Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-07-04
National Volunteers Have Trans
forms the Situation For
Good.
Orange Volunteers May Have No
Resources and Must
submit.
HONE RULE BILL FUTURE

l. ne mlHlslIS. CdDltb TlOH 4 II .
O'Connor, has turned successfully
one of the nastiest corners during it's
career by carrying he annual budget
by a majority of thirty-eight. Though
this majority is largely under the
normal one, 1t Is much larger than
at one time was expected owing to
the abstention of the Labor party
and the vote of eight O'Brienites
against the Ministry, and of course
thereby against the home rule bill.
In the meantime the immediate
future of the home rule bill remains
uncertain. In spite of the die hards,
who advocate the rejection of the
bill, the majority of the House of
Lords will follow the advice of Lord
Lansdowne and pass the second
reading of the amending bill They
then will make drastic amendments,
such as the exclusion of all of the
province of Ulster for all time, and
by the action of Parliament instead
of by county option. 1t may be said
at once, and emphatically, that
neither the Ministry nor the Irish
party even will look at such amend
| ments, and it is even possible that
the House of Commons will refuse
to give a second reading to bill so
| mutilated and so impossible. Thus
we should get to a critical situation
with the home rule bill passed in its
original shape and the Ministers and
the Orange leaders face to face, with
the threat of a provisional govern
ment set up in Ulster and the Min
istry compelled to take drastic
action to put 1t down.
The interval between this ultimate
stage and the preesnt moment is not
free from peril of serious outbreaks.
| The National volunteers have trans
| formed the situation for the good
| by compelling the Englishmen to
realize at last that there are other
strong forces as determined to de-
fend Jreland's liberties as Sir Ed
ward Carson's force, which has
sought to destroy home rule by the
appeal to rifles. The only difference
now between the two forces is that
one is better armed, better drilled
and better organized. and this must
lead TO determined efforts to equal
ize on the Nationalist side. II Is
doubtful whether the English public
| opinion and the supreme respon-
sbility of the Government TO prevent
| disorder will permit the Government
to accede to this appeal. and of
course the Irish party could not
| adopt the insane advice from some
of the volunteer extremists to defeat
and destroy the Government in case
of refusal. as this would mean the
| loss of the home rule bill just as IL
| is about TO reach the statute books.
English opinion has made up its
mind first that there shall be no civil
war and, secondly that this Irish
| question must be settled here and
now. The pressure comes from so
many sides that all parties ultimately
| will yield to 1t. Men of all parties
and in the highest places are volcing
this determination of public opinion
to find a solution, and not even the
most fanatical Orangeman will be
able finally to resist II. While the
diehards talk the loudest and figure
| the most largely in the public eye,
there is a strong peace section even
among the Tories, and this section
still holds frequent conferences with
| that section of the Liberals who see
an outlet from the difficulty in the
| federal solution, but these two sec
| tions, though we'll meaning and a
strong proof of the universal desire
| TO prevent civil war and compel a
settlement, have not yet found a
solution which could be accepted by
| the Irish party. Their first proposal
is TO take away from the Irish Parlia-
ment the Postoffice and Custom
House, the one important as part OF
Irelands national recognition and
the other as the only means now
visible for raising such taxation as
| the enormous needs of Ireland's
material reconstruction in housing,
in the drainage of the rivers, which
annually overflow, in education, and
In other things will demand.
The Government has acted In per-
| feet good faith in the House OF
Lords and will continue to reject
peremptorlly all of the Carsonite
amendments, and even when these
amendments have been carried In the
| House OF Lords by the permanent
Tory majority there the Ministry will
reject them In the House OF Com
mons without hesitation. When this
lmpasse arises. and not till then,
probably will all OF the parties get
really to close quarters and dis
cover what each can take and each
can give away.
Sir Edward Carson probably will
find himself unable TO accept a set
| Element OF a reasonable kind owing
to the ferocity and strength OF the
movement he has created. but II the
English Tory leaders find them
selves. as they probably will. unable
to support him any further. he may.
while not acquiescing, be content TO
| stand aside, and IN spite OF all the
talk Of war this woeld leave 10 the
Orange volunteers no resource but
to submit. Thus then the situation
remains practically the same as for
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