Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1913-02-08
Defeat of Home Rule Practi-
cally Ruins House of
Lords.
Victory i'm Derry Gives Ulster
Cry a Smashing
Blow.
IRELAND WILL REMAIN UNITED

lnlS was perhaps Ine greatest
week of all for Ireland, cabled the
Hon. T. P. O'Connor, NJ. p, last
Saturday. 1t began with the rescue
of the Liberal Ministry, and espe-
cially of Asquith, from an almost
impossible position of the woman's
largely due to Irish influence and
the stern determination of the
Liberal members to allow nothing to
interfere with home rule. Harcourt' s
brilliant attack on Sir Edward Grey
and Lloyd-George finally demon
strated the correctness of the Irish
warning that the mixing up of the
woman's question with the fortunes
of the Ministry would make things
impossible, and even the most stub
born suffragettes in the Liberal
party realized that this internecine
struggle among the Ministers had
only to continue some three weeks
and the Ministry would be smashed
to smithereens and all the precious
fortunes dependent on its existence.
Accordingly every Liberal breathed
freely again when even Grey and
Lloyd-George realized the situation
and the Cabinet unanimously agreed
to with draw from the impossible on
Monday last.
simultaneously began the debate
on the home rule bill in the House
of Lords. Nothing showed so
plainly the practical destruction of
the House of Lords as the barrier
t1 10 oh Infa IN
difference of the public during the
whole debate Monday night. AS the
debate proceeded the House of
Lords itself gave further confirma-
ton of the universal sense of it's
impotence. Some old "die hards," !"
like Lord Halsbury, walled that the
House of Lords was now only de-
batting society, with no power left,
hut the most remarkable feature OF
the debate was the entire change of
tone from the former struggle. Even
such strong Tory leaders as Lord
Curzon and such important church
men as the Archbishop of York
acknowledged that there was an
Irish problem which must be faced
and solved. Lord Grey went fur
ther and announced his conversion
to federal home rule and admitted
that colonial opinion all was in favor
of home rule, and dwelt on the
momentous Importance in the inter-
est of the British empire of
reconciling the Irish millions in the
United States.
When the division came the bill
of course was rejected. The major
ity was less by 121 than in the
division against Gladstone's bill in
1898. The whole tone of the debate
reverted to the certain conviction
among even the members of the
House of Lord that home rule is
now inevitable and the only remain
ing question is the terms of compro-
mise which the Orangemen can get.
AS / have frequently stated, the
final struggle will come after the
House of Commons passes home rule
the second time and the House of
Lords holds out for the exclusion of
Ulster. The Irish party is absolutely
Unanimous in its determination to
refuse every attempt to divide Ire
land into two nations, but otherwise
is ready to meet the opposition in
every reasonable concession.
The Derry election came, by a
splendid coincidence, the very next
morning after the rejection of the
bill by the Lords, and supplied a
splendid and epoch-making response
to this defiance. Never was there
an election fought with greater
spirit and more vehement energy.
On both sides the voters came long
distances, and even the dying were
brought up in blankets and am
balances to vote, both sides realizing
the historic and far reaching i'm
lportance of the result at the present
crisis. During Thursday evening
both Irishmen and Tories in the
House of Commons received frequent
kilograms forecasting the result
The Tories admitted defeat, but put
down the Nationalist majority al
seven, while even the most sanguint
Nationalist did not expect more thar
forty. When the majority of fifty
seven was announced both sides
we're staggered and everybody recog
Inized that the Derry election made
a turning point In the long struggle
The Ulster cry got a smashing blow
as the victory in Derry gives the
Nationalists seventeen to sixteeI
Ulster members, thus showing ever
in Ulster the majority are on the
side of home rule. The Tories nov
mournfully acknowledge that ever
tickle fortune, which so often hal
been unfayorable to Ireland in ever
It's moments of greatest hopefulness
has turned at last. and that nothing
lean 20 wrong with the Libera