CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1805, 23 March 1918, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor.) Sir. —A copy of your esteemed journal of the 16th inst. reached mo whilst I was travelling in the Auckland Province. The charge preferred therein against me by an “influential 0016060” is exceedingly grave, and I realise all its import. Am I a “German spy,” as this “influential Catholic” says I am? I know, Mr Editor, that neither you nor my fellow citizens of Fox ton would rush incontinently to conclusions. My actions have been so open in the community. You could therefore patiently wait for an answer of mine. The charge, however, is so serious and so sensational that I would outstep all bounds of prudence did I further delay to answer the accusataion. I will give you four reasons, and, on the strength of these reasons, I claim immunity of the criminal accusation, both at the hands of my fellow citizens and at the hands of the Government of this Dominion. (1) I am Belgian born, born not far from Malines, the city of Cardinal Mercicr. I am not only Belgian horn, but. Belgian by parentage also. (2) I foreswore allegiance to the King Belgians on the 19th day of April, 190(5, and was then “admitted and declared to be a citizen of the United States of America.” (3) The history of this cruel war has proved that Germany, has a wonderful Intelligence Bureau, and that through this she cov-i ers the world with a network of spies. But does it not look supremely ridiculous that Germany would have paid a spy in Foxton, and that she would spill her fast- disappearing funds in such an inefficient way? A “German spy” might be of service to Germany in Wellington, the sent of Government, or in a shipping centre, but certainly not in little Foxton. (4) I have often made addresses in and out of Foxton. Portions of these have found their way into your esteemed paper. Say, Mr Editor, did these addresses bespeak any connivance with the enemy? If you consult'your files you will see that these addresses reveal me nowhere as a traitor to the land, but conversely. Living in a British country, I have ever respected the British flag. I cannot help but feel keenly the (.''aluminous charge made against me by “an influential Catholic.” This charge was made either through ignorance or through malice. Could ignorance be pleaded in the light of the above reasons, of which all Foxton are aware? If ignorance cannot be pleaded, it would then seem that the accusation was a malicious one, the deliberate statement of an untruth, a travesty of facts, the giving of false testimony against one’s neighbour. If such a charge had been made against me in enemy country, I might not even have had the mock tribunal of Captain Fryatt and Nurse Cavell. There is, Mr Editor, a note of tragedy in such a calumny. It is made IN TIME OP WAR against a citizen who is barely a year in New Zealand, who is here without connections, and who is therefore a stranger in a strange land. He is accused of harbouring treason against his native land of Belgium—and that in the very hour of its agony and martyrdom—against America, his adopted country, and against the land that shelters him —against the very things he loves more than life itself.- —I am, etc., FATHER CORLEY. [THE following is .the letter Father Corley refers to above, written and published in these columns on the 10th inst,, by Mr J, Golder: lic (whose name I will disclose to the proper authorities upon application), on February 2nd openly accused Father Corley, in a, public local hairdresser’s shop, of being a “German spy,” in my presence and hearing, and in the presence and hearing of others. This I cannot believe Father Corley to be, but, should he be, then my friendship for him has been greatly mistakqn. He then ought to be dealt with right away by the Defence Department. Fair play is bonnie play, sir, and in the fairness of British justice, the Catholic and non-Catholic friends of Father Corley would like to publicly hear from him to fittingly combat such a serious charge.” We are pleased to publish Father Corley's letter, and to testify that as a citizen his actions and public utterances were loyal to the core. No patriot felt and expressed a deeper hatred of the German atrocities in Belgium than did Father Corley. These facts are too welt known to need further elaboration. The Foxton friends of Father Corley feel'that he has been falsely accused, and the public await the clearance of the stigma cast upon him, and incidentally upon the Church he represents.—Ed. H.]