IRELAND AND CRIME.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 September 1919, Page 9

IRELAND AND CRIME.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—l must beg space in your valuable jiaper to write a line or two iu reply to iny pagan* friend, Mr. J. O. Taylor, and mentioning religion to J. O. Taylor is like holding a red cloth in front of a bull. He says that lam trying to make out that the SUte sciiflols are responsible for all the i-rime committed in the country. No, I don't blame the schools nor yet the school teachers, but I blame the devilish law that forbids religious teaching in State schools. He says that I carefully avoid the fact that It was the authorities of my own church who were responsible for tho Government suppressing the publication of the religion of criminals in New Zealand prisons. Yes, and for a very good reason, too. When a record was kept of the religion of prisoners in Ney Zealand gaols, the Catholic priests visiting the prisons discovered that nineteen out of every twenty who put themselves down as Catholics were not Catholics. In fact, a great many of'them bad no religion at all. And New Zealand was not alone in this respect. One notable case a year or two ago In Great Britain, was the notorious Sir Roger Casement. When he was imprisoned for high treason in Britain, he eutered his name in jail records as a Catholic, knowing full well that he was born, educated, and brought up as a Protestant, and, when asked for his reason for doing so, he replied that he did bo with Hie expectation of getting more sympathy from his countrypeople. Then we find him boldly declaring that Ireland is by far the cleanest country on the face of the earth from crime. I have only to refer Mr. Taylor to pretty well every county court judge in Ireland up to the commencement of the war, and they will tell him that in ever} county court in Ireland they were presented with white gloves time and time again, which Indicated that there was no criminal cases to come before them. I think I am safe in saying that no other country in the world could claim such a record. I never said tho" had no grievance. They have any amount. What 1 said was that there was no grievous crimes committed in Ireland, except by the police, and their agents He says the British Government handled over to Ireland ii2,QOO,OOU tor education every year. The British Government never handed ono cent of English money to Ireland in their existence. The two millions Mr. Taylor speaks of is all the people got out of 37 millions that Kngland ttecced Ireland of in taxation last year.l am, etc..

JOHN DIGGINS, Inglewood, Sept. 3, 1919.