Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 3 December 1908, Page 27

Irish News

DONEGAL— Centenarians

The Lancet has ari^Hnterfisting little note ,on longevity in Donegal. As might' be expected from its numerous contributions to the annals of longevity (says our medical contemporary), the county of Donegal has tak<en up a conspicuous position in the relative number of its inhabitants who have presented claims under the Old Age Pensions Act. At the end of September 1200 forms of applications had already been obtained from the Donegal head office and sul-offices, and some of these had possessed the legal age qualification more than thirty years £(go. Three of the applicants are tn, 106, and 108 years old respectively, and of one of them Bryan O'Donnell, of Tower, Parish of Inver, it has been stated that he has always ftsed the Irish language only, having never uttered a sentence of English during the whole of his life! All three venerable applicants are described as being in good health, both physically and mentally. DUBLIN— A Rumor

It is rumored '"ttjat Lord Iveagh has offered to present bis magnificent house and grounds in St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, to the authorities of the new University. Lord Iveagh's house is one of the most elaborately constructed mansions of its kind, in the city. An idea of the magnificence of the interior of the building may be gathered from the fact that only a few years ago his lordship had the ballroom renovated at the cost of Maynooth College

The annual distribution of prizes, degrees, and honors took place at Maynooth College on October 14. His Eminence Cardinal Logue, who presided, delivered an address in which he spoke highly of the work of the college and the students. The pri "c for the Dunboyne Solus Essay in the Faculty of Theology was awarded to the Rev, Gerald Pierse, of Kerry. The Gilmartin Prize for an essay on a subject submitted on Church History was won by the Rev. John Hannaghan, Tuam. The same gentleman won the Irish Solus. The English prize essay was awarded to Mr. M. ICirwan, Waterford, and the French Solus to Mr. J. Keating, Waterford. Little or no Crime

Mr. T. W. Russell, M.P., addressed a meeting held under the auspices of the Dublin and County Liberal Association, of which he is President, on- October 9. Describing the political situation, he said there was little or no crime of the ordinary type in Ireland. Any crime they had flowed from two sources — from land and liquor. Just as they got to the source of the disorder and dealt with it, they succeeded in securing peace. It was represented that all the rights of citizenship were denied to Protestants, that they could not go about their ordinary business, and that their property was not safe. In all the ramifications of the -Dpartment's work he had had to deal with only two? cases of attempted boycotting. Nobody should be led to think that the people who suffered did so on account of their religion. He knew of no religious intolerance in the South and West of Ireland. He knew that all over the South and West, Protestant shopkeepers were •very often the biggest business men in the towns, and he knew that Protestant farmers were put into positions of trust and responsibility by Catholics in connection with the work over which he, Mr. Russell, presided. A Carnegie Library A public library has be,en formally opened at Lusk, County Dublin, by Very Rev. ' Tlomas Byrne, P.P. In the course of an address Father Byrne -thanked Mr. Carnegie for his generous gift of the Hbrary_, ; .and: also Mr. Collier, of New York, who.presented 500 volumes of select literature. The Late Alfred Webb The late Mr. Alfred Webb,, ex-iM.P., left* property, amounting to His nephew, Mr. Wm. Edmundson „ Shackleton., merchant, of Canonbrook, Lucan, and Mr. • George Shackletou, merchant, of Anna Liffey, Lucan, are the executprs of his will. International Healtli Congress The Women's National .Health Association "of Ireland, of which her Excellency the Countess of Aberdeen is President, has been bracketed with New York at the International Health Congress in Washington for first prize. The prize is 1000 dollars,

of which the Women's National Health Association of Ireland receives 500 dollars, and has been offered by thet Congress for the best voluntary Association for the" Prevention of '^Tuberculosis. G ALWAY— The Work of the Christian Brothers His Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne in the course of \ is speech at St. Jarlath's College, Tuam, referred to the brilliant successes of the Christian Brothers' pupils at the Commonwealth Civil Service examinations recently held. • There were twenty vacancies, and of the twenty, eleven were won by Christian Brothers' boys. LEITRIM— A Presentation On the occasion of his promotion to the pastorship of Fenagh, County Leitrim, the RVv. T. Macken was presented with a purse of sovereigns and an address by the people of -Banagher, where he had been officiating during the past seven years. LIMERICK— A Broad-Minded Prelate The Right Rev. Dr. Orpen, Protestant Bishop of Limerick, speaking at the Limerick Diocesan Synod, said : 'In matters of higher education, since last Diocesan Synod, Parliament had passed into law the Irish Universities Bill. ' Let- us. hope that this will result in the spread of higher education-/ deserving of the name, amongst a large section of * our£ fellow-countrymen, whose intellectual capacities make them susceptible 3gjt the highest attainments and culture. Possibly a generous rivalry between these new Universities and the ancient foundation of Trinity College may develop a higher standard of learning. Every true patriot will wish them success and broad-minded wisdom in those who direct their destinies.' English Misrepresentation At a recent meeting of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce the President, Sir Thomas Cleeve, D.L., presiding, the following resoultion was, on the motion of Sir A. W. Shaw, seconded by Mr. E. J. Long, unanimously passed — ' That -.the statements recently made in the English press, and by prominent men, to the effect that industry is being interfered with in Ireland, and that Irishmen are incapable of industrial effort, extravagantly misrepresent the state of the county, and are calculated to arouse the indignation of all fair-minded men ; that we, as merchants and manufacturers, assert that at no period has such harmony existed as in our district between those who differ politically and religiously, and that the progress of our country is evidenced by the advance in industry, education, and temperance. We appeal to the other Chambers of Commerce in Ireland .to join in relating authoritatively the true state of commerce and industry in Ireland, so that no barrier may be placed to their extension and improvement, ' LOUTH— Death of a Leading Business Man

The death is reported of Mr. F. F. Campbell, of Dundalk, where for fifty years he had been one of the leading auctioneers, his connection extending over the County Louth and' neighboring counties. He disposed of many of the largest properties that came up for sale in that large district. A native of Moira, County Down, he was born in the early thirties, and of an old Catholic family. In his early manhood he was associated with Mr. John Rea, the famous Belfast solicitor, and about the same time he formed a friendship, which was 1 life-long, with the late Lord Russell, of Killcnyen, who was then a young solicitor practising in Belfast. ROSCOMMON— Restoring Evicted Tenants

"In connection with the recent evictions on the O'Gara pro- , perty, Lisadaly, County Roscommon, a peaceful' settlement has been arrived at, and the evicted tenants restored' to their homes. This satisfactory result has been brought 'about by the Rev. , Father Maguire, acting on . the advice of- the Very Rev. Canon 'O'Hara, Kilmoyee. The terms of settlement are that all arrears are to be wiped out on payment of two years' rent and half .the cess by those owing more than four years' rent. Those owing three,' on payment of one and a half years' rent, and a

proportionate reduction to' others according -to the amount due.

maximum on the same terms on which ( the Congested Districts Board or the Estate Commissioners, and the tenants to buy at a maximum on the same terms on which the Congested Districts '- Board purchased the Murphy and.De Freyne Estates. To enable - the -evicted to get back to their homes and, save ' their already damaged harvest, Father Maguire" guaranteed to find the money for the landlord, which, with the assistance of Mr. Webb, County Councillor, he did.

WATERFORD— Tasmanian Visitors In Waterford ,a hearty"" reception has been given to the nephew and niece of Thomas Francis Meagher, who arrived there on a visit in f company with Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Ford. They were met at the railway station 1 by the Mayor, Alderman" Whittle,— the High Sheriff, Mr. -Hyland, and a number of citizens, accompanied by the Barrack Street Band, and were escorted by- a, torchlight procession to the Granville Hotel, where Mr. Meaghor returned thanks. '- . ■■ GENERAL

Another Council Bill The Drogheda Argus announces that jt has information ' from a well-known Devoliitionist ' that a Bill on the lines of the Irish Councils Bill, but much more generous, is in contemplation. The Liberals are not to be responsible for the next Bill. ' The Imperial Home Rulers are to take the initiative and to respond to Mr. BirreLl's taunt to Mr. Redmond " to put on paper his demand and they would consider it." ' American Assistance The Bishop of-Raphoe, Chief Trustee of the United Irish Parliamentary and National Fund, has received a cablegram from the officers of the United Irish League in America notifying that ~ j£2ooo, the first instalment of the amount promised by the Boston Convention, has been mailed. A Reminiscence Speaking at St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, on October 5, on a vote of thanks to Dr. Cox, who delivered an address on the new University and its relation to the medical profession, Mr. T. W. Russell, Vice-President of the Department, of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, said he first came across the trouble about the University at the Town Hall of Fintona, and it was full of Orangemen, rather hazy about what a University was. But they wanted to know what he was going to do about a Catholic University. He said he was going to vote for it, at which there were groans. He put it to them in this way, and he remembered the staggerer it was. He said : ' Supposing that you men had sons and wished to secure for them a University education ; supposing you wished to send them to Trinity College and that Trinity College was as Catholic as it now is Protestant ' — that was 21 years ago — ' supposing that the service in the chapel of Trinity, instead of being a Protestant service, was a Catholic service, supposing that the head of the college and every teacher in it was Catholic ; supposing every man from the Provost down to the doorkeeper was a Jesuit ' — he knew that would fetch them — ' how many of you would send your sons to an institution of that kind? 1 He waited; not one of them answered. ' Very well,' he said, ' if you would not send your sons to a college of that kind, what right have you to force Catholics into a Protestant institution?' No answer had been given to that question from that day to this in any part of the King's dominions. Now they had got to an end of it. He was rather inclined to take credit to himself that he was the only Ulster member who from the day he entered Parliament until the day this measure received the Royal Assent maintained that it was just, that it ought to be frankly conceded, and that it was an outrage to with- r hold it. A New Land Bill Mr. Birrell, Chief Secretary for Ireland, introduced in th« House of Commons last week a new Land Purchase Bill for Ireland. He stated that the sales already completed under the Land Purchase Act totalled while agreements were pending for an additional , Instead- of contemplated by Mr. Wyndham in 1903, was "• needed. Amid Nationaiist cheers the Irish Secretary announced that he intended to relieve the Irish ratepayers of their prospective losses of half a million yearly. Referring to the issues of stock, he intended to issue 3 per cents., to increase intending tenants' annual interest on advances made, to reduce the bonus to 3 per cent., to increase the present limit to and to 1 gradu-; ate the bonus in order to assist the poorer landlord to sell. Mr. Birrell commented on the Dudley Commission, and remarked that the possession of untenanted or grass lands must 'be obtained. They must decide which was the better, cattle or people. The Government therefore asked for compulsory powers. He txplained that the congested' districts board would consist of 18 members, whereof nine would be chosen by the local authorities of each congested district in each county. The finance would be v controlled by an administrative committee of non-elected mem- , bers. The Chief Secretary assured the Nationalists that if any measures were carried over to another, session he would resign unless this one were excluded.