The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1919-01-11
Sim Feiners Will Soon
Organize Irish Parliament
To Fill All Seats.


dered as bye-elections with Sim Fein
candidates standing in each. Full
representation for the whole of the
island having been obtained The new
"rump parliament" will proceed to
legislate for the country and dispatch
special embassies to America, France,
Italy, Russia and possibly Germany.
Sheriffs are to be designated for the
various counties, charged with respon-
sibility for the execution of new laws
and freed from obedience to those of
English origin. But, according to the
program, the whole operation is based
upon policy of non-resistance to
| force. The Irish leaders plan to shift
the onus for violence to English
| shoulders by counselling good behav-
ior and pretending to believe their
ends can be obtained by moral innu-
ence and a demonstration of their abil-
| ity at self government
The non-resistance policy, however,
| does not include this position taken
| toward taxation. On the principle
that taxation without representation
is tyranny, the Sim Feiners will re-
sist the British tax impositions which,
as they see it, will be levied by a Brit
isf parliament. with Ireland not repre-
sented, save for the seven Nationalists
and handful of coalitionists elected
in the north.
| The only woman successful in the
elections, Countess Markiewicz, is of
an old Irish family, her present name
being her husbands, who was a Polish
noble. She will take prominent part
in the adventure, there being talk of
making her speaker. She has long
record of opposition to Britain, being
among those arrested last year at the
time of the Sim Fein outbreak.
NationaIists Wiped Out
The Nationalist party, which under
John Redmond was source of
strength to the government, has been
practically wiped out and is seemingly
too insignificant in numbers or per-
sOnnel to offer nucleus around new
party. .......
No man can say what the outcome
Of the experiment will be. One GER
tainty stands out in that Lloyd
Georges chief support comes from tie
Unionists, who have 1886 members, all
pledged to the unity of the empire and
who bitterly oppose Irish secession,
even standing against home rule.
The Sim Fein plans will come to a
climax about the time the peace con-
ference gets under way, and they will
have strong delegation to visit Paris
in hope of sympathy and support.
American Support Sought.
They look to America for that, but
disappointment is certain, for the
peace commissioners Of all nations are
pledged against interference in vari-
Gus national questions. Several ef-
forts have been made here during
President Wilson's visit to England to
have him receive the Irish agents, but
he has succeeded thus far in escaping
contretemps. 1t was noticed in Eng
land that the joy over winning the
war and the hope of future peace was
ftempered by fear of the Irish question.
1t has been problem for more than
a century and the English have learn
ed to take it as a proverbial drop of
bitterness in an otherwise sweet cup,
the hope being expressed that way
will be found through the perplexity,
their confidence resting in Lloyd
Georges political acumen
But it is useless to deny the serious
ness of the situation, it being the big
gest cloud in the English horizon now
that the freedom of the seas" bogy
is laid away, with other election
ghosts, an understanding having been
reached between Britain and America
on that point.