The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 1, 1901, Page 3

UDGE J. V. COFFEY, together with his nephew, Jeremiah V. Coffey, has returned recently from a European trip, which included & visit to Ireland. The trip took in the principal cities and much of the agricultural region. He brought back vivid impressions of many beautiful mnatural pictures. Killarney, the ‘“land of endless Jeynunce,” is a region that particu- Jarly impressed him, and the rtriking pleture of the Upper Lake of Killar- may, reproduced on this page, is one of hig collection. It gives glimpses of the Mttle islands covered with their growth of holly, ash, juniper and erbutus. The brilliant green of the serrounding slopes must be imagined. The ruined Abbey of Muckross is | the same county. It is on the Muckress demesne, which belongs to the Herberts. Itis a modern building o8 the Irish look upon it, having been Built for the Franciscans in 1340 on the site of an ‘‘0ld” church. Tombs of anelent families—O’Sullivan, Mac- Carthy, O’Donoghue Mor—may be soem. fnside the church. The castle on Ross Island is an fvy-covered ruin which dates back @wer centuries. One of the O’Donog- huoes built it and as far back as 1652 & was used as a fortress to hold out against the Parliamentgrians under Kudlow. These are only a few of the hun- dreds of points of interest moted by Judge Coffey in his tour of Ireland. Furthermore, he has made a study of existing -conditions from the stand- point of a thinker and a student in the broadest sense of the word. What Be has to say about that beautiful eountry, about the character of its people, about their social.and politi- eal conditions—in short, his shrewdly gathered and carefully sifted impres- slons—are presented in the following article and must be of the greatest wvalue to all those interested in the Peautiful and pathetic story of what he calls that “fair land of foul gov- ernment.” Irish people are, as all the world and cordial to the point of prodigality. Every- where one finds kindness and cheer- ful courtesy combined with self- nd spirit. No matter how poor , the Irish have a manly sense of personal character and proper pride that betoken capacity to enjoy that free- dom to which they aspire and for which and thelr chil- dren by diligent on and self- denial. d the Trish char- their innate com- ir own affairs; their faculty for governing others has been illustrated in many foreign lands, and it cannot rationally be disputed that intel- lectually and morally they have the genius as they should have the power of political self-government. With their land and their language restored, they may be allowed to stand alone to demon- strate their self-sustaining ability. « e e Education. The schools of Ireland are now offering the study of the Irish, that is the Gaelic language, In' their curricuium. England is inclined to oppose this, but the Irish are having thefr own way in the matter. They offer a choice of several languages, among them Gaelic. It is found to be very generzlly elected. The Gaelic tongue is the natural ve- hicle of expression for many thousands of Irish people; entire sections of the country, particularly in the extreme west and south, in the mountains and along the coast, speak no othe that transmitted or: ed for the Irish that they as well as ives of an seums to anclent documents and muniments of title to constderation In this respect are as numerous as they are curiousPand in- teresting, mot only to the antiquary, but to all who appreciate these rare of a race that treasures the testim of the times when Ireland was an inde- pendent nation, the center of liberal ence and fine art and the a forms of _in in natural fruittul so In the proc slon and pers: s changed; of the peo- destroyed. No matter how grie: burden of enforced ignorance, petite for knowledge has been ever acute. In the renascence of the Irish language throughout the island great hope for the future, for as a nation's life is in her nguage, the genuine and gen revival of its study and the intel and persevering zeal of its propag: afford ground for faith i the restorativn viduality. Representation in Parliament. The representation of Ireland in Parlia- ment is in better form than at any time since the halcyon days of Parnell, whose memory is still green in the heart Irishmen, and whose political princ are sought to be perpetuated by his survi- vors, The Irish party in the House of Com- mons is composed of unusual men, averaging ity of a high ord i der the lead p of John Redm who possesses the qualities of a states- man with the tact of a politician, In the best sense; courageous and courteous, af- but ylelding to none on a , ever in his seat, vigi- Jant and wary, perfectly equipped point of prineip or Government party, bu presentative of I /////////6\\\\\\\\\\%{( A | cleverness in debate is the own side and the dread of th Redmond and Dillon are esteerned as well as feared by their oppo- ment benches, N\ & N There are others in the Irish party w are entitled to the respect they comn from friend and foe. There are suc as Swift MacNeill, a high authority in and letters in Ireland and England, a L and strength, m e hold on his con- T. W. Russell s Impregnabie. 2 d IMTuckposs :—:—.fl is a st spec! re E ger to their sel drained, cleared, reslaimed and ftertifized stock of with the Ir by the enormous outlay of labor and capl- o e it inspires them to do tal expended on it by the people of the the poetry in their present day and their forefathers, tenant s this unique people farmers. As John Stuart Mi’l said: *“With and persevering in individual exceptions (some of them very honorable ones) the owners of Irish es- £ tates do nothing for the land but drain They love their”land and want to abide It of its produce.” There are certalnly honorable exceptions here and there, and do they leave it? there is some tentative endeavor at en- he first saw it from nt holders to become free- s a dilatory, expensive and #s, presently more profit- rs, law agents, receivers hes of the courts, than to whose benefit it was os- r & response to na of discussion and the basis of all induse f reform; the cultls that Is accom- accrue to those other pursuits, for . t the Irish system . and impoverishes ve by and on the others in the community N7 ot E,%////////\\\\ 7 PHoT d-earned atter what may In addition s with greater ; they have a la matlter how sm the the hut thelr aff