IRELAND AS SHE IS—AND SHOULD BE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 91, 10 January 1908, Page 5

IRELAND AS SHE IS—AND SHOULD BE.

. Sir,—On December 30 an Irish journalist, m giving his views on Irelaild, begins with a mistake in stating it was once a mighty jiation.- Ireland was never a nation except for a short time in James 11. reign, to which time, that country does not look back with pride. - That King passed a law in Dublin annulling the authority of the English Parliament: both as a Supreme Legislature and as a , Superior Court of Appeal hitherto exercised bver Ireland. Then followed confiscations .and conscriptions in quick succession on;.a gigantic' scale. ' Estates of absentees over 17 'were given to the King. One sweeping Bill brought in repealed the Act of Settlement, and thousands of stjua.ro miles were transferred from Saxon to Celt. And what use, have they made of it? .. He says some of' the members of Parliament arc doing their best for the country, and mentions John Redmond. Well, what has he donp ? He has kept (assisted by his friends) the country iji turmoil for years; but has sh'oivn that.for constructive capacity ho lias as much as the foxes had turned into the standing corn of the Philistines with a firebrand, tied to their tails by Samson,, and no more. ' . / : This is the work to which most of the agitators arc givon: For ever perplexing tho population in ovcry sphere of life; interfering iii elections; dominating rural councils; dictating to poor-law guardians; arranging 1 affairs of tenants and embittering and estranging them from tho majority of their follower tizens in tho United Kingdom. But question one of them on tho best means to advance tho interest of the farmers, how- to increase tho output of land, tchiperanco reformj the cause and effect and perhaps remedy for the increase in lunacy? Oh, dear, no; he is so enthusiastic oyer "Ireland a nation" ithnt the idea of giving any attento such things would lift the attention of tho people from the ideal hold out to them to retain'their land, which is a very different thing from getting land for the people.'. • Neither have they time to think what kind of. a nation Ireland would be if given independence to-morrow. The infant nation would surely have cause to complain of a party who had deliberately revived internecine feuds, social and racial, counselled intimidation and deliberate breach of contract. Thjs is the only work standing to the credit of-the mon the Irish journalist writes of as •having the iritorost of the country at heart. What has Mr. .John Redmond done forh's beloved Waterford ? This town had 28,000 inhabitants 50 years ago. Local industry was flourishing, and it should, bo at the present time one of the mos,t prosperous cities in the country, as it is. tho nearest port to the great mining district of England, and; • should be the outlet for the enormous quantity, of Irish produco used in tho mining district. Instead, its population lias decreased by thousands; its shipbuilding yards, which were [at the time mentioned flourishing, aro .gone without leaving a trace, and the. city is depending for most of its rates (in this 2.oth century) a toll bridge nearly in the middle of tho town, and even that leased to outsiders. 11l the North, Dcrry's population has in the same time increased from 28,000 to'4o,ooQ. The town is full of life, business •is"good, now industries are springing up' every'year. ■ Sinn Fein in words may mean "for ourselves," but in acts it means in connection with Redmond and followers "a house divided against itsolf." / As to the languago movement, certainly there is a great deal more of the capitation given to teaching Irish than to French, German, and Latin. ■Wliilo sbme of the scholars can "sing and dancs as well as speak in the good old Irish style," the wisdom or otherwise of the way the monoy is spent is shown by the fact that every. progressive country in the world is getting the ISnglish language added to the curriculum in their and the Irish money is spent on a dead language. Emigration: It is not lack of employment that is driving the people out; it is the everlasting worry and unrest; the fact that a man cannot call his coul his own. Men are weary of their lives, and glad to get anywhere —anywhere out of the. turmoil. "Irish Journalist" mentions three counties (less 'than one-half) where the cattle-driving is carried on, and this'business is being instigated and carried on by members of Parliament, Messrs. Ginnell and Furrell (who will be among the future law-makers of the country), and of whom the Lord Chief Justico makes the scathing remark to tho At-torney-General:—"You select for trial subordinate instruments, while prime instigators pursue thoir dastardly campaign unchecked." And yet Ireland, in spite' of all, is prosperous. Her foreign trad? (apart from gold) is greater by many thousands than that of tho whole of tho Commonwealth. Her railways aro paying much better than those of either England or Scotland, and it is tilw only placo where revenue from passenger traffic is greater than that of goods. Her banks have paid large dividends for many years. Her agricultural wealth is greater than the gold produced in the whole world. Belfast is the only place in the kingdom where shipbuilding is increasing to any extent. • All she wants is a redistribution of representation, as with 40,000 less population she sends 31 more members to Parliament. The laws of tho Empire (which are the best in the world) should be, administered there as in the other parts of tho kingdom: law-breakers punished ill whatever path of life they live. The poople who constitute tho bono and sinew of tho country regard themselves as part of tho mightiest nation on earth, aro proud of tho fact, and will never consent to tho desire of John Redmond and followers: The repeal of the Union. —Yours, etc., DICK. Wellington, January 8.