COMMONWEALTH NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 14 April 1921, Page 30

COMMONWEALTH NOTES

NEW SOUTH WALES. The execution of six men in Dublin the other week was marked at Redfern, Sydney, by the half-masting of the Australian flag at the local town hall. At the Redfern Council meeting the Mayor (Aid. Roberts), said he ordered the flag to be flown in sympathy with the relatives of the men who had been hanged. He failed to see the need to explain, and held that .he was quite within his rights. Therefore he asked the meeting to carry a motion endorsing : his action. The motion was passed. The Agricultural Grounds were the scene of a wonderfully spectacular and inspiring demonstration in honor of the great Apostle, St. Patrick, on Saturday afternoon, March 12. Thousands of Irish-Australians flocked there from all parts of Sydney and the surrounding districts. The speeches were listened to with intense interest, and at frequent intervals there were ringing bursts of applause from the, great multitude of people assembled on the lawn. At the conclusion of the celebrations his Grace the Archbishop of Sydney appealed to the friends of Ireland to be united in their efforts to secure justice for Ireland, and to have no division in their ranks. Enthusiasm of the most pronounced character marked the annual national concert at the Town Hall on St. Patrick’s Night. The huge auditorium, floor and galleries were packed to the utmost capacity long before the hour advertised for the opening number, and so eager was the public for seating accommodation that every available inch of: space was used up, and hundreds who had left the purchase of tickets till the last minute had to be turned disconsolately away. The. steps in front of the building presented a scene of great animation from seven o’clock onwards, and those fortunate enough to gain admission had the pleasure of hearing an enjoyable programme of Irish selections on the grand organ before the concert, proper commenced. Mr. Harry Dawkins, the popular organist of St. Mary’s Cathedral, entered into the sentiment of the evening, and gave his listeners just the numbers they most delighted to hear. The platform was draped with the Australian and Sinn Fein flags in juxtaposition, and throughout the evening ardent Hibernian spirits waved the tricolor in various parts of the building. The organ gallery was filled _ with the children from the Catholic schools, who made a charming picture, with their faces abeam with youth and health, and the green ribbons of Erin decorating their persons. * VICTORIA. Speaking at the send-off to Mr. J. W. Ryan recently, Very Rev. J. Barry, Adm., said that a newspaper controversy had arisen with regard to the resolution of protest passed by the Victorian Railways Union concerning the shooting by British “hired assassins” at Mallow. A certain section was making a great deal of noise, but a loud outcry was to be expected from that quarter when Irish matters were engaging attention. It seemed to give offence to this section that the Railways Union had' spoken of the brutal Crown forces at Mallow as “hired assassins.” An assassin was one who treacherously took away the life of an . innocent person who had no chance of defending himself. At the Mallow railway station a British military party took pot shots at men who were doing their duty and had not interfered with anybody, and these brutal murders had induced the Railways Union to pass a strong resolution of protest. The men murdered had no chance of defending themselves, and those who took their lives were assassins. The “hired assassins” were in the pay of the British Government, and he considered that the Railways Union was quite justified in recording its protest in the strong terms it employed. Father Barry also instanced other shocking crimes committed in Ireland by Crown forces, and stated that the policy of frightfulness in Ireland reflected on the whole Empire. He knew that Mr. Ryan would carefully review the position for himself when he visited Ireland, and he would see things as they are and not as presented in the daily papers. The story that Mr. Ryan would have to tell on his return would .be of interest to his fellow-Hibernians and to all sympathisers of Ireland. He would ask Mr. Ryan to convey a message to Ireland that the hearts of Australians beat true to the cause of Ireland, and that they were ready to give wholehearted support to any movement that the Irish people deemed best to advance their ’ own welfare and their country’s interests.

QUEENSLAND.

Very Rev. Father Rickerby has been appointed Administrator of Rockhampton’ Cathedral parish. The former Administrator (Very Rev. , Father Healy) is going .for a

well-merited | holiday after 15 : years of : strenuous work in various parishes of the Rockhampton diocese. The Queensland Premier (Mr. Theodore), at the luncheon on the Exhibition Ground, Brisbane, in moving—- “ That this meeting of thousands of citizens, assembled for the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, emphatically protests against the action of the British Government in countenancing the perpetration of the outrages that are being committed by the forces of the Crown in Ireland,” said: Any one who has heard the story of recent sufferings in lx eland, and who cannot feel the greatest indignation against those who are responsible, must have no heart. British rule in Ireland has always been a tragic failure, but never has it been so pitiable a failure as it is to-day. It has degenerated into the sorriest travesty of government when the boasted freedom of British people has to be upheld in Ireland by oppression, by reprisals, and by blackguardism. When we contemplated the recent happenings in Ireland we realise the enormity of the crimes that can be laid at the door of the British Government. These things, these horrible deeds, have been committed by Crown forces with the knowledge and connivance of the British Government. That British Government which has long claimed to be the friend of the oppressed and the .'sue-' corer of those who are downtrodden is now the representative of the worst form of tyrannical government that has ever oppressed what should be a free people and because of its action has earned and will deserve the eternal reproaches of people throughout the world for all time. e can only hope that these terrible happenings indicate the darkest hour before the dawn, and that there will shortly be ushered in a brighter era for Irishmen.” The resolution was carried by acclamation, as was also another moved by Mr. F. McDonnell, M.L.0., pledging the gathering to support by all legitimate means. the demand of the Irish for self-determination, and directing that the resolutions should be conveyed to Mr. Lloyd George, the Archbishop of Dublin, and the President of the United States. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Very Rev. Father O’Kelly, 0.P., who has been succeeded as Prior of the Dominicans at North Adelaide by Very Rev. Father Hogan, intends to return to Ireland shortly, via America, He has returned from a visit to New Zealand, where ho took part in the celebrations in Dunedin in connection with the golden jubilee of the Dominican Nuns of the diocese. The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in Adelaide was a memorable one. There was a record crowd at the procession, sports, and concerts, and everything passed off without the slightest unpleasant or untoward incident. This as not the fault of the Register, the Royal Society of St. George, the Loyal League of Women, the Protestant Federation, and other stirrers up of sectarian strife, who wished to compel the carrying of a Union Jack at the head of the procession. Fortunately the Lord Mayor and the City Council showed themselves to be men of broad views and judicious minds, and they refused to fall in with the Plans of die mischief-makers, whose motives were probably as much political as anti-Irish and anti-Catholic. WEST AUSTRALIA. St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in Perth on Thursday, March 17, by a procession through the streets, and sports carried out on the cricket grounds. The procession was probably the longest ever witnessed locally. No Empire flags were carried, but the Sinn Fein flag attracted special attention, as also did a banner bearing the Australian coat of arms with the inscription “Advance Australia.” During an interval at the sports Archbishop Clune introduced Mr. Peter O’Loghlen, M-L.A., who moved a resolution from the grandstand of the cricket ground. The resolution read:—“We, as citizens of-West-ern Australia, express our deepest sympathy with' the Irish people in their present trials and sufferings, and we strongly protest against the outrages upon the lives, liberty, and property perpetrated by the British Government in Ireland in the name of the law. We protest against disguising these outrages by unscrupulous propaganda, falsehoods, and misrepresentations in the press. We demand as a simple measure of justice the recognition without delay of the right of Ireland to self-determination, and pledge ourselves to support every effort in that direction.” The resolution was carried amid cheers. ! i