The San Francisco call., 1909-10-05


Remembering that the drain of emf
grafton is due to the evils of the old
land system. inflicted by England as
part of her system. the loss may be
fairly charged to misgovernment. This
is justified further by the fact that
the partial lifting OF the curse OF land
lordism has appreciably checked emf
grafton. Within a month an oficial re-
port has noted the first increase in the
population since 1s4O- Four million
emigrants In so years-is that evidence
OF good government?
Similarly, the economic condition OF
Ireland is inextricably bound up with
the system of government forced upon
the country. since for hundreds OF
years. as has been shown. the chief
purpose of the system was TO exploit
Ireland for the benefit Of England.
The average wage OF an agricultural
lsborer in England in s4.5s, in Scot
land $4.S1 and in Ireland s2.72. The
average wages of all classes are just
half what they are in England. ireland
is the fourth meat producing country
in the world and the sixteenth meat
eating. Every year 10000 men and
boys migrate to England for the har-
vest season to earn enough money to
tide them over the winter.
Throughout nearly the whole OF Ire
land there Is an amazing lack Of manu-
featuring. This il directly ehargeabls
to -misgovernment; indeed. the dsstruc-
tion OF Irish industries was one OF
the most deliberate OF the policies OF
England for zoo years and was carried
out by means of carefully framed Issis-
lation-
There was time says Arthur Bal
four. the English statesman. when
the British parliament thought they
We're well employed in crushing out
Irish manufactures in the interests Of
the British producer
Whenever Ireland established an in
dustry and began to compete with Eng
lish producers in the same line. laws
were made to strangle it. Agricultural
products were the first 70 feel the
passed prohibiting all exports from
Ireland TO the colonies except victuals,
servants. horses and salt. and pro-
hibiting the sending OF Irish cattle to
England, this latter enterprise being
denounced as "a public and common
nuisance Beef. pork. butter and
cheese were subsequently, excluded, and
additional statutes stopped the expor-
tation from Ireland to the English
plantations of sugar. cotton. wool to-
baeco. indigo. ginger and fustian.
Under William III the export OF wool
and wooden manufacturers from Ire
land were prohibited. the penalty be-
heavy fines for each offense. BY such
legislation as this Irish manufacture OF
cotton. glass. iron and hats was also
suppressed.
One by one wrote Lord Dufferin,
each of our nascent industries was
either strangIed in its birth or handed
over, gagged and bound. to the Jealous
custody of the rival interests of Eng
land, until at last every fountain of
wealth was Theoretically sealed, and
even the traditions of commercial en-
terprise have perished through desue-
tude."
That the stagnation of industry in
Ireland is due to misgovernment. in
fact, no attempt is made to deny. Cor
roborative evidence is found in the re-
vival which followed the establishments
of free Irish parliament in 1872.
Almost Immediately ruined factories
were rebuilt. new ones sprang up, the
urban population rose rapidly and
everywhere skilled labor was put in
training. But after the union OF 1900
there was as distinct and as rapid a
decline. Stasnation and decay spread
throughout industrial Ireland, and the
conditions today have resulted.
~ NnHEDR-~