The Irish standard., 1918-08-31
selves after freedom or distant lands
has been purchased by their blood?

heretofore i'll every cline, when
ever the weak called for a defender,
wherever the flag of Liberty was I'M
1urled. that blood freely flowed Prof
ting by Irish sympathy with right
eous causes, Britain, at the outbreak
OF the war, attracted to her armies
tens OF thousands of our youth, ere
even the Western Hemisphere had
awakened to the vail of small ma
| tons"
lrishmen, in their chivalrous eager
ness, laid themselves open to the re-
proach from some Of their brethren
OF forgetting the woes of their own
land which had suffered from it's
rulers, at one time or another al
most every inhumanity for which
Germany is impeached. 1t was hard
to bear the taunt that the army they
were joining was that which held Ire
land in subjection; but fresh bitter
ness has been aided to such reproach-
es by what has since taken place.
| Irish ChivaIry in the War.
| Nevertheless in the face of persis-
tent discouragements, Irish chivalry
remained ardent and atlame in the
first years of the war; Tens of thou
sands of the children of the Gael have
persisted in the conflict. Their bones
bleach upon the soil of Flanders, or
moulder beneath the waves of Suvla1
Bay. The slopes of Gallipoli, the
sands of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Ju-
dea afford them sepulture. Mons and
| Ipres provide their monuments
| Wherever the battle line extends from
the English Channel to the Persian
Gulf, their ghostly voices whisper a
response to the roll call of the guard
ian spirits of Liberty. What is their
reward?
| The spot on earth they loved best,
the land to which they owed their
first duty, and which they hoped their
sacrifices might help to freedom, lies
unredeemed under an age-long thral-
dom. So, too, would it forever lie,
were every man and every youth
within the shores Of Ireland to i'm
| molate himself in England's service,
unless the clamor of Il dominant caste
be rebuked and stilled.
The "Sister" Island.
| Yet proof after proof accumulates
that British Cabinets continue to be
towards our country as conscienceless
as every. They deceive friendly ma
lions throughout the world as to their
Irish policy while Withholding from
us even the Act of Home Rule which
in 1914 was placed on the Statute
Book. The recent Convention"
which they composed to initiate re-
form was brought to confusion by a
letter from the Prime Minister dimin-
ishing his original engagements.
Such insincere maneuvers have
left an indelible sense of wrong rank
ling in the heart of Ireland.
CaptuIations are observed with
French Canadians, with the Maltese,
with the Hindoos, with the Mohamme-
dan Arabs or the African Beers; but
never has the word of England, in any
capital case, been kept towards the
"sister" island.
The Parliaments Of Australia and
of South Africa-both of which Gun
like our ancient Legislature) were
founded by British enactments-re-
fused to adopt CONSUMPTION. This
was well-known when the law against
Ireland was resolved on. For oppos-
ing the application of that law to
1rishmen, and while this appeal to
you, Sir, was being penned, members
of our Conference have been arrested
and deported' without trial. 1t was
even sought to poison the wells of
American sympathy by levelling
against them end others an allegation
which it's authors have failed to sub
nit to the investigation of any tri-
bunal.
| To overIay malpractice by imputing
to its victims perverse or criminal
conduct is the stale but never-faiIing
1
device Of tyranny.
British Foreign Office Claim.
A claim has also been put forward
by the British Foreign Office to pre-
vent you, Mr.. President, as the head
of the great allied Republic, from ac-
| quiring firsthand information Of the
reasons why Ireland has rejected, and
will resist Consumption, except in so
far as the Military Governor of Ire
land, Field Marshal Lord French, may
be pleased to allow you to peruse his
version of our opinions.
Americas present conflict with Ger
many obstructs no argument that we
advance. Liberty and ordered
peace" we too, strive for; and conf
IDENTIFY do we look to you, Sir, and to