The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-04
BITTER CAMPAIGN FOR HOME RULE IS NEARING CRISIS Churchill Invades Ulster This Week to Advocate
 Home Rule
HISTORY OF THE FIGHT FOR IRISH HOME RULE
Ireland's Struggle for Home Rule Dates Back to Days of Henry H. Cromwell Invaded Island-His
 Land Grants Have Survived

London. February 3.-(Speeial.)- )-The bit- ter campaign that Is being waged for home rule in Ireland will reach it's
 height during the coming week. when John Redmond, the Irish nationalist leader. and Winston Churchill. first lord of the admiralty, will invade tho province of Ulster and carry on their fight in
 the enemy's camp.
 Ulster Is the seat of opposition to the
 movement and has been for centuries.
 and the feeling is running so high as
 present that the unionist leaders, with
 Sir Edward Carson at their head, have
 declared their intention of setting up separate government in case the home rule bill passes parliament. and main-
 taining their independence of the Irish
 parliament by force ot arms if neees-
 sary.
 The big demonstration of the week
 will take place Thursday. when both 1 Redmond and Churchill are scheduled to
 speak in Belfast.
 Churchill Consolidating With a view to paclfying the unionsts, Churchill has asked the Liberal asso- citation to kindly make arrangements for him to speak in some other place than
 Ulster hall, and while this has relieved tho situation to certain extent, 1t by no means furnishes guarantee of safety
 It was from the platform of this hall
 that Churchilrs father. Lord Randolph
 Churchill, in years gone by. made his famous statement: Ulster will fight and
 Ulster will be right and the fact that the son now occupies an entirely opposite position has caused an intense personal feeling against Churchill
 When he first announced his intention of speaking in Ulster hall the unionists made arrangements to hire the hall tho night before and pack 1t with their own
 followers, who would remain over night and break up the meeting on the follow ing evening when Churchill would at | tempt to speak.
 Trouble, however, is sure to cnsue
 and in anticipation of it both sides arc lining up thcis followers and preparips
 for physical struggle.
 1 The end of the long fight for home 1 rule is apparently in sight, and fof 1 this reason the opposition to it is moro intense than ever. The Irish nation alist party hold the balance of power e ing their strength with the liberals have helped keep that party in power and have sustained their government in the recent crisis. Now in return for these favors the liberal government
 has agreed to introduce q home rule bill when parliament convenes. on Feb
 ruary II, and it's passage by parlia-
 ment is assured.
 Struggle Began in HI 1 Ireland's struggle for home rule dates | back to the time of Henry II, who land ed at Waterford with a large army In I1171, and subdued the first of the Irish lchieftains, Dermot Mccarthy Lord of
 Desmond and Cork. The subsequent
 submission of the remaining tribal chiefs marked the establishment of | feudalsm in the Emerald Isle and the beginning of the trouble that still ex- ists and that has caused seven cen turies of fighting on the battle field and in parliament, The Irish looked upon this invasion as an offer of friend ship and support in case of common peril and had not the slightest idea that they had agreed to become the subjects of an alien king. On tue other hand. the English regarded |the ap- parent surrender of the Irish chief tains as d recognition of their superior right and authority.
 1t was not long after the submission of the Irish tribal leoders that Henry took possession of castle in Dublin. where he reigned for six months, dur | ing which time he introduced various
 forms of government that were not taken very seriously by the natives at ] that time. Not the least important of these laws was the one requiring all 1 land owners to surrender their estates, which were Immediately returned as grants from the king. in accordance with the terms and obligations of the English feudal system. The island was divided up into counties, judges and sherffs were appointed, and law courts created. Except along the eastern coast, where a steady stream of Eng fish settlers were pouring into the country, the natives paid little or no attention to the laws established by Henry. living and doing just as they pleased. This state of affairs con- tinued for over three hundred years, during which time the invasion of the English had proved to be more or less of failure.
 Henry VIII Was Liberal
 But in l5i2, after an English army un- der Henry VII had penetrated the island oven into Connaught, Henry VIII estah- lished peace with the Irish leaders and made liberal distribution of the lands among the chieftains, conferring upon
 them such English titles as Earl Of Tyrone, Earl of Tyreonnel and Earl of D-lnraven- With the death of Henry VIII ,he rand Of the English oppressor was again revealed. During tho reigns of Mary, Elizabeth and James I new systems of land tenure were established and tho native land holders were stripped of their estates, which were distributed among
 Scotch and English invaders. All of these innovations of English rule were marked by the bloodest of uprisings and ihe loss of hundreds and thousands of lives. and invariably resulted in the defeat of the natives and the seizure of more lands
 The succeeding years were marked by continuous uprisings and bloodshed, end Ing with the rebellion of 16il, when the Irish resumed control of the island and established their own parliament. The Irish leaders had hardly ceased re- ioicing over their vitcory when Cromwell flushed with his triumphs over the royaf- ists in Ingland landed a great army on