MR CHURCH ON HOME RULE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8419, 16 February 1889, Page 3

MR CHURCH ON HOME RULE.

to Tna editob.

Sib, —Mr John Church is evidently possessed in a strong degree of the supposed denseuess which pr&vents a Scotchman seeing a ]oke, or he could never have treated Mr James RTlndua'B little bit of sarcasm as serious. This is, however, not the point in his letter which I want to deal with. Mr Church has for some years past made a great parade of his affection for what he terms that "unhappy country," Ireland, and ha 3 advocated the granting of Home Rule, both in seasou and out of season. He has never, however, quite stated what he means by Home Rule, although n ore than once questioned on tho subject, but judging from hia most recent production, I should say that his ideas approximate pretty closely with those of Mr Joseph Chamberlain. If so, his Irish friends will be anything but satisfied with them. The kernel of the Home Rule movement is the obtaining power to protect the industries against English I and foreign competition, and if Mr Church only [ contemplates granting to Ireland what he j would grant to England, Scotland, and Wales, protection for Irish industries is evidently not a plank in his platform. In order to give Mr Church an opportunity of clearing up the doubt I I would ask him ii he is in favour of Ireland obtaining power to protect industries against English manufactures.—l am, &c, ininediu, February 15. Englishman,