The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-04-09

nd the most vicious environment, what
shall say Of it's natural development
and unimpeded exercise? If Irish faith
away from home be smothered to an
ember, it is more frequently blazing
torch.
What Ireland has done for the Amer.
lean church, wrote the late John Fran.
els Mcguire, every bishop, every priest
can tell. "Throughout the vast extent
of the Union there is scarcely church
an academy, a hospital Or refuge in
which the piety. the learning, the zeal
the self-sacritice of the Irish, of the
priest or professor, of the sisters of
every order or denomination are not
to be traced; there is scarcely an eccle.
sastical seminary for English-speakine
students in which the great majority
of those now preparing for the service
OF the sanctuary do hot belong, if not
by birth at least by blood, to that his.
toric land to which the grateful church
of past ages accorded the title of Isl.
and of Saints 1t cannot be denied
he adds, that hundreds of cergymen
iwho are laboring for the salvation of
souls would starve, and their efforts
for the cause of religion would be in
vain but for the generous aid they re-
ceive from the children of Erin" 1
need not go further than this parish of
st. Vincent's for an illustration. Out
OF their narrow means the Irish have
here erected stately church and at
tractive schools; and as the Irish priest
and the Irish layman invariably react
on each other, for every brick placed
in his church and schools Father Cos.
grove is contributing living brick to
the spiritual edifice of which the apos-
ties are the foundation and Christ Him.
self the corner stone. "Parthian and
'lede and Elamite," Chinese, Negro and
Indian, converted to the Catholic faith,
are fresh and polyglot examples of
what one son of st. Patrick is doing
and can do; one simple priest armed
with the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the spirit and the breastplate
of justice: and successful because of
the grace of ordination that has stayed
with him, and the soft charity he learnt
at an Irish mothers knee. What 1 have
said of the Irish in America is equally
true Of the Irish in Australia. The
church in Australia is an Irish church
i'll name, in sentiment, in productive
ness. The cardinal archbishop Of Sgd
ney was a bishop in Ireland, the arch
bishop of Melbourne was a dignitary of
Maynooth. AS Catholics we have done
our share and more than our share
for the church of God; our religious
position in foreign lands has been ev-
erywhere Il perfect parallel.
What is the position of Irishmen
abroad towards Ireland itself? There
is real difference, to my mind, be-
tween the American and the colonial
lrishman. In the United States an
lrishman generally becomes citizen
of republic which has long been sepa-
rated from England and merges him.
self into people to whom Ireland is
practically a foreign country. Having
sworn allegiance to new country he
is bound to be loyal to it, to recognize
its interests as paramount and to shed
his blood for it if necessary. And so
much so is this that it England were
at war with the United States an Irish
born gunner in the American navy
would be bound under orders to blow
into smithereens the Giants CauseWay
or the steeple where used to swing the
sweet Shandon bells. What an appal-
ling prospect for Corkonian Yankee!
1t is not so in Australia, in Canada, in
the colonies. The Irshman is still an
lrishman, a British subject if you will,
but still an Irishman. He has not
merged his nationality in another citi-
zenship and a new allegiance. This is
an interesting and perhaps a delicate
question with so many truly American
los and Macs before me; but more
interesting one still is the question of
Napier Tandy: How is poor old Ire
land. and how does she stand? have
always believed that the salvation of
Ireland must come from the men at
home and from efforts within her own
four shores. THE estranging ocean"
was no idle epithet Of the ancient poets.
Well. as regards population. Ireland
Is at the vanishing point of nation
hood. No other civilized country has
lost half its population. The popula-
ton of my native Tipperary was 100000
in O'Connell's time; today it is down
to 10000 The same appalling drop
is registered in the other counties. Ill
fares the land where men decay. We
learn from the Boer war that the ulti-
mate factor of country is not its
wealth, not its territory, but it's pop.
ulation. An anti-emigration society
has been started at the eleventh hour,
but the life-blood of ireland continues
to pour out of the open wound in Cork
harbor. The Irish in America are much
to blame in this respect by preparing
the passages Of so many emigrant rela-
tives. If this drain continues there
Will soon be no Ireland for home rule.
Apart from this fateful question, the
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