Evening journal., 1914-06-09

/ tional Volunteers He has sent to
THE EVENING JOURNAL, on behalf
I of that committee, the following ad-
dress 20 the Irish people OF the United
I States:
IRISH NATIONAL
VOLUNTEERS COMMITTEE.
New York, June /, 1914
To the Irish People of the United
States.
Fellow Citizens-The political des-
tiny Of Ireland must be settled by the
Irish people themselves. untram-
melled by any power, authority or in
! fluence outside of Ireland lrlshmen
/ in America have a right to express
their opinions and 20 give or with
I hold sympathy or financial support to
political movements I'm the old land.
according 70 their judgment, but they
/ have not and do not claim the right
! to any other kind of interference in
the affairs Of Ireland.
But on one point all Irishmen in
America are agreed In any settle
ment Of the Irish Question, partial,
| temporary, or final ireland must be
treated as a single political unit Ire
land Us one and indivisible. The honor,
/ the dignity and the vital interests Of
the race demand the unequivocal ac-
ceptance Of this fact as the basic
] principle OF all political action in
ireland. The Irish race throughout
the world, irrespective Of religious or
political differences, knows ireland
only as the Lord God made It, one
island and one nation.
The present perplexed situation in
Ireland calls for the sympathy and
united action Of the race as no crisis
in modern times has ever before de-
manded them. We may differ widely
as to the ultimate settlement OF the
Irish Question, but we are all united
in the determination that Ireland
shall not be divided, under the pre-
tence of political expediency, into two
separate and warning sections, with
the cleavage arranged on religious
lines. The very thought Of such a
mutllation Is monstrous and revolt
ing. Yet the Government of England
is now engaged in preparing a
scheme to thus perpetuate and inten-
sify the bitter religious strife which
has been Irelands bane for the past
three hundred years and which was
introduced and has been since main
tanned by England with cynical
malignity as the best means of main
tanning English domination
Bill granting to Ireland certain
! limited powers of local self-govern-
ment has just been passed by the
English House of Commons and its
/ application and enforcement now
await TIE passage of Bill to exclude
| from the authority of the Irish Par
! Lament certain counties of Ulster and
| probably portions Of other counties.
The sinister purpose OF this measure
is shown by cable despatch pub
lished few days ago stating that the
Chief Secretary's Office was engaged
in making arrangements for taking
a vote on the exclusion proposition
and was taking a Religious Cen
sus OF some Ulster counties which
have a Nationalist majority
Now, leaving out Of account the
political monstrosity which the ex-
clusion OF Ulster would create. Tire
! dislocation Of Irish administration
and the ruin of Irish business which
would be among its inevitable con-
sequences the fact Of chief moment
TO consider just now is that the
British Government was led to take
this course by threats Of armed in
surrection made by the Ulster
Orangemen, or used those threats as
its excuse. Anglo-Irish history has
thus repeated itself and British
Government yields to the menace Of
force a demand which it had refused
TO unarmed men. The opinions, the
wishes, the interests and the rights
Of the majority Of the people Of Ire
land-all the people OF Leinster, Mum
ster and Connacht and a majority Of
the people of the whole Province of
Ulster-are treated with contempt,
because they are unarmed and the
demands of a minority of the people
of Ulster are conceded for the reason
that they have arms in their hands
and threaten to use them
This lesson, often repeated, but al
ways forgotten has at last sunk deep
into the hearts OF the Irish people
and every thinking Nationalist will
thank the Orangemen of Ulster for
their timely and forcible reminder
They have undoubtedly rendered Ire
land valuable service which their
leaders did not intend. They have
organized and armed a portion of an
Irish citizen army and they have
shattered the discipline and morals"
of the British regular army, so that
{ its effectiveness as a military force
+ has been destroyed and it has be-
/ come the laughing stock of soldiers
throughout the world And the Ulster
Volunteers have presented to the
Irish people the first opportunity they
have had since the days Of the Irish
Parliament OF organizing a citizen
army to defend their rights and their
national integrity
Since the disbandment Of the Irish
Volunteers who Won the Independ-
ence OF the Irish Parliament in 1882.
England had always prevented the
organization of a Volunteer force in
ireland until the Ulster Orangemen
dehed the Government now i'm power
by starting the present armed move
ment Previous TO that any ATTEMPT
TO organize a military force in the
rest of Ireland would have been
promptly suppressed The Unionist
/ of Ulster therefore gave the
Nationalist of ireland the desired
opportunity, they availed themselves
of IL and we see the result in The
Irish National Volunteers.
This makes 4 completely new situ
alton IN Ireland The Government o
England, beset by difficulties and dan
gers abroad. cannot and will not dar.
10 suppress one set OF Volunteer,
while leaving the other in existence
But after allowing the Orangemei
TO arm it showed the insiucerity o.
its professions of friendship for Ire