ul and glad of your counsel in
these most distressing circumstances."
"What can any one do to help such a man?" said my friend. "The
rebellious and unruly in the Church, be they priests or laymen, can only
in the end damage themselves. _Tu es Petrus_; and revolt, like schism,
is a devil which only carries away those of whom it gets possession out
of the Church and into the sea. But a weak sentinel on the wall or at
the gate who drops his musket to wipe his eyes, that is a thing for
tears!"
He asked me to come and see him if possible in his own county, and he
has promised to send me letters to-day for priests who will he glad to
tell me what they know only too well of the pressure put upon the better
sort of the people by the organised idlers and mischief-makers in Clare
and Kerry.
To-day at the City Club, I made the acquaintance of the Town-Clerk of
Cork, Mr. Alexander M'Carthy, a staunch Nationalist and Home Ruler, who
holds his office almost by a sort of hereditary tenure, having been
appointed to it in 1859 in succession to his father. He gave me many
interesting particulars as to the municipal history and administration
of Cork, and showed me some of the responses he is receiving to a kind
of circular letter sent by the municipality to the town governments of
England, touching the recent proceedings against the Mayor. So far these
responses have not been very sympathetic. He invited me to lunch here
with him to-morrow, and visit some of the most interesting points in and
around the city. Here, too, I met Colonel Spaight, Inspector of the
Local Government Board, who gives me a startling account of the increase
of the public burdens. Twenty years ago there were no persons whatever
seeking outdoor relief in Cork. This year, out of a total population of
145,216, there are 3775 persons here receiving indoor relief, and 4337
receiving outdoor relief, making in all 8112, or nearly 6 per cent. of
the inhabitants. This proportion is swelled by the influx of people from
other region
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