The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-01
|UN|ON|ST PARTY
 FIGHTS HOME RULE
Sir Henry Carson to Lead
 the Battle

London. December Si.-While every member of the unonist party is taking some part in the campaign against home rule which Andrew Bonar Law, the new leader, indorsed in recent speech the man who is looked to 10 keep up the fight is Sir Edward Henry Carson, men- Der for Dublin university, solicitor general for Ireland in the last two unionist gov ernments and an uncompromlslns op- ponent of any change in the form of gov ernment in Ireland.
 Sir Edward started his campaign by announcing that no matter what hap pened, Ulster, for which he speaks. under no circumstances would accept home rule, intimating that if necessary he would lead an armed rebellion against 1t. Whether he would go to those extremes or get the men of Ulster to follow him should he decide to do so, 1t is for time to tell. However, he Is fighting his battle with all the fervor of true Irishman, and his voice is being raised from one end of the country to the other against what he de- clares to be "the crime of the age
 Generally his argument is Ireland IS prospecting; leave her alone" What Ire land requires is less politics and more ndustry.o These arguments are for those Englishmen who no longer have that home rule means, and who, tired or the Irish question, advocate the granting or self government to get rid of the sub feet, From unionist platforms there is no denial that in times past Ireland was uniustly treated but under the union Ireland has prospered, and, as Sir Edward puts it, "all arguments of Saxon oppres- sion and Saxon misrule no longer hold good.p The maintenance~ of imperial rule in Ireland, he contends. made land pur- chase, which is the root of Irish pros perity, possible. The liberals, he claims, knowing this, have stopped land purchase for their own ends.
 There are other arguments against the desire of Ireland for nat.onaood, chief among them being that which caused Jo- seph Chamberlain and other nof-conform- lst leaders to desert MT. Gladstone, and which some of the non-conformist follow CTS Of the present government cannot for get-the possibility of religious intoiet- ance.
 Sir Clifford Cory, one of the great coal and shipping harons Of Wales, stalwart lDcldl, mas ltSlSHtu lbt Iitel''A'J bi the Cardiff Liberal association because the committee invited John Redmond to the city to address a meeting on home rule.
 Other non-conformists are fin doubt as to whether to throw oyer their convictions against placing their co-religionists in Ul- ster under the rule of Catholic Ireland or tho government, which has promised them a new education bill and disestabIishment rHf nf Wales
 Alleged weakening in the demand by the people of Ireland for home ruie as a result of increasing prosperity is am other string that the unionists have to play in England. So little do the people want it, say the unionistsy that they will not contribute to the funds of the nation- alists, who are now dependent on "Amer- ican dollars for support.
 In place of home rule Sir Edward Car son offers his fellow countrymen under q unionist administration: Complete resto- ration of land purchase; cessation of po- iitical interference with the department of agriculture: reformation of the poor law: improvement of primary and sec ondary education and better treatment for teachers; tariff reform, which unionists declare will benefit Ireland even more than England.