LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE WATERFORD FACTION-FIGHT.
[To THY EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Grant me space in your next issue to correct a statement which appeared in the Spectator of November 7th, referring to Mr. John Dillon's visit to this city on Wednesday, Novem- ber 4th. In a " summary " paragraph, it is stated that upwards of a hundred and fifty persons were taken to hospital on that occasion, many of them seriously wounded. Now, the fact is, not even one person was taken there, while the number of
" seriously wounded " did not amount to more than a dozen. There were only two who received what at the time appeared to be serious wounds, and these young men are now up and about their business. Had the police, or at least their officers, been a little more prompt in action, nothing serious would have occurred; and, to do the Parnellite rowdies common justice, it must be admitted by their most ardent admirers, they reserved all their " fierce determination " for those of their opponents who had not adopted the precaution of arming themselves with even slight weapons of defence. I deem it necessary to state these facts, as I know that our "Unionist " friends are only too eager to seize on reports of this kind as handy pegs on which to air their stock arguments as to the inexpediency of granting Ireland the control of her purely domestic affairs. I am convinced that were the police under local control, instead of being, as they are to all intents and purposes, a semi-military foreign force, the turbulence dis- played at any political gatherings during the past twelve months, would be suppressed in an hour. One has only to look at the average Parnellite rowdies who disturb those meetings, to form a just estimate of the kind of persons they are,—not one in fifty being a ratepayer.—I am, Sir, &c., [We simply quoted the telegrams. That was rash perhaps, but it is difficult to maintain always the proper mental atti- tude of total disbelief in Irish statements made during elec- tion time. We really believe that some of our friends there are capable on polling day of declaring that Mr. Parnell never existed, and that Mr. Healy is a Solar Myth.—ED. Spectator.]
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