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Show WHY ENGLAND HONORED A GREAT IRISH CATHOLIC. In reviewing the career of the late Sir Charles Russell, lord chief justice of Eng-' Eng-' land, the question naturally arises. Why j did England break the precedent of over I 300 years by choosing this Catholic for II so high an office? He was not only a Catholic, but an Irishman; nay, an Irish home ruler, and j he had but a few years before vindicated the leader of the Irish Nationalists, Charles Stewart Parnell, at the expense of' the London Times, the living voice of English Toryism. In the expose of the Times' forgeries he was the defender not only of the persecuted per-secuted Irish leader, but of Ireland; and by his irrefutable proof of the infamy of the tactics of the enemies of her cause, set that cause on its eminence of merit and dignity in the whole world's sight. Gold could not buy, nor place nor title tempt this matchless, fearless, incorruptible incorrupt-ible antagonist; and it was just because he had shown himself in this character, aibeit 'his vindication of the Irish leader and Ireland involved so much of shame to herself, that England wisely chose him for the highest place in her judiciary. England no longer lets racial or re ligious prejudices stand in the way of her larger interests, so Lord Russell might cherish his Irish Nationalism and his Catholic faith as openly and fervently as he would, so that his splendid legal abilities were devoted to the profit and honor of the empire. During his time in office, something over six years when deat'h claimed him, he instituted many much-needed reforms, his greatest distinction being in the application ap-plication of the principles of common sense to the management and settlement of cases. He brought about the institution institu-tion of the new court for commercial cases; and the better arrangement of the vacation and assize business of the judges of the appeal court, soon to so into effect. is also due to his efforts. No decision of his was ever reversed, and his courage and justice were emphasized em-phasized anew in his action in the case of Dr. Jameson, the leader of the raid on Johannesburg. He served as one of the British arbitrators arbi-trators in 'the decision of the Venezuelan boundary question, though this was out-i out-i side of his regular functions. How grounded he was in the eternal principles of truth and equity, how broad and deep In his knowledge, of men and nations, how keen and correct in his foresight, fore-sight, was shown in his great address on "International Arbitration" before the American Bar association just four years ago. Tory England, 'groaning like a Pharisee Phari-see of old, under her self-assumed "White Man's Burden" in South Africa; and Imperialist America, with her similarly simi-larly fallacious "necessity" 'for Benevolent Benevo-lent Assimilation in the Philippines were sad sights for the fading eyes of this great advocate of international justice and honorable peace. The career of Sir Charles Russell has many lessons the most striking of them being, perhaps, the wisdom, even for this world, of courage and fidelity to principle. princi-ple. Any man can better afford to stay lifelong life-long in obscurity or .forfeit a hard-won worldly honor, than to bear remorse of conscience and the sting of self-contempt for wealth and station wickedly attained or meanly kept. But the man of genius and force of character, char-acter, after his probation, can senerally eet the prizes of life on his own terms. He need not risk the painful alternative of professional or social extinction, in his choice of rectitude at the cost of immediate imme-diate worldly gain, for he can cut a new channel for his abilities; his gifts shine before men and make his faith in God and himself magnetic. The man of genius docs not always know the day of his strength and opportunity, oppor-tunity, hence the sad and even from the worldly point of view unnecessary sacrifices, sacri-fices, such as the poets of "She Lost Leader" Lead-er" or "Ichabod".' deplore. Y'oung Charles Russell, in his modest boyhood home in the north of Ireland could not yet . feel his own strength, nor foresee one of the highest offices in the Brit:sh empire as the visible crown of a life of less than the allotted seventy years. Doubtless his iiroude.st boast was that his family had a record of GOO years in that region, and for the latter half of this long term, has kept the faith at heavy cost. Doubtless the iron in his blood came from those martyr-spirited ancestors. They were a priestly as well as a royal people, with the missionary spirit of Ireland's Ire-land's golden age in them. Lord Russell's uncle, president of May-nooth May-nooth college from 1S57 to 18S0, was the chief instrument of Cardinal Newman's conversion. Lord Russell's brother is a Jesuit priest, and has been a great factor in the Irish literari: revival. All his sisters became Sisters of Mercy, and one of them was tho pioneer of her order on our own Pacific Pa-cific coast. Lord Russell's religious faith had to find in his own especial career manifestation different, but equally, sincere and striking. There must have been times in his early years of struggle for he was not born to fortune, and he married for love when he realized that proud and open Irish Catholicity Catho-licity was not even the high way, much less the lightning express train, to speed v success. But he never minimized either. Ho set God and his soul in the highest place, while he worked strongly and splendidly at his profession for all the material gain he couid honorably compass. com-pass. As his powers matured and he could make his own terms with fortune, his fine Christian honor made him an innovator to the extent of giving up his splendid private pri-vate practice, because he felt it would take from the sole and singular attention he should give to his work as attorney-Keneral. attorney-Keneral. The emoluments of that office were scarcely half those of his private practice. Again his probity met its reward in the increased confidence of his fellowmen and the call to go up hijrher. A greater man than this great man of whom we write has gone down to posterity poster-ity as "the wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind." But of Lord Russell it can be said beyond even his magnificent intellectual intellec-tual achievements was his character suc-. suc-. cess, and that his services to his fellow-men fellow-men had their enduring worth and lustre frorr. his piety to God. . His life will be an inspiration to the Catholic manhood of the world.-Boston Pilot. |