The Irish standard., 1917-03-31

Take Issue With LIoyd-George on
His Yielding to Anti.irish Influences.
London, March.-The text of the
Nationalist manifesto is as follows:
1.-THE premier, in his speech Thurs
day in the debate on Home Rule,
took up a proposition which, if adj
hered to would involve denial of self
government to Ireland for ever. He
laid down the principle that the small
minority in northeast Ulster should
have the veto so long as they chose
to exercise it of self government for
United Ireland. That is a position to
which the representatives of Ireland
can meyer assent.
"He asserted that he had never
changed his position on the so-called
coercion Of Ulster. That is not true.
He was party to the drafting of the
original Home Rule bill, which ap.
piled to all Ireland. He was party
to the rejection in two successive SEES
sions, in the face of most vigorous
protest from representatives of north
east Ulster, of amendments to exclude
! Ulster, and when under pressure of
threatened rebellion, he and the gov
eminent of which he was member
weakly yielded to the threats of re-
bellion hurled at them by Sir Edward
Carson, the present first lord of the
admiralty.
THE government of that day,
through the present prime minister,
appealed to us to consent to the con-
cession of county option for strictly
limited period. We agreed on the
pledge repeatedly given, by Lloyd
| George on his own behalf and on be-
half OF the government, that if we
consented to the concession we should
never be asked for any further con-
would undertake to see that settle
ment through at any cost. How, then,
can Premier Lloyd George say that he
never changed his attitude on the
question of Ulster?"
Breach Of Faith.
The manifesto sets forth that the
negotiations undertaken at the re-
quest of the government last July re-
ferred to a strictly war arrangement,
with the understanding that a year
after the ending of the war things
would revert to the status quo and
that tine, attitude of the prime min
lister took last night showed a total
change on the question and generally
on the question Of Home Rule for Ire
land, and a breach of faith to the
Irish party and nation, and would
tend to intensity distrust of pledges
Of British ministers and have a seri-
GUS effect in Strengthening the power
of the revolutionary movement in that
country.
I'm view of the terrible seriousness
of the situation for Ireland and the
empire created by this speech OF the
prime minister" continues the mani
festO, 1--WE felt it would be idle to pro-
long the debate and felt bound to mark
in the most emphatic method open to
us our sense of the gravity Of the sit
uation and meet Immediately for con-
sultation as to the future policy Of
the Irish Nationalist party.
Irish Race Appealed To.
THE action of the British govern
| oil fhn NJ %1,c
ton in May, 1915, eliminating in the
prime minister's speech, has made the
task of carrying Oh the constitutional
movement in Ireland SO difficult as to
be almost impossible. The constitu-
tional movement can yet be saved,
but only by tho active assistance of all
level-headed Nationalists in Ireland
and to a special degree by the mil
lions of the Irish race in the Domin-
ions and in the United States. To
them we appeal most earnestly to
come to the aid Of those who have
rescued Ireland from being the cats
paw and tool of Germany, and who
are struggling against terrible odds
to keep open the road to Irish liberty
through peaceful, constitutional means
"a struggle in which we are ham,
pered by the British government,
which plays into the hands of the
Irish pro-German revolutionary party
with stupid perversity, worthy the
worst reactionary spirit Of Petrograd.
$50 far as Ireland is concerned the
government is doing it's utmost to aid
Germany's work, and so long as this
} attitude is followed, we, as Irish rep.
resentatives, while retaining our atti
tude towards the war and remaining
} firmly convinced of the justice of the
Allies cause and unchanged in our