The Irish standard., 1918-11-30
THIRD ANNUAL
slNN FElN MEET
CONTINUED from Page ~
the worlds history to a reality.
New Nations Every Day.

New nations were appearing over
the horizon every day; and there we're
no people in Europe whose joy was
more genuine than the people of Ire
land, whether those nations were like
Finland, Poland and the Ukraine lib
Grated from the yoke Of one set of
belligerents, or whether they were,
Ike Bohemia ort the other nations of
Austria, liberated from the other side.
England said she was going to fight
for Belgium and Serbia because she
wanted to make Ireland the one bright
spot. She wanted to disarm the oppo-
sition of the Irish in America and
throughout her own colonies because
she wanted to have as much sympathy
as possible for. her cause in America,
with the possibility that the time
might come when America would join
her in the war; or that at least, If it
did not come in, that America would
give as much friendly cooperation as
possible.
Lord Mountjoy, when asked what
was the composition of Washington's
army, said half of them were Irish, a
quarter Of them were English and
Scotch, and the remaining quarter
were native Americans. It was we'll
known that the Americans before the
revolution were largely taught while
at school by masters who were driven
out of Ireland by the Penal Laws, so
that if half Washington's army were
Irish in numbers, he wondered how
much Of it was Irish i'm spirit.
Archbishop Mannix.
"You know" said Father O'Flana-
gan, 1--WE were able to take English
men who came over to us; we were
able to take at least their sons, and
make Tones and Emmets and Pearses
of them" 1t was estimated that $780,
600 young men of Ireland went out to
fight their old national fight on the
Continent of Europe, when it was no
longer possible to fight at home, and
then the New World opened before
them, and they carried the fight for
self-determination against England to
America and there it got its first great
triumph.
England. knowing that, did not wait
for George Washington in Canada
or Australia, and since the war began
there had been another struggle be-
tween the liberty-loving spirit of Ire
land and the, Imperialistic spirit of
England, and once more the spirit of
Ireland had come definitely on top.
Under the leadership of great
1rishman, Archbishop Mannix, the
English Imperialistic programme for
conscription was definitely defeated
in that Commonwealth Some people
thought that Ireland when it went to
the Peace Conference should go with
its hat in it's hand, and some of them
were wondering were they going to
get into the Peace Conference.
Dublin for Peace Conference.
He was not a aprophet, but he could
say that Ireland could go to the Peace
Conference with its head up. If the
people who were going to conduct the
Peace Conference meant to carry out
the programme that had enabled them
to carry their own peoples with them
into the war, Ireland could go pub
licly before the door of the Peace Con-
ference and demand an entrance and
let them see who we're going to keep
her out. If they really wanted Peace
Conference that was going to lift up
right and put it in the saddle in the
place Of might, If they were going to
establish self-determination instead of
balance of power, they could not find
more fitting place to hold the Peace
Conference than in the capital of that
land that for the longest time, with
out shrinking at sacrifice, without &C.
knowledged defeat, had carried on the
programme of self-determination for
right against might.
II see that our friends of the U. I.
L. are going to go to the Peace Con-
ference with u.s." Father O'Flanagan
went on. ''Well, they haven't said 1t
absolutely yet, but they are going to
come with us If the Ministers of Eng
land don't take the one last chance
that is going to be given them. After
$50 years we are going to give them
just one chance more Qaughter)-and
then we will go to the Peace Confer.
ence."
Colonial Home Rule.
Was the U. I. L. going to go with
them to the Peace Conference, "be-
cause, after all, we invented it first
In N. Roscommon-and it was very
foolish rainbow-chasing at that time"
Before going to the Peace Confer
ence with programme of their own,
the U. I. L. should, at least, let them