Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 19, 14 May 1908, Page 27

Irish News

♦ — OUR IRISH LETTER

(From our own correspondent.)

Dublin, March, 1908.

Last year 39,082 emigrants left Ireland. For what ? Thirty-eight thousand of them to suffer far greater want and misery than they ever knew at honre. There seems little use in the remonstrances constantly made by priests and others, who know the truth about emigrant life, so long as the land is kept locked up from the mass of the peiasiattitry, as most of it still is by those landlords who w'lll not sell and by the delays and impediments of the Land Courts, and so Jong as the Government aids and abets the emigration agents at home and abroad in the' alluring advertisements that gull the unhappy", restless youth of the country. Every post office, every village schoolmaster is a paid agent for the bad work. Everything shows how steadily the drain is injuring the country. The acreage under tillage last year shows 'it— a decrease of 93,766 acres under corn, green crops, hay, flax, and fruit ; meaning a big percentage of the farming class gone to the wall. Yet we have a Board of Agriculture, Congested Districts Board, Local Government Board, Boards enougih to plank the whole country over (as somebody says), all manned by brilliant ' experts ' who can give book lore on every conceivable subject, but no practice save in ncuv'-jig salar es. If matters go on at the present rate, in twenty years more every man left in Ireland will be an official of some Board ; and then who will pay the taxes that now pay the officials ? Even should the Old Age Pensions' Bill pass, as it was said it would this session, who will be left to pay the tax out of which these pensions are supposed to come, for it is not the man with the big income who finds the money, but the tea and sugar of the worlAng man that do it. And as regards this same

Old Age Pension, the demand of the laboring class is moderate— fis a week at 65 years of age. But statesmen want to make the age 70, which would bo just a mockery to the poor, for all know that the man or woman who has had to work hard and live poorly through life Is, as a rule, past labor at 65. A pension at 70 would just mean ' live horse and you'll get grass,' for ninetynine out of every hundred. The 5s a week a t 60 could bo given by sweeping away the poorhouses, those cold dens of misery and misuse of money that the great O'Connell declared would be the ruin of Ireland. °But then, they keep a little army of officials in luxury. A Link with the Past.

The name of Daniel O'Uonnell reminds me of the recent death of a lady closely connected with the Liberator and with another man who was once a noted figure in Irish life Mrs. Morgan John O'Connell died at; Longiield House, Cashel, last month. Her husband was the nephew of O'Connell, her father the once well known Charles Bianconi, -whose public vehicles, invariably called ' Bianconi's car*,' were the means of opening up traffic throughout all the country districts of Ireland «in the middle of the nineteenth century, before railroads were in general use. These cars— long ' outside cars,' finely horsed and accommodating fourteen, or sixteen passengers with their baggage— continued to run in remote districts up to a recent date ; in fact, they are still run on the coast roads between Galway and Westport 'in Mayo, Lame and Cushendall in Antrim-, and a few other places. Bianconi himself lived to a very advanced age and died about thirty years ago. I recollect him well, for even up to a short time before his death he travelled about the country constantly, and often visited at my home, where he loved to tell the children the romantic story of his boyhood, being always careful to remind us that, though, reduced to poverty, his was one of the old noible families of Italy. A tall, robust, stately old jrentileman, with a quantity of silvery hair and always dressed somewhat in the fashion of his youth, with a finely ruffled shirt in which a large diamond sparkled : such is the picture I recall of Charles Bianconi as, having chatted for some hours with the elders, he one night turned to tell the little people Ms fascinating story that made him seem a second! Dick Whittington in their eyes. ,In the early years of the 19th century Charles Bianconi came from Italy to Ireland, a poor lonely little lad of twelve, wKo made out a living by hawking cheap pictures and 1 images all over the country, and ma/aaged to feed and clothe Mmself on threepence a day. Even that he often saved, for we may be

sure the kind-hearted peasantry heartily welcomed the little foreign orphan to bed and board. Honest, brave, enduring, the lad made his way on, trudging from.' town to town, from v'lllage to village, happy when a farmer on Ms way to market gave Mm a lift on the road. These welcome lifts were an inspiration. The" boy saw that crowds >of the country people hart to trudge to market on foot, like himself, hampered with heavy loads that 'delayed them long and wore out their strength. Many a poor man or woman who could not command a car would gladly give a trifle to be carried cheaply even part of the way. The thrifty lad had saved a little sum of n,oney. He thought out' a plan ; bought a horse and car and started In a countiry district on the highroad to a market town, axrangM|g a moderate tariff for conveyance of passengers and their loads. The venture succeeded at once. Before long Bianconi had two cars on the road. Then began the roMing of the snowball : he possessed great organising powers, and, briefly, in an astonisliingly short time tlh.e long cars were plying in an almost continuous chain from one end of Ireland to the other. Wealth poured in, but Bianconi continued to act as his own. overseer. He was constantly on the road, his coach oflices were everywhere, and his employees were ever on the alert to keep passengers well served, cars in good order, teams in first-class condition, for Bianconi himself might arrive at any hour of the day or night, mighi foe a passenger on any car, and, while a firstrate master to good servants, woe to those who transgressed by fairing in their duty to the public or to their employer. Deservedly the Italian was soon a wealthy man, honored by all, high and low, a benevolent and jpious Catholic, Lord Lieutenant of his county, owner of a fine estate and of the beautiful mansion, near Cash el "in which his daughter, Mrs. Morgan John O'Uonnell, has just died, the last of her name, for Bianconi's only son died young, leaving no heir to the honored name of Bianconi. _ COUNTY NEWS CARLOW— A Costly Proceeding A Judge went down from the capital to Carlow last week, (says the ' Irikh. Weekly ' of March 28), and the Assizes were opened with all tho usual ceremonies. The-n, his lordship, the grand and petty jurors, the registrars, sheriffs, clerks, lawyers, policemen, tipstaffs, criers, amd public lound that some miserable woman was charged v>'ith stealing a jacket worth Is 6d. The crimelessness of Carlow, and the costly absurdity of opening an Assize court at the public expense under such '"Circumstances, will not be trumpeted all over Great Britain by' the Carrion Crows. CORK— Only one Case Opening the Commission for Cork City on March 22 Lord O'Brien saul there was only one case to go before tho Grand" Jury. 'He was sorry to hear tnat'in an otherwise peaceful city there was some trade disturbance. He hoped it would be borne in mind t!hat though peaceful picketing had received legislative sanction, yet organised attempts at. intimidation constituted a criminal conspiracy punishable by law even though carried out under the guise of peaceful picketing. DONEGAL— The Dean of Raphoe The death took place on March 23 of the Right Rev. Mgr. M'Fadden, P.P., Vicar-General of Donegal and Dean of Raphoe. 'Deceased was one of the oldest priests in the diocese of Raphoe, and was much revered by all creeds and classes. He Was ordained in 1853, and became parish priest of Glenties after four years. He was afterwards parish priest of Gweedore and Drumholm, and in 1882 was appointed to Donegal town w.here he ministered ever since. DUBLIN — A Fortunate Harness-maker Ihe great litigation, extending over several years, concerning the property of Sullivan, of Seattle, TJnited. States, and in regard to which Commissions sat in Dublin, has at last come to an end, and judgment has" been. given awarding the estate to the two hext-of-kin, Mr. Edward Corcoran, of Dublin, and Mrs. Hannah. Calla^han, of Cork, as first cousins of the a^coased. Mr. Corcoran was represented in Ireland by Mr. C. P. '"Neill, solicitor, Dawson street, and Mrs. Callaghan; by Messrs. Wynne and Wynne, solicitors, of Cork. The. American lawyer-Senator, S. H. Piles, who represented! the parties in the States and had the management of the litigation there, gets, under a deed given by" the parties, half the estate. The formal decision was given in the Supreme Court of Washington State, wMch affirmed j^bhe diecision of the local Court in

Kings County. The confirmation of this decision, in' the opinion of the attorneys interested, gives to Mr Ed/ward Corcoran, hajrnass-mtaker, of. Dublin, aindi first cousin of John Sullivan, an estate of Seattle property worth at least three-quarters of a million dollars. This estate includes the Sullivan office building on • "?«. Avi6nue ' This may mark the termination of one of tlhe most famous and interesting cases that ever originated in King's County. KING'S COUNTY— Death of a Jesuit The Society of Jesus suffered a great loss in the death of Father James Murphy, which took place, after t.4. pr e? lon ? e<l illness > on March 22, at the Novitiate fct. Stanislaus' College, Tullamore, where for the past three years lie had, for the second time, filled the important and responsible position of Rector and Master of Novices. Father Murphy, who was a brother of Canon Murphy, P.P., of Arran Quay, Dublin, and of Colonel W. Read Murphy, D.5.0., was born at Clonmel in the year 1852. No Criminal Business White gloves wese presented to County Court Jud>e;e Curran at Tullamore. He also got while rloves at + 'i. B^ t i lat at the s P ria S Quarter Sessions he had not had to try a single criminal case in Kinr's County. b LIMERICK— The Holy Father's Jubilee Most Rev. Dr. CMDwyer, Bishop of Limerick, in the course of a letter acknowledging receipt of the resolution of the Limerick Corporation congratulating his Holiness the Pope on the Golden Jubilee of his 'priesthood, says :— ' It is one more link added to the chain of pieties by which this Catholic city has time and again for ages renewed and confirmed its attachment to the Holy See, and I am quite sure that it will go straight to the hearty of Pius X., and be answered by has paternal and loving blessing upon us. For myself I am very proud to have the privilege of convey W to his Holiness such an evidence of the Faith of the city of which, however unworthy, I am Bishop, and it is an agreeable and interesting circumstance, too, th a t i it will be placed in the hand's of the Pope himself by a IMnerick man, ot" whom we are all so proud, the distinguished Rector of the Irish College in Rome.' LOUTH— White Gloves for the Judge His Honor Judge Kisbey, K.C., sat in the Courthouse, Diogheda, and disposed of the Easter Sessions business. There bding no criminal business, he was presented with white gloves by Mr. Russell, SubSheriff. His Honor said he was very gra.tified at the satisfactory state of t-he town. He knew of no tow™, so far as his experience went, where there was so little criminal business or so little tendency to crime. He hoped it would long remain so_ GENERAL Emigration from the Provinces 'Last year (remarks the ' Irish Weekly ') 39,082 people left Ireland as emigrants: The four provinces contributed in the following proportion :— Leinster, 5711 • Connaught, 7570 ; Munster, 11,28.} ; Ulster, 14,513. The most prosperous province 'is the most deploroble ; it lost more last year than any other division of the country. Rather callous statisticians have placed the 1 value ' of an admit male or female to the community at £200 ; that is to say, the wealth of the nation or district, has been expended to this extent in bringing the said young man or woman to manhood or womanhood from, infajhey. The ' value ' of a healthy human being to the communit3 r amongst whom the said human being lives and works cannot, of course, be estimated But we take the £200 as ' capital expenditure,' and on this basis Ulster's ' dead loss ' last year was £2,902,600. If each individual emigrant's value to the State be very moderately estimated at 15s per week, Ulster's earning power was decreased last year by £566,007 sterling. , Capitalised at 3 per cent, this would mean a current ' trading ' loss 'of £18,866,900 " to the rim© counties, in addition to the wasted ' capital expemdfi.t'ure ' of £2,902,600.' 'And this would be repeated year after year if the ghastly rate of drainage for 1907 were maintained.