Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-06-06
Peaceful Settlement Is Seen as
the Tories Realize Their
Defeat.
Extraordinary Growth of Nation
al Volunteers Produces Pro-
found Impression.
AsQUITH MASTER OF SITUATION

The great conspiracy against the
Ministry, the Parliament act and
home rule has failed. The week
ends In an outburst of confident
hope that the Irish cause is won. It's
all over but the shouting, cables
T. P. O'Connor, NJ. p. The Tories
made rapid recovery by last Monday
from their orgy of disorder of the
previous week and met the House
of Commons in a palpably subdued
mood. Their action in allowing the
third reading for the third time of
the home rule bill without any at
tempt at further debate shows they
now recognize the game is up. Every
body now realizes that in a few
weeks the bill becomes the law of
the land.
This produces an entirely new
situation, the difficulties of which
are much greater to the Tories than
to the Liberals. The Tories have
now to choose between two equally
difficult alternatives. Either they
will reject the amending bill and
allow home rule to pass to the
statute book without any concession,
or they will table for the first time
their own proposals of amendment.
Thus the previous position be-
tween the Ministry and the Tories
will be reversed, for while up to the
present the Liberals have had to do
all the bidding, the Tories now must
try their hands at it. This brings
them face to face with many en-
barassments, and compels them also
to make final surrender to the
principle of home rule by a vote for
the second reading of the amending
bill. The die hards still press the
Tory leaders to fight on. without
considering any concession, hoping
that when the Ministry is brought
fave to face with threats of civil war
In Ulster they will find the army
mutinous and refusing to do its duty.
III these tactics be adopted then
the course of the Government is
quite simple. First the Irish bill
will be put on the statute book.
Then in case of disorder some reg
iments will be ordered to go to
Ulster unconditionally, and if these
regiments refuse then other reg
iments will be ordered, and II they
again refuse then the Ministry will
accept the challenge and go to the
country on the question of whether
the army or Parliament shall govern
England. Every Liberal believes
that on that issue the Government
will return with a crushing major
ity and will have a mandate to
proceed Immediately to the destruc-
tion OF the present Tory army and
the substitution of an army on
democratic lines. But few people
believe that 1t will come to this.
II is equally certain that the Ulster
Orange volunteers will not fight
against the army, and 1t is more than
doubtful IL even the maddest Tory
officer will dare to disobey orders.
O'Connor's forecast is that by the
time we approach the amending bill
the Tory leaders will be in a saner
frame of mind and will accept the
universal demand of all sane men in
England that this struggle must end
now and end in peace, not in civil
war. Already a meeting, attended
by Tories and Liberals. in Birming-
ham has protested against civil war
and demanded peaceful settlement.
Meantime the extraordinary growth
OF the national volunteers produced
a profound impression in England
dissipating the favorite doctrine oI
the Tories that southern ireland has
ceased to care about home rule and
driving home the fact that Other
volunteers besides those in Ulster
have to be faced II Ireland's hopes
are to be disappointed. That move
ment, begun so spontaneously and
running over ireland like a prairie
fire, is about TO be placed in more
regular form and the attitude O,
several Irish leaders will chang,
from passive to active approval. This
addition to forces already working
for the movement will give such an
enormous impetus that a few week
may see body of national volun
teers twice the size of that II
Ulster.
All these new forces tend TO hol,
over anything serious until tn,
fierce haggling begins over tn
amending bill. When II leaves tn,
House OF Lords II will contain
Carsonite amendments which tn
Ministry and the Irish Nationalist
must reject, and they will substitut,
such amendments as may save tn
face or the Orangemen and at tn,
same time inflict no prejudice on Tn,
essential unity of Ireland. Then IN,
House OF Lords may try TO better II
hand. and new haggling will com
mence until some formula finall
evolves.
There will be tough fight an
hard bargaining on all sides an
rupture frequently may seem iney
table. but so many mighty forces
including the King. the saner Tories
and public opinion In ENGLAND. VIII
besieee all parties and compel ther
to make peace In which all VII
give something and take something
Carson still kept on clustering