The Irish standard., 1913-11-15
INTERVIEW OF &c.,
NOTED ORATOR
CONTINUED from page ~


self-government for Ireland. He said:
Il decline to regard the movement
as serious. There is not the basis for
fight in it. Nevertheless, 1t ought to
be the part of craftsmanship to recog-
nize the elements of deep dissatisfac-
ton that exist. The people of Ulster
are not lawless, but honest men and
women, who believe that their inter-
ests are at stake. They must be dealt
with according to their fears. ANY,
thing that can compose their distrust
short Of abdicating the functions of
government Itself l am sure the gov
eminent will do.
1.-THE one thing unthinkable is d.
vision of the country. The Obstetrics
themselves would not stand for that,
for If you exclude the three counties
with Orange majorities the followers
of the men in the north who live in the
other counties would be subject to the
very conditions against which Ulster
says it will fight. And this would pe
an abandonment of their compatriots,
of which the Ulster men are entirely
incapable. No, Ireland in the provl-
dence of God was made one nation.
and so 1t must remain, even though all
the parties in Great Britain should
agree to it's ACKNOWLEDGMENT" :. +
Mr.. Cochran was always an enthusl-
astic supporter of Ireland's cause and
a prophet of her greatness. Since his
latest trip he is more certain than
ever that all he has wished for Ireland
will come true. His eyes burn under
his heavy brows as he tells you about
what he has seen; and since he has the
power of saying things, his listener Il
soon as enthusiastic as he and follows
eagerly as he traces on the map the
harbors that he predicts will one day
mako Ireland a new mistress of the
seas.
"My visit" he says, has confirmed
me that the prophecy I. made at the
time when the fortunes Of the Nations
alist movement were at the lowest ebh.
that If ever the Irish got possession
of the land they would show an indus
trial capacity that would be one Of
the marvels of the age and that thea
It would be Impossible to deny them
That was in 1902.
when the crimes act was still in force
and William Redmond was in jail. The
land act was passed the next year.
Under that practically one-half of tho
land has returned into the possession
Of its occupiers and the remainder Is
in process of transference from allen
landlords to the actual occupants. Up
to that time the irish question grew
out Of this: Ireland was the only coun
try In the world whore the peopla
neither owned the land upon which
they lived nor conducted the govern
ment under which they lived. The mo-
ment they secured possession OF, the
land the test came as to whether they
could occupy and employ it.
II visited Ireland three years ago
and motored from Belfast to Dublin.
The general aspect of the country was
sordid, in many instances squalid.
,a14
ster from Armagh, Monaghan and
Donegal to the west, through Derry
and back through Mayo and the Con-
nemar@ district, where the poverty
was once so appalling that 1t ussd to
be. said that the only alternative left
to the inhabitants were emigration or
destruction.
"The change was stupendous and
foreshadows nothing short o! meta
morphosis. Every cottage was clean.
the old cabins deserted; the farm uten-
sils were new, the wagons and carts
newly painted. have never seen let.
ter kept farming implements in tho
we,rld: and a. for the live stock it goes
without saying that every horse In
ireland is a good one. This Is but the
hrst effects Of the people becoming
owners Of the SOIL, It is the indica-
tion Of wonderful industrial capacity.
There is no doubt that Irish will show
the same Industrial capacity in Ire
land as they have elsewhere Ii. the
world and a. In fact they did In, Ire
lard itself until the adoption Of the
penal Laws two hundred years ago.
And you should remember when con-
siderins this that after the wililamite
invasion came the plan Of removing
the people from the soil. the days when
to improve the land was merely to
draw attention to . prosperity sure to
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