Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, 16 March 1911, Page 487

Irish News

ANTRIM—A Lady Chairman ... Miss Hamilton, of Portrush, has been elected chairman of the Portrush Urban Council, a position which makes her ex officio a Justice of the Peace. ARMAGH—More Centenarians The death has just taken place, at her brother's residence, Bally macully, County Armagh, of Miss Ann Walker, at the age of 102 years. The deceased's mother was also a centenarian, having attained the age of 103 years. DERRY—No Irish Need Apply A somewhat lively debate took place at the meeting of the Derry Board of Guardians the other day on the point as to whether an order for a horse ambulance should be placed with an English firm before tenders were sought in any part of Ireland. A committee of five had recommended that the English article be got, and after decussion it was decided by 12 votes to 6 to have the ambulance built in Lancashire. No opportunity was given to Irish firms to tender. " DUBLIN—A Pleasing Incident The death of Rev. Thomas Long, for many years Protestant rector of St. Michan's Church, Dublin, where lie the bodies of the brothers Sheares, Oliver Bond, Rev. William Jackson, and many others whose names are celebrated in relation to the United Irish Movement, recalls to mind that he officiated at the funeral of Mr. Parnell, first in St. Michan's Church and afterwards at Glasnevin. The Irish Times in an obituary notice states correctly that on Mr. Long's retirement from the position of Protestant chaplain of the North Dublin Union Workhouse the Board of Guardians, an almost exclusive Catholic body, voted him a liberal superannuation pension, which the Local Government Board refused to sanction on the statutory ground that he did not give his whole time to the duties of the office. 'The incident,' says the Times, 'was a pleasant proof of his cordial relations with his Catholic fellow-citizens.' The paper refrains from reminding its readers of the sequel of this incident. A Bill was introduced by Mr. Nannetti, with the approval of the Irish Party, to remove the statutory provision which was a bar to Mr. Long's superannuation allowance. That Bill was blocked night after night and eventually killed in the House of Commons by Sir F. Banbury, an English Tory. KILDARE—A Long Tenure of Office At the .annual meeting of the Athy Urban District Council, Mr. Thomas Plewman, J.P., P.L.G., referred to his recent election as a member of the Council, and said he felt deeply grateful for the compliment .paid him by the electors. The number of contests he had been through during the forty-five years he had been a member of the Board he could not, -he said, enumerate. His new tenure of office was for a period of three years, and if he was spared to complete that term he would nearly have completed his half-century of service at the Council Board. KING'S Substantial Damages On February 20 in Nisi Prius Court, Dublin, before Mr. Justice Kenny and a city special jury,. the hearing of the action of Clarke v. the Great Southern and Western Railway Company was resumed. The plaintiff, Miss Agnes Clarke, aged seventeen years, a monitress in the Birr National School, was a passenger in the train which was in collision with another between Roscrea and Birr on July 19 last, and she sued the Railway Company, through her father, Mr. Patrick Clarke, who is a commercial traveller, to recover £2500 damages for injuries alleged to have been sustained through the negligence of the defendant company. The defendant company admitted negligence, but denied they were under any liability to the plaintiff in respect thereof; and also that any pain, disablement, or loss had been caused to the plaintiff. At the sitting of the Court. Mr. Justice Kenny summed up. The jury found for the plaintiff, and awarded £2OOO damages. , MAYO—The Late Bishop of Achonry The obsequies of the Right Rev. Dr. Lyster, Bishop of Achonry, took place in the Cathedral, Ballaghaclereen. The Most Rev. Dr. Healy, Archbishop of Tuam, presided and the panegyric was preached by the Right Rev. Dr. Clancy, Bishop of Elphin, A letter of sympathy was received from his Eminence Cardinal Logue, who wrote: 4 By his death not only the diocese of Achonry, but the whole Irish Church has sustained a great loss.' London where Bishop Lyster died, was the. scene of his earliest missionary labors, and there, as wherever he ministered, he won the esteem of everyone with whom he came into contact by his zeal and unselfishness in the discharge of his sacred duties. 'ln latter life his Lordship recalled with interest (says the London correspondent of the Freeman) his experiences in these early days, though not all of them could be described as pleasant. On one occasion he was the hero of an adventure as thrilling as anything to be found in the pages of romance. The young priest was summoned late at night on a sick call; his way lav

along " the banks of a canal, and when he had proceeded some distance he was attacked by two burly ruffiians who, despite his stout resistance, robbed him of everything except his rosary beads, which he' grasped tightly in hi 3 hand. They even took the coat from his back, and then, apparently fearing pursuit, they pushed their victim into the canal. Here Father Lyster struggled for a time, his strength gradually failing. The smooth walls of the canal greatly increased his difficulties, but "finally; perceiving through the darkness what he thought to be a wooden projection, he grabbed desperately at it. 'He failed to grasp it, but the rosary "became encircled on the timber, and being a particularly strong one it enabled the young priest to support himself until his shouts brought a watchman to his assistance. Drenched and coatless though he was, he then, with characteristic devotion to duty/proceeded on his errand of mercy. It was also characteristic of - the deceased prelate that it was only a few years ago that the members of his family heard of the incident for the first time.' In the diocese of Achonry he filled important positions with great credit to himself, until in 1888 he was consecrated Bishop. Since then he was widely known for his tireless energy, and was always ready to respond to the call of charity. An eloquent preacher, he was well known not only in his own land but also in England and Scotland, where his impressive sermons thrilled large congregations. MEATH—The Hill of Tara Part of the Hill of Tara, comprising 240 acres, was sold by auction in Dublin recently. Bidding commenced at £2OOO and ascended to £4710, at which price the farm was knocked down to Mr. V. J. MacDermott, Dunshanglin. TYRONE—Omagh and Toleration Scenes of much animation were witnessed at the annual meeting of the Omagh Urban Council, held for the purpose of electing officers for the year. The Unionists obtained a majority of one on the new Council at the recent urban election. Mr. Thomas Johnston was elected chairman, and Mr. King Houston vice-chairman, both being Unionists. In the election of committees the Nationalists protested strongly against the high-handed action of the Unionists putting forward nominations of Unionists far in excess of their proportion in the Council; for instance, on the Finance Committee their proposal was practically seven Unionists as against three Nationalists. The Unionist proposals were carried. : i WESTMEATH—Verdict Affirmed On February 20, in the King's Bench Division, Dublin, before the Lord Chief Justice, Mr.. Justice Madden, and Mr. Justice Wright, in the case of Flynn v. Great Southern and Western Railway Company, an application was made on behalf of the, defendants, the Great Southern and Western Railway Company,, for an order that the verdict and judgment for the plaintiff at the trial of the action for £llOO be set aside, and that a new trial be ordered on the ground that the damages were excessive and that the amount thereof was such as could not reasonably be justified, and that same bore no just proportion to the injuries complained of, and that the verdict was perverse, and that damages were given for income past and prospective. The action was brought by the Rev. Patrick Flynn, of the Presbytery, Glasson, Athlone, County Westmeath, claiming damages for injury to the plaintiff while a passenger in defendants' railway'by the negligence of defendants' servants. It occurred' in ' what is known as the Roscrea collision in July last.' The Court unanimously refused the application, with costs. GENERAL Old Age Pensions In the annual report of the standing committee of the United Irish League the following reference was made to the Old Age Pensions Act: —The Old Age Pensions Act lias been one of the greatest boons ever conferred on Ireland. The effect of the distribution of 2$ millions a year in Ireland amongst the aged poor of over seventy years of age has been most beneficent, and has been felt in many directions. It has brought joy to the lives of hundreds of thousands of the poor people and their families, and has resulted in a great gain to the shopkeepers in the various districts. It is but natural to expect that there should be some difficulty and a little harshness in connection with the administration of the Act, and these the Irish Party has done everything possible to surmount and mitigate. The questions as to the basis of 'valuation in the case of small .tenants and as to what is evidence in regard to age have not yet been satisfactorily settled, but the Irish Party may be trusted to see that they are solved in a manner satisfactory to all concerned. The extension of the Act on January 1 to those in receipt of Poor Law Relief has been a decided gain to the local rates in most parts of. the country; but, in spite of the explicit statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the local rates would have to be contributory to this part of the scheme, there is a decided feeling in many parts of Ireland that the Treasury ought to bear the whole expenses of these pensions. Prosperous Institution Sir Stanley Harrington presided at the half-yearly meeting of the Munster and Leinster Bank, in Cork. The

net profits amounted to almost £35,000, which enabled the Bank to pay a dividend of 14 per cent, after placing £IO,OOO to the reserve fund, and carrying forward nearly £II,OOO. The directors of the North of Ireland Paper Mill Co., Ltd., recommend a dividend of 10 per cent, per annum, and bonus at the rate of 2$ per cent, (free of income tax). An Interesting Communication Mr. Sexton has received a most interesting letter from Lord Courtney of Penwith, acknowledging the near approach of Home Rule, and urging the desirability of pro{>ortionate representation in the new legislative body. His ordship says: Home Rule seems now very near us. It may not be accomplished quite as quickly as some think, yet it is near. The Parliament Bill will, after all, take some time, and there is other inevitable work, so that to me it seems sanguine to dream of a Home Rule Act before August, and if it can be passed in a special Autumn Session it will be well. The Government have not as yet, as I think, formulated as a whole any scheme of their own. Different members may have different ideas, but still inchoate. Some important supporters, I know not how large a section in number, have convinced themselves that Home Rule for Ireland must be part of a scheme of Home Rule all round, at all events that it must be so framed as to be capable of being fitted in with this larger plan. You will scarcely favor this, but you must contemplate it as something that may require discussion. _ Let me add in the interest of sincerity that I am still in wish and desire a Unionist. The United Kingdom is not too big, in my judgment, to be worked by one Parliament, if there was a real endeavor to make the machine effective, and I believe, as I have believed, that it would have been better for Irish, English, and Scot to have been thoroughly mixed up together, respecting, indeed, the variations history and tradition have brought down to us, but bent on working out together something better than any of us singly knew. But I have to recognise facts. We had not enough of the spirit of unity among us. Among Unionists, I must sadly confess, unity was too often lost in domination. And now we must prepare for Home Rule.' Where Parnell Stood The February number of T.P.'s Magazine contains an important pronouncement by Mr. John Redmond, M.P., upon the question of Home Rule. Mr. Redmond gives documentary and other evidence with the object of proving that the Home Rule principles advocated by the Irish Party to-day are the. same as those advocated by Charles Stewart Parnell. 'We stand,' says the present Leader of the Nationalist Party, ' where Parnell stood.' The time has arrived when British statesmanship must set itself to work out the details of this great scheme for the pacification of Ireland. In settling all these details Ireland will not be found unreasonable. The Board of Agriculture There is no doubt (says the London correspondent of the Liverpool Daily Post)* that Mr. T. W. Russell, having failed to find a seat in the House, has resigned the office of Vice-president of the Irish Board of Agriculture, but the Government find it extremely difficult to get .a successor. No Nationalist will accept the position, and, unfortunately, there are no Liberal members for Ireland. The names of Mr. Lough and Mr. Annan Bryce, both Irish-born, are both mentioned. For-several-reasons the first would hardly be acceptable, and I doubt whether the second would take the office. Mr. Annan Bryce was a member of the Congested Districts Commission, and he owns an island off the coast of Kerry. He holds, however, so many valuable directorships, most of which he would have to give up, that it is rather unlikely that he will accept the position. Toleration and Full Representation Speaking at a banquet in the Mansion House, Dublin, on January 11, Mr. John Redmond, M.P., said:—What we want is that the Irish Parliament shall be representative of every element in the country. We want every class represented. We want every creed represented. We want represented there the men of learning and letter!-, the men of commerce, the men of the professions, the workingmen, the farmers, the laborers, and artisansthe Catholic, the Protestant, and the Presbyterian. We want equal justice and toleration for all honest opinions, and even, I would say, for all honest idiosyncrasies. Yes; we want equality, and I speaking, as I believe I can speak, for the mass of the Nationalists and Catholics of Ireland—we won't have, and we won't tolerate, an ascendancy of any class or any creed. Therefore, I say that we are willing to discuss sympathetically, and that we will give our consideration to any proposal for a system of representation in our Parliament which will carry out our idea of toleration and full representation so long as it is consistent with honest democratic principle. Now, we go to Parliament in a few weeks to abolish the Veto. Our Solicy is- perfectly plain and simple. So long as the present fovernment acts straight on the Veto, so long as they act up to their privileges, and I have not the smallest reason to doubt that they will depart in the smallest degree from their pledges, so long we will support them, and so long we will not allow any question, any question of any sort or kind, to cross our path.