The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-01-10
(From Our Own Correspondence
OUR IRISH LETTER.

DUBLIN, Dec Is, 1874.
Domestic political topics are this week few
in number and unimportant in character. Mr..
Henry Owen Lewis, M. P. for Carlow, whose |
appearance before his constituents l. think |
I noticed last week, has published his
address this week. and very good address it
is. Mr.. Lewis is an Ulster aristocrat, who has
been converted to Catholicism and Home Rule, |
and he is every day showing more Catholic
and more Irish spirit. One announcement he
made has attracted general attention. 1t is
that man named Patrick Casey, who had
been imprisoned for three years and half in
Kilmainham Prison, Dublin, scithout having been
ecen accused Of anything, was at last, few weeks
since, set at liberty in dying state. His arrest
and imprisonment took place under the in
famous Coercion Act, whereby any man whom
q policeman chooses to suspect of an agrarian
crime, or of the intention to commit one, may
be arrested on q warrant from the Lord Lieu
tenant, and kept in Jail during that officials
pleasure, without trial This infamous act
was never necessary, and it is less necessary,
if may say 30, now than ever, for the whoie
country, notwithstanding few "tramps" here
and there, who perpetrate the only crimes at
all committed here, is more profoundly tran
quill than any other country in Europe. Yet
juet now the magistrates in the various coun-
ties are meeting, at the request of the Govern
ment, and proclaiming that the whole coercion
code should still, four years after its incep-
tion, be maintained in all it's ferocious in
tegrity. The Government of course, knew
right well, when they asked the magistrates
to express an opinion on the expediency of
maintaining the code, what their answer would
be and their object was to have some excuse
for continuing the coercion legislation next
session. And, certainly, if they are bent on
.suoh o course, they will not stop short of their
purpose. Bnt they will not succeed without
tough fight. The Home Rule members are de-
termined to fight the most tremendous battle
ever fought in the House of Commons on this
question. AS for the magistrates, they pre-
tend that they are in danger of their lives at
the hands of the peasantry, and that, there
fore, the latter should continue to be kept in
their houses after sunset. But they are in no
such danger, and they know they are not
Their real reason for their present action is q
desire to have power over their unfortunate
tenants and laborers-power TO guide them and
keep them groveling in the dust; and, per-
haps, also they think that their game preserves
which they have created in every county by
wholesale determination of human beings, will
be safer while the people are unarned than
they would be otherwise. The wretched aliens
act from the lowest motives, and have not one
feeling in common with the people; and the
Catholics amongst them are, with few excep-
tions, as bad as the Protestants.
The unfortunate ex-Parist Priest of Callan,
Father OKeeffe has been at it again that
is to say, has once more been engaged in the
law courts. On Saturday, his action against
Mr.. Cody, a magistrate of Kilkenny, COM
menced before Chief Justice Whiteside, in the
Court of Queens Bench, and to-day it con-
cluded in verdict for sxpence damages and
certificate from the Judge for the payment OF
the costs by the defendant. 1t will be noted
t. that he never goes with his cases before any
other Judge than Whiteside. He knows that
Whiteside is a red-hot partisan of his because
he goes against his Church, and that there is
not another Judge on the bench who would
not be impartial. The subject of this last
action was libel. Some time since, when his
case was about to be brought before Parlia-
ment, the committee of the parochial schools
OF Callan held a meeting, and thereat author-
lied DIR. Moran, Bishop of ossory, to publish q
statement to the effect that the original docu-
ment appointing Father oKeeffe manager of
the schools, had forged signatures to it. This
statement was incorrect; the signatures were
genuine. But the Bishop did not find this ont
till he had sent forward the statement in ques-
tion to the National Board of Education. Such
chance was too good one for Father oKeeffe
to lose, so he at once announced that he would
bring actions for libel against the Bishop and
every one who took part in the meeting afore-
said. He has fulfilled his threat as regards
the Bishop, against whom he obtained EGO
damages. DR.. Heating, the chairman of the
meeting, against whom he succeeded to the.