The San Francisco call., 1898-05-01

i ing had passed, during which. many ! people. would undoub btedl y; have. qled e: !: but for the efforts of f=:cfaritable out out
 slders iii E rag4aId fs .s!t a allt Ire f.Iafld-,:.: It then prqpased ito: .ll1slItule l@refief. works; proYid ed a. fourth Of the I%Gost Was.%b01,lfe by: the localities cons l:cerned. %4Ti4is was n1eIe moekery, Tor 1.-the. people: cannot afford 10 tax lfasaEIl- : selves" to :3aIlN. extent: for pupl1e W9Ths W9Thi in: the %distfesSed. districts and. apcordzz {=ingly in, og@ly@ a few places has the Qf- l. fer been accepted: :B'iIla al seed pc l 1atoes have been. supplied, but. except i as to about 600 :tons,, which have" been distribute free, at fufnous prices; an ana to. be paid for by a. special .rat te: TT he
 pQtato oes, ne: dotpt .HNlll. Hta "a hslL: ail . the. same e. for: starving people: cannot F4chDOSe; but by and by. when the 2recf= i*oTlirg.coTnes, it will" be found that the local rates *QHilF. not.<bear= the. burden. I=lThe truth iss= that the action: or the i. Government in the, matter has. been | both shabby and tardY.=: The: crisis to be met, has; been from: the commence !. .Inerit% of quite mama geabFe proportions, rand if a moderate free grantzef money I had been made last January out'|of The imperial exchequery Whic cff:. :happeItS to | be posi- itiVely UNerfoWiIfg thls:yeal:; the whole distress. would. now De: al illIfR EsQf the" past and the. disgra ce.. @0f% peg "girig* for aims >WouId: have been. a Volded. Tine: worst of the: whole. story is that k 1t is feared thati..it Is now too late to .take efficient steps for securing a Boqd potato crop. this. year. :: 1T: this he. St, A the olltlook is simply fearful ill: the. dis tressed zone . - -: A few. days: a go: it vas. announced that a daughter of Mr.::@W ilfiarn: John- Stotl, member of: Parl lament: for one or the districts, of Belfast had been .re7 ceiIsed into the: Catholic church at her
 Ty..L1.5 t.sSsr i flSa.F fJr1tN
 of Dow11:# It: is: necessary. to know. sonfetfing of the *career of Mr. ohm. stori to understand the feeling which this piece of: news has aroused. :. = | or. more than "a: qlGarter: of: a: century Johnston sof BaIly .KfIbeg" has been the great Protestant and Orange champion. of Ireland. =. His sbete :noir.is the Pope his idol; King. William III; his watch word, tflesOrange. cry: NO surrender.f' Nor. has. he failed to. give proof of his. sincerity. :. E. s- :. : ;- >.. : A good many years: ago he was app: pointed to tffe@office of Fishery: Inspec-. tor at a salary. of { 800 a year. At that time. party. .processipns were forbidden: by law fin Ireland, and the. Government of the day d determined prevent them especially in. Ulster. MT: J Johnston, though in the: GoVernne mt service, would not consent to abandon .particf7. patton in Orange demonstrat tipns.. Tfe result was that: he was not only dis. missed from office but prosecuted for violating the :partXaprocesstons act. and sent to jail for several mont hs... ;.1t~ Is. needless to. say that|ft is, not. every one: nowadays who sacrifices $500 a 3Fesars for his polfttcal opinions : If he: lost. however,, he. gained in polit5. ical Influence among the Orangemen OF: Ulster of: whom. he has been. as one Of the mem berS. for :BeffaSttthe represent alive par excellence for the.last twenty
 
 must be his horror at his daughter BOW becoming a: Catholic, for: he is still an foe of z. Rome" : Personal intercourse with and:.~ kno nowledge: of T ssBalIy Kflbey;', however, give. quite a different. idea of the man than that af-: forded@ by merely reading his bellfcose. and uncornproInising words in support of the Orange cause: Instead of a per son of ferocfous derneanor: and. fiery appearance, his colleagues in Parlla- Inent know him as . a. smaflfsh man with a long beard: the mildest man ners; and a: Kindly heart: He is a most regular attendant in the. House: of : Commons, which he almost :worships as the great embodiment of the. Eng fish nation. Every day of the SesSlos,
 he keeps his seat" from the time sof
 prayers :(ilr: which he always audibfy
 joins. to the end of the: sitting. He
 rarely talks, exceDt"When he can: get in a"Word for Protes tantiSm and Orange
 ism, but truth eompels me to say that
 it: would be better for himself if he
 talked less, because now he rarely ex-
 cites anything but the laughter of an sunbelieVing and unsympathetic: audi
 enee Altogether, he is a curious sur
 ViVal; but assuredly the most curious
 thing of all is that his family should
 be the one to furnish the latest recruit
 to the religion which he so profoundly
 dislikes.
 We all here continue intensely inter
 ested in the crisis that has arisen be-
 tween the United States and Spain.
 All the principal Irish papers publish
 every day a very ample supply of ca
 bles from Washington and Madrid, be-
 sides abundant comment. It is scarcely
 necessary to say that the Nationalist
 Journals all but universally take em- phatically the side of America. On the other hand, the Unionist or Pro- Eng fish journals strike no very definite note. These latter always follow Eng lands lead, and England has not yet shown her hand. and hence their inde- cision; the former want no lead, being always on the side of America, right or wrong, and in favor of every country struggling to be free. As matters look this day, war seems hardly capable of being avoided. and so we are on tenter- hooks just as I write. 1t Is to be hoped that the crisis will not last long, and that. if war should unfortunately en- sue 1t, too, will be of short duration. As to how it will end of course no one has any doubt. Spain cannot be match for the great republic.