20 NOVEMBER 1971, Page 19

Sir: There have been 159 (+) peeple killed in Northern

Ireland in the last two years. But in a quarter of that time (the first six months of this year to be precise) 714 people have been murdered in New York alone, 62 of them by their own police, and the record for other American cities is not much lower. 15,801 people were murdered in the United States of America in 1970. The figure for 1971 will certainly be higher.

Could Mr Bakshian (November 6) convey these facts to Edward Kennedy and suggest he should pick up a broom and start cleaning out his own Augean stables before inciting the IRA further to foul ours? If Mr Kennedy could get rid of a few of the dirty and dangerous experiences of daily life in America he might even win some votes from the decent Americans who are now too terrified to allow their women to go out alone after dark. Life must be hideous for anyone living in Belfast today but incredible as it seems it is far less dangerous than life in New York or Detroit. John Marshall Balboa, Canal Zone, Panama