Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1900-01-17
THE WELSH IN PATAGONIA.
Efforts Have Been Made to Suppress the Little Colony of British
 Subjects.

Efforts Have Been Made to Suppress
 the Little Colony of British
 Subjects.
 The agents in this country, of the Welsh colony in Patagonia are by no means inclined to rest satisfied with the official rebuff which they have re- ceived through the refusal of the gov ernment to intervene in their behalf. They recognize that their demand, how ever logically sound and historically well founded, was somewhat inoppOr- tunely put forward, and was, from de- partmental point of view, rather unrea- sonable. The senior delegate is frank on this point. ''The reply of the for eign office," he says, twas not so favor able as what was wished, but then we wished more than could be expected, seeing that no great efforts had been made in furtherance of the object in view" It has, therefore, been deter mined to carry the movement into the provinces and endeavor to educate and stimulate public opinion by the organi- zation of meetings at which the ease for the colonies may be explained. Lam cashire has been the first district select ed for this purpose. The expedition by means of which the colony was origin ally founded was largely financed from Liverpool. and it is probable that good deal of sympathy could easily be aroused in that locality, The delegates are perhaps not unmindfui of the old adage: What Lancashire thinks to- day England will think tomorrow.
 Meanwhile ma tiers are not improv ing in Patagonia. Though public meet ings continue to be held in favor of the administrative independence of the colony, it is evident that the speakers are embarrassed by the dread of perse- cution on the part of tho Argentine gov ernment. A keen sense of disappoint- ment is felt at the fact that no notice was taken in parliament of the high handed arrest and unconstitutional de- tention in jail of Messrs. Evans ana other British born settlers in January last, and it is feared that the absence of any protest on the part of this coun- try will serve to increase the active hos tility of the authorities at Buenos Ayres. A more serious and practical cause of complaint is to be found in the policy of isolation by means of postal blockade which has been carried into effect by Argentine. "The communica- ton, it is said, between Buenos Ayres and Chupat seems to be open now, but for some months past the steamers car ried no malls to the colony, and in all probability the heavy mails which have been enaccumulating in Buenos Ayres have been designedly kept back, or destroyed by government order" Additional fric- ton is also to be apprehended on re- ligious grounds.
 It will be remembered that one of the gravest complaints made by the colonists was that their young men drafted into the national guard were compelled to drill on Sundays. It was deeply resented, too, that Sunday was chosen for the arrest of the colonial re- form leaders, which actually took place during the holding of a religious serv- ice, and it was believed, rightly or wrongly, that these things were ex- pressly intended to outrage their feel ] IllSSs 1ACN d4G ll1IGdlEutQ HUN Nltl an attempt at direct propagandism. A number of Roman Catholic priests have ! recently been sent into the colony con siderably in excess of the spiritual needs of their coreligionists. The Roman Catholics in Chupat-that is to say, the few shopkeepers and officials of the Latin race and the half-caste labor ers-constitute only a very small minor fly of the population, and their num- bers are practically stationary. It has i been the avowed determination of Mai O'Donnei, the governor, to denational- ize the little community at Chupat by striking at its system of education. With this view he has endeavOred by financial starvation and other methods to stamp out the Welsh schools and to replace them by others on a Latin model. To do this would be to badly wound the susceptibilities of the little colony of exiled Welshmen. and it can easily be understood that feeling of very genuine alarm has been excited by the priestly invasion from Buenos Ayres.
 The Chupat delegates have an ex, tremely interesting case to lay before their fellow countrymen at home. The remote and romantically circumstanced colony of shepherds and farmers in Patagonia feel that they have a claim, in hlood, if not in law, on the support of the country from which they sprang, and from which they have never SC ceded even by the process of naturaliza- iion, They ask that there should be ex- tended 10 them something of the active friendliness which Great Britain has so freely and properly exhibited toward the Outlanders and the Armenians. They are universed in the conventions of international politics, but their com mon sense goes straight to the point. They make their countrymen acquaint- ed with their grievances. and they re fuse to believe that the resources of diplomacy are unable to provide a remedy.-London Post.