Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 19, 12 May 1904, Page 9

Irish News

ANTRIM.— A Significant Expression of Opinion The Belfast Trades Council at a recent meeting condemned Chinese lab»lr in Sotuth Africa, and railed upon Mr Arnold Forster, M.P., to vote against the proposal. CLARE.— LibeI on a Priest At the Cork Spring Assrzes an action for libel was bro>ugjht by the Very Rev. John M'lnerney, V.G. Killaloe, against tihe ' Irns-h Times ' for a most atrocious libel, and after the plaintiff had given his evidence the defendants threw up tine sponge, and confessed their wrong-doing. They made a full apology, and undertook to pay a sum of £450 to cover damages and costs. Eiven on these terms they appear to have escaped almost too lightly, for there was nothing to palliate the offence to which, at the last moment, they pleaded guilty. An anonymous scribbler was permitted to besmirch the fair fame of the venerable clergyman who, Jor the past thirty-five years had been a pious and exemplary priest. His unostentatious life was spent in doing good and in ministering to the wants of his flock. This was the man selected for the targets of an unknown correspondent, who endeavored to fasten upon him charges so foul and. disgraceful that their truth could mean no thing 1 but his utter unfitn'ess for the holy office The attributes which have endeared the Irish priesthood to t/heir flock for generations, their devotion to their people, a/ntf their love for tine poor, were sneered at by the libeller who pointed Father M'lnerney and his fellow priests as so many Shylocks, and who could not compare the burials of the Catholio poor to anything better than one would give his dogs. Needless to say there wag not a wold of truth in these loathsome accusations from which the defendants retreated. It was a cruel, a?cowardly, and most outrageous charge agjainst a man Whose evidence shows that throughout the long years of a devoted ministry he has been true to the ideals of ' soggarth aroon,' and it is to be holped that the lesson taught his detractors may not be lostl upcrfn them or their imitators in the same base and ignoble work. CORK.— Death of a Christian Brother The deatih took place at Cork on March 22 of the Rev. Brother James Dominick Burke, one of the most distinguished members of the Christian Brothers' Order. A Centenarian A centenarian recently passed away in the person of Joihn Murphy, farmer, whose demise occurred at his residence at/ Carrigaphouka, Macroom, Co. Cork, at the great age of 102 years. During his lifetime the deceased was never known to suffer from any serious illness. Shrapnel-shell Fatality J\ fatality of an extraordinary nature is reported as ha'vrtig occurred at the little fishing village of Rathccmrsey, three miles from Midleton, County Cork. It appears that a na*val pensioner, Daniel Driscoll, 42, miarried, who lost his life, was after hauling up a ttr&wl'iwg vessel with a number of fishermen on .Rathcaursey strand, and amtojngst tlhe ballast of the vessel was a shrapnel shell, believed to be picked dp some time ago outside Cork Harbor, near forts Carlisle and Camdetn'. The deceased, Driscoll, took u,p the shell, and, through curiosity, lit a match to see its contents when it burst asunder killing and terribly disfiguring him. Jury-packing Though the Ohief Secretary affected to make light of it, the rebuke of Chief Baron Palles to the >urypackeors of Cork may be taken as the beginning of the end of a uernicidus system. According to the reports of tihe proceedings at the Assizes, to which Mr. T. O'Donnell called Parliamentary attention, after, the Crown Solicitor had ordered a number of iurors to stand a^ide, the Lord Chief Baron intervened, and, addressing the challenged jurors, said : ' You can go home for the rest of the Assize.' Turning to the Clerk of the Crown, he added : ' Excuse these jurors, who are ordered to stand by, for the rest of the Assize. What is there 5 to keep them here when they are never allowed to serve the Crown ?' To* have evoked such a rebuke, from a judge of the standing and views of the Chief Bajon, is the most damaging incident in the career of the jury-packers since tlhe day when an Irish jury Irial was declared by an Knglish judge to be a ' mockery, a delusion, and a snare.' DUBLIN.— A Message to the Holy Father On St. Patrick's Day the Lord Mayor of Dublin telegraphed as follows :— • From the Lord Mayor of

Dublin to his Holiness Pope Pius the Tenth. The Lord Mayor of Dublin on the day of his inauguration, 17th March, on behalf of citizens and friends, tenders his profound and dutiful homage to his Holiness Pope Pius X., and wishes tntn a long and glorious reign.' To this thtj following reply was received from Cardinal Merry del Val :' To Lord Mayor, Dublin.— His Holiness graciously accepts the dutiful homage of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, citizens and friends, and sends them his Apostolic Blessing.' Defeat of the Unionists It would, appear (writes a Dublin correspondent) that the Unionist party in Dublin is losing ground, whereas the Nationalist* are improving their position somewhat. The contest in St. Stephen's Green has resulted in the return of Mr. Waldron (Nationalist) by a majority of 1538. He received 3457 votes, whereas his predecessor, Mr. M'Cann only polled 3429. Again, the Unionist vote on the present occasion was 2821, whereas at the last election it was 287)3. The Nationalists in Ireland may fairly claim that the bitter and frantic opposition to Home Rule no longer obtains. Many Unionists see that self-government must ultimately be conceded to Ireland, and the success of the County Councils shows clearly that the Nationalists are not only capable of successful administration, but that the religious interests of the miinority are quite safjb in their hands. GALWAY.— Colonel Lynch Mr. Patrick Murray, of Turlooighmore, has received the following letter from Colonel Lynch :— ' I beg to thank you most heartily for your exertions on my behalf. The Galway petition must have weighed with the King. Had his Majesty been left to the guidance of his own good sense and generous nature, he would have released me without the restriction of being on license. However, I hope the restriction will not remain long ia forceTYRONE.— Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians hah a great demonstration in Coalisland on St. Patrick's Day. Contingents from all parts of the country— Tyrone, Armagh, and Derry — flocked into the sturdy town, until it is estimated that fully 10,000 people were assembled. The occasion of the celebration was tthe laying of the foundation stone of the new A.0.11. Hall on Plater's Hill, overlooking the town. Mr. Doogan, M.P., who performed the ceremony of laying 1 the foundation stone, also delivered a stirring address. It is somewhat significant that the first resolution passed by the meeting was one tendering tjhe sincere thanks of the A.O.H. to Cardinal Logue for the friendly way in which he received a deputation from the Order, and assuring his Eminence that the members would always live faithful children to the Church. GENERAL The Irish Language The report of the Society for the Preservation of tihe Irish Language for 1903, while it emphasises the necessity for a knowledge of Irish on the .part of all teachers in the Irish-speaking districts, gives some interesting particulars as to the extent to which recent facilities for 'the teaching ot Insli ha<ve beeti employed in the National Schools and Intermediate Schools and Colleges. Payment of special fees for Irish as an extra subject was made by the National Board in 553 s-ohools, whose school years terminated within the twelve months ended 28th February, 1903, and the number of pupils for whom payment was made was 11,175. This showed an increase of 318 schools and 7083 pupils over the previous year The increase in the number of intermediate students who passed in Irish in the same period was 538. The Society sold over 46,000 of its books during the year 1903, making a total of nearly 318,000 sold since the beginning of the movement. A Successful Company Mr. Thomas Sexton, Alderman William M'Oormiok, and their colleagues on the directorate of the Irish Cbjuroh Property Insurance ConrpaJiy, Limited, are to be congratulated (says the ' Irish Weekly ') on the- continued success of that young and flourishing institution. At the annual meeting Mr. Sexton made a statement of progress, which must be be extremely satisfactory to the shareholders, and convince them of the sound financial arrangements made by the directors. Mr. Sexton reported with satisfaction that the gross amount insiured by the company exceeds the directors' most sanguine estimate ; that its policies are now in operation wiidieVy In every Irish diocese i; in the great number of dioceses the great majority of parishes are included, amd in several dioceses, including amongst them those of the most importance from the firnanoial point of view, church property in practically all the parishes is now on the books of the company. For the financial

ability displayed by them in the formation and management of this splendid Catholic enterprise, Mr. Sexton and Mr. M'Cormick and the other directors deserve the utmost credit. St. Patrick's Day in London The St. Patrick's Day banquet in the Hotel Cecil proved fully equal to any of its predecessors. This remarkable funoliO'n has now become an institution in Irisih politics, and from small beginnings has grown to be the greatest gathering of its kind in any part of the worbi. The grand hall of the Htotel Cecil is the largest dining-room in Europe, but it was not large emyugih for the mammoth gathering, in which nearly' 600 guests took part The letters from the Most Rev Dr O'Donnell and from the new Archbishop of Westminster were read amidst loud cheering. Tihe speeches were of a very eloquent character, and the musical programme left nothing, to be desired. The National Festival St Patrick's Day (says the ' Irish Weekly ') was fittingly and decorously observed in every corner of the land. The formal recognition of it as a national holiday was, owing to legislative enactment, more marked than usual in some localities, and in commercial circles outside of Belfast, though even here there was not altogether wanting an air of geniality, despite the unpleasant and depressing weather. Happily it required no enactment ol thfc legislature to ensure the observance of the day over t/ho gceater part of Ireland, where it has ever been voluntarily kept and honored as a holiday consecrated to religion and Nationality. In Dublin the feast was oibserved as a general holiday, and practically all business was suspended, shops, large and small, being, closed, as well as the law courts and the varioais Government offices. Most of the licensed houses, too, fell into line and kept closed^oors. The o.utdoor demonstrations which were held here and there in the North passed off without any jarring incidents or unseemly display. The spirit of tolerance and good humor prevailed, and everywhere, according to report, the day was observed temperately and with decorum. In England and in lands far away the day was worthily commemorated. In Rome the Irish College was, as always, the centre of national patriotism anfcl fervor, and the memory of the Apostle of the race was honored by befitting rehgious and social ceremonies. In every quarter where Irishmen are faund there appears to have been a hearty co-operation in suitably honoring and obsecving the day. Here at Home, both in town and cdumtry, it has been ikept in a spirit of sobriety and of self-respect, which, it is to be hoped, will come to be regarded as permanent characteristics of the great festival.