The Irish standard., 1911-02-11
ATROCITIES OF
THE PENAL CODE
Montesquieu Says it Was Conceived
by Devils and Written in
Human Gore.
Its Enactments Bear no Parallel
for Cruelty in the History
of Civilization.
1t Failed Woefully of its End, the
Annihilation of Catholicity
in Ireland.

sSSIS >'AA
tered into with him were null and
void. 1t imposed fine of G10 d
month on any Catholic family employ
ing a Catholic schoolmaster and i'm
posed a fine of e2 day on such
schoolmaster 1t imposed ;E100 fine
for sending a child to foreign Cath
olic school; and the child so sent was
disabled from ever inheriting, pur-
chasing, or enjoying lands or profits,
goods, debts, legacies, or sums OF
money. in England or Ireland.
1t punished the hearing of Mass
with Il fine of $50. Any Catholic
priest who returned from beyond seas,
was liable to be hanged and quar-
tered Any Protestant who became a
Catholic. or any Catholic who tried
10 induce Il Protestant to become a
Catholic, was liable 10 death. A
Catholic schoolmaster, public or priv
ate or even an assistant to a Prot
estant, was liable to be tried for fell
ony. Any two justices might call be-
fore them any Catholic, order him to
declare on oath, where and when he
heard Mass, who were present, and
the name and residence of any priest
Or sohoolmaster he knew of, and, on
refusal, these two men might con-
denim him without any further trial,
Judge or jury, to Il years imprison-
ment in felon's Jail.
Any Protestant suspecting any 9th
er Protestant or holding property in
trust for any Catholic, might file Il
hill against the suspected trustee, and
take the estate OF property from him.
Any Protestant seeing Catholic ten
ant at will on a farm which, in his
opinion. yielded one-third more than
the yearly rent. might enter on that
farm. and, by simply swearing to the
iact, enter the lands, dispossessing
the Catholic tenant. Any Protestant
seeing Catholic with a horse worth
more than G5 might take the horse
away from him upon rendering him
50 TO shut Off all chance OF JUS
ticc, at law, from those who pro
fessed the Catholic faith. none but
known Professionals were to be jury
men in ali trials between a Protest
ant and Catholic.
Horses and wagons of Catholics
I,,, III for no
use OF the militia. Merchants of Eng
land, whose ships might be taken by
privateers, while the nation was at
war with any Catholic power, might
levy their losses on Catholics in the
British Empire. Property of Pro
testant, whose heirs at law were Cath
Protestant. If a Protestant had an
estate in ireland, he was forbidden
to marry a Catholic. All marriages
between Professionals and Catholics
were annulled, though many children
might have been born from the mar
riage.
riage between a Catholic ana a Prot
estant, or between two Protestan,s.
was condemned to be hanged. A
Catholic father could not be guard
ian to or have the custody of his own
child if the child. however young,
pretended to be Protestant; but the
child was taken from it's own father
and put into charge of Protestant
II the wife of Catholic chose to turn
Protestant, it set aside the will
the husband, and enabled the wife to
distribute and appropriate his prop
erty to whatever purpose she pleased
A pension of $50 a year was awarded
to any Catholic priest who would al
jure his religion and become a Prot.
estant.
Edmund Burke, speaking of those
laws, says: "The most refined inge-
nuity of man could not contrive any
plan or machinery better calculated
to degrade humanity than this terrible
SOOCs anu NIOAICoNulCu, luC CtItUIoI-
ed French jurst, says: This horrid
code was conceived by devils, written
i'll human gore and registered in hell
This was the first installment Of the
Penal Code; but it was followed by
much worse.
If the elder son of Catholic with
landed property declared himself a
Protestant he became owner of all his
fathers land. No Catholic was per-
mitted to purchase land or even to
take lease of land for life (Which
was called freehold lease), or for
longer than thirty-one years, and Ii
the land descended to a Catholic as
heir to some former owner, or if the |
land was left to him by will, in Meth
er case could he accept it.
az mr. -, StIov no good an oct to dicor,,,