The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1911-01-28

brought into utter contempt and ruin
IL two general elections in the same
year giving such result did not en-
able the will of the people so ex-
pressed to be carried into effect"
Mr.. Redmond then goes on to en-
phasize the valuable help given to the
Irish party to the British democracy
in their fight for progress, quoting
Lecky's judgment, contained in his
History of England in the Eight
eenth Century" that their presence
in the British Parliament has proved
the most powerful of all agents in ac-
celebrating the democratic transforma-
ton of English politics."
"In the struggle that is before us, y
he continues, enormous wealth and
most unscrupulous arguments will be
used in order to frighten the masses
of the British people from the COM
pletion Of the work of Irish pacif1ca-
tion, and 1t is already clear, from the
Unionist campaign, that the chief
ground on which Home Rule will be
opposed by the forces of reaction and
of privilege will be the calumny that
the Irish people are bigoted and in
tolerant, and that the Irish Protest
ants would not be safe under the
sway of a freely-elected Irish Parlfa-
ment. In order to frighten the friends
| of Home Rule in Great Britain the
so-called Ulster question is raised as
the chief bugbear.
There is no Ulster question. Ul-
ster, the Unionists say, Is Protestant
and an anti-Nationalist province and
would not submit to be placed under
the dominion of Nationalist Parlia-
ment in Dublin. But, let me ask, is
Ulster either Protestant or anti-Na-
tionalist?"
In answer to these questions Mr..
Redmond quotes wealth OF figures
proving that as whole the province
is AL per cent Catholic, and that
Protestant Ulster is practically con-
fined to the Counties OF Down and An
trim and the City of Belfast, while at
the general election Is Home Rulers
We're elected for Ulster constituent
cies as against II Unionists. In the
| face Of these facts and figures, he
says, it is the utmost folly to speak
| of Ulster as Protestant or anti-Na.
| tionalist, and in their light how alb
surd and ridiculous must appear the
threats about Ulster lining the
bitches and Offering armed resistance
to Home Rule.
''The fact is that these threats
about civil war impose upon nobody
in Ireland and upon nobody outside
Ireland who is not invincibly ignor-
ant or wilfully misled by bigotry and
race hatred. We in INeland have
heard all these threats before, and
we pay no more regard to them now
than our fathers did when in 1897 the
Orangemen conspired to depose Will
lam ~ to put the Duke of Cumber-
land on the throne, and to deprive the
Princess Victoria Of her right of sue
cession, or when in 1869 they threat
ened if the Church D1sestablishment
Act were passed to discrown the
queen and to kick her crown into the
Boyne.
ut is to me-" Mr.. Redmond pro-
ceeds, "a matter of deep regret that
l should have to speak of Protestants
and Catholics in this connection. Ours
Is not sectarian but national move.
ment. If Home Rule were granted
the Protestant minority would have
equal rights and liberties with their
Catholic fellow countrymen, who en-
tertain feelings of deep respect and
affection for them. The national
movements Of Ireland for generations
lave been led by Protestants, and
there is not single one of the Cath
olic leaders of the people today who
would not reject with scorn and deri-
sion any settlement of the National
question which did not secure for the
Protestants of Ireland full civil and
religious liberty"
Having cited further figures and
several striking quotations from Prot
estant publicists showing the tolerant
spirit in which Irish Catholics have
treated their Protestant fellow coun.
trymen, and having also fully dis
proved the contention that Ulster rep
resents the wealth and intelligence of
Ireland Mr.. Redmond says:
"In conclusion I thank you for af-
fording me an opportunity through
your columns of thus dealing with
this Ulster bogey, and Of putting the
real facts before the British democ.