PARNELL 125 PAROLE with other members of his party; and was lodged in Kilmainham jail, and not released till the following May. In 1883 he was the recipient of a large money testimonial (chiefly collected in America) , and was active in organizing the newly formed National League. At the gen- ei-al election of 1885 he was re-elected for Cork, and next year he and his fol- lowers supported the Home Rule pro- posals introduced by Mr. Gladstone. In 1887 he and other members of his party were accused by the "Times" of com- plicity with the crimes and outrages com- mitted by the extreme section of the Irish Nationalist party. A commission of three judges was appointed by the government in 1888, with the result that, in February, 1890, Mr. Parnell was acquitted of all the graver charges. He died in Brighton, England, Oct. 6, 1891. PARNELL, THOMAS, an Irish poet; born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1679; was educated at Trinity College, and taking orders in 1705 was presented to the ai-chdeaconry of Clogher, but resided chiefly in London. He was at first asso- ciated with Addison, Congreve, Steele, and other Whigs; but later joined the Tory wits. Swift, Pope, Gay, and Arbuth- not. He assisted Pope in his transla- tion of Homer, and wrote the Life pre- fixed to it. By Swift's recommendation he obtained a prebend in the Dublin Cathedral and the valuable living of Finglass. After his death a collection of his poems was published by Pope in 1721. He died in 1717. PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS. schools, mostly elementary, maintained by re- ligious denominations to provide instruc- tion in matters of religious faith as well as in secular studies. Two denomi- nations only have provided a sufficient number of parochial schools for any con- siderable number of their children: the Roman Catholic and the Lutheran. Of these two denominations the former has much the larger system, and because of its extent Catholic authorities have claimed exemption from school taxes for their people, asserting that by supporting parochial schools their parishioners have more than met their share of the general educational expense. It has been esti- mated that it would cost the nation one hundred million dollars to accommodate the children now in the Catholic paro- chial schools. Roman Catholics have always asserted that religious instruction should be in- separable from education in secular mat- ters, so as to secure the proper type of Christian citizenship. Consequently, at plenary and provincial councils Catholics Vol. VII— Cyo have been exhorted and commanded to send their children to the parochial schools. A system of supervision of teachers in the schools was started in 1884, and since that date the number of children in Catholic schools has steadily increased. In 1900 there were 3,812 schools, in 1910, 4,972 and according to latest available figures there were 5,286 schools with 1,360,761 pupils. These schools are under the general charge of the bishop of the diocese who appoints school boards for the parishes and gen- eral superintendents to supervise school activities. The parish priest is also a controlling influence in each local school. The subjects studied are similar to those of the public schools with the addition, however, of considerable instruction in the Catholic faith. The teachers are usually members of some of the religious orders in the church or are in training for such membership. In 1911 a teach- ers' college was established for the training of teachers in the Catholic schools. For the most part these schools have confined themselves to elementary work, but after 1905 a number of Cath- olic High Schools have been established under the direct control of the bishop of the diocese. There is also established at present a course of instruction start- ing in the elementary schools continuing in the high schools, and closing with a degree from the Catholic Universities in America. The other denomination supporting parochial schools is the Lutheran. Here the schools are under the charge of the separate congregations and no at- tempt is made to coerce the parents to send their children to Lutheran schools. They have been patronized for the most part by Germans and Norwegians who desire their children to retain some of the traditions of their homeland. The progress of the schools has been slow, in 1913 less than one-fourth of the children of Lutheran parents attended these pa- rochial schools. Like all else that sav- ored of Teutonic culture these schools were severely criticized during the years 1914-1920 and the result has been a decline in the number of children attending. PAROLE, a word of promise; a word of honor; faith plighted; specifically a promise given by a prisoner on his honor that he will not attempt to escape if al- lowed his liberty, or that he will return to custody on a certain day if released, or that he will not bear arms against his captors for a certain time, etc. Also a password; a word given out each day in orders by the commanding officer in 9
