A SOLDIER'S VIEW OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4564, 9 December 1882, Page 3

A SOLDIER'S VIEW OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND.

A jouDg officer in one of the regiments stationed in Ireland, -who bad corns to Dublin for the O'Oonnell celebration (t&ja a writer in an American contemporary) gave me a better idea than ever 1 had bofore of the kind of work demanded of the regiments here and of tho foelings of tho officers about that work. <: lam stationed in Couuty ," he said, " and I hare command of a troop down there. Four nights in tho week I havo to tuko roy men out and rido nftor the constabulary under the leadership of some magistrate hunting fer men with urms. We make noiso enough to let any man within a milo know wo are coming, and tho man who would allow himself to be caught undbr euch circumstancoß would bo little less than a fool. To tell you the truth, I am sick and tirod of tho work. iho people hate us with a bittornoss of hatred that cannot bo described. And Ido not wonder. Of course, if it bocamo necessary in tho way of diacip. line to fire upon those people, I would order my men to do ao, and they would obey. But tho fact of the mi.ttor is that many, and in fact most, of tho rows which take place are brought about by tho constabulary or tho magiotrates, or tho landlords and their agents. They treat tho people as though they had no rights at all. If I were in the place of thoso peoplo I would fight jtißt an they do, only I would fight a great deal sooner. We soldiera eeo all this, and we boo how tho poople are treated. I know lota of follows who havo rosigned rather than Btuy in Ireland, and if I could do tho samo I would. The work of 1 euppreeeing ' the people, as the Magistrates call it, is the most distasteful you cau imuginc. It's not soldiering; it's only doing polioo duty, and 1 for one would welcomo a tranßfor anywhere to get away from it. Half tho time tho Magistrates want us to fire whon there is no moro cause for it than thoro would be for me to fire at you now. It's a horriblo thing firing ut people who can only throw etonos at you in return, and I do not enjoy »hooting down a crowd whon I bclievo that tho pooplo in that crowd havo only dono what I would do were lin their places. I'll fight, of courso ; that's my profession ; htii i j Ho not liko butchering peoplo becaupo iome . frightened landlord or Magistrate ec.i'tito read tho Biot Act."