Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-05-23
They Have Fallen Back Into
Their Old Despondent
Mood.
Liberals and Irish Again Face
the Future With Steady
Certainty.
THIRD READING NEXT TUESDAY

his week udS Detu OUt VI ups
and downs in the House of Commons,
whose nerves are more than usually
sensitive, cabled Hon. 7. =. O'Connor
| last Saturday. At this moment in
deed, as the close of the mighty
home rule struggle approaches, ev-
erybody has got into the slightly
neurotic condition of passengers on
board a great Atlantic liner the night
| before reaching New York. Looking
back on the transactions of the week
in the peaceful retrospect of Satur-
day without a sitting of the House
of Commons, | feel that everything
is for the best, though l have to
claim that where the tactics of the
Liberal Ministry differed from the
recommendation of the Irish lead
ers the Irish anticipations have been
realized and justified, not for the
| first but for the twentieth time. Dur
| ing the tangled events of the last
three years the Irish leaders have
believed that, while Asquith prob
ably would have to introduce an
amending bill some time, 1t was a
| mistake to announce 1t until the
home rule bill was nearer the statute
book and until he had found out
whether the Orangemen were ready
to make any approach to a settle
/ ment by common agreement.
The Liberal Cabinet, however, did
not agree with this view and Asquith
announced his readiness to introduce
the amending bill. This announce
ment provoked big attack of nerves
in all quarters of home rulers. The
Liberal rank and file were as indig-
nant as the Irish Nationalists. and
when Redmond criticised in careful
but vigorous language Asquith's
| mistaken tactics he was cheered
wildly by the Liberals, and when he
sat. down after having made what all
| observers thought the best speech OF
his life there was an almost frantic
| demonstration from the Liberal and
Ipish benches. The effect of this
speech was immense and immediate.
The whole situation was trans
| formed, and though the Orangemen
| justified Redmond's warnings by
taking up again the attitude of
| insolent refusal of Asquith's con-
cessions, Liberals and Irish forgot
their apprehenslons and faced the
future with the old and steady GER
tsjnty that the home rule bill would
soon be on the statute book.
But meanwhile a further indica-
tion of the growing impatience of
| temper in the Liberal ranks at the
apparently too conciliatory attitude
of Asquith found expression in a
meeting of hundred Liberal men,
bers, who sent a deputation to As
quith to demonstrate. Thus the air
was cleared, and the Orangemen.
who began to count on getting a
wedge between the Ministry and the
| Irish party, and so breaking up the
home rule coalition. fell back into
| their old respondent mood They
tried another snap division on a
| trifling motion with regard to the
| arrangement of the business of the
| House of Commons, and were
beaten, and once more the home rule
| forces, full of the spirit OF victory,
confront the broken and dispirited
Tory opposition. Those behind the
scenes find explanation, and perhaps
even justification, for the attitude
of the Ministry in the fact that dis
LOYALTY in the army still is so ram
pant that some difficulty might be
found in moving troops to Ulster.
When that issue has to be faced
II will be faced, but the moment
has not yet come for facing IL.
That moment will come when the
home rule bill is on the statute book
and thus beyond the power of a
general election or Tory Ministry
to destroy It. The bill will be read
third time on Tuesday, May 26,
at the latest. II goes that night 10
the House of Lords. under the pro-
visions of the Parliament act, fol-
one month. At the end of thai
month, even If the Ministry were
beaten, or Parliament dissolved, II
automatically becomes law. The
bill, thus placed beyond recall
makes the Liberal Ministry and th'
Irish party masters of the situation
: The Orangemen then have to choos'
between accepting such amendment
In the new amending bill as th'
Liberals and Irish can approve, o.
face the passage OF the bill into Law
= Just as II stands.
Few people doubt that the Orange
men will take the wiser alternative
but as they are not wise, one fur
her attempt may be made to de
itroy the Ministry and the home rul
,lll. This may take the shape o
; 'uch rioting in Ulster as may fore
he Government to order troops I
, he province, and II any refusal b
] roops to obey orders should follo'
would compel the Government to &
a general election without IN
ONE rule bill reaching the statut
ook. But though sporadic riotin
Ulster Is possible. and though IN
'ationalists there are fretting unde
instant insults and provocatior
ON the Ulster volunteers. no o.
anized outbreak OF civil war Is
,e least likely.
3 The Orange leaders seem d