A Disgrace & Dishonour to the Country — Mr. Hogan and Repudiation of the Land Annuities — Would Rather See the Treaty Scrapped — Meetings in Ballinasloe and Portumna

The Connacht Tribune, Saturday, March 1, 1930.

Fianna Fail Policy

Mr. Hogan, Minster for Agriculture, Major General McEoin, T.D., and Mr. Sean Broderick, T.D., visited Ballinasloe on Sunday where they addressed a largely attended meeting.

Mr. Conroy, solr., who presided, introducing Mr. Hogan, said, his fame as Minister for Agriculture was known all over Europe. In introducing Major General McEoin, Mr. Conroy said that as a soldier his name would go down in history as one of the best Ireland ever produced and he gave him, on the people's behalf, a 'cead mile failte', on his first appearance in County Galway.

Mr. Broderick said there was not going to be a general election and there was no need for one at present or for the next two years although they were told now and again that it was very near. They came there to meet some of the charges and foul statements that were made throughout Galway by a shopkeeper from Dublin who came down to tell the farmers how to till their land. Messrs. Lemass and Fahy were going around the country telling the people that the question of land annuities would be left to an independent tribunal, although de Valera had a different mind regarding them. He did not know what Frank Fahy meant by 'an independent tribunal' — whether it was the opinion of briefless barristers in Dublin or whether it should be a tribunal representative of different counties like the League of nations. He (Mr. Broderick) told the people that they were bound to pay back the money to the people they borrowed it from. It was time these people gave up the hedging, it was going on long enough, and it had already ruined many good farmers in the country. Many of them who followed this false propaganda in the old days were Bankrupt now and many others in arrears.

In the Dail collection in 1918 and 1919 there were only two men — the Hogan brothers — who stood on platforms in Galway and he asked Mr. Fahy how many he stood on when money was required. The Agricultural Credit Corporation was subjected to much criticism, but the project was for the small farmer and only given to men who would pay it back, and in the last 15 months £700,000 were paid out. In County Galway since the present Government came into power 1,155 new houses were built in eight years and £273,282 distributed for roads and other grants, 52,000 acres of land were divided in the county and £40,000 in six drainage schemes, £20,000 of which the Government provided.

Major—General Sean McEoin

Major General McEoin, who was received with loud cheers, said the first man he ever served under was a Galway man and he was one of the good men in Galway. He was glad to have the opportunity in the Co. Galway to be able to pay a tribute to him because that man did not come back to Galway. He was Brigadier Redington, and it was men like him that brought the country to what it was to—day. "You have a little Government " continued the speaker, "but a great Government, building up this country. They are now five or six years engaged in the work but they have done more for this country than any government in the world — building up institutions that every Irishman should be proud of that guarantees the rights of every Irishman, irrespective of creed or class, and that aim at giving fair play to every citizen.' Fianna Fail deputy he would like to see him further. Mr. Hogan was very useful to the country.

When in America, continued the speaker, people anxious to invest money in Ireland asked him if here was to be another war as Mr. de Valera said in round in 1932. "These people," concluded the speaker, "are a menace and as such they should be put out of public life as the country could not prosper until the menace was removed."

Mr. Hogan, who was given a very hearty reception, said that politics and politicians were now judged by the best speeches, the best promises. He promised nothing, but he told them in answer to the many speeches saying that the Government had done nothing, that it had electified the Shannon, built a beet factory at enormous costs, subsided the roads, paid two million for the damage caused by the Civil War, and reduced taxation at the same time by seven millions. The stock in trade arguments of their opponents from 1923 was that when they got into Parliament their first act would be to reduce salaries or that allowances would be in proportion to the services rendered. The only thing they did — and they acted on the special committee — was to agree to the salaries and that the £360 was not to be cut. If the members of Fianna Fail became Ministers — and he doubted it — it was an obvious inference that they would also change their minds in these matters, and that in every promise they made the people the same thing would apply. Five per cent of them had no visible means other than politics.

Reducing Salaries

What the country needed was to be told the truth and it was good to tell it whether people or parties liked it or not. The truth was that if all the salaries were reduced to £800 — the salary of a good doctor or practicing solicitor could make — the amount available would be only £200,000. They could not make the country rich on that. For the past six or seven years the Government had saved seven millions. There were two millions per year spent on old age pensions and four millions on education, and he asked where were they going to get men to run the finance or the education of the country at £800 per year? The only contribution Fianna Fail made to economy while they skulked outside the Dail was to say "cut salaries", but they failed to do that when put to the test,

The policy of the Government on tariff's was well known. He was against tariffs because he saw no direct benefit to the farmer, especially the small farmer. Was it any advantage to have to pay more for it? What they wanted was more money for what they purchased, and he could not see how it would benefit them if hey spent a million more on subsidizing wheat growing. If there was a million pounds to spare it was better to spend it on the improvement of live stock or something else. That was the policy of the Department and his. To develop the agricultural industry of the country was the only agricultural policy of this country. "Make everything you sell pay more and everything you buy cost less." The alternative policy was to make everything they bought dearer by tariffs on imports.

Speaking on the question of land annuities, the Minister said his answer to the question of whose money it was is quite simple. It belonged to those who lent it and must be repaid. If they wanted to change that there would have to be a law passed making dishonesty right. He had no right to his neighbour's property. If England owed Ireland an indemnity it had nothing to do with the question of land annuities, and the Government never expressed an opinion on it. If Fianna Fail thought there was an indemnity due to let them take up the case, but the annuities belonged to those who lent them. Men like Collins and McEoin put the English out of the country. "I saw them go," said Mr. Hogan, "and it was the greatest thing in the history of this country, but to repudiate our obligations to pay these annuities would be a repudiation of the Seventh Commandment and a disgrace and dishonour to the country. The campaign of Fianna Fail is to scrap the Treaty and to dishonor the country's bond regarding the annuities, but I would rather see the Treaty scrapped, rather see another round with England, then that the country should be dishonored because if that happened it would be the greatest dishonor ever a Government in Ireland saw." If the country is smashed there would be a complete breakdown and the Government would be the most unpopular one ever seen in Ireland even including the British Government.

On the platform were Messrs. A. Staunton, P.C., Martin Ryan, P,C., E. P. Carroll (district court clerk), P. Nolan, Co. C.

The Portumna Meeting

Mr. John Morrissey presided at a representative meeting in the Town Hall, Portumna, on Sunday.

Mr. Sean Broderick, T.D., said the people in Portumna had several speeches recently from the opposition who were paying special attention to Portumna. He did not know the reason except they felt they were losing ground there. They heard Mr. Fahy's speeches in 1923. He said they should not pay England. He came along in 1927 and said they should have a land tax, and a short time ago he said they were prepared to leave the matter to an independent tribunal. Speaking on the Fianna Fail propaganda about the land annuities, Mr. Brodrick said recently he had come across a case in the County Galway where a man who had got a new holding fifteen years ago foolishly enough followed the Fianna Fail policy of paying no land annuity and owed £160 in rent. He himself know that two Fianna Fail deputies who went through the country asking people not to pay land annuities recently approached the Land Commission and got that man four years to pay those arrears. The man refused to agree to this, because he said Fianna Fail advised him not to pay these annuities. Some of the man's stock has now been seized, and they could all realize his position.

General Sean McEoin, who was applauded, said Galway should be proud of Mr. Hogan who was bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh and not a half—Spaniard, Frenchman or Jew.

Mr. Hogan, Minister for Agriculture, said his views were that a Dail deputy who did his work well was not overpaid, but that they could do without half those deputies, Most of the Fianna Fail deputies had no special knowledge of anything that affected the lives of the people. Most of them were professional politicians and nothing else, and his opinion was that the State would lose nothing if half of them disappeared from the earth. He was confident that the Fianna Fail party would prefer to see the country wrecked or at the bottom of the sea rather that that the Free State should succeed.

Minister and Derating

Asked by a member of the audience about derating, the Minister said he did not like to go into that because there is a Commission sitting at present and anything he would say would prejudice the decision of that Commission. "We will keep our mouths shut," he continued, "on the question until the Commission has had an opportunity of examining it, but I have me own views on it." Referring to the charges of favoritism made at one time against them, he declared that no government was as clean in that respect as the present Government. The bitterest enemy of the State did not now dare suggest that anyone of them had lined their pockets at the expense of the taxpayer. It was the one country in Europe where there was no religious distinction and where there was absolute equality.

General Sean McEoin, in proposing a vote of thanks to the chairman, passed a complimentary reference to Mr. Morrissey for the long service he rendered to the country: — Mr. Sean Brodrick seconded, and it was passed amidst applause. A number of deputations waited on Mr. Hogan from Co. Galway and Tipperary.