Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-04-10
IS IRELAND TO BE A NATION
AT LAST?

A THOUGH no official announcement
a Of the conclusions Of the Irish home
rule convention has been made, the Lon
don Express gives what purports TO be
summary Of its plan. lls provisions are,
briefly:
An Irish Parliament in Dublin.
An executive responsible TO this Par
lament.
Military service for the Irish
Safeguards for Protcstants.
A new customs arrangement.
The announcement by the Express that
Ulster is to be included within the plan
ought to be taken rs a matter Of course.
The convention was called in order that
all phases Of Irish opinion might be rep
resented. Ulster delegates were present.
They had to 20 or admit themselves as
irrcconciablcs, unwilling to accept any
plan which they did not make.
Assuming that the forecast Of the
Express is trustworthy. it is easy to point
out the controversial features. The
extreme Natiouaiists have sought TO sct
up an Independent government in Ire
land that should have no connection with
the Parliament at Westminster. They
have carried their point in part. The
setting up Of Parliament in Dublin has
been admitted all along as the first cs-
scntial in any home rule plan. 1t remains
to be seen whether Great Britain will
consent to tho creation Of AN Irish Pre-
mier responsible to the Dublin parlia-
mcnt. Il would involve concession to
natonalism which Great Britain has not
hitherto been willing TO make and would
place ireland at once in the same class
with Canada and Australia. Her con
uectiou with Great Britain would bc
retained only through a Governor Cen
cral appointed by the crown.
Safeguards for the Protcstants are
conceded as necessary and desirable by
men Of all parties, even though some Of
the most extreme home rulers in the past
have been Protestants, followed Loyalty
by the Roman Catholic lrishmcn.
The provision for military service
needs further clucidation before any ono
can form an opinion on it. The Irish
have thus far objected to conscriptiun
forced upon them from London. Whether
they would consent to conscriptiou
ordered hy their own Parliament is
another matter. If they have agreed to
this. which is conceivable. they have
made a concession The significance Of
which it is'dificult to magnify.
The demand for Il new customs
arrangement also needs to be explained.
The Irish have insisted that their indus
tries have suffered under the present
tariff laws. They have asked for some
form Of protection and have not got it.
If they are allowed to set up an indie
pendent government as independent as
that Of Canada, control Of their customs
laws would follow as Il matter of coursc
1t was inevitable that the Irishmcn,
left TO themselves, would work out plan
for greater independence than the Lon
don Parliament would devise on its own
account The settlement Of their differ
cnccs was put up to the lrishmcn with a
sort of moral obligation on the part Of
Great Britain To accept their concu-
sions. Whether the plan is really work.
able, in view Of the differences between
the relation Of Ireland and Canada to
Great Britain. cannot be known until we
know definitely and officially what that
plan is. Whether it has been agreed
upon by the lrishmcn, with sufficient
unanimity to justify Parliament in en-
acting il into law, is also uncertain.
Lloyd George has already intimatcd
that the Government might be compelled
to act on its own initiative and disregard
the recommendation or tho pnn,-cpti,,