The Irish standard., 1917-08-11
Sim ein and Its DEVELOPMENT
BY w. j. N.
Tin Catholic Union & Times

tivities, so far as possible, with the
national trademark. AS an intellec-
tual stimulus alone it's value to Ireland
has been incalculable.
During all this time the Irish par
liamentary party, headed by Messrs.
Redmond, Dillon, T. P. O'Connor and
Joseph Devlin, had been drifting far
Their and farther away from the main
current of Irish thought into a little
eddy or backwater of their own. For
long time they had been hopelessly
out of touch with the new generation.
Men of more formal and narrower
ideas, older in years and all of them
consciously or subconsciously affected
by the English atmosphere always
about them in London, they grew not
only Indifferent, but actually hostile
to the growth of national feeling in
Ireland. Instead of assisting in the
work of national development, they
first ignored and then secretly opposed
it. 1t is true that Mr.. Redmond did
finally, after fashion, give his bless
ing to the Gaelic League; but it was
in the Irish phrase, a "left-handed"
blessing in which the spirit was sadly
lacking. More and more, the parlia-
mentary party was working-so far as
it worked at all-not for what Ireland
wanted, but for what the more gen.
erous of the British liberals thought
might safely be given.
The liberal administration had come
into power in England about 1905.
Mr.. Redmond and his followers, hat
in hand as always, voted steadily for
eight years in support of bill after bill
on the legislative program of the lib
eral party, which without his support
would have been powerless to pass
anything. Home Rule waited until the
liberals had secured everything they
wanted; and after those eight years
of labor, the liberal mountain pro-
duced-a mouse! The Home Rule bill
as introduced was wretched measure.
1t was still further emasculated as the
government weakened it in response
to tory objections.
The bill produced a strong feeling of
dissatisfaction in Ireland. After all
the long years of patient, peaceful agi-
tation in parliament, after the repeated
Establishments and promises of Mr..
Redmond, a measure was offered to
Ireland which was a mockery of her
just demands. The bill gave the Irish
people no control over education, over
judiciary, over police; no power to fix
their own tariffs or customs; no au-
thority over taxation save only the
kindly permission to tax themselves
as much and as often as they pleased
when and after the taxation of the
British government had first been Sc
cured. This latter inhibition is i'm
portant in view of the fact that a few
years previously a royal commission
composed largely of Englishmen, re-
ported after a long investigation into
the financial question, that Ireland in
the past century had been mulcted of
$1,250,000, 000-a billion and a quarter
dollars! The upper house which the
bill proposed to create was to have
two-thirds of it's membership nomi-
mated by the British government; and,
finally, upon all the doings of this So
called legislature, there was placed a
triple veto-a veto by the lord lieu
tenant, a British nominee and invar-
ably an Englishman; a veto by the
British parliament, and a veto by the
imperial privy council.
The Irish people were disgusted; but
Mr.. Redmond not only described the
measure as satisfactory, but pro.
nounced it to be a final settlement of
the Irish question. Sim Fem in.
creased it's strength throughout the
country and Mr.. Redmond's stock
went down.
Meantime, bitter opposition to the
Home Rule bill was offered by a minor
section of the northern province of
Ulster. This part of the country
about four counties centering in and
around Belfast, was planted by Scotch
colonists in the reign of James, the
procedure being to drive off the ma.
tive Irish by military force, confiscate
their land and settle upon it Scotch.
men and Englishmen. The inhabi
tants of this small section are to a
large extent alien to the Irish people
in race, in religion and in ideals
though from amongst them have come
men who were as Irish and as nation.
alist as any. They are dominated by
a powerful clique Of landowners and
capitalists who are closely allied with
similar elements in England, and who
through the medium of the Orange so
ciety, work upon the passions, fears
and religious bigotry of their poorer
neighbors.
This element was most vociferous
in it's refusal to accept the Home Rule
BILL It "resoluted," it paraded, it de
nounced; and finally, to coerce the
Irish people and to scare a govern
ment both willing and anxious to be
scared, it organized with financial sup
4.