The Washington herald., 1917-04-08
Situation in Ireland Looms
AS Real Menace to England
Still Under Martial Law Erin Hopes for Settlement Of Home
: Rule Question -Nationalists Force Redmonds Hand.
Premiers Of Dominons May Take Hand

of the country. for their produce COM
mands prices twice as high as before
the war. and since they eat now as al
ways what they grow themselves the
rise in the cost Of living does not greatly
affect them.
But in Dublin, Cork, and to a lesser
extent in the smaller towns. great dis
tress exists, because the rise in food
has not been accompanied. as in Eng
land. Scotland and industrial Belfast. by
i the establishment of great munition in
dustries which employ the laboring class
es at higher wages than they ever made
before.
The Sim Feiners make political capt.
tai out of the fact that Irish townsmen
are not given the same opportunity to
make money as the urban dwelleTs in
England. but the truth seems to be that
munitions are made where they can be
made more quickly, and Ireland lacked
before the war industrial plants which
could be converted to warlike uses, while
the greater cost and still more the greater
amount of time required to build new
factories in Dublin or Cork made i'm
practicable the establishment of new
plants to make munitions in the south
of Ireland.
Ulster More Recalcitrant
Ulster remains, if anything, more re-
calcitraht than last summer. more de-
termined to agree to no home rule scheme
without the consent of all parties that
her separation is to be recognized as
permanent. that not only the Dublin but
the imperial parliaments retain no rights
to force her into union with the SOUTH
Ulster has watched with an Il told YOU
so" expression. the rebellion a year ago
and the spread of the Constitutional
Sim Fein movement since the executions
4 l. 1.1tr
ity which to some extent clings to her
for these events. since it was her leader,
Sir Edward Carson, who first brought
arms into Ireland and inspired the mall
contents of the south to follow his ex-
ample.
All hope of q settlement. even during
tho war, has not been given up in Lon
dum. Even the Irish Nationalists. it is
tEcught in some quarters would welcome
a So ttiement imposed on them in spite of
their protests which would result in the
immediate establishment of Dublin par
liamen'. with the six counties of Ulster
exciud"d, and thus draw the fangs of the
Sim Feinners and perhaps make possi-
bic another recruiting campaign. The
failure OF Ireland. since the Dublin re-
volt. to supply many recruits for the
army has caused bitterness in England
which naturally increases as the comb
tic. but it is recognized by all except the
extreme Tories that to attempt to force
conscription on Ireland in the present
state of feeling there might have I'M
fortunate results
Two Solutions Suggested.
Two solutions are being mooted a.
present and the official aloofness OF tho
Nationalists does not prevent informal
conferences between some of their MEM
bers and British statesmen One, pro-
posed by Asquith. is to refer the whole
Irish muddle to the mediation of the pre-
miers of the dominions who are now ar
irving in London for the imperial con-
ference. and let them decide the disputed
boundary line between home rule and eA-
cluded Ireland in those Ulster counties
where the Nationalists have a majority.
The result of such mediation would be
foregone conclusion: all the dominion
preniiers. excepting F.. w. Massey, of
New Zealand. are home rulers; Massey
Is an Orangeman. and would hold out for
listers views. and accordingly the result
attained home rule with Ulster exclud-
ed. would be the same as that Parlia-
ment is now willing to grant But it is
hoped that the Irish. less suspicious of
the dominions than OF the English poll
ticians. would accept a settlement from
this outside source without the suspicion
that unfortunately attaches in the Irish
mind to whatever the Parliament a.
Westminster may do.
Another suggestion Is that Nationalist
ireland and Ulster each form a Parlia-
ment and appoint a commission to sit to-
gether and regulate by common consent
issues affecting north and south alike.
RedmOnd's Hand Forced.
Timothy NJ. Healy, leader Of an Irish
Nationalist faction which opposes the
leadership of John Redmond. heatedly
declared in the House of Commons after
Redmond led his cohorts out. He will
come back and with his tail between his
legs MIR. Healy consented to discuss
the Irish question in an interview. Red
mond, he said. was forced by the growth
Of bitter feeling in Ireland to take the
action he did against the British govern
ment "Mr Redmond's power, though
not completely shattered, has been sorely
shaken by the events of the past twelve
months said the belligerent Tim
Healy. "and he struck out desperatel'
to find some eXpedient to restore conf
dence to his more wayward followers.
Like all weak men. he did the over
strong thing, and he will suffer for it
accordingly.
AT the same time I do not disguise
the mischief which will arise unless some
balm is applied to the wounds which have
now been reopened. The late government
was much to blame for leaving the Irish
situation adritt since the rebellion. and
it cannot be doubted that II some solvent
had been applied to it President Wilson
would not have been hampered as he has
been in tackling the German peril.
situation Mishandled.
"The optimists of the late cabinet. how
ever. were certain the would be sue
cessfully thrust through on the Western
front. and. being filed with the idea Of
certain victory, preferred to leave the
Irish stew to ferment until a more con-
venient season arose to put the lid on.
The result has been that the extremists
forced Mr.. Redmond's hand. and an un-
pleasant taste has been left in the mouth
of the public, both in Ireland and Eng
land. through the mishandling of the sit
uation.
IF Mr.. Redmond had done nothing, his
opponents in Ireland would have got the
upper hand. They may have got the up
per hand anyhow; and he cannot be
blamed. think, for making an effort to
gave himself and his party from discredit.
''Englishmen who can think of nothing
but the war have to remember, too, the
war in ireland, which has lasted for $50
years II has cea sed for one hour