SINN FEIN AND CRIME: BISHOP HAYDEN'S PROTEST.

New Zealand Tablet, 29 April 1920, Page 23

SINN FEIN AND CRIME: BISHOP HAYDEN'S PROTEST.

"I claim that the Irish soldiers are deserving of special recognition for their work in the war, because they fought beneath the flag of a nation which has oppressed Ireland for 700 years," said his Lordship Bishop Hayden, speaking at the St. Patrick's Day concert at Forbes. ... "I say, without hesitation," he went on, "that there are no better educated people in the world than the members of this much-abused and much-maligned Sinn Fein party. The accusation that Sinn Fein is composed of a band of criminals is a foul calumny against the fair fame of such a body of patriots. No fewer than ninetenths of the Irish Bishops are behind Sinn Fein. ../"Ireland is taxed to the extent of £40,000,000 a year. The cost of government is £13,000,000, and the balance of ,£27,000,000 is taken across the channel, dumped into the-British Treasury, and used to keep British soldiers and; bullies like Lord French in Ireland, to keep cannons and tanks ready for action in the streets. If that sort of thing happened in Australia there would be a revolution in less than 24 hours. History tells <. us that after every big war \ wave of crime sweeps over the countries. It has been such for hundreds of years, but still all'••; stress is placed / on ; crimes in Ireland, and reports -f are published broadcast. I can draw your attention jto the dreadful number- of crimes being perpetrated in our' own : -/ sunny New South Wales. It would be just as unjust to --charge those crimes to the National Government of this State

it is to charge the Sinn Fein with the crimes in Ireland. "Ireland to-day is on the crest jof, the wave, and I hope the day is not far distant when - the Irish ; flag will be flying above the Irish Parliament at College Green, v in Dublin, when the Irish nation will be free."'<l.'.T---"-'--