THE WHOLESALE CONFISCATION OF LAND IN IRELAND.
(To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECT►TOR."I SIR,—The Spectator frequently calls attention to the desperate situation of Protestants and loyalists in Ireland, but the London daily papers, except the Morning Post, are strangely silent. Reports are, indeed, published of murders, ambushes, fighting in the streets of Belfast, and so :forth. Little or nothing, however, is heard about one aspect of the Irish question, which is of painfully vital importance to the loyalist community—the wholesale confiscation—for it amounts to that —of lands and houses, many of which have been occupied for generations by the same families. In England people do not seem to realize the simple but dreadful fact that loyalist land- owners and farmers never know from day to day whether they are not to lose their homes at a few hours' notice, and this is the ease even in districts where the people are understood to be supporters of the Provisional Government, and where the loyalists are personally on amicable terms with the officers of the I.R.A. The following extract from a letter recently received gives a glimpse of what is happening:—
"Things have come to a pretty pass in this country, and it was a question, 1 believe, whether this place should have been taken or the place they did take. I have been with the I.R.A. in the town about it, but can get no satisfaction, so I have applied to the headquarters on the offchanee that' it may do good; despite everything I am not without friends. I don't know- whether people in England realize it, but it is all part and parcel of a general plan to drive all Protestants out of the country, and if possible to do so before the elections. From what I have heard from some of them, they would be only too pleased to go if they could get any price at all for their farms. If the [British] Government liked they could arrange this, as they have agreed to pay over a lot of money to the Government here, and they could do so in kind instead of cash, giving the Irish Government all the land and houses of Protestants who wished to leave at a valuation, and paying this valuation to the Protestants."
In another letter the same writer returns to this proposal :— " It is the only plan (he says) and far the cheapest for England. Otherwise, heaven help the people; and if England deserts them in their gravest hour of need, on the principle that leaving them hero will always leave a certain number of people friendly to her, she is vastly mistaken. Of course, the Protestant Church, Trinity College, Dublin, and the Irish Times will all be against it, as it means their day is over. But that will happen in any case. It is only a question of saving as much as possible before the whole ship becomes a wreck and goes down with all hands. The seizure of the Four Courts absolutely put an end to all sales, and at one fell swoop all chance of small farmers leaving was stopped, though since then some hundreds have gone. Mind you, this is a pro-Treaty district, and yet you see what happens."
Now, can Members of the House of Commons be induced to show some courage and insist, as they have a right to insist, on deciding how the public money they vote is to be used? If this is not done the Irish Government will not only receive a large sum, but will also take possession of lands and houses whose owners will most certainly receive no compensation what. ever for the loss of their homes and other property. Many of them, it is to be feared, will be left absolutely destitute. Surely this is a subject which ought to be discussed in the House of Commons, and outside Parliament it sheuld be brought to the knowledge of the British public.—I am, Sir, OMICRON.
Previous page
