Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1913-09-27
Nationalist and Liberals Stand
ing Firm For Their Home
Rule Bill.
Carson and His Ulster Follow
ers Confess Their Acts
Unlawful.
PROPOSAL MEETS WITH DISSENT

1t is curious fact, cables T. p.
|C'Connor, that side by side with the
fierce opposition to home rule for
Ireland which is going on at this
moment there is running "a stream of
tendency to a solution of the Difficult
ties of the British empire, which nee
essarily involves home rule for Ire
land. Party loyalty though is so
strong in the present House of Com
mons that Premier Asquith will
probably be backed by his supporters
in whatever line he takes, and they
will not consent to embarrass him or
to embarrass home rule for ireland.
Is 1t not strange topsy-turvy phe-
nomenon that ireland today is the
chief concern of the Liberals in Eng
land, Scotland and Wales; that this
Issue, which formerly weakened and
divided and exiled from power for
nearly a quarter OF a century the
Liberal party, shculd today be the
ilon clamp which keeps them to-
gether?
Reviewing the effects of Lord Lore
turn's proposition another corre-
spondent cables the following from
London:
So far as outward appearances go
the position of affairs in Ulster has
not changed during the ten days that
have elapsed since the appearance of
the memorable letter of Lord Lore
burn. the former Lord High Chancel-
Tor, in the Times, in which he sug-
gested 4 conference of leading repre-
sentatives of all parties interested in
the Irish question. but as Sir Edward
Carson, the leader of the Ulster
Unionists. has said, the question can
no 'onger stand as it did before the
appearance of that letter. 1t is both
ratural and necessary that the pre-
1minary stages of the discussion in
which such issues are involved f6
be private. No one even EbW pre-
tends TO know whesheE- or not the
suggested conference will be held, for
Il Is certain that no decision either
for or against the holding of such a
meeting has as yet been made.
Although the proposal, as is only
natural, has evoked a storm of angry
dissent from both Unionists and home
rulers, 1t is nevertheless being seri-
ously and dispassionately considered
No one, however. has as yet evolved
a basis on which such a conference
could meet with any likelihood Of q
successful issue to the deliberations.
Sir Edward Carson and his Ulster
men refuse to bulge a jot from their
determination to be governed only
by An imperial party and an executive
who will be responsible to II" The
Irish Nationalists are equally firm in
their adherence to the cry for a sep
arate nationality" Thus the OBJ
stacles to any settlement by consent"
are fatal.
On the other hand the sympa-
thizers with Lord I.oreburn's scheme
profess to find some ground for hope.
The Times is encouraged by what it
calls "the new spirit" which Ireland
has developed in the last twenty
years as shown in the working OF
the local government act Lord Grey,
who Is a stout home ruler, is In hopes
that the conference will be. held and
that II will evolve a scheme Of fed
eralism which Will cover the minima
demanded by the Ulster Unionists and
the Nationalists respectively. But
when all has been said and done no
one seems to venture more than a
somewhat feeble hope that confer
ence may be held and the still more
feeble hope that II will be successful
in attaining it's object.
Meanwhile Sir Edward Carson and
tis followers in Ulster are going on
with their plans without secrecy or
subterfuge. Sir Edward openly con-
fesses that their proceedings are
Illegal He says "the drilling OF the
men is illegal, the volunteers them
selves are illegal and the Government
knows they are Illegal but does not
dare to interfere" The Daily Tele-
graph says that arrangements for the
formation in Ulster by council of
five OF a separate constitution are APP
parently far adyanced and that an
announcement 10 this effect may be
made in a few days