Isle of Man Weekly Times poster advertising an 1922 edition carrying a letter referencing Manx Patriots and Manx Sinn Feiners
Date(s): 1922
Creator(s): Brown & Sons Ltd
Scope & Content: The Isle of Man Weekly Times of Saturday 22 April 1922 carried on page 7 a lengthy letter to the editor from W Ralph Hall Caine. The letter's contents were entitled 'Manx "Patriots" and borrowed plumes. The Manx Sinn Feiners'.
In it the letter-writer scorns mistakes made by J J Kneen in a recent presentation on Manx Place Names, the culmination of thirty years of research. He notes but excuses that some of those mistakes were also made much earlier by Cregeen in 1835. Hall Caine takes exception to compliments made by William Cubbon about Kneen and questions Cubbon's scholarly authority to make them. Moving on he writes, 'Lastly in order to attest one's love of the land of one's birth, or residence, or ancestors, is it necessary to take a leaf out of the book of Sinn Fein, and hate England and the English?'. He refers tp Mr Shimmin MHK showing his Manx Society or Manx Sinn Fein mind in a recent Tynwald debate: 'Why do all these Manx Sinn Feiners adopt the Englishman's speech? his dress? his religion? and his money (when they can get the chance)?'
Hall Caine concludes his letter with the following, 'The Manx Society is to meet this year in Dublin. Some of the members ought to feel themselves in very congenial surroundings ... it would be a capital idea if, when they reached peaceful and happy Ireland, they decided to stay there, if only for the privilege of hating England the more'.
Administration / Biographical History: W Ralph Hall Caine (1865-1939) was a younger brother of author and politician Thomas Henry Hall Caine. He married widow Mary Elizabeth Levy in 1904 (no issue). He became a journalist, wrote 'The Isle of Man' (1909) for A C Black and acted a a publicist for Manx tourism.
His own writing has received criticism with the 1909 book 'Considered by many to be the worst book on the Isle of Man ever written' (A Manx Note Book).
Language: eng
Extent: 76 x 51 cm
Item name: poster
Collection: Print & Poster Archive
Level: ITEM
ID number: P.5084
Record class: Private
Subject tags : #MM100