Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-01-21

that would gather up into itself all that
was best and greatest in the Irish mind
at home and abroad. He often thought
they we're not far from the realization of
that idea Of university for the whole
Irish Catholic people. Somehow or
other the idea had taken hold on the
public mind, and attained to position
in the practical thoughts of the people
never attained before. He could see on
many sides an accession of strength
from people that stood aloof from Cath
olics. Even that very day they might
have read in a Dublin paper an account
of the proceedings at some Presbyterian
college where lecture was given by Mr..
T. W. Russell, M. p, a gentleman from
whom most of them differed very strongly
on political questions, but to whom the
Irish Catholics owed a deep debt of
gratitude on this question of university
education that it would be discreditable
to them not to pay openly. Mr.. Russell
risked his popularity with the people on
whom he defends for his public position
for the sake of vindicating the rights of
Catholics, or rather, what was higher
still with him and more honorable to
him, vindicating his own judgment as
public man of what were Catholic rights
in this matter. 1t was greatly to Mr..
Russell's honor that he spok. out OH this
1uacffa,, 1D,,rr hofN~a ~ ,1o II
justice for Catholic Irishmen. An emil
nent clergyman of the Presbyterian
church, speaking after Mr.. Russell, also
admitted the justice of the Catholic
claim, and that it must succeed. Mem
bers of that very important religious
body in this country were beginning to
recognize the inevitable, and had begun
to see that the right and proper course
for them was to arrange themselves on
the side of justice to their Catholic fellow
countrymen. Speaking as a Catholic
Bishop, he welcomed such all expression
of opinion from a Protestant clergyman
with very great delight and with very
great satisfaction, and he thanked him
publicly for it. Nothing would give him
greater happiness than this. The Cath
ole University when it came should be
obtained, not by triumph of one set of
Irishmen over another, not after an
angry contest in which creed would be
set against creed, but with the universal
consent of all Irishmen. They wanted
nothing more than their neighbors. The
day was passed when they would submit
to inferiority. AS he had said, there
were very fair signs around them that
their Protestant fellow-countrymen were
coming to see the reasonableness of the
Catholic claim. Recognition of this
claim should come from the Government
with their open assent. 1t should not be
wruiiE from them, hat tlaeY should admit
the sbsol4l< Justice 81 rs being Granted.
lsndt- l11e| ssl1 ''.|.I +. i. :>.1
was tiie point ~ wished b make Some
persons said that the matter of university
education was political question, and
should be kept out of those matters
from which politics should be excluded.
He did not admit it was a question of
politics whatsoever. Take the question
of home rule. One man had as good a
right to his opinion as another on that
question. One man thinks home rule
was good for Ireland; another thought it
was not. If they were both honest men
one had as good right as the other to
his opinion. They both could not be
right, but both could be honest in their
belief. But if anyone said to his lord
ship that a Protestant has a right to a
university which satisfies his conscience
for his son, and that Presbyterian has
a right to a college which satisfies his
conscience for his son, but that an Irish
Catholic has not right to get a univers-
ity to satisfy his conscience for his son,
he would say 10 man had a right to state
such. Therefore he would say that it
was not question of politics. 1t was
question of the common rights of citi-
zenship, question between man and
man, question of that full emancipation
of Irish Catholics which would never be
given until they had equal means of edu-
cation.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS