Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 28 October 1909, Page 1707

Irish News

ARMAGH— Cardinal Logue His Eminence Cardinal Logue, accompanied by Right Row Dr. O'Neill, Bishop of Dromore, Right Rev. Dr. Browne, Bishop of Cloyne, and Rev. Thomas Cassidy, P.P., Monasterboice, left Ireland on September " .10 for Salamanca, where, on the invitation of Most Rev. Francesco Valdes y Noriega and the Corporation of the city,' they were to be present at a Literary Congress which opened in the Irish College on September 15. CORK— A Venerable Nun A venerable nun belonging to the Middleton Presentation Convent, in the person of Sister M. Magdalen Halli--nan,, a native, of Charleville, ' passed away early in September. Deceased, who was an invalid for some years past, had attained the patriarchal age of ninety years, and is believed to have been the oldest Presentation nun in Munster, if not in Ireland. She was close on fifty years in the Order at Midleton, and was a member of an old and esteemed family in the town of Charleville. DONEGAL— Death of a Priest The Rev. Edward Cassidy, pastor of Glencolumbkille, died at his residence, Car rick, County Donegal, on September 4, after a brief illness. Deceased was one of the best known of the clergy of the diocese of Raphoe, and was greatly esteemed. <iALWAY— The Archbishop of Tuara's Jubilee The Duke and Duchess of Manchester, who are at present residing at Kylemore, County Galway, sent a subscription of £10 to the fund being raised in connection with the jubilee of the Most Rev. Dr. Healy, Archbishop of Tuam. KERRY— The Lakes of Killarney The Killarney boatmen sent a memorial to Lord Kentnare asking his lordship not to permit the use of power or motor boats for tourists on the lakes owing to .the dis- - charge of grease and poisonous bilge being detrimental to the fisheries. His lordship, writing to Messrs. Cook's local agent, .stated that whilst he did not object to the, use on the lakes by private owners of small electric launches, he declined to allow the use of such boats in connection with the tourist traffic. Technical Education in Tralee The Tralee Technical Committee have taken a step of importance in regard to the technical training of the young. They found ,( remar ks the Freeman's Journal) that the system of night schools did not succeed for young workers. The apprentice, after working at his trade all day, did not care to give a couple of hours in the evening to receiving instruction in the same work as- occupied him all day. Nor, indeed, was he fit for it. Young people like a "little play, and, though too much of anything is bad, play in moderation is beneficial and necessary. Even Kerry boys are unable to continue bright and intelligent when it becomes a question of work at the same grind ' from early morning till bed • time. Many of them were not in a receptive mood at most of the evening classes of late, and then when the long, warm summer evenings came the attendance fell away altogether. The committee rose to the occasion. They conferred" with the employers of the town, and an additional weekly half-holiday was agreed upon, to enable the boys to attend afternoon classes for apprentices. The employers acknowledged the improvement in - their workshops owing to the training of the Technical Schools;' and the aptitude which the boys showed at the day classes promises that they will more' than repay the half-holiday by increased efficiency. LIMERICK— The Provincial of the Redemptorists At a recent meeting of the Limerick Corporation a letter was read from Very Rev. P. Griffith, C.SS.R., in reply to a resolution passed by the v Corporation congratulating him on his recent appointment .as Provincial of the Redemptorist Order. In the course of his letter Father Griffith said : — ' May I ask you to convey my most sincere thanks to Alderman Joyce, M.P. ; Alderman McNeice, and the other members of the Corporation. The men of Limerick have long memories when there is a question of a service rendered them. No period of my life do I recall with greater pleasure than the two years spent in the service of what I consider the grandest body of Christian men on carth — the , Confraternity of the Holy Family of Limerick. It will ever be my ambition to serve them in -any way in my power.' ' r LOUTH— Long-pending Negotiations _ After four years' negotiations, the tenants of Lord Rathdonnell at Drumcor, County Louth, have signed agreements for the purchase of their holdings.

SLIQO— A Striking Contrast Canon Hobson, preaching in his church in Portadown- on the first Sunday in September, said with reference to the recent Orange outbreak: — 'The cause chiefly, -if not wholly, lies with the person or persons who suggested that on last Sunday the Nationalists should walk in procession to the railway station. It is well for all to know, and for the Dublin Castle authorities to know this. We want to live at peace' with the Nationalists, and we wish them well in -all legitimate matters; but in this town of about 12,000 inhabitants the vast majority are Unionists. We are an essentially Protestant community, and if a small section of the people determine or are urged to walk in procession through the town, whether with or without colors, it is well for the Castle authorities to know that in such case ther6 will be trouble.' Writing on- the same subject ,in the Irish Times of September 6, the Rector of Sligo (ReV? J. B. Ardill) said: 'In the correspondence relative to the Portadown disturbances references have been made to what would probably happen in the "South or West ' of Ireland if an Orange or Protestant band were to march and play through the streets of a distinctively Roman Catholic town. May I say. that here in Sligo there are about 2000 Protestants and about 9000 -Roman Catholics? ' In the Sligo Protestant -Hall there is a brass band which belongs to the V.M.C.A. The bandsmen wear -a uniform of black and gold, somewhat like that of a regiment of Hussars. - This band plays through the town whenever it is geing anywhere, without hindrance. On last Christmas morning it played from the Protestant Hall to my church and back again. On tlie previous Christmas it played to St. John's Church, on the other side of the town. When going on -excursions, by boat or otherwise, it usually plays to and from the Protestant Hall. It has met the Roman Catholic band at the Town Hall in competition for a musical prize. It is not an Orange band, but it is distinctively .Protestant. It plays hymn tunes, such as " Onward, Christian soldiers," through the streets, but it does not play party tunes, nor does it march on July 12. These, circumstances may not be exactly parallel to those of Portadown, . but they are closely related, and, therefore, I give them, without expressing any opinions.' TYRONE— New County Court Judge Mr. Andrew Todd, M.A., LL.D., K.C., has been ap- ~ gointed to succeed the late Sir Francis Brady as County ourt Judge of Tyrone. The new judge was admitted to the Bar in 1881, and took silk in 1904. Mr. Todd is a native of the county in which he will in future, administer the law. He was Crown Prosecutor for County Longford.' WEXFORDj-Potato and Tobacco Crops Of the potato crop (says the Freeman's Journal), there is a very gratifying report. The Tecord of previous years is beaten, and the price obtainable in the Wexford markets is 5s per barrel (3|d per stone), although a correspondent writing to a contemporary states that twice that sum is obainable. x Again, the tobacco" crop this year promises to be better than that produced in any previous year. Harvesting operations have already been started, and the yield is being brought into the Broadway curing barn. GENERAL Intermediate Examinations — The results of this year's Irish Intermediate Examinations, which have just been issued, show Ahat 4245 boys, or 55.3 per cent., and 2002 girls, or 54.8 per. cent., of those who presented themselves passed. Temperance Bopks - Judge Rentoul, one of the Judges in the Central Criminal Court of England, ' recently sent to the author the following cordial appreciation, 'of Father Halpin's Temperance books, ' The Irish Temperance Reader ' and ' The Father ' Mathew Reader on Temperance and Hygiene.' The Judge is known as a strong advocate of the temperance cause : — ' I have read" your book with extreme interest and profit, and I regard its plan, its contents, and the appended ques- ■ tions as forming one of the most valuable contributions .to temperance literature that I have ever seen; and thereis little in' the way of temperance literature that I have not read. I got the book as I was sitting last week as Judge of Assize at the Old Bailey; so it came to me at a place where the- evil of intemperance is felt more than anywhere else. Such publications as yours and that of the Rev. Dr. Coffey, of Maynooth College, " Methods and Organisation of Temperance Work," cannot fail, if widely scattered over -Ireland, to do incalculable good, and must be. read with equal pleasure and profit by either Catholic or Protestant who has any genuine interest in temperance work.' ' > American Visitors ' . Captain O'Meagher Condon and Mr. John O|Callaghan, treasurer of the United Irish League of America, arrived -at Queenstowh at midnight on September 4. A special tender met the vessel off Queenstown. It carried a distinguished company, and as the liner was reached -the Cork Workingmen?s Brass Band played ' Come back to Erin.' When Captain Condon appeared he was received with loud

cheers, the band playing ' God save Ireland.' On the way back to Queenstown a reception was held in the cabin in the tender, an address of welcome being delivered by Mr. Joseph Devlin, M.P., and acknowledged by the guests. At Queenstown numerous addresses from representative bodies were presented; and the journey to Dublin was signalised by enthusiastic demonstrations at Cork, Blarney, Mallow, Limerick Junction/ Thufles, Maryborough, and Portarlington. At Dublin, the enthusiasm was indescribable, and atthe United Irish League offices stirring speeches were delivered by the Lord ( Mayor, Captain Condon, Mr. John O'Callaghanj Mr. Joseph Devlin, M.P., Mri Wm. Redmond, M.P., and Mr. David Sheehy, M.P. A reception in honor of Captain O'Meagher Condon and Mr. John O'Callagh'an" was held in the Hibernian Hall, Rutland square, Dublin, on September 6. An address was. presented to them, and very able speeches were delivered by the guests and by Mr. Joseph Devlin, M.P. ■ # Progress of Land Purchase Over 212,000 tenants have now agreed to purchase their holdings (says the Freeman's Journal). Eighty-one thousand are Ulster men, 55,000 Munster men, 51,000 Leinster men, and 24,000 Connaught men. Though the majority of the purchasers are to be found in Ulster, Leinster and Munster take the lion's share of the money. £18,650,000 is applied for in Ulster, Leinster wants £24,672,000, Munster £23,500,000, while in Connaught less than £5,000,000 is required for the 24,471 holdings agreed to be sold.. The price in Connaught is only a little over £200 a farm, a price that indicates the uneconomic character of a large number of the holdings. Last year was the biggest year of the five since the Act began to operate effectively. Over 20 millions worth of land was sold. The rush for the bonus explains the figure. Agreements to the amount of ten millions and a quarter were lodged in October alone. It was also the ' biggest in another sense. Mr. Birrell is charged with holding back the money. But the actual advances last year amounted to far more than in any previous year, and totalled six millions and a half, or a million and a half more than Mr. Wyndham's estimate of the annual provision required. An Army of Officials Speaking at Birr nearly two years ago, Mr. John Redmond, M.P., contrasted the methods and cost of administration in Ireland and other States. He said : ' You have Hn this country an army of useless and overpaid officials; it is calculated that there are in Ireland "100,000 officials, and a recent moderate estimate goes to show that these 100,000 officials receive about £3,000,000 a year in the .shape of pay, pensions, and gratuities. That is to say, that of every £2 supposed to be spent on the government of Ireland, nearly one-half is pocketed by an employee of the bureaucracy. Now, by comparison with England and Scotland, this expenditure is monstrous and incredible.' The estimate referred to by Mr. Redmond (says the Irish Weekly) was moderate indeed, and the ' army of \iseless and over-paid officials ' has been largely augmented since 1907. At least £3,400,000 is now disbursed annually in ' pay, pensions, and gratuities,' and other forms of reward for ' services,' past and present, to the vast multitude of individuals who constitute* the ' governing classes ' in Ireland. Irish People in Many Lands Thinking people should give some special thought to Ireland, in many respects the most remarkable country on earth (says the Leader of Richmond, U.S.A.). Nowhere in history is there record of a territory so small and a people so few giving the world so much. No other nation has its blood so widely diffused among the strong peoples of the earth, adding strength, energy, and dash to the best of them. No other people has sent its blood to be shed on so many battlefields and in so many causes, and so invariably far to the front. It is one of the familiar but pathetic Humors of history that the Irish, have done more for almost every land on the globe than-for Ireland ; and there is much truth in that famous and somewhat flattering sneer that the Irish Tule all countries but Jreland. They have contributed to every department of human endeavor. In this Republic Irish names and Irish stock are everywhere active in the doing of things, from the digging of ditches to the leadership of armies and the creation and conduct of great ' enterprises. A very large majority of the citizens of these United States have more or less Irish blood in their veins, and consequently sympathy with and affection for Ireland. Aside from that, .all the people must recognise the debt they owe to Irishmen for achievement in war, for brilliancy in statesmanship, for poetry, literature, art, science, and commercial and industrial triumphs. When we recall that the island is about three-fourths the size of the State of Virginia, and at its most populous period never had more than eight million people, we must be astonished at the influence it has had in the world and at its rich contributions to the roll of heroes and the greatness of mankind. „---