CALUMNIES.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 384, 27 August 1880, Page 7

CALUMNIES.

Although trc Pall Mall Gazette has changed its hide, its inner man remains to a great extent the same. This is conspicuously the case with regard to Irish affairs. A series of articles on Ireland ia appearing in that journal, all of which have been penned by a calamus dipped in the bitterest gall. Besides the " Irish Sketches," one of which has recently been very properly taken exception to by the National Teachers' body, and all of which are painted from a similar sardonic standpoint, there are some papers on the Irish distress which bristle with calumnies and flagrant mis-statemente. The apparent object of the writer is to show that there was no such thing in Ireland as distress, and that even if there were, it was just what the Irish peasantry deserve. They are represented as the most ungrateful and most generally despicable people alive. The writer, in fact, seems to have taken Lord Clanricarde's recent famous letter on this subject as his text, and he appears to have derived all the arguments in support of his thesis from a diligent perusal and amalgamation of all the separate spite poured out in the shape of leading articles during the past six months by the Parliament street organs of Irish opinion. Amongst other things it is asserted that bitter ingratitude has been shown towards the English people for their contributions towards the relief of the distress, and towards the Duchess of Marlborough for her efforts to procure funds for the purpose. It is frequently very difficult to meet general charges of this kind with a satisfactory negative, but fortunately an instant evidence of the falsity of the latter one is afforded in the columns of yesterday's issue of one of the very journals whence this slanderous writer has, to all appearance, derived his '• facts " and his opinions. There is a letter in the paper in question suggesting that in addition to the address of thanks about to be presented to the Duchess of Marlborough for her share in the alleviation of Irish distress, her portrait should be placed in the National Gallery by means of a public subscription. Whether this suggestion ba adopted or not — and we may remark that we think it eminently deserving adoption — we think there is abundant testimony in existence to show that the Pall Mall Gazette's Irish informant is stiiving to bolster up an untenable proposition by a baiefaced calumny. Several addressed, expressing in warm terms the grateful sentiments of the people, have already been presented to her Grace, and we have good reason to believe that had a little more judgment been shown in the beginning in the selection of the local committees' of the Castle Fund, an overwhelming body of testimony to its services and to the benevolent intentions of the Duchess would have been forthcoming. — Weekly Freeman.