CATHOLIC TOLERANCE

New Zealand Tablet, 28 December 1911, Page 2636

CATHOLIC TOLERANCE

DISTINGUISHED CLERYMAN'S EVIDENCE

Mr. John Redmond, M.P., chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party, has received a subscription for the . Irish Parliamentary fund, accompanied" by the following letter, under date October 28, from the Rev. Canon J. O. Murray, M.A., a distinguished Canadian Protestant clergyman of Irish birth:

The Retreat, St. John's, Winnipeg. Dear Mr. Redmond,—Will you kindly , add the enclosed small contribution to the Irish National Parliamentary fund. As an Irish Protestant—the son of a clergyman of the Anglican Church in Canada—l am glad to take this opportunity of associating myself with other Irish Protestants who have disclaimed any belief in the cry raised, partly in ignorance, partly to serve political ends, that Home Rule would mean loss and persecution for the Protestant minority in Ireland. Though I have lived in Canada for the past nine, years I was born and brought up in the heart of the Protestant corner of Ulster, and afterwards lived ' for nearly ten years in Dublin, and have always kept in touch with Irish life and Irish affairs; and I am only stating

Absolute Facts

that I have never known of any act of intolerance on religious grounds on the part of the majority in Ireland. Such isolated cases of intolerance as I have come across have been, I regret to. say, on the other side. Such religious animosity as may exist in Ireland is, in my opinion, the direct outcome of the system of government, or rather of misgovernment, which has so long been an incubus on the country. The policy pursued by successive English Governments of playing off one set of people in Ireland against another was no more calculated than it was intended to promote unity among Irishmen of different creeds. The tendency of the minority to cut themselves off in every way from the sentiments, social and literary, as well as national and political, of their fellow-countrymen, naturally intensified the division, as did also the fact that in the main the -landowners were of - one creed and

the tenants of the other. With the advent of Home Rule and the completion of land purchase these causes of division will be removed, and Irishmen will find no more difficulty in co-operating in the service of their common country, while agreeing to differ on points of theology than do the inhabitants of any other selfgoverning country. The spirit of Nationality is a wonderful crucible in which the most- diverse elements are fused.

Irish Protestants have only themselves to blame if they have lost their due share of influence in the public life of Ireland. So long as they set themselves against the aspirations and aims of the overwhelming majority of their fellow-countrymen,

They are not Entitled to Complain

if they are passed over in elections to county councils and the like. They cannot have their cake and eat it, seek inspiration abroad, and expect appreciation at home. Let them take their part as Irishmen in develop-

ing the national life, and Ireland will not be slow to give them their proper share in shaping her destiny. As to the 'loyalty' cry, it is almost ridiculous to refer to it in view of the recent utterances of Sir Edward Carson and Captain ,Craig. But I may be permitted to say that residence in Canada, once governed from Downing street, and in consequence on the verge of rebellion, now autonomous and deeply attached to the motherland, has only confirmed my deep-seated conviction that the only way to make a people loyal is to. make them contented, and that the most trustworthy bond of an Empire is the freedom of its component parts, each developing* on its own lines and contributing its individual note to the harmony of the whole.

- May I conclude by expressing my admiration of the skill and patience with which you have carried on the Work of your great predecessor, Mr. Parnell, and my regretwhich is, I feel sure, shared by practically every : Irish Nationalist on this Continent—-

any men professing to be Nationalists should have been found to weaken -by factious opposition a movement which has done such great things for Ireland. That they may yet see the criminal folly of such conduct and that a united Ireland may soon see the fruition of her hopes, is the earnest desire of—Yours very sincerely,

(Rev. Canon) J. 0. Murray, M.A

P.S. —You are at liberty to make any use you please of this letter. '