The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-20
IRELAND Nor LOYAL

The assertion of a gentleman from Bel
fastSthat Ireland is loyal to the British
empire has brought out spirited and
not altogether sweet-tempered discussion
in The ourn l,ss.column Of Other
Peoples Notions This is "a subject
Which it ought to be possibleg to discuss
without calling names 1t is mot neces-
sary to denounce the whole British en-
pire from Hongkong to Aberdeen to as
sert that Ireland is not loyal. On the
other hand, to say that Lord Kitchener
is Irish and that the Irish regiments
served with distinction In the Boer war
does not prove that Ireland is loyal.
AS a matter Of fact, the easy endS:of
the argument is with those who contend
that Ireland is essentially disloyal-mean-
ing by Ireland, inthis connection, the four
ffths of the people who stand with the
nationalist party. We concede that the
other fifth is loyal, more loyal, perhaps,
than the English themselves. But It. is
rare that four fifths of a nation agree on
any issue. 1t is doubtful whetherat
the beginning of the Revolutionary war
more than half of the Americans were
disloyaf to England. Any reader of Eng
fish parliamentary history since the act
of union. of Great Britain and Ireland,
even If he knew nothing Of the temper
of the people, would be convinced that
real loyalty to the British empire is un-
known to the overwhelming majority OF
the Irish people. A people that gladly
welcomes the. distress of the sovereign
government, that celebrates the victories
of it's enemies, that elects to parliament
a colonel who. has openly led its, enemies
in battle, that would welcome an invad-
ing army that had any chance of success,
that is always discontinued and that has
a political ideal that Is Numerically OPP
posedto the system imposed with dogged
determination by the sovereign power, a
people in which the spark of independent
national life has never been put out, can
hardly be called a loyal people, even
though many Years may have elapsed
since there has been any open revolt
There are provinces in the Philippines to-
day where a man may travel safely I'M
armed, ana Wnere the governments 1uSIl-
tuted by the Philippines commission are
working smooth ly, where the people have
given up all thought Of war for the pres
ent and are pursuing the callings OF
peace, but no one thinks Of calling any
part or tribe Of the Philippines, except
it be the Mohammedan Moros and the
Christian Macabebes, loyal to the United
States. And the loyalty of ireland to the
British empire is Of about the same
quality, except, perhaps, that there may
be more pronounced feeling in ireland
that the cause Of Irish nationality is for.
ever hopeless. In our opinion William T
Stead puts the case well in his "Ameri
canization Of the World" when he says:
Close at our doors lies a country as pop
uloGs as any but the two largest. states II
the American union, q majority of who's
inhabitants are in chronic state of laten
rebellion. The majority of the Irish peop
acquiesce- sullenly in the irresistible logi
| of force majeure. They are not proud o
British citizenship. They loathe it. The,
accept representation at Westminster solel
| in order that they may use the vote whicl
| they are allowed to exercise as the onl
available substitute for the pike and tn
rifle, the use of which is denied to them.