The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1918-07-20
The Question Of
Irish Policies
Mr.. O'MALLEY, Mp, AND THE
WAY OUT.
Statesmanlike Letter to the Irish
Press,

StatesmanIike Letter to the Irish
Press.
William O'Malley, M. p, for West
Galway, has addressed the following
letter to the Irish papers, and which
was published on June II in the Irish
Daily Independent, Freeman's Journal
and other Irish papers. Mr.. O'Malley
represents Galway City and district in
Parliament and is one of the most
Intellectual and cultured Irish men,
bers in the House of Commons. Mr..
O'Malley's logic speaks for itself and
has the ring of true craftsmanship in
it's forecast and conclusions. This is
the letter:
Sir-While the Imperial Conference
is engaged in solving problems for
the future consolidation and better
government of the Empire of Com
monwealth, Ireland remains distracted
and divided over policies and parties.
1t is true she is united on the ques-
ton of CONSUMPTION, but that is a
unity of very doubtful value, as far as
her future is concerned. That Ire
land was justified in her opposition
to CONSUMPTION is unquestionable, for
surely no one can maintain that a ma
tion should be conscripted against it's
will and, apart from that maxim the
stupid Prussian policy of our rulers
compelled the Irish people to the
course they have adopted towards the
CONSUMPTION Act, an Act protested
against and resisted by the unani-
nous voice of the Nationalist repre-
sentation in Parliament.
But while it is the duty of Ireland
to resist the enforcement of this Act
to the uttermost, agree with Mr.. A.
M. Sullivan that that opposition does
not, or should not, relieve us from our
moral obligation to support, to the
best of our ability, the Allied Pow
ers in their righteous fight against
Germany. The mistake we make in
Ireland is that we cannot help looking
upon this war as "England's war;.
1t is not England's war any more than
it is Americas war, or Frances war,
or Belgium's war, or Italy's war. Ire
land realized this at its outbreak, and
Ireland came forward splendidly to
play her part in this struggle for uni
versal freedom. But we all know why
her ardour on behalf of the Allied
cause has been damped down and
turned to hate Of England, or, rather
to utter distrust of British Ministers.
Method in Their Madness.
That British Ministers have treat
ed Ireland badly and stupidity is be-
You'd question. Their policy has been
described by many organs in the Brit
ish press as Madness" but it may
be that there is a method in their
madness. Most of the Ministers now
in power have been bitterly opposed
to any form of Home Rule, although
Mr. Redmond's attitude towards the
war and the splendid" part that Ire
land played in it's earlier stages had
practically killed "Unionism" in Eng
land, these men are, since the Easter
rebellion, more hostile to Home Rule
than they ever were before; and it
now looks as If they were deliber-
ately pursuing policy towards Ire
land that will make for the preserva-
ton of the Union" for all time. The
Sim Fein policy only helps them in
their designs.
England can always crush rebel
lion in Ireland. She has no real fear
of the extremists. What she fears is
strong united constitutional Parlia-
mentary party. The weakening or de-
struction of that party is the best
hope of the Prussian Die-hard of Ul-
ster and of England. To me it is in
comprehensive why this obvious fact
is not realized by the Irish people. AL
ready Slim Feinism has brought about
the "chaos" predicted by Cardinal
Logue. 1t has alienated many of our
best friends and supporters in Great
Britain, and there is the greatest dan
ger that it will destroy our good
relationship with the United States.
Those who grasp at too much lose
ALL" is an old saying that Irishmen
today might we'll bear in mind.
Distrust Of Extremists.
l have always distrusted the ex-
tremists in politics. We see what they
have done in Russia and we see what
| 11i, ~,