The Irish standard., 1907-01-19
asntarianism has been materially and

s. morally because it deludes the Irish
peeopla into always looking to London
for relief, simpairs and confuses their
SENSE of individual responsibility for
national betternent and distracts their
minds from doing their duty at home.
and materially because the Irish party
has never procured for Ireland sim
gle advantage that could not have
been won more expeditiously and more
cheaply by.the Deak policy of passive
resistance.
On this the Sim Teiners are insist
Lush party all the evils that the Irish
party lays at the door Of the British
!, government. "1n what" they ask. "has
ireland benefited by her representa- :
tives at Westminster? Catholic einan-
4 cipation was passed without parlia-
n4entary agitation. 1t was the 1.-THE
war in Ireland. not speeches or tactics
y at Westminster, that led to the aboli-
ton Of .tithes. Fenianism dises1ab-
j lislfed the. church and forced the land
i act of :1s71 and the Land league pro-
l CURED the act of ten years later. Agi~
j tation in ireland. resistance in Ireland.
i have done =. everything. Agitation in
4 Westminster, has done nothing. The
4 only act (which stands to the credit of
L the Irish party is the land act of 1908.
,thewi1fch :: has: now admittedly broken
i down. which has added SO per cent 1"
4 the price of land i'll ireland. undone
4 much Of the work of the Land league
and has. created peasant proprictors
4 only, to make them banklupts. Let us
] have done with this noisy and futile
(; waste Of energy. Let Ireland be true to
HERSELF concentrate her thoughts and
\ activities ON the work that lies to hand
j and stop sending those impotent and
4 expensive rhetoricians to the British
4 parliament
y The first article, then. in the Sim
II Eein creed is that Ireland should stop
4 sending representatives to the parlia-
\ ment at Westminster. The second is
y that she should keep them AT home
! lfave tlaem meet in Dublin and utilize
a them as the nucleus for IL national
u council. Plus the general council of the
\ county eouncis. plus some representa-
\ tMes;- Of the urban councils and the
: poor law boards and plus elected dele
i gates from all the leading towns there
4 wou1d thus be assembled in Dublin a
d council OF three hundred. The union
\ fists. nof course. would have nothing to
4 do with it and would continue to send
1 their handful OF members to Westmin-
\ ster. But the council of three hundred
! would. be- fully representative of five
Atxghs. Of Ireland and could he brought
into, being with no addition to and with
only 1t slight but sustained modifica-
D ton of the existing machinery of gov
i eminent.
And what could this council Of three
l hundred, resting on the moral authority
ii OF five-sixths of the Irish people, CT
i fect??, 1t could pass no laws, but it
q could pass resolutions and these reso-
G buttons, il acted upon. as they would
I he by nearly every county, urban and
( rural council and poor law board in tho
y country, would have all the effective
7 force Of law. Practically all the local
\ representative bodies in Ireland would
4 thus be brought under the control of
4 ,sF linked together in working out a
\ definite and concerted policy. The
) county councils have power to levy
a rate Of a penny in the pound for
\ and receive as much again from The
y department of agriculture. They have
y also the power to levy another penny
in,@the' pound for libraries and the yield
Y OF these tho rates, amounting to some
i t2s,0O0 a year, might be turned to ac-
\ CONT by the council or three hundred
4 without any infringement OF the law
i ny substituting new Industries and
d founding national Libraries. museums
i and synnasiums.
y Again some $l25,O00 is raised for
y the, support Of the Irish party in West
N minister. IT the Irish party sat in Dub
y lin instead of in London most of this
9 sum would be set free for more use
q 4 full purposes, and the council of three
y Hundred might devote it to maintain
Il ling Irish men of business in the chief
q b commercial centers of Europe to keel
4 opinion informed and interested in the
y y progress. Of the Irish struggle and es-
/; peciallX to open up new markets for
ID " Irish goods; and produce
n q traleif there is the department Of ag'
Is 5srfcuIture and technical instruction Il
lis administered by elected delegate.
IA from the county and county borough