The Irish standard., 1918-06-08
(Fro,n the New Zealand Tablet.)

"A
wears ago that the Imperial Govern
ment was annually robbing Ireland OF
more than e2,O0O,O0O by unjust taxa
tion. The report was published and
as is the way with the findings Oh
Roval Commissions, the matter
dropped; no effort whatever was
made by a Government which was
convicted of robbery to make restltu-
ton, lust as the same Government
had earlier been told that it was leg
islating for ireland by virtue OF a
gigantic fraud. But then was not the
time to wax righteously angry ABOUT
scraps of paper and broken talth: II
seems that only when scraps OF paper
are torn by others and faith broken
outside of their realms do the English
Government lose patience.
Report of Royal Commission.
The Finding of the Commission was
circulated everywhere. All the worlo
knew that England had all these years
been telling lies when protesting that
she was losing money on account OF
Ireland. All the world knew that the
Union was really a pretext for the
nlunder of the weaker country, BE-
cause she was the weaker country.
No right whatever was on Englands
side except the right that at present
we call Prussianism. England plum
dered Ireland because England was
strong and Ireland was not able TO
resist. A Royal Commission published
the truth. And England went on her
wav still. making no attempt to atone
for the past, exactly because though
honor and honesty obliged her to
atone Ireland was too powerless TO
insist on atonement. Right was
might; and no other law ever op-
tanned in England's dealings with Ire
land. The thing that concerns us at
present is that in spite of public
conviction of robbery, perpetrated over
a century and amounting to a sum OF
over e3OO,OO0,O00, there are In New
Zealand an army of apologists for
robbery and Prussianism who In order
to conceal the truth are always tell
ing the public that Ireland is "petted
and pampered" by England, and tnat
she has no grievances at all. Editors
of daily papers, professors, parsons
repeat this lie so often that one won
ders whether even inveterate hatred
of Catholic ireland can explain their
lack of honesty and common-sense.
Ireland has been treated as a, coun-
try that has no right to exist for her-
self. All the laws presume that God
made ireland for the benefit OF the
superior English race which a few
years ago (before to say such things
became Prussian) was going to stamp
the Anglo-Saxon character on all the
civilized world. The table of Treas
ury figures prove that every year all
Irish revenue not absolutely needed
for the maintenance of English ascend
ancy in ireland was drained into the
British Treasury. And the Treasury
has taken good care than even If the
Irish people starved there should he
an "Imperial contribution" wrung
out of Ireland.
The Price Of Misgovernment.
From 1920 to 1890 the total surplus
thus extracted from Ireland was the
little sum of e2o2,sOS,s6o; this at an
annual average rate of s4,056,177 for
fifty years. It does seem rather hlgn
price to pay for the inestimable
blessing of being governed by the pa
ternal laws of England! From 1869
to 1889 the surpluses became less,
owing to the Parnell agitation; but
even then the amount was e59,O32,77O
for twenty years - an average OF
nearly three millions year. From
1890 to 1915 the surplus was e3O,27S,-
4O5. The total surplus from the close
Of 1920 therefore amounts to e292,-
120,035. Now, all that money should
have been Ireland's own, but the I'M
perial Government decided tnat Ire
land should pay a proportion of the
taxation as a reward for the action
of the Government in depriving the
Irish people of their freedom by the
most shameful and the blacklist page
in the annals of history. Therefore,
the Government would say that Eng
land has not robbed Ireland of all the
amount stated above.
However, the Royal Commission
does not by any means exculpate
the Government from all crime. Its
finding was that since 1856 the over
taxation Of Ireland amounted to, In
the opinion of the majority of the
Commissioners, the sum of at least
e2,25O,O0O a year, or to e153 100000
for sixty years. So that on England's
own admission Ireland has been plum
n