Note 47 — Chapter V
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Take the facts given by Mr. John J. Horgan, in his interesting pamphlet entitled "Home Rule—A Critical Consideration":—"In a country of which three-fourths of the population are Catholic there has not been a Catholic Viceroy since 1688. There never was a Catholic Chief Secretary. There have been three Catholic Under-Secretaries. There have been two Catholic Chancellors. In the High Court of Justice there are seventeen Judges; three of them are Catholics. There are twenty-one County Court Judges and Recorders; eight of them are Catholics. There are thirty-seven County Inspectors of Police; five of them are Catholics. There are 202 District Inspectors of Police; sixty-two of them are Catholics. There are over 5,000 Justices of the Peace; a little more than one-fifth of them are Catholics. There are sixty-eight Privy Councillors; eight of them are Catholics.
"Let us now consider some of the large Government Departments. Take the Local Government Board. This body consists of two elements—the nominated and highly paid officials and those who secure admission through competitive examinations. From the latter class Catholics cannot, of course, be excluded. The permanent Vice-President is to all intents and purposes the Local Government Board. He is a Protestant and a Unionist. Of the three Commissioners, two are Protestants, one a Catholic. On the permanent staff we find forty-seven nominated officials, thirty-four of whom are Protestants: and the balance of thirteen Catholics. The thirty-four Protestants draw an average yearly salary of £653 13s., while the average yearly salary of the thirteen Catholic officials only amounts to £580. On the permanent staff created by competitive examination the story is very different. Here we find forty-three Catholics and twenty-five Protestants. Brains and ability could not be kept out. But what about their remuneration? The average salary of the forty-three Catholics amounts to £207 13s. 6d., while that of the twenty-five Protestants is £304 8s. Can any sensible man believe that there is no favour here?"