The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1886-03-12
BISHOP O'FARRELL's LECTURE.

Bishop O'EarreII, OF trenton, on ire
lands Rights aud Claims" The Oh
iect of the meeting was to raise funds
for the relief of the families of the poor
fisherman who live on the west coast of
Ireland Charles A. Dana, editor of
the New York Sun presided. who. af-
ter returning thanks for the honor con-
ferred upon him, introduced Bishop
O'Farrell, who said
at is not often that Catholic Bishop
comes forward on public platform in !
this country. His duties are confined 1
in great measure to the sanctuary and /
to the teachings of religion. But there |
are times and there are causes which I
are so important that the Bishop must /
leave the sanctuary and volunteer to !
sustain the cause of justice and of CTuth.
1t is under these circumstances that /
come before you tonight to plead the
cause Of sacred charity. | come to you
in the dress of Bishop that you may
understand that l bring not only my
personal feelings to the cause, but that
pledge the responsibilities that l feel
from my sacred Office to the cause that
advocate here to night.
The object of this lecture, as has
Chairman, is to provide help fer the
| starving fishermen who dwell in the
| islands that lie off the western coast of
Mayo and Galway. That object alone
| would justify our coming here tonight,
and to justify this great gathering OF
generous people OF New York.
1.-The case is pitiful one. 1t is well
calculated to touch the heart of every
Christian man. But il has been so well
presented in the columns of the New
| York Sun (applause) that 1 need scarce
lY to dwell upon it. 1t is one of the
fruits of deadly evil that pervades Ire
land. 1 do not admit that the starva-
ton of these fishermen was necessary.
1t could and should have been prevent
ed by the fishermen of Ireland. l shall
ask you to consider tonight the very
root of the evil, so that we may pluck it
up; so that it may never curse the soil.
l shall speak in my lecture of famines
that are worse than this.
~ WAS struck with the letters OF
Michael Davitt when he spoke of the
fact that there were plenty OF fish in
: the bays and waters near these starving
people, but they had no boats to go out
in and were compelled to live on the
seed potatoes. There was pitiful
story of a poor woman who was CON-
pelled to ask the loan of few shilllngs
! to go to Scotland for work, and she
asked the doctor to give her something
to dry up her milk, so that she could
leave the nursing baby for whine.
] "Bdt let US consider the causes that
have led to misery in Ireland. When
, | we can remove the cause WE shall pre-
vent the effect. L am grateful to the
| entire American press for the interest II
has manifested in Ireland's cause.
, | will even retract what l have said about
the Herald, but, above all, before all
d either in New York or Philadelphia. al
: an Irishman and Bishop, shall place
q the New York Sun above all. Ap-
h plause. 1 am happy to offer to onIght
!, as an Irishman and a Bishop, to offer t.
Mr. Dana my thanks for his noble ap-
) probation and manly defence of The
!, rights and claims of ireland.
!, Ireland is but small nation, We
=, there is none in Europe that has 80 glo-
: rious a history; none that can trace
Q more deeds of glory. She can show
s civilization of the highest order wheI
s. the modern nations Of Europe were bar
!. bariaus. We lave monuments of tha
- civilization still existing-the oldes
stone buildings of Europe. We hay
T, documents that have preserved the his
= tory of the times. Ireland was the LIANT
,e of the learning of the DIuids, and he
laws, that take us back 1000 years
were never abandoned until the powe
u of Elizabeth compelled it.
% Have you ever heard of people VIII,
j. welcomed a teacher as St. Patrick wa
10 welcomed in Ireland, or who in such
way in one generation gave up Jhei
% worship of superstition and paganisn
e and became the most Christian natioI
le in Europe? No statesman will eve
70 undertake to remedy the miseries of
nation except by considering its lif
u and histOry-its past life. Such
a. knowledge will explain how it is that
is after ], 400 years of Christian life, Jh
k Irish people are as strong in patriotism
10 as when their chieftains led them t
battle.
l. For 300 years Ireland alone of Eu
rope kept alive the divine fires of re
To ligiOn and knowledge. There is scarce
rs ly spot in our land that does not reca
be those glorious days. How many spot
m recall those happy days when the stu
n ~ dents OF all countries were welcomed /
20 20 Ireland, protected by the chieftains. an
ve instructed by the priests When a stl
h. dent in those days was long absent frol
4 home it was said, He has gone to Ire
is land, and the remark was as signifcaI
20 as is now the remark about some men
bo our days. They have gone to Canada
o. Laughter. Ireland was for 300 veal
De the home OF scholars and saints. The
es for 200 years came constant invasion.
at But even when the English and IL
% French gave up, Ireland still mairtaine
~, her independence, and in 1914 Bris
a. BOToihme swept the Danish inVade
Mt into Dublin Bay.
a Ireland had ], 900 years of indepen
On ence before st. PatrIck's time, and Il
OF years of independence after st. Pa
~ rick's time. But when the English il
~ vasiOn came Ireland was simply like
" confederation without any central poy
it er. The English came as the allies
Of one clan to fight against another cia
a 1t was unfortunate that Ireland did n
uS W realize that she was but one landratb
than a collection of counties. 1t is
long stretch of time from ST. Lawren
O'Toole to Archbishop Walsh, but /
1ls lieve that as the one saw the chain
nd Ireland formed, the other will live
ev see it broken. Applause
- There is no doubt that the domini,
OF the English was like a spear Dol
ny embedded in the flesh of Ireland, whi
zee pained, though it could not kill.
it For four hundred years England d
be nothing for the advancement of Irelau
- Then there were no colleges bui
Then came religious dissension. f,
ne lowing this came the land hunger
100 the English. Whether Catholic
A. Protestant, the English were equaI
er- anxious TO sieze the land of Irelau
"a The names of Kings and Queens cou
ties IN Ireland recall the memory
OF Catholic Queen Mary and her husban
We and as Catholic RishOD I tell vnu tb