Answers to Correspondents

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 27, 12 July 1923, Page 25

Answers to Correspondents

Jules.—The tone of your letter secured it a rapid and safe deposit in the W.P.B. Gael.—The difference between Connacht and Munster Irish is largely one of accent. Munster speakers accent the last syllable as a rule. Take the word agat as an example. In Minister the stress is on the second "a*" and in Connacht it is on the first. In Connacht, again, slender "d" and "t" get a sound resembling an English "j" sound, which is very different from the Munster sound. Munster people often pronounce hard a final guttural "g" or "d" where it would be silent in Connacht. Reader.— we saw the cool invitation to deposit a quarter of a million pounds. in the hands of an unnamed .secretary. There was much good humored comment on the matter, but most people seemed to think that the humor of it was so glaring that it did not need Special notice. • > To. Several Contributors.—When we began to publish occasional short stories' we foresaw that we might be inundated with a flood of amateur attempts from all sides, and we were right. If our kind friends will remember that it is a very difficult thing to ' write a short story, and that the limitations of a Catholic paper make it more difficult, they will feel no grievance when we reject their contributions. Frankly we do not welcome them, and we accept no responsibility for them, even if accompanied with an addressed and stamped envelope. '■'.:.:.-, H. F.— ex-monk has arrived in New Zealand. We noticed that some of the Australian Catholic papers ignored him. That was probably the wisest way to •• treat a man whom Cecil Chesterton • dismissed as unworthy of notice because he was stupid enough to make an insane assertion about the number of men Germany - could put in the field. His ground, used to be religion and science, but having been ridiculed for his ignorance . of science he has fallen back on. the old-fashioned No Popery stunts of his class. ;He was picked: up and educated by the Church on which he now turns. Surely :- that is enough about him.., ' " ' : ■ ■.',"•:

W. M.—You can assort without fear of anybody that the Government allowed a police guard, armed at least as to baton, to go through Central Otago in order to make it safe for Elliott and Griffith to attack us Catholics. We can provide you with clear evidence from first-hand witnesses on that point. There is absolutely no doubt about it. It then comes to this: the New Zealand police force was used to make it safe • for parsons to calumniate . Catholics, That is quite in keeping with Sir Francis Bell’s infamous Bill attacking Catholic Marriage Laws. It certainly seems as if the P.P.A. did make door mats of some of our dear friends in the Ministry. What a difference there , was when some of the calumniators waited, on Mr. Wilford with their complaints about rough treatment. He" told them plainly that if they went round the country attacking other people they could only expect such treatment. But through its police guard the Massey Government co-operated in the campaign of calumny.