The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-03-15
Situation. in That Country
Fraught With Dissension
and Trouble.
ITS FUTURE LOOMS DARK
Shane Leslie Declares Lloyd
George Swayed by Castles
Preiudices.
By SHANE LESLIE.

NAL dissensions. Never did dissension
and trouble loom darker than this
Patricktide. There will be peace in the
world before there is peace in Ireland.
If we may Judge by what Is happening
Every chance that country has had
since the outbreak Of war Of becoming
normal autonomous and contented
part of the British Empire has been
actually destroyed by agents OF the
empire Itself, who have achieved what
no Germans could obtain for love or
money. Conditions are fairly reflected
in a letter 1 received from Mr.. Dillon
last month:
ION the whole ireland is settling
down and generally becoming sane
again. But the elements Of unrest
and excitement are still very strong
and the mixture Of stupidity and ma
lignant mischief by which the govern
ment Is inspired makes our task al
most impossible"
Poker, Not statesmanship.
OF this letter the recent debate in
Parliament affords an illustration. The
acme Of baseness was reached when
Lloyd George stuffed away his con
victIon and Irish rights. 1t was good
poker play, but 1t was bad statesman
ship. As a result we are in the immedi-
ate presence Of tragedy or farce. the
usual Irish alternatives. John Redmond
marked the farce by leaving the house
at the head Of his followers. Whether
he can avert the imminent tragedy re-
mains to be seen. Only the influence
Of the Irish party has hitherto stood be-
tween the government and rebellion. To
discredit the party Is to give the Sim
Fein a free hand. To discredit John
Redmond is to obscure the cause Of
small nations all over the world Red
mond becomes a gauge OF allied moral
lily.
At the outbreak of war Redmond
went half way and more than half
way to reconcile a feud of centuries.
He was thrown a dry bone and gwen
orders like a servant instead NJ an
ally. He offered England the price
less gift OF the free sword of free
people. It was snatched from him as
the bounden tribute OF q bondfolk. His
payment was a home rule measure
which apparently neither the Kings
signature nor the word of q Prime
Minister. makes effective.
The Irish party have a fair ami con-
stitutional solution, which entails no
oppression or disqualification OF u
ster. Its rejection entails two serious
questions. Is Ireland a small nation
or is she not. or Is she the one excep-
ton which is not to be treated as
such? Is government by the people
for the people to be a diminishing or
an increasing factor as the result OF
the war?
Majority Under Martial Law
1t is no use pretending the Irish
people control their government to-
day. The majority are under martial
law, brought about by a mad but mad
dened law. We admit 1t Is not the
Prussian or Russian form OF martial
law. partly because the government
does not want an explosion and partly
because the dragooning of Ireland is
nightly distasteful to England's citi-
zen troops. The day OF bullying and
clustering has past forever. Concilia-
ton and compromise are the only
practical means left.
The scheme agreed to by both Car
son and Redmond in the summer was
compromise, but Il was stabbed in
the back by the Ascendency gang.
Lloyd George offers Redmond no
guarantee that this will not be the
case again. On the other hand, coer-
cion of the Ulster minority is neither
needed nor imaginable. Let them be
left outside, with their provisional
government, to come in when COM
mercial reasons outweigh the senti-
mental. As to fear OF injustice, John |
Mitchell said he would heap Goals of !
fire on the heads OF his enemies IL he
were able. A home rule governments
would in the M
pour Goals from scriptural caldrons
on the heads OF their erstwhile enc |
mics. But equality is not what the |
Ascendency desire and for this reason |
they threw over Redmond last sum-
mer. ..--.
- Hides Behind Caste's PreJudices.
Today Lloyd George. the tool of the |
Ascendency. takes refuge behin1 the
preJudices OF caste. Ulster is not
unlike the Confederacy in her fanat- |
ical belief that one race is superior
to another and that ordinary demo
cratic notions do not apply in her
case. And she believes in the right OF
succession as much as Jefferson Davis /
did. Political union between England |
and Ireland Is artificial. Union be-
tween Ulster and Ireland Is a geo
graphical essential, which nobody can
deny. AS 1t is, Ulster remains a po-
liticai filibuster. By retarding tie In
evitabIe the Irish settlement Is post
poned again and again with compound |
interest
No doubt there are wreckers on
both sides, few extremists who |
would prefer to see the country in
flame rather than Redmond even mod
erately successful-a few Green re-
publicans, whom II would be the duty
of home rule government to lock |
up, and a few Orange dervishes.
whom the British government ought
to have Imprisoned before the war.
The government unfortunately always
shirks actualities and makes Ireland's
the opportunity of excus-
ing itself.
The present policy is to make Con-
impossible. The Con-
movement shames England
IN the eyes of France and America, as
we'll as disturbing her colonies. There
fore undermine Constitutionalism.
throw Redmond to his enemies In
America. madden his supporters into
Sim Fem, tempt revolution, suppress
and then turn round with
a good conscience and await the
cheers that never come from America
and France. 1t Is a miserable pros
pect r....
II "a ohviousIv war which uiIl