LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE UNIONIST ATTACK ON MR HORACE PLUNKETT.
[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPEcrATon.1 SIR,—In the Spectator of September 29th there are two letters . commenting upon the unhappy contest in South Dublin, and the appointment of Mr. Gill as it bears on that contest. With this your editorial note appended to the letter of Mr. Herbert M. Thompson deals correctly and effectively. I wish to emphasise the following sentences from Pro- fessor Dowden's letter (Spectator, September 29th). That gentleman states that "the objections chiefly insisted on" against Mr. Gill's appointment are two. "First" (I am quoting Professor Dowden), "that in contravention of a pledge given by Mr. Gerald Balfour in the Howie of Commons, a Secretary was appointed who possesses no special' or expert knowledge . of agriculture. The fact that Mr. Gill possesses no such knowledge has," adds the Professor, "been publicly, admitted by Mr. Plunkett." Now, Mr. Gerald Balfour never made such a pledge as that here attributed to him, in the House of Commons or elsewhere, and he authorises me to contra- diet it in the most emphatic manner. In the second place, to any one who has taken the 'least trouble to inquire into the official constitution of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, such a pledge would on the face of it be absurd. One would think from the writings and speeches of Professor Dowden and his friends that two experts had to be appointed since the Department was founded, simply because Mr. Gill was deficient in technical knowledge. The fact is that these gentlemen are statutory officers, as will be seen from the following Section 6 (1) of the Act of Parliament creating the Department :— "The Department may, with the consent of the Lord Lieutenant and the Treasury, appoint or employ a. Secretary, two assistant secretaries, one in respect of agriculture and one . in respect 'of technical instruction, and such inspectors, in- stoctexs, Acme arkd servants as the Department may reanirce The Secretary of the Department, then, has two assistant secretaries—experts of the very highest qualifications in the spheres of agricultural and technical instruction respectively— and consequently the qualities to be looked for in a- Secretary for such a Department are an intimate knowledge of the problems of administration of State aid in regard to each of these very important matters, and a capacity for dealing with these problems in a country like Ireland. Mr. Gill has been working with me for the past decade in considering and dealing with questions of this kind. The Report of the Recess Committee and his special Reports on Denmark and France are there as evidence of his grasp of the subject ; and I again repeat what I have already said more than once, that! know of no man in these countries so competent to makethe work of the new Irish Department effective, popular, and lasting. In the nature of things time alone can prove the justness of my appreciation of Mr. Gill's administrative capacity, and I am willing to abide by the verdict of experience; but I must pro- test against the unworthy attempts to mislead public opinion on matters of fact to which Professor Dowden lends the weight of his signature. If, in place of turning the lurid flashlight of prejudice on a single phase of a small portion of Mr. Gill's political life of a dozen years ago, such gentlemen informed public opinion on the splendid positive work in -the domain of social and economic reform that he has pressed into the past ten years, the cause of truth and progress would
not be retarded.—I am, Sir, Sze., HOEA.CE PLUNKETT. Dublin.
[We print Mr. Plunkett'a answer to Professor Dowden, but cannot publish any more letters on this subject. ED. Spectator.]
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