The San Francisco call., 1909-10-10

rERE it is necessary to go back q
ii little Opponents of home rule
will admit that Ireland as a whole
has suffered a decline in population. a
heavy drain in emigration and an in
dustrial relapse. But, they say
vehemently. all or very nearly all Of
the loss has been in the south and west;
it is nationalist ireland that has suf-
fered: Ulster. on the contrary, has pros
pered continuously.
This view is highly interesting and
quite worthy of examination. Here
are the emigration figures for the four
provinces for 1906:
Ienster .... 5.079 Munster ..-..... 10,05I
Connaught -. 7,sS0IClster ...-..... 1851
There is more rapid emigration at
this time from Ulster, then, than from
any other province. Taking broader
view, Ulster lost "a per cent of her
population between 1871 and 1901, Will e
all ireland lost As per cent. 1t appears,
therefore, that Ulster has suffered with
the rest of the country from the gov
ernmental conditions which reduce
population.
Ulster, of course, remains the chief
Industrial center and is likely to re-
tain its supremacy, for the reason that
the skilled labor is available there and
in no other part of the island. But
gradual stagnation is visible there. too.
Following are the numbers of persons
employed in the textile industries in
the years named:
lis7l ........ 1872. .s64lls91 .......... 12e, Ssf
1881 ......... 129,1STll9O1 ...1..-... le9,3os
Linen manufacture. by far the largest
/ of the textile industries, employed
! $4,000 persons in 1891, it employs now
about 10000 The wooden industry
shows a like decline.
Another test of good government is
its effect upon the temper of the peo-
pie. Good government produces peace
and contentment Since the act of
union there have been three insurrec-
! tions-in 1903, in 1S4S and in 1867.
And in order to forestall the retort
| that these outbursts were due to re-
lIigious hatred of England. let us note
that Emmett, in 1903, and Thomas Davis,
/ John Mitchell and Smith O'Brien. in
/ 184S, were Protestants. In addition TO
these armed uprisings there has been
/ Succession of unarmed rebellions
against English authority, which Eng
! lish statesmen of today are compelled
to acknowledge were forced upon the
! people by an intolerable oppression.
Good government establishes civil
and religious liberty. As evidence upon
the former we find a coercion act for
every year of the nineteenth century;
! that is the suspension of trial by jury,
i free speech, "a free press and virtually
every other form of political freedom.
/ Upon the matter of religious liberty
we find that equality before the law
was not granted until 1929, and that
today discrimination on religious
grounds permeates the government, the
professional classes and every field of
activity which the upholders of the
| present system control
Good government means just taxa
ton. Yet we have the testimony of
an English commission that Ireland
was overtaxed $l2, 600 900 a year, in
proportion to England, in 1896. and
| 100000 600 has been added TO the taxa
tion since then.
The very foundation stone Of good
government is fair representation.
Where Ireland stands in this regard
| has already been demonstrated. True.
4 she has fair representation in the Brit
| ish parliament. but in the executive,
! administrative and judicial departments
in Ireland the power is in the hands of
| a reactionary minority, the great ma SIS
i of the people having no voice what
ever in these affairs.
Good government implies judicial
! system responsive in some measure to
public opinion and untainted by favor
itism or class prejudice. The high
| courts Of Ireland are dominated abso-
lutelT by the Garrison, while the