Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 6, 7 February 1907, Page 27

Irish News

ANTRIM— The Political Outlook / Addressing a _ meeting of. the Ulster- Protestant Electoral Union : in Belfast, Mr. . Lindsay Crawford; dealt wilh the political outlook in Ulster. In. the course of an interesting speech, -Mr. Crawford dealt, with the political forces . at; . present operating in the Northern province, and contended that the balance' of; power was moving steadily democratiowards. He referred in scathing terms to * the official Unionist party . as incorporating all the evil traditions of feudalism,' and which could not hope to survive another genera-,, tion. He (the speaker) was prepared for reverses, and ■ the treachery of weak friends, but there was -'one' thing operating steadily and remorselessly in .-their: favor, and that was the death-fate. Their -nearness to \ •victory depended upon, whether: their deatht-raw was; high -or. low. He would not be accused of prayingJor. the^death of their opponents ;- but when the harvest was fully ripe, and when, in the wisdom of Providence the older generations passed away to sleep with their . fathers, it would' be found that many an old crusted Tory had, by his death, done more for the welfare of his unfortunate country than it was ever possible to achieve while he was living. The future hope of a country lay with ' the younger generations, 'and no student of Irish life could be ignorant of the fact that the rising generation . was turning its back on the Tory influences that governed the actions of its pre--decessors, and was standing with hope 'and confidence on the threshold of a new era. Young Ireland was to-day as liberal and progressive in its political aspirations as the older generations were Tory arid reactionary. In the towns and villages of Ulster to-day the sons of Tory . Orangemen were ashamed of - the . Orange drum, and were thinking intelligently along Irish limes. ARMAGH— Death of two Leading Merchants On December 17 the funerals of two leauHng Ar-' magh merchants, Messrs. Joseph Gillespie and Thomas Foster, took place^ here. Mr. Gillespie was one of the largest seed merchants in the North of Ireland, and . Mr. Foster carried on a very extensive business as a timber and coal merchant.

Orange Rowdyism Mr. - Justice Kenny and a jury were occupied at the Ulster Winter Assizes irT Belfast hearing evidence in the case" of seven Orangemen charged with _befrig ringleaders in a riot which occurred in" the \^Lllage of Tandragee, County Armagh, on the occasion of the visit of a. large body of Belfast Orangemen on August 18 last. His Lordship said the evidence showed that the constabulary had to resort to baton charges, and nobody regretted more than he did that the prisoner Thompson, whose eye had been knocked out, '. should have put himself within the meshes of the law • to ~ the extent . he had. It was a deplorable circumstance, but the whole, thing was deplorable. One hundred and eighty-one windows were broken, and 'of twenty-seven houses affected twenty-three of them were Catholic houses. These party rows were to be deprecated, and he was sure the judge deprecated them. It would be a merciful thing if people would get a little '. sense into their heads, and act a little more with the spirit of mutual toleration. After an hour's deliberation the jury found the prisoners guilty, with a a recommendation to leniency. Sentence was deferred.

CORK—The Presentation College • The report submitted by Rev. Brother' Connolly, the Superior of the Presentation College, Cork, at the presentation of prizes there by t the Bishop, 'the Most Rev. Dr. O'Callagftan, before r tine dispersion forthe Christmas holidays, was one that any educational institution, might well be proud . of, and showed remarkable, successes in such public, examinations" as : those of the Intermediate, - the "Civil Senftce, the' Royal University, and the Medical Schools. As his Lordship remar&ed in his speech (says the ' Freeman's Jpurnal '), the Community began in a very poor way; . yet by their energy and straightforward dealittg . they have established .- a College' wnich' might ' be ' put in competition with' any school in the. Three Kingdoms. The Brothers' one whole aim, he^ said,' was- the spiritual and material good of their boys, and, while their reward' in this* world was not great, as worldly things .go, they did not- mind that, as they looked to a higher reward in another world. Everybody will agjee with him that the remarkable progress of the

Presentation College should give all Corkmen great consolation. "No doubt it does, and no- doubt there are few- citizens of : . the Southern capital who are not proud to" Have in their midst such ,a centre of enlightenment" and sound educax'ion. ~ -*. : Church Music " *-:--, The movement for the improvement of Church'music has made a good deal of progress in Ireland, a fact brought out prominently in the course of a lecture on the subject the other" day to the members of" '-the Cork Young Men's Society by Mr. John F. Murray, professor of Ecclesiastical Chant in- the DiocesanSeminary, Farranferris, -and organist and choirmaster of St. Augustine's Church, ' Cork. After the lecture, which was an able, 'review of >he s -progress of" the movement, musical illustrations \yere supplied by,, the choir of St. Augustine's Church. ' - The programme, • which) included, three Introits composed in the .seventh century, "some specimens of .the - work of the Palestrina .school, and an; admirable example of modern choral music; the 'Gloria' of one .of Donf Peirosi's TSTasses, was 'rendered in admirable style, the singing, of the Gregorian Chant being- quite a revelation . of the sublimity ' and devotional expression of the. music-. \ - Gas Explosion . - , A violent gas - explosion occurred .at the Fermoy railway^ station a fe\f days before Christmas, resulting in severe injury to the stationmaster, Mr. Met--^calfe, a' ticfret-collector, and a porter of the Royal Hotel. There was an escape/ of gas in the "first-class waiting-room, which the stationmaster and the ticketcollector tried to discover. Corcoran held a light near the ceiJing, with the result that a loud explosion followed, ..wrecking the room, the doors and windows of which were shattered. A- ; commercial traveller, who was on the platform reading a newspaper,; was also in- . jured. ' - _ , DERRY— -Orange Parade The customary Orange and Apprentice Boy Parade in connection, with the celebration of the anniversary, of the Shutting of. the Gates of- Derry prior to • the siege- of more than two centuries ago took place on December -<18. The weather was dry, but dull." ' The term dull could also be fittingly applied 'to the proceedings of the brethren. Speaking generally, the citizens took little or no interest in the p_arade, the whole programme being left to about.a couple of hundred youthful bandsmen, supplemented by about a score of Apprentice Boy office bearers. „ "" DUBLIN— SmaII Damages On December 17 the action in - which"- Major John Macßride sued . the ' Independent * Newspapers, Limited, for libel was tiled before Mr.- Justice Gibson and a city special jury. The jury found for the plaintiff on all issues, with £1 damages. This did not carry costs. Ennobling Work Very Rev. E. A. CreTian, D.D., C.S.Sp., Dublin, presided at the quarterly' general meeting of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, held in University College, Stephen's Green. In the course of an address, which deeply impressed his audience, he said nothing was: better calculated to develop in young men a .supernatural and truly religious spirit than the work they had to do as members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. To be concerned in works of charity, to be brought into contact with God's poor, eVen in a small way, ta -see how much human misery . there was around them, to be touched with compassion for that misery, was undoubtedly calculated to evoke the best sentiirients of the human^eart and make an indelible impression on the mind of a young man. He would learn by experience that the very keenest pleasure the • world could give was insignificant , compared with the sweet content and peaceful joy which flooded the heart when- one had contributed to soften the anguish or re- - lieve the distress of one of God's poor. .Charitable Institutions - The." Most Rev. Dr. ' Walsh, - Archbishop of Dublin, speaking on the occasion of the opening of the new wing to the Maternity Hospital, Holies street, said £15,850 of public money" was voted by Parliament each year as a State subvention, to a number of hospitals in the city of Dublin," and " every penny of that -money to ten or 1 eleven hospitals that were under management that was either exclusively or pxe'dominan/tly Protestant, so that consequently -the claims of their great, .hospitals, the- Mater Misericordiae, St. Vincent's, the Hospice - for the Dying, and "the Children's Hospital in Temple, street, were simply ignored. The Holies, street Hospital, with its new wing, was

now tJ*e third largest maternity hospital in the three; kingdoms, and it was an eloquent testimony to the abounding generosity. of their people- that this work bad' been accomplished without one farthing of State aid. • Proposed Insurance Company .

Sixteen County Councils and twenty District Councils, Poor Law Boards, and Asylum or other Committees were represented at the . Conference held recently in Dublin, on the subject of the foundation of an Irish Insurance Company. The Conference appointed a,. Provisional Committee to draw up a detailed report upon the practicability of the project* and especially '.upon . the amount of premiums jpaid by local bodies since the passing of the Local Government Act and the re•turn for claims and losses.. _-, '* ' GALWAY — Lady Appointed County Surveyor

At a special meeAng of Galway County. Council Miss Alice Perry, 8.E., was- appointed Interim County ; Surveyor in room of her father,- the late Mr. James; Perry. The permanent appointment is ;to be made later on, It was resolved to fix the emoluments of the . office as follows :— Salary, £340 ; office expenses, £60 ; travelling expenses,' £100; total,' £500. Formerly theappointment was worth about £'1000. ■ LIMERICK— The Bishop and the Irish Party

The Bishop of Limerick wrote a letter v to the 'Freeman's Journal ' severely criticising the action ,of the Irish Parliamentary Party in supporting the Gov- _ ermment's motion to reject en bloc the Lord's amendments to the Education Bill. His Lordship - expressed , the opinion that the vote was the result of Liberal - intrigues. Interviewed by a cooresponld'erit' 'of tlfoe ' Freeman,' Mr. John Redmond said he had -read his Lordship's letter with great regret, and declared ■ that he was quite mistaken as to the facts. No negotiations -had taken place between the Irish Party and- the ' Government on the Education Bill, except after- consultation with the English Bishops, and that -consulta- - tion had continued up to the • last moment. MAYO— A Memorial In response to a request from the Lord Bishop of., the diocese, Dr. Lyster, the Rev. vM. J. Devine has left Foxford for England to collect funds for the < building of a new church in Straide, the birthplace' and place of burial of Michael Da\ttt. MONAGHAN— A New Hall The fine new hall which has just been erected by the Catholics of the - town of Monaghan and opened recently with" a grand concert, is a very neat speci- ■ men of architecture, and meets a long felt want in ; the community in the matter of a reading-room and : public meeting place. • " TIPPERARY— Death of the Pastor of Nenagh Our Irish exchanges report the death, of tjie Right Rev. Mgr. White, Dean of Killaloe and parish priest of Nenagh. The sad event took place in Nenagh at , three o'clock on December 19. ' ' "" GENERAL . Irish Manufactures The Countess of Aberdeen has announced her intention of issuing invitations for an Irish Lace Ball and an Irish Tweed Afternoon during the coming Dublin Castle season. Irish' Potatoes A very important meeting of farmers interested -in \ potato -growing in Ireland was ■ held during the Winter - Show of the Royal Dublin . Society. The meeting was convened to consider the application of experience gained thds year in respect of the value of Irish- " grown seed potatoes in comparison with Scotch and English-grown seed of the same varieties. The experiments were carried aut in England, Scotland and Wales under the superintendence of the Irish Department of Agriculture. It was explained at the meeting that enthusiastic potato, growers in Ireland, notably Mr. Williamson, of Mallow, Mr. Wesley Forbes, Cotfnty Antrim, and others had very much increased' the interest in potato growing in Ireland, either by the raising of new varieties or by experimenting upon new varieties raised by others. It was made clear through the results of recent experiments (1) that the i potatoes grown in, Ireland had a peculiar vigor o! growth ■ which made them thoroughly reliable for •-vseed ' purposes ; (2) that it was possible to cultivate .a trade with Great Britain in suppling seed potatoes, as the / growers had' long recognised the importance of changing the seed in potato cultivation ; (3) that with care and forethought there might be a large business done m seed potato growing in Ireland.