Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1912-03-02
VIII Lead Fight in ParIfa ment
And Now In Fine
Form.
Nothing But the Miners Strike
Can stop Home
Rule.
Ireland Is More United Than
For Many Years
Past.
ULsTEsR REVOLT A FAILURE

T. p. O'Connor returned last week
to find England in an extraord-
Inarily complicated and alarming
situation because OF the threatened
strike OF the coal miners. Every
other topic, even of the many which
now are fiercely dividing the public
opinion, pales into insignificance be-
fore the position of the labor world.
n such a strike takes place all the
ordinary political conditions and cal
culations will be blown sky high, for
universal strike must mean disor-
der, and disorder must mean blood
shed and drastic action on the part
of the authorities, and this drastic
action would bring such estrange-
ment between the working classes
and the Government as to force the
withdrawal of all support by the
Laborities to the Liberal Ministry,
either in the elections or in Parlia-
ment. Though these apprehensions
are real and well founded, everybody
still hopes that the strike win be
averted.
This strike peril Is the only black
cloud on the horizon. Everything
since the opening of the session has
gone in favor of the Government.
Premier Asquith, fresh from his long
vacation in Sicily, made a succession
Of splendid and crushing speeches
and Bonar Law made several bad
mistakes. The attack on the home
rule policy has proved the merest
fizzle The Tories made an impos-
sible attempt in the face of their own
speeches to prove that home rule was
not the issue before the electors in
the last election and called on the
Ministry to drop home rule and pro-
ceed with the work of reforming the
House OF Lords. Asquith laughed all
these suggestions out OF court and
defeated the Tories by the substan-
tial majority of ninety-three. The
confidence, already great, that home
rule soon win be an accomplished
fact is enormously strengthened by
this abject failure of the first Tory
engagement.
The news from Ireland is equally
! OplulOn luCIG U6luk
more united than at any time for
years. The pressure OF his own sup
porters has ranged even William
o'Brien TO a friendly attitude toward
the Government, and II is evident
that he also will be forced to support
the home rule bill. Such forecasts
as have appeared of the home rule
bin convince the Irishmen 1t will be
a large, generous measure and the
Ilrreconcilables and wreckers who
were trying during the Parlia-
/ mentary recess to destroy the Irish
party by impossible demands were
reduced to silence for the moment.
John Redmond still feels the result
Of his serious accident during the re-
cess and remains at Brighton for
medical treatment, but he win be re-
stored completely by the time the
home rule fight really begins.
Even the temper in Ulster has Inn
proved, in spite OF the INSCRIPTIONS
attempt to create disorder. | have
learned the inside history of Win
ston Churchill's meeting in Belfast
Everybody agrees. and especially
Churchill, that II was one OF the
finest meetings ever seen, and that
the disorder was so slight that the
impotence OF the Tories to create any
serious disturbance was proved con-
clusively. The most significant fact
ls that the workingmen In the great
shipyards, who were formerly the
tiercest battalions OF the Orange
array. remained for the most part
Inside their works and declined to
follow the lead OF the Orange lead
ers. The few Kisses directed against
Churchill came from the small clerks
and other well dressed rowdies sent
from the merchants offices by their
Orange employers.
Several reports during the week
have startled the world with ex-
pected changes OF the Ministry. in
cluding the early resignation OF
Asquith and the exchange OF the
Premiership for the Lord Chancellor
ship. All such reports are ridiculous
inventions. Asqulth never showed
less OF disposition 10 retire. He is
especially interested In the home rule
bin and has attended the meetings OF
the Cabinet committee engaged In
drawing up the details. When he was
compllmented by an Irish member
the other night on the splendid form
he recently showed. Asquith an
swered that he would be In even bet
ter form when the Irish bill comes
on. This means that he himself win
take the chief part in plotting the
measure through the House OF Com
mons, which, as his skin is un-
equaled as Parliamentarian. does
much 10 assure its speedy passage.
! The party feeling still is fierce and
, Will probably grow as the fight ad-
, yanees. but for the moment high
spirits on the side OF the Liberals and
despondency on the side OF ~
} Tories represent the real mood OF
two partios-
n we escape q strife nothing
stop home rule.