A New Zealander’s Opinion about Ireland.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 169, 23 January 1888, Page 3

A New Zealander’s Opinion about Ireland.

Mr W. A. Murray, who for some years represented an Otago constituency in the New Zealand Parliament, has just returned from a trip to Europe, and has been interviewed by a New Zealand Herald reporter. His remarks on the Irish quostiop aye givep below : —P The wretched condition of many of the Irish tenantry' attracted'Mr Murray’s attention. He said: “It was a common sight to see five or six farmers watehipg ana man with a miserable'scarecrow of a horse, ploughing with an old iron plough such as the Maoris here used to have. This horse seemed to do co-operative duty, by ploughing the fields of all the neighborhood. Donkeys carried the goods to market. It was not uncommon to sop q donkey in’‘ a a cart, lacjefi with'' two large bags Of produce, and two big Irishmen. I was puzzled how they managed —not to, pay rent —but ’to e:yist at all. County Wicklow •is the fringe of gold on the garment of frieze,” and contains some of the richest land in the country. My friend, who farmed 700 acres, under tho management of a Scotch land steward, was an energetic Nationalist, and gave me his views fully. It seemed to a great patent a question of prices there was a deeper question involved. Many of the Irish proprietors had lived above their incomes, and had consequently, exacted exorbitant rents from tlieir tenantry, and gave little in return. When bad times came, the landlords had no reserve of wealth, and many were heavily mortgaged, They failed to meet the charges for interest. The capitalists insisted upon the landlords paying; and this was one of the chief causes which led up to coercion. I concluded that tho tenantry have enough cxisx. without their, payin'! rent; and that people with empty stomachs are not generally in tho best of tempers,”