,transcriber's ,note3 ,every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible2 some minor changes have been made to correct typographical errors1 and some inconsistent spelling4 ,,university ,,education ,,in ,,ireland4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,samuel ,,haughton1 ,m4,d1 ,f4,r4,s41 ,,fellow ,,of ,,trinity ,,college1 ,,dublin4 ,,london3 ,,williams ,,norgate4 ,,dublin3 ,mc,g,l,a,s,h,a,n ,,gill4 #ahfh4 ,price ,one ,shilling4 ,,dublin3 ,printed at the ,university ,press1 ,,by ,m4 ,h4 ,,gill4 ,,university ,,education ,,in ,,ireland4 ,,introduction4 ,the political condition of ,ireland is1 at present1 grave2 and1 in the event of a war with the ,united ,states1 would become menacing1 to ,england4 ,irish politicians assert--and it is partly admitted by their opponents--that1 in the existing state of ,ireland1 three questions demand an immediate solution3 these questions are1 the ,land ,question1 the ,church ,question1 and the ,education ,question4 ,the tenant farmers of ,ireland wish for fixity of tenure1 and care but little for compensation for improvements1 except as a means of obtaining a practical fixity of tenure2 and they would1 unquestionably1 rejoice to see transferred to themselves1 as occupiers of the soil1 the rights now enjoyed by absentee noblemen and landlords4 ,it is the opinion of many that the ,land question cannot be settled without such a change of owners as would practically amount to a revolution4 ,with respect to the question of the ,church1 the more intelligent laymen of the ,irish ,national party openly avow their wish to alienate the property of the ,church1 on the ground that its existence forms a barrier to the union of ,irish ,protestants with the ,catholic majority in the formation of a truly ,national ,irish party4 ,it is asserted1 and apparently not without reason1 that if the ,irish ,protestants felt themselves cast off by ,england1 and their ,church endowments confiscated1 they might become more willing to join their countrymen in an anti-,english policy1 which the rude breath of war might some day fan into a demand for an ,irish ,republic1 under the guarantee of ,france and ,america4 ,it is for ,english politicians to decide how far the advantages of religious equality would compensate for the risk of national disloyalty4 ,the questions of the ,land and ,church in ,ireland will1 doubtless1 be fully discussed in the ,house of ,commons by persons acquainted with those questions1 and competent to do them justice2 but it may be fairly doubted whether the question of ,education in ,ireland will be examined with as full a knowledge as will be brought to bear on the other questions4 ,the following lines are written in the hope of adding a contribution of facts towards the discussion of one branch of the ,education question--that which relates to ,university ,education in ,ireland4 ,my apology for writing on this question is1 that ,i have been a ,fellow of ,trinity ,college for nearly a quarter of a century1 during which time ,i have taken an active part in the educational reforms which have placed the ,graduates of ,trinity ,college foremost in all the competitions for the public services of ,india1 of the ,army1 and of the ,colonies4 ,i am also entitled to be heard as a ,clerical ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 holding in trust for his brother ,protestants the precious gift of education based on pure religion1 handed down to us by our forefathers1 in defence of which all true ,protestants are prepared1 if necessary1 to sacrifice their lives4 ,two proposals were discussed1 and a third was incidentally alluded to1 in the summer of #ahfg1 in the ,house of ,commons1 respecting ,university ,education in ,ireland2 one of these proposals involves a betrayal of the religious base on which the ,protestant ,college of ,elizabeth was founded2 and another involves a surrender for ever of the high literary and scientific standard of ,dublin ,university1 and a permanent lowering of high class education in ,ireland4 ,against the one ,i feel bound to protest1 as an earnest ,protestant1 and against the other as an advocate for the advancement of science and letters4 ,the proposals made in ,parliament respecting ,university ,education are all founded on the generally admitted fact that ,roman ,catholics in ,ireland have not got the same facilities for ,university ,education as the ,protestants of that country1 and that it is expedient at once to redress this grievance4 ,in order to do so1 it has been proposed to do one or other of three things3-- ,i4 ,to secularize ,trinity ,college1 by throwing open its ,fellowships and ,scholarships to all ,students1 irrespective of religious qualification4 ,,ii4 ,to open the ,university of ,dublin to other ,colleges than ,trinity ,college1 thus transforming the ,university of ,dublin into a ,national ,irish ,university1 on the model of the ,university of ,france4 ,,iii4 ,to grant a ,charter and ,endowment to a ,roman ,catholic ,university1 in which the education given shall be based on religion1 as in ,trinity ,college at present4 ,i shall endeavour to state briefly the objections which seem to me to be so fatal to either of the first two proposals1 as to leave us no alternative but to accept the third horn of the ,educational dilemma3-- ,i4 ,,secularization ,,of ,,trinity ,,college4 ,trinity ,college was founded in ,dublin by ,queen ,elizabeth1 in #aeia1 as a ,protestant ,university1 and for the purpose of giving to ,irish ,protestants a ,university ,education1 based on the doctrines and discipline of the ,reformed ,church of ,england4 ,this infant ,university was fostered by the guiding hand of the great ,lord ,burghley1 its interests were defended by the ill-fated ,essex1 and its ,statutes were drafted by the highly gifted ,bishop ,bedell4 ,trinity ,college has been well described by her enemies as a handful of ,protestant ,clergymen2 because her ,fellows1 with the exception of three1 were required to take ,holy ,orders in the ,english ,church2 and at the present moment five only of her thirty-two ,fellowships are permitted by ,statute to be held by laymen4 ,trinity ,college is now nearly three centuries in existence1 and may be regarded as the only ,english institution that ever succeeded in ,ireland4 ,the sons of the ,alma ,mater founded by ,elizabeth may be excused if they point with pride to the names of ,ussher1 ,king1 and ,magee1 among her theologians2 to ,berkeley1 ,brinkley1 and ,hamilton1 among her thinkers and mathematicians2 and to ,swift1 ,goldsmith1 ,burke1 and ,plunket1 amongst those whom she has given to literature1 oratory1 and politics1 whose names shall live so long as religion1 science1 and letters attract the respect and claim the study of educated ,englishmen4 ,trinity ,college has never been1 and never was intended to be1 a national institution2 her emoluments1 her ,fellowships and ,scholarships1 are the property of the ,irish members of the ,english ,church2 and the proposal to throw them open to the competition of ,roman ,catholics and ,dissenters is a proposal for the confiscation1 so far1 of the property of ,irish ,protestants4 ,trinity ,college has well and faithfully discharged the part she was required to fill2 she has maintained the pure doctrine of the ,english ,church against all opponents2 she has reared her ,students as faithful children of that ,church2 she has given them an education that enables them to compete successfully with all rivals in the walks of literature and science2 and it cannot be fairly alleged against her as a fault that she has not provided for the educational wants of ,irish ,catholics2 she was never intended to do so4 ,the lovers of the gorgeous ,rose need not blush because she wants the colour and grace of the beautiful ,lily2 and ,i may well be pardoned for believing that no brighter or fairer flower blooms in the garden of the ,west1 than the ,tudor ,rose planted in ,dublin by the proud ,elizabeth4 ,in order to estimate rightly the effects of the secularization of ,trinity ,college1 both upon the ,protestants and the ,roman ,catholics of ,ireland1 it will be necessary to give a numerical view of the relative proportions of the different religions and professions among the ,students of that ,college4 ,taking an average of the past ten years1 there are #abjj ,students on the books of ,trinity ,college4 ,of these #abjj ,students1 #hjj are in daily attendance upon lectures1 and may be classified as follows3-- #a4 ,divinity ,students1 #afj #b4 ,medical ,students1 #bdj #c4 ,law ,students1 #gj #d4 ,engineering ,students1 #fj #e4 ,civil ,service of ,india1 #cj #f4 ,non-professional ,students1 #bdj ---- ,total1 #hjj ,in order to find the proportion of ,roman ,catholics1#a ,i have taken1 at random1 five years from #ahee to #ahei1 during which #acgh ,students entered ,trinity ,college1 of whom #hj were ,roman ,catholics1 and #fa were ,protestant ,dissenters and ,jews4 ,we may1 therefore1 assume that the #abjj ,students are distributed as follows3-- #a4 ,english ,church1 #ajgg #b4 ,roman ,catholic ,church1 #gj #c4 ,protestant ,dissenters1 #ec ---- ,total1 #abjj ,the preceding figures give an average of six per cent4 of ,roman ,catholic ,students in ,trinity ,college1 and in no department of the ,college do they exceed ten per cent4 ,thus1 in the ,medical ,school1 in which there is a larger proportion than in other professional schools1 during the four years ending #ahfg1 out of #cjj ,students matriculated in ,medicine1 exactly thirty were ,roman ,catholics1 and three were ,jews4 ,let us now examine briefly the effect of secularizing ,trinity ,college upon the ,protestant and ,roman ,catholic ,students respectively4 ,it cannot be believed by any one1 that the passing of an ,act of ,parliament secularizing ,trinity ,college would alter in the slightest degree the sentiments and wishes of the #aajj ,students of the ,english ,church1 or those of the parents and guardians who placed them in ,trinity ,college1 knowing and expecting that they would there receive1 not only a liberal education1 but instruction and training in the principles of the ,church of ,england4 ,those #aajj young and intelligent ,students would still demand an education based upon religion2 a demand which would be promptly answered by the ,clerical ,fellows of the ,college2 and it cannot be doubted that1 if they were well led by earnest and competent teachers1 they would found a second ,trinity ,college within the walls1 which would perpetuate the principles of the ,college founded by ,elizabeth4 ,such a movement the ,parliament would find itself unable to control2 for the portion of the funds of ,trinity ,college that is now expended on the education of the ,clergy would be allowed1 in common justice1 to be allocated in future to the same object2 and the ,clerical ,professors and ,fellows would gather round them the germ of the ,trinity ,college of the future1 faithful to the traditions of the past1 and perchance surpassing the reputation of the old ,college for learning4 ,from what ,i know of the earnest spirit of ,irish ,protestants1 and of their determination to secure for their children an education founded on the pure word of ,god1 ,i believe that the ,clerical ,tutors of the ,college would at once transfer to themselves the great majority of the ,protestant ,students of ,trinity ,college4 ,some #ajj or #bjj ,students might prefer to receive the instruction1 and reward the care1 of such lay ,fellows as might find their way into the secularized ,corporation1 and thus a permanent domestic schism would become established between the clerical and lay elements of the ,college1 which are now happily at peace4 ,whatever might be the future of the ,college1 it is certain that1 at the outset1 the ,secular ,fellows of the ,college would have to undergo the rivalry of a trained band of ,protestant teachers1 supported by sympathizing ,students1 both smarting under an angry sense of wrong and injustice4 ,let us now inquire how the secularization of ,trinity ,college would please the ,roman ,catholic party in ,ireland4 ,the ,roman ,catholic ,clergy warn their flocks against ,trinity ,college as a ,protestant ,institution1 necessarily dangerous to the principles of ,catholic ,students2 and1 in thus warning them1 they are practically wise1 for it is simply impossible for seventy ,catholics to associate with #aajj ,protestants1 as equals and fellow ,students1 without renouncing1 more or less1 the narrow views respecting ,protestants that prevail among the higher circles of their ,hierarchy4 ,trinity ,college1 however1 although considered dangerous1 has never been placed by the ,roman ,catholic ,clergy in the same category as the ,queen's ,colleges1 which are essentially secularized institutions1 without a recognized religion1 and godless3 as such they are absolutely condemned by the ,hierarchy1 and faithful ,catholics are prohibited from entering their walls4 ,the practical effect of secularizing ,trinity ,college1 if the experiment were successful1 would be to convert it into a fourth ,queen's ,college1 and it would thus become one of a class of ,educational ,institutions which the ,church of ,rome has always1 and consistently1 forbidden her children to enter4 ,it is hard to see how such a plan as this can be rationally advocated1 on the ground that it would satisfy the just demands of the ,catholics of ,ireland4 ,so far1 therefore1 as ,irish ,roman ,catholics are concerned1 the secularization of ,trinity ,college would be to them a loss1 and not a gain2 for it would transfer education in this ,college from the list of dangerous to that of prohibited enjoyments4 ,i need scarcely add how mean and vindictive would be the spirit that would secularize ,trinity ,college1 in order to injure the ,irish ,protestants1 without any corresponding benefit to the ,irish ,catholics4 ,i believe1 therefore1 that it would be impolitic for the ,english ,parliament to secularize ,trinity ,college1 for the following reasons3-- #a4 ,it would irritate the ,irish ,protestants to deprive them of a ,college founded on the principles of their ,church1 which has done its duty1 and has possessed their confidence for three centuries4 #b4 ,it would not satisfy the just demand of the ,irish ,catholics for ,university ,education1 merely to admit them to the ,fellowships and ,scholarships of a secularized ,college1 the principle of which they must feel bound to condemn4 ,,ii4 ,,national ,,university ,,of ,,ireland4 ,the second plan that has been suggested for solving the ,university question in ,ireland1 in one form or other1 amounts to a proposal to throw open the ,university of ,dublin1 or the ,queen's ,university in ,ireland1 or both1 so as to embrace in one ,university a number of ,colleges1 each retaining its own system of religious training and discipline1 and its own endowments1 and sending up its ,students to pass the ,examinations of the ,central ,university1 whose functions would be reduced to those of an ,examining ,board4 ,i readily admit that this proposal is free from one of the objections ,i have urged against the proposal to solve the ,university problem by secularizing ,trinity ,college1 and that it leaves both ,protestants and ,catholics free to train their sons in the religious faith and traditions of their forefathers4 ,this advantage1 although great1 would1 however1 in my opinion1 be purchased at the cost of degrading for ever the standard of ,university ,education in ,ireland4 ,if this objection can be established1 it ought to have peculiar weight in considering the question of ,irish ,university ,education4 ,england differs essentially from ,ireland1 in affording to her young men countless openings in every walk of life1 with or without the benefits of ,university ,education1 which in ,england may be regarded as a luxury enjoyed by the rich2 whereas in ,ireland an ,university ,education is frequently a necessity imposed upon the sons of the less wealthy middle classes4 ,the openings in life for young men of this class in ,ireland are so very limited1 that they must either emigrate1 or rely on their talents and education1 in pushing their way in the learned professions in ,england and the ,colonies4 ,hence it follows1 that any lowering of the standard of ,university ,education in ,ireland would be followed by peculiarly disastrous effects4 ,at the present moment1 ,trinity ,college may be regarded as a manufactory for turning out the highest class of competitors for success in the ,church1 at the ,english ,bar1 in the ,civil ,service of ,india1 and in the ,scientific and ,medical ,services of the ,army and ,navy2 and any legislation which would produce the effect of lowering the present high standard of her degrees1 would tend to destroy the prospects of the educated classes in ,ireland1 and become to those classes little short of a national calamity4 ,in order to establish my objection1 it is necessary to call to our recollection the ancient and true notion of an ,university4 ,with the exception of ,oxford and ,cambridge1 there is no example of an ancient ,university in ,europe composed of a collection of free ,colleges1 united by the common bond of an ,university1 of which all are members1 and which conducts the ,examinations for ,degrees4 ,all other ancient ,universities resemble the ,university of ,trinity ,college in ,dublin1 in consisting of a single ,college possessing1 either from the ,pope or from the ,crown1 the ,university privilege of granting ,degrees4 ,in modern times1 no nation but ,france has seen fit to depart from this ancient form of ,university ,education2 and in that country centralization is so popular and so complete1 that the ,university of ,france1 with its affiliated ,colleges1 has met with a success very certain not to follow a similar experiment in ,ireland4 ,all the ,colleges in ,france are moulded upon the same type1 from which no deviation is permitted2 and all are under ,state control1 which in ,france restrains freedom of education by the same trammels as freedom of speech1 or liberty of the press4 ,the ,minister of ,public ,instruction can boast that when the clock strikes his telegraphed order sets in motion the tongues of his ,professors in ,paris1 in ,strasburgh1 in ,lyons1 and that the same lectures1 in almost the same words1 are delivered within the same hour to all the educated youth of ,france4 ,this drilling of the intellect by the sergeants of the ,emperor pleases for the present the fancy of the ,french2 it would infallibly fail in ,ireland4 ,the condition essential to success in uniting several ,colleges into a common ,university is sameness of type in the education given1 and sameness of discipline in the various ,colleges4 ,this condition is attained in ,france by the centralizing and irresistible power of the ,state2 in ,oxford and in ,cambridge it has grown up spontaneously1 and has partially succeeded2 in ,oxford1 however1 as in ,cambridge1 the multiplicity of ,colleges and of rival1 though similar interests1 has produced feebleness in the government of the central authority1 which is a fault little complained of in the ,university of ,france4 ,i shall presently inquire whether the ,colleges of ,ireland present that similarity of type which is essential to the success of the experiment of fusing them all into a common ,university2 but in the meantime1 admitting1 for the sake of argument1 that the experiment would succeed1 it is worth while to ask whether it would be an advantage to the country4 ,in ,france we see the perfection of centralization and identity in the ,lyceums and ,colleges of the entire country2 in ,germany1 on the contrary1 we witness the full development of the ancient collegiate idea of the ,university2 twenty-seven distinct and independent ,university centres of education exist among forty millions of ,germans1 each ,university differing from the other1 and each possessing its peculiar type of excellence1 to attract its ,students4 ,i believe that all who are acquainted with the present condition of science and letters in the two countries will be disposed to agree in thinking that the intellect of ,france is cramped by the imperial cradle in which it is reared1 while the genius of ,germany is fostered by the freedom of thought1 stimulated by such excellent1 though diverse centres of development1 as ,vienna1 ,munich1 ,heidelberg1 ,bonn1 or ,berlin4 ,university education in ,france pleases the doctrinaire1 just as parterres of flowers of similar hue please the eyes of the gardener2 while the ,universities of ,germany delight the thinker1 as the graceful forms and varied colours of the flowers of some tropical forest please the traveller1 whose instinctive taste prefers the charms and grace of nature to the symmetry and rules of art4 ,the experiment of the union of different ,colleges in a common ,university has succeeded in ,france1 in ,oxford1 and in ,cambridge1 in consequence of the similarity of the ,colleges united together2 but such an experiment attempted in ,ireland would fail1 as certainly as an attempt to unite ,oxford and ,cambridge into one ,university would fail4 ,we possess in ,ireland three distinct types of ,collegiate education1 of which may be cited as examples--,trinity ,college1 in ,dublin2 the ,roman ,catholic ,college of ,carlow1 and ,queen's ,college1 in ,belfast4 ,these ,colleges represent1 respectively1 the religious ,protestant type1 the ,roman ,catholic type1 and the secular or mixed type1 of ,collegiate discipline and training4 ,any person of education acquainted with ,ireland knows the impossibility of fusing such distinct elements in a common crucible2 and yet each system1 in its way1 is excellent1 and will produce good fruits1 if left to develope itself1 and not forced upon those who conscientiously dissent from its fundamental principles4 ,let us suppose1 however1 the experiment tried by persons only partially acquainted with education1 and with the condition of ,ireland--and by such only could it be attempted--then it is easy to see that success could be obtained only at the expense of lowering the standard of education4 ,it is plain that one or other of two things would happen3 either the ,university ,senate would be composed of persons altogether independent of the ,colleges1 and appointed by the ,state1 or it would consist1 as in ,oxford and ,cambridge1 of heads of ,colleges and persons representing their varied interests4 ,in the first case supposed we should witness the painful and degrading spectacle of ,irish ,colleges submitted to the rule of ,state-appointed1 perhaps1 ,state-paid ,governors1 who1 under the name of an ,university ,senate1 would prescribe the curriculum for degrees1 appoint ,examiners1 and confer the titles awarded by those ,examiners4 ,it is not possible to suppose that a ,senate appointed by an authority outside the ,colleges1 and consisting of persons removed from the details of ,university ,education1 would be competent to decide the weighty and important questions that must come before them2 in fact1 a ,senate constituted as ,i have supposed1 in discussing questions of education1 would be about as likely to come to a wise decision as a collection of shoemakers speculating on the structure of a watch1 and making proposals for its improvement1 who will certainly destroy the delicate machinery they are unable to understand1 unless they have the sagacity to call in the watchmakers to their aid4 ,it might be imagined that the standard of education could be maintained by such a system1 on the hypothesis that a ,state-nominated ,senate would always appoint competent ,examiners2 but in such a case those ,examiners would themselves become the ,university1 and would regulate the value of the degrees conferred by it1 and the country could have no guarantee that the standard of education would continue to be maintained2 for this would be to suppose1 on the part of successive ,governments1 a purity in their appointment of ,senators which no rational man expects will ever be found outside the boundaries of the kingdom of ,laputa4 ,if the ,senate of the ,national ,university were composed of ,state officials1 they would feel themselves bound to maintain the interests of all the ,colleges committed to their care1 and it would be impossible to maintain the standard of ,degrees at a point higher than the attainments of the weakest ,college in the partnership1 whose defective standard would regulate that of the ,university ,degree1 just as the sailing of the slowest tub in the squadron regulates the manoeuvres of the entire fleet4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the ,senate of the ,national ,irish ,university should be composed1 after the model of ,oxford and ,cambridge1 of the heads and representatives of the various ,irish ,colleges1 although liberty of education might be preserved1 the standard of the degrees would become degraded by the simple operation of a natural law easy to explain4 ,the heads of the ,irish ,colleges1 united into a happy family ,university by the hands of a paternal ,government1 would either struggle with each other for supremacy1 or enter into a compromise for peace sake1 on some such plan as the following3-- ,after a few preliminary skirmishes1 to try each other's skill1 in arranging a common curriculum in ,morals or ,history1 it would be found that profound and irreconcileable differences existed among the ,colleges on the most elementary principles1 and that it would be impossible for the heads of ,trinity ,college1 of ,st4 ,patrick's ,college of ,maynooth1 of ,queen's ,college of ,belfast1 and of other institutions1 to agree upon a common curriculum of education1 or even of examination for ,degrees1 that would satisfy the reasonable and conscientious scruples of all parties4 ,under these circumstances1 a sort of bargain would be made between the heads of the various ,colleges1 who would agree to take each other's certificates without challenge1 and confer the ,degrees recommended by each independently of the others4 ,the ,university and its ,senate would thus become simply a machinery for authorizing the ,students of the various ,colleges to add certain letters1 such as ,m4 ,a41 or ,,ll4 ,b41 after their names2 and it would become the interest of all the ,colleges in which a really good education was given1 that such letters should have a formal significance only2 the education itself1 testified by the addition of the name of the ,college1 having alone a real market value readily appreciated by the public4 ,each ,college of reputation would be careful to have its own name inserted after the letters signifying the ,university ,degree1 and thus would be practically created as many ,universities as there are ,colleges in ,ireland1 and a disastrous competition downwards would be the inevitable result4 ,the ,degrees of the so-called ,national ,university would be like the bills of a weak firm--dishonoured by the public unless endorsed by the name of a solvent trader--and the letters ,m4 ,a41 or ,,ll4 ,b41 would become like the praises on a bad man's gravestone1 purchaseable at so much a letter4 ,i believe1 therefore1 that ,i am entitled to protest against the scheme of forming a ,national ,university by fusing together the different ,colleges in ,ireland1 on the following grounds3-- #a4 ,because such a scheme for a ,national ,university would prove to be a failure1 on account of the want of similarity in the ,colleges composing the ,university4 #b4 ,because such a scheme would1 in the long run1 infallibly lower the standard and degrade the character of ,irish ,university ,degrees2 a result that would prove peculiarly disastrous to the educated classes in ,ireland4 ,,iii4 ,,roman ,,catholic ,,university ,,of ,,ireland4 ,having disposed of the first two schemes for satisfying the demand of the ,irish ,catholics for ,university ,education1 and shown one to be impolitic1 and the other to be injurious1 it might naturally be expected that ,i should now proceed to advocate the advantages of the remaining plan1 which consists in a ,charter and ,endowment for a ,roman ,catholic ,university in ,ireland1 in which the ,irish ,catholics and their ,clergy should be allowed to arrange their own programme of ,university ,education without the interference of ,irish ,protestants1 or of ,english doctrinaires2 but this course ,i feel to be unnecessary1 as it mainly concerns ,roman ,catholics themselves to state their wishes and explain their views respecting it4 ,protestant interference in such a question is as irritating and as useless as would be the interference of a mutual friend in a quarrel between a man and his wife4 ,english politicians1 in the matter of ,university ,education for the ,irish ,catholics1 have hitherto imitated the doctrine laid down by ,mr4 ,bumble--that the great principle of out-of-door relief is1 to give the paupers exactly what they don't want2 and then they get tired of coming4 ,twenty-seven out of twenty-nine of the ,irish ,catholic ,bishops ask for a ,catholic ,university ,charter and ,endowment1 and are supported in this claim by an overwhelming majority of their flocks4 ,the ,irish ,catholics asked the ,english ,parliament for bread1 and they gave them a stone3 instead of a ,chartered ,university1 with a fair endowment and perfect freedom of ,education1 they received ,queen's ,colleges1 which were condemned as godless1 and which they were prohibited by their ,church from using4 ,let the ,parliament of ,england for once try an experiment which will meet with the approval of ,irishmen of all classes1 and give to ,ireland a third ,university1 in which the highest and best type of ,catholic education shall be developed freely4 ,protestantism cannot suffer by the contrast1 and education must certainly benefit4 ,if ,germans can proudly boast of their twenty-seven ,universities--if ,italians can point to twenty-one ,universities1 awaking from their slumbers at the call of liberty--if little ,belgium can support her four ,universities1 all active1 and required by the wants of her people--surely it cannot be too much for the ,irish people1 divided as they unhappily are by distinctions of religion and bitter recollections of ancient feuds1 to ask that the ,protestant ,university of ,elizabeth1 and the ,secular ,university of ,victoria1 shall be supplemented by a ,catholic ,university1 possessing the confidence of ,irish ,catholics1 and sharing with her friendly rivals1 no longer jealous sisters1 the glorious task of leading the youth of ,ireland into the pleasant paths of ,literature and ,science4 ,the milk-white ,lily is not less beautiful than the crimson ,rose2 let them flourish side by side in the garden of ,ireland4 ,,footnotes3 #a3 ,roman ,catholics were first admitted into ,trinity ,college by an ,act passed by the ,irish ,parliament in #agic4