Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 14 April 1910, Page 587

Irish News

ANTRIM—A Distinguished Soldier News has been received in Belfast of the death at Philadelphia of General St. Clair Mulholland, brother of Ir • J - T. R. Mulholland, J.P., of Belfast. The late General Mulholland (says the Irish Weekly) had a very brilliant career in the American army. He fought throughout the whole of the great Civil War of four years’ duration—perhaps the mightiest single struggle between indomitable contending forces in the whole course of human history After the surrender of Richmond the young Ulster soldier retired from military life with the high rank of General. general Mulholland was not only a brave and skilful soldier, but a man of remarkable literary gifts and great energy and perseverance. - He devoted much of his time since he retired from the army to the compilation of an elaborate History of the Civil War; and he also wrote several works on kindred military topics. Indeed he was recognised as one of the best authorities on military subjects in the United States. He was also a very clever painter, and particularly excelled in water colors; in fact he might fairly have been considered a man of genius in every walk of life. Ulster and Ireland should be proud of the right to claim such a son; and general sympathy will be felt with the sorrowing relatives at homo. The Bishop’s Advice , Speaking in St. Patrick’s Church, Belfast, on Sunday, February 13, the Most Rev. Dr. Tohill said;—To every grown-up person my advice is: Buy a weekly Catholic newspaper for your Sunday reading. Urge others to do the same. Remember the words of the Holy Father: ‘Neither the faithful nor the clergy,’ says Pius X., ‘make use of the press as they should sometimes. People say that the press is an innovation, and that souls used to be saved without newspapers in former times. They do not bear in mind that in former times the poison of the bad press was not spread everywhere, and that, therefore, the antidote was not so necessary. In vain will you build churches,, give missions, found schoolsall your works will be destroyed, all your efforts fruitless, if you are not able to wield the defensive and offensive weapon of a loyal and sincere Catholic press.’ CORK—Wreck on the Cork Coast In Ulster (says the Irish Weekly of February 26) the weather has been wet, uncomfortable, and boisterous; but reports from the south show that wo have not felt the full force of the recent.storm; and, happily, nothing occurred along the-northern or eastern coasts that can be compared with the pitiable disaster at Dunworley Bay, near Clonakilty, on Friday night. An Italian ship of considerable, tonnage was driven on the rocks at ,Bird Island, not far from the picturesque town. The mast broke away, the hull was pierced, and all the crew perished in the stormlashed waves. Their bodies have been drifting ashore since Saturday morning, some being recovered many miles away from the scene of the disaster. These sturdy Italian seamen had brought their good ship all the long journey from the Western Mexican coast, around South America, and right across the Atlantic at almost its greatest length—from Cape Horn to Clonakilty. They i had sailed from the tropics to the eternal Antarctic snows and back through the Torrid Zone; and the end came for all of them within a few miles of their destination. Many years have passed since a shipping catastrophe involving the loss of so many lives occurred on the Irish coast. DUBLINThe Temperance Movement V -The annual meeting of the friends and supporters of the Father Mathew Hall, Dublin, was held on Sunday, February 20. The various speakers bore testimony to the wonderful progress of the temperance movement in Ireland during the past year. Father Aloysius said that evidence of its great advance was to be seen at every step one took in the domestic, social, and national life of the country. Thirty years ago, when the first report of the Association was laid before the public, the seed had just been sown. Now it had grown into a mighty tree. The Lord Mayor said it was satisfactory to know that the work went on widening its scope year after year, and all hoped that complete success would crown the efforts of the Capuchin Fathers. Mr, Joseph Mooney, J.P., said the k 1 Association had to acknowledge with thankfulness the extraordinary progress made by the total abstinence movement throughout the country during the past twelve months. Very Rev. Archdeacon Fricker, P.P., said the temperance movement had made great progress during the year, particularly in. the West of Ireland, where the Capuchin Fathers had conducted successful missions. Mr. P. J. O’Neill, J.P., said the Pastorals of the Bishops bore remarkable testimony to the wave of temperance spreading - all over the country. Such convincing evidence of the progress of temperance is truly gratifying.

QALWAY—Proposed New Cathedra! of , the fading citizens and business men of Galway have set on foot a project for holding a grand bazaar this year in aid of funds for the proposed new S V f a vr»S° CeSn , P oll , ege an Cathedral. The Most Rev. fo 'lKr? i he 1 ro-cathedral had served its purpose fentmeedr™’ bUt W&S n ° W alto 6 ether inadequate for preKILKENNYA Contradiction cor, to the statement that General Sir K. Pole-Carew had in Sa°nd hl aV?a e ref ® rrec J. t + ° the people of the South of neoule ’ Pof % dirty ’ I S n ? rant , seditious lot of people. General Pole-Careiv emphatically . denies that South' 9r Th de a charge against the people,of the great’ nain 1 * p n ° f the "° rds T must have caused great pain to the General and to Lady Pole-Carew Castle* a 3 p i° f p ie Marquis of Ormonde, of Kilkenny Sminf + w dy 1 ole-Carew naturally regards the publicathe Tr^ Q h th slander as painful to her, and she trusts all Sirfc ■ newspapers will by promptly publishing her husband s indignant contradiction repair the injustice don© +he good f name 7 General Pole-Carew has written to the editor of the Kilkenny People, thanking him for publishing his contradiction and declaring that he has ‘far W A reat +i a respect and, I hope they will permit me to add, !ove for the inhabitants of the ; South of Ireland as well as admiration for them as soldiers, to say anything of the LIMERICK— Gives Four Sons to the Church Announcement is made , of the at Kilmallock, of Mrs. Bridget Turner, wife of Mr. Patrick Turner and mother of the Rev. William Turner, D.D., of the .Catholic University of ' America the Rev. Denis Turner, C.SS.R Limerick; the Rev. John Turner, D.D., New York; and the Rev. Patrick Turner, of Pensacola, Florida. MEATH—Death of a Nationalist. A staunch and practical Irish Nationalist has passed away in the person of Mr. Michael Denning, Navan, at the age or /o. -He was a conspicuous figure in the land war, and took a strong Parnelhte stand at the time of the split He was president and founder of tho Catholic Young Men’s society, and took a keen and useful interest in everything tending towards tho welfare of his native town. . " GENERAL Cardinal Ferrari and Home Rule Writing in the London Daily News of February 21 regarding an interview she had with Cardinal Ferrari, Archbishop of Milan, Miss Rothay Reynolds says his Eminence showed that he is an ardent -Home Ruler. ‘I have followed the elections with the keenest .interest,’ said the Cardinal. You are to be congratulated on the result because it is a triumph for liberty. There is one cause I have at heart, and that is, Home Rule for Ireland. It seems to me that the Nationalists have now . the chance of getting this great reform. For their leader,*Mr. Redmond,, I have the greatest admiration and respect. - He has been true to the Irish cause, and at the same time has defended the cause of the Catholic schools in England.’ 7 kome people are of opinion,’ observed . Miss Reynolds, that Home Rule -will not be an advantage to the Church. It is possible to imagine in the whirligig of time a Parliament with a Socialist majority at Dublin.’ ‘ As a foreigner,V replied the Cardinal, ‘I cannot tell whether Home Rule will be good or bad for the Church. Above all . I value liberty, and it is because I consider that Home Rule 'Will give a wider liberty to the Irish people, liberty which is their due, that I hope to live to see the ideal of your great and good statesman, Gladstone, realised.’ It was only (added the writer) as I passed out through the marble-paved ante-rooms, where: a number of‘shabby people were waiting to see the Archbishop, who receives all coming to him for help or counsel, that suddenly a sense of shame came upon me. It is true that the Cardinal had said agreeable things about England, but I ■'asked myself how much longer a foreigner ivould be justified, as he had been, in telling me that England had not yet done justice to Ireland. The Parliamentary Fund _ i The Right Rev. Dr. O’Donnell, Bishop of Raphoe, Mr John E. Redmond, M.P., and Mr. John Fitzgibbon, Trustees of the United Irish and Parliamentary Fund’ have issued their annual appeal to the people of Ireland. ’ They point out that the extraordinary prolongation of- the last session of Parliament, followed as it was by a general election entailed a heavy expenditure on the National funds which, however, the trustees were enabled to meet by the generous contributions of the Irish people at home and abroad. The splendid achievements of the Irish Party during the last five years are briefly set forth, and on that record they base the appeal, which is vitally urgent, they point out, -by reason of the probability that another dis-

solution may take place in the near future. That the appeal will meet with a prompt and generous 1 response goes without saying. Another * Big Wind’ About the middle of February Ireland experienced a storm resembling the historic ‘ big wind.’ Great havoc resulted in different parts of the country. Amongst the more -. notable incidents . of the storm were the complete Wreckage of the Londonderry Hall, Belfast, and the shocking death of a woman in Portrush, as a result of a new building collapsing. A portion of a train was blown off the line on the West Clare Railway, but-none of the passengers were injured. Old Age Pensions . The standing committee of the National Directory in its annual report says with regard to old-age pensions: The number of old-age pensioners in Ireland on September 30 last, according. to the statement of Mr. Hobhouse, was: Men, 80,221; women, 105,881; total, 186,202; and the amount paid for the nine months of the year 1909 to that date, £1,723,904. So that a safe estimate for the year would be £2,150,000,; ;It would be impossible to exaggerate what this means in comfort and AAell-being to the poor and their friends and in saving to the ratepayers. The OldAge Pension Bureau estabished at the head office of the organisation has proved of enormous advantage in assisting claimants, not only in Ireland, but in Great Britain. Immediately after the passing of the Act the Bureau was established and equipped with a special staff for dealing with applications from claimants and others , seeking advice and assistance. The branches were advised as to procedure, and the assistance of legal experts was called in to; provide popular handbooks on the working of the Act, and these were distributed free of cost to the branches. The work of the bureau has been enormous; nearly twenty thousand claims have been dealt with, each one of them involving a great amount of trouble, including verification from official records and searches in various quarters. All inquiries are dealt with sympathetically and promptly, and valuable experience has been gained in connection with the working of the Act. This experience has been of great value in enabling information to be supplied to the Irish Party, so that the defects in the Act and in its administration might be exposed by questions and discussion in the House of Commons, and valuable service has been rendered in this respect. The working of the Act shows the necessity for the lowering of the age limit, the removal of the Poor Law relief disqualification, the readjustment of the standard of estimate as to means, and of the method of proof as to age. The census returns have been proved, in numerous instances, by our staff to be wholly unreliable as to the age of applicants, and the system of disqualification pursued by the Treasury constitutes a great hardship on the deserving poor. The Tourist Traffic , Calculations as to the magnitude of the tourist traffic from the United States and Canada during the holiday season are already being indulged in (says the Weekly Freeman). A big ‘invasion’ of Ireland in 1910 was promised last year; but, apart from the organised plan, it is anticipated in the English ports in direct communication with the States and Canada that the number of visitors bent on touring Ireland will be largely increased this year in consequence of the improvement in trade, both in the United States' and the Dominion. On the other hand, it is said that emigration from Great Britain and the Continent of Europe to America and Canada will be very large. Irish emigration returns for this year encourage the hope that Ireland’s contribution to the tide will be less than usual.