CCHA, Study Sessions, 47(1980), 41-56

The Irish Catholic Press in Toronto,
1874-1887

by Dr. Gerald J. STORTZ
Wilfrid Laurier University

    In his 1877 study of the Irish in Canada, Nicholas Flood Davin made the claim that his fellow countrymen had, "In journalism ... taken the very first rank ... If you were to take from English magazines and English newspapers, from English thought in a word - the clement supplied by Ireland you would leave behind only a splendid ruin." ⁽¹⁾ While Davin's claim smacks of jingoistic hyperbole, there was, in North America, an intrinsic link between journalism and Irish leadership. Such well known figures as Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Timothy Warren Anglin and Patrick Ford, editor of the New York World, were all newspapermen as well as leaders in their respective Irish communities.

    n Toronto, the influx of Irish immigrants which followed the famine was reflected in the growth of the Irish press. While before mid-century, there was only one Irish newspaper, it was decided that by 1863, two journals were needed to serve the Irish Catholics of the city. The two newspapers were the Canadian Freeman and the Irish Canadian. Not surprisingly, there have been a number of studies which have dealt with the rivalry between the two journals. Both publications were dedicated to the betterment of the lot of Toronto's Irish Catholics and of over-coming the negative image that an Irich Catholic immigrant had in the city which has been called "the Belfast of Canada." The difference between the newspapers lay in the way they felt this goal could be achieved. ⁽²⁾

    The Irish Canadian, owned and edited by Patrick Boyle was often at odds with the Bishop of Toronto, John Joseph Lynch. In politics, while the Bishop supported the Conservatives, Boyle was on the Reform side. The biggest difference came, however, in the mid 60's when the Irish Canadian supported the Fenian brotherhood even after condemnations by Lynch and other members of the Ontario hierarchy. ⁽³⁾

    In stark contrast to the position of the Canadian was that of J.G. Moylan's Canadian Freeman. It was denied that the Freeman was, in any sense, the newspaper of the Bishop and yet there is considerable evidence that this was the case. After a brief flirtation with Thomas D'Arcy McGee and the Reform party, the Freeman joined Bishop Lynch on the Conservative side. Once this was done it was Lynch who arranged that the Macdonald Conservatives would pay an annual operating subsidy to Moylan, "to atone for the many subscribers lost by his course against Grits and Fenians." ⁽⁴⁾ That the relationship was an ongoing one was demonstrated in 1873 when the subsidy was withdrawn. Conservative officials made it clear that the money was being taken away to punish Lynch for failing to provide the Catholic vote for tory candidates. The turning point seems to have been the failure of D'Alton McCarthy to win an 1873 byelection despite Lynch's endorsement. ⁽⁵⁾ After the election Sir John A. Macdonald informed Moylan, "If your Archbishop were of the right stamp, he could ensure it a status at once." ⁽⁶⁾ Unable or unwilling to do more than he had been doing, Lynch did not reconcile with Macdonald, and the Freeman was forced to cease operations. This left the Irish Canadian as Toronto's only Catholic newspaper. It was however, only a shortlived monopoly, as a new paper, the Tribune was soon founded to compete with Boyle's publication. The rivalry between the Canadian and the Tribune which lasted from 1874 to 1887 is the main subject of this paper.

    During most of the thirteen years the two publications were on opposite sides in politics. In the 1870's the Tribune reflected Lynch's quasi-neutrality in politics while the Canadian supported the Mackenzie reformers at the federal level. After 1878, there was a period when the Canadian and the Tribune both supported the Conservative party but between 1883 and 1887, the Tribune was a Liberal newspaper both federally and provincially while the Canadian supported the tories at both levels of government. ⁽⁷⁾ The Canadian and the Tribune were also at odds in other ways. The Tribune was the Archbishop's paper and reflected in every way his attitudes. The Canadian, however, was often in dispute with the hierarchy and several times was the subject of episcopal condemnation. Boyle became part of a growing group which believed that while priests had their purpose, they had no right to dictate to the laity regarding voting behaviour or attitudes toward Irish nationalism. By the end of Lynch's career, the Canadian was not only challenging the Archbishop's well known political views but was openly supportive of those who disobeyed many of Lynch's pronouncements in matters more closely connected with religion.

    The Tribune began operations in 1874 on Adelaide Street. The newspaper was variously titled The Toronto Tribune, the Ontario Tribune (to encourage those outside the city to subscribe) and at various times, The Tribune and Catholic Vindicator. As the latter title indicates, there was no embarrassment about the Tribune's connection with the hierarchy. Davin, for example, referred to the Tribune as "a Catholic journal pur sang." C.P. Mulvany described the Tribune as "Catholic and Irish nationalist," while in 1880, Rowell and Co's American Newspaper Directory said the Tribune was "a First Class Catholic Family Newspaper" and "the leading Catholic journal of Canada enjoying the confidence and support of the Hierarchy and the prominent statesmen of the Dominion." ⁽⁸⁾

    Initially the Tribune appears to have been successful. By September 1874, the early editors, J. Bernard Carroll and Alex Robertson were predicting that Catholic newspapers would be strengthened and that eventually there would even be a Catholic daily press. The optimism continued until December 24th when an editorial declared that the newspaper was a financial success and would be including additional features in the Catholic Church which would reflect this. ⁽⁹⁾ Within a year, however, the Tribune was in such serious financial difficulty that it was necessary to reduce the physical size of the paper. Presumably, a later move from Adelaide Street to sparser quarters on Victoria Street and the sudden entry into the business of Thomas McCrosson, a successful businessman and a Lynch confidant reflected such problems. Despite McCrosson's efforts, the Tribune never did regain financial stability and monetary losses were the major reason behind the demise of the journal in 1887. ⁽¹⁰⁾

    Only a few issues of the Tribune have survived. It is, therefore, not possible to be totally accurate in gauging the editorial policy but close connections with Lynch make some speculation possible. For example, while there is no substantial evidence that the newspaper was founded at Lynch's request to offset the effects of the Irish Canadian, the editor's statement in the first issue of the Tribune which declared that the editor of a Catholic newspaper had a duty to be "the public defender of the faith, its witness and its upholder in the world," could conceivably be construed as an indictment of what Lynch had much earlier recognized as Boyle's anti-clerical tendencies. ⁽¹¹⁾ At least one contemporary observer believed that the newspaper was an organ of the Catholic League, an ostensibly neutral, pro-Reform group. This, however, seems unlikely because Lynch was antagonistic to the League and because the paper like the Archbishop espoused a quasi-neutrality which was more favourable to the Conservatives than to the Reformers. ⁽¹²⁾ From the outset, the Tribune argued that Catholics did not need to be associated with a specific party for "When there is no politico-religious question before the country there is no need for such an alliance." The Tribune further argued, "We hold that Catholics, as such, should not be tied to any party but that they should arrange themselves with either as they hold political views." ⁽¹³⁾ It was a policy that the Tribune seems to have initially followed. Candidates for election were endorsed on the basis of their religion rather than their party affiliation. The newspaper's neutrality was such that one subscriber was moved to praise the Tribune for being "thoroughly Irish and Catholic, independent and untrammelled by any party bias." ⁽¹⁴⁾ The Tribune seemed to be holding true to the policy in 1876, when Liberal Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie, reacting to continued Conservative anti-Catholicism at the federal level, attempted to cultivate Lynch as a political ally and was rebuffed. Lynch's letter to Mackenzie which was published extensively in the press drew a predictably favourable response from the Tribune which commented that the communication would "do a great deal of good by letting Protestants understand Catholics better and thus allaying the groundless fears which prevail very much regarding the political influence of the Catholic Church." ⁽¹⁵⁾

    In reality, by 1876, both Lynch and the Tribune had already abandoned their stated policy of neutrality. The Archbishop and the journal had both begun to favour the tories. In the wake of internal problems in the Liberal party the Tribune commented that "the star of Grit ascendancy is waning and the final extinction will not be much longer delayed." ⁽¹⁶⁾ A more relevant factor to the Irish Catholics of Toronto was the economy. As the raw material of industrialism they were hit hardest by the cyclical depressions of the 1870's. The Tribune pointed out, "Even their [the Liberal's] greatest admirers admit they have failed to meet the expectations of the people." ⁽¹⁷⁾ What was needed, said the newspaper, consciously adopting the rhetoric of the Conservative party, was a National Policy, "And this it is in the interest of every intelligent Canadian to promote." ⁽¹⁸⁾ The main thrust of the policy, the Tribune agreed, had to be protection which "would elevate Canadian industry. It would put it in the first rank of consideration and thus provide work for the multitudes." ⁽¹⁹⁾

    Such comments led to an attempt by the Conservative party to renew the old alliance with Lynch. As the 1878 election approached, Frank Smith, a Conservative, a Catholic, and a Lynch confidant was dispatched to Saint Michael's Palace to work out the details. Since Lynch refused to take an active part, it must be presumed that the Conservatives did not offer enough. He did, however, remain truly neutral. ⁽²⁰⁾ Shortly after the election when the Macdonald government announced that the Archbishop would be sent to Ireland as the ambassador for an Irish Agricultural colony in the Northwest, the alliance was renewed. ⁽²¹⁾ While no issues of the Tribune exist for the three years in which the colony was seriously contemplated, the amount of support given by all segments of Ontario's Irish population indicated that the newspaper probably supported the project and the tory sponsors. The alliance ended, however, with the withdrawal of British support for the programme, the bursting of the Manitoba bubble, and the realization by the federal Conservatives that they had more to gain by attacking the Roman Catholic Archbishop than by cultivating him. This programme was one in which the Irish Canadian played a vital role.

    The effect upon the Tribune was to turn the journal, for the first time, into a Liberal party organ. The Tribune switched editorial support to Edward Blake's party. It was a logical switch in many ways as Blake favoured Home Rule for Ireland but it was forced by the tory tactics. ⁽²²⁾ In return for editorial support, the Liberals agreed to provide the newspaper with financial support for five years. The party also hired a new editor. Timothy Warren Anglin was a former Liberal parliamentarian. He had also owned and edited the Saint John Morning Freeman. His main task in Toronto was to edit the Globe, the Liberal daily. ⁽²³⁾ Anglin's entry into Toronto Journalism was not received with unanimous enthusiasm. Grip, an anti-Catholic and pro-Conservative satirical weekly claimed, "His principal chore will be the feeding of the political pig with good Grit swill with a view to having it fat and docile at the next election." An accompanying cartoon portrayed a recognizable Anglin, labelled, "The New Hired Man" feeding scraps to a hog labelled "The Catholic vote." ⁽²⁴⁾

    While Anglin's efforts at the Globe were undoubtedly of greater consequence, the Tribune editorials soon began to reflect Liberal policies. This was especially true in the wake of the second Riel rebellion in 1885. At the same time that Edward Blake was criticizing Macdonald in the House of Commons for his handling of the matter, the Tribune argued, "For the rebellion in the Northwest, Sir John A. Macdonald is unquestionably responsible." ⁽²⁵⁾ Closely allied to the criticism of Macdonald was the claim that "the Liberal platform is board enough and long enough and strong enough to hold, in safety, the entire people of Canada." ⁽²⁶⁾ This the Tribune contrasted with the Conservative government which asked Ontario Catholics "to unite with Sir John's Orange supporters and bigots of all hues in deciding by their votes that it was right to hang lunatic Riel." ⁽²⁷⁾

    Such comments rose to a crescendo as the federal election of 1887 approached. In the wake of a provincial campaign which had largely been waged against the Ontario hierarchy, there was no hesitation on the part of Lynch and his colleagues in supporting the party of Edward Blake. As one of the Toronto Vicar-Generals J.F. McBride commented, "Our work in the defence of the Church is over with the return of the Liberal government in the Dominion election." ⁽²⁸⁾ Even two of the staunchest of the Toronto Conservative dailies, the World and the Mail believed that the Catholic vote would go to the Liberal party. The Globe, Anglin's own paper also predicted that this would happen. It appeared that the Tribune under Anglin's editorship had been effective. ⁽²⁹⁾ Such, however, was not the case. The traditional federal vote for the Conservative party remained intact. In a post election edition of the Tribune, Anglin claimed that 66% of Ontario Catholics had voted for Blake's party. ⁽³⁰⁾ Federal Liberal organizers were not, however, so easily convinced. They came to the conclusion that as long as Sir John A. Macdonald was alive that the Conservatives would enjoy the overwhelming support of Ontario's Irish Catholics. ⁽³¹⁾ The Tribune was then seen simply as a financial drain on the party. It was decided that the monetary support would be terminated. Without the subsidy the newspaper could not operate. In 1887, despite what Anglin described as his "extraordinary exercises to keep it alive," the newspaper ceased operation thus ending the second era of Irish Catholic journalism in Toronto." ⁽³²⁾

    While federal politics was behind the demise of the Tribune, the newspaper was also at odds with the Irish Canadian in the areas of provincial politics and Irish nationalism. Not enough issues survive to recount in any great detail, the part played by the Tribune in provincial contests. However, the details of the alliance between Archbishop Lynch and Liberal Premier Oliver Mowat are well known. The initial rationale for the Lynch-Mowat concordat was opposition to Orange Incorporation. Incorporation was described by the Tribune as "an insult to the Catholic body." It was pointed out that politicians who supported such legislation could not expect to get the Irish vote. ⁽³³⁾ As the Lynch-Mowat alliance grew in strength the Tribune was forced to deny charges that the newspaper was being run by a member of Mowat's cabinet. ⁽³⁴⁾ Apparently the newspaper continued to support Mowat especially after Anglin's appointment. What is presumably a typical editorial appeared in 1885. Anglin argued that Mowat at the provincial level had treated Catholics far better than had Macdonald at the federal level. ⁽³⁵⁾

    In nationalism there is also a dearth of material. What does exist indicates that the Tribune not only followed Lynch regarding the problems of Ireland but allowed the prelate to speak for himself and the newspaper through pastorals and letters to the editor. Lynch believed that the primary duty of the immigrant was to his new land while Boyle believed that the primary loyalty should be to Ireland. ⁽³⁶⁾ When Lynch referred to Toronto Catholics as Canadians, the Irish Canadian commented, "The Canadian nationality is new to us ... there is nothing here as yet to exchange for the proud traditions." ⁽³⁷⁾ Such comments angered Lynch and caused him to accuse the Irish Canadian of attempting "to cause dissension and mistrust amongst our citizens and especially amongst the Catholics of the province by stirring up national prejudices ..." ⁽³⁸⁾

    Boyle's comments reflected his philosophy concerning the duties of a journalist. A statement was printed in the first issue in 1863, and at the beginning of each year thereafter. According to the editorial, the Irish Canadian was "to be devoted to service of the Irish in Canada. We, at once, identify themselves with their wants and needs." Boyle believed that Irishmen throughout the world shared a common nationality and a common problem. This partly explains the vast amount of world news in the Irish Canadian. ⁽³⁹⁾ It also justifies to some degree the journalist's sympathy for the Fenians. Boyle was regarded widely enough as a Fenian that he was imprisoned for several months during 1869 as a suspect in the murder of Thomas D'Arcy McGee. ⁽⁴⁰⁾

    There is unfortunately little available information about Boyle's personal life. The typical account is that of Davin who wrote "Mr. Patrick Boyle is so well known that it would be superfluous to give my readers any idea of his personality or abilities." What is clear is that there was a personal antagonism between Boyle and Lynch which by the mid-80's was so well known that correspondents writing to the archbishop were delightedly informing him of attacks which had been made upon Boyle in Irish newspapers outside Toronto. ⁽⁴¹⁾

    While nationalism later became the main point of contention between the two men, the early attacks made by Boyle on Lynch were politically motivated. As early as 1873, the Irish Canadian played a significant part in destroying the Catholic-Conservative alliance. The feud, however, reached one of the bitterest points in the controversy over the letter sent by Lynch to Mackenzie. Boyle and the Canadian charged that despite Lynch's claims to the contrary, the Archbishop was as personally involved in the political direction of Catholics as any of the Bishops of Quebec. Lynch angered, informed Boyle, "I do not interfere with Catholics in their political bias, we have vast numbers on either side in politics." ⁽⁴²⁾ A pastoral was also issued in which the Archbishop noted that the Irish Canadian had ignored his complaints about articles which had appeared and therefore was not authorized to be recognized as an Irish Catholic newspaper. ⁽⁴³⁾

    That the incident did not immediately blow up into a vicious battle was the product of coincidence. As Lynch was returning to the Conservative fold, John O'Donohoe, the leading Irish Catholic Reformer and mentor of the Irish Canadian was defecting to the tories. When O'Donohoe switched allegiance, so too did Boyle's newspaper. This meant that between 1879 and 1883, Boyle and Lynch were in the unusual position of being on the same side in politics. However, between 1883 and 1887, the Irish Canadian became a subsidized Conservative organ, the purpose of which was to take part in a concerted assault upon Lynch and his involvement with the Liberals at both the federal and provincial levels of government. The attack was made upon the Lynch-Mowat concordat because it was recognized that there was a carryover factor between federal to provincial politics. It was reasoned that if Lynch could be weakened at the provincial level, the federal tories might also benefit. Since the federal Conservatives were successful among Ontario Catholics while their provincial counterparts were not, the initial salvo came from Ottawa.

    To prevent charges of anti-Catholicism, a pamphlet was issued by two Irish Catholic Conservative Senators, Frank Smith and John O'Donohoe, in which they accused Lynch of betraying their coreligionists through his alliance with Mowat. The pamphlet was followed by a two pronged, long term attack upon both Lynch and Mowat,. In 1885, the Tribune claimed that Mowat was "held up to Orange tories by the Orange Sentinel as the slave of the Catholic hierarchy ... and at the same time held up to Catholic tories by the Irish Canadian as a bigot, an implacable enemy of Catholicism." Lynch was treated in the same manner. Such journals as the Mail, the World and the Sentinel attacked the Archbishop's excessive influence while the Canadian argued that he did not gain enough favours for Catholics from the Mowat government. ⁽⁴⁴⁾

    The Irish Canadian periodically reprinted the contents of the Smith-O'Donohoe pamphlet to keep the issue alive among the Irish Catholics of Ontario. ⁽⁴⁵⁾ When the Archbishop and his allies attempted to refute the charges with a pamphlet of their own which claimed that "His Grace has never said that Catholics should vote for any political party," the Canadian suggested that those who had convinced Lynch to release the tract were themselves traitors to the true needs of the province's Catholics. ⁽⁴⁶⁾ In order to refute Lynch's claim of political neutrality, the Canadian resurrected an anti-Reform letter Lynch had written to Father Jamot, the Vicar-General, in the 1867 federal election. A second letter Lynch wrote to W.H. Higgins, a provincial Liberal organizer urging Catholics to vote for Mowat was printed with the comment that "it was the letter of a politician and not the letter of a Catholic bishop." ⁽⁴⁷⁾

    Boyle and the Conservatives did not escape the notice of Grip editor, J.W. Bengough, who wrote, "The Irish blood we have in our veins feels inclined to Boyle [sic] at this announcement but our fellow countrymen are content to have their franchise taken to market like a fat pig." A cartoon showed Boyle and O'Donohoe driving a pig to market. Archbishop Lynch was in the background yelling "stop thief." ⁽⁴⁸⁾

    The tactic was successful and it certainly took the hierarchy by surprise. Jamot, by this time Bishop of Peterborough said, "The Old Man [Macdonald] declares war on us." According to Jamot the only motive he could find was the relationship between Lynch and Mowat. ⁽⁴⁹⁾

    As for Boyle and the Canadian there was an additional rationale for a pro-Conservative stance. Initially, the motive was simply government contracts for the Toronto Printing Company, the commercial printing arm of the operation. By themselves these contracts brought about expansion and relocation. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ When the tactic seemed to be working, the Conservative strategists decided that the program could be expanded. It was decided that an operating subsidy would be granted to the newspaper which would allow Boyle to reduce the annual subscription price to one dollar compared to a dollar and a half for the Tribune. It was also decided that the company would produce a daily edition. John Costigan, the Conservative politician who conceived the idea wrote to Macdonald, "It is believed the daily will do much good in the cities and the reduction of the price of the weekly will increase its circulation in the rural districts." Boyle, as editor, was paid a weekly salary by the joint stock company which was formed thus removing some of the economic uncertainty that he might otherwise have faced. ⁽⁵¹⁾

    The daily did not survive as Irish Canadians preferred to read the secular dailies. ⁽⁵²⁾

    The attacks upon Lynch, however, did appear to be having the desired result and were intensified in the weekly. The Lynch-Mowat alliance continued to be the focus of the attack. The concordat, said the Canadian, had taken Catholics "out of the frying pan and into the fire." The letters to Higgins and Jamot were reprinted, often with accompanying complaints about the Archbishop's "active propagandism on behalf of Mr. Mowat." ⁽⁵³⁾ Such comments were geared for the provincial election which was to be held in 1886 and the aforementioned federal election of 1887. As the contests approached, the Ontario Conservatives decided upon a campaign of "No Popery" based on opposition to Lynch and to the concessions that he had wrought from the Mowat government for Catholics, particularly in the area of education.

    The chief organ for "No Popery" was the Mail. It is doubtful that even the provincial Conservative leader, W.R. Meredith had any idea how vehement, W.C. Bunting, the editor of the Mail intended to be in his attacks upon Catholicism in general and upon the most visible symbol of what the Mail claimed was Catholic domination, the Archbishop of Toronto. A good indication that this was the case was given in a Mail editorial during the campaign chiding Meredith for not being vehement enough in his anti-Catholicism and warning him that Toronto residents were well aware of how dangerous Lynch could be. The Mail reportedly made disparaging remarks about Lynch referring to him as "our hare brained friend." ⁽⁵⁴⁾ So vicious did attacks upon Lynch become that opposition to the Meredith party tactic was felt from four sources - the hierarchy, the Liberal party, moderate Protestants and the federal Conservatives. In this latter group the Irish Canadian found themselves ranged with John A. Macdonald in the belief that Catholics were being driven from the tories into the arms of the Liberal party. Despite pleas by Macdonald to cease and desist the Mail, the Sentinel, the World and the Presbyterian Review all continued the campaign. ⁽⁵⁵⁾ Boyle and the Canadian were in a dilemma. Although Conservative and anti-Lynch, Boyle was not about to co-operate in such a campaign. During the fall of 1886 as the provincial election approached and when the anti-Lynch campaign among Irish Catholics waged by the Irish Canadians should have been coming to fruition, the newspaper, in order not to be associated with the Mail, ceased criticism of the Archbishop. Even in December when Lynch and his episcopal colleagues, angered by the attacks, mounted a concerted "vote Liberal" campaign in all the parishes of Ontario, the Canadian issued no negative comment. ⁽⁵⁶⁾ Instead, the newspaper warned the provincial Conservative that they could not expect to win the election on the basis of their policy. As Macdonald feared and Boyle predicted, the moderate vote went to Mowat. According to Mowat's biographer, Margaret Evans, the provincial election of 1886 was the one contest in which the Catholic vote buoyed by sympathy for Lynch was measurably a Mowat vote. ⁽⁵⁷⁾

    In the weeks that followed as the preparations were made for the federal election, the Canadian remained silent rather than raise the spectre of "No Popery." At the same time the Tribune was advising Ontario Catholics that "the government is reckless, extravagant, unprincipled and corrupt and all who know what their duty is to Canada should vote against them." ⁽⁵⁸⁾ This meant that the Irish Canadian played no major role in the 1887 Dominion campaign but in the wake of the Conservative victory, Boyle continued to be rewarded for his loyalty. The immediate gain came in the form of further printing contracts. In the long term Boyle was given a job first as a Conservative organizer, then a patronage position in the civil service. ⁽⁵⁹⁾ There was also presumably a continued subsidy for the Canadian which allowed the newspaper to outlive the rival Tribune by five years.

    The survival of the Canadian and the demise of the Tribune seems to be explainable in simple terms. The Canadian had fewer financial difficulties from the outset. Once subsidies were established for both journals, the Liberals became reluctant to waste money on an ineffective effort while the tories were pleased with their success at the federal level and had no such qualms. The rivalry also is marked by a number of factors which become apparent only in the period of Irish Catholic journalism in Toronto which began in 1887 and ended in 1892.

    There have been a number of studies which have dealth with the Irish immigrant and his adjustment to North America. A number of factors had a distinct influence upon the nature of this experience. One of the most profound determinants was what Emmet Larkin has termed "the Devotional Revolution." Most of those who came to Canada from Ireland had been exposed to this renaissance of religion. ⁽⁶⁰⁾ With an already heightened sense of their own Catholicism, the immigrants religious and ethnic identification was further intensified by his immigration experience. ⁽⁶¹⁾ As the most homesick of all immigrants, the Irish attempted to recreate in the new world a replica of the old. However, instead of an accurate imitation, what was established was a caricature of the Irish society they had left. Part of this caricature was a reliance upon the institutional Church which far exceeded the bounds of the true relationship between the Irishman and the clergy. This, however, explains only the behaviour of the immigrant in the years immediately following immigration. ⁽⁶²⁾

    As the immigrant became used to North America, self reliance became a desirable goal. In such matters as politics and nationalism, a growing number of Irishmen refused to be led by the clergy. Throughout North America this was the case. ⁽⁶³⁾ Journalists played a special role. As political theorist Thomas Brown has noted,

    As a nationalist leader, politician and a newspaper editor, Boyle saw himself in such terms. In a letter to Lynch in 1876, Boyle expressed regret over the personal antagonism between himself and the Archbishop but indicated he could not follow the Archbishop blindly and still complete "the honest discharge of my duty as a journalist." ⁽⁶⁵⁾ It is noteworthy within a few weeks of the demise of the Tribune, the dispute which had previously been limited largely to political questions was expanded. Against Lynch's expressed wishes, Boyle and other secular leaders of Toronto's Irish Catholic community invited radical Irish leader William O'Brien to Toronto. A more prolonged dispute between clerical and lay leadership was over the introduction of the ballot in separate school board elections. The Irish Canadian led the pro-ballot forces while Lynch, Anglin and Moylan led the opposition. ⁽⁶⁶⁾ After the death of the Tribune, such disputes led to the establishment of a replacement, The Catholic Weekly Review. Throughout the life of the Review, it was the subject of direct and vicious attacks by Boyle in the Canadian. ⁽⁶⁷⁾

    Ironically, within a few years the situation had again changed. The same forces which caused Irish immigrants to put their trust in lay leaders rather than priests led them eventually to adopt the ways of the new land as Lynch had advocated. In Toronto, the reduction in ethnic identification was accelerated further by a massive influx, at the end of the century, of anti-Catholic Protestant immigrants. One effect in the face of development of a "popular press" was the decline of the Irish ethnic press. ⁽⁶⁸⁾ After five years of competition, the Review and the Canadian were forced to joint publication as the Catholic Register which has survived as a Catholic rather than an Irish newspaper. As if to underline the fact the era of Irish newspaper in Toronto was truly at an end, one brief attempt by Boyle to revive the Irish Canadian in 1902 ended in abject failure.

    Evidently, the rivalry between the Tribune, the newspaper of clerical forces and the Irish Canadian, the newspaper of lay leadership reflected a duality of thought within the Irish Catholic community in Toronto. While the most blatant evidence of the rivalry did not come to light until after the Tribune had ceased operation in 1887, the roots of the dispute can be discerned in the political attacks upon Lynch in the 1880's. Such attacks and the rivalry between the two journals reflected the fact that the Irish Canadian immigrant had, by the last twenty years of the nineteenth century begun to reconsider the attitude that he had toward the Church and the role that the Church should be allowed to play in his life.

1. N. F. DAVIN, The Irishman In Canada, (Toronto. 1877), p. 37. My thanks to Ed. Doherty and Jamie Snell who suggested the topic and Bill Baker and members of the Tri-University Colloquium who offered their comments on an early draft of this paper.

53. Irish Canadian, January 15, 1885.