We have seen how Irish the South African episcopate has been from the very outset.  Most of the clergy belong to the same missionary race, as also do the nuns of the various convents, and the Christian Brothers, who are in charge of many of the schools.  Of the white Catholic population of the various states of the South African Union, the greater part are Irish.  There are about 25,000 Irish in Cape Colony in a total population of over two millions.  There are some 7,000 in Natal, I,500 in Kimberley, and about 2,000 in the Orange River Colony.  In the Transvaal, chiefly in and about Johannesburg, there are some 12,000 Irish.  A few thousand more are to be found scattered in Griqualand and Rhodesia.

As has been already said, the total numbers are not large in proportion to that of the population generally, and they belong chiefly to the industrial and trading classes.  The most notable names among them are those of prelates, priests, and missionaries, who have founded and built up the organization of the Catholic Church in South Africa.  But there are some names of note also in civil life.  Sir Michael Gallwey was for many years Chief Justice of Natal; the Hon. A. Wilmot, who has not only held high official posts, but has also done much to clear up the early history of South Africa, is Irish on the mother’s side; Mr. Justice Shiel is a judge of the Cape Courts; Eyre and Woodbyrne are Irish names among the makers of Rhodesia; and amongst those who have done remarkable work in official life may also be named Sir Geoffrey Lagden, Sir William St. John Carr, and the Hon. John Daverin.  Lagden was for many years British Resident in Basutoland, the Switzerland of South Africa, where the native tribes are practically independent under a British protectorate.  Griffith, the paramount chief of the Basuto nation, has been a Catholic since 1911.  Sir Geoffrey’s tactful policy and wise counsels did much to promote the prosperity of this native state, and during the trying days of the South African War, he was able to secure the neutrality of the tribesmen.

In the Boer wars, Irishmen fought with distinction on both sides.  General Colley, who fell at Majuba in the first Boer War, was a distinguished Irish soldier.  Another great Irishman, General Sir William Butler, has written the story of Colley’s life.  Butler himself was in command of the troops at the Cape before the great war.  If his wise counsels had been followed by the Government, the war would undoubtedly have been avoided.  He refused to have any part in the war-provoking policy of Rhodes and Chamberlain, and warned the Home Government that an attack on the Dutch republics would be a serious and perilous enterprise.  When the war came, England owed much to the enduring valor of Irish soldiers and to the leadership of Irish generals.  One need only name General Hart, of the Irish Brigade; General French, who relieved Kimberley, and who is now (1914) Field-Marshal and Commander-in-Chief of