Arizona republican., 1903-09-24
Ireland a Nation.

to see the opportunity which has been created for Ireland by the upheaval in English politics. Mir. William O'Brien. the Irish parliamentary lead CT, speaking at Cork, Monday night, announced that the Irish party in par liament would act independently Of both political parties and would meet which ever came out on top The flu ture aim of the Irish party, he said was Ireland a Nation" and they in tended to adopt a policy of independ- ence and hold their hands until it could be discovered from whom the best terms could be obtained. He re called the recent success of the cam paign for the abolition of Iandlordism as manifested by the enactment of the land-purchase bill, and stated that the same methods which brought that law into effect could easily on the same lines achieve home rule.
 There is even a better chance for home rule TOW than there was, appar- ently, for any purchase scheme two years ago. The ancient saying that
 
 "England's extremity is Ireland's op- portunity' holds good in peaceful pol;- tics quite as much as in war. At no time since Charles Stewart Parnell welded the warning elements of Irish politics into a compact and disciplined parliamentary party has the outlook for Ireland's aspirations been so bright as now. For the next few years, at least, the liberal and unionist parties viii do their utmost to outbid each other for the Irish vote in the house of commons. It is conceivable that the liberals may achieve such a victory at the next election as will give them a clear majority over the unonists and Irish natiopalists combined. but the probabilities are against such an out come. On the other hand, the union- ists cannot hope to carry enough seats to make them independent of the na- tionalists. It follows that MT. O'Brien will be able to exact almost any ante election pledge that he desires from either side. And it is very probab blc, indeed. that for some years to come the new questions injected into English pol itics by Chamberlain's championship Of a preferential tariff will leave party lines SO entagled and broken as to make the Irishmen in parliament the practical masters of the situation.
 It has seemed for several months that in any event the triumph of home rule could not be far off, and the crisis created by Chamberlain wonderfully improves the prospect. When. after fighting for Q generation every move fer bettering Ireland's material condi- tlons. the English tories made d clean face about and voted sixty millions out of the British treasury. last spring, for the purpose of enabling the Irish peas ants to buy their holdings, close stu dents of the Irish question predicted that the logical result would be home rule inside of a few years. That was before anybody dreamed that Joseph Chamberlain would shake and split the dominant party to its roots by boldly proposing the abandonment of free trade. so that much better grounded is party will avoid internal dissensions and will hold in ccld blood to the fixed policy invented by Parnell-the policy of trading with the party that will give the most in return-Ireland will gain richly as a direct result of Chamber lain's resignation.
 And this will meet the poetic ends of justice. At the critical moment in the { Gladstone-Parnell campaign for home rule Irelands hopes were dashed by Chamberlains's assertion to the enemy and the immediate formation of a. coal ition or unionist party made up of the conservatives and the dissident liberals headed by Chamberlain created ar overwhelming majority against Ire land. Parnell, already retired on ac- count of a curious domestic scandal and Gladstone for all time retired from the control of the government were forced to see what appeared to be a permanent blight of Irish hopes Having lost through Chamberlain, it is now proper that Ireland should wiI through him. Chamberlain loves the Irish no better now than when h, made his spectacular leap from tho radical ranks into the conservative par ty. but he will have no scruples against making any trades which will advance his pet tariff project.
 Ireland was a nation when England was pup" runs the old music hal dOggerei. and Ireland may yet be nation" of which the whole British empire can be proud.