As more Irish Catholics arrived in Saint John and Toronto in the 1840s, an increasing sense of urgency to defend Protestantism and British institutions against the Catholic immigrants "pouring into the thousands from Ireland before they form a majority!" The Orange Order became an important organization dedicated to the Protestant population and the defense of British hegemony. Orangemen outlined a plan to combat Irish Catholic immigration: Our chief objects are the union of the Protestants of the several denomination, to counteract the encroachment of all men, sects or parties, who may at any time attempt the subversion of the Constitution, or the severance of these Colonies from the British Empire, to bind Protestants to the strict observance of the Laws, and to strengthen the bonds of the local authorities, by the knowledge that there is ever a band of loyal men ready in case of emergency, to obey their commands, and assist them in the maintenance of order.
The Orange Order was philosophically and socially appealing to Protestants and Loyalist because of their unquestioning loyalty and its fight to "prevent New Brunswick from becoming a Catholic Province." In contrast to the Orange Order, the Hibernian Benevolent Society, or "Trusty Hibernians," was established as an organization intended to represent the Irish Catholic and free them from English rule in BNA. The Hibernians utilized the St. Patrick's parade to commend their society and its fight to keep Irish nationalism alive in BNA. The president of the Hibernian Benevolent Society, Michael Murphy, received "loud cheers and applause" when he denounced British government in Ireland as "radically wrong." In other words, the St. Patrick's parade had become a communal demonstration aimed at asserting Irish Catholic presence and solidarity in BNA. St. Patrick's Day became increasingly identified with Irish Catholicism in the 1840s, and had become "the very center of territorial political and economic struggle" between Orange and Green (Hibernians).
