Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-02-17
Germany's View
Of Irish Situation

London. England-1rish home rule,
and the formation of the new Center
Party were discussed on Wednesday
by General Sir Hubert Cough. who is
hopeful that the compromise arrived
at in the party's program will bear
affairs. Fresh from the u~nifying in
fluence Of the hardships Of the front.
shared In m with other Irish
men Of varying political creeds. Ire
land is in need at present of two vital
and urgent necessities to peace. One
is education: the other is political
responsibility.
Ireland in the former matter, he
holds. does not bear comparison with
England, Scotland, Canada, or Aus
tralia. and he deplores the fact that
the education acts passed at West
minister have no more been applied
to Ireland than the military service
ard of education. which he is himself
interested in, he firmly believes that
the evils which follow in the train of
ignorance will speedily disappear from
Irish affairs, and 1rishmen will auto
matically become more fitted to UNI
dertake h second thing they lack,
manly. political responsibility.
Ireland needs self-government in
the generals opinion. to steady her.
self. She is not a down-trodden coun-
try as the .propagandists have
preached, but she has undoubtedly
been sadly Int stupidity mismanaged,
and the fact has e. taken advan-
tage OF by Unbalanced extremists.
who have no other outlet than the
wildcat schemes they have put for
ward. Therefore. says the general,
we must have self-government.
Once that is established and the re-
sponsibiltty Of governing themselves
Is undertaken by the Irish people,
extremism will disappear. for it can
not survive practical tests.
The great argument for self-govern.
ment In addition to the above, the
general considers. is that the greater
part of the country desires it. That
fact constituted the right to have self
government in order' to be in har-
mony with the ideas Of liberty for
which the war had taken place dur
ing the last four years. Just in the
same way. although avowedly no vio-
lent partisan Of Ulster. he considered
that that part Of ireland had an equal
right no to be coerced. and it was
in this admission Of rights that the
Center party had its foundation.
however, the general held that the
majority Of Ireland did not desire
separation. She was a part of the
British empire and her men had
fought alongside other parts of it. She
should. therefore. have self-govern-
ment on federal~lines, subject to the
imperial parliament in certain mat
tiers concerning the whole empire and
permitting local provincial self-gov-
eminent within her own borders. This
plan he considered should meet the
objections Of Ulster and would avoid
the evils Of partition under a home
rule scheme. Partition. in his opin-
ion. would result in an impenetrable
wall being built between Ulster and
the rest Of Ireland. In Irish affairs,
he continued, everybody tried to get
Of their case. as a rule. The Center
party proposed to adjust these extreme
claims and strike these a mean be-
tween them. General Cough did not
see any aso for thinking the posi-
ton recently taken up by Lord Midle-
ton in resigning from the Unionist al
lance was incompatible with the pro-
gram Of the Center party.
II only national self-government
were obtained, the people themselves
would settle the vexed question Of
schools, continued the general, and
would also deal with the extremists.
The Irishman outside of Ireland
showed himself perfectly capable OF
managing his affairs: but in ireland,
not being allowed to manage them,
he became restless. The proof Of his
himself. and 1t would be found that
the Stnn Fein element would be
scotched: for Ireland was undoubted-
Ily more prosperous than ever she
had been before. and Irishmen did
not want to see that prosperity lost
by mistake.
Stephen Gwynn. chairman Of the