New Britain herald., 1920-03-05
IRISH HOME RULE BILL IS ASSAlLED
Sir Horace Plunkett Refers to America, Also

Duhlin. March 4.-Sharp criticism If the new Irish home rule Dill was axnressed by Sir Horace Plunkeel' cbairman of the, Dublin convention al a "we1come home dinner gwen III ni' honor here tonight by the lr1sn oo- minton league. During nlS auui o, ssir Horace. who has just returned from the United States gave s,.naa HIS t.s v,ressions of the American aiuruoe toward Ireland. A large number oa narsons nroninent in Irish affairs at- tended the dinner
 .Inns. before the war broke out ne said. -"I was convinced the peace os the world and the orderly progress not the survival, of western clV1llza- ,+ion depended more than on any othel *one thing on mutual undersLanuihs between the British comm monWealth oi free nations-a term | prefer to thS British empire-and the great repup 1fc of the west. How far Germ any timed Armageddon with an eye on Ulster let historians say. But it Is matter of personal knowledge that from 1911 the PrussiaI government yas organizing a German Irish alil- ancs in American politics with view to the coming attack upon the world freedom. ..- .,st
 1T have not the least doubt that supposing the Irish trouble had noth- ing to do with the beginning or the war, it was important factor Tn de- aIying Americas decisive participa tion in the struggle. To the same cause was due a, great deal of political embarrassment to the war adminis- tration in Washington. I remember the question being actually raised whether the American navy could wisely utilize Ireland a it's base Of operations. Though, happily, strate- gic considerations oyer-Euled poltlcai Collections, only the splendid loyalty to America of Irish Americans coun- teracted the deep resentment caused X by contrasts all toe easily drawn he- tween the treatnl ent of the northeast corner and the rest of our country in conflicts with the British government.
 ..No+ui+hetanding goVernm entaI control of news which was unprece- dented in the history of the British people in which to their honor let It be said they have hitherto set a, shin ing example to the world respecting X freedom of opinion Ireland has be- come increasingly during the last dec ade the final proof to every enemy o1 - England and America. that Brltlsh aims in war and peace are mere hy- pocrisies, where they profess to have any regard whatsoever for the liberty of small nationalitieS.
 The British people, the British parliament and all the British gov ernment know this Now and again some prominent politician wins cheers by telling America. to mind her own business and talking about her negro question If we had as many negroes in this country as the Am erlcans have Irish in theirs and if these colorec people possessed the franchise here we should be no more silent abou} ,that problem than the americans arc about Ireland. I agree that 1t is un- desirable for any alien legislative body or official representatives of an alier government to indulge in official ut. aerances or actions of such nature, but what these people or bodies rightly ol wrongly may say or do is of infinite significant small importance com par ed with what the people in the mass think
 Tn America l found more bitter anti-E glish than in all my forty years of observations As usual, al. though due to many other causes il was tangled up with the Irish trouble and was generally expressed in what I may call Irish terms, Americans dc . not bother themselves with details They want Ireland to have as large a III easure of self government as is con.
 xistent with the safety Of the Briti