THE LATE MEMBER FOR WAKANUI.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1309, 21 July 1884, Page 2

THE LATE MEMBER FOR WAKANUI.

To tub Editor. Moat of your readers will remember that Mr Ivesa considered the land question " the burning question of the day." Moat of them will alao remember that his remedy for'all our ilia waa " to burat up " the large estates. Thia pur* and disinterested patriot nerer said a word about compensating the owners of these estates. No ! he could be as liberal with other people's property as he was with their money at the late session when he pocketed L2lO for nine or ten days' work. He woald not hesitate to spoliate the owners of property to secure the support of a few improvident individuals; he would confiscate the property of men who bought it in the open market and spent thousands of pounds in improvements, which gave employment to hundreds of men. Thia honest "burster" would improve the condition of working men by spoliation and bursting up the very men on whom hundreds of them were depending for their bread. I:would ask your readers to turn to a body of men for whom Mr Ivesa has no better name than robbers, assassins, and a host of other elegant expressions which he must have acquired at Billingsgate—l mean the Irish Land Leaguers, T e plan they propose is to buy in the open market the land, and let the cultivatora have it at a rent and sinking fund, which in a given number of years would cover the whole purchase, If these men are robbers, etc., what is Mr Ivesa ? Mr Parnell pronounces Mr Iveas'a pet scheme of " Nationalisation " a " craze," and in his scheme of peasant proprietary is supported by the great majority of the Irish people, and the leading journai of the people, the Nation, says there is as much chance of the nationalisation of the land coming within the range of practical politics within the next two hundred years as there is of an invasion of the planet Jupiter. Men holding just and moderate views like these are abused and vilified by this " patriot," who conducts the frothy and abusive Burster of Burnett street in a manner worthy of the University of Billingsgate, where he must have graduated. In lact, he never appears in his favorite role to such advantage (?) aB when he is abusing the best and noblest of his own race. It is the same with this man, boiling over with love for the Irishmen of Wakanui, but spueiug out his venom on the best of their countrymen at Home. He pronounces Mr Grigg a i'ory and a land grabber, although. h,s opiuions on the land question agreed strictly with those of Mr Parnell. The latter gentleman and his colleagues whom Mr Ivess delights to vituperate have studied the question from ev&ry conceivable point of view, an>l, as I have said, sanction that system which Mr Grigg supports. Who can have any respect for the opinions of such an ignorant and unscrupulous politician as thia? Though pledged to a '* bursting up" policy he never took one step to redeem hio pledge. Common sense must teach any man that the more employers the better wages—the fever the worse. But his abuse of the best Irishmen is not the worst feature in the character of this time-servin*; pol ; tician. Wherever there is a deadly enemy in the church to which he belongs, he lauds him to the skies. Tne bitterest enemy that church ha 3 Ihad during this century waa Leon Gambetta, and this conscientious Catholic has nothing but admiration for him, and abuse for one of the moat devoted sons of France—MoMahon, presumably because he was a Catholic, and descended from one of the Irish Brigade. See Mail, January 7th, 1882, and February 2nd, 1882. I have no desire to introduce Home politics here, but it ia evident to the meanest capacity that the man who abuses everything good and noble in fhis own countrymen, and lauds to the skie3, and supports the deadliest |enemies of his church, ought not to be trusted by either that church or any one.—l am, etc., Irishman. Ashburton, July 21, 1884.