OUR IRISH LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 252, 23 October 1926, Page 20

OUR IRISH LETTER.

THE COUNTRY POPULATION.

A STARTLING DECREASE. BACK TO THE LAND MOVEMEN

; (From Onr Own Correspondent.) ! DUBLIN, September 7. One of the most startling figures in connection with the recent Free State census is the terrible falling away or the country population—that is the population of the rural districts. Taking the j ligure 100 as the standard of ,the rural population in 1841 —the year in whica j Ireland's population was at its highest figure—it had fallen to 61 twenty years later, the "bad times" having done their fell work in the interim, and this year ; the figure fell to a figure which is absoi lutely appalling—3s. This for every 100 persons living in Free State Ireland and only 35 of them are country folk. Of ' course city and town life show an increase, but it is at the expense of the country life and no longer can the view be taken that Free State Ireland is a rural country. Ireland—outside the north —has few industries beyond the I raising of crops, and one cannot help I thinking that the hundreds of idlers one sees loafing about the towns or I waiting for the doles and other charities largely represent the men who" should be working on the land and raising food, not only for the country, but for export. To find a remedy for a problem of such complexity is the task awaiting someone of outstanding character as a I reformer and statesman. One means to mitigate the present entirely unsatisfactory conditions of affairs would be a better and more commonsense use of the land of the country. As at present handled a vast area of Irish land is ! yielding only a mere percentage of its j j possibilities. This is in the nature of ' a national loss; the endowment which God gave to the nation being in part only utilised as a means of providing,! I sustenance for the people of Ireland. Somehow the spirit of intensive industrial endeavour, which formerly charasterised the Irish farmers j as a class, has largely flown I away. This much is certain, that if the Free State is to raise herself from her present unsatisfactory social and financial position there needs to be made a new departure on lines of greater industry and a better use of the j nation's endowment—the arable land of J Ireland. Last week an American busii ness man speaking before a Dublin audience, told his hearers that they might never hope to achieve success and prosperity by their present methods, so strikingly in contrast with the intensive I industrial spirit of other countries. Certainly, the present "rub along" system can never produce great things in.these days of intensive foreign competition. Co-operative Agriculture. The report of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society for the year ending March 31, 1924, has just been issued. Some of it makes sorry reading. In the period under review notwithstanding repeated application, no less than 441 ; out of 098 affiliated societies failed to make any returns to the central office as to their trade conditions, membership or turnover. Accordingly, the secretariat has had to make an estimate of ' the turnover of the recalcitrant societies I in order to arrive at a figure—for statis- | tical purposes—otf total trading done by I the societies in the movement. It ' reduced the 441 societies ~to 120, and estimated their turnover at the conservative figure of a little over one million sterling, thus putting the total turnover of 608 working societies at £7,725,072. It is unfortunate that of the defaulting societies no less than 61 were cooperative creameries. Nor is it comfortI ing to know that, instead of an improveI ment in 1923 over the trade of 1922, j there was a falling off of less than half a million sterling in the turnover of the creameries alone. Again, the societies I have not supported the central body with that financial aid which is necessary for its work, and which it is to their interest to give. The basis <A the co-operative movement is self help and not State-aid. State aid, it rightly asks, for propaganda and organisation, j but not for the assistance or promotion lof the trade done by the societies. The Department of Lands and Agriculture [ for Southern Ireland, is entering into close relations with the 1.A.0.5., and a new scheme, involving to some extent the reconstruction of the latter body, . has been thought out to make the work lOf the State and voluntary agencies in complete harmony for the betterment of agricultural progress. De Valera's New Movement. Dβ Valera is losing heart quickly. At his Fianna Fail meeting in Gavan yesterday, he failed to galvanise his Hearers into anything like enthusiasm and sadly j cc-iiie3Sed that the fighting days —in j Which, by the way, he did not bear by aiiy means a glorious part —were over. 1 His new movement, he declared, aimed at uniting the people of Ireland into a march towards an independent Irish Republic. The oath of allegiance to j the British King must be abolished. He j denied that Air. Co3ijrave's assertion that the Dail Eireann was a sovereign | assembly. It could hot be so while it: was dictated to by a foreign Power and j based on a constitution made by England. There was hope of it being made \ a sovereign assembly if the twenty-six j counties returned men with grit enough ; ito refuse to take the oath of allegiances which was placed there for England's benefit, and which the Free State Grovernment wished to retain. No Republican , j Would ever take that oath. J De Valera then scarified the Shannon I scheme, stating what is tfu<*, it must be confessed, that the scheme gave the biggest salaries to Germans, and that the money sunk in it could have been eittpioyed in , general Industries instead [of a limited area. The reception given :to De Valera by the outside public was a chilly enough one. J A Terrible Tragedy. ' Last Week the body of Miss Florrie B Best, Botanic Avenue, Belfast wiio was drowned at Bundoran on the 22nd ult., jwas recovered at Rossriowlagh. In many ' churches earnest prayer was offered for the recovery of the body at the request of her people. Miss Best was bathing when she ldst her lifej A Civic Guard named McCabe made a gallant attempt to safe her, and had got her to within a few yards of the shore when a heavy wife washed he* out 8f his grip. McCabe had thrown off his jacket and vest to go to her rescue and, on his return to the shore found that some unprincipled scoundrel had taken advantage of the terrible affair to rob him of his pocket book, which confined a considerable ■ sum of money. The local authorities of Bundoran have come in for some scathing criticism for not having the slightest life saving appliance on the beach. Every ! year some oiie is sacrificed for v> ant of . some life saving appliance, and Bundoran |ia suffering accordingly.