A ROMAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY FOR IRELAND.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THR "SPECTATOR."] Snt,—In your article on the above subject in the Spectator of December 3rd, you state that "the Roman Catholic Church
in Ireland, at any rate in its higher branches, and as a body, only wants a reasonable excuse for abandoning Home-rule and the extreme Nationalist demands." This is not the view of Unionists residing in Ireland, who have the best and con- stant opportunities of appreciating the position assumed and maintained by their Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen. In a speech delivered by his Eminence Cardinal Logue at a Congress on the Education question, held at Letterkenny on November 25th, referring to the grievances under which he alleged Roman Catholics suffer under existing University arrangements, he is reported to have said:-
" The present Chief Secretary is convinced of the necessity of remedying this evil, the Lord-Lieutenant is convinced of it, the Leader of the House of Commons is convinced of it, and a great number of leading statesmen in England are convinced cf it ; but they say, If we give the Catholics of Ireland University edu- cation, we lose fifty Parliamentary seats in England, and we irritate our friends in the North of Ireland. What is Ireland going to give us in return for them ? We must answer, • We will give them nothing in return,' because, important as Uni versity education is. there is something more important still, and that is the general interests of the country. And we will make no bargain either for University education or for any other purpose with any Government in England that would sacri- fice the general interests of the country."
Continuing to discuss the subject, and the attitude of the
different political parties in England towards it, and what may be expected from each, and also the alleged determination of Government to exclude Catholics from every position of trust, '
his Eminence again differs from your proposition as quoted at the beginning of this letter by saying : " I believe before these things are cured, there must be a radical remedy applied, and I believe that radical remedy is what we are struggling for for a number of years, Home-rule for Ireland." After urging an appeal to the public opinion of the world in support of.the position taken up in his speech, his Eminence concluded by saying he was not a politician, but speaking from common- sense he believed that the happiest and most fortunate day for England would be the day on which the Royal Assent was given to a sweeping measure of Home-rule for Ireland. I ask you, Mr. Editor, to put these recent utterances of the very highest dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland side by side with the sentiments in your article of December 3rd, and to weigh well the bearing of these utterances on the subject which you advocate so strongly. From an intimate acquaintance with Unionist opinion in Ireland on this question, I am prepared to say that any concession to the demands of the Irish Roman Catholic Hierarchy for an exclusively Roman Catholic University will be regarded by Irish Unionists as a betrayal, as unjust and impolitic, and will be resented accordingly.—I am, Sir, &c.,
A COUNTY DONEGAL UNIONIST LAYMAN.
[Cardinal Logue has no monopoly of Roman Catholic feeling in Ireland. If the Roman Catholics get their Univer-
sity, Home-rule, bargain or no bargain, will cease to interest a very large number of them.—ED. Spectator.]
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