The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-03

osts of Ireland within the four seas of Ireland. That is very different thing from going abroad to serve for an in definite period, and requires quite a diff fefent sort of patriotism. Moreover. It requires quite a different economic ar Iangement. Both Sir Edward Carson and John Redmond are urging their volun- teers to join and there is no doubt that a large proportion will do so. To bal ance those who for personal and busi- ness reasons are unable to volunteer for foreign service there will undoubtedly be a large number of young men who joined neither volunteer force because they were opposed to the idea of civil war and felt sure that the home rule question would be settled without fighting.
 A good many people have asked why Ireland has not taken part so far in the great rush to join Kitcheners army which has taken place in England. There are several reasons. The first is that until the home rule act was passed neith- CT Sir Edward Carson nor Redmond was willing to release his volunteers. An ether and more important reason is that England is an agricultural country Most Of the early volunteering was done in the English towns. The countrymen are just beginning to come in, now that the harvest is in. The Irish harvest has row been saved and the rush of young
  begin. There is one other reason why Ireland has been slow. Ireland is now Q country of small holders. great proportion of the people work their own land. Most of the unattached young men have emigrated and a man who owns and works his own farm does a bit of thinking before going in for the great est war in the history of civilization.
 All these factors, however, I am sure, will be discounted by the appeal from the two leaders that Ireland should prove herself worthy of the trust that has been placed in her. Sir Edward Carson so far has been the more successful. as he has the industrial north to draw on. He las been able to give Kitchener about 250O0 men for his new army. Of these about 11,00O come from Belfast and they have been taken over in practically the regiments in which they were organized in the Ulster volunteers. Many of the volunteer officers have received the Kings commission and will accompany theid old units. So far Redmond, with @ larger population but an agricultural one to draw on, has supplied about an equal number. The Dublin district has given about 5000 of these, and Cork about 4000, so that here, too, it is seen that the towns are ahead of the country. All this is the work of one week and is nothing to be ashamed of. If Ireland can keep up recruiting 500O0 men a week it will not be long before she supplies that Irish army corps.
 There is no doubt, however, that Red mond would have done much better if he had not been compelled to reorganize the governing committee of the National Volunteers. small group in this com mttee-about half-a-dozen in all headed by Professor MacNeill of the National university-took it on themselves to op- ho al fhot Tra1 oba T her soldiers abroad to fight. They based their position, not so much on enmity to England, although that undoubtedly had something to do with 1t. as on the argu- ment that the duty of volunteers was to defend the shores of Ireland Redmond's reply to that was that the most effective way to defend the shores of Ireland was t, seek out the enemy before he reached those shores and defeat him before ho had an opportunity to turn Galway into a second Louvain and Dublin into another Brussels The malcontents were joined by the small, but noisy Sim Fein party, which includes a number of doctrinaire pacifists, and what is left of tho old irreconcilable physical force party whose hatred of England will last as long as they draw breath.
 When 1t came to a show down, however, the weakness of this group was exposed. The whole committee consists of 50 mem-
 
 Redmond. When the news of the reor- garization went through the country every local committee with two exceptions voted to support Redmond and the two who did not, voted to remain neutral. So far there is no news of any difference of opinion among the rank and file of the volunteers. They are only waiting the word from their leaders when and how to join.
 One question that remains to be settled is the form of organization. The men are anxious to be enrolled in territorial regiments so that they will be fighting side by side with their friends and neigh bors. There is more difficulty about this ] in the south and west than in the case l of the Ulster volunteers, for the latter are more fully trained and organized. Col. Maurice Moore, late of the Connaught rangers, who is commanding officer of 1 the National volunteers. is in communica- I ton with ford Kitchener on this point. and there is every likelihood that 1t will ] be satisfactorily settled before this is printed The difficulty is to provide stiffening of trained men for the new recruits in each regiment, but 1t has been suggested that this might be overcome l by allowing the regular army reservists in each district to join the new army. and fill their places later with the men whom they have helped to train
 1 It seems likely that the scheme to be adopted will be to organize the new Irish army on county lines. There are 40 coun- 1 ties and county boroughs in Ireland, and | should be capable of providing two regi- ments. It Is proposed to use the county rivalry as an aid to recruiting. Each county will start with the first regi-