LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13399, 30 January 1907, Page 5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

i HOME RULE FOR IRELAND. i ; ! ' .Sir,—Thoro is h great deal being said and! > written at the present: time about Homo " Rule, and the visit, of the Irish envoy* to r this country to collect funds to, aid in the ' furtherance of their project*. In this cou- , ucctioit our worthy .Mayor has been severely and unfavourably criticised and taken to r task for agreeing to preside at * meeting , of the envoys, held at Auckland. Although , his critics and a section of tin: press Imo . all good (hint's 10 say of his judgment and discretion, in all other matters; this one t act is a mo ' i egregious blunder, and most. . damning "< their sijdir. Now, J ask if the judgment and j.cori sense of our chief ma . • trate is in all other matters so correct, is 1 it not possible that in this instance ho is correct also? j icmuro to assort that Mi. • Myers is as good a Britisner, and as tru*> - an Imperialist a- any one of lis, and J say. further that on account, of his lineage he , i". in a better ]K>sition to judge the situatiou , impartially, His opinions must, ho more \ truly judical, being unaffected by the pre- • judicc.x which give, colouring to 'the views of_ your different correspondents. To any thinking man in the present state of world 4 politic., the separation of Ireland from th<> • Empire, and her establishment as an hide, pendent nation is an absurdity; and not • 1 withstanding all that has boon' .said in tV« , past, and all that i; being insinuate at the . present, given a fair snow Irishmen ~ro , just as shrewd to their own interests as ( any other people comprising a section of , our Empire Ireland has tor some fine wen a Honied the- opportunities of etru-a- ---; tion, winch were in the past, swept away - (luring the, centuries of conflict between - herself ana her mora powerful neighbour. 3 With the enlightenment which the present ; educational opportunities affords the Irish ; people have become—and with the' trend r <>' •™p wanes , are still more becoming—* . thinking people, truly democratic, vit h „ _ predisposition to act according to reason, instead of l«ung guided by passion and senUnion*. Admitting this to be the correct view of tho Insli people, and I venture to & state # tho view held by tho majority of colonials (oy colonial., 1 do not mean those f amongst us who honour the. older countries k with their birth). What can there be ami« I or what can lie more reasonable- than our'. _ approving of these people being granted I . political rights equal to our own. In ,|,« discussion of Irish political affairs the bogey ot religion has been worked for all it i. worth bv those who consider it their in- . terest, or whose inclination is to keep th'rcs i as they are; that it is a myth is almost, neeoless o state. As a national tin-, Lc- ; land would be the inevitable prey of some ; grabbing Continental Power, and under . which of them would the so dreaded Roman Catholic Church fare better, if as well a. she does under British nrotection?— instance, France at the present time. That Roman Catholic clericals, as well as 1.ivi,..,, must he alive to this view of the position-is 1 only giving them credit for the verv smallest of common sen-,.. Therefore, why all . this hubbub, and all the bitterness that is exhibited by a few, because a couple ot gentlemen are touring the colony soliciting financial aid for the political bettertno.it of their fellows? And why such denunciation of our worthy Mayor, who. no doubt, ravine a mind above the pettv squabbles of religious beliefs, and influenced by the democratic spirit of the time, deigns to countenance the meeting with his presidency'.' To any one ,vho can take a comprehensible view of the situation, the petition can be fit 1 v summed up in the name of one of RUalcespriro's comedvs, " Much Ado About Nothing." A CoiOSIAI« Sir,—lt is very interesting to peruse the various letters which you so kindly publish upon the above subject, albeit, there mo (dangers and contingencies in connection with the Home Rule question which need careful attention. With yourself I fully concur that no public official who has mi preside, over a council of gentlemen, whose politics and religions may be as diverse as possible should allow his persona! services to be made a. scapegoat of, I care not whether it be for or against. Home Pule. Wo havo heard and seen much of late mors in connection with this important question. But to my mind e'er Home Rule can tver lie given to priest-ridden Ireland, much in the way of social contentment, not to mention tolerance, will have to take place. It is simply wasting time for anv person , to write letters to the press upon Home Rule, unless they ore familiar with the whole aspect of the case. As regards the issues relative to this matter they ure many and varied; there is, of course, the important matter of non-resident landlordism, which in itself is of no small moment. That some measure ought to be passed for the relief of the sons and daughters of the E.rfn-aloV Isle must be. apparent, to the most unitiatod. Albeit the form which this measure should take is quite another matter, and one which no Protestant can afford to overlook. I have, Mr. Editor, some lit tie experience of the tactics of the disloyalists in Ireland, and r shudder to think what the fate of the loyal Irish Protestants will be under Home Rule, which undeniably meant* Rome's rule. For mind you, it is not so much the Irish peasantry themselves who clamour so loudly against English government, as tho priest party. For, so long as a Protestant Power controls tlie wild exuberance of Irish Catholics, so long mav we reasonably expect that, bloodshed may bo soared. It is useless for anv Romanist, whether here in New Zealand or elsewhere to deny that acts of dibolical trranny and coercion are meted out to loyalists iii Ireland. Ami so long as priestly influence in so powerful so long will Home }<„le be delayed. That Home Ride will tend to make Ireland nrosperous and happv T do not believe. Where so many factions are to r<> found there can be no real safety. Lkst We Forgot. Sir,—At the Free Methodist Church quar erly meeting. Mount Eden, it was resolved to tender our host thanks to von for voicing qur sentiments in your sub-lender of the 22nd ,nst, w. Stevk.vb, Secretory F.M.C. • Sir,—Your leader in yesterday's issue on above, subject is terse a " d well to the poi t knowlJ CUr,y 4 • y< : ur ' r,olitical and socia Knowledge, confined with trade and eeom Pineal knowledge of the Kmerald Isle • bo'if "up' V ll I>ath'1 >ath ' l karlessly 'asseVS which' ; r ;."n 1 ] - , 1 d a , ? arato Parliament., v.nicn i* ueif understood to mean senarnwh?rl r ? m ?' eat Britain - «" ,h « real & t-icai dates, would be quite undone. An 1-W <l,man b>rn 'T but having married a »*K a f iu. ,et he; n!incit,!:ion l,^ ,1 o o n r of endorl r r; [ XmaM Uk " *»"™t Ul9 signed lieland's Vr.-ml" "True Liberty and •• A Loyal Colonia ." •fanuarv ?,-, „ j Bbitok. w-»iii m , «T S i u « l' 1v ' CW ? l ' "Pi"**** '» your columns a week ago, m which i asked\l*H •pu-stion Doe, ,roia " <l 7 luiro Ho £ « u ' e " a good {( '\ l of ~.,nv,polt,ieo lt ,ien f has followed tok ance: but u s traug o to fi say, the mam k J it '. D "; a,J^,( « «'-V, tho man. point at issue has iH.-e.n lost sight of Dou* Ireland require Home Rule? As an SXI I cannot , but admire the audacity and. effrontery of those so-called patriot-,, who »a pear amongs us delving for gold without a miner right! But, at thoLeffl deplore he credulity of the young coloaidl [Mi. Vbjlb would say Imperwn) who swallow I lie biariMj- of these delegates of— a* Mi. Redmond informs us-.. a rebel associa. tion, and subscribe to the cause. Sir lam not a sporting man, but, i would rather risk my bit on the tote; then I would havo ii run for my money. Even .Tustitia admitsthat Lister and the city of Belfast are the most prosperous parts of Ireland. And who may i ask, was responsible for the great' unprecedented, prosperity? Not the agitator, not the Roman Catholic Driest, not bladstono, not Beaconsfield, or Downingstreet. No, sir, tho Ulster Scot has worked out his own destiny, by sheer, sturdv, steadfastness, honest toil, and freedom of thought, speech, and action. He keeps the priest out of his politics, and he works for us living There is one pregnant fad that' looms up large, in spite of all the hysteria; Ulster will not accept Homo Rule, and there is.no Imperial (government, however intimidated, could tore-- the loyalists of Irelaud to accept such a measure. Every da? the influence of Ulster's industrial enterprise is being made more manifest: right along The coast to Dublin, while Cork, with its Protestant leaven of population, is opening up that southern extremity of the island with prosperous results. It is in the inland*;, districts of the south and west that hisreverence, commands the fealty of the majority of the people, and gets it. ' The '' county councils, Catholic to a man. are his - tools "of office. That, sir. is sad enough : • but picture the result, if the Church had a "',: whole brand new Parliament to engineer. If that could possibly happen, poor old Irehind would simply lw knocked back another 100 years, and the loyalists of Cork ami Ulster would bo driven, with their skill ancJ* enterprise, to Canada or elsewhere, even an the Huguenots loft La Belle -France s-nd hone-;; fited Britain in the days of the French Re- : ', tsrlutioff. ••flHitr^