III. THE RELIGIOUS BOGEY.

NZ Truth, Issue 818, 16 July 1921, Page 5

111. THE RELIGIOUS BOGEY.

An equally false impression lias been studiously cultivated regarding: the . religious difficulty m Ireland. In this* connection it may be pointed out that, even m the most Catholic parts of Ireland, there are Unionist and non-Catholic minorities. How is it that there the religious difficulty never presents itself? In five out of the nine 1 counties of Ulster the majority of the population is Catholic, but no one ever talks of religious difficulties there. At the Wesleyan Confei'enee held m Hull m August last year, Mr.' Ernest Mercier, speaking as a member of the deputation from the Irish " Methodist v Conference, said: As far as I know m a country place m Ireland there has never been any interference, good, bad, or indifferent, with the worship of Methodists. The courtesy and kindness shown to your representatives x m Ireland is more than tongue can tell. I am as hopeful of Ireland as ever man could be. While there is undoubtedly strong religious prejudice m that part of Ulster where Orangeism is uppermost, it exists because it is studiously fomented 'for political purposes by men who have no real .sympathy, with' it. Orangeism, though encouraged m Ulster by English Tory leaders, makes no headway across the Channel, and is there held in 1 : contempt by educated men of all parties. A few mo.mLs ago hundreds of Catholic working men were forcibly driven from their employment .m! Belfast, and the fund for their relief has been generously supported m England as well as Ireland. Her enemies can point to no such instance of persecution m Catholic Ireland, and apart from that comparatively small area where; Orangeism is predominant, 4:here is really no religious difficulty that would long- survive after the machinations of party politicians were put an end to. , Having regard to the savage, intolerance manifested m Belfast, the rigorous boycott now v being carried on throughout the rest of Ireland against Belfast can only be regarded as a commendable and justifiable measure of selfprotection. If the, question m issue is really a Catholic question, it would be interesting to know how it is that there are powerful parties m favor of .self-determination m South Africa, 'which is Calvinist, m Egypt, which is Mohammedan, and m India, where Hindu 'and Moslem sink their historic differences m demanding it. IRISH PATRIOTISM. . ■ '' •; ' "We would- emphasise what has never been adverted to m the Colonial press. We allude to the splendid sffl-i sacrifice and unyielding spirit evinced by^the people of Ireland, a spirit which' has evoked the strongest commendation from representative English men and women of all parties. Only a few years- ago Ireland was threatened with a curtailment of her representation at Westminster. She has countered- this threat by withdrawing her representatives from v Westminster altogether, incidentally giving the lie to the taunt that Her people are lacking m the spirit of self -reliance. Her elected representatives maintain this policy of abstention . although they are offered i an honorarium of £400 per annurh to 1 sit at Westminster ! We venture to affirm that few politicians elsewhere would sacrifice such emolument for their principles. ■-.. Whatever differences of opinion there may be as to the wisdom and expediency of the refusal to sit at WestminstexY the history of Ireland- since the Union shows that her representatives there have been the object of continual abuse by the English press , and b^ both the great English parties. It was Disraeli who accused Lord John Russell's Government of taking "the ibloody hand of O'Connell" when O'Connell and his followers supported the Liberal Government. "Redmoncl and his QVlolly Maguires" was the language used by representative English newspapers, even up to | the outbreak of the late war.' Accordingly we hold that Ireland has taught her slanderers a proper lesson by withdrawing her representatives from Westminster. The determination and spirit of the people of Ireland are further illustrated by the heroic death of Terence M'Sweeney. It was that prince of English journalists,. Mr. H. W. Massingham, who wrote that M'Sweeney!s death was the greatest crime official England had committed since the burning of Joan sf Arc. In conclusion, we desire to say that there is on the" part of Ireland NO HATRED OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE.. i The contest is not' between the j masses of the people of England and- ' Ireland respectively. The time has gone by when the English ruling caste could appeal to the anti-Irish hatred of the. mass of their countrymen,, for that hatred no longer exists. On the part of the people of Ireland^ there is no 'ill-will against their neighbors across the Channel. ' Ireland's quarrel is, and has always been, with the official caste, who are not merely the ene-. mies of Ireland but the implacable opponents of their own countrymen. We feel assured that with the accession to power of a l , Government really repi'esentative ' of ttfe people of England, the Army of Occupation will be withdrawn from Ireland, "the hellish system of reprisals" abandoned-, and the people of Ireland allowed freely to choose their own form of Government. We believe that these two sister-na-tions have been planted by Divine /Providence m proximity to. each other for wise and beneficent purposes. In the social and economic sense they can never be independent of each other- There is no cause for enmity as between the two peoples; f|and, m fact, no real enmity exists. AccordHigly we feel it our duty to assist m stemming the tide of falsehood by which the people of Ireland- are continually defamed and misrepresented.