A Parliamentary return has been published this week show- ing
the number of Irish Magistrates made by Mr. Morley during his two years and a half of office. It appears that he made 750 Magistrates. Of these 276 were farmers. The religious classification shows that 552 of the new Magis_ trates were Roman Catholics and 196 Protestants, while one was of "other denominations," and one apparently held. no religious views,—perhaps he was a Hibernian Comtist, if such things may be. A considerable amount of ill- timed fun has been made out of the humble character of many of the Morley Magistrates, but for ourselves we are, on the whole, inclined to find a good deal of satis- faction in Mr. Morley's action. It is a great thing to enlist Nationalist Irishmen in the work of government under the Union, and to secure 750 of these workers it is worth while to overlook certain eccentricities of conduct. As an example of the advantages that acrue from the making of the new Magistrates we may mention a recent case in which a. Bench of Morley Magistrates took strong action against a set. of intimidators,—much to the disgust of the Nationalist Press. The sense of responsibility and the possession of a dignified office had made them supporters of the law instead of its defamers.
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