The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-09-05
TOLERANCE OF IRISH CATHOLICS


1t might just as We'll be admitted by
the enemies of Catholicism that Ire.
land is Catholic and is bound to re-
main so. One of the arguments used
against the land purchase bill WAS that
ii would destroy the Irish landlords
who were the uphol,lrrS of the Prot
cstant religion in Ireland Ii that
were the only function that the land
lords performed there would be few
Irish Catholics who would regard it AIS
worth the effort to eliminate the land
lords. The Protestant religion in Ire
land is more of Il fiction than Il reality.
The overwhelming ma jority of the
Irish are Catholics and will so re-
main with OF without landlords. But
the enemies of Ireland urc working
the religious question and the phrase
priest ridden Ireland" is being used
for all that it is worth. Even the New
York sun. which is generally so ac-
curate and well informed in it's treat
mrnt of foreign questions. is misled
INTO using the argument. The Sun
says: There is no doubt that the Land
Purchase act will eliminate the land
lords who for centuries have been re.
gardcd as the British garrison in Ire
land. the sole reliable upholders of the
Protestant religion and of British rule.
Hereafter Ulster, as we'll as the three
other provinces, will he entirely under
the control of the peasant farmers and
the priests. The former tenants will
regard the transaction by which they
are to be transformed into peasant
proprietors as il British concession to
Irish Importantly. They will be per-
fectly right in attributing the assent
OF British taxpayers to IL loan of
SoOO. 0OO,0oO and gratuity of 5000, OOO,-
900, not to magnanimity or cOntrition
but to a wish to avert a revival of the
incendiary proceedings of the Land
League. and the necessity of resortiu"
continually to coercion We need not
say. moreover, that autonomy will
henceforth be clothed with peculiarly
seductive charms: for the small free
holders about to be created will be told
that Il Dublin legislature could relieve
them of the rental imposed upon them
by the Land Purchase act. The
priests, on their part. would be we'll
aware that they could obtain from a
Dublin legislature what they have new
er vet been able to secure from the
British parliament, to-wit, a great
teaching university for Irish Catholics
ana adequate government aid for their
primary and secondary education. In
deed. it is by no means imprObable
that Il Dublin legislature could be pre-
vailed upon to declare Catholicism the
state religion of Ireland. Nor will any
reasonable man deny that Catholicism
has better claim to be established in
lrrland--being the faith profcssed by
Il very large majority of the in
llabitnnts-tlan has Anylicanism to be
established in England Such an iuuO-
Walton. startling as it may seem, looks
less climrricAl to-day than the notion
that the present Land Purchase act
might be passed by the Unionist GOV
ernmcnt would have looked II frw
years ago" We are ready to conccde
that Ireland will he under the control
OF the peasant farmers. and this is ey
actly as it should be- because ireland
is Il country of farmers. We are also
ready to concede that the religious
matters in Ireland will be controlled
by the priests. and this. too. is as it
should be: because IriShmen are Cath
olics. The Sun is entirely right in
saying that Catholicism has IL better
right to be established in Ireland Than
has AngicaniSm i'm England. because
Ireland is far more Catholic than Eng
land is Anglican. But we have not
heard of any demand by Catholics
that Ireland should have IL state re-
liEion. If Irish Catholics should ask
for an endowment of Il Catholic uni
verSity such a demand certainly would
not be unfair. Trinity college in Dub
MI Ut.