XXVI. — Catholic Total Abstinencr Societies. 160

Condition of the Irish abroad — Drink — Position in Scotland and England — Respect- ability .of many — The unsuccessful ruined by drink alone — Consequences of drink in Edinburgh — Can a working man drink and be honest to his family ? — Conclusion.
PREFACE.
The following pages contain the substance of two Lectures given a few months ago in Edinburgh. The selection of the subjects upon which they treat, and, indeed, the fact of their being delivered at all, were, it may be said, acci- dental. The author, a missionary priest, was, after over twenty years' labour in Austraha, compelled for health reasons to visit Europe ; and during the past season took advantage of an opportunity to make a tour through Scotland. His object in visiting that historic land was first to gratify his Scotch friends and converts in Australia by a sojourn, however brief, in a country, and in several special localities of it, which he knew to be very dear to them ; and next to satisfy his own desire of seeing the progress of religion in that as well as in the other portions of the British Islands which he had already visited. The condi- tion of the Church in Ireland, and her advance amidst the adverse influences with which she has to contend in England and Scotland,are of intense interest to Australian Catholics ; and an Australian missionary who visits these countries is supposed to bring back much information regarding the state of religion in each one of them. Scotland besides i3 so full of historic reminiscences, and so favoured by nature with splendid scenery, that a visit to Europe is incomplete without a look upon its rugged hills, its romantic lakes and lovely valleys, now made so interesting
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by the works of Sir Walter Scott and other writers. The land once evangelized by Columba and his bands of missionary saints, has besides an indescribable charm for a Catholic missionary. He went, therefore, with great pleasure to Scotland, and he cannot speak too highly or too thankfully of the kindness which the Venerable Archbishop of Glasgow, the Bishops and the Clergy he happened to meet with showed him. But, with the exception of a Sunday sermon to oblige the good pastor of whatever locality he happened to pass through, it was his fixed intention not to speak publicly during his rather rapid progress through the country. It happened, however, that on coming to Edinburgh he found an old and very dear friend and College companion in charge of the most populous Catholic district of the metropolis, and in deference to the earnest solicitations of that friend, he departed from his resolution and gave during the few days his stay lasted, first, a lecture on Secret Societies for the benefit of a large and flourishing Catholic Association for men ; and secondly, as a sequel to that, a lecture on the Spohation of the Propaganda. /
Both lectures were delivered extemporaneously ; that is to say, so far as the language which conveyed their substance was concerned. The matter, however, had been made famihar to the speaker by many years of observation and reading. Very flattering, and, in some cases, very full reports of them appeared in Catholic new^spapers. The report of the principal Protestant organ of public opinion in Edinburgh (the Scotsman) was
PREFACE. IX
very fair, but another paper bitterly resented what it chose to consider an attack on "Freemasonry and Freedom." It was not, however, so much in the hope of diverting Protestants from Freemasonry as in the desire to show to Cathohcs that all kinds of secret societies were as bad as, if not worse than, Freemasonry — were, in fact, united with, and under the rule of the worst form of Freemasonry — that the lecturer essayed to speak at all upon the subject. If what he said could influence anyone outside the Church from joining the worse than folly of British Masonry, he would rejoice at the result ; but his principal aim was to save his own co-religionists from an evil far more pernicious to them than British Masonry has ever been to Protestants. In this latter design, he was glad to learn ^hat he had considerable success ; and amongst those who heard or read hi3 utterances, very many expressed a desire to see what he happened to have said in a permanent form. Notwithstanding the difflculties of doing this with any effect during a vacation tour, he determined, at whatever cost to himself, to gratify their wishes, and therefore took advantage of a few weeks' rest, while spending Christmas in his Alma Mater — All Hallows' College, Dubhn — to put both lectures into the shape in which he now presents them to such as may desire to read them, i
It must, however, be remembeied that these lectures are nothing more than what they were originally ; that is, casual discourses, and not formal and exhaustive treatises on the subjects upon which they touch. For convenience he
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has divided each one into separate headings ; and wliere necessary to illustrate the text, he has added notes. These are necessary in order to form a clear idea of the whole matter treated. Notes, however, are not always proofs ; and proofs however difficult to be obtained against oppo- nents intent on concealment, must, nevertheless, be forthcoming in order to convince. He has, therefore, embodied in the text several documents which were only referred to, or but partially quoted in the spoken lectures. Those now occupy many pages of the lecture upon Secret Societies, and will, he behoves, be read with considerable interest by such as have not previously been acquainted with them. " The Permanent Instruction " and the letters of Vindex and Piccolo Tig re, originally published by