The Irish standard., 1893-05-27
IRISH TORY AsCENDANCY.
The Nagisterial Bench in Ireland is Turned
Into Political Engine.

teresting speech in parliament showing
that though the population Of Ireland
stands in the proportion of three Catho-
lies to one Protestant the magistrates
there are four Protestants to one Catho
lie. In the course of his speech Mr.. Dill
Ion said:
An honorable member asked the ques-
tion-What has politics to do with the
appointment OF magistrates?-and /
think will answer that question and
answer it to the satisfaction of every
member of this House. / do not know
what politics has to do with the appoint
meut of magistrates in England; but
do know what it has to do with the ap-
pointment Of magistrates in Ireland If
you dare to sympathize in politics with
four ffths OF your people, that in Ireland
is almost an irsuperable bar, no matter
what qualifications you may possess. to
the bench. Hundreds of men, intelli-
gent men, well-conducted men, who are
IN every way qualified to act as magis-
trates, are compelled to submit to
the intolerable insult put upon them Of
seeing men who are not as intelligent,
not as we'll conducted, net IN any way as
fit to SIT upon the bench, placed over
their heads, simply because they are op-
posed IN politics to the mass Of our peo-
pie. I shall now be compelled to give to
the House few figures as regart the
condition Of the bench of magistrates in
Ireland.
The Catholic populati of Ireland is
over seventy-five per cent, that is to say
more than three out of every four of the
inhabitants are Catholics. In 1886 there
were 5,065 magistrates on the bench, and
of these 1929 were Catholics and nearly
1000 were Protestants. The population
stands in the proportion of three Catho-
lies to one Protestant, while Of the magis-
trates there are four Protestants to one
Catholic. When We go into the figures
the case comes out even stronger. In
Fermanagh county fifty tive per cent Of
the people are Catholics. There are
eighty six justices, and there are four
Catholic justices. In Monaghan seven
ty-three per cent of the population are
Catholics. There are eighty one JUS
| tices, and there ara thirteen Catholics.
In Leitrim ninety per cent Of the popu-
lation is Catholic. There are eighty JUS
tices of the peace, and of these eleven
are Catholics. In the Queens county
eighty seven per cent of the population
is Catholic. There are eighty-four JUS
! tices, and fifteen are Catholics. In the
great county of Tipperary, whore ninety
four per cent of the population is Catho-
lie, and where there are a number of
Catholics qualified ia every respect for
the bench, there are 2l7 justices, and
SO of them are Catholics. In the county
Wicklow nearly eighty per cent of the
people are Catholic. There are 116 JUS
tices, and are only Is Catholic Justices.
think it will be admitted that these
figures alone look suspicious, and are
sufficient ground for just complaint on
the part of the Irish people. But those
figures only give an inadequate idea of
the grievances under which our people
have suffered in this regard, because I
nave no hesitation in saying that the
Catholic magistrates are in a large de-
gree worse enemies of the people than
the Protestants, for the executive Gov
ernment of Ireland, or rather should
say the lord ieutenants when making
! appointments to the magistracy amongst
those who have the faith of the majority
of the people have selected mon who are
notoriously opposed in politics to the
great body of the Irish paople, and who
in many cases, I grieve to say, exhibit all
| the bitterness and animosity OF turn
coats and traitors. In the county of
Leitrim there are seventy-one justices,
! and out of the seventy-one there is one
Nationalist in county where the Tory
candidate was only able to poll fourteen
GER cent of the Parliamentary voters,
that is to say, eighty-six per cent of the
Parliamentary voters of Lei'rim have
one representative On the magisterial
T bench, and the minority have repre-
seutation of seventy out of seventy one.
1t is not to be wondered at that the 10y
alist minority in Ireland should insist
upon maintaining the present condition
of things. In Sligo there are seventy
eight justices. One out of the seventy.
eight is Home Ruler. In the county
of Mayo, division of which I represent,
and in which the Catholic population is,
I should fancy, considerably over ninety
per cent of the whole, there are ninety
five justices of the peace, and tive OF these
are Home Rulers; and in the county of
Galway there are 1876 Justices, and two
only are Nationalists or Home Rulers.
I think it will be admitted by every one
who has any sense of fairness that those
figures do constitute a grave and intol-
arahle grievance upon the people of Ire