The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-09-17
RELIGIOUS ToLERAT1ON.

A COMPARISON Drawn 66CWe6H EEOLeStdnL
Belfast and Catholic Dublin.
Here are few figures and facts, which,
as will be seen, have been made use OF
with good etfect,as the result has shown,
by MI. Gladstonein some of his speeches
during the recent election campaign in
Great Britain. The total population of
the city of Dublin in 24O, GOA, of which
20O,944 are Catholics, that is, more tnan
four-ffths of the people of Dublin are
Catholics. These figures are from the
census returns of 1881, the complete and
revised returns of 1891 census not hav-
ing yet been published. The figures of
1891 will not, however, differ to any
material degree from those given, and in
the proportion of Catholic to Protestant
population will probably not differ at all.
Dublin is therefore substantially a
Catholic city, much more Catholic than
Belfast is Protestant, for the Catholics
of Belfast are mora than fourth of the
total population of that city, while the
Professionals are less than fifth of the
population of Dublin. Let us see, then,
how the Catholics of Dublin, in the mat
tor of public offices and honors at their
disposal, act towards the Protestant
minority. But in order to present the
contrast in one view let us first reca pltu.
late the facts of Protestant treatment of
Catholics in Belfast. There has never
been Catholic Mayor of Belfast; there
is not at present, and, so far as we know,
there has never been Catholic in the
Town Council of Belfast, which numbers
forty mem bers; there is not Catholic in
the employment of the Belfast Town
Council, except one or two in very sub
ordinate Offices. DR.. Houston, an emil
nent Protestant lawyer of Dublin, who
was candidate for an English constitu-
ency at the late election, gave figures re-
lating to Belfast as follows, in letter to
Dublin paper, shortly before the COM
mencement of the election campaign:
'The Belfast Town Council consists of
forty members, all Professionals, and en-
ploys ninety-one officials at an annual
expense of 9l6,6l0. OF the ninety-one
officials two are Roman Catholics, viz,
one of the four superintendent OF the
fire brigade, and one of the Street In
spectors, who between them get e42O a
year, little more than one thirty ninth of
the aggregate salaries received by their
Protestant colleagues"
Such is the religious federation of the
Professionals of Belfast Let us now turn
to Catholic Dublin. The Town Council
consists of sixty members elected by the
people. A considerable number of the
Councillors at least score-are Prot
estants. The Council elects the Lord
Mayor, who holds office for one year, and
since 184l the Catholic Town Council
with Catholic majority we mean) of
Dublin has elected fifteen Protestant
Lord Mayors. We say since 1841, be-
cause before that year Catholics we're
practically disfranchised in Irish NUM-
cipalities, and all the power lay with the
Pedestrians, and, as consequence, for
generations before 184l there was not a
Catholic Lord Mayor or Councillor in
Dnblin. When the Professionals were
able to do it, they did just the same in
Dublin as they now do in Belfast. But
in l841 there was Municipal Reform
Bill passed, and it gave Catholics some
Of their rights in Irish towns having
Catholic majorities. How did they make
use Of these newly acquired rights? Was
it to turn the tables on their Protestant
fellow countrymen who had in their day
Of ascendancy in the municipalities 80
oppressed the Catholic masses? The
answer IS to be found il the fact that
the Catholics Of Dublin and Cork and
Limerick and the other corporate towns
where Catholics were immensely IN the