Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-02-21
Debates Mark Enormous Ad-
vance For the Home Rule
Cause.
Orange Demands For Another
General Election Out of
Date.
ADROIT EFFORT BY AsQuIrH

| rTOm LOnuOn Hon. Il. +. OCOn
nor cables that from many points o
view the debates of the first weel
of the new session of Parliamen
mark an enormous advance for tn,
home rule cause. The Tories, b,
confining themselves absolutely t
a demand for the exclusion o.
Ulster, practically have admitted
the right of three-fourths of Ire
land to home rule and certainly
that 1t must come. Thus the whole
struggle is entirely changed in char.
! acter and scope. 1t is no longer Q
struggle for home rule for Nation
alist Ireland, for that is admittedly
won. 1t is boiled down to what
terms the Ministry and the
Nationalists can offer to the small
section of Ireland which is covered
by Ulster Orangemen-that is to
say, to four counties out of thirty
two. 1t was known several days
before the meeting of Parliament
that the Government leaders were
carefully considering what attitude
to take toward the Orangemen on
the first night of the session. There
was immense pressure on the Gov
ernment from many quarters to take
the initiative in making new ad-
vances to the Tories. There was
strong pressure from King George,
who is greatly worried by the pros
pect of collision with any section of
his subjects.
The Ministers felt it indispensable
to make some announcement which
would bring to the House of Com
mons an atmosphere of less excite
ment and more hopefulness as to
final settlement. Evidence of this
situation revealed itself even before
the debates opened in the startlingiy
novel paragraph in the King S
speech which spoke at once of the
hopes and fears created by home
rule; in other words, suggested that
1t would be equally impossible to
disregard the hopes of Nationalist
Ireland and the fears of Orange Ire
land. This paragraph wound up
with the equally novel expression of
hope that all parties would combine
to reach settlement. Everybody
knew that this paragraph repre-
sented not merely the cold, official
views of the Ministers but the warm
personal desires of the King, and
that therefore there was imposed
ON Asquith the duty of taking some
step which would mark an advance
by the Ministry toward the Tories
in searching for a formula that
would bring the parties together
and produce a settlement by con-
sent.
Among Liberals and Nationalists
and among some of the Tories the
opinion is that Asquith
spoke with consummate dexterity,
that he accomplished much in even
changing the whole atmosphere of
the House of Commons from one of
herce irreconcilability to hopeful
expectation of final settlement, and
that such atmosphere was embar-
RAISING to the firebrands and hot
heads among the Orangemen who
were doing their utmost to force on
such disturbances in Ulster as
would embarrass progress of the
home rule bill. The Tories revealed
at once signs of embarrassment
which Asquith's bold announcement
had created. They were compelled
to make the gigantic concession al
ready mentioned-namely that Ma
tionalist Ireland must have home
rule, while their demand for an
other general election before the
home rule bill has passed into law
became out of date and was urged
but half heartedly, and merely to
keep up an official position. Finally
Asquith's declaration compelled
them to limit their whole demand
now to concessions to Orange Ulster.
AS matter of fact Asquith's
whole feeling at present is against
exclusion in any shape or form and
likewise the Premier is against the
known as home rule within
home rule, but there again the Lib
erals and Nationalists will refrain
from forming any opinion as to such
until IL is known what the
general phase implies.
There might be some rule within
home rule which would be harmless
and transient, but there might be
home rule within home rule which
would simply mean pressing down
for long period, IL not forever, on
the necks of Ulster Nationalists the
lntolerable yoke of religious and
personal persecution to which they
have been subjected for three cen
turtles.
This and this only then remains
In the somewhat confused and un-
certain position, namely, what par
ticular formula the Liberals and
can offer. Until that is
settled there remains some uneer-
tainty as TO the future course OF
events. but fortunately Asquith's
in addition 70 lower
ing the temperature and therefore
much more favorable
atmosphere to calm consideration OF
home rule even BY >khe most
violent 0Ououeuf4 has a xivou "a