LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
[Letters of the length of one of our leading paragraphs are often more read, and therefore more effective, than those which fill treble the space.] THE CONDITION OF IRELAND.
no THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR."1
the people in England ever realize that there are only two possible courses with regard to Ireland—either to reconquer it, or to abandon it? At present there are two Governments in the country : the nominal one, which exists only on paper and is treated with contempt because its orders are never enforced; and the real one, which is enforcing its orders with vigour and is consequently universally obeyed.
The authorities of the Roman Catholic Church lose no oppor- tunity of denouncing and thwarting the nominal Government and inflaming the people against it. One Bishop, preaching in a district in which outrages of every kind were rampant, talked about the intense provocation which the Irish •people get from the tyranny of the foreign Government. Another took the opportunity of the funeral of the victim of a specially horrible murder to issue a pronouncement about the poor country now under the heel of foreign oppression. A third has published a letter stating that the Irish people are being crucified by tyrants. A fourth has preached a sermon about the cruel and disgraceful persecutions of the last seven hundred and forty-eight years, and the deceitful, unjust and irritating legislation, of the English Parliament. (It may be news to some people in England to hear about the cruel persecution which has been going on in Ireland during the last half- century.) These are merely specimens of what is being said all over the country; and nothing is done. On the other hand, when a man recently said that some of the Republican soldiers were drunk, he was at once arrested, brought before a Repub- lican Court, and charged with using language disrespectful to the Republican Government. He was sharply reprimanded, and told that no further action would be taken as it was a first offence; but that such language could not be allowed, and any future offence of the kind would be punished very severely. No doubt the order will be obeyed, as everyone knows that a violation of it would involve death; there is no humbug about " hatred of coercion " in the Irish Republic.
A number of workmen at Belfast, infuriated at the murders which are taking place day after day, and maddened at seeing soldiers who have come back from the war being refused employment, have declined to work with Sinn Feiners. Imme- diately there has been an outcry all over the country; it is loudly declared that no man's religious or political opinions should be allowed to interfere with his earning hie livelihood; and that this is the last instance of what Orange bigotry can come to. Indignation meetings are being held everywhere; it is resolved that all goods coming from Belfast shall be boy- cotted; commercial travellers from the North are being forcibly driven out of the Southern towns. Very well. Fifteen years ago the Lord Mayor of Dublin openly stated that it was a binding rule of the Corporation not to give any employment to any man who had served the King of England (such as a soldier); throughout the South and West no county, district, or municipal council ever employs a heretic; with regard to the appointment of dispensary doctors, it has been the rule for years to appoint none but those who have been educated at the Roman Catholic University (of course, no heretic is ever appointed); and now some of the boards are going further and notifying to candidates that if appointed they must take
the oath of allegiance to the Irish Republic. And in Dublin, where the outcry against the bigotry of Belfast has been most vehement, all the teachers in the technical eohools who had, as Civil servants, taken the oath of allegiance to the Foreign King, have been dismissed by order of the Republican Govern- ment.
County Councils, which are doing their utmost to make the collection of the Income Tax impossible, are now announcing that they intend to levy rates for the maintenance of the Repub- lican Army. These rates are to be " voluntary "; but, as every man will know that if he refuses to pay his house will be burnt down, there are not likely to be many refusals. It shows the folly of inserting in the Home Rule Bill any clauses restraining the Irish Government from levying taxes to support a religious body; the Councils which can now levy a rate to support the Army can do the same next year to support the convents.
In the neighbourhood in which I am living all the farm- houses have recently been raided by parties of Republican soldiers and the fire-arms taken. Resistance was of course impossible; the attacks were made by thirty or forty armed men. The weapons taken have not been of much use for military purpose's, as they have usually been shot-guns kept for shooting rabbits and crows. But the immediate result will be that serious damage will be done to the Grope, as there will be no way of protecting them from rabbits and crows; more than that, lonely farmhouses will he absolutely at the mercy of burglars and cattle-drivers; and next year when the massacre commences, which will inevitably take place as soon as the Home Rule Act comes into force, the unfortunate minority can be murdered without difficulty, as they will be as helpless as the Armenians were when the Turks had disarmed them.
Meanwhile the English papers talk about the prospect of a settlement, and expect great things from the " Peace Con- ference." The only thing that that absurd gathering proved was the utter weakness of the Dominion Home Rule League; for they could not venture to hold an open meeting, knowing that it would be swamped by Republicans; and they could not persuade a single person who had been elected to any repre- sentative position (such as a District Councillor) to come. It is true that they made it clear that the individuals composing the meeting (some of whom had been Unionists) have now joined in the demand that Ireland shall be relieved from paying anything towards the National Debt; but is there anything in that to make Englishmen rejoice?—I am, Sir, &c.,
• UNIONIST.
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