The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-08-14
Political Bearings Of the Ed
vocational Question.
WHAT IRELAND WANTS.
The Government Bill Accepted as an
lnstalment of Justice.

itself inefiectiyely. Tho Irish University question
Is for the moment very serious matter in Parlia-
mentary affairs. and the way in which it Is handled
just now. especially by leading Irish public men. Is
OF vital consequence for the future course or polt
cal life here. The readers of the HERALD know
already nearly all that is to be said this subject
1t can never be lost sight that every difficulty in
Ireland is always political if not directly at least
indirectly. Turn all the questions which have arisen
from time to time inside out, you will always hnd
that they are only some rendering OF the old
historic feud between Celt and Saxon. 1t was SO
with the Established Church, sort OF ecclesiastical
garrison of the English in Ireland 1t was and is
visibly 80 with the land plundered from Irish
tribes and chiefs and handed over to English
colonies and their followers. How can the de-
scendants of the men who seized upon the confis-
Gated estates less than two hundred years ago be
anxious to see the poor peasants rishted who
are the posterity of the original owners? They
should be prepared to surrender their castles and
parks and fine domains and rich rent rolls; and it is
much easier to hold that prescription heals all de-
fects of title" Whether this maxim will hold good
in the final court of appeal before the all-seeing
Equity Judge may be doubted.
THE EDUCATION QUESTION.
The education question, especially in its unver-
sity phase, ana presented in Ireland, belongs
actly to the category. The mistake into which
be betrayed that this is partisan struggle of the
ultramontanes, who wish to hand the entire
control of education to the Catholic priesthood So
1t would be if Ireland political tabuia and
everything were beginning afresh But this is very
far from being the case and all the Roman Catholics
really striving to gain is INSTRUMENTATION from
more CALLING chain than political nferiority
to their fathers just fifty years ago. Trinity
College was founded by Queen Elizabeth well nigh
three centuries back, expressly to promote Protes-
tantism in Ireland If it had succeeded in this, WELL
whatever the historian of the Irish race might have
to say, the practical statesman would be troubled
With hardly vestige of the Irish questions
which rise. like mutinous Pretorians, on all
sides to-day. Trinity College was founded on the
ruins Of the Catholic Priory of All Saints. 1t was
enriched of the forfeitures of conscated
during years. until it's landed property is to-day
set down at $500 900 year. and this is generally be-
heved to be much below the real value. Until 1875
Catholic could graduate in Trinity College, and
until 1857 no Catholic could obtain any fellow
usual rewards Of learning in it, In that
year six scholarships of the net annual value
competition But all the other emoluments ' were
still preserved exclusively for Professionals In 1874
after of clamorng to obtain for Catholics
fair play in the matter of university education.
act Of Parliament passed throwing open all po-
sitions and emoluments to all persons. without
of the institution left in the hands
OF the existing Board of Senior Fellows"
Protestant clergymen. All the other fellows are
Professionals. The Office is for life. The body Of
graduates overwhelmingly Protestant clergy
men. Now, assuming that this thoroughly Protes-
tant institution, which is composed almost exclC-
In their own hands the disbursement Of over
$500 00O and have at present the enjoyment of it all
to MISUNDERSTANDING that they were paragons of
fair play. and willing to admit to a share Of the
profits all Irish Catholics found worthy-how long
would it be until. both on the graduate roll and
among the oficebearers and recipients of the emou
ments the number Of Catholic Celts would be in the
proportion Of their numbers in the population of
the island? Many generations of Irishmen should
90 under the green sod before the sef-denying vir
tues of the present holders of Trinity College rev.
snue would issue in such a result.
QUEENS COLLEGES.
In 1S45 the late Sir Robert Peel, who a con-
ciliatory and far-seeng statesman. established
provincial colleges. known 1.-THE Queens col
leges, avowedly tor the benefit primarily Of the
Irish Catholics Over S20o.o0O of the public money
Is annually paid out of the Golfers the State for
the maintenance of those institutions. But the
Catholics have used them very little, and only the
professional departments of medicine and engineer
Ing. The persons who have chiefly made Of
them are the Presbyterans and the Wesleyans These
bodies do not together amount to one-teuth of the
entire population But more than half the students
Of the colleges belong to them. There few Cath
plies among the professors. Such as there are be-
The Catholics object to the system of education in
those institutions, because religion cannot be
mingled with the secular subjects. and especially
because there is no systematic teaching of
religion. The question really. from prac-
tica point of view, is not whether the
Catholics theoretically right the purely secu-
lar system of instruction is the best not 1t is
that here in Ireland the other religious bodies are
spendidly provided with educational endowments
whereas the Roman Catholics have none. They
the poorest norton of the population. They are
threequarters of the population. Yet, while all
their fellow countrymen have professors Libraries.
museums, laboratories aud all the other equipments
of learning provided for them, they must put their
hands their pockets and find all these things for
themselves. Is it wonderful that, being heavily
Handicapped, they find it very hard to win in the
race of ileS The marvel is that any of them come
~ the front ut all.
THE NEEDS OF CATHOLICISM.
Thus the real want the Catholics this country
provision for education; all the propos for
IN educational settlement which have emanated from
The Irish Catholic body have invariably recom-
mended the foundation of Catholic college, in
which youths of their own belief should be in
structed according to Catholic principles and have
similar facilities TO those already possessed by
those of other religious beliefs. Ii has always
been said by the opponents of the Catholic claims
that this would be TO give the bishops of
the secular education of irish Catholic youth. But
this would hardly be the case In the catholic sys-
lem it does not with the body of believers but
exclusively with the bishops to decide all doctrnal
questions which may arise. Attempt to take this
episcopal authority away and you will only blot out
the Catholic character of the Institution. But IL in
quite certain that the Irish aity while leaving the
Bishops this docrina and religious control, would
insist seeing for themselves that the education
secular matters would be as much up to the mark
in any other institution. They could do less
Tor the future in life of their children would
depend upon it.
THE GOVERNMENT BILL.
The government. having rejected the Roman
Catholic proposals, have themselves brought in q
bill which simply enables catholic students, wher-
ever educated, to pass a graduating examination be-
lore the Senate of the Queens University. This uni
Iersity at present consists only of the Queens
colleges. 1t would hcnceiorward cease to bear the
name of the "Queon's University" and would have
M enlarged Senate. But the great grievance OF tho
Roman Catholics Is really not so much the need OF
graduating examinations, but the want OF an nsti-
sutton where they can receive tho highest training
la the science of the nineteenth century. Tho
criticism OF the government scheme starting from
This view has been great that they have found 1t
advisable to add provision empowering the new
Benate to devise scheme of prizes. But it is OBJ
served this will only aggravate the evil The
Catholics will be Afforded opportunity to COM
pete for prizes with Others but Their competitors
will have been prepared for the contest in splendid
Institutions, supported out of public funds while
they must prepare themselves as best they may.
JUSTICE TNsTALMRNTs.
SO pressing is the need ielt Tor reform in this
matter that most of the Irish members of Parliament