The Irish standard., 1916-12-30

POLITICAL WRITER, GIVES IN
TEREsTING VIEWS REDMOND
DETERMINED TO JOIN HANDS
WITH CARSON, CHURCHILL,
NoRTHcLIFFE, EFT AL.-scHEME
TO FORCE PARTITION THRU
HOUSE OF COMMONS FAILED
CONSUMPTION is DEAD.
The following remarkable article
from Red Hand" we'll known DO
litical writer, appeared in the Irish
two weeks before the AS
quith ministry fell:
Some weeks ago l pointed out that
the true inwardness of the policy an
nounced by Mr.. Redmond in his
speech at Waterford was that the de-
termination had been come to join
hands with Sir L. Carson, Mr. Church
ill. Lord Northcliffe and the reaction
aries, Diehards and conscriptionists in
both Houses OF Parliament in the at
tempt to overthrow the present COali-
tion Government. and that it was in
tended when that object was achieved
to force the partition scheme through
the House OF Commons, with a secret
understanding that the so.called Irish
Parliament should at once adopt con-
scriptiOn in the portion of Ireland m-
der it's jurisdiction. The events which
have since happened have proved that
my reading of the situation was an
accurate one. Allow me to explain
how the intrigue has been worked.
The week before last formal vote
OF censure was moved on the govern
ment by the Carsonites. which, if sue
cessful, must have led to their imme-
diate resignation. The question at is
sue was a very simple one. Since the
war began. and as a result of the re-
moval OF German competition, a COM
bine OF Liverpool merchants trading
with Nigeria paid C. 4 u ton less to the
natives for palm kernels and sold them
for G14 ton more in England. The
Colonial Office proposed to put up for
public auction confiscated German
properties in Nigeria, so as to break
down the monopoly that had been es-
tablished, and to prevent the native
in Nigeria and the consumer at home
from being at the mercy Of the profit
GERS as regards an important article
of food.
Party and Profiteers.
Mr.. II. p. O'Connor, writing of the
point on which Sir e. Carson indicted
the government, said:
"The government, ! thought, had a
good, though far from perfect, case;
for such a restriction as Sir l.. Carson
proposed might mean the delivery of
the properties and OF the interests OF
the natives to Il powerful group Of
traders with Nigeria"
Two such staunch PrOtectiOnists as
Mr.. Bonar Law and Mr. Steel Matt
land held that it was essential in the
public interest that the Liverpool mo-
nopoly should be broken down, and a
vote for the Carsonite motion meant
that the members of this capitalist
combine were to be afforded an oppor-
tunity of becoming in short time at
the public expense rich beyond the
dreams of avarice.
What was the course adopted by the
Irish Party on the issue of private
versus public interest? Mr.. T. P.
O'COnnOr tells us what occurred:
"F0r some time during the debate" f"
he writes, ut looked very much as If
the government were going to be beat
en-, and a ministerial crisis created in
the very midst of the war. 1t was
then that the new parliamentary sit
uation of the Irish Party came in.
They had resolved to abstain, but,
when, as the debate went on, there
seemed to be an opportunity Of strik-
ing at the ministry that had failed to
carry out the settlement, and that still
maintained martial law, the policy was
adopted of supporting the Nigerian
motion, although it had the backing Of
the Die-hard Tories, and was led by
Sir T.. Carson-the two forces most
inimical to the Irish National de-
mands. So hasty meeting of the
party was called at $3.50, and after a
short discussion it was resolved to
vote against the government. It is
hard to say whether the presence in
the same lobby of Tory Orchards and
Irish Nationalists was more distaste-
full to the Irish Nationalists or to the
Orchards; but, anyhow, the result was
to increase the Tory minority to re-
spectacle proportions and to inflict a
serious wound on the government.
UnbIushing cyntcism.
Any criticism would spoil the un
blushing cynicism of this chronicle by
one f the actors, and possibly the in
spirer of one of the most flagititiout