THE IRISH UNIVERSITY BILL AND LORD FITZMAURICE'S AMENDMENT.
IV Englishmen could ever be unprejudiced in a matter which concerns the Roman Catholic Church, the Irish Univer- sity difficulty might very soon be settled. Unhappily, this seems an almost impossible event. Englishmen are a little wiser than they were, when the whole country went into a passion about the Papal aggression, but their wisdom seems very much to depend on their being lot alone. In their relations with Rome, they resemble a mastiff who has learned to tolerate a stranger. If he is left undisturbed, he is content to look sulkily out of his kennel, without, at most, going farther than an occasional growl. But if accident or design bring the two in contact, the mastiff is as unreasonable as ever. Perhaps this is too much to say of the attitude of Eng- lish constituencies towards the Irish University question, until, at all events, it has been put to them in a more definite shape than has yet been done. But it is evidently not too much to say of the opinion which the Government have formed of that attitude. Ministers who are shrewdly suspected of having meant to follow up the Intermediate Education Act by a University Education Bill drawn on the same lines would not have protested with so much vehemence that the principle which they adopted in one case is abhorrent to them in another, unless they were convinced that the reputation of coquetting with Rome would be exceedingly injurious to them at a general election. Even the proved Protestantism of Lord Cairns seems not to be regarded as a sufficient shield against
this terrible charge. Perhaps, indeed, Lord Cairns is himself alarmed at the prospect of being set down as a Jesuit. Enthusiastic Orangemen are so much given to believe in extraordinary exhibitions of Satanic subtlety, that it is not inconceivable that they might come to regard Lord Cairns in this new and unpleasant light. And yet, if the question were laid before the country with the fellness and persistency which are required to bring things home to Englishmen when they have an antecedent dislike to hearing about them, we can hardly believe that their prejudices would remain unshaken. The reasonableness of the Irish de, mand, in its essentials, is so complete, that we feel almost sure that it would gradually be admitted. But before the question can be laid before the country with this fullness and persistency, it must be taken up by the leaders of one or the other political party. We do not say that victory would be ttssured, the moment that it was so taken up. Men who give themselves to the redress of an injustice must be content to make the necessary sacrifices. But we do say that if the leaders of either political party were to deal with this question in a spirit similar to that in which the Peelites dealt with the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, they would, in the end, have their reward. They would awaken the good-sense and love of fair-dealing which are seldom more than dormant amongst Englishmen, and with those qualities enlisted on their side, they would be sure to win. At present, neither side seems willing to make the necessary sacrifices. The leaders of both parties are, we feel sure, perfectly willing to give the Irish Catholics all that they can fairly ask. But their followers still hold back, and on neither side is there much disposition on the part of the leaders to run the risk of going forward without them. The Conservative leaders are apparently trying to do by stealth what they are afraid to do openly. The Liberal leaders—notably, Mr. Lowe, Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Forster—are bolder; but Mr. Gladstone at least did not give that prompt and hearty support to the O'Conor Don's Bill which might have secured for it a chance of passing. This particular difficulty will not be got out of the way, until some one is willing to become unpopular for its sake. The last contribution to the discussion that promises to be of much importance is the amendment of which Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice has given notice. He proposes to grant a charter to St. Patrick's College—in other words, to the existing Catholic University in Dublin—and to empower the Crown to appoint and pay Professors in that College in the several faculties of Arts, Laws, and Physics, no such pay- ment to be made otherwise than to the professors themselves, or to exceed the sums paid to similar professors " in the other Queen's Colleges." The effect of this amendment would be to make the existing Catholic University a College of the Queen's University, with freedom to make its own arrangements for teaching, on condition that certain professors in the secular faculties shall be appointed and paid by the State. It is easy to foresee difficulties in connection with this plan. For example, the Bishops might object that it says nothing about the religion to which the professors appointed by the Crown are to belong. The answer to this seems very simple. The object of appointing such professors at all is to conciliate the Irish Roman Catholics ; and to attempt to force a Protestant professor upon a Catholic College would be a simple declaration of war. A Government which was minded to do this would find it easier to attain its object by repeal- ing the Act, and neither appointing nor paying professors, for the future. An objection which might be more difficult to get over would be the possibility that the Government would appoint Catholic professors, but Catholic professors of the wrong sort,—professors, for example, suspected of leanings in the direction of Old Catholicism, or of Rationalism, or of any other of the enemies which the Church occasion- ally discovers that it has unconsciously nurtured in its bosom. This is so far possible, that the aim of the Government in choosing the professors might not always be identical with the wish of the Episcopate. The Government, supposing it to do its duty, would, first of all, wish to choose the most eminent Catholic, the Catholic best fitted to fill the particular Chair, and whose appoint- ment would consequently do it most credit. Next to this, it would desire to make an appointment which
would satisfy Catholic feeling in Ireland. It is un- doubtedly possible that appointments which would fulfil both these conditions might not be the appointments most grateful to the Bishops. But, after all, this is only the same thing as saying that in certain circumstances the Irish Catholic Bishops may not be in harmony with Irish Catholics generally. If that comes to pass, the Bishops will undoubtedly have to put up with greater inconveniences than the appointment of a professor in St. Patrick's College who is not a persona grata to them. Or again, the Bishops may say that it is a matter of con- science with them to retain the appointment of professors in their own hands. If this argument is put forward, it will be because the proposal is distasteful to them on other grounds. The most that they could require by way of check upon the State, when it is dealing with its own money, would be a right of veto upon reasons assigned and held valid by the majority, if not by the whole, of the Episcopate. It would not be difficult, we fancy, to find cases in which the Catholic Church has accepted less than this from the State, under circumstances less inde- pendently favourable to her than those which exist in Ireland.
As regards the inherent merits of Lord Edmond Fitz- maurice's amendment, we have no very strong opinion. The main object to be kept in view in dealing with this question is how it can be most easily solved ; and if it should prove that Irish Catholics would rather have this plan than any modification of the Government plan, and that Parliament is more ready to meet their wishes in this direction than in the direction of results-fees, we are perfectly willing to see it adopted. Provided that the higher education in Ireland is improved, and that the just cause which Irishmen have for resentment at the educational disabilities which we insist on maintaining, is taken away, we have very little preference as to the precise shape which legislation may take.
Previous page
