New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1874 INJUSTICE AND BIGOTRY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 64, 18 July 1874, Page 5

New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1874 INJUSTICE AND BIGOTRY.

The ' Daily Times' is determined that, if strong and exaggerated statements can avail, no single women from Ireland shall obtain employment in the Province of Otago. Some time ago, about thirty-three girls had the misfortune to arrive here from the Cork Workhouse per " Asia." Immediately on their arrival in Port, the ' Otago Daily Times' stated that thirty of the females by the " Asia" had come from the Queenstown Reformatory. On ascertaining there was no such institution, our contemporary changed his statement, saying that he had meant the Cork Reformatory, adding that it must have been evident to his readers he me.mt the Cork Eeformatory. But there is no Cork Kef ormatory for females. This, also, was pointed out to the 'Times.' Our contemporary, however, never had the grace to make any amends to the young women whom he had so grossly maligned. On the contrary, he has lost no opportunity of grievously slandering these women ever since, as if in revenge for having made an exhibition of his ignorance and bigotry. The arrival of the " Caroline," a few days ago, has afforded the Editor of the ' Otago Daily Times' another opportunity of gratifying*bis rancour against poor, helpless Irish women, who have never done him any harm, and of renewing his most unjustifiable attack on the immigrants by the " Asia.'. We extract the following from his issue of Tuesday last : — " But at

the same time, after their experience of the wretches brought by the " Asia," we doubt if the people of Dunedin are altogether in the humour to receive into their midst another batch of the same sort. Yet here we have a lot of 126 single women brought by the " Caroline," and of that number the 40 from the Workhouse (Cork) are reported by the Captain to have been the best behaved -during the passage. This, certainly, does not say very much for some of the 86, of whom we must be prepared to hear more." We venture to say that, for injustice and savagery, the above extract is almost without a parallel in the history of journalism. Our contemporary calls the poor girls who came by the " Asia" from Cork, wretches. Was there not one decent girl amongst them ? Where they wretches without exception ? In reality, how many of them proved themselves disreputable, and were the disreputable by the " Asia" in greater proportion to the total number of immigrants by that unhappy vessel, than in the case of other immigrant vessels ? Not at all. But they happened to be from Ireland, and the arrival of any immigrants at all from Ireland in Otago is the real grievance. Bad as some few of the girls by the " Asia" were, they were not worse nor more numerous iv proportion to the total number, than the bad who came by other ships. These latter, however, have been treated tenderly, whilst the names and delinquencies of the poor Irish girls have been ostentatiously paraded in the Press. Jn Tuesday's issue, the 'Otago Daily Times' has in effect called upon the people of this Province not to employ even one of the 126 single females who came by the " Caroline," and to take measures to send them back to Great Britain. And why — because of the " 126 single women by the " Caroline," the 40 from the Workhouse are reported by the Captain to have been the best behaved during the passage." The ' Otago Daily Times' takes it for granted that, these 40 females are like the " Asia" girls, all wretches, and that, as they were the best behaved, it follows necessarily that the remaining 86 must be still greater wretches, and should not be received into their houses by the people of Dunedin. The ' Otago Daily Times' is evidently in great trouble of mind about these zvretches, and asks, in a despairing tone, " Is there no way of getting rid of this disreputable shipment ? We are afraid not. At the same time, if by some good chanfce a ship bound for England could be got to take them, it would be cheap for this community in the end were these women sent back to the place from whence they came, even although the passage money charged per head came to double the usual rate." Well done, ' Otago Daily Times ! ' Hang them all without exception. Spare no one ; don't give them even a trial. It is a foregone. conclusion ; the best of them are from Ireland, consequently they must be all very bad. Ship them back to the place whence they came. The ' Otago Daily Times' knows nothing about them, except the fact that 40, the best of the 1 26 single females, are from a Workhouse in Ireland. This, however, is more than evidence enough. There is no use in giving any of them a trial ; the 40 from Ireland cannot be otherwise than very bad, for no other reason than that they are from Ireland, and, therefore, the remaining 86 must be wretches indeed. Such is the reasoning of the highly moral, Christian, just and equitable ' Otago Daily Times,' and such the recon.niendation given by our contemporary to the citizens of Dunedin and the Government ! But what is more to be deplored is the fact, that the ' Otago Daily Times,' in these sweeping extracts, gives, we regret to say, the opinion of a very large number of persons. Under these circumstances there is a dreary prospect before these 126 single females. Were the Government acting on the recommendation of our contemporary, to charter a vessel to take them back to the place from whence they came, our advice to them would be, accept the offer, and fly from the inhospitable shores of Otago, and the tender mercies of such journals as the ' Otago Daily Times.' We ask, in conclusion, have none of the immigrants from England or Scotland come from workhouses? Has not one ? Perhaps the ' Otago Daily Times' can answer this question, and would explain how it is that, if such be the case, no notice has hitherto been taken of the fact 1