They have no more share in the good things than the average
Catholic. Those men, Irishmen first and Protestants afterwards, are now
taking their part in public life and earning their proper share in the
rewards of public zeal.
The delegates of the Eighty Club made a special public appeal for
information as to cases of religious intolerance. They received a great
many responses to this appeal, but it is hardly any exaggeration to say
that they found no genuine cases of religious intolerance outside the
North-east corner of Ulster, where they received some conspicuous
examples of the religious persecution of Liberal Protestants by their
Orange co-religionists.[49]
Journeying southwards, however, the Eighty Club delegates passed with
every mile into a serener atmosphere. They received deputations at
every wayside station from the public bodies in the south of Ulster.
These presented documents stating the bare facts as to the
representation of these two forms of the Christian religion--so often,
alas! belying the doctrine of Christian love by the practice of mutual
hatred--on their public bodies. They found, for instance, in Monaghan,
a predominantly Catholic town, that seven seats on the local Council
went to the Unionist and Protestant Party, a considerable concession
from a majority large enough in numbers to pack the whole of the
council if they so desired.
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