Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 12 March 1914, Page 39

Irish News

GENERAL. On an acre of ground at his residence at Ballinastragh, Gorey, Sir Thomas H. Grattan Esmonde, M.F., has grown 7251 b of, tobacco, on which there has been a return of £35. At a recent meeting of the Tipperary Urban District Council, Mr. E. B. Cleeve, a Protestant member, was the seconder of a motion for the presentation of an address to Most Rev. Dr. Harty on the occasion of his consecration. For the first time in the history of the borough of Enniskillen, the Nationalists have obtained control of the Urban Council, the elections, which took place on January 15, having resulted in fourteen Nationalists and seven Unionists being returned. In presenting his Honor Judge Bird with a pair of white gloves at Macroom Quarter Sessions on behalf of the Sheriff, the Clerk of the Crown and Peace (Mr. O’Farrell) stated that this was the eighth occasion in two years he had had the honor of presenting his Honor with white gloves. When presenting his estimate for the year 1914-15 to the Carrick-on-Suir Board of Guardians, the Clerk said that the Old Age Pensions Act had reduced the expenditure on outdoor relief by £2OO a year. The amount of the estimate was £5772, as against £SBIB for the year 1913-14. Very Rev. Matthew Carey, Dean of Melbourne, who had been visiting his brother, Mr. M. Carey, Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath, was presented by the people of the district with an address and a beautiful set of Irish table linen on the eve of his departure for his home under the Southern Cross. The death has taken place of Mr. Edward Flood, Ballinscarry, Co. Westmeath, who was in the 102nd year of his age. He was father of Mr. Patrick Flood, an inventor, who now resides in Albany, United States. In August, 1912., when he celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birthday his son returned from the United States for the occasion. Widespread regret is felt throughout Galway at the retirement of Sir James O’Donohoe from the local public boards. Sir James has for a considerable number, of years had an honorable connection with the civic life of the city where he was looked upon as one of the most thorough-going business men, and was always found in the van of every progressive movement for the benefit of Galway. An outbreak of fire occurred at the premises of Messrs. Bannatyne and Co., corn stores, Mount Kenneth, on the River Quay, Limerick, on January 16. The brigade and military arrived on the scene to find the large central granary a mass of flame. After two hours’ hard, work the brigade succeeded in preventing the spread of the fire and getting it under. Damage to the extent of several thousand pounds occurred. In Lurgan, says the Irish News, the Nationalists are more than 36 per cent, of the population, and they pay more than 40 per cent, of the town’s rates yet, owing to a system of ‘ jerrymandering ’ with which we are familiar in the North, the Carsonites were in a position to excluue every Nationalist candidate from the ..Urban Council; and they did so. An exactly similar ‘ record ’ was made by. the Carsonites of Cookstowd. Mr. William O’Brien’s resignation of his seat at Cork was formally published in the London Gazette on January 20. One of Mr. O’Brien’s reasons for resigning was that six Protestant Home Rulers were defeated in .the recent Cork municipal election. The Nationalists of the city declare that inquiry has shown that two of the six are avowed Unionists, two declined to admit that they are Home Rulers, and, of the remaining two, one attributed his defeat of the fact that his fellow-Protestants voted against him because he was a Home Ruler.

Mr. T. W. Russell, M.P., speaking at Strabane, said Ireland had reached the turning-point in her history, and the next few months would see the fruition of her hopes. They had had elaborate forecasts of social disturbances and civil war. The plain fact was that, after all this writing and talking on the part of the Opposition, Parliament was about to meet and proceed to business in the old ordinary way. lie ridiculed the suggestion that loyalists would be driven out of Ulster. What he thought would happen was that the Bill would be forced through by May. There might be rioting in July, but the Government would take proper measures. It only required twenty-four hours’ notice in the Dublin Gazette to bring the Crimes Act into force. IRISH LINENS. From a statistical return just published by the Department relative to the trade in Irish linen during 1913, it appears that the exports for the twelve months were valued at £8,247,571, as compared with £8,416,810 for the preceding year. Imports of linen manufactures during the year were valued at £1,194,069, as compared with £l,-126,440. The total values of exports to the leading markets during the year were;— United States,. £3,049,768, as compared with £3,210,935 in 1912; Australia, £508,189, as against £486,122; Canada, £295,616, as against £346,636; British East Indies, £269,307, as against £261,309; Cuba, £216,034, as against £225,747 ; Argentine Republic, £212,883, as. against £201,296; Brazil, £175,388, as against £160,169; Germany, £170,924, as against £194,733; New Zealand, £134,575, as against £120,099. A STRIKING DIFFERENCE. There is a very great difference between the tone of his reply to addresses from public bodies, delivered by the Most Rev. Dr. Harty, the new Archbishop of Cashel, on the occasion of his consecration, and that of recent utterances of Protestant prelates on the Irish question. The language of the Protestant Archbishops and Bishops reeks of political partisanship. Even when they have been speaking of services of supplication they have not been able to get clear of the party atmosphere. They have countenanced by insinuation, if not by open statement, the vile misrepresentation that the Irish Catholic is a persecutor. The successor of the late Archbishop Croke is animates by quite another spirit. Patriotic, manly, fearless, he has confidence in both Catholics and Protestants, and to all he extends the hand of friendship. ‘We seek no paltry triumph over any section of our countrymen,’ said he. ‘We stand for a free Ireland, where all, whether they be Catholics or Protestants, will work for their country’s prosperity and greatness. Some of our Protestant brothers say that they will suffer religious persecution from the majority of their fellow-countrymen. But if they face the facts they can have no such fear. The Catholics of Ireland were never a persecuting race.’ When compared with a speech such as this how mean and contemptible appear utterances breathing bigotry, suspicion, and distrust. IRISH MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. The recent municipal elections in Ireland have shown some remarkable results (says the Glasr/ow Observer). An outstanding feature of the contest has been the defeat of Larkinism in Dublin. From the reports of the election, as printed in the British press, it would seem that, while Larkinism was defeated in many of the Dublin wards, it was nevertheless successful in a number of others. The real truth and the whole of it is that, while a number of Larkinite candidates who were previously members of the Dublin Town Council have managed to hold their seats, Larkinism failed to capture by its own effort a single ward in Dublin. Its nominee, it is true, was successful in Trinity Ward, but he succeeded there by the aid of Tory votes, and against that success is to be put the loss of the Larkinite in New KiTmainham Ward. The most prominent strike

leaders, such men as T. P. Daly and T. Foran, the president of the Transport Workers’ Union, are among the rejected. In Cork the Nationalists were so successful that they now hold a majority in the Cork City Council over the O’Brienites and Unionists combined. This, o no doubt, is the cause. of Mr. O’Brien’s hasty resignation. In Enniskillen the Nationalists for the first time have secured a majority on the local Council. Enniskillen is the principal town in North Fermanagh, a constituency which the Tories have been able to win and to hold by narrow majorities. In Wexford as well as in Dublin the Larkinites sustained decisive defeat. Wexford was formerly the scene of Mr. Larkin’s activities, and it is evident that his action there has left bitter memories. PROTESTANTS ON CATHOLIC TOLERATION. The * six Protestant Home Rulers,’ whose defeat at the Cork Municipal elections, it might be inferred from Mr. William O’Brien’s manifesto, was attributable to religious prejudice, have been interviewed by a representative of the Cork Examiner, and they all repudiated the idea that their religion had anything to do with their rejection. Five of them went forward as O’Brienites, and Mr. O'Brien’s policyif his tactics are entitled to be so called—was responsible for their defeat. One of them, Miss Day, sought election as a woman suffragist, and adopted a non-party attitude. During the elections in the Catholic counties, Protestant candidates themselves protested against the base calumny that Irish Catholics are influenced at elections, Parliamentary or municipal, by religious bias. In Tralee three successful Protestants candidates were high on the poll, and one of them, Mr. Julian, a barrister, speaking after the declaration of the results, said ; 'lt was stated in the North and believed in England that bigotry and religious intolerance were rampant in the South of Ireland. By the votes they had cast that day, and by the high position in which they had placed him on the poll, as well as the two other Protestant gentlemen whom they had elected, they had flung the lie back in the teeth of the slanderers. He had fought six elections in Kerry, and had never heard the question of religion raised.’ Nowhere in Ireland, except amongst the Unionists of the North, is religion a bar to success in civic work.