So far all liberal-minded Protestants, who know what Roman Catholicism is, will be with me; and for the main purposes of the argument contained in this chapter it is not necessary to interpret toleration in any wider sense than that which I have indicated.  Many Protestants, among whom I am one, do, it is true, make a further concession to the claim of our Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen.  We would give them in Ireland facilities for higher education which we would not give them in England, and we would advocate liberal endowment by the State to this end.  But this attitude is, I admit, based upon something more than tolerance, and those who would withhold this concession need not be accused of bigotry or intolerance for so doing.  They may be, and often are, actuated by the most liberal motives, by a perfectly legitimate conception of educational principles, or by other considerations which are neither of a narrow nor sectarian character.

I need hardly say that in criticising religious systems and their ministers I have not the faintest intention of entering on the discussion of doctrinal issues.  I am, of course, here concerned with only those aspects of the religious situation which bear directly on secular life.  I am endeavouring, it must be remembered, to arrive at a comprehensive and accurate appreciation of the chief influences which mould the character, guide the thought, and, therefore, direct the action of the Irish people as citizens of this world and of their own country.  From this standpoint let us try to make a dispassionate survey of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism in Ireland, and see wherein their votaries fulfil, or fail to fulfil, their mission in advancing our common civilisation.  Let us examine, in a word, not merely the direct influence which the creed of each of the two sections of Irishmen produces on the industrial character of its adherents, but also its indirect effects upon the mutual relations and regard for each other of Protestants and Roman Catholics.

Protestantism has its stronghold in the great industrial centres of the North and among the Presbyterian farmers of five or six Ulster counties.  These communities, it is significant to note, have developed the essentially strenuous qualities which, no doubt, they brought from England and Scotland.  In city life their thrift, industry, and enterprise, unsurpassed in the United Kingdom, have built up a world-wide commerce.  In rural life they have drawn the largest yield from relatively infertile soil.  Such, in brief, is the achievement of Ulster Protestantism in the realm of industry.  It is a story of which, when a united Ireland becomes more than a dream, all Irishmen will be proud.