Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 20, 20 May 1909, Page 27

Irish News

ANTRIM— A Windfall By the death of Mr. James McCraeken, of Philadelphia, formerly of Garryduff, Ballymoney, his relatives, it is stated, will come into a fortune of £250,000 (says the Irish Weekly). His nephew, Mr. John McCracken. is manager of Messrs. Stevenson and Co.'s pork-curing establishment, Ballymoney, and he and his brother, Mr. James McCracken, farmer, of Claughey, and sister, Mrs. McAfee, will be participators, it is said, to a considerable extent in the large fortune. A brother of the late Mr. McCrooKcn is also living at the village of Dunloy. ARMAGH— Appointed Canons His Eminence Cardinal Logue has appointed the Rev. B. Donnellan, Ravendale, and the Rev. F. McNally, Upper Killeavy, Canons of the archdiocese. CORK— To help the Earthquake Victims An offering of £300 from the diocese of Cork has been forwarded to the Holy Father in aid of the sufferers ly the earthquake in Calabria and Sicily. ' Mr. O'Brien's Resignation To his followers, the announcement of Mr. William O'Brien's intention to vacate his seat in Parliament, because of ' recent developments, notably the defection of no less than five Cork M.P.'s,' came like a thunderbolt, for he had not given the slightest inkling of it even io his most intimate political friends. The prcpoudeiating majority of Nationalists, however, heard the news "with great relief, for they looked forward with a feeling of pain and almost of dismay to the results of the campaign of dissension with which the honorable member had threatened the country. DUBLIN— An Interesting Little Town Swords, the quiet little town on the main road between Dublin and Drogheda, is ' familiar with bygone days.' It has a magnificent Round Tower, and was the home of a great ecclesiastical establishment in pre-Reformation times. Swords was one of the ' prebends ' of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and was so richly endowed- as to be known as ' the Golden Prebend.' It is generally known that Cardinal Wolsey was, with many other preferments, a Prebendary of Swords. Brackenstown, a mansion near Swords, was the seat of Lord Molesworth, from whom Molesworth street is named. He was an intimate friend of Dean Swift, who in one of the ' Drapier's Letters ' almost reveals his identity by mentioning incidentally that he had ridden out to Brackenstown to see ' my Lord Molesworth.' Swords was an ecclesiastical nomination borough, like St. ~Canice's, Kilkenny. It returned two members to the Irish House of Commons — ' the patron ' of the borough being the Protestant Archbishop of Dublin. When Swords was disfranchised at the Union the compensation (£15,000) for its disfranchisement was not paid to the Archbishop, but devoted to the establishment of a school. GALWAY— The Archbishop of Melbourne The termination of the visit to Ireland- of his Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne is fast approaching (writes a correspondent of the Weekly Freeman of April 3). He will leave our shores early in April, and continue his voyage uninterrupted to Australia. During his brief sojourn hi this country his Grace -has been the recipient of beautifully illuminated addresses from . the following Nationalist Boards, viz., the Tuam Town Commissioners, the Galway Urban 'Council, and also one from the people of his native parish of Moylough. Some months ago the Freeman' contained a graphic report of the enthusiastic reception that was accorded his Grace at Moylough on his first appearance there after his arrival in Ireland. "We need not refer to the esteem and veneration in, which he is so deservedly held by the people of his Grace's native parish. They lay claimto the learned Archbishop as one of their own, and will always look back with pleasure and pride to his Grace's visit to Moylough as one of the most interesting events in connection with the history of the parish, and have been impressed by and feel grateful for his Grace's kindness during his entirely too brief stay amongst us. His Grace's great work in the holy cause of Faith and Fatherland in the land of the Southern Cross is well known to all. We congratulate his Grace on his complete recovery from his recent indisposition. It is a source of great consolation to know that his illness was only of short duration. We hope his Grace can look forward to many more years of health and happiness to govern the Church in ! Australia, with the same wonderful success in the future | as in the past.

KILKENNY—A Distinguished Visitor The Mayor- of Kilkenny, Alderman Potter, at the last meeting of the Urban Council stated that Archbishop Ireland, who is a native of Kilkenny, is about to visit the city, and he thought it fitting that the citizens should pay his Grace some mark of respect. It was decided that the freedom of the city be presented to his Grace. LIMERICK— More White Gloves County Court Judge Law Smith opened the business of the Limerick Quarter Sessions on March 29, and was presented by the High Sheriff with a pair of white gloves as a further indication of the peaceful condition of the city. Unabated Confidence in the Irish Party At a recent meeting of the Limerick County Council the following resolution was unanimously adopted : ' That we, the members of the Limerick County Council,- once again tender to Mr. John E. Redmond, M.P., the expression of our unabated confidence in him as leader,- and through him to express our admiration and gratitude to the' members of his Party, who on all occasions have acted so loyally under his guidance.' In the course of "his remarks in moving the resolution Mr. O'Shaughnessy saii it was a well-known fact that politically the country was going through a very extreme crisis, and the time had arrived when, above all others, the public bodies had a right to speak out their minds on the present-day issues. He thought it behoved every man and every set of men to have passed resolutions of confidence — or want of confidence if they wished — to let it be known where exactly they were, and let . thgcountry see that they were really behind Mr. Redmond ancTthe Party now as ever. He had the greatest possible pleasure in proposing the resolution, copies of which would be sent to Mr. Redmond and the chief Whips of the Party, and thought that every public body should immediately pass a similar one. Death of a Member of Parliament The announcement of the death in London of Mr. "William Lundon, M.P. for East Limerick, caused general regret in that constituency. The deceased, who was a man of most amiable character, had a very large circle of friends. The remains were taken to Ireland for interment, his Parliamentary colleagues accompany ing "Hltem to the railway station. . Amid manifestations of genuine grief the remains were interred on March 26 in Kilteely. When the train conveying the remains reached Pallas an immense concourse of people had assembled, and the procession at once set out for Kilteely. A solemn office was chanted, and High Mass was celebrated by Rev. John Power, P.P., Kilteely. He, with Canon Ryan, P.P., Galbally, and six other priests, were present at the burial. The membera of Parliament present were Alderman Joyce, David Sheehy, John Cullinan, and P. J. O'Shaughnessy. MONAGHAN— The Vacant See On March 30, a meeting of the parish priests of, the diocese of Clogher was held in Monaghan under the presidency of his Eminence Cardinal Logue for the selection of three names to be forwarded to the Holy See in connection with the vacancy caused by the death of the Most Rev. Dr. Owens. The result was as follows : — Dignissimus : Rev. Patrick McKenna, Professor, May nooth. College, 16; Dignior: Rev. Patrick Keown, P.P., Lattin, 10; Dignus: Very Rev. Archdeacon McGlone, P.P., Carrickmacross, 8. TlPPEßAßY— Supporting the Irish Party In the course of a letter, accompanied by a contribution to the funds of £he Irish Party, the Most Rev. Dr. Fennelly, Archbishop of Cashel, says : — ' Within the last quarter of a century very great benefits have come to Ireland through organisation and legislation; and if the friends of Ireland at home and abroad will continue- to support the Irish Party, I am sanguine that our long struggle will be crowned by the concession of Home Rule in the near future. At all events, I recognise my obligation to the men who have labored so unselfishly and successfully, and I take this opportunity of discharging it, at least to some extent.' TYRONE— A New Zealand Legacy • News has reached Stewartstown (says the Belfast Irish Weekly) that Mrs. Driver died recently in New Zealand, leaving a legacy consisting of about £8000, and as it was believed that the deceased lady had some relatives living in the neighborhood of Coalisland, inquiries were made. Since then it has transpired that Mr. Michael Gartland, Brackeville, Coalisland, Mrs. Mary Connolly, Shaneless. Coalisland, and two wealthy brothers named Messrs. Peter and Terence Corr, residing in Stewartstown, are the only relatives at present alive, and claims have been lodged on their behalf.

GENERAL Catholic Dissabilities Bill The late Mr. Lundon, M.P. for East Limerick, had charge of the Bill to remove Catholic disabilities. To Mr. William Redmond the task of piloting it through the. House of Commons now falls. Four Great Events Under the auspices of the United League of Great Britain Mr. John Redmond and Mr. T. P. O'Connor on March 28 addressed a very large meeting in Liverpool. Mr. Redmond, in the course of his address, said: — The year 19U8 would be ever memorable in the history of Tr*land for at least four great events. The first w.is the establishment, for the first time for centuries, of a free National University, where all the youth of Ireland, poor and rich alike, Catholic, Protestant, and Presbyterian, would have placed within their reach the advantage of higher education. He considered the creation of that University one of the greatest achievements of the past century. The next great achievement of the last year was the passing into law of a Bill to provide better housing accommodation for the workers and artisans in the cities and towns of Ireland. The third was the achievement of the Irish Party in saving and protecting the interests of the Catholic schools of Great Britain. They had defeated four Education Bills in this Parliament; and in last session, when the Government thought they had made terms with the Church of England, they took it for granted that the representatives of the Catholics would be obliged to acquiesce; but they defeated that Bill; and, at any rate for this Parliament, the Catholic schools of England, were safe. The fourth and the last remarkable achievement was that the emigration from Ireland in 1908 was lower than in any year for half a century. During last year also their organisation had been growing in strength, and they had received from their countrymen in America, Canada, Australia, and South Africa most overwhelming proofs of their confidence. Comparative Statistics In the course of a lecture delivered recently in Letterkenny Mr. Joseph Devlin, M.P., dealt with some fallacies regarding the wealth of Ulster as compared with the other provinces of Ireland. He said: — We are. told that Ulster contains the wealth and intelligence of Ireland. How V the facts and figures square with this contention? Take the ratable valuation for 1908. The ratable valuation of the whole of Ulster was £5,510,202 ; but, if we deduct from this the valuation of Belfast, which was £1,506,138, we get the figure for Ulster of £4,004,064. The figure for Minister, exclusive of Cork City, is £3,301,231, whilst for Leinster, exclusive of Dublin, it is £4,192,503, or £188,439 in excess of Ulster. Taking the rural districts only, the valuation of Ulster is £3,406,024, whilst that of Leinster is £3,500,372, showing an excess over Ulster of £94,348. Excluding Belfast, Dublin, and Cork, the ratable valuation in 1908 per head of the population in the provinces of Ulster, Leinster, and Munster works out at £4 17s 3d for Leinster, £3 6s Od for Munster, and only £3 4s lOd -for Ulster. In County Antrim, including Belfast, the mean valuation of agricultural holdings is £27. In Dublin County, including Dublin City, the mean valuation is £54. According to a recent return, the average assessment per head for income tax is greater in Leinster than it is in Ulster. The number of holdings rated at £4 and under in Leinster is 107,940. In Ulster the number is 159,379, or more than Munster and Connaught added together. According to a return issued in 1884, the most recent available, the number of inhabited houses rated at £1 and under — that is the very worst class^of houses in Ireland — were as follows: Ulster, 152,499; Connaught, 105,008; Munster, 92,632; Leinster, 85,040. So that Ulster contains more houses of the worst class than Munster and Leinster put together, and more than one-third of the total number of such houses in the whole of Ireland. These are not random assertions, made to deceive the' public; They are simple statements of fact, which can be verified by reference to official documents, and they certainly do not bear out the contention that Ulster has a monopoly of the wealth of Ireland.

The way it was long, and road it was dark, And the wayfarer fell in the pond in the park, And it filled him right up to the Plimsoll mark, And not only filled but chilled him! He contrived to get home all a shiver and shake, He'd a terrible cold and had swallowed a lake. But Woods' Peppermint Cure they induced him to take, Or the cold that he caught would have killed him.