness, for the Irish race deserved to be told the truth, in order that nothing henceforth might repress them. For nearly three-quarters of a century they had being going to America by hundreds of thousands, and numbers of them had attained social success and positions of wealth ; but those who had so risen were not the full number that should have risen, and in many other (rreat cities where they would expect to find names telling of Ireland they found these names few and far between, and they found, too, many of their people miserable. Everywhere it was said to •him there was but one curse — namely, drink. Of the people ' brought before the courts 75 per cent, were there through drink, and a judge of the courts told him that 95 per cent, of the Irish people before the courts were there for drunkenness ; and, were it not for that one fell curse, scarcely an Irishman, or the child of an Irishman, would appear before these courts; He bad often talked to employers of labour and they told him they wished to employ Irishmen because they were co quick, but they were often afraid to employ them because of the temptation that came to so many of them to drink. Of course for the past 20 years a wonderful change had come over them. They were now coming forth as the most sober element in the population of America, but while they congratulated themselves upon that fact it would be doing them a wrong if they did not speak of evils in the past iv order that such evils might not attend them in the future.

. DUBLIN.— WeII Deserved Promotion.— General satisfaction is felt at the appointment of Mr. W. 13.I 3 . Quirke, for many jc&rs Controller of the Sorters' Department, G.P.0.. Dublin, to the important post of Chief Clerk and Inspector of Mails in Ireland. For Borne time past English officials were imported for the more important positions in the Irish Post Office service, and Mr. Quirke's appointment shows that Irishmen are now getting a chance.

KERRY— The Lakes of Killarney — A cable message of Saturday last stated that Sir Thomas Lipton had offered £50,000 for the Lakes of Killarney, intending to present them to the Irish nation. About six weeks ago a message was received to the effect that the celebrated Muckross estate, whioh includes the Lakes, had been purchased by Mr. Gallagher, the well-known tobacco merchant of Belfast, and who is roputed to be, like Sir Thomas Lipton, a millionaire. None of our Home exchanges mentioned anything about the purchase of the estate by Mr. Gallagher. Mr. Croker, of Tammany fame, was reported to be negotiating with the owners of the property, which a number of Irish- Americans desired to secure and present to the Irish people. Lords Ardilaun and Iveagh, and Messrs. Howard and George Gould, of New York, were, also, it was said, desirous of obtaining the ownership of it. Mr. Gallagher was reported to have paid £85,000 for the estate.

LoUTH.— Clerical Appointment.— His Eminence Cardinal Logue, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, has appointed the Rev. Patrick Fagan, C.C., Armagh, to be parish priest of the parish of Kilsaran, County Louth. in place of the Rev. Peter Pentony, P.P , lately deceased. Father Fagan has been stationed in the Primatial City for a considerable number of years, and during that time has earned for himself the high esteem and sincere affection of all with whom he came in contact.

MAYO.— The Ballaghadereen Cathedral.— The Rev.M. Henry, P.P., Attymass, and Rev. P. Cawley, C.C.. Colooney, of the diocese of Achonry, are about to proceed to America to collect for the cathedral at Ballaghadereen, which for the last fifty years has remained in an incompleted condition.

TIPPERARY.— Successful Students — The following eight students of Rockwell College, Cashel, were candidates at the recent Royal University Matriculation examination : — William Martin, Edmund O'Donnell, Michael J. Ryan, John P. Waters, Maurice A. Power, William Ryan, J. J. Healy. All passed the examination successfully. In the Intermediate Examinations for the last three years Rockwell scored the most enviable successes.

WATERFORD — The Administratorship of St. John's Parish- — His Lordship the Most Rpv. Dr. Sheehan, Bishop of Waterford, has appointed Rev, Father P. F. Fitzgerald to the administratorship of St. John's parish, rendered vacant by the lamented death of Father Barron. Father Fitzgerald, who is a native of Carrick-on-Suir, has been fifteen years in the sacred ministry, the last five years of which he has been curate in St. John's. His promotion has given great satisfaction.

WEXFORD — A Judge with Progressive Ideas.— Mr. Justice O'Brien, in his address to the Wexford Grand Jury at the Summer Assizes, said :— Since this time last year, when it was my duty to address you, a vast change has been effected over the whole country of Ireland in the duties of Grand Jurors. The fiscal duties they were wont to discha-gM have been transferred to the County and District Councils, and Parliament has thereby recognised that the foundation stone of the liberties of a free people is that those who pay the tax ition shall through their elected representatives impose and disburse that taxation. It has now been decided by Parliament that the people, through their own elected representatives, shall in future disburse the taxation of the country, a principle that is everywhere recognised as the principle of a frea people. That is the principle of the House of Commons, and we are proceeding from precedent to precedent.

GENERAL.

Proposed National Synod of Irish Bishops.—Preparations are being made for the National Synod of the *irish Bishops which is to be held next year. A committee of the bishops has been appointed fur the purpose, and their first meeting was held on Monday, July 31st.

An- Irishman Presides Over the Eisteddfod-— Lord Castletown of Ossory presided on Wednesday, July 26, over the Eisteddfod at Cardiff, being the first Irishman that has done so. His address was considered one of the finest ever delivered on such an occasion. He was initiated a member of the Gorsedd, and the Archdruid conferred on him the title of ' Leader of the Celts.' He headed a procession of the Irish-Celtic delegates, which was cheered by a large crowd as it moved through the streets to the place of meeting. The Irish residents of Cardiff, who number 30,000, are greatly elated with his visit and that of his fellow -delegates from the Irish societies, and the interchange of courtesies between the Irish and Welsh Celts augurs well for the future good relations between them.

A Fortune in Fish. — The report of the Inspectors of Irish Fisheries on the sea and inland fisheries of Ireland for 1898 states that 6707 vessels and boats were actually engaged in the sea fisheri«s in 1898, as compared with 6626 in 1897. This shows an increase of 81. There were 25,206 men and 969 boys employed, showing an increase on on the previous year of 613 men, and a decrease of 167 boys. Of the vessels, 393 were first class, 2940 second class, and 2371 third class. Of the £20,000 reserved by the Purchase of Land and Congested Districts (Ireland) Act, 1891, for administration by the inspectors in non-congested districts, the sum of £20,985 8s 4d was advanced up to the 31st December, 1898. The promissory notes signel to secure principal and interest amounted to £22,664 18s 7d. The repayments were £13,240 Us 3d; the outstanding notes not arrived at maturity, £9,424 7s 4d The arrears on the £22,664 18s 7d consisted of only £239 6s lOd, or 1 per cent.

A Candid Opinion. — Some minds appear to be haun'ed by a dread that every boon wrung from England will damp the Irishman's aspirations for Home Rule. There must be no such fear. ' With greater comfort and prosperity,' comments the Daily Chronicle, apropos of the Irish Agricultural Bill, ' the just demands of Ireland will be more strongly pressed. For one thing, that terrible drain of the country's best blood will be checked. As it stands, Ireland is losing 35,000 of her most capable and energetic sons and daughters on an average every year. With proper cultivation and direction there is not the smallest doubt she could keep nearly all of them at ho ne for many years to come. It is true also she ia necessarily an agricultural country. The linen, shipbuilding, and brewing are limited to a few centres. The capitalised value of the crops and stocks throughout the country is estimated at £112,000,000. But tbere is not a doubt that this value could be at least doubled.

The Archbishop of St. Paal's Impressions of Ireland — On arriving in New York Archbishop Ireland was subjected to the inevitable interview, and regarding Ireland he said : — The last thing I did before leaving was to give a ten-minute talk at Cork, which I called my message to the Irish people, on temperance. I told them that all they had to do was to follow the lines of Father Mathew and they would be among the first in everything. There has been great improvement in the conditions in Ireland. The oounty council?, which formerly were named by the grand jury and were practically the landlords, are now elective, and give a large measure of home rule. So far as it goes, the system is remarkably good. I will say nothing as to giving ultimate satisfaction. Mr. Balfour, to whom the whole thing is due, is well pleased with the results. There are schools everywhere in Ireland, and the Irish people to-day are well educated. The immigrants we get in the future will be so.

An Expensive Inquiry.— lt ia estimated that the inquiry into the proposed amalgamation of Irish railways, which came to a conclusion at the House of Commons recently, cost no less than five guineas a minute. This sensational rate of expenditure, the authority for which is Mr. Pope, Q.C., is probably without parallel in the history of Parliamentary committees. The proceedings extended over a period of twentyseven Parliamentary days, and have involved, it is computed a total expenditure of something like £50,000. Twenty counsel were briefed for the various interests concerned, and the number of witnesses examined constitutes a record for at least the last ten years. And the net result of it all is that the scheme has been rejected by the committee. If the proposal had received the sanction of the House, it would have conferred upon the Great Southern Railway Company a practical monopoly of the whole of Ireland south of a line drawn from Dublin to Gal way, and a competitive line through Connaught with the Midland Great Western of Ireland. The opposition to the scheme came mainly from Limerick, Tralee, and Tipperary, and from the few local governing bodies of those portions of the country affected.

A Distinction with a Difference.— ln Dublin Castle there are documents which throw fresh light upon the Irish insurrection of 1798. Mr. James Anthony Froude, Mr. Leaky, and other students of history were permitted to read them, but the Government refused the same privilege to Mr. Swift M'Neill, MP. Upon this refusal an interesting 1 and animated debate arose, in the couree of which some of thf> most prominent members of the House of Commons took part, including Mr. Asquith, Sir Walter Foster, Mr. Lecky, and others. The Chief Secretary's defence was that the papers would be shown to men who would use them in writing impartial history, and were not for the eyes of people who would exploit them in exciting the political passions and controversies of the present time. It was for the latter purpose (he said) Mr. M'Neill required them. Finally, he laid it down that the inspection of the secret papers depends upon the purpose of the iu°pector, and the spirit in which he intends to use them. On all aides Mr. Gerald Balfour's explanation met with severe condemnation. The defence was as weak as it was rash, every member who spoke having exposed the prejudice and partiality of Mr. Froude's writings, and yet he could have access to Irish State documents, which were withheld from Mr. M'Neill. To the astonishment and disgust of the House, Mr. Lecky approved of the denial of the papers to Mr. M'Xeill. In taking this oourse Mr. Lecky dealt himself a blow from which he will not soon recover. He stigmatised himself as narrow-minded, bigoted, and ungenerous. The Twelfth of July.— Very little interest was attracted this year (says a Dublin correspondent) by the Orange 12th of July demonstrations. In Belfast they were disgusting, and in Dublin only offensive and absurd. The enthusiasm of the Orange Brethren in the northern capital displayed itself mainly in unprovoked assaults on inoffensive Catholics, and on the police. But the streets were crowded with the military, and the recurrence of those widespread an f l blood-stained Orange riots, with which Belfast has been bo often disgraced, was thereby happily prevented. In Dublin the Orange fervour evaporated harmlessly in foolish speeches. It is interesting, however, to note in the speech of the Chairman, Mr. Robert F. Ledwell, Orange Grand Master, that the old spirit of Orange intolerance is still violent as ever. The name of Mr. Arthur Balfour was violently hissed, and cries of ' down with him ' fully indulged in at the meeting in the Rotunda. The Chairman declared that he did not think the leader of the House of Commons waa as great a favourite as when he was Chief Secretary for Ireland ' The Conservatives were losing ground,' continued the Orange Grand Master, ' because of the position they had taken up on the | Church question in England and on the question of a Roman Catholic University for Ireland. Mr. Balfonr had sent Mr. T. W. Russell, M.P., across to Ireland,' he continued, 'to make a certain speech. Mr. Russell was just the man for a dirty job ; but South Tyrone, that had put up with him so long, would put up with him no longer. If Mr. Balfour did not turn from the error of his ways he hoped he would be expelled from East Manchester.' Mr. William Touchstone, G-rand Secretary for England, proposed a resolution violently denouncing Mr. Balfour's suggestion of a provision for Catholic University education for Ireland as ' retrograde in principle and opposed to modern thought.' The resolution was seconded by Mr. M. E. Manns, Grand Secretary for Scotland, supported by the Rev. Canon T. C. O'Conor, and carried unanimously. Iv proposing a resolution of devotion to ' Our Gracious Sovereign. Queen and Empress,' the llav. W. J. Clarke. D.D., declared if the Roman Catholics of Ireland got a Roman Catholic University they would then agitate for a Catholic Lord Lieutenant, and then for Maas to be celebrated in the Chapel Royal, and then the sooner Orangemen fought or fled the better.