Notes to the Irish in America

John Francis Maguire
1868
NOTES

(1) The Hon. Daniel Brennan.

(2) One of the most eminent and respected brewing firms in Ireland.

(3) Two Lectures on Newfoundland, delivered at St. Bonaventure's College, January 25 and February 1, 1860, by the Right Rev. Dr. Mullock.

(4) A prominent and much respected citizen of New York, born of Irish parents, eminent for ability and humanity, assured me he never could forget the appearance of a miserable old Irish woman who, as the snow lay on the ground, and a bitter wind swept through the streets, was begging one Sunday morning in Broadway. Her hair was almost white, her look that of starvation, and the clothing, if such it could be called, as scanty as the barest decency might permit. Shivering and hungry, she held out her lean hands in mute petition to well-clad passers-by—her air and attitude as much a prayer for compassion in God's name, as if her tongue had expressed it in words. This half-naked, starving, shivering creature was one of a ship-load of human beings who had been 'packed off to America' by an absentee nobleman enjoying a wide reputation for benevolence! She was but a type of the thousands whom a similar lofty humanity had consigned to the fever-ship and the fever-shed, or flung, naked and destitute, on the streets of New York, objects of pity or of terror to its citizens, and of scandal to the civilised world.

(5) Now two dollars and a half.

(6) The following, from the statement of Mr. Vere Foster, to which reference has already been made, represents the state of things existing in 1850, and while exhibiting the terrible injury inflicted on the inexperienced and defenceless emigrant, affords a conclusive testimony in favour of an official landing-place, where passengers arriving at New York could be protected from those who regarded them as their lawful prey: —

'3rd December.— A few of the passengers were taken ashore to the hospital at Staten Island, and we arrived alongside the quay at New York this afternoon. The 900 passengers dispersed as usual among the various fleecing houses, to be partially or entirely disabled for pursuing their travels into the interior in search of employment.'

(7) It will be seen from the follow ing passage from the Report of 1866—published in 1867—that steamers are fast driving emigrant sailing ships from the sea. Considering the shortness of the voyage, and the generally excellent nature of the accommodation in well-appointed steamers, such as are at present employed in the passenger trade, this is a revolution not to be regretted:—

'By comparison with former years it is shown that the number of steamers landing passengers at Castle Garden has increased from 22, bringing 5,111 passengers, in 1856, to 109, bringing 34,247 passengers, in 1860; to 95, bringing 21,110 passengers, in 1861; to 100, bringing 25,843 passengers, in 1862; to 170, bringing 63,981 passengers, in 1863; to 203, bringing 81,794 passengers, in 1864; to 220, bringing 116,579 passengers, in 1865; and to 341 steamers, bringing 160,653 passengers, in 1866.'

(8) A considerable sum, amounting to 107,000 dollars, was received in 1866, through various channels, in anticipation of the arrival of intending emigrants, and applied to their forwarding. The amount received at the Landing Depót was 57,359 dollars; at the office of the Irish Emigrant Society, 21,226 dollars; at the office of the German Society, 25,613l.; besides other sums, amounting to about 4,000 dollars.

(9) The Commissioners, in a memorial addressed to the Senate of the United States, in reference to a Bill before Congress, dated June 6, 1866, refer to causes of complaint brought before them through one of their officers. They say that, although they have recently discovered some irregularities in connection with railroad fares, of which they have reason to complain, they are assured and believe that all causes of complaint had been promptly removed. The Commissioners are right to compel those who avail themselves of the privilege of sale under their roof to act in the most loyal fairness to their clients; but, be the 'irregularities' what they may, they are but trifling indeed when contrasted with the abominable frauds—the flagitious robberies at both sides of the Atlantic—practised only a few years since, and practised with almost entire impunity.

(10) Dr. John Dwyer, a true-hearted and kindly Irishman, who was one of the military surgeons attached to Corcoran's Irish Legion.

(11) Miss Nightingale addressed the following letter to the General Agent:—

'32, South Street, Park Lane, London, w.;
April 22, '65.

'SIR,—I have extreme pleasure in acknowledging your kind note of February 22, and some copies of an account of your proceedings at the laying of the stone of your new Emigrant Hospital.

'It will be an admirable building, and much better than any civil hospital of the size in this country.

'It is a noble thing to do, to build such a building—not for your poor, but ours.

'All to whom I have shown copies of your Report feel, as deeply as I do, the importance and nobleness of your work.

'I have distributed the copies you have been good enough to send me, to our Government officials, to our Commissioners of Emigration, and to persons in authority who would feel a deep interest in your work.

'When completed, you will have a magnificent example of sound hospital construction, and one which certainly deserves to be followed elsewhere, and no doubt will be.

'I wish that my health permitted me to acknowledge more worthily your noble works, or to come over and see them, than which nothing would delight me more.

'But I am overwhelmed with business—complete prisoner to my room from illness, from which there is no recovery: and I can only beg that you will believe me, Sir,

'Your most faithful and grateful servant,

'Florence Nightingale.

'Bernard Casserly, Esq., General Agent Commissioner of Emigration, N. Y.'

(12) The Commissioner thus reports on this important point:—'In order to ascertain such violations, it was found necessary to appoint two officers, with the consent of the Secretary of State, whose duty it should be to board every immigrant ship, and report to the superintendent whether the provisions of the "passenger Acts" had in each case been complied with. The importance of this course will be felt when it is stated that the superintendent reports to this bureau that of the ships which arrived at New York since the existence of his office, there were none which had not violated the provisions of the Act of 1860, for the better protection of female passengers. One hundred and eighteen complaints were brought before him, which he was directed to refer to the United States' district attorney, under whose advice he dismissed such as he was satisfied were caused by ignorance of the law, and where no injury had been sustained by the immigrant. Even where the injury had been gross, the superintendent found a successful prosecution almost impossible under the condition of the law and his own limited powers. Under the existing laws it is necessary that the complainant institute a suit against the master, owner, or consignee of the vessel, and for this few have the knowledge, ability, time, or means, and fewer the courage. Besides, the immigrant cannot remain for the purposes of prosecution. The remedy for this seems to be in a change of the laws.'

(13) One of the most recent cases on record is the worst that has been for many years brought to the notice of the public. It was of the ship 'Giuseppe Baccariel,' which arrived in New York on July 20, 1867, from Antwerp, where she was chartered by A. Straus & Co. The emigrants—180 in number—were Germans and German Swiss. Eighteen persons died on the passage, and two more immediately after arrival. The emigrants complained to the Commissioners that they were short of provisions; that the water was not drinkable, being kept in petroleum casks; that there was neither tea nor sugar on board; and that the potatoes were rotten. The Commissioners instituted an inquiry, which resulted in proving the truth of all the charges; to which might be added another—that there was neither a doctor nor a drug store on board! Had the ship been longer at sea, the mortality would have been more terrible, as the survivors were pale and feeble, worn and emaciated, and some suffering from diarrhoea and disorders of the bowels. One little child was left as the sole representative of a family of five who sailed from Antwerp in perfect health; the boy's father, brother, and sister having died on board, and his mother in the hospital-ship soon after reaching quarantine. One would suppose this paragraph, from the Report of the gentleman by whom the atrocious case was investigated on the part of the Commissioners, had been written twenty years before:—

'Second—The water. I found it in large sperm oil casks, the oil swimming on the surface. I tried to taste a glass, but the smell was so offensive that I could not overcome my disgust. Captain True (referred to above), however, says he drank a half tumbler of the water, with the object of testing it, and he was shortly afterwards taken with a severe diarrhoea. John Bertram, a passenger from Ahrbuch, Rhenish Prussia, says, under oath, that his dying child asked for some water, and that the cook gave him some, but that it was so bad it had to be boiled, in order to make it drinkable, and that deponent had to pay five francs to the cook for attending to him and his family. Third—The bread. Captain True says that the bread was the worst he ever saw—mouldy and disgusting, and that from one piece an entire bean was taken. I examined the biscuit, of which I tasted a piece; it was of the worst quality—sandy, burned, and hardly digestible —even its appearance was loathsome.'

Among other proceedings of the Commissioners was the adoption of a resolution, proposed by the Hon. Richard O'Gorman,—one of those Irishmen who is a credit and an honour to his country,—referring the case to the urgent attention of the Government.

Mr. O'Gorman is one of the ex-officio members of the Commission. The others are the Mayors of New York and Brooklyn, and the President of the German Society.

Mr. O'Gorman is the President of the Irish Emigrant Society of New York—an admirable institution; but one which might be rendered still more useful, not only in diffusing information valuable to the emigrant, but in imparting a healthful impetus to the occupation of the land by the agricultural class of Irish emigrants.

(14) Mr. Dillon O'Brien, of St. Paul, Minnesota.

(15) For a copy of the 'Act to Secure Homesteads to actual Settlers on the Public domain,' see Appendix.

(16) For the Bishop's letter, see Appendix.

(17) Among the lawyers of Irish birth may be mentioned Messrs. Doyle, Casserley, Byrne, and Delany. The last-mentioned gentleman—Charles M'Carthy Delany —is brother to the Right Rev. Dr. Delany, Catholic Bishop of Cork. Mr Delany's practice chiefly lies in conveyancing: and I have been informed, on the authority of persons of great experience, as old residents in California, that although an enormous amount of property has passed through his hands, in his professional capacity, not a dollar has ever been lost to his clients either through erroneous advice, or from a flaw or defect in the titles which he made out.

(18) Introductory Address to Archbishop Spalding's 'Miscellanea.' John Murphy and Co., Baltimore.

(19) Remittances from the Irish in Australia must be included in the gross result.

(20) Shea's 'Catholic Church in the United States.'

(21) Dominick Lynch was born in Galway, Ireland, in 1754, and was a direct descendant of one of the most influential families of the town; one of his ancestors being the inflexible Mayor who, in his capacity as a magistrate, pronounced sentence of death upon his own son. Having acquired a considerable fortune in Galway, he eventually came to New York, where his arrival was regarded as an event of public importance, as he brought with him a larger amount in specie than had been brought to the country in many years by a private individual. He died in 1825, leaving a large family, several of whom rose to eminent positions.

Thomas Fitzsimmons was born in Ireland in 1741, and amassed a considerable fortune in Philadelphia, to which place he came about the close of the last intercolonial war. He was a member of the State Legislature of Pennsylvania for many years; also of the Continental Congress in 1782-3; of the Constitutional Convention in 1787; of the U. S. House of Representatives from 1789 to 1795. He was a man of truly noble character, morally, intellectually, and physically. The firm of George Meade & Co., of which Thomas Fitzsimmons was a member, contributed the sum of 5,000l. to the relief of the Continental Army in 1780. He died in 1811, in his 70th year. His wife. Catherine Meade Fitzsimmons, was a daughter of Robert Meade, an Irish Catholic merchant of Philadelphia, great-grandfather of Major-General George Gordon Meade, of the Regular Army.

These particulars respecting two eminent Irish Catholics are abridged from notes supplied by Judge Daly and Mr. Michael Hennessy to Mr. John Gilmary Shea, for his republication of the 'Address from the Roman Catholics in 1790.'

It may here be remarked, that the Irish, especially the Catholic Irish, were, of the three nationalities—English, Scotch, and Irish—the most devoted to the interests of the revolution. It would seem as if they instinctively arrayed themselves in hostility to the British power; a fact to be explained alike by their love of liberty, and their vivid remembrance of recent or past misgovernment.

(22) The Rev. Dr. White, in his 'Sketch of the Origin and Progress of the Catholic Church in the United States of America,' published as an appendix to Darras' 'General History of the Church,' quotes a passage from a letter of the late Hon. Mr. Custis, a nephew of the illustrious Washington, representing the esteem in which the first of the Catholic Bishops of the United States was held by its greatest citizen:—

'From his exalted worth as a minister of God, his stainless character as a man, and, above all, his distinguished services as a patriot of the revolution, Dr. Carroll stood high, very high, in the esteem and affections of Pater Patriae.'

Bishop Carroll was of Irish descent on his father's side.

(23) Though somewhat anticipating, it may be here mentioned that, of the Order of Mercy in the United States, now numbering about 1,300 sisters, the large majority of these are Irish-born, while the greater number of the remainder, though born in America, are of Irish parentage. The minority consist of American, French, Spanish. German, and other nationalities. To the convent in Carlow is America indebted for the first colony of these holy women, who were introduced in 1843 by Bishop O'Connor of Pittsburg; and to the zeal and energy of Mother M. F. Xavier Warde, the first superioress of the Order in the United States, and now superioress of the house in Manchester, New Hampshire, are mainly due the wonderful and rapid spread of this noble institution in the New World. In fact. this gifted lady established the principal houses throughout the Union.

(24) 'Life of Mrs. Eliza A. Seton, Foundress and First Superior of the Sisters or Daughters of Charity in the United States of America.' By Charles T. White, D.D. Published by John Murphy & Co., Baltimore. This work reached a sixth edition in 1867.

A companion to the 'Life of Mrs. Seton' is the 'Life of Catharine M'Auley, Foundress and First Superior of the Institute of Religious Sisters of Mercy;' by a Member of the Order of Mercy. Published by D. & I. Sadlier, New York. This is a charming book, written with a grace, and at times a vivacity and freshness of style, most delightful. One is led to believe that a woman alone—and that woman a good and holy one, whose heart was in the great work of the foundress of her Order—could have done justice to the beautiful character of that illustrious convert, whose daughters, numbering about 4,000, are now widely scattered over the world, diffusing everywhere the blessings of a religious, industrial, and moral training to the young, and performing those works of mercy by which they exemplify the holiness of their mission. It will be read with pleasure and with profit.

(25) Thacker's American Medical Biography.

(26) Eight thousand dollars.

(27) Life of Mrs. Seton.

(28) To the kindness of Mr. John Gilmary Shea I am indebted for the use of copies of a Laity's Directory for 1822 and 1833—the former published at New York, the latter at Baltimore.

(29) This cherished memorial of her illustrious brother was entrusted to me by his venerable sister, one of the oldest members of the North Presentation Community of Cork. For half a century known by the honoured title of 'Mother Catherine,' Mrs. England has been eminent for much of that vigour of intellect and energy of character for which the Bishop of Charleston was remarkable; and in zeal for the glory of God—for religion and Christian education—it were difficult to decide to which, the brother or the sister, the priest or the nun, the palm should be awarded.

(30) For greater convenience, and not to interfere with the sketch which I give of the progress of the Catholic Church in America, I prefer treating the subject of its relation to Slavery in a note at the end of the volume.

(31) The Boston Pilot thus exposed the daring imposture:—

'We are ready and willing to declare upon oath, that the extracts which we have seen in the New York Transcript, Boston Morning Post, Salem Gazette, and other respectable periodicals, purporting to be extracts from the disclosures of Maria Monk, &c.. are to be found, word for word, and letter for letter (proper names only being altered), in a book translated from the Spanish or Portuguese language, in 1781, called "The Gates of Hell Opened, or a Development of the Secrets of Nunneries," and that we, at present, are the owner of a copy of the said book, which was loaned by us, a year or two since, to some person in Marblehead or Salem, who has not returned it.'

The excommunication from Tristram Shandy, palmed off on the American public as the genuine Roman article, was something in the same spirit—just as ingenious a fraud upon public credulity.

(32)See note at the end of the volume.

(33) The present amiable and accomplished Bishop of Charleston was one of the priests who knelt at the bedside of the great Bishop, and preserved a faithful record of his noble words. Dr. Lynch is the son of Irish parents.

(34) See page 481.

(35) Discourse on the Life and Character of the Most Rev. Archbishop Hughes delivered in St. Bridget's, Church, New York, Feb. 1864, by the Right Rev. James Roosvelt Bayley, D.D., Bishop of Newark. The substance of this Discourse is given as the Introduction to the Second Volume of the Complete Works of Archbishop Hughes, published by Lawrence Kehoe, New York.

(36) Complete Works of Archbishop Hughes: Lawrence Kehoe, New York. Also Hassard's 'Life of Archbishop Hughes,' published by D. Appleton and Co. New York.

(37) Bishop Bayley, in his 'Brief Sketch,' published by Edward Dunigan and Brother, New York, thus refers to the practical results of that memorable contest. The Bishop writes in 1853:—

'Experience has since shown that the new system, though administered with as much impartiality and fairness as could be expected under the circumstances, is one which, as excluding all religious instruction, is most fatal to the morals and religious principles of our children, and that our only resource is to establish schools of our own, where sound religious instruction shall be imparted at the same time with secular instruction. If we needed any evidence upon the matter it would be found in the conduct and behaviour of those of our children who are educated under the Christian Brothers, when contrasted with those who are exposed to the pernicious influences of a public school.'

(38) The sermons, letters, lectures, and speeches of Archbishop Hughes are published in two fine volumes by Lawrence Kehoe, Beckham-street, New York, by whom they are also edited.

(39) 'Though the party affected to assail foreigners, yet Irish Orangemen, and other bitter foreign enemies of Catholicity, were among its most conspicuous and active members. A dirty Orange flag was placed on the top of the market-house during the Kensington (Philadelphia) riots; the violent Orange air, "The Boyne Water," was played in triumph, while the flames were consuming St. Michael's Church; and a notorious Orangeman was actually paraded through the streets of Philadelphia, in the "temple of liberty," which was carried in procession on the 4th of July.'—Note to article on 'The Philadelphia Riots and native American Party,' by Archbishop Spalding.

(40) Miscellanea: comprising Reviews. Lectures, and Essays, on Historical, Theological, and Miscellaneous Subjects, by M. S. Spalding, D.D., Archbishop of Baltimore. Published by John Murphy and Co., Baltimore.

(41) The Catholic Church in the United States, by Henry De Courcey and John Gilmary Shea. Edward Dunigan and Brother, New York.

(42) Now in the hands of James E. M'Masters, one of the ablest and most fearless writers of the American press.

(43) Hassard's 'Life of Archbishop Hughes.' D. Appleton and Co., New York.

(44) For the disproof of this absurd boast, see Appendix.

(45) According to the Prussian Constitution, adopted the 31st of January 1850, it is provided that 'in the management of the Public Schools the confessional relations must be kept in view as much as possible.' By 'confessional relations' are meant religious denominations. Three classes of schools are strictly denominational,—Elementary Schools, Normal schools, and Gymnasiums.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.—There is no mixed school, save only in a locality in which, from the smallness of the population, two schools cannot be maintained; and in such case the faith of the children is rigidly protected. Each Elementary School has a Local Inspector and a School Committee. The Local Inspector of the Catholic school is invariably the Parish Priest. The Head Inspector is the Catholic Dean, the district being coterminous with the ecclesiastical division.

NORMAL SCHOOLS.—These schools are for the teaching and training of Teachers. There are, in Protestant Prussia, as in Protestant England, Catholic Normal Schools for Catholics, as well as Protestant Normal Schools for Protestants. In the Catholic School the President is a priest, and all the teachers are Catholics. The President is appointed by the King; but, before recommending his appointment, the Minister is bound to consult the Catholic Bishop of the diocese, and to recommend a person fully approved by him.

The religious books in the Catholic Normal School are prescribed by the Bishop; and the class books in which matter dangerous to faith or morals may possibly appear, are submitted to the Bishop, who has a veto on their selection.

The pupil of the Catholic Normal School, though successful in examination, cannot receive his or her 'patent,' or diploma, without the concurrent approbation of the Government Commissioner and the Bishop.

The GYMNASIUMS are as strictly denominational as the Elementary and Normal Schools.

Catholics are represented on the Education Board by a special member of the Privy Council of the Minister of Public Instruction, who is the official organ of the Catholics. The Collegiate system is, as yet, only approximating to the same principle of strict and rigid impartiality; but it is to be hoped the higher educational institutions will, ere long, assimilate to those of the primary and secondary classes.

So much for Protestant Prussia, whose National Education, in its main features, is very similar to that of Protestant England. We may now see in what manner a Catholic nation respects the conscientious convictions of the minority of its population.

Of Catholic Austria, Mr. Kay, a recognised authority on matters of education, and a Protestant, thus writes:—

'The most interesting and satisfactory feature of the Austrian system is the great liberality with which the Government, although so staunch an adherent and supporter of the Romanist priesthood, has treated the religious parties who differ from themselves in their religious dogmas. It has been entirely owing to this liberality, that neither the great number of the sects in Austria, nor the great differences of their religious tenets, have hindered the work of the education of the poor throughout the empire. Here, as elsewhere, it has been demonstrated that such difficulties may be easily overcome, when a Government understands how to raise a nation in civilisation, and wishes earnestly to do so.

'In those parishes of the Austrian empire where there are any dissenters from the Romanist Church, the education of their children is not directed by the priests, but is committed to the care of the dissenting ministers. These latter are empowered and required by Government to provide for, to watch over, and to promote the education of the children of their own sects, in the same manner as the priests are required to do for the education of their children.'

The same writer thus disposes of the alleged difficulty—some will say impossibility—of dealing with this great question on principles of strict and impartial justice to all. It is of Catholic States he now writes:—

'And yet in these countries—Austria, Bavaria, and the Rhine Provinces, and the Catholic Swiss Cantons—the difficulties arising from religious differences have been overcome, and all their children have been brought under the influence of religious education without any religious party having been offended.'—KAY, vol. ii. page 3.

May not Young America learn a lesson, in this respect, from the modern enlightenment of venerable but progressive Europe?

(46) Mr. Kay, whose anti-Catholic prejudice breathes in every page of his work, thus refutes the old calumny against the Church:—

'In Catholic Germany, in France, and even in Italy, the education of the common people in reading, writing, arithmetic, music, manners, and morals, is at least as generally diffused and as faithfully promoted by the clerical body as in Scotland. It is by their own advance, and not by keeping back the advance of the people, that the Popish priesthood of the present day seeks to keep ahead of the intellectual progress of the community in Catholic lands; and they might perhaps retort on our Presbyterian clergy, and ask if they too are, in their countries, at the head of the intellectual movement of the age? Education is in reality not only not suppressed, but is encouraged, by the Popish Church, and is a mighty instrument in its hands, and ably used. In evey street of Rome, for instance, there are, at short distances, public primary schools for the education of the children of the lower and middle classes in the neighbourhood. Rome, with a population of 158,000 souls, has 372 public primary schools, with 482 teachers, and 14,000 children attending them. Has Edinburgh so many schools for the instruction of these classes? I doubt it. Berlin, with a population about double that of Rome, has only 264 schools. Rome has also her University, with an average attendance of 600 students; and the Papal States, with a population of 2,500,000, contains 7 universities. Prussia, with a population of 14,000,000, has but 7.'

This was written before the dismemberment of the Papal States by the Pope's ally, the King of Sardinia.

(47) As an illustration of the great work done for society by the Religious Orders in America, the good deeds of the community of a single institution—that of the Sisters of Mercy. New York,—may be referred to. They visit the sick in their homes as well as in the hospitals; they instruct the criminal in the prison, and prepare the condemned to meet their fate in penitence and resignation; they minister to the necessities of the poor and the destitute; and, by care and instruction, they protect girls of good character from the dangers which, in large cities, lie in the path of youth and the inexperienced. They provide servants with situations, and they teach the young. Though but eighteen years in existence to the year 1864, they, up to that date, visited and relieved 7,083 sick poor, and paid 23,471 visits to the sick; they visited at the City Prison and Sing Sing 19,500 prisoners, and prepared 22 for the scaffold—that is every Catholic who suffered the penalty of death during twenty years; they relieved 92,120 cases of distress; they received into their House of Protection 9,504 young girls of good character, and they provided 16,869 with situations, including those sent from the House of Protection; they prepared 38,024 for the Sacraments; and they did a number of other good works, including noble service in the military hospitals. Is not this a splendid record of work done for society? And is it possible that it could have been as effectually done by a hundred times the number of ladies having domestic engagements and worldly ties? Then it is well for society that there are those who will sacrifice for the public good, though for their own spiritual advantage, what others prize—in a word, that there are 'Sisters' of various orders and denominations.

(48) One of the most accomplished and zealous of the Catholic Bishops of America, who did great things for the Church, but who—compelled by ill-health to surrender his diocese to other hands—is now a simple Jesuit. He is loved and esteemed by all who know him; the writer venturing to include himself among the number of those who regard this good man with sentiments of affection and esteem.

(49) There was missed from this assembly the long-familiar face of one who, meek and mild and gentle, had for three-and-thirty years shed the steady light of his wisdom on the councils of his venerable brethren of the American episcopacy. Three years before, Francis Patrick Kenrick departed this life, after a long and honoured career. A great Irishman, Archbishop Kenrick was not so famous in the world as his countrymen, Bishop England and Archbishop Hughes; but if he lacked their shining qualities, their stirring eloquence, and the boldness and energy by which they were distinguished, he was eminent not only for the sweetest and gentlest nature, the most modest and humble disposition, but for a scholarship as rare as it was profound. When he was consecrated, in 1833. the American Church was in its infancy, its following scarcely amounting to the one-twentieth of its present magnitude. As Bishop of Philadelphia he had his full share of trial and tribulation during the long years of early struggle, of active hostility and occasional persecution, aggravated by the evil of internal dissension; but he did not close his eyes to this world until he beheld the wonderful progress of the Church which he so signally served, and so strikingly adorned by his virtues. Notwithstanding his unceasing devotion to the duties of his exalted office, whether as Bishop of Philadelphia or Archbishop of Baltimore, he found time to enrich catholic literature with many of the most valuable works that could find a place in the library of a layman or an ecclesiastic. Besides an exhaustive Treatise on the Primacy, and a Course of Theology, highly estimated by professors as well as students, he translated and annotated the Sacred Scriptures; and the most competent judges admit this his greatest work to be a model of the most varied and profound erudition. But, though as simple and unpretending as a child, though modest and gentle, he could be as stern as brass when duty required, and principle was at stake. Bishop Hughes himself could not have more boldly faced the contumacious of his flock than did Bishop Kenrick beard and conquer the presumptuous trustees of Pittsburgh.

'The church is yours,' he said to them, from the pulpit of St. Patrick's. 'You have a perfect right to do what you please with it. I claim no right to interfere with any appropriation of it you wish to make. You may make of it, if you will, a factory, and I will not interfere. But there is one thing which I do tell you, and it is this: if you wish it to be a Catholic church, you must comply with the requirement of the law which I have laid before you. Now, do as you please.'

To the zeal, energy, and wisdom of Dr. Kenrick are the Irish of the diocese of Philadelphia to a considerable extent indebted for the spiritual advantages they now so abundantly enjoy.

(50) The Gazette of the 8th of October 1866. The article, with others, is published with the proceedings of the Council, in a neat volume by Kelly & Piet of Baltimore, with the approval of the Archbishop.

(51) In the following, from a Sister of Mercy in Little Rock, writing to a lady friend, to whom I am indebted for the letter, we have a glimpse of the progress of the Church in Arkansas:—

'We came here from "old Erin" in 1851, at the earnest solicitation and accompanied by our late lamented Bishop and Father, Right Rev. A. Byrne. and found an ample field for our exertions, his zealous efforts not having yielded a due return, for the want of sufficient labourers in the vineyard. The name of Catholic, and still more the practice, was scarcely understood by the majority of the people. A priest was a person on whom every eye rested for censure, and a religious community a retreat for oddities, or something worse. Such was the sad vision that met our view upon our first entrance into this distant country of our adoption, so that we frequently needed to cast a glance heavenward, in order to rouse our sinking spirits along the weary road,

'It has pleased Almighty God to bless our efforts with much success. For months after our arrival we had but three Catholic children to instruct in the faith; now we have an immense number, many of whom are the consecrated children of Mary. For many weeks past we have been busily engaged preparing adults for Baptism, most of whom are ladies of the first rank and fortune. Eight received Baptism since Easter. So that we have great reason to rejoice in having been chosen as humble instruments in the hands of God in the promotion of His glory in this vast and scattered diocese.

'Our present bishop, Right Rev. Edward Fitzgerald is an Irishman by birth, but an American by education, youthful in years but mature in virtue. His advent amongst us was a source of unspeakable happiness to us all. Our priests are all Irish too, and both good and zealous.

'Of the Irish laity, few of them were above a very humble grade of life; yet they are all, in Little Rock, in comfortable circumstances, and in the enjoyment of snug little homesteads.

'There are three institutes of our Order in this diocese,—at Little Rock, Fort Smith, and Helena, and numbering in total thirty-five members—all, with three exceptions, thorough Irish, body, soul, mind, and heart.

(52) This magnificent structure, which is being constructed of white marble, will be one of the grandest churches in the world. Its dimensions are these: Length, 330 feet; breadth of body of church, 130; of transept, 172; height of interior, from floor to crown of arched ceiling, 110; height of aisles, 54; elevation of its two towers and spires, 320 feet each. And this all in white marble!

(53) For some interesting information on this subject the reader is referred to the Appendix.

(54) Sketch of the Origin and Progress of the Catholic Church in the United States of America, by Rev. C. G. White, D.D.. given as an Appendix to Darra's General History of the Catholic Church. Published by P. O'Shea, Barclay Street, New York.

(55) One out of a thousand instances will suffice to exhibit the zeal and generosity of the humbler classes of the Irish in America. A Sister of Mercy thus tells what the Irish working people have done for the Order in Cincinnati 'The Convent, Schools, and House of Mercy, in which the good works of our Institute are progressing, were purchased in 1861, at a considerable outlay. This, together with the repairs, alterations, furnishing, &c., were defrayed by the working class of Irish people, who have been and are to us most devoted, and by their generosity have enabled us. up to the present time, to carry out successfully our works of mercy and charity.'

(56) How little we know what lies in the future! When General Meagher wrote the letter from which the above extract is taken, he was full of health and hope, with visions of a brilliant and a joyous future before him. Here are his own words: 'All I can say—all I have time to say—is this, that I am in the very best health—so is Mrs. Meagher—and that I'm resolved not to turn my back upon the Rocky Mountains until I have the means to whip my carriage-and-four through the New York Central Park, and sail my own yacht, with the Green Flag at the Mizen-peak, within three miles of the Irish coast.'

I have met with many men—American and Irish—who have seen Meagher in the very thick of the fight, and who spoke with admiration of the intrepid gallantry with which he bore himself on every occasion; and who described how on more than one memorable field his noble Brigade, skilfully and daringly led by him, turned the tide of battle, and changed the fortunes of the day. Ere this, I believe, more than one volume has been published in America, doing justice to the brilliant Irishman who is now no more, and chronicling the heroic deeds of one of the most splendid military organisations of modern times.

I have seen Thomas Francis Meagher, not, it is true, in the thick of the fight with the green flag glancing amid the smoke of battle, but in a position not less trying to the physical and moral courage of man—in the dock of the court-house of Clonmel, listening to the sentence of death solemnly pronounced upon him in the measured accents, and almost dramatic utterance, of a judge since gone to his account. It is now nearly twenty years since those awe-inspiring words fell upon the hushed audience in that crowded court; and I well remember, as if it were yesterday, the proud and gallant bearing of that young and fearless tribune, who, I am convinced, would have met death calmly in the cause to which he deliberately sacrificed every hope of his youth and dream of his ambition. Had he been allowed to enter the House of Commons, when he made the attempt on the hustings of Waterford in 1847, his fate might have been quite other than it was; but the spirit of faction was too strong in those days; and so, while the British Parliament lost a brilliant orator, and Ireland an eloquent advocate and faithful representative, America gained a devoted citizen.

(57) This, I think, was the name; but I am sure it was Irish. (Maguire inserted this note, but put no corresponding asterisk in the text)

(58) In one of the engagements which have made Charleston memorable in the history of the world, there fell one of the most promising young soldiers of the war,—Captain John Mitchell, son of the famous Irishman of that name; who lost two of his sons in battle, while a third was repeatedly and desperately wounded. Captain John Mitchell was the idol of his men, for his gay and gallant spirit, his wit, his humour, his playfulness and gentleness of disposition, combined with the courage of a lion. How he fell, and what was the estimate formed of him, will be best told in the words of General Beauregard, the illustrious defender of Charleston:—

'Near PETERSBURG, VA., August 6,1864.

'Dear Sir,—I trust the condition of affairs here will be my excuse for not having addressed you sooner relative to the irreparable loss you sustained lately in the death of your gallant son. Capt. John Mitchell. He served under my orders during the most trying periods of the siege of Charleston. At Fort Sumter, Battery Simkins, and on Morris Island, he displayed such coolness, energy, and intelligence, that I selected him, from many aspirants ambitious of the honour, to replace Col. Elliott in the command of Fort Sumter whenever circumstances compelled that gallant officer to absent himself from that important post.

'In your bereavement you should derive consolation from the thought, that your son fell at his post, gloriously battling for the independence of his country, carrying with him the regret of his friends and the respect of his enemies.

'I remain, with respect, your most obedient servant,

'G. T. BEAUREGARD.

'John Mitchell, Esq.'

(59) See Appendix.

(60) Mr. Roberts.

(61) 'Children born in the United States of foreign parents are classed as American. Had the children of foreigners been included with the foreign born, the figures in the column of the foreign population would have been much more imposing.'—U. S. Census, 1860, Abstract, p. 337.

'It must be remembered that the children, born in the United States of foreign parents are classed with the natives.'—State Census Abstract, p. 233, 1855.

The Irish in America, first published in 1868, provides an invaluable account of the extreme difficulties that 19th Century Irish immigrants faced in their new homeland and the progress which they had nonetheless made in the years since arriving on a foreign shore. A new edition, including additional notes and an index, has been published by Books Ulster/LibraryIreland:

Paperback: 700+ pages The Irish in America

ebook: The Irish in America