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C o n d i t i o n s i n Australia Today
Mr. Burke's Survey
INTRODUCING Mr
T, M
Burke
at the Cathedral Hall on Monday
evening, his Grace the Archbishop
said he was delighted to see such a
audience, and he was confident
they would.all enjoy the lecture to be
given bv Mr. T. M. Burke on Catholic
Emancipation.
Busy
people
found
time to give service to their neighbours
very often.
Mr
Burke was a busy
man. and yet he was one of those
whom they were always glad to get
for such a lead as he was about to give
that night.
For himself, he would be
delighted, and somewhat surprised, if
Mr. . Burke were able to prove to him
and to them that Catholics were really
emancipated. Seeing that the task: was
more or less difficult, the sooner Mr
Burke began, the
sooner
he
would
succeed or fail, as the case might be;
so he (his Grace) would not stand any
longer between
Mr.
Burke
and the
large audience.
(Applause.)
MR. BURKE'S
ADDRESS.
Mr. Burke said the Catholic Federa-
tion had arranged a series of meetings
in connection with Catholic Emancipation
and it was an auspicious opening
for the campaign to find the Cathedral
Hall crowded. He desired to offer
grateful thanks fro the practical interest
displayed by the public, and hoped
he would be fortunate enough to in-
terest them in course of his ad
dress. He did not wish to say anything
that would provoke non-Catholics,
but at the same time he would
dwell on historical facts and on essential
things from the Cathoiic standpoint.
He would like to see freedom
extended to Catholics by peaceful and
reasonable means. He had a long road
to travel in his general review of the
period from 1513 to 1829, and that
period was marked by grave consequences
to millions of Catholic people.
The facts were well known, and he intended
only to summarise the position.
Diabolical Penal Laws.
Mr. Burke read a long quotation
from Lecky, the English historian, to
show the severity of the penal code
operating against Catholics for 300
years. According to Lecky, "The Act
was intended to deprive the Catholics
of all civil life. A second object was
to reduce Catholics to a condition of
the most extreme and brutal ignorance.
Lord Chancellor Bowes and Chief Justice
Robinson laid down from the
Bench that the law does not suppose
anv such person to exist as an Irish
Roman Catholic. It was the third
great object of the penal code to dissociate
the Catholics as much as possible
from the soil." Mr. Burke said
that the English historian convincingly
showed the severity of the treatment
extended to Catholics over a long
period. The penal code had been described
by Edmund Burke as "a machine
well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment
and degradation of a
people and the debasement in them of
human nature itself, as ever proceeded
from the perverted ingenuity of man."
Dealing with penal laws in Australia,
Mr. Burke said that James Bonwick,
Protestant writer on early Australian
history, drew a startling picture of Catholic
disabilities. "New South Wales
in the beginning," says Bonwick, "was
regarded as England over the way, and
absolutely attached to the Church of
England, and Catholics could expect
no favour."
The Great Liberator.
Referring to Daniel O'Connell's
great work in having the penal code
eliminated from the statute books of
great Britain, Mr. Burke quoted Lecky,
who said, "This great victory was
won by the genius of a single man, who
had entered on the contest without any
advantage of rank, of wealth, of influence,
who had maintained it from no
prouder eminence than the platform of
the demagogue, and who terminated it
without the effusion of a single drop
of blood. It was the glory of O'Connell
that his Church entered into the
Constitution, triumphant and unshackled."
The tribute paid by Lecky,
said Mr. Burke, showed the greatness
and transcending genius of O'Connell,
and they should pay their meed
of praise and thankfulness to O'Connell
and others for the stand they took
on Catholic Emancipation. The infamous
code, the worst that ever proceeded
"from the perverted ingenuity of man,"
had been eliminated at last after 300
years of dreadful pain, suffering and
persecution. The Catholic people had
clung with wonderful tenacity to their
Faith, despite the welter of oppression
and suffering, and those who held the
same Faith in Australia should never
forget the marvellous devotion of the
Irish Catholics, to whom their Faith
was their sheet anchor in all their
trials and tribulations. In the latter
part of the 17th century, it was estimated
that the Catholic population of
Ireland had decreased from 5,000,000 to
150,000. The attempt to stamp out
Catholicism had signally failed, and to-
day there was a constant stream of
converts flowing back to the Catholic
Church. The Mother Church was comine
into her own after buring 300 years
Emancipation Act of 1829, and no
of oppression. However, all the disabilities
were not removed by the
Emancipation Act of 1829, and no ecclesiastic
was allowed to wear the
habit of of his religious Order, and no new mem
ber of any religious Order could enter
the country. That prevailed from 1829
to 1926 when the restrictions were removed.
A False Prophet.
Lengthy reference to the Victorian
Education Act was made by Mr. Burke,
who quoted from speeches made by
Wilberforce Stephen and Chief Jus-
tice Higinbotham. and said Leo XIII.
had laid it down that "paternal author-
ity neither be abolished nor absorbed
by the State, for it has the same
source as life itself,"
The Education
Act was a grave act of injustice. Wil-
berforce Stephen had dedared that the
Education Act would be the thin
end of the wedge that would rend
Catholics asunder, but in reality it had
sundered the non-Catholic bodies. It
was with deep regret he said, that,
but the fact could not be gainsaid. It
was to be deplored that the name of
God was practically eliminated from
the State schools, and difficulty was experienced
in filling non-Catholic
churches on Sundays. The sword had
pierced the non-Catholic heart. Catholics
were solidly united, and Wilberforce
Stephen had proved a false prophet.
As Chief Justice Higinbotham
pointed out Catholicism could not be
crushed under the heel of authority.
The attempt was made, but it failed
lamentably.
Religion the Basis of Education.
Washington's farewell address, emphasising
the value of religious principles,
was referred to by Mr. Burke,
who said that President Coolidge had
stated recently that "the whole foundation
of enlightened civilisation rests
on religion." What Catholics demanded
for their children was that religion
should be the basis of education. Every
person had the right to think and to
act according to his conscience: it was
a matter between himself and his
Maker. It was the duty of every Catholic
to pay the greatest respect to
the opinions of every other person, no
matter even if his views appeared to
be fantastic. There should be no interference
with people, no matter what
their conscientious beliefs might be.
Catholics asked for that, and no more,
and what they asked for themselves
they were prepared to concede to
others. Many believed the Catholic
attitude to be obstinate and bigoted,
and extraordinary views held by lead-
ing commercial men were related by
Mr. Burke, who, in conversations with
them, found it difficult to make them
understand the Catholic viewpoint.
Section 116 of the Australian Constitution
said: "The Commonwealth shall
not make any law for establishing any
religion or for imposing any religious
observance or for prohibiting the free
exercise of any religion, and no re-
ligious test shall be required as a quali-
for any office or public trust
under the Commonwealth." According
to the section no conscientious belief
held by any Australian would prejudice
him in any way.
The framers of the
Commonwealth Constitution made it
clear that every religion would have
equal opportunity in this country, and
Section 116 showed that conclusively.
Non-Catholic Want of Understanding.
He had great confidence in the inherent
justice of his fellow-Australians,
but he was inclined to think that not
25 per cent, of non-Catholics understood
the Catholic educational grievance.
If the position were general
understood, he believed they would
quickly get justice, and be dealt with
on similar lines to the Catholics in
Great Britain, Canada and South Af-
rica. To many non-Catholics it would
be a case of " what is good enough for
England is good enough for us," and
he did not quarrel with that view. Catholics
had the truth on their side, and
they would continue along the same
lines even if there was not a ray of
hope on the horizon. O'Connell won
even
in the face of almost insurmountable
difficulties, and they should keep
on until they also won emancipation.
Their attitude was that education must
be based on religion, and they would
not depart in any way from that fundamental
principle.
Fight to a Finish.
With the Catholic people it was a
fight to a finish — a fight for
a dear and cherished principle.
At Wesley College, Scotch College.
the Church of England Grammar
School and other non-Catholic schools
education was based on religion. Non-
Catholics who could afford to pay for
the best article sent their boys to the
public schools to be educated. Catholics
gave the same advantages to the
poor children as non-Catholics of the
wealthy class saw to their children in
the public schools, and in all the Catholic
schools religious instruction was
imparted. A newspaper stated recently
that Al. Smith was a great figure in
American life, but in his candidature
for the Presidency he had the disadvantage
of being a Catholic.
It was
almost inconceivable that that kind of
thing should exist. The person who
penalised another because of his religious
beliefs should be held up to public
contempt. Catholics did not want
toleration: all they asked for was fair
play.
Insulting Daily Press.
Some of their daily papers were
prone to insult priests and nuns and
the Catholic Church, and Catholics
should resent this in no uncertain way.
They should see that libels of this
kind should not go on unheedingly.
When he reflected on what was published
in certain papers recently, he
could tell them that his patience was,
almost exhausted. The fairest of the
fair were in Catholic convents, and Catholics
should regard it as a strict duty
to guard the nuns against vile insults.
There should be no disabilities in Australia.
and he trusted that Catholic
emancipation would soon come, and
that every section of Australia would
work hand in hand in the best interests
of the Commonwealth. The Federation
was making a drive to reach
the goal of emancipation, and he hoped
that every Catholic in the land would
range himself under its banner. The
object was worthy of united Catholic
support, and he sincerely hoped that
non-Catholics would come to realise
the injustice suffered by Catholics.
When they did so, he was confident
the right thing would be done. (Applause.)
The Archbisliop's Review
EVEN-HANDED JUSTICE
DESIRED.
A REAL WHITE AUSTRALIA.
His Grace the Archbishop said he
wished to congratulate the Catholic
Federation upon the splendid start it
had made to celebrate worthily and
wisely the centenary of Catholic Emancipation.
After what we had heard we
did not seem to have much to be thankful
for. We were reminded by Mr.
Walsh that so far as Irish Catholics
were concerned; they had, by force of
public opinion, emancipated themselves,
and we were also also reminded that when
Emancipation came to be put upon the
Statute Books of the British Parliament
it took away some of the privileges
that had been hitherto enjoyed
by Irish Catholics. Instead of being
emancipated completely, Irish Catho-
lics really lost some of.the emancipa-
tion that they had previously enjoyed.
If Emancipation did not do as much
for Ireland as we would wish, and as
Ireland deserved, at all events it did
much for English, Scotch, Welsh and
Australian Catholics. Were it not for
Daniel O'Connell and the Irish Catholics
who rallied round him, it was very
likely that Catholics would be slaves
still in the great expanse of territory
called the British Empire. It was very
doubtful whether Catholics in Australia
would have the freedom they now
enjoyed if it had not been for the
struggle made by Daniel O'Connell and
those associated with him.
King's
Anomalous
Position.
Another strange thing about the Catholic
Emancipation of 1829 was the
position of the King of England. If
one man in the British Empire should
have been emancipated completely and
wholly, it should have been the King,
but he happened to be the only one
who was not emancipated at all. The
King, who was left out of the emanip-
ation, was not allowed to be a Catholic,
or a Roman Catholic, as some
insisted on calling it.
Why an excep-
tion was made of the King he did not
know, but perhaps they were afraid to
trust him.
It was not emancipation in
the full sense.
Australia's
Position.
However, we were not thinking so
much of the past and the dreadful
happenings
related
by
Mr.
Burke
in the
penal times, although they could never
be forgotten, but we wanted to look
to the
future with
hope, which he
trusted would be justified.
If Daniel
O'Connell succeeded 100 years ago in
enforcing
the hostile
British
Parliament
to put Catholic Emancipation on
the Statute, surely we ought to be able
to
do
something
in
Australia.
In
O'Connell's time it was England's purpose
to keep Catholics poor and ignorant,
and the great Liberator practically
had to work for serfs and slaves.
We
did not say that we were slaves.
We
might not be rich, but, at all events, we
were not poor; and if we were not
learned, we were not very ignorant.
If
Daniel
O'Connell, then, was able to
defy the whole British
Empire—well,
we ought to be able to defy anybody
who stood in the way in Bourke-street.
Need for Protests.
Mr. Walsh reminded us that we have
not been protesting
as we ought to
have done.
He hoped that there now
would be a great volume of real, earnest
protest, and that its influence would
be felt in the community.
He was
glad to hear the protest made by Mr.
Burke in regard to the insults to Catholics
appearing in the daily papers.
Mr. Burke told us what course of action
should be taken if any newspaper
in the future published any insulting or
slanderous statement about priests and
nuns and the Catholic Church.
This
kind of thing occurred too frequently,
and
the
offending
newspaper
managements
should
be
made
to
feel
the
weight
of
the
Catholic
hand.
It
could
be
effectively
done
by
not
buying
the
particular
paper, and a drop in circulation was not
to the liking of newspaper
managements.
Catholic Disabilities.
For many years Catholics had been
suffering under a manifest injustice in
regard to education. For the sacrifices
made, Catholics had got good value in
the work done in their schools; but
Australia was said to be a free land,
and Catholics should participate in the
freedom. The Catholic people were
just as Australian as other sections,
and, therefore, were entitled to share
in all the privileges. There was a great
deal of talk about the necessity of
maintaining a White Australia. He
was not going to raise his voice in opposition
to that policy, but there was
another kind of White Australia he
would like to propagate, and that was
the need for the general whiteness
referred to by Mr. Burke. People
should be without prejudice, and fair
and honest towards their fellow-men,
and that was the kind of White Australia
we wanted in this country. If
we desire a White Australia, we
should see to it that it was not black
underneath.
The Lesson for Catholics.
The hour was late, but he did not
think anyone reeretted the time spent
in listening to Mr. Burke and to the
proposer and seconder of the vote of
thanks. We could all profit by the
splendid addresses. The main thing
was to apply the lesson. If the lesson
were applied, then the Catholic Federation
would have reason to be proud
of embarking on the new movement,
and would have some hope that its
efforts would be crowned with success.
His purpose was to put the vote
of thanks , ably proposed by Mr. Corder
and seconded by Mr. T. P. Walsh,
who was really the founder of the new
movement. He knew they all felt
deeply grateful to Mr. Burke for his
brilliant lecture.________
Daniel O'Connell. Help
Daniel
O'Connell.
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