The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-12-19


And let this be noted: The terms were ru-
lnous to no class. The State made good bargain.
The landlords were secured III their second term in
come, and the tenants got the land upon that
enabled them to live and thrive. All the fears
Jured up in the past went at a touch of reality
The landlords ruined and flying from the country
the Protestant Episcopal church crippled and the
laborers beggared-the whole ediice has come top
ping about the of those who stood shivering
upon the brink of land reform. This great achieve
ment has had its effect upon the people OF Ulster
l. e., upon those who think of public affairs. The
whole theory of an Irish parliament giving way to
plumber has vanished. The Land Conference has
made an end of that once potent argument. And
having gone so far, and having achieved so much,
to stand still is impossible And there are things
happening in Ulster which newspapers fail to APP
precate; which those to whom united Ireland is
a dread specter desire to keep out of sight. AT
the present moment the education controversy bulks
largely in that province. If the issue were not
serious much that takes place III connection with
the question would be subject for laughter. In a
democratic country the voice of the people must
ultimately prevail. But on such subject higher
education / may be excused for paying more atten-
ton to the proceedings of the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian church than the resolutions of the
Grand Orange Lodge. For years the Assembly has
been absolutely hostile to the recognition of any
thing but mixed education and it has been relent-
lesslv opposed to anything in the direction of rec
ognition of the Catholic claims as regards higher
education. Some years ago Mr.. j. b. Dougherty,
now assistant secretary at Dublin Castle, made
speech in the Assembly which even today is regard
ed as landmark But. triumphant in debate, Mr..
Dougherty had not dozen of supporters all told.
good deal however, has happened since then, and
although Mr.. Dougherty will make no more speech
es on that any other subject III the Assembly, the
seed sown has fallen upon good ground. For what
happened last June? The Rev. J. B. Armour of
BalmOney assailed the non-possumus attitude of
no thn md HINT
y that if they did not wake up the question would
be dealt with and settled without their aid and only
lost his motion sanctoning a settlement by ma
jority of forty in house of over three hundred!
What has happened? | was in Belfast at the time,
and | found the young ministers were almost to a
man with Mr.. Armour. And the vote was bal
lot vote The division was great shock to Bel
fast. But it showed new growth-a new birth
And with the General Assembly within ace of
taking forward attitude upon question con-
troversia and difficult, / feel that | am justi-
fed in saying that the signs of progress are more
than apparent. Another matter | approach with
much greater difficulty. | mean the evolution of
the democratic Orangeman. | never belonged to
the Orange society-and | know nothing of its in
working. But its public history is open to
everybody. And the thing borne in upon ones
mind in connection with it is that this powerful
and organized body of men has been patronized and
used by the landlords for the maintenance of land
lordism. Whatever may have been its primary OBJ
jects, that is the base to which they have been
put. But the Ulster land movement has settled this
well other things. In Antrim there were
Orange districts which voted solidy with the Ma
tionalists for land reform. In Fernmagh-the home
of the imperial grand master-the same thing took
place. But the real revolt has taken place in Bel
fast. There is no need to enter into particulars.
What it all means is that the scales have fallen
from the eyes of some of the people-that the dem
-ocratic instincts of the Belfast artisan have
VOTED against the autocratc tuteage to which he
has been long subject. For, strange it may
appear, the Belfast artisan is not Tory. He is
radical with a, monomania about the Pope which
coors his whole life and bedevils his every action.
AT present they are as men escaping from dark
room into the sunlight They are dazed and hardly
know where they are. But with capable leaders and
with little more intercourse with their fellow
count1ymen, and with the artisans of England they
will see things as they really are. 70 up-the
situation places, in my opinion, very heavy re-
sponsibility upon all those who lead who infu-
ence in any way the public opinion Of the country
/ know, of course the aspirations of the Irish Ma
tionalist. Personally ! would do nothing to damp
the feelings which stir his blood. All over Ireland
today-aye, and in the cities of America. on the
sheepwalks of Australia and amid the solitudes of
South Africa-Irishmen are full of hope and brim-
ming over with enthusiasm. l know, too all that
is possible in politics. j have not fought in the
House of Commons these eighteen years for naught.
/ know politics, and | know politicians. There
no liked principles, Just as there eternal en-
mites in politics. Lord Salisbury was notedly hos
tile to Irish local government. He and his party
passed it. In my time | have seen Mr.. Chamber
lain pass from the secularism of the Birmingham
Education league to the sacerdotasm of Lord
Hugh Cecil-from the free trade of Lord Golden
and Gladstone to the protection of Henry Chaplin
and James Lowther / also know all that is pos
slbe IN the way of achieving Irish national rights
for compact body of Irish members, capably and
ably led and thinking of Ireland always | do not
view the question, however, from such standpoint.
am double-dyed JTnionist. | am for union of
the Irish people-as well a real union with the
people of Great Britain. The healing effect of the
land act will speedily be apparent, and we may
sonaby hope to see an end of the misery and strife
which the agrarian question has caused There are
signs that justice and efficiency in educational mat
tiers will speedily be secured. The condition of the
laborers is about to be considered and the allevi
alton of their hard lot attempted. 1t is impossible
that all this take place without great change
being speedily apparent. What ought Nationalist
to do. My answer is plain 1t ought to be the duty
of every Acknowledgements man belonging to the
majority of the Irish peope-to make it easy for
the minority of his fellow countrymen to do the
right thing by lreand-to make it hard for them
to do the wrong. Let them even if need be- suffer
fools gladly. Let them repress sectarian strife as
If 1t plague. Let them make the great recon