The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-09-09
NEW IRELAND,
SAYS NJ TIGHE
Irish Consul Tells of His Trip
to the Land of His
Birth.

Thomas McTighe. who returned last
week from visiting HIS old home in Ire
land, tells many wonerful stories of
his experience. He had pleasant trip
all the way from Honolulu to the Cove
of Cork and saw things which caused
him to marvel at the progress of Amer
lea and the advancement of the people
in the old country.
EfI found, after an absence of TWEEN
ty-six years, new ireland and more
contented people, he said yesterday
in remeniscing with a reporter. When
I left there we were in the throes of
landlordism and there was a tendency
among the people to get as far away
from the oppression as the money they
had would carry them. Today it is
different and I take it that it is due
to the attitude of the government In
stead of making policemen and poll
ticians for the city of New York they
are making homesteads for the people
in ireland. Hundreds, perhaps thou
sands, of acres of land that would not
produce spraty' when I left there
and where men toiled from 4 clock
in the morning until 8 and 10 clock
at night trying to get a living and keep
matched roof over their heads are
now green with crops for the men now
haua "a hf lind
in many instances, a two-storied home
The old matched roofs have fallen in
to decay in many ways and the peo-
pie are getting more modern. The gov
eminent is discouraging emigration the
landlords seem to have gotten back
their senses and at the same time more
of the milk of human kindness and
are cutting the rents in two rather
than doubling them.
There was bit of twinkle in the
eye of genial Tom as he said this. He
had much to tell his friends over there
/ and his appearance undoubtedly in
dicated prosperity and many were the
questions asked regarding far-off Ha-
wall. Boys on the warships that used
TO visit Hawaii have gone back with
tales of the place but in Tom they
had the real Simon pure source of
information and they seemed bound to
get all there was to be told.
ttAs the Irish Consul for Honolulu, -
continued Tom, II was accorded all of
the honors due to one in my position
the constabuiary never took their
eyes off me- / took the folks to the
Theater Royal in Dublin one night to
~ 4ta4 he a ha, J ~
name but which turned out to be moth
ing more than a duplicate Of one of
our Hotel street attractions. There was
eonjuror there who did bit of a
trick with flags. He drew from a tube
the colors of one nation after another
and when he came to that OF Great
Britain there was such an enthusiastic
and loyal greeting that the walls Of
the place fairly trembled. I had to
stop and think. It was different from
the ireland I had left years ago, left
it when the desire of the people seem
ed to be to step on the neck of land
lord with one foot and a Britisher with
the other. But today there is as much
loyalty to the flag and respect for the
landlords as you will find anywhere and
the harp of Erin has place in the
flag. But I am an American and from
choice at that, do you mind. When
the joker doing the tricks pulled out
the stars and stripes I let out such
a. whoop that / had the audience star
ing. There she is, | cried, sOld Glory,
the flag that floats over the free and
the brave There was no attempt at
violence, mind you, but [ seemed to be
Of IN tho I'D VIII
sat in front of me- One of them turn
ed around to me and said / had moth
ing to brag about, the best people IN
America are Irish. True for you,
Madam I said, but the best WASH It
in them while they stayed here.
"Another sign of good feeling, and
an evidence that the feeling that once
| existed, of the time when the wish of
the Englishman was to see Ireland put
under water for twenty-four hours, had
been blotted out, was in procession
of the soldiers j witnessed outside of
Dublin. There were twenty-elght regi-
ments in line and eight fine bands.
| One of them came along and played
THE Wearin' of the Green 1t was
a revelation to me for it does not seem
such a long time since it was treason If
a fellow happened to hum it where
| a polls could hear him.
'.But if Ireland had changed during
| the years l have been away L can tell
| you nay knowledge Of the world was
| Droadened by my visits to the cities in
the United States. | had never pat
my foot on American soil before leav-
ing the ship at San Francisco for when
came to Hawaii it was by way of
| the Horn. The sights of san iran
cisco startled me Sor Archie Mckillop
| had his hand in the entertainment. The
| growth of the place after the idea con-
veyed by the pictures | had seen of
| the earthquake, struck me as being in
| human, that something more than NOR
| tai man had had finger in the max
| ing. In Chicago thee was more to
startle me, for not satisfied with the
| streets for ear tracks found them
| strung on trestles in mid air, New
| York was of course the acme of all
| that was big in surprises. More build
! ings, more mid lair railways and some
/ of them were out Of sight. There
| didn I seem to be room enough for ali
| on the streets or in the air SO they
| went down below