The Irish standard., 1914-08-29
Il. P. 'O'Connor describes Ireland
as Enthusiastic and National
Volunteers Supplied
with Arms.
Arms Stacked at Antwerp and Os-
tend for Volunteers have been
brought into Ireland.
Officer in English Army sent to
review Volunteer Army makes
favorable report.

London, Aug. 22.-With a conf
dent expectation of victory and a
sickening horror at the gigantic
bloodshed, we are awaiting for the
biggest battle in the worlds his
tory.
1t may come any day, possibly to-
morrow. England's confidence in the
result remains mistaken, notwith-
standing a realization of the formid-
able and magnificent German infan-
try-except that progress of the Rus
sian movement is slow, though not
so slow as the Russian authorities
themselves announced. Except for
the profound pity for the gallant Bel
gians in the destruction of so many
of their beautiful villages and the
dissertation of their lovely capital,
everybody here regards the opening
weeks campaign as distinctly favor
able. Every days delay of the Ger
man advance while upsetting her
elaborate time table, already has pro-
duced tremendous results. First
France has been enabled to mobilize
all her forces6with perfect ease and
order and to choose her own ground
to throw back-the invasion. This de-
lay also brings nearer every day the
gigantic pressure of the Russian
army of millions on Germany's east
ern frontier. and finally it has en-
abled England to transport her ex-
peditionary force.
This feat, carefully hidden from
English papers. though published far
and wide on the continent. has by its
rapidity. secrecy and perfect working
enormously gratifed English opinion
and is an additional proof of the vast
preponderance of England's sea
power. =
Recruits Coming In.
The subscriptions for the army and
against distress are rolling up with
an enormous unbroken flow and will
amount to millions sterling before
they are done. Recruiting is also go
ing we'll, Kitchener's demand for
hundred thousand being nearly ans
wered already. Nobody, however, is
under the foolish delusion that this
can be an easy or quick war, unless
Germany gets tremendous defeats in
the early stages; and with England
knuckling down to prolonged fight
possibly Kitchener may ask some
more hundreds of thousands and he
will get them in the present temper
of the English people, for as the war
goes on the strength of feeling in its
favor grows and today even working
men join in the universal determine
ton to fight it through as a mighty
battle for human freedom. This tenn
per instead of cooling grows hotter.
A feeling, quite as strong and uni
versal against Germany, exists in Ire
land and sights are occurring there
which astound everybody and vindi-
cate Redmond's speech to the letter.
Prayers Said for England.
Redmond himself, attending
mass last Sunday morning previous
to reviewing the volunteers, heard
the bishops pastoral calling for pray
ers for the success of England's
arms. Then the priest called for
prayers and the whole congregation
Joined him fervently in praying. The
priests sermon afterward was an
eloquent vindication of England's
cause. Other bishops continue also
to issue pastorals for the same pur-
pose. More astonishing that all this
is that English regiments still are ac-
companied by cheering crowds to the
railway stations and, final and almost
incredible, nationalist think it the
wiser policy to await developments
of the war, believing that the rap
prochement between the national and
orange volunteers may lead to an al
deviation of party feeling between the
north and south and thus dispose for
ever of the policy of dividing up Ire
land.
Meantime the Irish volunteers are
growing apace and increasing daily
in efficiency. A great soldier sent
over by the war office to investigate
the volunteers brought back favor
able report and recognized that the
Irish volunteers today is one of the
finest forces in the world.
While volunteers await arms from
the British war office, Englishmen
themselves are buying and bringing
from the continent large quantities
of guns which were held up for some
months by the arms proclamation.
and the careful survey of the Irish
coast by British cruisers. Most of the
rifles were stacked at Antwerp and
Ostend and just before Antwerp was
encompassed two Irish ENJOYS got
them out and they are on their way
to ireland. It is the final proof of
the extraordinary topsyturvyism of
the situation that this Importation of
arms from Belgium into Ireland was
effarted nv tho combined annroval