Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 42, 15 October 1903, Page 9

Irish News

ANTRIM — • Religious » Meetings in Belfast It is worth while for the Protestants of Liverpool (says the ' Catholic Times ') who have been supporting religious meetings of a rowdy tendency and listening to fiery utterances by Morth of Ireland preachers to consider whether they are not helping, so far as they can to bring about such a state of affairs as exists in Belfast, 'lhere the religious orators of the Custom House steps, finding that Catholics take no notice of them are fighting furiously amongst themselves. Two parties are contending— the Sloanites and the Trewites. Last week Mr Trew was fined far having hit a youth of 16 on the head with a stick, and from the evidence given during the proceedings at the police court it appears that not only are blows interchanged amongst the more combative members of the parties, but foul language is freely used. The magistrates who heard the case declared thiat they had at first felt inclined to senfl Mr. Trew to gaol without the option of a fine, for it was .necessary in the interests of the city to put a stop to the disputes that are kept up in the name of religion. Instead of being benefited, religion was damaged, and It was the opinion of the magistrates that the meetings were a disgrace to the city. 6 CORK.— The ' Skibbereen Eagle ' Mr. F. P. E. Potter, of Skibbereen, County CoTk, who has filled the editor's chair longer than any Irish journalist, having been editor of his own paper ' The Cork County Eagle,' since he established it in 1857, hasbeen appointed by Lord Ashbourne to the commission of the peace for County Cork. Mr. Potter was one of the first to take up the work of organisation among Irish journalists, who had an association of their own before the establishment of the Institute of Journalists. Mr. Potter, in the lifetime of the late Mr. Henry George, was his friend, and one of his warmest supporters in Ireland. r DOWN.— The Late Lord Russell Mr. J. W. Swynnton has completed his marble bust of the late Lord Russell of Killowen, which is to be pjresented to the deceased lawyer's native town of Newry, Where it is 1 to be unveiled shortly. The cost of the memorial is to be borne out of the surplus in hand after paying for the national monument to Lord Russell at the Law Courts. Social Work Through the unremitting energy of the parish priest, Very Rev. H. Magorian, V.F., and Rev. William Kelly, a splendid hall and recreation rooms have recently been erected in Portaferry, and should prove a great benefit to the people of that neighborhood. DUBLIN.— A Memorial A splendid memorial cross has been erected o,ver the grave of the late Dr. J. E. Kenny in Glasnevin Cemetery. It was unveiled by Mr. John Redmond, M.P. A Successful Bazaar At, the final meeting of the Juverna bazaar Executive Committee the balance sheet was pTesenited, showing that the gross result ol the bazaar and drawing of priz.es was £23,130 2s 6d, and after the payment of all expenses a net result of £18,015 8s 7d remained. The Committee passed a resolution of thanks to the people in Ireland and all over the world who had contributed to raise so substantial an amount. Congratulations are due in turn to the members of your comtnitte and all the workers, especially to the Rev. Brother Hennessy, the Chairman, and Mr. William Hogg, the Hon. Sec., both of whom labored incessantly for many months in the organisation of the fete amd drawing. The sum of £50,000 is required for the new Novitiate and Training College now being erected for the Christian Brothers at Mariino, and the receipt of £18,000 from Juverna towards that amount will bo doubly welcome to tho great Order of educationists, as a lessening of an unavoidable monetary incubus, and as a proof of the confidence and admiration of the Irish people at home and abroad. The Christian Brothers (says the ' Freeman's Journal ') pride themselves upon their reliance on voluntary contributions, which gives freedom from red-rape and liberty to pjursue their own educational ideals. The success of Juverna is a proof that this reliance has a solid foundadation. The Book-buying: Public Apropos of a statement in the London ' Daily Chronicle,' that Dublin has the smallest sale of booksof any city of its size in the United Kingdom Mr. Clement Shorter has the following remarks in the ' Sphere ' :— I have been rather struck on visiting that city to observe the number of shops for the sale of new books that are to be found in the immediate vicinity of

?h2 w£J P°J ege / # may v tihat the books in the windows of these shops reflect very little credit in Dublin. They are very much the same type of so-called literatmre as obtains . in thte bookshops of London, of Manchester , and of Leeds. Nevertheless, Dublin is really & rJ^ ts°? b "y in g. community in proportion to its wealth. It is not nch, it buy* cheap books, and it has a very natural predilection for books that deal with its own particular literary interests. Now, from the point of view of intellectual progress, which is the only concern of any real lover of literature, it is far more important to know that Dublin buys 1000 copies of a little book issued by Dufly or Gill at 6d, treating of oMworld legend or modern poetic impulse than that some English city or town buys 500 copies of one of. the silly novels of the hour. Of course, to the statement in the Daily Chronicle,' that a certain world-famed encyclopedia does not sell as well in Dublin as in the cities of England and Scotland, there is nothing to be said If Dublin prefers poetry to encyclopedias, is Dublin " the worse for that ? ' GALWAY.— Reckless Charges The reckless charges made against the Galway County Coun^l at the recent meeting of the Midland Great Western Railway Company by Archdeacon Daly, a Protestant clergyman (says a Dublin correspondent), have been completely refuted by Mr. Glynn, chairman of « ,, m fu ned body - As a se t-oH against the ostracism of Catholics practised by the company, Mr. Daly asserted that not a siingle Protestant had bfeen appointed to any position in the gift of the County Council since it came into office. This is not only contrary to fact but judging from JMr. Glymn^s detailed statement, the Ga&way County Council, Catholic as it is, has outstepped beyond the limits of liberality. The selection of clerks was left in the hands of the secretary, himself a Protestant. The principal offices in the gift of the Council axe held by nonrCatiholics, who diraw £1002 in salaries, as compared with £562 drawn by Catholics. Unfortunately there is no reciprocity whatever shown by the Protestants. Wherever Protestants are in power in Ireland the motto is ' No Catholic need apply.' The facts are so notorious that they are not denied. The standing excuse is that •no inquiry is made as to the religion of applicants for employment.' Would it were so. Catholics would be perfectly contented with such an arrangement. They require only a fair field and no favor. The religious test, however, is as fully in force as if printed over the door in every case in which an appointment worth, having is in the gift of Protestants, notwithstanding the toleration displayed by Catholic bodies like the Dublin Corporation or the Galway County Council. KERRY.— An Enthusiastic Reception The reception accorded to the Rev. Arthur Murphy, P.P. of Hrosna, by the people of Castleisland and Brosna as he travelled to the latter place for the purpose of taking up the pastoral charge left vacant by the death of Father Neligan affords (says the ' Cork Examiner ') a striking instance of the indissoluble ties of affection, veneration, and abiding love which exist between the priests and people of Ireland. When it became known in Castleisland that the rev. gentleman was to pass through the town on his way to the scene of his future spiritual labors, the people turned out en masse, and accorded him a cead mile failthe of such an inspiriting and enthusiastic character as he will have occasion to remember during the rest of his life. TYRONE. — Consecration of a Cemetery O,n Sunday, August 23, a new Catholic cemetery for Newtownstewart parish, County Tyrone, was solemnly consecrated by the Most Rev. Dr. O'Doherty, Bishop of the diocese of Derry, assisted by the Right Rev. Dr. Gallagher, Bishop of GoulbuTn, and the Right Rev. Dr. Whitesfde, Bishop of Liverpool. A large number ot priests from the diocese of Derry and the adjoining dioceses was present. The preacher was Rev. John Doherty, PP., Carndonagh, a pulpit orator of notable repute, whose discourse made a profound impression on the vast congregation present. GENERAL Agricultural Prospects Not since 1879 (writes a Dublin correspondent towards the end of August) has the agricultural outlook seemed so gloomy as it does just now. Owing to destructive rains which have prevailed throughout the summer and the inclement state of the weather generally, the harvest is irretrievably damaged, and no amount of fine weather can now save it. From Antrim to Oork the same sad story is told. The potato crop, the staple food of the small farmer, has suffered most ot all. Against Emigration The Anti-Emigration Society is most unquestionably doing good work by distributing broadcast Information

regarding the fate that awaits the average Irish emigrant in other lands, and more especially in the United States. There is one fact that should be constantly kept in view by tihose who would check the flow of emigration (says thte ' Catholic Times ') which is draining the land of its best blood. It is that no amount of warning will keep those wiho fail to find employment at home from emigrating. They prefer to face untold hardship in foreign lands rather than bear with enforced idleness in Ireland. The creation of industries winch would provide work for the unemployed is the most efficacious means of stopping emigration. The Land Act Writing to a constituent, Mr. T. W. Russell, M.P., says that if properly worked by both parties the Irish Land Act ought to result in the sale of five-sixths of Irish land to the occupiers. An Anniversary Monday, August 24 (according to the ' Freeman's Journal), was the hundredth anniversary of the death of James Napper Tandy, whose name is inseparably connected with the fine old ballad, ' The wear in' o' the green.' In early life Napper Tandy was an ironmonger, m Corn Market, Dublin, and In 17,74 he became president of a club called the ' Society of Free Citizens,' held at the King's Arms Inn, adjoining Smock Alley Theatre. He was in command of the Liberty Brigade of Artillery in 1783, and was secretary of the Dublin United Irishmen, his locum tenens being Wolfe Tone. About the end of March, 1795, he fled from Ireland, and resided at Wilmington, Pennsylvania, from 1796 to 1798, when he returned to France, and was made a General of Division by Bonaparte. Alter the defeat of Humbert, Tandy embarked from Rathlin Island and was arrested at Hamburg. He died at Bordeaux on August 24, 1803. Vital Statistics The thirty-ninth detailed annual report of the Regis-trar-General for Ireland containing, a full abstract of the number of births, marriages, and deaths in Ireland during the year 1902 has just been published. In the general summary with which tube report opens we are told that the births registered in- Ireland during the year" numbered 101,863, the marriages 22,949, and the deaths 77,673. The marriage-rate, which stood at 5.18 per 1000 of the estimated population, showed an increase of 0.10 as compared with that for the preceding year, and was 0.27 above the average for the ten yeaxs 18921901, and higher than the rate for ony of those years. The birth-rate, 23.0 per 1000, was 0.3 abpve the rate for the preceding year, but 0.1 under the average rate for the same ten years. The deatih-rate, 17.5 per 1000, was 0.3 beloW the rate for the preceding year, and 0.8 below the average rate for the ten years 1892-1901 The recorded natural increase of population or excess of births over deaths was 24,187. The loss by emigration amounted to 40,190. There would thus appear to have been a decrease of 16,003 in the population during the year, but against this decrease there is a small set-off in emigration, of which no official record has been obtained. The estimated population in the middle of the year was 4,432,274. The Fiscal Conflict The fiscal conflict in Great Britain (says the ' Freeman's Journal ') is interesting to Irish Nationalists mainly, if not solely, so far as it indicates or promises the complete break-up of the Unionist Party. Naturally Irish. fNati)onaDists woul|d like to take sides against Mr. Chamberlain, but they will be able to curb even this strong desire should the interests of Home Rule demand that self-restraint. A correspondent of the ' Irish Times ' writes : ' The apathy of the people of Ireland on this subject is very remarkable, especially in view of the fact that, ow ng to the disruptive effect of the Colonial Secretary's action on the ranks of the Unionist Party, it is quite on the cards that it may be, as you point out, by the votes of the Irish Parliamentary Party m the House of Commons that this issue, so momentous to the future of the British Empire, will be decided. 7 The Irish Party are quite alive that another issue ' momentous to the future ' of Ireland, in which they are more concerned than in protection, will, on the disruption o5 the Unionists, be decided by the:r votes.