Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 24 October 1912, Page 39

Irish News

GENERAL. - V.~" - A Blue Book, issued the other day containing a report of the Irish Land Commissioners for the year ended v March 31, states that the general result of proceedings under the Land Purchase Acts was that 72,932 advances were made to tenants, the amount issued being ?£23,380j229.; " ' '- h Much regret is ; felt in Clonmel at the departure of Brother P. de Sales Wilders, of the local community of Christian Brothers, who has been appointed Superior of the Kilkenny community. Brother Wilders was highly popular in Clonmel, where his amiable disposition and high educational attainments won him widespread affection and respect. . -->'..• \'-~ Catholic charities in Ireland have benefited by the will of the late Miss Mary Ferrar, Francis street, Dundalk, and the following are some of the principal bequests:—£soo to the Administrator of Dundalk, to be invested for the benefit of St. Vincent' de Paul Society; £IOO to the Hospice for the Dying, Harold's Cross, Dublin; £IOO to the Prior of the Dominican Monastery, Dundalk, towards paying off the % debt on their new schools; £SO each to the Catholic Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, Cabra, Dublin, and the Magdalen Asylum, Drumcondra. THEY ENTERTAIN NO MISGIVINGS. Replying to criticisms of his. brilliantly successful book, The Lady Next Door, Mr. Harold Begbie writes: ' Does the Englishman at present wavering about Home Rule realiseit is the heart and soul of the whole difficulty-that the great body of Protestants living in the South of Ireland entertain no misgiving whatever about Catholic intolerance? In Belfast, where Catholics are few, ill-paid, and housed shamefully, the ascendant Protestants say that they are not to be trusted. But in South Ireland, where these inhuman . and monstrous Catholics are in a vast majority, Protestants tell us that they can be trusted. On the testimony of these people, may we not safely proceed to solve the Irish question ? If the Protestants, flourishing as business men, taking part in the social life, bearing their share in the civic life, of Catholic Ireland, tell us that they entirely trust, honor, and appreciate their Catholic neighbors, heed we listen to the hysterical appeals of an organised and a political Protestantism which has ever sought only its own ascendancy ? CENSUS RETURNS FOR MUNSTER. The section of the Census returns for the Province of Munster, in which are given the religious statistics, is peculiarly interesting as indicating the numerical positions of the respective denominations. There are 973,805 Catholics in the Province, equivalent to 94 per cent, of the population; Protestant Episcopalians number 50,646, or 4.9 per cent.; Presbyterians, 4180, or 0.4 per cent.; Methodists, 4175, or 0.4 per cent.; all other denominations, 2516, or 0.3 per cent. The change made in the age-period for securing illiteracy returns—formerly reckoned in Ireland at the absurd age of five has given the public an accurate record of the educational status in the respective Provinces. There is a decrease in' the decade of 24.3 per cent, in illiteracy, the number of persons who can read and write constituting 88.8 per cent, of the population.. The Gaelicspeaking population of Munster numbers 228,694, representing 22.1 per cent, of the entire population of the Province. A sad note is contained in the figure which gives 1,460,032 as the total number of emigrants from , Munster during the past sixty years; the figures for the last decade (1901-11) being 110,903. ~.' . ; MINORITIES IN THE SOUTH. The abandonment of the Protestants of the South and West of Ireland by their co-religionists in the North has called for unmeasured condemnation from the former. The following letter is typical of others which

are now appearing in, the Dublin Unionist Press. It is signed by Mr. R. W. Wilson, «f Castle street, Sligo: ' I find myself in cordial agreement with /Gerald D ease in his. views as to the - official Unionist attitude to j Home Rule. The speeches of Mr. Bonar Law, Sir Edward Carson, and Mr. F. E. Smith were read with . consternation by loyalists in the West. ~ If the Orangemen of Ulster start a "Holy War" where will we stand ? In outlying districts I know many staunch and loyal men who are now trembling with fear, not at the possible consequences of Home Rule , (should it come, which Heaven forfend), but at the reaction that is bound to follow in the South and West if our stalwart ' Northern friends pursue the;, course they are threatening. Oh, for an hour of Balfour to lead us with dignity and determination! I, for one, have no desire to cause division with such critical times before us, but I do think that the ■ more outspoken of .our Ulster leaders should consider what effect this agitation will have in other parts of the country.' FISHING INDUSTRY IN DONEGAL, * \ A great fillip to the fishing industry at Buncrana and Rathmullan is promised by the grant of the Development Commissioners towards the cost of pier extension and harbor development in both places. It is estimated that the work will involve ah expenditure of £35,000, and the Commissioners are prepared to make a contribution of £25,000, provided £IO,OOO be raised locally. Mr. W. L. Micks explained the conditions to the Donegal County Council. To obtain the required £IO,OOO it will not be necessary to increase the rates; 1 it is proposed that the money should be found by harbor dues. Under these circumstances the County Council had of course no hesitation in accepting the"-offer,i which is bound to facilitate'the growth of the Donegal fisheries. .- -.-_• '>.'"-•■• '■'■• ' --. ''Jf.&M;- . .' ■. "- :: .' : ?g; A CATHOLIC UNIONIST COMES OVER. The following letter ■ from Mr. Gerald Dease) a Deputy-Lieutenant of ;Westmeath, "appeared in the Irish Times of August 28. —■ ' ', ... 'Sir, —I have been on the Continent for' a fortnight, thankful for a respite from the only topic, one cannot escape at home. Needless to say, I find our hardy evergreen in vigorous bloom on my return; but a short absence sometimes alters the focus of one's vision, and Home Rule and Unionism. have, changed 1 their aspect as a result of mine. I still hope and think, as I have done all through, that the present Home Rule Bill will collapse. I have not read a line of it, and do not intend to do so, but I have too hearty a distrust of the individuals, Irish and English, who concocted it not to be pretty sure that it would be injurious to this country. On the other ; :hand, I have done with "Unionism" —the Orangemen and their campaign; of monstrous calumny have cured me of that. I yield to no man in loyalty to our gracious King and to the British Empire, but I am not loyal to Protestant ascendancy nor to English party, government (Sir Edward Carson and his friends seem at one with me on the latter point!), and when a great English party ; can be humbugged, as the Unionists have been, into- the senseless misconceptions their press have exhibited for the last six months I am finally convinced that an English Parliament is incapable of governing Ireland. For the future I intend to do all in my power, short of active participation in politics, to promote any scheme, for a legitimate Home Rule Bill that may be presented to the country.' ■ "U ■ -;-? . I'll -':.l On August 31 the Rev. Dudley Fletcher, Portarlington, commented on Mr. Dease's letter. In reply Mr. Dease wrote as follows: .;, " . .-■/- §;,; - ' Sir,—As Mr. Dudley Fletcher has mentioned my : name in reference to the above correspondence, may I correct a slight mistake he appears to have made—at any rate by implication. lam not now a Unionist; I am a Home Ruler, and I mean to remain one. I have not time to answer his theological conundrums, though I have no doubt my information about the Catholic Church is a good deal more extensive and accurate than his; but, if he extends the scope of his historical; researches he will easily find the correct answers.'

, A GLOOMY OUTLOOK. ; From all parts of Ireland come reports of unusually unseasonable v weather, during the month of August, of abnormallyt heavy rainfall, and destructive floods.-; A Portarlington correspondent, writing under date August 30, says:— < ■ ~ The country all along the watershed of the Barrow is under' water. Miles upon miles of country present nothing but the appearance of a huge inland sea. Enormous damage has been in consequence sustained .by the farmers in the locality. The hay crop is in the great majority of cases useless. Most of it has been carried away by the floods. This refers to practically all the river meadows, from Mountmellick to Athy, along the watershed, of the Barrow. Heavy corn has begun a second growth owing to its being beaten back again into the ground by the heavy rains. Potatoes are almost a complete failure, and a potato famine is feared. In the case of turbary, over 264 tenants on the Garryhinch estate are cut off from their winter fuel supply, the roads to the bog being impassable and the bog itself unapproachable. Everywhere the most depressing reports are heard. One prominent Queen's County magistrate, a large farmer, interviewed, stated that £IO,OOO would not cover the loss which is likely to be sustained by the farmers in this district during the present year. He stated that over 2000 acres of crops are already or will be inevitably lost. REMARKABLE MEETING OF HIBERNIANS Hamilton, a prosperous town about ten miles from Glasgow, was the scene on August 31 of a remarkable gathering held under the auspices of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Upwards of fifty-thousand men and women participated in the demonstration, which was admittedly the most enthusiastic and representative seen in. Scotland since,the great Home Rule meeting addressed by Isaac Butt many years ago. Delegates came from all parts of Scotland, while the North of Ireland was very strongly in evidence, especially from the districts of Belfast, Armagh, c and Lurgan. A noticeable feature of the demonstration was the number of lady members of the Order, wearing regalia and taking an active part in the marshalling of the procession. Certainly the turn-out was magnificent, and was a striking testimony to the efficiency of the Order in. Scotland and Ireland, and a powerful contradiction of Sir William Parsons' boast at a banquet in Dublin in 1640 ' that in twelve months there would not be a single Catholic left in Ireland.'