IRELAND

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13315, 18 June 1907, Page 7

IRELAND

To the Eiiilxr of the " Timaru Kcrahl." Sir.—With your kind pe; mi-sion 1 have .i word to arid* to what appeared under my name this morning. Your lvadeis liiay ask what is the reason for this harsh tnatinenl of Ireland by the sister Isle. " Are i.oi the English noted for their generosity ;:nd i:>;Lgnaiumity. even to fallen foe:; all 11vol- the world?" After thrashing the Moer has she not graciously given him Home Utile ? What- can be more broadminded than her treatment of the colonies and dependencies such as Egypt- and IndiaV " Suiciv it must be lieland's iault if slit' is trc't-fd differently"? Well. h"re is the answer. Ireland'has been made the happy hunting ground of two conLnding political factions for centuries —ill Conservatives and Liberals. When one i>' in power the other tries to oust him by musing ferment in Ireland, so that he make b- able to say —" j-ou can't govern Ireland. Go ou.t of office and . you'll see how T ran do it.' If .the Ministry (that be) try to bring [in ]>rogressive legislation, the oilier party will oppose Uiem so as to place them in difficulties. They '.rill even go so far as to go over to Ireland and excite one part of It again-t another as did Lord Randolph t hurclall ill Belfast on the occasion of Gladstone's Home Rule Bill, when ihe Ulster men threatened to kick the Queen's' crown jnto the Boyne. They will fell the Drang-: men not to trust the Papists, otherwise they would have brass money, wooden shoes and thumbscrews. They" will tell ( the Papists to b» , on th4ir guard or the Orangemen will cut thsir throats. And so there are meetings and counter meetings, as I often witnes:-ed, to Ih-.i tune. of Patrick's Day or tiie lioyne Water. Outside of these occasions the Orangemen and the Catholics are the be>tof friends, but they aie both made Ahe tools of the political parlies in England and Scotland.. Neither party will let: the other do anything good for Pat. no matter how good their intentions are when tL'iy come to olfice. Poor Pat is made the " catspaw "or " the scape goat." " Whatever King (party) may reign," there are no fat positions for hirn. He is always: left out in the cold. It is not often tlwre is a political fulcnim in Britain, such as the Tariff question, the corn laws, etc., by which to hoist- the Government from their comfortable billets, but there is always one handy in Ireland if it is worked properly, so that- no ii:al?ter who is in or who is out Ireland is the " football," or to use another comparison, a dog whose tail is to be pinched from -time to time so as to. make him show Jiia teet.h. and bite the hand that : s down deep in the nation's gold. Hencethis '.'Cow and Bull" story, etc., etc. No, sir. John Bull and Sandy' are not half so cross with Pat as they pretend. : They trust diim at the head,of their armies ..and* liavies' ,and : they are- proud of him when jio fights th'-ir battles by land and •: e - i, but he is always a. useful politicfs.l puppet, and must be reserved as such. Jrim is Jnot always candid: He is not frightened of giving Pat- autonomy.. Or.eman of war could starve him out if lie w;> s aggressive. but it is simply not convenient to let him off the chain. llierefoie, whiht John is locking horrified with one half of his face at Pat's "crimes" he i-; smiling with the other. The great body of the English and Scotch do not understand Ireland. They gat their information from the place hunters and ilieir political <'* -i ■ i'jid from time: to time they are made to believe that Ireland is on the verge of r . bell ion and must be kept in check by another twist of the screw —coercion. HoVcver effete and ridiculous the laws are. the Ti; "h must shoulder them. litre we have a Gov:rnm?nt- wlio-e legislation cannot meet the exigencies of the times. The British Parliament passes scarcely one law a year for the betterment of Ireland. I must take up no more of your valuable space and thanking you for your consideration. —1 am. etc..J. TUBMAN,