Republican farmer., 1918-05-10
ADVISES HIS
PEOPLET0
FIRM
Dillon Counsels United
Front and Conscrip-
ton Will be Beaten.
CHURCH WILL BE
RALLYING POINT
Leader Says England is
Unable to Send Army
to Enforce Draft.

London, May 6 - Anti-con-
scription speeches were made
from the same platform by
John Dillon, Nationalist leader,
and Prof. Edward De Valera,
head of the Sim Fein, yester-
day, in Bellaghadereen, in Dill
Ions constituency of East
Mayo. Good humor and enthu-
siasm characterized the demon
stration, which was attended by
$4,000 persons.
Mr.. Dillon spoke of the formation
Of the Irish committee attached to
every church and chapel so that in
the event OF struggle being forced
on them the church could be the raj
lying point.
Mr.. Dillon said that if the Irish kept
united and determined for another two
weeks they would defeat CONSUMPTION.
1t was an atrocious form of oppression
to try to compel peple to fight for a
country not their own.
He personally opposed CONSUMPTION,
whether in Great Britain or in Ire
land, and believed it was a great blum.
der to depart from England's settled
policy against compulsory service, es-
pecially when it was not to defend the
soil OF Great Britain. but to send huge
armies to the continent.
But it was impossible and unthink-
able, the Nationalist leader declared,
to attempt to apply CONSUMPTION to a
free and democratic people unless
there was agreement amounting al
most to unanin1ity. esearnestly ap-
pealed for spirit of frank and friend
ly cooperation throughout Ireland.
Without this, unity was impossible.
Committees throughout the country
must be organized with a sincere de-
sire to give fair representation to all
sections.
II the nations unity were broken in
the fact of the present terrific danger,
Mr. Dillon continued, the government
would be encouraged to pursue their
wicked and insane policy and the dis
cipline of the people, which is essen
tial to the defeat of CONSUMPTION, would
be broken. Then the whole game
would be thrown into the hands of the
military authorities.
The Nationalist and Sim Feiners, he
said, actually agreed that the whole
struggle for 1reland's rights was based
on the principle of her rights as a ma
ton. This was a terribly false impress
sion, Mr.. Dillon declared. There was
question that the government had
been staggered and no longer were so
confident about the practicability of
their policy as professed when the bill
was introduced.
The Nationalist leader declared he
was convinced that it would take an
army such as England could i'll spare
to carry out successfully CONSUMPTION
in Ireland. He was also convinced
that the government would split on
the Irish rock and instead of destroy
ing the Irish nation, the Irish would
destroy them.
Prof. De Valera said his followers
would unite with those of Mr.. Dillon
to defeat CONSUMPTION. With refer
ence to the issue raised in East Ca
van, he said there was only one ar
bitrator to whom the Sim Fein would
submit, namely, the free choice Of the
electors.
Declaring the governments con-
scription- home rule policy is disas-
trous, Sir Horace Plunkett, chairman
Of the recent Irish convention, in a
letter to the Dublin press, suggests
immediate establishment of a respon-
sible government in Ireland as a way
out Of the difficulty.
"At the gravest crisis with which
the empire has ever been faced" says
the letter, the government had
staked their existence on a two-fold
Irish pofcy---conscripdon and home
rule. They cannot achieve both ex-
cept at the cost of much present
bloodshed and lasting hate. They
might achieve the first and by it make
the second impossible.
I'm my opinion they would fail in
the second attempt and have to find
a way out of the worst Irish situation
in my memory, which goes back to
the Fenian days, so years ago."