Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1913-06-21

Declares UlsteN
Not BE ToleraS
Government
Home Rule Battle Reuni
Liberals and Scores
Victory.
orange Utterances Make Impos-
sible Any Compromise
With Tories.
CARSON CAMPAIGN A fIzzLE

We have had a painfully exciting
week, cabled Hon. T. P. O'Connor.
who rarely has seen in political life
such rises and falls of Temperament
with such sudden and such frequent
changes. Even the most hopeful
Liberals and Irish began to think
that the Government might be
doomed and come to a sudden and
lgnorinous end, but evidence before
lne Marconi committee brought
charges to naught and once more
.he Liberal party began to breathe
freely. When things had come to this
more hopeful stage a welcome relief
came in the renewal of the struggle
on the home rule bill, for today. as
often cabled, home rule is the great
est and most potent weapon in unity
ing, encouraging and hardening the
Liberal party. One felt at once the
clearer, purer and more bracing at
mosphere.
This transformation of the situa-
ton at once revealed itself. The de-
bate went with bang from the start
to the finish. Several brilliant and
bold speeches were made by the
Liberals and Irish, while every ut
terance from the Tory benches
breathed despair. Sir Edward Car
sen, the Orange leader, could only
renew his shrek that Ulster would
resort to civil war rather than sub
NIT to home rule. Arthur j. Bal
four was weak and respondent and
A Bonar Law confessed that the
Iiish problem must be faced, though
he had no solution unless the Orange
r:en combined with the Nationalists
In demanding II. AS the Orangemen
have committed themselves to the
statement that they would still re-
sist home rule If a dozen general
elections and all the English par
ties approved it, any compromise with
them is made impossible es-~OnS, the.
other hand, Premier Asquith spoke
with his usual clearness and aroused
the Liberals and Irishmen to en-
thusiasm by the declaration that
listers demand could not be toler-
ated by any government. This
showed that amid all the discour-
agements of the Marconi scandal and
in the face of the Orange threats,
frightened and he will go right on
to the end. Dillon and Devlin, the
Irish leaders, also spoke powerfully,
and John Redmond produced a great
effect by quoting innumerable reso-
lutions passed by the American
Legislatures in favor of home rule,
and also by quoting the outspoken
letter of Theodore Roosevelt praying
for the success of the home rule bill
not merely in the interest of England
and Ireland, but of the good rela-
tions between America and England.
The splendid triumph of the whole
debate reached its climax when
Arthur Birrell. Secretary of State for
Ireland. delivered the. most success
ful speech of his whole life, raising
the whole Irish question to the
heights of idealism, which presented
a forcible contrast with the mean
and petty appeals TO religious bigotry
and the futile threats in A. Bonar
Laws speech, which had Immediately
preceded.
The majority of ninety-eight, un-
expectedly big at II was, was less
than the majority of 110 on the third
reading last year. but that majority
was unexpectedly enlarged by the
number of sick men in the
Tory ranks. II is astounding and
gratifying proof of the perfect
on the Irish question In
the Liberal ranks that every single
Liberal except two, who have always
opposed the home rule, and one
crank, who always has abstained,
voted for the bill. Only two Irish
were absent and they
were peremptorily ordered by their
doctors not to leave their sick beds,
and every Labor man was present
except three, who could not possibly
attend. This absolute solidarity In
the ranks OF all sections OF the
coalition is heralded as absolute proof
hat the Liberals will not allow the
Marconi scandals or any other side
ssue to defeat or weaken their de-
termination to carry home rule
through all the stages until II is on
he statute books and beyond the
bower of the Tories either to defeat
p recall. Thus the week which be-
yan In something approaching de-
pair ended by finding the Liberals
md Irish in splendid spirits.
Carson's campaign to the English
md Scotch cities, in spite OF the
'ereful and expensive organization.
already has rather fizzled out, and
e. coup de grace viii come when
redmond and the other Irish mem-
'ers follow next week In the same
titles with an easy exposure OF the
Whole fabric Of religious bigotry and
idiculous bluff on which the Orange