Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-04-16
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.


year ago the price was Il cents.
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
The Priests Are the Natural Guardians of
the Irish Race.
LONDON, April I0.-Archbishop LoSue says the
priests are the bound guardians of morality
The temporal authority of the priest
hood over the people of Ireland sprang
as naturally from the state in which the
people existed, as does the authority of
the parent over his children. The
people were on all sides degraded, OPP
pressed and plundered; degraded in the
name they bore, in the language they
spoke; degraded by the written law; de
graded by the unwritten law of social
usages. The orange yeoman trampled
on them; not a few of the Catholic aris-
tocaasy trampled on them, or despised
them, or neglected them, or betrayed
them. Alien ministers of an alien
creed trampled on them. Whatever
contributes to form the character of
self reliance, to national independence
whatever contributes to educate the
mind. to educate the heart, to civilize
the manners, to invigorate the frame,
were, as far as possible, taken from
them. They were shut out from hope,
and environed in attliction, as this their
island was environed by the sea.
Ruled with rod of IRON, scOurged
with scorpions, pillaged with impunity,
and slandered and murdered, a broken
and dispersed people, sadness and abase-
ment, and desolation impressed them
selves in their hearts, and marked the
race. Humiliation and woe because the
characteristics of everything about them.
of their music. their poetry, their dress.
their dwellings, their gait, their demean
err, their sentiments, the very form and
expression of their faces. Dark were
memories and stories of the past, dark
the prospect of the future. 1t was no
more the green Erin of the valleys and
the streams, but Erin of the afflicted
| children for ever. Yet in that black sky
| there was one star ever bright, i'll that
sea of bitterness there was one lslet of
| comfort the waters could not cover. In
their own priesthood was there common
center and their only center of hope and
consolation. Their lay all their wisdom,
all their guidance, all their reliance, all
their strength to bear their chains, and
all their strength to break them,
and these were indeed all theirs. Their y
under the sword, under the cavern roof,
under the forest tree-theirs through
good report and evil report. in sickness
and in health, in life and in death.
Never on this earth did kingly power so
spring up from the very heart and soul
of the people it ruled, flesh of its flesh
and bone of its bone, of it and over it,
as the head is in the human frame.
OF the chieftalns wi o rose from time
to time to govern them, some died on
the battle. field, some on the scatfOld;
some W ere bribcd by gold TO desert the
nations cause, some to desert the
national faith. The succession " as inter
rupted or lost, and the people were left
| without leaders having Il claim on their
confidence or obedience. But the ap ~
tolical succession of the priesthood re-
manned unbroken throughout. 1t WAS
not princely descent, nor Miles'an blood.
nor the position of broad lands, nor
might in arms. nor skill in field or cabi-
net that aggregated men into this 10y al
line-not the will of flesh. nor the will
of man, nor the power of them, but the
mysterious sacrament of God, beuueatll-
ed to the church's keeping: the I'M
wearied energy of the Catholic spirit,
fed from above, believing all things, de
flying all things, daring all things.
The races of kings and chiefs and
Eards, and whatever else might have,
from old traditional feelings and Gus
toms, an acknowledged power to lead,
disappeared in the lapse of dark and
troubled ages, as rivers are lost in the
sands of the desert. All that the people
could reverence or trust in, or follow. OF
rally around, was eXterminated or
DOuSnC over ana ceased 10 De. 1ne
priesthood alone was left, still true to
the people, with the same old faith, the
same old religious ceremonies, and
sacraments, and feelings and IN ,ral
teaching. What was hottest and dearest
} in their past memories was preserved
and on this their affections and their re
: lance ever concentrated with all the
, odor that had been divided over many
Time, death, shining gold, sharp steel
the gates of hell warred against every
other rock of strength. and at last pre-
vailed-warred against this rock and
. prevailed not. Community of country
of blood, of religion, of caste, of danger
of things hated and of things loved, of
things to fly from and things to pursue
every claim to confidence which the
true christian possesses from a devoted
christian people, every claim to guild
ance, counsel, fidelity unto death, which
such people possess from such a priest
every principal of mutual sympathy
and closest union without a single ele
, ment of repulsion, all combined together
in producing and consolidating this Cler
ical power, the object of SO much rev
: erence-of so much vain fear, of sc
, much angry vituperation. To the
people it has not been a despotism t.
, Cypress and to be got rid of, but theil
, pillar of light and consolation, theil
, last tower of strength which the hanC
a of heaven and their own built together
/ whose ruin would have been theil
! greatest ruin. w.
l The New Haven Strike.