Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 5 November 1908, Page 27

Irish News

ANTRlM— Monster Ocean Liners On September- 9 the keel blocks of one of the~ two new leviathan White Star liners were placed in position in Messrs. Harland and Wolff's yard, Belfast. This may be regarded as a mafter of great importance in the shipping world since the two new ships whose displacement will be probably 60,000 tons each, and the cost of both - teing estimated at close upon ;£3»5oo,ooo will mark a new era in the length and magnificence of passenger vessels afloat. The new ships, when completed, will be about 1000 feet long, capable of bearing a dead weight of 15,000 tons. The first of the two new mammoths will be named the Olympic, and whan completed will provide somj surprises in ship construction and fittings. CLARE — An Enthusiastic Reception On September 12 the presence of Mr. William Redmond, M.P. , in Ennis was made the occasion of a great popular demonstration of welcome by his constituents. The popular member for East Clare, who was accompanied by Mrs. William Redmond, paid informal visits to the Convent, the Christian Brothers' schools, and other institutions, and they were everywhere greeted with the most hearty cordiality. In the evening, a great gathering assembled at the Town Hall, where addresses were presented from the various public bodies. DUBLIN— A Change of Policy A rumor has gained currency that an Irish paper identified with the Unionist cause is about to declare for Imperial Home Rule. This action will, we understand, find a reflex among London Unionist dailies. Jews and Home Rule A large meeting of Jews, held in the Mansion House, Dublin, on Thursday evening, September 10, passed a resolution pledging all present to support such measures as will secure for the people of Ireland self-government, and foster Irish industries. Charitable Bequests Mr. Henry Richard Spring, of Johnston House, Chapelizod, County Dublin, who died on May 26 last, has left of which is English estate. Testator has bequeathed to the Catholic Bishop of Liverpool for the Irish poor of the diocese. Peculiar Methods Messrs. Browne and Nolan, Dublin, have, it seems to us (Catholic Times), good reason to complain of the manner in which the Irish National Board has been acting. For three years the ' Advanced National Reader ' which they brought out was in use in the Irish Catholic National Schools, with the sanction of (he Commissioners of National Education. It contained extracts from the poems of Clarence Mangan and D. F. McCarthy and from historical writings by the Most Rev. Dr. Healy, Archbishop of Tuam, dealing with the wars of O'Neill and O'Donnell against Elizabeth. The passages from the poets and the Archbishop were more than ' The Imperial Protestant Federation ' could stand. They considered that such reading should not be placed before young Irish Catholics, and brought the question up in Parliament. The National Board faithfully obeyed the behest of ' The Imperial Protestant Federation. 1 The ' Advanced National Reader ' was condemned. No notification of the condemnation, however, was sent to the publishers'. Only indirectly — through the publication of the board's correspondence with ' The Imperial Protestant Federation ' — did they get any inkling of an objection being raised to the book. The Board of-National Education allowed them to go on printing the volume and did not take the. trouble to let them know they were destroying a property on which a good deal of time, thought, and money had been expended. Evidently some of the National Board's ways are not business-like. QALW AY— lndustrial Conference An industrial conference was held recently in Galway. The chairman of the Galway Town Commissioners extended. a cordial' welcome to the delegates, and then vacated the chair in favor^ofj Mr. Joseph A. Glynn, who presided throughout the proceedings. His Grace the Archbishop j)f Melbourne was. on the platform,', and a number of members^ of Parliament, including Mr. Stephen Gwynn, M.P., Mr. Wm. Field,, M.P., Mr. O'Malley, M.P.,' Mr. Boland, M.P., Lord Dunrayen, Sir Horace Plunkett, Mr.-T. P. Gill, Lord Clonbrock, etc. A resolution was moved by Lord Dun-

raven declaring that an organised Effort should be made to develop the export trade of Ireland, that steps be taken to secure reliable information as to suitable markets for the,lrishmade goods outside of Ireland, and that this information should be supplied to Irish manufacturers. Mr. Boland,. M.P., seconded the resolution, and in the discussion which followed the Archbishop of Melbourne spoke, dwelling upon the desirability of providing in Ireland some other employment than that on the land, the results of which were so frequently capricious owing to the uncertainty of the climatic conditions. KERRY— Bad for the Deer An extraordinary motoring incident occurred near Killarney recently. As the Maharajah and Maharanee of Kapurthala were motoring from Glengariff after nightfall through the forest, their passage was disputed by a fine red deer, which charged full tilt at the radiator of the vehicle. The impetus of a charge and the impact with the rapidly-moving car resulted in the instantaneous death of the animal. Sad Drowning Fatality A sad calamity befell the fishing community at Valentia Island on the night of September 14, by which six men lost their lives through the sinking of a seine boat. It appears that the crew of the seine boat, which was heavily laden with mackerel, finding that it was sinking, threw themselves into the boat which was following, and which also sank Six men, all belonging to the district, were lost, atid thirteen were rescued by another vessel. The two boats belonged to the village of Portmagee, and the seine boat had 12'^men in her, whilst the follower had seven men. They had netted a shoal of mackerel in calm water, inside the harbor, but they were carried by the strong ebb tide running to the harbor mouth, where there was a heavy sea. The seine boat shipped some seas and sank, and the crew, in getting into the smaller boat, capsized her. Nineteen men were thus thrown into the water, and - they struggled for their lives, terribly handicapped by being clad in oilskins and heavy clothing. The night was dark, and half an hour elapsed before another seine boat, belonging to Michael Cahill, in returning to the harbor, came upon the men clinging to the wreckage of the two boats. At great personal risk Cahill rescued thirteen men, the other six having disappeared just at the spot where eight fishermen lost their lives early last year. Three of the men when rescued were unconscious, and had to be medically treated. The names of the lost are : Patrick Kelly (married), John O'Sullivan (married), John Devane (senior), John Devane (junior), John O'Shea (single), and John Casey (single). MAYO — Secondary Education New intermediate schools are in course of erection at Castlebar for the secondary education of the youth of the' town and of the county of Mayo, and which in themselves will be another memorial to the zeal and energy of the pastor of Castlebar, the Very Rev. Canon Lyons, P.P., V.F., whose efforts in improving the town and parish are well known. For a long time past it has been felt in Castlebar that a secondary school was sadly needed. The granting of increased facilities for university education in Ireland made the school more necessary -than ever. Canon Lyons has undertaken the onerous task of building these schools, and of finding the wherewithal to pay for them. , The schools are planned on modern lines, on the. ' classroom system,' and will include facilities for chemistry, science, art, and manual training. WEXFORD— Good Advice The Most Rev. Dr. Browne, Bishop of Ferns, replying hi an address presented to him at Clongecn on the occasion of his triennial visit to the parish, advised the people to get possession of the land, and said that if they did the country, with temperance and thrift, would become prosperous. Visit of Cardinal Gibbons His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons left London on September 15 with his Grace the Archbishop of Tuam, for a short- visit to the West of ' Ireland. His Eminence will - pay a visit to his relatives in County Wexford Tbefore returning -to the United . States. The Temperance Movement The following is a portion -of the annual report issued by the Ferns Diocesan Temperance Committee : — ' Entrusted by our Bishop with the arduous .and responsible task of developing and fostering a diocesan temperance . organisation,- we gladly avail of the opportunity afforded by this meeting to express our '

deep sense of gratification at the happy results of the memorable crusade which was preached throughout the diocese* during the autumn .of last year. Our_ thanks are due in a special manner to the members of the Religious Orders, who performed their laborious task with a whole-hearted - earnestness could not fail to ensure a large measure of success. We gladly acknowledge also the signal services of the diocesan- clergy, who co-operated in this glorious enterprise in a manner deserving of the highest praise. It must not, however, be forgotten that the most encouraging feature of the campaign was the readiness displayed by the laity in general to put into practice the lessons of sobriety so lucidly and, .at the same time, so forcibly,- inculcated by the Missionary FathersT One fact stands out conspicuous as a result of last year's crusade : it is clear beyond question that the moral sentiment of the people is on the side of, temperance. Many battles must yet be fought, many victories must yet be won before we can hope to witness the death struggle of the drink evil. But it may be safely assumed that the flowing tide is with us when we hnd the moral sentiment of the public in our favor. The questions now arises : How are we to turn to good account _the advantage that has been gained? First of all, it must be borne in mind that the ultimate object of our society is the promotion of temperance. We have proclaimed, times without number, that total abstinence, which is the best safeguard for all, and the sole safeguard for many, is the most effectual means of promoting the practice of the noble virtue of temperance.' WATERFORD— CIaim to a Title Mr. Leslie O'Callaghan, Derrygallon, County Cork, is prosecuting a suit to establish his right to the title and estates of the late Viscount Lismore. The last holder of the title died last year, and it was thought that the title lapsed for want of an heir. The rent roll of the estates was once a year, but for years the interest on heavy mortgages consumed most of the rents. \ GENERAL «*" Vital Statistics According to the annual report of the Registrar-General for Ireland, the number of marriages registered in ■ Ireland during last year was 22,509, the number of births 101,742, and the number of deaths 77,334. The marriage rate was 5.14 per 1000 of the estimated population, showing a decrease of 0.02 as compared with that for the year 1906, but is 0.05 above the average rate for the ten years 1897 to 1906. The birth rate was 23.2 per 1000 of the estimated population, showing a decrease of 0.4 as compared with that for the preceding year, and is the same as the average rate for the ten years 1897 to 1906 ; and the death rate — 17.7 per 1000 — is 0.7 above the rate for the preceding year, but 0.2 under the average rate for the ten years 1897 to 1906. The returns for 1907 show that the natural increase of the population, or the excess over deaths, was 24,408. The loss by emigration amounted to 39,082, which exceeds the average number of emigrants for the past ten years. It would appear, therefore, that there was a decrease of 14,674 in the population during the" year* With respect to immigration, there are no official records, nor is it taken into account in the estimate of the population to the middle of the year, which was 4,377,064. - Envoys in New York Mr. John Redmond, M.P., leader of the Irish Nationalist Party, with Mr. Devlin, M.P., and Mr. Fitzgibbon, arrived in New York on September 16. One hundred members of the United Irish League of New York met Mr. Redmond and his friends at the dock and escorted them to Hoffmann House, where a formal reception was given in their honor.