Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 17, 30 April 1908, Page 27

Irish News

ANTRIM— A Link with the Past The death took place at Roxborough, Crumlin on - March 5, of Mr. Michael Diamond at the advanced age of 92 years, liy his death (writes a correspondent of the 'Irish Weekly') the' last surviving link is severed that brought us back to troubled times, and - even* to the days when our forefathers knelt to- worship ' God and assist at the Sacrifice of the Mass- beneath the of the white-thorn or around the rock on the bleak mountain side. Mr. Diamond's grandmother was a sister of Father John Cassidy, who for over • fifty years was parish priest of Ahogh'ill and^ Portglenone^ ■ and erected the first churches after the Reformation at Augjhnahoy and Ahoghill. Another brother of his grandmother, Father Peter Cassidy, was parish priest of Belfast for 21 years, and died in 1815, the year after Mr. Diamond was born.. Father John Cassidy, , P.P., Ahoghill, died on January 12?, 1819, at the age of 75 years. He died in Priest Town, Ahoghill, in- his own ' modest little residence, which is still standing,*— and" even the very, bed he died in is still preserved. - The Lough Neagh Litigation , - " A decision is pending iir the High- Courts which affects the means of livelihood of 300 0" people who rely on the fishing industry- of Lougli Neagh: for their support.. The fishermen claim. the free and unrestricted' ' right of the public, to fish in Lough Neagh which the/ say has existed from time immemorial, and which has come down from generation to generation. The owners of the Toomebridge Eel Fisheries and others claim the whole lough as a private fishery, basing their claim on - a grant made by King James I. and another made "by - Charles 11. Lough Neagh has a shore line of 'about: sixty-five miles. The lough abounds in eels, pollaVandtrout—the pollan being a characteristic fish of this, the > greatest lake of the British Isles. Death of the Bishop of Down and Connor Our Home exchanges report the death of the Right Rev. Dr. Henry, Bishop of Down and Connor, "which occurred with tragic suddenness whilst his Lordship was attending a sacred concert in St. Mary's Hall, Belfast, on the evening of Sunday, March 8. On Sunday morn^ ing his Lordship began a day of strenuous duty, apparently in the prime of his health and strength. He . celebrated' the Holy Sacrifice ' during the morninig. He attended the twelve o'clock Mass at St. Mary's, "and preached a vigorous sermon. After Mass he administered the Sacrament, of Confirtr'ation to a large numiberof children, delivering fatherly addresses to them before and after the ceremony. Immediately afterwards.^' he presided at the quarterly meeting of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and took an active part in the proceedings. Then, after a few hours' rest," he returned to duty again, ' leaving St. Mary's presbytery to attend a sacred concert at St. Mary's Hall, in aid of - Father - Skeffington's new Church of St. Columbkille at Ballyhaclcamore. Immediately after entering the hall, andscarcely had he been seated, when his Lordship was seized with a sudden spasm, and fell backwards, evidently seriously ill. Several of the clergy and laity in the vicinity at once proceeded to render assistance, Rev. Fa-ther Skeffington and others raising his Lordship up and doing everything possible for him. Meanwhile a member of the audience immediately left the hall to seek for medical assistance. His " Lordship was then carried to an ante-room, and Very Rev. P. Convery,' Adm., observing the gravity of the attack, administered the last Sacraments. . Dr. H. Stevenson and Dr. R. Campbell, who had hastened to the scene in response to the urgent message despatched earlier, soon arrived at the hall, but, unfortunately, too late to . render any assistance, death having ■ q,uickly supervened on the' sudden seizure with which his Lordship was affected. The Right Rev. Dr. Henry was born in the parish of Loughgiel, not far from Ballymioney., Coumty Antrim, in 1847. After Spending some yettrs at the Diocesan College, Belfast, he entered Maynooth College, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1870. From- then until 1*95 he was associated with St. Mai- "" - achy 's College, Belfast. On August 16, .1895, Dr. Henry received from the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda "notification of his appointment as Bishop of Down and Connor. CORK— Charitable Bequests The bequests of the late Mr." John Dwyer, • of Midleton Park, Queenstown, included twenty-two shares in the G.S. a-nd W. Railway Co. to Mercy Hospital, Cork ; £1000 each to Good Shepherd Convent, the Mag-

lim? t^lfV and ?*' /\ trick ' s H^Pital, all of Cork; v * „ onvent ° f Mercy, Queenstown, and £100 .each to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the General Hospital, Queenstown. A Very Sudden Death A painful sensation was caused in Youghal on' the evening of March 5 by the very sudden demise of the . esteemed- Superior of the Youghal Christian Brothers-U Rev,. Brother- Maiher-who was found dead in 'a railway carriage on the arrival of the 3.35 p.m. train from Cork. Brother Maher attended school 'In the moraine apparently in his usual health, and went .to Cork -by the 11 a.m. train. When the sad discovery was madd .the deceased was sitting on the seat" 1 leaning agamst the side of the carriage, as if he were asleep. DUBLIN— A Home for Youths «« 0 ' n F P «S ru ?" y S 3 , *as -opened i n Dublin a new foundation of St. Vincent's Male, Orphanage, which owes its existence a ud upkeep to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and wlAch is. under the devoted care of the Christian Brothers. The. home is intended .to furnish a safe and comfortable abiding-place for those youths who having finished their - courses s at the orphanage, have gone out into .-the world to earn their livelihood... A Successful Insurance Company The directors of the Irish Catholic Church Property Insurance Company, in their annual report state that after payment of re-inisurances, the income of the company for the year 1907 was £4658 8s 2d. The payments for fire losses amounted -to £1178 13s Id, the general expenditure to £8 (! 9 8s 9d, and the directors' fees "to £250, making a total of £2238 Is lOd, and" leavine a su.p.tis of £342) 6s 4d. Out' of this, surplus, the dirtc- . tors have alic rated £SUO to payment, of dividend 'oh the paid-un .capita! at ,5 per cent, lor.- the year"tTHev recomroena that £920 6s4d-be placed: to the crediifbf reserve, \thifch wOul-dw O ul-d .then stand .at. £8474 4s 7d r " -ku» that the balance of £1000 be- distributed to tKe/Catnohc Archbishops and. Bishops of Ireland, as provided "by Article 1)0 or the Articles of Association^ of the^doW pany. ' ' " • •■ i)--'.'^. GALWAY— lnterred in his Native Land C In accordance with, the terms of his will the-Re-mains of John Morley, an Irishnran who amassed siderable wealth in .South Dakota^ have been removed from that State and interred in- h\& .'native place 'at Woodford, County GaLway. The greater portion of his fortune he bequeathed -to a community of Nursing' Sisters of. St. Louis, and to his nephews, Michael, Patrick, and John Guerin, of N*enagh; aid. to their' sflster who lives in England, he left £200 each. • - KlLDARE— Maynooth College Replying to. a question in the House of Commons on March 11, Mr. Birrell said it was -given- in &vi'dence before ■* the Robertson ComnJission on -University educa/toon in Ireland , that Maynooth College received from the State amounts varying "fromf- £8000 to £9000 a year from its foundation in 1795 up tdll 1845, when the annual grant was increased to £26,360 a year. This latter girant was continued until 187 a, when it was withdrawn, the sum of £369,040, -representing 14 years'- purchase, being paid' to the college ia compensation out of the Irish. Church Fund., The Board of Works' also expended on buildings and maintenance and remission of building loans the sum of £52,835. The Queen's College, Belfast, has received £7000 a year since its foundation, together with grants in ' aid amounting in all to £82,600, and the. Board of Works, have expewtted on biuildings and. maintenance £95,558. The number of students at Maj r nooth for the year 1907-8 is 562 ; the number at Belfast for_ the current winter session 'is % 380. Both of the colleges are exempt from rating. LIMERICK— The Holy Father's Jubilee At a meeting of - the Limerick, -Corporation, on March 6 the following -resolution was. moved, by the Mayor, and adopted :— ' That we, the Mayor, Aldermen, and biurgesses- of the County Borough Council of Limerick, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the priesthood of our . mosto Holy .Father, Pope^PdusX., with profound homage, beg to~ offer to -his Holiness the heartfelt congratulations"' of the citizens" of ' this ancient Catholic -city,- and. the prayers- of his faithful Men children that God may " graciously strengthen and sustain' him amongst the grievous trials p-rctes round his exalted throne. We pray -that his t Holiness may be spared to -sec again the triumph "of t'hel>ru,tti, for which he has striven with all - the dignity^ ,of apiostolic simplicity ; that his^ erring -children,'-, whoso dangerous doctrines his Holiness has condemned in his

recent, great Encyclical, will hearken" dutifully to their Father's counsel ; and that in this year of the Golden Jubilee of her own sacred shrine of Lourdes, our Blessed Lady may comfort the heart of the Holy Father by securing, through her powerful intercession, <the restor&ti<on of~Framce to her g,lorious inheritance as Eldest Daughter of the Churoh. That this resolution be communicated by the Town Clerk to his Lordship the Bishop, the Most. Rev. Dr. O'Dwyer, to be forwarded by ham to- his Holiness.' . " - WATERFORD— The Glenaheiry • Outrage ' In the House of Commons on March 10 Mr. ..John Redmoiwi asked the Chief Secretary whether, havingregard to the fact that the appeal in the claim for damages la/id by Lord Ashtown had now been disposed, and that the only issue on appeal was a question of malice, the Government would institute a public inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding the case, with a view to' tihe discovery of the guilty party. Mr. Birrell—The Irish Government are not., at present in possession of any information which would justify the" belief that a public inquiry on oath ,would secure the proof of any fact which would lead to the discovery of the guilty parties. Such information may, however, be hereafter forthcoiring , ' and whenever it Is, we shall be perfectly willing to take the steps most liWely to discover the real authors of this outrage. GENERAL Railway Rates Addressing a meeting in Liverpool in. support - of railway Sir John Gorst, ex-LhanCellor of the -Exchequer, said : Of the parts of the United Kingdom ill-treated by railway systems the worst was Ireland, and he believed if this were explained *the Irish peopLe would be up "in arms. The traffic of Ireland was regulated for the benefit of lunglish railway comipaaiies. There were differential rates, and it was, he believed, just to say that many Irish agriculturists found the cheapest way of transporting bullocks, agricultural produce, and flax from one part of Ireland to another was to send them to England and have them reshipped there. Grievances from Ireland Mr. Maddison, M.P. for BurnJey, addressed the following reply to Lord Ashtown, in answer to an ap,peal for funds to assist in carrying on the campaign, connected with the publication called ' Grievances from Ireland ' :— ' Mr. F. Maddison presents Ms compliments to Load Ashtown, and desires him to know that he regards the work of the Federation with which he is connected as. the worst example of fanaticism which has come under Wjs notice. Mr. Maddison has no ear for the harsh music of the Orange drum, and regrets that Ms lordship is so untouched by national pride and sentiment. The- cause of true religion must suffer by . his attempt to fan the flames of sectarian strife, the cessation of which should be the aim of good citizens. Mr. Madd'ison writes as a strong Protestamt, and as such is delighted to know that the funds of the Federation are running low, as «lt is some evidence that in Ireland its work .is not appreciated. He hopes that his lordship will not send him any more begging appeals for so unworthy an object.' The Cost ol the Police Force In discussing the vote in the Estimates for extra police in Ireland the ' Freeman's Journal ' says :—lreland lias practically the same population as Scotland ; It likis less Uhan one-fourth of the , serious crime! of Scotland ; it has double the police force. Ireland has one-eigihth of the population of England and Wales ; about on©- twentieth of its serious crime ; and nearly one-third of its police force. And this is the country to whose police establishment a Liberal Government pledged to economy adds four hundred men out of deference to a clamor, the nature of which was exposed by Mr. Ked'mond. There ought to be an end to this pandering to slander and this surrender to a^ officialism whose wastefulness cannot be paralleled outside the annals of corruption. The Irish police establishment ought to be reduced, the men engaged in it converted Into a civil force and given a living" wage, and the funds wasted ~ upon St made available for educaiftonal, industrial, and rating reform in. Ireland. Seven hundred thousand pounds, a year is wasted upon the establishment ; the Liberal Government have added £40,000 a year more to that chargej while they deny the National Board the means of giving the teachers of Ireland a decent salary.