The Washington times., 1920-01-08


have 10 prove II here in the United
States OF America and. places or All
places, here in Washington, and. time
OF all times. at the very moment
when your nations representatives
here-your Congress and your Execu.
tive-are considering the fnai act OF
a great and bloody war wased oy
America avowedly for this very
principles
only be denied by Americans VINO
have forgotten all they gave their
assent to for the past four years. who
have never read their own Declara'
tion of Independence, and are ig-
norant of how this principle has
seemed the very handspring Of their
own national life, until II has ap-
peared TO outsiders as the most dis
tinguishing characteristics OF what Is
known as Americanism, and ! feel
somehow that were TO dwell further
upon Il here you would regard IL al
most as an implied insult. i shall
take 1t, therefore. that everyone here
accepts the general principle, and
now 1 ask on what grounds can any
one deny its application to Ireland
and to the people OF Ireland.
Ireland Is q Natie..
ireland is a nation, judged by
every accepted general criterion OF
nationhood, admittedly SO even by the
enemy statesmen of Britain-two ma
tions (as the present British premier
would like you to believe), but one
nation, with a unity and continuity
of national beliefs proceeding un-
broken from the past and dating
back further than any existing Euro
pean nation except Greece, and with
a corresponding intensity of national
consciousness among it's people. III
nations in general are entitled to
the right of national self-determina-
ton, some good reason should be
brought forward as to why that right
should be denied the nation of Ire
land.
IT ask avery one OF you here to
reflect for a moment and to ask your
selves IL you know of any good rea-
| son for the denial to Ireland of a
right which you are willing to con-
cede as the general right of all ma
tions. / have kept my ears and eyes
open since ! came to this country; I
have been constantly on the watch
for any argument which might seem
to be a good argument for the exclu-
| sion. of Ireland from the general
principle. / have noted many an at
| tack on the Irish people and on Ire
| lands cause, and / have failed to find
any argument which could be called a
good argument-any reason which
which could be called good reason.
Taking into account the assiduity of
our opponents, feel their failure to
discover a good argument might in
| itself be taken as fair proof that no
] rch f.ta H..
good arguments on ones side one
does not usually reject them and rely,
| instead. on misstatements, misrcpre.
| sentations, haseless assertions and
| abuse. / would like to know IL any
one here can suggest a reason which
seems to them good enough to justify
| the exclusion Of the nation Of Ireland
from the general right of national
self-determination. ! mean this as a
genuine challenge and not as q
rhetorical question:!
History Supports Stand.
as it that the Irish nation is not
a nation at all? History, as / nave
| said, and present day facts. which are
| there for everyone to investigate. are
against those who would hold such a
view. / am content to leave this to
every fair-mindcd person to examine
for himself or herself, confident tina:
no objection can be raised to Ircland's
claim on the ground OF nationality.
"Is it that the Irish nation has
| sold her birthright and by some con-
tract or other has put itself outside
| the pale of free national choice and
| national independence? History has
no record of any such transaction.
Refusal to sell their birthright; re-
Ill IL
| individuality to be annihilated or
| submerged has cost the people Of Ire
| land 75O years of blood and tears.
Throughout the past 1t has been
| precisely this that has been the issue
in the contest between Ireland and
| England-it is this that is the issue
between Ireland and England, or, II
| you wish. dreland and Britain, today
| that Ireland will not give up her
| own individuality as nation nor
sacrifice her title to independence as
a nation.
Never Admitted PartncrshIp.
| 'It is certainly true that the Brit.
ish government claims that Ireland is
bound in a partnership with Britain
but the Irish people have never ad.
mitted or accepted that partnership
they have refused IL and fought
| against It to the utmost of their
power. Their record in this RESPECT
is, in itself. ample evidence of the
| hollowness of Britain's claim. Eng
land or Britain has never held Ire
land except by force; never for q
| single moment has any English OF
British government dared to with
draw her troops from Ireland. As to.
day they can only hold ireland by
uowitzers and machine guns, by aero
planes and tanks, by bombs and
poison gas, so in the past; also, II
was only by the same methods OF
brute force that they have been able
to hold Ireland. Is this regime OF
| force evidence OF voluntary partner
ship or legitimate contract7 Is this
evidence of genuine political union
or is it evidence of the union of the
! shark with Its preyT
Those who would prejudice Ire.
lans case In the eyes of American,
| talk of Ireland's attempt at secession.
There can be no sccussionwhere ther,
has been no urion; no divorce where
there has been no marriage. Eng
lands act OF Union enacted against
the Will OF the Irish people by a body
| legally incompetent to enact it--a