LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

North Otago Times, Volume CV, Issue 13936, 19 July 1917, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

t(To:tlib; Editor of the'ATimcs.") , [Sir—ln looking,over.'. tho' current, number:of that quarterly ;reyiew of the p'olitics of the British Empire,'entitled, v !Tho Round Table,"- I noticed .'the : 'following rcmai'kablc paragraph r-' ' No one on this side.of .tho channel is minded, any longer to; decry thnt. Ireland ,must have Home Rule for tho management of her own. affairs, The question now is whether Ireland under Home Rule is to be united or partitioned, and that is for Irishmen to decide, for the British Government -will now contemplate coercing "cither section into a settlement it violently repudiates. There in the briefest compass is the wh.ole problem." "But," say somo of your,readers, "what.about tho Sinn Fein 'rising, are these people worthy of •Home Rule'}" lam quite aware, Sir, that many and various have been the reasons given for this ruing, apart from tho fact that it was financed .by German gold; but the London Daily News i of, May Ist, .1016, gives us the true reason in the following bold and unmistakable' language:—"There is one aspect of this unhappy business about which judgment, is already forward, and it is a judgment which prevails in Ireland as well as in England. It is that the tragedy is the natural consequence of the failure of the Government to deal firmly with the Ulster rebel movement organised by I Sir Edward Carson. That failure was ■a fatal abdication of authority'which no one could witness without serious concern. No doubt there was much "bluff" in the movement; but rebellion is a dangerous growth to trifle with, and the license allowed by the Government gave a sanction to the spirit of lawlessness which was bound to have unhappy consequences." To 'me the above seems perfectly true, for, if gun-running and force of arms is winked at among one section of the people, it is quite reasonable to suppose that another section will; Adopt the same methods. 1" spite of everything, however, which has occurred, and is occurring, it is satisfactory to realise that the liiilk of the Irish people arc loyal to the core, and that the Irish troops from Ulster, Minister, Leinsler, and Connaught have fought, and are still fighting, shoulder to shoulder against the enemies of our Empire, I quite acknowledge that at the j present moment the outlook is 'dark; but, for this darkness the Government has itself to blame. Bad legislation, combined with bad administration, have so exasperated the people that there arc now three distinct parties iii Ireland—the "Unionist,'-' the "Nationalist," a-nd the "Sinn Fein"— with the result that the difficulties will be greater in coming 'to a satisfactory settlement, Ireland never asked for Home Rule as a favour, she invariably claimed it in justice as a right, and had she been in possession of it years ago, things would have been very

different to-day, In proof of this you have only to look at the noble way in' which South Africa has rallied round "the (lag ever since she was granted self-government, Now, with your permission, Sir, and in fairness to the subject before us, I should like your readers to look back for a moment and take a brief glance at the origin of this Irish Home Rule question, On the evening of Thursday, May 18th, 1870, a strange assemblage was gathered in the great room of the Bilton Hotel in Dublin, It was a private meeting of some of the leading merchants and professional men of the metropolis, of various political and religions opinions, to exchange views on the condition of Ireland, glancing round the room, one might ask if the Millenium had arrived, for there were men of all parties, Orangemen, Fenian sympathisers, Conservatives, Liberals, Na- ' tionalists, etc., sitting in 'freo and friendly council 1 discussing a question which any time for fifty years p*cvi- 1 ously would have constantly sundered such men into a dozen factions arrayed in conflict. At this Bilton Hotel conference the late Isaac Butt, iflv.r listening to many ' the utterance.; of those around him, rose and.spoke wit'i great earnestness: "It is we," he said, "it is our inaction, bur desertion of the people and the country, that have cast the men into the eddies and whirlpools of rebellion. Arise! 'be bold! Have faith! Have confidence! And you will save Ireland, and not Ireland alone, but England also." He concluded by moving: "That in the opinion .of this meeting the true remedy for the evils of Ireland is the establishing of an Irish Parliament, with full control over our own domestic, affairs." The motion was carried imanimonidy, and thus the momentous "Home Rule Association" came into being. 'Tis. many a long-year since the late Isaac Butt uttered his bold and forceful advice at that memorable meeting, but his words hold good to-day, for in spite idf the dark, cloud which now hangs over Ireland, boldness, confidence, and faith may yet save the situation, and reveal, the silver lining behind that cloud.—l am, etc., ' '

EYEE EVANS.