The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-24
Br TrMorHY ;. oCoNNoR.

Dublin. Jan. 23.-Widespread Inter- est Is being displayed in Ireland in the controversy which has arisen over the use of Erse in the new University. The Gaelic League. which Is mainly respon- sible for the agitation. demands that Irish shall be made q compulsory sub- ject. and that sufficient Knowledge of that language shall be essential for matricuiation. Opponents of this clslm point out the result of conceding 1t would be that those Catholics who did not possess . knowledge of the an- cient tongue would be unable to avail themselves of the educational advan- tages provided by the new institution. What is apparently aimed, at Is ulti- mately to place Irish at least on an equality with English as a vehicle of communication among the people--to establish Erse in It's "rightful posi- tion," and to check what pr. o'Dwyer, Bishop of Limerick, has described as ''the dry rot of Angllcization which is eating the marrow and pith out of our countrymen and leaving us a nation of moral weddings without energy enough for either heroic virtue or blatant sin. with merely the moral ln- ertia which leads to respectable medi- ocrity."
 The obvious inference to be drawn from this illuminating sentence is that hostility to England and English a Celtic revival, lies behind the move ment. The scope of the demand as re. gards the University is sufficientiy in- dicated in a resolution, typical of oth- CTS passed elsewhere, adopted the oth- CT day by the Mayo County Committee of the Gaelic League. This sets forth that. as q step towards bilinguallsth, the Irish language, both oral and writ ten, should be made an essential sub ject for nnatriculation; that In each col- lege of the new universities there should be chairs of (a) old and Middle Irish, (b) Modern Irish. Co Irish His- tory and Archaeology, td) Irish Lit- erature; and that definite date should be fixed on and after which .any new professors appointed must be capable of imparting instruction through Irish.
 Says League is Tnfolerate.
 It remains to be seen what the out- come of the agitation will be, but it seems hardly likely that it can succeed against the mass of practical opinion which desires to see the new Univer- sity utilized. not as q means of pro- noting the ends of the Gaelic League, but for the benefit of Ireland generally. The case has been very well put by Father T. J. Carroll at Manchester. Writing to The Freeman's Journal, Fa- ther Carroll protests against the ac- points out that the success of their demand would mean the denial of q university education to many young Catholics. Numbers of them don't see eye-to-eye with the Gaelic League Numbers don't want to learn Irish. have heard the rector of leading catholic secondary school in Ireland saying that numbers of parents of the boys at his school wrote to say their children were not to learn Irish. Now those are to be coerced to do so. Their religion is to be used as a handle"
 As to the progress of the revival, Father Carroll says: 'No doubt Irish Is taught in number of schools, pri- mary and secondary. But how long would 1t be taught in many of these schools if the fees were withdrawn? We'll. I know many parts of Ireland where one never hears a word of Irish. In some districts, generally the towns, you may have a night class during the winter months. But wheth- CT Irish or the dances and other amuse- ments, which form part of the Irish program. is the principal object I am gravely doubtful. Scarcely anyonA at present matriculating takes up Irish, as the returns show. And now the NsNSAAS AFco8u anus tO COAthT t0G new university. and force the young people to learn Irish. The new university is not to be for the object for which 1t was founded-to enable youang Irish men, without fear of their religion suf- fering,, to get on In the various learned professions. No; all 1t has to be Is a feeder for the Gaelic League"
 The Standing CammIttee.
 It is officially announced that the atQndinO Rnnlmfffaa nR ha Trfo League has decided to summon a na- tional convention in the DublIc Man sion house on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. wand 10. The announcement was quite unexpected, and the suddenness of the committees decision has pro-, voked much political gossip. MT. Bir- relfs land bill will be the principal O'Brien and his friends have been call ing for such gathering, and 1t seems likely that Mr. Redmond has come to the conclusion that a refusal to meet their wishes would be accepted as a sign of weakness. Cautiously enough, John McInerney of Clare, one of will Ham oBrien's chief supporters. re. gently asked in The Irish Independent why convention had not been sum- moned. He answered the question by saying that Mir. Redmond and MT. Dil- Ion know that "the farmers of Munster would rise up and march to Dublin en masse rather than allow $ even to be entertained 6 bill which would rob them of the fruits of forty years of agrarian struggle" 1t now seemh that MT. Redmond and Mir Dillon have decided that 1t is necessary to face this risk.
 In connection of the call for a con- vention. The Freeman's Journal says: "A long established precedent haS hean followed. The occasion abundantly warrants the taking of stock by an, assembly representative of the nation. empowered, by q common interestA to review what has been done in the con- duet of the National movement, and to advise on future policy. No stress need be laid upon the importance of the conventions functions in the latter respect. Within week after the meeting the land bill is to be re-intro- duced. the Government, as Mir, Red mond has stated. being pledged to bring 1t forward on the very first night of the next session, which is to open on February 16. Therefore. a duty of immediate. as well as momehtous, in- terest, will devoive upon the conYen- tion. That the task will be ably and consofentiously performed is guaran- teed by the record of similar gather ings. freely constituted, fully repre- sentative of every national force in the country. and ensuring tolerant and sympathetic hearing for any view hon. estly inspired by patriotism. and no matter how divergent from the wisdom of the majority. In some quarters dis appointment may be created by the an- nouncement that convention is to be held, but the point deserves little at- -tention, seeing that 1t implies the who'll