THE IRISH QUESTION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2706, 14 November 1889, Page 3

THE IRISH QUESTION.

TO THE KTHTOIt

Sin, —Relying on your motto, and also on your sense of fairness as an English gentle-, man, I beg leave to tresspass once more on your Editorial courtesy, in order to reply to a letter which appeared in Saturday's issue of your paper, over the euphoneons mini do plume of " Hamiltonian." As a matter of fact, although a mere novice of controversy, I would be personally delighted to break a lance with " Hamiltonian " 011 this question, if he had kept his language with the bounds of moderations, and showed the courage of his convictions by signing his name to his letter. But, as a matter of taste I decline after

this letter to have any more to say to him. I would, however, remind " Hamiltonian " that assertion unsupported by proof is not argument, and that according to the simplest rule* of controversy, it would be sufficient for me to oppose my assertions to hi-: to make matters level, but tor various reasons I do not choose to do this, and will proceed to show that " Hamiltonian " no! only wanders away from the point at issue, but that he is absolutely ignorant of even tho A. B. C. of the Irish question. " Hamiltonian" says, "1 challenge Mr Murphy, or any other Irishman, whether Home Ruler or not, to tell me of a country where the land laws are as liberal as they are in Ireland." This is altogether beside the question at issue. You are trying to draw a red herring across the scent; yon are also trying to jumble the question of Home Rule with the land laws, but I cannot ailow y»n, as Home Rule, strictly speaking, means the right of a nation or people to manage their own affairs as we do here, and therefore cannot stand on the same basis as a mere question of agrarian law. But as you, "Hamiltonian," have introduced this question, which is altogether outside tho line of argument, yon should not have thought it heneatli your dignity to show a ease analogous to that of Ireland. So far as my information goes there is none such in existence, the Crofters of Scotland excepted, and if you will look up the history of the last few years you will find that these Crofters fared a good deal better than the Irish tenants. They not only got a Fair Rent Bill, but they also got a liberal Arrears Bill, which swept olf at one stroke the greater part of tlieir arrears. Since I,SSI tho land laws of Ireland have lieen improved considerably, but they are by no means eomi'lete, theoretically speaking tlicv are a gteal. improvement, but practically speaking they do not come up to expectations, the machinery for working tlieui being very defective. At this moment the Irish land courts| are blocked with business, which will take at least len years to get through, some authorities put it down nt twenty. Now, I ask Hamiltonian who brought ahout this radical alteration in the Irish land laws, did the landlords ever suggest them? Did the Government of their own free will, come to tho rescue of the unfortunate tenantry? I distinctly answer "No" in both cases, for whatever is good in these laws, we thank the Irish members who fought night after night on the floor of the House of Commons, and who ventured life and limb a thousand times in the cause of the tenantry, and need I say in the cause of humanity. I am no disciple of Prondhon's .school of philosophy, J. believe in the rights of property, but I also believe in the rights of man, and ivhon tlie rights of property and tho rights of man clash, I think in all justice and fairness, the rights of man ought not to be lost sight of. I now come to Hamiltonian? next point.; be asks, " Can Mr Murphy tell mo why the North'.!* more prosperous than the South,' and says, "if he cannot I will enlighten him, it is because almost the whole of the worth is Protestant, etc." Now, I sinscerely regret that " Hamiltonian " should have thought it his business to introduce into this discussion a spirit of sjctarian bitterness, which can serve no useful purpose, and is altogether foreign to the point at issue. I may also add that the North of Ireland is not almost wholly composed of Protestants, and that the alleged superiority of the North over the South exists only in tho imagination of "Hamiltonian." I find 1 hat the number of Protestants in the North of Ireland is 1)00,000, but L also find that Iho number of Catholics is over 800,000. And, as we have got so far, let us quietly examine the claims of the North to superiority over the rust of Ireland. We will first take the income tax returns, which giveLeinster, £10s lis !)d per head, assessed on £13,272,202; Monster, .t'ti 0s 7d per head, assessed on £7,980,271'; U'ster, £~> 1 Is 5d per head, assessed on i!!l,0">2,28!). These figures prove very conclusively that the North of Ireland is not in any way superior to the South, and they also prove that " Hamiltonian " made a woful blunder in entering into a controversy on a subject about which he knows absolutely nothing, but in order to improve his knowledge a little more, let us apply another test and what the ratable property returns are, and ho will find the North again third on the list. The returns are as follows :—Leinster, *'o l"n 5d ; Munster, I' 2 Jos lOd ; and Ulster, £2 lis lid. There is still another point on which I wish to enlighten "Hamiltonian," and tfiat is that the argument based on Ulster's superiority from an educational point of view is absolutely rotten, for I find the percentage of persons able to read and write in Leinster is SS. while in Ulster it is only o!i. These are hard facts, " Hamiltaniari,".and you are welcome to shake them if you can, you can also " read them well and inwardly digest them," and if your knowledge of the question is not improved I can't help it. "Hamiltonian" generously advises mo to read the leading English and Irish newspapers, For this sage advice lam much obliged, and am happy to inform him that I ain a subscriber to the first paper in Ireland and that 1 also read English papers, but being an Irishman, and I suppose as a natural consequence very ignorant and simple - minded, I do not get all my information filtered through the columns of the Times, or from tho glowing pages of "Parnellism and Crime." With regard to the Unionist meetings T do not trouble myself very much about them, but I deny point blank that such meetings can be fairly called public mootiugs, when admission is by ticket only, and a man has to pass at least tho fourth standard of anti-Irishism before he can procure the said ticket. It is very strange to think that any very considerable section of tho community in these colonics, enjoying, as we do. all the blessings of home rule, can call ourselves fair and just, and at tho same time deny the right of our Irish fellow subjects to participate in the blessings wo prize and enjoy so much ourselves, forgetting, no doubt, that these Irish nationalists took a prominent part in the passing of the Act whereby tlie Australian colonies were granted homo rnlo, and that they added to it some of its best and wisest provisions.— Thanking you very sincerely, Mr Editor, for the generous latitude allowed ine, I beg to subscribe myfaelf, your obliged and Jiumble servant, John Muwht. Hamilton ISast, November IS, ibb'J. 1