Correspondence.

Te Aroha News, Volume XVI, Issue 22206, 27 February 1900, Page 3

Correspondence.

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—lu the early part of last week, or the week previous, the Home telegrams announced tha‘ evicted tenants in Ireland and their sympathisers gave notice to those who took up their evicted holdings, that if they did -not give jfchem up h£»w specified date they would find themselves boycotted ; and tho’ I am not an Irishman nor an Irishman’s son, I myself to bo in ‘ sympathetic acaferd ’ with the boycotters. Judging from anology the land in question, in ninty-nine cases out of every hundred holdings, had been reclaimed from bog or ‘ bent ’ land by tlie labour of the evicted tenants land naturally fertile would never have been allowed to fall into their hands. Again the value of the fee-simple of tl e land had been paid ten times over by the evicted in the shape of rent, but yhen they brought the land to a state to attract tho cupidity of the large grazier they are remorselessly thrust to the wall. The Homo press makes a hobby of declaiming about the laziness and improvidence of the K>man Catholic section of the Irish, but carefully and designedly avoid stating tho cause—insecurity of tenure and the greod of tho absentee landlords. In the colonies the Irish make as indusious farmers as the average of thdr fellow colonists. Why is this? Because thej' are treated exactly like those around them, and they have a perfect right to be so treated. But what they have no right to is to bo disloyalj-nd disaffeefed to the power that seAfuffes and maintains h ones for them in all parts of tho globe, as a considerable fraction of them aro at Home and in tho colonies—professional agitators who fatten on Pat’s excitability—but. they arouse the suspicion aud distrust of those who are loyal and know it to bo their best policy to be so. A defect in tho Irish character to be inability to let ‘ the dead past bury their dead.’ Who finds ''English and Scotch at this time of day referring to bygone grievance?, unless by way of bnt -r. Ireland, solu?, would be as successful in trying to colonise the mountains of tho moon as in trying to found or keep eolonii s on her offri account. I strongly recommend to them, Fenians and all, a seri ms reperusal of tho legend of the bundle of sticks.. —I am., etc., Verb Sac.