Evening star., 1914-03-22
RESIGNS TO EVADE
ULSTER COMMAND
CONTINUED from First Pase.)

connned to barracks To-Day, causing
great discomfort among the men. Thir-
ty-fve hundred volunteers. comprising
six battaEons Of the North Belfast
Regiment. spent the afternoon in drill.
ing and maneuvering on the estate oI
Lord shaftesbury. which is called Bel
fast Castle. Other volunteers spent the
day in target practice.
Much Ammunition Missing.
DUBLIN. March 21.-Stock taking at
the Curragh magazine today disclosed
that thousands OF rounds Of ammuni-
ton were missing. The stock Is being
replenished from the Newbridge ana
Kildare stores.
Long Fight for Home Rule.
Ireland has striven for homo rule
without a moments cessation ever since
the Irish parliament was abolished and
the legislative union Of Great Britain
and Ireland was proclaimed January l.
1901. In tho l1a years that have passed
since that date the agitation has gone
on under various forms. pacific and v1o-
lent, led by such patriots as Daniel O'Con-
nell. William Smith OBrien. Charies
Stewart Farnell, O'Donovan Rossa ana
Michael Dav1tt, to mention only few OF
the more prominent These were sue
ceeded by the Redmonds and the Hea!ys,
who are In the forefront Of the movement
today.
Coercive Measures Used.
The patriotic movement was suppressed
time after time by coercion acts passed
by the British parliament, only to take
another form. The Molly Maguires. the
Young Ireland party. the Land League
and the National League were all Irish
political societies which had their day.
Thousands of Irish nationalists served
terms of Imprisonment for their partlci-
patton in the fight for legislative inde-
pendence from Great Britain. Hundreds
were exiled, many Of them proceeding to
the United States.
Phoenix Park Murders.
The agitation sometimes took on the
aspect of extreme violence. as when Lord
Frederick Cavendish, the chief secretary
for Ireland, and T. H. Burke. permanent
secretary, were assassinated by 'fnvinci-
bles" May g. 1882, in Phoenix Park, Dub
lin.
The parliamentary fight for home rule
was waged for many decades. and gave
staid Britain parliament, often bringing
about the expulsion of members and the
stoppage Of business.
First Home Rule Bill.
The first effort Of the British govern
ment to meet the demand for Irish home
rule was made by the late William Ewart
Gladstone when premier in 1885. The bill
was rejected after its introduction had
brought about a great split in the liberal
party, which caused the secession OF Jo-
seph Chamberlain and other leading lib
erals, who since on Irish questions have
acted with the conservative party. Since
then several Irish home rule bills have
been introduced by liberal governments.
and the last one passed the house Of COM
mons. but was rejected by the house OF
lords. This led to the passage three years
ago of the parliament act, under the pro-
visions of which any bill not an appro-
priation bill rejected by the house Of lords
becomes automatically law on passing
the house of commons in three success
sive sessions.
The present agitation has been mainly
brought about by the practical certainty
of P. emier Asquith's Irish home rule bill
becoming law without the consent of the
house of lords Sir Edward Carson is at
the head Of the agitation against home
rule among the unionists of Ulster. He
and several other leading men took the
initiative in organizing an army Of Ulster
volunteers to resist the Introduction of
home rule for Ireland in its entirety.
They insisted that Ulster should be left
out of it's opei alton.
Religion the Issue.
The chief point at issue in Ireland Is
the religious one. Out Of total popu-
lation of about 4,5OOO0O, approximately
10000 are Protestants of various de-
nominations. Most of these are found in
the four Ulster counties Of Londonderry.
Antrim, Armagh and Down. The other
FIVE counties of Ulster are predominantly
Catholic. AS a matter Of fact. Ulster re-
turns seventeen nationalists and only six
teen unionists to parliament.
There is considerable difference between
the people of the eastern part Of Ulster
and those of the rest Of Ireland. Many
Of the Ulsterites are descendants OF Eng
lish settlers sent there by Cromwell to
foster the agriculture and industries Of
Ireland after he had subdued the country.
Others are descendants of Scottish Gov
enanters. Not all the Protestants Of Ire
land are against home rule. Parnell him