Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1911-01-21
Assures Equal Treatment and
Equal Privileges For All
Irisbmen.
Catholic and Protestant VIII BE
Safe Under an Irish
Parliament.
Religious Faith of MarjOrity
FOrbids a Spirit of
Revenge.
TORIES ARE VERY BADLY SPLIT

No man has done more to assure
any reasonable Irish Unionist and
Protestant that he will be quite safe
under an Irish Parliament than
John Redmond, declares the Dun
dalk Democrat, one of Ireland's
most influential newspapers. Over
and over again he has met the stock
arguments of the Ulster Unionists
and pointed to the kindliness and
good feeling shown to isolated
Protestants in parts of Ireland
wholly Catholic as proof of the
Willingness of the majority to live
on terms of amity with their fellow
countrymen of different religions
and political creeds. He has offered
on behalf of the Nationalist party to
agree to any reasonable precautions
and safeguards that may assure the
minority of perfect security under
home rule. But nothing will allay
the hostility of the minority. They
pretend to be in mortal dread for
their lives and property and for their
freedom to practice their religion.
The feeling, if genuine, would be
easily accounted for That treat
ment which the Cromwellians and
Williamites meted out to their
qanquished Irish foes, their de-
scendants might we'll enough fear
to suffer in their turn now that the
day of the Celt has come again.
But the world has progressed since
CromwelPs day. The law of re-
taliation is out of date. The relig-
ious faith of the Catholic majority
forbids the spirit of revenge; and
the first plank in the platform of
home rule is equal treatment and
equal privileges for all Irishmen.
The Ulster Protestant who pretends
TO fear home rule knows all this
very we'll He only pretends to fear
persecution. What he really fears is
the loss OF his position as top-dog.
Home rule means the rule of the
majority. And while every constitu-
tional nation in the world enjoys
that right, the Ulster Unionists want
to continue the rule of the minority
in this country. There is really no
question of religion at all; and
every Protestant knows it. But
Chairman Redmond nevertheless
has rendered Ireland good service by
his sensible contribution to the lit
erature of this discussion. His
article must help to convince the
English Protestants that their CO.
religionists in Ireland are in no
danger, and that all the violent pro-
tests just now being made against
Rome rule" are only so much
stage thunder, part of the elaborate
make-believe of armies and rifles
and all the rest of the Ulster panto-
mime.
According to T. p. O'Connor,
M. p, in London all signs are point
Ing to the most momentous session
of Parliament in many years. Most
of the Ministers already are in the
city, and the Cabinet councils will
come soon. The newspapers are
fighting the preliminary skirmishes,
and the leaders of all parties will
receive excellent though menacing
oounsels from these organs. The
Tories are badly split, but the hot
heads still shrek for a fight to the
bitter end and for forcing the crea-
tion of new Peers, relying on the
imaginary unwillingness of the King
to consent to such violent measure.
These hopes are false, as the King
certainly will follow the advice OF
the Ministers and the Ministers will
certainly create the Peers without
hesitation IL forced to do so. In
view of the bitter internal divisions
of the Tories. Redmond's course in
the coming session is clear. All or
the Nationalists are satisfied that
everything should be subordinated
to home rule.