Just a century ago Wm. Parnell, an Irish Protestant who knew Irish Catholics and their history well, wrote that “The Irish Roman Catholics are the only sect that ever resumed power without exercising vengeance.” Let us see if he was a true prophet as well as a true historian. When he wrote his “Historical Apology of the Irish Catholics” they were helpless, and almost hopeless. During the past eighty years they have been gradually regaining instalments of their civil rights. Their numerical strength could, in nearly every corner of the country, use those rights which they already have as an instrument wherewith to avenge the past. Have they, in fact, used their power thus? For the sake of saving space I pass over Government and other such nominations. A better test of tolerance and intolerance is to be found in the statistics of public appointments to responsible positions which are elective. We get in that way a better key to the popular feeling. Now, in recent centuries, and till 1842, Dublin was not allowed to have a Catholic Lord Mayor. It elected O’Connell at its first opportunity. And were the Protestant citizens ostracized henceforth? Since then it has had 23 Protestant Mayors and 38 Protestant Sheriffs. At present, its City Marshal, its City Surveyor and his assistant, Superintendent Electrical Engineer and four assistants, Drainage Engineer and two assistants, Superintendent Medical Officer of Health, Veterinary Inspector, Collector of Market Dues, and several other important offices are entrusted to non-Catholics. And the Catholics form the vast majority of the population. In Belfast, the non-Catholics are about twice the number of the Catholics. The Corporation has never had a Catholic Mayor. Until a few years ago, when the City wards were re-distributed by order of Parliament, there was no Catholic Member of the Corporation. There are about 440 salaried officials, of whom about 10 are Catholics; and that these hold no office of importance may be seen at once in the fact that their combined salaries do not amount to more than £800 a year; whilst the Corporation pays in salaries about £70,000 a year. The anomaly is felt; and the apology made for it is that the Catholics hold offices quite in proportion to the rates they pay. It is implied that the Catholics are poor and pay little rates. The apology is not more creditable than the anomaly it is made to explain. It appears to be the custom in Belfast for the landlords to pay rates for the houses rented from them; the tenants thus pay rates in their rents. That practice nullifies the apology. I pass now to the Counties. Co. Cork has a population of 403,000; of which 365,000 are Catholics, and 38,000 are non-Catholics. Of the salaried officials in the County, 151 are Catholics and 40 are non-Catholics.