THE DOMINION. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1913. TWO VIEWS OF IRELAND.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1960, 17 January 1914, Page 4

THE DOMINION. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1913. TWO VIEWS OF IRELAND.

g ; fttibn.*.of' the people oMrelandfis- hrifc ; t b«ing devoted to'the'struggle' foVand .'■,the:.point''.of-. : .yiew of the/average out- ' eider this;grcat.'..battlc';' overshadows "everything, else, as;far, as- Ireland is 'the.' political out..looJc could riot .well be gloomier than it ss at.the present moment. All attempts at a friendly settlement of the Home Rule question have so fav failed,-and.now Mr. Bonar Law declares that Ireland-, "is .drifting inevitably towards, civil war which would shatter the whole fabric of national existence.' , . .In contrast to thig gloomy story of political and religious strife and bitterness, which is monopolising the attention of the outsido world, there has been a great improvement in recent years in the social ;and industrial life of tho people, more especially of tho agricultural population. Notwithstanding this fact, however, the country :for years past has been losing some of the best of its young people by the steady stream of emigration to America, and other places. In 1911 the emigrants totalled 31,088,'. and the total number of natives of Ireland who left Irish ports from May 1, 1851, to the end of December 1011 was 4,218,016. This loss of population has been, deplored by the best friends of Ireland, and endeavours have been made to put a check on the constant drain. The most practical way of doing this is to make the country a more pleasant and profitable place to jive in. Far-reaching reforms in this direction have been carried through in recent years, and their success is now beginning to counteract the lure-of America- on the sons of Ireland. A striking indication of this is provided by a cablegram which appeared in The Dominion a few days ago, in which itwas stated that, the Roman Catholic .authorities in America are so impressed'with the improved conditions in Ireland that they have notified those of their co-religionists who are thinking of trying their fortunes in the New World that they had better, remain at home. Such an opinion coming from such an influential quarter is sure to have a restraining influence on Irish emigration. ■ Tho great improvement which has taken place in tho rural life of Ireland is in a very large measure due to tho practical activities and organising powers of Sip Horace Pltokett, tho founder of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, which has done splendid work for the betterment of the conditions of tho man on the land. The origin and development of the movement make a most interesting story, and it is well told in the December issue of The Constructive Quarterly (Oxford University Press), by Father Fiklay, S.J. The system of land tenure which existed up ■ till the year 1881 left the tiller of the soil entirely at the mercy of the legal owner of tho land, his methods of were decidedly.-primitive, and 'his 'standard of living deplorably low. The legislation of 1&81 guaranteed him • fixity of tenure.and a fair rent, and subsequent Land Purchase Acts enabled him to become owner of his holding. Theso reforms paved the way for the new era. Towards the of the eighties, Sir Horace PiiUnkett. began to give practical effect to his ideas on rural economy. He taught the Irish farmer the value of combination in industry, allied with intelligence, self-reliance and mutual trust. He had to overcome the innate conservatism of the people, and the hopelessness engendered by the old state of affairs, and ho had also to break down longstanding political and religious antagonisms. Kg had the- assistance of a few colleagues in his early efforts, but in the course of time the growth of the movement made it necessary to give it organic form and the Irish Agricultura) Organisation Society came into existence in 1894. Its appearance gave a new impetus to the co-operative idea. In 1898 the number of societies had risen to 104; in 19Q0, to 477; and at the present a total of 980 has been reached. Tho movement has been greatly helped by the establishment of a Government Department of Agriculture, which undertakes the duty of instructing the farmer in the methods which will suable him to obtain the largest returns from the land. "Fortunately," writes Father Fixlay, "we had at the time a Chief Secretary whose sympathy with any feasible scheme for the genuine welfare of the country was assured— Mr. GeraM) Balfour." The ideal Sir Horace Pmjhkett and his colleagues aim at is summed up in the words, "better farming, better business, and better living." Though th« co-operativo movement has done so much for tho uplifting of the small farmer in Ireland, it is only part of a greater programme, this larger hope being "nothing less than tho reconstruction of rural life as a , \yhole,_ the building up of a rural civilisation which shall counteract the forces that arc cvorywhero drawing tho_ best elements'of the rural population to the towns, and which shall check tho evils to which this drain is giving rise iu town and country alike. Limits of space make it impossible to give more than the barest outline of what is being done to.raise the standard of country life in Ireland. One of the most encouraging aspects of the work ia its unifying iniiuence_ on the people. While- political questions are dividing Ireland into hostile camps, tho tendency 'of the rural bettermentscheme is towards more friendly relations between men of different religions and political opinions, Father Finlay states that in districts where . co-operation has been introduced into rurfil. industry, the traditional animosities of Irish life have lost much of their rancour, and party strife much of its bitterness. If a permanent, settlement by consent of the Home Rule question could be arrived at the future of Ireland would be full of hope. At present, however, the'possibility.'.of civil war hangs,like a.- dark"\.eloush : over,j,'the. land.;?:./' ' -'^'■■"-. '■''■£':%£.,';?%'*"