The Irish standard., 1906-07-21
OPPOSED BY PRELATES.

OPPOSED BY PRELATES.
BrreI Educational Bill RoundIy Con-
demned by Irish Bishops.
The Church in Ireland continues to
stand nobly by the Church in England
in her battle against the Birrell Educa-
ti"n Bill. Speaking at the annual
meeting of the Maynooth Union. last
week, His IIminence Cardinal Logue,
who presided in the course of his
opening address said there was one
thing at least that he was convinced
of, and that was that the clergy of the
country had more troublesome times
before them than had been experienced
in the past. They saw that their
neighhors on the other side of the
channel. their poor Irish Catholics i'm
England. who formed the majority of
the Catholic people there, and the Eng
liSh Catholics. We're struggling for the
preservation of the Faith of their
children. He trusted it might be long
before that struggle became necessary
for them in Ireland. bur come it might
and if it should happen To come there
would not be Il more eifectual Way of
meeting it than Ia have the clergy "i
Ireland, With the Bishops ut their head
and the faithful people IL, their back,
moving as one man to oppose any
thing that would Interfere with or
weaken the grand Inheritance of the
by their forciatherS.
The Rt. FEY. DR.. O'Dwyer. Bishop oi
nf prizes at the Laurel Hill Convent
Schools. Limerick. the same day. said
it was an open secret that /, sl,rm"
was being concoctcd for the introduce
lion int" Ireland of secular schools
under the control of local committees
He entirely objected to anything of
ii would be of Importance to stop this
lNnd of thing ut once. Let the p"i~
l.lry schools dn their work and the
Department of Technical, Education do
! theirs, but it would only end i'm coli
fusion If that department got control
nf the schools of the country. Refer
ring To the Education Bill, he said that
nothing had impressed him more lately
than the contcmptuuuS disregard of
this government for Irish opinion. and
IT MIR. Long or Mr. Wyndham had left
II gr;tmaphonc in Dublin castle it could
not grind out more tiippant and empty
answtrs than Mr. Bryce gave on every
possible subject. All over Irish admin :
istratiun it was the same: the govern
ment did just what they liked; the
thought they could ride rough shod
over opinions in the three Kingdoms
Proceeding. the Bishop said lit is /,
great comfort to see in schools such
as this the ripe fruit of full Catholic
education. and to recognize the inn
mcnse debt of gratitude which this city
these schools, as our whole country
does to the teaching Orders which are
doing such invaluable work. But it is
n" comfort to contemplate the position
of their sisters and of the whole syS.
ten of Catholic education in England
, For the time being we in Ireland stan,
secure upon the shore. but they ar,
tossing on the waves. and one shrink.
with pain from thinking what may b.
their fate, and with them of the grea
interests of our Church which hav,
grown up in England within the las
hundred years. What is to become .
the nuns IN England. who are tn
mainstay of Catholic education: Tha
is question to which l should lik
to hear Il satisfactory answer Ar
they to be left to the tender mercie
of the broad minded. tolerant, an,
sympathetic Local Authorities of Eng
land and Wales? Yet. assuredly. the
must have been included in the as
surances with which 7. P. O'Conno
gave to the Catholics of England thu,
their schools would be protected. vii
it be open to these authorities to sa
in the case of some great school whic
! a community of nuns have built ul
t and carried on with conspicuous sue
> cess for years, We will appoint Cath
olic teachers as vacancies occur, bu
Q we will not appoint nuns?" If so, til
situation would be very serious. With
r in Il few days we shall know their fat
l and the fate of all Catholic education
5 as far as this bill is concerned.
This education bill has nothing t
do with education. 1t is a Noncom
formiSt Establishment Bill. and tn
, more l think of it, the more convince,
am that it ought never become law