The Irish standard., 1914-04-18

Of Catholics In that county as In
Cork. The covenanters are. there
fore. in q hopeless minority, but
there are no convenanters in Ulster
who are more vehement.
Nationalists Have Majority.
In Tyrone and Fermanagh the
creeds are much more alike in num-
bers. But the nationalists have a
majority. and, Of course. it is alb
surd to propose that. where a union
list majority can get exclusion by a
right to bring about inclusion by a
vote of a majority.
Similarly it is but right, If one ad-
mt the, grievance Of a unionist mi
norty in the COUNTIES where they are
outnumbered, to admit also the
grievance of the Catholic i2ority in
those counties where t, u, out
numbered by the unions, H..
Sometimes the Nationalist 8 T
ity IL almost as big as the unit &
majority. In Armagh. for instance.
which is one Of the four counties that
are admittedly unionist, the Catho-
lies are 4e per cent Of the popula-
ton.
Oppressed for Generations.
The Catholics, If anything. are
more fiercely nationalist than any
of their brethren in the south. They
have known oppression in violent
form for generations. and naturally
it is to them bitter grief that they
are gonig to be excluded from the
liberties which aret about to be ex-
tended to the result Of their brethren
in the other parts Of Ireland.
They have consented to temporary
exclusion because they think it good
for the rest Of Ireland to get its
freedom. but they have consented
simply because it is temporary. They
would desert any political leader or
any political party that consented to
this exclusion being permanent.
Only Doctor in Village.
return for moment to the vii
lage Of Cushendal, with which I
started. There was among the in
habitants q bright young fellow who
was the doctor Of the place. He was
the only doctor, and therefore. when
there was an illness he had to be
caleld in by Protestant as we'll as by
Catholic.
The doctor seemed to me as good
natured a man as you could meet.
pleasant spoken, well educated, and
sociable; yet he had never enjoyed
any social intercourse in the Protest.
ant houses he had visited. This is an
indication of the gulf which still d.
vides the two creeds.
To me it was all strange and for
eign. In England, of course, we
know nothing Of these religious diff
ferences in social life, and in my
youth in Ireland these divisions
palyed smaller part in the south
than in the north.
Amiable in Business.
On the other hand, business rela-
tions bring Protestant and Catholic
closely together in the north, and
there religious difference plays no
part.
My friend, John Fitzgibbon, who
has a drapery in Castlereagh. small
town in Connaught, told me that he
went up to Belfast on the day of Win
ston Churchill's meeting; bought
plenty of goods from the cloth and
other merchants. and was received
quite as kindly as at any other time.
Other memb ers of the Irish party
who have businesses in the south
and west, notably John Dillon, also
do large trade with Belfast. and
their relations of course are perfect
ly friendly. Belfast Catholics also
tell me that, though the Catholic is
excluded from public employment. he
does not find his religion seriously
interiors with his businss.
Protestant Customer Returns.
One of Mr.. Devlin's chief and
most outspoken supporters has far
more Protestants than Catholics
among his customers. Now and then.
in times Of great excitement, some Of
these customers desert him. but as
his goods are better than those of
any other man in the trade, the lady
of the house asserts herself, and the
Catholic tradesman once more gets
his Protestant customer.
OF course. it is we'll known to
everybody that great deal of the
capital which makes business hum in
Belfast comes from the hard-fisted
and thrifty Catholic peasants of the
south.
I have never heard Of any Protest.
ant in Belfast foolish enough to re-
fuse capital because Of the church
Of Rome.
Then again one is reminded that
in portions of Belfast and in such
orange towns as Portadown and Lur-