A PLEBISCITE ON HOME RULE,
[To TM EDITOR or THR "SPECTATOR."] SIE,—I am a Unionist living for over sixty years in the South of Ireland in business with my Roman Catholic neighbours, and during that time never met an open insult to my faith, but have with other Unionists in latter years noticed a decline in trade, a result, we believe, of the action of secret semi-religious societies. Well, we cannot blame Roman Catholic Irishmen for dealing with and helping their own. Living among and going among these plain, homely, kind-hearted people, they often tell me their minds more freely than they would to others, and, as a result, I have formed the conviction that there is not one man in ten who has anything to lose who desires Home Rule--shop- keeper, tradesman, or farmer. Of course, there are thousands and tens of thousands of sentimentalists in Ireland who are carried away by the ravishing charms of Irish music. "The Harp that once," " Let Erin Remember," " A Nation Once Again," &c.—all these require Home Rule from pure sentiment, but not one in five hundred would have the most remote idea of what Home Rule means. The great bulk of the claimants for Home Rule are those who are brought under the influence of the professional paid agitators, the Devlins, the Redmonds, and the Larkins. Then there are the place-hunters, who amount to many thousands. I believe if an honest plebiscite could be taken of all citizens, men (or women, if it pleased) between twenty and seventy.years of age who could read and write, a majority would be against Home Rule. But again I must refer to what has already appeared in your valuable journal: no general election, no referendum, will be of any use (except to delay the passing of this much-debated law) without a redistribution of seats.—I am, Sir, &c.,
SOUTHERN UNIONIST.
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