Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-08-01

J NFpNstii WI res pNlAtAlN u lN -NlbH"
Iquerque Journal and New York World,
| Copyright, 1919, by The Press Pub
fishing Co.
(The New York WORLDLY
! Especial Gable Despatch.)
Paris. July Sl.-Blithely referring
to the strong vein Of humor under
lying three porEcntously solemn col
umns" in the London Times, Major
! Erkme Childers, eX-seCretary general
of the Irish convention of 1917, issues
! a long statement today in reply to
| Lord Northclffe's proposals Tor the
settlement of the Irish problem.
/ After remarkng tnat the Times
| coOlly does away With existing home
rule, Major Childers says the pro.
| ject may be divided into two parts,
I one of them positive ana intended fot
| immediate execution, and the other
purely speculative and contingent.
"rhe positive part amounts to this
he says, that Ireland be partiuoned
and split into two sections, the
smaller being Ulster and the other
covering the remainder of Ireland,
and that each be given a petty pro-
vincial legislature. Neither Of these
two artificial lrelands is to have any
, connection with the other, but both
| will be under the supreme direction
! of the British government.
| Is the First Stage.
This is the first stage, the Times
! says, and it is all it proposes shall
actually be done here and now. Ire
| land is to be thrown into confusion
and left there, for to split into two a
/ country which God and nature made
one and which is united by common
| laws, customs administration and,
! n hpya all ~ pppnnn1ir conditions 10
to create gratuitous confusion, If not
chaos.
II want to be strictly fair. Amer
leans will see at once that il thero
Fwere to be simultaneously created =
supreme federal Irish parliament, 20
| which these two artificial provinces
would be subordinate, solution
would be proposed that would at least
! be logical; but such a solution would
not suit the Times at all, for 1t would
| open up ominous vistas of power an1
dignity for an island so near and so
stragetically necessary to Englano
"At the same time the Times can
not ignore the possibility of an all
Ireland parliament as an ostensibla
means of rounding off a scheme which
would otherwise mean naked parti-
| ton. SO the second part of the Times
! plan provides for the creation Of sucn
parliament, but only If and when
conditions permit.
Ulster Must Consent.
And what is the first and inds-
pensable condition? The consent Of
Ulster, Then as now TINS small min
| ority in one corner Of the island is 70
| dominate and dictate to the whole
and decree, if it pleases, the perpetual
i denial of Irish nationhood. Not one
/ 10 tps,,
from the British parliament to an all
Ireland parliament can be so trans
ferred without the consent of both
provincial legislatures.
What is the inducement to trans
| fer? What kind OF body is this all
Ireland parliament to be- a normally
democratically elected body Ike cqp-
gress or the Canadian parliament?
Not a bit of it, There is to be no
| election. Delegations are to be sent
| BY each of the two provincial legisla-
| lures, and those delegations are TO
! be equal in number; equal, although
| Ulster is only one-quarter of Ireland.
But that il not all. Even those
| equal delegations are to be gerry
wandered in order to give special
representation to the Unionist and
commercial, interests in the north and
the landlord interests in the south.
The result would probably be to place
the great mass of the Irish people Ia
positive minority in their own
parliament.
Could Never Function.
Suppose this amazing parliament
were by miracle to come into exist
ence. Could it function, could it pass
laws could it direct Il single executive
act? No, except with the permission
of Ulster, for the Times pitilessly de-
crees that no law passed by the all
Ireland parliament shall take effect
in a province until it shall have re-
ceived the assent of the legislature
of that province In other words
either Ulster, or the other province
could paralyZe, stultify and annul the
acts of the national parliament by
an unlimited and reciprocal right Of
veto.
Imagine the position of an Irish
finance minister trying 10 make a
! budget Every executive aes could
similarly be annulled, Imagine the
position of any minister who tried to
do anything whatever. The scheme
/ proposes a grotesque caricature of a
/ federation,
| Let Americans he the judges. Sup
pose New York or Virginia could defy
or set aside every federal law or ex-
ecutive act. Such is the crazy an
archy championed by the Times for
Ireland. Such would he the pitch of
absurdity to which Difference to a
small but noisy minority in northeast
Ireland can lead serious men,
Sidetracking Suspected.
rs there anything serious behind
this proposal of the Times? II sug-
gests the old method of sidetracking
the Irish national claim by submerg-
ing it under proposals TO federalize
the whole United Kingdom, making
England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
into constituent states.
But a common feature in this pro-
ject has been the partition of Ire
land into two states. Sir Edward
Carson has himself given guarded as
sent to this feature, as naturally he
might do. because IL would finally
tConunueu on Raas Tv0.l